2020-12-09: News Headlines

MEE staff (2020-12-09). Israeli 'anti-terrorism' lawyer was convicted over attacks on Palestinians. middleeasteye.net Israeli 'anti-terrorism' lawyer was convicted over attacks on Palestinians | Aviel Leitner, who works for Shurat HaDin, was jailed over 1980s attacks linked to far-right Kach party in East Jerusalem and West Bank | Wed, 12/09/2020 – 16: 54 | Aviel Leitner (L) pictured next to Israeli Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana (C) and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner at a Shurat HaDin conference in February 2020 (Facebook)…

Sheren Khalel (2020-12-09). Top Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi quits PLO amid rumours of rift. middleeasteye.net Top Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi quits PLO amid rumours of rift | Calls speculation 'misleading and irresponsible' that her resignation was caused by Palestinian Authority's resumption of coordination with Israel | Wed, 12/09/2020 – 18: 33 | Ashrawi served on executive committee of PLO for more than decade (AFP) | Prominent Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi has confirmed her resignation fr…

MEE and agencies (2020-12-09). Covid-19: UAE officially registers Chinese-produced vaccine for use. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: UAE officially registers Chinese-produced vaccine for use | Health ministry cites trials showing vaccine as 86 percent effective | Wed, 12/09/2020 – 12: 03 | Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm's vaccine has been undergoing third-phase trials in the Emirates since July (AFP) | The UAE has officially approved a Chinese-produced vaccine for Covid-19, citing third-phase trial a…

Craig Wood (2020-12-09). Those Who Don't Fear the Lobby. dissidentvoice.org With the encouragement of friends and after serving eleven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1961-1983), Congressman Paul Findley (R-IL) wrote a book, They Dare to Speak Out, about influences and pressures inside the Israeli lobby. His was the first book to point out ways the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), along with …

James O'Neill (2020-12-09). China's Rise and Rise Proves a Winning Formula. dissidentvoice.org On the second of December this year the Chinese representative to the United Nations General Assembly addressed the meeting on the topic of Palestine and more particularly on his country's view of the ongoing disasters that daily inflict the Palestinians in that country. Unsurprisingly, the speech received no coverage in the Australian media. The continued …

Ralph Nader (2020-12-08). Action for Change Starts in Congress. counterpunch.org We know their names! We've given immense power to Five Hundred and Thirty-Five People to do good or bad. One Hundred Senators and Four Hundred and Thirty-Five Representatives. Unfortunately, some 1500 corporations control most Members of Congress. Think about all the dreams for a better world that could come to be realized if our elected officials

Patrick Cockburn (2020-12-08). Gangsterism as Foreign Policy: Assassinations are Becoming the New Norm. counterpunch.org I was in Israel on 4 November 1995 when a student named Yigal Amir assassinated the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin as he left a peace rally in Tel Aviv. A video shows Amir loitering by an exit to the square for 40 minutes before Rabin appears, when his killer takes out a pistol and

CP Editor (2020-12-08). Lebanon, Hezbollah, and a US-Israeli Plan for Civil War? counterpunch.org

Shatha Hammad (2020-12-08). Killed on his birthday: Family grieves Palestinian boy shot by Israeli forces. middleeasteye.net Killed on his birthday: Family grieves Palestinian boy shot by Israeli forces | A few minutes before he was shot, Ali said he did not expect Israeli soldiers to target him 'because I am a little child' | Tue, 12/08/2020 – 11: 28 | Ali Abu Alia was killed by Israeli forces on 4 December in his hometown of al-Mughayir (Supplied) | When she prepared the traditional Palestinian dish of maqlouba at the…

Media Lens (2020-12-08). Stuck in a Lift with John Pilger: News and How to Use It by Alan Rusbridger. dissidentvoice.org Noticing the way journalists seemed unable to resist commenting on our work, even if it was just to slag us off, Glenn Greenwald tweeted us in 2012: 'You are really deeper in the heads of the British establishment-serving commentariat than anyone else — congrats.' ((Greenwald, Twitter, 12 September 2012.)) If that was true then, our relationship …

Betsey Piette (2020-12-08). Palestine Writes: A labor of love. workers.org Originally scheduled to take place in New York City this March, but canceled due to the pandemic, the Palestine Writes Literature Festival aired as a virtual event on Dec. 2-6. The event brought together writers, artists, publishers, booksellers, activists and scholars for conversations about art, literature and the intersection between . . . |

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-08). Either back Resistance or normalization, no third choice. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 08 (MNA) — Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah Resistance Movement in Lebanon said the move by some Arab countries to normalize ties with the Israeli regime is a clear betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

CFJPIME (2020-12-08). Canadian Organizations Urge Canada to Vote for a Shared Jerusalem at the United Nations. globalresearch.ca Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations (CCPO) are urging the Canadian government to vote in support of an upcoming

Hallel Rabin (2020-12-08). 'Refusing to Serve in the Army is My Small Act of Making Change'. zcomm.org Hallel Rabin spent 56 days in an Israeli military prison for refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Force. Rabin, 19, talks about her time behind bars, conversations with her fellow inmates, and talking to young Israelis about the occupation…

RT (2020-12-07). Israel 'very comfortable' with US sale of F-35 jets to UAE, ambassador says. rt.com The Israeli ambassador to the US has said Israel is "very comfortable" with Washington selling up to 50 F-35 fighter jets to the UAE as part of a $23 billion arms deal. Legislation is being tabled in US Congress to block it.

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-07). 'Trolling to another level': Palestinians pose as Emiratis in Tel Aviv. middleeasteye.net 'Trolling to another level': Palestinians pose as Emiratis in Tel Aviv | Israelis flock to Palestinian men in dishdashas for photographs in viral video praised for its humour | Mon, 12/07/2020 – 13: 14 | Palestinians wearing traditional Emirati clothes as they filmed themselves in Tel Aviv on Saturday (Screengrab/ Twitter) | Palestinian citizens of Israel are often subjected to hostility and suspicion in th…

David Edwards (2020-12-07). Stuck In A Lift With John Pilger — 'News And How To Use It' by Alan Rusbridger. zcomm.org Pilger tells the unfiltered, uncompromised truth about the foundations of power. His focus is on speaking up for the victims of power, not on serving power…

sputniknews (2020-12-07). 'Humanity is Not Ready Yet': Ex-Israeli Space Security Head Claims Aliens Exist, Signed Deal With US. sputniknews.com Haim Eshed served as the head of Israeli's space security program for nearly 30 years and has been given the Israel Security Award on three separate occasions by an Israeli president. The now-87-year-old professor retired from Israel's Ministry of Defense in 2011.