On Friday, the Israeli military killed Palestinian teenager Ali Abu Alia, and have attempted to justify it by saying it did not use “live fire” against protesters. Not only did it use lethal force, but it was aided and abetted by the U.S.
41 Democratic congress members have signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, condemning Israeli’s demolition of a West Bank village and demanding to know whether U.S. equipment was used.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US ambassador David Friedman announced amendments to US accords, sought by Trump’s biggest backer, Sheldon Adelson, that will allow US taxpayer money to be spent in Israeli settlements. Adelson seems to want to get as much out of Trump in what time remains.
The United States has the dubious distinction of being the world’s leading arms dealer. It dominates the global trade in a historic fashion and nowhere is that domination more complete than in the Middle East.
The data is clear. Like Medicare for All, or the Green New Deal, conditioning aid to Israel is largely popular among Democratic voters and emerging as the mainstream position among the growing progressive movement in Congress.
What would Yemen policy look like if Biden is elected?
Every poll on conditioning aid to Israel shows that the Democratic establishment is completely out of step with the people who actually vote for them.
On Monday, the Democratic National Committee’s platform committee voted down an amendment that would have added the word “occupation” to its platform and conditioned aid to Israel if the country moved forward with its proposed annexation of the West Bank.
12 Senate Democrats have introduced legislation that would prohibit Israel from using U.S. military aid to annex portions of the West Bank.
The beltway consensus on military aid to Israel is finally beginning to face a legit political challenge. There’s obviously still a long way to go, but it’s telling that so many Democrats now feel they can safely challenge aid without facing disastrous political consequences.