mintpressnews--2020-06-24--The PLO’s Half-Hearted Attempt to Counter Israeli Annexation of Palestine

The painful truth is that the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas has already ceased to exist as a political body that holds much sway or relevance , either to the Palestinian people or to Abbas ’ former benefactors , namely the Israeli and the American governments .
So , when the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister , Mohammed Shtayyeh , announced on June 9 , that the Palestinian leadership had submitted a ‘ counter-proposal ’ to the US ’ Middle East peace plan , also known as the ‘ Deal of the Century , ’ few seemed to care .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ aside from the fact that it envisages a demilitarized Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders .
We also know that the Palestinian leadership is willing to accept land swaps and border adjustments , a provision that has surely been inserted to cater to Israel ’ s demographic and security needs .
It is almost certain that nothing will come out of Shtayyeh ’ s counter-proposal and no independent Palestinian state is expected to result from the seemingly historical offer .
So , why did Ramallah opt for such a strategy only days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to launch its process of illegal annexation in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley ?
The main reason behind Shtayyeh ’ s announcement is that the Palestinian leadership is often accused by Israel , the US , and their allies of supposedly rejecting previous ‘ peace ’ overtures .
Rightly , the Palestinian Authority rejected the ‘ Deal of the Century ’ , because the latter represents the most jarring violation of international law yet .
The ‘ Deal ’ denies Palestine ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , dismisses the right of return for Palestinian refugees altogether , and gives carte blanche to the Israeli government to colonize more Palestinian land .
In principle , Netanyahu also rejected the American proposal , though without pronouncing his rejection publicly .
Indeed , the Israeli leader has already dismissed any prospects of Palestinian statehood and has decided to move forward with the unilateral annexation of nearly 30 % of the West Bank without paying any heed to the fact that even Trump ’ s unfair ‘ peace ’ initiative called for mutual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As soon as Washington ’ s plan was announced in January , followed by Israel ’ s insistence that annexation of Palestinian territories was imminent , the Palestinian Authority spun into a strange political mode , far more unpredictable and bizarre than ever before .
One after another , Palestinian Authority officials began making all sorts of contradictory remarks and declarations , notable amongst them Abbas ’ decision on May 19 to cancel all agreements signed between Palestinians and Israel .
This was followed by another announcement , on June 8 , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Palestinian Authority official and Abbas ’ confidante , that if annexation takes place the Authority would cut off civil services to Palestinians so that Israel may assume its legal role as an Occupying Power as per international norms .
A third announcement was made the following day by Shtayyeh himself , who threatened that , if Israel claims sovereignty over parts of the West Bank , the Authority would retaliate by declaring statehood within the pre-1967 borders .
The Palestinian counter-proposal was declared soon after this hotchpotch of announcements , most likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marring the Palestinian body politic .
It is the Palestinian leadership ’ s way of appearing pro-active , positive , and stately .
The Palestinian initiative also aims at sending a message to European countries that , despite Abbas ’ cancellation of agreements with Israel , the Palestinian Authority is still committed to the political parameters set by the Oslo Accords as early as September 1993 .
What Abbas and Shtayyeh are ultimately hoping to achieve is a repeat of an earlier episode that followed the admission of Palestine as a non-state member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2011 .
Salam Fayyad , who served as the Authority Prime Minister at the time , also waved the card of the unilateral declaration of statehood to force Israel to freeze the construction of illegal Jewish settlements .
Eventually , the Palestinian Authority was co-opted by then-US Secretary of State , John Kerry , to return to another round of useless negotiations with Israel , which won the Authority another ten years , during which time it received generous international funds while selling Palestinians false hope for an imaginary state .
Sadly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Palestinian leadership : a combination of threats , counter-proposals and such , in the hope that Washington and Tel Aviv will agree to return to a by-gone era .
Of course , the Palestinian people , occupied , besieged , and oppressed are the least relevant factor in the Palestinian Authority ’ s calculations , but this should come as no surprise .
The Palestinian leadership has operated for many years without a semblance of democracy , and the Palestinian people neither respect their government nor their so-called President .
They have made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many opinion polls in the past .
In the last few months , the Authority has used every trick in the book to demonstrate its relevance and its seriousness in the face of the dual-threat of Trump ’ s ‘ Deal of the Century ’ and Netanyahu ’ s annexation of Palestinian lands .
Yet , the most significant and absolutely pressing step , that of uniting all Palestinians , people and factions , behind a single political body and a single political document , is yet to be taken .
Considering all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to argue that Abbas ’ Authority is gasping its last breath , especially if its traditional European allies fail to extend a desperately needed lifeline .
The guarded positions adopted by EU countries have , thus far , signaled that no European country is capable or even willing to fill the gap left open by Washington ’ s betrayal of the Palestinian Authority and of the ‘ peace process ’ .
Until the Authority hands over the keys to the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) so that the more democratically representative Palestinian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reconciliation , Netanyahu will , tragically , remain the only relevant party , determining the fate of Palestine and her people .
Feature photo | Israeli forces crack down on unarmed Palestinians protesting against President Donald Trump ’ s so-called Mideast initiative in the West Bank city of Ramallah , Feb. 11 , 2020 .
Majdi Mohammed | AP Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle .
He is the author of five books .
His latest is “ These Chains Will Be Broken : Palestinian Stories of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Clarity Press , Atlanta ) .
Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs ( CIGA ) , Istanbul Zaim University ( IZU ) .
His website is www.ramzybaroud.net

The painful truth is that the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas has already ceased to exist as a political body that holds much sway or relevance, either to the Palestinian people or to Abbas’ former benefactors, namely the Israeli and the American governments.
So, when the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, announced on June 9, that the Palestinian leadership had submitted a ‘counter-proposal’ to the US’ Middle East peace plan, also known as the ‘Deal of the Century,’ few seemed to care.
We know little about this ‘counter-proposal’ aside from the fact that it envisages a demilitarized Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders. We also know that the Palestinian leadership is willing to accept land swaps and border adjustments, a provision that has surely been inserted to cater to Israel’s demographic and security needs.
It is almost certain that nothing will come out of Shtayyeh’s counter-proposal and no independent Palestinian state is expected to result from the seemingly historical offer. So, why did Ramallah opt for such a strategy only days before the July 1 deadline, when the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to launch its process of illegal annexation in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley?
The main reason behind Shtayyeh’s announcement is that the Palestinian leadership is often accused by Israel, the US, and their allies of supposedly rejecting previous ‘peace’ overtures.
Rightly, the Palestinian Authority rejected the ‘Deal of the Century’, because the latter represents the most jarring violation of international law yet. The ‘Deal’ denies Palestine’s territorial rights in occupied East Jerusalem, dismisses the right of return for Palestinian refugees altogether, and gives carte blanche to the Israeli government to colonize more Palestinian land.
In principle, Netanyahu also rejected the American proposal, though without pronouncing his rejection publicly. Indeed, the Israeli leader has already dismissed any prospects of Palestinian statehood and has decided to move forward with the unilateral annexation of nearly 30% of the West Bank without paying any heed to the fact that even Trump’s unfair ‘peace’ initiative called for mutual dialogue before any annexation takes place.
As soon as Washington’s plan was announced in January, followed by Israel’s insistence that annexation of Palestinian territories was imminent, the Palestinian Authority spun into a strange political mode, far more unpredictable and bizarre than ever before.
One after another, Palestinian Authority officials began making all sorts of contradictory remarks and declarations, notable amongst them Abbas’ decision on May 19 to cancel all agreements signed between Palestinians and Israel.
This was followed by another announcement, on June 8, this time by Hussein Al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian Authority official and Abbas’ confidante, that if annexation takes place the Authority would cut off civil services to Palestinians so that Israel may assume its legal role as an Occupying Power as per international norms.
A third announcement was made the following day by Shtayyeh himself, who threatened that, if Israel claims sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, the Authority would retaliate by declaring statehood within the pre-1967 borders.
The Palestinian counter-proposal was declared soon after this hotchpotch of announcements, most likely to offset the state of confusion that is marring the Palestinian body politic. It is the Palestinian leadership’s way of appearing pro-active, positive, and stately.
The Palestinian initiative also aims at sending a message to European countries that, despite Abbas’ cancellation of agreements with Israel, the Palestinian Authority is still committed to the political parameters set by the Oslo Accords as early as September 1993.
What Abbas and Shtayyeh are ultimately hoping to achieve is a repeat of an earlier episode that followed the admission of Palestine as a non-state member of the United Nations General Assembly in 2011. Salam Fayyad, who served as the Authority Prime Minister at the time, also waved the card of the unilateral declaration of statehood to force Israel to freeze the construction of illegal Jewish settlements.
Eventually, the Palestinian Authority was co-opted by then-US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to return to another round of useless negotiations with Israel, which won the Authority another ten years, during which time it received generous international funds while selling Palestinians false hope for an imaginary state.
Sadly, this is the current strategy of the Palestinian leadership: a combination of threats, counter-proposals and such, in the hope that Washington and Tel Aviv will agree to return to a by-gone era.
Of course, the Palestinian people, occupied, besieged, and oppressed are the least relevant factor in the Palestinian Authority’s calculations, but this should come as no surprise. The Palestinian leadership has operated for many years without a semblance of democracy, and the Palestinian people neither respect their government nor their so-called President. They have made their feelings known, repeatedly, in many opinion polls in the past.
In the last few months, the Authority has used every trick in the book to demonstrate its relevance and its seriousness in the face of the dual-threat of Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ and Netanyahu’s annexation of Palestinian lands. Yet, the most significant and absolutely pressing step, that of uniting all Palestinians, people and factions, behind a single political body and a single political document, is yet to be taken.
Considering all of this, it is no exaggeration to argue that Abbas’ Authority is gasping its last breath, especially if its traditional European allies fail to extend a desperately needed lifeline. The guarded positions adopted by EU countries have, thus far, signaled that no European country is capable or even willing to fill the gap left open by Washington’s betrayal of the Palestinian Authority and of the ‘peace process’.
Until the Authority hands over the keys to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) so that the more democratically representative Palestinian body can start a process of national reconciliation, Netanyahu will, tragically, remain the only relevant party, determining the fate of Palestine and her people.
Feature photo | Israeli forces crack down on unarmed Palestinians protesting against President Donald Trump’s so-called Mideast initiative in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Feb. 11, 2020. Majdi Mohammed | AP
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net


mintpressnews--2020-06-24--Democrats Are Moving to the Right Again and Towards Another Defeat

New York City ( BAR ) — Besides not being Trump , the Democrats offer nothing but think they can win with a candidate who has no constituency , charisma , or any platform positions that would attract more voters .
This presidential election season bears a striking resemblance to that of 2016 .
We were assured by pundits , pollsters , Democratic politicians , and million-dollar consultants that Donald Trump couldn ’ t possibly win .
Except he did win and the aforementioned experts should have been discredited and forgotten .
Four years later the same people who should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Trump is on the ropes .
The endless and useless anti-Trump talking points have done their damage .
People who ought to know better glean dubious evidence and think that wishing for Trump ’ s exit will get him out of the White House .
At the same time , Joe Biden ’ s campaign is fully within the sphere of right-wing neo-liberalism which lost in 2016 .
The confused and misguided “ resistance ” focused on crowd size at Trump ’ s Tulsa , Oklahoma rally , and happily concluded from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The nonsense is peddled by Democratic Party propagandists to keep voters in line and to prevent them from expressing righteous indignation after their failures in 2016 .
While millions of people whistle past the electoral graveyard , Joe Biden attacks Trump from the right .
After Trump indicated a willingness to engage in talks with Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro , Biden tweeted his displeasure .
“ Trump talks tough on Venezuela but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro .
As President , I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began the assault on the Venezuelan people .
It is fitting that his former vice president is happy to continue Trump ’ s sanctions , which are war by other means resulting in over 40,000 deaths .
The “ Trump loves thugs ” trope is just a continuation of the Russiagate hoax obsession , which was a substitute for meaningful opposition .
Now Democrats behave as though Biden ’ s choice of a running mate has some significance and read tea leaves based on Trump rally attendance .
The impotence of progressive Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happy that COVID-19 prevents him from having large scale rallies .
He is without a constituency , charisma , or any platform positions that would attract more voters .
It is open to question if he could attract a crowd of any size at this moment .
Meanwhile , black voters are being misled once again and the running mate discussion is the tool of the moment .
Amy Klobuchar ’ s consideration became a non-starter when her role in enabling cops like the ones who killed George Floyd became widely known .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ against police brutality in Minneapolis , Minnesota and her status as a possible running mate was dead in the water .
She was no longer in contention but claimed that she bowed out voluntarily .
“ I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket.
” It is this kind of chicanery that could lead to another Trump victory .
There is no reason to assume that his personal incompetence during the COVID-19 crisis will impact Trump ’ s appeal to the 60 million people who voted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters are like him , questioning the pandemic ’ s severity and even bringing along their guns to make the case for reopening the economy and risking their own lives .
Sneering at his supporters is no substitute for getting out the vote .
Hillary Clinton and the Democrats lost the electoral college in 2016 because they didn ’ t heed the most basic campaign advice .
Once again they hope to win by threading the needle and getting enough votes in swing states to drag Biden over the finish line .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to live with Trump .
The opposition to his administration is mostly phony with performances such as ripping up speeches , taking a knee , and wearing kente cloth .
Democrats go along with defense spending , regime change , and offering meager assistance for millions of people devastated by COVID-19 .
Trump ’ s supporters have no reason to dislike him .
He has done what they wanted him to do .
The sight of children in cages and protesters under tear gas attack doesn ’ t diminish his appeal to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats are not protecting black voters ’ rights .
The purges from the rolls , closed polling places and other methods of disenfranchisement are continuing without comment from the Democrats who ignore their most loyal and important cohort .
The sleight of hand shows the weakness of the left in general and of black people in particular .
We are out of the loop in every sense possible .
Millions of people took to the streets in response to police violence but their presence is sustained by the depth of suffering across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class demands that they do nothing except engage in pretense .
Biden promised as much himself .
For good measure , he added , “ I need you very badly.
” On election day we will end up with Trump 2.0 , even if Biden manages to win .
Feature photo | Democratic presidential candidate , former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with business owners , June 17 , 2020 , in Yeadon , Pa. Matt Slocum | AP Margaret Kimberley is a Black Agenda Report editor and senior columnist .
She blogs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York City .
She can be reached by e-mail at Margaret.Kimberley @ BlackAgendaReport.com .

New York City (BAR) — Besides not being Trump, the Democrats offer nothing but think they can win with a candidate who has no constituency, charisma, or any platform positions that would attract more voters.
This presidential election season bears a striking resemblance to that of 2016. We were assured by pundits, pollsters, Democratic politicians, and million-dollar consultants that Donald Trump couldn’t possibly win. Except he did win and the aforementioned experts should have been discredited and forgotten.
Four years later the same people who should have been ignored forever are again claiming that Trump is on the ropes. The endless and useless anti-Trump talking points have done their damage. People who ought to know better glean dubious evidence and think that wishing for Trump’s exit will get him out of the White House. At the same time, Joe Biden’s campaign is fully within the sphere of right-wing neo-liberalism which lost in 2016.
The confused and misguided “resistance” focused on crowd size at Trump’s Tulsa, Oklahoma rally, and happily concluded from this paltry evidence that he will lose. The nonsense is peddled by Democratic Party propagandists to keep voters in line and to prevent them from expressing righteous indignation after their failures in 2016.
While millions of people whistle past the electoral graveyard, Joe Biden attacks Trump from the right. After Trump indicated a willingness to engage in talks with Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro, Biden tweeted his displeasure. “Trump talks tough on Venezuela but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro. As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.” It is Barack Obama who began the assault on the Venezuelan people. It is fitting that his former vice president is happy to continue Trump’s sanctions, which are war by other means resulting in over 40,000 deaths.
Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro. As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy. https://t.co/eUt28UxyXS — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 22, 2020
The “Trump loves thugs” trope is just a continuation of the Russiagate hoax obsession, which was a substitute for meaningful opposition. Now Democrats behave as though Biden’s choice of a running mate has some significance and read tea leaves based on Trump rally attendance.
The impotence of progressive Democrats is on full display. Biden is happy that COVID-19 prevents him from having large scale rallies. He is without a constituency, charisma, or any platform positions that would attract more voters. It is open to question if he could attract a crowd of any size at this moment.
Meanwhile, black voters are being misled once again and the running mate discussion is the tool of the moment. Amy Klobuchar’s consideration became a non-starter when her role in enabling cops like the ones who killed George Floyd became widely known. The former prosecutor never took any actions against police brutality in Minneapolis, Minnesota and her status as a possible running mate was dead in the water. She was no longer in contention but claimed that she bowed out voluntarily. “I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket.”
It is this kind of chicanery that could lead to another Trump victory. There is no reason to assume that his personal incompetence during the COVID-19 crisis will impact Trump’s appeal to the 60 million people who voted for him the first time. His supporters are like him, questioning the pandemic’s severity and even bringing along their guns to make the case for reopening the economy and risking their own lives.
Sneering at his supporters is no substitute for getting out the vote. Hillary Clinton and the Democrats lost the electoral college in 2016 because they didn’t heed the most basic campaign advice. Once again they hope to win by threading the needle and getting enough votes in swing states to drag Biden over the finish line. It must also be said that they are willing to live with Trump. The opposition to his administration is mostly phony with performances such as ripping up speeches, taking a knee, and wearing kente cloth. Democrats go along with defense spending, regime change, and offering meager assistance for millions of people devastated by COVID-19.
Trump’s supporters have no reason to dislike him. He has done what they wanted him to do. The sight of children in cages and protesters under tear gas attack doesn’t diminish his appeal to them at all. Meanwhile, the Democrats are not protecting black voters’ rights. The purges from the rolls, closed polling places and other methods of disenfranchisement are continuing without comment from the Democrats who ignore their most loyal and important cohort.
The sleight of hand shows the weakness of the left in general and of black people in particular. We are out of the loop in every sense possible. Millions of people took to the streets in response to police violence but their presence is sustained by the depth of suffering across the country. But the Democrats’ donor class demands that they do nothing except engage in pretense. Biden promised as much himself.
We can disagree in the margins but the truth of the matter is it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one’s standard of living will change, nothing would fundamentally change.”
For good measure, he added, “I need you very badly.” On election day we will end up with Trump 2.0, even if Biden manages to win.
Feature photo | Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with business owners, June 17, 2020, in Yeadon, Pa. Matt Slocum | AP
Margaret Kimberley is a Black Agenda Report editor and senior columnist. She blogs at Freedom Rider and lives in New York City. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].


mintpressnews--2020-06-25--Selective Tolerance: AIPAC and its Pro-Apartheid Ilk Come to Bat for Black Lives Matter

Menifee , CA ( IAK ) — In the wake of George Floyd ’ s death and the protest movement that followed , thousands of organizations have taken to social media , expressing their support for Black lives and the right to protest injustice .
Among those jumping on the bandwagon were 130 Jewish organizations , 800 rabbis , and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC ) .
But talk is cheap .
Several Israeli and Jewish human rights groups have called out AIPAC and others for their duplicity .
+972 Mag – an independent , nonprofit website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently posted an article entitled , “ U.S .
Jews are standing up for Black lives .
Why aren ’ t we doing so for Palestinians ?
” The article boldly declared , IfNotNow , a Jewish organization that supports many ( but not all ) Palestinian rights , chided AIPAC for claiming solidarity with the Black community : “ At what point in time was AIPAC ever committed to equality , freedom , or justice ?
” ( AIPAC , the American Israel Public Affairs Committee , is one of the major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These responses are a stark reminder : if a group wants to have credibility today , its standards had better match the signed solidarity statement that bears its name .
The larger and more influential an organization , the more ardent its efforts must be .
It ’ s not enough to be part of the solution – don ’ t simultaneously be part of the problem .
On June 2nd , the Jewish Council for Public Affairs ( JCPA ) released a statement of solidarity with the Black community “ that has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police and have suffered rampant racism and unfair and uneven applications of the law.
” The statement goes on to call for sweeping reform in policing and criminal justice .
The statement is undersigned by 130 Jewish organizations of every description .
“ Our faith drives us to be people who stand up for the morality of what ’ s right , ” explained Eddie Chavez Calderon of Arizona Jews for Justice , adding , “ the Jewish people know what it feels like to be marginalized and oppressed.
” But significantly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our count , at least 98 ) apparently do not consider “ justice and equality ” a truly universal human right .
For example , two dozen of the signatory organizations are branches of the Anti-Defamation League ( ADL – $ 83 million in revenue in 2017 ) , which actively and relentlessly advocates for Israel , has not endorsed Black Lives Matter because in 2016 that organization took a stand calling for justice for Palestinians .
Yet ADL says of itself , Another umbrella organization with over 30 signatories on the solidarity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( JCRC – $ 2.7 million in revenue FYE 9/2018 ) .
JCRC branches are notorious for advocating for Israel and protesting when talks about Palestinian rights are presented .
In its brochure about its Israel advocacy , JCRC states : This statement is problematic on a number of grounds .
While Israel was founded as , and identifies as , “ the Jewish State , ” the implications of this title are formidable – as Palestinian academic and diplomat Sari Nussibieh points out .
One-fifth of the population of Israel is non-Jewish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if not unwelcome ) in their own native land .
( This is the remnant of the majority population that inhabited Palestine before they were pushed out to make way for the establishment of Israel . )
Besides , While Jews around the world are granted an automatic “ right of return ” to land some of their ancestors may have inhabited 2,000 years before , Palestinian Muslim and Christian families who were forced out of their ancestral homes in 1948 are denied the right to return because they ’ re not Jewish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed to vote ( under restrictive conditions , and while experiencing pervasive discrimination ) , millions living in Gaza and the West Bank are not able to participate in the selection of the government that essentially controls their lives under occupation .
British journalist Jonathan Cook , who lives in Israel , points out : Other experts – including the United Nations – have reached the same conclusion : Israel is not a democracy , but an apartheid state .
A few telltale signs of apartheid : Israel has about 70 laws that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ checkpoints limit Palestinian freedom of movement ; Israel imposes curfews , military raids , and collective punishment ; and Palestinians live under Israeli military law .
Equality does not exist in such an environment .
( Read more about apartheid here . )
The “ homeland of the Jewish people ” is also – and far more tangibly – the homeland of the Palestinian people .
Israeli Jews ( many of whom are not religious ) claim that passages in an ancient religious document – taken completely out of context – “ prove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meanwhile , Palestinians in many cases have land deeds , historical records , maps , and even house keys .
Archives are full of photographs of Palestinians in the 530 or so towns and villages that were destroyed when the Israeli state was created .
As for the issue of “ Israel ’ s integral role in the modern Jewish identity , ” the American Jewish Committee found in 2019 that only 62 % of US Jews say that “ caring about Israel is a very important part of my being a Jew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently as 2018 ) .
Also among the signatories to the George Floyd statement were a number of Jewish Federations around the country .
Their umbrella organization , Jewish Federations of North America ( JFNA – with revenue in 2018 of $ 263 million ) , also condemned the police action and claimed to oppose racism .
JFNA , which represents several hundred local Jewish groups and communities and raises over $ 3 billion a year , issued a statement declaring that it was “ outraged and sickened by the violence of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death of George Floyd.
” But while it vows to “ fight for a world free of racism and bigotry in all of its forms , ” it simultaneously boasts of its “ unwavering , ” seventy-year commitment to Israel – the same Israel that has killed over 10,000 Palestinians since 2000 , over 20 % of them children .
According to its website , JFNA “ has helped millions of immigrants move to Israel and start new lives ” ( see above for how this affects Palestinians ) .
This endeavor is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Return.
” The Jewish Agency explains : JFNA also supports Israel through the Ethiopian National Project , an effort to assist with settling Ethiopian immigrants , and helping “ thousands of Ethiopian-Israeli students achieve the Israeli dream.
” But for many immigrants of color , the “ Israeli dream ” is a nightmare .
In early 2018 , most of the estimated 38,000 Eritrean , Sudanese , and Ethiopian “ infiltrators ” ( refugees and asylum seekers ) in Israel were slated for deportation – the Justice Minister explaining on Facebook , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own problems .
It can not serve as the employment agency for the African continent.
” However , according to Israel ’ s Central Bureau of Statistics , over 1.5 million Russians – a huge percentage of them not even Jewish – as well as 750,000 Jews from other European countries , have successfully emigrated to Israel .
The Israeli so-called Law of Return is deeply problematic – and not just in its discriminatory application .
While it welcomes ( at least in theory ) anyone Jewish , however feeble their connection to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returnees ” – it bars the return of Palestinian exiles who seek an authentic and literal return to their families ’ land .
These refugees have been away from their homes , in most cases , for less than 75 years .
The Israeli policy renders invisible the 750,000 Palestinians displaced from their ancestral homes in 1948 in order to create the State of Israel , and the millions that now live destitute in refugee camps .
B ’ nai B ’ rith ( $ 8 million revenue in 2018 ) calls itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community , ” and claims to work for the advancement of human rights , tolerance , and peace around the world .
The organization released a statement in the wake of George Floyd ’ s death , including : However , the organization has taken the opposite stand regarding Palestinians ’ right to protest the injustices of Israeli policies .
B ’ nai B ’ rith contradicts both its own viewpoint and that of the George Floyd solidarity statement , which declares , “ Protests are a just response to all-too-familiar anger , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added ) .
In 2018 , Gazan Palestinians began to hold weekly demonstrations ( read about them here and here and see a video here ) to call attention to their anger , frustration , and pain at Israel ’ s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip – a closure that has left its 1.8 million inhabitants without enough food , medicine , and other necessities .
( Learn more about the blockade here . )
Israel responded to the peaceful protests with sniper fire and massive amounts of tear gas .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here . )
The brutality was shocking enough that the UN Human Rights Council called for an investigation .
The UN report revealed that over 6,000 unarmed Palestinians demonstrators were shot by Israeli military snipers ( thousands more suffered from tear gas inhalation ) .
189 Palestinians – 35 of them children – were killed ( since the end of the 2018 reporting period , at least 25 more have been killed ) : The UN Commission concluded there were It screened a video of the fatal shootings .
B ’ nai B @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cherish the right to assembly…and respect the legal right of protesters , ” rejected the clear , factual UN report outright , calling it an “ anti-Israel UN ‘ probe ’ ” that had set out to “ defame ” Israel , and stating that “ the U.N. Human Rights Council report should be denounced globally as the farce that it is.
” B ’ nai B ’ rith went on in its rebuttal to make unsubstantiated claims contradicting the valid findings of the report – for example declaring that Palestinian snipers targeted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children ” killed were actually “ marauding young men.
” Elsewhere , the organization ridiculed another global justice body , the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) , declaring that its chief prosecutor , Fatou Bensouda , “ can not tell the difference between war crimes and Palestinian propaganda , ” once again making claims that contradicted the facts .
B ’ nai B ’ rith ’ s mission of “ making the world a safer , more tolerant and better place ” appears to have some exceptions .
The Rabbinical Assembly ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up of about 1,600 ( statistic from 2010 ) Conservative rabbis , pledged in its George Floyd statement , But once again , there is a disconnect .
RA was also a signatory to a statement in May 2019 responding to a particularly violent weekend in which rockets from Gaza had killed 4 Israelis ; Israeli airstrikes killed 22 Palestinians .
The Rabbinical Assembly viewed the incident much as mainstream media often does .
The New York Times had reported , “ The outbreak of violence appears to have begun on Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two Israeli soldiers.
” In reality , the “ outbreak of violence ” did not begin with a Gazan sniper .
It followed more than a year of nonviolent protest ( see above ) that had resulted in over 200 Palestinian deaths and 1 Israeli military death .
The protest followed 12 years of Israeli blockade and frequent airstrikes .
Before that were 38 years of occupation .
The Palestinians had been exiled from their homes and their land 20 years before that .
This is the context that the Rabbinical Assembly left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which read in part , The Union for Reform Judaism ( URJ ) issued a similar statement in November 2019 , during another “ escalation.
” This time , Israel had assassinated a Palestinian military leader ; militants in Gaza had responded by firing rockets which had killed no one ; Israel carried out ground and air attacks , indiscriminately killing 36 Palestinians .
This context , ignored by URJ , changes the entire substance of the incident .
The statement reads in part : While the groups claim that Israel is merely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact is that Palestinian rockets came after Israeli violence , and have killed a total of 30 Israelis in all the years they ’ ve been used , while Israeli air strikes have killed over 4,000 Gazans .
The possibility of real , lasting , and sustainable peace seems remote when the oppression of Gaza is unacknowledged .
American Jewish World Service looks the other way American Jewish World Service ( AJWS – $ 39 million revenue in FYE 4/19 ) is another signatory to the George Floyd statement .
AJWS claims to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : participation in the political process that affects one ’ s daily life , free expression without censorship , peaceful pursuit of social change , and a life free from violence .
Israel ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child , the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , and the 1966 Covenant on Economic and Social Rights – yet it regularly detains and incarcerates children , keeps 5 million Palestinians in the occupied Territories permanently disenfranchised , while controlling every aspect of their lives ; and withholds the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of living , and freedom from violence and fear .
Israel and Palestine have a deep need for the kind of assistance AJWS offers – but AJWS , like many others , does not engage .
Some Jewish organizations that signed the JCPA solidarity statement with America ’ s Black community have a more realistic picture of Israel ’ s treatment of Palestinians – and/or a willingness to acknowledge Israel ’ s faults .
They display a willingness to at least give lip service to the idea of social justice for Palestinians .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rabbinical Association ( RRA ) is a professional association of over 300 Reconstructionist rabbis .
Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern , progressive form of Judaism that seeks to continuously reinterpret Jewish laws and traditions to mesh with contemporary life .
Its official website includes position statements on dozens of topics – including Israel and Palestine .
This branch of Judaism is not afraid to stand apart from the crowd of perpetually uncritical supporters of Israel .
RRA voiced its support for H.R.2407 , Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children ( read about this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Deal of the Century ” – the Trump Peace Plan ( read a critique of it here ) – which was created without Palestinian input ; does not include a hoped-for “ end to Israel ’ s role as an occupying power ” ; and would result in a Palestinian state “ in a Swiss cheese-like territory…dotted by Israeli settlements.
” Many pro-Israel organizations have balked at the very idea that Palestinian children deserve protection from the Israeli military ; RRA ’ s position on H.R.2407 is a welcome surprise to those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some pro-Israel groups have weighed in on the Trump Peace Plan – for example , B ’ nai B ’ rith loves it , ADL gives it a mixed review – but few have looked at it with any regard for the Palestinian perspective , as RRA has .
The National Council of Jewish Women ( NCJW ) defines its mission as “ striv [ ing ] for social justice by improving the quality of life for women , children , and families , and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.
” While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also consistently shows some comprehension of the Palestinian experience of injustice and oppression by Israel – and the courage to speak out .
For example , in May , 2018 , the organization spoke out about the massacre of Gazan Palestinians by Israeli snipers .
On May 14th , Israel had shot and killed 58 nonviolent protesters .
Instead of creating a narrative of Israeli innocence ( like ADL , JCRC , and JFNA ) , NCJW asked whether the Israeli military could have used less violent methods , and why the Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” to genuine peace negotiations .
Elsewhere , NCJW lived up to its mission when it commented on a piece of legislation that had just passed the Israeli Knesset – a bill ( now law ) specifying that Israel is the historical and national homeland of the Jewish people , that only the Jews have “ national self-determination ” in Israel , that its official language is Hebrew , and that Israeli settlements – illegally built on Palestinian land – are a “ national value.
” Each clause in the Nation-State Law is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – who have lived there for generations longer than most Jewish Israelis .
The law serves to codify unjust practices , making equality more out of reach than ever for Palestinians .
In a statement called “ Israel ’ s Jewish nation state law an affront to human dignity and decency , ” the National Council of Jewish Women declared , Nearly every organization ’ s website alludes to the “ Jewish values ” of justice ( as expressed in Deuteronomy 16:18 : “ Justice , justice shall you pursue ” ) and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expression for repairing the world .
While NCJW considers its members “ staunch supporters of Israel , ” does not acknowledge Israel ’ s establishment through ethnic cleansing , does not seem to acknowledge Palestinians ’ right of return , and does not prioritize justice for Palestinians , it is one of the few groups that doesn ’ t completely abandon its values when it comes to Palestinians .
No doubt every one of the 130 signatories to the statement of solidarity is sincere : each organization hopes for peace and believes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is puzzling that so few are committed to these ideals in Israel – a place desperately in need of repair .
Feature photo | Israeli protesters hold signs and shout slogans during a protest to decry the killing of George Floyd in front of the U.S. Embassy Branch Office , in Tel Aviv , Israel , June 2 , 2020 .
Ariel Schalit | AP

Menifee, CA (IAK) — In the wake of George Floyd’s death and the protest movement that followed, thousands of organizations have taken to social media, expressing their support for Black lives and the right to protest injustice. Among those jumping on the bandwagon were 130 Jewish organizations, 800 rabbis, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
But talk is cheap. Several Israeli and Jewish human rights groups have called out AIPAC and others for their duplicity.
+972 Mag – an independent, nonprofit website run by Israeli and Palestinian journalists – recently posted an article entitled, “U.S. Jews are standing up for Black lives. Why aren’t we doing so for Palestinians?” The article boldly declared,
[T]here is a glaring problem with the way many mainstream American Jewish organizations are responding to this critical moment: they have not applied the same values-based approach to Palestinian rights and Israeli state violence as they do to U.S. police violence. Because of this inconsistency, the responses of many Jewish groups to the current events in the United States seem hollow at best, and self-serving at worst…For many, this dissonance makes it harder to take Jewish commitments to racial justice in the U.S. seriously, while the same groups strenuously work to uphold similar systems of oppression in Palestine-Israel. It is essential that we speak out with equal zeal and righteous indignation against Israeli state violence and for justice for Palestinians.
IfNotNow, a Jewish organization that supports many (but not all) Palestinian rights, chided AIPAC for claiming solidarity with the Black community: “At what point in time was AIPAC ever committed to equality, freedom, or justice?” (AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is one of the major Israel advocacy organizations in the U.S.)
https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg/status/1269794412139347969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1269794412139347969%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fisraelpalestinenews.org%2Fjewish-groups-want-equality-except-palestine-nation-state-law-gaza-etc%2F
These responses are a stark reminder: if a group wants to have credibility today, its standards had better match the signed solidarity statement that bears its name. The larger and more influential an organization, the more ardent its efforts must be.
It’s not enough to be part of the solution – don’t simultaneously be part of the problem.
Support for Floyd
On June 2nd, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) released a statement of solidarity with the Black community “that has for far too long been targeted by police and have suffered rampant racism and unfair and uneven applications of the law.” The statement goes on to call for sweeping reform in policing and criminal justice.
The statement is undersigned by 130 Jewish organizations of every description. “Our faith drives us to be people who stand up for the morality of what’s right,” explained Eddie Chavez Calderon of Arizona Jews for Justice, adding, “the Jewish people know what it feels like to be marginalized and oppressed.”
But significantly, many of the 130 signatories (by our count, at least 98) apparently do not consider “justice and equality” a truly universal human right.
ADL, JCRC ignore apartheid
For example, two dozen of the signatory organizations are branches of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL – $83 million in revenue in 2017), which actively and relentlessly advocates for Israel, has not endorsed Black Lives Matter because in 2016 that organization took a stand calling for justice for Palestinians. Yet ADL says of itself,
We are viewed as having unquestioned credibility because our actions draw from years of experience and are grounded in research and rigorous thinking.
Another umbrella organization with over 30 signatories on the solidarity letter is the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC – $2.7 million in revenue FYE 9/2018). JCRC branches are notorious for advocating for Israel and protesting when talks about Palestinian rights are presented.
In its brochure about its Israel advocacy, JCRC states:
JCRC values Israel’s integral role in the modern Jewish identity. We are committed to promoting a secure and vibrant Israel as the Jewish and democratic state and homeland of the Jewish people.
This statement is problematic on a number of grounds.
While Israel was founded as, and identifies as, “the Jewish State,” the implications of this title are formidable – as Palestinian academic and diplomat Sari Nussibieh points out. One-fifth of the population of Israel is non-Jewish, which makes them essentially strangers (if not unwelcome) in their own native land. (This is the remnant of the majority population that inhabited Palestine before they were pushed out to make way for the establishment of Israel.) Besides,
[R]ecognition of Israel as a “Jewish state” implies that Israel is, or should be, either a theocracy (if we take the word “Jewish” to apply to the religion of Judaism) or an apartheid state (if we take the word “Jewish” to apply to the ethnicity of Jews), or both, and in all of these cases, Israel is then no longer a democracy.
While Jews around the world are granted an automatic “right of return” to land some of their ancestors may have inhabited 2,000 years before, Palestinian Muslim and Christian families who were forced out of their ancestral homes in 1948 are denied the right to return because they’re not Jewish.
While Palestinians living in Israel are allowed to vote (under restrictive conditions, and while experiencing pervasive discrimination), millions living in Gaza and the West Bank are not able to participate in the selection of the government that essentially controls their lives under occupation.
“Apartheid”
British journalist Jonathan Cook, who lives in Israel, points out:
The discrimination faced by Palestinians in Israel is not illegal, informal, unofficial, or improvised. It is systematic, institutional, structural and extensively codified, satisfying very precisely the definition of apartheid in international law and echoing the key features of South African apartheid.
Other experts – including the United Nations – have reached the same conclusion: Israel is not a democracy, but an apartheid state.
A few telltale signs of apartheid: Israel has about 70 laws that discriminate against the Palestinian minority; Israeli-run checkpoints limit Palestinian freedom of movement; Israel imposes curfews, military raids, and collective punishment; and Palestinians live under Israeli military law. Equality does not exist in such an environment. (Read more about apartheid here.)The “homeland of the Jewish people” is also – and far more tangibly – the homeland of the Palestinian people. Israeli Jews (many of whom are not religious) claim that passages in an ancient religious document – taken completely out of context – “prove” their connection to the land. Meanwhile, Palestinians in many cases have land deeds, historical records, maps, and even house keys. Archives are full of photographs of Palestinians in the 530 or so towns and villages that were destroyed when the Israeli state was created.
(And, regarding religious connection, it may be relevant to note that the region is deeply holy to Muslims and Christians: Christianity was born in Palestine; Jerusalem is one of Islam’s most sacred sites; and Moses, Jesus, and Mary are revered by Muslims.)
As for the issue of “Israel’s integral role in the modern Jewish identity,” the American Jewish Committee found in 2019 that only 62% of US Jews say that “caring about Israel is a very important part of my being a Jew” (down from 70% as recently as 2018).
Also among the signatories to the George Floyd statement were a number of Jewish Federations around the country. Their umbrella organization, Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA – with revenue in 2018 of $263 million), also condemned the police action and claimed to oppose racism.
JFNA, which represents several hundred local Jewish groups and communities and raises over $3 billion a year, issued a statement declaring that it was “outraged and sickened by the violence of the Minneapolis police officers that led to the death of George Floyd.”
But while it vows to “fight for a world free of racism and bigotry in all of its forms,” it simultaneously boasts of its “unwavering,” seventy-year commitment to Israel – the same Israel that has killed over 10,000 Palestinians since 2000, over 20% of them children.
“Immigration”
According to its website, JFNA “has helped millions of immigrants move to Israel and start new lives” (see above for how this affects Palestinians). This endeavor is based on the Israeli “Law of Return.” The Jewish Agency explains:
With the inception of the State of Israel, two thousand years of wandering were officially over. Since then, Jews have been entitled to simply show up and request to be Israeli citizens…Essentially, all Jews everywhere are Israeli citizens by right.
JFNA also supports Israel through the Ethiopian National Project, an effort to assist with settling Ethiopian immigrants, and helping “thousands of Ethiopian-Israeli students achieve the Israeli dream.”
But for many immigrants of color, the “Israeli dream” is a nightmare. In early 2018, most of the estimated 38,000 Eritrean, Sudanese, and Ethiopian “infiltrators” (refugees and asylum seekers) in Israel were slated for deportation – the Justice Minister explaining on Facebook, “Israel is too small and has its own problems. It cannot serve as the employment agency for the African continent.”
However, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, over 1.5 million Russians – a huge percentage of them not even Jewish – as well as 750,000 Jews from other European countries, have successfully emigrated to Israel.
The Israeli so-called Law of Return is deeply problematic – and not just in its discriminatory application. While it welcomes (at least in theory) anyone Jewish, however feeble their connection to the land – and considers them “returnees” – it bars the return of Palestinian exiles who seek an authentic and literal return to their families’ land. These refugees have been away from their homes, in most cases, for less than 75 years.
The Israeli policy renders invisible the 750,000 Palestinians displaced from their ancestral homes in 1948 in order to create the State of Israel, and the millions that now live destitute in refugee camps.
B’nai B’rith promotes selective tolerance
B’nai B’rith ($8 million revenue in 2018) calls itself “the global voice of the Jewish community,” and claims to work for the advancement of human rights, tolerance, and peace around the world. The organization released a statement in the wake of George Floyd’s death, including:
B’nai B’rith cherishes the right to assembly, one of the cornerstones of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and respects the legal right of protesters to honor the memory of Mr. Floyd and to call out the injustices by Minneapolis police.
However, the organization has taken the opposite stand regarding Palestinians’ right to protest the injustices of Israeli policies. B’nai B’rith contradicts both its own viewpoint and that of the George Floyd solidarity statement, which declares, “Protests are a just response to all-too-familiar anger, frustration, and pain” (emphasis added).
Peaceful protest
In 2018, Gazan Palestinians began to hold weekly demonstrations (read about them here and here and see a video here) to call attention to their anger, frustration, and pain at Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip – a closure that has left its 1.8 million inhabitants without enough food, medicine, and other necessities. (Learn more about the blockade here.)
Israel responded to the peaceful protests with sniper fire and massive amounts of tear gas. (Learn more about the snipers here and here.) The brutality was shocking enough that the UN Human Rights Council called for an investigation.
The UN report revealed that over 6,000 unarmed Palestinians demonstrators were shot by Israeli military snipers (thousands more suffered from tear gas inhalation). 189 Palestinians – 35 of them children – were killed (since the end of the 2018 reporting period, at least 25 more have been killed):
The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognizable as such. During the protests, 4 Israeli soldiers were injured (one was killed on a protest day, but not in connection with the protests).
The UN Commission concluded there were
reasonable grounds to believe that during the Great March of Return, Israeli soldiers committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity…
It screened a video of the fatal shootings.
Villifying the UN and ICC
B’nai B’rith, which claims to “cherish the right to assembly…and respect the legal right of protesters,” rejected the clear, factual UN report outright, calling it an “anti-Israel UN ‘probe’” that had set out to “defame” Israel, and stating that “the U.N. Human Rights Council report should be denounced globally as the farce that it is.”
B’nai B’rith went on in its rebuttal to make unsubstantiated claims contradicting the valid findings of the report – for example declaring that Palestinian snipers targeted Israeli soldiers, and the Palestinian “children” killed were actually “marauding young men.”
Elsewhere, the organization ridiculed another global justice body, the International Criminal Court (ICC), declaring that its chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, “cannot tell the difference between war crimes and Palestinian propaganda,” once again making claims that contradicted the facts.
B’nai B’rith’s mission of “making the world a safer, more tolerant and better place” appears to have some exceptions.
(The World Jewish Congress, which also misrepresents the protests in Gaza, released a statement about the death of George Floyd, including the words, “the answer to racism and bigotry must never be rampant violence. I join leaders on all sides of the political spectrum in calling for calm.”)
Conservative and Reform groups demonize the oppressed
The Rabbinical Assembly (RA), an international association made up of about 1,600 (statistic from 2010) Conservative rabbis, pledged in its George Floyd statement,
United in purpose, we will dismantle the systemic racism all too embedded still within American law enforcement and its justice system…We must forever strive for a free and just society for all people.
But once again, there is a disconnect. RA was also a signatory to a statement in May 2019 responding to a particularly violent weekend in which rockets from Gaza had killed 4 Israelis; Israeli airstrikes killed 22 Palestinians.
The Rabbinical Assembly viewed the incident much as mainstream media often does. The New York Times had reported, “The outbreak of violence appears to have begun on Friday, when a [Palestinian] sniper wounded two Israeli soldiers.”
In reality, the “outbreak of violence” did not begin with a Gazan sniper. It followed more than a year of nonviolent protest (see above) that had resulted in over 200 Palestinian deaths and 1 Israeli military death. The protest followed 12 years of Israeli blockade and frequent airstrikes. Before that were 38 years of occupation. The Palestinians had been exiled from their homes and their land 20 years before that.
This is the context that the Rabbinical Assembly left out of its May 2019 statement, which read in part,
We mourn the deaths of four Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets. We extend our sincerest condolences to their families and pray for the full and speedy recovery of those who are wounded.
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) issued a similar statement in November 2019, during another “escalation.” This time, Israel had assassinated a Palestinian military leader; militants in Gaza had responded by firing rockets which had killed no one; Israel carried out ground and air attacks, indiscriminately killing 36 Palestinians.
This context, ignored by URJ, changes the entire substance of the incident. The statement reads in part:
The Union for Reform Judaism deplores the massive, ongoing rocket attacks unleashed by Islamic Jihad upon Israeli communities throughout the South of the country and the area around Gaza. We stand in solidarity with the Israeli victims of this new round of violence. We pray for the healing of the injured and for the safety of the Israel Defense Forces as they combat this assault on Israeli sovereignty and security… We remain in solidarity with the State of Israel and all Israelis even as we pray for Israel’s safety and security, for an end to this tragic violence, and for a future of real, lasting, and sustainable peace for Israel and for the Palestinian people.
While the groups claim that Israel is merely defending itself from Gaza rockets, the fact is that Palestinian rockets came after Israeli violence, and have killed a total of 30 Israelis in all the years they’ve been used, while Israeli air strikes have killed over 4,000 Gazans.
The possibility of real, lasting, and sustainable peace seems remote when the oppression of Gaza is unacknowledged.
American Jewish World Service looks the other way
American Jewish World Service (AJWS – $39 million revenue in FYE 4/19 ) is another signatory to the George Floyd statement. AJWS claims to advocate for universal human rights, specifically: participation in the political process that affects one’s daily life, free expression without censorship, peaceful pursuit of social change, and a life free from violence.
AJWS points out:
Although many countries have ratified an international covenant that safeguards basic human rights…governments often stray from their pledges and…get away with shocking abuses.
Israel ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the 1966 Covenant on Economic and Social Rights – yet it regularly detains and incarcerates children, keeps 5 million Palestinians in the occupied Territories permanently disenfranchised, while controlling every aspect of their lives; and withholds the means to an adequate education and standard of living, and freedom from violence and fear.
Israel and Palestine have a deep need for the kind of assistance AJWS offers – but AJWS, like many others, does not engage.
Some Jewish organizations that signed the JCPA solidarity statement with America’s Black community have a more realistic picture of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians – and/or a willingness to acknowledge Israel’s faults. They display a willingness to at least give lip service to the idea of social justice for Palestinians.
Reconstructionists on the right track
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) is a professional association of over 300 Reconstructionist rabbis.
Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern, progressive form of Judaism that seeks to continuously reinterpret Jewish laws and traditions to mesh with contemporary life. Its official website includes position statements on dozens of topics – including Israel and Palestine. This branch of Judaism is not afraid to stand apart from the crowd of perpetually uncritical supporters of Israel.
A few examples:
RRA voiced its support for H.R.2407, Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children (read about this legislation here).
RRA criticized the “Deal of the Century” – the Trump Peace Plan (read a critique of it here) – which was created without Palestinian input; does not include a hoped-for “end to Israel’s role as an occupying power”; and would result in a Palestinian state “in a Swiss cheese-like territory…dotted by Israeli settlements.”
Many pro-Israel organizations have balked at the very idea that Palestinian children deserve protection from the Israeli military; RRA’s position on H.R.2407 is a welcome surprise to those seeking justice and equality for Palestinians.
Some pro-Israel groups have weighed in on the Trump Peace Plan – for example, B’nai B’rith loves it, ADL gives it a mixed review – but few have looked at it with any regard for the Palestinian perspective, as RRA has.
National Council of Jewish Women – a courageous stand
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) defines its mission as “striv[ing] for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families, and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.”
While the group advocates for Israel, NCJW also consistently shows some comprehension of the Palestinian experience of injustice and oppression by Israel – and the courage to speak out.
For example, in May, 2018, the organization spoke out about the massacre of Gazan Palestinians by Israeli snipers. On May 14th, Israel had shot and killed 58 nonviolent protesters. Instead of creating a narrative of Israeli innocence (like ADL, JCRC, and JFNA), NCJW asked whether the Israeli military could have used less violent methods, and why the Israeli government was not “dedicating itself full-time” to genuine peace negotiations.
Elsewhere, NCJW lived up to its mission when it commented on a piece of legislation that had just passed the Israeli Knesset – a bill (now law) specifying that Israel is the historical and national homeland of the Jewish people, that only the Jews have “national self-determination” in Israel, that its official language is Hebrew, and that Israeli settlements – illegally built on Palestinian land – are a “national value.”
Each clause in the Nation-State Law is an affront to the Palestinians living Israel – who have lived there for generations longer than most Jewish Israelis. The law serves to codify unjust practices, making equality more out of reach than ever for Palestinians.
In a statement called “Israel’s Jewish nation state law an affront to human dignity and decency,” the National Council of Jewish Women declared,
This bill takes away hope of creating an equal and shared society. It favors one group’s ability to build communities over another’s, and it diminishes the historic status of the Arabic language as one of the two official languages of Israel… We are dismayed and disgusted by this new law which opens the door wider to legal discrimination.
Nearly every organization’s website alludes to the “Jewish values” of justice (as expressed in Deuteronomy 16:18: “Justice, justice shall you pursue”) and “tikkun olam,” the Hebrew expression for repairing the world.
While NCJW considers its members “staunch supporters of Israel,” does not acknowledge Israel’s establishment through ethnic cleansing, does not seem to acknowledge Palestinians’ right of return, and does not prioritize justice for Palestinians, it is one of the few groups that doesn’t completely abandon its values when it comes to Palestinians.
(Besides RRA and NCJW, the New Israel Fund (NIF) walks the fine line of being pro-Israel and working for Palestinian rights. NIF speaks out against settlements, the Nation State Law, and the right to boycott Israel – although the organization itself does not participate in BDS. NIF’s statement about racial justice therefore has some credibility.)
No doubt every one of the 130 signatories to the statement of solidarity is sincere: each organization hopes for peace and believes in justice and equality for Black Americans. It is puzzling that so few are committed to these ideals in Israel – a place desperately in need of repair.
Feature photo | Israeli protesters hold signs and shout slogans during a protest to decry the killing of George Floyd in front of the U.S. Embassy Branch Office, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 2, 2020. Ariel Schalit | AP


mintpressnews--2020-06-26--The Killing of Ahmad Erekat by Israeli Police Puts Western Media Bias on Full Display

Menifee , CA ( IAK ) — Reuters reported Wednesday on the latest “ alleged car-ramming incident ” in which a Palestinian was killed at an Israeli military checkpoint .
The news story – from the outlet that reaches “ more than one billion people every day ” – was brief , yet included statements from both an Israeli police spokesperson and a relative of the Palestinian man who was killed .
While this may suggest that the coverage of the incident was balanced , in reality , it was not .
This is part of two ongoing – and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of Israel in its violent policies toward Palestinians , and a strong pro-Israel bias in American mainstream media ( MSM ) .
Below is a look how Reuters reported the alleged car-ramming incident .
Original ( abridged ) text is in italics ; additional details are from ( MSM source ) Associated Press , and ( alternative news sources ) Mondoweiss , the New Arab , Democracy Now !
, Palestine News Network , and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights ( PCHR ) , as well as two Israeli online newspapers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and one from Times of Israel ) and Twitter .
Concluding remarks on the coverage of the Palestinian issue follow .
JERUSALEM ( Reuters ) – Israeli police on Tuesday shot dead a Palestinian man who they said had tried to ram his car into an officer at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank .
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the 27-year-old [ Ahmed ] Erekat lightly injured an officer when he drove his vehicle into a barrier at a checkpoint near the town of Abu Dis , east of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s account of Ahmad Erekat ’ s death .
They said he was rushing to nearby Bethlehem to pick up family members from a hair salon on his sister ’ s wedding day .
“ ( He ) got out of the car and approached officers who responded by shooting ” him .
PCHR , the Palestinian Center for Human Rights , includes details that paint a clearer , more accurate picture of the incident , as well as providing background information on the victim – factual information that gives the reader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ On Tuesday , 23 June 2020 , Israeli occupation forces ( IOF ) killed a Palestinian civilian after opening fire at his vehicle , which collided into the traffic island in the center of al-container military checkpoint , east of Bethlehem .
“ According to PCHR ’ s investigations and eyewitnesses ’ testimonies , at approximately 15:53 on Tuesday , Ahmed Mostafa Mousa Erekat ( 26 ) , from Abu Dis village in occupied East Jerusalem , was waiting in queue at al-container military checkpoint in eastern Bethlehem , to cross @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pick up his mother and sisters from a beauty salon in the city and return to Abu Dis village to attend his sister ’ s , Eman , wedding .
“ At approximately 15:55 , when Erekat vehicle approached the checkpoint , it deviated from its path and collided into the traffic island opposite the glass room where Israeli border guard soldiers stationed .
The soldiers immediately opened fire at the vehicle , wounding Erekat with several live bullets in his upper body.
” Video showed Israeli troops placing a plastic sheet over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ground next to his vehicle .
Again , PCHR provides missing information : “ They pulled him out of the vehicle , threw him on the ground and prevented Palestinian Red Crescent Society ( PRCS ) ’ s medical crew from approaching him or providing first aid ; leaving him to bleed to his death on the dirt at the checkpoint.
” The Israeli paper Ha ’ aretz corroborates , “ Video footage obtained by Haaretz shows Erekat was left to bleed to death for at least 30 minutes , sources say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatment.
” Ha ’ aretz also adds that the Israeli police officer “ who was injured lightly ” was “ evacuated to a Jerusalem hospital.
” Elsewhere , a Ha ’ aretz op-ed by a relative adds the detail that Erekat ’ s body was taken away by the Israeli police , and has been since withheld from his family .
Saeb Erekat , secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization , said the man killed was his relative , and that his wedding was set for next week .
“ This young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What the occupation army ( Israeli military ) claims , that he was trying to run someone over , is a lie , ” he said .
On Twitter , Noura Erekat , the well-known Palestinian American attorney , author , and human rights activist echoed her relative ’ s sentiment as she addressed Israel ’ s accusation that Ahmed Erekat was a terrorist : “ You lie .
You kill .
You lie .
This is my baby cousin , ” adding , “ The only terrorists are the cowards who shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blamed him for it.
” Palestinian Center for Human Rights again brings in critical details about the checkpoint killing : “ PCHR stresses that IOF used disproportionate force , especially that the victim posed no real threat to the soldiers ’ lives in light of the heavy fortifications at the checkpoint.
” Tensions have risen in recent weeks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’ s cabinet due on July 1 to begin discussing annexation of the West Bank , territory Israel captured in a 1967 war and that Palestinians seek for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan , as do most world powers .
MSM giant Associated Press adds , “ In recent years , Israel has seen car-ramming attacks , shootings and stabbings carried out mostly by lone Palestinian attackers with no apparent links to armed groups.
” This statement from AP is loaded : Palestinians are labeled “ attackers , ” – not even using the word “ alleged , ” or acknowledging the many instances , like Ahmed Erekat ’ s , when there is doubt about Israeli claims .
The IDF has allegedly planted weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparently to justify their deaths .
A notable example : in 2015 , a 16-year-old boy was killed at the same checkpoint where Erekat was killed ; after the incident , Israeli police are believed to have planted a knife on him .
In an interview with Democracy Now !
, Noura Erakat reminded viewers of the bigger questions behind the killing : “ Why is there a checkpoint between Bethlehem and Abu Dis , two Palestinian cities ?
Why are there checkpoints anywhere ?
Just think about those questions as we answer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ahmed was killed in.
” ( See her full interview here . )
PCHR continues the thought : “ It should be noted that al-container military checkpoint separates villages located in south-eastern occupied East Jerusalem from eastern Bethlehem.
” Times of Israel references a leader of the Abu Dis Popular Resistance Committee member : “ [ Dr. Abdullah ] Abu Hilal claimed that the Container Checkpoint , where Ahmad was shot , was notorious in Abu Dis for the degree of harassment Palestinian residents received by Israeli soldiers while crossing.
” The New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Omar Shakir , the director of Human Rights Watch for Israel-Palestine , who said that Erekat ’ s death was part of a series of “ daily gut-wrenching outrages ” that “ stem from decades-long failure of [ the international ] community to hold Israel to account for serious abuses.
” Palestinian academic Yara Hawari tweeted , “ Palestinians live in a space-time continuum of trauma .
Just as we start to move on from one loss , another happens almost immediately .
It ’ s a space of constant grieving and hurt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bodies .
It ’ s exhausting.
” Hanan Ashrawi , a PLO top leader , released a statement condemning the killing and demanding an end to Israel ’ s “ kill first , justify later ” policy .
She added , “ [ Israel ] attempted to slander Ahmad and excuse his murder .
It is part of a tragically familiar pattern , where Israel habitually uses false pretexts that are all too familiar now to justify the murder of Palestinians by trigger happy soldiers.
” Palestine News Network points out that Ahmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be withheld from its family .
Most are buried in “ cemeteries of numbers , ” where they are reserved for Israel as bargaining chips .
This is a violation of international law .
Early in 2018 , If Americans Knew presented a study on how the Associated Press reports the deaths of Israelis and Palestinians .
The study showed that AP had completely different ways of reporting on the two groups ( much the same is true of other news outlets , as IAK has shown elsewhere ) .
Inaccurate reporting on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the trend that is at least half a century old : This phenomenon of poor journalism even in world-class news outlets may partly be blamed on pro-Israel manipulation of reporting .
At a time when the world is crying out for justice , it behooves Israel to reverse its destructive policies toward Palestinians – and responsible journalism to ignore the bullies and tell the truth .
Feature photo | Israeli police linger around the body of a Ahmed Erekat .
Erekat was killed by Israeli police at a checkpoint near Jerusalem , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ | AP

Menifee, CA (IAK) — Reuters reported Wednesday on the latest “alleged car-ramming incident” in which a Palestinian was killed at an Israeli military checkpoint. The news story – from the outlet that reaches “more than one billion people every day” – was brief, yet included statements from both an Israeli police spokesperson and a relative of the Palestinian man who was killed.
While this may suggest that the coverage of the incident was balanced, in reality, it was not.
This is part of two ongoing – and longstanding – trends: impunity on the part of Israel in its violent policies toward Palestinians, and a strong pro-Israel bias in American mainstream media (MSM).
Below is a look how Reuters reported the alleged car-ramming incident. Original (abridged) text is in italics; additional details are from (MSM source) Associated Press, and (alternative news sources) Mondoweiss, the New Arab, Democracy Now!, Palestine News Network, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), as well as two Israeli online newspapers (two articles from Ha’aretz and one from Times of Israel) and Twitter.
Concluding remarks on the coverage of the Palestinian issue follow.
The alleged car-ramming
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli police on Tuesday shot dead a Palestinian man who they said had tried to ram his car into an officer at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the 27-year-old [Ahmed] Erekat lightly injured an officer when he drove his vehicle into a barrier at a checkpoint near the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem.
Palestinian officials questioned the police’s account of Ahmad Erekat’s death. They said he was rushing to nearby Bethlehem to pick up family members from a hair salon on his sister’s wedding day.
“(He) got out of the car and approached officers who responded by shooting” him.
PCHR, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, includes details that paint a clearer, more accurate picture of the incident, as well as providing background information on the victim – factual information that gives the reader a completely different perspective on Ahmed Erekat:
“On Tuesday, 23 June 2020, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian civilian after opening fire at his vehicle, which collided into the traffic island in the center of al-container military checkpoint, east of Bethlehem.
“According to PCHR’s investigations and eyewitnesses’ testimonies, at approximately 15:53 on Tuesday, Ahmed Mostafa Mousa Erekat (26), from Abu Dis village in occupied East Jerusalem, was waiting in queue at al-container military checkpoint in eastern Bethlehem, to cross into Bethlehem where he was supposed to pick up his mother and sisters from a beauty salon in the city and return to Abu Dis village to attend his sister’s, Eman, wedding.
“At approximately 15:55, when Erekat vehicle approached the checkpoint, it deviated from its path and collided into the traffic island opposite the glass room where Israeli border guard soldiers stationed. The soldiers immediately opened fire at the vehicle, wounding Erekat with several live bullets in his upper body.”
The aftermath
“[H]e died at the scene,” [Israeli police spokesperson] Rosenfeld added.
Video showed Israeli troops placing a plastic sheet over the man, who lay shirtless on the ground next to his vehicle.
Again, PCHR provides missing information: “They pulled him out of the vehicle, threw him on the ground and prevented Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS)’s medical crew from approaching him or providing first aid; leaving him to bleed to his death on the dirt at the checkpoint.”
The Israeli paper Ha’aretz corroborates, “Video footage obtained by Haaretz shows Erekat was left to bleed to death for at least 30 minutes, sources say, and was not given immediate medical treatment.”
Ha’aretz also adds that the Israeli police officer “who was injured lightly” was “evacuated to a Jerusalem hospital.”
Elsewhere, a Ha’aretz op-ed by a relative adds the detail that Erekat’s body was taken away by the Israeli police, and has been since withheld from his family.
Comments on the incident
Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the man killed was his relative, and that his wedding was set for next week.
“This young man was killed in cold blood. What the occupation army (Israeli military) claims, that he was trying to run someone over, is a lie,” he said.
On Twitter, Noura Erekat, the well-known Palestinian American attorney, author, and human rights activist echoed her relative’s sentiment as she addressed Israel’s accusation that Ahmed Erekat was a terrorist: “You lie. You kill. You lie. This is my baby cousin,” adding, “The only terrorists are the cowards who shot to kill a beautiful young man and blamed him for it.”
You lie. You kill. You lie. This is my baby cousin. He was on his way to pick up his sister from the salon for her wedding tonight. He was 27 & full of life. His name is Ahmed. The only terrorists are the cowards who shot to kill a beautiful young man and blamed him for it. https://t.co/M7FPgyu6I2 — Noura Erakat (@4noura) June 23, 2020
Palestinian Center for Human Rights again brings in critical details about the checkpoint killing: “PCHR stresses that IOF used disproportionate force, especially that the victim posed no real threat to the soldiers’ lives in light of the heavy fortifications at the checkpoint.”
Context
Tensions have risen in recent weeks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet due on July 1 to begin discussing annexation of the West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war and that Palestinians seek for a state.
Palestinians vehemently oppose the annexation plan, as do most world powers.
(The annexation plan is illegal under international law, and seeks Israeli sovereignty over land illegally captured in 1967. Israel has relocated – again, illegally – hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews on this Palestinian land. Its annexation would result in Palestinian “bantustans” and the permanent loss of self-determination and justice for the Palestinian people.)
MSM giant Associated Press adds, “In recent years, Israel has seen car-ramming attacks, shootings and stabbings carried out mostly by lone Palestinian attackers with no apparent links to armed groups.”
This statement from AP is loaded: Palestinians are labeled “attackers,” – not even using the word “alleged,” or acknowledging the many instances, like Ahmed Erekat’s, when there is doubt about Israeli claims. The IDF has allegedly planted weapons on or next to dead Palestinians, apparently to justify their deaths. A notable example: in 2015, a 16-year-old boy was killed at the same checkpoint where Erekat was killed; after the incident, Israeli police are believed to have planted a knife on him.
(In instances where a Palestinian clearly does attack an Israeli, the context of a decades-long brutal occupation, part of an ongoing genocide, is key to understanding the incident.)
In an interview with Democracy Now!, Noura Erakat reminded viewers of the bigger questions behind the killing: “Why is there a checkpoint between Bethlehem and Abu Dis, two Palestinian cities? Why are there checkpoints anywhere? Just think about those questions as we answer this broader question of the context that Ahmed was killed in.” (See her full interview here.)
PCHR continues the thought: “It should be noted that al-container military checkpoint separates villages located in south-eastern occupied East Jerusalem from eastern Bethlehem.”
Times of Israel references a leader of the Abu Dis Popular Resistance Committee member: “[Dr. Abdullah] Abu Hilal claimed that the Container Checkpoint, where Ahmad was shot, was notorious in Abu Dis for the degree of harassment Palestinian residents received by Israeli soldiers while crossing.”
The New Arab quotes several Palestinian sources, including Omar Shakir, the director of Human Rights Watch for Israel-Palestine, who said that Erekat’s death was part of a series of “daily gut-wrenching outrages” that “stem from decades-long failure of [the international] community to hold Israel to account for serious abuses.”
Palestinian academic Yara Hawari tweeted, “Palestinians live in a space-time continuum of trauma. Just as we start to move on from one loss, another happens almost immediately. It’s a space of constant grieving and hurt. Imagine what that does to our bodies. It’s exhausting.”
Hanan Ashrawi, a PLO top leader, released a statement condemning the killing and demanding an end to Israel’s “kill first, justify later” policy. She added, “[Israel] attempted to slander Ahmad and excuse his murder. It is part of a tragically familiar pattern, where Israel habitually uses false pretexts that are all too familiar now to justify the murder of Palestinians by trigger happy soldiers.”
Palestine News Network points out that Ahmed Erekat is the 316th Palestinian body to be withheld from its family. Most are buried in “cemeteries of numbers,” where they are reserved for Israel as bargaining chips. This is a violation of international law.
A pattern of misrepresentation and underrepresentation
Early in 2018, If Americans Knew presented a study on how the Associated Press reports the deaths of Israelis and Palestinians. The study showed that AP had completely different ways of reporting on the two groups (much the same is true of other news outlets, as IAK has shown elsewhere). Inaccurate reporting on the Ahmed Erekat incident is an example of the trend that is at least half a century old:
In AP’s 2018 news reports on deaths, the headlines reported on on Israeli deaths at a rate nearly four times greater than they reported on Palestinian deaths. The articles themselves similarly focused more on Israeli deaths than on Palestinian deaths, with news reports on Israeli deaths averaging 471 words in length, while reports on Palestinian deaths averaged 171 words. Reports on Israeli deaths included statements by high ranking officials condemning the attacks. These were often strongly worded, politically charged statements that conveyed the Israeli narrative: “[Israel will] do everything possible in order to apprehend the despicable murderer”; “There is no justification for terror…This is not the path to peace!” “Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace.” By contrast, these AP reports rarely included statements by Palestinian officials condemning the killing of Palestinians, which would have provided another perspective for readers… Such Palestinian viewpoints, largely accurate and readily available, were never reported in the AP articles on deaths. AP reports often leave out critical facts. Perhaps more significant, essential facts about the greater issue are virtually never included. Nowhere in these reports does AP tell readers that the U.S. gives Israel over $10 million per day. Without this information, American readers will incorrectly feel this is a foreign issue that has nothing to do with them. Basic information that would give the reader an understanding of the context of the hostility is absent.
This phenomenon of poor journalism even in world-class news outlets may partly be blamed on pro-Israel manipulation of reporting.
At a time when the world is crying out for justice, it behooves Israel to reverse its destructive policies toward Palestinians – and responsible journalism to ignore the bullies and tell the truth.
Feature photo | Israeli police linger around the body of a Ahmed Erekat. Erekat was killed by Israeli police at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, June 23, 2020. Mahmoud Illean | AP