What You Should Know This Week 5/14/21
What’s happening in Gaza?
You’ve probably seen an increase in discussion on the violence taking place in Israel and Palestine and there’s also probably a good chance you don’t know exactly what’s happening.
It’s our goal with these newsletters to provide easy to understand analysis on the issues that matter most to young civically engaged leaders in our community. It’s hard to do that sometimes because no matter what, some issues are not going to be easily articulated in a page or two of content. But we’re going to try our best, because that’s what we do.
First, what’s going on and why has this topic exploded this week?
This Al-Jazeera article offers a comprehensive timeline of what’s led to recent escalation.
What’s the, to-long-didn’t-read version of what’s happening?
Palestinians are facing forced expulsion from a neighborhood that Israel has no legal right to. Peaceful protests in response to the Israeli Supreme Courts decision to expel Palestinian families led to an extreme crackdown from Israeli police forces during the holy month of Ramadan. Israeli police violence in the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, injured more than 300 Palestinian people. Hamas, described by Vox as, “a Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant group that governs Gaza independently of the Palestinian Authority” issued an ultimatum for Israeli forces to vacate that mosque and the neighborhood in question by Monday. The next day, Hamas fired rockets into Israel, killing at least two Israelis. Israel responded with waves of missile strikes all week and claimed to have killed several Hamas commanders, but the death total has now reached 120 people including at least 31 children.
Now, hardline Israeli citizens and police clash with Palestinian protesters across Jerusalem and elsewhere in the country and UN officials fear of a civil war. On Thursday morning, it was reported that Israeli military officials were drawing up plans for a ground invasion of Gaza and could present a proposal to the Israeli government as soon as possible.
Looking to understand a little more about the past and how we got here?
We recommend this great Independent article, which offers a comprehensive timeline of the historical context at play.
This one is a little more difficult to sum up in a paragraph or two but we highly recommend you reading it through. It’s helpful in contextualizing Zionist claims and their colonial backings, to the disputed land that is now Israel and Palestine. It’s especially important for us as American readers to get the background right, considering the United States has been a major player in both brokering peace and legitimizing Israel as a nation, and supplying it with military aid. Definitely take the time to read this article if you can.
Need other forms of media?
If you’re an auditory or visual learner, we recommend checking out this other media: 1) listen to Crooked Media’s podcast Pod Save the World from Obama administration foreign policy experts “Clashes in Israel and Gaza” and 2) watch The Daily Show with Trevor Noah “Israel and Palestine. Let’s talk about it.”
What are the main points we hope you take away?
It’s not anti-Semitic to oppose the lopsided violence committed by Israel. We believe that it’s wrong to paint anyone as prejudicial of the Jewish people for being critical of the state of Israel. Let’s separate those two things.
It’s also not pro-Hamas to advocate for Palestinians right to protest (which is what was happening in Jerusalem’s neighborhoods this week) and take action on Israel’s occupation. We believe it’s wrong to paint anyone as an advocate of violence from Hamas simply for having solidarity for the Palestinian people.
Republicans uphold and champion Trump’s big lie. Again.
What does the GOP stand for other than Trump’s big lie that the 2020 election was stolen? If you have ideas, DM us on Instagram at @cpnxt or email daniel@commonpower.org . We just don’t know anymore, and we would laugh about it if it weren’t for things like what’s taken place this week!
Let’s break it down.
First, the House Republican Caucus voted to remove Rep. Liz Cheney from leadership in the party because she rejected the big lie, opposes Donald Trump, and stands for truth. After being elected in 2016 and being voted to leadership in 2018, Cheney was the number three in Republican House seniority.
Before we go any further, let’s get something clear: we’re not Liz Cheney fans here at CP Next. She is opposed to gay marriage, opposed to a woman’s right to choose, has advocated for the abolishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, And of course, her dad, Dick, started an illegitimate war with Iraq and she worked in his administration's Department of State before going on to represent Wyoming’s only congressional district in 2016.
So let’s just say she’s not our type of politician.
But, to her credit, she has been one of the few Republican members of Congress to be outspoken about what really happened in 2020. Cheney was one of 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump after the Capitol Insurrection on January 6th, and the only member of Republican leadership to do so. Now, 9 of those 10 members have primary challengers.
It immediately resulted in political blowback for her, as the party struggles to understand it’s positions and core values. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who at one time was critical of Trump’s behavior on January 6th, has since flipped, as he’s known to do, to openly criticize Cheney for her stance, saying she’s out of touch with the grassroots sentiment in the party.
What’s the simple translation and what’s next?
The GOP has once again taken lies over truth by demoting and making an example of Cheney, once a powerful figure for conservatives. It also means that the party openly chooses to accept Trumpism heading into the 2022 midterms. A recent CNN poll found that as many as 70% of Republican voters still believe the election was rigged against Donald Trump. Wednesday’s move confirms that the party chooses to follow it’s misguided voters and the man who perpetrates it’s most successful myths.
In a statement after Wednesday’s vote, Cheney declared that she “will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.” We’ll see just how far she goes.
That’s the national level, but what’s happening in the states?
Remember our first article about the Arizona GOP and their efforts to widen and deepen voter suppression? Well, they’re back!
On Tuesday, Arizona’s Republican Governor, Doug Ducey, signed Senate Bill 1485 into law, which would restrict access to mail in ballots.
Let’s break it down.
Currently, anyone in Arizona can sign up to be a part of the Permanent Early Voting List, meaning they receive a ballot directly from the state in advance of every election. A voter can only be removed if their registration is canceled, the election materials mailed to that voter are returned as undeliverable, or that voter requests in writing to be removed from the list. Arizona has a 27 day early voting period prior to an election.
Senate Bill 1485 is trying to restrict the number of people on the Permanent Early Voting List, by changing it to an Active Voting List. This means that anyone who does not vote in a primary or general election for two consecutive election cycles will be removed from the list, limiting their access to an early ballot and ballot drop boxes.
Having more time to cast your ballot and the option to drop off a ballot in a drop box instead of a mandatory polling location, are voter friendly practices. Democrats and national voting rights advocates call the law an attempt to disenfranchise voters, and project that as many as 125,000 Arizonans will be dropped from the early ballot list, including 30,000 Hispanic voters in the state. Stacey Abrams has called SB 1485 a “devastating anti-voter bill.”
What’s this mean?
Simply put, it’s another example of successful voter suppression legislation making waves across the country. Georgia has been successful. Florida has been successful. And now, Arizona is making it harder to vote.
To sum it up beautifully, we end with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar’s May 10th tweet: “Making it harder for someone to vote just because they did not vote for YOU is not how our democracy works.”