ICJ genocide ruling apparently meaningless to Israel, as Palestinian deaths, torture continue apace; Gaza pier debacle comes to an end; water crisis for Palestinian residents of Jerusalem; Israel demolishes high number of West Bank structures; Netanyahu says No to October 7th investigation; Israeli gov’t continues racist, anti-free speech actions; US sanctions one Israeli soldier for years-old crime; more.
A bill before Congress seeks merely to stop US aid dollars from subsidizing the incarceration and torture of Palestinian children. Pro-Israel organizations would rather believe outrageous fallacies than stand up for these kids’ rights.
The Friends of the IDF gala Wednesday raised a small fortune for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) – a military machine that uses American aid to kill and maim.
Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter after shooting a wounded Palestinian in the head, now has a paid position on the political campaign of an Israeli Prime Minister candidate.
Azaria served 14 months for the killing. He returned to Hebron a folk hero and celebrity.
Israeli politicians all seem to share a platform plank of vitriol and threats toward Palestinians. Their campaign ads are full of mocking, insults, and accusations against Palestinians. It’s been like this for years, and it’s worse now than ever. And it’s not good for Israel.
As Israel considers adopting the death sentence for Palestinians, it is worth recalling that under occupation, Palestinians already face harsh injustice and that such a law would be illegal according to international law. The examples of Elor Azaria’s 9-month prison term for killing an unarmed, injured Palestinian at point-blank range, and Ahed Tamimi’s 8-month sentence for slapping an IDF soldier, indicate that the Israeli “justice” system is already severely lopsided.
Israel’s Nation-State Law, celebrated by many Jewish Israelis, is deeply worrying to Palestinian Israelis. Already, after just one month, violence, threats of violence, and discriminatory policies are in high gear – this after decades of unrestrained injustice. And still the world remains silent.
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.
Elor Azaria took the life of a man who was no threat and received a lenient sentence. His sentence has been reduced to 9 months, though he shows no remorse. (Contrast Ahed Tamimi, who slapped an IDF soldier in full armor, and has just reached a plea bargain that will give her a total prison time of 10 months.)