Ilan Goldenberg

It’s now been 4 years since I gave my dad a kidney and we are still doing great. If you have a loved one in need, take the time to learn the facts about kidney donation. If you need a transplant, don’t be afraid to ask. I hope this article helps. vox.com/future-perfect…

2 years ago on Election Day Trump was promising peace in the Middle East. This time ending FMF to Israel. Goes to show how much things have moved politically, and simultaneously how much we can’t trust what he says to actually happen.

This is either incredibly dishonest or just a very lazy lazy take. Read the legislation. It focuses on new settlements in the West Bank and Gaza or existing settlements in areas that threaten a viable Palestinian state. No that doesn’t include the Jewish quarter of the old city. 

This is exactly the type of deceptive/lazy “analysis” you used to help tank the JCPOA making things up about the agreement and how it would quickly lead to a nuclear bomb while claiming that of course you didn’t want a war just more pressure. Now we’ve had that war you supposedly didn’t want, but then cheerlead for, and it’s been a catastrophe for US interests.  Glad you are bringing your sharp “analysis” to this new problem.

For 50 years, American leaders have asked Israel to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank. For 50 years, Israeli governments have refused. It is past time to stop asking and start imposing consequences, and in the past week we are starting to see the beginnings of a new approach.

First with a narrower bill in the Senate led by Senators Coons, Warren, Wyden, and Gallego that would impose sanctions on anyone supporting construction in E1. And now a broader bill in the house led by Castro, Dean, Beyer, Casar, and Jacobs with 40 of their colleagues.

It is time for the United States to impose targeted sanctions on entities that finance, build and support settlement expansion that threatens the viability of a Palestinian state, and on officials responsible for it.

This is bigger than Netanyahu. Settlement growth has continued under Israeli governments across the political spectrum. The settlement movement is organized and politically powerful. Palestinians living under occupation cannot vote in Israeli elections. There is little domestic political counterweight. Polite or even loud American objections have never been enough to change that calculation. Targeted sanctions could.

How would you do this? Start by actually designating the worst offenders: organizations and entities supporting the tremendous boom in farming outposts over the past few years from which most of the violent attacks and officials such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir who are behind the effort. Make an example of them and make it much harder for them to operate.

Then give other companies and financial institutions a deadline to wind down activities that support settlement construction.

What you would likely get relatively quickly is a de facto settlement freeze on Israeli construction in the West Bank. Israeli banks are quite risk averse and deeply value their connection to the U.S. and international banking system. They would respond relatively quickly by pulling out from all of these projects. You’d have to couple that with continued targeting of the most problematic settlements and activities that threaten the viability of a Palestinian state, but you could fundamebntally shift the momentum.

Over time there would also be a change in incentives for settlers. Many live in the West Bank because housing is cheaper and subsidies are generous. If living in the settlements becomes financially harder, if new construction and roads aren’t happening, if businesses are pulling out since it’s simply too risky to operate, some of these settlers will choose to move inside green line Israel and you start changing the overall momentum on the ground.

Importantly, this approach targets the settlement enterprise, which makes it distinctly different from the BDS movement which calls for sanctions on al of Israel and boycotts on Israelis including those working for a better future with Palestinians.

And once Palestinians and Israelis can agree on a map, which likely means Israel keeping many of the settlements in exchange for unpopulated land beyond the Green Line, Israelis can build to their hearts content inside those borders.

The reality is that only the President of the United States with the tools of the executive branch can fully implement such an approach. But it is vital for members of Congress to start going on the record, building political support for a future policy, and beginning to signal to Israeli companies that it's time to stop investing in or supporting the settlements. That is why the new legislation this week is so important.

After 50 years of failed persuasion, the settlement movement needs to face consequences.

castro.house.gov/media-center/p…

Meet with Hamas but not with Abbas. Because that makes sense as US policy….