Cracks in the foundation of U.S.-Israeli relations have widened as Netanyahu continues his dictatorial efforts

Wednesday, March 29, 2023
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) ([link removed]) , valiantly trying but ultimately failing to get Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) back on track during a Congressional hearing.

As the political temperature in Israel continues to rise, the limits of its special relationship with the United States are being tested.

* A longtime, staunch supporter of Israel, President Biden has found himself struggling to maintain the alliance as the country continues its antidemocratic lurch to the extreme right. Biden said he remains “very concerned” about the political turmoil in the country provoked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempted judicial coup. At a press conference in Durham, NC, Biden said ([link removed]) , “[Israel] cannot continue down this road, and I’ve sort of made that clear. Hopefully the prime minister…can try to work out some genuine compromise, but that remains to be seen.”

* Biden said he does not intend to interfere with the judicial reform power grab, but has made his opposition to it clear, and later went on to say that it is his hope that Netanyahu abandons the pursuit altogether. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reportedly plans to propose the creation of a new national security force in parliament ([link removed]) , after Netanyahu gave the proposal a go-ahead on Monday.

* Netanyahu responded to Biden’s public concerns ([link removed]) by expressing gratitude for Biden’s years of support for Israel and promising to seek a “broad consensus” over the legal reforms, but also included a soft dig, saying that Israel “is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressure from abroad, including the best of friends.” Ben Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish power party was far more exacting in his response, asserting that Israel “is not another star in the American Flag…I expect the U.S. president to understand that point.”

Members of Congress have also begun to meaningfully question the implications of unwavering, unquestioned support for Israel.

* Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have spearheaded an effort to urge president Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to investigate whether Israel is using American weapons to commit human-rights abuses ([link removed]) against Palestinians, which would violate United States law. A letter to this effect, written by Bowman, was signed by eight additional House members: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), Summer Lee (D-PA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Cori Bush (D-MO), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Betty McCollum (D-MN), André Carson (D-IN), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).

* The letter concludes with a request that the Biden administration “ensure US taxpayer funds do not support projects in illegal settlements,” amid the new Israeli government’s recent “alarming actions.” The Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act stipulate that American weapons supplied to other countries can only be used for self-defense, and cannot be used to commit human-rights abuses.

This moment should be an inflection point for the United States’ relationship with Israel, but such a diplomatic reckoning has been a long time coming. Israel is currently under control of the most far-right government in its history, led by officials who oppose the two-state solution favored by the Biden administration. The U.S. and Israel have had repeated run-ins over construction of illegal settlements and eliminationist rhetoric, such as when Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a Palestinian village to be “erased,” before later saying that there is “no such thing” as Palestinian people at all ([link removed]) . That Netanyahu was also bff with disgraced former president Donald Trump during his tenure (and apparently remains so today) has also soured many Democrats and American Jewish organizations on the Israeli government. In the simplest terms: the Biden administration seems to be
coming to the realization that the United States cannot purport to be a champion of democracy at home and abroad and continue an unquestioning alliance with a nation squarely headed for dictatorship.

The Crooked Store’s new collection is all about the fight to codify Roe v. Wade. We thought about getting “codify Roe” tattooed on our faces, but t-shirts just made more sense. Codifying Roe means passing legislation that protects the right to abortion in all 50 states. We can’t rely on the courts to uphold reproductive rights, so we’re turning to our legislators, and the Crooked Store has everything you need to spread the word. The collection includes water bottles, stickers, and unisex tees, because it’s on all of us to get the message out there.

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The Senate approved legislation on Wednesday to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for American wars in Iraq ([link removed]) . The decisive 66-30 vote is a historic step towards formally acknowledging the catastrophic failure of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of Americans. If you can believe it, all of the votes against the repeal came from Senate Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement saying he opposes the repeal of the Authorizations for Use of Military Force ([link removed]) because of “threats we face today in Iraq and Syria from Iran-backed terrorists.” The implicit and at times explicit fearmongering from McConnell and his war-hawk GOP colleagues is that repealing
these authorizations will project “American weakness,” by contrast to two decades of failed wars based on lies, the ultimate sign of strength. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) issued a statement ([link removed]) saying that the repeal “is an important step to prevent any president from abusing these AUMFs, reaffirm our partnership with the Iraqi government, and pay tribute to the servicemembers who served in Iraq.” Kaine and other senators have pushed to repeal the AUMFs for years in an effort to return war powers to Congress, where the Constitution envisions them.

The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s “alleged” hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels will break for a month ([link removed]) . Sure thing, guys. Take your time.


Eric Davis, the judge overseeing the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News, isn’t buying the excuse that Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch is “too infirm” to testify ([link removed]) at the trial.


A group of tech overlords and industry executives has called for a six-month pause in developing more advanced artificial intelligence ([link removed]) , citing potential harms to society.


After banning nearly all abortions last year, Idaho will soon become the first state to prohibit minors from interstate travel for the procedure ([link removed]) , which Republicans have begun referring to as “abortion trafficking.”


Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz continued to deny allegations of union busting in front of a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing ([link removed]) , where Chairman Bernie Sanders (pretty accurately!!) accused Starbucks of waging “the most aggressive and illegal union busting campaign in the modern history of our country.”


The GOP-controlled North Carolina state legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill eliminating permit requirements to buy a handgun in the state ([link removed]) .


Twitter temporarily suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) Tuesday after she repeatedly posted references to a “Trans Day of Vengeance” ([link removed]) organized by “Antifa.” Not for nothing, but considering how heavily the community has been persecuted in this country, a “Trans Day of Vengeance” sounds like a really good time, Marjorie. Thanks for the idea!

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) will return to the Senate the week of April 17 ([link removed]) following the completion of his treatment for depression at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Correction: Yesterday I misattributed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green as (R-CO) instead of (R-GA), conflating her designation with that of Rep. Lauren Boebert (*actually* R-CO). My apologies to the good people of Colorado, who clearly already have their hands full.

The Kentucky state legislature has passed a sweeping bill banning gender-affirming health care for trans minors ([link removed]) , restricting which bathrooms and lockers they can use, prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, and allowing teachers to use the names and pronouns assigned to trans minors at birth against their wishes. The passage overrides the veto of Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) and is firmly opposed by state medical associations, education officials, and parents of trans children. State-Sen. Max Wise (R-KY) introduced the hotly-contested legislation, and defended it by saying that its goal is to “strengthen parental engagement and communication in children’s education while protecting the safety of our children.” State-Sen. Karen Berg (D-KY) rightly called this for the crock of shit that it is, saying, “To say this is a bill protecting children is completely
disingenuous. And to call this a parents’ right bill is an absolutely despicable affront to me personally.” Berg’s own trans son killed himself just weeks before the bill was introduced.
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In an unusual (but good and cool) move, nine influential members of Congress from New York are pressuring Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to support the state’s climate-focused Build Public Renewables Act ([link removed]) .


The North Carolina state elections board removed two officials for violating state law after they refused to certify their county’s 2022 election results ([link removed]) , citing rabid conservative conspiracy theories.

The News Guild of New York took over the New York Times newsroom today in protest of its contract, which expired two years ago ([link removed]) and still has yet to be renegotiated.
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