For decades, the most prominent American unions were largely supportive of Israel. Today, though, amid a resurgence of the American labor movement, some activists are urging their unions to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and succeeding — a change that reflects a broader generational shift.
But many unions are divided over what stance to take or whether to take any stance at all.
Some American labor leaders have remained supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas, and moved swiftly to condemn Hamas’s attacks on Oct. 7. They are dismayed by the views of a younger generation of organizers who in some cases oppose Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.
“There has been a shift in society, and that’s reflected in the labor movement as it is every place else,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Jewish Labor Committee and head of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
AIPAC is such a tiny player in politics, which is obvious to anyone who can do basic addition. They do make a convenient scapegoat to distract from the real power players influencing US policy.
The USA gives twice the arms to Saudi Arabia than Israel. Ten times more Houthis have been killed than Gazans. At least twice as many are displaced.
I’m not defending AIPAC. I’m pointing out that there is a bizarre and disproportionate vilification of one of the smallest players in the game. AIPAC is smaller than the Real Estate, Finance, or Oil lobby. When was the last time you saw a protester with a sign condemning the Susquehanna International Group, or Thiel Capital, or National Assn of Realtors? They all dwarf the size of the little Israel lobby.
Think about who the distraction benefits.
I think AIPAC is blamed too much for American support, because America has a special interest in Israel already. If Israel didn’t exist, America would have to create it to serve her interests. That’s not a secret, but blaming AIPAC is a way that Americans try to absolve our government from the evil it commits i.e. “it’s not America’s fault, it’s those damn lobbyists!”
We shouldn’t blame AIPAC for our own government supporting genocide. That’s just ordinary American policy.
But uh, the recent pledge of $100M is more than any of the groups you listed as well - though who knows, maybe the others will start putting up more cash to compete. Also, do they actually do anti-Israel lobbying? Pretty sure that’s just oil lobbying.
Do you think that’s also why there is such a disproportionate focus on the Israel-Hamas war as opposed to others in Yemen, Sudan, etc. that have such a higher humanitarian cost?
I think the focus comes from how important Israel is to the US. Israel is the 51st state, all those other countries are just vassals on the periphery of the empire. That’s why Biden can say he’ll make Saudi a pariah, yet Israeli visitors have visa free travel to the US.
Think of it more like the Iraq War than a foreign war. It’s not really just some foreign country attacking another - it’s us vs them.