Why Did Congress Shamelessly Pander to Israel? By Tana Ganeva,

In a recent article on AlterNet titled, "Virtually the Entire Dem-Controlled Congress Supports Israel's War Crimes in Gaza," Stephen Zunes, chairman of the Middle Eastern studies department at the University of San Francisco, argued that the resolutions not only fly in the face of international law, but undermine core humanitarian principles established as far back as the Magna Carta.

Zunes writes that nothing Hamas has or has not done would "absolve Israel of its responsibility under international humanitarian law for the far greater civilian deaths its armed forces have inflicted upon the Palestinians in Gaza. Indeed, it has long been a principle of Western jurisprudence that someone who is the proximate cause of a crime cannot claim innocence simply because of the influence of another party."

Zunes also calls out progressives for demonizing American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Republicans, while letting Democrats off the hook -- after all, the resolutions were co-sponsored by Reid and Pelosi -- and points out that until otherwise-liberal politicians are held accountable for supporting Israeli militarism, the United States will continue to pursue policies at odds with international law and commonly accepted principles of human rights.