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Category: israel

  • Palestine Action just scored a hat trick against genocide-complicit UAV Engines

    With two visits to UAV Engines Staffordshire plant already this week, Palestine Action went for the hat trick today – which this time targeted the factory roof.

    Palestine Action does the triple against UAV Engines

    From 4.45am on Thursday 28 November, two activists scaled the high roof of the building next door, giving them a vantage point to target Elbit’s Israeli drone maker:

    The activists managed to throw bricks to break through the roof of UAV Engines, spray red paint inside the building and damage contents within the Israeli weapons factory:

    On Monday 25 November, Palestine Action started the week by shutting down the UAV Engines plant, locking-on inside vehicles, to block the factory gates. On Wednesday 27 November, they were back again, to once more blockade the gates to the Shenstone plant, and close production down.

    Now, Palestine Action returned, and this time its actionists scaled the roof of one of the factory’s two buildings. The action coincides with blockades at the Department of Business & Trade and the Foreign Office by allied groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement.

    In addition to these actions, on Tuesday 26 November, the UAV Engines factory was the scene of a well-attended protest by Palestine solidarity activists from the local community.

    Complicit with Elbit

    UAV Engines is operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, and produces engines for Elbit’s killer drones. In addition to making engines for Elbit’s Hermes 450 drone, which has been deployed as a mass-murder device throughout the Gaza genocide, the UEL AR731 Wankel-type rotary engine, produced at the Staffordshire factory, is being used in Israeli Harop Kamikaze drones, which are currently being upgraded to kill autonomously.

    Elbit have dishonestly claimed that they do not export to Israel, but this is disproven by export license data for military end use.

    Every day UAV Engines factory loses production, Palestinian lives are saved, and Palestine Action have been targeting the plant since the start of our four-year long direct action campaign. Blockades, occupations, vehicular lock-ons, and now another assault on the factory roof, have shut the plant down repeatedly.

    UAV Engines most recent accounts show that the company is now losing money – nearly half a million by the end of 2023.

    This week’s actions come in the face of mounting state repression, designed to stifle protest, by terrorising activists, and locking them behind bars.

    So-called anti-terror laws have been used to smash into people’s homes, detain family members, and hold activists for days at a time, without charge. Yet, none of these people have subsequently been charged with any ‘terrorist’ offence. Palestine Action now have 22 political prisoners in Britain.

    Do not intimidate Palestine Action

    A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:

    Our level of activity this week, should be seen as a clear rejection of the attempts to intimidate us, and show that we will not be cowed. It is the State’s thugs who are the real terrorists, along with those involved in producing the weapons used by Israel to bomb hospitals, schools, mosques, and now even tents. The British government itself, is a participant in the Genocide, and one day it will be them, and their Israeli pay-masters, who will be facing trial, and imprisonment, for their crimes against humanity.

    Featured image via screengrab

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israeli-Singaporean Project to Bring ‘Commercial-Ready’ 3D-Printed Cultivated Seafood to Market

    lab grown seafood
    4 Mins Read

    Alternative protein companies Umami Bioworks and Steakholder Foods have culminated their government-backed R&D project, and will now look to develop 3D-printed cultivated fish fillets at scale.

    Singaporean cultivated seafood leader Umami Bioworks and Israeli 3D-printed protein producer Steakholder Foods are aiming to bring “commercial-ready” alt-seafood products to market after successfully completing a two-year-long R&D project.

    The collaboration, backed by the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D (SIIRD) grant, established the feasibility of producing 3D-printed cultivated fish fillets at scalable volumes, and will see the companies now team up with Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) to commercialise these products.

    It comes a year after the two firms created a 3D-printed cultivated grouper fish that formed the centrepiece of dishes in a public tasting attended by industry and political leaders.

    A portfolio of prototypes

    3d printed fish
    Courtesy: Steakholder Foods

    Listed on the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv stock exchanges, Steakholder Foods has been around since 2019 and makes 3D-printing production machines and premix blends for plant-based and cultivated proteins, including beef steaks, white fish, shrimp, and eel. It’s also exploring the integration of cultivated cells.

    Umami Bioworks, meanwhile, has used machine learning and bio-analysis to create a plug-and-play bioplatform for the discovery and development of cultivated seafood, and is working on a number of species with various partners. In March, it merged with fellow Singaporean startup Shiok Meats, establishing itself as a leader in the global cellular agriculture industry.

    The two companies first came together on the joint project in July 2022, aiming to marry Umami Bioworks’s tech platform with Steakholder Foods’s 3D bioprinting capabilities to develop a scalable process for producing structured cultivated fish products.

    Less than a year into the collaboration, they developed the grouper fish, a hybrid protein that was ready to cook, unlike fully cultivated meat products that still require incubation and maturation after being printed.

    Now, the two have “laid the groundwork” for producing premium cultivated fish cuts, creating a portfolio of prototype designs to demonstrate the versatility of their technologies. To translate this effort into commercialisation in Singapore, they are working with NAMIC, a national platform hosted by the government’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

    “Partnering with UMAMI Bioworks allows us to further extend our longstanding expertise in 3D printing of plant-based seafood to the production of cultivated products,” said Steakholder Foods CEO Arik Kaufman. “By leveraging our collective strengths, we aim to quickly develop commercial products that meet industry needs while aligning with regulatory and sustainability goals.”

    Opening up regulatory pathways

    lab grown fish
    Courtesy: Shlomi Arbiv

    Ho Chaw Sing, CEO of NAMIC, noted that the collaboration was timely, given Singapore’s push to achieve its food security goal of producing 30% of its food locally by 2030.

    “With the aquaculture sector contributing significantly to this goal, we hope to bolster the cellular agriculture industry as an alternative to the agri-food industry by leveraging on Steakholder Foods’ proprietary 3D printing technology and Umami Bioworks’ cultivated bioproduct expertise to accelerate the development of alternative seafood products, with comparable taste and texture to natural seafood,” he said.

    With NAMIC’s support, the companies will aim to develop product for both local and international markets. Their partnership also sets the stage for proactively navigating food safety standards and regulatory frameworks, which will ensure that these products can be rolled out swiftly when ready.

    Singapore has a world-leading food tech ecosystem. It was the first country to clear the sale of cultivated meat back in 2020, and has a regulatory framework used by several countries and regions as a benchmark for novel food approval. But to date, no nation has given the go-ahead to a cultivated seafood product.

    That may change soon, with Umami Bioworks pursuing approval in several markets, including Singapore, the US, and Europe. “Our partnership with Steakholder Foods is well aligned with our strategy to create a sustainable seafood platform with the scalability required for global impact,” said Mihir Pershad, founder and CEO of the cultivated seafood firm.

    Over the last year, Umami Bioworks has been expanding its presence across the globe, setting up production lines in Malaysia and South Korea, collaborating with research initiatives in India, opening an office in the UK, and working with a pet food company to launch cultivated fish treats for cats in the US next year.

    And last month, it launched a biotech tool for pathogen detection and quality assessments in the conventional seafood supply chain, expanding beyond alternative proteins to improve the efficiency of existing seafood production systems.

    The post Israeli-Singaporean Project to Bring ‘Commercial-Ready’ 3D-Printed Cultivated Seafood to Market appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Biden Approves New $680 Million Arms Sale to Israel, Despite Lebanon Ceasefire

    The Biden administration is reportedly advancing a sale of weapons, worth nearly $700 million, to Israel as its military furthers its plan of ethnic cleansing in north Gaza and despite the ceasefire agreement Israel reached with Hezbollah this week. As first reported by Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the sale, the administration has notified Congress that it is moving…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israel Fired on Journalists in Lebanon Just Hours After Ceasefire Began

    Israeli forces fired on two locations in southern Lebanon just hours after a much-vaunted ceasefire agreement began on Wednesday morning, declaring that the southern region is still a military zone. Lebanon’s news agency reported that Israeli forces opened fire on two journalists in the southern town of Khiam. Both journalists, one working for The Associated Press and the other for Sputnik…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • French Foreign Ministry Says It Won’t Enforce ICC Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu

    A day after French Prime Minister Michel Barnier told Parliament that the government would fulfill its obligations as a state party to the Rome Statute and uphold the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, the country’s Foreign Ministry announced it would not detain the two officials if they set foot in France. The Foreign Ministry claimed Israeli Prime…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Watch Francesca Albanese school Piers Morgan on why “Israel didn’t have the right” to genocide Gaza

    On 26 November, Piers Morgan released an interview with UN expert Francesca Albanese. In it, he pushed her with his typically obnoxious and patronising ‘whataboutery’. But she refused to play his game. And she insisted quite simply that:

    Israel didn’t have the right to wage a war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

    Francesca Albanese: protecting your own civilians vs attacking others

    Morgan had been goading the UN’s ‘special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967′ to condemn the Hamas attack on 7 October 2024. And she answered by highlighting that “civilians must be protected under all circumstances – doesn’t matter their nationality, or their ethnicity, what they’ve done before”. She added that:

    The day Israel was attacked, it had all rights to defend itself, to protect its citizens in its territory… which happened between the 7th, 8th and the 9th of October.

    But when Morgan tried to justify Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign in Gaza, Francesca Albanese clarified:

    this ‘eye for an eye’ logic would justify what has happened on October 7. And I totally refuse to go there.

    Outlining the mass destruction in the early weeks of the genocide, she said that, even if Israel had the right to attack Gaza:

    it has violated the rules of war because it has caused disproportionate, unnecessary, and deliberate damage to the civilian population

    Nonetheless, she stressed that the right didn’t exist, because:

    The International Court of Justice [ICJ] has said in 2004 and in 2024 that Israel didn’t have the right to defend itself.

    No right to self-defence for an occupying power

    Back in 2004, as Al Jazeera reports, the ICJ said Israel “could not invoke the right to self-defence in an occupied territory”. And although Israel did not physically occupy Gaza after 2005, it still exerted control over the territory via its brutal blockade in the following two decades. As Albanese emphasised previously, that amounts to occupation. She said:

    Israel does not claim it has been threatened by another state. It has been threatened by an armed group within an occupied territory. It cannot claim the right of self-defence against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies, from a territory kept under belligerent occupation

    In January 2024, the ICJ found it plausible that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

    Later, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories was illegal. The court avoided talking about self-defence, but the BBC explained that ICJ president Nawaf Salam had clarified that:

    Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not bring Israel’s occupation of that area to an end because it still exercises effective control over it.

    Francesca Albanese has previously insisted that it is essential to place the events of 7 October 2023 within the context of decades of Israeli occupation of Palestine:

    What should Israel have done?

    Francesca Albanese also answered this question from Morgan perfectly. She asserted that:

    In line with international law, Israel had to do what they have not done in 57 years and, what the International Court of Justice has reminded all member states as of July this year, Israel needs to withdraw the occupation in whole or in part. Because the occupation has caused the conditions for violence to fester in the occupied Palestinian territory. And the court has been very specific, has said that Israel needs to withdraw the troops, dismantle the settlements which are war crimes, and including the control over the natural resources. Israel has continued to expand in the occupied territory and it continues to do that even now as it commits a genocide…

    And she stressed:

    It’s key to understand, because Israel – the whole purpose of advancing the occupation is to continue to take Palestinian land. So my question to you is, what do Palestinians have to do? Because they have tried armed resistance, they have renounced armed resistance, they have gone to the International Court of Justice, to the ICC, they’ve tried… the advocacy with all member states, and member states have continued to kick the can in the air.

    The impunity, she insisted earlier on in the interview, must end. She said:

    International law is as strong and as effective as the political will of members states who enforce it.

    And she called on UN members to act, because:

    No other state… has violated international law and violated the inviolability of the UN as Israel, which has accused every organ and entity of the United Nations, like the Secretary General, the ICC, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, members of the Security Council, UN organisations of being antisemitic, [of supporting] terrorism and other insults. And also, Israel this year alone has killed 240 UN staff members, it has fired on UN peacekeepers, it has destroyed 70% of UN premises – including clinics including schools – in Gaza alone. This is unprecedented. And it shouldn’t be condoned. … This is why it’s about time to draw a red line.

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • “My Pen Is My Weapon Against the Occupation”: Palestinian Writers Resist Israel

    Beginning on November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a weeklong event will foreground the plight and power of Palestinian cultural production amid the ongoing genocide in which Israel has killed over 44,970 people. The event, called Read Palestine Week (#ReadPalestineWeek), features online and in-person events across North America, Europe and the Middle East…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Bringing Reality to the Palestinian Struggle

    The world ponders at the destruction that Israel has inflicted upon the Middle East and North Africa and questions why the United States serves as a surrogate force that assists Israel in accomplishing its purposes. How did a relatively few Zionists deceive an unknowing world to trust its cause and actions were legitimate, convince the United States government to aid and abet in the genocide of the Palestinian people, and achieve decisive power? If there were an obvious answer, and the answer predicted the future, then alerted governments would take remedial action. This has not happened. Approaches to ascertain the cause of the genocide of the Palestinian people and finding the solution to prevent it warrant scrutiny.

    Zionism succeeded as a concept and failed as a mission. Starting with spurious premises, Zionism fulfilled promises to its followers, enabled some Jews to obtain a better life, and added little to what the established Jewish community had already achieved and was continuing to achieve. It traded destruction, oppression, and decades of suffering of the Palestinian community for a contrived state, an ideal nation where Jews could easily integrate and be safe from persecution and physical danger. The latter has not happened. The narrative consisted of unproven and fantastic propositions that scattered Jewish communities throughout the world, who spoke different languages, had different histories, ate different foods, and practiced different customs, constituted a nation. Although a limited number of Jews lived, visited, or had any interest in the area for 2000 years, this nation had a national home in Palestine. The latter concept succeeded from another preposterous supposition ─ 19th century Jews, separated by 100 generations, were descendants of Hebrew tribes that wandered the area, and their wanderings, which left no significant footprints on the soil, were mesmerizing connections, beckoning Jews to return. The preposterous narrative remains relatively unchallenged in a preposterous world.

    Palestinians watched helplessly as Zionists seized their lands and kept them in submission. Caught between “heads I lose,” and ”tails you win” choices, the Palestinians had no choice but to participate in meetings of  “peace proposals” that offered establishment of two states, while knowing  that the Israeli government never intended to fulfill a “two state agreement.” If the PLO refused to continue with the farce, it faced accusations of sabotaging peace; going along with the farce meant diverting from countering Israel’s aggressions that prevented peace. This had become obvious during the 1980s, when Palestinians in the West Bank were hopeful, willing to cooperate with Israeli authorities, and eager to pave a path to self-governance. During that decade, Jewish terrorists planted bombs in the cars of elected Mayors Karim Khalaf of Ramallah and Bassam Shakaa of Nablus. Khalaf lost a foot and Shakaalost both of his legs. A third bomb planted in the car of Ibrahim Tawil, elected Mayor of El Bireh, was discovered before detonation. Between 1980 and 1984, Jewish terrorists killed 23 and injured 191 Palestinians in 354 attacks. The terrorist attacks on Palestinians motivated Hamas, a charity organization, to rebrand itself into an organization fighting for Palestinian rights. As usual, the Zionists used the charges against them for their benefit; the terrorist Israelis who murdered Palestinians provoked Hamas to retaliate and Hamas became known as a terrorist organization murdering innocent Israelis.

    Not until recent years, after several Israeli invasions brought death and destruction to the Gazans, not until illegal settlers stole land, proliferated throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, and casually murdered Palestinians, and not until the 2023 invasion of Gaza has the world’s populace realized the extent of Israel’s murderous rampages and intent to commit genocide of the Palestinian people. Not until contemporary times has the extent of a worldwide propaganda machine that obscured the truth of the Zionist endeavor been completely recognized. There is no Israeli state, no Israeli people, no Israeli government with which to deliberate and arbitrate. They refuse all entreaties and, by doing that, deny their existence. Three salient characteristics describe the Zionism that led to the establishment of Israel:

    (1)   The Zionist adventure is best characterized as an enterprise, which became criminal in its manifestation. An enterprising band of discontented and idealistic Jewish outliers organized themselves as a business enterprise. Their Histadrut, the General Organization of Workers in Israel, became one of the most powerful institutions in the British mandate and turned into a state sponsored enterprise. As an enterprise, the marauding Zionists resembled the Puritans; their sponsors, Jewish entrepreneurs throughout the world, duplicated the Massachusetts Bay Company, financiers of the Puritan voyage.

    A small congregation of Puritans refused to reconcile their independent organization with the established Church of England. Desiring to preserve their identity and feeling constantly persecuted, they sought new places to live their unique social and communal life. In the year 1621, they concluded Europe would never accept them and sought an opportunity in America. The Massachusetts Bay Company sponsored the Puritan settlements and constructed the Massachusetts Bay Colony, whose fatal encounter with the local native population set the stage for the settlement of the entire coast-to-coast American territory and the decimation of the native peoples.

    The Zionist experience is not being detoured and, because the result may be the same ─ decimation of the native population ─ it is important that the crisis be accurately characterized. Israel is a criminal state that willfully murders Palestinians, steals their lands, ethnically cleanses them, buries their villages under rubble, and destroys their history and heritage.

    One word summarizes the taking of another person’s property, livelihood, and dignity – theft! In this case, there is a specific type of theft, Raubwirtschaft, German for “plunder economy.” In Raubwirtschaft, the state economy is partially based on robbery, looting and plundering conquered territories. States that engage in Raubwirtschaft are in continuous warfare with their neighbors and usurp the resources of their conquered subjects, while claiming security objectives and defensive actions against defenseless people.

    (2) Israel is a mirror image of the Nazi state.
    Comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany result from its constant wars and policies that insinuate Israel as a repressive and militaristic nation.

    • Virulent nationalism ─ Israel, similar to Nazi Germany, combines a virulent nationalism with militarism.
    • Irredentism ─ Annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior historical possession, drove the Third Reich. Israel’s irredentism regains mythical lands and joins a single folk in these lands.
    • Military adventures ─ The Third Reich fought continuous wars for about eight years. Israel has been fighting continuously for 75 years. The former explained their military thrusts as revenging a “stab in the back” loss in World War I. Israel explains its battles by warranted reprisals, defensive, and security measures.
    • Using overwhelming military force to subdue powerless antagonists ─ The Nazis and its Panzer troops went full attack against all opponents, regardless of their strengths. Israel uses a strategy that minimizes its casualties, and despite its claim of being a humane army, has always attacked with pulverizing force, with kill ratios of tens to one and having civilians constitute a large proportion of casualties
    • Racist laws ─ The Nazis had their Nuremberg laws. In Israel, a Jew cannot marry a non-Jew within the boundaries of Israel, similar to a Nuremberg Law that prohibited marriage between Jews and other Germans. The Nakba Law, states that “groups or institutions that mourn Israel’s Independence or deny the state’s Jewish and democratic nature” can be denied state funds. The Citizenship Law allows the state to revoke citizenship and imprison anyone convicted of acting against “the sovereignty of the state.” Few Palestinian Israelis can rent housing or buy property in West Jerusalem. Immigrant Jews are able to acquire property and not allowed to sell the property to Arab citizens. Few, if any Arabs, have been able to purchase government sponsored housing and obtain mortgages. A separation of ethnicities results in the separation of their activities, recreation centers, schools, and education.
    • Severe repression in occupied territories ─ Israel duplicates Nazi repression of conquered people, and construction of ghettoes to house them. Repression of Palestinians under occupation includes confiscation of Palestinian lands for military use, destruction of wells, olive trees and agriculture, raids on villages, obtrusive checkpoints, mass arrests of opposition, and denial of highway use. Walls separate Palestinian communities and families and farmers from livestock and fields, choke the Palestinian economy, and obstruct daily exchanges between people.
    • Killing of opposition and punitive measures after an attack ─ The Nazis used punitive measures and collective punishment to terrorize its captive peoples and crushed resistance. Israel has done the same. The Nazis had Lidice, a village destroyed after the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi leader in Bohemia and Moravia. In 1953, in retaliation for a Palestinian guerrilla incursion into Israel that killed several Israeli civilians, the Israeli military raided the West Bank village of Qibya, killed 67 Palestinians and destroyed 56 houses. Palestine has been victim to tens of Lidicies ─ destruction of areas and houses due to accusations of being the homes of suicide bombers.
    • Ethnic cleansing ─ The Nazis planned to move populations in Eastern European nations and repopulate the areas with Germans. After the 1948 and 1967 wars, Israel destroyed 412 Palestinian villages and eventually created 1.2 million refugees who were not permitted to return to their homes. Palestinian bank accounts, land, homes, and industries were confiscated. Incursions have destroyed patrimony, archives, and cultural identity of the Palestinians. Israel military seized the Palestinian archives in Beirut during the war in Lebanon and, under international pressure, eventually returned them.
    • Propaganda ─ Due to its international reach, the Israel propaganda machine exceeds that of the Nazis, churning out each day books, films, plays, music, and articles that extend memories of the Holocaust, references to anti-Semitism, and the greatness of little Israel who needs support as it fights against the world’s evils. An army of several hundreds of thousands of Israeli supporters include planted “emigrants” to the United States and Germany, who invade civic life and institutions throughout the western word, lobby support for Israel, criticize opponents, spread false charges of anti-Semitism, and convince the world of Israel’s cause.
    • Genocide ─ The Nazis are identified with a genocide of European Jews. Israel’s policies are paving a route to destruction of the Palestinian people. Hopelessness, despair, immobility, lack of redress for the loss of their lands, economic insecurity, and constant attacks against their persona and livelihood drive the Palestinians to a difficult existence. Israel’s occupying force shows no care for the rights of the occupied people and no desire to address the fatal issues concerning them; even reinforcing the misery.

    (3) Psychologically disturbed ─ Widely known and not widely discussed, are the disturbing comments and activities of Jewish Israelis and Zionist Jews around the world. Rarely censored by the Israeli government and their native countries, they give an impression that Zionist Jews are morally corrupt, psychologically disturbed, and gain pleasure in lying, deceiving, and harming others, even murdering innocents. Zionist Jews elevate themselves to a superior and unique place in the firmament, the chosen people to whom all others must give homage. Claiming to be eternal victims of anti-Semitism, they daily demand restitution and forgiveness for mostly fabricated crimes committed against them.

    Nowhere and never in the civilized world have a preponderance of a nation’s leaders and its citizens expressed hatred and violence against others equivalent to the expressions from Israel’s leaders and citizens. Without shame, without control, and without concern of their malevolent appearance to others, their detestable utterances have become commonplace and are well known.

    • Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu suggested that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was “one of the possibilities” in the current conflict.
    • Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant referred to Palestinians as “human animals.”
    • Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “The Palestinian village of Huwwara should be wiped out. The state needs to do it and not private citizens.”
    • David Ben-Gurion said, “it doesn’t matter what the gentiles say, only what the Jews do.
    • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We will turn Gaza into an island of ruins.”
    • Former Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin gave orders “to break the bones of Palestinian inciters.”
    • Ariel Kallner, a member of Israel’s parliament, said, “Right now, one goal: Nakba! A Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of ’48. Nakba in Gaza and Nakba to anyone who dares to join! Their Nakba, because like then in 1948, the alternative is clear.”

    Israel’s citizens reflect an indoctrination of hate and violence that complement their government’s expressions. Maccabi Tel Aviv fans arriving at Ben Gurion airport from Amsterdam sang: “Ole ole, ole ole ole, Why is school out in Gaza? There are no children left there!” An X user commented, “These people are deranged. They have lost all humanity. A culture of murder and theft doesn’t come without cost.”

    A rocket hit the northern Israel home of Safa Awad, a Palestinian Israeli schoolteacher, and killed her. The Middle East Eye reports that a volunteer at Magen David Adom, an Israeli rescue service organization, wrote, in a post that has received more than a thousand likes, that, “There is nothing to feel sorry for. She is a terrorist in every respect. She is not in our favour in any way. May her getting fucked be blessed.”

    Go to Quora, and observe a string of comments by Israeli propagandists who plant  question and then answer it: “Gaza has a fertility rate of 3.38 in 2023. In 2005 its fertility rate was 6.2. Islam at its finest. They breed like cockroaches.”

    Contending  those defending Israel’s genocidal tactics as geopolitical power politics (USA), guilt for the Holocaust (Germany), and as a settler colonial state (Western nations) have legs, but are counterproductive and have not moved nations to contend Israel. Accusing nations of duplicity only makes them defend themselves and reinforce their duplicity. Showing that Israel cannot be defended and is an immoral, social, economic, and military threat to humanity ─ well, who wants to defend a nation of that description?

    Unless others share in the proceeds, a criminal nation has no defenders. What benefit is it for the Western nations to support criminal activities that negatively affects them?

    Western nations and the Soviet Union fought a World War to defeat Nazism and bring order to the world.

    • How can nations allow the transfer of the racist and genocidal doctrines of the German Nazis to a similar regime? Why did we fight the war?
    • How can Germany claim to makes amends for its past Nazi experience and support the transfer of that experience to another nation?
    • How can nations allow Israel serve as a model and catalyst for ultra-reactionary regimes?

    The mentality that perpetrates the genocide and regales in it is unacceptable. Turning protests against genocide into attacks on Jews, and using the anti-Semitism word are delusionary. We need protection against people who exhibit murderous, racist, venomous, and delusionary characteristics and not offerings of invitations for them to manipulate our society.

    The analysis may seem overkill, but for understanding the critical situation, it is necessary to place in proper perspective the nature of the Israeli regime. Treating it as a despotic nation is incomplete. People make a country and the Israeli people and their worldwide supporters are not the empathetic and cordial populace that guarantees healthy living.

    The post Bringing Reality to the Palestinian Struggle first appeared on Dissident Voice.


    This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Dan Lieberman.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • There is no real Lebanon ceasefire until Israel stops its genocide in Gaza

    The Israeli Cabinet has now voted in favour of a US/French ceasefire proposal, which had already been accepted by Hezbollah and Lebanon. The deal will see Israeli forces withdraw from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah withdraw weapons north of the Litani river, and the Lebanese army deployed alongside the existing UN peacekeeping force in the border zone between the Litani and Israel. It is set to last for sixty days.

    Lebanon: a temporary ceasefire – but what about Gaza?

    The ceasefire was agreed only hours after Israel targeted a building near Khatem al-Anbiyaa Mosque in Al-Nuwairi area of Beirut. The strike killed at least seven and wounded at least thirty-seven.

    This temporary ceasefire will do little to change the context of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has now been conducted for over a year and continues to rage on, bolstered by Western complicity and despite the issuing of arrest warrants of suspected Israeli war criminals by the International Criminal Court and the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.

    Suzanne Takkenberg, Action Against Hunger’s country director in Lebanon:

    The 60-day ceasefire between Hezbollah, Lebanon, and Israel is a vital opportunity to save lives and provide more urgent humanitarian relief. However, the situation remains fragile, and violations of the ceasefire could derail critical efforts to assist affected communities. We therefore urge the international community to closely monitor compliance and support initiatives fostering stability in the region.

    Efforts must continue to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, laying the groundwork for lasting peace. Immediate priorities should focus on supporting displaced families, addressing the widespread destruction of thousands of homes, and repairing extensive damage to public infrastructure. Providing food, water, healthcare, and essential services to affected populations is critical.

    We urge all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, facilitate unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, and protect civilians and critical infrastructure. But above all, the international community must prioritise fostering meaningful dialogue toward sustainable peace.

    The deal will at least temporarily end the 14 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which was launched by the militant group at the commencement of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.

    More violations of international law

    For the first 11 months, the fighting largely consisted of rocket exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel. In mid-September, escalation by Israel saw two successive attacks which utilised explosives planted in pagers and other electronic devices used by Hezbollah, as well as by civilians in Lebanon including medics. The attacks were condemned by UN experts as a ‘terrifying violation of international law’.

    Launched soon after, Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon – aiming to secure the area south of the Litani – has largely failed. Israel has meanwhile overseen a drastic escalation of its deployment of airstrikes against Lebanon. In attacks mirroring those in Gaza, intensive bombardments of residential units have levelled entire neighbourhoods of Beirut, while also devastating the East’s Bekaa Valley and reaching as far as North Lebanon’s Aitou. At least 3,670 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023, and over 15,000 injured.

    Targeted killings of journalists and medics in Lebanon have been widely condemned by rights groups, and represent once again Israel’s wilful non-adherence to customary norms of international law.

    Three humanitarian medical professionals who have volunteered in hospitals in both Gaza and in Lebanon over the period October 2023 to now are available for comment or interview on these developments, including Professor Ghassan Abu Sittah.

    The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians said:

    The prospect of a ceasefire in Lebanon is welcome news – but we can’t consider it in isolation from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. We have seen the gravest of all crimes committed uninterrupted for over a year in Gaza, and they have been mirrored more recently in Lebanon. It is a failure of both their morality and diplomacy that Western allies of Israel have not forced them to bring that onslaught to a close.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • “Israel Wants Wars”: Gideon Levy on Lebanon Ceasefire, Gaza & Gov’t Sanctions Against Haaretz


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Fragile” Ceasefire Begins in Lebanon After Israel Launched More Devastating Attacks


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Cry harder, Elbit: Palestine Action SHUT UAV Engines for second time this week

    Palestine Action were back in Staffordshire on Wednesday 27 November – blockading Elbit-supplying UAV Engines factory for the second time in a matter of days; disrupting Israel’s weapons supply chain in the process.

    Palestine Action blockade UAV Engines for a second time

    Following on from Palestine Action’s blockade of UAV Engines on Monday 25 November, when activists locked on inside vehicles, blocking both gates to the site, others returned today, to once again disrupt the weapons factory:

    UAV Engines Palestine Action ElbitLock-ons were once again carried out inside vehicles that blocked the factory’s main gate:

    UAV engines Elbit Palestine Action

    UAV manufactures engines for the killer drones of Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer. As well as producing engines for Elbit’s Hermes 450 drone, which has played a central role in the Gaza Genocide, the UEL AR731 Wankel-type rotary engine, produced at Shenstone, is being used in the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IMI) Harop Kamikase drone, which is currently being upgraded to kill autonomously.

    At Shenstone, cops faffed around – unsure of how to deal with Palestine Action as usual. After several hours, they finally made arrests:

    Today’s action, and the one on Monday, came in the face of unprecedented state repression.

    Unparalleled state repression – thanks to Elbit and Israel

    22 Palestine Action activists are currently being held in British prisons, for resisting complicity in genocide, with some subject to repressive ‘counter terror’ powers, even though none of these political prisoners are charged with any terrorist offence.

    UAV’s Shenstone factory has been targeted since the beginning of Palestine Action’s four-year long direct action campaign, and since October 7th 2023, we have shut the site down repeatedly, with blockades, occupations, and vehicular lock-ons. Our relentless commitment to closing them down, has led to the Staffordshire firm reporting its first ever operating loss.

    A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:

    As the British government’s complicity in the Gaza genocide becomes more and more exposed, their answer is repression, and attempting to intimidate those fighting to end their complicity. In the face of this repression, our direct action campaign will not waver, our political prisoners remain strong, and history will judge those with blood on their hands, and those fighting to end the genocide.

    Featured image and additional images via Martin Pope

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • “Israel Wants Wars”: Gideon Levy on Lebanon Ceasefire, Gaza & Gov’t Sanctions Against Haaretz

    Seg haaretz

    We’re joined by Israeli journalist Gideon Levy as we continue our conversation on the Israeli-Lebanon ceasefire. We take a look at the mood within Israel, where Levy characterizes the Israeli public as “sour” about what is seen as a premature deal. “They would like to see more blood, more destruction in Lebanon,” says Levy. “Israel wants wars.” This retributive stance is still being felt in Lebanon, adds writer Lina Mounzer, who says Lebanese people are “very terrified of the day after” and do not feel that they have been awarded peace, despite the terms of the ceasefire. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has unanimously voted to sanction the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, claiming that its editorials “have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self defense.” Haaretz has criticized the move, which comes just months after Israel banned the international media outlet Al Jazeera, as anti-democratic. Levy, a columnist for Haaretz, says the sanction makes it clear that Israelis cannot take the freedom of speech “for granted anymore.”


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Fragile” Ceasefire Begins in Lebanon After Israel Launched More Devastating Attacks

    Seg lebanon lina

    Nearly two months after Israel invaded Lebanon, a “fragile” ceasefire has been reached between Israel and Lebanon. Under the deal, Israel says it will withdraw troops from Lebanon’s south over a 60-day period, though Lebanese writer Lina Mounzer says “this is already being contradicted by the behavior and the directives of the Israeli army,” which continued to bomb Lebanese civilian areas through the waning hours of official hostilities. Thousands of displaced Lebanese are now returning to southern Lebanon, hoping that their homes are still standing. Many are mourning the nearly 3,800 Lebanese killed by U.S. weapons and Israeli warfare. While there is “relief” in the country, “people are finding it very difficult to celebrate,” says Mounzer. “The grieving process begins now.”


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Matt Kennard expertly faces down Zionist’s unhinged rant on Piers Morgan show

    Declassified UK co-founder Matt Kennard appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored on 26 November. And he expertly faced down an unhinged rant from pro-Israel propagandist Alan Dershowitz (of Jeffrey Epstein infamy). In particular, Kennard shamed Dershowitz for ‘weaponising antisemitism and Jewish suffering in order to justify another genocide’.

    Matt Kennard on Piers Morgan

    Kennard insisted:

    We’re 14 months into a genocide which has been… the most documented genocide in history.

    But then Dershowitz interrupted, asking “more than Nazi Germany?”

    Kennard clarified calmly and firmly:

    ‘Documented’ – i.e. people can see it. I didn’t say the amount of people… [the Holocaust] wasn’t documented as it was happening in the same way.

    Dershowitz wasn’t listening, though. And he kept ranting until Kennard insisted:

    Shame on you for defending a genocide and using the memory of the people who died in the holocaust to justify that genocide! It’s disgusting. And I had family who died in the holocaust. I find it disgusting that people like you weaponise antisemitism and weaponise Jewish suffering to justify another genocide which is happening now.

    ‘The disgraceful thing about the ICC arrest warrants is it took so long’

    Matt Kennard then listed the reasons why he considers Israel’s actions in Gaza to be genocide. And speaking of the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s recent issuing of an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he stressed:

    Thankfully, the ICC saved the reputation of international law, because one of the disgraceful things about the ICC arrest warrants is it took so long. The whole world has been watching this. We all know what’s going on.

    He added that:

    The ICC has always been used against official enemies. It’s been a tool of imperialism. And for the first time, we are seeing justice done for Western war criminals and their allies.

    He also made the point that George W Bush and Tony Blair absolutely should have received arrest warrants too for the illegal invasion of Iraq, [40:13] “which killed up to a million people and destroyed a whole country”.

    Matt Kennard: now hold British participants in genocide to account too

    This is why Matt Kennard highlighted the importance of the ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Because it means we can start talking about holding the West to account for its crimes too. And while Kennard didn’t go into detail on the show regarding Britain’s current participation in the Gaza genocide, he has previously been very clear about it.

    Declassified has reported, for example, on covert US flights leaving from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus throughout Israel’s genocide in Gaza. And dozens of British warplanes have flown to both Israel and Lebanon. British spy flights and intelligence officers on the ground have also been passing information to Israel.

    As Kennard has insisted previously, these are the actions of “a country which is participating” in Israel’s genocide – “a direct participant”. And British politicians who have allowed this should face arrest warrants from the ICC too. If they don’t, he said, then “the law of the jungle” will reign in the world.

    By Ed Sykes

  • Action is happening for Palestine three days this week. Here’s what’s on.

    This week marks a critical moment in the movement for Palestine solidarity. With Israel’s devastating violence in Gaza ongoing, it’s so important to continue to raise our voices for justice. The International Criminal Court’s recent issuance of arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant – as well as Hamas commander Mohammed Daif – highlights the growing global condemnation of Israel’s actions.

    Now, we need to escalate the pressure. So, there are three days of events happening for the rest of this week.

    Thursday 28 November: Workplace Day of Action for Palestine

    Thousands of workers and students across the country will take action in workplaces, colleges, and communities, demanding an immediate ceasefire and an end to Britain’s complicity in Israel’s crimes. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Unison have endorsed the day, and actions will range from rallies and walkouts to bake sales and wearing Palestinian scarves and colours.

    Some rallies include:

    SOAS Rally, 1pm, Malet Street, London: Staff and students from across London will gather to defend the right to protest on campus. Speakers include Jeremy Corbyn, Lindsey German, Andrew Feinstein, and Haya Adam.

    Bradford Royal Infirmary Lunchtime Rally, 12:30–1:30pm, Main Gate (Smith Lane): Health workers will call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza.

    Cambridge Divest Now Rally, 12pm, Great St Mary’s: Staff and students will rally and hold a post-event assembly to demand universities divest from Israeli assets.

    This workplace day of action is shaping up to be the biggest yet. Whether you organise a small event at work or join a rally, every action counts. To find out more and for a full list of actions go here, and support the day using #Workplaces4Palestine.

    Also on Thursday, workers will be taking action in central London in the early morning as part of the People’s Arms Embargo movement. This action is called by Workers for a Free Palestine, Sisters Uncut and London for a Free Palestine.

    Friday 29 November – International Day of Solidarity

    On Friday it is the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. A host of actions are taking place, and people are encouraged to put a poster in their window as a show of solidarity and to help mobilise for the National Demonstration the following day. Click here to download a poster or you can use the pull out from the latest copy of the Morning Star newspaper.

    Saturday 30 November – National Demo

    The next National Demonstration for Palestine will be on Saturday 30 November in Central London.

    Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators are set to march to Whitehall from Park Lane on Saturday in demand of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for an end to Israel’s drive to war in the Middle East and for the US and UK to halt arms sales to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

    There will also be demands on the UK government to confirm that the Israeli prime minister, who faces an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, will be immediately arrested should he set foot in this country.

    Speakers at the rally outside Downing Street announced so far include actors Juliet Stevenson and Khalid Abdalla, Oxfam CEO Halima Begum, Palestinian Dr Ahmad Mukallalati, and MPs Kim Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

    • Date: Saturday 30th November
    • Time: Assemble 12pm
    • Location: Park Lane, London, W1K

    It’s vital we keep up the pressure on those in powers – in our workplaces, in our communities and on our streets. Together, we can show that the people of Britain stand in solidarity with Palestine.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Nearly 130,000 Kids Are Trapped and at Risk of Starvation in Northern Gaza

    An estimated 130,000 children under the age of 10 have been trapped in areas of northern Gaza almost entirely cut off from aid assistance, food and medical supplies for 50 days, a major humanitarian group said Monday. According to Save the Children, life-sustaining aid has largely failed to make it through to any of the people besieged by Israeli forces in northern Gaza since early October…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • US Response to ICC Netanyahu Warrant Could Deal Death Blow to International Law

    The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) stunning issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity is a major game changer. After years of impunity, the chickens unleashed by Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza have finally come home to roost. These charges against Netanyahu and…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Oxford University college exposed as having £1.1m of investments linked to Palestine ethnic cleansing

    A college at Oxford University – All Souls College – is subject to a formal complaint over its £1.1m worth of investments in companies that are actively involved in illegal Israeli settlements.

    All Souls College: investing in Israeli apartheid

    The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has lodged a formal complaint with the Charity Commission regarding All Souls College, a constituent college of Oxford University, regarding its business interests in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    The complaint concerns £1,121,731.57 worth of investments maintained by All Souls College, revealed in a series of freedom of information (FOI) requests in July and August 2024.

    The investments are in four companies that are included in the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights’ database of business enterprises involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The complaint alleges that these specific investments are in violation of both domestic and international law, contravening UK Government policy and the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with regards to the illegality of Israeli settlements under international law.

    All Souls College is registered as a UK Charity under #1138057, meaning that it is subject to charity rules and is regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

    In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an Advisory Opinion making it clear that States (and their public bodies) must prevent investments that further entrench the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    The seven-figure investment portfolio is split across four companies complicit in Israeli settlements, including £239,725.29 in Airbnb, £613,613.16 in Booking Holdings, £7,761.18 in Expedia Group, and £260,631.94 in Motorola Solutions Inc.

    ICJP calls on the Charity Commission to investigate, as a matter of urgency, All Souls’ investments. Following an investigation, ICJP calls for the Charity Commission to take appropriate action including, but not limited to, providing guidance regarding charity investment in companies operating in illegal settlements.

    Money above duty

    ICJP Legal Officer Mira Naseer said:

    The International Court of Justice has been crystal clear on the illegality of Israeli settlements. Not that there was before, but there can be absolutely no excuse now for a British educational institution to remain financially complicit in illegal settlements.

    This is yet another example of a university or college putting their finances above their educational duties and the Charity Commission must step in and provide guidance to charities that are making such investments.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • WTF was Israel’s army chief doing in the UK – AFTER the ICC issued its arrest warrants?

    Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom says the apartheid state’s army chief Herzi Halevi has just visited Britain. This comes just days after genocide apologists in the British government scrambled around in shock following the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his role in the Gaza genocide.

    Israel Hayom reports that the chief of staff of the Israeli occupation forces (IDF) “briefed his counterparts… in a Chiefs of Staff conference” in Britain. It states that “Halevi met with Chiefs of Staff from various countries and provided an overview of the situation in the Middle East”.

    Pro-Israel propagandists and lackeys struggle to cope with ICC arrest warrants

    Despite army chief Herzi Halevi’s appearance in the UK, people in Britain overwhelmingly want the UK to respect the ICC’s decision, as one recent poll showed:

    https://x.com/LeftieStats/status/1861091892462543189

    However, the tears of genocide apologist have been streaming heavily.

    The ICC has faced criticisms previously for targeting mostly countries in the Global South. But with its decision on Israel’s leaders, the organisation has sparked fears in the heart of the Global North that they too could potentially face consequences for their actions. Academic Alonso Gurmendi has been one figure highlighting the absurdity of those in the West criticising the ICC:

    The corporate media, meanwhile, has been put to shame by media from Israel itself:

    Israeli outlet Haaretz has faced a government boycott as a result of its reporting.

    Herzi Halevi in the UK? Nothing to see here.

    At the same time, Israel has been continuing with its crimes and its open discussion of ethnic cleansing in Gaza:

    The British government apparently thinks it’s ok, though, to welcome the Israeli occupation army’s chief of staff Herzi Halevi into the country.

    This is when the ICC had already issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. It shows that Keir Starmer’s government still has no care for how Britain engages with a state led by people accused of war crimes. This shocking dereliction of duty should not go unnoticed.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • CPJ calls for international probe after evidence indicates Israel targeted journalists in deadly Lebanon strike 

    New York, November 26, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an immediate international investigation into a deadly Israeli strike in Lebanon that legal experts believe could be a war crime as it likely deliberately targeted civilians, killing three members of the media.

    “Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Israel must be held accountable for its actions and the international community must act to ensure that journalist murders are not allowed to go unpunished.”

    On November 25, investigations by Human Rights Watch and Britain’s The Guardian newspaper revealed that Israel’s October 25 airstrike in south Lebanon was carried out using an air-dropped bomb equipped with a U.S.-produced bomb guidance kit.

    Two journalists and a media worker — Ghassan Najjar, Mohammed Reda, and Wissam Kassem — were killed and three more journalists were injured by the 3 a.m. strike on a compound in the southern town of Hasbaya where more than a dozen journalists had been staying for several weeks.

    The investigations, which included site visits, interviews with survivors and legal experts, and analysis of munitions remnants, video, photo, and satellite images, found no evidence of military activity, forces, or infrastructure in the area. Human Rights Watch concluded that the Israeli military “knew or should have known that journalists were staying in the area and in the targeted building.”

    The New York-based rights group further said that U.S. officials “may be complicit in war crimes” because of U.S. weapons transfers to Israel whose military has carried out “repeated, unlawful attacks on civilians.”

    Last month, a CPJ report called for accountability for Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalist Issam Abdallah and wounding of six other journalists in an October 13, 2023, tank strike on a hillside in south Lebanon.

    Prior to the Israel-Gaza war, in May 2023, CPJ’s “Deadly Pattern” report found that Israel had never held its military to account for 20 journalist killings over 22 years. 

    Immediately after the October 25 strike, Israel’s military said it had struck a “Hezbollah military structure” and that “terrorists were located inside the structure.” A few hours later, the army said the incident was “under review.”

    CPJ did not immediately receive a response to its email to the Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk asking whether they’d reviewed the circumstances of the strike, whether they knew there were journalists in the targeted location, and if they were targeted for being journalists.

    At a November 25 press briefing, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he was aware of the Human Rights Watch report and department officials “generally do take these reports very seriously,” but said he did not have any “further assessment, either to the type of weapon that was used or to the nature of the strike itself.”


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Heritage Foundation Has a Plan to Take Down the Palestine Solidarity Movement

    The Heritage Foundation got a lot of publicity during this election cycle for its infamous Project 2025. But that’s not the only project they intend to carry out now that Donald Trump is returning to the White House. Project Esther is a new proposal from Heritage that claims to lay out a plan to combat antisemitism in the United States. In fact, it aims to destroy the Palestine solidarity…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • A national remembrance event honoured those Israel has killed in Gaza

    Last week, the British Palestinian Families Network (BPFN) hosted a national remembrance event in honour of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza in the last year. The event ran from 4.30pm to 7pm at St. John’s Church in Waterloo, Central London. Entitled ‘Remembering Gaza’, it was attend by politician, faith leaders, and people personally affected.

    Remembering Gaza

    In light of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza since October 2023, many families in the UK, originating from Gaza, have tragically lost relatives in the war – a war which left wide segments of the community traumatised in both personal and collective pain.

    The remembrance event was designed to provide these families and the wider community with a space for remembrance, healing and support, while also raising awareness about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The event provided a space to honour the memory of the deceased and injured, while also acknowledging the collective trauma the community is facing and offer opportunities for expressions of solidarity.

    During the commemoration event, mourners heard a range of testimonies including from survivors, surgeons who served in Gaza and family members who lost loved ones in Gaza. Candles were lit against a backdrop of traditional Palestinian music to mourn those who had died, followed by a minute’s silence for the victims.

    In commemoration of the victims, the service also included prayers and reflections from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist faiths, led by Revd Canon Giles Goddard, Rabbi Frank Dabba Smith, Shaykh Mohammad Yazdani Raza Khan, and Rehena Harillal respectively.

    Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Layla Moran MP, Dr. Waseem Said, Ehab Al Sharief, and Khetam Eliyan (BPFN) also gave speeches. Dr. Waseem, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon from Manchester provided a first-hand testimony of his time as a surgeon volunteering in Gaza and Khetam Eliyan gave a survivor’s testimony.

    The event also included cultural performances to celebrate the richness of Palestinian culture that has often been forgotten due to the incessant killing of Palestinian people. The service included poetry readings and a musical performance:

    Featured image supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israeli Regulator Clears Imagindairy’s Animal-Free Whey Protein for Sale

    imagindairy
    5 Mins Read

    Precision fermentation startup Imagindairy has received regulatory approval for its animal-free whey protein in Israel, as it closes in on its latest fundraising round.

    Israeli startup Imagindairy can now sell its cow-free whey protein to manufacturers for consumer use in its home country, after obtaining the greenlight from the Ministry of Health.

    The regulatory nod validates the safety of the firm’s beta-lactoglobulin protein, and follows its approval in the US, where it obtained a ‘no further questions’ letter from the Food and Drug Administration in January.

    It makes Imagindairy the second precision fermentation company to be allowed to sell its protein in Israel, after Rehovot-based Remilk. The latter is also commercialising beta-lactoglobulin, the main whey protein found in dairy, which can be used as a base for cow-free milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, and more.

    Precision fermentation combines the process of traditional fermentation with the latest advances in biotechnology to efficiently produce a compound of interest, such as a protein, flavour molecule, vitamin, pigment, or fat.

    Food tech – specifically alternative protein – has been recognised by Israel as one of its top five priority R&D areas. Companies in the country attracted 10% of all VC funding in the future food sector between 2014 and 2023, and the industry is expected to create 10,000 additional jobs and contribute $2.5B to Israel’s economy by 2030.

    Imagindairy can produce whey at price parity on industrial scale

    precision fermentation israel
    Courtesy: Imagindairy/Tal Shahar

    Imagindairy is working on several key milk proteins, including casein (which makes up 80% of the protein content found in dairy) and other whey proteins like alpha-lactalbumin.

    It has progressed the furthest with beta-lactoglobulin, however, which accounts for 65% of all whey found in milk. This is said to be nutritionally superior to most proteins, and has gelling, foaming and emulsification properties that enhance the texture of a range of food and beverage products.

    Beta-lactoglobulin also contains a larger concentration of essential and branched-chain amino acids than other whey proteins (such as leucine, which is key for muscle synthesis). Plus, it’s tasteless, stable across a wide pH range, and tolerant to heat.

    These attributes have made it the most popular precision-fermented protein, with a host of companies in the space producing beta-lactoglobulin, including Californian pioneer Perfect Day, Dutch startup Vivici, Danish player 21st.Bio, New Zealand’s Daisy Lab, and Remilk.

    For its version, Imagindairy employs an AI-led microflora-based production method, which feeds microorganisms that are 20 times more efficient than cows at converting feed into proteins. It is using a fungus strain called Aspergillus oryzae, more commonly known as koji mould. It’s often described as Japan’s “national fungus” and is used in many traditional fermented products like miso, mirin, shoyu, and soju.

    Imagindairy’s whey protein is identical in taste, texture and nutritional value to its cow-derived counterpart, and is free from cholesterol, lactose and hormones. Producing it via precision fermentation also dramatically shrinks its climate footprint – Perfect Day’s beta-lactoglobulin, for example, has up to 97% lower GHG emissions, 60% lower energy demands, and 99% less water consumption than conventional whey.

    The process is based on over 15 years of research, and leverages computational and molecular biology technologies to make it cost-effective. And in January, it began operating an industrial-scale facility with a 100,000-litre fermentation capacity, which has allowed it to produce prototypes at the same price as conventional dairy, or even cheaper.

    A bumper year for regulatory approval of precision fermentation

    precision fermentation dairy
    Courtesy: Yaniv Koppel

    “The approval from the Ministry of Health represents a pivotal achievement for Imagindairy and the entire Israeli food tech industry,” said Jonathan Berger, CEO of The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, an incubator programme by the Strauss Group that launched Imagindairy back in 2020.

    “This is another step that brings breakthrough technology to the consumer shelf. We have been backing Imagindairy from day one and we’re extremely proud to see the team achieve outstanding accomplishments time after time,” he added.

    Eyal Afergan, co-founder and CEO of Imagindairy, remarked: “We are excited to bring our products to the Israeli market and provide consumers with a quality, healthy dairy experience, without reliance on animals. This approval unlocks additional marketing opportunities and allows us to continue developing sustainable food solutions.”

    Speaking to Green Queen, Afergan confirmed that Imagindairy is operating a B2B model, having partnered with dairy and food companies. And while he wasn’t able to disclose its partners’ names due to confidentiality agreements, he said that Imagindairy’s plans to enter the US market are “going well”.

    The startup has previously indicated that it planned to debut products in Israel with Strauss, while a strategic investment from Danone also holds potential for collaboration. These companies, alongside VC firms like Target Global, Entree Capital, and Emerald Technology Ventures, have poured over $30M into the business to date.

    But now, it’s in the final stages of raising its next round. “The capital will be used to support our commercialisation activities,” revealed Afergan.

    This year has been a seminal one for regulatory acceptance of precision fermentation companies. Vivici, 21st.Bio, casein producers New Culture and Fermify, and lactoferrin startup TurtleTree have all obtained self-affirmed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in the US, with each now pursuing the FDA’s ‘no further questions’ letter. Remilk gained regulatory approval in Canada, and just this week, Australia’s All G Foods earned the greenlight for its lactoferrin in China.

    “We have a go-to-market strategy, and we’ll follow it in terms of regulation to unlock further markets accordingly,” Agergan said when asked about Imagindairy’s plans to file for approval elsewhere. “We view 2025 as a key year in Imagindairy’s growth, which will include commercial launches as well as forging deeper industry partnerships,” he added.

    The post Israeli Regulator Clears Imagindairy’s Animal-Free Whey Protein for Sale appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 2 Investigations Show Israel Used US Weapons in Attack on Journalists in Lebanon

    A leading international human rights organization said Monday that Israel’s deadly bombing of a Lebanese residential compound housing journalists last month was carried out using a munition guidance kit supplied by the United States. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said its investigation determined that the October 25 strike in southern Lebanon, launched in the early hours of the morning as most of…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • CPJ calls on Israel to lift government boycott of Haaretz newspaper

    New York, November 25, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Israel to end its sanctions against Israel’s Haaretz newspaper — the latest in the government’s efforts to stifle independent reporting of its war in Gaza. 

    “We deplore the Israeli government’s attempt to silence a respected Israeli outlet like Haaretz by hurting their advertising and subscription revenue,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Israel’s increasing deployment of restrictions on critical media is further disturbing evidence of its efforts to prevent coverage of its actions in Gaza.”

    On Sunday, November 24, Israel’s government unanimously approved a proposal by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to cease all government advertising and communications with Israel’s oldest print newspaper. 

    Karhi proposed the boycott on October 31 as some ministries suspended ties with Haaretz in response to comments by the newspaper’s publisher Amos Schocken, who called for sanctions against Israel, which he described as imposing a “cruel apartheid regime” on Palestinians. 

    Schocken was also criticized for referring to Palestinian “freedom fighters.” He has since clarified his use of the term, saying, “freedom fighters, who also resort to terror tactics — which must be combated. The use of terror is not legitimate.”

    On November 4, the newspaper published an editorial distancing itself from Schocken’s remarks.

    Karhi said on November 24 that the publisher of a newspaper could not call for sanctions against Israel and “support the enemies of the state in the midst of a war” and still receive government funding. 

    “We advocate a free press and freedom of expression, but also the freedom of the government to decide not to fund incitement against the State of Israel,” he said.

    Haaretz has described the move as an attempt to “silence a critical, independent newspaper.”


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Keir Starmer has corrupted the UK – all to protect genocidal Israel

    The following article is a comment piece from Jewish Network for Palestine (JNP) on the Labour Party government, Keir Starmer, and British state using anti-terror laws against journalists and activists.

    Ever since the coming to power of the Labour Party government in June 2024, headed by a famous ex human-rights jurist, the British government has used police forces in the UK and its dependencies in a highly controversial, arguably illegal, and deeply damaging manner, to support Western imperialist interests rather than using its influence to oppose Israel’s illegal and immoral genocide against the Palestinians, and now also against other countries in the Middle East.

    The British state: bending to the will of genociders

    Highly respected journalists, academics, and retired politicians were arrested through the improper use of the Terrorism Act 2000, and in Jersey under the Terrorism Act 2002.

    The arrest few days ago of a senior civil servant, Natalie Strecker, is but the latest legal atrocity enacted against public figures who are acting for the end of the genocide in Gaza, the release of the hostages on both sides, and a peaceful, just, and negotiated solution to the colonial conflict in Palestine.

    Strecker, a lifelong peace activist supporting Palestinian human rights, joins a long list of well-known and respected others who have been intimidated by the unlawful use of the Terrorism Act, both the UK and its dependencies.

    Journalist Richard Medhurst, former ambassador Craig Murray, respected journalists Sarah Wilkinson and Asa Winstanley, the Israeli activist and second-generation Holocaust survivor Yael Kahn, author and activist Tony Greenstein, historian and author Prof. Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, and now Natalie Strecker, were all arrested on false pretences and a misuse of the anti-terror legislation.

    Are all these people terrorists, or do they support terrorism in any manner? Why are so many of the arrestees Jewish anti-Zionist peace activists? We find this behaviour totally uncalled for, unacceptable and illegal, an abuse of the legal system, and an undermining of the rights of the British people.

    Why is all this taking place such a short time after the coming to power of the famous jurist, Sir Keir Starmer?

    The answer was provided by Keir himself, more than once.

    Keir Starmer must stop this campaign against peaceful activists and journalists

    Starmer is a committed and unreconstructed Zionist, as he keeps telling us all.

    He has been using a new approach against critics of Israel by using the law for illegal purposes of silencing, intimidating, punishing, and criminalising a totally legal, moral, and principled position taken by these people, and many thousands of others. It is a position mandated by international law, International humanitarian law, UN numerous resolutions, and the Genocide Convention of 1948, requiring us all, everywhere, to act against genocide or attempted genocide in every way they can, and against those who support and abet genocide.

    As a committed Zionist, Starmer chose NOT to conform with the law, but to oppose it.

    Instead of accepting the view of the International Court of Justice – the highest UN court on earth – he denies their interim ruling in March 2024 that Israel is committing ‘plausible genocide’ and demanding it puts a stop to the mass murder in Gaza.

    We call on the government to stop this campaign of besmirching and hounding peaceful activists such as Strecker, to stop supplying arms to states under genocide investigation, and to actively support international law and international humanitarian law.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • It’s Monday, which means Palestine Action are blocking arms factories with vehicles

    Palestine Action started the week with a bang – despite the state having locked up so many of their activists. Undeterred, people once again shut down a weapons factory in Staffordshire crucial to the supply of arms to genocidal Israel and war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Palestine Action target Elbit in Staffordshire

    On Monday 25 November, activists from Palestine Action returned to the site of UAV Engines, locking on inside vehicles in front of the gates of the factory to prevent production of Israeli drone engines:

    Operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company, the site has once again been targeted by Palestine Action activists, refusing to bow to unprecedented police repression:

    Palestine Action Staffordshire

    UAV Engines manufactures drone engines for Elbit’s drones, which are tested on Palestinians and are currently used for genocidal attacks against Palestinians in Gaza. While the company denies it exports to Israel, export license data for military end-use by the State of Israel proves their denials false. Elbit’s and its UAV Engines-designed and produced parts have been linked to documented war crimes, including the murder of seven aid workers in Gaza in April 2024.

    Currently, 22 Palestine Action political prisoners are detained in Britain for resisting complicity in genocide, some subjected to repressive ‘counter terror’ powers. So, activists have made clear in Staffordshire today: Elbit are the criminals. Those resisting Elbit’s role in genocide will not relent:

    After tireless action by Palestine Action, the Staffordshire firm last year reported its first ever operating loss, with continuous impacts on productions and profits caused by those determined to see Israel’s arms trade forced out of Shenstone.

    Since 7 October 2023, in the face of continual government participation in the genocide, activists have worked without fail to intensify actions against Elbit’s Shenstone operations: shutting it down with occupations, blockades, and vehicular lock-ons again and again, against a factory targeted since the very start of Palestine Action’s four-year long direct action campaign.

    Featured image and videos via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Lack of Gaza aid, Israeli impunity puts Palestinians at risk over failed bombs

    Asia Pacific Report

    An aid agency is warning that a lack of aid reaching Gaza is forcing Palestinians to search through destroyed buildings for basic necessities, putting them at risk of death or injury from unexploded bombs.

    “Civilians in Gaza are caught in a relentless cycle of destruction, displacement, and despair,” said the Danish Refugee Council in a new report.

    “Decades of occupation, blockade, and siege have been compounded by the catastrophic use of explosive weapons in one of the world’s most densely populated areas.

    “The human cost is staggering with more than 44,000 people killed, 90 percent of the population displaced, and essential infrastructure obliterated.”

    The report said that civilians were left grappling with “unimaginable risks” from widespread destruction to the deadly legacy of explosive ordinance (EO) contamination.

    “Nearly everyone in Gaza has felt the devastating impact. Homes reduced to rubble, schools and hospitals targeted, and basic services like water and healthcare brought to a standstill,” the report said.

    “Families face a grim reality, uprooted an average of six times, often returning to areas that have seen active fighting which are likely riddled with explosive ordnance.

    War remnants ‘mistaken for toys’
    “Children, tragically, are among the most vulnerable, mistaking deadly remnants of war for toys.”

    This report has exposed the far-reaching consequences of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Gaza, “revealing a dire reality for a population trapped in danger”.

    It underscores the devastating toll of impunity and disregard for international humanitarian law, which continues to result in immense suffering of civilians.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Supporters out in force as more Palestine Action activists imprisoned on bogus terrorism charges

    At Westminster Magistrates Court, eight more Palestine Action activists have been remanded to prison – after being raided and arrested after an action against Israel’s Elbit arms factory in Filton, Bristol, on 6 August. In an appeal at the Crown Court they will apply for bail – ahead of a trial in November 2025.

    All eight, as with ten others charged in August, face criminal – not terror – charges, despite having been arrested and interrogated under Terrorism Act powers deployed to deny them their rights.

    Palestine Action: more Elbit Filton activist remanded to prison

    People came out and rallied in support of the Palestine Action Filton activists:

    Palestine Action Filton Elbit

    All eighteen are political prisoners, subjected to abuses of power and process by Counter Terrorism Policing South East and other police forces – for alleged acts of resistance against complicity in genocide. In August, activists drove a van into and dismantled the Filton, Bristol research hub of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company, causing £1m in damages against products including quadcopters.

    Despite their repression, they are said to be faring well, smiling in the court in front of a packed public gallery – steadfast in the knowledge that they have been imprisoned by a state acting out of its deep complicity in Israel’s genocidal campaign.

    They have all been charged with aggravated burglary and criminal damage, while six have also been charged with violent disorder – none charged under the terror laws which police have abused against them.

    They continue to be investigated through Counter-Terrorism Policing investigatory powers, with rights experts having expressed alarm over these powers being deprive Palestine Action activists of the legal protections that should be afforded to them.

    Severe restrictions

    Those imprisoned for over a hundred days so far have been subjected to arbitrary and severe restrictions, including being denied reading materials, religious practice, medical privacy, and being prohibited to communicate with other prisoners:

    From 5am on Tuesday 19 November, police raids broke down doors and detained the eight, along with others detained and not charged. The individuals and their families had property destroyed in police raids, with many family members unable to return to their homes since Monday.

    At Westminster Magistrates Court and at the Hammersmith and Newbury police stations where activists were being held, hundreds have mobilised in solidarity with the Palestine Action political prisoners:

    Featured image and additional images via Guy Smallman

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.