Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeated an unverified Israeli claim about its killing of at least 18 people, including six UN employees, in its strike of a school in Gaza this week — even as he supposedly called on Israel to do more to protect humanitarian sites in its genocide of Palestinians in the region. On Thursday, Blinken said, “we need to see humanitarian sites protected…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Tonight, the evening of the presidential debate, I sit here wondering, “What’s the point? Does it change anyone’s vote?” Here in East Palestine, Ohio, and the surrounding areas, we have had some great bi-partisan responses in the early days following the Norfolk Southern train derailment, followed by nothing happening at a presidential level. We’ve asked President Biden to issue a disaster declaration for East Palestine; he hasn’t.
I can’t think of a single time in my life someone watched a presidential debate and said “Ya know, that debate really changed my mind,” or, “I had no idea who to vote for prior to this debate, but it really cleared things up for me.” I only hear individuals boasting about their candidate or tearing down the other.
Tonight, instead of the internet being abuzz about a whole region of the country being poisoned by a railroad company and failed by our government at every level, millions will be watching a debate that will only lead to social media posts from people praising their favored candidates and bashing their opponent, not changing anyone’s mind about who they’re going to vote for—friends and family will fight over candidates who will never know their names.
This time, for me, is better spent in meaningful conversations with community members and those who seek to support us, spending time with our family, or preparing for a loved one to come home from a two-week hospital stay after they experienced sudden onset heart and kidney failure. My mind doesn’t have space for this debate—I’m too busy wondering if exposure to toxins from the derailment caused these health issues, and if it’s going to get worse when they return home.
Tonight, watching two adults play word acrobatics and trying to rhetorically one-up each other isn’t a priority. To be honest, I can’t think of a single time in my life someone watched a presidential debate and said “Ya know, that debate really changed my mind,” or, “I had no idea who to vote for prior to this debate, but it really cleared things up for me.” I only hear individuals boasting about their candidate or tearing down the other.
Memes flood social media, yet our voices are unheard. At the local, state, and federal level, candidates on both sides of the aisle have ignored us. They have all shown us what they have to offer, right here in real life. Many actions could still be taken to help the people here, my family included; many laws on the books could have been enforced to prevent what happened here; but the people continue to be abandoned.
Tonight, by not watching the debate, I chose instead to invest my time and attention in my family and my community.
In the debate, Kamala Harris helped her campaign against Donald Trump. But she didn’t do anything to help the people of Gaza, who are dying courtesy of US taxpayers.
The debate dramatized how Trump represents extreme bigotry and contempt for basic human rights, while both candidates have a militaristic outlook on the rest of the world.
Harris replayed what has become a familiar tape loop from her—declaring support for Israel’s right to “defend itself” while expressing some brief compassion for Palestinian civilians. It’s a formulaic set of rhetoric that most significantly amounts to refusal to deal with the reality of what makes the ongoing slaughter of those people possible—the unconditional pipeline of weapons and ammunition from the US government to the Israeli military.
The debate underscored Donald Trump’s fascistic qualities, more dangerous than ever as he appears to have a 50-50 chance of winning the presidency. On issue after issue, his demagogic approach combined xenophobia, racism, and nationalism.
In contrast, Harris espoused a combination of social and cultural liberalism that embraces diversity. She also banged the drum for a militaristic and messianic foreign policy that endangers the world—with a far-fetched claim, for example, that if Russia had been allowed to win the war in Ukraine then Vladimir Putin would have “his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland.”
The debate dramatized how Trump represents extreme bigotry and contempt for basic human rights, while both candidates have a militaristic outlook on the rest of the world. Trump offers domestic repression that would have progressive forces back on their heels for four years. Harris at least would enable progressives to organize with some effects on policies. Not a great choice in this presidential election, but it’s the one we’ve got.
The history of massacres is a history of lies—lies told after the fact to erase crimes from history, and lies told in the buildup that make these atrocities possible.
If our political system can only offer two candidates of genocide, are we not already in fascism?
Donald Trump’s lies captured the media spotlight last night. His demonstrably false claim that Haitian migrants are “eating the pets” of Springfield, Ohio, bewildered millions. Yet for millions more, these falsifications are all too real. We need only look to the recent pogroms in the UK to see how quickly this sort of propaganda can instigate a frenzy of racist terror.
Yet Trump was not alone in propagating blood libel. Once again, Kamala Harris promoted the debunked claim of mass rapes committed by Hamas on Oct. 7. This lie has been permitted to circulate unchallenged in US media for nearly a year, remaining a central talking point of genocide supporters.
While Trump’s comments rightfully provoked a fact-check from ABC moderators, Harris’ did not. Israel’s well-documented use of rape and sexual terror against Palestinian men and boys had no space in the debate; neither did the horrific bombings of tents in Khan Yunis on Tuesday morning, when Israel dropped 2,000-pound US-manufactured M-84 bombs on displaced Palestinian families, killing at least 40 people and leaving a 30 meter crater.
Whether from one party or another, the use of dehumanization to justify racist violence has dire political consequences for us all. The conversation on the future of democracy cannot be fixated on a single candidate or party—not when all major political players openly deploy blood libel to justify the slaughter of Palestinians. If our political system can only offer two candidates of genocide, are we not already in fascism?
The question of who won the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is, in some sense, beside the point.
Why does Trump’s bad performance on the stage not equate to significant gains for Harris?
Of course it was a win for Harris. Trump is disturbingly unwell. He took the bait on almost all Harris’ traps, including crowd size and pet eating. The contrast between the two candidates was stark, and Harris was in charge for most of it.
But the more vexing question that has yet to be answered is how the debate will influence voters. And what we learn in the next week as the polls roll out might reveal some troubling truths—especially if an outsized Harris victory at the podium translates into a negligible impact on voter sentiment.
Truthfully, just as Biden appeared unfit in the June debate, Trump appeared similarly incapable of running a country. The two-hour clash showcased an vengeful, incoherent, irrational, and unhinged candidate. But unlike Biden, Trump’s behavior was not surprising. The debate simply emphasized what we already knew.
So if the polls barely budge in light of his poor performance, then a deeper question has to be asked. What exactly is motivating voters? Why don’t they outright reject a man who spews falsehoods, invective, and still refuses the results of the 2020 election? Why does Trump’s bad performance on the stage not equate to significant gains for Harris?
Pundits will cite inflation, housing costs, and a general malaise about the state of the economy. Bear in mind Trump never offers specifics on how he would fix these problems. He certainly didn’t during the debate. And if you think that was a fluke, take a look at Agenda 47, Trump’s meager offering in lieu of a party platform. It reads like a culture war digest woefully short on details.
That leaves us with one more query if the debate fails to shift public opinion: why won’t voters abandon Trump in light of clear evidence he’s not up to the job?
If an erratic man without an articulated policy agenda still polls at 48%, then what does that say about us? What are we missing about what really matters? Is Trump simply a flawed messenger for a deeper unease that we have yet to actually acknowledge, or is mistrust in any and all institutions so deep it has become synergistic with Trump’s own irrational behavior?
The polls will provide some insight into this question. And if they don’t budge, we have to start reconciling with the fact that nearly half of the country thinks Trump is the only answer.
The lack of substance around policy was glaringly real to this observer. It was a debate and brawl of personalities, and Trump’s falsehoods were glaring. Trump lied repeatedly during the debate, making up falsehoods from immigrants eating our pets, to the world prison population being down, to how tariffs would help bring down prices. Harris got under his skin by raising his criticism of John McCain, his support of racist violence in Charlottesville, and how he would kill parts of the Constitution. Then he said she was the first to drop out of the presidential race. She was not, nor was she the border czar, nor did she talk to Putin—these are all far-right talking points. Harris had a few herself, but overall this was a spitting match with little substance.
He said she was the first to drop out of the presidential race. She was not, nor was she the border czar, nor did she talk to Putin—these are all far-right talking points.
What seemed clear, as well, is that Trump is increasingly unhinged. I couldn’t stop thinking of Mussolini as he stood there scowling. Harris was calm, collected, and in control.
The reality, even though Trump came off a bit unhinged, is that it won’t budge his supporters or hers—it might move some of the undecided to vote for Harris, or not to vote at all. My observations might sound pro-Democrat, but they are not. We are faced with the real danger that the racist right could take over this country. This is akin to the end of Reconstruction and the rise of the Nazis in 1933, when moderates, liberals, and the left could not unite to stop the right. It might sound like hyperbole, but we are in the midst of a very critical historical moment.
The debate was not substantive, but gave us a glimpse of the battle for the future of the United States. The left needs to come together and organize, and needs to help stop the racist right from taking power.
Vice President Harris came prepared for her first head-to-head with former President Trump, there’s no doubt about that. When you stand the two candidates side by side, Harris’s clear-headed responses and shrewd answers gave her the upper hand against Trump’s increasingly absurd rambling—and I think any reasonable person can look at the two of them together and come to the conclusion that Harris will always look like the adult in the room in comparison to Trump.
The project of creating better working and living conditions for working people will not be decided by the outcome of this election, as neither candidate will do what is ultimately best for the working class in this country. But we knew that already.
At this point in the game, however, that feels like a given. While folks will meme Trump’s racist conspiracies and Harris’s sardonic side-eyes to high heaven, the fact remains that both party representatives hinted at or elaborated on policy objectives that are increasingly conservative (and alarming) in their scope, that prioritize the American military-industrial complex at home and abroad, and present real challenges and pitfalls for the working class now and in the future.
It is also clear that a future Harris administration will respond to the ongoing genocide just as the Biden administration has—with lukewarm ‘condemnation’ of atrocities committed by the IOF in one hand, and a blank check to continue the wholesale destruction of the Palestinian people in the other.
It remains our responsibility as unwilling participants in this American Empire to continue to stand in solidarity with and organize for an end to these genocidal hostilities in Palestine and elsewhere around the world. As anti-genocide organizing continues across this nation, we must be fearless in our support of efforts to bring this slaughter to an end.
In the final analysis, this debate (and really any debate of the last 8, 12, 16 years) brings forth an unrelenting feeling of absolute and utter irritation: the longer those two stood on stage, the more I could feel my cynicism about the state of American politics rise to critical levels. What irks me most about these sorts of political events is that you feel as though you are being mocked, that your intelligence, your power as a worker and a voter, is being derided by the candidates; it doesn’t matter who they are, they don’t respect you and find your participation in the electoral process to be a total nuisance. Certainly what I felt while watching was a sense of falling—against my will—into a great chasm of uncertainty about the future of this country. Not to be hyperbolic, but that shit was grim, man.
I came away from the debate with a renewed sense of what must be done, however, despite my misgivings about the continued success (well, er—things may still run, at least) of this political system. The project of creating better working and living conditions for working people will not be decided by the outcome of this election, as neither candidate will do what is ultimately best for the working class in this country. But we knew that already. As always, it is our job as workers to build the community and conditions that will improve our own quality of life, and the only way to do that is to continue to organize together and bring that change around ourselves.
Some genocidal idiot is always going to be mucking things up from their gilded throne in the White House—the question is what will we be doing for our fellow worker, at home or abroad, despite this fact?
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza could engulf the entire Middle East and the war in Ukraine is currently at a precipice. There is a very real danger of direct war between NATO and Russia, while increasing militarisation in the Pacific has placed the region on high alert.
The new Labour Party government has no plans to move away from the disastrous foreign policy of recent decades, indeed it has pledged to increase military spending to unprecedented levels.
Starmer’s Labour has also enabled the far right and the rise in Islamophobia through its deeply racist election campaign and subsequent smearing of pro-Gaza Muslim MPs. It continues to show utter indifference to the suffering of Palestinians and to threaten the civil liberties of those who protest to demand a more peaceful and just world.
Help us campaign to break with the cycle of violence, hate, militarism and forever wars and to fight for a society based on justice, solidarity and peace.
This past year Stop the War Coalition has helped organise an unprecedented number of demonstrations and played a vital role in the Palestine movement. We have continued to campaign against the war in Ukraine and increased military spending. But campaigning requires money and we have little.
We urgently need to expand our office and output and have set our appeal target at an ambitious £60,000. Please donate generously and help fund the fight for peace.
You can donate to Stop The War Coalition here.
Featured image via Stop The War Coalition
By The Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 10 press freedom and human rights organizations in a letter to the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to investigate and help provide accountability for the murder of Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli forces in south Lebanon on October 13, 2023, and for the killings of other journalists.
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Abdallah’s killing, CPJ joined a September 11 letter urging the commission to conduct its own inquiry into Israel’s October 13 attack. The organizations also called for the commission to investigate accusations of war crimes against journalists as part of its inquiry into possible war crimes committed since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, and to recognize the “alarming numbers” of journalists killed in the war and the media’s crucial role in documenting conflict.
The letter also asked the commission to publicly identify the military unit involved in the attack on the journalists and send formal requests for information to the governments of Israel, Lebanon, and the United States, given that one of the survivors of the attack, Dylan Collins, is a U.S. citizen.
You can read the full letter here.
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.
Turkey announced on Thursday that it has opened an investigation into Israel’s killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and will be seeking arrest warrants in relation to her death. Eygi “was deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. “We will make every effort to…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Israel’s genocide has inflicted permanent, life-changing injuries to about a quarter of the nearly 100,000 Palestinians reported injured by Israeli attacks in the last 11 months, according to an analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to a report using data up until July, roughly 22,500 Palestinians who have been wounded in Israeli attacks have sustained life-changing…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) are calling on the Biden administration to conduct an independent probe into Israel’s killing of American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, as officials have been relying on Israel’s own flawed investigation into her death. In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
This past spring, in response to escalated campus protests in solidarity with Palestine, President Joe Biden proclaimed: “Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder.” Peace is framed as order, or a lack of conflict. Yet, as we surpass 40,000 Palestinians killed in an ongoing Israeli genocide, it raises the question: Peace for whom? Democracy for whom?
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Overnight on Thursday 12 September, Palestine Action targeted more than ten Barclays sites including branches, call centres, and offices. The bank has been marked with symbols of its complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
Bank premises from Edinburgh to Kent have had their windows smashed, and covered in blood-red paint, in actions which Palestine Action have vowed will continue until Barclays cease their investments in Elbit Systems – Israel’s largest weapons firm, and Palestine Action’s primary target:
BREAKING: Palestine Action target over 10 Barclays sites across the country, from management centres to local branches.
The bank continues to invest in Israel's biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems — our primary target. pic.twitter.com/R30hxci9mN
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) September 12, 2024
These actions follow those of June 2024, when nearly 20 branches of the arms-investing bank were smashed.
This was Barclays in Edinburgh:
A branch of the bank in Liverpool got similar treatment by Palestine Action:
This was a Barclays in London:
And in Islington:
While this was Manchester:
Confirmed sites targeted by Palestine Action include:
11 months into the genocide in Gaza, in which Elbit plays a central role, Barclays still holds Elbit shares. In fact, it has more than tripled its Elbit shareholdings. Elbit provides 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land-based equipment, as well as bombs, missiles and other weaponry, which it markets as “battle-tested” after they are developed during bombardments in occupied Palestine.
Additionally, Barclays holds over £2billion of investments, and underwrite loans worth £6billion, in other firms involved in arming Israel.
When Barclays last saw nationwide resistance, its CEO, CS Venkatakrishnan, claimed that the the bank is “deeply sympathetic about the overall suffering in the region”, but pleaded that Barclays’ property ought to be protected.
Palestine Action stated in response:
Barclays’ investments are contributing to the wholesale destruction of Gaza, the erasure of Palestinian life and property.
These banks choose to invest in manufacturers of genocide. They have evaluated that the continued returns on investment generated by Elbit Systems and Israel’s war machine are worth more than the moral or political cost of dealing in war crimes.
Palestine Action will continue to take action to re-calibrate that cost-benefit analysis: reducing the profitability of any operation doing business with Israel’s arms trade.
Featured image via Neil Terry and additional images via Neil Terry, Milo Chandler, and Palestine Action
By The Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.
Since June 2024, right-wing UK corporate media outlet the Jewish Chronicle (JC) has employed a pro-Israel journalist who appears to have falsified his credentials. Moreover, alongside faking his own history, the journalist put out multiple stories based on fabricated intelligence.
On 11 September, independent Palestinian-Israeli news magazine +972 exposed the dubious credentials of the author of a fake intelligence report for the Jewish Chronicle (JC).
Self-described journalist Elon Perry has been writing for the right-wing news site since June. In that time, he has put out nine articles under his name. In fitting with the outlet’s editorial position, these have taken a pro-Israel stance.
His JC bio states that he:
is a former commando soldier of the elite Golani Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, which he served in for 28 years. He was a journalist for 25 years covering wars and terrorist attacks. Since 2010, he has been lecturing in the UK and USA about the 100 years of terror in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He lives in London.
Perry’s own website expands on his experience. As +972 reported:
His website additionally claims that during his military service he was part of a unit of mista’arvim, or soldiers who go undercover as Palestinians, and that he also participated in Operation Entebbe, Israel’s 1976 raid of a passenger plane hijacked by Palestinian and German militants. Perry also professes to be the author of two books, and is described by the publisher of the second, which came out in April of this year, as having been a professor at Tel Aviv University (TAU) for more than 15 years.
What’s more, +972 pointed out he’d repeated his supposed role in Operation Entebbe in both an article and interview for different outlets within the last month.
However, the magazine has found that the majority of this is patently false.
Firstly, an investigation by Israel’s Channel 13 news programme Hazinor found no record of Perry having worked at TAU. Moreover, there was no credible evidence he’d been involved in Operation Entebbe as his website claimed.
And this was just the beginning. Hazinor called into question a photo on Perry’s website. He had posted it as proof of his undercover work at a protest. Notably, Perry had captioned it as a photo taken in 1992, when in reality it was from 2015.
Therefore, when Hazinor grilled Perry over all this, his bio and website claims promptly fell apart. He denied the undercover role, working at TAU, and participating in Operation Entebbe altogether.
Then, tech journalist Simi Spolter demolished his Jewish Chronicle bio’s claim to over 25 years of journalism experience. Crucially, Spolter found no “documented history” of this at all. There were simply his nine recent JC articles, and two blog posts for the Times of Israel in 2021.
Despite Perry’s bio on the Times of Israel declaring how he’d reported for “several Israeli national newspapers” – Spolter could find no body of work. Separately, Perry had also said to the Jewish Telegraph that he’d previously worked for the Hebrew daily newspaper Maariv. Again, Spolter and +972 found no record of his purported work for it.
Given the potted history of Perry’s falsehoods, it perhaps no surprise too then that his articles on the Jewish Chronicle are also riddled with fabrications.
In particular, +972 Magazine highlighted one notable recent example of this. Specifically, the JC published a Perry article on 5 September titled:
Sinwar’s secret plan to ‘smuggle hostages to Iran’
As the name suggests, the premise was that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning to smuggle out the remaining hostages to Iran. Specifically, anonymous “intelligence sources” Perry cited had said Sinwar would do this via the Philadelphi Corridor. But curiously, Perry and the JC wrote on the purported evidence from them just a day after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held a press conference with international media driving this exact narrative.
Yet, by all accounts, the story was a lie. Multiple Israeli media outlets, various Israeli intelligence sources, and even IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari dismissed the story as entirely fabricated. In fact, the IDF has even opened an internal investigation into this and another fake news story in German right-wing outlet Bild to hunt down the source for the fake intelligence.
However, it was hardly the only Jewish Chronicle article Perry had littered with politically-motivated fictions. In another article too, Perry had cited unnamed “intelligence sources”. This was from his 28 August article which again made false claims about Hamas and the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Of course, +972 and other outlets’ findings suggest that either the JC is aware of Perry’s falsified bio, and fake sources, but has actively ignored them. Alternatively, the right-wing news outlet may not have known any of this about Perry or his reporting. However, this would then bring the JC’s editorial verification and basic journalistic standards into question.
Moreover, the JC has already done the damage. As +972 noted, numerous right-wing Israeli outlets repeated the fake intelligence in Perry’s 5 September article. Needless to say then, Perry’s articles at the JC have only added to the thriving ecosystem of pro-Israel propaganda and misinformation circulating across the internet.
The Canary contacted the Jewish Chronicle for comment, but it hadn’t responded at the time of publication.
Feature image via YouTube/the Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.
Israeli forces struck the crowded area of Gaza that they designated a “safe zone” for the second time in two days on Wednesday, striking a school that was specifically marked as a humanitarian safe area in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The strike on the UN-run al-Jaouni school killed at least 18 people and injured at least 18 more, according to initial reports by Palestinian…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Israeli forces detained and attacked a UN convoy on its way to support the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza this week, using tanks and bulldozers to terrorize the UN staff and firing their guns despite supposed agreements by Israeli forces that the polio campaign be safe from violence. According to Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
President Joe Biden sparked outrage on Tuesday after he claimed, without evidence, that Israel’s killing of American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi last week was accidental, despite the circumstances of Eygi’s death and Israel’s history of intentionally killing civilians. In a statement, Biden acknowledged Israel’s responsibility for the killing and called for “full accountability,” though he did not…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Since Oct. 7, the world has looked on in horror at Israel’s brutal annihilation of Gaza. But Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians also includes thousands of laborers from this coastal strip who were working in Israeli territories. Stranded away from their families and homes, these workers were left destitute and unemployed, and many sought refuge in the occupied West Bank of Palestine, where they’ve become trapped after occupation forces closed all the checkpoints going in and out of this territory.
TRNN is on the ground in Tulkarem City, in the occupied West Bank, where a local guest house has been turned into a refuge for around 40 unemployed men from the Gaza Strip who were forced out of Israel on Oct. 7.
Produced by Ross Domoney, Antonis Vradis, Abdalrahman Abdrabboh, Nadia Péridot Filmed and edited by Ross Domoney
Voiceover by Nadia Pérido
Nadia Péridot, the narrator:
Earlier this year, TRNN spoke to Palestinians who had been shut out of Gaza whilst working in Israel.
Khalil Muhammad Elhawy, worker from Gaza:
I used to work in the inside [Israel], doing renovations.
Abd Barakat Jem’a, worker from Gaza:
I work as a worker of Israel’s labour force.
Nadia Péridot, the narrator:
Living in besieged Gaza, these men had no choice but to take work beyond the borders and earn a living working for their occupier. After the events of the 7th October the Israeli occupation sealed all frontiers. Leaving these men stranded beyond the wall and their families trapped within.
Abd Barakat Jem’a, worker from Gaza:
We worked in Israel until the 7th of October events occurred.
Nadia Péridot, the narrator:
Israel’s tactic of continued displacement and division leaves Palestinian families and communities fractured and broken.
Khalil Muhammad Elhawy, worker from Gaza:
We are only here outwardly, but our minds are always [in Gaza]. This is how I live. Do you see how it is? You might begin talking to someone, but they end up zoning out and day dreaming.
Nadia Péridot, the narrator:
Unable to return to Gaza, many have been given shelter in the West Bank. Living in a kind of purgatory, they fear for their families as the Israeli occupation’s relentless destruction of Gaza mounts a devastating civilian death toll.
Khalil Muhammad Elhawy, worker from Gaza:
Because, in all honesty, people are suffering and no one knows about it. Many events reach the world but are nothing [in comparison to reality]. There are incidents that happen between me and my family. If they had been filmed and published, the world would have cried. Do you understand me? There are events that remain unseen. I hope everyone stands by our side and that this war ends.
Abd Barakat Jem’a, worker from Gaza:
We were surprised by the [IDF] informing us to go to the West Bank. Whoever is inside (Israel) must go to the West Bank. When we went to the West Bank. They told us that the ones who would pass through the crossings, They should take off their… off their belongings whether they had money, ID cards or mobile phones. They take away those at the crossings. So, we had to cross through the (illegal) holes and going through the holes is a huge risk. We passed through and we came here. Thankfully, Tulkarem has sheltered us, thank God. Everyone’s dreams were destroyed, do you see?
Nadia Péridot, the narrator:
Despite increasing evidence of the atrocities committed against the people in Gaza, the international community has failed to take meaningful action. Images and videos bring new horrors to our screens each day, and no person in the region remains unaffected by the war.
Khalil Muhammad Elhawy, worker from Gaza:
Everyone’s dreams were destroyed, do you see? In saying this, I’m also referring to myself. I had a dream… I, my wife and my children. But we never get to reach it. In the span of one day and night, everything vanished. So, I called my mother… You know that communication is difficult and the signal is weak. I told her: “How are you doing, Hajja?” and she replied… She asked me:”Did your sister call you?” I answered why are you asking if my sister called? She was afraid someone else would tell me this news. I had her take an oath and swear by the pilgrimage to tell me.
Then, she told me… She said:”My son, there is no flour. Your sister’s husband went to buy flour… but couldn’t find any, so he bought barley meant for animals.” She said “I ate it, my son, and my stomach hurts, so I don’t know what to say.” “Should I tell you and add to your worries? Or your sister’s husband?”
I cried, thinking how much worse could it get? I mean, my brother died… Honestly, sleep is filled with fear and anxiety. I think you know that the army enters our areas. For those of us living downtown we are always visible. You constantly wonder if they will enter or not. Thus, morale drops. Also, you can’t even go out to defend, as you are the pillar of the house. Do you get me? I can’t because my brother died.
There is no one left but me now. If something happens to me, my mother could die. So I try to protect myself, and the only protector is God.
Nadia Péridot, the narrator:
The West Bank is not immune to Israeli aggression; violent settler attacks and military raids are regular occurrences here. Nowhere is safe for Palestinians. Unable to return to their homes in Gaza and unable to live in the West Bank, they remain in no man’s land, waiting for the news they fear the most.
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.
As the dust settles after Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s US presidential election debate, one thing remains certain: neither side will stop Israel ethnically cleansing Palestinians. Harris said:
It must end immediately. And the way it will end is we need a ceasefire deal and we need the hostages out.
Meanwhile, Trump said:
She [Harris] hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech.
However, as we’ve previously reported:
Harris would not go so far as to pause the arms deals that prop up Israel. Whilst Joe Biden has backed Israel to the hilt, Harris has arguably been more critical of civilian casualties caused by Israel. She told Israeli butcher Benjamin Netanyahu that she would “not be silent.”
However, Harris’s words are to be taken with a bucket of salt. No American president will threaten America’s support for Israel, as they simply wouldn’t be voted in. And, for Harris to pretend that there is any real difference between her and Trump is typical of the neoliberal charade that Western elections have become.
Just days after telling Palestinian supporters to wait their turn, Harris’ administration approved $20bn in weapons sales to Israel:
the US approved $20bn in weapons sales to Israel. In the same week, Kamala Harris called for a ceasefire at her rally in Arizona after pro-Palestine protesters interrupted her, for the second time in a week. Meanwhile, pro-Israel lobby groups have paid her $5,395,227.
Trump, meanwhile, has reiterated that whilst he doesn’t want a ceasefire he thinks “the killing has to stop.” Harris has repeatedly called for a ceasefire but to do so whilst allowing the US to prop up Israel, and taking money from Israel lobbyists is morally fucked up, to say the least.
The bottom line is that nobody who is the head of America, itself a settler colonial state, will make any moves towards meaningfully dismantling Israel, another settler colonial state.
Despite Palestine predictably taking up a very small part of the debate, Israel are showing no signs of letting up on their relentless bombardment. Al Mawasi in Khan Younis has been a designated safe zone. However, as with many other instances, Israel bombed the area anyway. Gaza Health Ministry officials have so far recovered 19 bodies from the site where people were sheltering in tents.
The health ministry statement read:
A number of victims are still under the rubble, under the sand, and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them and retrieve them, and they have not reached hospitals yet.
Rescuers searching for survivors said they found craters up to nine metres (30 feet) deep at the tent camp, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, quoting local sources.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the area, with fires burning while Israeli reconnaissance planes circled overhead.
One journalist shared shocking scenes:
One of the craters caused by the bombs dropped by Israelis to commit the new Mawasi refugee camp massacre.
I haven’t seen such a massive crater since the occupation launched its genocidal war on Gaza.
This is unreal. Entire Palestinian families have been wiped out. pic.twitter.com/kPqTjp2vWr
— Hussein (@EyesOnSouth1) September 9, 2024
Jewish Voice for Peace showed the scale of the craters created by Israel’s bombs:
Early this morning in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, the Israeli military carried out one of it’s most heinous massacres since the start of their genocide on Palestinians, where approximately 1 million Palestinians are forced to shelter in densely packed displacement tents. pic.twitter.com/W5dOuN6Lqd
— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) September 10, 2024
Journalist Samira Mohyeddin described “Gaza’s killing fields”:
#BREAKING Another massacre. 20 plus tents attacked by Israeli bombs in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis.
The population here is regularly 80,000. It now has more than 800,000 people clustered there. There is no “safe zone” anywhere. These are Gaza’s killing fields. pic.twitter.com/9f9skI6Mi7
— Samira Mohyeddin سمیرا (@SMohyeddin) September 9, 2024
And, to cap it all TRT World shared that the bombs were US made:
Three US-made MK-84 bombs dropped by Israel on Gaza’s Al Mawasi "safe zone" struck a tent camp sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, resulting in at least 40 deaths
Read more: https://t.co/TiWgFWTqSQ pic.twitter.com/nAAksW1vuO
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 10, 2024
Palestinians who have been chased out of their homes by Israeli bombs have run from designated safe zone to designated safe zone. These safe zones have repeatedly been bombed – just one such occasion should have been enough for the international community to stop Israel. However, as the US’s continued support of Israel demonstrates, that kind of intervention won’t be forthcoming.
Instead, Palestinians forced to run in order to survive are being bombed with US-made bombs. People sleeping in tents have been buried so far into the resulting crater that rescuers are struggling to uncover the bodies buried in the debris.
Now the question for Americans – which name would you like on those bombs, Trump or Harris?
Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Al Jazeera English
By The Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by The Real News Network.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Campaign groups have announced the first major protest at this year’s Labour Party conference. It is over Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
11 months in and Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues to accelerate. Schools and hospitals are still being continually struck by Israeli attacks and a Lancet study has estimated that the true overall death toll may be as high as 180,000.
Israel struck a declared safe zone in Gaza on Tuesday, in a strike that killed at least 40 people. The strike hit Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip, which Israel had designated as a “humanitarian zone” early in the war, and prompted condemnations from the region and beyond.
Samar al-Shair, one of tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have sought refuge in the coastal area, said the attack came “as we were sleeping in our tents”.
She said the Israeli military had asked Palestinians to go to Al-Mawasi “telling us it was safe. Where is the safety?”. Survivors of the strike scrambled to retrieve belongings from the rubble, including mattresses and clothing.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said people sheltering in the camp in the dunes along the Mediterranean coast had not been warned of the strike, which left “three deep craters”. “There are entire families who disappeared under the sand,” he said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the strike, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that “the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas is unconscionable”.
Turkey said the strike added to Israel’s “list of war crimes”. Egypt denounced “the continuation of Israeli massacres”. Saudi Arabia decried “a new attack in a repeated series of violations by the Israeli war machine”.
Arab League ministers, meeting in Cairo, decided to “formally intervene” in support of an International Court of Justice case brought by South Africa that accused Israel of “genocidal acts” in Gaza.
British foreign secretary David Lammy condemned “the shocking deaths”, which he said showed “how desperately needed” a Gaza ceasefire was. However, Despite a change of government, the British state is still supporting these war crimes taking place on a daily basis.
Labour’s decision to reinstate funding for UNWRA and the abandonment of a proposal to block the ICC’s warrants against Netanyahu are victories for the anti-war movement. Now, it will call on them to suspend all arms sales to the apartheid Israeli state.
Labour’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel is an admission of guilt on behalf of the British government. However, the suspension of just 30 licences is a tiny fraction of the number Britain issues.
So, a rally has been organised by various groups including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the Wat Coalition, Friends of Al Aqsa, and CND.
Join the protest in Liverpool on 21 September at Labour Party Conference. It will be calling on our government to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and immediately end its support for apartheid Israel’s genocide.
There are coaches organised from around the country. Make sure you’re on one so you can make your demands to Starmer and Lammy as loud as possible.
You can find out about transport options here.
Featured image supplied
Additional reporting via Agence France-Presse
By Steve Topple
This post was originally published on Canary.
The day after Labour Party prime minister Keir Starmer addressed the Trades Union Congress (TUC) yearly congress, delegates have voted unanimously for a motion that reveals the inadequacy of the government’s approach to Israel’s ongoing assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza and in the West Bank.
Congress voted to condemn Israel’s decades of violations of the rights of Palestinians and call for an active UK policy to hold Israel to account. In a motion submitted by the National Education Union, with the support of Unison and Unite, the trade union movement heaped pressure on Labour by calling on the government to end all licenses for arms traded with Israel.
It’s a clear rebuke to the decision of foreign secretary David Lammy to suspend only 10% of arms export licenses, crucially excluding indirect exports of components for the F-35 combat aircraft known to have been used to massacre civilians in Gaza.
The motion recognised that Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza, and the subsequent toll of death and suffering, amount to a plausible case of genocide and should be met with a principled foreign policy that under the Genocide Convention requires all steps be taken to prevent genocide and punish those responsible.
The TUC congress called for sanctions against those individuals and entities that have incited genocide against Palestinians. This is in marked contrast to Labour’s position of treating Israeli prime minister Netanyahu as a key ally.
The TUC motion recognised that Israel’s offensive follows decades of violations of Palestinian human rights, ethnic cleansing and that throughout historic Palestine, Palestinians – including those living under occupation and those with Israeli citizenship – are subjected to a system of apartheid.
As was the case of South African apartheid, this requires a concerted effort from the labour movement to dismantle it and congress called for sanctions and a ramping up of boycott and divestment campaigns to bring pressure to bear on those who are complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) director, said
We welcome the passing of this important motion which confirms the enduring support of the British trade union movement for the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
It marks a clear dividing line between the union movement, which is committed to ending Israel’s genocide, occupation and system of apartheid, and the Labour government which has so far taken a wholly inadequate approach to its obligations under international law.
The suspension of a small fraction of arms exports to Israel is a tap on the wrist with permission to continue – the Government has been scrambling to reassure this genocidal Israeli government of its continued support.
The time for half measures and hypocrisy is over. The Labour government must choose whether its stands with a state committing the crimes of genocide, occupation and apartheid, or with the millions of people in the unions and in the UK who want to see freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians.
Featured image via the Canary
By The Canary
On Friday 6 September, Turkish-American human rights activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) Ayşenur Eygi was killed by a single shot to the head from an Israeli sniper while witnessing a demonstration against the illegal Israel settlement of Evyatar on Beita’s lands.
After a brief internal investigation conducted by the Israeli army itself, the Israeli army has released a statement asserting that:
the inquiry found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her.
The ISM entirely rejects this specious claim and continues to demand an independent investigation of the Israeli army’s killing of our comrade Ayşenur Eygi.
ISM is joined in this demand by people worldwide who have watched Israel operate with impunity for decades. The world sees through this transparent attempt to conceal the Israeli army’s responsibility for the death of Ayşenur Eygi, who is just one of the hundreds of thousands of martyrs Israel has killed over decades of ethnic cleansing, displacement, and genocide.
The military’s account of the events is blindly based on the accomplices’ version, which completely contradicts the testimonies of multiple eyewitnesses, who the military did not even contact.
All eyewitnesses said immediately following the killing that the scene where Ayşenur Eygi was killed was completely quiet, and that there could have been no excuse to open fire, let alone directly hitting a woman peacefully standing in an olive grove.
According to activists who were present when Ayşenur Eygi was killed, the Israeli army’s brief statement:
includes an array of evident falsehoods, clearly indicating how its investigation is concerned with deflecting fault and avoiding any sort of accountability.
These falsehoods include the following.
The military version claims Ayşenur Eygi was not the target of the kill-shot, but rather that she was hit “indirectly and unintentionally” when a soldier targeted a key instigator. This statement does not align with the physical reality on the ground for several reasons:
The statement very manipulatively conflates two events that are separate in time and place. The first event is the one during which short confrontations took place soon after the midday prayer at the top of the hill (https://maps.app.goo.gl/2zLgMr4UGfN7QKj49).
It was then and there that a few burning tires were placed on the road. The second event is the shooting of Ayşenur, which took place more than half an hour later – when there were no confrontations at all – more than 900 feet (274m) from where the burning tires were, and about 750 feet (220 m) from the rooftop where the soldier who shot her was positioned, in an elevated, tactically controlling position.
Ayşenur Eygi was not shot at the Beita Junction. The Beita Junction is here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uRnMHnWRcRsrTs5R8 , while she was shot here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/17jEQwVPzbRqujvi9. The two locations are more than a mile away from each other (1.16miles, 1.87km).
The Israeli army has a long history of using sham investigations as a method of covering up their human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in Palestine.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, from a report published jointly with the Palestine Centre for Human Rights, Israel has long been “unwilling and unable” to investigate its soldiers for attacking peaceful protesters.
This history of fake investigations as a cover up goes back decades, and has been documented by B’Tselem and other human rights groups.
When ISM activist Rachel Corrie was killed by the Israeli army in Gaza in 2003, a similar sham investigation swiftly cleared the Israeli forces of all responsibility. Rachel Corrie’s parents have spoken out demanding that a thorough investigation happens in this case.
Warning about another coverup, they have said clearly that if an independent, truthful investigation had been conducted 21 years ago, many lives that have been taken by Israel in the ensuing decades could have been saved.
Even US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has said that:
The killing of the American activist in the West Bank was unjustified and without provocation on her part, and it is not permissible to shoot someone because he participated in a demonstration.
Fellow ISM volunteer Mariam Dag (a pseudonym) was on the scene, and witnessed the fatal injury of Ayşenur Eygi. She said:
We were peacefully demonstrating alongside Palestinians against the colonisation of their land, and the illegal settlement of Evyatar. The situation escalated when the Israeli army began to fire tear gas and live ammunition, forcing us to retreat. We were standing on the road, about 200 meters from the soldiers, with a sniper clearly visible on the roof. Our fellow volunteer was standing a bit further back, near an olive tree with some other activists. Despite this, the army intentionally shot her in the head.
This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the US and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza. Palestinians have suffered far too long under the weight of colonization. We will continue to stand in solidarity and honor the martyrs until Palestine is free.
Featured image via the ISM
By The Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.
As the Biden administration continues to sweep aside the deaths of Americans at the hands of Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed on Tuesday that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi is the second American to be killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank — despite the fact that the Israeli military has killed five Americans there in Blinken’s term in office alone.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
This week, Craig Murray – journalist and human rights activist – announced he had left the UK amidst the arrests of several high profile journalists who have been reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
As Jonathan Cook pointed out on X, once upon a time this would have been a breaking news story:
If I recall rightly, in the old days, when I was a young journalist, this would have been considered quite a news story:
Former British ambassador flees UK for fear of arrest over political views.
But maybe my memory is fading, and this was always seen as quite normal. https://t.co/1e6oXdj5o2
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) September 9, 2024
A wave of arrests and intimidation of journalists in the UK has resulted in at least one independent writer, a former UK ambassador no less, to flee the country.
Follow and read @CraigMurrayOrg #censorship #freespeech https://t.co/o1YvKACYVM pic.twitter.com/NbmYV1n9l5
— Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau) September 10, 2024
Craig Murray is also the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan. During his time in the role, he exposed the human rights violations in the country by the at-the-time administration. Last year, British police detained Murray under counter-terrorism laws for declaring his support for Palestine whilst condemning Israel’s actions.
In the last few weeks, British police have also arrested two high profile British journalists. They detained both Sarah Wilkinson and Richard Medhurst under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This is all pretty funny when you consider the controversy over free speech in Rwanda:
A former British ambassador who made remarks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has fled the UK in fear of arrest. This reminds the debate in the UK over the transfer of immigrants to Rwanda and their safety and free speech in Rwanda!
Now the question is: is the UK safe?
https://t.co/8nIX8sW0co
— Mushimire Olivier (@OliverMushimire) September 10, 2024
The UK is a fascist regime https://t.co/ZTuErrdaiD
— Peter Sberg
(@PeterSberguson) September 10, 2024
First, Richard Medhurst, an independent journalist, was detained at Heathrow airport for 24 hours – which he believes was for his reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Then, as the Canary previously reported on 29 August counter-terror police also arrested Sarah Wilkinson over content she posted online. Whilst they have now released her on bail, the conditions are that she uses no electronic devices. Both of these are clear breaches of journalistic freedom:
Isn’t it ironic that people have to leave “one of the oldest and most important democracies” in the world in fear of being arrested for protesting and disagreeing with the government? Couldn’t make this up even if I tried very, very hard.
— MsEmi₿ (@emylacapra) September 9, 2024
Absolutely astonishing that a former UK AMBASSADOR should ever need to leave Britain for fear of being re-arrested WHEN HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG EXCEPT TELL THE TRUTH!
People need to wake up to what’s happening, quick smart! C21st #FASCISM is fundamentally the same as WW2.
— Jaraparilla
All ziønists are terrørists (@jaraparilla) September 9, 2024
Recently, the UK government has been doing everything it can to repress pro-Palestinian voices. This fits into the much broader attempts by the state to silence anyone speaking up for Palestine – whether it be protesters, or members of the independent press:
Repression of pro Palestine voices is so strong that a former UK ambassador does not feel safe in his own country https://t.co/PpmYrYQKAc
— Paul Cockshott (@PaulCockshott) September 9, 2024
The UK has turned into an authoritarian regime.
— BanuYafran (@BanuYafran) September 10, 2024
None of this is remotely surprising given the UK governments ties to Israel – a genocidal, apartheid state. Given the repeated arrests of people speaking out against genocide, there is no wonder Craig Murray decided to flee the UK. Nonetheless, it’s incredibly alarming – and also signals the dire state of the UK’s so-called free press – which recent arrests have proven over and over are a sham.
Feature image via Consortium News/Youtube
By HG
This post was originally published on Canary.
Israeli forces have killed at least 19 Palestinians in an attack on a designated “humanitarian safe zone” in southern Gaza, leaving massive craters where dozens of tents sheltering Palestinian families once stood. Israel dropped at least four bombs on the al-Mawasi refugee camp early Tuesday morning, hitting at least 20 tents, according to Al Jazeera. The attack wounded many…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
This week marks 23 years since George W. Bush declared a U.S.-led “war on terror” and the people of Afghanistan and Iraq are still suffering its consequences. After the U.S. invaded Iraq, an estimated half a million Iraqis were killed and at least 9.2 million were displaced. From 2003-2011, more than 4.7 million Iraqis suffered from moderate to severe food insecurity. Over 243,000…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Israel’s war on Palestine has now decisively expanded to the West Bank, where the most aggressive IDF military campaign in decades is now underway. Yet not all was well in the West Bank before this most recent invasion. Palestinians in the West Bank have dealt with a protracted war waged by Zionist settlers and the IDF for decades. One method of resistance has been through agriculture, which for many generations in Palestine has revolved around the cultivation of olives. Cyrus Copeland of the organization Treedom for Palestine joins The Marc Steiner Show to discuss how the Palestinian Farmers’ Union uses “freedom farms” to sustain the livelihoods of Palestinians and resist the Israeli onslaught.
Studio Production: Cameron Granadino
Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Marc Steiner:
Hi. I’m Marc Steiner, host of The Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. If you’re watching or listening to this now, we know you appreciate the stories we bring to you. We need your support to continue producing uncompromising, movement-building journalism that reaches ordinary people. We don’t accept advertising, sponsorships, or use paywalls. We rely entirely on supporters like you. This is a critical year and a pivotal moment in history. From Paris to Gaza to Baltimore, we’re covering it all, but we cannot do it without you. If you feel the urgency of the moment and believe in the importance of independent journalism like TRNN, please donate today at therealnews.com/donate. Thank you for your support. Solidarity forever.
Welcome to The Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. It’s great to have you all with us. And in our continuing look at what is happening in Palestine-Israel, this horrendous war that is taking place, we are going to cover it in a different way today. The other day, I looked at a film called Where Olive Trees Weep, and I was really taken by that film, and these series of conversations are borne of that film, and you will hear many people from that film as well as the directors.
And today we’re talking with Cyrus Copeland, who is Executive director of Treedom, T-R-E-E-D-O-M, it’s not me slurring, For Palestine. And Treedom For Palestine is a nonprofit that works in the West Bank and works in collaboration with the Palestinian Farmers’ Union. We’ll be talking to one of the leaders of that union coming up soon. And Treedom wants to cultivate 1,000 Freedom Farms all through the West Bank, and we’ll talk more about that in a moment. And it is part of their struggle. It is going on there now, and even though it sounds like a wonderful, nice project, nothing is easy in Palestine. Cyrus Copeland, welcome. Good to have you with us.
Cyrus Copeland:
Marc, awfully good to be with you. Thank you, sir.
Marc Steiner:
So, let’s begin. Tell me a bit about the history of this, first, Treedom, and how that came to be and what it is.
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah, so I didn’t start as a nonprofit pioneer. I began and still am a writer, and the subject of the book that I’m working on right now took me to Jerusalem in exploration of this idea of tikkun olam, which, I don’t know, do you know what that means?
Marc Steiner:
Tikkun olam, yes, repair-
Cyrus Copeland:
Tikkun olam, it’s this idea of repairing the Earth or healing the Earth. I’m fascinated by it. I love it for all the obvious reasons, but I had precious little experience with it and with olive trees in general. I had planted one tree over the span of my life in memory of my dad. When he passed away, we planted an oak tree in Valley Forge for him.
Marc Steiner:
Huh.
Cyrus Copeland:
After doing that, I would go back to the tree to see how it’s doing and how tall it had grown, what its leafage was looking like, and realized that for better or for worse, I was now in a relationship with a tree. It struck me as an odd and simple and beautiful thing.
Marc Steiner:
Right.
Cyrus Copeland:
But it wasn’t until I got to Palestine, and specifically the West Bank, and I looked around and realized how deeply multidimensional the Palestinian relationship is to their beloved olive trees, and I was very humbled by that and very touched by it. It’s legal, it’s environmental, it’s economic, it’s religious, it’s spiritual, it’s communal, all these ways that a tree influences a society and culture, and I was very impressed by that. But it wasn’t until I landed on a small slice … on a small farm in the middle of the West Bank that was started by a gentleman named Motaz, who was the very first Freedom Farmer, that I looked around and realized the simple enormity of what he had managed to do on this small tract of land in the middle of all the complications that come of being a farmer in Palestine. And I was really touched by it, Marc, touched in a very profound way.
As a writer, I’m kind of used to using how I feel about stuff to navigate what a good narrative is, and I know when I’ve landed in the middle of a good story, I kind of get that goose bumpy feeling. As soon as I set foot on that Freedom Farm, I knew that it had found it and … I had found it, and it, in some way, had found me. When I went there, I didn’t intend to start this foundation, Treedom For Palestine, which plants sustainable olive tree farms in the West Bank, but the seed of that idea was born on that day, on that little tract of land, and so that was how this all kind of began.
Marc Steiner:
I was interested as I was looking at this, because olive trees are kind of the center of the Palestinian world in many ways, and I also happen to love Palestinian olive oil that I get regularly from my friends.
Cyrus Copeland:
It’s awesome. It’s so good, isn’t it?
Marc Steiner:
It’s really good.
Cyrus Copeland:
It’s got a just nice kicky organic earthy flavor to it.
Marc Steiner:
It’s the best I’ve ever had. But having said that, I’m just curious, I mean, how long this has been going on, and what is the political effect? I mean, look, right now we’re facing something that is as bad, if not worse, than what happened in 1967 and what happened in 1948. They’re akin, in terms of the expulsion of Palestinians in the war in ’67, and then the colonization that began to take place in Gaza and in the West Bank. And you’re out trying to help farmers create this economy to build olive oil in the midst of that. So, talk a bit about that struggle to do that, what you face, and the kind of tensions that must arise in even trying to do that.
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah. There are immense, diverse, and deep challenges that come of being a farmer in the West Bank. Those challenges are manyfold, and I’ll just give you a few examples of what that looks like.
Marc Steiner:
Please, yeah.
Cyrus Copeland:
They pay exorbitant prices for water, up to 30 times what an Israeli settler who is farming will pay for water, 30 times. They’re not allowed to use electricity or to build shelters for shade on their land. Their access, you may know that their access to the land is often restricted. Settler violence is a really big thing. On a good year, before this war began, settlers would routinely uproot or destroy 2,000 olive trees every year. Since the war began, settler violence is up 400%. All of these challenges add up to a situation which is quite purposeful in that policy-wise, the occupation has made it very difficult for farmers to do what they do. There are some reasons behind that. We can get into those reasons in a bit if you like.
So what we’ve done, Treedom, along with the Palestinian Farmers’ Union … And the Palestinian Farmers’ Union actually designed the prototype for a Freedom Farm. They came up with a prototype that is specifically designed to address the challenges of what it means to farm under the occupation. That prototype is basically, we will plant 250 olive trees on a two and a half acre tract of land. They will be irrigated during the dry summer months. At least, we’ll lay down an irrigation system for them. And importantly, every single Freedom Farm that we plant is surrounded by steel fencing for the protection of both the farmers and the trees.
So, is it a very difficult situation to plant nowadays? Yes, it is, but our partner on the ground, the Palestinian Farmers’ Union, is exceedingly good at what they do. And the structure that we are working with, this idea of a Freedom Farm, is a workable one right now. It is scalable. Right now, there are a little more than 70 Freedom Farms that have been planted across the West Bank. Every single one of those Freedom Farms is still standing.
Marc Steiner:
It seems, when you mentioned Palestinian Farmers’ Union, as I’ve seen, it was written, have 20,000 small-scale farmers who are farming around the West Bank for the most part. But given the politics of this moment, A, restricting water, the ability of water, the ability to really irrigate the way that things had to be irrigated on a farm, this war itself … One of my dearest friends, Ali Zarrab, who is from Ramallah, his nephew, walking down the street during the midst of this war, shot in the back by settlers.
Cyrus Copeland:
Ooh [inaudible 00:09:12]
Marc Steiner:
And so, how does this function in the midst of all this?
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah. Yup. Yeah, sorry to hear about that. There is another story which kind of really hit me hard, which was another farmer, his name was Bilal Saleh … You may have heard about him, if you do, he would’ve been on your radar last October, an olive tree farmer who was shot and killed in cold blood by Israeli settlers as he was harvesting the olives on his farm. That story got a fair amount of play in the media for all the obvious reasons.
But it really took the wind out of my sail, Marc, and it landed very personally with me. And Abbas, the president of the PFU, the Palestinian Farmers’ Union, and I spoke a little bit about what we would like to do in response to that to help ensure that this kind of stuff doesn’t happen over and over and over again. And so, we ended up planting a Freedom Farm for his widow, Ikhlas, who was now left without somebody who provided for their family and left without a father for her children. So, she was now thrust into the dual role of doing that. We actually, just two months ago, planted a Freedom Farm for her, ensuring that she would be able to carry on the good work that her husband did. Bilal, I mean, he loved olive trees. He loved what he did. He loved what he did. But again, we provided her with a safe environment in which to still be able to do the thing that her husband did by fencing in that structure.
How does this happen? How do we continue to do this in spite of what’s going on? That is really testament to the resilience and the strategic creativity that the Farmers’ Union brings to bear in their day-to-day activities. They know where it’s safe to plant. They know how far they can push the envelope. They know the intersection of what it means to plant for people who are in great need, where food insecurity is also high, but to do so in a region which is sufficiently distanced from whatever settlements might be, as to make sure that this is not just a statement that we’re making, but a really sustainable farm that we’re beginning here. Does that answer your question? I feel like that went off on a little tangent.
Marc Steiner:
It does, but it leads to a couple of other questions for me. One is about you and one’s about the Palestinian farmers at this moment. How many times have you been back and forth to Palestine?
Cyrus Copeland:
One.
Marc Steiner:
One?
Cyrus Copeland:
Just one. I was there several years ago, and it was when, as I mentioned, I went there to explore this ideology for a book that I’m working on right now. My life went off in an entirely different direction, but that one time that I was there was enough to plant the seed of Treedom For Palestine.
Marc Steiner:
No pun intended.
Cyrus Copeland:
Not at all, but thank you for noticing it. I mean, as writers, I love wordplay, and so the idea of Treedom, I don’t know. I like the name of our organization so much.
Been there once. I’ve obviously been in continual contact with our partners on the ground there. He and I speak several times a week, at least. So, while my heart and head is here in Philadelphia, my soul is also bifurcated and is in the very difficult territory of what it means to do what they’re doing in the West Bank right now.
One other thing, I wanted to mention this. You talked about Philadelphia, and I was walking around Jerusalem one day and I came across a carbon copy of the Liberty Bell in a park in Jerusalem. And it was just the oddest thing, Marc, because as a Philadelphian, I know what the Liberty Bell looks like. It’s very iconic, and they had taken and literally done a carbon copy of this bell. And so at the time, the war hadn’t broken out, and the issues that you and I are talking about, they were still front and center for all the obvious reasons. But this idea of what real personal liberty means, whether that’s economic, geopolitical, cultural, land-based, it just got amped up for me an additional degree. And to know that there is this other thing, another copy of the Liberty Bell, very near many of the farms that we are planting, just make it a even more, I don’t know, what’s the word, symbolic, I guess.
Marc Steiner:
I’m curious. In your conversations with Abbas and others since this war began in Gaza, how has that changed and altered the dynamic? It was already difficult because Israel has put restrictions on what Palestinian farmers can do, how much water they can get, has made it very difficult for people to survive on the West Bank doing the work they’ve done for generations and generations and generations. So, I’m curious how all the work you all are doing, how has it been affected by this war?
Cyrus Copeland:
We do what we do strategically and with great consideration to what the risks are. And when I say that the PFU is exceedingly good at assessing those risks and operating in spite of them, it’s not an exaggeration. They’re really good at what they do, and so the work of planting goes on, war or no war. We are still planting for the future.
Marc Steiner:
I’m [inaudible 00:15:19] as I watched the documentary which we’ll be covering, Where Olive Trees Weep?
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah, Marc, just one little thing. We have planted, over the past two and a half months, 10 Freedom Farms. Each one of those farms is 250 trees that have to be sourced, planted, planned. So many things need to come together to do this. The irrigation system needs to be brought there. There are roadblocks that the IDF puts up daily, and so there are so many factors in play that go into planting a farm, but we still do it. I mean, this is what they do, and they’re used to operating under challenges and obstacles, because this is kind of like the Palestinian experience. It’s been the experience for decades now. It’s just been amped up considerably.
Marc Steiner:
So the question is, given the occupation, given this war, given all the obstacles to any farmer who’s Palestinian at the moment to survive, A, how do they survive in this program? And B, how do you get the olive oil out?
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah, these are thoughtful questions. Olive trees, it takes a while for them to fruit. The trees that we plant are between two and three years old. It’s going to take them two to three more years for their first harvest, so what we’ll do to make sure that the farmer has sustainable income is use the irrigation systems that we lay down by planting vegetables or herbs in the middle of the tracts of trees that we plant. So for example, if we plant za’atar or thyme for a farmer, that is an herb that can be harvested four times a year, so that farmer can take za’atar to the market and sell it and make sure that they have an income until the point where their olive trees start to fruit. That’s what it means to do this in the short term.
In the long term, when the trees start to fruit and the farm becomes a mature farm, a mature farm will generate, I think it’s 36 … or $34,000 or $36,000 of olive oil every year. That’s a lifeline for a farmer and for their community. If you actually multiply that out over the 500-year lifespan of an olive tree, because I don’t know if you knew this, I didn’t realize this until I realized that an olive tree’s natural lifespan is 500 years or more.
Marc Steiner:
Mm-hmm.
Cyrus Copeland:
If you multiply that out over their 500-year lifespan from that single two and a half acre tract of land, you are generating $18 million of olive oil that will feed 15 generations of farmers and their families, bring that many communities together, and also has a really cool environmental impact, because olive trees are also really good for the environment, so that also becomes a form of climate action. The trees on a Freedom Farm will collectively synthesize, I think it’s 9 million pounds of carbon also over their natural lifespan. So the short-term benefits and the short-term challenges, because one day this war will be over, but those trees will still be in the ground and doing the work of what it means to be an olive tree for the farmer who chooses to farm them. And the benefits of that will carry long past the immediate challenges of what it means to be a farmer this day in this climate and environment.
Marc Steiner:
And I think another point here to talk a bit about, is important, which has been happening a lot in parts of the developing world, but it’s really important here in Palestine at the moment, is that a lot of these farmers and the people involved who are actually doing this are women.
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah, so that’s the other thing that we do is we do the work of supporting, along with the PFU, gender equality in the West Bank, and 50% of the Freedom Farms that Treedom For Palestine plants are planted for female farmers. And in doing so, we’re strengthening their roles, not just in their families, but also in their communities and eventually in local government as well. So the act of planting, just planting a tree, the intention that you bring to it has so much delightful carryover into so many different arenas, and gender equality is just one of those arenas.
Marc Steiner:
One of the things that strikes me as I was reading about this and watching the film is that both Israelis and Palestinians love their olive oil, and the olive tree, the olive branch, has been a tree and branch of peace.
Cyrus Copeland:
Mm. Yeah.
Marc Steiner:
And a uniting force, and symbolically even, it’s kind of important. I mean, to see when you talk about the future, that if something like this, these trees and the movement around these trees and working with Palestinian farmers, can help generate the peace across these lines, I mean, turning, it’s kind of a symbolic victory into kind of a material victory.
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah, isn’t that lovely? I mean, one loves the olive tree for so many different reasons, but amongst those reasons, at the forefront for me, is what they represent in the form of an olive branch, and what it means to extend an olive branch across the world to the West Bank in the act of planting. The way I think about it, Marc, is that by doing what we’re doing, we’re actually putting the building blocks for a longer term peaceful coexistence into the Earth itself.
The way I think about it is that we’re taking a polarized holy land and turning it into a thriving and prosperous heartland. And if we can’t learn to be in this together, do this together, coexist together, looking to the olive tree, which has been on this contentious land that’s been fought over for thousands of years, it doesn’t know geographical boundary. It doesn’t know religious identity or cultural identity. The olive tree, they all kind of … And as trees, they communicate with each other invisibly under the ground. In so many ways, these trees are examples of who we might yet be and become.
Marc Steiner:
That’s a beautiful thought, and I think we’ll be talking very shortly with Abbas Melhem, who is executive director of the Palestinian Farmers’ Union. Thank you, Cyrus, for making the introductions and hearing more about that, because I’m also very curious about what these farmers are facing now in the midst of this war, 50,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, and what the obstacles that people who are even working with you are facing in harvesting, selling their food, staying alive to do the work. I mean, imagine doing all this in the midst of this war.
Cyrus Copeland:
Yeah. It’s astonishing. He will be an exquisite spokesperson to talk a little bit more about that in greater depth and dimension than I could ever muster, Marc.
Marc Steiner:
Well, I’m really glad we made this connection, and Cyrus Copeland, I really do appreciate the work you’re doing. It’s really critically important. And people might say, “He’s only planting olive trees.” What do you mean, only planting olive trees? He’s building a world, helping to build a world, a sustainable world for farmers and for peace in the future. It’s a really critical kind of point. And before I conclude here, I want you, if you could, and we’ll put this on the screen, not screen, we’re audio, but we’ll put this down online how people can be in touch with you and how they can help.
Cyrus Copeland:
They can connect with us on our website, TreedomForPalestine.org, read a little bit more about what they do, and if they decide that they would like to join this “tree-volution,” quote, unquote, and be a force of planting instead of fighting for change, we would welcome that assistance and their donations with great gratitude.
Marc Steiner:
And I’m sure you’re saying Treedom, T-R-E-E-D-O-M.
Cyrus Copeland:
TreedomForPalestine.org.
Marc Steiner:
Yes. Right, right. So don’t look up F, it’s T. But this has been one of the … Cyrus Copeland, thank you so much. We’re looking forward to our conversation with Abbas Melhem and the people who are in the movie itself, Where Olive Trees Weep, and it’s been an important conversation and we’ll stay in touch. Thank you so much for your introductions. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Cyrus Copeland:
Oh, it’s been a delight. Thank you, Marc.
Marc Steiner:
Once again, let me thank Cyrus Copeland for joining us today. You can be in touch with his organization, Treedom, that’s T-R-E-E-D-O-M For Palestine at TreedomeForPalestine.org. And thanks to Cameron Granadino for running the program today, Audio Editor Alina Nehlich for doing all the work she does to make us sound good, Rosette Sewali for producing The Marc Steiner Show, and the tireless Kayla Rivara for making it all work behind the scenes, and everyone here at The Real News for making this show possible.
Please let me know what you thought about what you heard today, what you’d like us to cover. Just write to me at MSS@therealnews.com, and I’ll get right back to you. Once again, thank you to Cyrus Copeland for joining us today and the work that he does. And keep listening as we explore the lives of people resisting the occupation, Palestinians and Israelis, who are featured in the film documentary, Where Olive Trees Weep, and we’ll be talking with Abbas Melhem, Executive Director of the Palestinian Farmers’ Union, in the coming week, the gentleman we talked about on this program today. So, for the crew here at The Real News, I’m Marc Steiner. Stay involved, keep listening, and take care.
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.
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