A memorandum now signed by 100s of State Department employees and the US Agency for Development accuses Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in Gaza

A memorandum now signed by 100s of State Department employees and the US Agency for Development accuses Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in Gaza

    Wednesday, November 15, 2023   No comments

The American website Axios leaked a memorandum signed by 100 (today NYT reported 500) employees of the State Department and the US Agency for Development, accusing President Joe Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in the Gaza Strip, and also accusing Israel of committing war crimes in the besieged Strip.

The memorandum, signed by 100 employees of the State Department and USAID, urges the American leadership to reconsider its policy towards Israel and demand a ceasefire in Gaza, where the number of Palestinians martyred in this war has reached more than 11,000 according to Palestinian Health.

The five-page memorandum also shows clear divisions and disagreements within the Biden administration regarding the Israeli war on Gaza, and is characterized by sharp language, as one of the signatories of the memorandum indicated that Biden’s support for Israel made him a “partner in genocide” in Gaza, which is a rare allegation within The corridors of American diplomacy.

The memo explicitly accuses Biden of spreading incorrect information in his October 10 speech in support of Israel, and calls for pressure from the United States to release hostages by Hamas and Israel, referring to the thousands of Palestinians detained in Israel.

The memorandum reviews the events of the Hamas attack on October 7, but focuses on the Israeli response, considering that the Israeli actions constitute “war crimes and/or crimes against humanity in accordance with international law.”

The memorandum refutes these measures, explaining that they included cutting off electricity, reducing aid, and carrying out attacks that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

She pointed out that "we failed to re-evaluate our position towards Israel," adding: "We have firmly adhered to our consistent military assistance to the government of Israel without clear red lines or implementable measures."

The memo also monitors broader criticism of US policy in the Middle East and its failure to provide a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and points to White House members’ disdain for the lives of Palestinians and a lack of strategic foresight.

This leak reveals new challenges facing Biden's 2024 presidential campaign, in light of escalating anger and protests within the Democratic Party.

Clare Daly, Member of the European Parliament: The Nations of the world will not be lectured amy more by Europe about Human Rights

Clare Daly, Member of the European Parliament: The Nations of the world will not be lectured amy more by Europe about Human Rights

    Monday, November 13, 2023   No comments

Clare Daly about the hypocrisy regarding Western talking heads' "standing with Ukraine" & silence on Gaza.

"We are in a situation now in Gaza, where we have genocide openly declared and carried out. where the numbers of civilians slaughtered and murdered in 30 days in Gaza exceeds the civilian death toll in Ukraine."

One million signatures on an Amnesty petition calling for an end to the aggression against Gaza

One million signatures on an Amnesty petition calling for an end to the aggression against Gaza

    Sunday, November 12, 2023   No comments

More than one million people around the world have signed an Amnesty International petition demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where the Israeli war machine has claimed more than 11,000 lives.

The organization called on activists to continue to sign the petition “to demand that all parties to the conflict cease fire immediately,” and also urged countries to “act” now to contribute to stopping the aggression.

The number of martyrs who have fallen so far in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli bombing has reached more than 11,100 people, including more than 8,000 children and women, and the number of wounded is more than 28,000.

The occupation also destroyed 41 thousand housing units completely and 222 thousand housing units partially.

The organization accused the international community of failing for more than a month to act in the face of “the horrific levels of civilian bloodshed, destruction, and unimaginable human suffering in Gaza,” saying that this failure constitutes “a stain on humanity,” noting that, more Therefore, some countries continue to supply parties to the conflict with weapons that are used to commit flagrant human rights violations.

In response to the signature campaign, Amnesty International's Director of Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, said that the world “watches in horror as more and more civilians are lost every day amid Israel’s relentless bombings and ongoing ground operations, and as chapters unfold.” "The unprecedented man-made humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied Gaza Strip."

According to the organization, "Israel's tightening of its illegal blockade of Gaza has deprived two million people of access to drinking water, food, medical supplies, and fuel, leading to the collapse of the health system" at a time when the number of wounded exceeds 28,000 people.

At least 1.5 million Gazans were forcibly displaced from their homes due to attacks and as a result of orders issued by the Israeli army for them to move to the south of the Strip.

The final statement of the Arab-Islamic Summit calls for breaking the siege on Gaza and bringing in humanitarian aid

The final statement of the Arab-Islamic Summit calls for breaking the siege on Gaza and bringing in humanitarian aid

    Sunday, November 12, 2023   No comments

The draft final statement of the Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh, today, Saturday, stressed the necessity of breaking the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and imposing the immediate entry of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel.

The statement called for "the participation of international organizations in the process of introducing aid convoys, and that these organizations must enter the Strip, protect their crews, enable them to fully carry out their role, and support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)."

The statement called on "the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to begin an immediate investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Israel is committing against the Palestinian people in all the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem."

The final statement of the Arab-Islamic Summit condemned “the inhumane crimes and massacres committed by the colonial occupation government,” rejecting “characterizing this retaliatory war as self-defense, or justifying it under any pretext.”

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said, in his speech during the joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, that “all our problems can be solved through unity, and we want to take a historic and decisive decision regarding what is happening in the Palestinian territories.”

The Iranian President also affirmed that “the United States is the one commanding and conspiring in this war, and it is the one that encourages the Zionist entity to commit its crimes in Gaza, and it entered the war on the side of Israel, and opens the way for it to oppress the residents of Gaza, and sends shipments of weapons to it.”

Raisi called for an end to the Israeli bombing of civilians and hospitals in Gaza, a comprehensive lifting of the siege on the Strip, and the opening of the Rafah crossing without restrictions or conditions. He stressed the necessity of Islamic countries arming the Palestinian people to confront the Zionist entity, and the importance of boycotting trade with "Israel."

In turn, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stressed in his speech during the joint Arab-Islamic summit that “the only result of the failed peace is that the Israeli entity has become more aggressive, and the Palestinian situation has become more miserable.”

Al-Assad pointed out that "the ongoing criminality cannot be isolated from the way we, as Arab and Islamic countries, deal with repeated events in a fragmented manner regarding the Palestinian issue," stressing that "more Arab meekness equals more Zionist ferocity and massacres against us."

Regarding the Palestinian resistance, Al-Assad said, “The new reality imposed by the valiant resistance in our region has made us possess the political tools that enable us to change the equations.”

It is noteworthy that an “extraordinary joint Arab Islamic summit” was held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, today, Saturday, regarding the “dangerous and unprecedented developments” that Gaza and the Palestinian territories are witnessing.

The summit comes at a time when the Israeli occupation continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip, for the 36th day, targeting hospitals, residential neighborhoods, and all necessities of life, amid a stifling siege that the Strip is suffering from, where there is no water, food, medicine, or fuel.

The aggression resulted in more than 11,078 martyrs, including 4,506 children, 3,027 women, and 678 elderly people, in addition to 27,490 wounded, since last October 7.

Doctors in the Al-Shifa hospital are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they’re caring for

Doctors in the Al-Shifa hospital are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they’re caring for

    Saturday, November 11, 2023   No comments

Biden was moved by a fake news story about 40 babies beheaded by Palestinians. But he is not moved by actually killed children stories, including these 36 babies living through pain and facing death, as reported by CNN, not Palestinian sources that he does not trust.

No commentary is needed for this.

  

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."

US Diplomats warn Biden: We are losing support of Arabs for a generation

US Diplomats warn Biden: We are losing support of Arabs for a generation

    Friday, November 10, 2023   No comments

In a sign that even if Israel were to win this battle in Gaza, the US will end up losing the war for minds and hearts in the world for generations to come. This possibility is now being expressed by US diplomats from around the world, especially the fragile Arab world.

The US embassy in Oman sent a diplomatic cable to the White House this week warning that President Joe Biden's unwavering support for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza “is losing us Arab publics for a generation.”

“We are losing badly on the messaging battlespace,” the cable drafted by the second-highest US official in Muscat reads, according to CNN. It adds that US support for Israel’s actions is seen “as material and moral culpability in what [Arabs] consider to be possible war crimes.”

The cable was sent to the White House’s National Security Council, the CIA, and the FBI.

Anger has been growing across the Arab world against the US for its role in arming, financing, and protecting Israel since the start of the war in Gaza last month. US embassies across the region have become targets for angry protesters, while US bases in Iraq and Syria have been bombed dozens of times over the past three weeks.

This week, US ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea was forced to cancel a scheduled visit to Dar al-Fatwa to meet with the Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, due to widespread anger at her presence.

Similarly, US State Secretary Antony Blinken faced a cold welcome during his visit to multiple nations in West Asia earlier this month, as diplomats urged the senior US official on the need to stop the genocide unfolding in Gaza.

In Washington, the situation is reportedly just as critical, with State Department staffers harshly criticizing the White House's stance in a recent dissent memo.

[The gap between the US private and public messaging] contributes to regional public perceptions that the United States is a biased and dishonest actor, which at best does not advance, and at worst harms, US interests worldwide,” the memo, leaked to POLITICO, reads.

“We must publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets,” it adds. “When Israel supports settler violence and illegal land seizures or employs excessive use of force against Palestinians, we must communicate publicly that this goes against our American values so that Israel does not act with impunity.”

The internal strife comes as Biden faces a significant dip in popularity ahead of next year's elections, as recent opinion polls show he is trailing behind former president Donald Trump in five of the six most crucial battleground states.

Furthermore, tens of thousands of protesters have continuously taken to the streets of multiple cities in the US over the past month to demand that the president call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

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.

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.

US administration, Blinken: "We need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians" | Angelina Jolie: “World leaders complicit in the crime of turning Gaza into a mass grave.”

US administration, Blinken: "We need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians" | Angelina Jolie: “World leaders complicit in the crime of turning Gaza into a mass grave.”

    Friday, November 03, 2023   No comments

The US credibility is hemorrhaging at a rate so fast that if no dramatic action is taken immediately, it will not be able to recover in a generation of more.  For example, the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has to take a second trip Israel in a matter of weeks, and also just weeks from a visit by Biden, speaks to rash decisions that must be now revised given the events on the ground. For Blinken to say now that the US needs “to do more to protect Palestinian civilians”, reflects total disconnect with reality. Because of Biden’s and Blinken’s unconditional support to Israel’s disproportionate, unhinged reaction to the Oct. 7 attacks, any measures the US could do now will be dwarfed by the numbers of the dead and injured among civilians, especially children in Gaza. 

If Blinken is “shocked” that “the brutality of Hamas’ attack ‘has receded so quickly in the memories of so many’”, and just needs to see the brutality of the response. Unless, of course, the lives of the Palestinians do not have the same values as the lives of the Israelis.

He does not have to see the images of dead Palestinian children is he does not want to. But he will be able to get the picture even by looking at the statements and reactions of Americans, especially influential Americans like artists or even ordinary persons. The recent statement by Angelina Jolie is a good example. She concluded that “World leaders [obviously that would include US leaders] are complicit in the crime of turning Gaza into a mass grave.”

American actress Angelina Jolie said on her official Instagram account, “This is the deliberate bombing of a besieged population who have nowhere to flee.”

She added in a post that she accompanied with a photo of the devastation caused by the Israeli raids on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, “Gaza has been an open prison for nearly two decades, and is rapidly turning into a mass grave. 40% of the dead are innocent children, Entire families, got killed.

She continued, “As the world watches and with the active support of many governments, millions of Palestinian civilians - children, women and families - are being subjected to collective punishment and dehumanization, all while being deprived of food, medicine and humanitarian aid, which is contrary to international law. By rejecting the claim “By providing a humanitarian ceasefire and preventing the UN Security Council from imposing a ceasefire on both sides, world leaders are complicit in these crimes.”

The post achieved widespread interaction among the American star’s followers, exceeding 2 million likes, and a number of celebrities from the Arab world commented on Jolie’s message. Lebanese broadcaster Joelle Mardinian wrote, “Thank you for telling the truth about this massacre in Palestine.”

Jolie also published information about Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip out of eight camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Jolie, who holds the position of Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, explained, “After the 1948 war, a number of Palestinian refugees settled in the camp, after being displaced from villages in southern Palestine. The camp covers an area of 1.4 square kilometers, and 116,011 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA live in it.” .