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."

 

In an Open Letter, 100s of American journalists criticize coverage of the war on Gaza and the killing of journalists

In an Open Letter, 100s of American journalists criticize coverage of the war on Gaza and the killing of journalists

    Friday, November 10, 2023   No comments

More than 750 journalists signed an open letter condemning Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza, and criticizing Western media's coverage of the war, according to the Washington Post on Friday.

The American newspaper said that more than 750 journalists from dozens of news organizations signed an open letter condemning Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza, and criticizing Western media coverage of the war.

The letter stated that newsrooms (Western media) are responsible for the inhumane rhetoric that served the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

The letter includes “signatories from Reuters and the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and Washington Post” and reflects “the divisions and frustrations within newsrooms.”

The newspaper noted that signing the letter to some journalists was a bold and even dangerous step, adding that journalists in media organizations had been expelled because they adopted public political positions that might expose them to accusations of bias, according to the newspaper, without specifying these means.

The Washington Post pointed out that many writers, artists, researchers and academics criticized the media coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The letter's authors said it was a call to recommit to justice and not abandon it.

In turn, Abdullah Fayyad, a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2022 and a former member of the Boston Globe editorial board, who signed the letter, said, “I hope that after this letter, the culture of fear around this issue will be reversed, and that decision-makers, reporters, and editors will be made to think twice about language.” that they use."

“This is about demanding that journalists do their job: hold power accountable,” said Sohana Hussain, a labor reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

The letter stresses that journalists should use words such as “apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “genocide” to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, terms that the petition’s signatories explain are used by international human rights organizations.

It also focuses on journalists who were killed by Israeli forces, and their number reached 39 media workers.

A journalist is killed daily

The Washington Post confirmed yesterday that one journalist is killed in Gaza every day, and described this as a terrifying rate.

The newspaper said that the latest petition comes after a series of petitions signed by media professionals, academics and artists calling for an end to the war and not to obscure what is happening in Gaza.

She also mentioned that another petition signed by hundreds of Jewish writers called for stopping the war and saving civilian lives, and added, "We are horrified when we see the battle against anti-Semitism used as an excuse to commit war crimes with declared genocidal intent."

A Million people march in Indonesia in support of Gaza

A Million people march in Indonesia in support of Gaza

    Sunday, November 05, 2023   No comments

The Indonesian capital, Jakarta, witnessed massive demonstrations denouncing the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and demanding a ceasefire.

Participants in the demonstration called by the Indonesian People's Alliance to Support Palestine raised slogans demanding the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, the entry of humanitarian aid and an end to the war.

Keypoints from the President of Turkey, Erdogan, before a crowd organized in support of Gaza

Keypoints from the President of Turkey, Erdogan, before a crowd organized in support of Gaza

    Saturday, October 28, 2023   No comments

Erdogan is the most successful opportunistic politician who will use every popular issue to plug in his relevance. After weeks of silence, he came to join a large crowd of people waving Turkish flags, invoking Gaza crisis but saying nothing of substance. He seemed more concerned with the optics than with the human cost accrued by people dying. Here are some of the ultimate showman’s statements.

* Unfortunately, in Turkey, there are politicians who claim that just as Netanyahu is a terrorist, so is HAMAS. They don't know what HAMAS is.

* Today, some in Turkey see Gaza as distant from us, and they don't care about what happens there. Gaza was an Ottoman city nearly 100 years ago. For us, it was one of our cities, like Adana and Mardin are today.

* Unfortunately, we were divided and separated by borders, and today they are trying to divide us with various temptations and games.

* Look closely at the statements of Israeli officials, and you will find plans of insult and betrayal, directed at our lands as well.

* I confirm that HAMAS is not a terrorist movement, and we will not be satisfied with the condemnation of what is happening in the Gaza Strip.

* Those who cried about injustice in Ukraine yesterday are today supporting Israel with blood on their hands.

* Israel won't last even three days without the support of Western countries.

* Turkey is preparing to declare Israel a war criminal to the entire world.

* Western officials have become deaf and cannot hear the cries of the casualties in Gaza or the appeals of the UN Secretary-General.

* Israel is committing a massacre in Gaza in the darkness, thinking that the world will not find out.

Media Review: The New York Times warns Biden: “Israel” is about to make a grave mistake

Media Review: The New York Times warns Biden: “Israel” is about to make a grave mistake

    Saturday, October 21, 2023   No comments

Empires don't listen to reason, because hubris attacks the mind.

After the American writer, Thomas Friedman, warned US President Joe Biden in two previous articles against allowing “Israel” to launch a ground attack on Gaza, Friedman renewed his demand for Biden to pressure “Israel” not to fall into the trap of a ground invasion.

China says Israel acting 'beyond scope of self-defense'

China says Israel acting 'beyond scope of self-defense'

    Sunday, October 15, 2023   No comments

 The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, confirmed in a phone call with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, that the historical injustice against Palestine cannot continue.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Wang Yi as saying that China is "currently working closely with all parties to strengthen the ceasefire and end the war."

 According to him, the top priority is “ensuring the safety of civilians, opening humanitarian aid channels as quickly as possible, and protecting the basic needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

 The Chinese minister stressed that his country "believes that the historical injustice that has been occurring against Palestine for more than half a century cannot continue," noting that the Israeli government must stop "collective punishment" of the residents of Gaza.

Wang Yi pointed out that "the parties should not take any action that would lead to an escalation of the situation," calling for the start of "negotiations."

In turn, Ibn Farhan indicated that Saudi Arabia opposes Israel’s forced resettlement of Gaza residents outside the region.

 The Saudi Minister urged the People's Republic of China, by virtue of its role as a permanent member of the Security Council, to work to ensure that the Council fulfills its responsibility to maintain international peace and security by pushing for "an immediate cessation of military operations and lifting the siege on Gaza."

Earlier today, state-run CCTV announced that Chinese envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, will visit the region next week in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and launch peace talks.

It is noteworthy that last Friday, Israeli media reported that an Israeli employee at the embassy in the Chinese capital, Beijing, was stabbed outside the embassy area.

It is worth noting that, in the wake of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” epic, China called for “a ceasefire, the protection of civilians, and an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, through a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” as it said.

The United States of America considered this position “disappointing,” as the Majority Leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, demanded, during his visit to Beijing, “the necessity of issuing a statement explicitly condemning the Hamas movement, due to the attack it launched a few days ago.”

In turn, the American newspaper Politico commented on the Chinese position, saying that Beijing “apparently has decided that the path to a greater global presence passes through Palestine,” regardless of the “blows” it will receive from the West, because of what the newspaper described as "Leniency" with Hamas.