Chris Hedges, Israel’s Stranglehold on American Politics

Chris Hedges The harder it becomes for Israel to sell its apartheid state, the more pronounced its already massive interference will become. The Israel lobby’s buying off of nearly every senior politician in the United States, facilitated by our system of legalized bribery, is not an anti-Semitic trope. It is a fact. The lobby’s campaign of vicious character assassination, smearing and blacklisting against those who defend Palestinian rights—including the Jewish historian Norman Finkelstein and university students, many of them Jewish, in organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine—is not an anti-Semitic trope.…

AP: Omar furor reflects intensifying national debate over Israel

David Crary NEW YORK (AP) — For Congress, the allegations of anti-Semitism directed toward Rep. Ilhan Omar have no precedent. Yet on college campuses, in state legislatures and in many other venues nationwide, the polarized debate about Israel is a familiar conflict and likely to intensify in the months and years ahead. Fueled by a wave of youthful activists, including many Jews aligning with Muslims, criticism of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians has grown in volume and scope, with persistent calls for boycotts and disinvestment. Pro-Israel organizations and politicians have…

Sanders, Harris, Warren Defend Ilhan Omar Amid Controversy Over Israel Comments

By Caroline Kelly and Gregory Krieg, CNN   emocratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday defended Rep. Ilhan Omar against the backlash to her comments slamming pro-Israel groups and politicians, which have been called anti-Semitic. Sanders, who is Jewish, said criticism of Omar and efforts to get her taken off the House Foreign Affairs Committee, primarily from House Republicans, are aimed at stopping a discussion about American’s foreign policy toward Israel. “What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort…

HARRETZ (2016): American Jewish Establishment Stifles Free Speech to Silence Zionism’s Critics

Peter Beinart / HARRETZ [Editor’s note: As Cynthia McKinney explained to Marzieh Hasmhimi on Press TV in 2011 (the video of which has been suppressed), new members of Congress are asked to sign a pledge to put the interests of Israel ahead of those of the United States, where those who decline find themselves confronted with a well-financed alternative candidate next time around or that their district has been redrawn and they no longer have a seat. She was able to overcome those obstacles, but even as notable a member as…