Another Pro-Israel Lobby Group Comes to Washington
Another Pro-Israel Lobby Group Comes to Washington
Meet Democratic Majority for Israel.
Does Washington need another pro-Israel lobby group?
If you’re reading this newsletter, your answer is probably no. But for the people behind Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), the answer is a resounding YES.
Today in The Nation, I take a close look at what DMFI is doing, who is behind them, why they exist and their ties to the flagship Israel lobby group in Washington, AIPAC. Read it here.
The article has all the details, but the TLDR is: DMFI wants to make sure increasingly bold progressive criticism of Israel’s military rule over Palestinians doesn’t gain a stronger foothold within the Democratic Party. They’re slamming Bernie Sanders, Linda Sarsour, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar at every opportunity. But I think Yousef Munayyer, the executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, is ultimately right when he casts skepticism over whether DMFI will actually be successful: “The job of trying to sell apartheid is an impossible job in the 21st century. Their jobs are impossible because the values that the Israeli government is representing fundamentally clash with the values the Democratic Party at least claims it aspires to.”
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In other related news, I have a piece out for +972 Magazine on a new platform launched by Palestinian activists in the U.S. Called “Freedom Is The Future,” the platform sets out a central ask: ending all U.S. economic and diplomatic support for Israel as long as it continues its denial of Palestinian rights. Alongside this are five further demands: the right of return for refugees; self-determination; freedom of movement for all Palestinians; an end to Israeli violence; and the right to organize against Israeli repression.