Israel Lobby Watch
EI's Israel Lobby Watch section offers news about the tactics of pro-Israel lobby organisations around the world, analysis of attempts to rewrite history with an Israeli narrative, international reactions to pressure, and the effect of the lobby's work on domestic political life. Quality submissions are welcomed.
Canadian diplomat honored on confiscated Palestinian land
Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 18 June 2009
Canada's chief diplomat in Israel has been honored at an Israeli public park -- built on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law -- as one of the donors who helped establish the park on the ruins of three Palestinian villages. Jon Allen, Canada's ambassador to Israel, is among several hundred Canadian Jews who have been commemorated at a dedication site. Jonathan Cook comments. [MORE]
Group linked to Israeli lobby, neocons releases another Islamophobic film
Ali Gharib and Eli Clifton, The Electronic Intifada, 20 May 2009
WASHINGTON (IPS) - A new documentary from a shadowy non-profit, the Clarion Fund, has ties to groups widely accused of Islamophobia. The Third Jihad purports to educate US citizens about the threat of a "cultural Jihad" by the country's own Muslim-American population. The film goes to great lengths to define itself as an expose of radical Muslim elements, not the faith at large. [MORE]
Academic freedom controversy brewing at University of California
Max Ajl, The Electronic Intifada, 20 May 2009
A controversy is quickening at the University of California centered around William Robinson, professor of sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and a critic of globalization, capitalism and United States imperialism in Latin America. On 19 January, Robinson sent an e-mail message to the students in his Sociology of Globalization class containing some sharply critical commentary on Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip. Max Ajl reports for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
AIPAC conference comes amid turmoil
Daniel Luban and Ali Gharib, The Electronic Intifada, 5 May 2009
WASHINGTON (IPS) - The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington's powerful and hawkish pro-Israel lobby, kicked off its annual policy conference this weekend during a period of unusual turbulence both for the organization and for the US-Israel relationship. AIPAC won a notable victory on Friday, when prosecutors moved to dismiss charges against two former AIPAC staffers who had been accused of committing espionage violations by passing classified information to the Israeli government and to reporters.
[MORE]
A public stoning in Germany
Raymond Deane, The Electronic Intifada, 6 March 2009
It appears that freedom of speech, supposedly one of the proudest acquisitions of post-Fascist Germany, is readily suppressed when exercised to advocate positive action against the racist, politicidal institutions and actions of the Zionist state. Raymond Deane comments for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
US Jewish "peace" lobby isolated on Gaza
Daniel Luban, The Electronic Intifada, 18 January 2009
WASHINGTON (IPS) - The three-week-old war in Gaza -- halted Saturday by an Israeli ceasefire -- has had a polarizing effect on the United States Jewish community, resulting in a deeper and at times acrimonious split between dovish groups that are skeptical of the Israeli military campaign, and centrist and hawkish groups that have been broadly supportive of it. [MORE]
Olmert's claims revive specter of "Israel Lobby"
Daniel Luban, The Electronic Intifada, 14 January 2009
WASHINGTON (IPS) - The US State Department fiercely denied claims made by Ehud Olmert about his influence over President Bush, in an incident that has stirred up old debates about the role of the Israeli government and the so-called "Israel lobby" in formulating Middle East policy in Washington. On Monday, Olmert claimed that he demanded and received an immediate conversation with President Bush, during which he convinced the president to overrule the wishes of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and abstain from a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. [MORE]
Israel's fabricated rocket crisis
Jim Holstun and Joanna Tinker, The Electronic Intifada, 6 January 2009
We have heard, and we will continue to hear, a droning litany of "Qassams! Qassams! Qassams!" The repetition will be difficult to resist, but for all of us who remember the reiterated US lies about Iraq of 2002-2003, whether with pride for our skepticism or shame for our credulity, a good first step might be for us to think "WMDs!" every time they say "Qassams!" Like the US Coalition of the Willing, Israel's Operation Cast Lead has not let the absence of actual provocation get in the way of a good bloodbath. Jim Holstun and Joanna Tinker analyze for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
Jewish "refugee" lobby seeks to eclipse Palestinian losses
Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 4 December 2008
A broad coalition of Jewish lobby groups has made a series of breakthroughs this year in its campaign to link the question of justice for millions of Palestinian refugees with justice for Jews who left Arab states in the wake of Israel's establishment 60 years ago. Referring to these Jews as the "forgotten refugees" and claiming that their plight is worse than that of exiled Palestinians, the campaign has scored political successes in recent months in Washington, London and Brussels. Jonathan Cook reports. [MORE]
Obama adviser Dennis Ross's dodgy record
Michael Flynn, The Electronic Intifada, 4 November 2008
GENEVA (IPS) - With the 2008 presidential campaign at its end, pundits have begun to discuss in earnest what expected winner Barack Obama's administration might look like. An important piece of evidence is Obama's campaign team, which largely escaped the harsh scrutiny that his opponent's lobbyist-laden team received. [MORE]
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