Author: Kairos Puget Sound

CMEP calls on the United States to ensure a fair and independent investigation into Abu Akleh’s murder and to hold the responsible parties accountable.

By Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) | May 16, 2022

Freedom of the press must be protected, and the killing of journalists, especially when they are plainly distinguishable by their press vests, represents a clear violation of international law.

On Wednesday, May 11, Shireen Abu Akleh, a high-profile Palestinian-American journalist, was shot and killed while covering a raid conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the West Bank city of Jenin. Abu Akleh was wearing protective gear prominently marked with the English word “PRESS” when she was shot. Ali Samoudi, another journalist with Abu Akleh, was shot in the back during the same attack. Samoudi said the group of journalists Abu Akleh worked with that day had made Israeli forces aware they were present to cover the incursion. He also stated that in the attack, one bullet missed, the next one struck him in the back, and the next shot hit Abu Akleh. She was taken to the hospital soon thereafter and pronounced dead.
Continue reading “Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Condemns the Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh”

Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American reporter who covered the Mideast conflict for more than 25 years, was shot dead Wednesday during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin.

By Josef Federman | Associated Press | May 13, 2022

“It seems her voice isn’t silent,”
—  Givara Budeiri, Al Jazeera correspondent

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli riot police on Friday pushed and beat pallbearers at the funeral for slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, causing them to briefly drop the casket in a shocking start to a procession that turned into perhaps the largest display of Palestinian nationalism in Jerusalem in a generation.

The scenes of violence were likely to add to the sense of grief and outrage across the Arab world that has followed the death of Abu Akleh, who witnesses say was killed by Israeli troops Wednesday during a raid in the occupied West Bank. They also illustrated the deep sensitivities over east Jerusalem — which is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians and has sparked repeated rounds of violence.

Continue reading “Israeli police beat pallbearers at journalist’s funeral”

Amy Goodman interviews Dalia Hatuqa who is a Palestinian American multimedia journalist who has extensively covered Palestine and Israel.

By Amy Goodman | Democracy Now | May 11, 2022

“Her killing is not an isolated incident. This has been happening for a long time: Israeli attacks against media workers, especially Palestinians, and the relative impunity under which they operate.”
— Dalia Hatuqa, journalist

Israeli forces have shot and killed Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian American journalist working for Al Jazeera, as she covered an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp early Wednesday morning. Video released by Al Jazeera shows Abu Akleh was wearing a press uniform when she was shot in the head by what the network says was a single round fired by an Israeli sniper. “She gave voice to the struggles of Palestinians over a career spanning nearly three decades,” says journalist Dalia Hatuqa, remembering her friend and colleague. “Her killing is not an isolated incident. This has been happening for a long time: Israeli attacks against media workers, especially Palestinians, and the relative impunity under which they operate.”

Continue reading “Palestinian American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh killed in Israeli raid in Jenin, “Brave” Truth Teller”

Over 1,000 Palestinians could now be expelled from their homes in Masafer Yatta.

By Elisheva Goldberg | Jewish Currents | May 10, 2022

“the idea that the residents are trying to take advantage of the legal system when they’ve sat through dozens of hours of hearings and can’t understand a single word [because the hearings are all conducted in Hebrew] sounds like the opposite of reality to me,”
— Maya Rosen, an activist with the #SaveMasaferYatta campaign

LAST WEEK, Israel’s High Court of Justice issued a ruling that clears the way for the Israel Defense Forces to expel over 1,000 Palestinians from a cluster of eight villages in Masafer Yatta, a region at the southernmost edge of the West Bank. The court rejected the residents’ petitions, after 22 years in which the residents lived in legal limbo. The ruling was published on the court’s website at 11 pm on the eve of Israeli Independence Day, a national holiday.

Continue reading “Israel’s High Court rules in favor of forced population transfer”

if Israel’s endgame is getting rid of Palestinians, Palestinian Christians will soon be extinct.

By Philip Giraldi | The Unz Review | May 3, 2022

The United States has been the enabler of much of the change in spite of the prevalence of self-described devout Christians in Congress, many of whom ironically are vocal and even enthusiastic supporters of Israeli “security” policies.

A week ago I wrote a piece describing how Israel’s power over the US government is such that no American official will confirm that the Israelis have, and have had for years, a secret nuclear arsenal consisting of as many as 200 nukes. The situation is particularly odd in that the United States is on record as being strongly opposed to nuclear proliferation, except for Israel, and the enriched uranium that was used to create Israel’s bombs as well as the nuclear triggers were stolen and exported illegally from the US. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself was reportedly involved in the thefts.

Continue reading “Does Israel permit freedom of worship?”

Readers should demand the media report what is happening around the world, without picking and choosing what they will report based on race and/or ethnicity.

By Robert Fantina | Counter Punch | Apr 29, 2022

Apparently, bombs are dropped on white, Christian Europeans, but ‘airstrikes’ are launched on Middle-Eastern Muslims.

The world is, very reasonably, horrified at what is happening in Ukraine. Russia is apparently committing war crimes and crimes against humanity as it bombs residences, hospitals and any other sites its warplanes encounter.

The headlines are jarring:

“Russia bombs five railway stations” (The Guardian).
“Russia bombs Ukraine Steel Plant” (Daily Sabah).
“Russia using cluster bombs” (The Guardian).
“Russia restarts bombing” (iNews).

These are just a few examples.

Continue reading “Russia, Israel and the media”

Arizona, Tennessee, and Iowa are moving to codify a definition of antisemitism that includes criticism of Israel.

By Isaac Scher | Jewish Currents | Apr 26, 2022

“They moved it this year by stealth,”
—Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace 

Yesterday, Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. It is the second time in as many years that Arizona’s Republican legislature has sought to incorporate the IHRA definition, described by critics as suppressing pro-Palestine advocacy, into its criminal law. The first time, in 2020, the ACLU opposed the bill for rendering some statements critical of Israel “as evidence of . . . hate crimes, including many statements clearly protected by the First Amendment.” Faced with significant opposition, the bill foundered.

Continue reading “Three states push to curb pro-Palestine activism”