In "Astounding" Exchange Rare for Corporate Media, Peter Beinart Calls on United States Lawmakers to Witness Firsthand the Plight of Palestinians by Julia Conley!
(2019-08-20 at 14:07:25 )

In "Astounding" Exchange Rare for Corporate Media, Peter Beinart Calls on United States Lawmakers to Witness Firsthand the Plight of Palestinians by Julia Conley

"The first time I went to spend time with Palestinians in the West Bank, it was a shattering experience...People need to go and see for themselves."

Palestinians cross Qalandiya checkpoint to perform the first Friday Prayer of Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in Ramallah, West Bank on May 10, 2019. Atlantic editor Peter Beinart argued on CNN on Monday night that if more United States of Americans saw in the news media the plight of Palestinians living in occupied territory, many more would be sympathetic to their cause and critical of United States support for Israel.

An exchange between The Atlantics liberal editor Peter Beinart and Rich Lowry, his counterpart at the right-wing The National Review, went viral overnight after the two veteran journalists sparred on CNN Monday over Israels treatment of Palestinians and the recent move by the Israeli government to bar United States Congresswomen Ms Rashida Tlaib and Ms Ilhan Omar from visiting the Occupied Territories.

Mr. Beinart clashed with Mr. Lowry over the United States governments and corporate medias long history of ignoring the plight of Palestinians who face restricted movement and checkpoints manned by armed Israeli guards,
food shortages, and a decimated healthcare system.

During the exchange, Mr. Beinart said it took him visiting the occupied West Bank and seeing its oppressive nature in-person before he changed his position on the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict-and suggested the same could be true if lawmakers end their tradition of traveling to Israel on trips sponsored by AIPAC.

"The first time I went to spend time with Palestinians in the West Bank, it was a shattering experience," Mr. Beinart said. "When you see people living under the control of the state with no rights-they cannot become citizens.

They cannot vote for control of the state that controls their lives.

They do not have free movement...People need to go and see for themselves. I have never seen anyone who has gone and seen for themselves and not been transformed by the experience."

"Just as National Review defended apartheid, just as you defended segregation, you now defend Israels oppression of Palestinians basic rights. It is a tradition for you guys."-Waleed Shahid August 19, 2019

Mr. Beinart argued that United States of Americans and their representatives in the United States Congress should demand Palestinians be afforded the "basic rights that all of us take for granted" instead of reducing the 4.6 million people who live in territories occupied by Israel as "supporting terrorism" because of statements made by Palestinian leaders.

"If an African-American who supported violence against the United States under slavery or Jim Crow, that did not excuse their denial of basic rights because I disagree with the tactic they were using to resist it," he said.

Mr. Beinarts vehement defense of Palestinians human rights was an unusual sight on cable news, and a number of rights defenders remarked that his comments were vital for United States of Americans to hear after decades of watching the news media giving little to no attention to Palestinians while the United States government gives billions of dollars per year to Israel.

People need to hear this. Mr. Peter Beinarts reporting has been vital spreading this reality. -David Doel August 19, 2019

I believe Mr. Peter Beinart probably represents the pulse of contemporary United States of American Jewish politics on Israel more than anyone else. This is much closer to the mainstream approach than anything ADL, AJC, Conf of Pres, AIPAC represent.-Mairav Zonszein August 20, 2019

Kudos to Mr. PeterBeinart for sticking up for the Palestinian people. Not many go on national television and do that.-Marcus Dash August 19, 2019

If United States American lawmakers witnessed the full scope of the Israel-Palestinian conflict rather than furthering their knowledge of Israels perspective on Palestine with yearly congressional trips to the region, Mr. Beinart said, many would no longer be able to support United States "complicity in the denial of Palestinian rights."

"The only thing I could imagine would be similar for an United States of American would be going to visit the Jim Crow South," he said.

News outlets and lawmakers that fail to defend Palestinians, Mr. Beinart added, must also confront their participation in the established United States of American tradition of denying rights to marginalized groups.

"Just as National Review defended apartheid, just as you defended segregation, you now defend Israels oppression of Palestinians basic rights," he told Mr. Lowry. "It is a tradition for you guys."

"It really is astounding to see something like this on CNN," journalist Ashley Feinberg wrote on social media.

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