9 House Democrats vote against a resolution expressing America's support for Israel



Nine House Democrats voted against a resolution that expresses America's support for the nation of Israel.

The resolution declares that "the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state," that "Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia," and that "the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel."

In a show of bipartisan support, a whopping 412 lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution.

Democratic lawmakers including Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and a few others voted against the resolution.

"Israel is an apartheid state," Tlaib declared during floor remarks on Tuesday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to speak before a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, but some lawmakers do not plan to attend.

"In solidarity with the Palestinian people and all those who have been harmed by Israel's apartheid government, I will be boycotting President Herzog’s joint address to Congress. I urge all Members of Congress who stand for human rights for all to join me. #BoycottApartheid," Tlaib tweeted on Monday.

— (@)

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington recently referred to Israel as a "racist state." She later issued a statement in which she sought to clarify her remarks. "I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist. I do, however, believe that [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government," the congresswoman said in the statement.

Jayapal voted with the bipartisan majority to pass the Israel-related resolution on Tuesday.

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'Israel is a democracy': President Biden says Democrats who accuse Israel of being an apartheid state are 'wrong'



During an interview with Channel 12 News Israel, President Joe Biden disagreed with those in the Democratic Party who accuse Israel of being an apartheid state.

"I think they're wrong," Biden said. "Israel is a democracy. Israel is our ally."

Biden also said that he does not believe there is any chance that either the Democratic Party or a large contingent of the GOP would turn its back on Israel.

\u201cMore from exclusive @POTUS interview with @N12News: voices in the Democratic Party calling Israel an apartheid state are \u201cfew, and they are wrong\u201d\u201d
— Yonit Levi (@Yonit Levi) 1657734238

There is a rift in the Democratic Party between the many Democrats who support the nation of Israel and those who accuse Israel of being guilty of apartheid.

"The Israeli apartheid government’s ongoing ethnic cleansing seeks to degrade Palestinian humanity and break the will of the people to be free," Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan said, according to a May press release.

Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri has also accused Israel of apartheid. "Congress must stop our tax dollars from funding Israel's apartheid practices," she said in a January tweet.

\u201cThis week, Israeli police dragged 15 members of the Salhiya family out of their home and then bulldozed it.\n\nThis is not an isolated incident. This is apartheid.\n\nCongress must stop our tax dollars from funding Israel's apartheid practices. #SaveSheikhJarrah\u201d
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@Congresswoman Cori Bush) 1642718894

In a tweet last year, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota indicated that being "on the right side of history" involves describing Israel as "an Apartheid state."

"While many in the west are still uncomfortable calling Israel an Apartheid state, this Israeli man was saying it four years ago. It’s time to get on the right side of history," Omar tweeted, apparently referring to a video that she had posted in a prior tweet.

\u201cWhile many in the west are still uncomfortable calling Israel an Apartheid state, this Israeli man was saying it four years ago. It\u2019s time to get on the right side of history.\u201d
— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1621219743

During his tenure in office, former President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jersusalem.

"The Embassy of the United States of America to Israel has been located on HaYarkon Street in Tel Aviv since the late 1960s. It was moved to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. The building in Tel Aviv is now an Embassy Branch Office," according to embassy website.

Major US Christian denomination declares Israel an apartheid state



One of the largest mainline protestant denominations in the U.S. has voted to declare Israel an apartheid state, becoming the first major American Christian denomination to do so.

The governing body of the Presbyterian Church USA on Friday passed a resolution that said the laws, policies, and practices of the Israeli government toward Arabs living in the region known as Palestine "fulfill the international legal definition of apartheid."

Delegates to the church's biannual General Assembly, which took place in Louisville, Kentucky, and online, voted 266-116 to adopt the resolution. The church government — which oversees 1.19 million members — also voted to designate a Nakba Remembrance Day on its calendar — the Palestinian commemoration of Israeli independence in 1948, which Palestinians regard as the destruction of Palestinian society.

The resolution accuses Israel of "establishing two sets of laws, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians, which give preferential treatment to Israeli Jews and oppressive treatment to Palestinians." It also repeats accusations that Israel expropriated Palestinian land for Jewish-only settlements and that the country has forced Palestinians into "separate reserves and ghettos."

Palestinian activists celebrated the vote. "This is an excellent stand by the US Presbyterian Church declaring Israel Apartheid State," said Atef Dalgamouni, one of the "founding fathers" of the Al Jazeera news network.

\u201cThis is an excellent stand by the US Presbyterian Church declaring Israel Apartheid state. \nIt should be called \u201cThe apartheid state of Israel\u201d\n\nUS Presbyterian Church declares Israel 'apartheid state' https://t.co/kFzViDcIXJ\u201d
— Atef Dalgamouni (@Atef Dalgamouni) 1657071205

But some Christian and Jewish leaders condemned the General Assembly's declaration. Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg, director of United Nations Relations and Strategic Partnerships for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the resolution was "an insult to Jews and Christians alike which damages interfaith relations."

"PCUSA leadership has violated G-d's commandment not to bear false witness, rendered itself irrelevant in the world of peacemaking, and made a mockery of honest dialogue and interfaith relations," Greenberg said after the vote, according to CBN News.

Jonathan Greenblatt, president of the Anti-Defamation League, also criticized the resolution.

"This resolution does not seek to heal or resolve, but rather deepens divides between people of different faiths and hinders the peace process," Greenblatt said. "We encourage the #PCUSA to use its influence in a way that constructively contributes towards a peaceful future for all."

\u201cThis resolution does not seek to heal or resolve, but rather deepens divides between people of different faiths and hinders the peace process. We encourage the #PCUSA to use its influence in a way that constructively contributes towards a peaceful future for all.\u201d
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@Jonathan Greenblatt) 1657206600

The American Jewish Congress before the vote had urged the PCUSA's General Assembly to reject the resolution.

\u201cThe proposed #PCUSA resolution that labels Israel, the only true democracy in the #MidEast, an apartheid state - is unjust & plain wrong. We urge the PCUSA assembly at large to swiftly vote down this clear example of antisemitic, anti-Israel disparagement.\nhttps://t.co/axx1BgBWkh\u201d
— American Jewish Congress (@American Jewish Congress) 1657213582

Church leaders defended the resolution on Monday, remarking that the denomination strongly supports the right of Israel to exist while also supporting "the right of Palestine to be an independent and sovereign state within the pre-1967 borders, the right of return to refugees or a negotiated compensation, the removal of all illegal Israel settlements in occupied Palestinian territories or a 1:1 swap of land, a shared Jerusalem, an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories, either the total removal of the Separation Wall or the removal of those portions of the wall that are on Palestinian land, and equal rights for Palestinians who are citizens of Israel."

"We are aware that this decision will affect some of our interfaith relations, especially with a portion of the American Jewish community. We want to say this loud and clear: We are committed to continuing dialogue with our interfaith partners and to combating antisemitism and all forms of violence, discrimination and human rights violations," Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II said in a letter explaining the church's position.
"To increase awareness of violence against people of other faiths in the United States, the 225th General Assembly has approved a Study Document Denouncing Antisemitism and Islamophobia. At the same time, we are convinced that there is a fundamental difference between antisemitism and the right to critique the policies of Israel deemed illegal under international law," Nelson wrote.

The Presbyterian Church of the United States in America is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S. It holds a liberal position on church doctrine, supports gay marriage, and ordains women and practicing homosexual and transgender ministers. At its founding in 1983, the denomination boasted 3.1 million members, but it has since fallen to 1.2 million, a 62 percent loss.

Shaun King claims that Elon Musk's desire to buy Twitter is 'about white power'



While Billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk has indicated that he thinks Twitter can serve as a platform that enables people around the world to engage in free speech, Shaun King has claimed that Musk's bid to buy Twitter is "about white power."

"At its root, @ElonMusk wanting to purchase Twitter is not about left vs right. It’s about white power. The man was raised in Apartheid by a white nationalist. He’s upset that Twitter won’t allow white nationalists to target/harass people. That’s his definition of free speech," King tweeted.

At its root, @ElonMusk wanting to purchase Twitter is not about left vs right.\n\nIt\u2019s about white power.\n\nThe man was raised in Apartheid by a white nationalist.\n\nHe\u2019s upset that Twitter won\u2019t allow white nationalists to target/harass people. That\u2019s his definition of free speech.
— Shaun King (@Shaun King) 1650891907

"Elon Musk has openly called himself a 'free speech absolutist' and said that he wants to create a space where anything can be said about anyone. That’s why white nationalists are giddy today. Here on Twitter and other platforms that I track daily. It’s dangerous," King added. "And listen, I don’t even like the Democratic Party. So for me, this isn’t about left vs right. Not at all. It’s about how the richest man in the world, a son of Apartheid, raised by a white nationalist, wants to be sure his speech, and that of other white men, isn’t censored."

Musk has previously said that he grew up in South Africa, but departed when he was 17-years-old, "in part, in order to avoid conscription" — he noted that "spending two years suppressing black people didn't seem" like a good utilization of time.

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Twitter has announced that it struck an agreement with Musk, who will acquire the social media company.

A Twitter press release noted that the company "has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company."

Some people have been critical of the platform for engaging in censorship, but it appears that Musk is poised to make free speech a priority for the big tech company.

"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said, according to the press release. "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."

The Biden administration determined Myanmar has been committing 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity'



The Biden administration formally determined that the military of Myanmar has been committing genocide against the country’s Rohingya minority.

CNBC reported that U.S. officials said that the Myanmarese military has been perpetrating acts of violence that amount to genocide and “crimes against humanity.” The Biden administration formally recognizing these acts as genocide will make it easier for the international community to hold Myanmar’s ruling junta accountable.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to announce the decision on Monday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is currently hosting a special exhibit on the plight of the Rohingya people.

The atrocities being carried out on the Rohingya date back to 2017 when Myanmar’s armed forces launched an operation that forced nearly 750,000 Rohingya from their homes and into the neighboring country of Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, the Rohingya people fell victim to mass rape, murder, and arson.

A senior official in the U.S. State Department said that formally designating the plight of the Rohingya as “genocide” will “make it harder for them to commit further abuses [against the Rohingya].”

Myanmar’s military has previously denied committing acts of genocide against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya. It has insisted that operations were carried out against terrorists in the region where the Rohingya historically reside.

In 2018, the United Nations concluded that the military’s campaign against the Rohingya included “genocidal acts.”

Another senior official in the State Department said that Blinken’s announcement on Monday will galvanize the international community to come to the aid of the Rohingya people.

The official said, “It’s really signaling to the world and especially to victims and survivors within the Rohingya community and more broadly than the United States recognizes the gravity of what’s happening.”

The first official echoed this sentiment by saying: “It’s going to enhance our position as we try to build international support to try to prevent further atrocities and hold those accountable.”

That said, a determination of genocide does not automatically initiate punitive action by the United States.

Just days after Joe Biden was sworn into office, the Myanmarese military staged a coup and seized control of the country.

The coup, led by Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing, quickly suppressed a public uprising and killed more than 1,600 people in the process.

In response to the coup, the United States and its Western allies sanctioned the military junta that took power but has been unable to convince them to relinquish power and restore democratic role.

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