Palestinian/ Israeli update 11/15/2016.. Will Trump help Israel annex the West Bank?

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Will Trump help Israel annex the West Bank? | The Electronic Intifada

……………… AIPAC “apopleptic”

The morning after his upset victory, AIPAC quickly congratulated Trump in a press release that emphasizes the most pro-Israel talking points that the president-elect made in a speech to AIPAC as a candidate in March.

But AIPAC is reportedly “apopleptic” at one of Trump’s first key appointments, that of Steve Bannon as chief strategist.

Bannon is the former CEO of the far-right media outlet Breitbart News.

While Breitbart News’ coverage and commentary is strongly pro-Israel, Israel lobby groups accuse Bannon of fostering anti-Jewish prejudice.

Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), has condemned the Bannon appointment. “It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the ‘alt-right’ – a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists – is slated to be a senior staff member in the ‘people’s house.”

If major American anti-Palestinian groups feel Bannon’s appointment puts them in an awkward position, it is one of their own making. The ADL and AIPAC may be uncomfortable with Trump’s open embrace of bigotry, but they have long been unabashed promoters of the bigotry and extremism of Netanyahu and his government who will likely have no trouble dealing with Trump and his White House.

Abraham Foxman, who held the post of ADL director for decades until his retirement last year, even embraced prominent Islamophobes with a history of anti-Semitism, such as evangelical pastor John Hagee, just as long as they were pro-Israel.

Trump’s election has received an enthusiastic response from Israeli leaders who hope the incoming president will move the US embassy to Jerusalem and help them bury the two-state solution once and for all.