What Ukraine and Palestine Have in Common (Written in honor of Shireen Abu Aqla and Nakba Day)
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- Written by Gilbert Schramm Gilbert Schramm
- Published: 15 May 2022 15 May 2022
I thought I would take some time to share my recent reflections on two continuing conflicts that trouble the world (or should). These are the ongoing aggressions in Ukraine and Palestine. The brutal, naked aggression of Russia in Ukraine has captivated the world for almost three months. The recent killing of the noted and much beloved journalist for Al-Jazeera, Shireen Abu Aqla, a 51-year-old Palestinian American, has also shocked many. She was a correspondent for Al Jazeera's Arabic news channel and had reported on the Israel-Palestinian conflict for two decades. Her killing has reignited some attention for the long-standing aggression against the Palestinian people.
It is laudable that the US and Europe have responded so promptly and vigorously to Russia’s gross violation of international laws and norms and the enormous suffering they have imposed on the people of Ukraine. Though they differ in significant ways, the situation for Ukrainians and Palestinians is much the same. In both cases, civilian populations are bearing the brunt of the struggle. In both cases the aggressors (Russia and the Zionists in Israel) began their assault with only the flimsiest of arguments and proceeded to seize territory with brutal disregard for civilians. The actions of both have displaced countless refugees.
When one views photos, there is little discernable difference between the pictures of the destruction Russia has levied in Mariupol, Kiev, and Kharkiv, and pictures of the aftermath of Israeli assaults on Gaza over the last 20 years. The level of civilian deaths compared to those of armed combatants in both cases is far out of line with most average military operations. I can only surmise that both Israel and Russia are conducting “special operations.” And after all, to the victims (if they survive) does it really matter whether their homes were destroyed by Russian artillery or by an Israeli bulldozer bought with US taxpayer dollars?
The Zionist landgrab in Palestine began around 1895, well over a hundred years ago. It has been a slow-motion deconstruction of an indigenous culture and people. The Russian adventure in Ukraine began just a few months ago—it is an application of blunt force to seize land. Yet the objectives in both cases are the same. It is also interesting that both aggressors started with the claim that their proposed victims were cultural or ethnic “cousins” and would welcome them. They were, in both cases, simply denying their identity and legitimacy as peoples, as cultures, and as nations.
The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh
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- Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
- Published: 13 May 2022 13 May 2022
As we grieved for Shireen Abu Aqleh, Israeli police attacked us. They have no shame | Jalal Abukhater
Inside Israeli Apartheid: A video from Mondoweiss
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- Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
- Published: 08 May 2022 08 May 2022
New video from Mondoweiss:
For decades Palestinians have accused Israel of the crime of Apartheid, imposing two different systems on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea: one system that privileges Jews, and another that discriminates against Palestinians. Now, the rest of the world is catching up. In the past year, the leading global and Israeli human rights groups have joined their Palestinian counterparts in calling Israel an Apartheid state. From the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, to Palestinian communities inside Israel, this is a look Inside Israeli Apartheid.
Statement by United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
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- Written by Lynn Hastings, UN OCHA Lynn Hastings, UN OCHA
- Published: 06 May 2022 06 May 2022
US unions condemn ‘unacceptable’ Oregon pension fund link with NSO
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- Written by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
- Published: 31 March 2022 31 March 2022
AFL-CIO in Oregon calls for urgent divestment from fund that owns Israeli spyware company alleged to have targeted union members
When labour organisers passed a resolution this month calling for Oregon’s $100bn state pension fund to divest from a fund that owns NSO Group, it pointed to ways in which the Israeli company’s intrusive spyware is alleged to have been used in the past to target union members.
“It may seem like a cliche, but an injury to one is an injury to all, and we strongly stand behind that,” said Ira Erbs, a part-time professor at Portland Community College and member of the Oregon chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.
Erbs is part of a growing movement of union members in Oregon who are seeking greater transparency from Oregon’s Democratic state treasurer, Tobias Read, about how public employee retirement funds are invested.
Activists such as Erbs have already pressed Read on the retirement fund’s investments in fossil fuels, and in companies that operate private prisons. Now, they are focused on the Oregon fund’s longstanding indirect investment in NSO, the maker of one of the world’s most sophisticated surveillance technologies.
An investigation into NSO by the Pegasus project, an international media consortium led by the French non-profit Forbidden Stories, reported last year that the mobile phone numbers of dozens of Mexican teachers – part of a faction within Mexico’s politically powerful teachers union – had been targeted for possible surveillance in 2016 by the Mexican government, at a time when the union was expressing objections to proposed government reforms.