Furor in Congress over Ilhan Omar remarks reflects intensifying national debate over Israeli policies. CraryAP
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 file photo, a student holds up their fist in support of a speaker during a University of Michigan Student Government meeting in Ann Arbor, Mich., to vote on a resolution to divest in businesses connected to Israel amid criticism of Israeli policies toward Palestinians. On college campuses, in state legislatures and in many other venues nationwide, the polarized debate about Israel is a familiar conflict and likely to intensify.
“Leaders on the left and the right are using this phenomenon as a way of drumming up support, claiming they’re victims,” she said. “I fear it will get far worse before it gets better.” Some celebrities — including actress Natalie Portman and singer Lana Del Ray — have withdrawn from appearances in Israel in recent months out of concern over Israeli policies. Several scholarly associations, including the American Studies Association and the Association for Asian American Studies, have supported an academic boycott, even as other associations and academic leaders have opposed that campaign.
Among the companies entangled in the conflict is Airbnb, which announced in November that it would stop listing properties in the West Bank. Texas officials say the state will halt business with Airbnb because its move ran afoul the anti-BDS law. Airbnb says it opposes the BDS campaign and was simply implementing a policy to de-list residences in disputed territories around the world.
The ADL’s CEO and national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, says not all people engaged in the BDS campaign are anti-Semitic, but he contends the movement itself “is anti-Semitic in its origins.”For now, supporters of Israeli policy have some key advantages: Republicans in Congress are solidly in their camp, as are many Christian evangelicals, who make up a key part of President Donald Trump’s political base. But there are some shifts — notably a widening split of viewpoints among Democrats.
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