The Shift: ADL CEO compares Palestine solidarity events to 1939 Nazi rally

Greenblatt on MSNBC

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has already been on MSNBC multiple times this week to talk about Hamas and Israel.

During an October 9th appearance on the Morning Joe program he claimed that the network had been promoting the views of Hamas. “While I am sad and trying to cope, I’ll be honest. I am angry. I am angry with the world that allowed the dehumanization of Israelis and sanitized the terrorism of Hamas,” said Greenblatt. “I must say, I love this show, and I love this network, but I’ve got to ask, who’s writing the scripts? Hamas?”

“So I just think, like, guys get this story, right, and all these pictures of like, you know, missiles or the rubble in Gaza, please talk to the Israeli mothers and fathers who lost their children,” he continued. “And please stop calling this a retaliation. This is a defensive measure against an organization that is committed to one thing: killing Jews, not a peaceful resolution of a conflict, but murdering Jews. And if you’re wondering if I’m exaggerating, please, I beg of you, everyone watching and everyone at this network, just watch the footage.”

Greenblatt didn’t mention what specific segment offended him, but he could have been referencing an interview with former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Diana Buttu. “While many of us were surprised, we actually shouldn’t really be surprised by what’s happening,” she told host Ali Velshi. “This is the natural consequence, unfortunately, of 56 years of military occupation and the denial of freedom.”

The next day Greenblatt was on the same show denouncing the recent New York City march in support of Palestine. He compared the event to the 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden.

“These protests here in America, these pro-Hamas, pro-terror demonstrations. These are like pro-Nazi things in this country in the thirties,” said Greenblatt. “They will not be remembered well when history looks back because they are complicit. These accomplices, they are guilty for excusing and rationalizing the absolutely barbaric irrationality of terror.”

Biden speech

On Tuesday President Joe Biden gave a ten-minute address condemning the Hamas offensive and pledging support for Israel.

“We’re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens,” said Biden. “My administration has consulted closely with Congress throughout this crisis.  And when Congress returns, we’re going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners. This is not about party or politics.  This is about the security of our world, the security of the United States of America.”

“Biden’s address was perhaps the most powerful statement of support for Israel by a sitting U.S. president since Harry Truman recognized the Jewish state in 1948,” tweeted Israeli Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) and other human rights organizations criticized the speech for not mentioning the current siege of Gaza and its Palestinian victims. “President Biden’s speech today didn’t offer a single word of sympathy for the more than 800 Palestinians, including more than 140 children, killed by Israel since Saturday. Ignoring the suffering of Palestinians is dehumanization,” wrote the group. “Make no mistake: Biden has given Israel a green light to continue committing war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has deliberately attacked Palestinian homes, hospitals, ambulances, schools, & mosques. More US weapons to Israel will make the US even more complicit.”

State Department briefing

Some notable moments at yesterday’s State Department briefing where spokesperson Matthew Miller encountered many questions about Israel and Palestine. Here’s an exchange between Miller and Al Quds’ Said Arikat

QUESTION: Okay. I understand. I mean, Hamas – you have Hamas listed as a terrorist organization. They don’t get $4 billion a year from you. They don’t have military aid and support and so on. So that is established. You’re saying that Israel is a democracy, it’s a country that abides by international law. I am asking you: the cutoff of water, electricity, food, and medicine is considered a war crime. Do you call on Israel to cease its – its effort now in cutting so medicine, water, humanitarian aid —

MR MILLER: So let me start by saying that we are in the early days of Israel’s response. Israel has a right to conduct an aggressive response to respond to the terrorism that’s been committed against its citizens. We expect them to follow international law, we believe that they will, and we will remain in close contact with them about it.

QUESTION: You believe they should not intentionally target civilians. That’s one. Second, do you have any idea on the number of Palestinians killed by Israel in the last four days?

MR MILLER: I have seen public reports.

QUESTION: What are these reports?

MR MILLER: I am not going to speak to the —

QUESTION: Are they in the hundreds, in the thousands?

MR MILLER: So I – Said, I’m going to speak to what the U.S. Government can verify, which I’ve done with the number of U.S. citizens. I will let Israel speak to the number of Israeli citizens they have killed as well as the number of Palestinians they have killed.

Pro-Israel congressional resolution calls for tighter control of Gaza

Nearly 400 members of congress are pushing a bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas and expressing solidarity with Israel. It was introduced by two members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY).

“Now is the time to show the world the United States firmly stands with our friend and ally Israel in our condemnation of this heinous attack by Iran-backed terrorists. I expect this bipartisan resolution to be one of the first, if not the first items considered on the floor once we elect a new Speaker. And I expect it to receive overwhelming bipartisan support,” said McCaul in a statement.

“President Biden has committed the United States fully to Israel’s self defense. Israel is responding to the Hamas terror organization’s unprecedented attack. The bipartisan resolution will demonstrate this is one issue in which the US House of Representatives is united, and I expect it to pass the House with broad bipartisan support,” reads the one from Meeks.

In addition to support for Israel the resolution also calls for Israel for Israel to implement more control on Gaza. “Whereas Hamas used rudimentary, civilian equipment, such as bulldozers, paragliders, and rubber boats in its assault
on Israel, demonstrating the importance of fully enforcing tight controls on what materials go into the Gaza Strip, including through thorough vetting of assistance.”