French artist Corinne Raye, known as "Coco" publishes a cartoon in the newspaper "Liberation" mocking Muslims in Gaza, who are being starved to death

French artist Corinne Raye, known as "Coco" publishes a cartoon in the newspaper "Liberation" mocking Muslims in Gaza, who are being starved to death

    Wednesday, March 13, 2024   No comments

Freedom of expression has no limits in the West, when the freedom of expression is used to attack Muslims, and now Muslims who are subjected starvation. The left-wing newspaper Liberation in France published a racist cartoon about the month of Ramadan in Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to a murderous, destructive Israeli war since last October 7.

 The French artist wanted to depict the scene of hunger in the Strip, so she showed the man chasing rats in search of food to satisfy his hunger.

Liberation newspaper's editor-in-chief is Dov Alfon, who formerly worked for Israel's military intelligence unit 8200. The newspaper is owned by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi.

This happens at a time when UN agencies gave reported catastrophic conditions in Gaza due to US government repeated vetoes that prevented UNSC resolutions from being adopted, and thanks to Western governments lack of concern for the deaths among civilians, 31,000 at this point, 72% are children and women. 

 

In Gaza, thousands of children have been injured and killed, more are losing their lives to malnutrition and diseases, hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

All children in Gaza are exposed to widespread destruction, deeply distressing events and trauma. ~ UNICEF, Mar. 12, 2024.

  

What is the value of the life of a Muslim person compared to the life of a Westerner?

What is the value of the life of a Muslim person compared to the life of a Westerner?

    Monday, February 12, 2024   No comments

1/25, that is the value.

At the peak of the "war on terror" and the during the course of Israel’s assassination campaigns in the last two decades, a media commentator and former US military official was asked about what would be an acceptable collateral damage. He said: if killing a "high-value" terrorist or conducting an important security operation results in the deaths of 25 civilians or less, then, such collateral damage is acceptable. That is 25-to-1 ratio.

According to a study by Brown University, the US-led global war on terror, that took place mainly in Muslim-majority countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen, “nearly 1 million people” have been killed. Adding all persons of all Western countries killed by acts that could be categorized as “foreign terrorism” (a category coined to designate acts carried out by persons who might Muslim) as well as troops killed in battle fields (including US and NATO troops), the 25/1 ratio becomes a very aspirational figure. The data shows that for every one Western person killed in any incident involving Muslim actors, 100 Muslims--mostly civilians--were killed. 

This formula for revange establishes that the life of non-Westerners as being worth less compared to Western lives. The dehumanizing formula was crudely, yet illustratively articulated by Trump last year. Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference on Oct. 28, 2023, the former US president declared: “If you spill a drop of American blood, we will spill a gallon of yours.”

To add to the body of evidence of dehumanizing people from non-Western nations, Israel just acted on that equation, killing 100 civilians to rescue just two Israelis. During this conflict alone, comparing the reported total of 1,139 Israelis killed since Oct. 7 (695 Israeli civilians and 373 security forces and 71 foreigners), and comparing it to the 29,000 Palestinians killed thus far, produces a ration of exactly 25 Palestinians killed for every 1 Israeli--the formular still holds--though the killing is still ongoing and likely to reach the 50-for-1 ratio should the war on Gaza lasts for another five months.

In the light of the above data and the comments by US officials that the civilian toll in Gaza “remains too high”, one must ask Israeli officials: How many Palestinian civilians must die for every Israeli death before this revenge war comes to an end? And one must ask US officials: what is an acceptable “toll of civilian deaths”?

The lack of awareness of how bigoted the view that there is an acceptable “toll of civilian deaths” that can be excused and justified when every single Western life is avenged by unimaged level of destruction and death is confounding. When one adds the number of children killed thus far in Gaza, such callousness becomes cruelly mind-bending.

 Acceptance of some level of civilian toll destroys Western rhetoric about their commitment to universal rights. It clearly shows that there is no universal right to life; that some lives are superior and worth saving at any cost and some lives can be destroyed to avenge the loss of the superior lives. The troubling part is that, now, US officials acknowledge that the military operation is "over the top" and that too many civilians have been killed and displaced, yet the US administration blocked every UN intervention that could have stopped the war.

Biden’s phone call with Netanyahu comes a few days after the president offered one of his sharpest rebukes to date of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, saying the operation to go after Hamas had been “over the top.”

 “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza – in the Gaza Strip – has been over the top,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday, describing his own efforts to open up Gaza so more humanitarian aid could flow in.

 Last week, Blinken told Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials that the civilian toll in Gaza “remains too high” as violence continues in the region.

“Nearly 2 million people have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are experiencing acute hunger. Most have lost someone that they love. And day after day, more people are killed,” Blinken said at a news conference after meeting with top Israeli officials.

Former US official: Killing 4,000 Palestinian children is “not enough”

Former US official: Killing 4,000 Palestinian children is “not enough”

    Wednesday, November 22, 2023   No comments

To understand why US foreign policy in the Middle East was a complete failure, listen to this former US official, talk to a NYC food cart operator and tell him how he really feels about Muhammad, Quran, Muslims, Egypt, and the war in Gaza.

Stuart Seldowitz, a former US State Department official under President Barack Obama, said that the killing of 4,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip is “not enough,” in a scene that sparked great criticism and reactions.

Seldowitz served as the acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate under the Obama administration. He also worked as a senior political officer in the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs.

Seldowitz appeared in a video clip circulating on social media platforms, harassing a young Egyptian man who works as a street food vendor in New York by calling him a "terrorist."

The young man documented, via a video clip, that this former official came to him several times and provoked him in many ways. Among them was his inappropriate talk about Islam, and he also threatened to deport him from America.

The United States provides unlimited support to Israel during its war on the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for more than 6 weeks and has left, to date, more than 14,000 martyrs, including about 5,800 children, in addition to tens of thousands injured and displaced due to the violent Israeli bombing.

Some excerpts:

Scenes posted on the “X” platform show the street vendor repeatedly explaining to Seldowitz that he is currently working, asking him to stay away from him. However, the latter refused and insulted him, calling him ignorant because he did not master English.

Seldowitz, after continuing to harass the street vendor, accusing him of supporting the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and "terrorism," told him, "Do you know? If we kill 4,000 Palestinian children. That's not enough, it's not enough."

In other scenes, Seldowitz also appears harassing the seller by uttering provocative and insulting words toward the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the Holy Quran.

"What do you speak? You speak Arabic, the language of the Quran, the holy Quran that some people use as a toilet. What do you think of that, people who used the Quran as a toilet? Does it bother you?" Seldowitz asks mockingly.

"That’s why you're selling food in a food cart, because you’re ignorant. But you should learn English. It’ll help you when they deport you back to Egypt and then the Mukhabarat wants to interview you.”

In another video, he harasses the same vendor but is interrupted by a bystander who tells him to leave, saying "It's not right; you are harassing."

 

Israeli minister suggesting "dropping an atomic bomb" and doctors recommending bombing of hospitals in Gaza

Israeli minister suggesting "dropping an atomic bomb" and doctors recommending bombing of hospitals in Gaza

    Sunday, November 05, 2023   No comments

Extremist, Jewish supremacist Israeli Heritage Minister and member of the Otzma Yehudit Party Amichai Eliyahu says dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza is a possibility. These comments were made during an interview with Israeli Radio Kol Berama.

In response, Israeli PM Netanyahu has reportedly suspended Eliyahu's membership, describing the comments as "divorced from reality."

Eliyahu also said that:

○ "They can go to Ireland or deserts, the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves."

○ "We wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid... there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza.”

Since then, Israel has carried out a devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, and recently launched a ground operation in the Strip, which is subject to an absolute siege.

In response to the journalist’s question about whether he was calling for dropping “some kind of atomic bomb” on the Gaza Strip “to kill everyone,” Eliyahu replied, “This is one of the options.”

Netanyahu's office quickly responded to the minister's statements, describing them in a statement as "far from reality" and noting that Israel is trying to spare "non-combatants" in the Gaza Strip.

After the uproar caused by Eliyahu’s statements, the minister said through his account on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that his statements were “metaphorical.”

Israel has never admitted that it possesses a nuclear bomb.

In the first reaction to the minister’s statements, Hamas described them as “an expression of the occupation’s Nazism and its practice of genocide.”

In response to a question in an interview with Kol Berama Radio about “whether an atomic bomb should be dropped on the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said: “This is one of the possibilities,” according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

Eliyahu belongs to the “Jewish Power” party, to which National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also belongs, a party that supports building settlements and regaining control over the Gaza Strip’s lands.

For his part, Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, launched a sharp attack on Eliyahu, saying that his statement was “shocking, crazy, and issued by an irresponsible minister.”

He continued: “The presence of extremists in the government puts us in danger, and Netanyahu must dismiss the Minister of Heritage.”

Israeli doctors demand the bombing of hospitals in Gaza

Related, dozens of doctors in Israel signed a petition calling on the security services and the Israeli army to bomb hospitals in Gaza.

The doctors, who were framed under the title “Doctors for Soldiers,” said in their letter that whoever confuses hospitals with terrorism must understand that hospitals are not a safe place for him, and terrorism must be fought everywhere and in every way, they said.

So far, more than 100 Israeli doctors have signed to on the recommendation. 

The Israeli doctors see that Palestinian hospitals have become a legitimate target for the Israeli occupation forces, upholding the narrative that Palestinian Resistance groups are using hospitals for protection.

In response to this, the Israeli Association Physicians for Human Rights said that even if “the information that speaks about the presence of Hamas infrastructure under hospitals is true, this does not justify the bombing of thousands of innocent patients and displaced people in hospitals.”

US Central Command announces the arrival of a nuclear submarine in the Middle East

The threat to drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza was not limited to words by an extremist in the Israeli cabinet. Instead of de-escalation, the US seemed to validate that the threat instead of condemning. 

US Central Command announced on Sunday evening that the Ohio-class nuclear submarine had arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility in the Middle East.

The Ohio-class submarine will join the Eisenhower and Gerald Ford aircraft carriers and their group of warships, which the US military had previously deployed in the region.

This news story was updated to include the US sending the nuclear sub.

Israeli leaders threaten civilians trapped in Gaza: "leave now" because Gaza will be turned "into rubble"

Israeli leaders threaten civilians trapped in Gaza: "leave now" because Gaza will be turned "into rubble"

    Sunday, October 08, 2023   No comments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Palestinians to leave Gaza Strip on Saturday and said the army will turn Hamas sites “into rubble.”

“We will turn all the places in which Hamas is based … all the places Hamas is hiding in, acting from into rubble,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.

He called on Palestinians in the area to “leave now.”

Implementing the threats, and signaling their intent to commit war crimes, other Israeli leaders provided more details. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant: 

"I ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We fight against human animals and act accordingly."

Responding to the threat, Gaza factions' leaders said that Tel Aviv will be attacked and asked people there to leave. This is why Netanyahu's use of the words "Leave now" will come back to haunt the Israelis. Because those who can leave will leave, and that will be mostly Israelis, not Palestinians.

Given that Gazans have been under siege and with no place to go, asking them to leave or face death under the rubble is not an option between two things, it is a single option: die under the ruble.

The dramatic events that started on Saturday morning are not completely a surprise. For weeks, Hamas and other factions have been conducting live ammunition drills practicing the very same actions they took on Saturday. The Israeli leaders claimed, then, that the war games were designed to attract outside support and funding and doubted the groups’ ability to carry out attacks outside Gaza. On Saturday, those drills were put in action with deadly precision.

All this marks a new cycle of violence that could have been avoided any time over the past 50 years at least. For nearly 30 years since the Oslo agreement that promoted the two state solutions did not go anywhere. It merely created a Palestinian security apparatus in the West Bank that freed Israeli troops from patrolling Palestinian towns. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders continued the funding of illegal settlements making it impossible for the two state solution to remain viable. In the last decade, Israel has been ruled by increasingly right-wing factions hostile to any deal with the Palestinians. The lack of hope brings despair and desperate people do unimaginable things.

The chinese government seems to see the occupation to be the problem and ending it as the path to a solution. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry called for the creation of the state of Palestine. The ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning voiced "concerns about the escalation of the conflict" and condemned the "damage to civilians" but said that "the fundamental path out of the conflict lies through the implementation of a two-state solution and the creation of an independent State of Palestine."

  

    

A racist group hostile to Islam in Denmark burns the Holy Qur’an in front of the embassies of Islamic countries in Copenhagen and raises slogans against Muslims

A racist group hostile to Islam in Denmark burns the Holy Qur’an in front of the embassies of Islamic countries in Copenhagen and raises slogans against Muslims

    Tuesday, August 08, 2023   No comments

On Tuesday, the Danish capital, Copenhagen, witnessed new attacks against the Noble Qur’an.

The Anadolu Agency correspondent said that members of a group called “Danish Patriots” burned copies of the Qur’an in front of the embassies of Turkey, Algeria, Pakistan, Indonesia and Iran in Copenhagen.

He pointed out that the provocative actions took place under the protection of the Danish police, and that members of the racist and anti-Islam group chanted slogans against Muslims.

The members of the group also published the moments of the assault on the Noble Qur’an through live scenes from their pages on social networking sites.

Facebook had imposed restrictions on some of the group's videos.

Recently, in Sweden and Denmark, incidents of insulting the Qur’an by extreme rightists in front of the embassies of Islamic countries have been repeated, which sparked angry Arab and Islamic reactions, officially and popularly, in addition to official summons for the diplomats of the two countries in more than one Arab country.

On July 26, the United Nations adopted a consensus resolution, drafted by Morocco, condemning all acts of violence against the holy books as a violation of international law.

  

Racism in Europe: Third racism scandal hits Finland’s government in space of a month

Racism in Europe: Third racism scandal hits Finland’s government in space of a month

    Friday, July 28, 2023   No comments

The Garden of Prosperity has a problem: Is it racism or migration?

Last Thursday, July 27, the Finnish newspaper "Helsingen Sanomat" revealed the messages sent by Minister Wille Rydman (of the far-right "Finns Party") about 7 years ago (in 2016) when he was a member of parliament.

The newspaper said that it had obtained the messages in which he used "racist language against minorities" from his ex-girlfriend, "Amanda Blake", noting that she decided to reveal them due to the important ministerial position he holds.

At the time the letters were sent, Rydman was a member of the Constitutional Law Committee and the Administrative Committee, during which he helped pass anti-immigrant laws, according to the newspaper.

In one of his letters to his girlfriend, Redman likened the growth of a plant to the Somalis in the country, saying, "But as soon as you bring a lily-of-the-valley to this spot, you will find it everywhere, and it spreads and multiplies like the Somalis."

In another message, Rydman shared with his girlfriend a song written by his fellow parliamentarian, "Juho Irola", which inappropriately talks about a Muslim leaving his homeland. "Irola" had written it after many asylum seekers flocked to Finland in 2015, according to the deputy's statement to the newspaper.

Rydman suggested to his girlfriend that the song be used in student parties, and the minister commented in another message on previous news about the Belgian government allowing employers to ban the wearing of the veil, saying, "I prefer to prevent those who wear the veil over banning the veil alone."

The messages revealed Rydmans use of offensive terms such as "monkeys" or "desert monkeys", referring to Arabs or people of the Middle East.

In other messages, his girlfriend expressed her desire to give her child Jewish names, and he said in response to her, "We - the Nazis - do not like these Jewish names," and he also expressed his regret that Germany had left "its Nazi traces fading."

Media outlets quoted Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orbo as confirming that he did not support the language that Rydman used in his messages, but at the same time he confirmed his confidence in him and did not mention the existence of any measures against him.

It is noteworthy that Minister Rydman was appointed as a replacement for former Economy Minister Wilhelm Gonella, who resigned last June after only 10 days of taking office, due to his old pro-Nazi statements.

For his part, Minister Rydman stated in his response to the leaks that he was considering suing the newspaper "Helsingen Sanomat", and wrote on Twitter, "The writer of the story in the newspaper is already suspected of defamation against me, as well as his source mentioned in the story, and the police reported that the matter is under legal follow-up." .

"The real scandal is that the newspaper is a platform for those who lied to me, and the other scandal is that the letters exchanged years ago - whether true or not - were considered the subject of a story for a big newspaper," he added.

"The most difficult since World War II"... Sweden confirms the deterioration of security after insulting the Qur'an

The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Christerson, announced that Sweden is facing "the most difficult security situation since World War II," after the activities of burning a copy of the Noble Qur'an.

Christerson said, after meeting with his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, that his government discussed with the Danish government the situation over the insult to the Qur'an, adding, "We are currently facing the most difficult security situation since World War II."

The Swedish Prime Minister indicated that some countries "could take advantage of the deteriorating security situation in Sweden," stressing that the authorities of the two countries consider such a situation "dangerous" and will take the necessary measures.

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, a video clip spread showing the extremist Sloan Momica tearing up a copy of the Holy Qur’an at the Stockholm Central Mosque, after the Swedish police granted him permission to organize the protest following an official decision, and this was met with widespread condemnation from various countries and organizations.

Later, the Swedish police again agreed to organize a demonstration in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, in which the demonstrators, including the extremist Mumika, burned the Iraqi flag and a copy of the Noble Qur’an, which also sparked widespread condemnation.

In response, Baghdad severed its relations with Stockholm, and expelled the Swedish ambassador. A few days ago, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq, Faiq Zaidan, confirmed the follow-up to Silwan Momica's recovery file.

The "Ansar Allah" movement also issued a decision to boycott Swedish goods by banning their import, and canceling the registered agencies for goods and products of Swedish origin.

In Denmark, a Danish far-right anti-Islam group burned a copy of the Holy Quran and the Iraqi flag, a few days ago, in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen.

The Danish government affirmed that "burning sacred texts and other religious symbols is a shameful act that does not respect the religion of others," stressing at the same time the need to respect what it called "freedom of expression and assembly," and supporting "the right to peaceful protest," as it said.

On the tenth anniversary of Muharram, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, affirmed that the governments of Sweden and Denmark and the whole world must understand that "we are a nation that does not tolerate aggression and abuse of its symbols and sanctities," calling on Muslims to punish those who abuse the Qur'an.

Likewise, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement, Sayyid Abd al-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, affirmed that "what the Jewish lobby in Western countries is doing, in terms of burning and tearing copies of the Qur'an, is the height of blasphemy and an assault on Islam and Muslims."

Mr. Al-Houthi called for severing diplomatic relations with countries that allow the burning of copies of the Noble Qur’an, in addition to boycotting them economically, stressing that “if the nation’s position does not live up to this possible ease, then it is a great failure towards the most important sanctity of Muslims.”

MP Geert Wilders: "The Netherlands is no longer the Netherlands"

MP Geert Wilders: "The Netherlands is no longer the Netherlands"

    Tuesday, May 23, 2023   No comments

Dutch Member of Parliament and far-right politician Geert Wilders ridiculed what he said was the increase in Muslims in the Netherlands, and added that watching them perform prayers in the streets of the Netherlands expresses the stripping of the Netherlands of its identity.

Foreign ministers of the GCC, in a letter to Minister Anthony Blinkkin: "the United States of America to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements targeting the Palestinian people"

Foreign ministers of the GCC, in a letter to Minister Anthony Blinkkin: "the United States of America to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements targeting the Palestinian people"

    Sunday, March 26, 2023   No comments

In another setback for the so-called Abrahamic accord, the organization, GCC, that includes two of the States that signed the agreement, sent a letter to the USA protesting Israeli words and practices agains the Palestinians.

In a letter to Minister Anthony Blinkkin, the foreign ministers of the Six-state bloc, in a letter to Minister Anthony Blinkkin, denounced the statements of the Israeli right -wing Israeli Finance Minister of Smottrich about the necessity of "eradicating" the Palestinian town of Hawara, which witnessed the killing of two Israelis by an activist suspected of belonging to Hamas.

In its message published on its website, the Council called on "the United States of America to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements targeting the Palestinian people."

He also urged the American administration to "play its role to reach a just, comprehensive and lasting solution" to the Palestinian -Israeli conflict.

On Sunday, the UAE strongly condemned the decision of Israel to allow the restoration of settlement in the northern West Bank regions, and put it bids to build new settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation reported by the Emirates News Agency.

In a statement, the Ministry affirmed, "The UAE's rejection of all practices that violate international legitimacy decisions, which threaten more escalation and instability in the region."

Saudi Arabia also condemned the Israeli decision, and stated in a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry that Riyadh "calls on the international community to carry out its responsibilities to end the Israeli occupation and stop its provocative practices, which would obstruct the paths of political solutions based on the Arab peace initiative and undermine international peace efforts."

Last week, the United States described Smotrich's statements as "insulting" and "dangerous".

She also expressed its "great concern" after the Israeli parliament canceled part of a law that prevents settlers from residing in areas in the occupied West Bank that the Israeli government had evacuated in 2005, considering that the decision was "provocative."

The Gulf Cooperation Council, whose foreign ministers met in Riyadh last week, include six countries, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. The UAE and Bahrain printed their relations with Israel in 2020 under the "Abraham Agreements" sponsored by the United States.

Comparing Scenes from the Protests in the Garden of Prosperity and the Celebration of Nowruz in "Women-Oppressor" Iran

Comparing Scenes from the Protests in the Garden of Prosperity and the Celebration of Nowruz in "Women-Oppressor" Iran

    Thursday, March 23, 2023   No comments

In this week’s media review report, we would like to highlight the disparity in media coverage of social events when they happen in the West versus when the happen in Muslim-majority countries. We propose this media review because the constant and consistent negative coverage of protests in Muslim-majority countries and radio-silence when violent protests and brutal police handling of protesters in the Garden of Prosperity must be challenged as a matter of equity and as a matter of freeing the human rights discourse from political manipulation.

When protests in Iran were instrumentalized to portray yet another government in yet another Muslim-majority country as authoritarian regime ruling over an Islamic society still in need of the paternal protection of the civilized world, the progressives and liberals in the West jumped on the bandwagon. How could they be wrong if someone from somewhere stated in some social media platform that Iran executed 14,000 protesters? Reflexively, even politicians joined in. The Canada’s prime minister amplified the post and condemned Iran for not respecting the rights of peaceful protests.

Here we are weeks deep into the many “peaceful” protests across Europe, and in France, especially, with scenes of heavily armed police violently clashing with unarmed protesters. Yet, not a single Western government called for an end to the violence and the use of force against peaceful protesters.

This is not about using one case of protesters and counter-protesters’ measures to legitimize police brutality against civilians in any country or in all country. It is about the incessant, constant, consistent, and overwhelming media stream portraying violence happening in a Muslim-majority country as a normal event suggesting that Muslims are of violent nature, and the total blackout and abysmal coverage of protests in the West and the violent handling of protests in the West. It is the overwhelming negative coverage of Muslim-majority countries, the absence of any images or stories that depict positive aspects in Muslim-majority countries, and the lack of coverage of the violence that happens in the West that provide a bigoted narrative, and it is this negative narrative that produce a draft of history that is deeply flawed and cruel to people of the Global South.

Here is a glimpse of the deliberate selective coverage: during the same time when Iranian men and women, yes women, were celebrating the new Persian; the streets of Paris and other major French cities were literally on fire. The police were beating, dragging, and arresting protesters. No word of concern for the use of excessive force was uttered by any Western leaders.

When Iranians protested the death of an Iranian woman, all Western leaders reacted; they introduced resolution of condemnation in world organizations, and they imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and institutions. The world was told that Iran is no place for women to walk the streets without head coverings, and those who do risk arrest and death at the hand of the police. That is a damning narrative not just for Iran, but for Muslims in general.

But when there is evidence of Muslim women in Iran and elsewhere in Muslim-majority countries walking the streets, and celebrating holidays in public spaces wearing or not wearing a range of head coverings, such scenes are suppressed, because they provide a counter narrative to the one that has been portraying Muslims as "woman-oppressing" peoples.

"Arab passengers being removed from the buses even if they had blue ID cards" is not a new, isolated event

"Arab passengers being removed from the buses even if they had blue ID cards" is not a new, isolated event

    Tuesday, March 14, 2023   No comments

 Arab passengers being removed from the buses even if they had blue ID cards is not a new, isolated event taking place now under the most extremist regime. Bus segregation is just a sample of what apartheid systems do.

The government of Israel has been discriminating against Palestinians since it was founded. Segregation in busses and public transportation has been done for more than a decade at least, as these sample references show. What is new is who is carrying out these politicies now.

The head of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank said that he directed that Arab passengers be disembarked from buses even if they hold a blue identity card (a permanent residency identity given to Palestinians from East Jerusalem).

This came in statements made by “Meir Rubinstein,” head of the “Beitar Illit” settlement, 10 km south of Jerusalem, to the ultra-Orthodox “Scobim” website, which was reported by the Hebrew “Wala” website.

"I ordered Arab passengers to be removed from the buses even if they had blue ID cards," Rubinstein said.

He added that he insisted on his decision despite the request of the Israeli police and the Ministry of Defense to retract the decision.

And "Rubinstein" went on: "We stopped the buses at the entrance to the city (the settlement) and dropped off dozens of Palestinians with blue ID cards."

On Thursday, residents of Beitar Illit were instructed to stay in their homes for fear of a Palestinian infiltration into the city, after an explosive device was found in a bag left inside a bus in the settlement.

Last year, Rubinstein was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a murder in Jerusalem in 1990, but he was later released due to lack of evidence, according to the same source.

Recently, the racist approach of the Israeli right towards the Palestinians in the West Bank has escalated dramatically, which was evident, including in at least two attacks launched by settlers last February on the town of Hawara in the northern West Bank, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian and the injury of dozens, as well as the burning of homes, cars and property. , amid Arab and international condemnation.

  

French media outlet: There is not even the need to send tanks to kill and destroy Turkish and Syrian homes

French media outlet: There is not even the need to send tanks to kill and destroy Turkish and Syrian homes

    Tuesday, February 07, 2023   No comments

French media, once again, show that racism is the driving force behind their "art" when it is directed towards Muslims. Here, the media outlet defended by the French government when it published offensive cartoons attacking the Prophet Muhammad, publishes another cartoon, seemingly celebrating the death and destruction in Turkey and Syria because all that happened without even sending tanks to do the job.

Charlie Hebdo newspaper published, on its Twitter account, a caricature entitled "Today's Drawing", which showed a number of buildings destroyed by the earthquake in Turkey, and commented on the drawing, "There is not even the need to send tanks."