On Friday, AIPAC—the influential pro-Israel lobbying group—issued a statement I suspect historians of American Jewry will scrutinize for decades to come. It argues that in order to preserve US support for Israel’s ability to rule undemocratically over Palestinians, AIPAC must support politicians who seek to rule undemocratically over Americans. Authoritarianism there requires authoritarianism here.
"The analogy is more than a little problematic. Ukraine is under Russian occupation. Israel is not under Palestinian occupation."
No analogy is perfect, certainly Palestine's beloved "apartheid" analogy's complete disassocation with reality hasn't stopped Israel haters from using it. But there is a comparison to be made with Israel and Ukraine. Ukraine is under attack by an outside force that wants to take it over, wipe it out of existence, and deny its people the right of self-determination. Israel is also under attack by outside forces including Peter that want to wipe it out of existence and deny its people the right of self-determination. If Palestine had its way, Israel would be under "occupation" at best from the river to the sea. Zelensky himself compared Ukraine to Israel. I think he would know. The fact that Israel has successfully defended itself against existential threats (a position Ukraine wishes it could be in) doesn't mean the two situations are not similar. But I think Zelensky was thinking more about situations like the Yom Kippur War in which Arab armies including tanks and airplanes were marching into Israel intent on genocide. Peter may be willing to look the other way while Palestinian leaders scream about turning Tel Aviv into a mass grave, but the rest of us aren't.
PS: Quite ironic for Peter to complain about AIPAC's alleged support for authoritarianism given he's been a defender of the authoritarian Palestinian Authority for decades.
PPS: AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobby so it support pro-Israel politicians. They have never claimed to agree with every position held by every politician they support or endorse. Does Peter agree with every position of every politician he has defended or supported?
A bit facile to see Republicans as the enemies of Democracy and Democrats as its supporters. Anti-BDS legislation for example has been enacted in a multitude of Democrat-controlled Capitols and indeed many prominent Democrats have been among its most outspoken supporters. It is also hard to argue that Democrats have been more wholehearted supporters of free speech and the first amendment generally than Republicans, if this is measured in terms of support of censorship and de-platforming of controversial and non-conformist views on social media
As American democracy and possibly superpower status declines, the extreme right and its anti-Semitic policies will grow. Support of Israel might remain strong, but American Jews will be less safe. “They will not replace us”, and those carrying Nazi symbols are not people who believe in democratic values and a pluralistic society. Jewish history is littered with poor judgment as well as extraordinary achievements. The right wing extremists now well embedded in the Jewish community and its leadership, people I use to host political fundraisers with for the likes of Tom Daschle and Paul Simon, are now committed to Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. The home we have in the US is only secured by the strength of our democracy and rule of law. As that fades and the pickup trucks roll into our cities and towns, as they did in Kabul, Jews (even those who bankroll these “friends” of Israel) will be the first targets. We have not learned well from 5000 years of history.
Thanks for bringing this recent AIPAC statement to our attention. I am dead set against AIPAC's move to support anti-democratic Republican legislators who refused to vote for certification of President Biden’s election last year. These legislators, and their enablers, including AIPAC in this case, are a danger to American democracy. I support Israel’s right to exist, it is a fait accompli; but I also support Israel’s original core values of democracy and rule of law, core values which Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank continue to erode.
"The analogy is more than a little problematic. Ukraine is under Russian occupation. Israel is not under Palestinian occupation."
No analogy is perfect, certainly Palestine's beloved "apartheid" analogy's complete disassocation with reality hasn't stopped Israel haters from using it. But there is a comparison to be made with Israel and Ukraine. Ukraine is under attack by an outside force that wants to take it over, wipe it out of existence, and deny its people the right of self-determination. Israel is also under attack by outside forces including Peter that want to wipe it out of existence and deny its people the right of self-determination. If Palestine had its way, Israel would be under "occupation" at best from the river to the sea. Zelensky himself compared Ukraine to Israel. I think he would know. The fact that Israel has successfully defended itself against existential threats (a position Ukraine wishes it could be in) doesn't mean the two situations are not similar. But I think Zelensky was thinking more about situations like the Yom Kippur War in which Arab armies including tanks and airplanes were marching into Israel intent on genocide. Peter may be willing to look the other way while Palestinian leaders scream about turning Tel Aviv into a mass grave, but the rest of us aren't.
PS: Quite ironic for Peter to complain about AIPAC's alleged support for authoritarianism given he's been a defender of the authoritarian Palestinian Authority for decades.
PPS: AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobby so it support pro-Israel politicians. They have never claimed to agree with every position held by every politician they support or endorse. Does Peter agree with every position of every politician he has defended or supported?
A bit facile to see Republicans as the enemies of Democracy and Democrats as its supporters. Anti-BDS legislation for example has been enacted in a multitude of Democrat-controlled Capitols and indeed many prominent Democrats have been among its most outspoken supporters. It is also hard to argue that Democrats have been more wholehearted supporters of free speech and the first amendment generally than Republicans, if this is measured in terms of support of censorship and de-platforming of controversial and non-conformist views on social media
It's worth mentioning that for the last three months J Street has been in the forefront of challenging pro-Israel PACs not to support those candidates who voted against certifying the presidential election. https://jstreet.org/press-releases/j-street-calls-on-fellow-pro-israel-pacs-to-join-them-in-pledge-not-to-support-candidates-who-threaten-american-democracy/#.Yjh9merMKUl
As American democracy and possibly superpower status declines, the extreme right and its anti-Semitic policies will grow. Support of Israel might remain strong, but American Jews will be less safe. “They will not replace us”, and those carrying Nazi symbols are not people who believe in democratic values and a pluralistic society. Jewish history is littered with poor judgment as well as extraordinary achievements. The right wing extremists now well embedded in the Jewish community and its leadership, people I use to host political fundraisers with for the likes of Tom Daschle and Paul Simon, are now committed to Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. The home we have in the US is only secured by the strength of our democracy and rule of law. As that fades and the pickup trucks roll into our cities and towns, as they did in Kabul, Jews (even those who bankroll these “friends” of Israel) will be the first targets. We have not learned well from 5000 years of history.
Thanks for bringing this recent AIPAC statement to our attention. I am dead set against AIPAC's move to support anti-democratic Republican legislators who refused to vote for certification of President Biden’s election last year. These legislators, and their enablers, including AIPAC in this case, are a danger to American democracy. I support Israel’s right to exist, it is a fait accompli; but I also support Israel’s original core values of democracy and rule of law, core values which Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank continue to erode.