Liberals Push Back Against Benjamin Netanyahu's Fence-Mending Effort

[Jesus Malverde]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech at a liberal Washington think tank is provoking outrage from some progressives who say that the appearance gives a bipartisan sheen to his government’s right-wing policies.

The Israeli leader’s scheduled November 10 appearance at the Center for American Progress, a Democratic left-leaning institution, is seen as an attempt by the Israeli leader to reach out to a liberal audience. Many have been alienated by recent events like Israel’s 2014 military campaign in Gaza, which involved high Palestinian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands left displaced or homeless.

“CAP is not just a think tank, it is also the standard bearer for progressive policies,” said Matt Duss, a former policy analyst at CAP who now heads the Foundation for Middle East Peace. “Netanyahu is trying to re-establish some kind of bipartisan credibility. I can understand what he has to gain from it, but what will CAP gain?”

In an interview with the Forward, CAP’s president, Neera Tanden, strongly defended her group’s decision to host the Israeli leader. “I don’t think Israel is a lost cause for progressives,” she said. “I’m a progressive and I believe in change, and that things change for the better.” Tanden rejected the notion that CAP should have turned Netanyahu away, saying that the institute “is a think tank that is dedicated to free exchange of ideas.”

http://forward.com/news/324204/liberals-push-back-against-benjamin-netanyahu-outreach-to-progressive-group/

[ibegurpard]

1. Israel is not a lost cause for progressives

But Netanyahu is.

[Jesus Malverde]

2. It's a mixed bag I suspect most Israeli liberals would prefer to live in the US or Europe.

Given the chance.

[geek tragedy]

5. a lot of them are in denial,nt

[Jesus Malverde]

6. Like many in the US, the days of socialist kibbutz's are long gone.

The reality of the religious nut jobs in the coalition and their apartied state plain to see for most.

Oddly enough the immigration policies to seek a less secular system don't favor them. I say give any Israeli who wants to live in safety in LA or NY a permanent resident visa and let the emigrate. They like the Palestinians around them are trapped and pawns in a sick game.

It's similar to anitwar Americans refused entry and refuge into Canada. As was the case years ago during the Vietnam war.

[geek tragedy]

7. in the US, demographics are moving the country in the right direction

it's the opposite in Israel

it's the rightwing nationalists and extreme-orthodox fundyclowns having all the kids there.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped M

Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped Militarism

LEAKED INTERNAL EMAILS from the powerful Democratic think tank Center for American Progress (CAP) shed light on several public controversies involving the organization, particularly in regard to its positioning on Israel. They reveal the lengths to which the group has gone in order to placate AIPAC and long-time Clinton operative and Israel activist Ann Lewis — including censoring its own writers on the topic of Israel.

The emails also provide crucial context for understanding CAP’s controversial decision to host an event next week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That event, billed by CAP as “A Conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” will feature CAP President Neera Tanden and Netanyahu together in a Q&A session as they explore “ways to strengthen the partnership between Israel and the United States.” That a group whose core mission is loyalty to the White House and the Democratic Party would roll out the red carpet for a hostile Obama nemesis is bizarre, for reasons the Huffington Post laid out when it reported on the controversy provoked by CAP’s invitation.

The emails, provided to The Intercept by a source authorized to receive them, are particularly illuminating about the actions of Tanden (right), a stalwart Clinton loyalist as well as a former Obama White House official. They show Tanden and key aides engaging in extensive efforts of accommodation in response to AIPAC’s and Lewis’ vehement complaints that CAP is allowing its writers to be “anti-Israel.” Other emails show Tanden arguing that Libyans should be forced to turn over large portions of their oil revenues to repay the U.S. for the costs incurred in bombing Libya, on the grounds that Americans will support future wars only if they see that the countries attacked by the U.S. pay for the invasions.

For years, CAP has exerted massive influence in Washington through its ties to the Democratic Party and its founder, John Podesta, one of Washington’s most powerful political operatives. The group is likely to become even more influential due to its deep and countless ties to the Clintons. As the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent put it earlier this year: CAP “is poised to exert outsized influence over the 2016 president race and — should Hillary Clinton win it — the policies and agenda of the 45th President of the United States. CAP founder John Podesta is set to run Clinton’s presidential campaign, and current CAP president Neera Tanden is a longtime Clinton confidante and adviser.”

https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/leaked-emails-from-pro-clinton-group-reveal-censorship-of-staff-on-israel-aipac-pandering-warped-militarism/

[geek tragedy]

4. CAP is a third way milquetoast subsidiary of Clinton Inc.

Greenwald's expose showed what a sniveling sell out Tanden is.

Maybe they can offer Marine Le Pen an invitation next.