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Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

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Blame Protesters

Posted on October 25, 2023 by mekorganic

Blame Protesters

Updated 2023-12-08

2023-12-03 It is hypocritical to protest Israel but be silent on Syria and Yemen Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place on university campuses across the US, with expressions of support for Hamas seen and heard at some of these. Mob-like behaviour as well as threats against Jews have been tolerated and, in some instances, even encouraged by faculty and administrations. I have no issue with those who call for peace – even if I believe peace between Israelis and Palestinians is further away than ever before – nor with those who lament the loss of innocent Palestinian lives, which is undoubtedly tragic. Civilians invariably pay a disproportionate price in all armed conflicts.

Since the Syrian civil war erupted in March 2011, more than 500,000 people have been killed by the Syrian regime. The vast majority were civilians. As many as 400,000 Yemenis are believed to have died as a direct or indirect result of the war in that country, with 70 percent of those deaths being of children under the age of five. Earlier this year, 10,000 people were killed and millions were displaced as a result of ethnic violence in West Darfur.

Where were the widespread, angry university protests about the loss of innocent lives in these countries? The response to these deaths – where there has been any at all – has been far more muted. For some reason, they do not seem to evoke the same spasms of moral outrage. I cannot escape the conclusion that this is because Israel is held to a very different standard. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/it-is-hypocritical-to-protest-israel-but-be-silent-on-syria-and-yemen/ar-AA1kTjrV 2023-10-10 Israel and Palestine: No Exit The case for Palestinian statehood is every nation’s generally self-evident case for national self-determination, but it is greatly diminished when it is linked to the deliberate barbarism of Hamas. The pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the streets of New York and other cities, by the very fact that they’ve taken to the streets now, have made that link more forcefully than the opponents of Palestinian nationhood ever could. Did they think the American public would be more receptive to the Palestinian cause because of Hamas’s murders? If they did, they probably also believe that Americans’ immediate response to Pearl Harbor was to repeal the Oriental Exclusion Act. The Palestinians have real enemies, but with friends like these, their slim prospects for statehood grow steadily slimmer. https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-10-10-israel-palestine-no-exit/

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

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Antisemitism Weaponized

Posted on October 25, 2023 by mekorganic

Antisemitism Weaponized

Updated 2024-08-24

StopAntisemitism.org https://www.stopantisemitism.org/anti-semite-of-the-week

2024-05-06 Antisemitism: The big lie smearing campus protesters Mainstream journalists and politicians have engaged in a campaign of mass slander against U.S. college students protesting the Gaza genocide. Their “antisemitism” Big Lie echoes the racist hate campaigns of the past, inciting hostility toward young people whose only crime is their dedication to justice.

A newly published survey provides some important context for these protests and undermines the smear campaign against the protesters. Students Are Not Antisemitic

The Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), a project of the University of Chicago, recently published “Understanding Campus Fears After October 7 and How to Reduce Them,” subtitled “a non-partisan analysis of Antisemitism and Islamophobia among College Students and American Adults.” Robert A. Pape, political scientist and CPOST’s director, writes that its findings “are an opportunity to re-center the national discussion around students and away from politics.” Let’s hope so. https://www.alternet.org/antisemitism-on-college-campuses/

2024-05-02 Antisemitism: The Big Lie Smearing Campus Protesters Mainstream journalists and politicians have engaged in a campaign of mass slander against U.S. college students protesting the Gaza genocide. Their “antisemitism” Big Lie echoes the racist hate campaigns of the past, inciting hostility toward young people whose only crime is their dedication to justice.

A newly published survey provides some important context for these protests and undermines the smear campaign against the protesters.

President Biden, like the others, has condemned what he calls “antisemitic protests.” That slur is challenged by the Chicago study. The authors found that “while college students are not more antisemitic than the general population,” they are “more anti-zionist.” They also found that “prejudicial antisemitism and anti-zionism are largely separate phenomena,” with an “overwhelming” absence of any overlap between antisemitism and a negative view of Israel.

We’ve know for decades that the lie which equates anti-zionism with antisemitism serves a political goal by suppressing speech. We now have evidence to back it up. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/antisemitism-campus-protests

2024-05-02 Columbia’s President Sold Out Students and Faculty to Far-Right McCarthyism The right is weaponizing antisemitism as a way of furthering its campaign to suppress the kind of freedom of thought and speech on campus that threatens its authoritarian goals of turning this country Christian, conservative, straight, and white. Not only is the slaughter in Gaza getting lost in the growing fog of hysterical speech about antisemitism on American college campuses, but so is the fact that Arab and Muslim students are being targeted, too.

Shafik’s craven performance in front of Republican lawmakers opened a Pandora’s box of troubles. Faculty members wrote outraged opinion pieces condemning Shafik’s behavior. And when she called in the police to arrest students, more students than ever joined the protests all over the country. Then, on April 24, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson visited Columbia with Republicans Mike Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis, and Anthony D’Esposito (and even Foxx from North Carolina), acting as if some kind of terrible riot had gone on here.

I looked behind me at the encampment on the other side of campus. In front of the tents on the grass, the students had erected a sign listing what they called “Gaza Encampment Community Guidelines.” These included: “No desecration of the land. No drug/alcohol consumption. Respect personal boundaries.” And most significantly, “We commit to assuming the best intentions, granting ourselves and others grace when mistakes are made, and approaching conflict with the goal of addressing and repairing.” Designated faculty and students stood at the entrance to make sure no outsiders got in, and that nobody entered the encampment unless they had read and agreed to that list of commitments. The noisiest people on campus were the thronging media. But nobody and nothing was out of control.

Sadly, despite the reality on the ground at Columbia, the right’s wild narrative of virulent antisemitism here has been swallowed whole, not just by Republicans but by a long list of Democrats, too, including President Joe Biden and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, not to speak of New York Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Jerry Nadler, Dan Goldman, and Adriano Espaillat. They have all publicly condemned the supposedly rampant antisemitism on campus without, it seems, bothering to check their facts. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/columbia-sold-out-far-right

2024-04-30 Democrats fume at Mike Johnson over antisemitism vote House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has left many Democrats frustrated over his plans for an antisemitism vote that is proving divisive on their side of the aisle. Why it matters: Johnson has put antisemitism front and center this week amid pro-Palestinian protests at colleges around the country. But some Democrats argue he is wasting an opportunity.

The House is set to vote Wednesday on the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in its enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

The legislation, led by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), is co-sponsored by 33 Republicans and 14 Democrats — mostly moderates and staunch supporters of Israel.

But controversially for many Democrats, the IHRA definition includes “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

“It could be divisive,” one senior House Democrat told Axios of the upcoming vote. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-fume-at-mike-johnson-over-antisemitism-vote/ar-AA1nUODi?

2024-02-19 Roger Waters Calls Bono an ‘Enormous S—‘ After Israel Tribute Roger Waters, a loud and consistent critic of Israel, has thoughts on Bono’s salute to the victims of the October 7 attack on the Supernova music festival by Hamas. Waters describes Bono’s tribute, which took place during one of U2’s residency shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas, as “disgusting” while labeling Bono “an enormous shit.”

The comments that incensed Pink Floyd’s former mastermind arrived before U2 launched into “Pride (In the Name of Love)” back in October. “In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence,” Bono told the crowd. “But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.” https://ultimateclassicrock.com/roger-waters-bono-enormous-shit

2024-02-17 Weaponizing Anti-Semitism Against the World Court Antony Lerman says Israel’s response to the ICJ ruling continues a decades’ old ploy for neutralizing criticism of, and generating sympathy for, the Jewish state https://consortiumnews.com/2024/02/17/weaponizing-anti-semitism-against-the-world-court/

2024-01-18 IMEU Policy Analysis #9: IHRA Definition Silences Speech for Palestinian Rights Policy-makers are being increasingly pressured to codify into law a controversial definition of antisemitism that is broadly opposed by civil rights and human rights organizations. The definition has drawn widespread opposition because its primary purpose is to police and silence political speech in support of Palestinian rights. This crackdown on freedom of speech violates the First Amendment rights of Americans to speak and act for freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people. It also does a disservice to the principled fight against all forms of racism and bigotry, including antisemitism. https://imeu.org/article/imeu-policy-analysis-9-ihra-definition-silences-speech-for-palestinian-righ

2023-12-12 Barbra Streisand Under Fire Over Israel-Gaza Statement Barba Streisand is facing criticism after sharing a statement surrounding the ongoing war in Gaza. Streisand comes from a Jewish family and described herself as “a Jewess through and through, although I’m not religious,” in a 1987 interview with Esquire magazine. Now taking to her Instagram account, Streisand has shared her support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River.

She wrote: “When I first met Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres years ago, I asked him ‘How can you help the Palestinians?’ He replied ‘By making their lives better!’ We needed his advice then, and should urgently heed it now. In my humble opinion, we need a two-state solution that will hopefully bring peace and prosperity to the region.”

Her post has proven to be divisive, with people taking to the comment section to share their disappointment in the star. However, others have spoken out in support of Streisand, thanking her for her statement. “Thank you for your bravery Barbra! We love you!” one person wrote. “These comments are absolutely wild, check in with your souls before you lose them entirely. Israel are an apartheid state, free Palestine,” commented another Instagram user. Someone else added: “Thank You Barbra. We need everyone to speak and especially those whose voices are heard more loudly than others. It is going to take all of us to find the path forward. The path we are on today, is not it. #ceasefirenow.”

Barbara posted October 20 on X , which read: “My heart is broken for all the suffering of innocent civilians in Israel, Palestine, and Ukraine. Terrorism must not triumph.” Streisand also denounced the rise of antisemitism and fascism in the United States during an interview with Stephen Colbert from her Malibu home. “It’s so sad. It’s sad about what’s going on today. Meaning, people have to live together even though they are different religions or whatever. People are people. It’s true. You know, we all want the same thing. We all want love in our hearts. We all want family. We all want to feel secure,” she said. “I hope for the best because this is heartbreaking, what’s happening now with these people. The children, the mothers, doesn’t matter what religion they are. You know what I mean? This is beyond religion. This is insanity for us not to learn how to live together in peace. “See, this is what’s hard to talk about my career or even my book when this deadly combustible thing is happening in the world.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/barbra-streisand-under-fire-over-israel-gaza-statement/ar-AA1loxvc

2023-12-11 Peter Beinart & Omer Bartov on UPenn President Resignation, Gaza & the Weaponization of Antisemitism University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill voluntarily resigned her position Saturday after a House Education Committee hearing last Tuesday on how colleges have handled antisemitism. Magill has faced demands to resign since September, when she refused to bow to pressure to cancel the Palestine Writes Literature Festival on campus. More universities face accusations that they have failed to protect Jewish students since the October 7 Hamas incursion into southern Israel amid a broader effort to restrict pro-Palestinian speech on campus. We speak with Peter Beinart, professor of journalism at the City University of New York and the editor-at-large of Jewish Currents, and with Omer Bartov, a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University. “This whole discussion seems to me to be the least important issue,” says Bartov. “What is most important now is that Israel now has been conducting a war for weeks and weeks in which it has killed thousands and thousands https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/11/campus_antisemitism_and_resignations

2023-12-05 These 105 Democrats declined to vote for a resolution declaring ‘anti-Zionism is antisemitism’ 105 House Democrats on Tuesday declined to vote for a resolution condemning antisemitism, pointing to language that equates it with anti-Zionism. The final vote was 311-14, with 13 Democrats and one Republican voting against the resolution. With 92 Democrats voting “present” on the resolution, most of the caucus ultimately did not support it. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/these-105-democrats-declined-to-vote-for-a-resolution-declaring-anti-zionism-is-antisemitism/ar-AA1l2Wkj

2023-12-00 Senator Chuck Schumer issues stark warning against antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war Senator Chuck Schumer asked for a condemnation of antisemitism before it “metastasizes into something even worse.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/senator-chuck-schumer-issues-stark-warning-against-antisemitism-amid-the-israel-hamas-war/vi-AA1kJVf0?

2023-11-16 The Left are blind to anti-Jewish racism for one simple reason [MEK Note: Not one mention that people might be extremely angry at Israel’s five-week genocide attack on Palestinians. Just playing the Nazi Holocaust victimization theme as an excuse justifying Israel’s genocide of Palestinians! Criticizing Israel is antisemitic! Quite disgusting]

At the anti-Israel marches overwhelming our cities each Saturday, some of the rhetoric has been outright alarming. There have been chants warning Jews that “the army of Mohammed is returning”. A speaker disparagingly referred to Suella Braverman’s “Jewish husband” – before hastily correcting it to “Zionist husband”. There have even been images of swastikas.

Many progressives, however, remain silent about such nakedly hateful invective. Which is odd. Normally, when an ethnic minority group is subjected to intimidation and abuse, progressives are the first to call out racism. So why not now?

The reason, I suspect, is simple. Many of the people on these marches are non-white. And a lot of progressives are incapable of processing the idea that non-white people can be racist. They just can’t compute it. They see racism as unique to white people. Such a belief is remarkably widespread in modern Left-wing circles. It even gets promoted to children. As we reported at the weekend, schools in Scotland have been supplied with books which tell children that “racism started” when “white people wanted to have more control over people who were not white”, and that “being racist against white people is not a thing”.

But the idea that white people can’t be victims of racism is ridiculous. Many European Jews have white skin. Does this mean that the Nazis weren’t racist? Of course not. Nazis didn’t loathe Jews because of their religion. Nazis loathed Jews because they considered them to be an inferior race, regardless of what colour their skin might be. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-left-are-blind-to-anti-jewish-racism-for-one-simple-reason/ar-AA1k0Sj9

2023-11-15 American multimillionaire couple fund Marxist group coordinating anti-Israel protests Neville Roy Singham, a U.S.-born entrepreneur who made millions after founding and selling an IT consulting firm called Thoughtworks, and his wife Jodie Evans, the co-founder of left-wing anti-war group Code Pink, have been the primary funders of a group called The People’s Forum since 2017, according to a report by The Free Press’s Francesca Block. The group bills itself as a “movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities” and “nurtures the next generation of visionaries and organizers who believe that through collective action a new world is possible.”

The People’s Forum has played a role in organizing several pro-Palestine protests since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 in which the terror group’s members killed at least 1,200 Israelis and took over 200 hostages from Southern Israel into Gaza.

On the day of Hamas’ attack, the group appeared to offer no condemnation of the terror group’s actions and called for an end to “US aid to the Zionist occupation” and tweeted images of posters stating, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a slogan that has been criticized as being antisemitic and was cited in the House’s censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/american-multimillionaire-couple-fund-marxist-group-coordinating-anti-israel-protests/ar-AA1jZrPj?

2021-05-27 Supporting Palestinian rights is antisemitic because Israel wants it to be In recent weeks, there has been a rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States and in Europe. Synagogues were vandalized with swastikas in England and with rocks in Germany, and Orthodox men were allegedly harassed in New York City by a group shouting “kill all the Jews” — one of at least two attacks in the city recently. These are just a few of the despicable incidents that have led to condemnation from President Joe Biden, Human Rights Watch and others.

Historically, criticism of the Israeli government has been linked to antisemitism. But it’s not nearly that simple. By conflating Judaism and Israel, the Israeli government created a paradox in which Israel’s actions are beyond critique. The irony is that Zionism and antisemitism are each other’s best recruiting tools. But conflating Israel with Judaism — and Israelis with Jews — is unfair and leads to tropes about dual national loyalties. It also conflates a diverse religion with the politics and policies of a single country. But Israel engages in this conflation all the time. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/how-jews-can-support-palestinian-rights-condemn-antisemitism-ncna1268680

2021-05-24 To distract from Gaza slaughter, Israel lobby manufactures antisemitism freakout Following an 11-day assault on the Gaza Strip in which the Israeli army killed over 220 people, including more than 65 children, and days of videotaped rampages of Jewish extremist mobs against Palestinian people and property inside Israeli cities, Israel lobbyists in the US and Canada have launched a carefully coordinated public relations campaign to deflect outrage.

Having failed to successfully defend massacres of entire families in their homes and the deliberate demolition of civilian residential towers and media offices in Gaza City, the US Israel lobby and the Israeli government it advocates for have manufactured an epidemic of antisemitic violence with the goal of portraying American Jewry as the true victim of the crisis.

Led by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Israel lobbyists have portrayed a series of street scuffles between supporters of Palestine and pro-Israel activists as anti-Jewish pogroms. In nearly every case, no evidence exists to substantiate claims that Jews were targeted as Jews for violent assault. There is ample proof of deception, however, as video and photographic evidence reveals pro-Israel elements provoking demonstrators, initiating violence and falsifying or embellishing their testimonies.https://thegrayzone.com/2021/05/24/gaza-slaughter-israel-lobby-antisemitism/

2021-01-21 Weaponizing Antisemitism is Bad for Jews, Israel, and Peace The IHRA’s promotion of its understanding of antisemitism is the latest attempt to instrumentalize antisemitism to control how people are allowed or not allowed to talk about Israel. This account of antisemitism, however, is only possible through the flawed equation of Israel with all Jewish people, forcing all Jews the world over to accept and endorse a military occupation and a country that is increasingly more aligned with the wave of neo-fascism sweeping the world than with international law, democratic values, human rights, pluralism, https://contendingmodernities.nd.edu/global-currents/weaponizing-antisemitism/

2020-12-14 The Antisemitism Industry: how antisemitism is being politicized and weaponized in Europe to defend Israel The same European leaders who a few years ago marched in Paris shouting “Je suis Charlie” – upholding the inalienable free speech rights of white Europeans to offend Muslims by insulting and ridiculing their Prophet – are now queuing up to outlaw free speech when it is directed against Israel.

Jewish organizations and their allies in Germany, as Haaretz reports, are openly weaponizing antisemitism not only to damage the reputation of Israel’s harsher critics, but also to force out of the public and cultural domain – through a kind of “antisemitism guilt by association” – anyone who dares to entertain criticism of Israel.

Cultural associations, festivals, universities, Jewish research centers, political think-tanks, museums and libraries are being forced to scrutinize the past of those they wish to invite in case some minor transgression against Israel can be exploited by local Jewish organizations. That has created a toxic, politically paranoid atmosphere that inevitably kills trust and creativity. But the psychosis runs deeper still. Israel, and anything related to it, has become such a combustible subject – one that can ruin careers in an instant – that most political, academic and cultural figures in Germany now choose to avoid it entirely. Israel, as its supporters intended, is rapidly becoming untouchable. https://mondoweiss.net/2020/12/the-antisemitism-industry-how-antisemitism-is-being-politicized-and-weaponized-in-europe-to-defend-israel/

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

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2023-10-19 BAY AREA: EMERGENCY PROTEST IN SAN FRANCISCO

Posted on October 25, 2023 by mekorganic

BAY AREA: EMERGENCY PROTEST IN SAN FRANCISCO, 10/19 @5pm

🚨Join us outside of the SF Federal Building as we demand an end to the siege on Gaza and DEMAND an immediate end to US aid to the Zionist state.🚨

In the past few days alone over 4,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military. Just yesterday over 500 Palestinians were martyred after Zionist Occupation Forces bombed Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.

And still the US vetoed a UN resolution demanding a cease fire for humanitarian aid, and maintains their unconditional support for these genocidal war crimes. The genocide of Palestinians must end. Join us and make your voice heard, Bay Area!

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Gaza, genocide, issues, Palestine, San Francisco | Leave a comment

SF CODEPINK Meets Congresswoman Pelosi at her SF Home:

Posted on October 25, 2023 by mekorganic

REPORT BACK:

2023-10-22 SF CODEPINK Meets Congresswoman Pelosi at her SF Home:

“For the Children: CEASEFIRE NOW!”

Pelosi’s only response: “What About the Hostages?”

by Toby B “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.” James Baldwin

Last Friday, October 20, local activist-artist David Solnit organized an amazing community street mural painting in support of GAZA in front of the SF Federal Building. It was a powerful image left for all to see. As we were leaving the area, I observed the above James Baldwin quote chalked onto the sidewalk. I couldn’t stop thinking of that quote over the next 24 hours, and how deeply it applied to the current humanitarian crisis and horrendous war crimes committed by Israel on the Palestinian people in GAZA. How could our top U.S. officials continue to support these atrocities? We, as US citizens, have a responsibility to hold our leaders accountable.

In the dark of the early morning on Sunday, a letter to Congresswoman Pelosi was composed (attached), a banner and other visuals were packed into the car and my husband Fred B and I headed to Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s SF home. From experience we knew that Pelosi is often home on weekends. When we arrived, 2 large black SUV’s with dark windows were parked in front. BINGO! She’s home! Across the street a SF police officer sat in his parked car.

Fred and I vigiled for about 3 hours in the intermittent drizzling rain, with banner, flowered peace sign, pink peace flag, and copies of the letter to Pelosi. Over time two more black SUVs and two more SF police cars eventually arrived as well. Many of the drivers in civilian cars that passed our banner flashed peace signs and waves, and several pedestrians accepted copies of the letter, as did one DC Capitol police officer. Valuable conversations were had with Capitol and SF police and pedestrians.

Graciously CODEPINK friend Susan W arrived to replace my husband in the late morning. Within a couple of hours “suspicious movement” of the SUVs and the DC police occurred. Suddenly a black SUV backed into the driveway. Susan stood on one side of the vehicle and I on the other, hoping to express our grievances to Pelosi. She has refused to hold town hall meetings or have talks with the peace community for over 16 years!

Minutes later the garage door opened. Pelosi rushed to Susan’s side of the vehicle. As she hurriedly and annoyingly entered the vehicle with her suitcases (on her way back to DC presumedly), Susan said to her: “I’m a constituent and most U.S. Jews want a ceasefire now. Thousands of children are dying, we need a ceasefire now.” Pelosi could only offer this snarled reply, “What about the hostages?” She showed no interest to talk further.

By that time I joined Susan, able to see Pelosi through the dark glassed window. I politely and urgently asked the Congresswoman to please accept our letter. We were ignored and Pelosi’s vehicle drove off. Susan and I both agreed afterwards that the continued bombing of GAZA puts both civilians and Israeli hostages in grave danger, and that if Pelosi really was concerned about the hostages she should take the time to ask family members of the hostages what they want. Before leaving we chalked this last message at the entrance path to her home (see photo):

PELOSI, DROPPING BOMBS PUTS HOSTAGES AND CIVILIANS IN DANGER. CEASEFIRE NOW.

During the morning we had noted that a new giant blue SF heart sculpture had been installed on Pelosi’s front porch. (see photo) Hmmm, if only President Biden, Nancy Pelosi and the vast majority of our US congress could open up their own hearts and recognize that all the children of the globe are our children, then indeed we would have a more peaceful country, and would stop giving unwavering support to Israel’s state sponsored terror.

ACTION to DO: CALL PELOSI and let her staff know that the bombing endangers:

-The people of GAZA who have been held hostage for years under Israeli Apartheid,

-The Israeli hostages currently being held by Hamas, AND,

-All of us because it increases the risk for an expanded Middle East conflict, WWIII and the potential for all out nuclear war.Please ask Pelosi to find her morality: CEASEFIRE NOW!SF Office:

(415) 556-4862DC Office:

(202) 225-4965

If you’re a constituent, you can EMAIL

Huge thanks to all who have been out on the streets these past 3 weeks. NEVER GIVE UP!

Important resources on GAZA conflict:

Israeli forces shot their own civilians, kibbutz survivor says (Thank you Lisa Savage for sharing this link)

Israel’s long war on Gaza w/Norman Finkelstein | The Chris Hedges Report

(Excellent overview of recent history of Israeli Apartheid on GAZA)

Israel did not respond to the attack for many hours. How is this possible? (Important interview with veteran who served in Israel Intelligence Forces)

The CODEPINK Letter that Congresswoman Pelosi refused to accept from us:

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Code Pink, Gaza, Israel, issues, Palestine | Leave a comment

We are at War

Posted on October 24, 2023 by mekorganic

We are at War

2023-10-07 Israel PM Says ‘We Are at War’ After Hamas Attacks By ‘Land, Air, and Sea’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We are at war, this is not an operation,” after Hamas launched thousands of missiles and seized villages near Gaza. Reports say Hamas has fired between 2,000 and 5,000 munitions. Israeli officials say at least 40 have been killed and hundreds wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports 160 Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 1,000 wounded. Reports say between 13 and 21 Israeli villages were ‘infiltrated’ by Hamas.

An Israeli official said the Palestinian forces were able to capture the headquarters of an Israeli military unit near Gaza. “The headquarters of the Gaza division in camp Ra’im is under the control of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades,” the official explained.

Photos and videos on Twitter show Hamas returning to Gaza with captured Israeli military equipment. Additional images show Israeli Brigadier General Nimrod Aloni was captured by Hamas, although this has not been confirmed by either side. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/israel-pm-says-we-are-at-war-after-hamas-attacks-by-land-air-and-sea.html

United State Military Force

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United State Military Force

Posted on October 24, 2023 by mekorganic

2023-10-17 McCaul Preparing Authorization of Military Force If Gaza War Escalates Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN on Monday that he was drawing up an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against Hamas, Hezbollah, and other groups in the region if the Gaza war escalates. “I hope I never have to mark this bill up. But we have a situation in the Middle East that’s growing day by day with intensity and if Hezbollah gets involved, Iran has already threatened if Gaza is, you know, if Israel goes, you know, if IDF (Israel Defense Forces) goes into Gaza that they’re gonna come out,” McCaul said. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/mccaul-preparing-authorization-of-military-force-if-gaza-war-escalates.html

2023-10-17 WAR ALERT: U.S. Sends 2,000 Marines & Sailors To Israel The United States is once again helping to expand the war in the Middle East. The U.S. has decided to send 2,000 Marines to Israel to “support” the warring faction of the Jewish state. This “show of force” will do little more than inflame the tensions already present and could push the war to another level.

The Pentagon has sent 2,000 Marines and sailors to waters off Israel’s coast as part of a “show of force” in the region, CNN has reported, citing unnamed US officials. The move comes amid fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants, which has claimed thousands of lives this month. The naval deployments are reportedly meant to “send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,” and some of the U.S. warships have recently patrolled waters near the Islamic Republic. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/war-alert-u-s-sends-2000-marines-sailors-to-israel.html

2023-10-15 U.S. Confirms A 2nd Carrier Strike Group Is En Route To Israel The Pentagon has ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, according to two United States officials, as Israel prepares to expand its Gaza operations. The first carrier strike group, which is led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived off the coast of Israel earlier this week. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/u-s-confirms-a-2nd-carrier-strike-group-is-en-route-to-israel.html

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

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Military-Industrial Complex

Posted on October 24, 2023 by mekorganic

Military-Industrial Complex

Updated 2024-04-03

Theaters of War Documentary – Wikipedia a 2022 American documentary film that examines the influence of the Pentagon and CIA in shaping Hollywood and television scripts, making use of the Freedom of Information Act to acquire internal state files. The film also features interviews with academics, government officials, veterans, and industry players including Oliver Stone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theaters_of_War

2024-03-14 100+ Musical Acts Boycott SXSW Over US Army, Defense Contractor Ties More than 100 musical acts have pulled out of the music and cultural festival South by Southwest in protest of the event’s close ties to the U.S. Army and numerous defense contractors which have displayed exhibits at the week-long gathering, with one hip hop trio from Northern Ireland saying they would face a “significant financial impact” due to the decision.

The financial loss, said the Belfast-based band Kneecap, “isn’t an iota of hardship when compared with the [unimaginable] suffering being inflicted every minute of every day on the people of Gaza.” The Austin For Palestine Coalition (AFPC) has been campaigning in the Texas state capital for several weeks to push bands and speakers to boycott the festival, which is commonly known as SXSW and has been based in Austin since 1987. https://www.commondreams.org/news/musicians-boycott-sxsw

2024-02-16 Yankees Go Home! Isn’t It Time to Put Down Our Deadly Toy Soldiers? America’s leaders, possessing a peerless Air Force, regularly exhibit a visceral willingness to use it to bomb and missile perceived enemies into submission or, if need be, nothingness. And don’t for a second think that they’re going to be stopped by international law, humanitarian concerns, well-meaning protesters, or indeed any force on this planet. America bombs because it can, because it believes in the efficacy of violence, and because it’s run by appeasers.

Yes, America’s presidents, its bombers-in-chief, are indeed appeasers. Of course, they think they’re being strong when they’re blowing distant people to bits, but their actions invariably showcase a distinctive kind of weakness. They eternally seek to appease the military-industrial-congressional complex, aka the national (in)security state, a complex state-within-a-state with an unappeasable hunger for power, profit, and ever more destruction.

No technology may be more all-American than bombs and bombers and no military doctrine more American than the urge to attain “peace” through massive firepower. In World War II and subsequent wars, the essential U.S. approach could be summarized in five words: mass production enabling mass destruction. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/toy-soldiers-endless-war-us-imperialism

2024-01-29 Genocide Joe is no defender of democracy Any number of voices in Washington have tried to spin the reality that is all too obvious to the rest of the world: Israel continues to violate human rights, and its violations grow more outrageous with every passing day. Yet both parties in Washington remain committed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite his belligerence, and none of them support either the international law or human rights principles adopted after the Second World War. In that context, it is even more disingenuous to suggest that democracy is on the ballot this November. Democracy has no friends among the major parties’ candidates. Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced its interim ruling favoring South Africa’s legal challenge to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

This installment will examine the role of the militarism shared by Democrats and Republicans in fulfilling the terrifying prophecy of President Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower was ironically the last war hero to win the White House, and issued a prolific warning in 1961 that an ignorant nation tragically forgot immediately. He warned, in no uncertain terms, that:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.We should take nothing for granted.https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/genocide-joe-is-no-defender-of-democracy

2023-12-19 U.S. Science and the Military KPFA – Against the Grain Advancements in science are seen as symbols of human progress, but science has frequently served deadly ends. Historian Clifford Conner discusses how scientific research in the United States is deeply enmeshed with the military, and considers the purpose of trillions of dollars of spending on the military. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Clifford D. Conner, The Tragedy of American Science: From Truman to Trump Haymarket Books, 2022 Science for the People https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u-s-science-and-the-military/id78900506?

2023-12-15 US Terror List Hit 2 Million People, Nearly Doubling In 6 Years The Terrorist Screening Dataset, a consolidated watchlist of individuals deemed as known or suspected terrorists, has seen a dramatic increase in numbers. Launched in 2003 with approximately 120,000 individuals, it ballooned to 1.6 million individuals by 2017. As of the end of 2023, this figure has reached an astonishing 2 million, including, as we noted, thousands of Americans.

According to Russ Travers, a four-decade veteran of the U.S. intelligence community who helped create the watchlist: “It doesn’t mean they’re a terrorist. It means there’s something that has led a department or agency to say, ‘This person needs a closer look.’” However, the criteria for adding individuals to this list remain shrouded in secrecy, with the government neither confirming nor denying an individual’s presence on the list.

Monte Hawkins, overseeing watchlisting policy for President Biden, claims that “those 2 million people who are on the list are on there for a reason,” with a majority being non-U.S. citizens or legal residents. Yet, the lack of transparency and accountability in this process raises significant concerns.

Many in the civil liberties field as well as former counterterrorism insiders who have worked directly on the watchlist, have expressed grave concerns over the system’s expansion – noting a multitude of government abuses, errors, and a lack of willingness to admit to and correct mistakes since it launched.https://www.activistpost.com/2023/12/us-terror-list-hit-2-million-people-nearly-doubling-in-6-years.html

2023-11-19 Myth Of “Western Civilization” Destroyed In 2 Minutes By U.N. Palestinian Representative United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese recently addressed the General Assembly and lit into the United States for making any claim to being a force for peace in the world. The United States is a warmongering nations, she said, with a foreign policy wholly based on the demands of the powerful military industrial complex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx3NbXFkM1k

2023-10-12 Guns for Hire: America’s Crisis State Goes Global Even Dwight D. Eisenhower, the retired five-star Army general-turned-president who warned against the disastrous rise of misplaced power by the military industrial complex was complicit in contributing to the build-up of the military’s role in dictating national and international policy.

The Biden Administration’s response to the latest carnage in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war merely plays into the hands of a salivating military industrial complex for whom war is merely a means to a larger profit margin. War has become a huge money-making venture, and America, with its vast military empire and its incestuous relationship with a host of international defense contractors, is one of its best buyers and sellers. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/guns-for-hire-americas-crisis-state-goes-global.html

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

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Military Aid

Posted on October 24, 2023 by mekorganic

Military Aid

2023-10-17 Israel Aks US for Additional $10 Billion in Military Aid Israel has asked the US for an additional $10 billion in military aid amid its onslaught in Gaza, The New York Times reported on Monday night. The report said lawmakers in Congress are working with the White House to craft a spending package that will include military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan and additional funds for border security. It’s not clear how much the package will be worth, but previous media reports have said the White House was considering up to $100 billion for Ukraine alone to ensure the proxy war will be funded through the 2024 election. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/israel-aks-us-for-additional-10-billion-in-military-aid.html

2023-10-11 White House Plans to Request Military Aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan The White House has conveyed to members of Congress that it will request an emergency supplemental funding package that will include military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as additional funding for border security, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Administration officials said the request will also include funds to manufacture weapons to replace what’s being sent overseas as the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel and the US military buildup aimed at China are a boon for US arms makers.

The Washington Post first reported on Monday that the White House planned to link aid for Ukraine and Israel in an effort to “jam the far right,” referring to House Republicans who are against the proxy war in Ukraine but are staunch Israel supporters. Many Republicans who oppose funding Ukraine do favor sending weapons to Taiwan, which began receiving unprecedented military aid from the US this year. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/white-house-plans-to-request-military-aid-for-israel-ukraine-and-taiwan.html

Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict

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Humanitarian Aid

Posted on October 24, 2023 by mekorganic

Humanitarian Aid

2023-10-19 Biden Visits Israel to Oversee Humanitarian Aid to Palestinians US President Joe Biden travelled to Israel on Wednesday amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. This is the first time a sitting president has visited Israel during a war. The terror group is said to be holding 199 hostages – men, women, and children – including approximately 13 Americans. Biden on Wednesday pledged his support for Israel during his trip to Tel Aviv and said that while America stood by during the Holocaust, this time, America has Israel’s back. At the same time, Biden was in Israel to ensure the safe passage of Palestinian civilians and to ensure they are able to receive humanitarian aid.https://www.activistpost.com/2023/10/biden-visits-israel-to-oversee-humanitarian-aid-to-palestinians.html