(2018-12-20). Two important films from Palestine at Toronto Festival. peoplesworld.org 
TORONTO—Certainly unique in the world, no other country has its borders—land, sea, and air—totally controlled by another country. What has been described as the world's largest open-air concentration camp has wreaked havoc on most all the people in the land of Palestine. Two films that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year …
(2018-12-20). The Constitutional Right to Boycott Israel. globalresearch.ca America's First Amendment affirms fundamental speech and press freedoms. It prohibits congressional legislation prohibiting the exercise of these rights. | A report by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Palestine Legal discussed "The Palestine Exception to Speech: A Movement Under …
(2018-12-20). UK: Homeless Deaths Up 24% in 5 Years. telesurenglish.net England's Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 600 homeless people died in the streets or in temporary shelters during 2017; that is a 24 percent increase in the past 5 years. | RELATED: | Over 1,200 Palestinians Go Homeless Due to Israeli Demolitions | According to the ONS 84 percent of all deaths correspond to males living a condition of homelessness and on average they were 44 years old, The Guardian reported Thursday. | The number is an estimate ONS researchers obtained by analyzing…
(2018-12-20). Documentary: 'The Lobby — USA'. America's "Special Relationship with Israel" globalresearch.ca Imagine, for a moment, a foreign government spying on U.S. citizens, using the most sophisticated cyber-intelligence software available. This government particularly targets students and, through the use of fake Facebook accounts and other means, smears those that criticize its policies. …
(2018-12-20). With Water Scarce & UN Food Aid Cut, Israeli Bev Co SodaStream Opens New Gaza Plant. mintpressnews.com Israeli company SodaStream announced it will open a new factory in besieged Gaza, where residents face a water shortage and UN aid cuts.
(2018-12-20). Senators Sneak Amendment to Make Israel Boycott Illegal. therealnews.com 
While Senators Cardin and Portman are trying to sneak a last-minute amendment into the budget bill to make BDS illegal — violating free speech — 26 states are also moving to make boycotts of Israel illegal. We speak to IPS's Phyllis Bennis about the anti-BDS efforts in the US
(2018-12-20). Senators Try to Sneak Anti-BDS Measure Into Last-Minute Spending Bill. truthout.org Two senators are trying to sneak legislation that would impose criminal penalties on American companies and groups that support a boycott of Israel into a spending package that would avert a government shutdown by Friday. | Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, and Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, are pushing a proposal that would create criminal and civil penalties for American entities that back boycotts supporting Palestinian rights, The New York Times reported. The move se…
(2018-12-20). Brutal crackdown on West Bank as Netanyahu pledges stepped-up land grab. wsws.org The Palestinians have faced not just the Israel Defense Forces but also Israeli settlers who have been attacking cars and civilians.
(2018-12-20). Trump Publicly Admits His Middle East Policy Puts Israel First — Not America. theantimedia.com 
(MPN) — In a recent interview with the Washington Post, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly stated that his administration's Middle East policy — including the illegal U.S. military occupation of nearly a third of Syria, the administration's adoption of aggressive Iranian sanctions, and Trump's response to murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi — is not driven by his country's interest in oil but instead …
(2018-12-20). UN: Hezbollah Tunnels Do Not Have Exit Points in Israel. theantimedia.com 
(MEMO) — Hezbollah tunnels do not have exit points in Israel, the top UN peace keeping official said yesterday during a briefing at Security Council. Speaking during a session held under the request of Israel, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, confirmed the existence of at least two tunnels crossing the "Blue Line" — the …
(2018-12-19). Trump Admits His Mideast Policy Guided by Israeli, not American, Interests. mintpressnews.com Trump has now publicly admitted that — when it comes to U.S. military involvement and covert intervention in the Middle East — he is putting Israel, not America, first.
(2018-12-19). "A free Palestine from the river to the sea" mronline.org 
It is not uncommon for a mainstream media commentator to be fired for a bigoted or violent comment on air-or off air. As far as I know, there was never a person specifically fired for advocating non-violence and the equal treatment of a group of people. | Source
(2018-12-19). American Public's Backing for One-State Solution Falls on Deaf Ears. counterpunch.org Two years of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as a Middle East peacemaking team appear to be having a transformative effect — and in ways that will please neither of them. The American public is now evenly split between those who want a two-state solution and those who prefer a single state, shared by Israelis and Palestinians, according to a survey published last week by the University of Maryland. More
(2018-12-19). West Bank Uprising: Israel's Divide and Conquer Strategy Falls Apart. therealnews.com 
Shir Hever explains that the Israeli government's deal with the Hamas party undermined the incentive for Palestinian security coordination, as the Israeli military is dragged in to implement colonial policing. As a result, Hamas has never been stronger
(2018-12-19). Official: Europeans Refusing Fuel To Iranian Planes. iranian.com Iran's airspace remains open to all international flights, including U.S. airliners, but most European countries refuse fuel to Iranian planes, an official has said. "Iran's sky is open to all countries, except Israel," head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) Ali Abedzadeh said, Press TV reported on Tuesday. Currently, American airplanes are also passing […]
(2018-12-19). Israel Tampered With Video of Strike That Killed Two Palestinian Boys, Investigators Say. theintercept.com 
A Forensic Architecture study suggests Israel's military manipulated video to mislead the public about whether its pilots could have seen two child victims.
(2018-12-18). Headlines for December 18, 2018. democracynow.org Government Shutdown Looms as Trump Demands $5 Billion for Border Wall, Yemen: Fragile Ceasefire Takes Hold After Hodeidah Fighting Dies Down, Yemeni Mother of Dying 2-Year-Old Child Is Denied U.S. Entry, Ex-Associates of Michael Flynn Arrested over Illegal Turkish Lobbying, Senate Committee Claims Russia Targeted African Americans on Social Media, Nicaraguan Government Raids Journalists' Office, Human Rights Group, U.N. Appeals for Palestinian Aid as Trump Withdraws U.S. Support, Australia Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Undivided Capital, U.S. and Hungary Dissent as U.N. Votes 181 to 2 for Refugee Pact, Hungary…
(2018-12-18). Meet the Texas Speech Pathologist Who Lost School Job for Refusing to Sign Pro-Israel, Anti-BDS Oath. democracynow.org 
A Palestinian-American speech pathologist in Austin, Texas, has filed a federal lawsuit for losing her job after refusing to sign a pro-Israel oath. Bahia Amawi is an Arabic-speaking child language specialist who had worked for nine years in the Pflugerville Independent School District. But she lost her job last year after she declined to sign a pledge that she would "not boycott Israel during the term of the contract" and that she would not take any action that is "intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with Israel." We speak with Bahia Amawi and Gadeir Abbas, senior litiga…
(2018-12-18). Glenn Greenwald: Congress Is Trying to Make It a Federal Crime to Participate in Boycott of Israel. democracynow.org 
Twenty-six states have laws preventing state agencies from contracting with companies or individuals aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. BDS is an international campaign to pressure Israel to comply with international law and respect Palestinian rights. However, its opponents say BDS is a thinly disguised anti-Semitic attempt to debilitate or even destroy Israel. We speak with Glenn Greenwald, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the founding editors of The Intercept. His latest piece is headlined "A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now…
(2018-12-18). Marc Lamont Hill Speaks Out After CNN Fires Him for Pro-Palestine Speech at U.N. democracynow.org 
Less than a month after CNN fired Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill for giving a speech at the United Nations supporting Palestinian rights, we speak with him about the international attention his comments have received, academic freedom and why he feels it's more important than ever to speak out about Israeli human rights abuses. Marc Lamont Hill is a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University. He is the author of several books, including "Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond." We also speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning journa…
(2018-12-18). The Rogue Crown Prince & the Dangerous US-Saudi-Israel Alliance. therealnews.com 
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson and Paul Jay discuss the US Senate resolution condemning Mohamed Bin Salman for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi; there is concern amongst the neocons of both major parties that MBS is undermining the strategy to weaken Iran
(2018-12-18). Don't Punish US Companies That Help End Abuses in the West Bank. hrw.org 
| | Barkan, located in the occupied West Bank, is an Israeli residential settlement and industrial zone that houses around 120 factories that export around 80 percent of their goods abroad. In the background is the Palestinian village of Qarawat Bani Hassan. © 2004 David Silverman | Today the US Congress is weighing draft legislation based on problematic logic that conflates a call for businesses to stop operating in West Bank settlements, which are unlawful under the 1949 Geneva Conventions that prohibit transferring…
(2018-12-17). A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel Oath, Now Mandatory in Many States — so She Lost Her Job. theintercept.com A major attack on the First Amendment: No credible advocate of free expression can remain silent about this "free speech exception for Israel."
(2018-12-16). Messianic Jewish Lobbying Group Builds Support for U.S.-Funded Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Palestine. theintercept.com The group says it has had key meetings at the White House and on the Hill — and hopes to see legislation introduced this winter.
(2018-12-14). FRSO message to PFLP on 51st anniversary of founding. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). | Dear Comrades, | On the occasion of the 51st anniversary of the founding of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the leadership and members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization send our fraternal greetings, and our hopes that your future is marked by success upon success, and great victories in the struggle against the Zionist occupation and its imperialist backers.
| | The Palestinian resistance and efforts of t…
(2018-12-08). German Court Confirms BDS Advocacy is Protected Freedom of Expression and Assembly. bdsmovement.net 
German Court Confirms BDS Advocacy is Protected Freedom of Expression and Assembly: In the NewsA German court confirms that advocating for BDS and Palestinian rights constitutes freedom of expression and assembly, rights that are protected by the German constitution and are essential for democracy. The court ruled that the German city of Oldenburg unlawfully violated these fundamental rights when it revoked a perm…
(2018-12-06). Palestinians and Brazilians Call For Joint Struggle Against Israel-Bolsonaro Alliance. bdsmovement.net 
Palestinians and Brazilians Call For Joint Struggle Against Israel-Bolsonaro Alliance: BNC StatementWhile Brazil's new president wants to follow in the footsteps of Donald Trump moving the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem, and Rio de Janeiro's new governor wants to buy Israeli weaponized drones, Palestinian and Rio de Janeiro's favelas' social movements call for a joint and global struggle agains…
(2018-11-30). Israel escalating the demolition of Palestine. greenleft.org.au 
When it comes to the infrastructure of genocide, you could illustrate it using almost any photo of a school, house, shop or village in the West Bank. You could bookmark a Google maps page of a particular West Bank town — then look again in three or six months time and note the destruction wrought. | This is one way of keeping track of the demolitions of Palestinian homes and Israel's attempts to impose an "Israeli only" identity on the landscape. | There has been a redoubling of Israeli efforts to evict Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and deny remaining Palestinian residents the right to a livelihoo…
(2018-11-26). Palestinian Civil Society Urges World Governments to Impose a Military Embargo on Saudi Regime Over Khashoggi Murder and War Crimes in Yemen, On Israel for War Crimes and Apartheid Against Palestinians. bdsmovement.net 
Palestinian Civil Society Urges World Governments to Impose a Military Embargo on Saudi Regime Over Khashoggi Murder and War Crimes in Yemen, On Israel for War Crimes and Apartheid Against Palestinians: Update"We appeal to progressives and social movements everywhere to pressure their governments to impose strict military embargoes on all states that are perpetrating crimes against hu…
(2018-11-20). Airbnb's Decision to Exit Israel's Illegal Settlements: A Partial Victory for Human Rights & Accountability. bdsmovement.net 
Airbnb's Decision to Exit Israel's Illegal Settlements: A Partial Victory for Human Rights & Accountability: BNC StatementAirbnb's decision to end its business in Israel's illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory is an important first step. It unfortunately fails to cover settlements in East Jerusalem, which is also occupied according to international law. All Isr…
(2018-11-14). The Crisis in Gaza and a Potential Ceasefire. zcomm.org Discussing the recent Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip that killed 7 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier, as well as Israeli air strikes and a potential ceasefire…
(2018-11-12). Palestine: Fadwa Tuqan's poems and data on women's education. zcomm.org And here is my second attempt at bridging the three areas: poems, justice and data visualization. This time, it's the Palestinian poet, Fadwa Tuqan, whose poems I have highlighted alongside some charts depicting the progress over the years on a number of women's education indicators in the West Bank and Gaza. (Earlier, I had used Read more…