Palestine Comes To Boston And To Moscow; German Politics; SCOTUS

In a sign of how divided America has become on issues that used to be unifying, Dave Chappelle raised the issue of Palestine at an appearance in Boston:

Dave Chappelle Criticizes Israel, Spars With Crowd at Boston Show
Wall Street Journal ^ | October 20, 2023 | Sabrina Siddiqui

Dave Chappelle criticized Israel's bombing of Gaza at a performance in Boston in which the comedian accused the U.S. of aiding the slaughter of innocent civilians. In the show at TD Garden on Thursday, Chappelle first condemned the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, but criticized what he said were war crimes in Gaza, according to people in attendance.

The comments came up when Chappelle said he didn't think students should lose job offers for supporting Palestinians. An audience member's command for the comedian to shut up drew an emotional response from Chappelle, who criticized the Israeli government for cutting off water and other essentials to Gaza and accused it of killing innocent people, according to the attendees.

Some audience members cheered Chappelle on and shouted "Free Palestine,” while others yelled, "What about Hamas," the attendees said. Some in the crowd got up and left. Toward the conclusion of his show, he said of Israeli policies and the Hamas attacks that two wrongs don't make a right, the people said.

A spokeswoman for Chappelle said he "denies being in Boston last night."

The previously uncontroversial notion that two wrongs don’t make a right has somehow become controversial in America. How did that happen?

Here’s an interesting consideration. As the expressions of a black man, how do Chappelle’s views resonate among his fellow blacks? I have always assumed that black Americans would reflexively side with whoever they perceive the victims to be. Nothing surprises me less than that blacks should gravitate toward the Palestinian viewpoint. I mean, you don’t find blacks gifting their children with typically Jewish names, or not to the extent that they gift them with Arabic sounding names. Well, that’s a purely subjective impression, but I suspect it reflects the reality of black America.

One consideration leads to another. If blacks feel strongly on this issue, along the lines of Dave Chappelle, and if the issue of Palestine continues in the news—as I suspect it will—will those feelings affect the vote? But who could blacks vote for? Dems and GOPers are both owned by the Neocons. That leaves Cornel West and RFKjr. Could either of them use this issue to mount a real challenge?

Cornel West's, RFK Jr's Very Different Messages on Israel Attacks

Presidential candidates Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared differing statements on the attacks on Israel this weekend.

Both West, who is running as an independent, and Kennedy Jr., who is seeking the Democratic nomination, uploaded statements after the deadly attacks on Saturday, October 7.

In a Saturday post shared on X, formerly Twitter, West said: "The escalation of the barbaric violence in the Middle East must stop. The vicious Israeli occupation and the ugly Palestinian retaliation results in the killing of precious innocent people on both sides. We must have a lasting peace based on justice! #TruthJusticeLove."

A split image of Robert Kennedy Jr. (left) and Cornel West. Both presidential candidates released statements following the attacks in Israel by Hamas militants. Getty

Since being shared, the post has attracted an estimated 1.4 million views in addition to some 1,560 comments.

Progressive West has previously advocated a pro-Palestinian position and has been critical of Israeli policy towards both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In contrast, Kennedy Jr. shared a statement that supported any military action taken by Israel against Hamas.

So, a call for TruthJusticeLove on the one hand, a blank check on the other.

Moving on to Moscow, this was rather remarkable. Once again we turn to Newsweek:

Israeli Official Issues Warning to Putin on Russian State TV

An Israeli politician issued a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine.

Amir Weitmann, the head of the libertarian caucus in Israel's Likud Party, appeared on Russia's state-run RT News network this week and spoke about fighting between Israel and Hamas militants, as well as Russia's war with Ukraine.

While speaking about recent claims relating to al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Weitmann criticized Russia, saying that "we're gonna finish this war, we're going to win because we're stronger. After this, Russia will pay the price, believe me, Russia will pay the price."

"Russia is supporting the enemies of Israel. Russia is supporting Nazi people who want to commit genocide on us and Russia will pay the price," Weitmann said. "We're gonna win this war. Afterwards, we're not forgetting what you're doing, we're not forgetting, we will come, we will make sure Ukraine wins. We will make sure that you pay the price for what you have done, you as Russia."

I think I get it. Weitmann isn’t interested in winning the hearts and minds of Russians, when given the opportunity.

On to Germany!

The American Conservative ran a lengthy and rather fascinating analysis of the rise of the “right wing” AfD—the Alternative for Deutschland (we all know that Deutschland means “Germany”, right?). The rise of the AfD is now an undeniable fact, one which Tom Luongo has been pointing to. In recent important state elections in Germany the AfD has basically kicked butt. For all sorts of reasons, but mostly because average Germans are fed up with the liberalism on social and environmental issues of the ruling elites. Follow the link if that interests you. What I’ll quote here is the author’s comparison of the situation in Germany to that in the US. It seems very on point for Americans, given the way we keep getting stiffed by the parties that are supposed to represent us. The same dynamic appears to be at work—”conservatives” or “populists” get co-opted by the ruling elite and ignore the people who put them where they are:

Germany’s Lurch to the Right

A combination of mass migration and economic woes is likely to crack the firewall around AfD, with wide-reaching consequences not only for Germany, but for Europe.

As in the U.S. in recent years, a new wave of populists is uprooting the traditional left-leaning and centrist establishment politics. Right-leaning and national conservative parties are on a roll in many European countries. The fight against uncontrolled immigration and crime fuels their upsurge. In Italy, Sweden and Finland, staunch right-wingers have become part of or supportive of conservative-led governments. Austria’s Freedom Party is the strongest in polls, and its leader might become the next Chancellor in Vienna. France’s Marine Le Pen is now one of the most popular politicians and is seen as a favorite for the next presidential elections. The right has become “normalized”—much to the chagrin of liberal elites. 

In view of this context, the emergence of a right-wing party in Germany could be seen as a typical development. Nevertheless, the establishment is fighting tooth and nail against this “New Normal,” to take phrase from a recent Foreign Affairs article by the liberal publicists Liana Fix (a Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations) and Constanze Stelzenmüller (Chair on Germany and Trans-Atlantic Relations at the Brookings Institution).

Why are the elites so upset? For many decades, Germany stood out in Europe for not having a right-wing party. The term rechts (right-wing) had become a smear word and is often used interchangeably with rechtsextrem (right-wing extremist) and even as a synonym for Nazi. Anything right was wrong and put under a taboo. Step by step, the CDU abandoned the right wing of their party during the Merkel years. The “middle ground” shifted steadily leftwards. 

Sound familiar? I can offer you an example. The upper stratosphere of the legal establishment is about as elite as it gets in America, and today we are treated to the spectacle of judicial elite pearl clutching at the notion of ordinary citizens being allowed to express their uncensored views:

Simon Ateba @simonateba

BREAKING: The Supreme Court just temporarily allowed the Biden administration to continue asking social media companies to remove posts from their platforms that the government says are misleading.

4:05 PM · Oct 20, 2023

Justices Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch dissented, noting that “temporarily” could last for a year. See why I always say Justice Amy and Justice Brett? Squishes. Yeah, I know. It could be worse—a lot worse. Nevertheless.