Israeli settlers are burning Palestinian property across the illegally occupied West Bank in the worst settler attacks that the region has seen in years. So, what’s happening back in Washington? The Biden administration won’t even publicly acknowledge there’s an occupation, so it’s nothing but mild language when it comes to actual destruction. It goes without saying that the $3.8 billion will continue to flow. We’ve also seen lawmakers from both sides of the aisle push a spate of pro-Israel letters and legislation recently.
First we saw a bipartisan letter from 18 House members (more Democrats than Republicans actually) to the United Nations. This one calls on the UN to can special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has become an obsession with pro-Israel congressional members. A previous letter targeting Albanese (signed by 11 House members, also mostly Democrats) was penned earlier this year.
Albanese’s big crime is fighting to see an apartheid state held accountable by the international community, which of course points to the “deep-seated antisemitic and anti-Israel bias at the United Nations.” The latest letter identifies some new infractions from the distinguished diplomat. 1.) She hasn’t tweeted about Israeli victims of terrorism enough and 2.) She has praised Barcelona’s mayor for severing its relationship with Tel Aviv.
Next we have a bill introduced by Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) that would amend the State Department’s Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish the a Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords. You know the Abraham Accords, those “normalization” agreements from the Trump administration that established vast weapons deals between authoritarian governments while purposely cutting out the Palestinians? The vast majority of Democrats champion the policy (including the Biden administration) so there’s absolutely no political impetus to push back against it or upset the applecart.
“The diplomatic impact of the Abraham Accords has been incredible to watch, as relations between Israel and Arab nations in the Middle East have improved dramatically from where they once were,” said Lawler in a statement. “There is still room for improvement, though, and I truly believe that establishing a new special envoy position in the Department of State that is focused on advancing the Abraham Accords will lead to a safer and more prosperous future for Israel and all nations in the Middle East. I am hopeful that the Biden administration, House Republicans, and Senate Democrats will all work together to make this critical and necessary envoy a reality.”
His hope is certainly justified.
Finally we have a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 47 members of the House Armed Services Committee and led by Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Jason Crow (D-CO). This one calls for increased defense cooperation with Israel and sounds the usual alarms about the supposed threat of Iran. “Given the increasing sophistication of threats to Israel, we are concerned that we may be underestimating the quantity of weapons Israel will require to defend itself,” declares the letter. “More generally, we believe it is imperative that the U.S. and Israel – two of the world’s advanced technology juggernauts – work together to ensure we prevail over our adversaries in critically important high-tech security sectors.”
Yes, maybe almost $4 billion isn’t enough.
So that’s the House this week as Huwara burns: protecting Israel from UN inquiry, enhancing the country’s relationships with dictatorships, and maybe getting it even more money down the line.
The phony SCOTUS frame
Last week it was announced that the Supreme Court would not take up a challenge to Arkansas’s anti-BDS law. It was obviously a setback for BDS advocates or anyone who believes in the First Amendment.
“It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court opted to stay on the sidelines for now, but let’s be very clear – the fight to protect the right to boycott is far from over,” the filmmaker Julia Bacha told me. “The last (and only) time the Supreme Court reviewed the right to boycott in 1982, it ruled unanimously that the First Amendment protects the right of Americans to engage in boycotts to affect social and political change. Americans across the country will continue to exercise that right, and take their states to court when that right is violated.”
“Federal courts in Kansas, Arizona, Georgia, and Texas have all ruled anti-boycott bills are unconstitutional,” she continued. “Those rulings remain in effect. We are likely to see the legal fight continue to play out in lower courts and eventually the Supreme Court may realize it needs to intervene to reaffirm its own precedent and preserve what has been one of the most critical tools for social justice movements in America, from the civil rights movement to the struggle against Apartheid South Africa.”
(Bacha’s film Boycott, which covers the Arkansas fight, is now available to stream online.)
Since the SCOTUS news broke pro-Israel groups and media outlets have framed this as proof that anti-BDS laws are somehow constitutional. This is obviously not true. SCOTUS didn’t take up the challenge so they never ruled on the merits of the case. The vast majority of federal judges who have considered anti-BDS laws have found them unconstitutional. The Arkansas situation is an outlier. The law had already been found to be in violation of The Constitution by a lower court before being overturned by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision was written by Judge Jonathan Kobes, a Trump appointee that the American Bar Association has rated as unqualified.
Nonetheless here’s the AJC: “This is a welcome decision from the Supreme Court. In rebuffing a challenge to an Arkansas anti-BDS law, the Supreme Court is sending a clear message against those who wish to isolate Israel economically and morally.”
The court didn’t make a decision on the case.
“Supreme Court Upholds Arkansas Anti-BDS Law,” declares the Jewish Journal.
It didn’t uphold anything.
Louis D. Brandeis Center chairman and former Trump official Kenneth Marcus says that the development puts “to rest the absurd notion that anti-BDS laws are incompatible with robust protections for the freedom of speech. Anti-Israel boycotts will now be seen for what they are: discriminatory conduct rather than political speech.”
It doesn’t and they won’t.
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff said, “We commend the US Supreme Court for dismissing the challenge to an anti-BDS Arkansas law that prohibits economic discrimination against Israel. The Court’s dismissal affirms lower court rulings that these laws do not violate 1st Amendment free speech protections.”
The court didn’t dismiss the case or affirm any previous ruling.
Expect more of this going forward.
Odds & Ends
???????? Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement on the violence in the West Bank:
“I am horrified by the rampage of Israeli settlers in the Palestinian villages of the West Bank this weekend that led to the torching of dozens of cars and houses, took an innocent life and injured over 100. This comes against the backdrop of massive settlement expansion and de facto annexation of the West Bank by the most rightwing Israeli government in history—moves that would erase any hope for a two-state solution.
Violence only begets violence. These violent outbursts have taken innocent Palestinian and Israeli lives and traumatized many. I am heartened by the pro-peace, pro-justice demonstrations of both Jewish and Arab-Palestinians across Israel right now.
The U.S. must seek full accountability for any violations of international law, and ensure that our own U.S. tax dollars are not funding human rights violations. Truly putting human rights at the center of foreign policy and supporting a rules-based international order means demanding accountability for any violations, whether they are our allies or adversaries.”
This basic, commonsense stuff is predictably being attacked by pro-Israel groups. “We’ve condemned both settler violence and Palestinian terrorism,” Democratic Majority for Israel tweeted at her. “Why does your statement say nothing about the American citizen killed in a terrorist attack yesterday nor the Israeli brothers murdered in a terrorist attack over the weekend?”
Of course, her statement does mention violence on both sides, and their whole tweet is deeply cynical, but note how settlers commit “violence” while Palestinians commit “terrorism.” It’s also hard to believe that an organization with a board member who fantasized about burning Gaza would care about what’s happening in Huwara, but maybe.
???? James North looks at the New York Times coverage of settler violence in the West Bank.
???????? Nizar Milbes on nonviolence and the Palestinian struggle.
???????? Biden’s policy on Israeli extremism is– Kiss Netanyahu’s ass
✈️ Secretary of Defense Austin is scheduled to visit Israel next week.
???? Michael F. Brown on Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) embrace of Netanyahu in the Electronic Intifada:
As for Schumer, his views on Israel have not changed. His religious language and support for Israel is not far removed from the remarks he made at an AIPAC conference in 2018 when he intoned in bigoted and exclusivist terms against Palestinians: “We say it’s our land. The Torah says it. But they [Palestinians] don’t believe in the Torah. So, that’s the reason there is not peace. They invent other reasons, but they do not believe in a Jewish state.”
When the Democrats are led by anti-Palestinian racists, there should not be any surprise when the Democratic leadership stands by and allows apartheid to flourish with American taxpayer support. They have enabled and funded Israel’s actions every step of the way.
???? Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is reintroducing a Taylor Act follow-up. Marc Rod in the Jewish Insider:
The Cotton bill was first introduced in 2021, garnering 17 Republican co-sponsors in the Senate. A companion bill in the House by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) picked up 20 Republican and two Democratic sponsors. It’s unclear that the bill would see a different fate in the Democratic-controlled Senate this year. Lamborn did not respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the lead Senate sponsor of the original Taylor Force Act, told JI that he believes the original act is largely working as intended, and that he is not currently focused on further legislation relating to the martyr payments.
???????? Matthew Petti in Responsible Statecraft on the media and Tehran’s non-existent nukes:
Media coverage regularly refers to Iran’s “pursuit of nuclear weapons,” despite the fact that neither the United States nor Iran are claiming that there is an active Iranian nuclear weapons program. While it is rare for journalists to outright claim that Iran already has a nuclear weapon, there is a lot of vague or inaccurate coverage about Iranian nuclear activities that could leave readers with the impression that Iran is pursuing or even has nuclear weapons...
Over the past 12 years, English-language media has mentioned the word “Iran” or “Iranian” alongside the word “nuclear” or “atomic” an average of 1.46 times per million words of newsprint. North Korea was mentioned in the same context 0.247 times per million words.
Israel was only mentioned alongside “nuclear” 197 times in total, a minuscule 0.0117 mentions per million words.
Even a more narrow search for phrases related to nuclear weapons shows that Iran — despite the country not possessing nuclear bombs — was mentioned more than North Korea, except during a few crisis periods. Again, Israel’s nuclear weapons were barely mentioned.
Stay safe out there,
Michael
