The reason why Israel is banning Al Jazeera – they don’t want the world to witness their war crimes…

Some of the most outspoken groups against Biden and Israel get funding from foundations attached to some of the biggest names in Democratic circles.

About 40 students at Washburn University stage a protest expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza and calling for a cease-fire in the war there on May 3, 2024, in Topeka, Kansas. | John Hanna/AP

By SHIA KAPOS via Politico

President Joe Biden has been dogged for months by pro-Palestinian protesters calling him “Genocide Joe” — but some of the groups behind the demonstrations receive financial backing from philanthropists pushing hard for his reelection.

The donors include some of the biggest names in Democratic circles: Gates, Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker, according to a POLITICO analysis.

Jewish Voice for Peace, which did not return a request for comment, has been a leader in disruptive protests against Biden, including shouting “genocide supporter” at his glitzy fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York in March. It protests on campuses across the country, and its statement immediately following the Oct. 7 attacks said that “the source of all this violence” was “Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression.”

The complex funding system in the nonprofit space sometimes means that groups are funded by grants — or even subgrants — from a larger organization that isn’t involved in granular, day-to-day management of an activist group’s work. In a statement to POLITICO, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund noted it cannot support political activity or campaigns and is not involved in the personal political giving of trustees.

“Our grantees in all three portfolios support a broad range of policy ideas—some align with the Biden administration’s agenda and others conflict. This complexity is part and parcel of our nonpartisan work,” said Sarah Edkins, the fund’s communications director, in a statement.

Some advisers to left-leaning causes say that’s just part of the way things work when it comes to philanthropic giving.

“There may be times where a donor may give to an organization or candidate that sometimes does something that clashes with their personal view,” said Kevin Conlon, who has been a bundler for Biden as well as for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and now advises nonprofits.

Still, some donors say they feel conflicted as they watch the protests unfold.

“We’re hearing from folks who want to make sure that their dollars aren’t supporting people who are supporting Hamas and shouting antisemitic things,” said Daniel Goldwin, public affairs executive director of the Jewish United Fund in Chicago, which issues grants to small local nonprofits and to larger national nonprofits. “If it’s an organization they’ve been giving to for a long time, we encourage them to call and communicate their concerns.”

Biden is struggling to regain support from young people, who went overwhelmingly for him in 2020, and the protests may complicate that effort. As Israel faces increasing criticism from around the world amid the high numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza, demonstrations in the United States are only growing more intense. Those at Columbia University, in particular, have emerged as a thorn in the side of Biden, who finally weighed in on them on Thursday.

“Destroying property is not a peaceful protest, it’s against the law,” Biden said. “Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation, none of this is a peaceful protest.”

Some Democrats are downplaying the protests as a problem for Biden.

“Elections aren’t determined on foreign policy issues,” said Jill Zipin, co-founder and chair of Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania, a political action committee that works to elect Democrats in Pennsylvania. “The protest movement and the encampments probably won’t be an issue in November, but it’s really hard to say because things can change quickly.”

The liability for Biden could be more pronounced if the protests continue throughout the summer and fall, as the election draws closer.

“If it continues through November, then yes, it’s likely to be more salient,” said Omar Wasow, a scholar who studies protest movements and their political effects. “And if it somehow winds down, you see Americans don’t care a lot about foreign policy, and it’s likely to not to play out in the election.”

Many of the nonprofits that receive grants that are now involved in the protests also have missions that are mostly unrelated to foreign policy. But as the conflict in the Middle East takes up a greater space at the center of the nation’s political debates, nonprofits with other missions have been drawn to the cause.

“A lot of our members are supporting actions that are trying to hold Biden accountable, which is not the same thing as opposing Biden. It’s saying we desperately don’t want the alternative,” said Barni Qaasim, a spokesperson for Solidaire Action, a group that funds social justice movements.

Solidaire has received financial support from the Pritzkers, who also founded the Libra Foundation, which funds smaller nonprofits that address criminal justice, environmental and gender justice issues. Susan Pritzker declined to comment for this story. Some of the groups funded by Libra have also been involved in protests against Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

For instance, The Climate Justice Alliance took part in pro-Palestinian marches that have used the phrase “Genocide Joe.” Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity, another group backed by the Libra Foundation, promotes pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its website. And a third, the Immigrant Defense Project, was part of a protest in Washington that saw 13 activists arrested by Capitol police after demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

The Tides Foundation, funded by the Prizkers, has also supported the Adalah Justice Project, which has also been part of protests at Columbia University. The group wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “universities are hedge funds, deeply embedded with weapons manufacturers.” Tides also supports Palestine Legal, a legal defense fund that is offers legal assistance to “students mobilizing against genocide.”

The Tides Foundation issued a statement about funding groups that protest, saying it is “committed to advancing social justice,” adding that its “community of fiscally sponsored projects, donors, and grantees represent a wide range of perspectives on what social justice looks like.”

Palestine Legal has been a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center since 2013, and Adalah Justice Project since 2016, according to a spokesperson. Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow “are grantee partners.”

Some donors may use this moment to reevaluate where their money goes, something that Conlon, the Democratic bundler, acknowledged.

“They might be less inclined to give [in the future] if they feel strongly about it. Inevitably, there will be conflicts,” he said. “You’re not going to sync perfectly all the time.”

CLARIFICATION: IfNotNow clarified that is not leading protests at Columbia University.

“The Hamas movement will not agree in any way to an agreement that does not explicitly include stopping the war on Gaza”

⭕️ A leading Hamas source told Al Jazeera: 

The occupation is obstructing reaching an agreement by insisting on continuing the war

The Zionist entity seeks to establish a framework agreement to recover its prisoners without linking this to ending the aggression

The enemy bears full responsibility for insisting on entering #Rafah instead of stopping the aggression and comprehensive withdrawal

Our information confirms that Netanyahu personally is obstructing reaching an agreement for personal reasons

  The resistance is entrusted with the sacrifices of our people and will not neglect them under any circumstances

BREAKING: HAMAS TO ACCEPT CEASEFIRE DEAL WITHIN HOURS

The Saudi news channel reports that Hamas will accept the Egypt’s proposal for a cease-fire and the release of hostages within hours.

Hamas said it has received a promise from the U.S. for a cease-fire and full Israeli… pic.twitter.com/x3QLQzuwlI

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) May 4, 2024

China essentially says that October 7th Was An Exercise of International Law

China’s representative points out at the ICJ that armed resistance against occupation is enshrined in international law and is not terrorism.

via RT

Former US President Donald Trump has refused to rule out withholding military aid to Israel to force an end to the war in Gaza if he is reelected. Once a stalwart defender of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump has argued that the Israeli leader and his military have bungled the war with Hamas.

In an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday, Trump stood by his insistence last month that Israel should “finish up [its] war” before it loses any more international support.

“I think that Israel has done one thing very badly: public relations,” Trump told the outlet, adding that he thinks the Israeli military shouldn’t “be sending out pictures every night of buildings falling down and being bombed.”

Asked whether he would rule out withholding or applying conditions to US military aid to Israel in order to bring the war to a conclusion, Trump replied “no,”before launching into a scathing critique of Netanyahu.

“I had a bad experience with Bibi,” he said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Trump recalled how Netanyahu allegedly promised to take part in the US airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, before pulling out at the last minute.

“That was something I never forgot,” Trump told Time, adding that the incident “showed me something.”

Netanayhu, he said, “rightfully has been criticized for what took place on October 7,” referring to Hamas’ attack on Israel. “And I think it’s had a profound impact on him, despite everything. Because people said that shouldn’t have happened.

Israel has “the most sophisticated equipment,” he continued. “Everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn’t know about it, and I think he’s being blamed for that very strongly.”

Trump is not the first person to allege that the Israeli military and government failed to respond to warnings of an impending attack by Hamas. According to Israeli media reports, multiple military and intelligence personnel tried to warn their superiors that an attack was in the works, while Egyptian officials told the Associated Press that they passed on warnings to their Israeli counterparts in the weeks leading up to October 7.

Trump was a close ally of Netanyahu during his term in the White House, and described himself as “history’s most pro-Israel US president.” He imposed sanctions on Iran at Netanyahu’s request, moved the US embassy in Israel to West Jerusalem, and brokered the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalize relations with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan.

Asked whether he could work better with Netanyahu’s main political rival, Benny Gantz, if he were to return to the White House after the November presidential election, Trump did not give a straight answer. However, he remarked that “Gantz is good,” and that there are “some very good people I’ve gotten to know in Israel that could do a good job.”

Trump vs Biden?! Is that Sovereigntists vs Globalists?!

How about Pro-Zionists vs Pro-Palestinians?!

Is there such a thing as the Axis of Trump-Netanyahu-Orban-Putin vs. Pro-Globalists?!

Then where does China fit into this? Maybe somewhere in-between. Where’s Ukraine? It is supported by Israel, but it is against Russia. Where is the EU? A mixed bag pro-Israel, pro-Palestinians, anti-Russia, pro-Russia…

Trump’s first appointed National Security Advisor is Gen. Michael Flynn, pictured at the same dinner table with Putin in Moscow. Collusion? No collusion? High level appointees in his administration, all staunchly pro-Israel: Nikki Haley, Bolton, Cohen, etc. Netanyahu, while visiting the US, sleeps in Trump’s son in law Kushner’s bedroom, that’s his “senior adviser’s” bedroom. Collusion? No collusion?

So we had four years of Trump and four years of anti-Trump’s denunciation of his collusion with Putin (Russia). Will we have another four years of Trump and four years of anti-Trump’s denunciation of his collusion with Netanyahu (Israel)?

The way things are going right now that’s quite possible.

Now it looks like a peaceful civil war is beginning. Naomi Klein is calling for an “exodus from Zionism”. This piece of hers sounds like a call to action.

And Norman Finkelstein is teaching political science again at the college level. A couple days ago there was a picture of him speaking to students on the lawn at Columbia. Young people want to hear him.

With Klein and Finkelstein, the exodus from Zionism already has two strong, articulate leaders.

We need an exodus from Zionism | Naomi Klein theguardian.com

Excerpt

As waters rise and forests burn and nothing is certain, we pray at the altar of solidarity and mutual aid, no matter the cost.

We don’t need or want the false idol of Zionism. We want freedom from the project that commits genocide in our name. Freedom from an ideology that has no plan for peace other than deals with murderous theocratic petrostates next door, while selling the technologies of robo-assassinations to the world.

We seek to liberate Judaism from an ethnostate that wants Jews to be perennially afraid, that wants our children to be afraid, that wants us to believe the world is against us so that we go running to its fortress and beneath its iron dome, or at least keep the weapons and donations flowing.

That is the false idol.

And it’s not just Netanyahu, it’s the world he made and that made him – it’s Zionism.

What are we? We, in these streets for months and months, are the exodus. The exodus from Zionism.

And to the Chuck Schumers of this world, we do not say: “Let our people go.”

We say: “We have already gone. And your kids? They’re with us now.”

via The Hill

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) claimed Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an “obstacle” to a two-state solution between Israel and Gaza and said he should resign.

In an interview with RTÉ’s Six One News during a visit to Ireland, Pelosi spoke about the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Netanyahu’s counteroffensive that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

“We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu,” she said. “Terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response?”

“He should resign. He’s ultimately responsible,” she continued.

While criticizing Netanyahu’s leadership, Pelosi remained committed to supporting Israel because it has been the United States’s national security interest to do so, she said.

The former Speaker said Netanyahu has been a block to peace in the region “for years.”

“I don’t know whether he’s afraid of peace, incapable of peace, or just doesn’t want peace, but he has been an obstacle to the two-state solution,” Pelosi said. “I emphasize the word solution.”