A landmark event in the politics of Palestine has just taken place: Congressional star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York withdrew from a scheduled memorial to Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister who was slain in 1995 by a rightwing extremist, after critics pointed out Rabin’s human rights record. Americans for Peace Now is sponsoring the Oct. event, with host Mandy Patinkin saying, “We would have peace today had he been with us all this time, I am absolutely certain of that.”
When progressive insurgent Jamaal Bowman beat incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel in New York’s 16th district…
Members of both parties spent months last year lambasting Rep. Ilhan Omar for claiming that the pro-Israel lobby influences US policy and discourse with its political spending. As the controversy’s latest installment plays out, federal campaign finance records show the pro-Israel lobby is doing just that. A Mondoweiss analysis of Federal Election Commission records and Facebook’s ad library found pro-Israel PACs have spend around $2 million in an effort to oust Omar.
Pro-Israel forces are seeking to smear Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar as antisemitic because she made an issue of the fact that her opponent in Aug. 11 primary has raised millions from out-of-state donors.
Eliot Engel’s defeat has shocked the Israel lobby and Congress. They understand that the tide is turning, and the Israel Palestine issue is like gay marriage 25 years ago, with progressives on one side and conservatives on the other. The Democratic base wants change. So says longtime DNC member Jim Zogby.
The Biden team is about to put out very pro-Israel language on a party platform draft. And while it is likely that Israel-critics will try to amend that language, party insider Mark Mellman says they will not succeed.
Eric Alterman shows real courage in saying that the Bowman-Engel race in NY was liberalism versus Zionism and liberalism won. And that’s a wakeup call to Jews who thought the two belief systems are compatible.
Because Jamaal Bowman had taken positions calling for justice for Palestinians, “dark money” pro-Israel super-PAC’s spent an additional $2,000,000 in independent expenditures in an effort to tear down his character and reelect Rep. Eliot Engel, chair of House Foreign Affairs. They lost.
Israel is “the only differentiator” in issues between challenger Jamaal Bowman and Dem. Party boss Eliot Engel in congressional race in New York. That’s why Israel advocates have rallied behind Engel’s troubled campaign. But amazingly NYT can’t mention the issue in covering hot race.
A new poll has Jamaal Bowman up by 10 points over incumbent, and Israel lobby favorite, Eliot Engel. “Though the Democratic old guard has frequently been criticized as out of touch with the party base, name recognition and the right donors have held most would-be challengers at bay. If this poll is accurate, that time is rapidly ending,” tweeted American Prospect executive editor David Dayen.