Updated 2024-04-08
2024-03-17 Is ‘Cultural Erasure’ Only Wrong When Our Enemies Do It? “What’s happening in Gaza is a multi-layered act that extends far beyond the physical destruction of artifacts or the killing of individuals,” according to Mariam Shah, writing at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “These actions are part of broader destructive processes that undermine a community’s heritage, identity, and existence—with profound symbolic and psychological implications for Palestinians not only in Gaza but globally…”
“This destruction, both physical and symbolic, serves a larger political agenda—the erasure of Palestinian identity and collective memory, which may amount to cultural genocide.”
A few months ago—well into the Israeli assault on Gaza, with U.S support and weaponry—U.S. State Department Undersecretary Uzra Zeya spoke about “cultural erasure” at a conference in Prague. “We are at a critical juncture in history,” she said, “where the very fabric of many unique religious and cultural identities is being threatened by authoritarian regimes and extremist groups around the world.”
She proceeded to condemn Russia, China, and ISIS in Iraq for inflicting hell and ethnocide on vulnerable cultures in their domain. She then declared: “The United States will continue to speak clearly and forcefully against attempts to erase the culture and unique identities of vulnerable communities, and we will back up our words with our actions.”
By arming Israel? In a remarkable Al-Jazeera interview, three Palestinians talked about their culture—their art and poetry, theater and song—and how not only is it being bombed and demolished, it’s standing directly against the ethnocide, not simply resisting but transcending it. These are the words of Serena Rasoul, one of the interviewees:
“The most defiant act of resistance is to sing… to one another, to God, to the land. You can level our buildings but you can’t destroy our spirits. The majority of Palestinian folk songs are around joy and love. That’s who we are.” https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/cultural-erasure-united-states-gaza
2023-11-10 Why American politicians are ‘lying’ about Gaza | The Big Picture Are there Hamas tunnels under hospitals? Did Israel give up Gaza in 2005? Did the Palestinians reject their own state? This week on The Big Picture, we examine a widely shared interview with Hillary Clinton, praised as informative and illuminating. Except most of what she says about Gaza isn’t true – so why is she misleading the public? It could be her financial ties to Israel, and influential Israeli lobbies in the United States. She’s not the only one. Subscribe and listen to The Big Picture on all podcast platforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aI8r70Znvk
2023-10-27 Here’s Why U.S. Elites Support Israel No Matter What Why does the US gov’t support Israel no matter what? Hint: it has to do with imperialism. BT’s Kei Pritsker explains the crucial role Israel plays in US domination of the Middle East and geopolitics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH8d7UJNmaA
2023-10-19 U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Calling for “Humanitarian Pause” of Gaza Assault The United States has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian pause to Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip and its 2.3 million inhabitants. The resolution, sponsored by Brazil, called for full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for U.N. agencies to deliver lifesaving aid to the besieged territory. It included a condemnation of Hamas’s attacks on Israel and demanded “the immediate and unconditional release” of hostages. On Wednesday, 12 of the Security Council’s 15 members voted in favor of a humanitarian pause in Gaza; Russia and the U.K. abstained; while the United States used its privilege as a permanent member of the Security Council to exercise its veto. https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/19/headlines/gaza_death_toll_nears_3_800_as_israels_siege_and_bombardment_enters_13th_day
2023-10-14 The Punishment of Gaza Ralph welcomes Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy to discuss recent attacks by Hamas and the Israeli military in Israel and Palestine. Then, international law expert Bruce Fein speaks with Ralph about the recent violence, America’s response, and America’s historical culpability. https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/p/the-punishment-of-gaza#details
2023-10-13 The US Is Just As Culpable As Israel For The Atrocities Committed In Gaza The Israeli government dropped thousands of leaflets on Gaza telling everyone who lives in the northern part of the strip that they have 24 hours to evacuate to the southern part, and then bombed the people who were trying to evacuate. United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric denounced the evacuation order, saying the UN “considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.” Many Palestinians have said they’re going to stay where they are because they have nowhere safe to go, despite being told by Israel they must leave if they want to “save their lives”. We’re about to see the death and destruction get much, much worse in Gaza, and it’s already very, very bad.
And top-down commands are being issued within the US government to support this massacre unconditionally. The Huffington Post reports that the State Department has been circulating internal emails telling staff to avoid calls for peace, instructing them to refrain from using phrases like “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.” Asked about progressive congressional members calling for a ceasefire, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “we believe they are wrong, we believe they’re repugnant, and we believe they’re disgraceful.” https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-us-is-just-as-culpable-as-israel
2023-10-11 Biden Does Not Urge Restraint in IDF Attacks Against Gaza as New U.S. Weapons Arrive in Israel President Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday. He did not urge restraint in Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack. President Biden did not refer to slain Palestinians or the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in his remarks. The first shipment of advanced weaponry from the U.S. arrived in Israel Tuesday, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to land in Israel Thursday. https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/11/headlines/death_toll_in_israel_and_gaza_tops_2_200_as_gazans_face_total_energy_blackout_and_no_safe_refuge
2023-08-25 A Visit to Jenin Shows the Consequences of Performative US Policies The assault in July was executed using weapons from U.S. arms deals, despite tightened restrictions issued by President Joe Biden in February. Despite the use of the Apache helicopter by Israel to breach the Geneva Conventions in 2002, the U.S. government has taken no action to halt future arms sales to Israel. These actions clearly violate both the CAT policy and international law, but the arms deals are still being authorized, implicating the U.S. in the ongoing occupation and emphasizing the lack of accountability.
Biden’s CAT policy was just released February of this year, specifically to include tighter restrictions on arms deals, but somehow Israel is evading accountability yet again. It begs the question, are policies written in a way to allow exceptions when it benefits U.S. interests? The tighter restrictions take form in the language used to define the standards by which the recipient of arm sales will be assessed. The previous policy uses the phrase “actual knowledge,” which Biden replaced with “more likely than not.” This is in reference to the standards by which the recipient of the arms sales will be assessed in their likelihood of using the weapons to commit atrocities. https://codepink.substack.com/p/a-visit-to-jenin-shows-the-consequences
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Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict
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