Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s recent refusal to criticize Israel in comments to an Israel lobbyist remind us that the lobby is still entrenched in the Democratic Party. We thought that narrative was over, but it’s not. Israel critics turn into Israel praisers when they have political ambitions.

Canada’s New Democratic Party passes resolution to boycott settlement goods from Israel and embargo arms, but a vote on the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism did not happen as Israel lobby pressures party not to pass measure.

The New York Times says presumed Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facility reflects “yearslong shadow war between Iran and Israel,” but almost all hostility has come from Israel in a transparent effort to scuttle the Iran deal. And the New York Times has only obliquely addressed Israel’s motivation in the attack.

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s denunciation of disparities in medical access in the U.S. will sound hollow if he accepts the Dan David Prize from Israel, a country that is denying people under its illegal military occupation access to life-saving vaccines while bribing allies with the extra doses.

The New York Times runs “hasbara” or Israeli propaganda about coexistence in Haifa, including humans with wild boars. But Alice Rothchild writes that boars are actually a tool of occupation: Jewish settlements outside Nablus frequently blocked access to the local villages, burned their farms and olive trees, and raised wild pigs that they released into Palestinian farms.

Israeli centrist Yair Lapid will forswear an alliance with Palestinian political parties if he gets the nod to form the next government. Instead he will court a rightwing religious Jewish party.

For the second week in a row, confirmed cases of COVID-19 doubled in Gaza as the third wave continues to strap Palestinian medical systems. In the West Bank, for a fifth week in a row hospitals are overwhelmed, with ICUs at 100% capacity.

BDS activists in Gaza tried to promote a video on Facebook that compares Israel and apartheid South Africa. The platform rejected the promotion and shadow banned the account. Unfortunately this is not an isolated case.

Anthony Fauci has been awarded a $1 million Israeli prize to be given in May. Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council doubts he would have been an apologist for South African apartheid. “We urge you to decline the prize and to respect the call for a cultural boycott of Israeli institutions. This call was issued by Palestinians who are most affected by Israeli policy.”

Benjamin Netanyahu is more desperate than ever. Will he provoke conflict to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal?