Jeffrey Goldberg used to brag of his Israeli military service but this week was forced to withdraw from a speaking event after students asked how a former IDF prison guard could speak on democracy. Zionism has lost its hallowed perch in U.S. society.
From college campuses to mosque gatherings, Muslim leaders in North America have displayed a disheartening lack of moral courage to speak out in support of Palestine.
The letter accusing Israel of apartheid initiated by Israeli Jewish scholars has given permission to commentators at mainstream publications to echo the accusation. Even J Street acknowledges it’s two sets of law based on “racial and ethnic” distinction.
Israel’s generations-long assault on Palestine continues as it always has – that is to say it continues unabated.
Israel is facing widespread backlash for its dangerous decision to label six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations. “Supporters of Israel often say to critics, ‘Stop singling out Israel. Stop picking on Israel. Treat Israel like any other country,'” Mehdi Hasan said on his MSNBC news program. “Well, okay then. Let’s condemn them for doing this then because when our other allies, like Turkey or Saudi Arabia or Egypt, crack down on human rights groups, we condemn them for it. We criticize them. So why give Israel a pass?”
Last month Rep. Jamaal Bowman voted for an additional $1 billion in Iron Dome funding. The congressman explained his decision in a recent MSNBC appearance.
The New York Times parrots claims by Benjamin Netanyahu and Mike Pompeo that Israel owns the Golan Heights because it was taken in a “defensive war” in 1967, ignoring the historical record. Israel launched the war, the Arab states did not want war. “We chose to attack them,” former premier Menachem Begin said.