Canada helps Israel in broadening its definition of ‘anti-Semitism’
By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | November 26, 2024
Once again, anti-Semitism was the catchphrase for political rhetoric denouncing the protest in Montreal against NATO’s complicity with Israel’s genocide. NATO delegates met in Canada for the 70th annual session of its Parliamentary Assembly, and protesters called for Canada’s withdrawal from the organisation, even as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the country is on track to increase its military spending, which NATO has established as two per cent of the country’s GDP.
“We need to commit ourselves every day to NATO and the principles that keep us safe in this uncertain world,” said Trudeau, acting as if former colonial powers were not responsible for “this uncertain world” and, along with Israel, the genocide in Gaza.
Activists at the protest thought otherwise, of course. As the gathering outside the meeting turned violent, Israeli and mainstream media were swift to label the protest as “anti-Semitic”, as did Trudeau. Montreal’s police, however, said that they did not receive reports of anti-Semitic violence or hate crimes. Mayor of Montreal Valerie Plante condemned the violence, but said that she did not believe that the protest was anti-Semitic.
The protest was organised by Divest for Palestine and the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles, with the purpose of exposing NATO’s complicity with Israel’s genocide.
However, as Israel increasingly targets any criticism of its actions as “anti-Semitism”, Trudeau followed suit.
“As a democracy, as a country that will always defend freedom of speech, it’s important for people to be able to go out and protest and express their anger, their disagreements in free and comfortable ways,” he declared. “But there is never any room for anti-Semitism, for hatred, discrimination, for violence.”
Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair took a similar position. “Those behaviours are unacceptable and we can condemn them, and in particular the hatred and anti-Semitism that was on display, in the strongest possible terms.”
According to reports in Israeli media, a protestor referenced the “Final Solution” which was a Nazi euphemism for the Holocaust.
What stands out is the discrepancy in responses to two different scenarios – Israel’s internationally-approved genocide and a protest against NATO – which showed clearly that the latter’s manifestation of violent action, directed against a transatlantic military alliance, was deemed to be more disturbing than Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people.
Besides this discrepancy, Israel is also extending the “anti-Semitic” label to include any form of protest directed even at organisations that are not Jewish, but prioritise allegiances to Zionism and Zionist colonial violence. The target audience of the protest in Montreal was clearly the NATO delegates.
NATO members have supported Israel’s genocide through purchasing the occupation state’s military technology (“as field-tested against Palestinian civilians”) and also by selling weapons to Israel. Since 2017, Israel has also benefited from its permanent official mission established in NATO headquarters in Brussels. In January 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at NATO headquarters, noting that,
“NATO and Israel have worked together for almost 30 years.”
Calling out NATO’s complicity in genocide is not anti-Semitic by any stretch of the imagination. Trudeau has confirmed recently that Canada will abide by the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. What message is Trudeau sending to the Canadian public about his government picking and choosing what part of colonial violence it deems worthy of support, while vilifying protestors for drawing attention to government-level hypocrisy?
Ceasefire with Hezbollah ends Israel’s illusion of reshaping West Asia by force: Hamas
Press TV – November 27, 2024
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the ceasefire Israel eventually clinched with Hezbollah has shattered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “illusion” of reshaping West Asia by force.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu finally accepted the deal, which is expected to end the regime’s months-long deadly escalation against Lebanon.
It came after a meeting of his “security cabinet” to discuss a proposal put forward by the United States and France.
“The enemy’s acceptance of the agreement with Lebanon without fulfilling the conditions it set is an important milestone in shattering Netanyahu’s illusions of changing the map of the Middle East by force,” Hamas said in a statement published on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
It said Netanyahu’s “illusions of defeating the Resistance forces or disarming them” were also sent to the oblivion.
The Israeli regime has killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, including 42 who perished across the country on Tuesday, besides wounding nearly 15,700 others.
“We commend the pivotal role played by the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, in support of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian resistance, and the great sacrifices made by Hezbollah and its leadership, led by the late Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.”
“We appreciate the steadfastness of the brotherly Lebanese people and their constant solidarity with the Palestinian people in confronting the Zionist occupation and its brutal aggression, asking God Almighty to protect Lebanon and its people from all harm and evil,” Hamas said.
Israeli military commanders had pledged to eradicate Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. However, they were ultimately compelled to accept the ceasefire agreement without achieving any of those goals.
“We affirm that this agreement would not have been achieved without the steadfastness of the Resistance and the popular support around it. We are confident that the Resistance Axis will continue to support our people and back their battle with all possible means,” Hamas said in its statement.
Hezbollah has been responding to the Israeli aggression with hundreds of successful retaliatory strikes against various sensitive and strategic military targets across the occupied territories.
The Lebanese resistance movement recently announced killing more than 100 Israeli troops and injuring upwards of a thousand others during the strikes.
Ceasefire Deal: Netanyahu’s ‘Focus on Iran’ Could Mean ‘Serious Regional War’ if Backed by US
By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 27.11.2024
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there are three reasons why Israel concluded a ceasefire deal with Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah: to focus on Iran; to replenish weaponry stocks; and to isolate Hamas.
“It is not clear how Israel would focus more on Iran,” Dr Marco Carnelos, a former Italian diplomat and Middle East adviser of Prime Ministers Prodi and Berlusconi, tells Sputnik. “Probably the Israeli prime minister hopes that with the incoming Trump administration a direct military pressure on Iran might be increased together with the US.”
Dr. Tamer Qarmout, associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, dubs Netanyahu’s focus on Iran as “cheap talk.”
“How would the Israelis engage with Iran if they were not able to eliminate Hezbollah,” Qarmout asks while talking to Sputnik. “We’ll have to see the new [Trump] administration’s take on Iran. But if this happens for whatever reason, this means a serious regional or even could be a global war.”
The experts allege Netanyahu has been cornered by the military leadership over heavy losses sustained by the Israeli Defense Forces in southern Lebanon, and snubbed his hawkish cabinet members to implement the deal.
“My feeling is that the Israeli military echelon cornered Netanyahu on this point because on the battleground in Southern Lebanon the Israeli Army was able to advance only a few km and incurred in severe losses. Israel erased Hezbollah’s leadership but it did not defeat the movement on the ground… And because Hezbollah has not lost the battle, by default it will be perceived as the winner,” Carnelos says.
It is clear that Netanyahu will use the “breather” to double down on attacking Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to Qarmout: “Israel would be able to shift its military power on to sources to continue its genocidal war on Gaza,” he says.
Still, the future of the ceasefire deal is hanging in the balance, according to the pundits.
“The devil is still in the details. We still have 60 days to see if this agreement will hold,” Qarmout concludes.
Israeli forces use Palestinian children as human shields in Jabalia refugee camp
A Palestinian family rests on the rubble of a building west of Gaza City, on November 25, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Defense for Children International Palestine | November 26, 2024
Israeli armed forces have forced Palestinian children to act as human shields during the siege on Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza, placing them directly in harm’s way amid live fire and tank shelling.
During a series of military operations in the Jabalia refugee camp, the Israeli military forced Palestinian children and their families to stand in front of tanks and military vehicles as soldiers fired on civilian areas in multiple incidents during October, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine. On October 15, Israeli tanks surrounded the camp, firing indiscriminately and severely injuring several Palestinian civilians. In multiple documented cases, including on October 15, 17, and 20, Israeli soldiers detained Palestinian children as young as six years old, using them and other Palestinian civilians to shield advancing military forces. These tactics not only endanger the lives of children but constitute an egregious violation of international humanitarian law.
“Israeli forces’ use of Palestinian children as human shields is a deliberate and unlawful act, one that places children’s lives in extreme danger and causes unimaginable trauma,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “This practice is a clear war crime, demonstrating a blatant disregard for international law and underscoring a pattern of impunity that has cost Palestinian children their safety, dignity, and in many cases, their lives.”
On October 15, Israeli forces launched an assault on Jabalia refugee camp, where Mohammad Al-Za’anin, his wife, and three children, aged six, four, and two, had been sheltering in a relative’s home. At approximately 9 a.m., Israeli tanks surrounding the Tal Al-Zaatar neighborhood began firing shells indiscriminately, severely injuring Mohammad’s wife. Mohammad attempted to flee with his children, raising a white flag and moving towards Gaza City. However, Israeli soldiers intercepted the family, detaining them with several others and positioning them in front of a tank that continued to fire shells over their heads. Mohammad and his children were held in this position for over five hours, with soldiers ignoring his pleas to protect his terrified children. After hours of intense fear, Israeli forces ordered the family to abandon their belongings and walk south.
On October 17, Israeli tanks again encircled the Jabalia refugee camp’s Tal Al-Zaatar area, where Islam Fayyad, his wife, and their three children, aged six, four, and eight months, were living. As Israeli forces closed in, Islam’s wife raised a white flag and attempted to flee with the children. When they neared a checkpoint, Israeli soldiers ordered them via loudspeakers to discard their belongings into a pit and approach the tanks. Israeli forces then separated the men from the women and children, holding Islam’s wife and children in front of military vehicles for two hours while shells and bullets flew overhead. Fayyad’s six-year-old daughter, Marwa, pleaded with her mother, “We are going to die, Mom,” as soldiers continued firing, undeterred by the children’s visible terror.
A third incident occurred on October 20, when Israeli forces bombed homes near the residence of Mahmoud Nasser and his family in Jabalia. Mahmoud, his wife, and their three children, including a newborn, raised a white flag and attempted to escape with dozens of other families. Soldiers detained them, ordering men, women, children, and elderly civilians to walk in front of advancing military vehicles, which were shelling nearby buildings. The Nasser family, along with other displaced families, was forced to walk in front of a bulldozer and a tank that directed fire toward the Indonesian Hospital. This lasted for over half an hour before the families were taken to a high point overlooking Jabalia camp, where they were held as human shields for an additional hour and a half before being released.
The recent siege on northern Gaza is part of a broader pattern of escalated violence and collective punishment targeting civilians. Over the past few months, relentless military operations in northern Gaza, including heavy bombardments, have resulted in widespread destruction, displacement, and civilian casualties. The siege has exacerbated starvation and turned overcrowded shelters into disease-ridden areas where families are forced to live without access to adequate food, clean water, or medical care.
Since 2000, DCIP has documented dozens of cases of Palestinian children used as human shields by the Israeli military in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since the Israeli military began its genocidal assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have used many Palestinian children as human shields during ground operations, and the full extent is unknown given the limited capacity of human rights organizations to document cases safely.
The use of children as human shields is a blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions, and a war crime under international criminal law which prohibits putting civilians at risk in armed conflict, particularly in situations where they may suffer physical harm or psychological terror. Deliberately positioning children in front of armed vehicles to deter resistance or shield military forces is an appalling violation of international humanitarian, criminal, and human rights law.
Despite clear international prohibitions, Israeli forces have repeatedly used Palestinian children as human shields in military operations across the occupied Palestinian territory, perpetuating a cycle of trauma and violence for which there has been no accountability. DCIP’s documentation reveals a consistent pattern in which Israeli forces act with impunity, knowing they are unlikely to face any repercussions or consequences for their systematic abuse of Palestinian children.
No more ‘deals’: what Palestinians want and will fight to achieve
By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | November 26, 2024
The Games of the ICC
By Christopher Black – New Eastern Outlook – November 26, 2024
On November 21, the prosecutor of the ICC announced that a three-judge panel has finally made a decision on his May 2024 application for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A warrant for his arrest and that of his former Defence Minister, Gallant, has been issued. If an indictment has been drawn up, which should precede an arrest warrant, we are not told and none appears on the ICC website.
Many are celebrating the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Gallant. But, while there is no doubt that they deserve to be held to account by the Palestinians and the world for the crimes they have and continue to commit in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, they are not charged with the crime of genocide, even though they are charged with inflicting mass starvation on the people of Gaza, nor the supreme war crimes of aggression for their continued illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and the brutal suppression of the Palestinian resistance to that occupation. Nor are they charged for their aggression against the sovereign nations of Lebanon, Syria and Iran, which crimes they openly brag about and which are recognised by the entire world, but not, it seems, by the prosecutor or judges of the ICC.
Further, as people calm down in their cheering, they must realise that the ICC has also issued arrest warrants for a leader of Hamas, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri whose alleged war crimes are nothing more than echoes of Israeli propaganda about the Palestinian armed resistance to the brutal occupation of Palestinian lands and the brutal oppression by the occupation forces of the Palestinian people.
Where is the charge of Genocide?
Netanyahu and Gallant are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for mass starvation and targeting the civilian population with aerial attacks, and mass attacks by Israeli armoured and other forces.
The ICC press release states,
“Each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
“The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”
But these charges also amount to acts of genocide, so why are they not charged with genocide? And why has no indictment been issued? Only the prosecutor and the judges can explain, and they do not.
But aside from pointing out the obvious compromise made by the ICC, to placate its critics about its inaction over Israeli crimes by laying charges yet not laying the most serious charge, the one that should be laid, we have this phrase underlined above which needs to be considered, the phrase, “jointly with others.”
Israel’s Partners in Crime Untouched
Who are the “others”? The ICC coyly refuses to say, hoping no one will ask the question. But the answer is clear: the USA, the EU, UK, France, Canada and the rest, who all give military aid and support to Israeli to carry out these crimes and have made themselves co-belligerents in this murderous war against the peoples of the Middle East, and are its partners in crime. The leaders of those nations must also be charged and warrants issued for their arrest. They are equally culpable under international law. But they are not charged. So that, in his defence, Netanyahu, if he is ever brought before this tribunal, can argue the defence of selective prosecution, that is, he can ask, “why am I charged but not the co-conspirators, the co-actors who supported and encouraged my crimes. It is not just to charge me if they are not going to be charged.”
He would be right to use that defence, and perhaps the prosecutor has arranged it so that Netanyahu and Gallant now have that defence available to them.
Political Purpose of the Warrants
But we know that Netanyahu will never be arrested and face a trial at this so-called world court. The Americans immediately came to his defence and denounced the action of the ICC. They have to because if Netanyahu is ever before the judges of the ICC, they fear the facts about their role in the crimes against the Palestinians and the others will be revealed in all their detail and depravity. The British, the French, and the Canadians will have their dirty crimes exposed as well. None of the allies of Israel want Netanyahu arrested and tried. So he will not be. The ICC knows this.
So why was the warrant finally issued after so long a delay, after so much political interference was exerted by Britain, the US, the French and others to prevent the ICC from issuing charges?
We can only speculate, as we are not privy to the phone calls between Mr. Khan and the various governments involved in these crimes, and how it was all arranged, but it was a political decision of a political prosecutor of a political tribunal.
One reason can be to improve the image of the ICC, to make it look like it is doing something, while, in effect, nothing is done to change the situation for the Palestinians, the Lebanese, the Iranians, and the Syrians. It will placate some who support the Palestinians, who think the ICC is a real court, and perhaps it is hoped that this will reduce the street protests across Europe and elsewhere. No need now the ICC will say, we have acted, and you can go home now.
The ICC attempts to justify its charges against Russia
But there is another reason, and that is to trick people into thinking the ICC is some real arbiter of international justice and therefore the arrest warrants the ICC issued against President Putin and others are valid and should be acted upon.
The ICC has issued warrants of arrest of a series of Russian officials over the past few months; we suppose to keep the pot boiling, each as absurd as the one before it.
On 17 March 2023, the ICC issued warrants for Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. Based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.
The absurdity of these charges and warrants, based solely on Kiev propaganda about Russia’s attempts to save the lives of children, is manifest. It is also clear that they did not charge President Putin with aggression because there has been none, and so they decided to use the most emotive charge possible to inflame public opinion against Russia. In other words, the ICC became an active tool of NATO in its war against Russia.
On 5 March 2024, the ICC issued warrants of arrest for Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, a Lieutenant General in the Russian Armed Forces who at the relevant time was the Commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Force, and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, an Admiral in the Russian Navy, who at the relevant time was the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet for the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects, the war crime of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts. None of these allegations are based on any facts or any investigation and meant to be propaganda.
On 24 June 2024, the ICC issued warrants of arrest Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged international crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023 for the same reasons, war propaganda, to justify the continuance of the war against Russia.
Ukraine leadership given immunity from prosecution for its crimes
The ICC has not charged anyone in the illegitimate government of Ukraine for any of its crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine in the Donbass oblasts from 2014 to today, nor for its gratuitous attacks on the civilian population of Russia. It has been given immunity from prosecution.
The only legitimate prosecutors are the Palestinians, Lebanese, Iranians and Syrians for Israeli crimes committed against them.
So, all those celebrating and cheering the warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant should think carefully about what they are doing. Yes, those two are war criminals. Yes, they should be held accountable, but to the Palestinians and the Lebanese, the Syrians and Iranians. They are the ones who should be issuing warrants for their arrest, who should make them stand trial before the tribunals of those nations, as well as the leaders of the USA and the other nations who are parties to the Israeli crimes not this political farce called the ICC which is not a world court, which is not an independent judicial body capable of rendering justice, but a political tool of the West, used by the West for its own political and strategic reasons and objectives. The world is tired of the games of the ICC. The people of the world want real justice.
Christopher Black is an international criminal lawyer based in Toronto. He is known for a number of high-profile war crimes cases and recently published his novel Beneath the Clouds. He writes essays on international law, politics and world events.
Trump’s ‘new’ policy on Iran
By Viktor Mikhin – New Eastern Outlook – November 26, 2024
According to a report published by the Financial Times, Trump’s new team intends to ‘bankrupt’ Iran during his second presidential term. The report, citing a national security expert close to the new team, states that executive orders targeting Iran, mainly its oil exports, could be signed on the first day Trump takes office.
The so-called ‘maximum pressure campaign’ is a set of measures imposed against Iran in 2018 after Trump brazenly and illegally withdrew Washington from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The agreement, signed in 2015, limited Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for an easing of economic and financial sanctions. Trump called the agreement a ‘disaster’ only because it was signed by Democratic President Barack Obama. He allegedly stated that he was going to make sure that Iran would never receive nuclear weapons, while promising to limit Iran’s regional influence.
In other words, the world has a very dangerous precedent in the Middle East: on the one hand, Israel has completely illegally developed and put into service nuclear weapons and their means of delivery and, on the other hand, Trump is trying to limit – and, moreover, prohibit – Iran from developing peaceful nuclear energy and oppose Tehran’s relations with its neighbours. What kind of democracy is this and what exactly does Trump mean by the word ‘democracy’? This is no longer democracy, rather a medieval-type dictatorship: if I want to, I will allow it, but it is better not to allow it at all.
What was Trump’s goal previously?
Since 1979, Iran has constantly faced US sanctions. The Trump administration’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign was not so much about inventing new limitations as about dramatically expanding the scope and viciously tightening compliance with previous or existing limitations.
Following the unabashed withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA (an international document), Trump immediately reinstated sanctions against Iran’s energy, shipping, shipbuilding, automotive and oil sectors in accordance with a decree issued on August 6, 2018. The key difference was the aggressive implementation of so-called ‘secondary sanctions’, which punished foreign organisations for doing business with Iran, regardless of whether these transactions violated their own domestic laws. The aim was to put significant pressure on international players to comply with US sanctions. Apparently, Trump considered himself a liege lord and all others to be his vassals, the purpose of whom was to fulfill Trump’s will.
In May, 2019, the Trump administration dealt a blow to Iran’s metallurgical industry (the second largest source of export revenue) by tightening sanctions on the production of iron, steel, aluminum and copper. This included well-designed sanctions against any foreign financial institutions facilitating large transactions related to these industries. At the same time, Washington was completely uninterested in the opinions and interests of other parties involved in peaceful trade with Iran.
The third major decree issued by Trump was directed against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and any organisations or individuals conducting financial transactions with it. The stated goal was to limit Iran’s production of ballistic missiles, a weapon that, according to then-US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, existed only in Photoshop. Nevertheless, Trump hastened to impose severe sanctions on the IRGC.
The new Biden administration that came to power, contrary to expectations, did not put an end to Trump’s policy. According to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, all sanctions were to remain in force and hundreds more new ones were added to them. It is incomprehensible how one strong and arrogant country is trying to rule the whole world and establish its own rules of life and trade that are only beneficial to it.
Did Trump’s policy bear fruit?
“The efficacy of US sanctions against a foreign government is measured by the economic damage not caused”, said Amir Ali Abolfat, an expert on North American affairs, “and the extent to which sanctions achieve their political goals and change the behaviour of the target government”. An analysis of statistics before the start of the ‘maximum pressure’ campaign shows that, although Trump made it more difficult for Iran to earn money from exporting oil and metals, he failed to reduce them so much that a brave and persistent Iran had to change its policy.
“Iran produces strategically important goods”, Abolfat explained. “As long as there is demand, these products will find their market. Although Iran no longer sells oil to Europe, it has begun supplying it to China, as evidenced by increased sales to that country, which is resisting pressure and US hegemony. The same principle applies to the export of Iranian metals”.
There is no doubt that Trump and Biden have created great difficulties for Iran, but did they manage to achieve their goals? Absolutely not. Iran’s uranium enrichment rate has increased from 3% to 60% and its military potential has expanded significantly over the past seven years. Moreover, Tehran is successfully developing friendly ties with its neighbours and has managed to create a so-called Axis of Resistance, which successfully opposes the United States and Israel in the region.
As for domestic needs, Iran has successfully reduced its dependence on European partners and former allies (such as Korea and Japan) by finding alternative suppliers. The departure of European automakers has led to a sharp increase in Chinese car imports, making Iran a major market. In addition, Iranian engineers and experts have independently completed projects to develop gas and oil fields that previously depended on Western cooperation. This self-confidence eventually spread to other industries previously dependent on imports, such as the food industry and medicine.
Sanctions and nothing else?
Central to Trump’s policy in the Middle East from 2017 to 2021 was an unsuccessful attempt to drive a wedge between Arab countries and Iran, while simultaneously positioning Israel as a key regional security partner.
Now this approach is much less viable. Iran’s improved relations with countries, such as Saudi Arabia, and ongoing efforts to normalise ties with others, such as Egypt, undermine this strategy. In addition, the successful Hamas operation on October 7 completely dispelled all notions of Israel’s invincibility and the actions of the Israeli regime to destroy the Palestinians made the continuation of the normalisation agreements concluded within the scope of Trump’s ‘Abraham Accords’ unlikely.
Experts believe that the only other untested option – the military option – to which hotheads in the United States and Israel are inclined, is fraught with enormous risk. Such actions could lead to devastating consequences for the West, potentially widespread disruption of oil supplies, attacks on Western bases in the Middle East and fundamental changes to Iran’s nuclear policy. Ultimately, Washington must recognise that enormous pressure alone will not help it achieve its goals with regard to Iran. To solve the US’ problems, Iran’s problems must also be acknowledged. It is only through returning to the JCPOA and sitting at the negotiating table that the most difficult tasks in the region can be solved. Iran is ready for this and has expressed this more than once. Is the ‘peacemaker’ Trump ready for this or is he only thinking of using force?
Israeli Minister: ‘Voluntary Emigration’ of Palestinians Is an Opportunity During Trump Presidency
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | November 25, 2024
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared his intention to exploit the Donald Trump presidency to conduct an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. He believes he can cut the population of Gaza in half in two year’s time.
“It is possible to create a situation where Gaza’s population in two years will be less than half its current size. Encouraging voluntary emigration is an opportunity that arises with the new administration,” Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionist Party, said.
The Finance Minister, who himself is a settler in the West Bank and has promoted building Jewish settlements in Gaza, made the remarks while speaking at the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization for settlement authorities in the West Bank
“It is possible and necessary to take civilian responsibility for Gaza.” Smotrich continues, “The IDF will need to be there to maintain security, prevent Gaza from rearming and becoming a threat to Israeli citizens again, and in the process, oversee civilian [affairs].”
Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Tel Aviv unleashed a devastating military campaign in Gaza that American doctors estimate killed well over 100,000 people in its first year.
Much of the infrastructure in Gaza is being leveled with bombs, with Haaretz reporting earlier this week that the Jabalia Refugee Camp has been nearly eliminated. Israel civilians have begun entering Gaza to scout locations for potential future settlements.
Israel Strikes Four Bridges in Homs Province, Central Syria – Reports
By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 25.11.2024
The Israeli military has dramatically ramped up its aggression against Syria in recent months, targeting the country repeatedly amid its ongoing regional war against Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi militia. In April, an Israeli strike targeted an Iranian Embassy building in Damascus, provoking a major Iranian retaliation.
Israeli fighter jets struck a number of bridges in the province of Homs, central Syria, SANA reported on Monday.
Four bridges were damaged in the city of Al Qusayr, southwest of Homs, as the result of the strike, a correspondent told the Syrian news agency.
Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh told a meeting of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations that firm and immediate measures must be taken by the international community to stop Israeli aggression across the region.
“The Israeli occupation forces are intending to expand the scope of their aggression on countries of our region, by targeting brotherly Lebanon. This coincided with its launch of almost daily attacks on Syrian territory, targeting buildings and residential neighborhoods that include headquarters, diplomatic missions and offices of the United Nations, economic facilities and vital infrastructure, not to mention the occupying entity’s deliberate targeting of border crossings, roads and bridges connecting Syria and Lebanon, which are used by hundreds of thousands of people coming from Lebanon to escape the Israeli killing machine,” the Syrian top diplomat said.
“Syria renews its firm stance in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, returning to their homeland, establishing their independent state, and ending the Israeli occupation of all Arab lands occupied since June 1967, including the occupied Syrian Golan,” Sabbagh emphasized.
House of Representatives Approves Legislation Threatening Nonprofits’ Free Speech
By Adam Dick | Ron Paul Institute | November 22, 2024
On Thursday, the United States House of Representatives approved legislation that would threaten nonprofit organizations’ exercise of free speech rights. The legislation would accomplish this goal by empowering the US government to selectively clamp down on nonprofits to an extent that targeted organizations may cease to exist. This is all being done in the name of countering terrorism, a trusty standby excuse for the US government exercising authoritarian powers.
The House approved the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (HR 9495) by a vote of 219 to 184. The “yes” votes came mainly from Republican members, and all the “no” votes were from Democrats plus Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, an Advisory Board member for the Ron Paul Institute.
J.D. Tuccille provided an informative critique of HR 9495 in a Friday Reason article. The bill, explained Tuccille, “allows for the ‘termination of tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations.’” Continuing, Tuccille wrote:
The designation of organizations as such is left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, based on that official’s judgment that a non-profit group has, in the last three years, provided ‘material support or resources’ to what the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization. The language provides for a 90-day window during which time supposed ‘terrorist supporting organizations’ can appeal the designation, but the burden is on them to prove that they’re not guilty.
This turns due process on its head.
The threat from this new bureaucratic power is extreme for targeted organizations. As Tuccille puts it in his article, the loss of “tax -exempt status” is essentially a death penalty for most non-profit organizations.”
What a censorship power this legislation hands over to the executive branch bureaucracy. Nonprofit organizations whose activities challenge the ambitions of the US government and connected individuals, businesses, and organizations, can be snuffed out. Meanwhile, other organizations will have a big incentive to limit their own speech to avoid being similarly targeted for destruction.
During the House floor debate on HR 9495, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) presented a brief, persuasive speech against the bill. Here is the text of his speech:
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 9495. As Members of Congress, it is our duty to stand against terrorism and stand up for our common values, but this bill does neither.
What does it do?
What it does is grant sweeping draconian powers to the executive branch to essentially shut down any nonprofit.
On what basis would future administrations, Democratic or Republican, be able to exercise such power?
On a mere accusation.
I repeat, an accusation.
All nonprofits could be under scrutiny. These are decent people who are advocating on issues from religious freedom to animal welfare.
Mr. Speaker, why would conservatives, the very same people who gnashed their teeth at executive overreach, support such a measure?
Why would they suddenly about-face and sacrifice the values they claim to stand for?
It is because this is a gift to the President-elect, Mr. Trump, wrapped up in a bow right before the holidays.
On the campaign trail, he has made no secret of who he would seek to go after. This is bigger than the President-elect because now every President who would be king would be free to seek vengeance on their political opponents for every perceived slight.
I caution my colleagues to consider how far-reaching the consequences of this bill would be. This bill would apply to all future Presidents.
At a time when we should be strengthening our checks and balances and shoring up our guardrails, this legislation would do the opposite.
Mr. Speaker, in the strongest possible terms, I urge my colleagues to vote against this executive branch power grab.
This legislative threat to nonprofit organizations and their free speech can be expected to be rejected by the Democratic controlled Senate and President Joe Biden. But, it will likely be back for another go-round under more amenable conditions come January when the House, Senate, and presidency are all in Republican control.
Israeli Soccer Hooligans Cry Out as They Strike You
By Kevin Barrett – American Free Press – November 22, 2024
On November 7, chaos erupted in the streets of Amsterdam. Soccer hooligans flown in from Israel, flanked by Mossad handlers, watched their their Maccabi Tel Aviv team lose 5-0 to the Dutch team Ajax. After the game, the Maccabi fans ran wild, arming themselves with wood sticks and metal pipes and attacking cabs, busses, police vans, and individuals unlucky enough to cross their path. Palestinian flags—a common sight in the Dutch capital—were torn down. As they rioted, the Maccabi fans showcased their favorite chants, including “There are no schools left in Gaza because there are no children left”; “F*** the Arabs,”; and F*** you terrorists, everybody die.”
A video account of the event by a teenage journalist known as Bender showed that the violence was incited by Israelis, not locals. Bender followed the Israelis from the stadium and filmed them arming themselves and attacking people and vehicles. He was threatened and told to stop filming, presumably by the Mossad handlers overseeing the event.
As often happens, the spectacle of foreign soccer hooligans attacking people in their own city led to a defensive response. Locals confronted the hooligans, in some cases getting the better of physical altercations. A few Israeli thugs managed to get themselves beat up, while others were unceremoniously introduced to the pleasures of swimming in Amsterdam’s insalubrious canals.
If British soccer hooligans had attacked Paris, or German soccer hooligans had attacked Prague, media accounts would have been reasonably evenhanded and accurate. But because the hooligans were Israelis attacking the city of Anne Frank, the media sought to convince the world that a third Holocaust had occurred. (The second, of course, was the Hamas raid of October 7, 2023.)
Here are a selection of headlines:
*Israeli Fans Attacked After Soccer Match in Amsterdam; Violence Condemned as Anti-Semitic (Washington Post ).
*Israeli soccer fans targeted in wave of violence in Amsterdam (Fox).
*Holocaust survivor calls vicious mob attack on Jews in Amsterdam a ‘modern-day Kristallnacht’ (New York Post ).
*Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam ambushed by gangs of anti-Israel attackers shouting ‘Free Palestine,’ Netanyahu sends planes to evacuate citizens (New York Post ).
*The New Kristallnacht: Antisemitic Attacks in Amsterdam Demand Global Action (Times of Israel ).
*Global leaders react to Amsterdam pogrom (The Jerusalem Post ).
*Amsterdam Has Failed Its Jews (Spectator ).
The United States Holocaust Museum issued a statement stating that the Museum “strongly condemns the vicious attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam and the outrageous celebrations of those attacks.” The Anti-Defamation League shrieked about the “obscene, unprovoked violence” which it described as follows: “This is what ‘globalize the intifada’ looks like. Mobs of hate-filled people chasing down and attacking innocent Israeli soccer fans who they have dehumanized as ‘Zionists,’ hunting down and brutalizing ordinary people who came to Amsterdam simply to enjoy a soccer match.”
But why did these Israeli “ordinary people” repeatedly commit assault, battery, and vandalism, long before any locals retaliated? Why did the Israeli attacks on people and vehicles draw no response from local police, who pointedly ignored the rioting until the tables had been turned? And why were the hooligans flanked by Mossad agents as they incited a riot?
Dutch scholar and author Alexander Wolfheze, who was in Amsterdam on November 7, describes the event as a “psy-op.” In a November 12 interview with this author Wolfheze agreed with critics who argue that the Israeli hooligans’ attack on Amsterdam was carefully orchestrated by intelligence professionals in order to produce precisely the headlines listed above, and thousands more like them: “I believe that there are PSYOP aspects (to the hooligans’ attack). It happened just before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, something that the mainstream media did not fail to exploit.”
Dr. Wolfheze added that the November 7 Mossad op was also designed to influence Dutch domestic politics: “Holland is once again at the forefront of the Israelization of Europe, the Zionisation of Europe. Holland was the first country to get a real neo-Zionist government (Geert Wilders). And exactly at that time, after the appointment of this new cabinet, this new government here, and this new reality here, we are seeing this program (total Israeli takeover of Holland -KB) being implemented through the hooligans.”
If Israel can attack your country, pretend to be the victim, and force your entire government and mainstream media to go along with the transparent lie, they basically own you. Fortunately, Israel does not own social media journalists like Bender and Max Blumenthal, both of whom were instrumental in exposing what really happened in Amsterdam.
The Israeli attack on Amsterdam once again illustrated the Jewish State’s perfidy, and provided more evidence that when they cry out as they strike you, it isn’t just a hobby—it’s how they make a living.
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Fanatical Followers of the Covid Regime: A Jim Jones-Style Cult?
By Professor Roger Watson and Dr. Niall McCrae | The Daily Sceptic | November 15, 2021
As scholars at leading British universities over recent decades, we witnessed the replacement of critical thinking and debate by narrative: facts are discrimination and scientific method is imperialism; truth, instead, is derived from ‘progressive’ values. This educational trend may be a major contributory factor to the ease in which society has been inculcated to the Covid ‘new normal’ of masking, testing, and repeated doses of vaccines for a disease of similar risk to severe influenza.
One doesn’t need much critical reasoning to observe the flawed logic of some vaccination enthusiasts, such as people who respond to experiencing any side effects, however debilitating, by saying “at least I know it’s working”, or, after contracting the disease despite their promised inoculation (over 90% effective, according to initial drug company claims), “I’d have been worse off without the jab.” … continue
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