Washington’s capitulation to Israeli demands to allow continued expansion of the occupation is just the latest signal that the Middle East will not be changed by pretty Barack Obama speeches.
Mondoweiss outlines what’s at stake and the necessity to increase our grassroots effort to speak above and beyond political spin:
At a panel at J Street last week on what it means to be “pro-Israel,” Jonathan Chait and Matthew Yglesias, who both declare themselves to be pro-Israel, mentioned me as a bridge too far. Chait said It’s fine if this group wants to criticize Israel some, but don’t get outside “the mainstream,” don’t go near the Phil Weiss position. I’m told that Yglesias somewhat echoed the point, mentioning me; and I am sure that moderator JJ Goldberg shares the view, too. I have news for that panel: In my political community I am actually a moderate/softie, because I have some compassion for the Israelis as creatures of imperialist history, just like the rest of us. But almost everyone I talk to about these issues is to my left. Many of those teachers are younger than me–Adam Horowitz, Antony Loewenstein, Anna Baltzer, and Seham–and I would argue that they are driving the conversation, and the conversation is moving leftward because the right and center are bankrupt, they have produced nothing but dispossession and permanent war.