MN-04: McCollum seeks to block annexation

At least she, and some other electeds, have some integrity and humanity on this.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) has introduced legislation that condemns the Israeli government’s proposed annexation of the West Bank and blocks any U.S. aid that would potentially be used to fund it.

The Israeli Annexation Non-Recognition Act is endorsed by over 30 progressive organizations and is cosponsored by six other Democratic House members: Reps. Rashida Tlaib (MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Ilhan Omar (MN), Mark Pocan (WI), and Andre Carson (IN).

“I want Palestinians and Israelis to have their human rights respected, their right to self-determination realized, and a future with peace, security, equality, and justice,” said McCollum in a statement,  “Annexation is antithetical to these goals and will fuel instability, injustice, and an abhorrent system of apartheid. This is an intolerable outcome for Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans. I reject Israeli annexation. I condemn annexation. And I will work to ensure the U.S. does not support, defend, or legitimize any plan to illegally annex Palestinian lands.” - Mondoweiss

MN-04: Rep. McCollum is taking a lot of crap for being right

Comes with the territory, I suppose, for any public figure who supports an honest, humane, intelligent approach to this issue.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum is not backing down from her criticism of AIPAC. 

After issuing a daring statement lambasting the pro-Israel group, the US legislator vowed to continue advocating for the human rights of Palestinian children and push against attempts to silence her.

In an interview with Middle East Eye, McCollum said AIPAC's attacks on Israel's Democratic critics in Congress prove that the organisation is not "inclusive or non-partisan" as it claims to be. - Middle East Eye

This, too:

 Congresswoman McCollum (MN-04) released the following statement:

“I’m proud to represent the largest Hmong community in the U.S. The remarkable contributions of our Hmong and Lao neighbors keep our community strong and successful. Many Hmong and Lao people arrived as refugees and resettled in Minnesota after fleeing their homeland because of their help and support of the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. It is a betrayal of the courage and sacrifice of our Hmong and Lao veterans and their families for the Trump administration to deport anyone to Laos. I completely reject efforts by the State Department to pressure the Lao government into signing a repatriation agreement. Such an agreement would result in a green light for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest and deport individuals in our community with orders for removal to a country they fled decades ago. This is a dangerous policy that will tear Hmong and Lao families apart, and I will do everything I can to stop it.” - mccollum.house.gov

MN-04: Rep. McCollum is serious about protecting the BWCA

Among other things, both of Minnesota’s U.S. Senators have been trying to negotiate the safest possible political path on sulfide mining. Hopefully, maybe, this will get far enough to put them in a tough spot.

Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced legislation Wednesday to permanently ban copper, nickel and precious metals mining across more than 200,000 acres of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota.

The bill would forbid new mining operations within the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, including a project proposed by Twin Metals Minnesota, which last month submitted plans to state and federal regulators to open an underground copper-nickel mine outside Ely, and just a couple miles from the southern edge of the BWCA. - MPR

Here is a most excellent learning tool regarding the Twin Metals/Antofagasta proposal.

MN-04: Rep. McCollum keeps trying to do something for the Palestinians, but without enough company

From a recent email I got:

Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota just reintroduced her legislation in Congress that would prohibit our tax dollars from funding the Israeli military detention of Palestinian children—and this time, it’s an even stronger challenge to occupation and apartheid! The groundbreaking bill is the followup to H.R. 4391 in the last Congress, which boasted 31 cosponsors.

This bill exists because every year, Israel detains and prosecutes between 500 and 700 Palestinian children in military courts that have a conviction rate of 99.74%. Instead of living free and safe childhoods, Palestinian children fear Israeli soldiers pulling them from their beds in the middle of the night to face torture and ill-treatment. - US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

I get that Israel has a “right to exist.” I also get the population and resource pressures that country is facing. But that doesn’t give the country’s politicians, or any of its citizens, any right to treat the Palestinians as subject people without rights - up to and including extremes of exploitation, abuse, and even murder.

MN-04: Stuff about Rep. McCollum

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) has been getting some press lately for her new gig as Chair of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and what she might do with that. But I’m taking the opportunity to pass this along, that I’ve been hanging onto for a while.

In that basement hotel ballroom, though, there was still uncertainty when Rep. McCollum rose to speak. She outlined Israel's new “nation-state” law. Most of the audience was already familiar with the law, and how it had turned the country’s longstanding discriminatory practices designed to privilege Jews and disempower Palestinians, into an official component of Israel's Basic Law: the equivalent of a constitutional amendment. But would she say the whole truth? Four or five hundred people were sitting on the edge of their chairs.

“The world has a name for the form of government that is codified in the Nation-State Law,” she said. “It is called ‘apartheid.’” There was a collective gasp, and the audience, many in tears, leaped to their feet in a massive ovation. - In These Times

Here's an election guide for what’s coming up in Israel, scheduled for April 7. The general feeling seems to be that voters won’t go for a lot of turnover. But there’s always hope.