The Nation: How Congress silences dissenting voices on 'Israel'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
20 Jul 2023 23:52
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Israelis themselves use words to describe the Israeli occupation in ways that the US Congress clearly objects to.

An Orthodox group, the Neturei Karta, protest during a demonstration in memory of the 1994 massacre in the West Bank, Al-Khalil on February 22, 2019. (AP)

According to The Nation, Americans are not given the same luxury as Israelis when it comes to criticizing "Israel."

John Nichols, a national affairs correspondent for The Nation, recalls how in 2003, B'Tselem, a "human rights organization" within the occupation asserted that the occupation was "enshrining racism in law," and objected to legislation it believed was "racist and violates the principle of equality."

The organization was founded by Israeli lawmakers, civil liberties attorneys, and scholars, and concluded in 2021 that "Israel" was not a democracy but one regime that is apartheid.

According to Nichols, that description was a call for action, seeing as International human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have referred to Israeli practices that discriminate against Palestinians as apartheid as well.

He notes that several Israeli political and cultural leaders agree. Former Israeli cabinet members Yossi Sarid, and Shulamit Aloni, recipient of the "Israel" Prize, both concluded before B'Tselem's 2021 report was published that the occupation was indeed practicing apartheid.

A year after it was published, Israeli author AB Yehoshua called the apartheid in the West Bank a "cancer," while former Israeli Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair expressed "great sadness" that "Israel" "sunk to such political and moral depths that it is now an apartheid regime. It is time for the international community to recognize this reality as well.”

Conductor Daniel Barenboim wrote in 2018 that "Israel" has a law that "confirms the Arab population as second-class citizens. It follows that this is a very clear form of apartheid. I don’t think the Jewish people lived for 20 centuries, mostly through persecution and enduring endless cruelties, in order to become the oppressors, inflicting cruelty on others."

Nichols notes that although these opinions are considered controversial within the occupation, they are still permitted.

He questions, therefore, why when American figures utilize similar wording when describing "Israel" they are chastised and attacked by the media as well as immediately charged with anti-semitism.

'A racist state'

The US House of Representatives approved a resolution expressing support for "Israel" on Tuesday, only days after a top Democratic member garnered criticism from both parties for calling the occupation "a racist state."

The resolution, presented by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and carried by a vote of 412-9 with one member absent, declares concisely that "Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia" adding that “the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.” The resolution also explicitly denies that the Israeli occupation is racist or apartheid.

Pfluger voiced before the vote that it was "critical" the US send a message that it supports "Israel" and the Jewish community, adding that there was "no place for hateful words."

The hateful words he was referring to are those made by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) on the weekend when she told a group of pro-Palestine protesters that she supports their cause and that she has “been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state."