The liberal advocacy group J Street is pressuring the Democratic Party to include anti-occupation language in its party platform before their convention this summer. 230 Jewish clergy and other community members have signed a J Street letter calling on political parties to update their platforms to “make clear what a comprehensive Israel/Palestine foreign policy looks like under a future administration, which includes a commitment to security, democracy, and human rights.”
A number of College Democrat chapters have already endorsed the organization’s call. “College students are absolutely committed to defeating Donald Trump in 2020 — and to making sure that the next president is prepared to take action to oppose annexation, confront the occupation and lead the way towards Israeli-Palestinian peace” J Street U national president Matan Arad-Neeman said in a statement, “This campaign is about demonstrating that strong support for Israel can and should go hand-in-hand with an unapologetic commitment to Palestinian rights. It is imperative that party leaders reflect that consensus.”
The subject of Israel has come up numerous times during the Democratic campaign, as young activists from groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace have confronted candidates about the occupation. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has even floated the idea of conditioning aid to Israel in an effort to curb the country’s abuses against Palestinians.
During the 2016 election, the Democratic Party adopted two-state language in its platform but rejected attempts to add any mention of the occupation. Arab American Institute co-founder James Zogby served on Bernie Sanders’s committee to draft the Democratic Party platform during that election and fought for the occupation and Israeli settlements to be mentioned. He told Mondoweiss that pro-Israel groups have fought hard against any such efforts.
“We never know where pro-Israel groups – AIPAC in particular – will draw their red lines,” said Zogby. “In ’88 when I was representing Jackson in the platform fight, they wouldn’t allow the ‘P’ word. I was told that if we raised it, ‘you will destroy the Democratic Party.’ We pushed back and had a debate from the podium calling for ‘mutual recognition, territorial compromise, and self-determination for both.’ Not controversial by today’s standards, but they went crazy over it. In 2016 we were set to raise a number of issues and never expected that AIPAC would draw the line at mention of settlements and occupation.”
Zogby said that he welcomed the J Street letter, but pointed out that it doesn’t go nearly far enough: “I’m glad that J Street is pushing back, but two thoughts come to mind: settlements and occupation & even annexation ought to be no brainers. The issue is what are we willing to do to stop Israeli land grabs, displacement of Palestinians, and violations of their rights. What should be debated are sanctions and withholding or diverting aid.”
After Joe Biden’s decisive primary wins on Tuesday, there’s a clear path for him to win the Democratic nomination. Bernie Sanders’ movement has turned out a significant number of Muslim voters and many in his progressive base support the cause of self-determination. Biden has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades and has even referred to himself as a Zionist. It seems likely that another battle over platform language will develop, but it remains to be seen what it will ultimately look like.
Off topic, but good news:
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/bard-students-cleared-false-anti-semitism-charges
“Bard students cleared of false anti-Semitism charges”
By Nora Barrows-FriedmanActivism and BDS Beat, Electronic Intifada,10 March 2020
“Bard College has cleared two students who protested racist speakers last October of false accusations of anti-Semitism.”
“Ben Mulick and Akiva Hirsch were part of a protest against the anti-Palestinian views of Harvard professor Ruth Wisse, The Forward opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon and Shany Mor, a former senior official of Israel’s national security council.
“Mulick read short statements during the panel discussion and Hirsch joined other students in a chant during the question and answer period, both actions fully within the college’s free speech policy.
“Ungar-Sargon, who is known for smearing US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as an anti-Semite based on Omar’s criticisms of Israel lobby groups, claimed she was protested by members of Students for Justice in Palestine just ‘for being a Jew.’
“Mulick and Hirsch were then placed under a months-long investigation by the administration. The college assembled a panel of professors to determine if they had violated the free speech policy.
“No formal complaint was ever filed against the students, nor any other members of Students for Justice in Palestine or others who protested.
“Bard decided to investigate Mulick and Hirsch on its own, based on the false accusations of anti-Semitism.
“Palestine Legal, which represented Mulick and Hirsch, warned the college against any retaliation, arguing that the students cannot be punished under the college’s free speech policy, which explicitly protects ‘dissent and protest.’
“The civil rights group says that college president Leon Botstein announced last week that he was accepting the panel’s finding of no policy violations.
“Outpouring of solidarity”
“’Due to the outpouring of solidarity and the work of Palestine Legal, I wasn’t surprised that either the panel or the president had found any policy violations,’ Mulick told The Electronic Intifada.
“’The investigation occurred because Bard SJP’s protest didn’t comply with the liberal Zionism of the institution,’ Mulick asserted.
“’We will continue to struggle until Bard divests and takes a clear stance on normalization,’ he added.
“Radhika Sainath of Palestine Legal welcomed the panel’s finding that Mulick and Hirsch did nothing wrong.
“However, she added, ‘students shouldn’t have to be put through the wringer just because some off-campus individual disagrees with the view that Palestinians deserve to live in freedom and with dignity.’
“’I sincerely hope that the Bard administration has learned that nothing can stop a fearless and determined SJP,’ Mulick told The Electronic Intifada.
“’I hope they keep in mind all the time and energy they wasted with this investigation if they attempt to try this again,’ he said.”
Akiva Hirsch acquitted of anti-Semitism….! Zionists who throw that term around like spaghetti against the wall, even at anti-Zionist Jews, fail to realize that they’re liquefying it and thereby diluting its stigma. Cui bono?
When was the last time that the Democratic platform enunciated a foreign policy that was not endorsed by the presidential nominee?
Biden was there all the time throughout the Obama administration from the Cairo speech to the Kerry initiative to the Iran treaty and something consistent with that direction should be in the platform. Debate of BDS is fine, but BDS has no place in the platform. It is not consonant with the candidate that will have won the votes and thus does not belong in the platform.
What will a President Biden do if he is truly interested in promoting a two state solution? Not quite sure. But I cannot see the platform as the means of convincing Biden what he should do.
Bcg, welcome. I don’t believe we’ve ever “talked”. Yes, i agree that the way forward politically is the one state solution. But we are not talking about reality. We are talking about Democratic American presidential politics. And in that realm the two state solution is the only game in town.
“Bcg, welcome. I don’t believe we’ve ever “talked”.”
Fer Gawd’s sake, “wj” the entire time you’ve been commenting, you have never, ever talked to anybody but yourself.