385 posts tagged with Palestine.
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Ceasefire groundhog day
Hamas agrees to a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, and Israel provides a counter-proposal with full backing from the US. Meanwhile Israel continues to attack Gaza north to south as Palestinians mark Eid-al-Fitr. As of 3/29, Israel killed 24 people in Gaza, medical sources say. Israel admits to firing at ambulances after Palestinians say rescuers missing in Rafah. DropSiteNews reports that six rescuers went to help the wounded went missing and the team leader's body was found, and their vehicles destroyed. An Israeli soldier admits to CBS News he was ordered to use Palestinians as human shields in Gaza. [more inside]
The Encampments
The trailer for the Encampments - a documentary produced by Watermelon Pictures and Breakthrough News, following student organizers at elite universities as they take a historic stand against their institutions' investments in the Gaza genocide. The documentary features currently detained activist Mahmoud Khalil, who is currently facing deportation. Hip hop star Macklemore is executive producer, and he explains to Democracy Now! why he got involved. They also spoke with Atalla; Sueda Polat, a Columbia graduate student and fellow campus negotiator with Khalil; and Grant Miner, a former Columbia graduate student and president of the student workers' union who was expelled from the school over his participation in the protests. [more inside]
Another Student Abducted
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University PhD student and Fulbright Scholar, was taken by ICE agents Tuesday and transferred out of state to an ICE Processing Center in the town of Basile, LA. Thousands turned out last night to protest her abduction. [more inside]
What's Shakin', Bacon?
The history of the pig is the history of humanity. The Book of Leviticus contains a warning that the pig “is impure to you; from their flesh, you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.” And yet … pigs were consumed by ancient peoples despite the prohibitions. So, why the animosity toward the unholiest (or holiest, for some) form of meat? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Of Dandelions and Palestine
Why Chinese netizens call Palestinian fighters "dandelions". "Palestine today is China's yesterday". Why young Chinese are rediscovering Mao's support for Palestine. [more inside]
Columbia University Revokes Degrees of Pro-Palestinian Protesters
Reported by Newsweek: Columbia University announced on Thursday that it expelled or suspended some of the students who occupied a campus building last year in protest of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. [more inside]
What ceasefire?
Hamas rejects Israel's request to extend phase 1 of the ceasefire. Israeli's military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria's capital. Israeli troops "staying indefinitely" in Lebanon border buffer zone, defence minister says. Saudi Arabia says Israel seeking to "destabilize" Syria with airstrikes. Turkiye highlights Israel's international law violations in UN court's filing on Palestine.
The US government approves $3 billion arms sale to Israel. [more inside]
Vivien Sansour's Palestine Heirloom Seed Library
"The first year that the Hudson Valley Seed Company tried growing yakteen at their farm in upstate New York, the heirloom variety of Palestinian gourd quickly spread until its vines were sending their tendrils across a full acre of land. Born of a partnership with the artist, researcher and conservationist Vivien Sansour, that pilot plot was just one of many pieces of evidence supporting Sansour’s thesis: that saving Palestinian heirloom seeds could benefit not just Palestinians, but could help feed an entire planet in crisis. Sansour is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, a project that began in 2016 to conserve Palestinian heritage and culture by saving heirloom seed varieties and telling the stories and history from which they emerged."
peace
Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say. The ceasefire deal will take effect on 19 January, but a long-term truce is still being negotiated. BBC live coverage. Al Jazeera live coverage.
Surviving War and HIV
Know Their Names
15 months, genocide and ethnic cleansing intensifying
During the holiday season, Israel burned northern Gaza's last functioning hospital; staff and patients removed. Israel detained the hospital's director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and other medical staff. This is the last known picture of the director surrendering himself to the IDF. We are up to 4 babies freezing to death in Gaza. Meanwhile, the US pushed for retraction of a famine warning for northern Gaza. [more inside]
14 months and counting, genocide and genocide denial continues
From the previous post: Amnesty International concludes Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. Amnesty International's Israel branch distances itself from "genocide" claim".
In the meantime, Israeli military kills four doctors in raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza. Over 1,000 doctors and nurses have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to local authorities.
Israel continues to bomb Lebanon despite a ceasefire deal. Lebanon closes all land border crossings with Syria.
IDF is bolstering forces on Israel's border with Syria. Turkey and Israel reaping rewards from chaos in Syria. Or is it bad news for Israel? [more inside]
Read Palestine Week 2024
Ethnic democracy means democracy!? What a country!
"The liberal democratic nation-state is on the decline in the West as a result of globalisation, regionalisation, universalisation of minority rights, multi-culturalism and the rise of ethno-nationalism. While Western countries are decoupling the nation-state and shifting toward multicultural civic democracy, other countries are consolidating an alternative non-civic form of a democratic state that is identified with and subservient to a single ethnic nation."[more inside]
After 13 months-- mission accomplished
"This time there is no intention to allow the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes--" - according to Amichai Stein, from Israel's Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), reporting in English, a recent IDF announcement this morning: '🚨 The IDF announces: The division of the northern Gaza Strip into two parts has been completed, and we getting closer to the complete evacuation of the northern part from civilians and terrorists: "This time there is no intention to allow the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes and that humanitarian aid will regularly enter the southern Gaza Strip - since there are no more civilians left north of Gaza City".' [more inside]
☑️ The Most Important Election of Our Lifetimes (🇺🇸)
Election Day is finally here. (*gulp*) Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, after replacing a Biden campaign killed by an abysmal June debate, has run a historic sprint to the finish, promising (with Coach Tim Walz) "A New Way Forward" focused on reproductive rights, middle class economics, and protecting American democracy. Former President Donald Trump, saddled with myriad felonies, a historically unpopular running mate, and a platform that ranges from fascistic to incoherent, leads a darkly authoritarian counterculture that tried once to subvert the popular will and aims to do so again. Dozens of key House and Senate and ballot races hang in the balance, and the outcome has titanic implications for human rights, climate change, the international order, and the future of liberal democracy around the world. But despite the stark contrast, a lingering economic malaise (and suspiciously close polling) make this look like the closest contest in modern history. So let's give it a push in the right direction, yeah? Voting resources:
🪪 Check your registration -
🗳️ Find your polling place -
💭 Make your plan -
📆 States with same-day registration -
🗹 See what's on your ballot - 🏛️USA.gov voting guide -
Volunteer to get out the vote:
🚪Knock on doors -
📞 Phonebank -
📱Textbank -
🚗 Carpool -
👋 Neighbor2Neighbor -
❤️🩹Help cure ballots -
Follow the returns: ⌚ Poll closing times - 🚨DecisionDeskHQ results - 📈 538 benchmarks - 📺 Live coverage - 📰 Politico Liveblog - 🐀Preparing for post-election subversion - ⌛Timeline through Inauguration Day [more inside]
Blood mixed with soil, then.
A sweeping historical-theoretical overview of the ideology of Zionism. Jake Romm: Elements of Anti-Semitism - The limits of Zionism (Parapraxis Magazine) : "David Ben-Gurion before him, the father of the nation, said: “Call me an antisemite, but I have to say it …We are choked with shame from what is going on in Germany, Poland, and America, that Jews do not dare fight back. Can we not be brave anywhere in the world?…We do not belong to that Jewish people. We do not want to be that sort of Jew.” [more inside]
"no one knows what to do ... this is just how things work now"
Two short, wrenching stories published this year that reflect what it's like to live in this century. "Rachel Is at a Protest" by Esther Alter: content notes for the Holocaust, Gaza, kink, bad dreams that seem to stop being dreams, and a battle against despair. "A Shape that Has No Name" by Monica Wendel: COVID in 2020, a messy painful relationship, prison, and (a spoiler in comments), and what lives one can save, despite everything. These stories closely observe pain, though they don't end with it; take care of yourself and avoid or stop reading if you need to.
One Year of War, Violence, and Genocide - and Expansion
The past year in pictures of Israel and Gaza by Reuters. Casting a pall over Israeli life. CNN's defining images from the past year. Al Jazeera released a documentary on war crimes in Gaza. Zeteo released a documentary on Israel's Reel Extremism. Israel has now escalated the violence to include bombing hospitals, suburbs and refugee camps in Lebanon, a Russian airbase in Syria, the West Bank, and is preparing to attack Iran as the Oct 7 anniversary looms. Lebanon's Foreign Minister revealed Abdallah Bou Habib that the Hezbollah leader Hasran Nasrallah had agreed to a 21 day ceasefire before being assassinated by Israel. Iran has expressed supported for a ceasefire contingent upon a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel rejected global calls for a ceasefire on Thursday. [more inside]
ICJ's decision over the Palestinian occupation continues unwinding
UN General Assembly overwhelmingly calls for end of Israeli occupation The UNGA demanded that “Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing character entailing its international responsibility, and do so no later than 12 months”. || previously [more inside]
Israel Suspected in Lebanon Pager Attack
Israel is suspected in a massive coordinated attack of exploding pagers that left at least 9 dead and 2800 casualties in Lebanon.
In Memory of Elias Khoury, 1948-2024
Here are 7 translations and 7 interviews with the Lebanese author of the novel Gate of the Sun, which portrayed the lives of Palestinian refugees.
US and the Middle East
The Washington Post challenges Biden's claim that Turkish-American activist Aysenur Eygi's death was due to an accidental ricochet with new video and eyewitnesses. (archive.is) The Biden administration has released $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt, overriding human rights concerns, citing Egypt's assistance with Gaza talks. Brown University held the first of two forums on the issue of divestment and the advisory committee is expected to issue a recommendation within the next three weeks, to be voted on in October. Various colleges and universities have issued new restrictions on protest and free expression on their campuses, including limiting the use of masks, ban on encampments, and more. (archive.is) UC Berkeley is launching a new Palestinian and Arab studies program this fall due to demand.
11 months - the status quo spreads
Guardian Explains: What is al-Mawasi and why did Israel attack a ‘safe zone’? || CNN: Infected wounds, maggots and no escape. Gaza’s humanitarian crisis hits new lows as sanitary conditions plummet || +972: Inside the brutal siege of Jenin [in the West Bank] || MSF: Access to medical care at risk in West Bank as Israeli incursions intensify || Guardian: ‘I am the police, I am the army’: sanctioned settler’s rule in West Bank [more inside]
US Response to Gaza
US officials say Gaza deal on edge of collapse. Reportedly Donald Trump is advising Netanyahu to avoid a ceasefire, fearing that it would help Kamala Harris' election chances; if true, this would also violate the Logan Act. The DNC held the first-ever panel on Palestinian human rights. Multiple pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after clashing with police during a protest that started in front of the Israeli consulate and on the second night of the DNC. Uncommitted movement delegates are asking delegates pledged to Harris to sign on to a Ceasefire Delegate letter, and so far have netted 240 delegates. The current Democratic party platform features an extensive section on US support for Israel, and does not mention support for an arms embargo or permanent ceasefire. The University of California is imposing encampment and mask bans on campus. [more inside]
307 days; Israel's Torture Regime
Israel Accused of Running "Torture Camps" as Video Emerges of Soldiers Raping Palestinian Prisoner - Democracy Now covers the days-old story that's still not quite got any significant coverage in Western media: 'The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become "a network of torture camps," where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine. The report, titled "Welcome to Hell," collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel's Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held. Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B'Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is "systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned," reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. "They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians," says Michaeli.' [more inside]
The unlawfully occupying apartheid state of--
Kenneth Roth writes for the Guardian: The ICJ has demolished Israel’s claims that it is not occupying Palestinian territories - "the court held that for legal purposes, occupation is the product of a military takeover of land, regardless of its status. Even Gaza has long been occupied, the court found, despite Israel’s 2005 disengagement, because Israel maintained authority over various aspects of life in Gaza that could be exercised when it wished." || Al-Jazeera: Can Palestinians expect changes after ICJ ruling on Israel’s occupation? & ‘Impunity must end’: World reacts to ICJ ruling against Israeli occupation || Haaretz: Israel to Give [Its] Top Court Supplementary Arguments on How ICJ Ruling Will Affect Gaza Aid || Marko Milanovic in European Journal of International Law's blog: The bottom line of the AO is that the Court found that Israel’s continued occupation of the OPT violates various rules of international law, and that Israel has to withdraw from the OPT as rapidly as possible – but there are many other findings of the Court, including with regard to the obligations of third states, that merit discussion. [more inside]
"you internalize that, because someone is looking at you like a threat."
Reclaiming My Palestinian Identity - a 34-min drag video essay performance by Indie Nile, an "Amsterdam Drag Artist" [more inside]
Running Out of Time: Israel/Palestine/Gaza
Brother of hostage Itzik Elgarat says Hamas claims he is no longer alive.
US Intelligence warns that the Gaza war is a recruiting boon for terrorists, as widespread anger at the US support for Israel has galvanized organizations globally.
Hamas has accepted the US proposal on the release of Israeli hostages, according to a Hamas source.
Two thirds of Israelis back hostage deal over continuing war in Gaza.
Era of Miracles: Israeli Far-Right celebrates West Bank settlement expansion. Archive.is [more inside]
"We Have Normalised Horror."
Guardian: Mass casualty incidents caused by the Israeli military offensive in southern Gaza are becoming normalised in the west and leading to a sense of fatalism inside Gaza itself, according to Sam Rose, the director of planning for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA (after its school in Nuseirat was bombed by Israeli forces) || Democracy Now: “Apocalyptic”: 40 Killed in Israeli Airstrike on U.N. School Sheltering Displaced Palestinians in Gaza || BBC: US urges Israel to be transparent over Gaza school strike || Sky News UK: Experts told Sky News the [bomb] fragment [at Gaza school strike] can be identified as part of an American-made GBU-39 bomb; NPR: Israel used a U.S.-made bomb in a deadly U.N. school strike in Gaza [ground reporting that concurs] || MEMO (reporting of a Yedioth Ahronoth article): UN adds Israel to blacklist for harming children in conflict zones || ICYMI: Aharon Barak steps down as Israel's nominated judge to the ICJ case; Israel's Attorney-General urges Netanyahu to form commission of inquiry to provide legal cover from international judicial investigations such as through the ICC; Which ten countries have joined South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ? [more inside]
Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel’s nine-year ‘war’ on the ICC
“You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.” An investigation by the Guardian and the Israeli-based magazines +972 and Local Call details an almost decade-long secret “war” against the International Criminal Court.
Gaza & University Protest
There has been 1 arrest since counterprotesters violently attacked the UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment on April 30. Archive.is. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block testified before the House committee on the protests, where he admitted that he thought he should have removed the encampment sooner to prevent violence. Other universities also participated in the hearing, where the focus was mostly on how/whether the protests were antisemitic and should have been shut down earlier. Over 1000 people walked out of the Harvard commencement to protest Harvard denying 13 student protesters from participating. Encampments and student protests have spread to Australia, England, Germany, Italy, and more. [more inside]
"a permanent cessation of military and hostile operations"
Protesting for Gaza on US universities
Pro-Palestinian orgs at universities across the world protest in support of "Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment" Columbia Spectator, the newspaper run by undergrad Columbia University students, published an editorial asking if Columbia University is in crisis, stating: Columbia’s crisis is not as the committee has attempted to define it—a characterization stemming from the belief that the University has become a hotbed of antisemitic thought and behavior. Rather, the crisis is rooted in a lack of genuine community engagement on the part of the administration, as well as a failure to fulfill its duty of care to all affiliates. [more inside]
No Tech for Apartheid organizers fired
In an internal memo Wednesday, Google announced the firing of 28 employees in connection to a protest of Project Nimbus. The previous day inside Google offices in New York and California, a couple dozen employees staged a sit-in to bring awareness to the $1.2 billion Israeli government contract. It began in 2021 and provides cloud computing services to Israel—specifically, we’ve recently learned, to the Israeli Ministry of Defense—and though it has faced internal criticism since its inception, efforts against it have naturally intensified since October 7th.
The memo from Google’s global head of security Chris Rackow was ominous. “If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies,” he wrote to the company’s thousands of employees, “think again.” From Marisa Kabas of The Handbasket. [more inside]
Six months and counting
Gaza in a Million Pieces - Arwa Damon, founder and president of the charity INARA, writes for New Lines Magazine of her observations now that she's able to enter Gaza || Le Monde: Despite promises, Israel still restricts aid to Gaza (ungated) || Washington Post: Crutches and chocolate croissants: Gaza aid items Israel has rejected (ungated) || New Yorker (Isaac Chotiner interview with Yuval Abraham): Inside Israel’s Bombing Campaign in Gaza || Haaretz: Israel Has Declared Record Amount of West Bank Land as State-owned in 2024 || Mondoweiss: ‘Come out, you animals’: how the massacre at al-Shifa Hospital happened || Sydney Morning Herald (12 April): Australian former reporter, now aid worker, shot at in Gaza [more inside]
What do we owe the dead?
Voices of Mourning by Hannah Gold. An interesting personal essay on the book About Ed by Robert Glück, exploring grief and mourning. It also raises the question - whose life is allowed to be remembered for the person they were rather than their surrounding political context?
Palestinians fundraise evacuations from Gaza
From Neha Gohil in The Guardian: Louz, a PhD student at the University of St Andrews, is one of several Palestinians living in the UK who – in the absence of a separate visa scheme – have resorted to fundraising campaigns to secure their family’s evacuation from the besieged strip. The Hamas raids into Israel on 7 October, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, led to a continuing military offensive in Gaza that has so far killed an estimated 32,000 people. Since the attack, 55,000 donations have been made and 430 funds have been set up in the UK mentioning “evacuate” or “evacuation” in relation to the crisis, according to exclusive figures shared with the Guardian by GoFundMe. [more inside]
For a 15% increased efficiency in exposure times
Dr. Fatima presents a video essay on decolonizing astronomy. (slyt, 2h 51m) She focuses on the proposal to build the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, but is able to wind her way through several heavy topics with grace. She dives into the scientific efficacy of the site, the history of colonization on Hawaii, and an aside on Palestinian liberation and solidarity, before finishing with both pathos and praxis. [more inside]
"When will I lose all of this?"
In Gaza, death seems to be closer than water - Maha Hussaini: 'During one of the relatively ‘safe’ times in Gaza, around the summer of 2022, I sat on a comfy couch, soft music playing in the background, a cup of cold fresh orange juice in my hand, and I thought: "When will I lose all of this?"' || Gaza as Twilight of Israel Exceptionalism (by Raz Segal & Luigi Daniele) - The very different ways in which Holocaust scholars, on the one hand, and those working in Genocide Studies, on the other, have responded to the unfolding mass violence in Israel and Palestine after 7 October point to an unprecedented crisis in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. We argue that the crisis stems from the significant evidence for genocide in Israel’s attack on Gaza, which has exposed the exceptional status accorded to Israel as a foundational element in the field, that is, the idea that Israel, the state of Holocaust survivors, can never perpetrate genocide || Killed in Gaza database (you can search either in English or in Arabic) || CNN visual presentation of dead children [more inside]
Joe Biden's final State of the Union (before the 2024 election)
With dismissing the also-rans and cementing a rematch few wanted, the 2024 presidential race has officially entered the general election stage -- just in time to watch Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address (in about an hour -- 9PM Eastern). The first before Speaker Mike Johnson (and potentially the last of his presidency), the address is especially high-stakes this year, with anxious Democrats counting on Biden to demonstrate competence, energy, and a hopeful vision amidst a slew of dismal polling. Anticipated topics include Ukraine funding, abortion and personal freedom, fighting corporate price-gouging, the GOP-blocked border bill, and a new plan to construct a humanitarian seaport in Gaza. [more inside]
in the name of anti-antisemitism, Europe is doomed to repeat its past
It is no surprise that even today, Europe only feels guilt about the episode of the Holocaust and not the principle of genocide which made it possible... It seeks penance for the Holocaust but reconciles itself with the principle of genocide which has been ongoing for centuries, and which was perfected in colonial occupations. [more inside]
Palestinians & Palestinian-Americans in the USA
Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans continue to face censorship, backlash, and dehumanization by parties in all sectors of American life. [more inside]
The Last Safe Zone in Gaza is Being Bombed
Heavy shelling in Rafah, the refugee camp where more than 1 million people are crammed More than 100 people, at least 42 of them children, have been killed since yesterday, with a ground offensive planned by Israeli forces.
While two of the hostages have been rescued, Amnesty International is calling the offensive "unlawful" and saying that none of the buildings hit are legitimate military targets.
Palestine Is in Asia: An Asian American Argument for Solidarity
An expansion of solidarity: Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of acclaimed works like The Sympathizer, explores what it really means to be Asian American now, and how the question of Palestine is relevant for Asian Americans. [more inside]
"...major upheaval in debates over the language of mass atrocity..."
The Charge of Genocide - Darryl Li writes for Dissent Magazine: "Israel and its supporters have responded to the ICJ case with accusations of antisemitism (describing the case as “blood libel”), attempts at distraction (arguing over quantities of humanitarian aid it allows into the Gaza Strip), and technical legal objections. But South Africa’s willingness to file the case is a sign that the old tactics used to police discourse about genocide have lost much of their power." [more inside]
"The upshot is that nowhere in Gaza is safe."
"Put simply, one does not have the right to self-defence against a territory that one occupies." - Avi Shlaim writes for Prospect magazine || Jewish Currents: Israel’s “Humanitarian” Expulsion || WashPo: How Israel pushed over a million Palestinians into a tiny corner of Gaza (ungated) || NYT: Skepticism Grows Over Israel’s Ability to Dismantle Hamas || Guardian: Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to discuss postwar plan for Gaza Strip || CTV News: Israel's forces raid a West Bank refugee camp as its military expands Gaza offensive || Democracy Now: As Phone Line Breaks Up, Palestinian Journalist Akram al-Satarri Describes "Dire" Conditions in Gaza; Palestinian Christian Pastor [Rev Munther Isaac] Slams Western Silence on Genocide in Gaza & his Christmas sermon, "Christ in the Rubble" [more inside]
experiencing diaspora as an unexpected concentration of connections
There are foods I don’t associate with a specific memory so much as with the act of remembering. If all my favourite breakfast foods were laid out before me—smoked salmon and capers, ful mdammas, soft goat cheese and honey—I would reach for labaneh and zaatar first.
Read Palestine Week - Nov 29-Dec 5
Palestinian books shared this week by their publishers. These are free to read at the publisher sites, and cover a diverse array of genres, ideas and languages, with more activities planned and shared from over 400 publishers. As Kazuo Isiguro said: "But in the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it feel this way to you?"