Rep. Bell’s support of Israel is problematic and flies in the face of his constituents’ concerns
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
There’s something to be said for activism in the face of indifference. For years now, the Israel-Hamas conflict has stirred up strong emotions, decimated Gaza and many innocent people in the region, and even helped to affect a presidential election. Ignoring the problem isn’t acceptable in the eyes of many, yet that’s exactly what many, excluding some rather surprising outliers in the government seem content to do.
I can only speak for myself, but I believe Israel’s actions to be a genocide. It’s just objectively correct to call it that.
John Oliver, on his show “Last Week Tonight” has previously covered Israel, Benjamin Netanyhau and the conflict much better and more thoroughly over the last few years than I can here, and you can watch those takes below, including one from this week (if you can handle all of the curse words that is).
What I believe I can speak for many on, however, is that the Democratic response to the conflict has been lackluster, even from one of our local leaders.
Wesley Bell has ruffled a lot of local feathers over the last two years. Wesley Bell also accepted American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) money for his campaign, which helped to oust then-incumbent Cori Bush and eventually win his election in November. Wesley Bell has also recently gone on AIPAC-funded trips to Israel.
Recently, he held a continous town hall, where he disagreed with the characterization of Israel committing a genocide. Video shows him openly arguing with his constituents before leaving the stage, and video posted online after shows security and police forcefully removing citizens from the building with a bit too much roughness. It was not a good night for someone who claims to represent the interest of his constituents.
Wesley Bell is flat out wrong. And he knows it. His denial felt hollow, but I’m sure his pockets felt full.
Bell’s defense of Israel’s actions isn’t surprising in the slightest, especially because the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in ‘Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission’ has allowed organizations and lobbyists like AIPAC to (among other things) fund campaigns without restrictions, and thus politically silence critics who attempt to run for office. Cori Bush certainly had a lot of problems, but I think it’s hard to say that she ever has done a worse job for her constituents than Wesley Bell has thus far. And Cori Bush, for all her faults, never once took AIPAC money.
Admittedly, Wesley Bell is not my congressional representative. That would be Ann Wagner, who is worthy of a column’s worth of criticism in her own right. That’s for another time.
What is worth noting now, however, is AIPAC’s grip on so much of our government. Many Democrats like Bell, in particular, are beholden to defend Israel’s conduct because of the massive amount of political contributions from AIPAC that they receive. At this point, they are no longer serving the interests of the people.
I’m not sure what to do to fix that problem, either. There very well may not be a fix for it. Once a SCOTUS decision like “Citizens United” is made, it’s extremely hard to turn back from. The only real fix may very well have to be Republicans and Democrats agreeing to not take AIPAC money, and that will just never happen at this point. Politics is a money game.
That doesn’t mean that our congressional representatives shouldn’t be held accountable. They should. When they take lobbyist money in exchange for defending a genocide, they should be.
Wesley Bell, while elected to public office by a majority of the constituents that he represents, should be challenged for his views, and not run away from criticism. If you’re going to behave in a way that attracts criticism, own it. Own the excessive force used after you departed from the hostile rally as well.
Do not pretend like you are on the right side of history.
