Crescent International
Crescent International
If anyone still has lingering doubts about the US Congress being zionist occupied territory, they only have to look at the anti-semitism bill passed by the House of Representatives on May 1.
The House overwhelmingly passed the bill, by a margin of 320 to 91, expanding the federal definition of anti-semitism.
It was Pat Buchanan, speech writer for former US President Ronald Reagan and one-time presidential candidate, who had dubbed the Congress as zionist occupied territory.
The Congress has done nothing to dispel this impression.
In fact, its actions have merely reinformed the notion that it is zionist occupied territory.
Take the latest vote on anti-semitism by the House.
It comes in the wake of rapidly growing student protests across American campuses.
The students’ demands are simple and reasonable.
They are calling on the universities to off links, whether financial or for research purposes, with US companies that are supporting Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
They are also demanding that universities cut off links with Israeli companies aiding Israel’s war.
Far from adhering to these very reasonable demands that uphold universal human rights values, university administrations have called the police to evict and attack students.
Police forces in the US are notorious for brutal tactics and assaulting peaceful protesters.
More than 900 students have been arrested across the US so far.
Hundreds of others have been expelled, many in their final year of studies, jeopardising their careers.
Students are holding peaceful protests on a matter of principle.
They are prepared to make personal sacrifices for this noble cause: respect for human rights and the right to life of the Palestinians.
They are calling for peace and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Interestingly, Shiraz University in Iran has offered scholarships to students expelled from US universities to complete their studies.
Let us return to the House vote on anti-semitism which has adopted the working definition first advanced by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016.
How does the IHRA define anti-semitism?
It is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities”.
The IHRA definition encompasses the “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity”.
It includes certain examples in its definition to illustrate anti-semitism.
To say that “the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor” would be deemed anti-semitic under its terms.
The definition also bars any comparison between “contemporary Israeli policy” and “that of the Nazis”.
Let us deconstruct some of IHRA’s examples.
In July 2018, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed the Nation-state law which defined Israel as a state for the “Jewish people only”.
If someone says that this law makes Israel a racist state, he would be deemed anti-semitic.
If the US Congress were to pass a law saying that America is a country for white people only, it would be immediately denounced as racism, and rightly so.
Similarly, if Congress were to pass a law saying that America is a state for Protestants only, again this would be denounced as racism.
So, what is so sacred about Israel that its racism cannot be called racism?
How else should zionist racism be defined and why are US lawmakers so desperate to stifle all criticism of Israeli policies?
Human rights activists and Civil Liberties associations across the US have strongly criticized the bill.
They see it as an assault on the First Amendment rights to free speech.
Critics warn IHRA’s definition could be used to stifle campus protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israel is a state dominated by neo-Nazis and genocidal racists.
Its defence minister Yoav Gallant has called Palestinians “human animals” and security minister Itamar Ben Gvir told soldiers to kill Palestinian captives.
They should not be arrested, he told them bluntly.
Presumably, that is perfectly acceptable for members of the US House of Representatives!
Rights groups, however, have raised concerns that the House definition conflates criticism of the state of Israel and zionism with anti-semitism.
Prior to the vote, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in a letter dated April 26 urged US lawmakers to vote against the legislation.
They paid no heed to such advice and went ahead with the vote to “protect their favourite country”, Israel from any criticism.
There is already a federal law in the US that prohibits anti-semitic discrimination and harassment.
So, why pass another law that is not needed?
US lawmakers have to pledge their loyalty to Israel, especially in an election year.
The pro-Israel lobby pays for their campaign funds.
Recalcitrant members can always be blackmailed via sleaze videos made of them caught in compromising situations, again thanks to the lobby!
Money and sexual blackmail talk in America!
The ACLU warned that “… it [the House bill] would likely chill free speech of students on college campuses by incorrectly equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-semitism.”
That is precisely the intended purpose of the new bill.
The US Congress remains zionist occupied territory, and lawmakers confirmed it yet again!
As Greg Palast famously said, the US has the “Best democracy money can buy”!
The west, we are so often told, owes its pre-eminence to the universality of its liberal values and democracy of its political institutions....
