Published on Portside (https://portside.org/)

Tidbits – Oct. 17 – Reader Comments: Swing State Confidential; Ta-Nehisi Coates-Letter From Israel; Palestine–the Last Year; While You Were So Worried Socialism Would Take Your Freedoms; CIA Says No Evidence Iran Has Decided To Build a Nuclear Weapon

https://portside.org/2024-10-17/tidbits-oct-17-reader-comments-swing-state-confidential-ta-nehisi-coates-letter-israel
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Swing State Confidential  --  Cartoon by Jen Sorensen


 

With Pennsylvania being the must-win battleground state in this year’s election, I’ve found myself thinking about my formative years there (shout out to the Lancastrians on this list!). Trump has won Lancaster County handily in the past, which I find a little difficult to square with my memories of the place. Yes it’s a Republican area, but also a place of humility and decency. 

Hog Maw is a Pennsylvania Dutch delicacy (and a dish also eaten in the South) consisting of pig stomach stuffed with sausage and boiled potatoes. I served this at a family restaurant that still exists. Fasnachts are like hole-less donuts, often made from potato flour. They are primarily eaten on Fasnacht Day, which marks the day before Ash Wednesday.

For my weekly newsletter with background on each cartoon, please consider joining the Sorensen Subscription Service! Also on Patreon.

Jen Sorensen
October 15, 2024
https://jensorensen.com/

 

Misinformation  --  Cartoon by Nick Anderson
 

Nick Anderson
October 10, 2024
CounterPoint

 

Re: Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Bucking the Media’s Palestine Consensus
 

On October 10 2024, Portside-Snapshot published an article by Branko Marcetic, which was published originally in Jacobin on October 9. In that article he described the debate, which followed the interview of Ta-Nehisi Coates on CBS Mornings on his new book The Message. According to Branko Marcetic most people in the debate, especially in CBS, were split between those who “think Dokoupil’s sin lies in his tone of voice and body language, and those who think he was boldly speaking truth to power.” In contrast, Branko Marcetic blames Dokoupil at a much worse sin, namely that he hinted that the Palestinians deserve their sufferings, due to their acts of terror and violence.
In this short note I would like to focus on another issue that bothered me in the questioning of Coates by Dokoupil, and that is the simple fact that all his claims about the Palestinians were not true. I am an Israeli professor of Economics, I study the economy of Israel for many years, and specialize on the economic aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I will analyze each of Dokoupil’s main claims and show that he is simply wrong.

The first claim by Dokoupil was that Israel “is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it.” I guess he meant by that the Arab countries. First, two Arab countries, which have direct borders with Israel, Egypt and Jordan, have peace agreements with Israel, Egypt since 1979 and Jordan since 1994. These two agreements enabled Israel to reduce significantly the risk of a conventional war since the 1980s and as a result to reduce its defense expenditures from more than 20 percent of GDP to around 5 percent of GDP. Even in the current ward the expenditures are below 10 percent of GDP. The Palestinian national leadership, the PLO, accepted the two-state solution already in 1988 and remained loyal to it since then. It signed the Oslo agreements with Israel in 1993-1995 and keeps them to this day. Furthermore, on 2002, a meeting of the Arab League, which includes all Arab countries, adopted the Arab Peace Initiative (API), that says that once Israel settles with the Palestinians in a peace agreement based on the two states solution, all Arab countries will sign peace agreements with full normalization with Israel. The API has been ratified in every meeting of the Arab League since 2002. The Arab Peace Initiative was adopted also by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which has 57 member countries, including Iran. Israel has never responded formally to this peace initiative.

The second sin Dokoupil pins on the Palestinians are the First and Second Intifadas, with café bombings and bus bombings of Israelis. While indeed such bombings occurred (mainly in the Second Intifada), this is just one side of a much greater picture. The two intifadas began with Palestinian demonstrations, where the most violent act was stone throwing. The IDF reacted with live ammunition and that deteriorated the situation significantly. In a now famous episode, the IDF Chief of Intelligence at the time of the Second Intifada, Amos Malka, visited the Central Command, which handles the West Bank at the beginning of the Intifada. He found that in its first month the IDF used 1 million bullets of live ammunition. His reaction was that in this case it is Israel which sets the level of the flames. To further demonstrate how biased is the focus on bombing cafes and buses only, it is important to look at the following statistics. In the first Intifada the numbers of casualties were 160 Israelis and 1,160 Palestinians. In the Second Intifada the casualties were thousand Israelis and four thousand Palestinians.

The third claim of Dokoupil is that the Palestinians were offered peace “in every junction” and refused it. This is also a gross historical violation. The first offer in this direction was in Oslo, which the PLO accepted and signed in 1993, despite the fact that this agreement was open ended, as it did not mention a Palestinian State, only a vague final status. This open-endedness later led to derail the process. Since 1993 there were two attempts to reach a final status agreement, the first in 2000, when Ehud Barak was prime minister of Israel, and the second in 2009, when Ehud Olmert was prime minister of Israel. In both negotiations the two sides made significant progress toward an agreement, and in both cases the Palestinian side, the PLO, was devoted to continue the negotiations to completion. However, both negotiations needed more time to close the gaps between the two sides. In both cases the negotiations ended due to changes of government in Israel. Ehud Barak lost his coalition and government in the beginning of 2001, and the new prime minister, Ariel Sharon, refused to continue the negotiations. In 2009, Olmert had to quit his position as he had to face trial on personal charges of corruption. Actually, his coalition did not endorse his offers to Mahmood Abbas, head of PLO. His two main ministers, Ehud Barak and Tsipi Livni, delivered such a message to the PLO. Furthermore, the new elections that year ended with a new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who refused since then to negotiate with the Palestinians on the two-state solution. I assume that this refusal and his policy of keeping and expanding the occupation, led to the current disaster of October 7, 2023.

The main comment of Branco Marcetic on the interview of Ta-Nehisi Coates by Tony Dokoupil is that you cannot blame occupation on the occupied, due to its resistance, even if this resistance involves terrible atrocities. That is clearly a valid point, but I wanted to point to an additional fallacy in the interview. Namely, the main claims raised by Dokoupil were not “speaking truth to power.” They were simply not true. They repeated much of the superficial propaganda surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We deserve better than that and from the media we deserve to know the truth. By we I mean Israelis, Palestinians and International. Otherwise, our sinking in the quagmire might continue.

Joseph Zeira

[Joseph Zeira is Professor (Emeritus) of Economics in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Joseph Zeira published in 2021 a book “The Israeli Economy: A Story of Success and Costs,” at the Princeton University Press. Joseph Zeira is a member of the AIX Group, a think tank of Israelis, Palestinians and International, which studies the economics of the conflict and of a potential Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.]

 

Slaughtered  --  Cartoon by Rob Rogers

 

As we passed the one-year anniversary of the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas, I couldn't help but think of all of the human carnage that has followed in Gaza. I find it incredibly sad that those who choose to protest this apparent genocide of Palestinians are so quickly labeled anti-Semitic.

Rob Rogers
October 10, 2024
TinyView

 

Re: The Most Prominent Historian of Palestine on What the Last Year Has Meant
 

From this article:

"I find it mind-boggling the degree to which the elite is blind to the damage that this is clearly doing to the United States in the world and in the Middle East—and the dangers that entails. I hear not a peep out of that elite about the potential danger of Israel leading them by the nose into an American, Israeli, Iranian, Yemeni, Palestinian, Lebanese war, which has no visible end. I mean, where does this stop?" 
       ...................

" What do the Americans think they are doing, pushing, allowing, arming Israel to do this vis-à-vis Iran, vis-à-vis Yemen, vis-à-vis Lebanon, vis-à-vis the Palestinians? Where does this end for Israel? They are getting themselves into a minefield out of which they will not be able to extract themselves without enormous, terrible results for them—and obviously infinitely more devastating results for Lebanon and the Palestinians."

Judyth Hollub
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

      =====

One factor that is rarely mentioned: Israel claims they are acting for all Jewish people although it is possible that, at least in the US, more Jews oppose Israel's slaughter of Palestinians than support it. Many Jewish-Israelis oppose Israel's anti-Palestinian genocide, also, although we don't know the statistics on that.

As a result of this genocide by Israel, however, people who believe Israel's propaganda that it is acting for "all Jews" around the world, anti-Semitism is being fostered and believed. If it wasn't for primarily Jewish organizations like "Jewish Voice for Peace" and "If Not Now", that are actively working to oppose the slaughter, there would be no factual information to oppose the Israeli propaganda. Who knows how much Israel may succeed, nevertheless, in creating a long lasting anti-Semitism that Israel will point to as PROOF of the anti-Semitism. Another self-fulfilling prophecy,

Arlene Halfon
Colony of Colombia

 

Re: Where Are the Voices for Peace? 
 

Read this by Jeremy Corbyn, the left Labour leader and member of Parliament here in the uk, who nearly became prime minister before he was viciously attacked by an Israeli-coordinated attack that had all the british political parties including his own Labour Party and the entire British media smearing him as an anti-semite because of his support for Palestine and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.  Corbyn, as a Labour backbencher, had through his long career been a consistent opponent of Britain having nuclear weapons.

Dave Lindorff

 

Re: Union Elections Surge in a Hopeful Sign for Labor

(posting on Portside Labor)
 

A major weakness in the NRLA is the exclusion of agricultural and public sector workers!

These workers are under paid, have no on the job justice and are crucial to the American economy!

Is it any wonder that organized labor represents less than 10% of the nation's workforce?

In Solidarity,

Pancho Valdez, Retired 
TSEU/CWA

      =====

This is a call to all Democrats and Republicans that are disgusted with the genocide in Gaza. You have to vote Kamala in as President. We all know that trump will make matters worse for Palestinians and world peace. We can always convince Kamala to take a different course on Israel.

Eugene Bailey
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: How Climate Change Threatens Workers

(posting on Portside Labor)
 

I would like to make a correction to the article. In the conclusion of the article, it states that the TN OSHA, which is pro-company/anti-worker, and the TBI (Texas Bureau of Investigation) are investigating the plastic plant in Erwin. It should be the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Adam Shaffer

 

Hurricane Helene Weather Control Machine  --  Cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz

 

Someone tell Marjorie Tylor Greene that THIS is the real Weather Control Machine.

Lalo Alcaraz
October 9, 2024
X

 

Sacrificial States  --  Cartoon by Clay Jones

 

Clay Jones
October 11, 2024
Daily Kos

 

While You Were So Worried Socialism Would Take Your Freedoms...

 

 

CIA Says No Evidence Iran Has Decided To Build a Nuclear Weapon
 

The comments from CIA Director William Burns come amid calls for Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities

October 8, 2024
Defend Democracy Press
(The website of The Delphi Initiative)

CIA Director William Burns said Monday that there’s no evidence Iran has decided to build nuclear weapons, comments that come amid calls in the US and Israel for strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“No, we do not see evidence today that the supreme leader has reversed the decision that he took at the end of 2003 to suspend the weaponization program,” Burns told the Cipher Brief security conference, according to NBC News.

In 2003, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction. His predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, also rejected the idea of starting a WMD program while facing chemical attacks from a US-backed Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

Burns said that if Iran did move to make a nuclear weapon, US intelligence would likely be aware of the decision. “I think we are reasonably confident that — working with our friends and allies — we will be able to see it relatively early on,” he said.

The CIA chief noted that Iran has increased uranium enrichment levels since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, in 2018. Iran is enriching some uranium at 60%, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade.

Iran increased uranium enrichment to 60% in 2021 following an Israeli sabotage attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, which was timed to sabotage indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

[The idea of a “Delphi Initiative” was born out of the discussions during an international conference, held near Delphi, Greece, in June 2015, just weeks before the culmination of the Greek crisis. The conference was devoted to the need for an elaborate strategy to develop national and European strategies and alternatives against “euro liberalism” and, also, to coordinate actions against wars against Russia or in the Middle East ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnzRNIZ79dczuuJStgo3tFw).]

 

Statement- Americans for Peace Now to Biden Administration: Time to Follow Through
 

by APN 
October 16, 2024

Americans for Peace Now welcomes the recent letter from the Biden administration to the Israeli government, emphasizing the urgent need to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza within the next 30 days. But it is not enough.

The government of Israel has been arbitrarily impeding humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip for over a year, in violation of both Section 620I of the US Foreign Assistance Act and the Biden administration’s own National Security Memorandum 20. These actions not only exacerbate the suffering of civilians but also undermine US commitments to human rights and international law.

It is time for the Biden administration to translate its strong language into meaningful action. We urge the administration to impose real consequences for these violations, rather than allowing a cycle of statements to be followed by inaction.

Americans for Peace Now President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: "The Biden administration is well aware of the pervasive violations of US and international humanitarian law from Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip. They have issued numerous warnings, detailed violations in previous reports, and have gone so far as to build a temporary port to circumvent the arbitrary restrictions on humanitarian aid imposed by the Israeli military. It’s no surprise that without real consequences, the warnings from our government have not been heeded. Now is the time for the Biden Administration to follow through and finally ensure US military assistance is only used in accordance with US laws.”

 

Teach-in on Daniel Jadue  --  Online  --  October 19  (Solidarity Research Center, NACLA, TNI)

 

Daniel Jadue is a former activist mayor of Recoleta, the immigrant district of Santiago, Chile. During his term, he implemented many radical municipalist reforms including setting up a people’s university, libraries, and pharmacies that sold medication at cost. Sadly, he’s the victim of a rightwing attack on his people’s pharmacies and has been incarcerated since June 2024. He is currently under house arrest.

You can read more about his case at the Corbyn project and the international solidarity campaign at the Municipalism Learning Series.

The goals of this teach-in are to bring attention to the radical municipalist initiatives Jadue implemented in Recoleta during his term, to spotlight his unjust detention and incarceration, and to rally the global municipalist movement behind his case for freedom.

Date: Saturday, October 19th 2024
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 PM PDT/6:00 to 8:00 PM CDT/7:00 to 9:00 PM EDT
Locations: The panel will be by Zoom with two viewing parties in Los Angeles and New York City.
RSVP: Please RSVP for the online panel or viewing party.

Speakers include:

Musical performance by Carmen Lienqueo, an Andean singer from Santiago, Chile.

The facilitators are Gianpaolo Baiocchi of Urban Democracy Lab at New York University and Romina Green Rioja of Washington and Lee University. The hosts are Solidarity Research Center (SRC), North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), and Transnational Institute (TNI).

Interpretation provided by Patricio Gonzalez and Erin Stumpf.

RSVP

Sponsored by: Solidarity Research Center  

 

Online Teach-In on Native American Classroom Resources  --  November 2  (Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change)

 

Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In

Saturday, November 2

12:00PM – 3:00PM ET / 9:00AM – 12:00PM PT

Online Via Zoom

Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change for a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange — preceded by a keynote by Dr. Elizabeth Rule (Chickasaw), public scholar, policymaker, and author of Indigenous DC: Native Peoples and the Nation’s Capital.

Teachers select two workshop breakout sessions that include relevant and resource-rich experiences to support effective use of American Indian-focused classroom lessons and resources from Teaching for Change and NMAI. Teaching for Change and NMAI museum educators will share key concepts from NMAI’s Essential Understandings Framework, children’s literature from Social Justice Books, and classroom materials from NMAI’s Native Knowledge 360° education initiative. See highlights from the 2023 Teach-In.

Professional development credit and ASL interpretation will be available.
Learn More and Register

Workshops

Teaching for Change  
PO Box 73038
Washington, DC 20056

 

The Left After the Election  --  New York City  --  November 4  (Jacobin Magazine)

 

At this event featuring Matt Karp, Corey Robin, and Liza Featherstone, we’ll prepare for Tuesday’s results, unpack the key factors determining the current balance of power in electoral politics, and outline the major challenges that will face the Left in the wake of the election.

Monday, November 4, 2024, 7:00 p.m. EST

Mayday Space
176 St. Nicholas Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237

Register Here  
 

Source URL: https://portside.org/2024-10-17/tidbits-oct-17-reader-comments-swing-state-confidential-ta-nehisi-coates-letter-israel