Israhell's controlled opposition-control over the US Congress

[yankeedoodle]

AIPAC Tells Lawmakers What's Acceptable Criticism on Annexation
https://mondoweiss.net/?mailpoet_router&endpoint=view_in_browser&action=view&data=WzE0NDcsIjgyMWJlOWEzOTk5ZCIsODI4MSwibzZxc2poczFwdzBjMGM0OHdvMDQ0OGNjOG9ra29jZzQiLDQwMDAsMF0

If you're a U.S. politician who opposes annexation, but has been waiting for permission from the biggest pro-Israel lobby group to actually criticize it, I have some good news for you: This week AIPAC announced that such comments were fine to make, assuming they don't go too far.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported that AIPAC is providing lawmakers with this guidance over Zoom meetings and phone calls. The parameters are pretty obvious: you can say annexation is bad, but you can't actually suggest conditioning military aid or holding Israel accountable in any way. "So far, the group has remained publicly silent about annexation," writes Ron Kampeas, "But in private, AIPAC is telling lawmakers that as long as they don't push to limit the United States' aid to Israel, they can criticize the annexation plan without risking tensions or a clash with the lobby group."

AIPAC has been dealing with a PR problem in recent years and this move should probably be understood in that context. A majority of Democratic voters support conditioning aid to Israel, more and more lawmakers skip their annual conference now, and Netanyahu's close relationship with Trump has further eroded Israel's brand.

I'm reminded of the comments (potential VP nominee) Amy Klobuchar made during her endorsement interview with the New York Times. Klobuchar lamented that the actions of the GOP had greatly diminished support for Israel. A Democrat could provide the country with a new, alluring veneer: "One of the things that I see as this really high-stakes opportunity for a new president is to bring in American support again in a big way for Israel. And you do that by stopping these Mitch McConnell divisive votes, making it a wedge issue, trying to play politics instead of looking at what the challenges are ahead. I think that we need to emphasize Israel's historic support for women's rights, working on climate change, all of these things that have been lost because of Trump's continual effort to use this as a partisan pawn."

Here's Arab-American Institute founder James Zogby assessing the AIPAC news on Twitter: "It's actually interesting, because it means that AIPAC can see the writing on the wall. They're basically cutting their loses & running for cover. Opinion is shifting in the US & their propaganda efforts to make Israel into good & Palestinians into bad have run out of steam."