AIPAC and its allies are getting hysterical. On August 12th President Obama will award the Presidential Medal of Honor to Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland along with 15 other people. Robinson also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In that capacity, she was critical of Israeli policies. In a statement released earlier this week, AIPAC wants President Obama to "firmly, fully and publicly repudiate her views on Israel and her long public record of hostility and one-sided bias against the Jewish state". It has not done so, only saying that she may have said things they did not agree with, as probably many of the other recipeints, and will go ahead to award her this honor.
Leading this fight in Congress is Shelly Berkley of Nevada. Berkeley, a Democrat, was recently a a speaker at the extremist CUFI, an outfit founded by religious cultist John Hagee.
Its difficult to understand why AIPAC has chosen this battle. It seems that they made the calculation that it would be helpful in the long-run to lose this battle, but they may see it as a way to discredit Obama, as he continues to insist that Israel freeze the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. A battle that Obama continues to wage, though appears that he is losing. This last week saw the forced eviction of Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem, a move that Obama had specifically opposed.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Leave No Politician Behind. Not even the Greens.
The Green Party USA supports Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions of Israel.
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) publicly calls for divestment from and boycott of the State of Israel until such time as the full individual and collective rights of the Palestinian people are realized.
So why does an elected official in San Francisco, who ran on a platform that very explicitly opposed militarism, decide to accept funding for a trip sponsored by a extremist pro-war organization to visit Israel? We would very much like to know.
The following is an open letter to Jane Kim of the San Francisco Board of Education. Last year, she participated in a delegation put together by a group called "American-Israel Friendship League", a groups that right now is focusing on making sure that Israel is not held accountable for the war crimes it committed in Gaza.
We are hoping that this open letter gets a positive response, and that Ms. Kim will be open to meeting with Palestinian youth, so they can share firsthand the barriers Israel has constructed to prevent a decent education for them. So if you live in San Francisco, please also consider sharing your concerns in a respectful manner.
Jane Kim
San Francisco Board of Education
Ms. Kim,
I have just learned, more than a year after the fact, that you participated in a trip paid for by a political lobby supporting Israeli policies. It is disturbing that you have accepted funding for travel from an organization that has a platform that contradicts progressive values of support for human rights and peace.
This very same organization, "American Israel Friendship League" is leading the call to exempt Israel from being held accountable for violations of international law with its barbaric bombing and destruction of Gaza. Crimes that include the killing of hundreds of children (students) by US supplied weapons. Crimes that include the withholding of aid that will provide nourishment for children, who are instead suffering malnutrition and in the grip of a man-made humanitarian catastrophe with policies supported by the very same organization that paid for your trip to Israel.
I appreciate that you want to learn more of what is happening in the Middle East. I hope in the future you choose not to accept any funding from groups that oppose human rights, from groups that support the waging of war against civilians that destroys the basics of society. I hope you can very soon take the time to listen to Palestinian voices and their experiences of how the Israeli system of occupation and apartheid have denied so many Palestinian young people of their right to education. That can be done by listening to local voices here in the Bay Area or by another trip to the Middle East. May I suggest you consider joining a delegation to Palestine guided by the Middle East Children's Alliance? You may learn more of that delegation here: http://mecaforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=52
We need more than ever political leaders unafraid to speak up for human rights, justice and peace. I appreciate your courage to stand against the ROTC and military recruitment in our schools. Please stand firmly for the rights of Palestinians to education and a decent future.
For peace,
Jim Harris
people@stopaipac.org
www.StopAIPAC.org
Stop AIPAC
PO Box 11311
Berkeley, CA 94712
References:
"Local Progressives Step Beyond Normal Boundaries"
American Israel Friendship League
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) publicly calls for divestment from and boycott of the State of Israel until such time as the full individual and collective rights of the Palestinian people are realized.
So why does an elected official in San Francisco, who ran on a platform that very explicitly opposed militarism, decide to accept funding for a trip sponsored by a extremist pro-war organization to visit Israel? We would very much like to know.
The following is an open letter to Jane Kim of the San Francisco Board of Education. Last year, she participated in a delegation put together by a group called "American-Israel Friendship League", a groups that right now is focusing on making sure that Israel is not held accountable for the war crimes it committed in Gaza.
We are hoping that this open letter gets a positive response, and that Ms. Kim will be open to meeting with Palestinian youth, so they can share firsthand the barriers Israel has constructed to prevent a decent education for them. So if you live in San Francisco, please also consider sharing your concerns in a respectful manner.
Jane Kim
San Francisco Board of Education
Ms. Kim,
I have just learned, more than a year after the fact, that you participated in a trip paid for by a political lobby supporting Israeli policies. It is disturbing that you have accepted funding for travel from an organization that has a platform that contradicts progressive values of support for human rights and peace.
This very same organization, "American Israel Friendship League" is leading the call to exempt Israel from being held accountable for violations of international law with its barbaric bombing and destruction of Gaza. Crimes that include the killing of hundreds of children (students) by US supplied weapons. Crimes that include the withholding of aid that will provide nourishment for children, who are instead suffering malnutrition and in the grip of a man-made humanitarian catastrophe with policies supported by the very same organization that paid for your trip to Israel.
I appreciate that you want to learn more of what is happening in the Middle East. I hope in the future you choose not to accept any funding from groups that oppose human rights, from groups that support the waging of war against civilians that destroys the basics of society. I hope you can very soon take the time to listen to Palestinian voices and their experiences of how the Israeli system of occupation and apartheid have denied so many Palestinian young people of their right to education. That can be done by listening to local voices here in the Bay Area or by another trip to the Middle East. May I suggest you consider joining a delegation to Palestine guided by the Middle East Children's Alliance? You may learn more of that delegation here: http://mecaforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=52
We need more than ever political leaders unafraid to speak up for human rights, justice and peace. I appreciate your courage to stand against the ROTC and military recruitment in our schools. Please stand firmly for the rights of Palestinians to education and a decent future.
For peace,
Jim Harris
people@stopaipac.org
www.StopAIPAC.org
Stop AIPAC
PO Box 11311
Berkeley, CA 94712
References:
"Local Progressives Step Beyond Normal Boundaries"
American Israel Friendship League
Monday, June 1, 2009
Inside an AIPAC Event- a report from Portland, OR
Want to call your attention to Peter Miller's article about the actual content of an aipac event, repeated in dozens of cities each year. This event took place at the end of March 2009.
Peter reports on how what was said:
In his talk, Peter Beinart, an editor at the New Republic, gave the framework for AIPAC’s work in the coming months: dealing with the threat of Iran. He portrayed Obama and Netanyahu as two characters in a movie who, though they dislike each other intensely, are thrown together on a quest to “get the bad guy,” meaning Iran. In perhaps the most frightening statement of the evening, Beinart remarked that Netanyahu’s main purpose will be to do everything he can “to prepare for the day when he goes to the oval office and tells Obama that Israel has to take military action against Iran.”
As for the Israel-Palestine issue, Beinart predicts a fake U.S. peace effort in order to garner support for tough sanctions against Iran. His statement is worth quoting at length:
“I think that the Administration’s view toward the Palestinian situation is mostly going to be to try and keep it quiet…[When Obama works with the Sunni Arab countries or Europe, he will hear] ‘What we need you [Obama] to do as the price for being able to get another round of sanctions is at least the perception of movement on the Israeli-Palestinian problem, we need there to be some Israeli-Palestinian process, even though we are realists [and] we don’t believe it will get anywhere.’…And so the Obama Administration thinks they need to be actively engaged in the Israel-Palestinian peace process--not necessarily because they believe they can pull off a final settlement--but because they need it in the coalition against Iran, and because they need to prevent things in the Palestinian Territories from actually getting worse.”
Peter reports on how what was said:
In his talk, Peter Beinart, an editor at the New Republic, gave the framework for AIPAC’s work in the coming months: dealing with the threat of Iran. He portrayed Obama and Netanyahu as two characters in a movie who, though they dislike each other intensely, are thrown together on a quest to “get the bad guy,” meaning Iran. In perhaps the most frightening statement of the evening, Beinart remarked that Netanyahu’s main purpose will be to do everything he can “to prepare for the day when he goes to the oval office and tells Obama that Israel has to take military action against Iran.”
As for the Israel-Palestine issue, Beinart predicts a fake U.S. peace effort in order to garner support for tough sanctions against Iran. His statement is worth quoting at length:
“I think that the Administration’s view toward the Palestinian situation is mostly going to be to try and keep it quiet…[When Obama works with the Sunni Arab countries or Europe, he will hear] ‘What we need you [Obama] to do as the price for being able to get another round of sanctions is at least the perception of movement on the Israeli-Palestinian problem, we need there to be some Israeli-Palestinian process, even though we are realists [and] we don’t believe it will get anywhere.’…And so the Obama Administration thinks they need to be actively engaged in the Israel-Palestinian peace process--not necessarily because they believe they can pull off a final settlement--but because they need it in the coalition against Iran, and because they need to prevent things in the Palestinian Territories from actually getting worse.”
Note that “preventing things from getting worse” does not mean improving the humanitarian or human rights situation in the Palestinian occupied territories; it does not mean stopping settlement construction or home demolition; it does not mean negotiating in good faith with Fatah and Abbas. It is all about taking actions against Hamas and creating the mere perception of a peace process. In downplaying the right wing turn of Israel’s government, AIPAC and others also ignore the real danger to peace posed by Israel’s new foreign minister, the racist Avigdor Lieberman who openly advocates ethnic cleansing. J Street, a new Jewish lobby organization created as an alternative to AIPAC, stated that Lieberman’s views were “contrary to both our democratic and our Jewish values.” - From AIPAC: The Anti-Peace Lobby
Great thanks to Peter and the Portland group for protesting this event, and for sharing the story of the aipac agenda. Be sure to read the whole thing.Thursday, May 28, 2009
75% in House sign onto AIPAC letter supporting Israeli-guided "peace process"
At the AIPAC Policy Conference, the Lobby pushed two initiatives, one about US and Iran, and another about the "peace process". The letter from AIPAC, introduced by Rep. Hoyer and Eric Cantor, used terms like "our mutual desire for peace" it contained a subtle warning to Obama: Don't pressure Israel. "The proven best way forward is to work closely and privately together both on areas of agreement and especially on areas of disagreement".
President Obama has been saying that his administration is opposed to any increase in Israeli Settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu insists that they be allowed "natural growth" of existing settlements. Where does congress stand on this dispute? Clearly on the side of AIPAC/Netanyahu, in that they signaled they want no public pressure on Israel to work for peace.
Who signed this letter? Go here to see the House members so far. Here for the US Senate.
President Obama has been saying that his administration is opposed to any increase in Israeli Settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu insists that they be allowed "natural growth" of existing settlements. Where does congress stand on this dispute? Clearly on the side of AIPAC/Netanyahu, in that they signaled they want no public pressure on Israel to work for peace.
Who signed this letter? Go here to see the House members so far. Here for the US Senate.
Monday, May 25, 2009
AIPAC-related "Think-Tank" Suggests Military attacks on Media
The Journal of International Security Affairs is the publication of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) JINSA is part of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. All of the members of the Conference sit on AIPAC's Executive Committee.JINSA is among many of the many extreme organizations that are part of that coalition. How extreme? Let's see what one of the contributers to the publication suggested for media that does not tow the military-line in any conflict.
Today, the United States and its allies will never face a lone enemy on the battlefield. There will always be a hostile third party in the fight, but one which we not only refrain from attacking but are hesitant to annoy: the media.
...It seems unthinkable now, future wars may require censorship, news blackouts and, ultimately, military attacks on the partisan media. From Wishful Thinking and Indecisive Wars
Sound just like tough talk to you? Let's remember that in the early days of the war on Iraq, the Bush administration reportedly considered targeting Al Jeezera in Qatar. Or the many journalists killed in Palestine, including journalist James Miller. Just weeks ago, Amira Hass, a prominent Israeli journalist was arrested for committing actually doing her job. This is more than talk. And it is coming from the Israel Lobby. No limits to war.
Today, the United States and its allies will never face a lone enemy on the battlefield. There will always be a hostile third party in the fight, but one which we not only refrain from attacking but are hesitant to annoy: the media.
...It seems unthinkable now, future wars may require censorship, news blackouts and, ultimately, military attacks on the partisan media. From Wishful Thinking and Indecisive Wars
Sound just like tough talk to you? Let's remember that in the early days of the war on Iraq, the Bush administration reportedly considered targeting Al Jeezera in Qatar. Or the many journalists killed in Palestine, including journalist James Miller. Just weeks ago, Amira Hass, a prominent Israeli journalist was arrested for committing actually doing her job. This is more than talk. And it is coming from the Israel Lobby. No limits to war.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
"Strange Jane" Harman has to take it all back
The Persian population in Iran is not a majority, it is a plurality. There are many different, diverse, and disagreeing populations inside Iran and an obvious strategy, which I believe is a good strategy, is to separate those populations. - Jane Harman, AIPAC Policy Conference, 2009
This statement by Jane Harman was alarming, the National Iranian American Council put out an alert, asking people to reject Harman's idea that Iran be split along ethnic lines. Jane then retracted her statement.
“I was not and am not calling for the creation of ethnic tensions or separation in Iran – nothing would be less productive,” said Harman in a statement to NIAC. “Although my comments on Iran were taken out of context, I regret any concern they might have caused.”
Taken out of context? We don't think so. But it was good to see that Jane did the right thing, after organized pressure.
AIPAC's choice of extremist speakers never ceases to amaze us.
This statement by Jane Harman was alarming, the National Iranian American Council put out an alert, asking people to reject Harman's idea that Iran be split along ethnic lines. Jane then retracted her statement.
“I was not and am not calling for the creation of ethnic tensions or separation in Iran – nothing would be less productive,” said Harman in a statement to NIAC. “Although my comments on Iran were taken out of context, I regret any concern they might have caused.”
Taken out of context? We don't think so. But it was good to see that Jane did the right thing, after organized pressure.
AIPAC's choice of extremist speakers never ceases to amaze us.
Who Will Stop AIPAC Before it is Too Late?
Medea Benjamin of Code Pink and co-founder of Global Exchange asks our question- Who will Stop AIPAC? The answer - We Will. We, the people, we the peace organizations, we, the human rights groups, we the Palestine solidarity groups, we the supporters of Israeli dissidents, We will stop this Lobby for War and Occupation.
- While I was being tackled by security guards at Washington's Convention Center during the AIPAC conference for unfurling a banner that asked "What about Gaza?," my heart was aching. I wasn't bothered so much by the burly guards who were yanking my arms behind by back and dragging me-along with 5 other CODEPINK members-out of the hall. They were doing their job.
What made my heart ache was the hatred I felt from the AIPAC staff who tore up the banner and slammed their hands across my mouth as I tried to yell out: "What about Gaza? What about the children?"
"Shut the f--- up. Shut the f--- up." one staffer yelled, red-faced and sweating as he ran beside me. "This is not the place to be saying that shit. Get the f--- out of here."
What makes my heart ache is thinking about the traumatized children I met on my recent trip to Gaza, and how their suffering is denied by the 6,000 AIPAC conventioneers who are living in a bubble-a bubble where Israel is the victim and all critics are anti-Semitic, terrorist lovers or, as in my case, self-hating Jews.
I found it fascinating that AIPAC's executive director Howard Kohr opened the conference admitting that there was now a huge, international campaign against the policies of Israel. He painted a picture of 30,000 people marching in Spain, Italian trade unionists calling for a boycott of Israeli products, the UN Human Rights Council passing 26 resolutions condemning Israel, an Israeli Apartheid Week that is building a global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign....
More here.
- While I was being tackled by security guards at Washington's Convention Center during the AIPAC conference for unfurling a banner that asked "What about Gaza?," my heart was aching. I wasn't bothered so much by the burly guards who were yanking my arms behind by back and dragging me-along with 5 other CODEPINK members-out of the hall. They were doing their job.
What made my heart ache was the hatred I felt from the AIPAC staff who tore up the banner and slammed their hands across my mouth as I tried to yell out: "What about Gaza? What about the children?"
"Shut the f--- up. Shut the f--- up." one staffer yelled, red-faced and sweating as he ran beside me. "This is not the place to be saying that shit. Get the f--- out of here."
What makes my heart ache is thinking about the traumatized children I met on my recent trip to Gaza, and how their suffering is denied by the 6,000 AIPAC conventioneers who are living in a bubble-a bubble where Israel is the victim and all critics are anti-Semitic, terrorist lovers or, as in my case, self-hating Jews.
I found it fascinating that AIPAC's executive director Howard Kohr opened the conference admitting that there was now a huge, international campaign against the policies of Israel. He painted a picture of 30,000 people marching in Spain, Italian trade unionists calling for a boycott of Israeli products, the UN Human Rights Council passing 26 resolutions condemning Israel, an Israeli Apartheid Week that is building a global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign....
More here.
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