Share this page!

LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Twitter logo
Aug 3 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Calling out AIPAC is NOT antisemitic. The left must oppose the corrupting role of money in politics, whatever the source. Conflating criticism of AIPAC with antisemitism is deeply cynical (especially from those who fund fascist insurrectionists). #Michiganprimary
Should we be careful to avoid antisemitic tropes when criticizing AIPAC and Israel? Definitely. But we should not allow the discomfort inherent in addressing a thorny topic prevent us from speaking out about the corruption of our political process.
I know for some Jews, hearing the terms “AIPAC” and “money in politics,” especially when spoken someone who is not Jewish, is inherently triggering. But don’t always assume a bad faith motive when the criticism is rooted in undeniable fact.
Antisemitism exists across the ideological spectrum. But the real threat is from the MAGA far right, which consists of fascists and literal Nazis who espouse antisemitic replacement theory. AIPAC should learn from our history and stop funding fascists.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with LeftOfTheDial

LeftOfTheDial Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @EricShapiro3

LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Aug 3
It is too often accepted as an article of faith that @RashidaTlaib (and apparently @CoriBush) are antisemitic. This is slander. Criticizing Israel and calling out the influence of AIPAC/money in politics is not inherently antisemitic.
Americans Jews with @IfNotNowOrg, @TheJewishVote and @jvpliveNY who support or have worked w/ Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush know they are not antisemites. But progressive Jewish voices are all too often drowned out in favor of a right-wing narrative.
I am sympathetic to, although slightly skeptical of, people who say their rhetoric touches on antisemitic tropes. It is difficult for even Jews with cultural fluency in discussing the role of AIPAC/money in politics to navigate that line perfectly.
Read 7 tweets
LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Aug 3
For a small but vocal minority of right-wing American Jews represented by AIPAC, an authoritarian America that blindly supports Israel is preferable to a liberal democracy that does not. Hence, funding insurrectionist Republicans. #AIPAC
The vast majority of American Jews, including Zionists, do NOT believe this. But GOP billionaires who fund AIPAC surely do. They are a cautionary tale of what happens when Jewish identity and democratic values are totally subsumed by right-wing Zionism.
This may not be Twitter appropriate, but it’s crucial for Jews and non-Jews alike to understand what we are dealing with and what AIPAC represents. “Jewish fascists” is not a term I ever thought I would use, but there are extremist versions of every faith.
Read 6 tweets
LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Aug 3
I wonder what my relatives murdered by Nazis would say if they knew AIPAC, an organization that claims to speak for American Jews, funds fascists? How do they justify it to themselves? How do they sleep at night? bit.ly/3zsaHCm
I picked @TimesofIsrael because anything to the left of that is “propaganda.”
The problem is not just that AIPAC funds via Super PACs candidates who deny Joe Biden won the 2020 election and participated in the insurrections. It is that they fund the people who espouse the antisemitic “replacement theory.” Hardly “friends of the Jews!”
Read 4 tweets
LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Aug 2
If Jeremy Corbyn was a U.S. pol, Glenn Greenwald would trash him just like he trashes Bernie Sanders and the Squad. The only praise Greenwald has for leftists these days is backhanded and meant to divide/disrupt. We can’t all be perfect like Tucker Carlson.
Glenn Greenwald is correct in saying U.S. progressives have not explicitly opposed arming Ukraine (although Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar have both spoken out). This is a function of the center of U.S. politics being further right than in other countries.
You known who has done more than any pols in recent memory to move U.S. politics left? Bernie Sanders and the Squad. They’re not perfect, but they’ve radicalized millions of Americans, including a new generation of anti-imperialists who oppose funding Ukraine.
Read 4 tweets
LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Aug 2
Except in much less time and with no corporate backing. The conservative movement benefitted greatly from the support of capital and a weak GOP establishment. What does the left have? The people, I hope.
“Progressives” defined broadly make up about 30% of the Democratic primary electorate. Our policies poll well, but there is what I’ll call a “cultural suspicion” of left ideology and terminology. Put a different way, our ideas are more popular than our brand.
Is 30% support for progressives within the Democratic Party a hard ceiling? I don’t think so. But we have to be smart and creative in how we grow our movement and reach people outside of the left’s comfort zone, all without abandoning core principles.
Read 8 tweets
LeftOfTheDial Profile picture
Aug 1
No matter the result of Joe Manchin’s “pitch” to Kyrsten Sinema, a government that relies on a duo like that to make big decisions and rubber-stamp legislation needs FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE.
I don’t know exactly what that fundamental change looks like, I know it’s not just a “Blue Wave” that does no more than perpetuate the same corrupt, undemocratic institutions.
A blue wave is the floor. Democrats have to start envisioning something more to aspire to than a Blue Wave or else I’m afraid a fascist GOP takeover is inevitable.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(