72 Democrat and Republican Congressmen Party in Israel on All-Expense Trip Paid by Israeli Lobbying Organization, AIPAC

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a pro-Israel lobby that seeks to influence US elected officials. AIPAC hosted 41 Democrats, led by Steny Hoyer, and 31 Republicans, led by Kevin McCarthy, at the King David Hotel. McCarthy received almost unanimously negative comments when he tweeted, “Just arrived in Israel with dozens of other members of Congress—Republican and Democrat. We are here to show unity in our support for Israel and her people.” The gist of the angry Tweets was that the politicians should have stayed home and shown their unity and support for America, instead. -GEG

A total of 41 Republicans and 31 Democrats are in Israel on overlapping party tours to get a firsthand view of the complex security challenges Israel faces and to express their unconditional, bipartisan support for the Jewish state.

The delegations are touring Israel’s borders and gaining insight into Israeli advances in areas of defense, agriculture, water desalination and conservation, and commercial technology. In addition, the groups met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz, and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“This is the largest delegation that has ever visited Israel,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who led the Democratic delegation at a joint press conference of the two delegations on Sunday at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. “We have 32 freshman members in our delegation of the 41. For many of them, it is their first visit to Israel,” said Hoyer.

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that the U.S. relationship with Israel represents “an unwavering and undeniable bond, and the most important relationship we have in the Middle East. I want to emphasize that this is more than 15 percent of the entire U.S. House of Representatives with you right now.”

Read full article here…

Additional source:

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=60601

Kevin McCarthy’s Twitter feed comments:

Read tweets here…

 




US Congress Disciplines Congresswoman Who Objects to Policies of Israeli Lobby by Passing Resolution Condemning White Supremacy and Antisemitism


Democrat Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee who has been in Congress only for a few months, criticized the Israeli lobby (AIPAC) of buying American politicians with large campaign donations. Former Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, said the same thing when she was in office and, in 2008, lost her bid for re-election because of massive AIPAC funding for her opponent. In this video, McKinney explains how the lobby demands loyalty oaths and, thereby, directs US foreign policy to serve the interests of a foreign government. In response to the recent comment by Ilhan Omar, the leadership of the Democrat Party introduced a resolution that was approved by Congress 407-23 that, without mentioning Omar by name, stated, “white supremacists in the United States have exploited and continue to exploit bigotry and weaponize hate for political gain, targeting traditionally persecuted peoples, including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and others with verbal attacks, incitement, and violence.” -GEG

Follow this link to read US Representative Ilhan Omar’s comments:

https://dailycaller.com/2019/03/09/ilhan-omar-israel-anti-semitism/

RESOLUTION

Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.
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Whereas the first amendment to the Constitution established the United States as a country committed to the principles of tolerance and religious freedom, and the 14th amendment to the Constitution established equal protection of the laws as the heart of justice in the United States;
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Whereas adherence to these principles is vital to the progress of the American people and the diverse communities and religious groups of the United States;
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Whereas whether from the political right, center, or left, big-otry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and imputations of dual loyalty threaten American democracy and have no place in American political discourse;
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Whereas white supremacists in the United States have exploited and continue to exploit bigotry and weaponize hate for political gain, targeting traditionally persecuted peoples, including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and others with verbal attacks, incitement, and violence;

Read House Resolution 183 in its entirety here:

https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20190304/BILLS-116hres183-SUSv1.pdf




Rand Paul Blocks $38-Billion in Aid to Israel. Says US Cannot Subsidize the Country Forever

Top pro-Israel lobbying groups in America are mobilizing against Senator Rand Paul (R- KY) for blocking the continuation of US aid to Israel amounting to $38-billion in taxpayer funds over 10 years.  AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, bought ads on Facebook complaining of Paul’s hold on the funds while CUFI, Christians United for Israel, a Christian-Zionist organization, launched an email campaign to pressure the senator to back away from is position.  Paul says he wants time limits on assistance to Israel and cuts in aid to countries that are hostile to the US. -GEG

Sen. Rand Paul acknowledged that he had placed a hold on major funding legislation for Israel, saying he wanted time limits on assistance to the Jewish state.

The Kentucky Republican also said he wanted cuts in aid to countries he says are hostile to the United States.

“While I’m not for foreign aid in general, if we are going to send aid to Israel it should be limited in time and scope so we aren’t doing it forever, and it should be paid for by cutting the aid to people who hate Israel and America,” Paul’s office said in an statement.

Paul said he planned to introduce an amendment to the legislation, the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018, in coming days. The bill codifies into law the $38 billion defense aid package for Israel over 10 years that was negotiated in the final days of the Obama administration.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported Paul’s hold, a parliamentary procedure that allows senators to prevent a motion from reaching a floor vote, and which usually is anonymous. The hold has been countered vigorously by major pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Christians United for Israel, through online ads and action alerts to membership. CUFI has specifically targeted Paul through actions in Kentucky, including ads in newspapers there.

In his statement, Paul blamed AIPAC and other unnamed pro-Israel groups for not meeting his demands.

“Each time I’ve tried to stop giving aid to enemies of the U.S. and Israel, I have been thwarted. Often by groups that claim they are pro-Israel,” he said. “Why would supposedly pro-Israel groups oppose my legislation to end aid to the Palestinian Liberation Organization? Maybe it’s because they fear any debate on anyone’s foreign aid threatens a broader debate on whether we should be borrowing from foreign countries simply to send the money to other foreign countries.”

AIPAC has in the past opposed radical cuts to the Palestinians, heeding in part Israeli security officials who say the assistance helps stabilize the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently endorsed President Donald Trump’s wide-reaching cuts in assistance to the Palestinians. It is not clear yet whether AIPAC is on board with the cuts as well.

AIPAC also vigorously advocates for foreign assistance in general, which Paul opposes. The lobby believes broader foreign assistance is critical because it advances U.S. influence generally and builds support for Israel overseas, and because making Israel a special case while other countries are neglected does Israel no favors.

Asked about Paul’s claims, AIPAC’s spokesman, Marshall Wittman, would only say, “We believe it is critical for Congress to adopt this legislation before adjourning given the growing threats to Israel’s security from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.”

CUFI noted in its statement that it has supported cuts to assistance to the Palestinians, and said the argument over those cuts were not germane to aid to Israel bill.

“Sen. Paul’s decision to hold this bill does not make America safer and does not ensure taxpayer dollars are used most efficiently – quite the opposite,” said CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker. “Aid to Israel provides the U.S. with an extraordinary return on investment.”

The Senate passed the act in early August and the House of Representatives followed suit the following month. Now the Senate must pass a final version in line with the bill passed by the House.

The $38 billion deal negotiated in 2016 is the most generous ever to Israel. The act also expands a stockpile of weapons that the United States keeps in Israel, which may access the stockpile in wartime. It also enhances Israel’s qualitative military edge and urges space research cooperation between Israel and the United States.

Paul, a presidential candidate in 2016, alienated pro-Israel Republicans almost as soon as he became a senator in 2011, when he embraced his congressman father’s longtime call to cut defense assistance to Israel. The younger Paul later backtracked, saying he regarded Israel as a close ally, and would cut assistance only once it was clear the country was self-sufficient in its defense needs.

Read full article here…




How Many Politicians Can You Buy with $6.3 Billion Dollars?

Grant Smith, the author of Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby Moves America, reveals the revenue of the Israeli lobby’s will reach $6.3 billion in 2020, with 17,000 employees and 414,000 volunteers! (Please re-read that statement.) The purpose of the lobby is to influence the US government to serve its foreign-policy objectives and fund its military.

[It is understandable that the Israel government would desire this outcome, but it is unfortunate that the Israel lobby seeks to label those who criticize this relationship as “Anti-Semitic”. That is like saying anyone who criticizes US foreign policy or monetary policy is anti-American. For this commentary, we expect to be called, if not outright anti-Semitic, then at least unfair. It is true that, to be totally fair, we would need to run articles on the horrendous actions of other governments as well – and, in fact that is exactly what we do. However, since we are limited in space, we have to pick those news stories and those countries that have the most impact on the world. That means, countries that have the most impact on global conflicts and economics. That’s the only reason we report on the Israeli government at all – or, for that matter, on the actions of the US government as well. In summary, we are not anti-Israel or anti-America. We are anti-corruption and aggressive war. Period!] -GEG



Israeli Lobby Funds Vacations in Israel for 53 US Congressmen


Israel is paying for the vacations of 53 members of the US Congress while they are on their August break. The junkets are funded by AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), a prominent Israeli lobby. The recipients of this political investment are primarily first-term members. They will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu. –GEG

“The goal of the trips for both the Democratic and Republican groups is to provide members with first-hand knowledge of the U.S.-Israel relationship and critical issues facing American policymakers in the Middle East,” AIEF said. “Topics include regional strategic threats and how recent events may impact the future in the region.”

Read full article here…

Former Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, explains that the Israeli lobby demands that members of Congress pledge loyalty to Israel to qualify for continued funding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqKRjPKxJuo