Multiple installments of this newsletter have covered congressional delegations to Israel, but the “special relationship” goes far beyond Washington and permeates politics at the most local of levels.
Last week, lawmakers from across the U.S. flew to Jerusalem to attend “50 States One Israel,” which was billed as the largest delegation of politicians to ever visit the country.
“I thank you for coming here to stand with Israel. Thank you, Democrats and Republicans alike,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the attendees. “We value and cherish your support. This is an active effort to counter attempts to besiege Israel – not isolated, not symbolic, but a real effort to push back.”
“It may sound a little bit this afternoon as if I’m almost speaking on behalf of Israel rather than the U.S.,” Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the group.
“If you came to my house tonight for dinner and you came in and you said, ‘Oh, Mike, we like you,” he continued. “We really think the world of you. We just enjoy being with you. So excited to be here with you and have dinner with you. ‘But your wife, we can’t stand her. We don’t like her a bit. I hope she’s not going to be at the table.’ I would say, ‘Well, she will be. You won’t be. Get out.’ Because if you were to insult my partner, you have insulted me.”
Normal stuff.
There wasn’t much coverage of the event in the mainstream media, but you can find a lot of interesting coverage in local outlets, and see how the battle over Israel is taking shape in multiple states.
Let’s start with the Idaho Capital Sun, where Clark Corbin covered the state’s participants. Idaho sent five lawmakers to Israel, four of whom were Republicans. The only Democrat to attend was House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise).
A group of state Democrats is circulating a letter condemning Rubel for attending and calling for her to step down from her leadership position. The Idaho Young Democrats published a statement criticizing the move as well.
Shiva Rajbhandari, an Idaho human rights advocate, wrote an Op-Ed for the Idaho Statesman, arguing that Rubel and her Republican colleagues “lack the moral courage for public service of any kind.”
Rubel published her own Op-Ed, in which she wonders why we can’t all just get along.
“If you want someone that will indignantly shun the other side, I’m not your person,” writes Rubel. “I prefer useful results.”
It’s unclear what results Rubel’s referring to, but she goes on to dismiss the anti-genocide position as an example of “ideological purity,” giving people “false comfort.”
Next, the Alaska News Source. Wil Courtney reports on four Alaskan lawmakers making the trip.
Courtney says his paper “sent all members of the delegation questions..including questions over the war in Gaza, which were not answered.”
He notes that the World Health Organization estimates over 640,000 people will face “catastrophic levels of food insecurity” in the Gaza Strip.
Alaska’s News Source also reached out to the governor’s office, but did not receive a response.
On Instagram, the daughter of New Mexico State Senator Jay Block (R) posted a video criticizing her dad and other “loser politicians” for attending the conference.
“It seems like he sold his soul to the devil and is now just peddling lies and propaganda,” she declared. “I just genuinely hope this will be the end of my dad’s political career.”
“50 States, One Israel” occurred amid growing international solidarity against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israel’s further isolation on the world stage. Lately, Netanyahu has expressed anxiety about the country’s actions impacting its economy.
A recent piece by Mitchell Plitnick, explains why BDS is so crucial at this juncture. “An isolated Israel is a failed Israel, and Netanyahu knows it. So do his business cronies,” he wrote.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called on the conference attendees to combat the BDS movement within their communities.
“Instead of boycotting Israel, promote engagement with Israel,” he told the lawmakers. “Instead of divesting from Israel, promote investments in Israel. And instead of sanctioning the only Jewish state, speak out clearly against those who recycle age-old hatred in modern form.”
It seems clear that this event was organized out of a growing sense of desperation, not a position of strength.
Block the Bombs
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has voted to endorse the Block the Bombs Act.
The news was first reported by Prem Thakker at Zeteo.
“The Block the Bombs bill is the first step toward oversight and accountability for the murder of children with US-made, taxpayer-funded weapons,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), who leads the bill. “In the face of authoritarian leaders perpetrating a genocidal campaign, Block the Bombs is the minimum action Congress must take.”
The legislation currently has 50 House co-sponsors.
It focuses on bunker buster bombs, 2,000-pound bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), 120mm tank rounds, and 155mm artillery shells.
Many find it difficult to take the merits of this bill seriously.
It does nothing to deter “defensive weapons” like Iron Dome. In fact, it allows Israel to keep receiving all weapons by simply providing “written assurances satisfactory to the President.”
On top of all that, it obviously has no chance of passing.
However, the Progressive Caucus is one of the largest in Congress, and it has traditionally avoided the issue altogether. This is the first time it has endorsed legislation directly related to Palestine.
The fact that it’s backing an effort that’s opposed by groups like AIPAC is certainly notable, as it points to the decline of Israel’s brand among Democratic voters.
In a recent Common Dreams Op-Ed, Peace Action president Kevin Martin puts this bill, and recent related efforts, in a wider context:
The bill is as close as we have to a de facto arms embargo on Israel, as it would ban transfers of seven specific offensive weapons systems, from bunker busting bombs to tank ammunition to white phosphorus artillery munitions. While House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican majority will probably not allow the bill to advance, even to consideration by a House committee, building support to Ban the Bombs to Israel can help put pressure on President Trump (who recently blurted out that Israel had lost its “total control” of Congress) to exert leverage on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to end his inhumane slaughter in Gaza.
In addition to further votes on Joint Resolutions of Disapproval on specific weapons transfers to Israel, the Senate could also move privileged measures including a War Powers Resolution to prevent further support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, or an inquiry under section 502(B) of the Foreign Assistance Act for Israel’s clear violations of U.S. law. Or, the Senate could attach language such as that in the House Block the Bombs bill as an amendment to an Appropriations Bill.
None of those actions would be an easy lift, and would not be likely to pass (or override an expected presidential veto) but the reality now is the political tide has turned decisively against Israel.
Perhaps the simplest way to look at this is that advocates for peace and human rights have done their job, and the public has responded, as only 8% of Democrats approve of Israel’s actions in Gaza, with the overall number at only 32%, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Odds & Ends
🇵🇸 The recognition of Palestine: what it does, what it doesn’t do, and why now
🚫 As Israel faces increasing international isolation, BDS becomes more crucial than ever
🇺🇸 Immigration judge orders Mahmoud Khalil to be deported
🐘 Charlie Kirk’s death has revealed Israel is as polarizing on the right as it is on the left
📰 Counterpunch: What the Media Needs to Tell People About the Gaza Genocide
🇮🇱 Common Dreams: Western Governments Recognize Palestinian State, but Continue To Fund Israeli Government Making It Inviable
🐘 Responsible Statecraft: Mike Johnson can’t stop the GOP’s internal split on Israel
🗽 New York Times: Schumer, Wary of Blowback, Holds Out on Mamdani
😬 Electronic Intifada: Fetterman denies Gaza genocide, claims it’s a “just war”
🆘 Jewish Currents: The Consequences of New US Sanctions on Palestinian Human Rights Groups
🏛️ Middle East Eye: Israeli foreign minister lobbies US state lawmakers to fight BDS
🫏 Jewish Insider: House Democrats call for U.N. peacekeepers to protect Gaza aid convoys
“she wonders why we can’t all just get along”
Years ago now, a woman in a supermarket asked me about my JEWS AGAINST THE OCCUPATION button. I told her, very briefly. She said, “Why can’t they just get along?” I said that the Jews want all of the land with none of the people.
I am delighted — well, relieved — that some right-wing Americans are coming to their senses.
“… you can find a lot of interesting coverage in local outlets, and see how the battle over Israel is taking shape in multiple states.”
And multiple corporations:
Microsoft revokes cloud services from Israel’s Unit 8200, following +972 exposé….Microsoft has terminated the Israeli army’s access to technology it was using to store vast troves of intelligence on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza, the tech giant informed Israel’s Defense Ministry in a letter late last week, according to the Guardian…. Unit 8200, the Israeli army’s elite cyber warfare agency, was housing intercepted recordings of millions of mobile phone calls by Palestinians on Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, creating one of the world’s most intrusive collections of surveillance data over a single population group. According to the joint investigation, this data has been used over the past two years to plan lethal airstrikes in Gaza, as well as to arrest Palestinians in the West Bank….As far as is known, this is the first time a major U.S. tech company has revoked the Israeli army’s access to any of its products since the start of its war on Gaza. Microsoft nonetheless continues to work with other Israeli military units that are longstanding clients.
https://www.972mag.com/microsoft-cloud-israel-8200-expose/
Microsoft’s explanation:
Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President, shared the below communication with Microsoft employees this morning….I want to let you know that Microsoft has ceased and disabled a set of services to a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD). I know many of you care about this topic, and I share more about this decision below….First, we do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians….**
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/09/25/update-on-ongoing-microsoft-review/
**b.s., but we’re making progress!
It was not legal to establish either an ethnic or religious “Jewish State” in the USA when that was attempted in Texas during the 19th Century. For that matter, the 1st Amendment and 14th Amendment don’t permit Jewish and Christian Zionists to harness our federal government and tax dollars to do it anywhere else. Moving the proceeds of the US taxation to Palestine is still prohibited. So why not write an Op-Ed, file a lawsuit, and request an injunction – if we are really serious and want this massacre to be stopped?
The Annotated Constitution at Congress.gov explains:
Taxpayer Standing
“The Court carved out a narrow exception to its general rule in the 1968 case Flast v. Cohen. In Flast, the taxpayer-plaintiff challenged federal spending under a federal statute, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, on the grounds that it violated specific guarantees in the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by subsidizing teaching at religious schools. In a departure from its earlier standing cases, the Court held that the plaintiffs possessed a genuine stake in the outcome of the case sufficient for standing. The Court applied a two-factor test that considered whether there was (1) a logical link between the plaintiff’s taxpayer status and the type of legislative enactment attacked; and (2) a nexus between the status of the taxpayer-plaintiff and the precise nature of the constitutional infringement alleged.The Court determined that, in contrast to the plaintiffs in Frothingham, the Flast plaintiffs had not alleged that Congress had exceeded its powers under the Taxing and Spending Clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, but rather that Congress, by exercising its taxing and spending powers under that Clause in authorizing the challenged federal expenditures, had exceeded a specific constitutional limitation on its taxing and spending power (i.e., the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause). The Court noted Establishment Clause drafter James Madison’s specific interest in preventing the federal government from collecting taxpayer money and spending it in favor of religion. Consequently, the Court found that the plaintiffs had standing to sue by distinguishing Flast from Frothingham on the grounds that the Flast plaintiffs sought to uphold a specific limit set forth in the Establishment Clause on how federal taxpayer money is used.”
The State of Israel has always been operated by fanatics who wanted to re-establish a racist, cult: “In fire and blood Judea fell; in blood and fire Judea shall rise!” In fact, the majority of the Judean population were under Roman rule before, during, and after the revolts and were never exiled.
See “Israel Has Seen Extremists in High Office. But Nothing Like Netanyahu’s Shin Bet Pick – Haaretz:
Most of Zini’s speech focused on Mazuz’s commentary on the Bar Kochba revolt and the purpose for which thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students perished in that failed rebellion against the Romans (in 133-135 C.E.). “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Rabbi Akiva erred in supporting Bar Kochba,” Zini declared, explaining that those “tens of thousands of bodies became a symbol and exemplar of Israel’s holiness.”
From that barbaric massacre in antiquity, Zini drew this message: “We will return to Zion, and we will have an army, warriors and wars, and the kingdom will return to Israel. Such is the way of redemption, in days of yore and in our time.”
See Grunis Committee approves appointment of David Zini as Shin Bet chief
Appointment will be brought for final confirmation by the cabinet on Sunday. Upon cabinet approval, Zini will officially enter the position.
Free Trips to Israel Can Be Bribes
Legal & Ethical Rules
Here are some of the relevant laws and rules that govern when a free trip might be improper or illegal:
Bribery Statute (18 U.S.C. § 201) This federal law makes it illegal for a public official (including members of Congress) to “directly or indirectly, corruptly receive or solicit anything of value … in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act.” Key elements:
Illegal Gratuities (18 U.S.C. § 201(c)) If something “of value” is given because of an official act (past or future), even without a specific promise or agreement, it can be an illegal gratuity. This is less strict than bribery (doesn’t require proof of a promise or explicit exchange) but can still be unlawful.
Congressional Gift Rules / Ethics Rules Members of the House and Senate have ethics rules (House Ethics Manual, Senate Ethics rules) and gift rules that try to prevent conflicts of interest or corrupt appearance. These include:
Foreign Emoluments Clause The U.S. Constitution bars federal officials from accepting titles, gifts, or benefits from foreign states without the consent of Congress. This can apply when foreign governments offer travel, gifts, etc.