#aipac

[gotohellfuckingyankees]

[odinsblog]

This year’s Super Bowl was a weapon of mass distraction. If there’s any justice, future generations will remember the game not for Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, or Taylor Swift but for the US-funded attacks on Palestinian civilians that occurred while so many Americans were glued to their TVs. During the game, watched by well over 100 million people in the United States, Israel launched a bombing raid of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, the most densely populated area on earth. More than 1 million people had fled now-leveled Gaza City to the refugee camps in Rafah and surrounding areas. Palestinians who have survived previous Israeli strikes are now staving off disease, destitution, and fear.

Meanwhile, CBS granted the Israeli government space for an ad about the 130 hostages left in Gaza. This ad, meant to build public support and justify the slaughter of nearly 30,000 civilians in Gaza, spurred 10,000 people to register complaints with the FCC, because the commercial did not disclose that a foreign government had paid for it. Coupled with the Rafah raid, this looks more like military synergy than happenstance. 

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft also spent $7 million on an ad from his organization Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism. It features Clarence Jones, a 93-year-old former speech writer for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Kraft and other pro-war billionaires use the memory of King so much, they should be paying his family indulgences for slandering his name. The ad failed to mention that Kraft has given $1 million to pro-war AIPAC and donated $1 million in 2016 to Donald Trump’s inauguration. Given that Kraft says that the Nazi march in Charlottesville was his motivation to start his foundation (Charlottesville was the one with “good people on both sides,” according to Trump), his hypocrisy is insidious.

Kraft and Israel want the same thing: a blank check to uproot Palestinians from Gaza and build settlements. One can also only imagine if a peace organization tried to buy an ad asking Israel and the United States the question: “How many dead children will be enough?” I suspect it would be denied faster than a public-service announcement about concussions.

(continue reading)

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

[mysharona1987]

[kosmic-apothecary]

No he’s not. Don’t fall for this. Biden will never stop arming Israel. This is a lie to boost his poll numbers.

There are already US soldiers on the ground in Gaza that he’s lying to us about (which is what Aaron Bushnell self-immolated over). He may one day say he’s stopped arming them but you can be GUARANTEED those weapons will continue to pour in. Not until AIPAC is registered as a foreign agent and we have an antizionist president and antizionist congress will we be truly divested from these genocidal freaks.

[sugiwa]

The AIPAC, one of the leading zionist lobbying groups in Washington, has held tax-exempt status in the US since 1968. I don't think it's fair that the average American, many of whom are vehemently against the genocide of the Palestinians, have their tax dollars taken to fund Israeli war crimes while the AIPAC pays nothing in federal taxes. They are so committed to defending their colonization project overseas, but aren't willing to send their tax dollars to pay for it? Anyway, it'd be really great, if we all collectively filed a tax complaint with the IRS to remove their non-profit status: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/irs-complaint-process-tax-exempt-organizations

There are a number of reasons that a non-profit may be in-violation of tax law, but of all of them, it would send a loud and clear message if we all used the following:

Income/Assets are being used to support illegal or terrorist activities

The best way to force a ceasefire is to make sure they never stop hearing about it and nothing will hurt more than their pockets.

[athena5898]

(Al Mayadeen) - In one example of its far-reaching impact, AIPAC spent $5.1 million against a single congressional candidate in California — a considerable investment, particularly as "Israel" was barely a topic in the race.

Read more here: https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/aipac-s-massive-spending-in-us-elections-exposed-in-new-repo

[luthienne]

the american israel public affairs committee is one of the largest lobbying groups in the united states

As M.J. Rosenberg, a former employee of AIPAC, wrote for The Nation in 2019, at the end of the day, the goal of AIPAC is "to ensure that Congress never questions Israel about anything, that it just shuts up and keeps the billions of dollars in aid coming. And above all, without conditions, like requiring Israel to take steps to end the occupation, the blockade of Gaza, or to grant equal rights to Palestinians inside Israel and in the occupied territories."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Joshua Keating at Vox:

Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in a very familiar building. Not only was he making his fourth address to a joint session of Congress — breaking Winston Churchill’s record for foreign leaders — he’s also been a presence in the building’s halls since serving as a diplomat in the early 1980s. Since he made his first speech to Congress in 1996, Netanyahu has been almost as much a fixture of politics in America as in Israel.

Things felt different today. It’s not just that Netanyahu is a controversial figure, one who drew thousands of protesters onto the streets of Washington. That’s not new; Netanyahu’s 2011 speech to Congress was interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester in the chamber. What is new is that he has become an increasingly marginalized one. Even a few weeks ago, when Netanyahu’s speech was announced, it had the makings of a marquee political event. Today, it was overshadowed by President Joe Biden’s highly anticipated Wednesday night speech to address his decision to drop out of the presidential election. Dozens of lawmakers — around half of Congress’s Democrats — skipped Netanyahu’s speech altogether.

Soon-to-retire Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin’s presence behind Netanyahu on the rostrum attested to how much of a partisan figure Netanyahu has become. Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of whom would normally have been in that seat, all declined the role. Netanyahu, who has been Israel’s prime minister for 17 of the last 30 years, has done more than anyone to make support for the country an increasingly partisan issue in the United States, in part through actions like his speech to Congress in 2015. That time, he was invited by congressional Republicans to lobby against the Iran nuclear deal then being negotiated by the Obama administration in what was considered a remarkably partisan speech for a foreign leader. In today’s address, by contrast, Netanyahu made little news. It was a speech that gave little indication of a plan to end the war in Gaza, and likely undermined diplomatic efforts underway to do so. It was a notably defensive speech for Netanyahu, devoted more to refuting criticism of Israel than to charting a way forward out of the morass it has found itself in. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”

What Netanyahu said — and what he’s doing

Netanyahu recounted the horrors of Hamas’s October 7 attacks and vowed to the families of hostages currently being held in Gaza that he “would not rest until all their loved ones are home.” Not all of those families may be inclined to take him at his word. Many of them are calling for the prime minister to accept a ceasefire deal to secure the hostages’ release, but today Netanyahu vowed that “Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home,” adding, “That’s what total victory means and we will settle for nothing less.” Netanyahu also said, as he has in several previous remarks, that “[Israel] must retain overriding control [in Gaza] to ensure that Gaza never again poses a security threat to Israel” — a demand likely to be a nonstarter for any ceasefire deal. Despite that, Netanyahu has said in recent days that a ceasefire deal may be near, and the deal currently being negotiated is likely to be the focus of the prime minister’s meeting at the White House with Biden on Thursday. The Biden administration has tended not to respond directly to Netanyahu’s public statements on the deal, and this time was no exception. Asked if Netanyahu’s remarks made that deal less likely, a senior US administration official told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, “We were in the Situation Room doing some other stuff, so I have not seen the speech.”

[...]

How to lose friends and influence

Netanyahu praised President Biden for his “half a century of friendship to Israel” and noted that the president describes himself as a “proud Zionist.” But that only served to highlight the shrinking number of Democratic politicians who would publicly describe themselves that way. Polls have consistently shown a deep partisan divide opening up over sympathy toward Israel. He also thanked former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump for actions in support of Israel during his presidency, including recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. Netanyahu will be traveling to Florida to meet with Trump (and possibly celebrate the birthday of his son, who lives in Miami). Still, while Trump has not exactly turned on Israel, he has clearly soured somewhat on Netanyahu, who he is still angry at for congratulating Biden on his election victory in 2020. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Trump posted a friendly letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the day he announced the Netanyahu meeting.

Yesterday’s joint address to Congress from war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu is further proof that his support is restricted to hard-line pro-Israeli supporters in the USA.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) had the right response to his grotesquely hateful speech with the “War Criminal” sign.

[gotohellfuckingyankees]

[odinsblog]

THIS WEEK, WASHINGTON’S top Israel lobby is rallying its supporters to go to Capitol Hill and falsely claim to lawmakers that people aren’t starving in Gaza and Israel isn’t blocking aid shipments, according to talking points obtained by the American Prospect.

Israel has led a brutal siege on Gaza since Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,139 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, 2 million have been internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands are at imminent risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

The powerful lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is working to maintain support for Israel’s war, amid increased protests and public outcry. This week, AIPAC convened in Maryland for its annual policy conference, which it uses to marshal its donors and supporters to serve as a grassroots lobbying army in the halls of Congress.

The Prospect obtained a copy of AIPAC’s talking points for supporters heading to the Hill — and they are extreme, to say the least. The documents instruct supporters to claim that “reports that people are starving in Gaza are false,” and say that “Israel is not blocking the delivery of aid to Gaza.”

The AIPAC talking points additionally claim that Hamas wants people to believe Gazans are starving in order to “exert pressure” on Israel, and argues the “United States must not fall into Hamas’ trap.”

These claims from AIPAC are false. Gazans are starving on a massive, unprecedented scale. According to the United Nations, 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza — almost the entire population of the region — are facing “crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.” Half a million of those included in that figure face “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a leading food security analysis and advocacy group — classifies the Gaza Strip as being in Phase 4 “Emergency” status food insecurity, with a high risk of imminent famine conditions.

(continue reading)

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

Professor Marjorie Feld on the long tradition of Jewish antizionism.

Her book “The Threshold of Dissent” concerns how the acceptability of criticism of Israel within the Jewish community has closed dramatically since the rise of lobbying groups like AIPAC. I had the honor of meeting her and listening to her talk on the history of Jewish antizionism in the US.

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9781479829361.001.0001/html

[cavalierzee]

Hold Them Accountable

Incitement to commit acts of violence, especially in the context of armed conflict, can be considered a violation of international law, including international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law. Incitement to genocide and war crimes are severe offences under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and may be investigated and prosecuted.

Furthermore, encouraging or inciting the use of weapons against civilians or non-combatants is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law.

Politicians or military leaders who incite war crimes can be held accountable under the principle of command responsibility.

During World War II, Nazi leaders who incited violence and genocide through propaganda were held accountable at the Nuremberg Trials.

Rwanda Genocide: Politicians and media figures who incited violence during the Rwandan Genocide were prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Why not hold Nikki Haley responsible, Isaac Herzog, Mike Pence and Chris Evans?

By Elijah J Magnier

[mysharona1987]

[probablyasocialecologist]

“The bottom line is and it’s a sad one, we need to be supportive ON PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL of the alt right Christian Neo Nazis at the moment (like Ukraine) to fight off the socialist, Marxist, anarchists who are supporting radical Islam,” he said. “Nazis are better than Islamic terrorists at this moment in time FOR PRESIDENT. On state and city level it’s different as proof with us supporting Ritchie and fetterman,” a reference to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. 

11 August 2024