For any true understanding of Israeli Military (Fascist) Occupation of the Palestinians, and genocide of the latter, one must go to a “thick analysis,” rather than a "thin analysis,” of the narratives. As well as see political dynamics in the context of “Networks,” as the two attachments below argue, both written by Israeli academics, though I have quibbles with the author of “Israel’s Radical Right” in being unwilling to use the more true political term of “fascist,” instead of “populist.”
The other two articles here, The Intercept article, and the one on Texas Conservatives, show the linkage between Texas Republicans/Conservatives, and Israel’s genocide which they’re part of through the “network” they belong to, with Jeff Yass a major figure in both Israeli and Texas politics, as described by The Intercept. In other words, Texas Republicans are simply, more than any other state Republican Party with the exception of DeSantis’ Florida Party, US Likud! With the supporters of Trump and/or DeSantis, playing leading roles in that! Even if they try to conceal that aspect of their support.
Quote: "Pennsylvania billionaire and Republican megadonor Jeffrey Yass is a key benefactor behind both the Moderate PAC, which fights progressive primary challengers in the United States, and the Kohelet Policy Forum, which is working to reshape the political system in Israel.
. . .
"Kohelet’s stated aims are to “secure Israel’s future as the nation-state of the Jewish people” and “broaden individual liberty and free-market principles in Israel.” Pulling from the playbook of the American Legislative Exchange Council — a Koch-backed group that writes model legislation for conservative lawmakers across the U.S. (TP-to include anti-BDS legislation) — Kohelet’s founder helped draft the law that became Israel’s Basic Law on the Nation-State in 2018. The controversial policy established Jewish people as having the sole right to self-determination, downgraded Arabic from its status as an official language, and declared the development of Jewish settlement a “national value.” Kohelet also drafted a new law that gives Israel’s Parliament the power to override Supreme Court decisions, grants the government complete controlover judicial appointments, and abolishes the courts’ reasonableness doctrine, which was most recently used to disqualify a thrice-convicted criminal and Netanyahu ally from serving as health and interior minister.
“A couple of conservative American billionaires are devoting bottomless resources to undermine democracy,” wrote Debra Shushan, director of policy at J Street, in a recent brief on Kohelet’s work to reconfigure the Israeli judiciary.
"But Kohelet’s aims are not restricted to Israel’s domestic politics.Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, noted that the group’s director of international policy has supported U.S. legislation that would make boycotts against Israel illegal and has worked “to effectively change U.S. laws so that we no longer view boycotts of Israel or settlements as a legitimate form of protest.”
. . .
"Yass, a libertarian and one of the country’s biggest GOP donors, (TP-hey, just like Charles Koch!) is the only contributor to the Moderate PAC. The group is led by operatives with no political experience who are little known in Washington: Ty Strong, a former financial and business analyst, serves as president alongside his mother, the chief financial officer. With President Joe Biden’s former campaign manager as its sole consultant, the PAC pledged last month to raise $20 million to defeat progressive primary challengers this cycle and “scare off” progressive groups like Justice Democrats. Yass did not respond to a request for comment.
"The billionaire’s support for radicalizing conservative politics in Israel is well known, but his domestic political ventures have only recently involved tamping down on progressives in Congress, who have consistently been the only elected officials willing to criticize U.S. support of Israel. His bankrolling of the Moderate PAC comes as international good governance groups are increasingly recognizing Israel as an apartheid state, and officials in Congress are censuring members who speak out against Israeli violence. The House of Representatives voted earlier this month to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the body’s most vocal critics of Israel’s human rights abuses in Palestine, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"Kohelet and the Moderate PAC are both part of a broader project to silence criticism of Israel in Congress and bolster institutional support for the Netanyahu regime, Friedman said. Kohelet has been behind many of Israel’s illiberal policies, she noted, adding that Congress has stifled critiques of the same policies, which have been condemned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. “Now the common refrain in Congress is, ‘Oh, this is antisemitic,’ which is then used to shut down critics of Israel like Ilhan Omar. There’s something rather elegant about this.”
So speaking of the usual loathsome Conservatives, are any worse than Texans? Here’s Yass again:
BLUF: "To fund his statewide push, Mr. Abbott received a $6 million campaign contribution — the single largest in state history — from a Pennsylvania billionaire, Jeff Yass, who supports school voucher programs. A pair of West Texas billionaires who have long backed Christian conservative causes put in more than $2 million to help candidates aligned with Mr. Paxton."
Background: "Rarely have intraparty battles between Republicans in Texas been as bitter, protracted and consequential as the primary contests culminating in Election Day on Tuesday.
"The fights have primarily focused on members of the Texas House who angered many conservative voters last year by impeaching the Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, on charges of corruption and abuse of office. Mr. Paxton, who was acquitted in the Texas Senate, vowed revenge, and number one in his sights has been the house speaker, Dade Phelan.
"Gov. Greg Abbott has also been going after a number of Republicans in the Texas House, seeking to unseat those who opposed his plan to use public money to help families pay for private and religious schools.
"Aggressive campaigning by both statewide leaders is amplifying tensions that have simmered for years between the party’s old guard and a more socially conservative faction aligned with former President Donald J. Trump that sees Tuesday’s vote as a chance to shift the balance of power in the Texas House, which has served as a moderating force in the state’s politics.
"The fight is not unique to Texas as Republicans across the country and in Congress engage in a struggle for control of the party. But the outcome could reverberate widely if Republicans in Texas, the most populous and wealthiest conservative state, decide the state needs to move even further to the right."
In Texas, a ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Brawl for Control of the G.O.P.
Attorney General Ken Paxton is out for revenge. Gov. Greg Abbott wants private school vouchers. Both want to bring down incumbent Republicans in Tuesday’s primary and shift the state further to the right.
The Texas House speaker, Dade Phelan, giving a speech at a campaign rally in Beaumont, Texas, earlier this month. Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
J. David Goodman interviewed more than two dozen voters, candidates and consultants in Austin, Houston, Katy and Vidor, Texas.
Rarely have intraparty battles between Republicans in Texas been as bitter, protracted and consequential as the primary contests culminating in Election Day on Tuesday.
The fights have primarily focused on members of the Texas House who angered many conservative voters last year by impeaching the Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, on charges of corruption and abuse of office. Mr. Paxton, who was acquitted in the Texas Senate, vowed revenge, and number one in his sights has been the house speaker, Dade Phelan.
Gov. Greg Abbott has also been going after a number of Republicans in the Texas House, seeking to unseat those who opposed his plan to use public money to help families pay for private and religious schools.
Aggressive campaigning by both statewide leaders is amplifying tensions that have simmered for years between the party’s old guard and a more socially conservative faction aligned with former President Donald J. Trump that sees Tuesday’s vote as a chance to shift the balance of power in the Texas House, which has served as a moderating force in the state’s politics.
The fight is not unique to Texas as Republicans across the country and in Congress engage in a struggle for control of the party. But the outcome could reverberate widely if Republicans in Texas, the most populous and wealthiest conservative state, decide the state needs to move even further to the right.
“This is a once-in-a-generation election,” said Nick Maddux, a Republican consultant who is working with Mr. Paxton and for Republican candidates in more than a dozen races.
If the two chambers of the Texas Legislature came out of the election aligned further to the right, “it would be the most conservative legislative body in the country,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican consultant who has done work with school voucher supporters. “Dade and his allies are the only thing preventing that from happening.”
The flood of outside money and the sheer number of contests, including more than two dozen races seen as competitive, have forced longtime representatives into nail-biting fights for their political lives. Those involved in raising money said the primary appeared likely to be the most expensive yet seen in Texas, a state famous for big campaign spending.
To fund his statewide push, Mr. Abbott received a $6 million campaign contribution — the single largest in state history — from a Pennsylvania billionaire, Jeff Yass, who supports school voucher programs. A pair of West Texas billionaires who have long backed Christian conservative causes put in more than $2 million to help candidates aligned with Mr. Paxton. Millions more have been spent to defend Mr. Phelan and his embattled colleagues.
“It’s uniformly the most painful election we’ve experienced,” Mr. Phelan said, referring to his own experience and that of his colleagues.
Greeting voters this week in Vidor, Texas, near the Louisiana border, Mr. Phelan — wearing a white T-shirt and a camouflage hat, both imprinted with his name — bristled at his opponent’s claims that the Texas House under his leadership had not advanced conservative causes.
“We went from 50,000 abortions to 34, and they’re saying that that’s not pro-life. We have constitutional carry. You no longer have to get a permit from the government to carry a firearm, and they were saying that’s not good enough because convicted felons can’t have them,” Mr. Phelan said. “Tell me what’s left to do? Mandatory carry?”
In addition to trying to oust the Republican state representatives like Mr. Phelan who backed the attorney general’s impeachment last year, Mr. Paxton is trying to remake the state’s highest criminal court by unseating three Republican judges who serve on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
He has criticized the judges as Republicans-in-name-only for their part in an 8-1 ruling by the all-Republican court finding that the state Constitution did not allow Mr. Paxton to unilaterally prosecute criminal cases of voter fraud without going through local district attorneys.
Sharon Keller, the presiding judge and one of those facing a challenge, said she was surprised at the attacks. “I’ve always been criticized, if anything, for being too conservative,” she said in a television interview.
At the same time, Mr. Paxton is facing criminal charges, dating to a 2015 indictment for securities fraud. Arguments over details that have delayed that case have already been before the top criminal court whose judges he is now attacking.
While both Mr. Abbott and Mr. Paxton have been going after incumbent Republicans, their interests are not always aligned. And Mr. Abbott has himself faced challenges from the hard right of his party, including in his 2022 primary.
In the Houston suburb of Katy on Monday evening, Mr. Abbott appeared with State Representative Jacey Jetton, who supported the governor’s private school voucher plan but had voted to impeach Mr. Paxton. It was the third time the governor had traveled to the area in support of Mr. Jetton during the primary.
In an interview, Mr. Jetton lamented the large number of mailers and advertisements against him, particularly those suggesting that he supported the “trans agenda.” He clarified that he was a co-sponsor of a ban on gender-transition care for minors.
“There are a number of candidates that are running on complete lies,” he said. “If they win, I think that puts us in a dangerous direction.”
Nowhere has the campaign been as hard-fought as in the Southeast Texas district that Mr. Phelan has represented since 2015, and where his family has been prominent in business for generations. A boulevard in Beaumont, the largest nearby city, carries the family name, as does a shopping plaza. He has not faced an opponent of either party in a decade.
Mr. Phelan is being challenged by David Covey, a local Republican Party activist and technical adviser to the oil and gas industry who has promised to help make the Texas House more like the lock-step conservative Senate.
Mr. Covey, who described himself as a “very committed Christian and a conservative,” said in a telephone interview that Mr. Phelan and other representatives in Austin were too accommodating to Democrats and had lost touch with what Republican voters want.
“The conflict comes from elected leaders not listening to the Republican voters and the majority of the Republican activists,” he said.
His campaign has been bolstered by third-party groups like Texans United for a Conservative Majority, backed by West Texas oil and gas money, and catapulted into the national spotlight by an endorsement from Mr. Trump, who called Mr. Covey out of the blue to offer it.
“It was an incredible moment in my personal life and in the campaign,” Mr. Covey said. “His message was, as Texas goes, so goes the nation.”
Mr. Phelan, for his part, has been supported by Rick Perry, the former Republican governor, who has held two events for the speaker in recent weeks.
At one point in the race, online entertainers, posing as supporters of Mr. Phelan and claiming to have a transgender child and a fentanyl addiction, knocked on doors in the district, including Mr. Phelan’s own house. He was not home at the time, Mr. Phelan said, but his wife and four children were.
Separately, a 44-year-old man from Orange County in Mr. Phelan’s district was arrested after making threats against Mr. Phelan on Facebook. “He talked about what rifle he was going to use and how he was going to do it — I think he said my right temple,” Mr. Phelan said.
A recent poll from the Texas Politics Project, a program at the University of Texas, showed Mr. Phelan’s statewide approval had risen slightly from December, but remained below 30 percent.
“Phelan has been in there a while, maybe it’s time for some new blood,” Pat Jinks, a resident of Vidor, said after voting for Mr. Covey at the early voting center there. Her husband, Brett, said he voted for Mr. Phelan.
Another voter, Tony Wilcoxson, the mayor of the nearby town of Rose City, emerged and shook hands with Mr. Phelan. He said he had voted for the speaker because of the aid Mr. Phelan had secured for the area after Hurricane Harvey. “I’m as conservative Republican as they come, anti-abortion, pro-gun, all that good stuff, but at the end of the day you’ve got to take care of people,” he said.
Turnout for early voting in the primary elections in Texas has been light in most places, and Republican voters who came to cast ballots in Vidor appeared torn and eager to put the contest behind them.
“I wasn’t unsatisfied” with Mr. Phelan, said Randy Jarrell, who nonetheless said he voted for Mr. Covey. He said the Trump endorsement had an impact on him and his wife, who also backed the challenger. Both were tired of the fliers in their mailboxes and the barrage of attack ads on television.
“I’ll be glad when it’s over,” he said.
A correction was made on
March 3, 2024
:
An earlier version of this article misstated the last name of a Republican consultant. He is Nick Maddux, not Maddox.
A version of this article appears in print on March 4, 2024, Section A, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: In Texas, Focus on Brawl For Control of the G.O.P.. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
