Israel lobby in the United States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israel_lobby_in_the_United_States&wprov=rarw1 .........Voting power According to Bard, "Jews have devoted themselves to politics with almost religious fervor." He cites that "Jews have the highest percentage voter turnout of any ethnic group" and that of the American Jewish population "roughly 94 percent live in thirteen key electoral college states" which alone "are worth enough electoral votes to elect the president. If you add the non-Jews shown by opinion polls to be as pro-Israel as Jews, it is clear Israel has the support of one of the largest veto groups in the country." Bard goes on to say that for United States congressmen "there are no benefits to candidates taking an openly anti-Israel stance and considerable costs in both loss of campaign contributions and votes from Jews and non-Jews alike." "Most important fact about the Jewish vote in America", according to Jeffrey S. Helmreich of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, "lies in the fact that it is a uniquely swayable bloc. ... The issue of support for Israel [by a candidate] has proven capable of spurring a sizable portion of Jews to switch parties—in large enough numbers to tip the scales in national or statewide elections. Moreover, the "Israel swing vote" is especially open to political courtship because, unlike the interests of other minority groups, support for Israel has long been compatible with traditional Republican and Democratic agendas. ... On the other hand, being distinctively unsupportive of Israel can significantly hurt a candidate's chances."[47][48] According to Mitchell Bard, Israel lobbyists also educate politicians by: taking them to Israel on study missions. Once officials have direct exposure to the country, its leaders, geography, and security dilemmas, they typically return more sympathetic to Israel. Politicians also sometimes travel to Israel specifically to demonstrate to the lobby their interest in Israel. Thus, for example, George W. Bush made his one and only trip to Israel before deciding to run for President in what was widely viewed as an effort to win pro-Israel voters' support.
According to The Telegraph, Israel now decides whether or not free speech matters in Britain. The disgrace of proscribing a non-violent group will eventually be reversed, though the stain will remain. My uncle’s second wife, whom I met only a few times, was deeply involved in Palestine solidarity groups. A devout Catholic, she walked the Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimage routes over thirty times. At her funeral, we were all offered Free Palestine badges to wear if we wished. Most did. But of course, being Irish, and educated in how such things work, there was a quiet sense among some of us: was that flag doing more harm than good? Perhaps a different symbol would have served better. Something universal. Something that precedes flags. Something like a... well not a national emblem, but a symbol of protest and shared humanity. Unfair, perhaps. Most others gained their independence under their flag. I still feel the same reservation about that flag, but I wonder if it's because I still don't know enough or were my instincts well founded? "Origins: The Arab Revolt Flag (1916) The design of the Palestinian flag is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. That flag was created in 1916 by Arab nationalists with British support and consisted of three horizontal stripes (black, green, and white) and a red triangle at the hoist. Each color symbolized a historic Arab dynasty: Black – The Abbasid Caliphate White – The Umayyad Caliphate Green – The Fatimid Caliphate Red Triangle – The Hashemites, who led the revolt These colors became known as the Pan-Arab colors and were used in many post-colonial Arab flags (e.g., Jordan, Syria, Sudan, the UAE)."