AIPAC spent millions of dollars to unseat the Squad’s Cori Bush after she called for a Gaza ceasefire. At the DNC, she asked: Who’s next?

WITH THE DEMOCRATIC primary season winding down, members of the Squad are speaking more directly than ever about the role that the pro-Israel lobby played in silencing critics of Israel’s human rights abuses in Congress, as well as Democrats’ complicity.

As the Democratic National Convention entered its final day in Chicago, the topic of the war on Gaza and the role of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in elections had been largely absent from the main stage. No Palestinian speakers got time on the dais, despite the protest efforts from the “Uncommitted” movement this week.

Instead, the conversation among Democrats about pushing for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, and the party’s role in allowing AIPAC to shape its primaries has been taking place outside the United Center, where progressives held protests to hold convention delegates’ feet to the fire.

And victims of AIPAC’s political campaigns were on hand to add their voices to the demonstrations.

  • aodhsishaj@lemmy.world
    693·
    2 months ago

    This will have teeth and meaning when politicians (Besides Bernie) start calling to overturn citizens united. Or when Boeing. Raytheon, General Dynamics and Honeywell stop profiting from arms sales to Israel.

    The media has been gushing over all of this rhetoric and pomp coming out of the DNC but not really asking where are the receipts. I want to see evidence of ballot initiatives, planning committees, investigative structures. You know, congress people doing their jobs. I’m really disenfranchised with the Dems as a whole since October last year.

    Fuck Trump. Kamala Harris will be a better president and states woman. A democratic super majority if we can do it will benefit the most people here in the US. But, I’d love to see lasting change, not just platitudes and the threat of a fascist state every fucking election cycle.

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
    494·
    2 months ago

    This entire article about AIPAC and their spending, and not once citizens united is mentioned? the 2010 supreme court ruling that is specifically allowing foreign governments to spend money influencing our elections? YES, AIPAC needs to be stopped… by ending citizens united and passing campaign finance reform, which was Bernie Sanders’ primary goal in running for president in 2016 and 2020.

    This is a “jewish spending group is racist and bad!” article, when it should be “foreign governments influencing our elections is bad!” article

    • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
      19·
      2 months ago

      In that entire article, the only time the word “jewish” came up was when it referred to people that AIPAC had attacked. So it’s not about it being a Jewish lobby, it’s about it being a foreign lobby.

        • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
          51·
          2 months ago

          Absolutely. In fact one of my first posts to Lemmy was documenting how every POTUS, VPOTUS, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader has spoken at an AIPAC conference going back to the Clinton Administration. They’ve likely been the most powerful lobbying group in America since at least the early 90s and most American’s had never heard of them until recently.

          It’s my opinion that AIPAC’s power both predates and has nothing to do with Citizens United.

    • JIMMERZ@lemm.eeEnglish
      92·
      2 months ago

      This 100%. Nothing will change by eliminating one particular group. End all foreign election influence. Candidates should only be able to raise funds from domestic citizens, period.

      • Hamartia@lemmy.world
        11·
        2 months ago

        100%? Yes, Citizens United has poured petrol on the ability of large aggregations of money to undemocratically influence election outcomes; and yes some of those aggregations are unconcerned with the wellbeing of American people. But are people that are voicing concerns about AIPAC (given that it represents an appartite state currently brutally escalating a decades old genocide, that wants to silence any political voices that are critical of it) actually antisemitic? Because the comment you rated as 100% seems to be furthering AIPACs goal.

        It’s as if they read about Breonna Taylor’s murder and concluded that black people shouldn’t think that stand your ground laws apply to them but the important lesson is that killing is wrong.

    • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.worldEnglish
      102·
      2 months ago

      They contribute to primary challengers against progressives, which is enough for centrists to consider them allies.

      • kembik@lemm.ee
        61·
        2 months ago

        So does Hakeem Jeffries’ BluePac, and that’s why leadership gave him a promotion.

        They’ve been so busy building the party to be fully accessible to financial interests that the corruption is what stands out most prominently to a public that can’t tell the difference between either party.

  • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
    114·
    2 months ago

    Lol, they took a stance that was deeply unpopular with the majority of their constituents and are then surprised when a concerted effort to oust them from their elected positions is successful???

    FAFO

    • chuckleslord@lemmy.world
      30·
      2 months ago

      No antisemitism to be seen. The same people is referencing people who think they can buy policy and politicians, regardless of what people want. That is what’s happening here.

    • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
      27·
      2 months ago

      So any complaint about rich, powerful people pulling the levers of government is antisemitic now? GTFO.