In December, President Trump announced he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and initiate a process of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move has sparked protests across the Occupied Territories. The United Nations voted 128 to 9 in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Despite the international condemnation, several leading Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, praised Trump’s decision.
ISRAELI EXCEPTIONALISM
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If Israel Were Not an Ally, US Would Be Working to Overthrow its Government (with bonus Video)
23 minutes readWHITNEY WEBB—Interestingly, no calls for inquiry were made by EU governments over the recent poisoning of a Russian ex-spy and his daughter in the U.K. Instead of waiting for an investigation, several countries expelled Russian diplomats in retaliation for the act, despite doubts surrounding Russia’s culpability. Those European politicians who did call for an inquiry were ridiculed in the press as “puppets” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, when over a thousand unarmed Palestinians are shot, the EU needs an investigation to prove that Israel was responsible, despite IDF admissions that it knew where “every bullet landed.”
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ERIC ZUESSE—There is a question asked, too, about the [U.S. military] base [recently placed in Israel]. Here’s why I think we put the base there. … We put the base there for the same reason we have tripwire forces in other places. We put the base there so that there can be no question in the minds of the American people when the president directs U.S. forces into Israel equipped to go into Syria because we will have been attacked. The disposition of that base is just sitting on an Israeli Air Base and we put the Stars and Stripes up and declared it a U.S. Air Base.
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‘For huge chunks of American Jewish life, Israel has become an idol’ –Rabbi Arthur Waskow
13 minutes readPHILIP WEISS—“When you can’t wrestle with something you think is sacred, when you can’t criticize it, when you can’t call it into account, it’s an idol. And for huge chunks of American Jewish life, but not for all– for huge chunks, Israel has become an idol.”
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Mondoweiss: Trump appointed Bolton because Republicans desperately need Adelson’s money
23 minutes readPHILIP WEISS—The simple truth about John Bolton’s appointment to national security adviser is that the Republicans need Sheldon Adelson’s money in order to be competitive in the coming midterms, and John Bolton is a tool of Sheldon Adelson. The appointment of course is a complete reversal of Donald Trump’s declaration during the campaign that the Iraq war – which Bolton pushed and still thinks is a great idea – was the biggest mistake ever, and he was against it from jump.