The Israel Lobby Con EXTRA! Podcast

A Lawmaker Who Stood Up for Justice - Brian Baird

Brian Baird describes how Israel and its U.S. lobby assert authority over Congress. He reflects on his visits to Gaza, especially his shock at seeing the American International School in Gaza flattened by Israel using American-made bombs. He describes his efforts to investigate the murder of his constituent Rachel Corrie, as well as his vote on the Goldstone report, denounced by House colleagues who never read the report or visited Gaza. Baird then recommends critical actions voters should take to help elect leaders who will study this issue in a fair and open-minded way.

Brian Baird is a former Democratic U.S. Representative for Washington’s 3rd congressional district, who served from 1999 to 2011. Baird entered politics in1998 for the same reason he went into the field of clinical psychology: to answer the call to service. As a congressman, Baird traveled to Gaza five times, and was deeply disturbed by the destruction wrought by Israel’s relentless attacks on the besieged territory. Rep. Baird called on the U.S. State Department to investigate the death of his constituent, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old student who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003. After leaving Congress, Baird served as president of Antioch University’s Seattle campus until 2015, and continues to contribute op-eds to The Seattle Times.

The web-based conference "End US Support for Israeli Apartheid?" considers whether the United States should now cut off aid to Israel, or make any such future assistance conditional on negotiation of a genuine peace settlement, respect for Palestinian human rights, and adherence to international law.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

The Israel Lobby: What Everyone Needs to Know - Walter Hixson

Walter L. Hixson since 2019 serves as columnist and contributing editor at the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. This is his second book on the Israel lobby following Israel’s Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict. (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

He is the author of several books focused on the history of US foreign relations, including American Foreign Relations: A New Diplomatic History (Routledge, 2015), American Settler Colonialism: A History (2013, Palgrave-Macmillan), The Myth of American Diplomacy: National Identity and U.S. Foreign Policy (Yale University Press, 2008). The new book by distinguished historian Walter L. Hixson—Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of U.S. Middle East Policy—offers a compelling history of the most powerful lobby acting on behalf of a foreign government in all of American history. Hixson will summarize the book's finding that the Israel lobby has played and continues to play the crucial role in enabling aggression, the suppression of Palestinian rights, and the failure to achieve a comprehensive Middle East peace. Hixson explains why there will never be peace in the Middle East until the monolithic Israel lobby is neutralized.

Purchase Walter L. Hixson's latest book on the Israel lobby here:

https://www.middleeastbooks.com/products/architects-of-repression-how-israel-and-its-lobby-put-racism-violence-and-injustice-at-the-center-of-us-middle-east-policy-by-walter-l-hixson?_pos=3&_sid=4ff50f14c&_ss=r

The web-based conference "End US Support for Israeli Apartheid?" considers whether the United States should now cut off aid to Israel, or make any such future assistance conditional on negotiation of a genuine peace settlement, respect for Palestinian human rights, and adherence to international law.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

More information at https://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org

Elaborating on the B’Tselem Apartheid Report - Richard Falk

Richard Falk is Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University, currently Chair of Global Law, Law Faculty, Queen Mary University London. Falk served as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Occupied Palestine (2008-2014), and served as Chair of the Board of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2005-2012.

He wrote (Re)Imagining Humane Global Governance(2014), which proposes a value-oriented assessment of world order and future trends. His most recent books are Power Shift(2016); Revisiting the Vietnam War(2017); On Nuclear Weapons: Denuclearization, Demilitarization and Disarmament(2019). Since 2009 Falk has been annually nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. A political memoir by Falk, Public Intellectual: the Life of a Citizen Pilgrim was published March 2021.

Richard Falk commented on B’Tselem’s recent report concluding that Israel is an apartheid regime, as well as Israel’s enactment of a Basic Law in 2018 that gives preferential status to Jews. He described the apparatus of the apartheid state of Israel, including discrimination based on ethnicity, immigration, land tenure, citizenship, nationality and language rights, freedom of mobility and the issuance of building permits. What are the odds for a peaceful future for Israel if the country does not dismantle apartheid? What will happen if Israel refuses to treat Palestinians according to human rights standards, including respect for the Palestinian right of self-determination? Falk concluded by recommending global solidarity initiatives to bring about a just solution. The web-based conference "End US Support for Israeli Apartheid?" considers whether the United States should now cut off aid to Israel, or make any such future assistance conditional on negotiation of a genuine peace settlement, respect for Palestinian human rights, and adherence to international law.

The web-based conference "End US Support for Israeli Apartheid?" considers whether the United States should now cut off aid to Israel, or make any such future assistance conditional on negotiation of a genuine peace settlement, respect for Palestinian human rights, and adherence to international law.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

More information at https://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org

Holding South Africa, But Not Israel, Accountable - John Dugard

John Dugard discussed what accounts for the international community's disparity in its treatment of South Africa and Israel for applying substantially similar policies. How effective have Israel and its foreign lobbies been in claiming that opposition to Israel's behavior is due to anti-Semitism? Why did South Africa's Jewish community go from opposing apartheid in their own country to vilifying Jewish South African Judge Richard Goldstone for his report on Israel's 2009 attack on Gaza known as Operation Cast Lead? What are the prospects and best approaches for ending Israeli apartheid?

John Dugard is a South African professor of international law and an outspoken critic of apartheid. The son of a headmaster at a missionary school attended by Nelson Mandela, he earned law degrees from Stellenbosch and Cambridge Universities. From 1978 to 1990 he was director of the University of Witwatersrand’s Center for Applied Legal Studies, which seeks to promote human rights in South Africa. Dugard was professor of international law at University of Leiden, 1998-2006

Professor Dugard became a member of the U.N.’s International Law Commission in 1997. From 2000 to 2018 he served as Judge ad hoc in the International Court of Justice, and from 2001 to 2008 he was the U.N. Human Rights Council's special rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories. He has written several books on apartheid, human rights and international law. His memoir, Confronting Apartheid: A Personal History of South Africa, Namibia and Palestine, was published in 2018.

The web-based conference "End US Support for Israeli Apartheid?" considers whether the United States should now cut off aid to Israel, or make any such future assistance conditional on negotiation of a genuine peace settlement, respect for Palestinian human rights, and adherence to international law.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

More information at https://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org

Susan Abulhawa "Israeli Apartheid, an Introduction" - 4/17/2021 IsraelApartheidCon

Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian American poet and writer, the author of the international bestselling novel, Mornings in Jenin. Her second novel, The Blue Between Sky and Water, was sold in 19 languages before its release. Her latest novel, Against The Loveless World, is a Palestine Book Awards Winner.

Abulhawa is also an activist, and the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an NGO upholding the right to play for Palestinian children. She recently launched Aida, a private label olive oil from Palestinian farmers, to raise funds to build more playgrounds.

Susan Abulhawa described why Israel is an apartheid regime, as reported by B’tselem, “advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group—Jews—over another—Palestinians.” Abulhawa will discuss the self-described Jewish state’s allocation of resources--water, housing permits, travel, education, medical care and even COVID vaccines--based on ethnicity.. Even the criminal justice system is starkly different for Palestinians and Israelis, as she notes in her latest book Against the Loveless World. Israel’s lobby ensures that Israel gets a free pass, shutting down criticism of human rights abuses. U.S. taxpayers and readers are beginning to understand they are supporting ethnic cleansing and apartheid.

More information at https://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org

About the April 17 & 24 2021 IsraelApartheidCon online conference!

Experts will speak and take questions at the only annual national conference challenging the Israel lobby's repressive agenda while proposing better alternatives for America.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Celebrated Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa reveals how U.S. taxpayers and readers are beginning to understand that their tax dollars are supporting ethnic cleansing and apartheid.

Palestinian writer and analyst Sumaya Awad warns of the danger of Facebook's effort to suppress criticisms of Zionism by deeming it equivalent to hate speech or anti-Semitism, and her successful campaign against censorship.

Rev. Alex Awad describes how Palestinian evangelicals are successfully working to stop the spread of Christian Zionist biblical misinterpretations in many U.S. churches.

Congressman Brian Baird (1999-2011) describes how Israel and its U.S. lobby assert authority over Congress, Israel's use of U.S. weapons and equipment in Gaza—including the 2003 killing of his constituent Rachel Corrie—and proposes critical actions voters can take to help elect leaders who will approach these issues in an open-minded way.

South African professor John Dugard provides insight into the international community's disparity in its treatment of South Africa and Israel for applying substantially similar policies, and the prospects and best approaches for ending Israeli apartheid.

Richard Falk, former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Occupied Palestine (2008-2014), will comment on B'Tselem's apartheid report and Israel's 2018 Basic Law that gives preferential status to Jews.

Zaha Hassan, a human rights lawyer and visiting fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, outlines how the Biden administration can break the Middle East peace impasse by adopting a rights-based—rather than an Israel and its lobby based—approach as the center of its strategy.

Historian and author Walter Hixson explains why until the monolithic Israel lobby is neutralized, there will never be peace in the Middle East, drawing on insights from his new book, Architects of Repression.

Radio host and Antiwar.com editorial director Scott Horton details how Israel and its U.S. lobby were key proponents of the disastrous 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and today are virtually alone in supporting a U.S. war on Iran, drawing on research from his new book, Enough Already.

Professor Robin D.G. Kelley will discuss the current state of resisting Israel and its lobby's efforts on campus, the parallels between South Africa and the movement toward Palestinian liberation, and how the Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian grassroots movements work together.

Tom Suárez, author of the 2016 book State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel, will discuss the recently issued Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA).

Journalist and Mondoweiss.net co-founder Philip Weiss delivers a roundup on J Street and his key reflections about the effectiveness of liberal Zionism as revealed in its most significant annual policy conference.

UN correspondent Ian Williams provides a brief history of both Republican and Democratic administrations' sycophantic relations with Israel and how this relationship affects U.S. policies toward the UN and international law.

Investigative journalist Asa Winstanley explores the similarities and differences between Labour Friends of Israel in the U.K. and the Democratic Majority for Israel in the U.S., the purpose they serve, and the recent sabotage and purge of major progressive leaders like Jeremy Corbyn who have spoken out in support of Palestinian human rights.

Get more information at www.IsraelApartheidCon.org and register online at Eventbrite. 

Best of Delinda Hanley: "Why Talking about the Israel Lobby Matters."

This talk is from the 2019 IsraelLobbyCon at the National Press Club

Delinda Hanley is the executive director and news editor at the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Before joining the magazine in 1996, Hanley spent decades in the Middle East, studying in Lebanon, volunteering with the Peace Corps, and later working in Oman and Saudi Arabia.

From 1990 to 1996 Hanley worked as a researcher, editor and writer for Empire Press (now Weider History Group) and Sovereign Media.

Hanley writes for the Washington Report on an array of topics, including Muslim- and Arab-American politics and civil rights issues. Her articles have also been published in the Arab News, the Minaret, Islamic Horizons, Jewish Spectator and other publications.

She is the winner of the NAAJA 2011 Excellence in Journalism award for her dedication to accuracy and professionalism.

Transcript: https://www.wrmea.org/2019-may/why-talking-about-the-israel-lobby-matters.html

Video: https://youtu.be/9GKM2swnqdA

Best of Huwaida Arraf: "The situation of Arab citizens of Israel: Views of an Arab citizen of Israel"

This talk is from the 2015 IsraelLobbyCon at the National Press Club

Huwaida Arraf is a Palestinian-American lawyer and human rights advocate. As the daughter of an Israeli-born Palestinian, she is also a citizen of Israel. Arraf received her Bachelors degree from the University of Michigan, and her Juris Doctor from the American University Washington College of Law, where she focused on international human rights and humanitarian law. In 2001 Arraf co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She is co-editor of the book Peace Under Fire: Israel, Palestine, and the International Solidarity Movement.

Arraf was one of the initiators and organizers of a delegation of American lawyers to Gaza in February 2009, and co-authored the report on their findings, "Onslaught: Israel's Attack on Gaza and the Rule of Law." She is the former chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement, and from August to December 2008, led five successful sea voyages to the Gaza Strip to confront and challenge Israel's illegal blockade. Arraf was one of the primary organizers of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and was traveling with it when Israeli forces lethally attacked it on May 31, 2010.  She was one of the six Palestinian Freedom Riders who, inspired by the U.S. Civil Rights Freedom Rides of the 1960s, attempted to ride segregated Israeli settler public transport.

In 2012 Arraf helped conceive of and launch the Witness Bahrain initiative, an effort to provide human rights observers on the ground in Bahrain. She was arrested by Bahraini authorities and deported for her work. She currently resides in the United States with her husband, Adam Shapiro, and their two young children, both of whom she gave birth to in Israel so they would have Israeli citizenship and be allowed to visit and claim citizenship in their homeland.

Transcript: https://www.israellobbyus.org/transcripts/4.3Huwaida_Arraf.htm
Video: https://youtu.be/CyPq-TnqBPI

 

Best of John Mearsheimer: "What has changed since publication of 'The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy'"

This talk is from the 2017 IsraelLobbyCon at the National Press Club

John Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago. In 2007 Professor Mearsheimer coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (with Stephen M. Walt), which made the New York Times best seller list and has been translated into 22 languages. Professor Mearsheimer addressed what, if anything, has changed in the decade since The Israel Lobby was published, subsequent findings, foreign policy choices the U.S. makes that it otherwise would not—if not for Israel—and what the new administration could do differently in the future that would better serve broader American interests.

Transcript: https://2017.israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Transcripts/John_Mearsheimer.html

Video: https://youtu.be/k8Mgdm_6-e0

Best of Clayton Swisher: "Undercover Investigative Journalism about the Israel lobby."

This talk is from the 2017 IsraelLobbyCon at the National Press Club.

Clayton E. Swisher is an American journalist and author, who worked as the director of investigative journalism for the Al Jazeera Media Network in Doha, Qatar. Swisher, a former marine reservist and federal criminal investigator, was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Georgetown University. In 2004 Swisher's first book The Truth About Camp David, was published to favorable reviews in Foreign Affairs and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

In 2016 Swisher managed the six-month undercover investigation that produced Al Jazeera’s four-part series “The Lobby” about AIPAC’s activities in the UK, the Israeli embassy’s interaction with “independent” pro-Israel groups, unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism lodged against Labor Party members, and efforts to "take down" UK lawmakers deemed hostile to Israel. The series led to the resignation of Shai Masot, a senior political officer at the Israeli embassy, and a full apology by the Israeli ambassador for what had taken place. Though he could not discuss it, Al Jazeera conducted a simultaneous investigation of the U.S. Israel lobby which can be viewed at https://electronicintifada.net/content/watch-film-israel-lobby-didnt-want-you-see/25876

Transcript: https://2017.israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Transcripts/Clayton_Swisher.html

Video: https://youtu.be/WJlXMZy06rM