We’re less than two months away from the special election to pick a representative for New York’s third congressional district, which was left vacant by the expulsion of Republican George Santos.
On the GOP side we have Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip. Her family fled to Israel from Ethiopia when she was young and she lived there for 15 years.
Pilip described herself as a former IDF paratrooper on Instagram, but it turns out that’s not technically true. In a recent interview with Jewish Insider (JI) she says she was actually an IDF gunsmith who was “in charge of all the weapons.”
Pilip is making support for Israel one of the central components of her campaign.
“Israel is a big deal for me, and I want to make sure, here in the United States, that we understand what Israel is about and how important it is to continue to support Israel,” she told JI. “Israel is our true ally, a democratic country that shares our values. Nobody can tell this story more than me. Even if you are here and supporting Israel, nobody can be me. You cannot argue with that.”
Pilip leaned into the issue even more in an interview with the Israeli press, where she’s been getting attention.
“I know there will be a handful of Muslims who won’t like seeing a former Israeli soldier running for Congress, it will deter them,” she claimed. “The progressive Democrats will also not like it, and they have great influence and know how to make noise but I know the vast majority will be with me, because the US is a friend of Israel, and the American people are with us.”
On the Democratic side, we have someone who is also making Israel support a big part of their campaign. Former Rep. Tom Suozzi, who quit Congress to run for Governor of New York and lost to Kathy Hochul.
In his own interview with JI, he makes the case that a pro-Israel Democratic congress member is more important than a pro-Israel Republican. Why? Because the Democrat can stand up to members of their own party and help extinguish the growing sympathy for the Palestinian plight.
“Anybody who cares about Israel and wants the relationship between America and Israel to remain strong and bipartisan, I would argue that another Republican voice is not what’s needed right now,” he explained. “What’s needed is a strong Democratic voice. It’s just very needed at this time.”
“Tom Suozzi argues he’ll be a Democratic bulwark against the hard left in Congress,” declares the website’s headline.
Suozzi also has a track record to point to. “I unequivocally stand with our ally Israel and the Jewish community,” he told Politico. “In Congress, I signed onto every major letter and piece of legislation that came my way to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship, bolster Israel’s regional security, and combat antisemitism.”
That article also quotes an AIPAC spokesperson, who points out that the lobbying group will prevail either way: “Both candidates have reflected the overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel’s fight to remove Hamas from Gaza.”
Here’s a race where groups like AIPAC don’t even have to spend money. They can save it for their $100 million plan to take down The Squad.
You might recall one of George Santos’s final viral moments as a congressional representative was screaming at a Palestine protester for being “a f——- terrorist sympathizer.” The disgraced former official might be out but expect continuity on this issue.
Biden Administration
Lots of Biden administration stuff this week. Let’s start with Monday’s State Department briefing, where we heard from spokesman Matthew Miller.
The AP’s Matt Lee began the briefing by pressing Miller on deaths in Gaza:
Lee: Okay. Thank you. Well, wouldn’t – you say that opening Kerem Shalom improves the lives of the Palestinians in Gaza, but wouldn’t not killing them improve the lives of Palestinians in Gaza?
Miller: I think Hamas surrendering and – could – and stopping using them —
Lee: Well, you know that that’s not going to happen.
Miller: Well, stopping – there’s no reason why it can’t happen. I mean, as much as people call on Israel to take steps, Hamas has – bears responsibility here.
Lee: Okay.
Miller: And Hamas stopping using them as human shields when Israel is trying to target Hamas for the attacks it conducted on October 7th would also do a great deal to protect innocent Palestinian civilians.
Lee: Right, but you would accept – you would accept, wouldn’t you, that it doesn’t matter how much humanitarian aid is going in if everyone’s dead?
Miller: It is a very difficult situation we are in right now. We are trying to accomplish two things. Number one, to minimize civilian harm, to work with the Israel Government and the Israeli military on steps that they can take to protect civilians, including establishing deconfliction sites, and also to get humanitarian assistance in. That is also important to ensure that the Palestinian civilians who are there have food, water, medicine, other critical needs.
Later Al Quds’ Said Arikat asked about Israel targeting journalists. Here’s that exchange:
Miller: We have not seen any evidence that Israel is intentionally targeting journalists. Obviously, we have seen a number, dozens of journalists, die as a result of this conflict. Saw one, Samer Abudaqa, from Al Jazeera —
Arikat: Right. Right.
Miller: – who was just killed in recent days.
Arikat: Right.
Miller: And as we have said before, we mourn every journalist who has given their life in covering this conflict, in bringing information to the American public and to people all around the world. We think the work that the free press does is critical to democracy, especially in conflict zones where, unfortunately, far too many do pay this sacrifice, and our condolences go out to all of their families.
And in other – and there are cases where, when we have seen actions that we thought warranted, we have raised questions with the Israeli Government and sought more information. You saw us do that with respect to the Reuters journalist who was killed in Lebanon. And we will continue to do so, and we will continue to encourage Israel to comply with their own rules of engagement and comply with international humanitarian law. And whenever – if we ever see signs that they are not, we will of course be very clear about that with them.
Arikat: Last one, yeah. Samer – you mentioned Samer Abudaqa. I mean, he was bleeding there for like six hours, and they sent in a group to retrieve him. They were all shot. So they knew exactly where he was and what – he was bleeding right there and trying – people are trying to reach and retrieve him. And they – the Israeli army disallowed them from doing that. So wouldn’t that be intentional?
Miller: So again, as always, it’s very difficult for me to comment from specific facts here. We’re in an extremely challenging information space when you see different accounts about activities on the ground. But as I said, we continue to be clear with Israel that they must comply with all international humanitarian law.
Next, we have Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s End of Year press conference. Blinken told reporters that it’s been an “extraordinarily dangerous year” to be a journalist, but didn’t expand on this observation for obvious reasons. Israel has killed more than 68 journalists and media workers since October 7.
On the subject of a ceasefire, Blinken wondered why there has been so much pressure on Israel and not enough on Hamas. “How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of the victim?” he asked.
When asked if there’s a red line as far as Palestinian deaths go, Blinken said Israel’s assault “needs to move to a lower intensity phase.” He said seeing the suffering of “men, women, and especially children has been gut-wrenching.”
“It effects me very deeply,” said Blinken, but added that the victims were caught in a crossfire of “Hamas’s making.”
In other words, things are terrible. It would be good if they were better, but no pressure will be applied to Israel in that regard.
Odds & Ends
???????? ‘The bipartisan attack on Palestine solidarity is higher than ever’
???????? ‘The hope of ending ‘Israel’s fever dream’: An interview with Craig Mokhiber’
???????? Palestine Legal’s Danya Zituni in the Daily Beast: ‘The Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Voices Is Proof That Israel Is Losing the War’
⛪ 80 Mennonites sang hymns and held a worship service demonstration in support of a ceasefire in the lobby of Kansas Senator Jerry Moran’s office.
???????? Dozens were arrested at a Capitol protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
???????? Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has become the latest House member to call for a ceasefire. She’s currently running for Senate.
???????? ‘Poll: Nearly three quarters of young voters oppose Biden’s Gaza policy’
???? New Data for Progress poll: Two-thirds of Detroit-area voters say they support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and de-escalation of violence in Gaza, including majorities of Democrats (80%) and Independents (66%).
???? Jewish Insider: ‘Lawmakers criticize Associated Press for declining to classify Hamas as a terrorist group’
???????? HuffPost: ‘Amid U.N. Security Council Intrigue, U.S. Privately Moves To Block Another Option For International Accountability For Gaza’
???????? ‘Witnessing Palestine: Noura Erakat on the collective trauma of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza’
???????? Truthout: ‘Allegations of Israeli War Crimes Grow as US Again Delays Security Council Vote’
???????? Counterpunch: ‘US Military May be Endorsing Harsh Israeli Plan for Gaza Occupation‘
???? The New Yorker: ‘How a Student Group Is Politicizing a Generation on Palestine’
✉️ This seems pretty notable: Six moderate House Democrats (Slotkin, Spanberger, Crow, Moulton, Houlahan, and Sherrill) wrote a letter to President Biden demanding “all of our nation’s leverage to shift the Israeli military’s strategy in defending itself against Hamas.”
“The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable and not in line with American interests,” it reads. “We know from personal and often painful experience that you can’t destroy a terror ideology with military force alone. And it can, in fact, make it worse.”
????️ ‘Long Beach council OKs proclamation calling for cease-fire in Gaza’
???? “I do find it confusing where the very left progressives in America don’t seem to want to support really the only progressive nation in the region that really embraces the same kind of values I would expect we would want as a society,” Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) told the New York Times.
???? City Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza advances in Chicago
???? New poll from Quinnipiac: 45% of voters said they supported sending more military aid to Israel, down from 54% last month.
Stay safe out there,
Michael
Could someone please remind these two Congressional candidates that their job is to represent the interests of the residents of their Congressional district, NOT the interests of a foreign country.
Ms. Pilip says Israel is a democratic country. Utter nonsense and she knows it. She should also know how terribly Ethiopian Jews are treated by the Zionist state. Poverty. Discrimination. Police violence against Ethiopian Jews. In the ‘90s, blood donated by Ethiopian Israelis was destroyed. And on and on. Doesn’t sound very democratic to me. Never mind the brutality toward indigenous Palestinians.
She also makes reference to Muslim voters. The issue of justice for Palestine transcends all religions and ethnicities. Perhaps she should also consider representing potential constituents who are Jewish and strongly oppose what Israel is doing in their name.
Together with her Democratic opponent, is this really the best that America can produce by way of politicians? Pathetic. Not good for achieving a more peaceful world, and certainly not good for regular Americans looking for representation to deal with homelessness, inflation, gun violence, poverty, health care and so on.