But We Must Speak: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Rashid Khalidi on Israeli Occupation, Apartheid & the 100-Year War on Palestine

But We Must Speak: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Rashid Khalidi on Israeli Occupation, Apartheid & the 100-Year War on Palestine

    Thursday, December 07, 2023   No comments

ISR WEEKLY connects you to a timely and informative program hosted by Democracy Now!:

In this special broadcast, we air excerpts from a recent event organized by the Palestine Festival of Literature at the Union Theological Seminary here in New York. The event featured a discussion between the acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Coates won the National Book Award for his book Between the World and Me. Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia. His books include The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. Their conversation was moderated by civil rights attorney Michelle Alexander.

 

Rap of liberation from occupation... “Lowkey” and the mixture of languages and singing arts in “Palestine Will Never Die”

Rap of liberation from occupation... “Lowkey” and the mixture of languages and singing arts in “Palestine Will Never Die”

    Monday, December 04, 2023   No comments

British rapper Lowkey and his fellow singer Mai Khalil released a remarkable lyrical work entitled “Palestine Will Never Die,” which combines singing and rap, Arabic and English lyrics, and the arts of speech, poetry, prose, and lyrical performance.

Lowkey said that they were inspired to work by the works of the Lebanese artist, singer and composer Ahmed Kaabour, who is known for his works that carry the hopes and pain of the Palestinian people, the most famous of which are “I Call You” and “O Pulse of the West” (In the West Bank I have seven children) and others.

Lowkey added that the song - which is characterized by multiple rhythms and poetry - is “our humble contribution to this just cause and an attempt to empower young people in the West who have a passion for liberating Palestine,” considering that the words gave them goosebumps and reflect the current reality.

He added, "We hope that the song will give more courage and boldness to those who speak about Palestine, so that they are not afraid to confront the Zionist lobby in their countries," considering that the circumstances that inspired the song are "the feeling of impotence and political paralysis... and it is our right in the West to stand in solidarity with our people."

Lowkey pointed out that they chose to mix Arabic and English in the song, because that mix “reflects the reality in which we live,” stressing that they were inspired by traditional words to benefit new generations and deepen their connection to their past.

Regarding the use of different musical genres in one song, Lowkey said that they wanted to prove that "the Arabs are not in a state of cultural schizophrenia. On the contrary, our exposure to multiple arts leads to enriching our abilities to describe our bitter reality."

He said that he sees rap as "an important part of this process, especially how it makes people interact with others directly."   

  

Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie condemns Israeli bombardment of Gaza

Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie condemns Israeli bombardment of Gaza

    Sunday, December 03, 2023   No comments

American actress Angelina Jolie is the latest international art and entertainment celebrity to join in support of the Palestinians, especially after the unprecedented Israeli bombing of the densely populated Jabalia camp, which resulted in the deaths and wounding of hundreds.

Jolie published a picture of the massive destruction caused by the Israeli raids, and commented on Instagram: “This is the deliberate bombing of besieged residents who have nowhere to flee to.” “Gaza has been an open prison for nearly two decades, and it is rapidly turning into a mass grave.”

In this context, many Hollywood celebrities expressed their support for Palestine and the people of Gaza, stressing their condemnation of the crimes committed by Israel. 

More than 2,000 artists around the world issued a statement in which they accused governments of helping Israel commit war crimes in Gaza, and demanded an end to military and political support for Israel.“This is the deliberate bombing of a trapped population who have nowhere to flee. Gaza has been an open-air prison for nearly two decades and is fast becoming a mass grave,” she said in an Instagram post.

Jolie added that world leaders are “complicit in crimes” by refusing to demand a humanitarian ceasefire and blocking the UN Security Council.

The Wall Street Journal: Nature and quantity of American weapons provided to Israel since October 7

The Wall Street Journal: Nature and quantity of American weapons provided to Israel since October 7

    Saturday, December 02, 2023   No comments

The American Wall Street Journal reported, in a report, about the United States supplying the Israeli occupation entity with large bunker-busting bombs, among tens of thousands of other weapons and artillery shells, during the ongoing war on Gaza.

The newspaper quoted American officials as saying, “The wave of weapons, including approximately 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells, began shortly after the October 7 attack, and has continued in recent days.”

According to an internal US government list of weapons, which US officials transferred to the Wall Street Journal, among the munitions that Washington transferred to Israel were more than 5,000 unguided Mk82 bombs, and more than 5,400 bombs with Mk82 warheads. A 2,000-pound Mk84 bomb, about a thousand GBU-39 small-diameter bombs, and about 3,000 JDAM bombs, which convert unguided bombs into guided bombs.

The United States also sent nearly 57,000 155 mm artillery shells and 100 advanced BLU-109 bombs weighing about 900 kilograms to Israel.

But Washington did not previously reveal the total number of weapons it sent to Israel, nor the transfer of 100 BLU-109 bombs.

American officials say that “the failure to disclose these weapons is a result of the fact that Israeli weapons come through a different mechanism, including military sales.”

Diplomatic challenge

According to the Wall Street Journal, this airlift of ammunition worth hundreds of millions of dollars, especially on C-17 military cargo planes flying from the United States to Tel Aviv, shows the diplomatic challenge facing the Biden administration, as “This aid could undermine the administration’s pressure to protect civilians.”

It is noteworthy that "Israel" is the largest recipient of American foreign military funding. Most of this aid comes in the form of arms grants, while it also has access to some of the most advanced US military technology.

American support also represents about 15% of the entity’s annual defense budget, according to the Axios website.

In this context, Elias Youssef, an American weapons transfer expert at the Stimson Center, said, “American weapons are widely used in the current Israeli operations in Gaza.”

The Pentagon had stated that it "will not place restrictions on how the Israeli army uses weapons provided by the United States."

A few days ago, the White House requested the removal of restrictions on all categories of weapons and ammunition that Israel is allowed to access from American weapons stockpiles stored in Israel itself, according to the American “The Intercept” website.

Also, Bloomberg newspaper reported that the Pentagon has increased its military aid to Israel, especially laser-guided missiles for the fleet of Apache warplanes, 155 mm shells, night vision devices, bunker-busting ammunition, and new military vehicles.

It is worth mentioning that Washington asks the occupation “army” to limit civilian casualties, and supports a humanitarian cessation of fighting, despite the unlimited military support it provides to “Israel”, which is constantly met with rejection by a large segment of American officials.

Media Review; ToI: Iranian Leader does not believe in throwing the Jews into the sea and a general referendum must be held in Palestine

Media Review; ToI: Iranian Leader does not believe in throwing the Jews into the sea and a general referendum must be held in Palestine

    Wednesday, November 29, 2023   No comments

An Israeli media outlet, The Times of Israel, reported today that Iran's leader wants a referendum, not in throwing the Jews into the sea."

In a video released on his official website, Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei stated that “a general referendum must be held in Palestine, and Iran does not believe in the slogan of throwing the Jews into the sea.”

Iranian Leader, Ali Khamenei, said that the crimes of the Zionist entity in Gaza exposed the West and tarnished the reputation of Western culture and civilization.

Khamenei received a large gathering of mobilizers today, Wednesday, in Tehran. He said during the meeting that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation led to changing the American policy agenda in the region, and God willing, if it continues, it will erase the agenda.

He added: The Al-Aqsa flood was a historical event that was carried out against the Zionist entity, but in reality it is considered “de-Americanization.”

Khamenei said that the brutal crimes committed by the Zionist entity against the people of Gaza exposed the entity, America, European countries, and Western civilization and culture.

He added that the culture and civilization of the West is the same civilization that when five thousand children are martyred by a phosphorus bomb, the regime of a Western country says that Israel is defending itself. Is this self defense? This is Western culture; In this case, it exposed Western culture and tarnished its reputation.

He added that the tragedies of Gaza are the summary of the crimes of the Zionist entity in Palestine for 75 years.

He asked: Where did they build the Zionist settlements? They destroyed Palestinian homes and farms, built Zionist settlements in their place, and killed any woman or child who stood against settlement. They have been doing this for 75 years.

Khamenei stressed that the flood of Al-Aqsa cannot be extinguished, and this situation will not continue under divine power.

He referred to the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the Palestinian issue and said: Some people in the world talk about the Islamic Republic’s views on the region and falsely say that Iran believes that the Jews and Zionists should be thrown into the sea. Some Arabs used to say that the Jews should be thrown into the sea, but we never said this. We do not throw anyone into the sea.

We say that the opinion is the opinion of the Palestinian people and the government that is formed by the votes of the Palestinian people will make its decisions regarding those who are there; This government could say that everyone who came from other countries can stay in Palestine.

Khamenei added: Some of the African countries that I visited during my presidency struggled and won. The indigenous people were able to defeat the British, but they allowed the British to remain based on their interests.

The guide explained that the Palestinians could do the same thing. They may allow some to remain on their land, and they may tell others that they must leave. The Palestinians are the decision-makers, and we do not comment on this.

Israeli PM: “Islam in the Arab countries needs radical change”

Israeli PM: “Islam in the Arab countries needs radical change”

    Wednesday, November 29, 2023   No comments

The war in Gaza may not be a war against Hamas after all, it is a war on the ideology and beliefs of Hamas. Echoing France’ President who called for an “Enlightened Islam”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his meeting with American businessman Elon Musk, who visited the Gaza Strip settlements, that “Islam in the Arab countries needs a radical change.”

Israel will purge Gaza’s mosques and schools of their “poisonous” ideology once its war with Hamas concludes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told X (aka Twitter) owner Elon Musk in an interview on Monday.

 

The Israeli premier pointed to the wealthy Gulf states as examples of Muslim countries that had been “de-radicalized.”

 

Speaking to Musk in an interview live-streamed on X, Netanyahu said that the destruction of Hamas would be a “precursor” to more systemic changes in Gaza.

Expanding on his vision of a “de-radicalized” Gaza, Netanyahu told Musk that “you first have to get rid of the poisonous regime, as you did in Germany, as you did in Japan in World War II.”

 

Netanyahu pointed to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as examples of Arab states that had undergone this process, likely referring to their recognition of Israel in 2020. With Riyadh on the cusp of a US-brokered recognition deal before the current war began, Netanyahu added that the “same thing is happening to a considerable extent in Saudi Arabia.”

 

The Israeli leader suggested that his country’s “Arab friends” could help rebuild Gaza, where the UN estimates that around half of all homes have been destroyed since the war began. Earlier this month, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that the Arab nations would not take part in any potential post-conflict peacekeeping in Gaza, nor would they “clean the mess” left behind by the Israeli military.