Center for American Progress Will Host Bibi Despite 26,000 People Saying You Can't Be #ProgressiveExceptPalestine

This parody of Bibi's infamous bomb visual at the United Nations in 2012
refers to Israel's war crimes in using white phosphorus to bomb civilians in Gaza.

Over 26,000 signatures were delivered to the Center for American Progress yesterday asking CAP to cancel their invitation to Israeli PM Netanyahu who is slated speak there November 10.  Six organizations teamed up to gather signatures from their members and supporters: CODEPINK, US Campaign to end the Israeli Occupation, Jewish Voice for Peace, American‑Arab Anti‑Discrimination Committee, and American Muslims for Palestine.

According to CODEPINK's Ann Wright, who helped deliver the petition, "Vice President Winnie Stachelberg said CAP is feeling the heat on the invitation, but it will stand." Allegedly it will be okay because CAP President Neera Tanden plans to ask Bibi hard questions.  

Wright reports, "We told Winnie to expect lots of hard questions to be tweeted to CAP." You can tweet your questions to @amprog and @neeratanden using hashtags ‪#‎NotProgressive‬ and #‎ProgressiveExceptPalestine‬.

Being progressive except on Palestine is an oxymoron of our times that is coming unraveled as Israel's occupation terrorizes children, frequently shoots and kills unarmed civilians, and viciously attacks Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) organizers on U.S. college campuses.

Former Knesset member Uri Avnery wrote on Gush Shalom's blog about the latest twists and turns that Israel must execute in order to sidestep its own rule of law:

This week, the Knesset enacted a law compelling judges to condemn
stone-throwers – including 13 year old children – to a minimum prison
term of two or four years, depending on the circumstances. In Israel,
children under 14 bear no criminal responsibility, but a remedy has been
found for that: government attorneys just drag out their court cases
until the accused reach their 14th birthday.

The parents of children so condemned will forfeit any social security payments for the same time, and are also liable to a fine of 10,000 Shekels, more than $2,500.  

Israel is already an apartheid state, building roads that only Jewish people may drive on and a huge separation wall that stretches 400 miles. How progressive is that?

Bibi is a strange choice for a featured speaker. For example, just last month he made a complete fool of himself when he claimed -- and then quickly retracted amid universal hoots of derision -- that the former Mufti of Jerusalem gave Adolf Hitler the idea for the Holocaust. 

It's hard to see why CAP would even consider him as a speaker unless one follows the scent of cash and lots of it; Bibi and his violent foolishness are well-funded by right wingers like U.S. casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. You would think that a"liberal" think tank like CAP has no business getting in bed with world leaders in the field of human rights violations.

If you're in the DC area and want to help provide facts about the impossibility of being progressive except on Palestine, you can help with leafleting before Bibi's talk at 3pm on November 10.

You can also call CAP at 202-682-1611.