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Sean Savage

“Christian Zionists have had a relationship with every Prime Minister since [David] Ben-Gurion. That will not change,” said Christians United for Israel spokesman Ari Morgenstern.
Jackie Goodall, executive director of the Ireland-Israel Alliance, called the adoption a “damaging day for Ireland’s reputation on the world stage.”
“Policy Order #109 had one clear purpose—to leverage the Cambridge City Council to advance the narrow political interests of advocacy groups whose sole purpose is the demonization, isolation and eventual destruction of the State of Israel,” said Rob Leikind of the American Jewish Committee.
They have been calling into question this ironclad support for Israel. In recent months, legislation has been by Democrats such as Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) to condition U.S. aid to Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians.
In national press briefings and internationally, the United States has backed up a pledge to defend its ally. But that comes against pressure by progressive lawmakers and even some more moderate congress members who have issued statements that can be perceived as having moral equivalency between Israeli and Palestinian actions.
“Amid nuclear negotiations that will soon yield the Islamic Republic a massive windfall, the Biden administration is on the cusp of indirectly providing Hamas with the cash it needs to replenish its rocket supplies,” said Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The final vote was 40 to expel, 48 against it with 10 abstentions. ZOA’s Mort Klein took aim at J Street and other progressive groups, saying these “radical adversaries condemned ZOA based on a set of distortions, absurdities and blatant lies.”
“Too often in Democrat and leftist circles, we witness a singular focus on white supremacy to the exclusion of radical leftist anti-Zionism and radical Islamist Jew-hatred,” said Ellie Cohanim, deputy special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism during the Trump administration.
“The purpose is not simply to mandate a look back in history. It is about our forward-facing goal of improving our future as a society by reflecting upon tragedies and injustices of the past from which key lessons must be learned,” said Arizona State Sen. Paul Boyer.
In letters to Zoom and UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, the organization notes that the event featuring Leila Khaled could violate federal law by providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.
In a nod to the controversy, the Membership Committee did recommend that the organization adopt language to make clear its stance against white supremacism and racism.
Plans in the works are not only to restart funding for UNRWA; the new administration is pushing more fiscal aid and a return to the negotiating table as Palestinians head for elections in May.