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Dr. Osama Abuirshaid, the executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, said that Israel is a parasite that sucks the blood of the American body. He made these remarks in an interview that aired on Yarmouk TV (Muslim Brotherhood-Jordan) on September 22, 2021. Dr. Abuirshaid, who was commenting on the vote in Congress over U.S. aid to replenish Israel's Iron Dome Missiles, said that accusations of antisemitism are no longer influential in the U.S., because they are "illogical." He went on to say that some American cities don't have clean water or electricity, yet $1 billion is given to Israel for the "so-called" Iron Dome, and the continued killing of the Palestinian people with American missiles. He added: "The more the Americans know about Israel the less they like it." Dr. Abuirshaid said that Israel has become a partisan issue in the U.S. and that Democrats and American Jews have become increasingly supportive of Palestine. For more about Osama Abuirshaid, see MEMRI TV clips Nos.8580, 5558, and 5487.
Dr. Osama Abuirshaid: "We are witnessing the closing of the ranks, and an emphasis on the force that supports Palestine within the Democratic party. The grassroots are more supportive of Palestine. The majority of the Democratic base is more supportive of Palestine than the Republicans are. Many American Jews are more supportive of Palestine. Their concept of support obviously differs from the Eastern, or Arab, notions here. It is not that they want to go back to the source of the problem, and view Palestine from the River to the Sea as occupied land, but they believe that the Palestinians deserve to live.
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"Today, Israel represents the ugly face of racial segregation, of apartheid, especially when we know that the tactics used by the American police... It is not the federal police that pounce on people and killed [George] Floyd and others. These tactics were taught by the IDF and Israeli security experts. They say to them: 'We are experts in dealing with civilian population and civilian intifadas. We will teach you how to deal with them.'
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"At the end of the day, these $1 billion [for the Iron Dome] will be passed in Congress."
Journalist: "How come?"
Abuirshaid: "They will be passed by the votes of the Republicans.
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"Israel has become a partisan issue. There is no longer a political consensus about Israel. Criticizing Israel is no longer tantamount to political suicide.
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"Israel today is a case of a parasite living off the American body. America is going through an economic crisis. America is suffering strategically. It is suffering in many places in the world. It is withdrawing from many places in the world – from Afghanistan, from the Middle East, from other places, because it wants to focus its capabilities on the rising Chinese dragon. Nevertheless, Israel pulls America back. It sucks the blood of America and scatters its attention. These are facts. What I am saying is considered to be antisemitic, and I will be accused of [antisemitism], but these accusations are no longer influential, because they are illogical. There is no electricity or clean water in some American cities, but we do have $1 billion to give to Israel – on top of the $3.8 billion we give to Israel every year – so that it can develop the so-called Iron Dome, and continue killing the Palestinian people with American missiles.
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"The more the Americans know about Israel the less they like it."
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