AFP photo
By
Sami Jamil Jadallah
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, the recently fired CNN contributor, should be glad and happy he is alive and escaped the lynching by angry Israeli-First mobs and the Hollywood sponsored IDF firing squad.
No one in America dares to criticize Israel and survive a job or profession. Anyone who ever doubts the toxic power and influence Israel have over US media, politics, academic, even financial institutions, should think twice. Criticizing Israel and its Military and Settler’s Occupation is not a crime, nor is Anti-Semitism. Those who think so have a mental problem.
The immediate dismissal of Marc Lamont Hill by CNN comes after he made a statement at the UN in which he called for a free Palestine from sea to river, which to the very sensitive Zionist forces in the US is deemed racist and Anti-Semitic and calling for Israeli destruction.
No one in CNN and other major networks wants to hear any calls for justice for Israelis and for Palestinians. Marc Lamont Hill’s message “it was a call for justice, both in Israel and for the West Bank/Gaza. I support Palestinian freedom; I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policies and practices.” What in the hell is so wrong and offensive to Zionist America with these words? Nothing.
Though I did search and review some of the postings on who’s who in American media, I chose not mention it here leaving it to the readers to do their own search to see that the mainstream media is a powerful proponent of Israeli-First.
The last time I checked First Amendment cases, even hate speech is protected speech. In a unanimous vote of the US Supreme Court in the case of Matal v Tam no hate speech is an exception except ‘such speech is directed to inciting imminent lawless action’. Marc Lamont Hill’s statement certainly does not come close to hate speech and certainly did not create an immanent lawless action. However, CNN and major media in the US, including the US Congress, are rewriting the First Amendment by passing laws that makes criticism of Israel a felony punishable by fine and imprisonment.
Leading the charge for such legislation is none other than the leading liberal Senate Democratic Leader, Chuck Schumer, an Israeli-First who is using his position to erode freedom of speech, association and assembly, basic rights of the American people in favor of his love and first loyalty Israel.
With so much power and influence over America, the Israeli lobby and Zionist money machines have made major inroads in state politics managing to get many states to rewrite freedom to choose “boycott” Israel a felony and denying any company or business or individuals that support the BDS, boycott of illegally and criminal Israeli settlements, from doing business with the state.
Now let us compare boycotting armed, illegal trespassing settlements on stolen Palestinian properties and boycotting the Israeli Military Occupation with the outrage over North Carolina’s decision on the use of “gender neutral toilets”.
Fifty years of armed and colonial settlers’ occupations, over 550 humiliating security checkpoints where millions of Palestinians must face and go through every day, processed like cattle. Fifty years of arbitrary arrests and administrative imprisoned for months and years without trial or public evidence, while over one million Palestinians have been “guests” of Israeli military jails, tens of thousands of home demolitions under the pretenses of ‘building without permits” with Palestinians having to wait for tens of years to get a license to build a house or add to a house. Meanwhile, criminal trespassing settlers can simply seize Palestinian land and build on it, raid towns and villages, desecrate churches and mosques, even forcing a young teenage Palestinian to drink gasoline and then setting him on fire.
Mr. Schumer and many American liberal hypocrites are upset about the North Carolina toilet issue but not bothered or offended with 50 years of military occupation by Israel.
Of course it is OK to boycott North Carolina over its “toilet issue” but it is not Ok to boycott Israeli settlements and their products. Pay Pal canceled a $2.6 billion project, Ringo Starr cancelled his concert, NCAA canceled its tournament, with Costar, Adidas and Deutsche Bank following suit. Everyone became upset with calls for a boycott of North Carolina over the choice of a toilet, but they seem unmoved by the cruelest military and longest occupation in modern history.
There are too many cases of professors losing their jobs because they criticize Israel and support Palestinian rights for a free state, with many rich donors putting pressure on leading academic institutions to make sure Pro-Palestinian professors have no place or tenure, or that Pro-Palestinian groups can exercise their freedom of speech and assembly on college campuses. Otherwise accusations of terrorism and Anti-Semitism fly all over the place. These Anti-Palestinian groups are fully funded by rich and powerful American Zionist Jews. Even the State of Israel sponsors and pays for its agents on college campuses.
Let us remember the words of Haaretz, the leading Israeli paper; “In the US media, Israel is untouchable.” Perhaps our media will be more open about Israel if its executives and leading correspondents were Israelis, not American Zionist Jews.
PS – Recently Hollywood stars held a benefit dinner for the IDF raising $33 million in one night. Of course these “stars” never sponsored such a benefit for the American GI’s USO. They simply have their loyalty with the IDF, but not the American soldiers.
Sami Jamil Jadallah
Sami Jamil Jadallah is a US citizen, an immigrant from Palestine with over 35 years of international legal and business experience in the US, Middle East, Europe and North Africa. He is a Veteran of the US Army and holds a BA degree in political science and economics, a master degree in public and environmental affairs and doctor of jurisprudence from Indiana University.
Active in international and local affairs, Sami is a co-drafter of the Preamble for the Constitution of the One State for All of its People in Palestine and is active in veteran’s affairs in support of their re-integration in American society. He lectures and writes on a variety of topics including terrorism, social, economic and political issues related to the US and the Middle East.
Sami believes that education is the only way to transform the Middle East into a peaceful productive region and calls on all foreign troops to get out of the Middle East, leaving the people to shape their own destiny. Sami is in semi-retirement but fully engaged in voluntary work and engaged in the peace movement in the Middle East.