Daily Archives: December 2, 2020

2020-12-02: News Headlines

Kenneth Surin (2020-12-02). Labor's Continuing Corbyn "Antisemitism" Saga. counterpunch.org The fallout regarding the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report on antisemitism in the Labour party continues, as do its repercussions for the former leader Jeremy Corbyn. I discussed the report in a previous CounterPunch post, pointing out that while it didn't uphold the claim by the Jewish Labour Movement, which issued the first

Ted Kelly (2020-12-02). Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras released after 103-day hunger strike. workers.org Hunger striker Maher al-Akhras Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras was released from Israeli prison Nov. 26. He had staged a hunger strike for 103 days in protest of his arrest and incarceration. He was held by occupation forces under "administrative detention" and was never charged with a crime. Akhras, who . . . |

MEE staff (2020-12-02). Israel's Knesset passes first hurdle towards a fourth election. middleeasteye.net Israel's Knesset passes first hurdle towards a fourth election | If the bill to dissolve the Knesset passes, this will put Israel on the track of the fourth election in March 2021 | Wed, 12/02/2020 – 11: 14 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Knesset in Jerusalem on 2 December 2020 (AFP) | Israel is on the verge of heading into a fourth legislative election since April 2019, after a prel…

Ted Kelly (2020-12-02). Palestinian prisoner Maher-al-Akhras released after 103-day hunger strike. workers.org Hunger striker Maher al-Akhras Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras was released from Israeli prison Nov. 26. He had staged a hunger strike for 103 days in protest of his arrest and incarceration. He was held by occupation forces under "administrative detention" and was never charged with a crime. Akhras, who . . . |

Gareth Porter (2020-12-02). How Israel deployed an intelligence deception to justify killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. thegrayzone.com Israel's Mossad has spent years on a propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the world Iran possessed a nuclear weapons program — and legitimizing its assassinations of Iranian academics. The Israeli assassination of Iranian defense official Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is being treated as a triumph of Israeli intelligence, with ubiquitous references in the New York Times and other major media outlets to the killing of "Iran's top nuclear scientist". In fact, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency eliminated Fakhrizadeh, a defense official, despite the …

Ron Forthofer (2020-12-02). Insanity reigns: The US, Israel and Iran. dissidentvoice.org All too often, events occur that make me feel that I am living in 'Bizarro World'. The recent talk and extensive US corporate media coverage about whether or not the US and/or Israel will soon attack Iran is one of these occasions. The alleged rationale for such an attack is the possibility that Iran might …

_____ (2020-12-02). Iran Calls On The International Community To Confront Israel. popularresistance.org Iran is asking the international community to confront the Israeli regime's actions, "a murderer of children" and "a violator of human rights." | In a message sent on Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Iranian President Hasan Rohani has declared Iran's strong support for the Palestinian people to achieve their ideals. | Rohani condemned the recent actions of the Israeli regime against the Palestinians, including the killing of Palestinians in custody and the torture of prisoners, especially women and children…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-12-01). Israel Releases Mays Abu Ghosh, Palestinian Student Jailed for Membership in Leftist Campus Group. commondreams.org Abu Ghosh—imprisoned for 15 months after joining a banned college organization that opposes Israel's illegal occupation—described torture by her jailers. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/mays.jpg

Ramzy Baroud (2020-12-01). Moving Past Apartheid: One-State is not Ideal Justice, but It is Just and Possible. dissidentvoice.org Once again, Europe's top diplomats expressed their 'deep concern' regarding Israel's ongoing illegal settlement expansion, again evoking the maxim that Israeli actions "threaten the viability of the two-state solution". This position was communicated by EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, on November 19, during a video-conference with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki. All Israeli …

MEE and agencies (2020-12-01). Covid-19: Hamas leader in Gaza tests positive. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Hamas leader in Gaza tests positive | Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas's political bureau in the Gaza Strip, is in generally good health, says Hamas spokesperson | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 17: 33 | Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar speaks during a press conference for Quds (Jerusalem) day in Gaza City on 30 May 2019 (AFP/File photo) | The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, tested positive for Co…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Israel invokes nation-state law in denying transport to Palestinian schoolchildren in Galilee. middleeasteye.net Israel invokes nation-state law in denying transport to Palestinian schoolchildren in Galilee | A court has ruled that facilitating two young Palestinian citizens of Israel's access to Karmiel school would undermine the town's 'Jewish character' | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 14 | Israeli Municipality of Karmiel in Galilee refused to finance or organise commute for two schoolchildren from the Palestinian community in…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem | Court's decision reportedly paves the way for the retroactive formalisation of a number of illegal outposts and settlements | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 12: 09 | The Palestinian Qalandiya refugee camp (foreground) and the Jewish settlement of Kokhav Yaakov (background), in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 6 July 2017 (AFP) | Israel's High Court a…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report. middleeasteye.net Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report | Conditional on its removal from US's terror sponsors list, Sudan agreed last month to normalise ties with Israel. Now the future of the diplomatic deal hangs on Congress | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 18: 12 | Side-by-side images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP/File photos) | Sudan h…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report. middleeasteye.net Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report | Conditional on its removal from US's terror sponsors list, Sudan agreed last month to normalise ties with Israel. Now the future of the diplomatic deal hangs on Congress | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 18: 12 | Side-by-side images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP/File photos) | Sudan h…

MEE and agencies (2020-12-01). Saudi Arabia to allow Israeli airlines to use airspace for flights to UAE. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia to allow Israeli airlines to use airspace for flights to UAE | Riyadh agreed to open skies to Israeli commercial airliners after White House official Jared Kushner negotiated last-minute deal | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 08: 18 | Kushner will attempt to end the three-year blockade imposed on Qatar during his trip to the Middle East (AFP) | Saudi Arabia will allow Israeli commercial air…

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem | Court's decision reportedly paves the way for the retroactive formalisation of a number of illegal outposts and settlements | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 12: 09 | The Palestinian Qalandiya refugee camp (foreground) and the Jewish settlement of Kokhav Yaakov (background), in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 6 July 2017 (AFP) | Israel's High Court a…

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-01). VIDEO: Moroccans burn Israeli flag in unity with Palestine. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 01 (MNA) — Moroccan people set the Israeli regime's flag on fire to show support to the oppressed people of Palestine, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (Nov. 29), which is a UN-organized observance.

Junaid S. Ahmad (2020-12-01). Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) Calls Upon Government of Pakistan to Refrain from Recognizing Israel. globalresearch.ca Dear friends, sisters, brothers, and comrades in the struggle for peace and justice: | We hope this finds all of you well and safe. | The Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC)-Pakistan is deeply distressed at the way in which the US and the …

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #24. Silenced in Savannah: Journalist Abby Martin Challenges Georgia's BDS "Gag Law" projectcensored.org Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that aims to end support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians, was scheduled to give a…

Elijah J. Magnier (2020-12-01). How Will Iran Answer the Assassination of Fakhri Zadeh? globalresearch.ca US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that Iran was their worst enemy and that its nuclear and missile programs should be disrupted or destroyed by all means. Perhaps Trump considers Iran to be one of …

news.un (2020-12-01). Deep worry over 'grim realities' endured by Palestinians. news.un.org There is "a deep sense of worry about the grim realities" of life faced by those living in occupied Palestinian Territory, the UN chief said on Tuesday, pointing to the "diminishing prospects of resolving the conflict" with Israel, that has been with the UN since its creation 75 years ago. ‚Ä&Oslash…

Abdel Bari Atwan (2020-12-01). Kushner's 'farewell' Gulf tour. thealtworld.com Why is Trump's son-in-law visiting Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the dying weeks of their administration? | One of the best things about Joe Biden's election as US president is that we will no longer have to see the face of the avaricious Jared Kushner, or at least not for the next four years. Whatever we may think of the incoming US administration and its policies, this disciple of Benjamin Netanyahu, orchestrator of normalisation and plunderer of Arab coffers should hopefully disappear from the limelight. | Kushner, who has spent the past four years exploiting his position as son-in-law of the most pro-Zionist and…

teleSUR (2020-12-01). Iran Calls on the International Community to Confront Israel. telesurenglish.net In a message sent on Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Iranian President Hasan Rohani has declared Iran's strong support for the Palestinian people to achieve their ideals. | RELATED: | Rohani condemned the recent actions of the Israeli regime against the Palestinians, including the killing of Palestinians in custody and the tortur…

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-01). Very clear Israel ordered the assassination of Fakhrizadeh. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 01 (MNA) — Former acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Non-Proliferation for US Foreign Service believes that Mike Pompeo almost certainly discussed the assassination of Fakhrizad when he met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on 19 November.

WSWS (2020-12-01). War tensions mount in wake of Israeli assassination of top Iranian scientist. wsws.org While neither Washington nor Tel Aviv have formally claimed responsibility for the assassination of Moshen Fakhrizadeh, the authorship of this act of state terrorism is hardly in doubt.

sputniknews (2020-12-01). Killed Iranian Nuke Scientist Was 'Core Source of Authority, Knowledge', Ex-Israeli Intel Chief Says. sputniknews.com Senior Iranian officials have blamed Friday's assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Israel. Tel Aviv has so far remained silent on the matter.

Stephen Lendman (2020-11-30). Israel Behind Assassination of Top Iranian Nuclear Scientist? globalresearch.ca Israel's Mossad operates like a global Mafia hit squad. | On the phony pretext of protecting national security, it has a long history of assassinating Palestinians and others it wants eliminated. | Former IDF chief of staff General Dan Haluts once said …

Medea Benjamin (2020-11-30). Trump risks war again: Will the world condemn the murder of Iran's top nuclear scientist?>. salon.com Israel wouldn't have killed Mohsen Fakhrizadeh without Trump's say-so. Now Biden and the UN must lower tensions…

Staff (2020-11-30). A Trap? Why Assassination of Top Iranian Nuclear Scientist Could Tie Biden's Hands in Future Talks. democracynow.org Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated Friday while driving on a highway outside Tehran. Iran accuses Israel of orchestrating the killing, which is the latest in a string of assassinations targeting scientists involved with Iran's nuclear program. Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated, and analysts say Fakhrizadeh's death was designed to make it harder for President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran when he takes office. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. "Israel has always denied…

Mazda Majidi (2020-11-30). Iranian scientist assassinated in brazen act of terror: Who is the culprit? liberationnews.org Fakhrizadeh's assassination is the latest in a long-running U.S./Israeli terror campaign.

Kerry-anne Mendoza (2020-11-30). How to fight the witch hunt, and win. thecanary.co Anyone still arguing the antisemitism smear campaign is anything but a witch hunt is a liar, an idiot, or both. It is a cynical attempt to shutdown the anti-apartheid struggle of the Palestinian people and their allies. It is a horrific abuse of Jewish trauma and identity. And for a campaign claiming to act on behalf of Jewish people everywhere, it saves some of its cruellest abuse for anti-zionist and/or left wing Jews. Every capitulation emboldens them. And that's why it has to stop. | "We are being no platformed, we are being cancelled, we are being denied the freedom to express legitimate points of view. | Al…

Kim Petersen (2020-11-30). The Slow-motion Assassination of Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org Another Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by an elaborately planned and executed ambush. The complexity of the attack and the resources required to carry it out strongly indicate a state actor. Fingers of blame quickly pointed at a likely assassin: Israel. The United States was probably in some form of …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-30). People's movements across the world stand in solidarity with Palestinian people. peoplesdispatch.org People's movements across the world expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and called out governments and global institutions for their complicity and silence in the suffering of the Palestinian people…

Global Research News (2020-11-30). Selected Articles: Assassination of Iranian Scientist Brings US-Israel Closer to War with Iran. globalresearch.ca By If you're worried about the capability of government to conduct surveillance of citizens engaged in political assembly and protest, or even just …

Kim Petersen (2020-11-30). The Slow-motion Assassination of Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org Another Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by an elaborately planned and executed ambush. The complexity of the attack and the resources required to carry it out strongly indicate a state actor. Fingers of blame quickly pointed at a likely assassin: Israel. The United States was probably in some form of …

Futher Column, By Abby Zimet, Staff Writer (2020-11-30). To Break Their Human Spirit. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/further/palestine_tease_.jpg

Brian Berletic (2020-11-30). Assassination of Iranian Scientist Brings US-Israel Closer to War with Iran. globalresearch.ca Reports on the death of senior Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh signals another dangerous turn in Washington's systematic attempts to undermine and overthrow the current government of Iran. | The Western media is framing the assassination as a unilateral operation carried …

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-11-30). 'A Kind of Terrorism': Israeli Human Rights Groups Offer Harrowing Look at IDF Night Raids on Palestinian Homes. commondreams.org "You feel your privacy is being invaded," said one Palestinian victim. "The aim is to control and humiliate." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/raid_0.jpg

Eric Alterman (2020-11-30). The Last Few Years Have Spelled a Resounding End to the 'Jewish Vote'. thenation.com The Last Few Years Have Spelled a Resounding End to the 'Jewish Vote'

Miko Peled (2020-11-30). A "Fringe Member" of the Jewish Community: How Hasbara Trolls Reacted to My Campus Appearance. mintpressnews.com Hasbara groups represent a racist, supremacist, and violent ideology. They defend a state that is engaged in the worst type of violence against the Palestinian people, yet they feel that they are in a position to question the motives of organizers, speakers, and activists who call for justice and tolerance.

Scott Ritter (2020-11-30). Israel's Gift to Joe Biden, 52 Days Before He Even Takes Office: War with Iran. globalresearch.ca The assassination of Tehran's top nuclear scientist is a ploy by Israel to compel the likely US president-elect to reject diplomacy and choose military action to deal with Iran's nuclear ambition. Which option will he choose? | Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the …

RT (2020-11-29). Who's Killing Iranian Nuclear Scientists? dissidentvoice.org Israel denies being behind the assassination of top Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and the US is keeping quiet. But the fact remains, Iranian scientists have been continuously and mysteriously murdered for at least a decade now. Who do you think is doing it?