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Thursday, Dec 8, 2011 5:09 PM UTC2011-12-08T17:09:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

Right-wing listserv targets Israel’s critics

Ex-AIPAC official urges conservative journalists to echo charges of "anti-Semitism"

Josh Block

Josh Block  (Credit: Reuters/Fox/Salon)

The former spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is shopping a 3,000-word trove of opposition research against bloggers critical of Israel to friendly neoconservative journalists.

I’ve obtained an email sent by Josh Block to a private listserv called the Freedom Community, in which he throws around accusations of anti-Semitism against liberal bloggers and calls on other list members to “echo” and “amplify” his assault and “use the below [research] to attack the bad guys.”

The Freedom Community list includes many neoconservative journalists, according to a person familiar with the matter. As of last night, the icon for the listserv was Margaret Thatcher:

***

I sent an inquiry to Block late Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, the listserv had been scrubbed:

(The phrase “the freedom community” has also appeared in a post by Weekly Standard editor Daniel Halper hailing a neoconservative speech by the president of Mongolia. And Ben Smith reported last year on a similar sounding endeavor called “Freedom Mail.”)

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Justin Elliott

Justin Elliott is a Salon reporter. Reach him by email at jelliott@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin  More Justin Elliott

Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 7:50 AM UTC2012-02-21T07:50:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

Israel relents on hunger striker Khader Adnan

But policy of detaining hundreds of Palestinians for years without charges remains in effect.

Khader Adnan

Khader Adnan

Khader Adnan may live to see his 34th birthday after all. He has been on hunger strike for 66 days to protest against his “administrative detention,” which allows the Israeli military to detain Palestinians without charge, indefinitely, on the basis of evidence the detainees are not allowed to see. Today, in the face of mounting pressure, Israel reportedly promised to release him in April if it could not discover any new evidence against him. His lawyer said that Adnan will end his strike.

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Bill Van Esveld is a senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, based in Jerusalem.  More Bill Van Esveld

Tuesday, Feb 14, 2012 1:00 PM UTC2012-02-14T13:00:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

Unhappy Valentine’s Day in Israel

A racist Israeli law divides married Palestinian couples; Jewish couples are exempt

VIDEO
Taiseer Khatib and his wife, Lana

Taiseer Khatib and his wife, Lana

This Valentine’s Day, I live in fear of being separated from my wife by the force of the Israeli state and the whim of bureaucrats enforcing a discriminatory law that can separate Palestinian citizens of Israel from Palestinian spouses from the occupied West Bank. This fear will hang over us for years if the “Citizenship and Entry Into Israel Law” is not revoked as the state can use this law to separate me from my family.

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Taiseer Khatib is a Ph.D student in Anthropology at the University of Haifa and a teacher at Western Galilee College in northern Israel, Taiseer's story is part of a series called 'Love Under Apartheid' and available at www.loveunderapartheid.com.  More Taiseer Khatib

Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012 5:04 PM UTC2012-01-25T17:04:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

What the Adelsons will want for their money

The $10 million in pro-Newt money that transformed the GOP primary appears to be all about US policy toward Israel

VIDEO
Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Ochsorn Adelson

Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Ochsorn Adelson  (Credit: AP/Vincent Yu)

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam have transformed the Republican primary by pumping $10 million into a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC, thereby enabling his surge against Mitt Romney. So it’s surprising that comments Gingrich made last week about what the Adelsons expect in exchange for their money haven’t gotten more attention.

Ted Koppel asked Gingrich the key question: what do the Adelsons get if you win?

Gingrich, in response, suggested it all comes down to U.S. policy toward Israel.

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Justin Elliott

Justin Elliott is a Salon reporter. Reach him by email at jelliott@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin  More Justin Elliott

Friday, Jan 20, 2012 1:00 PM UTC2012-01-20T13:00:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

Zbig: Israelis “bought influence” and outmaneuvered Obama

The president "should have stuck to his guns" on Mideast peace, says Zbigniew Brzezinski, former NSC advisor

Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski

The unorthodox Zbigniew Brzezinski  (Credit: AP)

Zbigniew Brzezinski’s new book, “Strategic Vision,” imagines a world without American power. He envisions profound instability, faltering international cooperation and weak states falling prey to their more dominant neighbors. Describing the dystopia that would emerge if America goes under is a trick British historian Niall Ferguson pioneered. Unlike the jingoistic Ferguson, however, Brzezinski is able to envision China replacing America as the stabilizing force in world affairs. “I don’t think liberal states are more restrained or stabilizing,” he says. “The United States’ actions in the last 20 years, especially with the war in Iraq, do not give reassurance on that score.”

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Jordan Michael Smith writes about U.S. foreign policy for Salon. He has written for the New York Times, Boston Globe and Washington Post.  More Jordan Michael Smith

Friday, Jan 13, 2012 8:15 PM UTC2012-01-13T20:15:00Zl, M j, Y g:i A T

A win for progressives on Israel

Hardline activists sought to unseat Rep. Donna Edwards over her Mideast views, but failed to raise enough money

Donna Edwards and Glenn Ivey

Rep. Donna Edwards and Glenn Ivey  (Credit: Edward Kimmel / Center for American Progress / CC BY 3.0)

Rep. Donna Edwards, a Maryland Democrat who is associated with J Street, which argues for a more progressive U.S. policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict, has staved off a challenge from a fellow Democrat who sought to raise money by running to her right on Mideast issues.

This week, Glenn Ivey, the former Prince George’s County state’s attorney, announced he was abandoning plans to challenge Edwards, citing his inability to raise money.

“[I]t would take a very substantial amount of money to get my message out to voters in two very expensive media markets,” Ivey said in a statement. “A tough economy and a compressed election time-frame have made it tough for my campaign to raise enough funds to move forward.”

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Justin Elliott

Justin Elliott is a Salon reporter. Reach him by email at jelliott@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin  More Justin Elliott

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