American Airlines crew members harassed for wearing watermelon pins
Janta Ka Reporter | January 5, 2025
Viral video shows a Jewish American Airlines passenger tearing into a flight attendant and calling her “antisemitic” for wearing a watermelon pin, which has become a symbol for Palestinian solidarity.
Video from inside the Miami-bound plane and uploaded to social media shows the man in a heated argument with the flight attendant as he tore into her for wearing the pin and not letting him leave the plane.
“You support terrorism, you’re antisemitic,” the passenger yells. “Why are you preventing me from leaving the plane, is it because I’m Jewish? You’re antisemitic.” […]
The flight attendant and a colleague tell the man he can’t film them, according to US aviation regulations, and they also accuse him of putting his hands on them. […]
American Airlines said it was investigating the incident, which unfolded last week. The company did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
American Airlines forbids its staff from wearing unauthorized pins that are not part of the official uniform.
UPDATE:
MEMO | January 7, 2025
Top Trump Official Claims Iran Is the Problem in the Middle East, Vows Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Protesters
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 6, 2025
The incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said the Trump administration would target Iran in the Middle East and crack down on pro-Palestian protesters in the US to support Israel.
In an interview with Mark Levin, Waltz explained the “philosophy” of the incoming administration for the Middle East. “The problems in the Middle East by and large originate from Tehran, not from Tel Aviv. We’re going to stand by and support our greatest ally in the Middle East,” he said. “We’re aligned from a national security, intelligence and values standpoint.”
Waltz described this policy as instituting a “complete philosophical, wholesale national security shift.”
“We’re going to align with our ally Israel, we’re going to realign the common interests of the Gulf Arab states with Israel in opposing Iran’s aggression, we’re going to reinstate maximum pressure, we’re going to stop them from selling their illegal oil that has been funding terrorism,” he said. Adding that the US military is “getting worn out shooting missile after missile from this ragtag bunch of Houthis. We’re going to get that under control.”
President Joe Biden has provided Israel with $22 billion in military aid since the October 7 attack. On Friday, Axios reported that Biden was planning to approve a final $8 billion arms sale to Israel. The current White House has also protected Tel Aviv at the UN Security Council and fought a war against the Houthis in Yemen to defend Israel.
Additionally, the Biden administration increased the Trump-era sanctions on Iran and refused to return to the Obama-era nuclear agreement. The White House deployed its most advanced air defense systems to Israel to protect it from a potential Iranian missile attack.
Still, Republicans in Washington and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have attacked Biden for not providing Israel with enough support. The current administration has pushed Tel Aviv to allow most aid into Gaza.
However, Tel Aviv has largely defied Washington’s requests to allow more aid into Gaza. In December aid shipments sunk to 71 trucks per day, far below the number, 500, aid agencies say is needed to prevent deaths of deprivation in Gaza. Gazan children have begun to freeze to death at night as their families shelter in tents.
CNN reports that the incoming administration will be more amenable to Israel’s policies of further restricting aid shipments to Gaza and will further cut deliveries once Trump returns to office.
Waltz went on to say the Trump administration would crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters. The US government will “look at mosques, individuals, universities, professors – you name it – that post a threat to the United States and are radicalizing individuals to harm the United States.” He continued referring to pro-Palestinian campus protesters, people “here on a student visa, with the privilege to study in our universities – you don’t get to protest and radicalize. You’re going to go back home real fast.”
Some of Trump’s America First supporters may view doubling down on US support for Israel as a violation of that policy. Waltz said he believes Trump will be convinced to follow through on the policy points he explained to Levin.
Deals, such as expanding the Abraham Accords, is “what gets President Trump so excited and that’s what makes all of these historic disagreements that have perpetuated for decades, if not centuries, smaller and smaller,” he explained.
On Monday, Trump made remarks to radio host Hugh Hewitt that would suggest Waltz is correct. “Well, I’m the best friend that Israel ever had. You look at what happened with all of the things that I’ve gotten, including Jerusalem being the capital, the embassy getting built,” he stated, adding the provision of military aid to Israel would be “uninterrupted” during his administration.
I’m undeterred in my pursuit of justice against Israeli soldiers despite threats: Lawyer
By Alireza Akbari | Press TV | January 6, 2025
Maira Pinheiro, a Brazilian lawyer and human rights advocate, says she is undeterred in her pursuit of justice against Israeli soldiers vacationing in Brazil, despite receiving vile threats.
Hailing from São Paulo, Pinheiro represents the Hind Rajab Foundation, an NGO named after a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was tragically killed in Gaza City last January.
Pinheiro was engaged to represent the Brussels-headquartered foundation as a legal counsel in pursuing charges against Yuval Vagdani, accused of heinous war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
Vagdani has been accused of serious war crimes in the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.
Speaking to the Press TV website, the Brazil-based lawyer said the suspect participated in the “controlled demolition of multiple residential buildings, posed for smiling pictures, recorded videos of himself rigging houses with explosives and documented the explosion and consequently the unlawful mass destruction of civilian property.”
Pinheiro said the foundation’s investigation team had located several Palestinian families whose homes were destroyed. One family formally appointed her as their legal representative by signing a power of attorney.
The lawyer noted that she worked on documenting the digital evidence obtained through open-source intelligence investigation while preserving the chain of custody according to Brazilian law and rigorously geolocating all the mentioned places.
However, following a Brazilian court’s directive for law enforcement to investigate Vagdani, Israeli army radio confirmed that Israeli regime authorities facilitated his escape, brazenly obstructing justice and shielding him from accountability.
The Hind Rajab Foundation also corroborated this “smuggling” operation, highlighting Israel’s blatant disregard for international law and its attempt to undermine justice on South American soil.
“There are also indications that evidence is being destroyed. This is not only a scandal but an affront to Brazil’s sovereignty and rule of law. Israel has employed similar tactics before,” the foundation said in a statement, calling on Brazilian authorities to fulfill their responsibilities, protect their judicial processes, and ensure justice prevails.
“As of now, I’ve been made aware through public domain information that the suspect managed to evade Brazil and the Brazilian authorities with the aid of Israeli diplomacy,” Pinheiro stated.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian lawyer has been threatened and intimidated after taking up the case, with many threats made on Instagram purportedly by pro-Zionist lobbies.
Speaking to the Press TV website, Pinheiro said she remains unfazed by such threats.
“What motivated me to act is the fact that there’s an ongoing genocide being perpetrated against the Palestinian people. Of course, I’m afraid of what Israel and its defenders can do, but no risk I undergo comes even close to what the people of Gaza are experiencing, and my main commitment is to them.”
The Brazilian lawyer and activist described the threats to her and her daughter as “horrible.”
“The worst part is people exploiting my daughter’s image, an innocent child that has nothing to do with the work I do,” she told the Press TV website.
“There’s also a very clear misogynistic aspect to those threats and attacks, as a profound lack of respect to me as a woman exercising her profession.”
In response to these threats, Pinheiro documented hundreds of attacks and forwarded them, along with URLs, to the Brazilian authorities for necessary action.
“In Brazil, it is a crime under Article 344 of the Penal Code to threaten someone with the intent to interfere in a judicial process,” Pinheiro stated.
“It is very clear that these people intend to intimidate me to make me step away from my work. I do not intend to give them what they want and will keep on doing the same things and taking the same stances,” she hastened to add.
The Brussels-based foundation also strongly condemned the threats in a statement on Sunday.
“The #HindRajabFoundation strongly condemns the vile and cowardly attacks targeting our lawyer in Brazil, Ms. Maira Pinheiro,” wrote the foundation on X.
It added that Pinheiro’s involvement in the case against the Israeli soldier resulted in “serious threats, including threats to her life, doxxing, sexist slurs, and even threats directed toward her daughter.”
The foundation further noted that Pinheiro was simply carrying out her professional duty as part of the legal process and called for solidarity with her, particularly from the São Paulo Bar Association and the broader legal community.
“We urge everyone to stand united in support of those who courageously pursue justice despite attempts to derail accountability. Justice will prevail,” it stated.
Pinheiro, speaking to the Press TV website, said she has been following up on other cases that have not yet been formally presented to the Brazilian justice system.
According to reports, four Israeli soldiers are currently being investigated and interrogated in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and France on charges of committing war crimes.
The Israeli daily, the Times of Israel, reported on Monday that 12 complaints have been filed against Israeli soldiers abroad over war crimes in Gaza, adding that nine of the cases have yielded arrests.
In October 2024, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against 1,000 Israeli soldiers for perpetrating war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
The complaint targeted soldiers across all ranks, from high-ranking generals and air marshals to low-ranking personnel for direct involvement in genocidal war crimes in the besieged Palestinian strip.
The case was bolstered by over 8,000 pieces of evidence, including videos, audio recordings, forensic reports, and social media documentation, meticulously detailing the soldiers’ war crimes.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian lawyer also referenced her 2024 visit to occupied Palestine and her participation in the International Law Summer School by the organization Al Haq, emphasizing her commitment to the struggle for justice and the liberation of Palestine.
“I had the privilege of visiting Al Aqsa Mosque and experiencing its sacred beauty and profound meaning, and while I was there, all I could think of were the dear friends from Gaza I had the privilege to meet during this struggle, and how unfair it was that I could be there while they couldn’t. I made a commitment there to the struggle for justice and liberation of Palestine.”
She also expressed hope that “getting to know a bit of her story” would inspire people to “commit to the fight for justice and for the end of this genocide.”
The Brazilian lawyer also expressed her love and admiration for Hind, saying she means the world to her, as she saw her daughter in the 6-year-old Palestinian girl’s plea for help.
Pinheiro said her heart shattered into pieces when she learned from now-martyred journalist Ismail Al Ghoul that Hind had been murdered along with her family and the two healthcare workers who tried to rescue her.
“Hind’s voice will forever echo in my memory as a tragic representation of the suffering of the children of Gaza,” she said, recalling the tragic event when the Palestinian girl was murdered.
Hoax Alert: Acker is Angry (2024)
Karl’s Substack | January 4, 2025
According to Jake Tapper writing for CNN there was a so-called ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ in Detroit, Michigan in December 2024.
We read how:
‘The home of a Jewish member of the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents was vandalized early Monday, in what the university described as “a clear act of antisemitic intimidation.”
The incident marks the third time Jordan Acker, a Michigan attorney elected to the board overseeing the university’s governance, has been targeted since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
“The University of Michigan condemns these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms,” the school said in a statement. “They are abhorrent and, unfortunately, just the latest in a number of incidents where individuals have been harassed because of their work on behalf of the university. This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
The sound of shattering glass jolted Acker from his sleep just after 2 a.m. Monday, he told CNN. He went downstairs to find his front windows had been smashed and his wife’s car vandalized with what he described as “messages about Palestine with a Hamas upside triangle.”
The upside-down triangle has become a symbol of violent resistance to Israel, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Photos provided by Acker show someone scrawled “Divest” and “Free Palestine” on the vehicle.
Acker said his neighbors captured the incident on their ring camera and called the police. CNN has reached out to the Huntington Woods Police Department for comment.
“As a public official, you expect a certain level of criticism – even protests – but this is not protest, this is terrorism,” Acker said, adding the incident took place while his daughters were asleep upstairs.
“This has nothing to do with the First Amendment, has nothing to do with Palestine, nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with trying to harass and intimidate Jews,” Acker said, “And this Jew will not be intimidated by it.”’ (1)
Now before I get into the meat of this claim this is the ‘anti-Semitic’ vandalism:
Now while it can be reasonably described as politically motivated vandalism given the political message, damage to Acker’s car and the smashed window; ‘anti-Semitic’ is not only pushing it but ludicrous.
This is because it is clearly targeted at Israel – hence the BDS and ‘Free Palestine’ references in the graffiti on Acker’s car – and Acker while jewish has been a staunch and vocal pro-Israel supporter for quite some time who has had the police violently break up pro-Palestine protests of the University of Michigan campus (2) and as such as been the focus on anti-Zionist political protest stunts – such as the vandalising of the sign of his legal practice – (3) for quite some time.
Acker’s response has been exactly the same and has claimed that anyone protesting against him is ‘anti-Semitic’ and criticism of the jewish state is also ipso facto ‘anti-Semitic’. (4)
To quote Acker:
‘I was not targeted here today because I am a regent. I am a target of this because I am Jewish. This neighborhood is Jewish, and because some people, under the pretext of helping Palestinians, feel the obligation to single out Jews, especially liberal ones for an attack. It is unacceptable, it is un-American, and it must stop now.’ (5)
Given this and the fact – as Jacob Maggid has explained in the ‘Times of Israel’ – that:
‘The activists shouted various accusations and grievances at Acker, claiming that he “supports Israeli genocide” in Gaza and is behind the “persecution” of anti-Israel protesters who were recently indicted for trespassing and resisting law enforcement during the break-up of a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.’ (6)
Or put another way: Acker is a jewish lawyer who is using his position as Regent of the University of Michigan to crack down on anti-Israel sentiment and protests on campus and thus limit the scope of intellectual inquiry as it pertains to Israel, but also uses his jewishness as a shield to enable him to label any resistance and/or criticism of him and his policies as ‘anti-Semitic’.
So thus, while this is a case of politically motivated vandalism it is not an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ in any way, shape or form.
Israeli forces block food to north Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital to force doctors out
Press TV – January 5, 2025
The Israeli regime forces have blocked the supply of water and food to northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital to force the doctors there to flee.
The doctors are refusing to leave their patients behind, the nongovernmental organization that funded the supplies to the Indonesia Hospital said on Sunday.
The Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahiya near the Jabalia refugee camp was built from donations organized by the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee.
The four-story facility has been sheltering more than a dozen patients, caregivers, and health workers from Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, which was destroyed in December after months of relentless Israeli attacks.
The doctors who have remained in the building are defying orders to leave the Indonesia Hospital, MER-C said, adding that they last received food aid from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“They are still holding out. The condition is deteriorating, there’s a lack of water and food,” Marissa Noriti, a MER-C volunteer in Deir el-Balah told media via WhatsApp.
“The Israeli occupation forces are blocking supply … The doctors are staying for the patients. They refuse to leave them behind.”
According to UNOCHA, the Indonesia Hospital is out of medical service due to the damage inflicted on it in frequent Israeli attacks since October 2023. However, the structure is still being used as a shelter for critically ill patients, despite not having electricity, water or supplies.
On Friday, the hospital was surrounded by Israeli forces attacking the area and ordering the doctors there to leave the facility and the patients.
“We are monitoring the situation. Israel’s occupation forces are cutting off all supplies to force them out; this is their strategy to empty north Gaza, to empty all the hospitals in the north so the people have no place to go to seek help,” said Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees in Jakarta.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli regime force’s genocidal war against the defenseless people in Gaza has left more than 45,800 Palestinians dead and over 109,000 more wounded.
Israeli forces set homes ablaze, block roads in southern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen | January 5, 2025
Israeli occupation forces made advances toward the town of Taybeh, opening fire with machine guns at homes, several of which were set ablaze by the invading units, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in southern Lebanon reported on Sunday.
Explosions were also heard as the Israeli forces launched hand grenades during their infiltration into the neighborhood. In addition, the occupation forces erected an earthen berm to block the road linking the towns of Qantara and Taybeh.
Our correspondent further reported that Israeli forces carried out demolition operations on the outskirts of Aytaroun, followed by a barrage of machine gunfire aimed at the town, and a series of explosions at Tayr Harfa-Al-Jubayn junction.
These recent incidents bring the total number of Israeli violations since the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon 40 days ago to more than 380.
Ongoing Israeli violations
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in southern Lebanon reported that on Saturday morning, Israeli occupation forces carried out bombings between the towns of Odaisseh and Taybeh.
She noted that Israeli occupation forces continue bulldozing land in several towns, particularly in Houla, Bani Hayyan, and Markaba.
On Thursday, the Lebanese Army entered al-Naqoura to reposition its forces, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area. This marked the third such Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the recent ground invasion.
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in southern Lebanon reported that Israeli invading units were observed withdrawing from al-Naqoura’s neighborhoods toward Ras al-Naqoura and Alma al-Shaab while conducting sweeps with automatic rifles. At the same time, Israeli Merkava tanks continued to shell several homes in the area.
Our correspondent also noted that an Israeli military convoy, reinforced with eight Merkava tanks, a bulldozer, and Hummer vehicles, advanced from the town of Ramieh toward al-Salhani, al-Qawzah, and reached Wadi Mazlam near the outskirts of Beit Lif—territory that had not been accessed during the recent Israeli war on Lebanon.
However, Israeli soldiers conducted searches of homes and surrounding forests, and machine gun fire was heard within the village. Additionally, Israeli drones launched two missiles at the outskirts of Yater.
Hezbollah is “stronger and more resilient than steel” and “more powerful than ever before, as witnessed by the enemy,” affirmed Wafiq Safa, head of Hezbollah’s Coordination and Liaison Unit.
In his first media appearance after the war on Lebanon, Safa stated Sunday that Hezbollah is “ready for all challenges,” and “will stand with the people, behind them, and on the ground” to rebuild what was destroyed during the Israeli aggression.
During a tour in the southern suburbs of Beirut, specifically at the site where Hezbollah’s former Secretary-General martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated by “Israel”, Safa stressed that the group will be “involved in every aspect” that impacts the morale of the people.
He added, “We have always stood and will continue to stand with the people of resistance, protecting them from any harm internally, and there will be no possibility for anyone to break our morale,” reassuring everyone that there is no need for concern.
Regarding whether Hezbollah will respond to Israeli violations, Safa revealed that Hezbollah’s capabilities have been restored and that the group has the ability to confront any aggression in the manner it deems appropriate.
He added that what happens after the 60-day period designated for the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon “is up to Hezbollah and its leadership.”
Safa also noted that Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will engage with US mediator Amos Hochstein regarding the Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
On the subject of electing a new Lebanese president, Safa asserted that Hezbollah does not veto the nomination of Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun for the presidency but that of the leader of the Lebanese Forces party Samir Geagea, whose “project is destructive to Lebanon.”
Concerning the funeral of martyr Sayyed Nasrallah, Safa revealed that the ceremony will take place in the Southern Suburb after the 60-day period.
Elsewhere, he emphasized that martyr Sayyed Nasrallah’s “presence is embodied in the resistance, its fighters, and the people of resistance.”
Countdown to the European Collapse
By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | January 4, 2025
Finally, energy cooperation between Russia and Europe is (almost) completely over. After nearly three years of sanctions and sabotage, the bilateral Moscow-EU energy partnership suffered its greatest historical blow. Kiev fulfilled its promise not to extend its contract with Gazprom, which was allowing the arrival of Russian gas to Europe, then creating an extremely uncomfortable energy insecurity situation for its own “partners” in the European Union.
On the morning of the first day of 2025, the Russian Federation stopped supplying gas to European buyers via Ukraine. Even amidst the conflict, the Russian Gazprom and Ukrainian Naftogaz had kept in operation an energy transit agreement signed in 2020, which expired on the last day of 2024. Previously, Kiev had already announced it was unwilling to renew the contract with Gazprom, although some European countries repeatedly asked Ukraine to do so.
Despite the sanctions imposed on Russia since 2022, some European countries continued benefiting from the import of Russian gas, particularly Slovakia and Hungary – nations that refused to participate in the Western-sponsored anti-Russian boycott – as well as Austria, a country historically neutral in Europe’s geopolitical and military disputes. Other nations, even adhering to the sanctions, continued hypocritically receiving Russian gas, such as Italy, Poland, Romania, and Moldova. There were also cases of gas resale, with receiving nations re-exporting the commodity to countries seeking to bypass the sanctions.
With the end of the Ukrainian route, all these states lost any guarantee of a safe energy source – precisely during winter, the time of year when gas consumption in Europe is at its highest. Obviously, there are currently energy reserves that may be enough to cope with the challenges of the current season, but the situation will progressively become more critical over time. European nations will have to find new sources of gas or expand the use of the only two remaining routes for Russian gas (via Turkey and the Black Sea). Recent indicators show a substantial rise in gas prices among Asian exporters. Ankara is also expected to take the opportunity to gain more profits from its pipeline.
There is currently hope among Europeans for a cheap gas supply through the long-awaited Qatari-Turkish pipeline project via Syria. With the fall of Bashar al Assad’s legitimate government, energy giants from Turkey and the Gulf have revived the proposal, although they are waiting for domestic pacification in Syria by the Al-Qaeda junta to begin the construction. Some optimistic analysts in Europe believe this would be the antidote to Europe’s dependency on Russian gas – or Asian and American, as in the current circumstances.
The main problem with this hope is believing in the goodwill of the Western hawks to “pacify Syria.” Without Assad, Damascus became a “failed state,” with territory divided between different factions in constant hostilities. It is unlikely this will change – simply because, despite the tactical operators of the Syrian crisis (Turkey and Qatar) wanting pacification, the strategic mentors (Israel and the USA) are not interested. Tel Aviv prefers a polarized and war-torn Syria, unable to do anything to prevent territorial progress in the Golan and beyond. Washington, which is subservient to Israeli interests through the international Zionist lobby, is interested in the same – along with, of course, fostering Kurdish terrorists to worsen the internal Syrian situation even further.
In other words, Western analysts still do not understand that the decision-makers of the unipolar axis simply do not want to solve Europe’s problems. It is not in the US’ interest that its “partners” in Europe regain cheap energy and a strong industrial base. For Washington, the collapse of Europe is not a tragedy but a strategic goal, whose roots lie in the science of geopolitics itself. According to the fundamentals of Western geopolitics, Russian-European integration would be disastrous for the US-UK Atlantic axis. Therefore, in the face of Russia’s imminent military victory and Moscow’s rehabilitation as a Eurasian geopolitical power, the Americans and the British have adopted a “scorched earth” strategy in Europe.
Sanctions, the terrorist attack on Nord Stream, and the closure of the Ukrainian route to Europe are events that are part of the same strategic context: in all these cases, Anglo-American strategists want to provoke an energy collapse in Europe to enable deindustrialization and the subsequent economic and social crisis. The final goal is a ruined Europe, not only unwilling but also incapable of establishing any future strategic ties with Moscow.
With the fall of the Ukrainian gas route, it can be said that the US won an important battle in its economic war against Europe. The total collapse is merely a matter of time.
Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
New Censor Replacing Old Censor at Meta
By Adam Dick | Peace and Prosperity Blog | January 4, 2025
Some people are optimistic that the promotion of Joel Kaplan to be Meta’s president of global affairs heralds the end of, or at least a big reduction in, censorship at Meta’s social media sites of Facebook and Instagram. This optimism springs from the fact that Kaplan leans Republican in the notoriously Democratic leaning company, and even was White House deputy chief of staff for policy in the Republican George W. Bush administration.
Yet, there is plenty of reason for skepticism. Support for free speech has become a rallying cry for many Republicans in response to censorship efforts by Meta, other companies, and governments over the last few years. However, many Republicans and Republican-leaning individuals still are keen on censoring people, though sometimes for different reasons than are many Democratic or Democratic-leaning individuals. Consider efforts by Republicans, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott a good example, to shut down very broadly defined “antisemitic” communication.
Also, Kaplan is not a hire from the outside. He joined Meta 13 years ago as vice president of United States public policy. Since 2014 he has been the company’s vice president of global affairs. In this job, Kaplan has worked with Nick Clegg — the person Kaplan will succeed. Are we to believe Kaplan has spent all this time itching to tear down the censorship implemented, with his help, by his boss? They have had some differences of opinion regarding Meta’s censorship, but let’s wait and see what change comes.
Clegg, in a Thursday Facebook post, profusely praised Kaplan ascending to Clegg’s job, stating:
And no one could pick up from where I’ve left off with greater skill and integrity than my deputy, Joel Kaplan. I am simply thrilled that Joel will now become Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer.
Hmmm. That is not suggesting a big change in policy on censorship is on the way.
Reporter Glenn Greenwald provided in a Friday Twitter post a fact that challenges the optimism that Kaplan’s promotion signals the end of, or even a large reduction in, censorship by Meta. Greenwald wrote, using “FB” to refer to Facebook: “Kaplan was the senior FB official who worked directly with the Israeli Government to ensure that Israel’s demands for censorship were honored.”
Backing up his claim, Greenwald linked in his Twitter post a September 12, 2016 The Times of Israel article that detailed Facebook’s, at the behest of the Israel government, then substantial and expanding clamping down on communication. This was years before the company’s name change to Meta.
The article identifies Kaplan as a Facebook employee who took part in a high-level meeting to carry out the arrangement with the Israel government:
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan met Monday morning with senior Facebook officials in an effort to jointly stem online incitement that Israel claims leads to terror activities.
The Facebook officials included Joel Kaplan, vice president of Global Public Policy and a former deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House, and Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of product policy and counterterrorism.
And the censorship by Facebook at the Israel government’s request was ongoing before the meeting. Noted in the article:
In a speech at a conference in Herzliya, also on Monday, Shaked said that Facebook has already started removing 95 percent of content Israel has requested it to remove, while YouTube has complied with Israel’s requests 80 percent of the time, the Israeli news website Ynet reported.
But, that was just the start. The Israel government wanted even more censorship from Facebook. From the article: “In the meeting Israel requested that Facebook be more proactive in removing materials that could be seen as incitement to terror and the joint teams will study how to work together to serve the interests of both parties, a person familiar with the matter said.”
This man is the hope for stopping censorship? Hoping is fine, but it is often important to keep your feet firmly on the ground as well.
Radicalization of pupils in UK Jewish schools
Press TV – January 4, 2025
Jewish schools in the UK are abusing children in their care by promoting the racist ideology of Zionism. Pupils have even been encouraged to write supportive letters to soldiers in the Israeli occupation forces who were engaged in genocide.
There is a Jewish school in Birmingham, where more than 80% of the pupils are Muslim. At this school, the pupils sing Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, and celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Zionist entities each year with Israeli flags. Only 8.85% of the pupils at the school are actually Jewish.
In Glasgow, Calderwood Lodge is the only Jewish school in Scotland. It was first set up in 1962 by the Zionist Federation. In 1998 it was reported that approximately 10% of the students were not Jewish. By 2017 a sharp decline in the number of Jewish pupils to 52% was reported. This school also celebrates Israeli Independence Day, including with a Happy Birthday Israel banner.
In Liverpool’s King David High School, as of January 2023, it was reported that only 11% of pupils are Jewish, whilst the majority are Christian or Muslim, yet the school insists on ramming the racist ideology of Zionism down the throat of all the pupils, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.
Until the genocide in Gaza, hardly anyone even noticed that there were Zionist schools in the UK, let alone saying that it was a problem. But how widespread is the problem of Zionist schools?
There are around 140 Jewish schools in the UK, and almost all appear to promote Zionism, either openly or in many ultra-orthodox schools teaching versions of religious Zionism.
The King David Primary School in Manchester says explicitly, it is a Zionist school. The Simon Marks primary is too. It is proud to celebrate the genocidal ethnic cleansing of the Nakba that led to Israel’s independence.
JFS in London says it too is proud of its long-standing and deep connections to the State of Israel. For over 40 years, the school has offered a bespoke residential program in Israel to provide an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in life in Israel.
The JFS program in Israel promotes the values and ethos of JFS, including the ideals of Zionist Modern Orthodoxy.
In October 2023 the school revealed that pupils had been encouraged to write letters to the Israeli soldiers, to support them, and to receive thanks in reply.
In November 2023 students had what the school described as the rare privilege of an audience with Aviv Kohavi, the former General Chief of Staff of the Israel occupation forces. This was posted under the headline, IDF the moral army.
There is a serious problem of radicalization in Jewish schools in Britain. Urgent action needs to be taken to stop the abuse of young school students, Jews and non-Jews alike, by Zionist schools.
Another key hospital taken out of service by Israel in north Gaza
Press TV – January 4, 2025
Gaza health officials say one more key hospital on the northern edge of Gaza has been taken out of service by Israeli forces.
The Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the Indonesian Hospital “no longer provides any services to patients or the wounded.”
On Friday, the regime’s forces surrounded the health facility, which is home to many displaced Palestinians in the northern town of Beit Lahiya and ordered the immediate evacuation of staff and patients.
According to the ministry, the North Gaza governorate has three public hospitals Kamal Adwan, Beit Hanoon and the Indonesian Hospital, all of which are now out of service.
Beit Hanoon also received an evacuation order on Saturday.
Israel’s military has also issued a separate evacuation order to al-Awda Hospital, in Jabalia. The military ordered the staff and patients to immediately leave, or it would bomb the facility, with all the people inside. There are reported 65 staff and 36 patients inside the hospital.
Healthcare in the besieged enclave has been pushed to the brink of collapse under relentless attacks by Israeli forces, including last week’s barbaric destruction of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. The regime’s forces raided the hospital, forcibly removed patients and staff, and set the building on fire on Friday.
Both the Indonesian and al-Awda Hospitals have been damaged due to relentless Israeli attacks since October 2023.
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From the Archives
The Great Recycling Scam
By Dr. Vernon Coleman – 21st Century Wire – September 2, 2022
Recycling was introduced, worldwide, as a tool to teach citizens to become compliant.
Forcing citizens to sort their rubbish into up to nine separate bags or boxes every week had absolutely nothing to do with ‘saving the planet’ and everything to do with teaching citizens (through a mixture of fines and shame) to behave ‘responsibly’ i.e. to do as they were told without looking too closely at the rationale of what they were being told to do.
The recycling never had anything to do with protecting the planet, of course. Most of the rubbish sorted, washed and collected in the UK was taken abroad, by lorry or ship or train, and burnt or dumped. It was, quite simply, impractical and not cost effective to recycle the material that had been collected. And, of course, collecting the sorted rubbish involved massive costs in terms of cash and pollution.
Today, the recycling business has reached an apogee of lunacy. Councils introduce ever more complex rules and fees. They refuse to take away much of the waste that is collected. And those wanting to take their rubbish to a ‘recycling’ centre will probably have to make an appointment and answer a host of questions.
It is no surprise that fly-tipping has become a major problem. The biggest causes of plastic in the sea are dumped fishing gear and plastic waste (much of it officially designated as recycled) which has been dumped by ships.
The good news, however, is that in Britain, recycling rates are falling. More and more people have become aware that the whole recycling movement was just another piece of manipulative trickery.
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