This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received applause while addressing the US Congress. That’s despite the rising death toll in Gaza, which some analysts consider to be near 186,000. On today’s show, Jennifer Loewenstein joins host Esty Dinur to discuss the absurdity of Netanyahu’s visit to Congress. Loewenstein calls the genocide in Gaza a slow motion genocide and says that the US is “stoking the flames” of a major regional war in the Middle East by supporting Israel with military aid.

According to Loewenstein, Israel is significant to the US because it serves as an off-shore base and a branch of US power in the region. The state of Israel also enjoys a mythic power among the religious right in the US. But even democrats take part in the support of the Israeli state. Loewenstein says she’s not convinced that Kamala Harris’s presidential run will change the narrative on Israel among democrats. She predicts that there may be some “cosmetic” changes with the potential for Harris to express sympathy toward Palestinians, but she doesn’t expect policy changes. 

Jennifer Loewenstein is an American activist, journalist, and founder of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. Her work has appeared in academic journals such as The Journal of Palestine Studies, and she is a regular contributor to the CounterPunch magazine.

Photo of Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the US Congress in 2015. Image via Flickr.

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