• May 22 at 4:19 PM

    Dear Charles,
    Trump landed about ten hours ago in Tel Aviv – and when he’s talking about Israel/Palestine, I have to say: he sounds more or less like a normal American politician.
    But that’s only because the narrative around Israel/Palestine in US discourse is so dehumanizing, convoluted, and inaccurate already.
    Let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture here: Palestinians have been living under apartheid and occupation for decades, and the US is complicit.
    The New York Times headline today reads “As Trump Arrives in Israel, His Deal-Making Skills Face a Test.”
    Let’s leave aside the fact that actually, his deal-making skills are, as he would say, #sad. This isn’t about deal-making skills. It’s about values, it’s about justice, and human rights.
    All the talk about talks – how urgent or how delicate the current moment is, whether Trump and Netanyahu are on the same page, if Palestinians will be receptive – obscures what is truly urgent: the suffering and struggle of Palestinians who have been oppressed for too long by a brutal occupier.
    It’s true that over the last weeks, what seemed a tight alliance between Trump and Netanyahu has become a more fraught relationship – the Times even reported that some Israeli officials said their main goal for the visit was simply “to make sure that there was no great gaffe or misunderstanding.”
    But we shouldn’t be distracted by the fine points of disagreement between them. Nothing that comes from either of their mouths about Palestine comes from a desire for peace, because there is no shred of evidence that either harbors any such desire. If they did, David Friedman wouldn’t be ambassador. If they did, settlements wouldn’t be continuing to expand in the West Bank.
    Dangling the possibility of more peace talks is the same as it ever was: a cover for increased expansion and further cementing “the facts on the ground.”
    So let’s get back to basics: please take this moment to share our “Israel/Palestine 101” video with family and friends.

    This is a concrete tool for people you want to have healthier, more honest conversations with: about how we can’t normalize Trump, and we also can’t normalize Israel. The only thing that will bring about a just resolution is grassroots organizing that demands true change to US policy on Israel and an end to occupation, siege, and apartheid.
    Also be sure to take a look at this livestreamed video from our Media Program Manager, Naomi Dann, who is on the ground in Israel/Palestine this week.
    With you working for justice, yesterday, today, and tomorrow,
    Ari