Four activists were arrested at a protest outside of a UK bulldozer manufacturer where they shut down deliveries for the morning: “Netanyahu said Khan-Al- Ahmar would be destroyed before the Israeli Elections in April 2019, and JCB and Caterpillar Bulldozers have been used to clear the ground there.”
Just hours after chairman of the far right Otzma Yehudit, or “Jewish Power” party, Michael Ben Ari was approved by Israel’s Central Election Committee to run for the Knesset on Wednesday, the same committee disqualified the joint Arab slate Balad-United Arab List from running. The committee also ruled to prevent Ofer Cassif, a Jewish representative in Hadash, from running. The claim against Cassif was, that he “denied the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.”
That the blatant bigotry of expecting Muslims to prove their loyalty has become a staple of American political life is made that much more obvious by the recent attacks on those who raise entirely legitimate concerns about Zionist lobbying and U.S. support for Israel. Were Congress genuinely concerned about racist canards of “dual loyalty,” they would be spending their time fixing U.S. immigration laws to undo the Muslim ban rather than making false allegations of the canard against two people who are actually its victims.
In a political earthquake today, Democrats shelved a bill to denounce anti-Semitism, an apparent move to condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar. Divides among House Democrats exploded into full view during a meeting with party leadership that was described as a “full-scale brawl.” In an amazing turn of events the bill was delayed indefinitely by early evening.
Three activists are on trial in Berlin for disrupting a talk by Israeli lawmaker Aliza Lavie at Humboldt University. In his opening statement the court, Ronnie Barkan made it clear the activists would use the case to take Israel to court. “If there is any wrongdoing on my part then it is of not doing enough to end the grave crimes that the State of Israel is responsible for,” Barkan said. “The accused today, your honor, are the criminal State of Israel and its accomplices who will be mentioned in this courtroom for aiding and abetting in Israeli crimes against humanity.”
In the U.S. political mainstream, expressing support for the “two-state solution” in historic Palestine has been routine for many years. But anyone who looks at the map of the settlements Israel has implanted into the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) has to conclude that withdrawing enough of them to provide territory for a viable Palestinian state is now politically impossible.
Jim Zogby says what is happening to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be of concern to all Americans, but regardless the debate she has ignited will continue. “The House of Representatives may pass their resolution, but that won’t close the door on the discussion Omar’s courage has helped to open.,” he writes. “If anything, their behavior and incitement against her has pried it open even further.”
Danielle Alma Ravitski: As a political and human rights activist, I came to realize that the debate on a one-state solution in Israel/Palestine reveals a more profound issue of boundaries – not geographical ones, but psychological ones. This is especially true for Israeli liberal leftists, who talk about “one-state” with two contradictory voices.
Tom Suarez writes that the real taboo Ilhan Omar broke was not accusing AIPAC of buying politicians, it was correctly distinguishing between Jews and the Israeli state.
Mondoweiss speaks with Palestinian lawyer and political analyst Diana Buttu about the demise of the Joint List, and the challenges facing Palestinian politicians and voters in an increasingly right-wing political atmosphere in Israel. “The Jewish Power Party and the Kahanists have a much more negative influence outside of the country than inside,” Buttu says. “Not that people here don’t view them negatively, but for Palestinians, there really is no substantive difference between Jewish Power Party and Gantz.”