#US / AIPAC urges Biden admin to reverse Israel weapons shipment freeze
[Pro-genocide/Israel lobby] #AIPAC called on Congress to challenge the #Biden administration to reverse its decision to pause a shipment of bombs to Israel given concerns over #Rafah, offering its sharpest criticism of Biden's policy to date.
"Delaying this arms transfer is a dangerous and counterproductive message. It emboldens Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, and undermines America's commitments to all our allies. Congress must demand the Biden Admin reverse this delay and ensure Israel has what it needs to win this war,”
#US / Lawmakers Admit They Want to Ban TikTok Over Pro-Palestinian Content
[…] The global nature of TikTok’s reach is most likely the driver of the massive uptick in pro-Palestinian content on the app. According to a study conducted by Semaforin November, the app’s popularity with users in Muslim-majority countries was a decisive factor in the spread of pro-Palestinan content during the early weeks of the war. By contrast, content being produced in the United States was nearly evenly split in its support for Palestine or Israel.
#US / Biden administration to miss deadline for report on Israeli weapons use, sources say
[…] A National Security Memorandum, known as NSM-20, that U.S. President Joe Biden issued in February requires the State Department to report to Congress by May 8 on whether it finds credible Israel's assurances that its use of U.S. weapons does not violate U.S. or international law.
from #NewYorkTimes [gift article below]
The One-State Solution
By Edward Said
Jan. 10, 1999
This is an article by the late #EdwardSaid. He was a #Palestinian - American philosopher, academic, literary critic, and political activist. and a professor of literature at #Columbia University.
It spells out his position that only a binational state based on equality will work in #Palestine - #Israel.
#US / How US campus protests over Gaza differ from Vietnam War era?
The Gaza conflict protests differ from the Vietnam War era protests in that they are smaller in scale, more diverse in views, and heavily influenced by social media, with a greater emphasis on #intersectionality and thus, contrary to pro-Israel supporters claims ("ignorant", "arrogant" etc.), are showing nuanced understanding of the conflict, whereas the Vietnam War protests were larger, more unified, and driven by a broader anti-establishment movement.
Pressure on Israel and Hamas is growing it seems. While Israeli officials attempt to pressure Hamas by warning the the failure to compromise would lead to an immediate invasion of #Rafah ("This means that an operation in Rafah and in other parts of Gaza will take place in the very near future," Galant), for the first time since October, the Biden administration puts a hold on an ammunition shipment to Israel:
#US / Twenty-five people were arrested at the University of Virginia after police clashed with anti-war protesters who refused to remove tents from campus
On Saturday, police wearing heavy gear and holding shields lined up on campus in Charlottesville University police declared an "unlawful assembly" in the area
[...] In Ann Arbor, the protest happened at the beginning of the event at Michigan Stadium. About 75 people, many wearing traditional Arabic kaffiyehs along with their graduation caps, marched up the main aisle toward the graduation stage. They chanted “Regents, regents, you can’t hide! You are funding genocide!” while holding signs, including one that read: “No universities left in Gaza.”
#US / How Counterprotesters at U.C.L.A. Provoked Violence, Unchecked for Hours
Videos analyzed by the #NYT show that the violence was instigated and escalated by dozens of counterprotesters who attacked the encampment for nearly 5 hours with little to no police intervention.
Counterprotesters tore down metal barriers, shot fireworks towards the encampment, sprayed chemical irritants at protesters, and physically assaulted them with punches, kicks, sticks and other makeshift weapons.
While protesters inside the encampment tried to defend the barricades, there is no clear evidence they initiated any unprovoked attacks on the counterprotesters based on the video analysis.
#US / The Most Influential Protest You’ve Never Heard Of: May Day, 1971
[…] Fifty years ago today, on May Day 1971, thousands of #antiwar protesters descended on Washington, DC, to protest the Vietnam War. The ensuing three days of disruptive actions directly confronted the Nixon administration — and resulted in the largest civil disobedience–related detentions in US history.
#UK / Students begin new wave of protests against Gaza war after US arrests
“now is the time to act”
Protests were held at least six universities, including Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, and Newcastle, with others expected to follow suit.
Some universities, such as the University of York, have already taken steps to address students' concerns by announcing that they no longer invest in companies that primarily make or sell weapons and defense-related products.
[cont’d] #Gaza / Campus protests over the war in Gaza have gone international
[…] Student groups in the #UK, #France and #Mexico — among others — have sought to erect what many of them are terming "solidarity encampments," prompting a variety of responses from university authorities and local law enforcement.
According to Saudi al-Hadath news, the establishment of “The Union of Arab Tribes” was announced in Egypt on Wednesday. The union will have a role in confronting and stopping Israeli displacement plans, but will also play an important role in the humanitarian aid that will be provided to the Palestinians in Gaza.
Cairo has repeatedly stressed that it rejects any plans to displace Palestinians from their homeland to Egypt or elsewhere. However, there are allegations that El-Arjani's company "Hala" has profited greatly from evacuating Gazans through Rafah crossing for thousands of dollars per person.
Jewish students participating in pro-Palestine protests on their campuses would have valuable things to say about the alleged "rising antisemitism" at their schools. But the media is ignoring them.
Had Israelis not revealed their true selves, then your hasbara might stand a better chance of deceiving me @fuller
From their actions it's quite clear that, for Israeli Zionists, "chosen people" is an expression of racial superiority. Zionist Israel has far less in common with Judaism than it does with Nazism.
The Uzi is a military weapon @rato The image posted by @KarunaX is actually quite revealing. It illustrates the indoctrination of Israeli youth into a militaristic culture. What else their indoctrination involves, I shudder to think.
#Israel / Foreign Minister Warns of 'Severe Anti-Semitic Wave' as ICC Considers Arrest Warrants for Top Officials"
#Ynet is reporting that Foreign Minister Katz instructed israeli diplomats around the world to prepare for a "severe anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli wave" in response to the reports that the International Criminal Court in The Hague may issue arrest warrants against high-ranking officials. According to Katz, "if the warrants are issued, they will harm the commanders and fighters of the Israeli Defense Forces and will create a wave of incitement against us by Hamas and radical Islamic circles, led by Iran, which we are fighting." Reportedly, Katz instructed diplomats to increase security around Jewish institutions worldwide.
[cont’d] #ICC / Prosecutor calls for end to intimidation of staff, statement says
“Such threats, even when not acted upon, may also constitute an offence against the
administration of justice under Art. 70 of the Rome Statute.”
[…] In October, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said it had jurisdiction over any potential war crimes committed by #Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israeli forces in #Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.