Washington, DC | www.adc.org | November 2, 2015 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) urges the Center for American Progress (CAP) not to provide a “progressive” platform for Netanyahu’s anti-Palestine propaganda. Last week, ADC sent a letter to CAP President Neera Tanden explaining our great concern regarding CAP’s recent decision to provide a platform for Netanyahu to speak on November 10th, 2015.
In the letter, ADC explained that CAP’s decision to promote Netanyahu by providing him a platform to speak runs contrary to the CAP’s values to “promote peace and shared global prosperity.” As a self-proclaimed “progressive” organization, CAP should be concerned that Netanyahu’s actions of oppressing the Palestinian people and trying to sabotage the Obama Administration contradict everything that the organization says it stands for.
CAP claims to “champion the common good over narrow self-interest, and harness the strength of our diversity.” By contrast, Netanyahu has shown a commitment to championing the narrow self-interest of his political career over the common good of achieving a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.
During his tenure as Prime Minister of Israel, Netanyahu promoted racism and xenophobia. He worked tirelessly to continue construction of the apartheid wall and has helped to defend the more than 50 discriminatory laws on the books in Israel. As a part of the continued military occupation, Netanyahu repeatedly expanded the rights of illegal settlers and has enacted policies to encourage the growth of these illegal settlements.
In 2014, Netanyahu’s “Operation Protective Edge” led to the deaths of more than 2,200 Palestinians along with the complete devastation of the Gaza Strip. This year, Netanyahu’s regime has extrajudicially killed at least 56 Palestinians, injured more than 2,000 and the imprisoned more than 800 during the month of October 2015 alone.
Palestinians have not been the only victims of the Netanyahu regime’s institutional racism. There are now at least 135,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel, but they are segregated from the rest of Israeli society and are disproportionately subjected to police brutality and imprisonment. Further, Netanyahu’s Likud regime spent $387 million building a 150 mile long security fence to keep African migrants from seeking asylum in Israel. He sought to legitimize this xenophobia by denouncing the migrants, many of whom are refugees fleeing conflict, as “illegal infiltrators”. By asking to speak at CAP, a “progressive” organization, he is also seeking to legitimize and whitewash his racist policies in the eyes of the American public.
Take Action: Urge the Center for American Progress not to provide a “progressive” platform for Netanyahu’s anti-Palestine propaganda
1. Click here to send an email to CAP President Neera Tanden
2. Call CAP President Neera Tanden at 202.682.1611, ext. 6384 and ask her to deny Netanyahu’s platform.
3. Tweet at CAP President Neera Tanden @neeratanden and urge her to remove Netanyahu as a speaker