3rd Congressional Representative Hillary Scholten and the Israeli Apartheid State

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution stating:

(1) the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state;

(2) Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia; and

(3) the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.

The vote was 412 for, 9 against and 1 present, demonstrating once again that if you are a member of Congress, one cardinal sin is to speak ill of the State of Israel. Just ask Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who, on July 16th, had called Israel a racist state. The backlash against the US Representative from Washington was swift and harsh.

The national media watchdog group, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) looked at the news coverage after Rep. Pramila Jayapa made her comment and it is pretty astounding how the mainstream commercial news media is essentially an echo chamber for the decades long US support for Israel. What is equally astounding is the fact that none of the national news coverage ever bothered to verify if the State of Israel is racist. The FAIR article provides ample evidence that the claim that Israel is a racist or an Apartheid State is well founded, citing several human rights reports, such as:

In 2021, Human Rights Watch (4/27/21) published a lengthy report spelling out its determination that Israel had committed crimes of apartheid against Palestinians, which is defined under international law as an intent to maintain a system of domination by one racial group over another; systematic oppression by one racial group over another; and one or more inhumane acts, as defined, carried out on a widespread or systematic basis pursuant to those policies.

HRW explained, for those inclined to split hairs, that this applies to Palestinians because under international law, “race and racial discrimination have been broadly interpreted to include distinctions based on descent, and national or ethnic origin, among other categories.”

Earlier the same year, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem (1/12/21) released a report declaring Israel an “apartheid regime.”

Amnesty International (2/1/22) followed the next year, publishing a 280-page report titled “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians” that declared that

Amnesty International concludes that the State of Israel considers and treats Palestinians as an inferior non-Jewish racial group.

These reports came about after Israel in 2018 passed a law with constitutional status that declares Israel is the “nation-state of the Jewish people,” and that “the right of national self-determination in the state of Israel is unique to the Jewish people”—in other words, that Israel is not a nation-state for its Palestinian residents, whether accorded citizenship or not, and that Palestinians subject to Israel’s control have no right to self-determination.

As B’Tselem explained in its report:

It is true that the Israeli regime largely followed these principles before. Yet Jewish supremacy has now been enshrined in basic law, making it a binding constitutional principle—unlike ordinary law or practices by authorities, which can be challenged. This signals to all state institutions that they not only can, but must, promote Jewish supremacy in the entire area under Israeli control.

Despite these reports by reputable human rights organizations, the US media didn’t bother to question the “special relationship” that the US has had with Israel for more than 50 years. In fact, this “special relationship” means that the US has made Israel the number one recipient of military aid for decades, with the current annual amount at $3.8 Billion.

In addition to the near unanimous US House resolution in support of Israel, the US Congress hosted Israeli President Herzog, with only a few Democrats chasing to boycott the Israeli leader’s address last week. The 3rd Congressional District Representative, Hillary Scholten, got in line to support the Bi-partisan support for Israel. 

In her weekly newsletter, Rep. Scholten wrote:

We also had the honor of hosting Israeli President Herzog to address the House for a joint session of Congress this week. In a time of rising anti-Semitism at home, and increasing instability in the Middle East, it was so important to stand together as a Congress and listen to President Herzog’s words, and discuss how we can work for more peace and justice in the region. I’m looking forward to being able to visit Israel twice in the next year to learn and also serve as an ambassador for West Michigan.

Ok, so it was an honor to host the President of a country that practices apartheid? For those who are unfamiliar with the claim that Israel practices apartheid, I would suggest they read the educational material on the site of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which is a global campaign. Israel does not provide stability in the Middle East, rather they act more as a cop to prevent popular revolt, plus they are the only nuclear weapons power in the region. For background on Israel’s role in the area, read Phyllis Bennis’s Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer, Jonathan Cook’s Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair, or Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy, by Jon Soske and Josh Jacobs. Another excellent resource on the US relationship with Israel, is documentary film Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land. 

Also, if Rep. Scholten is planning on visiting Israel, they should meet with the Israeli Human Rights group, B’Tselem, along with spending time at Israeli check points, Israeli prisons and the Israeli Settlements, which the United Nations have deemed as illegal. In fact, the only two countries that consistently vote against claiming that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, are the US and Israel. The rest of the world supports the claims of the Palestinians. 

Lastly, it is worth noting that Rep. Scholten, like most members of Congress, has received campaign contributions from Pro-Israeli groups, as is documented by Open Secrets, show here below. While Rep. Scholten is not one of the top recipients of Pro-Israel money, like Michigan Senator Gary Peters, she has only been in the House of Representatives since the beginning of this year.