Progressives Need To Face The Truth: Jeremy Corbyn’s Record On Anti-Semitism Is Bad

When it comes to the furor surrounding British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s supposed anti-Semitism, three unsettling things are true. First, Corbyn is not the major party candidate most complicit in bigotry. That ugly distinction goes to Britain’s current prime minister, Boris Johnson. Second, the British Jewish establishment has largely given Johnson a pass, which suggests — as does much other evidence — that its ...

2019-12-18T19:32:35-05:00By |

The Problem With Settlements Is Not That They Are Illegal. It’s That They Are Immoral

Yesterday the Trump administration said Israeli settlements in the West Bank don’t violate international law. That’s absurd. Among international lawyers, the consensus that settlements are illegal rivals the consensus among international scientists that humans contribute to climate change. As UCLA’s Dov Waxman has pointed out, the legal advisor to Israel’s own foreign ministry admitted that “civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes explicit provisions of ...

2019-12-09T15:49:10-05:00By |

Democratic Party Split Over Military Aid To Israel

This week at the J Street Conference, Bernie Sanders said he’d tell the Israeli government that, “if you want military aid you’re going to have to fundamentally change your relationship to the people of Gaza.” Pete Buttigieg promised to ensure that American “funding is going to things that are compatible with U.S. objectives and U.S. law” rather than “promoting this settlement construction.” And Elizabeth Warren, ...

2019-10-31T10:39:40-04:00By |

With Anti-Semitic Attack On ‘Shifty’ Foe, Trump Shows Off The Mechanism Of His Racism

On Wednesday, Donald Trump again referred to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff as “shifty Schiff.” If you think that sounds vaguely anti-Semitic, you’re right. And it’s likely only the beginning. As the impeachment inquiry escalates, Trump’s anti-Semitic rhetoric probably will too. It won’t escalate because Trump is any more hostile to Jews than he is to other religious or racial minorities. It will escalate ...

2019-10-05T08:57:22-04:00By |

No, Israeli Democracy Is Not ‘Fine’

Last week, Bret Stephens penned a New York Times column entitled, “Israel’s democracy is doing just fine.” With their “rebuke” of Benjamin Netanyahu at the polls, Stephens declared, “Israelis showed that demagogy doesn’t work.” This week, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin gave Netanyahu the opportunity to form Israel’s next government. Netanyahu could fail to do so, in which case his center-right rival, Benny Gantz, would likely ...

2019-10-02T09:13:00-04:00By |

Netanyahu Just Promised To Annex The Jordan Valley. Good.

On Tuesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that if reelected, he would annex the Jordan Valley and perhaps “other areas” of the West Bank. Good. Critics will say that by calling for annexation, Netanyahu is killing the two-state solution. But he’s been doing that for a decade. …

2019-09-13T08:59:50-04:00By |

Bipartisan Support For Israel Is Dead. That’s A Good Thing

It’s become a ritual. Every time Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu do something that outrages Democrats, centrist commentators warn that they are committing a grave offense: They’re making Israel a partisan issue. The accusation has been nearly ubiquitous since the two leaders last week conspired to deny Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar’s request to visit the West Bank. …

2019-08-21T11:07:57-04:00By |

Netanyahu Banned Omar And Tlaib Because The Occupation Must Be Hidden To Survive

Most establishment American Jewish leaders think Israel’s decision to bar Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting the West Bank was, in the words of The Democratic Majority for Israel, “unwise.” Benjamin Netanyahu, the American Jewish Committee argued, should have realized that “visiting Israel is essential to gaining a better understanding of this… open, democratic society.” …

2019-08-21T10:51:42-04:00By |
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