A whopping 38 organizations are planning to picket Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, starting today (Monday).
One particularly thorny stop on the Prime Minister’s itinerary will be his appearance at the liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) on Tuesday, where he will be interviewed by its president Neera Tanden.
The child of Indian immigrants from Massachusetts, Tanden worked for the 2008 Hillary Clinton campaign and served as domestic policy director for President Barack Obama’s second presidential campaign.
The usual suspects – American Muslims for Palestine, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, Code Pink, Jewish Voice for Peace, RootsAction and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation – served up petitions with 26,300 signatures, demanding that CAP cancel the event.
These groups essentially argued that there’s no way a progressive would even dream of having a dialogue on Palestine except with Palestinians.
On the day of Tuesday’s event, expect to find “Netanyahu is #NotProgressive” pickets outside the Center for American Progress, 1333 H St. NW, Washington DC, care of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.
But before that event takes place, there’s the minor issue of the first meeting between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Israel since their spring and summer fisticuffs over the Iran nuclear deal.
Starting at 9 a.m. today (EST), there will be ample pickets outside the White House, sponsored by the ANSWER coalition. Organizers will demand three relatively modest things: Stop all US aid to Israel;
send Netanyahu to the International Criminal Court for War Crimes; and, naturally, self-determination and liberation for the Palestinian people.
Later, from 5-8 p.m., there will be a “No US Tax Dollars for Israel” rally outside the National Building Museum, 401 F Street NW, Washington DC, where the American Enterprise Institute will honor Netanyahu.
The rally, endorsed by those 38 anti-Israel NGOs, will feature Max Blumenthal, Phyllis Bennis, Dr. Osama Abuirshaid and the Rev. Graylan Hagler, all known Israel haters.
It’s going to be a full couple of days for anti-Israelis in Washington DC. The temperatures should stay around 55-60 degrees, with afternoon and evening showers both days.
Bring an umbrella.