No matter what Trump and Stephen Miller try to do?
America marches on into the 21st Century….
Former Michigan state lawmaker Rashida Tlaib has won the Democratic nomination to run unopposed for a House seat, setting her up to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress.
No Republicans or third-party candidates ran in Tuesday’s district 13 primary race, meaning Tlaib is set to win the seat in November’s election. She would take the spot held since 1965 by John Conyers, who stepped down in December citing health reasons amid charges of sexual harassment.
Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, has previously said her decision to run was prompted by increasing attacks against American-Muslims and immigrants since US Donald Trump was elected.
“I didn’t run because my election would be historic,” Tlaib told ABC News last week. “I ran because of injustices and because of my boys, who are questioning their [Muslim] identity and whether they belong. I’ve never been one to stand on the sidelines.”
image….Angle News
I don’t know much about Tlaib, but electing the first Muslim woman is probably good for America because it helps make Muslims in this country feel like an American. It also reduces the persuasiveness of Muslim extremists who argue that the US is anti-Muslim.
Apparently in that district, Tlaib won the regular primary but lost the special election primary. It’s odd that could happen but there were two additional African-American candidates running in the regular primary as opposed to the special primary.
So, Brenda Jones is going to be a Member of Congress from November to January first.
Looking ahead, the black vote in the heavily African-American district was split many ways. I think Tlaib will have a tough time winning a primary in 2020 against consolidated black support.
Looking her up, Tlaib is pretty anti-Israel and pro-BDS. There will be a lot of Democrats who will want her out of Congress as soon as possible.
In 2016, Tlaib heckled Donald Trump at a rally. So, maybe we will get a Joe Wilson moment at the SOTU. That will be entertaining. Yes, she was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists.
Based on reports, she is very anti-Israel though. She accused Kamala Harris of racism, simply because she had a meeting with Netanyahu.
I’m confused about Rashida Tlaib and the Holy Land (or former British Mandate in Palestine).
On the one hand, and much to my regret as a long-time member, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) does support Boycotting, Divesting from & Sanctioning Israel (BDS) on roughly the South African model. I don’t know the details of either BDS or DSA’s support for it, but I understand that both sides consider it to be a one-state alternative to the two-state solution that was for a long time the consensus view in the U.S.
On the other hand, I saw these posts just after receiving a e-mail message celebrating Ms Tlaib’s victory from J Street, which opposes BDS and considers itself the leading advocate for Jewish Americans who still support a two-state solution. Part of the message reads:
“After her primary win in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, rising star and JStreetPAC endorsee Rashida Tlaib is now on course to become the first Muslim woman and the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress — a major milestone.
“We’re proud to help bring dynamic new voices like Rashida’s to Washington. As someone with family ties and deep personal roots in the region, she understands the hardships experienced on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and why it is so vital to pursue peace through a two-state solution.
“With this important perspective and experience, Rashida can serve as a powerful advocate for proactive, diplomacy-first US leadership in the Middle East.
“She and fellow changemakers in key districts across the country can make up a new Congress that will stand up to the Trump administration’s destructive agenda, and help put our country on the path to a better future.”
J Street is considered a fringe organizations among Jewish-American activists .She has apparently endorsed BDS before. She will have to speak for herself.
The BDS supporters do not support two states. They do not believe Israel should exist.
For two commentaries from 2013 by a Palestinian American (who wants a one-state solution) and a Jewish American (who wants two states) which argue that BDS is not in fact or in principle opposed to a two-state solution, see:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/if-you-want-two-states-support-bds
and
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-do-zionists-falsely-claim-bds-movement-opposes-two-state-solution
¶ However, I do see some inconsistency in Ali Abunimah’s suggestion that a Good Friday type agreement on the model of Northern Ireland would work in the Occupied Territories.
Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom so long as a majority of Norther Ireland’s voters want it to be. But they could instead decide to join the Republic (or, less likely, become independent of both Great Britain and Ireland). This hasn’t yet happened largely because so far a majority of Northern Ireland’s inhabitants are Protestant (favouring the continued Union) and not Roman Catholics.
But this kind of demographic continuity would hardly be guaranteed if BDS’s third demand were met:
“Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.”
Now, personally, I’ve never found it at all easy to reject the justice of this demand — no matter what fraction of Muslim departure after 1947-48 was impelled by Israeli action and what fraction by Arab leaders. (Mass exoduses of political, religious or ethnic refugees is rarely voluntary, as my Jewish grandparents born in Czarist Poland could have told you.)
But an Arab Right of Return would make a semi-stable status such as Northern Ireland’s for a state on both sides of the [Israeli-Arab] Green Line pretty unlikely to say the least.
The BDS website does not take a position on what the structure of the government should be. See FAQs in link.
https://bdsmovement.net/faqs#collapse16233
It seems to me that It is Israel that is most comfortable with a one state solution.
On a lighter note, can we call the BDS movement BDSM? On second thought, Maybe thst’s not a good idea. Who wants to search for potn and instead find a discussion if Israel’s Mistreatment of Palestinians.?
My understanding is that j Strret is a pro-Israel organization that wants to resolve the Israeli- Palestinian conflict peacefully and diplomatically. So it is generally not supportive of Netanyahu just as I consider myself pro-American, but not supportive of Donald Trump.