Jew World Order

Adams and Israel

I don’t know a single New Yorker who was excited about the New York City mayoral race, which has effectively played out like some massive satirical performance. Former NYPD captain Eric Adams is currently in the lead for the Democratic nomination. He’s visited occupied Palestine twice. Back in 2016 when he was Brooklyn Borough President, he traveled to the country with a delegation that included former and current New York police officials. The trip included a stop at the IDF’s base in the (illegally occupied) Golan Heights and a counterterrorism briefing with the Israeli National Security Council.

“The State of Israel will find no better friend than the borough of Brooklyn, and strengthening our partnership is vital to advancing that friendship in the name of mutual benefit for our communities,” he declared at the time.

While Israel pummeled Gaza last month Adams tweeted, “Today on Yom Yerushalayim, Israel came under attack from Hamas-fired rockets in Gaza. Israelis live under the constant threat of terrorism and war and New York City’s bond with Israel remains unbreakable. I stand shoulder to shoulder with the people Israel at this time of crisis.”

There are a number of Palestinians living in Brooklyn, but I digress. Adams is certainly right about the bond. Last fall Sheikh Jarrah resident Mohammed al-Kurd referred to the people stealing his family home as “squatters with Brooklyn accents.”

In an interview with the Jewish publication Mishpacha shortly before the election, Adams brought his pro-Israel record to comical heights by insisting he was going to settle down in the country when his political career ended. “I’ve visited Israel twice,” he explained. “I am going back again, and I am going to try to find a plot of land so it can be my retirement place. I love the people of Israel, the food, the culture, the dance, everything about Israel.”

His trip to the IDF base must have made an impression because when was asked where in Israel he’d like to retire, he said the Golan Heights.

It’s worth pointing out that the Biden administration has stopped short of endorsing Trump’s recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel. This means Adams is to the right of a hawkish administration when it comes to this issue.

Another ‘Democrats Out of Step With Voters on Palestine’ Poll

Another month, another poll showing that support for Israel is dropping among the electorate. This one comes from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 51% of Democratic voters say the United States should be more supportive of Palestinians. Among Democrats who view themselves as liberals, that number goes up to 62%

In fact, Joe Biden’s policy in the region finds more support from conservatives and moderates than it does from liberal Democratic voters. 31% of the former disapprove of the administration on Israel. For the latter the number is 42%.

These results echo a number of recent polls, including one from Data for Progress that I mentioned in the last newsletter. That one found that a majority of Democratic voters support Rep. Betty McCollum’s recent legislative effort to hold Israel somewhat accountable for its actions. Obviously these sentiments are not shared by Democrats in congress. The House bill has just 27 cosponsors and currently lacks companion legislation in the Senate.

Speaking of Democrats in Israel,  House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) is leading a delegation to the country. “We have a lot of members who want to go, so that’s not an issue,” he told Jewish Insider.

Where’s the Democratic administration at? They paused their talks with Iran this week to get opinions from the new Israeli government. Quick reminder: Israel bombed Iran in an effort to kill these talks!

Odds & Ends

🇮🇱 Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have reintroduced legislation that would provide states with more tools to attack BDS.

✝️ Palestinian Christians have shared a call titled “Statement of Repentance and Hope.” It asks leaders and clergy to respond to injustice in Palestine. Jack Munayer (a member of the group that initiated the call) covers it at the site: “Just as the Civil Rights movement had a strong Christian presence in its resistance to racial supremacism; we must find it as well in the Palestinian context. There is a lot to say about comparing and contrasting these two different situations, but the bottom line is that young Palestinian Christians have a new understanding of their situation and the need to shake off the shackles of Western theology and influences which are meant to pacify our people.”

🇸🇦 From the New York Times: “Four Saudis who participated in the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi received paramilitary training in the United States the previous year under a contract approved by the State Department, according to documents and people familiar with the arrangement.”

🇺🇸 A graduating Muslim student at the Wheatley School in New York was heckled by parents while giving a speech. In her speech the student implored her classmates to seek out information about injustices throughout the world, including the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. From CAIR New York:

During her speech, the student was booed by parents and the parents chanted, “we support Israel.” Afterwards, parents harassed and bullied the student and her family. At one point, one parent is caught on video asking the student, “what about Hamas?”  

Another parent made the anti-immigrant statement, “go back to Pakistan!” The student and her family are of Pakistani descent. The student referenced her ethnicity during her speech. Another male adult parent became so aggressive with his yelling and gestures that security and a police detective had to escort him away from the family.  

🇺🇸 “You know what really surprised me?” Donald Trump told the Haredi Orthodox magazine Ami in an interview last week. “I did the Heights, I did Jerusalem, and I did Iran — the Iran Deal was a disaster, right? And I also did many other things. Jewish people who live in the United States don’t love Israel enough. Does that make sense to you? I’m not talking about Orthodox Jews. I believe we got 25% of the Jewish vote, and it doesn’t make sense. It just seems strange to me.”

🇸🇴 The Pentagon might send dozens of troops back to Somalia.

⚖️ Vice reports that conditions have gotten worse for Guantánamo detainees since Biden was elected: “Detainees described deteriorating facilities with broken toilets and locks and burned-out lightbulbs, what appears to be a slowdown in medical treatment with basics like aspirin and band-aids not available, and harsher treatment from guards.”

🇨🇺 The UN General Assembly has called for the United States to end its embargo on Cuba for the 29th year in a row. The only two countries to vote against the resolution? The United States and Israel.

🇮🇶 Last week the House voted to revoke the 2002 authorization for the use of military force in Iraq. According to a study done by one of Britain’s top polling groups, over a million Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invaded the country. However, that research was done 13 years ago now.

🎙️ Listen to the latest episode of our podcast! Our Palestine correspondent Yumna Patel talks to Wesam Sharaf, an advocate with the Civil and Political Rights Unit at Adalah — The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

🇵🇸 Mondoweiss is running a series at the site called Gaza Diaries. These are firsthand accounts of Palestinians who lived through the 11-day Israeli attack on Gaza. You can read them at the site.

Stay safe out there,

Michael

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