"Members of "the squad" — a group of [nine] progressive lawmakers of color —
have fiercely and publicly criticized Israel’s treatment of the
Palestinian people for several years."
House overwhelmingly passes resolution backing Israel after Rep. Jayapal calls it a 'racist state'
Rep.
Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., has apologized for her remarks. The vote
comes one day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to
speak to a joint meeting of Congress.
WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to pass a
resolution condemning antisemitism and expressing support for Israel,
just days after Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal faced backlash
from both parties for calling Israel a “racist state.”
The
vote was 412-9, with 195 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting
yes. Nine progressive Democrats of color voted against the nonbinding resolution,
several of whom have denounced Israel as an apartheid state that
oppresses Palestinians. One Democrat, Betty McCollum of Minnesota, voted
present.
Palestinian refugees during the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine known as the ‘Nakba’ (‘The Catastrophe’)
“The Squad”: from left to right Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Presley
Trump’s blunder empowers The Squad and unites anti-racists
by Doc Jazz
·
Published
We have come to live in disconcerting times of unpredictable change.
Ever since the USA elected a Twitter-addicted President into power, the
world has been in a continuous state of imbalance. While it may seem as
if everything only plays into the hands of ‘Israel’ and its Western
allies, it would be wise not to draw that conclusion too quickly. There
is more at play than only the logic of geopolitics and military
dominance.
On a public relations level, some of it must be making Tel Aviv quite
nervous. The forces of zionism have in the past years been stepping up
their game, successfully interfering with legislation in the countries
of the West to suit their purposes. However, they certainly don’t seem
to be as much in control as they would like to be.
The Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS)
has continued to gain traction among politicians and among the general
public all over the world. It continues to be a thorn in the side of
Israeli colonization and annexation plans. Zionist lobbies in most
Western countries have been trying to counter this trend in two
significant ways. One is at a purely ideological level, which has been
to force a change in the official definition of ‘antisemitism’. The
other has been taking place at the level of legislation, and is based on
attempting to coerce countries to install laws that outlaw calls for
the boycott of the state of ‘Israel’.
Before we dive below the surface, let’s first have a look at what has
been happening in the lead-up to the confrontation about anti-Israeli
criticsm between “The Squad” and Donald Trump.
