For Zion's Sake Israel lives!
UK Baronnes Jenny Tonge: "The Constant Accusation of Anti-Semetism to Silence Israel's critics is vindictive."
How legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and treatment of Palestinians and other Arab countries is automatically labeled as Anti-Semetism by mainstream media
How Israel Made AIPAC
How Israel Made AIPAC podcast What exactly is AIPAC and where does it come from? Who founded AIPAC, and when? What did AIPAC’s founder do before creating a lobby for Israel in the U.S.? What happened when he ran into trouble with the Senate and Department of Justice? How does AIPAC history inform us about foreign influence on U.S. political campaigns and American Middle East policy today? Those are questions we answer in this thirteen-episode podcast.
IR MEP's invaluable Deep dive into the history and origins of AIPAC, American Israel Political Action Committee, the largest Israel lobbying group in America that has greatly influenced American politicians, dictated U.S. Foreign policy, Middle East policy and affects the way Americans, view and interact with Israel and Palestine and how the lobby's influences can be found well beyond the political arena into the academic and societal realms.
South Sudan and Israel first advocates
Simon Deng, South Sudanese American advocate, remains an outspoken uncritical and ardent Israel supporter, Zionist and long time friend of Israel. Deng famously led a decades long campaign against the Sudanese government in 1990s-2011 in the United States against the then war in Southern Sudan and alleged slavery against Southern Sudanese including his own experience as a child slave in 1960s. He successfully led the widely publicized "Sudan freedom walk" from NYC to Washington DC in 2006 and 2011. Deng continues to be an advocate for war victims (including the War on terror) and human rights in South Sudan and Darfur. Propelled by his own life experience and trauma which still drives his activism today, Deng led a small group of South Sudanese on solidarity march through Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for the hostages held in Gaza in response to the October 7th attacks and massacre by Hamas against several kibbutz Be'eri, Nahal Oz and Nir Oz, a music festival and military bases. His sympathy not only extends to the Israeli victims, he also worked on an Israeli kibbutz despite personal danger to himself in the war torn country. The farms are usually staffed by migrant agricultural workers from Nepal, India and Malawai.* He downplays the ongoing Israeli bombardment, destruction of Gaza and Palestinian deaths to reiterate his personal support for Israelis and Israel at large. Deng also visited and spoke at the Knesset. He was recently interviewed alongside South Sudanese refugee turned Israeli community advocate Naka Pitia and fellow countrywoman by JNS TV's Our Middle East program on his activism and life that drove him to be an Israel first supporter. See also background in Sudan Our Middle East program is hosted by Israeli American, Dan Diker, who is also President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, an Israeli think tank founded in 1975 focused on military affairs, warfare, diplomacy and foreign policy issues.
*Just as the US and Italian agricultural businesses rely on seasonal migrants workers to produce food so does the Israeli agricultural sector. Many of the migrant workers returned home fleeing war and avoid being taken hostage as several Thai migrant workers were by Hamas on Oct 7th. The Thai migrants were releasd by Hamas on November 30, 2023. Prior to the Thai workers, Palestinians were employed by some agricultural fields for kibbutz and illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.Author's Note: Jerusalem Center currently runs it's War Room Briefing and War Time diplomacy center. Additionally, the JCPA has also been pushing its online media outreach and international affairs programs including podcasts and videos to a wider global audience. Including the non military, diplomatic sphere. This isn't just an altrustic move either. The JCPA wants to counter what it sees as "anti Israeli propaganda" as the world's eyes have been opened. It waves away criticism of Israel's war in Gaza, treatment of Palestinians, military actions in West Bank as "anti semitism and anti Jewish" sentiments using the same accusations and talking points as the Israeli government. As been said, accusing critics of Israel of being anti-semite is a decades old tactic by Israelis (in government and out) to silence people speaking out for Palestinian rights, liberation and end to the 75 yeat old Israeli military occupation of 22% of historic Palestine the Palestinian territories. Despite its focus on the Middle East and the world, the JCPA blames most of the ongoing war in Gaza, and other neigboring conflicts in Syria and Iraq squarely on Iran while dismissing Israel's actions in Gaza as self defense and national security. JCPA's actions have been followed by other Israeli think tanks and the wider government. Remember most countries around the world deal with harsh criticism from other nationas almost on monthly basis without resorting to paranoid thinking that the whole world is out to get them or hates their specific nationality.
Naka Pitia
Simon and Naka joined Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, an Israeli think tank on public policy to discuss their lives and childhoods, the South Sudanese people's support and solidarity with Israel, advocacy for the 3,000 strong South Sudanese migrant community currently living in Israel, plus other topics including Iran, the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and future threats from terror groups.
South Sudanese have a long history of being sympathetic to Israel and Israelis given the South Sudanese people's long struggle against Sudanese government prior to South Sudan's 2011 Independence from Sudan. They have been long standing, die hard, admired and unconditional supporters of Israel, the Zionist movement and Christian Zionism, and tend to view Israel not only as a modern nation state but through a biblical lens where Israel is seen as a prophetic fullfillment of God that brought the "Jewish people" ie the Chosen people back to their ancient holy land and homeland. The view is driven by dispensationalism that drove religious Christians and biblical literalists' interpretation of Israel's modern creation to unwavering support of Isreal at the religious and political levels. There is also the Israel Lobby in various countries. While South Sudan doesn't have its own official Israel Lobby, most ordinary South Sudanese feel a deep connection to Israel given their strong religious upbrings and Sunday school teachings on stories of the Ancient Israelites overcome adversary in Babylon, Assyria and Ancient Egypt to return to their homeland. Linking the ancient Israelite stories with modern day Israel's past and recent wars with its neighbors creating in the minds of South Sudanese an inspirational heroic, tough Jewish Spartan nation not only rose up like a phoenix out of the horrors of the holocaust and violence, that stands on its own and is a bulwark for the West in the Middle East. This is the story Israel portrays to the wider world as well. Brushing aside the non biblical, historical, geopolitical, social readings of Israel, many South Sudanese have even drawn parallels with Israel's fight against various neighboring Arab countries Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Egypt to their own fight against the Sudanese government in Khartoum. The ongoing 75 years of Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza of 22% of Palestine is either ignored or dismissed. Being treated as seperate entity from the country, seen as rebel rousers, discriminated against, pushing back against a national policy of Arabization and Islamization carried out across the then Southern Sudan region and the two consecutive Sudanese civil wars that lasted from 1955-77 and 1983-2005. The Israeli government had long supported and provided weapons for the South Sudanese and the SPLM going back to 1960s quite proudly too in search of African allies and what Israeli foreign policy officials once called "peripheral supporters" of Israel and Zionism, justification for its occupation of Palestine and to clean up its image as an occupier to a supporter of minority rights, Israel's own fight against Pan Arabism and Palestinian struggle. In its quest to win hearts and minds of the ordinary people in South Sudan and other African countries, Israelis began providing humanitarian aid in the 1960s, presenting itself as a partner for human rights and medical expertise to the people in its foreign policy outreach beyond the political.
Often left out of the South Sudanese love and support for Israel and Israelis are South Sudanese's own downplayed anti Arab and anti Islamic feelings that still persist today towards their northern neighbor Sudan, other North African and Middle Eastern countries as a consequence of the previous Sudanese Civil War and destruction of South Sudan's people, society, infrastructure and social cohension during the conflict. Inspite of foreign relations with Arab countries, South Sudanese are also apprehensive of long term intentions in their country and often wonder if the UAE and Egypt have genuine interests.
Outreach to Allies old and new
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and AIPAC are not the only pro Israel, Israel first groups that are reaching out to the public via online media platforms, content creators, large and small inflencers and supporters. Smaller community groups in the United States and Europe have been racing to counter global criticism of Israeli collective punishment and brutal military violence in Gaza and West Bank. Since the dominating Israeli voice on Israel Palestine conflict has been broken over the past 15 years by new online and independent media and social media, pro Israel media, pundits, analysts and commentators have been turning to fears and anxieties of global terrorism to justify their actions and military operations not only against Gaza but Hezbollah and even Iran. This is part of the larger Israeli strategy of might makes right self defense and national security at any cost. Israeli analysts, pundits and supporters in their outreach to new and old allies have used Hamas' violence, Oct 7th attacks and Iran to link them to other insurgent groups and conflicts around the world. Even when the insurgents and other conflicts have no connection to Hamas or Iran.The Jewish Leadership Project is a community organization that focuses on building courageous Jewish leaders to confront the world’s challenges and building an active American Jewish advocacy starting on collage campuses. Looking at its mission statement and plan of action however, paints a different picture. Although it mentions courage, the JLP views the world as dangerous for Jewish people following the Oct 7th attacks and succeeding Pro Palestine global protests against Israel’s by the war on Gaza. How Jewish leaders and other activist have to confront “Jew hatred” sic. Among the great, courageous leaders of conscious the group highlights include Ariel Sharon, Menachim Begin, Golda Meir, Benjamin Netayahu. The homepage rises alarms bells for American Jews on how American college campuses and other public areas have become dangerous as a result of the recent, massive Free Palestine protests most of which were weekend long tents and sit ins. Some Jewish students said they had felt unsafe on campus and tried to claim that the pro Palestine protesters were violent against Jewish students on campus. The protesters were also accused of anti semitism for simply protesting Israeli military actions and war on Gaza and calling out brutal violence against Palestinians. The focus of the pro Palestine protest story in the mainstream media and online changed. The pundits and reporters went from focusing on innocent Palestinian civilians bearing the brunt of Israeli government and military genocide in response Hamas’ October 7th attacks and discussions on human rights for Palestinians and Israel violating international law and committing war crimes. Hamas was also accused of war crimes. Netanyahu was ordered to be sent to the ICC in The Hague, which terrified the pro Issel First Lobby and set a precedent for future and past leaders in Western countries who have discovered that they are not immune from facing international law. The impunity to launch wars, destroy nations, use excessive forces has ran out in the eyes of the rest of the world.
Darfur, Sudan, the lobby’s interfaith outreach with loudest voices
Another outreach organization is the African-Jewish Alliance, a new interfaith coalition of Christians, Muslims and Jews created in March 2024. In the AJA's own words, it was created to “educate the public on religiously-inspired mass murder, kidnapping, and enslavement of blacks read Africans, Jews, and Muslims by jihadists across North Africa and in the Middle East." Also to "oppose Jihad and campaign to free the Jihad captives." An AJA activist even attended a recent city council meeting in East Palo Alto, CA in Sillicon Valley, introducing AJA's resolution at the city meeting to condemn jihad and slavery in Africa." On its substack site, the AJA includes reports, articles and videos on the crisis in Sudan and to a lesser extent the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria. Keep in mind that these are two completely different countries on opposite ends of the continent. The respective conflicts have unrelated origins for occurring and being sustained by proxy players and foreign interests. The recent article highlights the AJA's recently ended two day summit in Washington DC to “raise awareness of Islamic terror in Africa” and its victims in the US Congress. During the summit, experts, activists and survivors from Darfur, South Sudan and Nigeria spoke to congressional members on "Jihadist slavery", terrorism and religious persecution within their respective countries. The urgent call to action of course was Sudan and Darfur since it's Sudan's most familiar region to the congressmen and the reporters who covered the event. Another article from June 16th that announced the then upcoming DC summit reads boldly, “Many Americans are unaware that Oct 7th style terrorist attacks happen every few days in Africa…Sudan, Nigeria…This ongoing atrocity is called a silent genocide…” An AJA activist even attended a recent city council meeting in East Palo Alto, CA in Silicon Valley, introducing a resolution at the city meeting to condemn jihad and slavery in Africa." The AJA also warns that the war on terrorism has not ended but has spread to other world regions and the public should be alert to extremism violence against civilians especially children in West Africa’s Sahel and not forget about Sudan in North Africa. Left out of the article are the historical, political and societal contexts, non religious origins of various regional crises.The African Jewish Alliance have taken a strong interest in the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, showing genuine sympathy and concern for the Darfuri people. That cannot be overstated. However, it’s only for the African Darfuri: Massalit, Fur, Zaghawa, Daju and various ethnic groups. Who are portrayed as indigenous, innocent and humanized victims of collective punishment, brutal sieges and ethnic cleansing. While dismissing Darfuri Arabs, the majority civilians as foreigners to Darfur, violent, faceless nomads (Bedouins) and Hamas linked terrorists[sic]. Interestingly it appears that some of human rights advocates and groups who have joined this new group were involved in the Save Darfur Movement in 2003. Simon Deng and the American Anti-Slavery Group, both of whom have been covered earlier in this page and elsewhere, Damanga Coalition, a local Darfuri group documenting everyday life and the disruption the current war, Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel. Dr. Charles Jacobs who is the cofounder of Jewish Leadership Project and the Anti-Slavery Group who was involved in advocating for South Sudanese independence, is a well known pro-Israel lobby advocate and unapologetic fighter against “radical ideology” in American schools. More below.
The AJA report on Darfur even starts out with a reference to Israel’s October 7th attack. It goes on to lament the tragedy Darfur and briefly mentions the wider crisis in Sudan. We're already covered how interfaith coalitions played a role alongside well-meaning Jewish organizations, outspoken Zionist, student and a cadre of conservative groups in bringing public attention to the Darfur conflict at the height of War on Terror. It’s not by accident that the former Save Darfur Movement has now joined the outreach campaign of the wider Pro-Israel lobby. The Darfur conflict was not only a massive protest and social movement twenty years ago, driven by human stories from various media reports. The current RSF war against Darfuri civilians under the wider Sudanese conflict plays on the same old war on terrorism fears, tropes and stereotypes of Muslims and Islam, Sudan, Arabs and Africans, North Africa and Middle East. As been said before, Darfur also serves as a guilty reminder and derailment to critics of Israeli occupation, challenging the Christian Zionist hold on Israel-United States relationship and Palestine allies that they are too focus on Palestine and not on Sudan usually reduced down to Darfur. Israelis, Americans and Europeans are quick to dismiss the 37,000+ deaths in Gaza by saying “there’s an actual genocide going on in Darfur.” This was Douglas Murray’s actual words during a recent discussion on Israel Hamas war.
Many Darfuri and Sudanese Arabs have been victims of the war, yet their names and faces are brushed aside in Western media unless referring the recent Wad Noura massacre in Al Gezira carried out by RSF. The mainstream and independent media have put a much-needed spotlight on the increasing numbers of Sudanese refugees, emphasis on Darfuri refugees (usually the faces the media show are Massalit and other non Arabs) displaced within Sudan, neighbouring countries Libya, Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and even becoming migrants to Europe from Libya. Egypt being both an ancient brotherly nation and interconnected with Sudanese history, finds itself stuck between a rock and a hardplace with Sudan’s current conflict. Often overshadowed by the war in Gaza and Ukraine, greater news focus on Sudan in the English speaking world is greatly needed.* The public is beginning to call out the United Arab Emirates, especially the large Sudanese community in Britain, for the Emirati role in supplying the RSF with weapons, latest drones and other military supplies via the merchants of deaths to continue the unnecessary conflict in Sudan that mirrors the wars in Myanmar and Yemen, two equally under reported conflicts. The current Siege of El Fasher and the focus on Darfur fits into the media’s digestible sound bites, 1 minute news synopsis of ethnic divisions that anyone can follow without the complex historic and social context needed to understand Darfur, RSF’s own complex origins or its Modeus operandi nor its decades long impunity it’s recieved from the Sudanese government under Omar al Bashir long before the recent conflict.
As a side note, Murray isn’t necessarily a sincere sympathizer to Darfuris. He is a well-known British conservative prolific author and self-proclaimed defender of the west speaker who has written numerous books denouncing Islam, painting all Muslims, Iran and Arabs as existential threats to the West. Similar to Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Walid Phares, Daniel Pipes, Murray became prominent during the early days of the War on terrorism and sees it as a personal mission to stop the Islamization of Europe, Dhimmitude and confronting Muslims via writing and public debates. He sees African and Middle East immigration to Europe as bringing about the death of Europe. This is not exaggeration or metaphor it was the title of his own book Strange death of Europe and many of his fans, pundits and other like minded analysts agree and share his thoughts. They have wrongly condemned immigrants and turned them into scapegoats for every problem facing Britain and Europe. He has been working to transform his public image from a brash, anti-immigrant writer to something of an intellectual cultural critic and speaker known for his recent books the Madness of Crowds and the War on the West and his online speeches have garnered new audiences among intellectuals, moderate and non political crowds.
The African Jewish Alliance’s March 2024 press release was authored by Pastor Dumisani Washington, a big-hearted advocate of Christian support for Israel and the founder of the Institute of Black Solidarity for Israel. He also hosts his own podcast, Truth to Power Live: with Dumisani Washington<.a> and has his Youtube channel along with providing content for IBSI. His interviews and lectures on solidarity and outreach with Israel are featured by Prager University, Erick Stakelbeck Show on TBN and he produces the IBSI’s weekly discussion show with unique speakers. Washington is most famous within his Christian Jewish alliance circles for serving as a long time diversity outreach coordinator for CUFI, Christians United for Israel one of the largest and oldest pro Israel, Christian Zionist organization turned lobby in the United States founded by famed televanelist Pastor John Hagee. Washington helped to create one of CUFI’s main international branch CUFI Africa where he continues media and public outreach in several countries Ghana, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc. He speaks and lectures on Israel and its exceptionalism, Zionism, biblical context and its connection to the Black church, Africa and Pan Africanism and why it’s crucial for African people to support Israel compared to Palestine. Washington also authored Zionism & the Black Church: Why Standing with Israel Will be a Defining Issue for Christians of Color in the 21st Century. Washington isn’t the only African American pastor to support Israel and his church isn't the last. He is the most recent in a long line of concerned people of faith, Christian Zionists, long-standing allies of Israel and Jewish people, protectors of Judeo-Christian relations and traditions. On a non religious note, these groups also reiterate that the special relationship between US and Israel should be preserved given current international events and the ever changing geopolitics of our multipolar world. There are secular groups who have enthusiastically embraced israeli exceptionalism, it’s national mythic story of a Phoenix nation standing up to enemies and often argue Israel has an unquestionable right to defend itself not only military, in the media but in cyberspace and digital sphere.
Love Isreal is another small Non profit group founded by Ted Hayes, 30 year global homeless and civil rights activist, that promotes building bridges through community service such as caring for one's neighbors, reducing homelessness through his innovative dome village project, environmental sustainability and fighting for the rights of all peoples. The group's name appears to be a pun of love is real. It's mission statement lauds the think globally, act locally and the "walk a mile in another man's shoes" philosophy of overcoming societal ills through community action.
The focus of Love Israel's community projects is in the Los Angeles area. Touring the website, the visitor comes away with a calming, good Samaritan spirit that is void of politics nor focused directly on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The emphasis on Los Angeles and its residents almost gives the impression that LoveIsrael with its inviting site has little to do with the country of Israel itself. If the visitor looks back at the main page more closely, they will be greeted with two seemingly out of place banners about the Oct 7th attacks. The first banner states, "Hamas has kidnapped two hundred innocent civilians from Israel." The second banner seems to shout to the audience, "Never again is Now!" Stop funding terrorism through U.S. and International aid. This is right above Love Israel's issues and campaigns section.
It is odd a small community service non profit working on local empowerment would shift to a terrifying event that has no immediate connection to Los Angeles. Interestingly, if you click on the campaign page, Love Israel suddenly makes a 360 turn from speaking about reducing homelessness in LA to dedicating the entire page to the victims of Oct 7th attacks in Israel. The whole page features pictures and news reports on Love Israel's local billboards for the Bibas brothers Ariel and Kfir and another child named Raz. This is not saying that the organization shouldn't focus on the Oct 7th attacks children. It takes on an in your face way of doing so under the guise of local community service projects.
The NBC 4, local LA affiliate does confirm that Love Israel is a Pro Israel charity.
The issues page drifts towards Israel while speaking about marginalized communities in LA. You come across the title "Jews are Indigenous to Judea" (occupied West Bank) and than "Support Indigenous Brown, Black native Israeli rights." Again, there is the leap from LA to Israel. The charity isn't speaking on marginalized Israelis or local American Jews in LA itself but is speaking about the State of Israel that's 4,000 miles away. Right under the title, is a paragraph that goes on a tirade against Palestinian people and their struggle under Israel occupation. The Palestinian struggle is referred to as the "Palestinian Industrial Complex," a pun on "Military Industrial Complex."
Love Israel accuses Palestinian people of manipulating and militaring their children and that the Palestinian leadership of exploiting their people while amassing aid money for decades at the expense of U.S. and International organizations aiding Palestinian refugees. There is no evidence of this. The accusation is strange for a supposed non profit to make. Keep in mind this is an old Israeli government talking point. The late Israeli Prime Minister Gold Meir (1969-1974)
popularized the idea that Palestinians don't love their children and use their children to commit violence and terrorism on Israelis.
She even wrote in her own autobiography, Golda Meir, A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography her famous quote, "When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us".
Meir didn't only dehumanize and demonize the Palestinians and other Arabs, but believe that they weren't a people or a nation worthy of any humanity let alone sympathy. She famously said, "Palestinian people don't exist." It has caused real world harm on many levels. From Israeli collective punishment of Palestinians in the occupied territories and discirmination against Palestinians in Israel itself. Nearly all Israel Prime Ministers have repeated Meir's quote of Palestinians not loving their children in some iteration from Sharon to Netanyahoo.
You hear it all the time with IDF claiming Palestinian militant groups using civilians as human shields. Most of it is
Finally towards the end of the campaign Page, once the focus is back on the marginalized peoples of LA and even calls for a book drive for underprivileged children in Gaza after insulting them, it turns to the VOISES campaign, Victims of Impose Sharia Ending Silence claiming to help Muslim refugees who are "silenced" by Sharia Law. Sharia is Islamic law and only exists in a few countries ie Saudi Arabia and Iran. This is another stereotype and trope that plays on the fear of Muslims not only being mysterious foreigners despite being British, but imposing Sharia in the United States and UK. The governments also play on the public's fear of their Muslim neighbors being national security threats through policies that treat Islam and Muslims as public enemy. This hasn't occurred in either country as British and American Muslims follow local laws as every citizen in each country does. Since 9/11, conservative and far right groups RAIR Foundation and activists such as Pam Geller, Robert Spencer, Tommy Robinson, Douglas Murray, etc have argued that Muslims are creating seperate societies within the U.S., the U.K. and France, the far right groups have played on the idea of "No go zones" in Dearborn, Michigan, Paris, parts of London, Birmingham, populated by second and third generation migrant children who are not religious, that is based on Sharia and doesn't respect the American nor British laws. This is false by the way. Fox News and Sky News have even tried to produce reports about these no go zones only to be called out on their fear mongering fabrication and profiling by the mayor of Paris, residents and investigators. After all of this, Love Israel's Campaigns page ends with slavery in Pakistan, Palestine, etc. The slavery reference looks to be thrown onto the page at the last minute. None of the other website pages even mentions slavery or Sharia. So why would these two specific issues often brought up by conservative writers who want to win an argument or debate to show how oppressive Islam is in society or shut down their critics, be mentioned by a nonprofit dedicated to community service programs on homelessness, environmentalism and workers' rights in Los Angeles? Human trafficking and modern day slavery exists in LA, but it's not caused by religion. It's cause is economic, power dynamics and marginalization. It's sad that Love Israel's community service charity deviates from its earlier mission and jumps on the pro-Israel lobby train. The charity ends up insulting and dehumanizing the very marginalized people the Palestinians it claims to help. *Today, Golda Meir is still remembered as a trailblazing female leader of the 1960s-70s, tough, but lovable grandma and the "Mother of Israel." She is portrayed as such in the 2004 movie Munich and the 1978 movie with Inga Bergman. But her racist views of Palestinians is often swept under the rug for the image of the fercious, first female Prime Minister of Israel and thus a Western country that feminists love to applaud. *This same accusation of Palestinians abusing aid money for violence led President Donald Trump deciding to close down USAID early on in his second administration through Elon Musk DOGE project to reduce what he calls "wasteful spending" in government by shutting down it and other necessary government aid organizations that provides humanitarian aid for Palestinians, other refugees and asylum seekers around the world.
Fighting radical ideology on campus
Returning to Charles Jacobs, he is also the head of the nonprofit organization Americans for Peace and Tolerance which promotes peaceful coexistence in multiethnic America by educating the American high schools and university students about radical ideologies with a focus on fighting antisemitism, anti Zionism, and radical Islam and anti Israel indoctrination via fighting against what it sees as Arab money influencing high school and university students, Middle East programs and students’ critical of Israel and U.S. Foreign policy in the Middle East. It blames Qatari and Saudi funding and their stances on Israel for promoting an anti Israel, pro Arab voices, Palestinian perspectives and “pro Islam” view. It should be said that most Middle East and North Africa programs, emphasizes mutual understanding and cultural exchanges policies revolve around in-depth understanding of society, people and geography with separate tracks on Islam and religion. It further questions where CAIR the Council on American Islamic Relations, a Muslim American national community advocacy and rights organization received its money. Additionally, the APT is supicious of local Islamic organizations and questions why liberal and moderate organizations are sympathetic to Palestine and by default in the organization's eyes anti Jewish and anti common sense "woke groups". ATP’s mission and goals started long before the Oct 7th attacks, current war in Palestine particularly Gaza.One would think with a name like Americans for Peace and Tolerance, the organization would be working towards building bridges between the ethnic and religious groups within the United States. Or provide conflict resolution mediation between Israelis and Palestinians. It is interesting that the peace and tolerance mission focuses on educating university and high school students about “radical ideology” is more concerned with how media imagery and criticism will affect Israel than the United States. Or viewing the Israel Palestine conflict through the lens of the israeli talking point that everyone is against us.
APT is carrying on a common method used by other conservative, right wing, anti Palestinian or anti Arab and low key islamophobic lobbying groups claiming to be pro peace and wanting to understand the Middle East, but instead uses fear mongering, orientalist stereotypes and a few outlandish claims to keep the public in fear of their own neighbors, a never ending war on terrorism and cheerleading the military industrial complex in the U.S. and Middle East. The official sounding organization American Freedom Defense Intiative run by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer comes to mind with some outlandish claims. And continuing to widen the anxiety and mistrust between the ordinary citizens of the West and Middle East and North Africa without finding a genuine solution to peace or strengthening deeper understanding.
Author’s note: Zionist and pro Israel groups have tried to guilt and shame pro Palestine Jewish groups, African American and African diaspora groups. Liberal Jewish groups, peace activists and advocates for Palestinian human rights are often accused by the Israeli first crowd for being self hating Jews, not Jewish enough or need to toughen up in a dangerous world. We’ve already covered how American Jews have a long history of criticism of Israeli treatment of Palestinians and other non Jewish groups in the country and Israel’s foundational myth as a safe haven for Jewish people while displacing and ethnically cleansing the Palestinians during Israel’s creation. Not mention Israeli political shift from a once, secular and leftist/moderate governemnt to right wing, theocracy that have passed all kinds of laws to favor and privilege Jewish Israelis over other citizens ie Muslims and Christians. Rarely discussed is Israel's overlooked sociopolitical cleavages between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews.Africans and African Americans are expected to be natural allies of Israel and Jewish people given the history of persecution, dehumanization and discrimination and resistance that African Americans went through in the U.S. and their experience parallels the same Jewish suffering. When African peoples are pro Palestine or call for human rights, end of Israeli settler colonialism and respect for international law for Palestine, as South Africa, Namibia and Guyana did they are guilted into remembering the victims of Palestinian and general Arab violence and slavery especially in Sudan, Mauritania (which is the only time the country is ever brought up in any news) and abuse of migrants in Libya, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates. Another refrain pro Israel, Zionists and now even the newer Pan Africanists and the more American styled black nationalists use is Palestinians and Arabs don’t care about the struggles of African peoples but Israeli, American and British Jews do and have been fighting alongside African peoples. African writers, YouTubers and online activists use the “Arabs don’t care about Africans” to avoid speaking about Israel Palestine conflict or even delving into the complexities of the conflict or the wider region. Even when their audience and curious learners want to know more about the conflict, the Pan Africanists and conscious community who have little to no deep knowledge on the Israel-Palestine topic, will dismiss it as a non concern for African people. Or accuse Palestinians and other groups of not standing up for Africans. Thus claiming to speak for their audiences, some of who have advocated for end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and to reconsider the image of Israel as the innocent bystander facing down thousands of faceless enemies in a perpetual fight for survival since 1948. There are other content creators who take the ignorance is bliss further, urging their listeners to only pay attention to African issues while ignoring crucial global issues. American content creator Phil Scott and his African Diaspora News Channel is notorious for this on discussions on the MENA region. It also creates a rift between Africans and Arabs, ignoring the centuries of interactions and trade between African nations and Middle East. Not mention overlooking the decades of solidarity between Palestinian and African American struggle in the United States for human rights and justice, African and Carribean countries' support for Palestine and anti colonial liberation movements sympathies, non align, third world struggle against the imperial world order of the West and its allies, educating the public on the history and deeply missing context of the Palestine-Israel issue. Pan Africanists tend to repeat a lot of pro Israel talking points without irony and don’t take time to hear different or challenging perspectives.
The missing pieces: Every insurgent group is now terrorist?
* Hamas and Boko Haram aren’t connected to one another at all. It’s the same mistake American and European media analysts make lumping the insurgent groups in Mali ie the Tuareg Azwad Liberation and Burkina Faso in with ISIS and Al Qaeda even though these anti-government insurgent groups predate Al Qaeda and their fight against capital cities of Bamako and Ougagodougo is based on historic, long standing political and societal grievances and issues having nothing to do with wanting to recreate an Islamic Caliphate. For instance, Malian Tuareg rebellion began in 1960s. American and European counter terrorist analysts and military experts ignore the secular aspects of the insurgencies in the Sahel and label any anti-government or anti Western sentiment as borderline terrorism similar to Israeli analysts seeing terrorism in places where it’s not. Or how the Israelis are now trying to portray every Palestinian resistance and militant group as being Hamas or a branch of the Muslim brotherhood when most Palestinian groups Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Fatah, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) or the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine(DFLP) and the new Jenin Resistance Group are secular in origins and ideology. A lot of their operations harken back to the revolutionary, left wing, Marxist and socialist, anti imperial/colonialist liberation movements of the 1950s-60s.* The Sudanese conflict originally began over a military disagreement not a simplistic power struggle as the media wrongly portrays it. The disagreement stemmed from the Sudanese Army hesitation in allowing the undisciplined and impunity driven militia RSF from being integrated within its forces. As the RSF has become a death squad in Darfur and other parts of Sudan killing and massacre innocent civilians who protest or resist its rule, looting of homes and businesses/livelihoods. Another fact that many Western media reporters miss is that more than 90% of the Sudanese people hate the RSF, would prefer to see it collapse and have backed the Sudanese Army inspite of its own war actions. Also ignored are the ongoing political discussions taking place with pro democracy and pro peace Sudanese civilian groups in Cairo and Addis Ababa attempting to find a political not military solution to ending the current conflict. The Taggadum group which includes the former Sudanese Prime Minister Ahmed Hamdok has been holding conferences and workshops on how to return Sudan back to a civilian government rule and a post war democratic society, where the Sudanese military are kept out of civilian governments and regulated to their original function of national defense. In an unusual move, RSF spokesman Youssef Ezzat actually tried to compare the Sudanese Army attacks on RSF with Palestinian attacks on Israel to garner international legitimacy in April 2023. This was several months before the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel. Ezzat’s claim fell flat on deaf ears.
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Israel uses Thought Police for Pro-Israel support
East Jerusalem home demoliations & Settlers
Israel First on Campus
Israel Lobby, its largest organization being American Israeli Public Affairs Committee or AIPAC, is a conglomerate of pro-Israel activists ranging from neoconservative lobbyists, rightwing pundits & talk show hosts, famous religious personalities, media consultants, image makers, think tanks, conservative artists, activists, etc all working to promote a pro-Israel, pro-special relationship between Israel & U.S. and at continously pro defense & anti-terror U.S. Foreign Policy and crush any legitimate critiscisms of Israeli government & policy toward Palestine & its neighbors. Regardless of International Law, constitutional rights or history, Israel Lobby has been a taboo word in U.S. politics since 1948 because of the fear of drawing controversary for the large influence many pro-Israel organizations and lobbyists carry in the senate and Congress on matters concerning Israel. From the recent war & massacres in Gaza to continual home demolitions in occupied Palestine on a weekly basis and mass construction of more illegal settlements and Jews only roads, congressional bills critical of Israeli government & state, demanding the human rights of Palestinians be respected, end of military aid to Israel, end of military occupation all 1967 territories and respect for International Law and Criticism of Zionism & Israel's treatment of its Palestinian minorities within Israel proper, any attempt to criticize Israel, its racial discrimination, its policies toward the Palestinians and demonization of Arabs in Israeli media, culture & society has been labeled as automatic anti-semetism by Israel Firsters before the critics of Zionism & lobby and supporters of Palestinian rights have had their say.
Since September 11, numerous neoconservative organizations and pundits as Daniel Pipes & Martin Kramer, have monitored many campuses across the U.S. and Europe for what the pundits consider, "any anti-Israeli bias, propaganda and academia." Both professors and students are equally scrunitized for academic work, projects and programs that seek to tell Palestinian, Middle Eastern, and even North African history, stories, culture and challenege universities and on campus communities with a different view of the Arab and Muslim worlds outside of the War on Terror and pro-Israel conservavtive media outlets and organizations. Some prominent professors, DePaul University's Norman Finklestein have been denied tenured because of pro-Israel groups such as Campus Watch demonizing any criticism of the Israeli government, its policies toward the Palestinians and views of Arabs as anti-semetism. Other professors have been wrongly and falsly accused of anti-semetism. Among the accused are late Edward Said, professor and author for Colombia University, and John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt, International Relations Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Both Mearsheimer and Walt are joint authors of the renown book the Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
International Academic Friends of Israel
Against the Cultural and Academic boycott of Israel by worldwide universities and colleges protesting against continual apartheid policies of Israel, its occupation and human rights violations and horrendous treatment of Palestinians.
Zionist Freedom Alliance
Campus Watch
Israel Academic Monitor
Monitors both Israeli universities, newspapers, writers and others for anti-Israeli content in their writings. Writers and artisits are also included...
On the write Side
Columbia Unbecoming Site monitoring anti-Israeli bias at Columbia University
Write for IsraelAdvocacy for high school students!
Stand with Us
Advocacy organization working with university students to promote Israel and its interests on campuses
Stand With Us blog
Stand with Us International
Stand 4 Facts
A registered members only website
Birthright Israel
Offers free trips to Israel for students who are Jewish and encourages Christians, Congressmen, politicians etc to visit Israel via fact finding trips. Does not mention the ongoing Israeli military occupation or Palestinan lives in the occupied Palestine. Palestinian Israelis are labeled as Israeli Arabs
Scholars for Peace in Middle East
Academics for Israel UK
Caravan for Democracy
Part of Jewish National Fund for university students
Otherside of the Coin
Israel on Campus Coalition
The Israel Project or TIP
The Magnum Opus and Golden Nugget of all of Israel's supporters and Firsters. TIP has literally created its own Pro-Israel friendly homebase to fight for Israel, particulary Israeli government's behalf tooth and nail. It continues to promote the user friendly and "good side" of Jewish state in International News and Affairs though the world does not follow the status quo of all Israelis are peaceful and everyone else in Middle East are dangerous or threats to western society any longer. Despite the world's changed view of Israel, TIP continues to promote Netanyhu and government's policies both foreign and domestic dealing with Palestinians, wider Arab neighborhood and world, Iran and European countries and U.S. as fundamentally necessary for the war on terror and Israeli security. TIP even has and publishes its own Middle East Glossary and dictionary for use by journalists, pundits and lay people who do not understand the conflict or wish to see Israel's point of view also includes Zionist terms.
The Israel Project's Middle East Glossary
Expert sources
TIP TV ADs
- Jews
- No mention of the West Bank separation barrier or Apartheid Wall, home demolitions, uprooting of olive trees, or Palestinians in the occupied territories waiting hours to pass throughmilitary checkpoints in many study abroad brochures
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