Israel Lobbies

Federal Court strikes down Arkansas’ attempt to Punish proponents of Boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Andrew DeMillo at the Associated Press reports that a 3-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis has struck down an Arkansas law requiring contractors with the state to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel. The alternative print monthly the Arkansas Times carried advertising […]

censorship

Israel’s growing strategic threat to our freedom of speech

Asa Winstanley

( Middle East Monitor ) – There is an old saying that you should not put the fox in charge of the hen house. It makes perfect sense, and yet that’s exactly what Western governments are increasingly starting to do when it comes to their freedom of speech policies. All bluster about “cancel culture” aside, […]

BDS

Pompeo’s attempt to Penalize Boycotters of Israel aims to Strengthen White Nationalism and Roll back Civil Rights

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Carol Morello and Steve Hendrix at the Washington Post report that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israeli squatters on Palestinian land in the West Bank on Thursday (well, that is my characterization, they didn’t put it that way). In a bid to please his evangelical constituency and potential Jewish […]

Israel Lobbies

Criticizing Israel is not antisemitic — it’s academic freedom

The Conversation

By Jasmin Zine, Greg Bird and Sara Matthews | – This summer controversy arose around the hiring of Valentina Azarova as the director of the University of Toronto faculty of law’s international human rights program. Some faculty accused the dean of rescinding a job offer because public figures were uncomfortable with her scholarly criticism of […]

Democratic Party

Can the Israel Lobbies succeed in unseating Ilhan Omar?

Middle East Monitor

By Nasim Ahmed | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Pro-Israel lobby groups in the US have come out in force to unseat Ilhan Omar in the August Democratic primary elections. The freshman lawmaker is locked in a bitter race with Antone Melton-Meaux, who is said to be a “moderate” candidate backed by lobbyists. […]

BDS

Federal Court Allows American Studies Association Boycott of Israel to Stand: Victory for BDS

contributors

( American Studies Association) – In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the lawsuit filed against the American Studies Association (ASA), its executive director, and eight former ASA officers or committee members: Lisa Duggan, J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Sunaina […]

Israel Lobbies

Is Sympathy for the Plight of Occupied Palestinians winning the American University?

Al-Shabaka

By Hatem Bazian | – ( Al Shabakah) – Palestine Legal recently published a report noting that the majority of suppression of Palestine advocacy in the US targets students and faculty. In particular, 89% of such incidents occurred on college campuses in 2014, and 74% in 2019. While these statistics illuminate the current struggle that […]

FBI

Has the FBI been spying on US citizens at Israel’s behest?

Asa Winstanley

( Middle East Monitor ) – US Federal Bureau of Investigation documents obtained by The Intercept and published at the start of April made for fascinating reading. They showed that federal officers conducted a 2004-2006 “terrorism” investigation into the International Solidarity Movement, a non-violent Palestine solidarity group. The investigation proved only that the ISM was […]

Featured

Israel’s Netanyahu boasts of having Destroyed US 1st Amendment and Free Speech

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli caretaker prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted for corruption and is facing an election soon, just boasted that his ministry of strategic affairs has managed to undermine first amendment protections for free speech in the United States by lobbying state legislatures to pass laws forbidding the boycott […]