Israel–United States relations and associated politics

[Isgrimnur]

Texas

Texas is adding short-term-rental site Airbnb to a list of companies that cannot receive state investments because it disallows Israeli-owned rentals in the disputed West Bank.

Airbnb is the only American-based company on Texas' anti-Israel boycott list, which includes a Norwegian financial services group, a British wholesale co-op and a Norwegian insurance company.

Texas is making it "very clear that our state stands with Israel and its people against those wishing to undermine Israel's economy and the wellbeing of its people," said a statement from state Comptroller Glenn Hegar's office.

In November, Airbnb said it would remove about 200 listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It cited a variety of factors for its decision, including whether listings inside an occupied territory had a direct connection to a larger regional dispute.
...
Texas' move was praised by Christians United For Israel, the public policy arm of the nation's largest pro-Israel organization. It likened the so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to "end international support for Israel's suppression of Palestinians," to "terrorists" and "hostile nations."
...
In a recent report, human rights group Amnesty International said tourism-related giants Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor contributed to human rights violations by listing accommodations and attractions in Israeli settlements along the West Bank. The settlements go against international law, the group noted, and booking accommodations there "helps fund an illegal endeavor."

About 26 states, including Texas, have laws on the books that prevent institutions from doing financial harm to Israel if they want state business, citing a desire to avoid using tax dollars to back stances hostile to a U.S. ally.
...
Democratic critics of laws cracking down on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement are increasingly skeptical of Israel's policies and see such laws as an infringement on free speech. In January, Florida added Airbnb to a list of companies that it defines as boycotting Israel. The same month, a bill to crack down on the BDS movement was blocked by Democrats in the Senate.

[Holman]

I'd criticize this, but apparently it would mean I did 9/11.

[Isgrimnur]

WaPo

President Trump on Thursday abruptly endorsed permanent Israeli control of the disputed Golan Heights, saying on Twitter that the area seized from Syria in the 1967 Arab war is “of critical strategic and security importance” to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed the United States to formally recognize Israel’s annexation of the land, including making a public appeal for U.S. help as he welcomed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

“After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!” Trump tweeted.

Trump’s statement marks a dramatic departure in formal U.S. policy since 1967, when the Golan Heights was first seized from Syria before being effectively annexed in 1981. The endorsement also puts the U.S. administration in the position of backing a key political priority of Netanyahu’s just three weeks before Israel’s national elections and days before the Israeli leader is due in Washington for a visit.
...
Trump will welcome Netanyahu at the White House next week for meetings and a private dinner organized by his son-in-law and Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner.

[Defiant]

Stupid to give this recognition now, instead of using it as leverage during actual peace talks, but based on the timing I imagine this is being done to help Netanyahu during reelection. I hope it backfires.

[Isgrimnur]

BBC

President Donald Trump has officially recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967, in a move hailed as "historic" by Israel's prime minister.

Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election next month, was by Mr Trump's side as he signed the proclamation.

Syria said Mr Trump's decision was "a blatant attack on its sovereignty".
...
In response, Syria has vowed to recover the area "through all available means".

[LawBeefaroni]

Texas

Texas is adding short-term-rental site Airbnb to a list of companies that cannot receive state investments because it disallows Israeli-owned rentals in the disputed West Bank.

Airbnb is the only American-based company on Texas' anti-Israel boycott list, which includes a Norwegian financial services group, a British wholesale co-op and a Norwegian insurance company.

Texas is making it "very clear that our state stands with Israel and its people against those wishing to undermine Israel's economy and the wellbeing of its people," said a statement from state Comptroller Glenn Hegar's office.

In November, Airbnb said it would remove about 200 listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It cited a variety of factors for its decision, including whether listings inside an occupied territory had a direct connection to a larger regional dispute.
...
Texas' move was praised by Christians United For Israel, the public policy arm of the nation's largest pro-Israel organization. It likened the so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to "end international support for Israel's suppression of Palestinians," to "terrorists" and "hostile nations."
...
In a recent report, human rights group Amnesty International said tourism-related giants Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor contributed to human rights violations by listing accommodations and attractions in Israeli settlements along the West Bank. The settlements go against international law, the group noted, and booking accommodations there "helps fund an illegal endeavor."

About 26 states, including Texas, have laws on the books that prevent institutions from doing financial harm to Israel if they want state business, citing a desire to avoid using tax dollars to back stances hostile to a U.S. ally.
...
Democratic critics of laws cracking down on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement are increasingly skeptical of Israel's policies and see such laws as an infringement on free speech. In January, Florida added Airbnb to a list of companies that it defines as boycotting Israel. The same month, a bill to crack down on the BDS movement was blocked by Democrats in the Senate.

So what does this mean really? How does Texas invest in Airbnb? Also, will be interesting to see what happens when Airbnb goes public. Will Texas state pension funds avoid all funds that include it?

It just sounds like "We wont invest in something we weren't investing in anyway but we're now not investing in them because Israel!"

[Isgrimnur]

Spoiler:

Declaration by the High Representative @FedericaMog on behalf of the EU on the #GolanHeights:

The position of the EU has not changed. The EU does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

Full text: https://europa.eu/!Th47uu

[Holman]

Netanyahu, campaigning, claims that Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews until the Mufti of Jerusalem convinced him to.

This old view is a fringe theory rejected by legitimate historians. It's widely regarded as a ploy to blame Muslims for the Nazi Holocaust.

[Holman]

link

[Kurth]

Netanyahu, campaigning, claims that Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews until the Mufti of Jerusalem convinced him to.

This old view is a fringe theory rejected by legitimate historians. It's widely regarded as a ploy to blame Muslims for the Nazi Holocaust.

Interesting. I’ve heard and read this so many times, I’ve always taken it to be true. I didn’t know it was a fringe theory. I’ll have to look into it.

[Alefroth]

link

I'd like to see the reactions from the people he was addressing. I'm sure this will get as much attention as Ilhan Omar's statements did.

[Alefroth]

Another beauty from that speech.



I guess his dad is from wherever he needs him to be.

Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn

[El Guapo]

Netanyahu, campaigning, claims that Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews until the Mufti of Jerusalem convinced him to.

This old view is a fringe theory rejected by legitimate historians. It's widely regarded as a ploy to blame Muslims for the Nazi Holocaust.

Interesting. I’ve heard and read this so many times, I’ve always taken it to be true. I didn’t know it was a fringe theory. I’ll have to look into it.

My understanding is that the Grand Mufti was anti-Semitic in the extreme, to the point of supporting the Holocaust and being chummy with Hitler. The idea that Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews until the Grand Mufti talked him into it is pretty silly, however.

[Defiant]

GANTZ VS. NETANYAHU: UNLCEAR WHO WON AS EXIT POLLS ARE RELEASED

One exit poll gives Gantz's party a 4 seat margin of victory, the other has them tied.

[El Guapo]

Stories this morning are saying that Gantz and Netanyahu's parties are pretty neck-and-neck, but that the right-wing bloc is likely to wind up with significantly more seats overall (something like a 65-55 right wing majority), so that it's likely that Netanyahu will be retained as prime minister. This is pretty consistent with the exit polling. Some things that are still up in the air is which of Gantz and Netanyahu's parties will have more seats, and who the Israeli president will ask to take the first crack at forming a governing coalition. Also negotiations over that coalition are likely to be intense (since small parties will be essential and so will have a lot of leverage). There's also some suspicion that Netanyahu will trade West Bank annexations for a law retroactively immunizing him from prosecution as part of the coalition deals.

[Holman]

Sudden surprise:

Netanyahu failed to form a government coalition before the deadline despite desperate negotiations, and the Knesset has voted to dissolve itself and hold new elections in a few weeks.

This is a classic case of political do-over. The right-wing parties are widely thought to have won their majority this time because many Arab voters boycotted the election, a mistake they're probably unlikely to make again.

[El Guapo]

Are one or more of the right-wing parties gambling that they'll do better in the new election? Seems a little baffling that the right wing parties couldn't work *something* out - seems like a miscalculation by someone or a game theory issue.

[Defiant]

Are one or more of the right-wing parties gambling that they'll do better in the new election? Seems a little baffling that the right wing parties couldn't work *something* out - seems like a miscalculation by someone or a game theory issue.

A couple of right-wing parties came in just under the threshold for seats (one by just a couple of thousand votes by my calculation). Theoretically the right-wing could do better if they pass the threshold or those voters switch to more viable parties.

But, of course, being unable to form a government isn't good optics for Netanyahu or Likud. In fact, I suppose it's possible that some people who voted for Likud could be turned off by this and switch to voting for other right wing parties (thereby strengthening their position in a right-wing coalition) or switch to voting for a more centrist party.

As to the cause, it's the draft law, which Beytenu said was vital during the election, and no compromise was reached.

[Drazzil]

WaPo

President Trump on Thursday abruptly endorsed permanent Israeli control of the disputed Golan Heights, saying on Twitter that the area seized from Syria in the 1967 Arab war is “of critical strategic and security importance” to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed the United States to formally recognize Israel’s annexation of the land, including making a public appeal for U.S. help as he welcomed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

“After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!” Trump tweeted.

Trump’s statement marks a dramatic departure in formal U.S. policy since 1967, when the Golan Heights was first seized from Syria before being effectively annexed in 1981. The endorsement also puts the U.S. administration in the position of backing a key political priority of Netanyahu’s just three weeks before Israel’s national elections and days before the Israeli leader is due in Washington for a visit.
...
Trump will welcome Netanyahu at the White House next week for meetings and a private dinner organized by his son-in-law and Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner.

OMFG... Really? Yay for giving up the very last of our legitimacy in this whole situation.

[El Guapo]

Are one or more of the right-wing parties gambling that they'll do better in the new election? Seems a little baffling that the right wing parties couldn't work *something* out - seems like a miscalculation by someone or a game theory issue.

A couple of right-wing parties came in just under the threshold for seats (one by just a couple of thousand votes by my calculation). Theoretically the right-wing would do better and pass the threshold or those voters switch to more viable parties.

But, of course, being unable to form a government isn't good optics for Netanyahu or Likud. In fact, I suppose it's possible that some people who voted for Likud could be turned off by this and switch to voting for other right wing parties (thereby strengthening their position in a right-wing coalition) or switch to voting for a more centrist party.

As to the cause, it's the draft law, which Beytenu said was vital during the election, and no compromise was reached.

Yeah, I suppose that makes sense, then - I can see how that law would be pretty fundamental for the ultra-orthodox parties, and why it would divide the right-wing so much.

Still, I think the odds that one or more of the right-wing parties will regret this is pretty high.

[Pyperkub]

Netanyahu, under Indictment, appoints himself Justice Minister:

The decision to remove the two from their posts, which was approved by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, comes two days before the first meeting of the political-security cabinet in more than a month.

As the dismissal took effect, Prime Minister Netanyahu became the acting justice and education minister. He is also suspected of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three pending criminal indictments, and the AG has announced his intention to prosecute him, subject to an October 2 hearing.

Netanyahu’s office said at the beginning of the week that the PM planned to appoint replacements for the two positions within 48 hours. But on Monday the Likud Party announced that the assignments of the portfolios had been postponed to next week, while Netanyahu is discussing potential replacements with other coalition partners.

In the meantime, Netanyahu will hold both portfolios, as well as the defense and health portfolios.

[El Guapo]

To say the least....that certainly looks bad. Although the statement that this was approved by the Attorney General (who is prosecuting him) would suggest that this is not going to give Netanyahu the ability to squash the investigation. Unless the approval of the AG was under duress or something, but if that were the case it would seem that Netanyahu would have already had the power to stop the prosecution.

Also unclear on the divide between what the AG does and what the Justice Ministry does.

[hepcat]

Careful. Trump and the GOP are about to call you out for antisemitism with remarks like that.

[Isgrimnur]

[El Guapo]

Wait, is that really how it looked on Super Friends? From Google I can see that image, but there are also a number of images where the star in the pool is clearly a five pointed star, whereas this one REALLY looks like a Star of David. Did it change?

[Isgrimnur]

Five seems more common. I saw at least one without any island centerpiece.

[Defiant]

[Defiant]

[Defiant]

Kushner talking about the economic part of their mideast proposal.

[hepcat]

Neither side will go for it. It’s a vanity project that will destroy Kushner’s political dreams. So at least something good will come out of it, I suppose.

[$iljanus]

The Boy Blunder isn't capable of thinking beyond the world of real estate and the big money deals.

[hepcat]

He always looks like he's about to start crying.

...although I guess being continuously afraid your wife will run off with her father might contribute to that.

[ImLawBoy]

The Boy Blunder isn't capable of thinking beyond the world of real estate and the big money deals.

Fun fact! I work in a Kushner family owned building!

[Kurth]

The Boy Blunder isn't capable of thinking beyond the world of real estate and the big money deals.

Fun fact! I work in a Kushner family owned building!

Stop collaborating! What's wrong with you???

[$iljanus]

The Boy Blunder isn't capable of thinking beyond the world of real estate and the big money deals.

Fun fact! I work in a Kushner family owned building!

Stop collaborating! What's wrong with you???

If you change jobs please leave a flaming bag of poo in the lobby for us and strike a blow for decent folks! (without getting caught)

[ImLawBoy]

We're actually moving out of the building, but it's a long process. We used to own the building, but we sold it and did a lease-back a number of years back. We're now out of about half of it (it's a 30 story building and we're still in the bottom half, plus floors 25 (legal) and 27 (execs)), and we'll be completely out in 2-3 years, I think. The company that seems to be taking most of the floors? Uber (in particular Uber Freight, which they're more or less HQing here in Chicago).

[hepcat]

Does Jared ever show up in a torn and stained undershirt, carrying a plunger and complaining about "those damn people on the third floor who keep trying to flush paper towels"?

[$iljanus]

Does Jared ever show up in a torn and stained undershirt, carrying a plunger and complaining about "those damn people on the third floor who keep trying to flush paper towels"?

Hey, what Jared and Ivanka do behind their bedroom door is their business!

[Z-Corn]

It’s a vanity project that will destroy Kushner’s political dreams.

Good. Then he can go back to dreaming that someday he might be a real boy.

[Isgrimnur]

Vanity Fair

But Kushner, what with his years of relevant experience working as a tristate area slumlord and personally ordering the removal of stories at his newspaper that were critical of his friends, is undeterred. On Wednesday he held a conference call with Arab and Israeli reporters to announce that the White House would provide “new steps” next week regarding his big plan, and, in an apparent effort to convince Palestinian leaders to get on board, he really laid on the charm:

[Kushner] criticized the Palestinian leadership’s behavior around the Bahrain conference and called it “hysterical and stupid.” He stressed that Palestinian leadership has made “a strategic mistake” not participating in the conference and not discussing a plan that is focused on prosperity for the Palestinian people.

Then, trying a little one-man good-cop-bad-cop routine, Kushner insisted that Donald Trump likes Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and wants to work with him—provided Abbas pulls his head out of his ass. “The door is always open for the Palestinian leadership,” Kushner told reporters. “If they stop saying crazy things and engage, they will see there is an opportunity here. We respect President Abbas and we believe he wants to make peace, and we want to give him the opportunity to try and do it.” Answering a question from a Lebanese reporter, Kushner said the political portion of his peace plan would include “a pragmatic, fair, and workable solution to the refugees issue,” without providing any actual details.
...
Wednesday, of course, wasn’t the first time Kushner seemingly failed to persuade Palestinians that they should trust a guy whose bed Benjamin Netanyahu once literally slept in. During a disastrous interview last month, he claimed that the Palestinian people don’t mind various actions taken by the Trump administration, such as cutting all Palestinian aid, including to hospitals in East Jerusalem, saying they want different things than their leaders.