Does the Congressional Black Caucus Still Oppose Apartheid?
A founding principle at a watershed moment
As I spot-checked the 58 members of Congress who voted over the weekend to approprove H.R. 8034, the staggering $28 billion supplemental appropriations bill to Israel, I was taken aback at the scant opposition from members of the Congressional Black Caucus (“CBC”). The partisan vote in opposition to H.R. 8034 was comprised of 31 Democrats and 21 Republicans, affirming the position of a minority of House Democrats as the de facto opposition to the apartheid and alleged genocidal policies of the Jewish ethnostate1.
The CBC has a historic 60 members serving in the 118th Congress - representing the voices of more than 120 million Americans. Yet only 14 CBC members2, representing 23% of the caucus, voted against the enormous Israeli military aid package. Most prominent amongst those members is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), one of Israel’s most strident supporters and largest recipients of contributions from AIPAC and pro-Israel donors.
What’s particulary noteworthy is how far the CBC has veered from its beginnings back in 1971. The CBC bills itself as the “Conscience of Congress” primarily due to its leading roll in opposing apartheid in South Africa. On its website the CBC reinforces its leadership role in bringing down apartheid in colonial South Africa, and cites that struggle as a foundational principle of the caucus.
The first anti-apartheid bill in Congress was introduced in 1972 by Rep. Ronald Dellums (D-CA), a founding member of the CBC. The purpose of the bill was to cement the CBC’s position in opposition to apartheid and other racist practices in South Africa. Two other bills were also critical in the CBC’s crusade against apartheid: (i) a prohibition on loans and new investment in South Africa and enforcement of sanctions on imports and exports, and (ii) a resolution that called on South Africa to free Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and to recognize the African National Congress as the political voice of South Africa’s black majority.3
Although the three foundational bills introduced by CBC members failed, they served as the basis of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. The legislation supported by the CBC was similar in some ways to the #BDS movement that was launched decades later by Palestinians in opposition to apartheid practices enforced by Israel: denying Palestinians the right to return to property seized by Israel, the illegal occupation by Israel of Palestinian territories and discrimination by Israel against its Palestinian and Arab citizens. The CBC portrays its mission as not only supporting its constituents but also “for what affects one black community, one poor community, one urban community, affects all.” And “When it comes to conflicts at home and abroad, especially in Africa and African diaspora countries, it is important to come to the aid of those in need, and the CBC has history of doing this that begins with helping to end apartheid.”
Is the CBC backtracking on its opposition to apartheid? That’s a compelling question today, all the moreso when juxtaposed with the vigilant prosecution of Israel’s apartheid by South Africa at the International Court (the “ICC”)- the very nation that inspired the formation of the CBC. Last February South Africa told the ICC in most unambiguous terms that:
“Palestinians are enduring an ‘extreme’ form of apartheid.”
In addition the CBC’s support for H.R. 8034 places most of its members in the awkward position of having sided with Israel- a majority white ethnostate- over South Africa. Late last year South Africa took Israel before the ICC, accusing it of having commited genocide- a charge which the Biden White House deemed “meritless” and an Israeli declared as “blood libel”. In a preliminary ruling in January the ICC called on Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, and found it plausible that Israel’s actions fall within the scope of the Geneva Conventions on genocide adopted following World War II. A final ruling will likely not be forthcoming for years.
But- why? Why does the CBC take a pass on serious accusations of apartheid, of genocide which were central to its founding? I suggest three possibilities.
Self-interest. Follow the money, always. In the post-Citizens United world, money has eroded traditional loyalties in what has become a no-holds barred electoral system which rewards candidates with the ability to raise or personally underwrite political campaigns with staggering amounts of capital. Around the time the CBC was formed, the combined spending of both parties in the presidential race of 1972 was $137 million- roughly $1 billion in today’s dollars. In 2020 the Georgia Senate race alone cost $600 million in today’s dollars. The need to raise large sums to run for federal office gives great advantate to those with resources, and pro-Israel donors are significant underwriters of federal campaigns waged by politicians who support Israel. The incentive to back Israel is substantial, the rewards are very real- as reported in this informative piece recently published in The Guardian.
Fear of being labeled antisemitic. Powerful Zionist organizations exact harsh social penalties from politicians by conflating any criticism of Israel as antisemitic. That is a primary reason there has been little or no debate about US support for Israel- out of fear of retaliation. Barack Obama, America’s first Black president, acknowledged as much in his presidential memoir “A Promised Land”.
Racial identity politics. Though the CBC presents as a natural ally for Palestinians, there seems to be a nuance as to what sort of “apartheid” it opposes and on what sort it remains silent. The CBC makes note of special consideration for “Africa and African diaspora countries” which may indicate that its members are more reluctant to become embroiled in disputes that do not involve ethnically-African cohorts. Though the CBC has opposed apartheid in South Africa and genocide in Darfur, it is unclear as to whether opposing apartheid in Israel and accusations of genocide by Israel in Gaza is outside its Afro-centric wheelhouse.
Only members of the CBC can answer these questions. I suspect that any first-time candidate running for Congress and needing to raise a lot of money would be tempted to cast their lot with Israeli / Zionist interests. That would be a rational decision. And that a Democratic incumbent, similarly, would not want to invite a primary challenger for having not supported Israel- and take cover under the Biden Administration banner of “ironclad support” for Israel. That would be a rational decision as well.4
As for the Palestinian people: is their plight that of being too poor, too Muslim, and too brown? Has the CBC- a stallwart supporter of overturning the brutal system of apartheid in South Africa- moved beyond its founding principles of 50 years ago, or has it surrendered to economy of self-interest, fear and racial purity? Members of the Palestinain diaspora, Muslim Americans, and tens of millions of pro-Palestian Democrats are elgible to vote in next November’s general election.
The Knesset in 2018 passed a law with constitutional status affirming Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people,” declaring that within that territory, the right to self-determination “is unique to the Jewish people,” and establishing “Jewish settlement” as a national value. To sustain Jewish Israeli control, Israeli authorities have adopted policies aimed at mitigating what they have openly described as a demographic “threat” that Palestinians pose. Those policies include limiting the population and political power of Palestinians, granting the right to vote only to Palestinians who live within the borders of Israel as they existed from 1948 to June 1967, and limiting the ability of Palestinians to move to Israel from the OPT and from anywhere else to Israel or the OPT. Other steps are taken to ensure Jewish domination, including a state policy of “separation” of Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza, which prevents the movement of people and goods within the OPT, and “Judaization” of areas with significant Palestinian populations, including Jerusalem as well as the Galilee and the Negev in Israel. This policy, which aims to maximize Jewish Israeli control over land, concentrates the majority of Palestinians who live outside Israel’s major, predominantly Jewish cities into dense, under-served enclaves and restricts their access to land and housing, while nurturing the growth of nearby Jewish communities.
Reps. Thompson (D-MS), Waters (D-CA), Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Lee (D-PA), Omar (D-MN), Presley (D-MA), Jackson (D-IL), Johnson (D-GA), Lee (D-CA), Bowman (D-NY), Bush (D-MO), Frost (D-FLA), Green (D-TX), Carson (D-IN).
Introduced by CBC members William H. Gray (D-PA) in 1985 and George Crockett (D-MI) in 1986, respectively.