Netanyahu will go forward with annexation once he sorts out the battle over its dimensions within the rightwing Israeli camp. Then he will unleash Sheldon Adelson to bring it to the White House and any thought Jared Kushner will stop it — do you believe Alice in Wonderland? The insights of Daniel Levy of the Middle East Project.
The Israel lobby is splitting into two branches. Last week Hadar Suskind of Americans for Peace Now called on the AJC to dissolve over its failure to oppose annexation. Now David Harris of AJC lashed at the liberal Zionists. He railed against “leftwing” “ideologues” in organized Jewish community who play to donors by taking “muscular macho” stands against Israel.
Annexation was advanced in the U.S. “peace plan” by Ambassador David Friedman, says Palestinian member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi: “The most dangerous figure pushing for this annexation is the American ambassador… Friedman.. He is the most dangerous, and he is to the right of Netanyahu, he is much more Yemina and Settler Council than Likud even. He is playing a very, very dangerous role.”
Dedicated Zionists from Robert Satloff to Martin Indyk to Dennis Ross say annexation threatens the future of the Jewish state because it will alienate Europe and the Democratic Party; but AIPAC, the leading Israel lobby org, says not a word, foretelling a chaotic scramble for power inside the Israel lobby, with J Street and youth groups gaining ascendancy.
There has been remarkable news in the last few days: much of the Israel lobby in the United States is in open revolt against the Israeli government to try and stop annexation of the West Bank.
Many pro-Israel organizations have condemned the systemic racism in the George Floyd killing while remaining silent on Palestinian treatment. J Street did link the Floyd killing to that of Eyad al-Halaq in Jerusalem, but said the US suffers “deeply entrenched… structural racism,” while Palestinians suffer “deeply entrenched occupation.”
Pompeo’s lightning visit to Israel shows that Republicans have a lot to gain by making Israel a political football, possibly gaining Jewish votes in Florida.
The Netanyahu-Gantz coalition government will be sworn in this week and Netanyahu has made it clear that he intends to move forward with annexation plans this summer. Almost every Democrat opposes the move, but virtually none of them want to even suggest doing anything about it.
The news that Israel’s new government plans to begin annexing the West Bank in July has been greeted with outrage– and resignation. Even some peace processors seem to accept that the two-state moment is passed. Former White House aide Dennis Ross says, “1 state for 2 peoples is more likely.”
The Israeli Jewish right wants to keep 620,000 settlers in West Bank– and the left wants to keep 585,000 there, says legislator Yair Golan. So there is no real opposition to the settlement project, or the one-state reality, even though it threatens “the Zionist dream.”