Be careful what you wish for. Netanyahu has ALREADY SAID that he thinks Israel should stop being a ward of the United States, relying on foreign aid, and instead be a greater partner WITH US DEFENSE CORPORATIONS! In other words, they want to infiltrate our Defense industry, making it impossible to dislodge them no matter what they do! No.
I supported Israel all my adult life but, now as I enter my 8th decade, I understand that I’ve been played for decades! Israel, long ago abandoned a two state solution . I’m angry at myself that it took me so long to decry the mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza & the West Bank.
Netanyahu is a monster, but the Israelis who support him also have blood or their hands
I feel your pain. I too am in my eighth decade. I have felt since "W's" second term that evangelicals were being used by the republican party. It just never dawned on me that the people I once worshiped with were evil enough and stupid enough to fall into the hands of the heritage foundation.
Yes, I agree Netanyahu is a monster along with those who support him, but that's no different than johnson and thune being as much monsters as the trump regime.
It would be more accurate to say -- the United States abandoned a two-state solution. After extraordinarily laborious efforts at Camp David, at Oslo, over successive administrations, it was our muscle, our influence, our say-so that got agreements signed that moved toward this. Then, as with so many other foreign challenges, we lost interest, shrugged our shoulders, went back to business as usual, and Netanyahu was the result. An inert, corrupt Palestinian leadership in the West Bank that might have otherwise provided a real alternative to Hamas's lunacy was another result.
Putting it a bit too simplistically, but I blame us more than him.
I know this is a minority view but it's still possible. There was a deal. Land for peace.
Most of the American Arabs I know are Christian, know that their people are just as vulnerable as Jews in an Mos;em coiuntry. We can't tell the players without a scorecard.
Same here, but half way through my 7th. Watching the BBC B&W's of the camp liberation's in the 50's, I swore I would always support the Israelis, but no more. When the government they elected inflicts on others what was done to them by Germany, I quit.
My understanding of Israel/Palestine changed when I went to Israel in 2019. To see with my eyes and hear their story with my heart changed my understanding.
Interesting point. Retired US Army Colonel, and also now Professor Emeritus of history & international relations, Andrew Bacevich has written extensively about the US Military and how US foreign policy creates blow-back that influences both US Military and US civilian culture in unexpected ways. He has described the Israeli military posture as hyper reactive. They are a small state living in a dangerous neighborhood and tend to react quickly with overwhelming force to every provocation. Bacevich noted the Israeli military thinking has started to influence US military thinking and criticized what he saw as a trend in the U.S. military starting to adopt that same hyper reactive posture. Bacevich’s critique is the US has the luxury of being able to be less reactive and more thoughtful/strategic in how it responds. Moving fast with excessive force creates unexpected blow back and new problems that frequently makes the situation worse.
An even closer tie between Israel and US defense contractors would not be in the US interest. If anything, US defense contractors would benefit from learning the lessons Ukraine defense forces and industry have been learning in their battles against Russia. Ukraine has become masters of low-cost, effective weapons systems.
I would disagree that the US is becoming more reactive. That's not the reality. The GOP has become a fascist party (which started with Reagan). N & T are power & money hungry. Both are corrupt with criminal charges waiting for them when they are not in office. The GOP is the minority party, but has used hate & lies to be elected. It has worked because too many Americans are racist, misogynistic, ignorant of the facts, and self-absorbed. The GOP has been aided by the news media since REAGAN ended the Fairness Doc. This mirrored Hitler's step in 1933 to take control of German newspapers to spread his lies & hate.
May I suggest you read the post more carefully. The argument is sbout how the US military is influenced by Israel's and vice-versa. Andrew Bacevich is a long-recognized voice from within our own military-industrial complex who knows a great deal about what he speaks.
"Moving fast with excessive force creates unexpected blow back and new problems that frequently makes the situation worse."
A foreign/military policy of 'move fast and break things' is neither competent nor responsible. It may be financially beneficial to the military industrial complex to keep selling materiel to Israel; it is not beneficial to our foreign relations to other countries,
Assuming that this defense industry alignment is true, there's a way to deal with it if Congress had the spine to do so: no more government contracts for corporations that do business with Israel.
It's not about having a spine. It's about the choices Americans make at the ballot box. We have the racist, fascist GOP party in control of the WH, the House and the Senate because of voter suppression in red ares of the nation and the ignorant/racist people who vote for them. The first step is to help whatever DEM has a chance of winning in any district or state to be elected. The ignorant chose to vote for T, not to vote, or voted for 3rd party candidates that had ZERO CHANCE of winning - all because Harris was just not good enough for them. THAT is why we are in this horrible situation. I am NOT a fan of Schumer's but we cannot risk losing that seat. His district is far from progressive. Challenging him could give the seat to a GOP.
U.S. arms sales to other countries should come with strict compliance rules that allow for contracts to be cancelled any time credible evidence of non-compliance arises. Indiscriminate civilian casualties would be at the top of that list.
The U.S. needs to impose strict standards and conditions upon which our government and our private sector industries will be permitted to give, sell or otherwise furnish any goods or services to Israel that could be used to support Israel’s external military policies, practices and activities.
Israel’s indiscriminate slash and burn devastation of Gaza that killed thousands and thousands of civilians and displaced millions of residents will forever condemn Israel for having committed its own waves of atrocities, for which Donald Trump will be equally remembered for his complicity.
Jen I commend you on writing this outstanding article showing true concern of our view of the current Israeli policy. This had to be very hard for you to write and it shows how strong your values are for defending democracy and rule of law. You continue to prove your independent media coverage is one of the best ways to get intellectual information. Thank you for all the hard work you do.
Jen has soft-pedaled her criticism of Israel and its genocide in Gaza. She's become more circumspect, yes, but still doesn't want to see how far Israel's wrongdoings go in the matter of Palestine.
Rubin has a lot to atone for, including her own strong and loud support for Netanyahu through all the Obama years. He was just as bloodthirsty and radical then as he is now (and see below for my answer to the 'she changed her mind' response).
Even since then, her responses are at best conditioned and infrequent. It took The Contrarian until the summer of 2025 to write anything approaching a forceful criticism of the genocide in Gaza (it has never used that term). There has been next to nothing about Israel's constant assassinations of journalists, in Gaza and the West Bank, and now in Lebanon.
This article is the first time I have seen Rubin even mention Lebanon in her morning newsletters. Her only comment about the mass slaughter in Beirut over over 300 people hours after the first 'ceasefire' earlier this month is only to mention that Israel 'inflicts mass civilian casualties in Beirut'.
Her criticisms of AIPAC remain limited to their attacks on 'pro-Israel' candidates, like contrarian favorite Tom Malinowski..she has yet to say anything about pro-Palestinian candidates that were targeted by AIPAC, like Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.
Her piece here is better than most from her, and her change is a welcome one....but is far from some profile in courage, now that even most elected Democrats have been open about criticizing Israel.
So in the light of new and worstening evidence she can't change her mind? Even some of the right wing media that have been banging the bell for Trump for years have stopped. Ms. Rubin should have the same right.
Can you find one single instance of Rubin justifying, explaining, or even acknowledging her many years of full throated support for Netanyahu and Israeli apartheid (as well has harsh criticisms of the Iran nuclear deal, among a hundred other hard right views)?
If so, then post.
The damage she did then can't just be resolved by an overnight about-face with no explanation at all. Her change is welcome, but not enough to make up for all that on its own.
I just saw Anthony Scaramucci on The Left Hook..Over and over he apologized for his past support of Trump and said he was wrong. That is what I would like to hear from Rubin.
She certainly can, but I used to read her opinion pieces in WAPO. And I was disgusted by her unwavering support for the GOP as it clearly was moving to the far right. The people of the LINCOLN Project had supported and aided the GOP right up until T. These are intelligent people who were too blind and unwilling to think for themselves or to question their beliefs until it was too late. They didn't care to notice the consequences of REAGAN ending the Fairness Doc or the GOP since Reagan, the FACT that GOP policies since Reagan had enriched the rich and hurt the rest of the people in the country, They used UNREGULATED capitalism, which allowed near monopolies to grow, caused the housing and loan crisis, and left huge messes for Clinton, Obama and Biden to clean up. Once upon a time I was an independent. As I watched what was happening to the GOP since Reagan, I became a democrat. This was NOT the party of Eisenhower. He would have seen the fascism rising. Despite all this, when she left WAPO and started the Contrarian, I wanted to see what it would bring to the table. It is always important to see what a range of people are reporting.
So Netanyahoo now says Israel's dependence on US aid should wind down in the next ten years...how very convenient for him.
NO! It must end immediately. It should have ended long ago. I never liked political litmus tests. But this year voters should have one: no support of any kind for any candidate who will not commit to ending all financial aid to Israel immediately.
Rubin correctly blames “ MAGA Republicans, encouraged by Christian Zionists and Islamaphobic white Christian evangelicals”, but she leaves out the many “centrist” Democrats who still support Israel’s genocide and apartheid, including the several Dem Senators who just weeks ago voted against stopping some military aid to Israel. This included the minority leader Charles Schumer.
Rubin insists on calling Israel a “democracy “ despite the fact that over 5 million Palestinians in the Occupied Territories live under Israel military rule, with no say over the occupying government and no control of their borders or trade. Israel is a “democracy” no more than there is a “ceasefire” in Lebanon or Gaza (or the West Bank, for that matter).
The US is quickly losing our democracy. Are you going to help the fascists complete the job by not voting for or by encouraging others not to vote for certain dems because they don't fit all your litmus tests? We would NOT be here if more people had voted for Harris? What litmus test did they apply? Racism, misogyny, their own self absorption, or just plain ignorance of the facts? How did they NOT know what would happen if T was elected? No candidate has going to have all the characteristics that each & every citizen has in mind for the perfect one. The question is: which of the 2 candidates will be better for the country? I like progressives. I don't want money in politics. I want a candidate who is intelligent, strong, willing to work hard and empathetic to the needs of regular Americans. Both HRC & Harris should have won, but Americans still think their opinions & beliefs are the ONLY thing that matters. Europeans whose news media reported the facts before our election were stunned by these results. One asked me - why didn't they see who T was? Do they not study WWII? She said that they are required to learn every detail so they would recognize fascism.
GREAT 😔 another litmus test! What part of the fact that WE MUST WIN AS MANY SEATS AS POSSIBLE IN CONGRESS In 2026 DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? That is EXACTLY the reason Harris lost in 2024. It was not just the T voters who cost us this mess, but those who didn't vote and those who voted 3rd party because Harris just wasn't good enough. Was it racism, misogyny, self absorption or just plain ignorance of the fact that our democracy would be in danger if she did not win? I do not like Schumer. But his district is a rich one and is unlikely to vote for anyone who is even slightly more progressive. Mamdani could win in NYC because of its diversity, its democratic history, its ranked choice voting and the fact that Cuomo is hated in NY. PLEASE, look at the big picture. If we do not win both the House & the Senate, our democracy will be dead and we will unquestionably have another Great Depression as the corruption and the deficit rises.
Gayle, we're talking about genocide here. Genocide enabled by our dollars. . Compromise of a view or a position is one thing, compromising a fundamental value is another matter. However each of us ends up voting in the privacy of the election booth, left with our own consciences, is a personal dilemma. But demanding that our candidates commit to ending our role in Israel's genocide is imperative.
Both Parties are complicit in the Israeli-Netanyhu human rights violations. Biden provided Israel with weapons with no restrictions, while hamstringing Ukraine with restrictions. Trump's cheering on and involvement in the US/Israeli assasination of other countries' political leaders, and advocating political violence against those on the left (in the US and abroad), while feigning outrage of political violence against him says it all. I'm 74 years old, and I am increasingly feeling as my father must have when he fled Germany in 1935.
Reagan started the march of the GOP to fascism and to a rich white male dominated society. Reagan liked the Heritage Society (P2025). He was also a racist who hid behind his cowboy quote of pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. Hitler got control of the German newspapers to spread his hate & lies about Jews. Reagan cut the Fairness Doc. This led to news journalists not using facts and evidence in their reporting and instead focusing on opinions and beliefs. They stopped judging debates by the facts the candidates used to represent their sides. When I mentioned the patterns I saw, most people said - not possible - it would not happen here. 😔. Even when T spewed hate & lies, they voted for him or REFUSED TO VOTE FOR WOMEN, because they just were not good enough. Now people are in our own concentration camps and the majority are doing what the Germans did.
This is the closest you can get to mentioning the Gaza Genocide? Really? Was Treblinka a summer camp? Were the Turks just aggressive relocation specialists? Is Osiewicim just a historical footnote? Did East Timor depopulate itself? Was the Holodomor sponsored by Ozempic? Say it. Gaza Genocide. Say it.
Even frequent Contrarian guest and head of J-Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, admitted last summer that Israel has committed genocide. So has Israeli human rights orgs B’Tselem and Physicians for Hunan Rights… let alone virtually every other global human rights group, UN officials, and genocide scholars everywhere.
I've heard it both ways but if I am wrong I apologize. I don't think I can edit this but if I can I will. And even you spell it two different ways. This does not make my point less correct. And I disrespectfully disagree with your 'shriek like a loon' characterization, you POS. GFYMIH.
So, I agree with what you said here but unfortunately the regime in Washington reflects Netanyahu's desires NOT American citizens' desires. It seems trump is just fine with Bibi leveling the Gaza Strip so that they can eventually have the Middle East Riviera located there with a plethora of trump backed hotels & a golf course or two.
And now Bibi wants to occupy southern Lebanon & is destroying homes there & leveling that area too.
While it definitely angers a large part of our population the regime in DC could hardly care less what, we, the citizens, think!
This is a problem that humans, in their current mindset, can not solve. Until the nations that "created" Israel by relocating Palestinians who had inhabited that land for centuries alongside Jews, realize that doing that created this entire mess then I see no way to rectify the situation. Let me ask you, if China decided that San Francisco's Chinatown should be made into its own country & that non-Chinese people had to give up their homes & businesses to make room for only Chinese immigrants what would we say??? I don't think I have to answer that do I. Well that is what the "great powers" did in 1948 when they created Israel! We will pay for this forever until we realize that the original sin of creating a new country out of an existing country & moving those residents out that it can only lead to hatred of one against the other.
I laud Bernie Sanders for continuing to bring bills to the floor to stop aid and arms sales to Israel. We shouldn't be part of their continued killing sprees, nor their efforts to annex the West Bank.
When we began our financial support for Israel, it was a new state. It is no longer a poor country. Our aid to Israel should be redirected to Gaza immediately. Let the Israeli groups who lobby and donate to US politicians, give that money to Israel instead. And send our US dollars to Gaza, a land demolished by the bombs we paid for.
Netanyahu is a war criminal who has turned the beautiful state of Israel into a monstrosity. He is a disgrace to his country, his people and all Jews everywhere.
One of the reasons for this is that the longer he wages war, he apparently stays in office and stays out of jail for his fraudulent dealings.
Thank you for this reporting. Netenyahu is not to be trusted. His cost to Isarael will be difficult to change when he is gone.We need tyo see that perpetual war finally solves little and causes great harm.
Exactly the same had happened here. How do you suggest we stop the racism, misogyny and the fact that Americans think their opinions and beliefs are more important than facts? They also have no clue that there are responsibilities that come with our rights.
"In the past, our aid helped “to incentivize Israel to negotiate peace deals with the Palestinians. "
And that was the past. Israel is now a wealthy and war-like country in its own right. Like corporations that don't need government subsidies (corporate welfare) when they are already doing well enough on their own, Israel is in the same condition. The only difference is that Israel is not doing anything for our benefit. It is time to stop supporting a government that commits war crimes and genocide. It's time to turn off the military and financial aid to this country.
For the US-Israel relationship to "mature," Israel must leave behind Netanyahoo's extremist approach to its Arab neighbors. As Arab states must leave behind their aims of eliminating the state of Israel. And for heavens sake, let the US send competent, well-informed diplomats to any Mideast negotiations we attend.
The worst part of Nut-and-Yahoo's policies are that in the long run they mainly serve only him, not Israel. Bibi has only 2 goals:
1. To stay in power
2. To stay out of prison
And beyond that he couldn't care less about Israel. He figures by making perpetual war he can avoid the completion of his trial, and maybe even get a pardon.
Don the Con and Nut-and-Yahoo are both full of crap, but the mechanism is different. According to a metric I remember reading in a Zakaria column when I still read the WaPo, there's a difference between a liar and a bull(stuff)er.
Paradoxically, a liar actually respects the truth. Liars know the truth, or at least believe something to be true, but then go ahead and say things they know or believe are not true.
In contrast, bull(stuff)ers say whatever is convenient at the moment, without knowledge or care of whether there's any truth involved.
Bibi's a liar who deliberately lies, obfuscates the truth, or misleads people for self serving reasons.
Don the Con has no filter between his brain and mouth, and so articulates whatever thought happens to pop into his otherwise-empty head. He neither knows nor cares whether there's even a grain of truth in there.
That would require us to first get rid of every GOP in Congress. AFTER that is accomplished, we can demand an end to lobbying by corporations and end Citizens' United. We need to look at and help more people understand progressive policies. With that accomplished, we might be able to vote out people like Schumer and still get a dem in his place.
Mr. Pebbles may be on to something as we are witnessing here at home. Deflection. Stay in power as a means of avoiding accountability for corrupt practices. A further note. American Jews face a conundrum re support for Israel. The road to an Israeli- Palestinian accord is frought with so much animosity on both sides and so much mis information serving so many fragmented groups in the equation ,that ,just as Oct 7 demonstrated ,for Israel a paper accord laid on a bed of deep religio- political animosity as the Islamic world demonstrates toward Jews portends continued existential challenges. No matter how you move the pieces on the mid eastern geopolitical board one comes up with existential threat and insecurity rendered by the Islamic world about Israel on all sides. For the most part Israel has been able to protect itself ,but the protection causes a lot of collateral death. So American Jews are placed in a position of having to prioritize their fealty. America where we live peacefully,albeit with rising antisemitism fostered or excused as a reaction to Israeli policies and for our generation ,still marred by Holocaust memories,is of prime consideration ie voting based on American - Israeli relations or based on what is good for America nationally and internationally. One hopes the latter prevails as the current American politics demands a profound change from its current state.
Be careful what you wish for. Netanyahu has ALREADY SAID that he thinks Israel should stop being a ward of the United States, relying on foreign aid, and instead be a greater partner WITH US DEFENSE CORPORATIONS! In other words, they want to infiltrate our Defense industry, making it impossible to dislodge them no matter what they do! No.
I supported Israel all my adult life but, now as I enter my 8th decade, I understand that I’ve been played for decades! Israel, long ago abandoned a two state solution . I’m angry at myself that it took me so long to decry the mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza & the West Bank.
Netanyahu is a monster, but the Israelis who support him also have blood or their hands
I feel your pain. I too am in my eighth decade. I have felt since "W's" second term that evangelicals were being used by the republican party. It just never dawned on me that the people I once worshiped with were evil enough and stupid enough to fall into the hands of the heritage foundation.
Yes, I agree Netanyahu is a monster along with those who support him, but that's no different than johnson and thune being as much monsters as the trump regime.
Fast approaching 78, and I saw this happening starting with Ronald Reagan's presidency.
It would be more accurate to say -- the United States abandoned a two-state solution. After extraordinarily laborious efforts at Camp David, at Oslo, over successive administrations, it was our muscle, our influence, our say-so that got agreements signed that moved toward this. Then, as with so many other foreign challenges, we lost interest, shrugged our shoulders, went back to business as usual, and Netanyahu was the result. An inert, corrupt Palestinian leadership in the West Bank that might have otherwise provided a real alternative to Hamas's lunacy was another result.
Putting it a bit too simplistically, but I blame us more than him.
I seem to remember that it was actually an assassination perpetrated by the right wing in Israel that put them on their current track
Yes. Itzhak Rabin -- the "peace of the brave." Many unclean hands.
I know this is a minority view but it's still possible. There was a deal. Land for peace.
Most of the American Arabs I know are Christian, know that their people are just as vulnerable as Jews in an Mos;em coiuntry. We can't tell the players without a scorecard.
Just as some Americans voted Trump in, some Israelis voted Netanyahu in. Thre is plenty of blame to go round.
Same here, but half way through my 7th. Watching the BBC B&W's of the camp liberation's in the 50's, I swore I would always support the Israelis, but no more. When the government they elected inflicts on others what was done to them by Germany, I quit.
As does every single American who chose not to vote for Harris. We have concentration camps in the US and have attacked a nation without just cause.
My understanding of Israel/Palestine changed when I went to Israel in 2019. To see with my eyes and hear their story with my heart changed my understanding.
Amen!!!B'shalom.
Interesting point. Retired US Army Colonel, and also now Professor Emeritus of history & international relations, Andrew Bacevich has written extensively about the US Military and how US foreign policy creates blow-back that influences both US Military and US civilian culture in unexpected ways. He has described the Israeli military posture as hyper reactive. They are a small state living in a dangerous neighborhood and tend to react quickly with overwhelming force to every provocation. Bacevich noted the Israeli military thinking has started to influence US military thinking and criticized what he saw as a trend in the U.S. military starting to adopt that same hyper reactive posture. Bacevich’s critique is the US has the luxury of being able to be less reactive and more thoughtful/strategic in how it responds. Moving fast with excessive force creates unexpected blow back and new problems that frequently makes the situation worse.
An even closer tie between Israel and US defense contractors would not be in the US interest. If anything, US defense contractors would benefit from learning the lessons Ukraine defense forces and industry have been learning in their battles against Russia. Ukraine has become masters of low-cost, effective weapons systems.
I would disagree that the US is becoming more reactive. That's not the reality. The GOP has become a fascist party (which started with Reagan). N & T are power & money hungry. Both are corrupt with criminal charges waiting for them when they are not in office. The GOP is the minority party, but has used hate & lies to be elected. It has worked because too many Americans are racist, misogynistic, ignorant of the facts, and self-absorbed. The GOP has been aided by the news media since REAGAN ended the Fairness Doc. This mirrored Hitler's step in 1933 to take control of German newspapers to spread his lies & hate.
May I suggest you read the post more carefully. The argument is sbout how the US military is influenced by Israel's and vice-versa. Andrew Bacevich is a long-recognized voice from within our own military-industrial complex who knows a great deal about what he speaks.
"Moving fast with excessive force creates unexpected blow back and new problems that frequently makes the situation worse."
A foreign/military policy of 'move fast and break things' is neither competent nor responsible. It may be financially beneficial to the military industrial complex to keep selling materiel to Israel; it is not beneficial to our foreign relations to other countries,
Assuming that this defense industry alignment is true, there's a way to deal with it if Congress had the spine to do so: no more government contracts for corporations that do business with Israel.
It's not about having a spine. It's about the choices Americans make at the ballot box. We have the racist, fascist GOP party in control of the WH, the House and the Senate because of voter suppression in red ares of the nation and the ignorant/racist people who vote for them. The first step is to help whatever DEM has a chance of winning in any district or state to be elected. The ignorant chose to vote for T, not to vote, or voted for 3rd party candidates that had ZERO CHANCE of winning - all because Harris was just not good enough for them. THAT is why we are in this horrible situation. I am NOT a fan of Schumer's but we cannot risk losing that seat. His district is far from progressive. Challenging him could give the seat to a GOP.
U.S. arms sales to other countries should come with strict compliance rules that allow for contracts to be cancelled any time credible evidence of non-compliance arises. Indiscriminate civilian casualties would be at the top of that list.
The U.S. needs to impose strict standards and conditions upon which our government and our private sector industries will be permitted to give, sell or otherwise furnish any goods or services to Israel that could be used to support Israel’s external military policies, practices and activities.
Israel’s indiscriminate slash and burn devastation of Gaza that killed thousands and thousands of civilians and displaced millions of residents will forever condemn Israel for having committed its own waves of atrocities, for which Donald Trump will be equally remembered for his complicity.
Netanyahu wants to keep wars going to stay in power & to avoid prosecution for his many crimes.
Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
True, except one has already been tried and convicted, but not yet sentenced. Of course, more prosecutions are forthcoming.
Jen I commend you on writing this outstanding article showing true concern of our view of the current Israeli policy. This had to be very hard for you to write and it shows how strong your values are for defending democracy and rule of law. You continue to prove your independent media coverage is one of the best ways to get intellectual information. Thank you for all the hard work you do.
Jen has soft-pedaled her criticism of Israel and its genocide in Gaza. She's become more circumspect, yes, but still doesn't want to see how far Israel's wrongdoings go in the matter of Palestine.
Rubin has a lot to atone for, including her own strong and loud support for Netanyahu through all the Obama years. He was just as bloodthirsty and radical then as he is now (and see below for my answer to the 'she changed her mind' response).
Even since then, her responses are at best conditioned and infrequent. It took The Contrarian until the summer of 2025 to write anything approaching a forceful criticism of the genocide in Gaza (it has never used that term). There has been next to nothing about Israel's constant assassinations of journalists, in Gaza and the West Bank, and now in Lebanon.
This article is the first time I have seen Rubin even mention Lebanon in her morning newsletters. Her only comment about the mass slaughter in Beirut over over 300 people hours after the first 'ceasefire' earlier this month is only to mention that Israel 'inflicts mass civilian casualties in Beirut'.
Her criticisms of AIPAC remain limited to their attacks on 'pro-Israel' candidates, like contrarian favorite Tom Malinowski..she has yet to say anything about pro-Palestinian candidates that were targeted by AIPAC, like Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.
Her piece here is better than most from her, and her change is a welcome one....but is far from some profile in courage, now that even most elected Democrats have been open about criticizing Israel.
So in the light of new and worstening evidence she can't change her mind? Even some of the right wing media that have been banging the bell for Trump for years have stopped. Ms. Rubin should have the same right.
Can you find one single instance of Rubin justifying, explaining, or even acknowledging her many years of full throated support for Netanyahu and Israeli apartheid (as well has harsh criticisms of the Iran nuclear deal, among a hundred other hard right views)?
If so, then post.
The damage she did then can't just be resolved by an overnight about-face with no explanation at all. Her change is welcome, but not enough to make up for all that on its own.
I just saw Anthony Scaramucci on The Left Hook..Over and over he apologized for his past support of Trump and said he was wrong. That is what I would like to hear from Rubin.
She certainly can, but I used to read her opinion pieces in WAPO. And I was disgusted by her unwavering support for the GOP as it clearly was moving to the far right. The people of the LINCOLN Project had supported and aided the GOP right up until T. These are intelligent people who were too blind and unwilling to think for themselves or to question their beliefs until it was too late. They didn't care to notice the consequences of REAGAN ending the Fairness Doc or the GOP since Reagan, the FACT that GOP policies since Reagan had enriched the rich and hurt the rest of the people in the country, They used UNREGULATED capitalism, which allowed near monopolies to grow, caused the housing and loan crisis, and left huge messes for Clinton, Obama and Biden to clean up. Once upon a time I was an independent. As I watched what was happening to the GOP since Reagan, I became a democrat. This was NOT the party of Eisenhower. He would have seen the fascism rising. Despite all this, when she left WAPO and started the Contrarian, I wanted to see what it would bring to the table. It is always important to see what a range of people are reporting.
So Netanyahoo now says Israel's dependence on US aid should wind down in the next ten years...how very convenient for him.
NO! It must end immediately. It should have ended long ago. I never liked political litmus tests. But this year voters should have one: no support of any kind for any candidate who will not commit to ending all financial aid to Israel immediately.
Yup.
Rubin correctly blames “ MAGA Republicans, encouraged by Christian Zionists and Islamaphobic white Christian evangelicals”, but she leaves out the many “centrist” Democrats who still support Israel’s genocide and apartheid, including the several Dem Senators who just weeks ago voted against stopping some military aid to Israel. This included the minority leader Charles Schumer.
Rubin insists on calling Israel a “democracy “ despite the fact that over 5 million Palestinians in the Occupied Territories live under Israel military rule, with no say over the occupying government and no control of their borders or trade. Israel is a “democracy” no more than there is a “ceasefire” in Lebanon or Gaza (or the West Bank, for that matter).
The US is quickly losing our democracy. Are you going to help the fascists complete the job by not voting for or by encouraging others not to vote for certain dems because they don't fit all your litmus tests? We would NOT be here if more people had voted for Harris? What litmus test did they apply? Racism, misogyny, their own self absorption, or just plain ignorance of the facts? How did they NOT know what would happen if T was elected? No candidate has going to have all the characteristics that each & every citizen has in mind for the perfect one. The question is: which of the 2 candidates will be better for the country? I like progressives. I don't want money in politics. I want a candidate who is intelligent, strong, willing to work hard and empathetic to the needs of regular Americans. Both HRC & Harris should have won, but Americans still think their opinions & beliefs are the ONLY thing that matters. Europeans whose news media reported the facts before our election were stunned by these results. One asked me - why didn't they see who T was? Do they not study WWII? She said that they are required to learn every detail so they would recognize fascism.
GREAT 😔 another litmus test! What part of the fact that WE MUST WIN AS MANY SEATS AS POSSIBLE IN CONGRESS In 2026 DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? That is EXACTLY the reason Harris lost in 2024. It was not just the T voters who cost us this mess, but those who didn't vote and those who voted 3rd party because Harris just wasn't good enough. Was it racism, misogyny, self absorption or just plain ignorance of the fact that our democracy would be in danger if she did not win? I do not like Schumer. But his district is a rich one and is unlikely to vote for anyone who is even slightly more progressive. Mamdani could win in NYC because of its diversity, its democratic history, its ranked choice voting and the fact that Cuomo is hated in NY. PLEASE, look at the big picture. If we do not win both the House & the Senate, our democracy will be dead and we will unquestionably have another Great Depression as the corruption and the deficit rises.
Gayle, we're talking about genocide here. Genocide enabled by our dollars. . Compromise of a view or a position is one thing, compromising a fundamental value is another matter. However each of us ends up voting in the privacy of the election booth, left with our own consciences, is a personal dilemma. But demanding that our candidates commit to ending our role in Israel's genocide is imperative.
Both Parties are complicit in the Israeli-Netanyhu human rights violations. Biden provided Israel with weapons with no restrictions, while hamstringing Ukraine with restrictions. Trump's cheering on and involvement in the US/Israeli assasination of other countries' political leaders, and advocating political violence against those on the left (in the US and abroad), while feigning outrage of political violence against him says it all. I'm 74 years old, and I am increasingly feeling as my father must have when he fled Germany in 1935.
Reagan started the march of the GOP to fascism and to a rich white male dominated society. Reagan liked the Heritage Society (P2025). He was also a racist who hid behind his cowboy quote of pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. Hitler got control of the German newspapers to spread his hate & lies about Jews. Reagan cut the Fairness Doc. This led to news journalists not using facts and evidence in their reporting and instead focusing on opinions and beliefs. They stopped judging debates by the facts the candidates used to represent their sides. When I mentioned the patterns I saw, most people said - not possible - it would not happen here. 😔. Even when T spewed hate & lies, they voted for him or REFUSED TO VOTE FOR WOMEN, because they just were not good enough. Now people are in our own concentration camps and the majority are doing what the Germans did.
This is the closest you can get to mentioning the Gaza Genocide? Really? Was Treblinka a summer camp? Were the Turks just aggressive relocation specialists? Is Osiewicim just a historical footnote? Did East Timor depopulate itself? Was the Holodomor sponsored by Ozempic? Say it. Gaza Genocide. Say it.
Even frequent Contrarian guest and head of J-Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, admitted last summer that Israel has committed genocide. So has Israeli human rights orgs B’Tselem and Physicians for Hunan Rights… let alone virtually every other global human rights group, UN officials, and genocide scholars everywhere.
If you're going to shriek like a loon and try to impress people by dropping names in Polish, it's Oświęcim. Say it. Oświęcim. Say it.
I've heard it both ways but if I am wrong I apologize. I don't think I can edit this but if I can I will. And even you spell it two different ways. This does not make my point less correct. And I disrespectfully disagree with your 'shriek like a loon' characterization, you POS. GFYMIH.
Your shrieking and cursing clearly tell us everything we need to know.
So, I agree with what you said here but unfortunately the regime in Washington reflects Netanyahu's desires NOT American citizens' desires. It seems trump is just fine with Bibi leveling the Gaza Strip so that they can eventually have the Middle East Riviera located there with a plethora of trump backed hotels & a golf course or two.
And now Bibi wants to occupy southern Lebanon & is destroying homes there & leveling that area too.
While it definitely angers a large part of our population the regime in DC could hardly care less what, we, the citizens, think!
This is a problem that humans, in their current mindset, can not solve. Until the nations that "created" Israel by relocating Palestinians who had inhabited that land for centuries alongside Jews, realize that doing that created this entire mess then I see no way to rectify the situation. Let me ask you, if China decided that San Francisco's Chinatown should be made into its own country & that non-Chinese people had to give up their homes & businesses to make room for only Chinese immigrants what would we say??? I don't think I have to answer that do I. Well that is what the "great powers" did in 1948 when they created Israel! We will pay for this forever until we realize that the original sin of creating a new country out of an existing country & moving those residents out that it can only lead to hatred of one against the other.
It pains me to say that the creation of the State of Israel was one of the greatest mistakes of Western civilization.
Yes, unfortunately,you are right. It created a nest of hatred where once co-existence seemed to be working.
Jews needed a home, but the Partition Plan of 1947 was terribly crafted, if we can even use that term. Designed for failure.
I laud Bernie Sanders for continuing to bring bills to the floor to stop aid and arms sales to Israel. We shouldn't be part of their continued killing sprees, nor their efforts to annex the West Bank.
"Israeli defense exports hit a new record in 2024, totaling $15 billion." - International Trade Commission
Meanwhile, also in 2024:
"US military aid to Israel reached a record high of over $17.9 billion...according to a report by Brown University's Watson Institute."
So while they're selling arms for profit, we are giving them military aid in nearly the same amount?
When we began our financial support for Israel, it was a new state. It is no longer a poor country. Our aid to Israel should be redirected to Gaza immediately. Let the Israeli groups who lobby and donate to US politicians, give that money to Israel instead. And send our US dollars to Gaza, a land demolished by the bombs we paid for.
I suggest that money is removed completely from politics. No more lobbying. No mire Citizens United.
Netanyahu is a war criminal who has turned the beautiful state of Israel into a monstrosity. He is a disgrace to his country, his people and all Jews everywhere.
One of the reasons for this is that the longer he wages war, he apparently stays in office and stays out of jail for his fraudulent dealings.
Remind you of anyone?
Thank you for this reporting. Netenyahu is not to be trusted. His cost to Isarael will be difficult to change when he is gone.We need tyo see that perpetual war finally solves little and causes great harm.
Exactly the same had happened here. How do you suggest we stop the racism, misogyny and the fact that Americans think their opinions and beliefs are more important than facts? They also have no clue that there are responsibilities that come with our rights.
"In the past, our aid helped “to incentivize Israel to negotiate peace deals with the Palestinians. "
And that was the past. Israel is now a wealthy and war-like country in its own right. Like corporations that don't need government subsidies (corporate welfare) when they are already doing well enough on their own, Israel is in the same condition. The only difference is that Israel is not doing anything for our benefit. It is time to stop supporting a government that commits war crimes and genocide. It's time to turn off the military and financial aid to this country.
We need to stop supporting our current gov't. If only EVERYONE would get out and protest at the same time every day like Minneapolis citizens did!
For the US-Israel relationship to "mature," Israel must leave behind Netanyahoo's extremist approach to its Arab neighbors. As Arab states must leave behind their aims of eliminating the state of Israel. And for heavens sake, let the US send competent, well-informed diplomats to any Mideast negotiations we attend.
The worst part of Nut-and-Yahoo's policies are that in the long run they mainly serve only him, not Israel. Bibi has only 2 goals:
1. To stay in power
2. To stay out of prison
And beyond that he couldn't care less about Israel. He figures by making perpetual war he can avoid the completion of his trial, and maybe even get a pardon.
Don the Con and Nut-and-Yahoo are both full of crap, but the mechanism is different. According to a metric I remember reading in a Zakaria column when I still read the WaPo, there's a difference between a liar and a bull(stuff)er.
Paradoxically, a liar actually respects the truth. Liars know the truth, or at least believe something to be true, but then go ahead and say things they know or believe are not true.
In contrast, bull(stuff)ers say whatever is convenient at the moment, without knowledge or care of whether there's any truth involved.
Bibi's a liar who deliberately lies, obfuscates the truth, or misleads people for self serving reasons.
Don the Con has no filter between his brain and mouth, and so articulates whatever thought happens to pop into his otherwise-empty head. He neither knows nor cares whether there's even a grain of truth in there.
That is why I believe in the possibility that what happened on 10/7 may not have been such a surprise.
We must stop funding Israel's genocide of Palestine and Lebanon. Netanyahu is a monster and he, and his cohorts must go to jail permanently.
He belongs in a cell with our president and Pootin. And they should share a special circle in the afterlife, with Epstein included.
Yep!
That would require us to first get rid of every GOP in Congress. AFTER that is accomplished, we can demand an end to lobbying by corporations and end Citizens' United. We need to look at and help more people understand progressive policies. With that accomplished, we might be able to vote out people like Schumer and still get a dem in his place.
Mr. Pebbles may be on to something as we are witnessing here at home. Deflection. Stay in power as a means of avoiding accountability for corrupt practices. A further note. American Jews face a conundrum re support for Israel. The road to an Israeli- Palestinian accord is frought with so much animosity on both sides and so much mis information serving so many fragmented groups in the equation ,that ,just as Oct 7 demonstrated ,for Israel a paper accord laid on a bed of deep religio- political animosity as the Islamic world demonstrates toward Jews portends continued existential challenges. No matter how you move the pieces on the mid eastern geopolitical board one comes up with existential threat and insecurity rendered by the Islamic world about Israel on all sides. For the most part Israel has been able to protect itself ,but the protection causes a lot of collateral death. So American Jews are placed in a position of having to prioritize their fealty. America where we live peacefully,albeit with rising antisemitism fostered or excused as a reaction to Israeli policies and for our generation ,still marred by Holocaust memories,is of prime consideration ie voting based on American - Israeli relations or based on what is good for America nationally and internationally. One hopes the latter prevails as the current American politics demands a profound change from its current state.