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The
balance of forces now point to the probability of a November race
between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. While the grotesque racism
and xenophobia of Trump is a clear and present danger there is
another danger—that Democrats will hide behind Trump to
whitewash the racist brutality of Hillary Clinton. In future articles
we can talk about the role of the Clinton’s in driving Black
and Latina women into poverty through “ending welfare as we
know it,” in driving Black and Latino men and women into
poverty, racist degradation, and prison through their “tough on
crime” demagoguery, and their moving the Democratic Party to
the Right through their Democratic Leadership Council. We can talk
about “Secretary” Clinton’s warmongering (see the
New York Times article “H is for Hawk” referring to
Clinton) her boasting of overthrowing the Gaddaffi regime without any
caring for the disintegration of Libyan society under her new
imperialist theory of “human rights invasions” and her
open love affair with Wall Street that Bernie Sanders has effectively
exposed.
Whatever
possible “united front” can even be discussed for the
left to consider working in any way for Clinton to defeat Trump we
have to begin by constantly and consistently exposing Hillary Clinton
as a great danger to the Black community, the Third World, the
environment, and the planet.
But
it is in her grotesque and bombastic defense of Israeli genocide
against the Palestinian people, her slavish courting of the American
Israel Political Action Committee, and her aggressive proposals for
the suppression of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement that
expose the full extent of her white settler state barbarism. This is
especially clear compared to Bernie Sanders’ moderate, decent,
and yet, in some ways revolutionary statements on Palestine.
It
is my view that the Israeli government, with the active support and
military aid of the U.S. government is committing human rights abuses
and genocide against the Palestinian people. I believe that Hillary
Clinton is aggressively, willfully, and consciously aiding and
abetting that genocide and must be challenged by and in the Black
community, the civil and human rights movements and anyone who is
motivated by decency and human rights. And no abuses and atrocities
by Donald Trump can be used by Democratic Party apologists and
leftists to mask or mitigate her crimes.
I
admire and support Senator Sanders for his courageous challenge to
the American Israel Political Action Committee, his support for human
rights and fair treatment for the Palestinian people, and his open
challenge to Hillary Clinton on Israel and Palestine. I hope he
continues his fight deep into the Democratic Convention and beyond.
I know for millions of people who have come to see the dark side of
Hillary Clinton’s white supremacy no “united front”
to defeat Trump can stop a growing movement for Palestinian
self-determination.
I
wrote this article initially to support a Sanders Victory and Clinton
Defeat in the California Primary. While the primary is over the core
arguments remain and are even more compelling as Clinton moves closer
to the nomination.
Four
Ways that Bernie Sanders Has Exposed Clinton’s Reactionary Core
Bernie Sanders is
courageously defending Palestinian human rights and standing up to
the powerful Israeli lobby while Hillary Clinton is defending the
Israeli occupation of Palestine, slandering the integrity of the
Palestinian people, and calling for repression against the Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions movement
Sanders, despite
weakness in consciousness and content on civil rights and Black
Liberation has gained the support of progressive and radical Black
organizers, intellectuals, and artists—including Cornel West,
Spike Lee, and Erica Garner, Eric Garner’s daughter whose
video in support of Bernie Sanders is one of the most moving civil
rights arguments today. By contrast, Hillary and Bill Clinton and
the Democratic Party establishment are super-predators against the
Black Community and the Black Nation and have a long, conscious
history of encouraging mass incarceration.
Sanders is challenging
the ideology of the U.S. as a center of counterinsurgency against
Third World Countries in Iraq and Libya while Clinton has a long
history as a super-hawk to the right of even President Obama.
The Sanders campaign
is refusing to capitulate to the Clinton machine and the Democratic
Party establishment and plans to bring a real political struggle
into the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. He also has a real
chance to win—and if not, to keep the pressure on Clinton and
force substantial and enforceable concessions.
But
in my work preparing for this article and reading and re-reading the
speeches and public statements of Sanders and Clinton on Palestine,
Israel, and the Middle East I was so appreciative of Sanders
courageous stand on Palestine and so terrorized by Hillary Clinton’s
bellicose, racist, white settler state rants that I wanted to make
the focus of this article the life and death struggle of the
Palestinian people our historical responsibility to confront the
Clinton Machine through and after the election. As such, the key
four reasons to confront Hillary Clinton are Palestine,
Palestine, Palestine, and Palestine.
I
have to assume that many of you are already heartbroken and outraged
by the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and its subjugation of
Palestinian people. Since the formation of the Israeli state in 1948
and the Nakba—the expulsion of an estimated 700,000
Palestinians-- there has not been a “two state solution”
but an Israeli occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people.
I urge you to read my article in Counterpunch—Palestine
Will Win—Solidarity from a Self-Respecting
Jew
that elaborates my point of view. I also urge you to read The
Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
by Ilan Pappe a courageous history by an Israeli Jew that traces
Israeli racism and settler state politics from the inception of the
Zionist plan for Palestine.
The
Summary of my position is simple—Bernie Sanders has stood up to
the American Israel Political Action Committee, affirmed the humanity
of the Palestinians, and stood up to the threats of the pro-Israeli
lobby and the Black List of any candidate who challenges the criminal
occupation of Palestine. By contrast, you have to listen to Hillary
Clinton’s demagogic and racist speech to AIPAC where she raised
her voice to a false crescendo, compared herself to Golda Meier, did
character assassination of the Palestinian people, attacked the
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement, promised even more
military aid to Israel, and promised that the U.S. and Israel would
march hand and hand into the promised land with a military cadence
that would make a Prussian marching band proud. I have made my
assertions clear. I will quote in considerable detail below
statements from the speech Bernie Sanders proposed to deliver to
AIPAC and Hillary Clinton’s speech to AIPAC. Then, you will
make up your own mind.
The
Larger Frame
This
election follows more than 7 years of Barack Obama, one of the most
hopeful in tone and reactionary in content political experiences of
my and millions of others lifetimes. In many ways, the entire U.S.
presidential election process is a mirage and deception. In a society
where the Pentagon has a budget of almost $1 trillion, 1 Million
Black people are in prison, unregulated capitalism is going berserk,
people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, and losing their
minds the illusion of “Vote for Me and I’ll Set you Free”
is just that. Since the U.S. government repressed and suppressed the
mass revolutionary movements of the Two Decades of the Sixties there
has not yet emerged a new unified mass revolutionary movement in
which to situate a presidential election. As such, many people place
all their hope in the every-four-year charade because they just have
no hope about themselves or a plan to change society.
While
Bernie Sanders call for a revolution is often limited to a general
critique of Wall Street and a white, social democratic populism his
campaign has really evolved more than I had originally anticipated.
While Bernie Sanders may not yet break up the banks he is creating
one of the most radical, structural, and ideological challenges to
the Democratic Party establishment in recent memory—and in so
doing is challenging one of the two political arms of Wall Street—the
mainstream Democrats and the Clinton Machine. It is in his break with
the imperialist worldview of the Democrats and his courageous and
consistent statements in support of Palestinian human rights and
self-determination that Sanders has given his campaign its most
compelling revolutionary reality.
The
New York State Democratic Primary and the Ritual Madness of AIPAC
Pandering.
The
New York City metropolitan area is home to the largest Jewish
community outside Israel. There are 1.5 million Jews in New York City
out of a population of 8 million—approximately 18 percent of
the population. Every four years, the Democratic presidential
contenders use the New York primary to make the most outrageous,
racist, statements in support of Israel and against the Palestinian
people. “If I am elected I will give the entire U.S. defense
budget to Israel.” “Oh yeah, I will have a first strike
against un-armed Palestinians and give Israel a state of its own in
New York.” It is truly funny if you like genocidal settler
state humor.
The
assumption of course, a false and cynical one, is that Jewish voters
love Israel and support or condone all of its abuses. This view is
put forth aggressively by the power of AIPAC—the American
Israel Political Action Committee. AIPAC and the National Rifle
Association have more money and more power than God and just like the
NRA, AIPAC is famous for rewarding its friends and punishing its
enemies—which people on the Left need to carry out as well.
In
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,
University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer and Harvard
University Kennedy School of Government professor Stephen Walt write
“AIPAC's
success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional
candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge
it. ... AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial
support from the myriad pro-Israel PACs. Those seen as hostile to
Israel, on the other hand, can be sure that AIPAC will direct
campaign contributions to their political opponents. ... The bottom
line is that AIPAC, which is a de facto agent
for a foreign government, has a stranglehold
on the U.S. Congress. Open debate about U.S.
policy towards Israel does not occur there, even though that policy
has important consequences for the entire world. No one stands up to
AIPAC we are told. Many of its bills pass unanimously in
Congress—including bills condemning reports of human rights
abuses by the Israeli’s against the Palestinians.”
But
over the last years people are standing up to AIPAC—just not,
until Sanders, in a presidential election contest. These new
developments have been encouraged by an international movement to
challenge and change Israeli policy—the Boycott, Divestment,
and Sanctions Movement. Initiated in 2005 from appeals from the
Palestinian people, its organizers explain
“On
July 9 2005, a year after the International Court of Justice’s
historic advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel’s Wall in
the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), a clear majority of
Palestinian civil society called upon their counterparts and people
of conscience all over the world to launch broad boycotts, implement
divestment initiatives, and to demand sanctions against Israel, until
Palestinian rights are recognized in full compliance with
international law. The campaign for Boycotts, Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) is shaped by a rights-based approach and highlights
the three broad sections of the Palestinian people: the refugees,
those under military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and
Palestinians in Israel. The call urges various forms of boycott
against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law
by:
Ending its occupation
and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in June 1967 and
dismantling the Wall;
Recognizing the
fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to
full equality; and
Respecting, protecting
and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their
homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.”
The
BDS call was endorsed by over 170 Palestinian political parties,
organizations, trade unions and movements. The signatories represent
the refugees, Palestinians in the OPT, and Palestinian citizens of
Israel.”
In
the New York Democratic Primary Bernie Sanders, a Jew, one who had
lived in a kibbutz in Israel, stood up to AIPAC, stood up to the
Israeli Government, stood up to reactionary forces in the Jewish
community, humanized the Palestinians, chastised Israel for its
abuses, and did so with no clear electoral calculation. By contrast,
Hillary Clinton allied with the most reactionary forces in the U.S.
and Israel, demonized the Palestinians, justified Israel’s
attacks on civilians as self-defense against “terrorists,”
compared herself to Golda Meier, and attacked Sanders for
“neutrality” and lack of support for Israel. And yet,
under these circumstances, Sanders did great in New York. Hillary
Clinton, who had been a two-term Senator from New York, got 58
percent of the while Sanders won a very impressive 42% of the vote
and 44% of the delegates.
The
Candidates in Their Own Words
Bernie
Sanders
On
not just being friend to Israel, but also to Palestinian people
“To
be successful, we have to be a friend not only to Israel, but to the
Palestinian people, where in Gaza, they suffer from an unemployment
rate of 44 percent – the highest in the world – and a
poverty rate nearly equal to that. There is too much suffering in
Gaza to be ignored. The road towards peace will be difficult. We all
know that. I cannot tell you exactly how it will look – I do
not believe anyone can – but I believe firmly that the only
prospect for peace is the successful negotiation of a two-state
solution.”
Peace
will mean stopping the Israeli settlement and occupation
“Peace
will mean ending what amounts to the occupation of Palestinian
territory, establishing mutually agreed upon borders, and pulling
back settlements in the West Bank, just as Israel did in Gaza—once
considered an unthinkable move on Israel’s part. That’s
why I join much of the international community, including the U.S.
State Department and European Union, in voicing my concern that
Israel’s recent expropriation of an additional 579 acres of
land in the West Bank undermines the peace process and, ultimately,
Israeli security as well. It is absurd for elements within the
Netanyahu government to suggest that building more settlements in the
West Bank is the appropriate response to the most recent violence. It
is also not acceptable that the Netanyahu government decided to
withhold hundreds of millions of Shekels in tax revenue from the
Palestinians, which it is supposed to collect on their behalf.”
Peace
will mean stopping the economic blockade and recognizing Palestinian
water rights
“Peace
will also mean ending the economic blockade of Gaza. And it will mean
a sustainable and equitable distribution of precious water resources
so that Israel and Palestine can both thrive as neighbors. Right now,
Israel controls 80 percent of the water reserves in the West Bank.
Inadequate water supply has contributed to the degradation and
desertification of Palestinian land. A lasting a peace will have to
recognize Palestinians are entitled to control their own lives, and
there is nothing human life needs more than water.”
“Peace
requires both sides to adhere to international humanitarian law.
Peace will require strict adherence by both sides to the tenets of
international humanitarian law. This includes Israeli ending
disproportionate responses to being attacked, even though any attack
on Israel is unacceptable. However, let me be very clear: I –
along with many supporters of Israel – spoke out strongly
against the Israeli counter attacks that killed nearly 1,500
civilians, and wounded far more. I condemned the bombing of
hospitals, schools and refugee camp.”
Comments
Sanders
documents the unbearable poverty that Israel, one of the richest and
most conspicuous consumption nations in the world, is imposing on the
Palestinians. His use of very specific terms— “Occupation.”
“Settlements” “withholding Shekels and tax revenue”
“expropriating 579 acres of land in the West Bank”
confiscating “precious water resources” “degradation,
desertification” Israel has 80% of the water.” “Violating
international law. “Killed 1500 civilians, wounded far more,
bombing of hospitals, schools, and refugee camps.” Represent a
coherent and compelling indictment of Israel as a society as well as
its policies. While it is not necessarily his intent, Sanders
statements reinforce the charges of many that Israeli policies
represent crimes against humanity that can and must be brought in
front of the United Nations. (Spoiler alert. When we get to Hillary
Clinton’s statements note that she explicitly promises the
Israelis she will block any efforts to bring these human rights
abuses to the U.N. Security Council.)
His
movement is not taking place in a vacuum. Even establishment
Democrats are having a backlash against AIPAC and Israel as they are
increasingly allied with right-wing Republicans. His views are also
a reflection of many of his supporters, including organizers of the
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement and the growing rejection
by Jewish activists of Israel’s efforts to manipulate anti-Nazi
sentiments to justify its own abuses of the Palestinian people. Given
today’s time, place, and conditions the Sanders Campaign is
carrying out a revolution of values and politics on Palestine and
international human rights that challenge not just Israel but the
U.S. government. And from there, create space and energy to
challenge U.S. racism and climate crimes and build a real climate
justice revolution.
Hillary
Clinton in Her Own Words
Clinton criticizes
Sanders for “walking away” from Israel and being
“dangerously wrong” about military policy
“As AIPAC
members, you understand that while the turmoil of the Middle East
presents enormous challenge and complexity, walking away is not an
option. Candidates for president who think the United States can
outsource Middle East security to dictators, or that America no
longer has vital national interests at stake in this region are
dangerously wrong. It would be a serious mistake for the United
States to abandon our responsibilities, or cede the mantle of
leadership for global peace and security to anyone else.”
Clinton supports
Israeli Hawkish Policy against Iran
“As we gather
here, three evolving threats — Iran’s continued
aggression, a rising tide of extremism across a wide arc of
instability, and the growing effort to de-legitimize Israel on the
world stage — are converging to make the U.S.-Israel alliance
more indispensable than ever. The United States and Israel must be
closer than ever, stronger than ever and more determined than ever to
prevail against our common adversaries and to advance our shared
values.”
Comment This is
a dig at President Obama who negotiated with Iran and avoided a
military showdown despite Israel’s pressure to provoke a
regional or even world war. It is also an obvious attack on Sanders
who she accuses of “trying to de-legitimize Israel” by
standing up to the Israeli government.
Clinton compares
herself to Golda Meier
“And of course,
some of us remember a woman, Golda Meier, leading Israel’s
government decades ago and wonder what’s taking us so long in
America?”
Comment. Golda
Meier was the prime minister of Israel from 1964 to 1969. She was
known as the Iron Lady before that title was given to Margaret
Thatcher. Meir's first months as Foreign Minister coincided with the
Suez Crisis, which is known as the Tripartite Aggression in Arab
countries. It involved an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel,
followed by Britain and France. The aims were to regain Western
control of the Suez Canal, remove Egyptian president Nasser, and
provide a more secure western border and freedom of navigation
through the Straits of Tiran for Israel. Meir was involved in
planning and coordination with the French government and military
prior to the start of military action. During United Nations debates
about the crisis, Meir took charge of the Israeli delegation. After
the fighting had started, the United States, the Soviet Union, and
the United Nations forced the three invaders to withdraw. As a result
of the conflict, the United Nations created the UNEF military
peacekeeping force to police the Egyptian–Israeli border.
How sad, if
transparent, that in front of AIPAC, Secretary Clinton compared
herself to a war-hawk who tried to seize the Suez Canal, undermine
the self-determination of Egypt, and threaten to provoke a world war.
We definitely need a woman president—Elizabeth Warren and
Angela Davis come to mind—but Clinton’s bizarre choice of
a bellicose, imperialist, female role model exposes her world view
and her view of her future role as “commander in chief.”
Presenting the
Palestinian People as Terrorists
“This is
especially true at a time when Israel faces brutal terrorist
stabbings, shootings and vehicle attacks at home. Parents worry about
letting their children walk down the street. Families live in fear.
Just a few weeks ago, a young American veteran and West Point
graduate named Taylor Force was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist
near the Jaffa Port. These attacks must end immediately…And
Palestinian leaders need to stop inciting violence, stop celebrating
terrorists as martyrs and stop paying rewards to their families.
Indeed, at a time of unprecedented chaos and conflict in the region,
America needs an Israel strong enough to deter and defend against its
enemies, strong enough to work with us to tackle shared challenges
and strong enough to take bold steps in the pursuit of peace.”
Comment: Israel
receives at least $3.5 billion in U.S. military aid and more through
many secret allocations in bills. The Congressional Research Service
(CRS) reported that between 2004 and 2011 Israel was the
eighth-largest arms exporter to the world, with sales worth a total
of $12.9 billion. Israel has nuclear weapons. At a time when Israel
killed 1500 people in Gaza, is running an outdoor concentration camp,
Hillary Clinton fosters the racist myth that Israel is under attack
from Palestinians with knives. Note the horrible character
assassination of Palestinians, “celebrating terrorists”
“paying rewards to families.” This is how the Native
Americans were described who stood up to U.S. genocide, how the
Vietnamese were described who stood up to U.S. genocide. And now, how
the Palestinians are described standing up to Israel-U.S. supported
genocide.
Clinton to expand
military aid to Israel and a U.S./Israel military alliance “far
into the future”
“The Movement
[Boycott Divestment and Sanctions] and many other human rights groups
has been calling for the U.S. to cut military aid to Israel and to
stop intervening in the Middle East. That’s why I believe we
must take our alliance to the next level. I hope a new 10-year
defense memorandum of understanding is concluded as soon as possible
to meet Israel’s security needs far into the future. The
United States should provide Israel with the most sophisticated
defense technology so it can deter and stop any threats. That
includes bolstering Israeli missile defenses with new systems like
the Arrow Three and David’s Sling. And we should work together
to develop better tunnel detection, technology to prevent armed
smuggling, kidnapping and terrorist attacks.”
Comment Does
this really need a comment?
Clinton leads an
international campaign to attack the Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions Movement and urges Israeli and U.S. students to attack that
movement. She accuses BDS of being anti-Semitic.
“And it’s
especially important to continue fostering relationships between
American and Israeli young people who may not always remember our
shared past. They are the future of our relationship and we have to
do more to promote that. Many of the young people here today are on
the front lines of the battle to oppose the alarming boycott,
divestment and sanctions movement known as BDS. Particularly at a
time when anti-Semitism is on the rise across the world, especially
in Europe, we must repudiate all efforts to malign, isolate and
undermine Israel and the Jewish people. I’ve been sounding the
alarm for a while now. As I wrote last year in a letter to the heads
of major American Jewish organizations, we have to be united in
fighting back against BDS. Many of its proponents have demonized
Israeli scientists and intellectuals, even students. To all the
college students who may have encountered this on campus, I hope you
stay strong. Keep speaking out. Don’t let anyone silence you,
bully you or try to shut down debate, especially in places of
learning like colleges and universities. Anti-Semitism has no place
in any civilized society, not in America, not in Europe, not
anywhere.”
Comment
This is a clear call
for repression against dissent. At Universities, students who protest
Israeli policies and disrupt classes are punished and even arrested.
In California and other states there are new “Anti-BDS laws”
working their way through the legislature under the guise of
preventing “hate speech” (and the First Amendment) and
proposing to prevent groups and individuals who support BDS from
having any financial dealings with the state of California. The Black
List is alive and well in California. Hillary Clinton has called for
the anti-BDS bills—now circulating in 20 states.
I have supported BDS
but have not joined. I plan to join tomorrow.
Hillary goes after
Bernie “America can’t be neutral” and Sanders “has
no business being president”
“That’s why
I feel so strongly that America can’t ever be neutral when it
comes to Israel’s security or survival. We can’t be
neutral when rockets rain down on residential neighborhoods, when
civilians are stabbed in the street, when suicide bombers target the
innocent. Some things aren’t negotiable. And anyone who
doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.
But at the same time, all of us must condemn actions that set
back the cause of peace. Terrorism should never be encouraged or
celebrated, and children should not be taught to hate in schools.
That poisons the future.” Everyone has to do their part by
avoiding damaging actions, including with respect to settlements.
Now, America has an important role to play in supporting peace
efforts. And as president, I would continue the pursuit of direct
negotiations. And let me be clear — I would vigorously
oppose any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including
by the U.N. Security Council.”
Comment. The
Palestinians are being held hostage in their own homeland. Their only
hope is an international human rights movement just as the Vietnamese
people and Blacks in South Africa desperately needed international
support. Hillary Clinton wants to crush any allies of the people of
Palestine, continue the blockade and the occupation, prevent
international sanctions, and punish the BDS movement.
Hillary Invokes the
White Myths of the European, U.S., and Israeli Settler States
“Will we, as
Americans and as Israelis, stay true to the shared democratic values
that have always been at the heart of our relationship? We are both
nations built by immigrants and exiles seeking to live and worship in
freedom, nations built on principles of equality, tolerance and
pluralism. At our best, both Israel and America are seen as a light
unto the nations because of those values.”
Comment
Except for the Indigenous peoples, African slaves, occupied
Mexicans, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Palestinians and human rights
organizers all over the world.
Conclusion
These are exciting
times. Credit both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton for putting
their cards on the table. You have heard my arguments, heard the
candidates in their own words. Now, all the way to the Democratic
Convention in Philadelphia in Philadelphia July 26-28, until the
presidential election on November 4 and beyond the debate between
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is of enormous import on its own
terms and a placeholder for a battle of worldviews inside the
Democratic Party and the U.S.
The Democratic
establishment is trying to raise the spectre of Donald Trump to erase
the spectre of Hillary Clinton. For those of us who were raised in
struggle with the Kennedys, Lyndon Johnson, and who fight the
reactionary Democrats in every urban center, confronting the grave
danger of Hillary Clinton on her own terms must be part of any larger
electoral strategy and tactics.
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