Israel Is Bullying Progressives on Borrowed Time
Israel’s naked attempt to enforce an unflagging pro-Israel consensus, as it did in stoking backlash against Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s sensible recent comments that the country is a “racist state,” may work in the short-term. But the future belongs to Palestine.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) attends a news conference about the American Dream and Promise Act on Capitol Hill on June 15, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
For a telling anecdote about the changing orientation of American liberals and progressives towards Israel, look to the recent dustup surrounding Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Chair of the House Progressive Caucus, Jayapal joined other liberal House colleagues this month in addressing a Netroots Nation conference. There, Palestinian American protestors confronted Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is a Jewish liberal Zionist who also supports Palestinian rights. But the demonstrators viewed her support for Zionism and a two-state solution as an inadequate response to the mass killings of Palestinians (over 150 this year) and the quashing of their demand for political rights and justice. They disrupted the proceedings, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, declaring Israel a racist state.
In an attempt to defuse their anger, Jayapal addressed them:
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.