🇺🇸 Rebuked

Plus, the world’s cheapest Domino’s pizza is in inflation-hit India. You won’t believe how much it costs…

July 24, 2023

The Flag

Good morning, and happy Monday. Volunteers from Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club of Quincy, Massachusetts hosted their 65th annual fishing trip for disabled veterans on Boston Harbor on July 19, 2023.

Plus, the world’s cheapest Domino’s pizza is in inflation-hit India. You won’t believe how much it costs…

Also, today’s partner is like any masterwork: worth a look.

TRENDING

Left: 'Really Big Deal': How College Towns Are Hurting GOP Mahtesian & Alexander, Politico

Left: DeSantis Campaign Deep in Panic Mode Nick Visser, HuffPost

Right: Why Wealthy Democrats Love Open Borders Douglas Murray, New York Post

Right: Signs a Conservative Counter-Revolution Is Coming Mary Harrington, UnHerd

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US: Pence says Trump conduct around 2021 Capitol attack was reckless but not criminal (Reuters)

US: Relentless US heat wave is likely to extend into August (Axios)

Entertainment: ‘Barbie,’ in 1st, and ‘Oppenheimer,’ in 2nd, fuel historic box office bonanza (AP)

Business: Elon Musk says he’ll get rid of Twitter’s famous bird logo in favor of an X (Axios)

World: Netanyahu deals with medical emergency as Israel reaches new level of unrest (POLITICO)

World: Far-right could enter government as Spain goes to the polls (CNN)

World: Russia strikes Odesa cathedral, as Putin claims counteroffensive 'failed' (AFP)

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CONGRESS

Rebuked

Last Tuesday, the House passed a resolution led by Republicans which showed robust bipartisan support for Israel. The resolution indirectly criticized a prominent Democrat, Representative Pramila Jayapal, who had referred to the country as a "racist state" but later offered an apology.

From The Flag: The resolution received strong support from more than 400 lawmakers. Though not directly naming Representative Jayapal, the resolution was evidently prompted by her criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Here’s how both sides are viewing the situation.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Jayapal’s Comments Have Been Overblown

  • The representative did make a rhetorical mistake which she apologized for and clarified, but the matter has been blown out of proportion.

  • Democrats love to attack their own members who dare speak out on Israel.

  • The GOP is brazenly hypocritical and opportunistic about when it chooses to be offended and when it tolerates antisemitism.

The Hysterical Overreaction to Jayapal's 'Racist State' Gaffe Michelle Goldberg, New York Times: “Jayapal offered an apology and a clarification, saying, ‘I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,’ even though there are ‘extreme racists’ enacting ‘outright racist policies’ in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Jayapal’s clarification was wise: It’s good to be as precise as possible when discussing an issue as fraught and complex as the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Her words at Netroots Nation could have been interpreted as ideological opposition to Zionism, which does not reflect Jayapal’s views; like most Democrats, she wants to see a Jewish state alongside a Palestinian one. Nevertheless, the ferocity of the backlash was striking, suggesting a brittle political denial about Israel’s increasingly authoritarian, jingoistic turn. … If Israel’s champions are truly worried about the fallout from accusations of racism, they might act to make them seem less credible.”

Democrats Locked in Stupidest Fight About Whether Israel Is Racist Prem Thakker, The New Republic: “Representative Pramila Jayapal was the latest victim of the pattern after she called Israel—a state that has committed decades of human rights abuses, engaged in land dispossession and home demolition, upheld separate systems of law, and maintained a militarized police state against Palestinians—a ‘racist state.’ … Republicans have gone on an unsurprising full-throated offensive against Jayapal and her progressive colleagues (while ignoring vile antisemitism among their ranks). But Democrats too have cynically jumped in on attacking one of their own for echoing what an array of human rights organizations have already said. Jayapal felt forced to walk back her statement on Sunday, while still calling out Israel’s ‘extreme right-wing government,’ which ‘has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies.’ Even then, top Democrats were hungry to show how sensitive they are to bad-faith right-wing attacks and how completely insensitive they are to Palestinian rights.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: The GOP’s hypocrisy on antisemitism

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Democrats’ Backing for Israel is Waning

  • Democrats are making it harder to distinguish between criticizing Israeli policies and leaders versus the existence of Israel itself.

  • The facts don’t support the statements made about Israel by Jayapal and her Democratic colleague Representative Illhan Omar.

  • Jayapal’s willingness to meet with India’s Narendra Modi, who’s accused of religious persecution, shows her hypocrisy on Israel.

Boycott-Israel Movement Comes to Congress Editors, National Review: “As the base of the Democratic Party has become increasingly hostile toward Israel, its leaders have sought to draw a distinction between opposing specific policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and opposing the nation of Israel itself. But it’s getting harder and harder for that distinction to hold. On Wednesday, when Israel’s President Isaac Herzog spoke to Congress, at least five progressive Democrats [boycotted]. Representative Ilhan Omar led the way last week by tweeting that there was ‘no way in hell’ she would attend. She was followed by ‘Squad’-mates: Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, and Jamaal Bowman. … Though Democratic leaders will sweep Jayapal’s comments under the rug and dismiss the Squad as a small and insignificant group within the House, it’s hard to ignore the broader anti-Israel trend within the party”

Debunking Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar on Israel Jack Elbaum, Washington Examiner: “Jayapal claimed that ‘Israel is a racist state,’ while Omar said that Palestinians have experienced occupation for 75 years. The facts suggest their statements are simply wrong. But while one demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge, the other revealed a profound radicalism. … In Israel, all citizens have full civil and political rights. Consequently, Arab-Israelis vote in elections and their parties currently hold 10 seats in Israel’s parliament. A few years ago, an Arab party was a part of the ruling coalition, and one of Israel’s supreme court justices is an Arab Muslim. … [Per Omar’s claim] that the Palestinian people have been occupied for 75 years…notice the number? 75 years ago, it was 1948 and Israel was founded. But it had no control over the West Bank, Jordan did, nor did it have control over Gaza or the Golan Heights, which were controlled by Egypt and Syria respectively. Israel did not gain control of any of those areas until 1967.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Any Way You Say It, Congresswoman Jayapal, It Spells H-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y Rabbi Abraham Cooper, The Media Line

FLAG THIS

Americans Prefer a Democratic Over a Jewish Israel

According to a recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland, a significant majority of Americans (73%) would prioritize Israel's democratic identity over its status as a Jewish state if the two-state solution were no longer an option and the West Bank and Gaza Strip were under Israeli control. (Haaretz).

If the two-state solution were no longer an option, which of the following would you prioritize:

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FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Machu Picchu Encounter, China’s Vision, Flash Crash

Photograph of Machu Picchu taken by Hiram Bingham III in 1912 after major clearing and before reconstruction work began.

On July 24, 1911, American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at the ruins of Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

Today I learned that a reclusive British trader caused a flash crash in 2010 that wiped $1 trillion off the US stock market while trading from his parent’s house in London.

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