Activist James Zogby pays tribute to his late friend, who was the first politician to welcome Arab Americans into the Democratic Party - and even met with Yasser Arafat when others wouldn't.
This is new history for me to learn; if only Kamala Harris had listened to Arab Americans /Palestinians and allowed them at her convention, things might be different now. I met Reverend Jackson once at O'Hare airport years ago because his wife wanted to pet my huge Standard Poodle. He seemed "larger than life" in person! Very tall with a commanding voice....RIP.
Ramadan Mubarek. Thank you for publishing this. It brings back a lot of memories that were good, and hopeful the 1984 convention here in San Francisco, and moving forward. What a travesty that the DNC did not include Palestinian representation in 2024, we have to get back up off the floor. An egregious misstep. History matters, and progress isn't linear, but we can learn from the past, change and get back on track. Inclusiveness always. True courage.
Yes, thank you Mr. Zogby and Zeteo for this inspiring story in very trying times. It reminds us of what can be done and what real leadership looks like. RIP, Reverend Jackson. You will not be replaced, but your legacy will live on.
RIP Rev Jesse Jackson! It is nice to learn more about his history with Palestine. So sad to know how very long Palestinians have fought just to be seen as human.
Reverend Jackson seemed to always be present at important times and in important situations. Are there hostages that need to be freed? Are there people who need the respect of their country? Are there children to feed and educate? Is there something about the Middle East we should know about and that needs help? People would wonder why he was there, why he thought he could change anything.
He was so often disrespected. Not always out loud, but with body language that I could see even on the TV news.
He was there because it mattered. His commitment to faith and in people led him to believe he could make a difference.
Thank you Rev. Jackson. In 1988, or was it 84?, I was a delegate to the Texas State Democratic Convention. I was so proud and honored to be your delegate and to advocate for Palestinian statehood. RIP.
88 was amazing. I remember addressing the convention and seeing all of the banners, signs, and shirts advocating for justice and peace. I’ll never forget it
I supported Jesse Jackson for president at every opportunity because he was always the best choice. What a difference he would have made! And it is too bad James Zogby didn't get the Kamala Harris campaign to change course on Palestine; the campaign's moral error that led us to the tyrump regime.
Can you imagine how different things might be right now if Kamala Harris had mustered enough courage to allow a place in her campaign for the pro-Palestinian movement!
It would have made a huge difference in her campaign. She knew better, but fell victim to the clutches of the consultants who messed up her campaign. It was one of the problems of the too short campaign. She didn’t have the time to assert herself.
Policing Speech: Why Does The Far Right Attach To Culture Issues?
The Nazi Republicans have figured out that if they control the culture issues they then can control the politics It’s part of the Republican Nazi propaganda playbook of the current regime For this to be exposed is detrimental to their agenda so when CBS/Fox 2 refused to air an interview done by Colbert with D running for Senate James Talarico(https://bit.ly/3MBeCr1) Colbert’s team put it out on YouTube
As a Guardian article(https://bit.ly/49qifHt) discusses the far right uses seemingly innocent cooking videos or music to engender following the ideology of extremism Even using AI to generated material can be expanded to get out the message to various societal interest groups such as tradwives
So the short answer as to why culture issues are used as propaganda campaign ploys is “because it sells” A study being conducted in 6 European countries on the far right movement is delving into how the far right has used propaganda material on culture issues to “bring people along” in fostering a relationship with various groups in a population They have even started their own food delivery services
Here in the US we have seen similar far right approaches to latch onto various divisive cultural issues such as women in solitary domestic roles, diet issues because America is too fat, LGBTQ+ controversy and transgenders in sports, and even the childhood hits such as SpongeBob Squarepants and colored M&M’s promoted by such channels as the Fox propaganda network For example Fox Sports creates a following of NFL football as an entry point in order to bring the audience along to engage them on far right agenda items
But these issues are just propaganda to distract us from realizing they are picking our pockets, gutting our schools, destroying our healthcare while they give tax breaks for their billionaire donors, pardon the wealthy for convicted crimes and raise taxes on all the rest of us
The real fight is not right vs left, it’s top vs bottom
Thank you, Zeteo, for having James Zogby write this piece, as I did not know the details of the Reverend's involvement and his position on the Palestinian issue. His courage in Jerusalem was inspiring. I also learnt that refusal to allow Palestinian voices in the Democratic Party platform is nothing new; they have been doing it all along, as they are bought and paid for by the infiltrated foreigners in the service of the foreign government of Israel. The result of Dukakis's failed attempt was the same as for the last Democratic nominee, who also did not allow any Palestinian voice at the Convention in Chicago.
Please call your senators and congressman today to try to stop people like Albright, Lindsay, Booker, and Fetterman, along with the Clintons start another war in the Middle East.
Clearly Jackson pushed the politicians to hear Palestinian voices at a time when few leaders would — he also never abandoned his view of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. He consistently argued that peace required mutual recognition and self-determination for both peoples, the foundation of a two-state solution he supported.
We can talk about what his role was in the larger context, but not his core principle: lasting peace only comes from two nations living side-by-side, not one replacing the other.
Thank you for publishing this astonishing story of political courage. RIP, Rev Jackson. And thank you for opening doors for Arab Americans.
Thanks for reading
This is new history for me to learn; if only Kamala Harris had listened to Arab Americans /Palestinians and allowed them at her convention, things might be different now. I met Reverend Jackson once at O'Hare airport years ago because his wife wanted to pet my huge Standard Poodle. He seemed "larger than life" in person! Very tall with a commanding voice....RIP.
Ramadan Mubarek. Thank you for publishing this. It brings back a lot of memories that were good, and hopeful the 1984 convention here in San Francisco, and moving forward. What a travesty that the DNC did not include Palestinian representation in 2024, we have to get back up off the floor. An egregious misstep. History matters, and progress isn't linear, but we can learn from the past, change and get back on track. Inclusiveness always. True courage.
Yes, thank you Mr. Zogby and Zeteo for this inspiring story in very trying times. It reminds us of what can be done and what real leadership looks like. RIP, Reverend Jackson. You will not be replaced, but your legacy will live on.
Thank you for this comment. He will be remembered
RIP Rev Jesse Jackson! It is nice to learn more about his history with Palestine. So sad to know how very long Palestinians have fought just to be seen as human.
To see Palestinians’ reactions to him was so revealing. H recognized their pain and humanity and they. Loved him for that
Thank you for this stirring tribute to Rev. Jackson, a powerful hero in many ways.
Reverend Jackson seemed to always be present at important times and in important situations. Are there hostages that need to be freed? Are there people who need the respect of their country? Are there children to feed and educate? Is there something about the Middle East we should know about and that needs help? People would wonder why he was there, why he thought he could change anything.
He was so often disrespected. Not always out loud, but with body language that I could see even on the TV news.
He was there because it mattered. His commitment to faith and in people led him to believe he could make a difference.
And he did.
Perfect!
Thanks so much for the reminder of what courage and a true commitment to equality looks like.
Absolutely
Thank you Rev. Jackson. In 1988, or was it 84?, I was a delegate to the Texas State Democratic Convention. I was so proud and honored to be your delegate and to advocate for Palestinian statehood. RIP.
88 was amazing. I remember addressing the convention and seeing all of the banners, signs, and shirts advocating for justice and peace. I’ll never forget it
I supported Jesse Jackson for president at every opportunity because he was always the best choice. What a difference he would have made! And it is too bad James Zogby didn't get the Kamala Harris campaign to change course on Palestine; the campaign's moral error that led us to the tyrump regime.
great read
Rev. Jackson was a rarity amongst politicians. Thank you for sharing your memories of this amazing man.
Rare indeed. And larger than life
Can you imagine how different things might be right now if Kamala Harris had mustered enough courage to allow a place in her campaign for the pro-Palestinian movement!
It would have made a huge difference in her campaign. She knew better, but fell victim to the clutches of the consultants who messed up her campaign. It was one of the problems of the too short campaign. She didn’t have the time to assert herself.
Policing Speech: Why Does The Far Right Attach To Culture Issues?
The Nazi Republicans have figured out that if they control the culture issues they then can control the politics It’s part of the Republican Nazi propaganda playbook of the current regime For this to be exposed is detrimental to their agenda so when CBS/Fox 2 refused to air an interview done by Colbert with D running for Senate James Talarico(https://bit.ly/3MBeCr1) Colbert’s team put it out on YouTube
As a Guardian article(https://bit.ly/49qifHt) discusses the far right uses seemingly innocent cooking videos or music to engender following the ideology of extremism Even using AI to generated material can be expanded to get out the message to various societal interest groups such as tradwives
So the short answer as to why culture issues are used as propaganda campaign ploys is “because it sells” A study being conducted in 6 European countries on the far right movement is delving into how the far right has used propaganda material on culture issues to “bring people along” in fostering a relationship with various groups in a population They have even started their own food delivery services
Here in the US we have seen similar far right approaches to latch onto various divisive cultural issues such as women in solitary domestic roles, diet issues because America is too fat, LGBTQ+ controversy and transgenders in sports, and even the childhood hits such as SpongeBob Squarepants and colored M&M’s promoted by such channels as the Fox propaganda network For example Fox Sports creates a following of NFL football as an entry point in order to bring the audience along to engage them on far right agenda items
But these issues are just propaganda to distract us from realizing they are picking our pockets, gutting our schools, destroying our healthcare while they give tax breaks for their billionaire donors, pardon the wealthy for convicted crimes and raise taxes on all the rest of us
The real fight is not right vs left, it’s top vs bottom
Thank you, Zeteo, for having James Zogby write this piece, as I did not know the details of the Reverend's involvement and his position on the Palestinian issue. His courage in Jerusalem was inspiring. I also learnt that refusal to allow Palestinian voices in the Democratic Party platform is nothing new; they have been doing it all along, as they are bought and paid for by the infiltrated foreigners in the service of the foreign government of Israel. The result of Dukakis's failed attempt was the same as for the last Democratic nominee, who also did not allow any Palestinian voice at the Convention in Chicago.
Please call your senators and congressman today to try to stop people like Albright, Lindsay, Booker, and Fetterman, along with the Clintons start another war in the Middle East.
Clearly Jackson pushed the politicians to hear Palestinian voices at a time when few leaders would — he also never abandoned his view of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. He consistently argued that peace required mutual recognition and self-determination for both peoples, the foundation of a two-state solution he supported.
We can talk about what his role was in the larger context, but not his core principle: lasting peace only comes from two nations living side-by-side, not one replacing the other.