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| Gaza and the War Between the Democrats |
| 2021-05-18 |
| Begin Sadat Center The current conflagration between Israel and Hamas has many old and new features. Among the most novel is the outspoken opposition of progressives within the Democratic Party. Another is the full racialization of the conflict along purely American lines: Israelis are the white oppressors while Palestinians are the brown and black victims. These attributes have been emerging over the past few years, notably among the BDS movement that began to loudly draw the comparisons after the 2014 Ferguson riots, and they have become a feature of Nation of Islam and Black Lives Matter rhetoric. But this has now been fully articulated as a cultural and political issue, in no small part because of the American nervous breakdown over "race" and the unprecedented, indeed, calamitous, ineptitude of the still new Biden administration. The aging rump leadership of the Democrats typified by President Biden himself and House speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi have expressed traditional concerns over Israel’s security and understanding of what might be called causality and proportion: Hamas attacked Israeli civilians and the Jewish state is using proportionate means necessary to eliminate the threat — but not so much as to cause excessive civilian casualties. A few scattered younger elected officials such as Rep. Ritchie Torres have bucked the progressive wave along with Jewish Democrats. Republicans on the other hand are nearly uniform in expressing their vocal commitment to Israel. But the progressive wing of the Democrats has taken center stage. In a recent display on the floor of the House, one progressive member after another rose to condemn Israel and President Biden’s support, and to draw breathless and hyperbolic analogies between Gaza and the American scene. Firebrand Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked Biden and implicitly defended Hamas, saying "The president stated that Israel has a right to self-defense. Do Palestinians have a right to survive?" Islamist Rep. Ilhan Omar went further and deemed Israel an "apartheid government" while Rep. Ayanna Pressley stated "As a black woman in America, I am no stranger to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. We have been criminalized for the very way we show up in the world... Palestinians are being told the same thing as black folks in America: there is no acceptable form of resistance." Rep. Cori Bush made the claim plain on social media: "The fight for Black lives and the fight for Palestinian liberation are interconnected. We oppose our money going to fund militarized policing, occupation, and systems of violent oppression and trauma. We are anti-war. We are anti-occupation. And we are anti-apartheid. Period." Our money? |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #5 How much of this is the aging United Negro Caucus Vs. The New Latino Blocâ„¢ for diminishing Federal funds? They both want the same thing and the battle is becoming public. |
| Posted by: magpie 2021-05-18 17:35 |
| #4 I'm tired of my money going to Ebt and such, guess what it don't make a shit. |
| Posted by: Chris 2021-05-18 08:06 |
| #3 ^How about a compromise - we mark the next 50 bombs dropped on Gaza with the names of white & asian USA victims of Wakandan violence? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB 2021-05-18 06:14 |
| #2 When it comes to money for Israel, Congress is united. When it comes time for us, it's endless arguments and obstruction. |
| Posted by: Knuckles Slererong5344 2021-05-18 06:02 |
| #1 Our money? Means I underappreciate African-American contribution to USA economy - sue me. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2021-05-18 03:10 |