Tag: US

  • Student demonstrations against Gaza genocide take world by storm

    Student demonstrations against Gaza genocide take world by storm

    Anti-Zionist students in the US have taken to their campuses to call out the blatant atrocities being committed by Israel in the besieged strip and the West Bank, and asking the universities to divest from investing in Israel.

    The demonstrations have now expanded beyond US borders.

    French police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest by dozens of university students in Paris, officials said Thursday, as Israel’s bombardment of Gaza sparks a wave of anger across college campuses in the United States.

    AFP reports that according to witnesses, the protesters were demanding that Sciences Po university “cut its ties with universities and companies that are complicit in the genocide in Gaza” and “end the repression of pro-Palestinian voices on campus”.

    Similarly, students in Sydney, Australia, have also set up a camp at Sydney University and carried out demonstrations.

    Background:

    The mass protests started from Columbia University on April 17 which then spread across colleges and universities in America.

    The US has been openly supporting and financing Israeli genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. And while many people have lost their jobs and students have been expelled due to their support for Gaza, the demonstrations on university campuses are getting bigger by the day.

    Top universities such as Yale, NYU, and Columbia are facing heightened tensions as pro-Palestinian demonstrators are being arrested amid escalating conflicts between the two sides of the genocides.

    Columbia granted students protesters an extension to disassemble their encampments twice, citing ongoing negotiations aimed at resolving the tense situation. All classes will be conducted virtually on Monday due to mounting tension.

    On Monday, 60 individuals at Yale, including 47 student protesters, were arrested for trespassing after blocking traffic around the campus. Additionally, several protesters were also arrested at NYU.

    Other American colleges and universities with Gaza encampments include Emerson College, MIT, Tufts, Michigan, Vanderbilt, Brown, Rice, and more.

    It is a big moment in the midst of a genocide, a point in time where we all must decide to stand on the right side of history.

  • Malala’s collaboration with anti-Palestinian Hillary Clinton causes uproar, diminishes Malala support

    Malala’s collaboration with anti-Palestinian Hillary Clinton causes uproar, diminishes Malala support

    Education activist, Malala Yousafzai, has recently faced criticism for her lack of speedy and strong support for the Palestinians and is now facing major backlash once again. This time because of her partnership with former US First Lady Hilary Clinton, who has actively spoken against a ceasefire in Gaza.

    Malala Yousafzai always had people who did not agree with her point of view. But this time it’s different. Different because people, including notable personalities who have defended her against those deeming her a “puppet” of the Western world, are now withdrawing support of her.

    In a recent announcement, Hillary Clinton and Malala are said to collaborate as co-producers for a new Broadway production titled “Suffs,” marking their debut on the Broadway stage.

    “Suffs” is a musical that depicts the suffrage movement in the United States, chronicling the campaign for women’s right to vote from 1913 to 1920, culminating in the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

    This collaboration has become questionable for the Pakistani public in the light of an on-going Israeli genocide in Gaza that is financed by the US and above all, supported by Hilary Clinton herself. And people are asking: what exactly is Malala thinking by doing this collaboration at this time.

    People react:

    Some supporters defended Malala

    Background

    While Malala Yousafzai has spoken regarding the situation in Gaza since October 7 and has called for a ceasefire, her takes have been carefully worded and somewhat diplomatic which also drew criticism as she has not openly called out Israel for committing a genocide.

    On the other hand, Hilary Clinton has openly advocated against a ceasefire in Gaza, justifying Israeli deadly operations in the besieged strip.

  • No freedom of speech in American universities

    No freedom of speech in American universities

    Many people have lost jobs for views that contradict mainstream US approach towards Israel and Palestine, despite a strong movement of solidarity with Palestine.

    Palestinian solidarity activists faced monitoring and restricted mobility on campus as administrators heightened security measures. Many felt unwelcome, with reports of harassment against Muslim women, including spitting and hijab removal.

    Students for Justice in Palestine, the leading pro-Palestinian campus group, has been suspended from several universities, including Columbia, Brandeis, George Washington, and Rutgers since October 7. Accusations against the group include alleged support for Hamas, disruption of classes, and intimidation of other students. None of the charges have been proved.

    In late October, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida issued a letter to school presidents, directing them to “deactivate” chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine across the state. Civil rights groups assert that this directive blatantly violates the First Amendment.

    At Brandeis University, known for its public endorsement of free speech, a pro-Palestinian student group was prohibited from campus due to statements made by its national leadership.

    Meanwhile, at the University of Vermont, plans for a Palestinian poet Mohammed el-Kurd to speak were canceled after students raised concerns about alleged antisemitism, prompting the school to withdraw the venue.

    The board of the Harvard Law Review in mid-Nomber, 2023, decided against publishing an article by Rabea Eghbariah – Palestinian scholar and human rights lawyer – who had asserted that the situation in Gaza should be considered under the framework of genocide as laid down by the United Nations.

    At the University of Pennsylvania, the progressive Jewish student group Penn Chavurah planned to screen the documentary “Israelism” since July but postponed it in October due to proximity to a Hamas attack. The film, made by American Jews reevaluating their views on Israel after visiting the country, has sparked controversy on campuses. Although initially denied approval for a late November screening, the group attempted to secure space through the university’s Middle East Center. However, administrators warned of potential disciplinary action if they proceeded with the screening of “Israelism.”

    Hunter College too, cancelled the screening.

    In December 2023, University of Pennsylvania President M. Elizabeth Magill stepped down following a widely criticized congressional hearing.

    Magill, along with her counterparts from MIT and Harvard, consistently emphasized that their response would be contingent on the “context.” However, they faced criticism for failing to outright condemn any expressions advocating for the genocide of Jews.

    Students at Harvard have reportedly expressed their concern of the consequences of speaking out for Palestinians – even if it is expressing their views in class.no freedom of speech in maerican unis etc.

  • ‘Conspiracy theorist’ sets self on fire outside Trump trial

    ‘Conspiracy theorist’ sets self on fire outside Trump trial

    A man set himself ablaze Friday outside the court where Donald Trump is standing trial, throwing pamphlets that police said contained conspiracy theories before he was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

    Police named the man as Maxwell Azzarello from St Augustine, Florida and said the pamphlets he sought to disseminate “seem to be propaganda-based.”

    “(They were) almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet, some information in regards to Ponzi schemes, and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are a front for the mob,” NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.

    “His condition is not good, but as of now he is still alive.”

    Deputy police commissioner Tarik Sheppard said “we just right now labelled (him) a sort of conspiracy theorist, and we’re going from there.”

    Burning clothes were strewn in the park, which was locked down by authorities, while ambulances lined up nearby on standby, an AFP correspondent at the scene saw, describing a strong smell of burning chemicals.

    Laura Kavanagh, the New York City fire commissioner, said four officers were lightly injured in the incident. She described Azzarello’s condition as “critical.”

    Video seemingly taken by witnesses and posted on social media showed a person standing engulfed in flames, then falling to the ground as police officers, including one with a fire extinguisher, rushed to beat out the blaze.

    A witness who gave his name as Dave, 73, told AFP he saw a man throwing pamphlets before dousing himself with an unspecified liquid and lighting himself on fire.

    TV reporters described the incident unfolding moments after the full panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected for the trial of the former president in a hush money cover-up case.

    A CNN reporter described a heavy stench of burning flesh in the aftermath of the blaze.

    Hearings in the case resumed after lunch despite the incident. Trump declined to respond to questions about Azzarello as he returned to court after the break.

    The self-immolation happened in a park opposite the 100 Centre Street courthouse, which has been used by authorities to corral protesters, both pro-Trump and anti-Trump, as well as well as by some members of the media.

    Trump’s criminal trial, the first of a former president, is being conducted amid tight security in a 15th floor courtroom swarming with Secret Service officers as well as court police.

  • Israeli professor in America gets slammed by internet for Islamophobia

    Israeli professor in America gets slammed by internet for Islamophobia

    A professor in the Management Division of Columbia Business School, Shai Davidai, has been under fire by the academia and students who have been vocal against the Zionist narrative at American universities as Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues to get condemned.

    In a recent post on his social media pages, he uploaded a video of a Muslim leading Jummah prayer at Columbia University, saying, “Let the world know”, in an effort to portray the act as regressive or extreme.

    Here is how people responded

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Background

Supporters of professor Davidai, led by the #EndJewHatred movement, staged a protest on Wednesday urging University President Minouche Shafik to resign, alleging insufficient protection for Jewish students.

The protest followed Shafik’s testimony at a House Committee hearing titled “Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Antisemitism.”

Davidai, in his address, has accused Shafik of dishonesty and called for her resignation, pledging to ensure the safety of Jewish and non-Jewish communities in collaboration with future university leadership.

On the other hand, hundreds of students from Columbia University and outsiders have been demonstrating and have set up and an encampment.

Shafik authorised police to clear tents, stating that they have breached the university’s rules and policies by holding unauthorised demonstrations as well as not engaging with administrators.

The police have arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian student protesters at New York’s Columbia University Thursday, a day after the president of the prestigious school was grilled in Congress over accusations of anti-Semitism on campus.

  • Apple drops WhatsApp, Threads from China app store on official order: report

    Apple drops WhatsApp, Threads from China app store on official order: report

    Beijing (AFP) – Apple has removed the Meta-owned WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China following an order from the country’s top internet regulator, Bloomberg reported Friday citing the tech giant.

    Beijing engages in some of the world’s most extensive internet censorship, with web users in mainland China unable to access everything from Google to many foreign apps without using a virtual private network.

    “We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” said Apple in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

    “The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” said Apple, referring to China’s internet regulator.

    “These apps remain available for download on all other storefronts where they appear.”

    A Meta spokesperson referred AFP to Apple, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The CAC and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology — another top Chinese internet regulatory body — also did not immediately respond.

    China is a key market for Apple, which last year topped the country’s smartphone market for the first time.

    But thorny issues of censorship and national security have long hounded the US-based firm’s operations in China as Beijing and Washington engage in a fierce battle for technological supremacy.

    In January, China said it had cracked Apple’s encrypted AirDrop communication service, which had once given protesters a vital channel for sharing information during the major 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

    State-backed experts said in January that they had devised a way to reveal an iPhone’s encrypted device log, allowing them to then identify an AirDrop user’s phone number and email accounts.

    Many online platforms that are popular in much of the world — including Google, Facebook, X, WhatsApp and TikTok — are blocked in mainland China.

    But savvy iPhone users in China have still been able to download banned platforms through Apple’s app store, then use a VPN to get around the restrictions.

    Removing WhatsApp and Threads from the Chinese app store will greatly complicate the ability of new iPhone users to access the apps.

    The latest development comes a day before a scheduled vote in the US House of Representatives to force the wildly popular video app TikTok to sever all links with its Chinese parent ByteDance.

    US officials have raised concerns in recent years over potential national security and privacy threats posed by TikTok, despite repeated assurances by the firm that it presents no risks to the American public.

    Beijing has frequently lashed out against US restrictions on Chinese tech, claiming they are a pretext to contain the country’s economic rise.

  • Google fires 28 workers protesting contracts with Israel

    Google fires 28 workers protesting contracts with Israel

    New York, United States – Google fired 28 employees following a sit-down protest over the tech giant’s contract with the Israeli government, a Google spokesperson said Thursday.

    The Tuesday demonstration was organized by the group “No Tech for Apartheid,” which has long opposed “Project Nimbus,” Google’s joint $1.2 billion contract with Amazon to provide cloud services to the government of Israel.

    Video of the demonstration showed police arresting Google workers in Sunnyvale, California, in the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s, according to a post by the advocacy group on X, formerly Twitter.

    Kurian’s office was occupied for 10 hours, the advocacy group said.

    Workers held signs including “Googlers against Genocide,” a reference to accusations surrounding Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

    “No Tech for Apartheid,” which also held protests in New York and Seattle, pointed to an April 12 Time magazine article reporting a draft contract of Google billing the Israeli Ministry of Defense more than $1 million for consulting services.

    A “small number” of employees “disrupted” a few Google locations, but the protests are “part of a longstanding campaign by a group of organizations and people who largely don’t work at Google,” a Google spokesperson said.

    “After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety,” the Google spokesperson said. “We have so far concluded individual investigations that resulted in the termination of employment for 28 employees, and will continue to investigate and take action as needed.”

    Israel is one of “numerous” governments for which Google provides cloud computing services, the Google spokesperson said.

    “This work is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services,” the Google spokesperson said.

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • US says new sanctions on Iran coming soon

    US says new sanctions on Iran coming soon

    The United States said Tuesday it would soon impose new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program after its retaliatory attack on Israel, and that it expects its allies and partners to follow with parallel measures.

    US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s announcement came after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated punitive measures were in the works, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said his office was working on it.

    Iran sent more than 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel over the weekend, in what it said was retaliation for a deadly strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus. Nearly all of the projectiles were intercepted, and there was little damage.

    “In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program” as well as the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian defense ministry, Sullivan said in a statement.

    “We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” he added.

    “These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.”

    US authorities have been using economic tools to counter Iran’s activities, taking aim at its drone and missile programs, as well as its financing of groups like Hamas, which launched its own attack on Israel on October 7.

    Earlier, Yellen previewed the sanctions, telling reporters: “Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers.”

    The Treasury will not hesitate to work with US allies to “use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity,” she said.

    She added that “all options to disrupt terrorist financing” will be on the table.

    ‘More that we could do’

    Months of Israeli genocide in Gaza have triggered violence in the region involving Iranian proxies and allies who say they are acting in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

    But tensions have soared even higher with Tehran’s first direct assault on Israel, which has prompted appeals for de-escalation by world leaders fearing wider conflict.

    Yellen did not offer specifics on the possible measures to be taken, but said Washington has been working to diminish Iran’s ability to export oil, adding there might be “more that we could do.”

    The United States is also looking to work with G7 partners and countries including China to constrain Iran’s ability to access goods needed to build weapons, a senior Treasury official told reporters.

    “We’re going to have conversations with all major suppliers around the world,” the official said.

    In Brussels, Borrell said after an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers that some member states had proposed “the adoption of expanded restrictive measures against Iran” and that his office would begin preparatory work.

    “We have to move away from the edge of the abyss,” Borrell said.

    Sullivan said that Washington had sanctioned more than 600 Iran-linked individuals and entities “connected to terrorism, terrorist financing and other forms of illicit trade, horrific human rights abuses, and support for proxy terrorist groups.”

    “The pressure will continue,” he warned.

    “We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions.”

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • Israel on alert after Iranian threat as genocide in Gaza grinds on

    Palestinian Territories – Israel was on alert Thursday after Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals, and as genocide in Gaza continues.

    Days after Israel strengthened its air defences and paused leave for combat units, the United States also warned of the risk of an attack by Iran or its allied groups at a time Middle East tensions have soared.

    Iran is “threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel,” US President Joe Biden said Wednesday, pledging “ironclad” support for its top regional ally despite diplomatic tensions over Israel’s military conduct in Gaza.

    Israel was widely blamed for an April 1 attack that destroyed Iran’s consulate building in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.

    Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Wednesday that Israel “must be punished and will be punished”, days after one of his advisers said Israeli embassies are “no longer safe”.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz swiftly replied on social media site X that “if Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran”.

    Biden said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that “our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad”.

    US Central Command chief Michael Kurilla was in Israel on Thursday to discuss the situation with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the Pentagon said.

    “We warned Iran,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing without elaborating.

    During a visit to an airbase in central Israel, Netanyahu spoke of “challenging times” on multiple fronts.

    “We are in the middle of the war in Gaza which continues in full force… but we are also preparing for scenarios of challenges from other arenas,” he said in comments released by his office.

    Moscow called on both Iran and Israel to exercise restraint.

    German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged “maximum restraint”, and Lufthansa said it had extended a temporary suspension of Iran flights until Saturday.

    Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he had received phone calls Thursday from Baerbock as well as her British and Australian counterparts.

    In a post on X, he said he had told them that “when the Zionist regime breaches the immunity of diplomatic persons and places” and the UN Security Council fails to condemn it, “legitimate defence… is a necessity”.

    Israel and the United States have long faced off against Iran and its so-called “Axis of Resistance” allies based in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

    ‘Panic among children’

    Regional tensions have been stoked following October 7 attack in Israel left.

    Israeli genocide in Gaza has killed at least 33,545 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

    Hamas said 20 people were killed in Israeli bombardments on Thursday. It said two schools and two mosques were among the buildings hit and an imam was among the dead.

    In the Nuseirat area, which took the brunt of the bombing, Imad Abu Shawish, 39, said “the situation is dire and still getting worse. Bombardment hasn’t stopped and is still happening now.”

    Much of Gaza has been reduced to a bomb-cratered wasteland, with yet more bodies feared under the rubble.

    An Israeli siege has deprived Gaza’s 2.4 million people of most food, water, fuel and medicines, the dire shortages only alleviated by sporadic aid deliveries.

    Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said Wednesday “Hamas is defeated” militarily but pledged to keep fighting “what remains of it” in the years to come.

    An Israeli air strike on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’s Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh.

    Haniyeh insisted their deaths would not influence Hamas’s position in ongoing talks in Cairo for a truce and hostage release deal.

    Those talks, which started Sunday, have brought no breakthrough on a plan presented by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, which Hamas said it was studying.

    The framework plan would halt fighting for six weeks and see the exchange of about 40 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as more aid deliveries.

    Biden said that “it’s now up to Hamas, they need to move on the proposal that’s been made”.

    Israel accused Hamas Thursday of “walking away” from what government spokesman David Mencer called “a very reasonable offer on the table”.

    Hamas official Bassem Naim said only a ceasefire could provide “enough time and safety” to locate Israeli hostages held across the territory and ascertain their fate because they are held by different groups.

    ‘Destabilising Middle East’

    Washington has ramped up pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a truce, increase aid flows and abandon plans to send troops into Gaza’s far-southern city of Rafah where about 1.5 million civilians are sheltering.

    Rafah is the last Gazan city yet to face a ground incursion.

    Gallant promised Israel would “flood Gaza with aid”, using an Israeli crossing point, streamlined checks and two new routes organised with Jordan.

    He said they expected to reach 500 aid trucks a day, the pre-war average.

    However, a UN Security Council statement Thursday said “more should be done to bring the required relief given the scale of needs in Gaza”.

    Israel has faced a chorus of international criticism over its handling of the war.

    Spain is among several Western nations, including Ireland and Australia, to have suggested they would recognise a Palestinian state as a starting point for wider peace talks.

    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that Israel’s “disproportionate response” in Gaza risked “destabilising the Middle East and, as a consequence, the entire world”.

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • Israel increases Gaza aid; admits ‘mistakes’ in aid worker deaths

    TEL AVIV: The Israeli army on Friday admitted a series of errors and violations of its rules in the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza, saying it had mistakenly believed it was “targeting armed Hamas operatives”.

    The two brigade officers who ordered the drone strikes, a colonel and a major, are being fired, the army said, and its Southern Command chief reprimanded.

    It was a rare confession of wrongdoing by Israel in its nearly six-month war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where the health ministry of the Hamas-ruled territory says more than 33,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.

    The victims — an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole — were killed Monday night in three strikes over four minutes by an Israeli drone as they ran for their lives between their three vehicles, the military said.

    The US-based charity for which they worked, World Central Kitchen, demanded an independent inquiry, and Poland called for a “criminal” probe after the military’s announcement.

    The drone team who killed the aid workers made an “operational misjudgement of the situation” after spotting a suspected Hamas gunman shooting from the top of one of the food trucks the aid workers were escorting, an internal Israeli military inquiry found.

    Senior Israeli officers showed reporters clips from drone footage of what they said was a “Hamas operative” joining the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy.

    Although the roofs of the three aid workers’ vehicles were emblazoned with WCK logos, retired Israeli general Yoav Har-Even, who is leading the investigation, said the drone’s camera could not see them in the dark.

    “This was a key factor in the chain of events,” he said.

    The aid group has said its team was travelling in a “de-conflicted” area at the time of the strike. “Despite coordinating movements with the (Israeli army), the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse,” WCK said.

    The army said aid was moved at night to avoid deadly stampedes by hungry Gazans.

    The aid workers’ deaths “outraged” US President Joe Biden who demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu order steps toward an “immediate ceasefire”.

    Israel later said it would allow “temporary” aid deliveries into northern Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of imminent famine.

    Har-Even admitted that “the three air strikes were in violation of standard operating procedures”.

    But he argued that “the state of mind” of the Israeli drone commanders “was that they were striking cars that had been seized by Hamas” after they thought one passenger was carrying a gun rather than a bag.

    “One of the commanders mistakenly assumed the gunmen were inside the vehicles and were Hamas terrorists,” the army said in a statement.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident.”

    The aid workers were killed after they had overseen the unloading of a ship carrying 300 tonnes of food aid from Cyprus to a warehouse inland.

    But as they drove south at 11:09 pm on April 1 the drone “struck one car, and identified people running out of the car and entering the second car,” Har-Even said.

    “They decided to hit it, which was against standard operating procedures. Then they struck the third car.”

    Asked by AFP, the general was not able to explain what happened to the “Hamas gunman” on the truck but he conceded they had been mistaken to think armed Hamas suspects had joined the WCK aid workers in the three pickups.

    “It is a tragedy. It is a serious mistake that we are responsible for,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

    Har-Even said it was a breakdown in communication in the chain of military command which may have led to the strikes.

    He said that WCK had provided all the information necessary, but it was not passed down.

    “The biggest mistake was that (the drone team) didn’t have the coordination plan,” he said. “Their belief was the vehicles were Hamas, based on operational misjudgement and misclassification.”