Freies Politikforum für Demokraten und Anarchisten

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn stirs up strong feelings in many places around the UK, but it seems that he has also become a bit of a sensation in Gaza.

Corbyn came under fire last week when right-wing website claimed that a senior Hamas member had “welcomed” Corbyn’s statement that he would talk to the organisation, seen as "terrorist" by the US and UK as well as Israel, in order to bring about peace in the Middle East.

A few hours, later, however, Taher A-Nunu - the top Hamas figure who allegedly made the remarks - denied the whole incident. He told Middle East Eye that not only did he not make those comments about Corbyn, he never even spoke to a journalist from Breitbart Jerusalem.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gazans-jeremy-corbyn-we-hope-hes-more-useful-others-581861048

Now is not the time to surrender to Israel's bullying on 'anti-Semitism'

Von Ilan Pappe

There comes a time in a movement’s struggle when success is both a rewarding moment but also a very dangerous one. The apartheid regime in South Africa pursued its most vicious and lethal policies shortly before the fall of the regime. If you do not threaten a certain unjust regime or state, and their supporters, they will ignore you and will see no need to confront you; if you are hitting the nail on its head, the reaction will come.

This is what has happened to the boycott divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. The movement is the logical extension of the great work done before by all the solidarity groups and committees with Palestine. It displays an assertive, unwavering support for the Palestinian people through direct contact with authentic representatives of the Palestinian communities inside and outside Palestine. Until recently, Israel deemed this development as marginal and ineffective; even some of Palestine’s friends in the West objected to BDS on the same grounds: its ineffectiveness.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/surge-palestinophobia-585899317

83% of senators call for boosting exorbitant U.S. aid to Israel; Bernie Sanders one of 17 who didn’t
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/25/more_than_80_of_senators_call_for_boosting_exorbitant_u_s_aid_to_israel_bernie_sanders_one_of_17_who_didnt/

Israel's Influence: Good or Bad for America?
ISRAEL LOBBY: IS IT GOOD FOR THE US? IS IT GOOD FOR ISRAEL?
http://www.wrmea.org/congress-u.s.-aid-to-israel/u.s.-financial-aid-to-israel-figures-facts-and-impact.html

Sea change is reshaping American views of Israel

On the face of it, the US-Israeli relationship appears as robust as ever.

Polls show that 70 percent of Americans view Israel favourably. At the recent meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israeli lobby group, presidential wannabes from both main parties vowed to back their Middle Eastern ally to the hilt.

But scratch beneath the surface and cracks in the monolithic support for the country have begun to show.

In recent months, Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into alleged Israeli abuses against Palestinians, while legal activists are increasingly using US courts against Israelis. Some pollsters even suggest that public opinion may be less pro-Israel than previously thought.

And, of course, Bernie Sanders, a Democratic senator from Vermont, has broken from the gaggle of presidential candidates by highlighting the suffering of Palestinians when talking about their conflict with Israelis.

“Public opinion is changing,” Seth Morrison, from the campaign group Jewish Voice for Peace, told Middle East Eye. “Younger Americans grew up in a very different environment to their parents and are willing to look at the Israel-Palestine conflict differently.”
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-americans-could-be-shifting-pro-palestinian-positions-951428825

Israeli-Turkish reconciliation makes progress, more talks needed: envoy

Long-running efforts to fully restore Israeli-Turkish relations have made good progress but need a few more rounds of negotiations, though a political shift in Turkey should not affect the process, Israel's top diplomat in the country said.

The impetus behind fixing a relationship badly damaged by a clash over Gaza in 2010 is now security, especially with ISIS and other extremists holding swathes of Syria, which Israel and Turkey both border, said Israeli consul-general Shai Cohen.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/May-10/351503-israeli-turkish-reconciliation-makes-progress-more-talks-needed-envoy.ashx

Dutch diplomat joins leading Israel lobby group

A Dutch diplomat has been hired as a leading lobbyist with a pro-Israel group that is encouraging bigotry against Muslims.

In the past two years, George van Bergen has gone from working as a civil servant handling dossiers on the Middle East to persuading his former colleagues that they should work in Israel’s interests.

After a stint with the Netherlands’ embassy to the European Union, van Bergen now serves as deputy director with the AJC Transatlantic Institute, the Brussels office of the American Jewish Committee.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david-cronin/dutch-diplomat-joins-leading-israel-lobby-group