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Trump conditions $1.9B in disaster funds on rejection of Israel boycotts

MEMO | August 4, 2025

The Trump administration has threatened to withhold roughly $1.9 billion in disaster preparedness funding to states and cities that support boycotts of Israel or Israeli firms.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said in grant notices published Friday that applicants must comply with its internal terms and conditions, which include clauses mandating that entities seeking funding not support efforts to blacklist Israel.

Applicants must not support severing “commercial relations, or otherwise limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies or with companies doing business in or with Israel or authorized by, licensed by, or organized under the laws of Israel to do business,” according to the 2025 fiscal year terms and conditions, posted in April.

August 4, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

Super PAC Targeting Massie Funded By Three Israel-Backing Billionaires

By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge | August 3, 2025

Though it sports a Kentucky- and MAGA-branded name, the new Super PAC launched solely to support a primary challenge against popular Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is funded entirely by three Israel-backing billionaires from Nevada, New York and Florida, according to disclosure filings posted on Thursday.

The super PAC was launched in June, just days after President Trump threw a social media tantrum over Massie’s condemnation of Trump’s commitment of US forces to Israel’s war on Iran. Massie has long been a thorn in Trump’s side on domestic issues too, from opposing the $2 trillion, Trump-backed Covid-19 “relief package” in 2020 to voting against this year’s Big Beautiful Bill. However, Massie’s opposition to US involvement in Israel’s war seemed to have been the last straw. Trump assigned his top political operatives Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita to start and run the super PAC. LaCivita told Axios the entity will spend “whatever it takes” to oust Massie.

The PAC’s only three donors have two things in common: they’re billionaires, and they’re ardent supporters of Israel. According to the PAC’s first funding disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, it has received:

  • $1 million from New Yorker hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who has also funded a Israel-favoring US think tank and other pro-Israel organizations, and urged Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal
  • $250,000 from Floridian hedge fund manager John Paulson
  • $750,000 from the Preserve America Super PAC, which has also been led by La Civita and primarily funded by Nevadan Miriam Adelson and earlier, her late husband Sheldon Adelson

The PAC is called “MAGA Kentucky,” a name that’s misleading on two levels. Not only are its funders not Kentuckians, their principal motive for destroying Massie is his opposition to US bankrolling of Israel and participation in its wars. That is anything but a MAGA motive. As Trump recently told a prominent Jewish donor, “My people are starting to hate Israel.”

MAGA Kentucky has already started running misleading attack ads that cherry-pick items from the sprawling Big Beautiful Bill and accuse Massie of voting “against” them, and also accuse him of “siding” with Iran’s ayatollah.

In addition to opposing aid to Israel, Massie has also voted against legislation designed to stop Americans from criticizing Israel. The Antisemitism Awareness Act would use an expansive definition of antisemitism to expose universities to federal enforcement action if students voiced opposition to Zionism — a political philosophy — or compared the actions of Israel’s government to those of Nazi Germany.

In April, Massie introduced the Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act, which would require candidates for federal office to disclose any non-American citizenships they hold. Advocates of Israel swiftly accused him of antisemitism, but Massie said his measure doesn’t target any specific country. “We swear an oath to the Constitution, and the question is, if you’re a citizen of two countries, which oath are you taking more seriously, or can you take them both seriously?” Massie asked Fox’s Will Cain.

First elected to Congress in 2012 and consistently advocating for fiscal discipline, the right of armed self-defense, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, Massie has built a large and loyal national following among the libertarian right and other conservatives, with many regarding him as the congressional successor to the iconic Ron Paul. In his latest aggravation of Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, Massie is leading the drive to compel the release of Epstein investigative files. He has introduced a discharge petition that’s predicted to secure enough signatures to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA H.Res. 581), which he introduced with Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna.

With Georgia GOP Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene recently introducing an amendment to remove military aid to Israel from the defense bill, and accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, don’t be surprised to see a “MAGA Georgia” PAC created to oust her, too — funded by a similar cast of Israel-first characters. In the meantime, the drive to take out Massie is having unintended consequences:

August 4, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Iraq’s PMF law seen as test of sovereignty amid US objections

Al Mayadeen | August 3, 2025

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Authority chief Faleh al-Fayyad affirmed on Sunday that the vote on the draft Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) law represents a “national responsibility tied to the dignity of those who answered the call of the religious authority and defended Iraq’s sovereignty.”

In a message addressed to members of Iraq’s parliament, al-Fayyad described the moment as one that reflects loyalty to the history and sacrifices of PMF fighters, many of whom played key roles in the defeat of ISIS.

“Passing this law is not just a legislative step. It is an affirmation of the rights of those who wrote Iraq’s glory with their blood, and a recognition from the people for those who bore arms to defend Iraq and its unity,” al-Fayyad said.

Draft law guarantees rights of PMF fighters 

The legislation seeks to enshrine the rights of PMF personnel and provide a legal framework governing their structure, responsibilities, and benefits. According to Al Mayadeen’s Baghdad correspondent, the law aims to better regulate the Popular Mobilization Authority’s operations and grant it stronger legal recognition under Iraqi law.

However, the law has drawn criticism from Washington. US Senator Marco Rubio reportedly expressed “deep concern” about the legislation during recent talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.

Rubio claimed the law would “entrench Iranian influence and empower armed groups that undermine Iraqi sovereignty,” reflecting US unease with Iraq’s growing military independence and refusal to marginalize the PMF, which has long been a target of US pressure.

PMF integral to Iraq state institutions

Al-Fayyad last year said the adoption of the service and retirement law for the PMF is the first sign of loyalty to the fighters, stressing that what has been achieved was in the spirit of Resistance and not in the spirit of a job.

Speaking at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the PMF, al-Fayyad said, “The PMF did not achieve what it did in the spirit of paying for fighting, as we are not mercenaries.”

While stressing that he “does not underestimate the other armed forces formations,” al-Fayyad emphasized the uniqueness of the PMF as “an entity that arose from a legitimate basis and was built on volunteerism and self-motivation,” stressing that this “identity must be preserved.”

Al-Fayyad stressed, “Bearing very heavy burdens from both close and distant quarters to maintain this entity as one representing the spirit of jihad [fighting against the enemies] and rising above partial classifications and political categorizations, above parties and above any other designation,” explaining that “the Popular Mobilization is the present shield of the nation in every confrontation and battle.”

August 3, 2025 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas rules out giving up arms unless ‘independent, sovereign’ Palestinian state established

MEMO | August 2, 2025

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Saturday it will not give up its arms unless an “independent, fully sovereign” Palestinian state is established, Anadolu reports.

The statement came following reports by the Israeli daily Haaretz citing a recording attributed to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff: “Hamas has said that they are prepared to be demilitarized.”

“We are very, very close to a solution to end this war,” Witkoff is also heard saying, according to Haaretz.

“Commenting on reports by some media outlets quoting US envoy Steve Witkoff as saying the movement expressed willingness to disarm, we reiterate that resistance and its weapons are a national and legitimate right as long as the occupation continues — a right recognized by international laws and conventions,” Hamas said in a statement on Telegram.

The group added that such rights “cannot be relinquished except with the full attainment of our national rights, foremost being the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Witkoff met families of Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday, as hundreds rallied to demand a ceasefire deal that would secure their release from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported.

Witkoff’s visit, his third to Hostage Square since the war began, came shortly after Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad released footage showing two emaciated Israeli captives, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, prompting renewed outrage.

On Friday, Witkoff visited an aid center in southern Gaza operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Diplomatic merchandise: Exploiting the issue of Palestinian recognition

He said the aim was to give US President Donald Trump “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”

The visit comes amid mounting criticism of US-Israeli coordination in Gaza, particularly regarding the group’s distribution model, which Palestinians say serves as a tool for displacement under the guise of humanitarian relief as well as a “death trap” for many Palestinian aid seekers, with over 1,300 killed since May while waiting for relief supplies.

Hamas on Thursday denounced the visit as a “propaganda stunt” aimed at deflecting global outrage over what rights groups and UN officials have described as Israel’s systematic starvation campaign.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 169 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of hunger-related causes, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

August 2, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

Zionism without borders: Annexation and normalization as tools of Arab subjugation

By Mohamad Hasan Sweidan | The Cradle | August 1, 2025

Four weeks after Israel signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrain on 15 September 2020, Tel Aviv’s Higher Planning Council approved 4,948 new settler units in the occupied West Bank. No public fanfare.

No tanks rolled in – just signatures authorizing another layer of occupation. The first wave of expansion advanced quietly, legitimized by the language of “peace.”

This sequencing deliberately reflects the core logic of Zionist expansion: Normalize when the region submits, colonize when the world blinks.

Where possible, the occupation state’s army conquers land directly. Where resistance or scrutiny makes that unfeasible, the occupation government builds a web of security pacts, trade routes, and intelligence partnerships that extend its reach without a single uniformed soldier. This dual formula, territorial conquest and hegemonic integration, has underpinned Israeli strategy since 1967, and today stretches unimpeded from the Jordan Valley to the Atlantic coast.

Two paths, one destination

“Greater Israel” represents the settler-colonial ambition to annex, settle, and absorb land across historic Palestine and beyond. It is rooted in the Zionist vision of Jewish dominion over the so-called “biblical Land of Israel.” In contrast, “Great Israel” describes the imperial design to dominate the surrounding region through proxies, economic leverage, and security alignments.

Where occupation is costly, Tel Aviv turns to influence. Through deals, destabilization, or coercion, it reshapes the sovereignty of its neighbors. Greater Israel devours land. Great Israel neutralizes independence. Together, they are one project.

Zionist literature makes this plain. Ze’ev Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism, demanded sovereignty over all of Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan – “Greater Israel on both sides of the Jordan River” – and rejected compromise with Arabs. In The Iron Wall (1923), he declared that only an unyielding Jewish force could compel Arab acquiescence:

“Zionist colonization, even the most restricted, must either be terminated or carried out in defiance of the will of the native population.”

The occupation state’s first prime minister and Labor Zionist leader, David Ben-Gurion, publicly accepted a partition plan in 1937, but privately described it as “not the end but the beginning.” In a letter to his son, he wrote that a Jewish state on part of the land would strengthen the Zionist project and serve as a platform to “redeem the entire country.” In a June 1938 meeting of the Jewish Agency executive, he said:

“After the formation of a large army … we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine.”

Early Zionist leaders did not view borders as final, but as phases. During its first two decades, Israel lacked the military strength or western backing to expand beyond its 1949 borders. Direct confrontation with Arab states risked catastrophe. Instead, Tel Aviv pioneered a subtler doctrine of peripheral infiltration.

Through the “periphery doctrine,” it cultivated covert ties with non-Arab states and oppressed minorities – Shah-era Iran, Turkiye, Kurdish groups in Iraq, and Christian separatists in Sudan. This strategy sowed chaos among Israel’s Arab rivals while embedding Israeli influence in strategic corners of West Asia and Africa. Most recently, the occupation state has made overtures to Druze communities in southern Syria, seeking to replicate this strategy amid renewed instability.

The corridor to colonization

Israel’s integration into the Arab world is now deeper than ever before. Through normalization, Tel Aviv has converted former enemies into partners economically, diplomatically, and militarily. While Egypt and Jordan first formalized ties through Camp David and Wadi Araba, it was the Abraham Accords that opened the floodgates. What followed was a deluge of tech deals, weapons transfers, and commercial partnerships linking the occupation state to the Persian Gulf.

By 2023, Israel’s trade with the UAE had reached $3 billion annually. That figure rose by 11 percent the following year, even as Israel waged genocide in Gaza. Israeli Consul General Liron Zaslansky described trade relations between Abu Dhabi and Israel as “growing, so that we ended 2024 at $3.24 billion, excluding software and services.”

In 2022, Morocco purchased $500 million worth of Israeli Barak MX air defense systems. Rabat also partnered with BlueBird, an Israeli drone firm, to become the first UAV manufacturer in West Asia and North Africa.

This has created a “corridor of influence” that grants Tel Aviv access to new markets, air and sea routes, and intelligence spaces stretching from Casablanca to Khor Fakkan.

On the ground, the war continues

While trade flourishes, colonization accelerates. In 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government approved 12,855 settler homes – a record for any six-month period. More than 700,000 settlers now occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem. That figure has grown sevenfold since the early 1990s.

In May 2025, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed cabinet approval for the construction of 22 new West Bank settlements, including multiple previously unauthorized outposts. Katz framed the move as necessary to “strengthen our hold on Judea and Samaria” and to “prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

These settlements are not arbitrary. They are connected by Jewish-only bypass roads, fortified by the occupation army, and strategically designed to fragment the occupied West Bank into isolated Palestinian enclaves. This is de facto annexation, defined by a matrix of irreversible facts that eliminates the territorial basis for any future Palestinian state, while avoiding the international fallout of formal annexation.

The “logic” of expansion has also spilled beyond Palestine. In Syria, Tel Aviv now occupies 250 square kilometers across Quneitra, Rural Damascus, and Deraa – territory seized during the collapse of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government by Al-Qaeda rooted terrorists – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – who now occupy the seat of power in Damascus. HTS was under the leadership of former ISIS chief Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Upon ousting Assad, Julani began using his government name, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and became the de facto president of Syria.

In Lebanon, Israeli forces maintain a presence over 30–40 square kilometers, including Shebaa Farms, Kfar Shuba Hills, and the northern half of Ghajar. Additional outposts and buffer zones stretch along the so-called Blue Line.

Occupation rebranded

Israel’s expansion today is no longer confined to bulldozers and soldiers; it is mediated through trade, tech, and treaties. But make no mistake: normalization has not replaced occupation. It has enabled and accelerated it.

Every Emirati deal, every Moroccan drone line, every Bahraini handshake fuels Tel Aviv’s capacity to deepen its military presence and Judaize more land. Plans are underway to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights and to deploy armored units along the demilitarized zone.

The ripple effects are already destabilizing the region. Egypt has begun constructing a concrete wall on its border with Gaza to prepare for mass displacement or military spillover. Jordan faces existential peril in the Jordan Valley, where settler expansion is displacing Bedouin communities and draining natural aquifers. Syria and Lebanon remain hemmed in by fortified Israeli positions, with both countries facing increasing pressure from Washington to normalize relations.

Greater Israel devours Arab land. Great Israel colonizes Arab decision-making. One swallows borders. The other swallows sovereignty.

August 2, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prof. Rashid Khalidi quits Columbia over pro-‘Israel’ crackdown deal

Al Mayadeen | August 1, 2025

Esteemed Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi has pulled out of teaching at Columbia University this fall, denouncing the institution’s decision to submit to the Trump administration’s campaign to silence pro-Palestinian voices on campus.

In a powerful open letter published in The Guardian, Khalidi, Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies, condemned Columbia’s recent $200 million settlement with the federal government, a deal he says strips the university of its integrity and hands over academic independence to a political agenda aimed at shielding “Israel” from criticism.

“Although I have retired, I was scheduled to teach a large lecture course on this topic in the fall as a ‘special lecturer’ but I cannot do so under the conditions Columbia has accepted by capitulating to the Trump administration in June,” he wrote.

Capitulation Pact

The agreement, reached under the threat of lost federal funding, comes after months of student-led protests demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza and university divestment from institutions complicit in Israeli apartheid. Rather than defending free speech and academic inquiry, Columbia chose to comply with demands that reflect a broader campaign to criminalize solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.

Under the deal, Columbia is required to expand its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, submit its Middle East curriculum to external review, and dismantle programs deemed “unlawful” by the federal government. An independent monitor appointed by Washington will oversee implementation. On top of the $200 million settlement, the university will pay $21 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, following claims of alleged discrimination against Jewish employees.

Critics, including faculty, students, and human rights advocates, have described the agreement as a dangerous precedent: one that empowers the state to dictate how Palestine can be taught, discussed, or even mentioned on campus.

Silencing Dissent

In his letter, Khalidi warned of the chilling effect such measures will have on truth-telling about “Israel’s” colonial violence. “Columbia chose to adopt a definition of antisemitism that ‘conflates Jewishness with Israel, so that any criticism of Israel, or indeed description of Israeli policies, becomes a criticism of Jews’,” he wrote.

He stressed that the settlement effectively outlaws honest scholarship about “Israel’s” founding and its current atrocities in Gaza. “The fearsome apparatus that Columbia has erected [will] punish speech critical of Israel, and … crack down on alleged discrimination, which at this moment in history almost invariably amounts simply to opposition to this genocide.”

Khalidi also denounced the intrusion of government oversight into academic spaces. “Agreeing to submit the syllabi and scholarship of prominent academics for review by outside actors is ‘abhorrent’,” he said.

His letter ends with a stark assessment of what Columbia has become: “Columbia’s capitulation has turned a university that was once a site of free inquiry and learning into a shadow of its former self, an anti-university, a place of fear and loathing, where faculty and students are told from on high what they can say and teach, under penalty of severe sanctions.”

For many, Khalidi’s stand reflects a growing crisis: as “Israel” intensifies its war on Gaza, academic institutions in the West are increasingly complicit in the silencing of Palestinian narratives and the repression of those who dare to speak against genocide.

August 1, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

Samuel Untermyer – the Jewish fixer who shaped modern US more than any WASP president

By Hua Bin | August 1, 2025

In my readings of Zionism’s influence over US politics, I ran across an obscure name, Samuel Untermyer, in several different historical events. This led to some additional readings and I come to the conclusion that this legal eagle of Jewish origin and ardent Zionist has shaped the 20th-century US more profoundly than any elected officials, including the Presidents. His influence extends to the world we live in today.

Untermyer was a lawyer and financier born to German Jewish immigrants in Virginia in 1858. He died in 1940. He was a graduate of Columbia Law School and a founding partner in the Wall Street law firm of Guggenheimer, Untermyer & Marshall, still around today.

One of his claims to fame was being the first lawyer in the US to earn a one-million-dollar fee on a single case. Remember he practiced law in 1920s and 30s so a million-dollar fee was real money.

Far more than being just a highly paid Wall Street lawyer, Untermyer leveraged his legal skills and insider information into a financial fortune. While serving as the attorney for the bondholders of the United States Shipbuilding Company, the largest shipbuilder in the US at the turn of the century, he exposed the company’s financial frauds and affected a reorganization.

Through a set of clever legal and financial maneuvering, Untermyer became a major shareholder of the reorganized company, renamed as Bethlehem Steel. Bethlehem Steel remained a global industrial giant for much of the 20th century. Untermyer became a financial mogul in his own right.

But Untermeyer’s real impact is far more consequential and long lasting. Through his involvement with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the financing of Cyrus Scofield, the author of the Scofield Bible, Untermyer shaped the US economic, religious, and political systems to this day. As the leader of the worldwide Jewish boycott of Germany before the war, Untermyer was crucially involved in the events leading up to WW2.

Untermyer and the creation of the Fed

Samuel Untermyer played a significant role in the creation of the Federal Reserve System, through his work as lead counsel for the congressional Pujo Committee, formed after the Panic of 1907 to investigate the Money Trust, a small number of Wall Street bankers who controlled much of the country’s financial power.

The Pujo Committee’s findings were instrumental in shaping public opinion and creating a political climate that demanded financial reform. The reform took the form of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

Untermyer was an active participant in drafting the legislation, laying the foundation of the US monetary system that still dominates the country’s and the world’s economic life today.

While Untermyer wasn’t one of the bankers who met in secret on Jekyll Island to draft the initial plan for the Federal Reserve, his public work with the Pujo Committee was a crucial catalyst.

His family foundation describes him as “instrumental in establishing the Federal Reserve System,” and a “leading architect of the Federal Reserve Act.”

Untermyer, Scofield Bible and Christian Zionism

Untermyer was a Zionist and he financially backed and promoted the work of Cyrus Scofield.

Cyrus Scofield was a small-time lawyer in Kansas. He was a fraud and criminal convict. He was divorced by two wives for cruelty and abandonment of his daughters.

Cyrus was jailed for forging his mother’s signature to sell her property. Later in life, Cyrus Scofield became a “born-again” Christian and hung out a shingle stating that he was a minister despite having no qualifications.

Cyrus seemed destined as a loser until he met Samuel Untermeyer.

Beyond his legal and legislative work, Untermyer was also the president of the major Zionist movement in the US at the time, the Keren Hayesod (United Israel Appeal). Together with Jacob Schiff, Untermyer hired Cyrus to re-write the King James Bible by inserting additions and interpretations.

Scofield introduced the so-called dispensationalist notes into the Bible, emphasizing the return of Christ and the restoration of Israel as central to god’s plan. His key additions to the King James Bible are 1). Jews are the Chosen; 2). Armageddon will happen in the Middle East; and the Rapture will happen in Israel.

Its commentary, particularly on Genesis 12:3 (“I will bless them that bless thee”), promoted the idea that supporting Jews (and later Israel) was a divine mandate. Cyrus died in 1921 but somehow the 1984 edition intensified these interpretations.

Published in 1909 by Oxford University Press, which is not typically in the Bible printing business, this annotated King James Bible, known as the Scofield Reference Bible, was sent to all the heads of the Evangelical Church in the US and became the #1 selling Bible in the country, to this day.

The Scofield Bible popularized dispensationalism – a theological framework that emphasizes the future return of the Jews to Israel and the restoration of a Jewish state as a key part of biblical prophecy.

Thanks to Untermyer, the Scofield Bible brought Christian Zionism to the world. The concept of “Judeo Christian values” was also conceived for the first time in history.

Untermyer, through the crook Cyrus Scofield, successfully inserted a pro-Zionist agenda into evangelical Christian theology to create Christian support for a Jewish state in the land of the Palestinians.

Today, over 100 million Americans believe in this book and they form the backbone of the support for Israel in the US.

Joseph Canfield’s The Incredible Scofield and His Book (1988) recorded how Untermyer saw Scofield’s dispensationalist theology as a tool to garner Christian support for a Jewish homeland.

The Scofield Bible (1909) predates the Balfour Declaration (1917), a key Zionist milestone. Untermyer, through his support of Scofield, helped to lay the theological groundwork for Christian Zionism.

Untermyer and the worldwide Jewish boycott of Germany in the 1930s

In 1933, shortly after Hitler’s rise to power, Untermyer founded and led the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League to promote a worldwide economic boycott of German goods.

His August 1933 speech on WABC radio, published in The New York Times, declared a “holy war” against Germany, urging Jews and non-Jews to boycott German imports to pressure the Nazi regime. He referenced “600,000 souls we must save,” highlighting the Jewish exodus from Germany.

For his zeal, the British press gave him the title “Hitler’s Bitterest Foe”.

According to Benjamin Freedman, whom I wrote about in Jewish Defector Warns America (https://huabinoliver.substack.com/p/a-jewish-defector-warns-america ), Untermyer’s boycott intensified German resentment toward Jews, contributing to World War II and the German genocidal campaign.

It’s rare, maybe unprecedented, that a relatively obscure private citizen was able to exert this much influence over several defining world historical events.

Samuel Untermyer, with his instrumental role in the creation of Fed, the publication of Scofield Bible and creation of Christian Zionism, and the boycott of Germany prior to WW2, was a more powerful and long-lasting influence over the US than any elected Presidents in the 20th century.

August 1, 2025 Posted by | Economics | , | Leave a comment

Israeli soldier reveals ‘strange order’ to cancel Gaza border patrols on 7 Oct

The Cradle | July 31, 2025

An Israeli soldier stated that he and his fellow soldiers stationed at a military outpost near Gaza received orders not to carry out their usual early morning patrol on the border fence on 7 October 2023, Israeli media reported on 17 July.

During the time the border patrol would have normally been carried out, members of Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, crossed the fence to attack Israeli army bases and settlements (kibbutzim).

Shalom Sheetrit, a soldier in the Golani Brigade, revealed the directive while giving testimony at a meeting of the lobby for reserve personnel in the Israeli Knesset.

He stated that on the night before the 7 October attack, he and two other soldiers, Yotam Sror and Itamar Ben Yehuda, sat by the battalion radio at the Pega military outpost near Kibbutz Be’eri.

“We were playing on the phone [at 5:20 am] and suddenly a strange message comes from my battalion commander,” the soldier explained, “and what he says on the call is something like this: ‘I don’t know why, but an order was issued that there are no patrols at the fence until nine in the morning.’”

Sheetrit said soldiers from the outpost carried out patrols on the border fence every morning “because you are in an operational battalion and that is part of the matter.”

Hamas fighters attacked the Pega outpost and killed 14 Israeli soldiers there during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

When asked if this was why many soldiers at the outpost were still sleeping when the Hamas attack began, Sheetrit stated, “I don’t know how to answer it that way. In our mortar department, there was an alert at dawn, and we woke up. It’s possible that in the patrol departments, they were told not to wake up. I don’t know. I don’t want to just say that.”

Sheetrit stated that the military units based in the Pega outpost were responsible for protecting Kibbutz Be’eri, which was also attacked by Hamas.

“Unfortunately, we were not up to the task. There were dozens against hundreds of terrorists, 25 against 150, and so we couldn’t arrive, unfortunately. I’m far from being a military man who can give answers to questions, the situation hurts me just as it hurts everyone,” the soldier explained.

A major battle took place at Be’eri in which over 100 Israelis were killed.

After the attack began, the Israeli air force deployed Apache Helicopters, tanks, and drones to bomb the kibbutz and the Gaza border nearby to prevent Hamas from taking captives with them back to Gaza.

As a result, Israeli forces burned to death hundreds of Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters in airstrikes in Be’eri and other kibbutzim near the border, as well as at the Nova Music Festival, per a secretive policy known as the Hannibal Directive. The deaths were all quickly blamed on Hamas.

“I tried to ask military personnel why and what happened there. The blood of my friends and the blood of many people in the country was spilled in a huge tragedy, and I tried to understand why it happened and how,” Sheetrit added.

The strange order to cancel routine patrols along the Gaza border adds to evidence that Israeli political and military leaders knew in advance about Hamas’s plan to attack on 7 October – and allowed it to happen to justify the conquest and ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the building of Jewish settlements on top of the ruins of the strip’s soon-to-be-destroyed cities.

Israeli military and intelligence officials ignored many signals on the night before the attack, and in the previous weeks and months, indicating that Hamas was planning a large attack to take captives to exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Female Israeli soldiers tasked to observe activity on the Gaza border issued multiple warnings to their superiors that an attack was imminent, but they were ignored.

“In hindsight, we could have done a lot of things, we could have listened to the observers, we could have brought up the air force, and these things didn’t happen,” Sheetrit concluded.

“That’s the failure. It’s not a failure of the fighters on the ground, but of the higher levels in the army, of people who went down to Eilat even though we informed them a week in advance that there was intelligence information.”

August 1, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

With Gaza as its compass, Yemen rewrites the rules of naval warfare

By Stasa Salacanin | The Cradle | August 1, 2025

After the Ansarallah-aligned Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced that it would resume attacks on merchant ships linked to companies operating with Israeli ports, tensions in the Red Sea and beyond have reignited, as Tel Aviv’s ongoing genocide in Gaza fuels instability across West Asia.

As part of the fourth phase of the blockade, the Yemeni army sank two commercial vessels earlier this month, showcasing not only its enduring capabilities but also the failure of US-led strikes to curb its maritime campaign.

On 6 May, US President Donald Trump claimed, “The Houthis have declared they no longer want to fight. They simply don’t want to fight anymore. And we will honor that. We will stop the bombings, and they have surrendered.”

Yemeni officials immediately dismissed the claim, reiterating that Sanaa had not negotiated with Washington nor agreed to halt operations in support of Gaza. The Sanaa government’s naval campaign resumed soon after, with fresh attacks targeting Israeli-linked vessels – undermining Trump’s attempt to declare victory.

New red lines in the Red Sea

In a statement on Sunday, explaining the latest phase of the naval operations, YAF spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said:

“This escalation includes targeting all ships belonging to any company that deals with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality and wherever they may be, within our forces’ reach. We warn all companies to cease their dealings with Israeli ports, starting the hour this statement is issued.”

The new escalation comes just several weeks after the sinking of two Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carriers – the Magic Seas and the Eternity C. In the latter attack, four sailors were killed and two others wounded, while 11 other crew members were taken captive.
Following the sinking of the two ships, Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi revealed that the YAF had carried out over 1,679 attacks since November 2023 using missiles, drones, and warships in support of Gaza, warning of further escalation if the war does not end.

Although the Sanaa government agreed in May to a ceasefire with Washington, halting attacks on US warships, it maintains that this truce does not apply to vessels linked to the occupation state. These ships, Sanaa argues, continue to serve Israeli ports, part of “occupied Palestine.”

Contrary to western media narratives of indiscriminate aggression, maritime data from Lloyd’s List confirmed that both targeted vessels had routinely docked in Israeli ports over the past year.

The ongoing attacks have prompted international concern. The UN Security Council recently approved continued reporting on Red Sea maritime assaults. Twelve members of the 15-member council voted in favor, while Russia, China, and Algeria abstained over concerns about breaches of Yemen’s sovereignty.

China’s deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang called tensions in the Red Sea “a major manifestation of the spillover from the Gaza conflict.” At the same time, the Russian UN representative also stressed the link between normalizing the situation in the Red Sea and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Challenging naval supremacy

Despite the presence of five major foreign military bases in Djibouti – home to US, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Italian forces –  the Ansarallah-aligned army has continued to strike commercial vessels with precision. This raises uncomfortable questions about western and allied naval efficacy.

Speaking to The Cradle, Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center, Colin P. Clarke – who also teaches at Carnegie Mellon’s Institute for Politics and Strategy – says Yemen ranks among the most potent forces within the Axis of Resistance and shows no sign of retreat:

“Out of all the ‘Axis’ proxies, the Houthis are among the most potent and also have a lot to prove. I don’t expect them to wind down their military campaign at any point soon.”

Nicholas Brumfield, a Washington-based analyst on Yemen and maritime security, concurs. He tells The Cradle that Yemen’s campaign has remained largely undiminished despite nearly two years of US and Israeli airstrikes:

“The Houthi attacks since early July have thus far been limited to areas of the Red Sea where they have attacked before, so it’s unclear if there’s been any increase in their range. As for Trump’s claims of capitulation, that was always viewed by most researchers focused on Yemen as a bit of hot air. The US–Houthi ceasefire was a limited de-escalation between two parties, and the Houthis have more or less been continuing what they were doing before the truce in terms of attacking Israel directly.”

Clarke adds that Trump’s reluctance to escalate against Yemen stemmed from electoral optics and strategic caution against bogging the US down in “endless wars,” which is one of the reasons why the US involvement in bombing Iran was so circumscribed. “Trump believes, perhaps correctly so, that it would be extremely difficult to engage with the Houthis without being sucked into a quagmire from which it would be difficult to escape from. And the results would be hard to measure.”

According to Mohamed Aliriani of the Yemen Policy Center, the May ceasefire secured safe passage for US, UK, Chinese, and Russian vessels – thanks to the latter two’s ties with Iran. But ships from other nations remain exposed. European-led operations, he argues, are largely ineffectual in safeguarding their cargoes.

Aliriani tells The Cradle that “the current situation has created a two-tiered, protectionist system that benefits powerful states while driving up global insurance and shipping costs, setting a dangerous precedent for other strategic chokepoints.”

Persistently high insurance premiums reflect the enduring risk. “Had the threat been perceived as eliminated, traffic would have resumed, and rates would have dropped,” he explains. The Yemeni army’s targeting of oil and chemical carriers has introduced environmental and financial perils that keep insurers wary.

Redefining control at sea

These facts point to a stark reality: The Ansarallah-led naval campaign has largely succeeded in imposing an effective blockade on Israeli-linked maritime traffic.

Still, Aliriani cautions against overstating the extent of Sanaa’s control. “The Houthis do not exercise Sea Control over the Red Sea, as they lack a surface fleet capable of patrolling and commanding the waterways. What they have successfully achieved is Area Denial.” By demonstrating a credible capability to hold any vessel transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait at risk, they have made passage through this critical chokepoint prohibitively dangerous for any vessel:

“Their strike range has proven to extend for hundreds of kilometers and given the information available about the weapons used, range likely exceeds 1,000 kilometers, effectively denying the use of a vast area without needing to control it physically.”

Independent force, not Iranian proxy

Western narratives often depict Ansarallah as mere Iranian proxies. Yet, there is scant evidence that Tehran directed these maritime attacks.

Brumfield points out that while Iran continues to supply advanced weaponry to its ally – as evidenced by a 750-ton arms shipment intercepted en route to Yemen – there is no indication of Iranian command over Ansarallah operations.

Former UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar has consistently emphasized Sanaa’s autonomous decision-making, noting that they “have their own agendas and decision-making mechanisms.”

Palestine remains the compass

The timing of recent Yemeni operations suggests a clear link to developments in Gaza. Brumfield observes that Sanaa was notably quiet during last month’s 12-day war between Iran and Israel, only to escalate following reports of worsening conditions in the besieged enclave:

“When there was a ceasefire in Gaza, the Houthis completely stopped their maritime attacks. Recent reports of deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza may have contributed to the group’s decision to re-escalate in this file.”

While some analysts suggest that Ansarallah’s pro-Palestinian rhetoric is a political maneuver to boost legitimacy amid domestic challenges, Benomar insists their stance on Palestine is ideologically embedded. “They’re not just being opportunistic as Palestine is a core part of their ideology.”

Although Tel Aviv has urged Washington to relaunch strikes on Yemen, most experts, including Aliriani, believe the US is unlikely to escalate unless the Ansarallah-allied military crosses a significant red line. So far, the YAF has targeted only vessels tied to Israeli trade.

However, Ansarallah’s recent decision to strike all ships linked to Israeli ports, regardless of nationality, may drag new actors – such as Egypt – into the fray. Cairo’s deepening logistical ties to Israeli trade may soon make it a target of Yemen’s expanding campaign.

“The Houthis” may not control the seas, but they have undeniably changed the rules of engagement.

August 1, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Child in Gaza kisses aid worker’s hand before being fatally shot by Israeli forces

MEMO | July 31, 2025

A resigned US Army soldier who served at an aid distribution point in Gaza, affiliated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has shared a heartbreaking account of the final moments of a Palestinian boy known as “Gaza’s little Amir”, who was shot dead by Israeli forces shortly after receiving a small portion of food.

In his testimony, the former soldier, Anthony Aguilar, recalled the tragic events of 28 May, when the boy Amir was killed while trying to get food.

Amir, who was barefoot and visibly thin, walked 12 kilometres under the scorching sun, hoping to find something to eat after hours of waiting. All he managed to gather was a handful of rice and lentils from the ground, Aguilar said.

He went on to describe a deeply emotional moment, saying that the child had approached him, set down his belongings, gently placed his small hands on the soldier’s face, kissed his hand, and thanked him in English. The boy then picked up his things and returned to the crowd. Just minutes later, as he was leaving with other civilians, Israeli forces reportedly opened fire with gas and live ammunition, striking Amir and killing him on the spot.

Aguilar added that the day was no different from others in Gaza — except that death came quicker.

Rumble

July 31, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Family urges release of 16 y/o Palestinian-American held in ‘Israel’

Al Mayadeen | July 31, 2025

The family of Muhammad Zaher Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American, is urging his immediate release from Israeli military detention. Ibrahim was detained in February while still 15 years old at his family’s home in the occupied West Bank village of Silwad. According to relatives, he was blindfolded and handcuffed before being transferred to Megiddo prison. He remains in pre-trial detention, accused of rock-throwing, an allegation his family denies.

The Ibrahim family, who divide their time between Silwad and Palm Bay, Florida, sought assistance from Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos. Zaher Ibrahim, Muhammad’s father, wrote to the congressman in March after more than 45 days of no contact with his son. Describing the conditions at Megiddo as notorious for brutality, the family has exhausted all local legal options and turned to US authorities for support.

Haridopolos’s office acknowledged the outreach and forwarded the case to the State Department. The US embassy in “Israel” confirmed it was following standard procedures. A State Department spokesperson emphasized that ensuring the safety and security of US citizens is a top priority.

Human rights concerns

Human rights organizations have raised alarms over the treatment of Muhammad Zaher Ibrahim and others like him. A video seen by The Guardian shows Ibrahim being interrogated without legal counsel. Advocates argue that his US citizenship has provided little protection in a system known for detaining minors for extended periods without charges or family contact.

Ayed Abu Eqtaish from Defense for Children International-Palestine told The Guardian that Palestinian children in Israeli prisons are often isolated from the outside world, regardless of their nationality.

US government response

While US embassy officials have conducted welfare checks, their access has been increasingly restricted. Early reports from the embassy noted that Muhammad had lost 12 kilograms. In July, he was diagnosed with scabies, a contagious skin condition. The state department reported he was receiving medical treatment, but it remains unclear whether recent visits have occurred.

The department affirmed it provides consular support to detained US citizens, including ensuring access to necessary medical care and facilitating communication with families.

Targeting of Palestinian Americans

Since 2022, nine Americans have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers, including five since October 2023. Among the most recent cases is Sayfollah Musallet, the cousin of Muhammad Ibrahim, a 20-year-old from Tampa, Florida, beaten to death by settlers in July 2025. Others include Mohammad Khdour, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Amer Rabee, and Omar Assad, a 78-year-old who died after being gagged and handcuffed by Israeli soldiers.

Multiple Palestinian Americans have also been detained or subjected to travel restrictions and surveillance. In February 2024, American citizens Hashem and Borak Alagha were detained during a raid on their family shelter in Gaza. Samaher Esmail, a 46-year-old from New Orleans, was arrested in Beit Lahm for alleged incitement on social media. Families report minimal assistance from US authorities.

West Bank under Israeli occupation

Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza in October 2023, “Israel” has launched an unprecedented campaign of mass arrests across the occupied West Bank. By July 2025, approximately 18,000 Palestinians had been detained, nearly double the number held before the war. As of late July 2025, “Israel” currently holds around 10,800 Palestinians in its prisons, including about 450 children and 50 women.

A particularly concerning trend has been the rise in administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. Over 10,000 administrative detention orders have been issued, and 37% of detained Palestinian children are now held under such orders, the highest on record.

The arrest campaign intensified further with “Israel’s” launch of Operation Iron Wall in January 2025, displacing 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams. Most arrests during that period were concentrated in Jenin, which experienced severe aggression.

July 31, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture | , , , , | Leave a comment

Gaza genocide case: 114 lawyers ask ICC to investigate French officials’ complicity

French President Emmanuel Macron (C), Prime Minister Francois Bayrou (R) and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu in Paris on May 8, 2025 (Photo by AFP)
Press TV – July 31, 2025

More than a hundred French lawyers have filed a petition with the International Criminal Court, formally requesting the ICC to initiate an investigation or prosecution of some French officials for their complicity “in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” by the Israeli regime against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The 56-page petition made public by the French investigative media outlet Blast on Monday named President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu, and 19 lawmakers of the National Assembly’s European Affairs Committee as officials of the country facilitating Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

“Far from taking concrete measures to prevent the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians, the members of the French executive cited in this communication have continued to support the criminal actions” of Israel by “providing military, political, economic, diplomatic and propaganda support” including by providing the means to commit the crimes in question, the group of lawyers, who represent the Pour la Justice au Proche-Orient (“for justice in the Middle East”) organization, stated in the petition addressed to the Office of the ICC Prosecutor, in the Hague.

The lawyers also slam France for refusing to respect the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), ratified by Paris, which imposes an absolute ban on exporting weapons if they have knowledge the arms could be used to commit war crimes, despite several requests from legal groups and NGOs.

The petition for legal action by the lawyers is equivalent to a formal criminal complaint to the ICC regarding a crime falling under its jurisdiction.

Now, it is up to the ICC Prosecutor to decide whether the request is in accordance with Article 15 of the Rome Statute, which states that the prosecutor may open proprio motu (which means on their own initiative) investigations based on information relating to crimes within the court’s jurisdiction.

The formal petition asking the ICC to investigate Macron and French ministers for Gaza genocide complicity was signed by 114 French lawyers.

The ICC acts as a court of last resort against individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, or the crime of aggression, complementing national courts in addressing these grave international crimes.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in November 2024.

Israel is accused of using starvation as a method of warfare, intentionally attacking civilians and committing other inhumane acts during its genocidal military campaign in the besieged strip.

Israeli forces regularly attack starving Palestinians suffering from acute malnutrition and a severe lack of essential supplies.

Since the US-Israeli genocide started in October 2023, the death toll has reached over 60,100. Over 146,200 Palestinians have also been injured.

Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have also been killed by Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank since the regime began its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

July 31, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

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