"Pro-Israeli forces intensify efforts to control American discourse"

"All those films that have been removed since 13 September have in common – I am talking about Israel, about the influence of AIPAC, about Larry Ellison, and the effort to subdue TikTok's Zionist control — in a way I criticize Israel. The same thing I heard from my audience, my friends, who are the creators. Since 13 September, they have precisely the same experience. More informative and critical films against Israel are removed."

During a gathering in late September with pro-Israeli "impactors" in social media Netanjah commended transfer of American ownership of TikTok. We must fight the weapons that are utilized on the battlefield we are dealing with, and the most crucial are on social media. And the most crucial acquisition that is presently happening is TikTok. Number one." Expressing hope that through "talking" with Elon Musk his X platform could be converted to be more protective of Israel, Netanyahu added, "If we can get these 2 things, we can accomplish many."

TikTok's takeover by Ellison is disturbing enough, but it wasn't his only media decision this year. He besides funded the acquisition by David Paramount Skydance's son, a media company controlling many movie and tv productions, including CBS. David Ellison rapidly stayed as chief CBS News Bari Weiss — Self-proclaimed "Zionist fanatic", who took a year's break before college to live on Israeli kibbutz.

The past of Weiss in arguing over the limits of acceptable speech to Israel reaches her second year on Columbia UniversityWhen she was part of a group of students who saidThat they were intimidated by professors of mediate east studies due to the Zionist views of students. The university panel concluded that Only one from alleged incidents was unacceptable behavior.

Both outsiders and online people are ready to push media coverage to Israel's advantage, and early signals are emerging confirming concerns about its bias. citing CBS executive sources, Wall Street Journal reported that abroad correspondent Chris Livesay, who was to be released as part of a simplification in employment prior to the arrival of Weiss, sent Weiss an email expressing his attachment to Israel and claiming that he was "terrorized" for his beliefs. Weiss intervened and saved Livesay from being released. another correspondents said JournalThat Livesay's claim of persecution is false.

In addition, expectations that CBS News State de facto Israeli PR medium, The fresh Network civilian rights spokesperson — an arbiter on editorial issues — besides has strong Zionist qualifications. The New York Times describes Kenneth Weinstein as "the strong and loud advocate of Israel." On X editor-in-chief Grayzone, Max Blumenthal, noted"that during 2021... Weinstein boasted of his Israeli lobbying qualifications, describing how he was prepared by the Tikvah Fund, a Likudnik training network that would grant Bari Weiss in November Herzl Prize" (Party Likud is an Israeli organization led by Netanjahu.)

Here's how Glenn Greenwald summed up TikTok and CBS:

TikTok's handing over to Israel friendly is not the only example of an intensified US government intervention in American public life to this tiny mediate East country. Much of the Trump administration's war against anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian statements focused on university campuses. In the most worrying specified decision in 2025, the Trump administration Arrested, imprisoned and attempted to deport abroad students solely for expressing support for Palestinians or opposition to the Israeli government.

The Most Cruel Example — Which Stark Realities analysed in item on early this year — concerns a 30-year-old Turkish doctorate at Tufts University, who was arrested on the street in Boston and transported to a dreary prison in Louisiana only for co-authoring a peacefully written column at Tufts Dailycalling on the university to formally specify Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide. and sale investments in schools linked to Israel.

This cruelly despotic maneuver is the thought of the Heritage Foundation. In 1 of the programming papers Think tank called on pro-Israeli groups and US government to identify pro-Palestinian activists as "in practice members Terrorist support networks", and then utilizing this characteristics to mark activists for deportation, expulsion from universities, court lawsuits, dismissals by employers and exclusions from "open society".

Israel’s supporters have long tried to suppress critics of the Israeli government, slandering them as anti-Semites. In 2016, this kind of mislabelation was codified in the definition of anti-Semitism that governments, universities and another institutions in the United States and around the planet now accept: the "working definition of anti-Semitism" of the global Holocaust Memorial Alliance.

Some elements of the definition of IHRA are reasonable, but another irrationally identify the criticism of the State of Israel with hatred of all Jews. For example definition IHRA says that anti-Semitic is "a message that the existence of the State of Israel is simply a racist undertaking" or simply "a comparison of the modern Israeli policy with Nazi policy".

Other vague elements of the definition are susceptible to creative interpretations, making false accusations easier about bigotry towards Israeli critics. For example, the IHRA argues that "the application of double standards requiring [Israel] behaviour that was not expected or required by any another democratic state is anti-Semitic." IHRA besides argues that it is anti-Semitic to make statements about "the strength of the Jews as a collective", which can place a individual who speaks of the tremendous influence of the pro-Israeli lobby on the target.

Likewise IHRA claims that "refuting Jews to self-determination" is anti-Semitic, which could trap those who, rightly or wrongly, advocate the replacement of the State of Israel new government agreement for land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, those who want statements to be controlled on behalf of Israel frequently point to the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" as naturally anti-Semitic.

As I wrote in an earlier article ("No country has the right to exist"):

State supporters of Israel can freely argue that this is simply a fair solution for 7.5 million Jews and 7.5 million Palestinians "between the river and the sea". However, presentation those who request a fresh arrangement, as inherently immoral, genocidal or anti-Semitic, is at most ignorant, And at worst, it's maliciously misleading.

Acting to slander Israeli critics and mislead public opinion and decision-makers, The Anti-Defamation League utilized broad definitions in numerically tracking anti-Semitic incidents — unreserved statistic cited by journalists and cited by pro-Israeli politicians.

For example, in early 2024, ADL claimed that in the first 3 months after the Hamas invasion of Israel on 7 October and the violent IDF attack on Gaza, the number of anti-Semitic incidents increased by 360%. ADL president Jonathan Greenblatt said that Jews faced a threat of "unprecedented in modern history." However, ADL admitted that for anti-Semitic incidents it counts all protests that included "anti-Zionist cheers and slogans".

Of course, exaggerating the scale of anti-Semitism not only facilitates efforts to suppress Israel's criticism: it besides helps ADL to justify its existence and increase fundraising. Overcalculation by ADL is nothing new. In 2017, ADL claimed that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States increased by 86% in the first 4th of the year, and the main media reported this story. However, a crucial proportion of the increase is due to the ADL decision to take account of the immense number of bomb threats sent by telephone to American synagogues and schools by Jewliving in Israel.

The definition of IHRA is at the forefront of a broad run to suppress sincere discussions about Israel and Palestine on university campuses, with many state governments ordering public schools to apply it to find what can and cannot be said.

Kenneth Stern of Bard College, the main creator of the 2004 definition of anti-Semitism, which was later adopted by the IHRA, opposed the usage of this definition as a weapon to suppress discourse at universities. "The past of abuse of the definition of IHRA shows that this desire is mostly political— not so much the desire to identify anti-Semitism, but alternatively to specify certain statements about Israel as anti-Semitic"--wrote Stern at the Knight First Declaration Institute.

Even in schools that have not adopted the definition of IHRA, activists and scientists critical of Israel and empathetic towards Palestinians are subject to countless false accusations of anti-Semitism, and universities are sued by pro-Israeli students who claim that schools tolerate anti-Semitism.

Analysis Stark Realitiesconcerning an 84-page complaint filed against the University of Pennsylvania showedThat almost all alleged "anti-Semitic incident" was just a coincidence,in which students, professors and guest speakers of Penn engaged in political expression with which supporters of the State of Israel powerfully disagreed. Eighteen months later, the national justice agreed. "In the worst case scenario, plaintiffs accuse Penn of tolerating and allowing opinions to disagree from their own" – wroteJudge Mitchell Goldberg, dismissing the case.

However, victories in court can only to any degree counter the freezing effect of campaigns that slander students, professors and institutions as anti-Semitic. This is peculiarly the case erstwhile the university's cash flows are at risk.

Major pro-Israeli donors withdrew or threatened to suspend donations to various schools, and these threats are credited as a reason to dismiss university rectors specified as Liz Magill from Penn. The force of donors besides prompted schools to adopt a problematic definition of IHRA anti-Semitism, closing Students for Justice in Palestine and disqualification of professors critical of Israel managers.

However, the biggest financial force on universities comes from the Trump administration, which not only suspended billions of dollars of backing for various colleges alleged for habitat anti-Semitism, but besides brought lawsuits and fined schools. Many give up, pay large sums to the government and make changes in politics and staff. Last week, Northwestern agreed to pay Federal government $75 million for the alleged deficiency of combat against "anti-Semitism". Earlier, Columbia had agreed to a fine of $200 million to be paid for 3 years and Brown will return 50 million.

There are also ways in which government power is utilized to suppress Israeli criticism and actions for Palestinians. Tens of states have passed laws prohibiting individuals and companies from entering into contracts with the state if they boycott or retreat from Israel. This led to a bizarre spectacle in which the Texans applied for extraordinary benefits hurricane affected were asked to confirm that they were not boycotting and would not boycott Israel. akin Federal measures were introduced, but not yet introduced.

Another proposed national Act is Anti-Semitism Awareness Actthat would require the Department of Education to apply the IHRA definition erstwhile assessing the allegations that universities tolerate anti-Semitism, fundamentally codifying Trump's executive regulation. In 2024 she passed through the home of Representatives by 320 votes to 91, but this year she was stuck in the legislature due to cross-party concerns about definitions. The committee annexed 7 amendments, including 1 explaining that criticism of the Israeli government is not anti-Semitism.

Disputable, supporters of the bill saidThat specified amendments are poison that will make it impenetrable.

Raw Reality undermines authoritative narratives, conventional wisdom storms and exposes fundamental myths from across the political spectrum. Join thousands of people who usage monthly information without ads in starkrealities.substack.com

* * Oh, * *

The views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of ZeroHedge

Translated by Google Translator

source:https://www.zerohedge.com/