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Senator Sanders and Representative Bowman call on POTUS and State Department to ensure our tax dollars don’t fund Israel’s oppression of Palestinians
Jewish Voice for Peace Action welcomes the news that Representative Jamaal Bowman and Senator Bernie Sanders are circulating a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking the administration to "undertake a shift in U.S. policy in recognition of the worsening violence, further annexation of land, and denial of Palestinian rights [by the Israeli government]" and "to ensure that all future foreign assistance to Israel, including weapons and equipment, is not used in support of gross violations of human rights."
Jewish Voice for Peace Action Political Director, Beth Miller:
“Representative Bowman and Senator Sanders’s letter is an important call to action. Over 80 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers just since the beginning of 2023, and the Biden administration’s statements of ‘concern’ mean nothing without action and accountability. Leaders in Congress who join this letter are following the demands of a rapidly growing number of Americans - including American Jews - who want to see the Israeli government held accountable for its decades of oppression of Palestinians.” Beth Miller is available to speak with the media.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action) is a multiracial, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies working towards justice and equality for Palestinians and Israelis by transforming U.S. policy.
(510) 465-1777LATEST NEWS
'Overturn This': Trump Mocked Worldwide After Belgium Embarrasses US in 4-1 World Cup Rout
"I can think of only one thing more satiric than the only country on Earth that still routinely makes fun of soccer fixing the world’s biggest soccer tournament in their own favor. That would be fixing it and losing anyway," said one observer.
Jul 07, 2026
President Donald Trump's meddling in the 2026 FIFA World Cup came back to haunt him on Monday after Belgium demolished the US Men's National Team in a 4-1 rout.
On Sunday, multiple reports revealed that FIFA had overturned its one-game ban of top US player Folarin Balogun after Trump placed a phone call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino urging him to review referees’ decision to give Balogun a red card.
Trump's interference with the World Cup's disciplinary procedures and FIFA's decision to suspend Balogun's red card and allow him to play in the wake of Trump's call both drew sharp condemnation from longtime sports journalists and professional footballers, who said it called the integrity of the entire competition into question.
Concerns about the US winning a tainted victory due to Trump were ultimately banished, however, when Belgium dominated the US and eliminated them from the tournament.
After Belgium scored its fourth goal of the night, its players ridiculed Trump by doing an impersonation of the dance the president often performs at campaign rallies.
La selección de #Belgica se burla de Trump y en su casa. pic.twitter.com/sQEwyKqM3L
— ZuritaCarpio (@ZuritaCarpio) July 7, 2026
The Belgian team's social media accounts also took a shot at the president by posting images of victorious players alongside the caption, "Overturn this."
Overturn this. 🧏♂️ #USABEL pic.twitter.com/KcBAJp3Z7d
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 7, 2026
Media outlet MeidasTouch observed after the US loss that there have now been multiple occasions where the president has injected himself into a major sporting event, only to see his preferred competitor come up short.
"Sports fans are calling it the Trump curse," MeidasTouch wrote in a social media post. "He attended the Super Bowl and predicted a Chiefs win, but the Eagles blew them out... He sat in the owner’s suite when the Knicks snapped their huge playoff streak in NBA Finals Game 3. And he attended the Ryder Cup where Europe topped the US team."
A Tuesday report in USA Today similarly examined the possibility of a "Trump curse" in sporting events, of which the US Men's National Team's "error-plagued, idea-less, and lackluster performance" was only the latest example.
In a Tuesday column in The Financial Times, Edward Luce linked Trump's failed meddling in the World Cup with other disastrous initiatives such as his infamously botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
"Call it the anti-Midas touch," Luce quipped. "Donald Trump loves gold. Yet so much of what he handles, from reflecting pools to US alliances, seems to turn into something else."
French newspaper Le Monde also took a dig at the president in its report on the US-Belgium match, writing sarcastically that "we are being told that Donald Trump wants to launch a legal action against Gianni Infantino, accusing the Belgian national team of having played football this Tuesday."
Writing in The Guardian on Tuesday, columnist Marina Hyde noted that Trump had turned global public opinion squarely against the US team in the tournament, and there was "joy" at seeing the president's machinations flop.
"It really brought the world together," Hyde remarked. "The last time this many people cheered on a Belgian resistance, it was 1914 and the Germans had just crossed the Meuse."
In a Monday column published by The Globe and Mail in Canada, Cathal Kelly declared that Trump's failed intervention had turned the US into a "laughingstock."
"I can think of only one thing more satiric than the only country on Earth that still routinely makes fun of soccer fixing the world’s biggest soccer tournament in their own favor," wrote Kelly. "That would be fixing it and losing anyway."
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Following Platner Allegations, Progressives Warn Democratic Establishment: 'This Is Not Your Opening'
The campaign, said one organizer, "was never really about one candidate. It was about what Mainers ultimately wanted and deserved: a Senate seat that answers to them."
Jul 07, 2026
As calls mounted on Monday evening for US Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race in Maine following sexual assault allegations, progressive organizers emphasized that primary voters in the state have made clear their demand for a candidate who prioritizes the needs of working people.
Should Platner be replaced as the Democratic nominee, said the political action organization Our Revolution, the new candidate must be one "who has actually lived the fight Graham Platner ran on: a record with working people, with unions, against corporate money."
"To the Democratic establishment: This is not your opening," said Joseph Geevarghese, the group's executive director. "Mainers did not vote by an overwhelming margin against Janet Mills and the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]'s handpicked pick just to be handed another status-quo candidate anyway. They deserve what they voted for... The movement will settle for nothing less, because that is what Mainers deserve."
Platner has not said whether he will end his campaign, during which he has traveled across the state and energized voters from across the political spectrum with his working-class-focused platform—one that calls for Medicare for All, a billionaire's minimum tax, a stop to "billionaires buying elections" through a repeal of Citizens United, and an end to US military aid for Israel.
In a video he posted on social media Monday in response to the allegations, which came from a woman he dated from 2019-21, he denied that he had committed sexual assault but said he was "mindful of the political reality” and that his campaign is "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" in order to defeat five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The Maine Senate race is crucial as Democrats aim to win back control of the US Senate.
An aide for Platner told The New York Times Monday evening that if he were to step aside, "it would only be with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for."
Platner won the Democratic primary in June by nearly 53 points. His opponent, Gov. Janet Mills, was on the ballot despite having suspended her campaign in April, citing a lack of funds. Ahead of the primary, Platner had faced other controversies, including one regarding comments he made on Reddit several years ago; a skull-and-crossbones tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol—a connection he said he was not aware of; and allegations of physical aggression from a GOP-affiliated ex-girlfriend.
Geevarghese said Monday that "everyone deserves a fair and open process, and Graham Platner is entitled to due process like anyone else. But the allegations against him are credible, and at this point they are too serious to treat as a distraction from the campaign or the issues. Sexual violence is a red line. We are withdrawing our endorsement and calling on him to withdraw from this race."
He emphasized that the campaign "engaged thousands of working people in Maine around a simple idea: that Maine's Senate seat should belong to its people, not corporate money."
"That was never really about one candidate," Geevarghese said. "It was about what Mainers ultimately wanted and deserved: a Senate seat that answers to them."
The sentiment was echoed by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which had not previously endorsed Platner.
"The power of the Platner campaign was undeniable, but that power does not come from a candidate; it comes from tens of thousands of Mainers who were inspired by his campaign's platform and urgency," said Maine DSA. "Over the last year, everyday people who had long ago written off electoral politics have shown up and worked to build power on a scale Maine has never seen before."
"Maine Democratic Party leadership has a choice: Nominate an establishment candidate who offers excuses, not answers, and ultimately loses to Susan Collins; or offer a candidate who harnesses the still-growing momentum, follows the platform that is so energizing to voters in Maine and across the country, and takes our state back for the many, not the money," said the group.
The state's Democratic candidate for governor, former state legislator Hannah Pingree, also said that Platner had "tapped into something real—voters hungry for change showed up with real passion and energy."
"That energy doesn't have to go away," said Pingree. "It needs a new candidate to carry it forward."
Under state law, Platner could be replaced on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13. The state Democratic Party would have until July 27 to name a replacement.
According to the Times, party officials in the state "have discussed possible plans to replace Mr. Platner on the ballot, with options including a pop-up convention on the weekend of July 25 to choose a nominee, or holding a statewide caucus to effectively redo the party’s primary election."
They have reportedly "ruled out having the state party’s committee, which includes about 100 members, choose the nominee."
Potential replacements who have been named include former Democratic gubernatorial candidates such as Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who campaigned with Platner and was also endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) when he ran for governor.
Jackson told Bangor Daily News reporter Benjamin Kail late Monday that potentially having to replace Platner on the ballot was "something I never considered, but if Graham's stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I'm the best person to replace him."
He said he "received dozens of calls and messages of support" after the news broke Monday.
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Big Oil Takeover 'Now Complete,' Watchdog Warns as Exxon Lawyer Joins Trump DOJ
“The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet.”
Jul 07, 2026
The executive counsel at the fossil fuel behemoth ExxonMobil is leaving his role to join the Trump Justice Department's newly renamed Energy and Natural Resources Division, a move one watchdog organization said shows that "Big Oil’s capture of the US government is now complete."
Robert Levy, who worked at Exxon for 17 years, announced in a recent LinkedIn post that he is departing the company, whose profits surged amid the Trump administration's illegal war on Iran. Levy will reportedly serve as senior counsel at the DOJ's Energy and Natural Resources Division, which the Trump Justice Department renamed last month from the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement Monday that "the new so-called Energy and Natural Resources Division at the Justice Department explicitly aims to abuse emergency powers to drive oil and gas production, override state environmental enforcement, and generally serve at the beck and call of Big Oil."
"Nothing could make that more clear than the naming of Robert Levy, ExxonMobil’s former executive counsel, a position that had him leading the company’s legal strategy on advocacy and civil justice, to run the division," said Weissman. "The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet."
US President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on delivering massive, climate-destroying wins for the oil and gas industry, which spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support the president's White House bid and the campaigns of his Republican allies.
Fossil fuel giants have received a significant return on their investment. As Owen Bacskai of the Brennan Center for Justice noted, Trump's "signature legislative package—which one executive deemed 'positive for us across all of our top priorities'—gives oil and gas firms $18 billion in tax incentives while rolling back incentives for clean energy alternatives."
Trump has also "placed fossil fuel allies in charge of the agencies that oversee the industry and fast-tracked drilling projects on public lands," Bacskai wrote. "In just his first 100 days back in office, Trump took at least 145 actions to undo environmental rules—more than he reversed during his entire first term as president. Before Trump even reentered the White House, the industry was reportedly pre-drafting executive orders for him to issue."
Perhaps the biggest gift to Big Oil was the Environmental Protection Agency's decision earlier this year to repeal the "endangerment finding" underpinning climate regulations.
Critics expect more of the same industry-friendly actions from the Trump DOJ's Energy and Natural Resources Division, which last week touted its role in defending "Trump’s executive orders on unleashing American energy, reinvigorating the clean coal industry, and declaring an energy emergency."
“The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet," said Weissman of Public Citizen.
Last year, Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project released an analysis showing that the Trump administration has installed dozens of former fossil fuel industry employees, executives, and lawyers across the federal government, positioning Big Oil allies to advance "the massive expansion of polluting energy, the destruction of public lands, and the sabotage and suppression of renewable energy."
“This is nothing short of a Texas oil industry takeover of the US government at the expense of consumers, the climate, public health, and public lands and waters,” Alan Zibel, a research director at Public Citizen, said at the time of the report's release. "To execute his extreme, reckless, backward-looking fossil fuel agenda, Trump has stocked his administration with fossil fuel staffers and ideologues."
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