Elijah Cummings, Make the Democratic Party Stand Up For Human Rights

On Friday June 24th, The Democratic Party Platform committee met in St. Louis to debate a draft of the party’s platform. The committee’s 15 members were made up of 6 appointees from Secretary Hillary Clinton, 5 appointees from Senator Bernie Sanders and 4 appointees from Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (including herself). Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings presided over the proceedings as chairman of the committee.

One of the more contentious issues that was debated was the party’s position on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Dr. James Zogby, a Sanders surrogate, proposed an amendment specifically calling for the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and condemning the illegal Israeli settlements. The amendment also removed derogatory references to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement which were in the draft. This amendment was rebuffed on an 8-5 vote with only the Sanders appointees voting for it (Cummings and Wasserman-Schultz didn’t vote).

The draft platform will now head to Orlando for another markup session and then to the floor of the Democratic Presidential Convention in Philadelphia at the end of July where more Democrats may get to weigh in on Palestinian human rights.

Prior to Friday’s session, we tried unsuccessfully to arrange a meeting with Congressman Cummings to urge him to support the Sanders position vis-a-vis Israel/Palestine. We now urge him to support the language of Zogby’s amendment in upcoming party meetings.

For too long, the Democratic Party Platform has been silent -- or worse hypocritical -- on the human rights of Palestinians. It’s time to end this hypocrisy. In 2012, the party’s platform contained a statement proclaiming Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital” -- even though President Obama’s own State Department (headed by then-Secretary Clinton) didn’t recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and insisted it must be divided between Israel and Palestine. What sense does it make for the Democratic Platform to contradict the official policy of the Democratic President who wrote it?

Such duplicity at the expense of Palestinian rights is no longer acceptable to many Democrats. Surveys show that self-described American liberals now sympathize with Palestinians more than they do with Israelis. Black Lives Matter activists routinely draw a parallel between their struggle and the fight for Palestinian freedom. Undoubtedly this is due to the decades of occupation and apartheid-like conditions that the Israeli government has imposed on the Palestinian people. During the Presidential debates, Senator Sanders received widespread praise when he criticized Israel’s “disproportionate” use of force during the 2014 war with Gaza. The non-violent movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel is gaining steam because people rightfully see it as an analog to the movement that helped end apartheid in South Africa.

Congressman Cummings likely already knows about the dehumanization that the occupation inflicts on Palestinians. They live as non-citizens in their own land. In East Jerusalem their homes are subject to demolition because as non-Jews they cannot get construction permits. In the West Bank they can’t dig wells to irrigate their crops and feed their livestock. In Gaza, they aren’t permitted to travel outside the tiny enclave -- even to visit family in Europe or America. Palestinians in the diaspora are not allowed to resettle in the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile Jewish people from all over the world are encouraged to emigrate, instantly get Israeli citizenship and take up residence in illegal Israeli settlements built on West Bank land land illegally taken from Palestinians. Knowing all this, it is disappointing that Congressman Cummings didn’t vote for Zogby’s amendment. He missed an opportunity to change the course of the Democratic Party which for too long has favored the occupier instead of the occupied.

If language from Zogby’s amendment isn’t inserted into the platform, Mr. Cummings might find himself on the floor of the Democratic Convention faced with a revolt from assembled delegates. Memorably, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa found himself in this position in 2012 when he gaveled through the united-Jerusalem amendment on a voice-vote over the overwhelming boos of the rank-and-file.

Congressman Cummings is uniquely positioned to advocate for Palestinians long suffering under military occupation. Will he take this opportunity to make a bold statement for justice? Or will he tow the line on stale party orthodoxy?

Saqib Ali,

Chairman, Marylanders For BDS

Sammy Al-Qassem,

Founding Member, Baltimore Palestine Solidarity

You can boycott Iran. You can boycott North Carolina. Just don't boycott Israel.

You can boycott Iran.
You can boycott North Carolina.

Just don't boycott Israel.

This morning I was the subject of this charming blog post from David Lublin drawing attention to my support for Palestinian human rights as if the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement (BDS)  is something that should turn people off. I asked David to run my response but he refused. So I'll just post it here.

David (a professor of Government at American University) seems startled by the idea, but Israeli settlements do indeed fit the legal definition of a war crime. Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the International Criminal Court Rome Statute defines "[t]he transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies" as a war crime. It's right there in black and white. Who can argue that the settlements don't meet this definition? Of course that's why Netanyahu wants Palestinians not to take this issue to the ICC. Legal experts agree that they would likely win.

Settlements aren't the only war crimes inflicted on the Palestinians. Watch this gut-wrenching video of an (off camera) Israeli sniper shooting to death a Palestinian civilian who was simply searching through the rubble of his Gaza neighborhood. Isn't intentionally targeting civilians a war crime? Of course it is -- just as much as Hamas shooting rockets at Israeli civilians is also a war crime. So why shouldn't the government carrying out these activities face a boycott?

Apparently these are the rules for the Progressive Except Palestine (PEP) folks: A boycott of Iran is Ok. A boycott of North Carolina over its anti-transgender law is Ok (and even noble). But boycotting Israel for the occupation is off-limits. How can that possibly be? It makes no sense. Are Palestinian lives somehow less worthy than everyone else's? Until someone can explain this glaring double-standard, I'm not buying David's insinuation that that BDS is a bad word. And neither should you.

What this is really about is David trying to make me politically radio-active because of my support for Palestinian human rights. For a long time supporters of Israel's occupation have sought to police the discourse around this topic so that criticism of the occupation remains extremely mild & timid. Those days are over. 

Now young American Jews are swelling the ranks of pro-BDS organizations like If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace. We have Bernie Sanders criticizing the destruction of Gaza during a nationally televised debate. Leading Zionists like Peter Beinart calling for a boycott of the illegal Israeli settlements. Black Lives Matter activists routinely tout Palestinian rights as a parallel movement for equality. American Muslims are becoming a political force within Democratic circles, and politicians seeking their support are increasingly paying heed to their views.

Sympathy for Palestinian human rights is shifting rapidly. BDS may not be "mainstream" today. But so what? As a longtime and outspoken advocate for gay rights (I salute you), David should know better than others that the mainstream position is not always the right one. 

David's attempt to make me radio-active will fail. But hopefully this will spark a wider conversation among his readers: If it's OK to boycott North Carolina for human rights, why isn't it OK to boycott Israel for the same?

Think about it....

PS. Yes, I will do whatever I can to help elect George Leventhal as the next County Executive. He's a thoroughly decent human being. Sixteen solid years of progressive legislating, 2 stints as Council President and an unwavering dedication to help those who need it most makes him my choice. He hasn't (yet?) launched his candidacy but I'm working hard to persuade him. If you want to join the effort to recruit George, join this list-serve.