By the Israeli standard on which I was brought up, Sheldon Adelson was a good Jew, dedicating his life and fortune to supporting Israel, Avigail Abarbanel writes. But I am much worse than a bad Jew. I am in fact an outright enemy of Israel because I insist that we should uphold justice, equality and human rights indiscriminately, and that all humans deserve an equal opportunity not just to survive, but to develop, grow and fulfill their potential.
Israeli authorities are failing to provide essential information on the vaccine in Arabic, to establish vaccine centers in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, and to provide sufficient vaccines in Bedouin clinics in the Negev. These failures are “not a coincidence”, rights groups say.
By giving hundreds of millions to Bush and Trump, the late Sheldon Adelson helped destroy the peace process and crush peace with Iran. Sadly the media never sought to expose and discredit his antidemocratic power, bigotry and extremism, because his mere presence fed antisemitic stereotype, of the puppetmaster, as even Trump referred to him.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has labeled Israel as an ‘apartheid regime’ for the first time in the group’s 30 year history of documenting human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. “What happens in the Occupied Territories can no longer be treated as separate from the reality in the entire area under Israel’s control,” B’Tselem says. “The terms we have used in recent years to describe the situation – such as “prolonged occupation” or a “one-state reality” – are no longer adequate.”
Israel watchers are predicting a government openly committed to one “Jewish” state between river and sea, with no interest in allowing even a shadow of Palestinian sovereignty in the occupied territories. Indeed, the Israeli “center” and “left” are shattered, and the possibility exists that the Labor party that founded the state will disappear from the parliament in the next election.
Rights groups have accused Israel of discriminating against its Palestinian communities by failing to provide accurate information regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine in Arabic.
Sec’y of State Mike Pompeo tries to incite a conflict with Iran in last days of Trump administration. He claims a link between al-Qaeda and Iran so as to poison possibility of Biden returning to Iran deal, and grease his own run for White House in 2024.
Sheldon Adelson, who died last night, set out to destroy the Iran deal and the peace process and succeeded through his campaign contributions to Republican presidents. A fierce advocate for Israel, he wielded an incredible degree of power over U.S. policy.
The Israel lobby expects that Joe Biden will name a Zionist Jew as ambassador to Israel, continuing a tradition that Bill Clinton began 25 years ago. But as Dems call for greater diversity in ambassadorial appointments, this is one post that would benefit from a nod that does not seem loaded on one side of a conflict.
Just days before US President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office, the Israeli government approved the construction of 800 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank — a move critics have deemed as an effort to take advantage of the final days of the pro-settlement Trump administration.