Palestine lobby in the United States

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"The World Says No to Israeli Occupation" rally, June 10, 2007, at U.S. Capitol, sponsored by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (now the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights) and United for Peace and Justice. World Says No Occupation June 10 2007.JPG
"The World Says No to Israeli Occupation" rally, June 10, 2007, at U.S. Capitol, sponsored by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (now the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights) and United for Peace and Justice.
Protesters have made signs to use at a pro-Palestinian protest at UC Berkeley in 2023. Signs at Pro-Palestine Protest.jpg
Protesters have made signs to use at a pro-Palestinian protest at UC Berkeley in 2023.

The Palestine lobby in the United States is organized by a number of pro-Palestinian advocacy groups seeking to influence the United States government, institutions, and citizens to actively oppose Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, many of them members or cooperating with the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. [1] These organizations include peace and anti-war, human rights, anti-Zionist, and Arab- and Muslim-American groups. [2] Groups against occupation also include Jewish Voices for Peace [1] [3] and Students for Justice in Palestine, [1] among others. Their tactics include education, protest, civil disobedience and lobbying. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

History

Political activism against occupation first emerged in the wake of the Six-Day War when Israel conquered the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. [8] In general, the Israel lobby in the United States is significantly stronger than the Palestine lobby and enjoys bipartisan support on the federal level, especially in the wake of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. [9] As a result, pro-Palestinian organizations have focused more on grassroots organization, influencing elected officials in state and local levels, and cooperating with other social justice organizations. [10]

Much of the advocacy has since centered the BDS movement, which was created in 2005. [10] During the 2023 war in Gaza, pro-Palestinian groups have focused on lobbying, organizing, and protesting for a ceasefire and reducing the Gaza blockade. [9]

Critics

Michael Lewis, director of Policy Analysis for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee criticizes a number of anti-occupation groups, contending that their goals are "to drive a wedge between the U.S. government and Israel; to undermine public and government support for Israel in the United States, and (especially since the 1973 war) to bring about a halt in American governmental aid to Israel." [11]

In his book In the Trenches: Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist, David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee says Israel must explain "how the occupation came about" and dismisses as "buzzwords" Palestinians attempts to gain sympathy as an occupied people. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Jewish Voices Canada</span> Advocacy organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions</span> Palestinian-led movement demanding international sanctions against Israel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Students for Justice in Palestine</span> Pro-Palestinian BDS activism organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions</span>

Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refer to the views of international actors on the BDS movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Mission</span> Website established in 2014

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Anti-Palestinianism or anti-Palestinian sentiment, also called anti-Palestinian racism, refers to prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination directed at the Palestinian people for any variety of reasons. Since the mid-20th century, the phenomenon has largely overlapped with anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians today are Arabs and Muslims. Historically, however, anti-Palestinianism was more closely identified with European antisemitism, as far-right Europeans detested the Jewish people as undesirable foreigners from Palestine. Modern anti-Palestinianism—that is, xenophobia with regard to the Arab people of Palestine—is most common in Israel, the United States, and Lebanon, among other countries.

The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), formerly known as the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, is a pro-Palestinian advocacy group advocating for the rights of Palestinians. The organization was founded in 2001 after the second Intifada and is now made up of more than 300 member groups in the US working for Palestinian advocacy. USCPR was created with the goal to focus on "denied human rights" instead of focusing explicitly on Palestinian statehood.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Oxnevad, Ian (2023). The Company They Keep: Organizational and Economic Dynamics of the BDS Movement (PDF). National Association of Scholars. pp. 17–18, 109–110.
  2. Member Organizations Archived 2016-08-23 at the Wayback Machine US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (now the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights).
  3. "A JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE INC - GuideStar Profile". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  4. 40 National Orgs. Tell Congress, "Freeze Military Aid to Israel Until Israel Freezes Settlements", by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation in Monthly Review, June 16, 2009.
  5. Ida Wahlstrom, Rights Groups Condemn US Role in Gaza Conflict, Common Dreams, January 10, 2009.
  6. H. L. Krieger, US rally against Israeli 'occupation' attracts smaller numbers than expected, Jerusalem Post, June 11, 2007.
  7. Melissa Apter, 'Coming Out' for the Palestine Solidarity Movement, The Nation, June 4, 2007.
  8. George Friedman The Israel Lobby in U.S. Strategy, September 4, 2007.
  9. 1 2 Hauslohner, Abigail (2023-11-06). "In Israeli-Palestinian battle to sway Congress, only one side wins". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  10. 1 2 Hitchcock, Jennifer (2023-03-15). "Framing Palestinian Rights: A Rhetorical Frame Analysis of Vernacular Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement Discourse". Rhetoric Society Quarterly. 53 (2): 87–103. doi:10.1080/02773945.2022.2095422. ISSN   0277-3945.
  11. Israel's American Detractors - Back Again, by Michael Lewis, Middle East Quarterly, November 1997
  12. David A. Harris, In the Trenches: Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2008, pp. 58, 282, 311.