Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update
Calling balls and strikes for the pro-Israel community since 2006
August 29, 2021
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
- President Biden's meeting with Prime Minister Bennett went well. Supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship must advocate for security assistance Israel legitimately needs while acknowledging legitimate criticism of Israel.
- The Palestinian Authority must end its human rights abuses.
- The real lesson of Afghanistan is that we often mistake open-ended military intervention for smart policy. Biden was right to end an unwinnable war. Casualties incurred during the evacuation are tragic. We would have incurred more casualties by continuing the war.
- The fate of our democracy and our planet hangs in the balance. The Senate must reform or abolish the filibuster and pass legislation we need to protect both.
- The four dumbest words in the English language when it comes to spending bills are "what about the deficit?"
- The Republican Party is no longer a legitimate party--we should stop pretending otherwise.
- Read to the end for upcoming events and fun stuff.
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Friends,
Disagreements about how to counter Iran are possible, but both countries share the same objective: ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons. Unless Bennett
makes the same mistakes Bibi made and tries to politicize any disagreements (to be fair, Bibi was aided, abetted, and encouraged by some Republicans and some ostensibly pro-Israel organizations), disagreements on Iran are unlikely to cause a rift in U.S.-Israel relations, especially as long as Biden and Bennett believe it is to their advantage to maintain a cordial tone.
However, those of us concerned about the bedrock of the relationship--shared values--should be concerned that Bennett has made clear that he
does not support the creation of a Palestinian state. Rather than repeating the once-true slogan that Israel wants peace but has no partner, we must acknowledge that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have a partner for peace, at least not partners who are in charge. Rather than label fact-based criticism of Israel as antisemitism, we must advocate for Israel by separating Israel's legitimate security needs from legitimate criticism--there is no contradiction between supporting Israel and acknowledging the flaws of certain current government policies or that American warmth toward Israel depends in part on the policies of the Israeli government, particularly settlement expansion.
The Palestinian Authority must end its human rights abuses. The
European Union called on "the Palestinian Authority to meet the standards of the International Human Rights conventions to which they have acceded, including on freedom of expression, as well as freedom of association and assembly."
Amnesty International stated that "EU member states, US, and the UK must act urgently and halt security assistance/military aid for Palestinian security forces/police until accountability and respect for human rights is ensured." Reiterating its "serious concerns about Palestinian Authority restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression by Palestinians and harassment of civil society activists and organizations"
from June, the State Department
said on Tuesday that "the Palestinian people deserve more freedom of expression – not less.”
Those who think Democrats in general, or progressives in particular, turn a blind eye to human rights abuses by the Palestinian Authority are either not paying attention or need to get their news somewhere else.
The real lesson of Afghanistan is that we often mistake open-ended military intervention for smart policy. Ezra Klein is right: "This is the deep lacunae in America’s foreign policy conversation: The American foreign policy establishment obsesses over the harms caused by our absence or withdrawal. But there’s no similar culpability for the harms we commit or that our presence creates."
President Biden ended an unwinnable war we entered into without clear objectives and that we should have ended years ago. No one predicted the fall of Kabul in 24 hours, but since then, Biden has
evacuated over 100,000 people from Taliban-controlled territory. The loss of any lives during the evacuation is tragic, yet no one has presented
courses of action more likely to succeed than those Biden has taken.
If you think that the "images we’re seeing from Kabul are shocking, heartbreaking and embarrassing," you're right, and you owe it to yourself to read
Eugene Robinson if you think this war could have ended any other way.
Even more tragic than the loss of life that has already occurred would be further loss of life from staying in an unnecessary, endless war that
has already cost the lives of roughly 2,500 U.S. service members, 3,900 U.S. contractors, 1,100 allied service members, and 47,000 Afghan civilians. Too bad that those now attacking Biden for not preventing a terrorist attack in the midst of a wartime evacuation lost their voices when so many more were dying for a lost cause in Afghanistan under Bush, Trump, and Obama. Biden had the courage to finally end this war. For that, we should thank him.
Congress has not passed legislation that goes far enough to address the climate change that threatens to destroy life as we know it on this planet. Democrats need to reform or abolish the filibuster, apply whatever pressure is needed internally to make it happen, and pass voting protection and climate change legislation before the 2022 midterms--with or without Republican votes.
Regardless of what our other priorities might be, the two questions we must ask every member of the House and Senate are what are you doing about climate change and what are you doing to protect democracy. We know that every Republican will answer these questions unsatisfactorily, which is why we must hold Democrats accountable for getting this done. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has proven that she can deliver Democratic votes in the House, but because of the filibuster, Republicans can ensure that the Senate lives up to its reputation as the place
where legislation comes to die.
Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) need to channel their inner LBJ (who held both of the jobs they hold) and do whatever he would do to ensure that recalcitrant Democratic senators get with the program, including the full spending package making its way toward reconciliation. The four dumbest words in the English language when it comes to discussing spending bills are "what about the deficit?" Any member of Congress who asks this question needs to sit down with
Rep. John Yarmuth (D- KY) and do some
remedial reading.
Let's stop treating the Republican Party as a legitimate political party. In what bizarro universe does a party whose leader is the most ignorant, bigoted, and incompetent man ever to hold the presidency--and who
leads the polling for the 2024 GOP nomination--deserve our respect? Why do the talk shows take people who aided and abetted an insurrection, or who voted against impeaching/convicting Trump, seriously about anything? We need a two-party system with competing philosophies and policy prescriptions, but that system only works if both parties are grounded in reality and respect science and democratic principles. Only today's Democratic Party meets those criteria.
Upcoming Events. Politics with Dana Gordon and Steve Sheffey is back to live events.
Join us outdoors in Highland Park, Illinois, on Sunday, September 12, at 3:00pm CT for a special event with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). Torres is progressive, pro-Israel, and a rising star in Congress. Contributions are encouraged but not required.
Vaccinations are absolutely required.
RSVP here if you want to attend. This event will be entirely off the record and closed to press.
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