The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has been spending tens of millions of dollars on political races during the current election cycle, aiming to defeat progressive candidates who are critical of Israel and who express support for Palestinians. Many voters might not even be aware of this, because AIPAC-funded ads and mailers often omit any mention of Israel…
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The United Kingdom, joined by Canada and France, announced this week that they are taking action against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It’s an announcement that is at once groundbreaking and insufficient. Specifically, the UK said it would suspend export licenses for weapons materially supporting Israel’s illegal occupation; ban imports of Israeli settlement goods, and…
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The United Auto Workers (UAW), a union with some 400,000 active members across the U.S., has voted to divest its estimated $400,000 from Israel bonds. The divestment vote makes the UAW the first major national union to vote to divest from Israel. On Thursday, UAW members voted at the union’s 39th Constitutional Convention in Detroit, where some 1,000 delegates from UAW locals around the…
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Microsoft’s Israel subsidiary has announced that its general manager, Alon Haimovich, will be stepping down from his position on May 31, after an investigation into the subsidiary’s collaboration with the Israeli military. Microsoft ordered an inquiry into its Israel subsidiary last year after a joint investigation by The Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine…
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Since 2014, U.S. lawmakers have introduced over 200 bills targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The vast majority of these efforts have failed to pass, but more than 30 states have adopted anti-BDS laws. The first state-based measure to take specific action against Israel boycotts was passed in Illinois in 2015; 49-0 in the Senate and 102-0 in the House.
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On Tuesday, May 5, Google AI workers in the U.K. launched a unionization bid, as part of an attempt to end the use of their technology by Israel and the U.S. military. Workers at Google DeepMind — Google’s AI research laboratory, based in London — sent a letter to management Tuesday requesting recognition of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union as official…
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