"The end of Israel is the goal of our struggle"
One thing has become very clear over the last year. The Democrat Party has an Israel problem. This problem is layered, complex and culturally complicated.
There are many in the Democrat Party while supporting the Jewish people in general or at least not overtly hostile to them have many issues with Israeli policy in the Middle East. It is certainly fair to analyze and critique any power in the world politically, especially if they are receiving large packages of financial or military aid from the United States. In fact, a contingent of legislatures in Congress often make the argument that one can be Anti-Israel politically but not be Anti-Semitic.
This rather interesting talking point arises often at the very same time Progressive advocacy groups attempt to undermine the very relationship the United States has with the State of Israel. Democrat politicians must walk a fine line with their criticisms of Israel because they understand that culturally many of the American Jewry share deep connection to Israel. At a time when the Democrat Party is losing support in the African American community in many areas of the country, the Party can ill afford to alienate moderately conservative Jewish Americans and yet that is exactly what the Progressive Democrats are doing.
No more is this evident than with Southern Jews who traditionally are more politically conservative than their brethren in the Northeast where traditionally the largest concentrations of Jewish American in America reside. Southern Jews have a long history over last century of supporting civil rights and many of the same social justice reforms in America but tend to also be more "Zionist" or pro-Israel than Jewish communities in the Northeast. The Mid Atlantic and Northeast also has a significant problem with anti-Israel and anti-semitic movements on college campus where Progressive activists have used the college campus as a breeding ground to fuel anti-Israel and anti-semitic messaging.
Rutgers University for example, is a state university in New Jersey that illustrates the radical elements of what the Progressive movement for Palestinian Nationalism advocates at the expense of the Jewish people. Ironically, the university in recent years has sought to hire some of the most extreme academics in terms of Middle Eastern philosophy much to the alarm of the over six thousand American Jews that attend the university.
In truth, these Palestinian apologists in higher education are merely an extension of the Palestinian Nationalist movement that uses the art of revising history to win "hearts and minds" over firing rockets, setting of bombs or hijacking airplanes becase in truth that is the history of those that fight for a liberated Palestine. These are the very same academics who condemn American Nationalism under President Trump and yet advocate for Palestinian Nationalism on college campus throughout the country.
The movement in effect is not only anti-Israel clearly embracing the old line of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) folded into the Palestinian Liberation Organization under Yasser Arafat. Arafat was dedicated to guerrilla warfare from within Israel and the PFLP weapon of choice thoughout the late 1960's and 70's was airplane hijacking. The stated goal of Arafat much like the Progressive Palestinian Nationalists in America today was to gain complete control of the West Bank of Jordan River that had been captured in the 1967 war and in doing so establish a Palestine state by removing Israel from the region all together.
Yasser Arafat once stated that "the end of Israel is the goal of our struggle.....and it allows for neither compromise or mediation". This philosophy runs through all that the Progressive Palestinian Nationalist in America espouse. In an attempt to advance their nationalistic agenda, supporter of a "free" Palestine have condoned every sort of horror upon the Israeli people justifying such actions undertaken my the formally declared terrorist organizations within Gaza and Lebanon against Israel which they advance is an "apartheid" state.
In fact the largest support for the Progressive eco-terror movement "BDS" or Boycott, Divest and Sanction of Israel is a coordinated effort on the part of mostly campus activists in coordination with J Street in Washington to target the State of Israel and advance a campaign of propaganda that characterizes Israel as "apartheid" in nature.
The "apartheid" claim of course is absolutely baseless. Arabs, Christians and Jews all share rights in Israel. You even have many Progressive activists launching criticism of Israel's gay and lesbian movement as "pinkwashing" and merely being supported and advanced by the Israeli government to make the Palestinian and Muslim tradition of discrimination and treatment of gays, lesbians and women for that matter look "more" toxic in nature on the world stage. These Progressive activists quickly divert any questioning regarding the treatment of gay and lesbians in a society they seek to create in the Middle East in the formation of a Palestinian state. They ignore the brutality and the cruelty of "honor killings" for example by Palestinians and other Muslims in the region but condemn the outreach of the Israeli government to the LGBTQ community as publicity stunts. Rutgers professor Deepa Kumar is one such academic endorsing the "pinkwashing" claim on campus and her astounding claim that "ISIS is brutal, but the United States is more so".
Many Jewish Americans have had to reconcile with the Democrat Party this advancing Palestinian Nationalism and the elevation of new Representatives becoming media "darlings" like Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY)and Rep. Ayanna Pressly(MA) all women of color and under the age of fifty from northern states where growing anti-Israel and anti-semitic sentiment has been growing in large part since the wave of immigration from the Middle East as a direct result of twenty years of war in the region with millions of refugees displaced from their native countries. This contingent of anti-Israeli Representatives has been called the "Squad" by President Trump, however the Jewish community has begun to recognize these members as the "Hamas Caucus" and supporters of Palestine.
The "Hamas Caucus" label is a direct reference to Hamas, which is the Palestinian fundamentalist militant organization headquartered in Gaza south of Israel which the members have all voiced support for overtly within the last year. Rep. Omar, a Somali-American and former refugee herself and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American, make little secret of their contempt for Israel and the support of Israel by the United States. In fact, earlier this year both members were not permitted to enter the State of Israel on the basis of their rhetoric and support for the BDS movement in which they carried in the House of Representatives in an attempt to gain further support from the greater Democrat Party.
Though not named specifically, the comments by both Representatives were the catalysts in the Democrat Party seeking political cover by passing an anti discrimination bill in lieu of the public reconciling the public comments made by Progressive members as anti-semitic.
Oman has continually charged AIPAC -American Israeli Public Affairs Committee that seeks a solid US-Israel relationship with having too much influence in American politics. Omar has claimed that its "Jewish money" and "Jewish control" that is influencing American foreign policy and contributing to the "occupation" and "apartheid" of Palestinians located in the Middle East.
Omar went on record calling this control and influence by Jewish Americans as being "all about the Benjamins baby" a direct reference and advancement of anti-semitic tropes that infer that "Jews" control the government and using Benjamin Franklin's $100 dollar bill often used in anti-semitic propaganda historically by racists groups. Oman advanced the very trope that was advanced by the KKK last century with regard to Jews. The implication is AIPAC is paying the "Benjamins" to officials setting policy in Washington yet AIPAC in truth ranks well down the list of lobbying groups contributing to American politicians.
Omar further asserted that politicians in Congress were required to take in effect a "pledge of allegiance" to State of Israel.
“I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee,” (Omar)
No member of Congress is asked to express allegiance to any foreign sovereign in truth and yet Omar has explicitly along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib continued to offer support for Palestine over the interests of the United States given Palestine's ties to terrorism and affiliation with Iran. Neither Omar nor Tlaib have criticized the recent rockets fired at Israel from Hamas controlled Gaza over the last two weeks yet were quick to condemn recent Israeli assertions that it may annex remaining settlements in the West Bank.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week released a statement that the United States does not recognize the settlements in the West Bank as being a violation of international law and returns policy back to the stated public position of Ronald Reagan where he reversed President Jimmy Carter's position regarding the settlements.
Omar who claimed rather emphatically that "Israel has hypnotized the world" earlier this year opposes such policy from the Trump Administration which has done more to support Israel than any other President in the history of the Israeli-American relationship.
These Representatives are endorsed by much of Progressive academia on college campus throughout the country in places like the Northeast and California. Academia appears to be advancing the "Uncle Tom" mentality once applied to African Americans in terms of Jewish Americans who support AIPAC , "Zionist" or pro-Israel. Because political history demonstrates that as a voting block Jewish Americans have supported the Democrat Party, progressive elements of academia are pushing an assertion that for Jews to endorse policies that are pro-Israel is somehow selling out.
Another Rutgers University academic such that has been attempting to shape and mold a generation of anti-semites on college campuses is Noura Erakat. Erakat is an outspoken pro-Palestine activist at Rutgers that advances the very same Palestinian Nationalism that renders support for Hamas and other anti-Israel and anti-American groups.
Erakat believes that “Palestinians have not been given enough space to even dream of new worlds and possibilities. What would happen if Palestinians are able to imagine something completely different in a new way forward?” Noura Erakat stated this year at a Middle East Institute program where she was critical of the United States efforts to protect Palestinian human rights in areas where she asserts are "occupied" illegally by Israel such as the West Bank.
The West Bank is the area that Jordan captured during the the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and an area that commonly gets referred to as TransJordan on many maps not Palestine by most credible historians of Middle East history. Regarding the occupation by Jordan of the territory from 1948-1967 once a part of the British Mandate of 1920 via the League of Nations, Jordan annexed the territory in 1950 but was only recognized by Great Britain, Iraq and Pakistan in terms of Jordan's occupation of the territory post 1948. No nation post World War I has been internationally recognized to have any sovereignty over the West Bank in truth.
Erakat likes to invoke her international law background and while frequently neglecting to acknowledge the Palestinians own hand at undermining its own relationship with the Jordanians historically which forced the PLO out of the Jordanian territory and into Lebanon. During the the Six Day War Israel secured the lands occupied by Jordan post 1947 and ultimately Jordan would withdraw any claim to the territory in 1988 severing all legal ties with the West Bank and with it any Jordanian citizenship occupants it may have had.
During this period Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir would assert "There is no Palestinian people. There are Palestinian refugees". Meir was not alone and Erackat refuses to acknowledge that the world under international law recognized that the Palestinian Arabs were in fact refugees with no sovereign land. Security Council Resolution 242 addressed the "refugee" problem not a political problem or role for "Palestinians".
Golda Meir's assertions at the time often ring loudly today in truth in that "nobody heard of Palestinian entity before 1967"- that is to say until Israel took back the lands occupied by Jordan after the military conflict in the Six Day War. "Where were the Palestinian Arabs?...What makes them now more Palestinian than they were before 1967" Moira would proclaim.
The fact is Palestinian Nationalists like Noura Erackat and Progressive Democrats in Congress will not admit is that Palestinian Nationalism is only rooted in opposition to Israel and not in any land or tact of territory in truth. The goal has as always been is simply to eliminate the State of Israel yet understand neither the Jordanians nor the Syrians appear to want anything to do with the Palestinian claims as the lands and territory that Palestinian Nationalist claim to belong to them historically have belong to Syria, Jordan or Eqypt recognized states by the world.
Futhermore, Palestinian activists like Erakat and Representatives Oman and Tlaib refuse to acknowledge the fact that "occupation" cannot exist because the territory was never part of or recognized as sovereign to Jordan after it occupied the territory in 1947. Again, the international community never recognized the Jordanian claim to the West Bank and never recognized the PLO claim either to the territory.
The phrase "occupation" has become yet another Progressive use of code words much like "white nationalist" or "white supremacist" it launches on anyone who may support the policies of President Trump. Like these code words, "occupation" is used as propaganda to advance anti-Israel and ultimately anti-Semitic policies and as a sword against all Israeli people living in Israel regardless of whether they are Arab, Jewish or Christian.
"Antisemitism (sic) is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” (MPN News)
Erakat supported Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University after his release from CNN for his blatant inflammatory comments before the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People when he called for "a free Palestine from the river to the sea".
What really is alarming is the use of Progressive media outlets use of Professors to advocate for political positions the network may hold but Hill's comments resulted in such wide concern his contract was terminated. Make no mistake. Its was the concern not the statement that resulted in Hill's contract termination.
To many Jewish Americans is was merely more of the same. An explicit attempt to endorse radical progressive calls for Jewish genocide given the phrase "from river to sea" is reference to affiliate terrorist groups proclaiming Jews must be wiped out as Palestine is Islamic from the river to the sea.
Apologists like Noura Erakat and academia sought to defend Hill and provide context to his comments. Israel is always the central theme of opposition to American Progressive academia. There appears no references regarding the historical context and the fact that Palestinians were ever ruled over by either Jordan or Egypt authoritarianism and its only Israel that has been targeted in the face of the reality that conditions today in West Bank are far better than they were under Jordanian rule or current conditions in Gaza under the control of Hamas.
Erakat is always quick to highlight her perceived "oppression" and "occupation" of Israel but rarely addresses Gaza and the oppression their not at the hands of Israel but from Hamas itself. Progressive academia assertions and Erakat's own anti-Israel proclamations are the norm. Erakat offers that Palestinians require "enough space to dream of new worlds and possibilities" and yet isnt this exactly what Gaza was afforded them upon self governing authority through Hamas since June 2007.
The conditions of Gaza and the Palestinians living there are a product of Hamas governance not Israeli control. Are the conditions in Gaza what Erakat, Omar and Tlaib wish for the West Bank or is targeting Israel merely a tool used to advance a greater agenda here in the United States; one of true anti-semiticim under the guise of Palestinian Nationalism?
deport them all.
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