Of course, all people deserve to live in safety and security. But, regarding that poll, consider the images we see coming from Israel. We see Israel bombing Gaza's civilian infrastructure into rubble and starving its population. We see West Bank settlers violently attacking and plundering Palestinian homes and villages. We see Israel invading and bombing its neighbors. We see Netanyahu making repeated visits to the White House, garnering full U.S. government support. Given that, it is unsurprising that a plurality of those polled view Palestinians as more sympathetic. AIPAC could help Israel by acknowledging that reality, instead of lobbying for more of the same.
Excellent commentary, Jeremy and spot on. Our Colorado J Street team recently met with a senate candidate from another state. She shared with us how turned off she had been when an AIPAC rep “jabbed his finger in my face” when telling her to agree with his position about the conflict.
We said that we agreed with most of the positions taken by you and J Street, and that your thoughtful, balanced commentary is well worth reading to learn about the conflict, but of course we counted on her to evaluate your positions herself. She responded that she deeply appreciated the openness of our suggestion. I sent this Substack to her.
I'm so devastated by what's happening in the West Bank, settlers being armed and uniformed with American money of course, a place I have spent much time , always so generously welcomed by Palestinian families. So I got curious about how apartheid terrorism worked in South Africa at the height of apartheid. This is what I learned:
At the height of apartheid (roughly the 1960s to the late 1980s), the violence against Black South African communities was primarily state-sponsored rather than carried out by loosely organized "bands" of private citizens. The apartheid regime maintained power through brutal, legal, and institutionalized violence enforced by police, the military, and state-sanctioned vigilante groups. Ann Arbor District Library
+1
State-Sanctioned Violence and Forced Removals
• Systemic Destruction: Instead of informal raids, the government executed systematic, legal destruction of Black communities. Millions of Black residents were forcibly removed from their homes, and their communities were destroyed, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s.
• Destruction of "Black Spots":The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959) led to the removal of "black spots" within white-designated areas, destroying communities like District Six, Sophiatown, and Lady Selborne, moving residents to often desolate, government-controlled townships.
• Forced Removals: In the early 1970s, thousands of Bapedi people were forcibly removed, their homes destroyed, and families moved to tin shacks in distant areas.
Liberty and justice for all is the antithesis of ethnic cleansing. America certain did its share of ethnic cleansing and virtually all Americans today claim to feel remorse for that. "Indians" have not only been full US citizens since the 1920's, they also have their own lands, much reduced but still their own lands.
Zionism is an ethnic cleansing project just as cruel and unapologetic as was the American project but there is absolutely no prospect of Palestinians being recognized as full citizens of Israel (I leave out the token 20% that is at risk of being disenfranchised) nor any prospect of any of Palestine being left to the Palestinians. The hatred expressed in joy by the IDF in Gaza is telling as is that shown by the eager terror visited on the residents of the West Bank by Israeli settlers.
American eyes have been opened by Gaza. Netanyahu is a grinning happy man just stating that he has waited 40 years for the Iran war.
Not only are Americans repulsed by the idea that for many Jews it is not enough to have respect, success, safety and full equality in the US, but there must also be a state for Jews alone supposedly to guarantee what is guaranteed in the US. Dual citizens hypocritically can enjoy liberty and justice for all here in the US, hop on a plane and enjoy ethnic supremacy. Americans, many Jews not excepted, that our land of proclaimed freedom that has struggled so hard to get civil rights is committing all of its vast military, economic and diplomatic power to protect the expansion of Israel. Worst of all, Uncle Sam is being directed by Israel to commit US lives to the ethnic cleansing project.
It is intolerable, hypocritical, might making right in utter cruelty and for decades. The lullaby of Israel is over and the end of the "special relationship" is in progress. There is no future for what Americans are clearly seeing was a mistake, something seen by the majority of world Jewry in the early years of Zionism and by many in the US included George Marshall at the time of the creation of Israel. There is no liberal Zionism and to believe there can be is an illusion that Israel's behavior shows to be the case daily.
I used to really like Gallup, but now that they have announced they will no longer poll about United States president satisfaction because someone has volitile emotions, I am skeptical of what they do. The framing certainly is a little weird being put on a binary like that. I'm curious about what other poll tanks have found. Is Pew still respectable or is some guy scaring them into ceasing polls about his job?
Yes. Israel must look hard at pattern self-inflicted damage to its own reputation through the brutality of the treatment of Palestinians. The attacks on Iran and the environmental damage from bombing of oil fields are unlikely to rehabilitate Israel's image.
Almost a case of "I come to bury AIPAC, not to praise him" !
First: Thank you Jeremy for me allowing me to attend last week's J Street's National Convention. (Hopefully it will be the same for your next Conference in November 2027!) I haven't yet set out my impressions of your Conference except to "take note" of Senator Chris Van Hollen's comment about AIPAC that it is not "pro-American." I found that repellent and really feel - and continue to feel that J Street should have publicly disavowed that comment. (As I wrote about in the Times of Israel https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/regarding-senator-chris-van-hollen-at-j-street-calling-aipac-not-pro-american/)
As always I make no claim to speak on behalf of AIPAC. Because I very-clearly don't! Nor would - or do - I personally phrase things in the way AIPAC sometimes does - or do everything in the manner that AIPAC does. And I certainly don't deny the obvious of what we're seeing these days in how AIPAC has become to be perceived. But of course things can change.
And of course I absolutely do not defend every action taken by Benjamin Netanyahu or the policies he pursued or what role he may possibly have played in turning some Democrats against Israel. I think my posts have made that clear. But leaving aside for here, my views of the present Government of Israel. As I've stated before, that's ultimately for the people of Israel to decide and determine and benefit or suffer from. I certainly don't believe in American pro-Israel activists pressuring the United States to pressure Israel or to sanction it. And of course let's not overlook the strong concensus positions within Israel regarding Iran and regarding a Palestinian State just for starters. Just look at some of the comments and positions Israeli opposition Leader, Yair Lapid.
So just to focus on what AIPAC and American supporters of Israel should or should not do. And beyond a historic reflection; realistically whatever should or shouldn't have been done by AIPAC; what NOW can be done. You can't unscramble an egg. I wasn't involved at all in the decision-making; but you have to consider why AIPAC decided to get involved in politics. It was a response to how AIPAC perceived American politics - and especially views in the Democratic Party were heading.
I'm not blind to the views of some big donors. But I still believe in AIPAC as a relatively single-issue, bipartisan organization - in staff and board which supports a strong US-Israel relationship. AIPAC can't control what the Government of Israel does (And the Government of Israel - haters to the contrary - of course doesn't control what AIPAC does!)
I'm also not sure what else you'd realistically have AIPAC do today; you surely don't want it to become J Street. And I'm not sure there's a need for another "Pro-Israel Lobby" to be a strong critic of the Government of Israel. The problem is not AIPAC. But how major strands in the Democratic Party view AIPAC - and Israel.
I continue to believe that it's really not the case that just "critics" of Israeli actions are called (by mainstream supporters of Israel, in which category I include AIPAC) as anti-Israel or antisemitic. But there clearly are a number of Congressmen out there who by their actions have clearly shown themselves to be "Anti-Israel" by any normal characterization.
As for the "weaponization" of Antisemitism. I too have expressed the concern that many have expressed that real problems are being used for larger goals. Of course the question is always what should one do. As I wrote about exactly a year ago " Concerns Over Deportations and Campus Funding Cancellations - Potential Future Implications
Now I am not denying that at this present time, AIPAC is at least perceived as somewhat "toxic."
There are a number of American Jews who sadly are anti-Zionist. They have that right. But I believe it's incumbent on American Jews who are pro-Israel even if they may disagree on specific Israeli actions to renounce those anti-Zionists and speak out in defense of Israel,
And the issue is should not just be blaming AIPAC. It should also be "blaming" the hatred coming against Israel and AIPAC in some circles on the Left and Right. It's easy for a liberal to condemn the far right. Need also to see some liberals condemning the far - and sometimes not so far left- by name.!
I think you are correct. Here's an example, this weekend my town's Democratic Party Committee is having a "food drive and activist fair" and among the groups at the meeting will be "[my town's name] for Palestine" and the agenda includes "educating the community in ways to get involved in fighting against ongoing oppression." There are also weekly stand-outs in town with signs in favor of Palestine. I don't know how that can be countered as long as Israel continues its current policies and practices.
I wish Palestinians wanted a state along side Israel as much as you want it for them. If/when they wish to have a state alongside Israel, that does not wish to destroy Israel, it will probably happen. The entire world can wish for this to be the case, but only one group of people can make it so. It’s not me, it’s not you either.
What about the rupture caused by bad actors like Van Hollen, whom your organization invited to speak and whose abhorrent remarks you have yet to denounce? We're waiting!
Of course, all people deserve to live in safety and security. But, regarding that poll, consider the images we see coming from Israel. We see Israel bombing Gaza's civilian infrastructure into rubble and starving its population. We see West Bank settlers violently attacking and plundering Palestinian homes and villages. We see Israel invading and bombing its neighbors. We see Netanyahu making repeated visits to the White House, garnering full U.S. government support. Given that, it is unsurprising that a plurality of those polled view Palestinians as more sympathetic. AIPAC could help Israel by acknowledging that reality, instead of lobbying for more of the same.
Blood money.
Excellent commentary, Jeremy and spot on. Our Colorado J Street team recently met with a senate candidate from another state. She shared with us how turned off she had been when an AIPAC rep “jabbed his finger in my face” when telling her to agree with his position about the conflict.
We said that we agreed with most of the positions taken by you and J Street, and that your thoughtful, balanced commentary is well worth reading to learn about the conflict, but of course we counted on her to evaluate your positions herself. She responded that she deeply appreciated the openness of our suggestion. I sent this Substack to her.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Merrill!
💯
agree completely
I will never vote again for a candidate receiving aipac money.
I'm so devastated by what's happening in the West Bank, settlers being armed and uniformed with American money of course, a place I have spent much time , always so generously welcomed by Palestinian families. So I got curious about how apartheid terrorism worked in South Africa at the height of apartheid. This is what I learned:
At the height of apartheid (roughly the 1960s to the late 1980s), the violence against Black South African communities was primarily state-sponsored rather than carried out by loosely organized "bands" of private citizens. The apartheid regime maintained power through brutal, legal, and institutionalized violence enforced by police, the military, and state-sanctioned vigilante groups. Ann Arbor District Library
+1
State-Sanctioned Violence and Forced Removals
• Systemic Destruction: Instead of informal raids, the government executed systematic, legal destruction of Black communities. Millions of Black residents were forcibly removed from their homes, and their communities were destroyed, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s.
• Destruction of "Black Spots":The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959) led to the removal of "black spots" within white-designated areas, destroying communities like District Six, Sophiatown, and Lady Selborne, moving residents to often desolate, government-controlled townships.
• Forced Removals: In the early 1970s, thousands of Bapedi people were forcibly removed, their homes destroyed, and families moved to tin shacks in distant areas.
AIPAC-Netanyahu-Trump: what's the difference?
Liberty and justice for all is the antithesis of ethnic cleansing. America certain did its share of ethnic cleansing and virtually all Americans today claim to feel remorse for that. "Indians" have not only been full US citizens since the 1920's, they also have their own lands, much reduced but still their own lands.
Zionism is an ethnic cleansing project just as cruel and unapologetic as was the American project but there is absolutely no prospect of Palestinians being recognized as full citizens of Israel (I leave out the token 20% that is at risk of being disenfranchised) nor any prospect of any of Palestine being left to the Palestinians. The hatred expressed in joy by the IDF in Gaza is telling as is that shown by the eager terror visited on the residents of the West Bank by Israeli settlers.
American eyes have been opened by Gaza. Netanyahu is a grinning happy man just stating that he has waited 40 years for the Iran war.
Not only are Americans repulsed by the idea that for many Jews it is not enough to have respect, success, safety and full equality in the US, but there must also be a state for Jews alone supposedly to guarantee what is guaranteed in the US. Dual citizens hypocritically can enjoy liberty and justice for all here in the US, hop on a plane and enjoy ethnic supremacy. Americans, many Jews not excepted, that our land of proclaimed freedom that has struggled so hard to get civil rights is committing all of its vast military, economic and diplomatic power to protect the expansion of Israel. Worst of all, Uncle Sam is being directed by Israel to commit US lives to the ethnic cleansing project.
It is intolerable, hypocritical, might making right in utter cruelty and for decades. The lullaby of Israel is over and the end of the "special relationship" is in progress. There is no future for what Americans are clearly seeing was a mistake, something seen by the majority of world Jewry in the early years of Zionism and by many in the US included George Marshall at the time of the creation of Israel. There is no liberal Zionism and to believe there can be is an illusion that Israel's behavior shows to be the case daily.
I used to really like Gallup, but now that they have announced they will no longer poll about United States president satisfaction because someone has volitile emotions, I am skeptical of what they do. The framing certainly is a little weird being put on a binary like that. I'm curious about what other poll tanks have found. Is Pew still respectable or is some guy scaring them into ceasing polls about his job?
Well said. So important. We need a change from AIPAC strategy
Yes. Israel must look hard at pattern self-inflicted damage to its own reputation through the brutality of the treatment of Palestinians. The attacks on Iran and the environmental damage from bombing of oil fields are unlikely to rehabilitate Israel's image.
Almost a case of "I come to bury AIPAC, not to praise him" !
First: Thank you Jeremy for me allowing me to attend last week's J Street's National Convention. (Hopefully it will be the same for your next Conference in November 2027!) I haven't yet set out my impressions of your Conference except to "take note" of Senator Chris Van Hollen's comment about AIPAC that it is not "pro-American." I found that repellent and really feel - and continue to feel that J Street should have publicly disavowed that comment. (As I wrote about in the Times of Israel https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/regarding-senator-chris-van-hollen-at-j-street-calling-aipac-not-pro-american/)
As always I make no claim to speak on behalf of AIPAC. Because I very-clearly don't! Nor would - or do - I personally phrase things in the way AIPAC sometimes does - or do everything in the manner that AIPAC does. And I certainly don't deny the obvious of what we're seeing these days in how AIPAC has become to be perceived. But of course things can change.
And of course I absolutely do not defend every action taken by Benjamin Netanyahu or the policies he pursued or what role he may possibly have played in turning some Democrats against Israel. I think my posts have made that clear. But leaving aside for here, my views of the present Government of Israel. As I've stated before, that's ultimately for the people of Israel to decide and determine and benefit or suffer from. I certainly don't believe in American pro-Israel activists pressuring the United States to pressure Israel or to sanction it. And of course let's not overlook the strong concensus positions within Israel regarding Iran and regarding a Palestinian State just for starters. Just look at some of the comments and positions Israeli opposition Leader, Yair Lapid.
So just to focus on what AIPAC and American supporters of Israel should or should not do. And beyond a historic reflection; realistically whatever should or shouldn't have been done by AIPAC; what NOW can be done. You can't unscramble an egg. I wasn't involved at all in the decision-making; but you have to consider why AIPAC decided to get involved in politics. It was a response to how AIPAC perceived American politics - and especially views in the Democratic Party were heading.
I'm not blind to the views of some big donors. But I still believe in AIPAC as a relatively single-issue, bipartisan organization - in staff and board which supports a strong US-Israel relationship. AIPAC can't control what the Government of Israel does (And the Government of Israel - haters to the contrary - of course doesn't control what AIPAC does!)
I'm also not sure what else you'd realistically have AIPAC do today; you surely don't want it to become J Street. And I'm not sure there's a need for another "Pro-Israel Lobby" to be a strong critic of the Government of Israel. The problem is not AIPAC. But how major strands in the Democratic Party view AIPAC - and Israel.
I continue to believe that it's really not the case that just "critics" of Israeli actions are called (by mainstream supporters of Israel, in which category I include AIPAC) as anti-Israel or antisemitic. But there clearly are a number of Congressmen out there who by their actions have clearly shown themselves to be "Anti-Israel" by any normal characterization.
As for the "weaponization" of Antisemitism. I too have expressed the concern that many have expressed that real problems are being used for larger goals. Of course the question is always what should one do. As I wrote about exactly a year ago " Concerns Over Deportations and Campus Funding Cancellations - Potential Future Implications
"The slippery slope..." https://michaellewisonline.substack.com/p/concerns-over-deportations-and-campus
Now I am not denying that at this present time, AIPAC is at least perceived as somewhat "toxic."
There are a number of American Jews who sadly are anti-Zionist. They have that right. But I believe it's incumbent on American Jews who are pro-Israel even if they may disagree on specific Israeli actions to renounce those anti-Zionists and speak out in defense of Israel,
And the issue is should not just be blaming AIPAC. It should also be "blaming" the hatred coming against Israel and AIPAC in some circles on the Left and Right. It's easy for a liberal to condemn the far right. Need also to see some liberals condemning the far - and sometimes not so far left- by name.!
I think you are correct. Here's an example, this weekend my town's Democratic Party Committee is having a "food drive and activist fair" and among the groups at the meeting will be "[my town's name] for Palestine" and the agenda includes "educating the community in ways to get involved in fighting against ongoing oppression." There are also weekly stand-outs in town with signs in favor of Palestine. I don't know how that can be countered as long as Israel continues its current policies and practices.
I wish Palestinians wanted a state along side Israel as much as you want it for them. If/when they wish to have a state alongside Israel, that does not wish to destroy Israel, it will probably happen. The entire world can wish for this to be the case, but only one group of people can make it so. It’s not me, it’s not you either.
Antisemitism is endemic, but to argue that people don’t formulate assumptions based on behavior by racial and ethnic groups is naive.
Suggesting it’s Jews hating Jews is an easy way to deny responsibility to other Jews by maintaining moral values
.
What about the rupture caused by bad actors like Van Hollen, whom your organization invited to speak and whose abhorrent remarks you have yet to denounce? We're waiting!
https://theliberaljew.substack.com/p/my-home-state-senator-bashed-aipac