Why is Netanyahu in a panic about Iran’s potential to develop a weapons program? – it’s old news, and all evidence points to Iran’s compliance. But a war would distract the world from Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as they peacefully demonstrate.
Kenneth Marcus, nominee for Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education opposes academic freedom, free expression, and BDS, and supports a broad, Israel-centric definition of anti-Semitism. The American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee is asking us all to demand our Senators vote him down. Phone now!
South Carolina is poised to be the first state to pass legislation to adopt an Israel-centric definition for “anti-Semitism.” This will then apply to the state’s campuses, potentially limiting discussion of Israel-Palestine to one-sided information that fosters U.S. policies that provide Israel $10 million per day. The bill has been heralded in Israel as a “a landmark bill” that will lead change across the U.S. and the world, while South Carolina lawmakers appear to have let it through in the belief that it isn’t significant legislation.
Amira Hass writes in Ha’aretz that Israeli soldiers who kill unarmed Palestinians didn’t pop up for the 1st time three weeks ago. Nor did the army’s excuses start only then. Gross violation of human rights (and Israeli denial) are as old as the state itself – even older. The actions excuses continue unabated in spite of smartphones and security cameras.
Samia Nasir Khouri boldly calls out Israel for a list of human rights violations and indignities perpetrated on Palestinians during the 70 years of its celebrated existence. She then offers a prayer of blessing on the dispossessed and repentance for the dispossessors from Rabbi Brant Rosen.
Richard Silverstein reports on the assassination of Gazan engineer Fadi al Batsh in Malaysia and notes it resembles that of of Mohammed al Zoary last year. He asks why Israel kills academics and then protests academic boycott. His answer: An Israeli professor “would never see the equivalence between him or herself and a dead Palestinian professor.”
As Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary, a child and grandchild of exiled Palestinian refugees describes his remarkable family history – family members harbored Jewish neighbors in 1929, helped Count Folke Bernadotte, after Israel confiscated the family home, Golda Meir lived there… and discusses the continuing injustices endured as Palestinians resist Israel’s violent colonization.
Killing of Palestinians is not new. It has been going on for decades, unabated, uncriticized, and bankrolled by the US. The Leahy Laws enable us to withhold aid to countries that commit human such rights abuses, but in spite of overwhelming proof of abuse by Israel, our politicians refuse to cut off military support.
In the past 10 years, Israel has launched three massive genocidal wars of aggression on occupied Gaza… this came after years of a deadly medieval Israeli siege of Gaza… this followed Israel’s ethnic cleansing of multitudes Palestinians… It is time for the world to stand up to the only remaining apartheid regime in the world
Mohammed Ayyash is just like any other boy – only cooler. And braver.