23 dec 2018
Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri on Saturday said that the US administration, through the deal of the century, is seeking to normalize the Arab-Israeli ties and make Israel's existence in the region as normal.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Abu Zuhri said that the US-initiated plan aims to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza only.
"We reject this deal which seeks to undermine the Palestinian cause by taking the issues of Jerusalem and refugees off the table," he said.
"Our right extends to the whole Palestinian territories, not only the Gaza Strip," Abu Zuhri stressed. "Our major goal is not only Gaza, but the liberation of all Palestine."
Abu Zuhri added that the deal of the century is a plan for regional gains and has nothing to do with solving the Palestinian problem.
On Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements that a number of Arab states were seeking to normalize ties with Israel, Abu Zuhri said, "We should not be deceived by Netanyahu's claims."
According to the Hamas leader, Netanyahu is trying to show that Israel has the upper hand over the Arab region in an effort to evade the losses caused by the Palestinian resistance.
Asked about Hamas's opinion on the normalization wave witnessed in some Arab countries recently, Abu Zuhri stressed that welcoming Netanyahu in any Arab or Muslim state would give a pretext to the Israeli occupation to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people.
In another context, Abu Zuhri said that the head of Hamas's Political Bureau Ismail Haneyya will soon start a tour abroad that is scheduled to include a visit to Moscow.
Abu Zuhri said that Haneyya had received an official invitation to visit Moscow and attend meetings on bilateral relations and intra-Palestinian negotiations.
In response to a question on Russia's Foreign Ministry's announcement about a possible Hamas-Fatah meeting in Moscow, he said, "We have no information on this matter."
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Abu Zuhri said that the US-initiated plan aims to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza only.
"We reject this deal which seeks to undermine the Palestinian cause by taking the issues of Jerusalem and refugees off the table," he said.
"Our right extends to the whole Palestinian territories, not only the Gaza Strip," Abu Zuhri stressed. "Our major goal is not only Gaza, but the liberation of all Palestine."
Abu Zuhri added that the deal of the century is a plan for regional gains and has nothing to do with solving the Palestinian problem.
On Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements that a number of Arab states were seeking to normalize ties with Israel, Abu Zuhri said, "We should not be deceived by Netanyahu's claims."
According to the Hamas leader, Netanyahu is trying to show that Israel has the upper hand over the Arab region in an effort to evade the losses caused by the Palestinian resistance.
Asked about Hamas's opinion on the normalization wave witnessed in some Arab countries recently, Abu Zuhri stressed that welcoming Netanyahu in any Arab or Muslim state would give a pretext to the Israeli occupation to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people.
In another context, Abu Zuhri said that the head of Hamas's Political Bureau Ismail Haneyya will soon start a tour abroad that is scheduled to include a visit to Moscow.
Abu Zuhri said that Haneyya had received an official invitation to visit Moscow and attend meetings on bilateral relations and intra-Palestinian negotiations.
In response to a question on Russia's Foreign Ministry's announcement about a possible Hamas-Fatah meeting in Moscow, he said, "We have no information on this matter."
Al-Marsad Arab Human Rights Centre in the Golan Heights strongly denounced, on Saturday, a United States Senate resolution calling for recognition of “Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”
A press release by Al-Marsad said it “vehemently and unequivocally” rejects the recently submitted resolution, introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, which demands that the US recognize Israel’s claim over the occupied Syrian Golan because the Golan is “critical to Israel’s national security.”
“This resolution is abhorrent because it ignores international law, the context of the situation in the Golan and the realities of the region,” said Al-Marsad, an independent and the only human rights organization in the Golan.
“Israel’s invasion and occupation of the Golan has led to countless violations of international law. The United Nations has repeatedly condemned Israel’s incursion into the Golan and subsequent occupation.
The resolution emphasizes that Israel’s assault on the Golan was ‘defensive.’ This is irrelevant under international law, which outlaws all land acquisition through the use of force.
Additionally, Israel has violated international law and committed war crimes in its occupation by building 34 settlements and 167 settlement businesses to utilize the Golan’s resources without regard for its native population after forcibly displacing 130,000 people and razing 340 native Syrian communities,” it added, according to WAFA.
“The resolution completely disregards the context of the Golan, where occupation has caused rampant discrimination and human rights abuses. The remaining native population of the Golan is essentially stateless, faces countless discriminatory occupation-based laws, is ed in its educational opportunities, has virtually no room for economic growth (especially compared with their settler counterparts), possesses deteriorating infrastructure and is under constant threat from Israeli military actions in the region (including the persistent danger of 1.2 million landmines).
Israel’s occupation has forced native Syrians onto just 5 percent of the land they once owned and ruined virtually all native industries except for some basic agriculture. The Israeli occupying authorities have destroyed almost all meaningful civil society groups and even systematically sought to exterminate native Syrian culture and identity.”
Al-Marsad added: “The resolution uses flawed logic and dismisses the realities on the ground in the region. Seizing land by force, no matter how strategic it is, still violates core principles of international law. Installing, on seized land, discriminatory policies that endanger and abuse native populations is a blatant war crime. Tactical significance is not a justification for violating the law and disregarding the fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
“The Golan is occupied land that belongs to Syria. Israel has no claim of right over the region. Israel’s aggression then subsequent occupation and unilateral annexation constitute obvious violations of international law. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and the US Senate have categorically condemned identical violations elsewhere. This resolution is the US’s latest move to recognize Israel’s control over the Golan as legitimate. It builds on the US’s vote last month, for the first time, against a UN resolution condemning Israel’s occupation of the Golan.”
Al-Marsad called on the US Senate to reject this resolution, “which supports illegal actions, cements systematic oppression and falsely characterizes the realities on the ground in the Golan.”
A press release by Al-Marsad said it “vehemently and unequivocally” rejects the recently submitted resolution, introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, which demands that the US recognize Israel’s claim over the occupied Syrian Golan because the Golan is “critical to Israel’s national security.”
“This resolution is abhorrent because it ignores international law, the context of the situation in the Golan and the realities of the region,” said Al-Marsad, an independent and the only human rights organization in the Golan.
“Israel’s invasion and occupation of the Golan has led to countless violations of international law. The United Nations has repeatedly condemned Israel’s incursion into the Golan and subsequent occupation.
The resolution emphasizes that Israel’s assault on the Golan was ‘defensive.’ This is irrelevant under international law, which outlaws all land acquisition through the use of force.
Additionally, Israel has violated international law and committed war crimes in its occupation by building 34 settlements and 167 settlement businesses to utilize the Golan’s resources without regard for its native population after forcibly displacing 130,000 people and razing 340 native Syrian communities,” it added, according to WAFA.
“The resolution completely disregards the context of the Golan, where occupation has caused rampant discrimination and human rights abuses. The remaining native population of the Golan is essentially stateless, faces countless discriminatory occupation-based laws, is ed in its educational opportunities, has virtually no room for economic growth (especially compared with their settler counterparts), possesses deteriorating infrastructure and is under constant threat from Israeli military actions in the region (including the persistent danger of 1.2 million landmines).
Israel’s occupation has forced native Syrians onto just 5 percent of the land they once owned and ruined virtually all native industries except for some basic agriculture. The Israeli occupying authorities have destroyed almost all meaningful civil society groups and even systematically sought to exterminate native Syrian culture and identity.”
Al-Marsad added: “The resolution uses flawed logic and dismisses the realities on the ground in the region. Seizing land by force, no matter how strategic it is, still violates core principles of international law. Installing, on seized land, discriminatory policies that endanger and abuse native populations is a blatant war crime. Tactical significance is not a justification for violating the law and disregarding the fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
“The Golan is occupied land that belongs to Syria. Israel has no claim of right over the region. Israel’s aggression then subsequent occupation and unilateral annexation constitute obvious violations of international law. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and the US Senate have categorically condemned identical violations elsewhere. This resolution is the US’s latest move to recognize Israel’s control over the Golan as legitimate. It builds on the US’s vote last month, for the first time, against a UN resolution condemning Israel’s occupation of the Golan.”
Al-Marsad called on the US Senate to reject this resolution, “which supports illegal actions, cements systematic oppression and falsely characterizes the realities on the ground in the Golan.”
19 dec 2018
The US violations against those demanding justice for the Palestinians have been stepped up recently, the latest of which was the CNN firing of anchor Marc Lamont Hill following his pro-Palestinian speech at the United Nations.
"We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea," Hill said in the speech.
Pro-Israel groups found that a chance to strongly criticize Hill and accuse him of anti-Semitism and of "planning to destroy Israel" and "following Hamas's path".
"We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea," Hill said in the speech.
Pro-Israel groups found that a chance to strongly criticize Hill and accuse him of anti-Semitism and of "planning to destroy Israel" and "following Hamas's path".
12 dec 2018
The much-anticipated Middle East peace plan, also known as “Deal of the Century,” will be released in the next couple of months, according to Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and son-in-law of the United States President Donald Trump.
Kushner spoke to Fox News, on late Monday, mentioning that the deal includes serious concessions from both sides, however, would protect Israeli security, while improving the living conditions of Palestinian Authority (PA) residents.
Kushner said, “We’re hopeful in the next couple of months we’ll put out our plan which not every side is going to love, but there’s enough in it and enough reasons why people should take it and move forward.”
He emphasized that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “has gone on for way too long” and that the living conditions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza were “not acceptable,” adding “there’s a lot that we can be doing to improve their quality of life.”
“We’re focused now on the broader region, which is figuring out how to hopefully bring a deal together between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Kushner also stressed that Israeli security concerns were a top consideration during the drafting of the peace plan and that it will provide safety to the Israeli people, as well as “a real opportunity and hope” to the Palestinians to live better lives.
“You shouldn’t be hijacking your children’s future because of your grandparent’s conflict,” Kushner noted.
Kushner spoke to Fox News, on late Monday, mentioning that the deal includes serious concessions from both sides, however, would protect Israeli security, while improving the living conditions of Palestinian Authority (PA) residents.
Kushner said, “We’re hopeful in the next couple of months we’ll put out our plan which not every side is going to love, but there’s enough in it and enough reasons why people should take it and move forward.”
He emphasized that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “has gone on for way too long” and that the living conditions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza were “not acceptable,” adding “there’s a lot that we can be doing to improve their quality of life.”
“We’re focused now on the broader region, which is figuring out how to hopefully bring a deal together between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Kushner also stressed that Israeli security concerns were a top consideration during the drafting of the peace plan and that it will provide safety to the Israeli people, as well as “a real opportunity and hope” to the Palestinians to live better lives.
“You shouldn’t be hijacking your children’s future because of your grandparent’s conflict,” Kushner noted.
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would target for sanctions Hamas resistance movement and Hezbollah over allegations of using civilians as human shields, guaranteeing that it will become law, JTA reported.
The bill describes Hamas and Hezbollah groups as “repeated” practitioners of an action that violates international law, claiming that Hamas routinely launches missiles at Israel from densely populated areas.
The US Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan bill in October.
The bill was authored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and was co-sponsored by 50 other senators. It was first introduced this past summer.
“This critical and timely legislation mandates new sanctions against Hamas, Hezbollah and foreign state agencies that use civilians as human shields or provide support to those doing so,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said in a statement Tuesday after the House passed the bill, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Last February, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act which condemns Hamas for the alleged use of civilians, including children, as human shields, sanctioning those who use them.
The act, however, emphasizes the efforts made by the Israeli occupation military to avoid civilian casualties, a claim that analysts said amounts to an attempt to whitewash Israeli crimes and terrorism against Palestinian civilians and unarmed protesters, including on the Gaza border.
The bill describes Hamas and Hezbollah groups as “repeated” practitioners of an action that violates international law, claiming that Hamas routinely launches missiles at Israel from densely populated areas.
The US Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan bill in October.
The bill was authored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and was co-sponsored by 50 other senators. It was first introduced this past summer.
“This critical and timely legislation mandates new sanctions against Hamas, Hezbollah and foreign state agencies that use civilians as human shields or provide support to those doing so,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said in a statement Tuesday after the House passed the bill, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Last February, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act which condemns Hamas for the alleged use of civilians, including children, as human shields, sanctioning those who use them.
The act, however, emphasizes the efforts made by the Israeli occupation military to avoid civilian casualties, a claim that analysts said amounts to an attempt to whitewash Israeli crimes and terrorism against Palestinian civilians and unarmed protesters, including on the Gaza border.
by Ali Abunimah for Ma’an News Agency
Ali Abunimah, Al-Shabaka Policy Adviser, is the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli Palestinian Impasse (2006), and co-founder and director of the widely acclaimed publication The Electronic Intifada. His most recent book is The Battle for Justice in Palestine.
While Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation into Israeli influence in the United States, “The Lobby – USA,” was completed in October 2017, it never aired. Though the network’s director-general attributed the problem to outstanding legal issues, many, including journalists involved in the making of the documentary, suggested Qatari censorship of the film – likely resulting from US pressure and Qatar’s desire to curry favor with Washington. (Another Al Jazeera film on Israeli influence in the UK – “The Lobby” – aired in January 2017.)
Now, the US version is no longer under wraps: Last month, the Electronic Intifada, in tandem with France’s Orient XXI and Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar, which provided subtitles in French and Arabic, respectively, released the leaked film. (Click to access.)
The four-part documentary shows, through “Tony,” an undercover journalist, how Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs works with US organizations such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Israel on Campus Coalition to advance Israel’s agenda, including its fight against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS).
The film for the first time named an individual – Israeli-American millionaire Adam Milstein – as the founder and funder of Canary Mission, the website that smears university students and educators who support BDS and Palestinian rights. “The Lobby – USA” also revealed that the Israel on Campus Coalition works with Canary Mission, using large-scale surveillance systems that monitor social media to find material of interest, such as pro-Palestine events, to then engage in targeted harassment of individuals and groups.
“The documentary confirmed a lot of what we suspected was going on,” said Ali Abunimah, the Electronic Intifada’s co-founder and an Al-Shabaka policy adviser. “It offers very compelling evidence of the way the Israeli government is coordinating an effort to smear, sabotage, and repress people in the US who are exercising their constitutional rights – and doing so in collusion with individuals and organizations who are acting as unregistered agents of a foreign power.”
Al-Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network recently sat down with Abunimah to discuss the implications of the film and its lessons for the Palestine solidarity movement.
Targeted smearing is a main strategy of the organizations working with the Israeli government. What do we learn about this tactic in the film?
One of the more disturbing incidents involved a professor at Purdue University, Bill Mullen, who was subject to fake sexual harassment allegations from anonymous websites. While it hasn’t been possible to link the websites that accuse Mullen to a specific organization or individual, we were able to determine that they were created by the same person or persons. The tactic was identical to what those working for Israel lobby organizations described in the film, that is, smearing people via anonymous websites as a means of psychological warfare to deter them from their pro-Palestinian work. And the type of smear is strategic: Mullen is a white male professor of a certain age who would be the kind of person against whom these kinds of allegations could stick. They also targeted a young Muslim woman at Purdue, spreading lies of her drinking, partying, and sleeping with men. The willingness of these organizations to stop at nothing to silence supporters of Palestinian rights is made very clear.
How has the mainstream media responded to the leaking of “The Lobby – USA”?
The mainstream media hasn’t touched it. I find the silence to be remarkable. Regardless of the content of the film, it ought to be a story. Imagine if it was about Russian influence and pressure, and then it leaked. It would be front page news across US media. Israel lobby groups have remained largely silent, and that’s their best strategy, as they can’t spin it; their best tactic is to stay quiet and hope it goes away. But the good news is that a lot of people are watching it, and over the coming weeks and months and perhaps years millions more will see it.
“Tony” infiltrated a number of Jewish groups, so viewers don’t get as much of a sense of the role of Christian Zionism and Christian support for Israel in the US.
It would be a wrong to conclude from this film that a few Jewish groups have disproportionate power; this can drift into an unhelpful narrative or one that gives credence to conspiracy theories. However, that’s how the groups are trying to spin it; they have claimed falsely, for instance, that Al Jazeera made a film about the “Jewish lobby,” though the film never uses such language. What organizations like the Israel Project and the Israel on Campus Coalition do is fuel, feed, and try to take advantage of a narrative that is attractive to white Christian nationalists who are a strong part of President Trump’s base – and Christian Zionism is a cornerstone of this ideology. The power of the organizations exposed in the film is contingent on the power of the much bigger Christian Zionist movement in this country. The largest base of support of Israel in the US, after all, isn’t Jews, it’s Christians.
Israel and its right-wing supporters have been riding this white nationalist, anti-Semitic wave because their interest is in building up Christian Zionism and securing support for Israel at any price, even the safety of Jews. The massacre perpetrated by a white supremacist at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh demonstrated the danger of this. Right-wing, pro-Israel organizations and the Israeli government itself went to bat to defend Trump, asserting that it’s wrong to claim that he or his followers are inciting such violence. Liberal Jewish groups rightly expressed horror at the kind of rhetoric that comes from the right and that feeds a white supremacist narrative.
How is this Machiavellian deal between Israel and its supporters and white nationalism affecting US support for Israel?
Polling data, such as YouGov’s recent poll for The Economist, is showing how US support for Israel is consolidating among white men and older people and eroding among other demographic groups, such as people of color, women, and youth. As such, the base of support for Israel is overlapping with the base of support for Trump and the right-wing agenda. When people see how strong Trump and his ilk support Israel, they recoil. Netanyahu’s strategy of making Israel a partisan issue in the US is yielding short-term gains for Israel but is eroding support in the long term.
Given your work in this sphere, and given the release of the two films, what lessons are there for the Palestine solidarity movement?
One lesson is that we need to step up and create an even more energetic and disciplined movement. People need to be aware that there is this huge organized effort to trip them up, to sabotage them, to smear them. I don’t say that to cast blame, but just to say that we’re dealing with a serious adversary and it’s important to be aware of that, and to be forward-thinking and anticipating moves.
The recent firing by CNN of political commentator Marc Lamont Hill because of his forthright support for Palestinian rights demonstrates this. His firing came after an intense smear campaign by Israel lobby groups. Hill is also facing calls to be fired from his teaching position at Temple University, though so far the university has defended his free speech rights. This episode underscores the real risks individuals in the US, especially within institutions, still face when broaching the taboo subject of Israel and crimes against the Palestinian people.
Yet at the same time you can make inroads into territory that I had thought was impenetrable. One example of this is the No Way to Treat a Child campaign, which focuses on Israeli military detention of Palestinian children. It’s a program of advocacy, lobbying, and organizing that has culminated in a bill introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) to ban US aid for Israeli military detention of children. Some 30 members of Congress have signed on to it. The bill just didn’t happen; it was the result of a very well-thought-out and sustained campaign. It didn’t take millions of people to do it, just a group of determined people. None of the co-sponsors of that bill lost their seats in the recent midterm elections.
What about the film makes you optimistic for the future of the solidarity movement?
The Israel lobby organizations, though they project themselves as powerful and very cloak and dagger, come off as desperate. They admit – when they think no one else is listening – that their job is difficult, that bipartisan support for Israel is crumbling. You have Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies saying that the anti-Semitism smear against pro-Palestinian activists “isn’t what it used to be,” and Eric Gallagher of the Israel Project noting that the foundation on which AIPAC stands is crumbling. They see the writing on the wall. Smearing individuals is a desperate tactic, and shows that these organizations don’t have answers.
Moreover, such a strategy is only potentially powerful as long as Palestine solidarity is seen as a marginal issue. Bully tactics only work as long as individuals can be singled out and targeted. As Palestine solidarity becomes commonplace, Israel lobby attacks will lose their potency. The lesson is to speak out more and to support each other more. The more we normalize criticism of Israel, the weaker their tactics become.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect Ma’an News Agency’s editorial policy.
Ali Abunimah, Al-Shabaka Policy Adviser, is the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli Palestinian Impasse (2006), and co-founder and director of the widely acclaimed publication The Electronic Intifada. His most recent book is The Battle for Justice in Palestine.
While Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation into Israeli influence in the United States, “The Lobby – USA,” was completed in October 2017, it never aired. Though the network’s director-general attributed the problem to outstanding legal issues, many, including journalists involved in the making of the documentary, suggested Qatari censorship of the film – likely resulting from US pressure and Qatar’s desire to curry favor with Washington. (Another Al Jazeera film on Israeli influence in the UK – “The Lobby” – aired in January 2017.)
Now, the US version is no longer under wraps: Last month, the Electronic Intifada, in tandem with France’s Orient XXI and Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar, which provided subtitles in French and Arabic, respectively, released the leaked film. (Click to access.)
The four-part documentary shows, through “Tony,” an undercover journalist, how Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs works with US organizations such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Israel on Campus Coalition to advance Israel’s agenda, including its fight against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS).
The film for the first time named an individual – Israeli-American millionaire Adam Milstein – as the founder and funder of Canary Mission, the website that smears university students and educators who support BDS and Palestinian rights. “The Lobby – USA” also revealed that the Israel on Campus Coalition works with Canary Mission, using large-scale surveillance systems that monitor social media to find material of interest, such as pro-Palestine events, to then engage in targeted harassment of individuals and groups.
“The documentary confirmed a lot of what we suspected was going on,” said Ali Abunimah, the Electronic Intifada’s co-founder and an Al-Shabaka policy adviser. “It offers very compelling evidence of the way the Israeli government is coordinating an effort to smear, sabotage, and repress people in the US who are exercising their constitutional rights – and doing so in collusion with individuals and organizations who are acting as unregistered agents of a foreign power.”
Al-Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network recently sat down with Abunimah to discuss the implications of the film and its lessons for the Palestine solidarity movement.
Targeted smearing is a main strategy of the organizations working with the Israeli government. What do we learn about this tactic in the film?
One of the more disturbing incidents involved a professor at Purdue University, Bill Mullen, who was subject to fake sexual harassment allegations from anonymous websites. While it hasn’t been possible to link the websites that accuse Mullen to a specific organization or individual, we were able to determine that they were created by the same person or persons. The tactic was identical to what those working for Israel lobby organizations described in the film, that is, smearing people via anonymous websites as a means of psychological warfare to deter them from their pro-Palestinian work. And the type of smear is strategic: Mullen is a white male professor of a certain age who would be the kind of person against whom these kinds of allegations could stick. They also targeted a young Muslim woman at Purdue, spreading lies of her drinking, partying, and sleeping with men. The willingness of these organizations to stop at nothing to silence supporters of Palestinian rights is made very clear.
How has the mainstream media responded to the leaking of “The Lobby – USA”?
The mainstream media hasn’t touched it. I find the silence to be remarkable. Regardless of the content of the film, it ought to be a story. Imagine if it was about Russian influence and pressure, and then it leaked. It would be front page news across US media. Israel lobby groups have remained largely silent, and that’s their best strategy, as they can’t spin it; their best tactic is to stay quiet and hope it goes away. But the good news is that a lot of people are watching it, and over the coming weeks and months and perhaps years millions more will see it.
“Tony” infiltrated a number of Jewish groups, so viewers don’t get as much of a sense of the role of Christian Zionism and Christian support for Israel in the US.
It would be a wrong to conclude from this film that a few Jewish groups have disproportionate power; this can drift into an unhelpful narrative or one that gives credence to conspiracy theories. However, that’s how the groups are trying to spin it; they have claimed falsely, for instance, that Al Jazeera made a film about the “Jewish lobby,” though the film never uses such language. What organizations like the Israel Project and the Israel on Campus Coalition do is fuel, feed, and try to take advantage of a narrative that is attractive to white Christian nationalists who are a strong part of President Trump’s base – and Christian Zionism is a cornerstone of this ideology. The power of the organizations exposed in the film is contingent on the power of the much bigger Christian Zionist movement in this country. The largest base of support of Israel in the US, after all, isn’t Jews, it’s Christians.
Israel and its right-wing supporters have been riding this white nationalist, anti-Semitic wave because their interest is in building up Christian Zionism and securing support for Israel at any price, even the safety of Jews. The massacre perpetrated by a white supremacist at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh demonstrated the danger of this. Right-wing, pro-Israel organizations and the Israeli government itself went to bat to defend Trump, asserting that it’s wrong to claim that he or his followers are inciting such violence. Liberal Jewish groups rightly expressed horror at the kind of rhetoric that comes from the right and that feeds a white supremacist narrative.
How is this Machiavellian deal between Israel and its supporters and white nationalism affecting US support for Israel?
Polling data, such as YouGov’s recent poll for The Economist, is showing how US support for Israel is consolidating among white men and older people and eroding among other demographic groups, such as people of color, women, and youth. As such, the base of support for Israel is overlapping with the base of support for Trump and the right-wing agenda. When people see how strong Trump and his ilk support Israel, they recoil. Netanyahu’s strategy of making Israel a partisan issue in the US is yielding short-term gains for Israel but is eroding support in the long term.
Given your work in this sphere, and given the release of the two films, what lessons are there for the Palestine solidarity movement?
One lesson is that we need to step up and create an even more energetic and disciplined movement. People need to be aware that there is this huge organized effort to trip them up, to sabotage them, to smear them. I don’t say that to cast blame, but just to say that we’re dealing with a serious adversary and it’s important to be aware of that, and to be forward-thinking and anticipating moves.
The recent firing by CNN of political commentator Marc Lamont Hill because of his forthright support for Palestinian rights demonstrates this. His firing came after an intense smear campaign by Israel lobby groups. Hill is also facing calls to be fired from his teaching position at Temple University, though so far the university has defended his free speech rights. This episode underscores the real risks individuals in the US, especially within institutions, still face when broaching the taboo subject of Israel and crimes against the Palestinian people.
Yet at the same time you can make inroads into territory that I had thought was impenetrable. One example of this is the No Way to Treat a Child campaign, which focuses on Israeli military detention of Palestinian children. It’s a program of advocacy, lobbying, and organizing that has culminated in a bill introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) to ban US aid for Israeli military detention of children. Some 30 members of Congress have signed on to it. The bill just didn’t happen; it was the result of a very well-thought-out and sustained campaign. It didn’t take millions of people to do it, just a group of determined people. None of the co-sponsors of that bill lost their seats in the recent midterm elections.
What about the film makes you optimistic for the future of the solidarity movement?
The Israel lobby organizations, though they project themselves as powerful and very cloak and dagger, come off as desperate. They admit – when they think no one else is listening – that their job is difficult, that bipartisan support for Israel is crumbling. You have Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies saying that the anti-Semitism smear against pro-Palestinian activists “isn’t what it used to be,” and Eric Gallagher of the Israel Project noting that the foundation on which AIPAC stands is crumbling. They see the writing on the wall. Smearing individuals is a desperate tactic, and shows that these organizations don’t have answers.
Moreover, such a strategy is only potentially powerful as long as Palestine solidarity is seen as a marginal issue. Bully tactics only work as long as individuals can be singled out and targeted. As Palestine solidarity becomes commonplace, Israel lobby attacks will lose their potency. The lesson is to speak out more and to support each other more. The more we normalize criticism of Israel, the weaker their tactics become.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect Ma’an News Agency’s editorial policy.
Page : 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9