#BlackLivesMatter: Ethiopian Jews Take To Streets In Israel To Protest Discrimination, Police Brutality

Israel continues to be rocked by protests by Ethiopian Israelis claiming to be facing discrimination in the country due to being black. Protesters and police clashed as protesters blocked roadways and surrounded government buildings leading to multiple arrests and injuries. The protests have drawn international attention to an issue long bubbling beneath the surface of Israeli society.

Ethiopian Israelis, though Jewish, encounter widespread discrimination and police harassment and brutality in Israel due to their racial background according to the protesters. The protests appear to have been influenced by the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States and come on the heels of the Baltimore riots.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the "lawlessness" of the protesters other figures from serving in Israel's national government conceded demonstrators had a valid point even if they disagreed with the confrontational tactics.

Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said on Sunday evening that the police will bring to justice anyone who hurt civilians and policemen, adding that the rally "was not a legitimate protest in a democratic state" and blaming a handful of agitators for harming the Israeli Ethiopians' struggle. He added that "most of the claims made by Ethiopian Israelis are not police-related at all. There is a deeper problem here of their assimilation. I do take responsibility and I think we have a problem with some of the cases mentioned, and we will handle it." 

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitz said that "some of the complaints against the police were justified. There were events that need to be examined, and the police also has to check itself. All government and municipal offices need to provide a comprehensive solution."

Organizers of the protest, while expressing solidarity with black protesters in the United States, claim the disorder and violence that resulted from the protest was completely the result of the police with one protester telling Haaretz "The police documented every moment of the demonstration and I want to see the documentation, whether we really started the violence as the police claim. We marched in the streets and they fired stun grenades at us."

Whether the protests will lead to any immediate change is difficult to say, but the issue can no longer be ignored.

Israel Supreme Court Upholds Law Making It Illegal To Call For Boycott Of Israel

The only democracy in the Middle East strikes again. A law passed by the Israeli parliament in 2011 that bans calling for a boycott of Israel has just been upheld by the Israel's Supreme Court. The ruling means that anyone expressing support for boycotting Israel or Israeli settlements can be legitimately sued in Israeli courts of law.

Not surprisingly, even many in Israel are calling the law political censorship incompatible with a democracy. Boycotting is a voluntary nonviolent activity used in every open society to protest people and organizations those doing the boycotting oppose. Banning the practice suppresses speech and dissent.

The only substantive rollback the court made on the initial law passed in 2011 was to limit compensation for plaintiffs to damages they could establish.

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday upheld the so-called Anti-Boycott Law, which allows for damage suits to be filed against any person or entity that calls for an economic, cultural or academic boycott of Israel or “areas under its control,” a reference to the West Bank settlements. By a vote of 5-4, the court rejected petitions arguing that the law, which is aimed at facilitating civil suits against anyone calling for a boycott of products produced in the settlements or for an end to economic ties with Israel, unreasonably limits freedom of political expression by establishing a tort liability for encouraging a boycott... 

The petitioners, who argued that the law would have a chilling effect that would deter people from expressing a political position by calling for a boycott, objected to the ruling, saying it was silencing what a minority opinion called “one side of the political map” — namely, the left.

Beyond the antidemocratic nature of the law are the problems caused by including Israeli settlements which are illegal under international law. Due to the settlements being illegal, a great many people refuse to do business with companies based there, some may encourage others not to as well - are they all liable now? Defendants could run in the millions.

Given the results of the last election it seems a majority of the people of Israel find an Apartheid state acceptable. Now those of a dissenting view have been weakened from having the chance to persuade their fellow citizens to change their minds.

Netanyahu Determined To Sabotage Iran Nuclear Deal

After yesterday's announcement on the agreement of a framework for a comprehensive deal between Iran and the P5+1, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let it be known that he was clinging to his pre-election reactionary positions. Netanyahu claimed the deal posed an existential threat to Israel saying "This deal would pose a grave danger to the region and to the world and would threaten the very survival of the state of Israel."

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that the deal would "legitimize Iran's illegal nuclear program. It would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure," and that "Such a deal does not block Iran's path to the bomb. Such a deal paves Iran's path to the bomb."

That Netanyahu is asserting such strange views that even his own intelligence agency disagrees with may reveal a deeper anxiety. A rapprochement between Iran and the West could put further pressure on Israel to stop brutalizing the Palestinians and, given that Netanyahu has declared the two state solution dead, the result could be sanctions on Israel.

Iran has been a useful foil for Netanyahu and if relations normalize between Iran and the rest of the world then Israel has lost another trick in its game of distraction. The world has already grown tired of Netanyahu's rhetoric and excuses for inaction on the peace process and flagrant violation of international law vis a vis settlements. With the Iranian issue off the table Israel becomes the main course.

Therefore it should not be so surprising that Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing everything he can to sabotage a Iran nuclear deal - a diplomatic solution is bad news for him. Now the question becomes how far will he go to stop the deal? Will Israel launch a military strike on Iran to blow it all up?

Israel Spied On US-Iran Talks To Sabotage Them

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly went further than publicly bashing the prospect of a deal with Iran. According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel engaged in espionage against the United States by eavesdropping, obtaining intelligence from confidential briefings, and using informants.

What an ally.

The information acquired was then used by Israel to try and rally support in the US Congress to kill any deal with Iran. The Obama Administration was reportedly most upset by a foreign power using the information gleaned through espionage to manipulate the US political process and sabotage diplomatic efforts by the US government on behalf of the American people:

The spying operation was part of a broader campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal, current and former U.S. officials said. In addition to eavesdropping, Israel acquired information from confidential U.S. briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe, the officials said. 

The espionage didn’t upset the White House as much as Israel’s sharing of inside information with U.S. lawmakers and others to drain support from a high-stakes deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program, current and former officials said. “It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on the matter.

Combine this belligerent behavior with Prime Minister Netanyahu's open declaration of being against a two state solution and it seems well past time to let the sanctions fly at the UN - we do not have a partner for peace.

Obviously some of these transgressions were fueled by a desire for Netanyahu to stop a deal before the recent election. But if this behavior is not punished it will continue and become precedent with the US surrendering its sovereign decision making authority. It's time to reexamine how special the special relationship should be with Israel.

White House Signals It May Let Sanctions Against Israel Proceed At UN

The fallout from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scorched earth re-election campaign continues. Now the White House is letting it be known that it may withdraw the longstanding US policy of mindlessly vetoing sanctions against Israel at the UN. Given that Israel is openly breaking international law with its settlement policy as well as its periodic slaughtering of civilians under the banner of "anti-terrorism" operations it is quite possible that the US withdrawing its protection could lead to sanctions.

According to Politico, officials within the Obama White House are furious over Netanyahu's declaration that if he was re-elected the two state solution was dead and said they were open to changing the US' policy of always covering for Israel at the UN. Changes in policy could include a move to stop opposing Palestine's efforts to enter International Criminal Court, allow sanctions for settlements to proceed, and support international demands for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories.

Given the US Congress' cartoonish support for Prime Minister Netanyahu it appears unlikely that there will be any cut off of us aid to Israel, but by simply letting the international system work President Obama can put a lot of pressure on the Israeli government.

“The positions taken by the prime minister in the last days of the campaign have raised very significant substantive questions that go far beyond just optics,” said a senior administration official, adding that recent Israeli government actions were in keeping with Netanyahu’s rhetoric. 

While saying it was “premature” to discuss Washington’s policy response, the official wouldn’t rule out a modified American posture at the United Nations, where the U.S. has long fended off resolutions criticizing Israeli settlement activity and demanding its withdrawal from Palestinian territories.

It is telling that all the Obama Administration would have to do to put such great pressure on Israel is to stop mindlessly defending it in international forums. Israel's illegal behavior has alienated the state from a great number of countries in the world which is why any empowerment of international institutions is viewed as bad news by the Israeli government. But that is also why it is so clearly needed.

The Israeli electorate endorsed an apartheid system in the election this week, now comes the response. Elections have consequences.

Israel Votes For Apartheid

There is no use in trying to sweep this under the rug anymore, apartheid is the majority position in Israel. As part of a last minute gambit to win yesterday's election Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contradicted his own previously stated position and shut the door completely on any peace process by claiming he did not believe in a Palestinian state and there would not be one if he was re-elected. It was opportunistic, it was reactionary, it was a stunning success.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Likud Party triumphed in yesterday's election capturing what looks like 30 of the 120 seats in Israel's Parliament, the Knesset. The electoral victory over center-left Zionist Union (24 seats) means Netanyahu will be able to form a governing coalition with far right pro-settler Jewish Home Party and other right wing groups such as the ultra-Orthodox.

Netanyahu's campaign strategy included more than opposing a Palestinian state, he also leveraged racial anxiety to motivate his voters by claiming "Arabs are coming out in droves to the polls." Another clearly successful reactionary play.

It is plainly time to stop blaming Netanyahu for Israel's far right shift, he is, evidently, just following the people there. The people of Israel want the Palestinians in perpetual subjugation, they want ethnocracy, they want apartheid. Netanyahu's deviation towards full-on reactionary politics is a reflection of an underlying change within the Israeli heart, not a catalyst for the mutation.

Some reading this - BDS supporters in particular - will no doubt find it rather pathetic that it took this election for some of us to discover something so seemingly obvious. In a pre-election analysis that proved almost prophetic, Yonatan Mendel wrote that all major political parties had essentially given up on peace with the Palestinians and backed illegal settlements. Mendel even went so far as to note that there was strong case for the position that it is better for the Labor Party to lose because the only difference between them and Likud is that Labor is better at PR and therefore can more ably avoid international scrutiny for the same terrible behavior.

Maybe some of us did not want to think internal reform was so impossible, that Israel was a more pluralistic and moderate society than its critics gave it credit for. We had hoped that Prime Minister Netanyahu would have to give up his extreme bellicose rhetoric for fear that the pretense would backfire and alienate Israeli public opinion. Unfortunately, we got it exactly wrong. In today's Israel, moderation is the pretense and Netanyahu prevailed from going even further rightward.

Given these election results, the issues the winning campaign was run on, and the wishes of the Israeli electorate, it is going to be increasingly difficult - if not impossible - for the American left to align with and support Israel in the future. The common phrase "Israel shares our values" is no longer so easily affirmed nor can it honestly be taken for granted.

BDS still seems like an extreme and overly-confrontational response, but given that an outright severance is not within political reality there seem to be few alternatives. If we are to be inextricably joined with Israel in this special relationship then it's time for us to take a more active role in changing their behavior. The people there won't do it.

Netanyahu Addresses AIPAC Before Speech To Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today at AIPAC claiming the US-Israeli relationship has never been stronger. The speech comes before Netanyahu is set to give a speech tomorrow before the US Congress on a possible deal the US is working on with Iran regarding  nuclear weapons and sanctions.

The speech has created controversy given that Netanyahu went around President Obama and accepted a unilateral invitation from House Speaker John Boehner. Obama said his objection to Netanyahu speaking was due his belief in observing a prohibition on foreign leaders campaigning in the US in the weeks prior to elections in their respective countries.

Netanyahu's decision to speak has divided Democrats and Jewish-Americans generally. Some Democrats are planning on not attending the speech in protest to the perceived disrespect Prime Minister Netanyahu has shown to President Obama.

So far, 30 Democrats — four senators and 26 representatives — have said they will not attend the speech. Nearly half are African-Americans, who say they feel deeply that Mr. Netanyahu is disrespecting the president by challenging his foreign policy. But a half-dozen of those Democrats planning to stay away are Jewish, and represent 21 percent of Congress’s Jewish members.

“I stand with Israel, always have stood with Israel, and always will, but this speech is not about Israel,” said Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee, who accused the prime minister of politicking in Congress with an eye on Israel’s March 17 election. “Netanyahu is not Israel just like George W. Bush wasn’t America.” He will not be attending.

Israeli public opinion is also divided with many Israelis worrying that Netanyahu's move will damage US-Israeli relations. Whether the speech will end up backfiring and actually hurting Netanyahu's electoral prospects remains to be seen.

Netanyahu has also been facing increasing pressure internationally over his policy towards Iran. Recently leaked cables revealed that Israeli intelligence contradicted Netanyahu's claims on Iran's nuclear weapons program.

All of which makes tomorrow's speech a high stakes gamble which, even if successful for Netanyahu in the short term, risks permanently weakening the US-Israeli relationship.