Democratic leadership has been told to hold the line on criticism of Israel and Israeli apartheid.
By Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss
Rashida Tlaib’s comment that “you cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel’s apartheid government” is turning into a defining moment in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Leading Jewish groups have attacked Tlaib for supposedly calling for Israel’s destruction. Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL has said that she is an antisemite. And the rightwing lobby group the Democratic Majority for Israel has helped rally a large number of Democratic House members to condemn her comments, with Rep. Ritchie Torres leading the parade, and and Debbie Wasserman Schultz in tow.
Plainly Tlaib hit a nerve. It is obviously very important to the Israel lobby to maintain the claim that you can be progressive and support Israel. Being truthful about Israeli apartheid undermines this effort.
Nearly all the Dems who attacked Tlaib didn’t even mention the apartheid part of her comment. They don’t want to address it. They don’t want to engage with what Israel actually does and how Palestinians live. They just want to say you can support Israel and be progressive, a statement which is not explained or defended in any way beyond itself.
Recent Posts
How Status Quo Democrats Could Create Another Trump
Take Action Now A new study suggests Democrats’ broken promises won’t just cost them elections — they could fuel an even more dangerous MAGA…
The Pentagon Asked OpenAI for Artificial Intelligence Designed to Rarely Say No
Take Action Now The U.S. military’s desire for an AI tool with “minimal refusal rates” was revealed through a FOIA lawsuit filed by The Intercept.…
Real History: After 9/11, the ‘War on Terror’ Was a War of Terror
Take Action Now Through it all, the ongoing war effort that began in autumn 2001 had an implicit throughline in dominant media and politics: while…
Abolish the Board of Peace. Try the Table of Peace.
Take Action Now I asked people to pretend to be the United States Congress for 10 seconds. (Many of them were disgusted at the thought but I assured…