Archives: Articles

By Saurav Sarkar

As chants of ‘No ICE, No KKK, No Fascist USA!’ echoed through downtown Manhattan on 10 March 2025, I spoke to a person named Richard who had been marching just ahead of me. He declined to give his last name but was eager to speak his piece.

‘We need to be out in the streets and say “This will not fly. This will not happen on our watch”’, he said.

The state kidnapping and imminent deportation of recently graduated Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil had brought both Richard and me out into those streets.

Khalil was detained by the U.S. government on Saturday, 8 March, at his university-owned residence after returning from an Iftar dinner with his wife, who is a US citizen and eight months pregnant. According to information from the US Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), Khalil was being held in a detention centre in Jena, Louisiana, as of 11 March 2025.

The Palestinian student, born in 1995, was a visible participant throughout 2024 in the Columbia students’ protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As a result, he has now been accused of ‘pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity’ by the president of the United States on the social media platform the latter owns.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s indecency until at least 12 March 2025 but Khalil’s future in the United States beyond that is uncertain.

‘We need to remember what Mahmoud was harassed by Zionists and then arrested by [the Department of Homeland Security] for. It was for protesting Israel’s genocide of his own people, of the Palestinian people,’ Miriam Osman, an organiser with Palestinian Youth Movement, told Al Jazeera. The Department of Homeland Security is the cabinet-level body in the US that houses ICE.

Khalil’s arrest comes amidst an alarming rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States that many link to the US president’s words and actions and land sales in the West Bank by Zionist organizations targeting US citizens.

The Trump administration is attempting to deport Khalil, who graduated from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in December 2024. This is despite the fact that Khalil holds permanent residence in the United States.

According to anonymous government sources cited by the New York Times, he is accused of “presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” an obscure provision in the primary US immigration law that practitioners have not seen used to justify a deportation in living memory.

An hour previous to the march, framed by the austere government buildings that surround downtown New York City’s Federal Plaza, about 1,000 people had gathered for a demonstration.

The numbers in Federal Plaza were not themselves massive by the standards of the past two years of Palestine protests in New York City. But those assembled represented a much larger group of people; over 2 million have signed a petition as of 11 March 2025 to ‘demand the immediate release of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil from [immigration] detention and a reversal to Columbia University’s protocol permitting [immigration enforcement agents] on campus without a warrant.’

Moreover, the protest brought out a wider swathe of community and movement organisations than many pro-Palestine protests in the New York City area, ranging from anti-Zionist organisations like Palestinian Youth Movement and Jewish Voice for Peace to political groups like ANSWER Coalition and Democratic Socialists of America to local immigrant rights bodies. These groups have been active in the protests that began since October 2023 against the genocide in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil was part of those protests.

‘The Trump regime… is endangering Jewish people and using the guise of fighting antisemitism to dismantle our Constitutionally protected rights to free speech and dissent’, said Jewish Voice for Peace in a statement on its website.

Numerous speakers at the rally emphasised the need to organise against Zionism and against Trump in daily life. One protester was already living that; she declined to be formally interviewed but said that she had been on her way home from a doctor’s appointment when she learned of the demonstration and felt compelled to attend.

Saurav Sarkar is an editor at Globetrotter and a freelance movement writer and editor living in Long Island, New York. Follow them on Bluesky @sauravthewriter.bsky.social and at sauravsarkar.com.

12 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By V.A. Mohamad Ashrof

The concept of the “chosen people” has long been a cornerstone of Jewish identity and theology, sparking intense debate and discussion throughout history. Originating in the sacred texts of the Torah and the Old Testament, this notion has been subject to various interpretations, often oscillating between assertions of exclusivity and divine favour. This paper seeks to explore the scriptural roots and theological implications of this idea, clarifying the Jewish people’s relationship with the divine.

The idea that the Jews are God’s “chosen people” is a central theme in Jewish theology and scripture, but it has often been misunderstood and misinterpreted. This notion, deeply rooted in the Torah and the Old Testament, describes the Jewish people’s unique relationship with God. However, this relationship does not imply inherent superiority or exclusivity; rather, it carries significant responsibilities and conditions.

Biblical Foundations of the “Chosen People” Concept

The Torah and the Old Testament prophets emphasize that the Jewish people were chosen by God not because of any inherent greatness or moral superiority, but as part of a divine plan. Key passages highlight this special status:

•        “You are a holy people to the Lord your God; He has chosen you to be His own people above all other peoples on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)

•        “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6)

These verses underscore that the Jewish people were set apart for a specific purpose: to serve as a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation,” tasked with upholding God’s laws and being a light to other nations. However, this status was not unconditional. The prophet Amos makes this clear:

•        “You only have I chosen of all the peoples of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your sins.” (Amos 3:2)

This passage highlights the conditional nature of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. The relationship was not a one-sided promise of favour but a mutual agreement requiring obedience and faithfulness. The Quran also acknowledges that a firm pledge was taken from the Children of Israel. (1)

The Development of the “Chosen People” Concept in Jewish Thought

Over time, the concept of the “chosen people” evolved within Jewish tradition. In the Talmud, for example, there is an interpretation that suggests the Torah was offered to all nations, but only Israel accepted it:

•        “God promised to give this law (Torah) to all nations, but all except Israel rejected it.” (Talmud, Avodah Zarah 2b) (2)

This interpretation has sometimes been used to support a communal-ethnic ideology among Jews. However, Jewish scholars have also offered more inclusive readings of the concept. For instance, Rabbi Ar. Meir argued that anyone who studies and applies the Torah in their life can attain a high spiritual status, even equating them to the rank of a high priest. This suggests that the Torah’s teachings are not inherently exclusive but are open to all who seek to live by them. (3)

The Quranic Perspective on the “Chosen People”

The Quran also addresses the concept of the Jews as a chosen people, acknowledging their special status in the past while critiquing their failure to uphold their covenant with God. Several verses highlight the blessings bestowed upon the Children of Israel:

•        “Remember when Moses said to his people: O my people, remember the blessings that God bestowed on you, and that He raised up among you prophets and made you kings. And He gave you that which He has not given to anyone else in the world.” (Quran 5:20)

•        “O Children of Israel, remember My favour upon you and how I preferred you above all the worlds.” (Quran 2:47)

These verses do not imply eternal or exclusive favouritism. Rather, they reflect a historical moment when the Jewish people were entrusted with divine wisdom and leadership. The Quran criticizes the Jews for failing to uphold their covenant, as seen in:

•        “And [recall] when We took your covenant, [saying], ‘Do not shed your [i.e., each other’s] blood or evict one another from your homes.’ Then you acknowledged [this] while you were witnessing. Then, you were those who killed one another and evicted a party of your people from their homes…” (Quran 2:84-85) (4)

This criticism is echoed by some anti-Zionist Jewish groups, who argue that the establishment of the modern state of Israel is not in alignment with their understanding of divine will. They believe that true restoration will only occur with the coming of the Saviour. (5)

A Balanced Understanding of the “Chosen People”

The concept of the Jews as the “chosen people” is multifaceted and cannot be reduced to a simple claim of superiority or exclusivity. Key points to consider include:

1.       Conditional Covenant: The special status of the Jewish people was contingent upon their adherence to God’s laws and their role as a moral and spiritual guide to other nations.

2.       Universal Implications: While the covenant was made with the Jewish people, its teachings and principles have universal relevance. The Torah, as interpreted by some Jewish scholars, is not closed off to others but offers wisdom for all humanity.

3.       Historical Context: The Quran acknowledges the historical role of the Jews as recipients of divine favour but critiques their failure to uphold their responsibilities. This perspective aligns with the biblical emphasis on accountability.

The idea of the Jews as the “chosen people” is a profound theological concept that carries both privileges and responsibilities. It is not a blanket endorsement of superiority but a call to fulfil a specific role in the divine plan. Both the Bible and the Quran emphasize that this status is conditional and requires faithfulness to God’s commandments. By understanding this concept in its full context, we can move beyond misinterpretations and appreciate its deeper spiritual and ethical significance.

Jewish Criticism in the Quran

The Quran offers a comprehensive critique of certain behaviours and attitudes among the Jewish people, particularly those who opposed divine guidance. It accuses them of several moral and theological failings, including:

1.       Killing the Prophets: The Quran condemns the killing of prophets sent to guide them. (6)

2.       Distorting Scripture: It criticizes the practice of altering religious texts for personal gain. (7)

3.       Rejecting Jesus: The Quran notes that some Jews dismissed Jesus, who performed miracles, as a mere magician. (8)

4.       Attempting to Crucify Jesus: It accuses them of attempting to crucify Jesus, though the Quran clarifies that they did not succeed. (9)

5.       Manipulating Divine Words: The Quran highlights their tendency to twist the words of God for selfish purposes. (10)

Despite these criticisms, the Quran also acknowledges the revered status of key Jewish figures such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), whom it recognizes as prophets. (11) It further notes that the Israelites were uniquely blessed with numerous prophets, setting them apart from other nations. (12) However, the Quran rejects any notion of racial or ethnic superiority, emphasizing that no group is inherently greater than another. (13)

Historical Context: Jews in Muslim Lands

The anti-racist stance of Islam historically provided refuge for Jewish communities during periods of widespread persecution, particularly in the Middle Ages. This is evidenced by the enduring Jewish presence in countries like Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, where Muslims offered protection against anti-Semitism. This stands in contrast to the persecution Jews faced in many Christian-majority regions.

The Quran and Islamic scholars have critiqued certain tendencies within Jewish religious practice and interpretation. For instance:

•        Priority of the Talmud: Jewish tradition often prioritizes the Babylonian Talmud over the Torah, which some argue has led to interpretations that incite racial or ethnic exclusivity. (14)

•        Critique of Racial Superiority: The Quran challenges the idea of racial or ethnic supremacy, asserting that true greatness lies in righteousness and obedience to God. (15)

The Quran critiques the inclination among some Jews to overlook or justify wrongdoing within their community, including injustices and exploitative acts. (16) (17) However, it is crucial to recognize that these criticisms are not sweeping condemnations of all Jews throughout history. Rather, the Quran distinguishes righteous individuals among them, holding them up as exemplars of virtue. (18)

Objectives of Quranic Criticism

The Quran’s critique of the Jewish community serves two primary purposes:

1.       A Warning to Humanity: It serves as a living testimony to the consequences of deviating from divine guidance.

2.       Exposing Religious Distortion: It highlights how religious teachings can be manipulated to justify injustice and oppression.

The Quran also emphasizes that salvation remains open to all, including Jews, provided they return to righteousness and reject falsehood. (19)

Misinterpretation of the “Chosen People” Concept

The Quran addresses the misinterpretation of the “chosen people” concept, which some Jews and Christians have used to claim superiority:

•        “The Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of God, beloved to Him. Say to them: Why then does He punish you for your sins? In reality, you are only human beings like the other people He created.” (Quran 5:18)

This verse underscores that divine favour is conditional upon moral and spiritual conduct, not ethnicity or lineage. The Quran warns that racial prejudice and a sense of superiority lead to oppression and exploitation. (20)

The Quran notes that some Jews rejected Muhammad’s prophethood on racial grounds, arguing that no messenger could come from outside the Israelite community. (21) However, the Quran also highlights that there were righteous individuals among the Jews who upheld justice and truth:

•        “And among the people of Moses were a group who guided to the truth and practiced justice by the truth.” (Quran 7:159).

The Quran’s distinction between the individual’s moral character and their collective community identity is a timeless and universal principle. This principle is reinforced through various verses that emphasize the importance of individual accountability and moral responsibility.

For instance, Quran 5:69 states, “Those who believe, and those who follow the Jewish scriptures, and the Christians, and the Sabians – any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord.” This verse highlights the shared values and moral principles that unite individuals across different faith communities.

Similarly, Quran 2:62 also underscores the idea that moral character and individual actions are the ultimate measures of a person’s worth.

Quran 3:113-115 further reinforces this idea, praising a group of righteous Jews who “are not all alike; among them are those who are upright, reciting the signs of God in the watches of the night, and they prostrate. They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong, and hasten to good works.” These verses demonstrate the Quran’s appreciation for individuals who embody moral virtues, regardless of their communal affiliation.

Moreover, Quran 3:199 and 5:65-66 emphasize the importance of individual moral responsibility, stating that those who believe and do righteous deeds will be rewarded, regardless of their faith community. These verses underscore the idea that moral character and individual actions are the ultimate measures of a person’s worth.

Through these verses, the Quran reinforces the importance of individual moral character and accountability, while also emphasizing the need for empathy, compassion, and understanding towards others. By recognizing this fundamental principle, we can cultivate a more inclusive and empathetic approach to understanding the diversity of human experience.

The Quran expresses hope that the Jewish people will learn from their history and return to righteousness:

“We scattered them on the earth and scattered them into nations. Some of them were righteous and some were evil. We tried them with good and evil. What if they returned?” (Quran 7:168)

This reflects the Quran’s broader theme of divine mercy and the possibility of redemption for all who repent.

Biblical Parallels

The Torah itself emphasizes that exaltation is conditional upon obedience to God’s commandments:

“If you obey the voice of the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commandments that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1)

Conversely, disobedience brings severe consequences:

“He will send curses, trouble, and rebuke on all your undertakings until you perish, because you have forsaken the Lord through your wickedness.” (Deuteronomy 28:20)

These themes are echoed in the teachings of Jesus, who criticized the religious leaders of his time:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. You yourselves do not go in, and you do not allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13-14)

Modern Implications: Zionism and Conflict

The Quranic critique of certain Jewish attitudes finds echoes in modern debates about Zionism. Some argue that Zionist ideology, like the attitudes of the ancient Pharisees, perpetuates conflict and injustice in the Middle East. The Quran’s warnings against racial and ethnic superiority remain relevant in addressing contemporary issues of oppression and exploitation.

The Quran’s criticisms of the Jewish community are rooted in a broader theological framework that emphasizes justice, accountability, and the rejection of racial or ethnic superiority. While it critiques certain behaviours and attitudes, it also acknowledges the righteousness of individuals and offers a path to redemption. By understanding these critiques in their proper context, we can appreciate the Quran’s call for universal justice and moral integrity.

A journey through the mind of one of the most influential proponents of Christian Zionism, Reverend Jerry Falwell (1933–2007), reveals the ideological underpinnings and contradictions of this movement. Falwell, a prominent figure in the Christian Zionist movement, exemplifies the theological and ethical tensions inherent in the alignment of certain Christian groups with Zionist ideologies.

Falwell and other Christian Zionists often reject the biblical truth that the Jewish people, like all nations, are subject to divine judgment for their sins. (23) This rejection is striking, given that the Old and New Testaments—texts Falwell himself accepts—clearly affirm that no nation, including Israel, is exempt from accountability before God. (24) Falwell’s refusal to acknowledge this biblical principle underscores a selective interpretation of Scripture that prioritizes political ideology over theological integrity.

Falwell asserts that Jews possess theological, historical, and legal rights to Palestine. (25) However, this assertion becomes problematic when examined in light of the actions of secular Zionists, many of whom are atheistic, violent, and exploitative. These individuals have engaged in acts of terror, formed alliances with colonial powers, and established the state of Israel through cunning and force. Yet, figures like Falwell continue to justify the state of Israel theologically, inadvertently portraying God as complicit in racism, predation, and cruelty.

Falwell himself admits to being troubled by the persecution, double standards, and human rights violations perpetrated by Israel against Christians. (26) Despite this, he remains unapologetic in his unwavering support for the Zionist state, even as it oppresses fellow believers. This contradiction highlights the moral and ethical compromises inherent in Christian Zionism.

The celebration of Israel’s founding as a fulfilment of biblical prophecy is another area of concern. Many overlook the fact that Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, was a secular atheist who considered locations such as Argentina and Uganda as potential Jewish homelands. This historical reality challenges the notion that the establishment of Israel was a divinely ordained event.

At its core, religion must be interpreted through the lens of justice, fairness, and mercy. The Bible consistently emphasizes these values. The Old Testament describes the Messiah as the “Prince of Peace” (28), while the New Testament portrays Jesus as the embodiment of peace and the path to reconciliation. (29) Peacemakers are explicitly called “God’s people” (30), and Jesus Christ underscores that loving God and one’s neighbour are prerequisites for achieving this status. (31)

Justice is upheld as the highest value in the teachings of Jesus. (32) Those who justify the oppression of the Palestinian people and support atrocities against them under the guise of imperialist or Zionist agendas are, in essence, rejecting the divine mandate for justice. The Bible is clear: God despises religious practices that abandon justice. (33) Religion without justice is not only futile but also antithetical to the will of God. (34) True liberation, both spiritual and physical, can only be achieved through the pursuit of justice. (35)

Jesus Christ issued a stern warning against those who distort Scripture to justify violence and injustice: “Many false prophets will appear and deceive many. And because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.” (36) The book of Revelation further identifies such individuals as belonging to the “synagogue of Satan.” (37) In this light, Christian Zionists and Jewish Zionists who perpetuate injustice and violence under the guise of biblical fulfilment align themselves not with the teachings of Christ but with the forces of deception and oppression.

Notes and References:

1) Quran 2:83

2) Mek Yitro, Pes. R.K. 103b, 186a, 200a

3) Leviticus 18:5, 2 Samuel 7:19, Isaiah 26:2, Psalms 33:1, 98:20, 125:4

4) Quran 4:153

5) Judaism does not recognize Jesus Christ as the true Messiah; the Quran accepts Jesus as the True Messiah (Q.3:45, 4:171).

6) Quran 2:61, 3:112, 4:155, 5:70. Jesus Christ himself indicates that the Jews killed the prophets (Matthew 23:37-39)

7) Quran 9:31

8) Quran 5:110

9) Quran 4:153-159

10) Quran 5:13, 5:41, 5:68, 2:75, 2:79, 3:71, 3:78

11) Quran 44:32

12) Quran 5:20

13) Quran 49:13

14) The writings of Jewish priests were later codified under the name Talmud. They attempted to control the people and elevate their own status through their own writings, arguing that they had violated other revelations to him, in addition to the Torah given through Moses.

15) Isaak Landman, The Universal Jewish Encyclopaedia, Universal Jewish Encyclopaedia Co., Inc.: New York, 1948, “Authority,” p.637

16) Quran 5:79

17) Quran 5:63

18) Quran 7:168, 5:66, 4:162, 3:199, 3:75, 3:113-114

19) Quran 2:62, 5:69

20) Quran 4:155, 5:13, 5:18

21) Quran 2:109, 4:54

22) The sharpest such criticisms can be read in Micah 3:1-12 and Hosea 8:1-14. Here the Jews are portrayed as abandoners of justice, peace-breakers, and bloodshed. Such criticisms, even within their own scriptures, should serve as a lesson to Jewish and Christian Zionists.

23) Merrill Simon, Jerry Falwell and the Jews, Jonathan David Publishers, Inc.: New York, 1984, p.13

24) Bible scholars generally believe that there is a prophecy related to this in Psalms 69:21, 69:25, and Matthew 23:38.

25) Merrill Simon, Op. cit, p.62

26) Merrill Simon, Op. cit, p.68

27) Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 82:2-4, Luke 6:27-38

28) Isaiah 9:6

29) Luke 1:79, John 14:27

30) Matthew 5:9

31) Matthew 22:36-40

32) Matthew 23:23

33) Amos 5:2124

34) Micah 6:8, Deuteronomy 16:20

35) Isaiah 56:1, Jeremiah 9:24, 22:16

36) Matthew 24:11-12

37) Revelation 3:9

V.A. Mohamad Ashrof is an independent Indian scholar specializing in Islamic humanism.

11 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies

When European Union leaders met in Brussels on February 6th to discuss the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron called this time “a turning point in history.” Western leaders agree that this is an historic moment when decisive action is needed, but what kind of action depends on their interpretation of the nature of this moment.

Is this the beginning of a new Cold War between the U.S., NATO and Russia or the end of one? Will Russia and the West remain implacable enemies for the foreseeable future, with a new iron curtain between them through what was once the heart of Ukraine? Or can the United States and Russia resolve the disputes and hostility that led to this war in the first place, so as to leave Ukraine with a stable and lasting peace?

Some European leaders see this moment as the beginning of a long struggle with Russia, akin to the beginning of the Cold War in 1946, when Winston Churchill warned that “an iron curtain has descended” across Europe.

On March 2nd, echoing Churchill, European Council President Ursula von der Leyen declared that Europe must turn Ukraine into a “steel porcupine.” President Zelenskyy has said he wants up to 200,000 European troops on the eventual ceasefire line between Russia and Ukraine to “guarantee” any peace agreement, and insists that the United States must provide a “backstop,” meaning a commitment to send U.S. forces to fight in Ukraine if war breaks out again.

Russia has repeatedly said it won’t agree to NATO forces being based in Ukraine under any guise. “We explained today that the appearance of armed forces from the same NATO countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything in this regard,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on February 18. “Of course this is unacceptable to us.”

But the U.K. is persisting in a campaign to recruit a “coalition of the willing,” the same term the U.S. and U.K. coined for the list of countries they persuaded to support the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. In that case, only Australia, Denmark and Poland took small parts in the invasion, Costa Rica publicly insisted on being removed from the list, and the term was widely lampooned as the “coalition of the billing” because the U.S. recruited so many countries to join it by promising them lucrative foreign aid deals.

Far from the start of a new Cold War, President Trump and other leaders see this moment as more akin to the end of the original Cold War, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavik in Iceland in 1986 and began to bridge the divisions caused by 40 years of Cold War hostility.

Like Trump and Putin today, Reagan and Gorbachev were unlikely peacemakers. Gorbachev had risen through the ranks of the Soviet Communist Party to become its General Secretary and Soviet Premier in March 1985, in the midst of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and he didn’t begin to withdraw Soviet forces from Afghanistan until 1988. Reagan oversaw an unprecedented Cold War arms build-up, a U.S.-backed genocide in Guatemala and covert and proxy wars throughout Central America. And yet Gorbachev and Reagan are now widely remembered as peacemakers.

While Democrats deride Trump as a Putin stooge, in his first term in office Trump was actually responsible for escalating the Cold War with Russia. After the Pentagon had milked its absurd, self-fulfilling “War on Terror” for trillions of dollars, it was Trump and his psychopathic Defense Secretary, General “Mad Dog” Mattis, who declared the shift back to strategic competition with Russia and China as the Pentagon’s new gravy train in their 2018 National Defense Strategy. It was also Trump who lifted President Obama’s restrictions on sending offensive weapons to Ukraine.

Trump’s head-spinning about-turn in U.S. policy has left its European allies with whiplash and reversed the roles they each have played for generations. France and Germany have traditionally been the diplomats and peacemakers in the Western alliance, while the U.S. and U.K. have been infected with a chronic case of war fever that has proven resistant to a long string of military defeats and catastrophic impacts on every country that has fallen prey to their warmongering.

In 2003, France’s Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin led the opposition to the invasion of Iraq in the UN Security Council. France, Germany and Russia issued a joint statement to say that they would “not let a proposed resolution pass that would authorize the use of force. Russia and France, as permanent members of the Security Council, will assume all their responsibilities on this point.”

At a press conference in Paris with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, French President Jacques Chirac said, “Everything must be done to avoid war… As far as we’re concerned, war always means failure.”

As recently as 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, it was once again the U.S. and U.K. that rejected and blocked peace negotiations in favor of a long war, while France, Germany and Italy continued to call for new negotiations, even as they gradually fell in line with the U.S. long war policy.

Former German Chancellor Schröder took part in the peace negotiations in Turkey in March and April 2022, and flew to Moscow at Ukraine’s request to meet with Putin. In an interview with Berliner Zeitung in 2023, Schröder confirmed that the peace talks only failed “because everything was decided in Washington.”

With Biden still blocking new negotiations in 2023, one of the interviewers asked Schröder “Do you think you can resume your peace plan?”

Schröder replied, “Yes, and the only ones who can initiate this are France and Germany… Macron and Scholz are the only ones who can talk to Putin. Chirac and I did the same in the Iraq war. Why can’t support for Ukraine be combined with an offer of talks to Russia? The arms deliveries are not a solution for eternity. But no one wants to talk. Everyone sits in trenches. How many more people have to die?”

Since 2022, President Macron and a Thatcherite team of iron ladies – European Council President von der Leyen; former German Foreign Minister Analena Baerbock; and Estonia’s former prime minister Kaja Kallas, now the EU’s foreign policy chief – have promoted a new militarization of Europe, egged on from behind the scenes by European and U.S. arms manufacturers.

Has the passage of time, the passing of the World War II generation and the distortion of history washed away the historical memory of two world wars from a continent that was destroyed by war only 80 years ago? Where is the next generation of French and German diplomats in the tradition of de Villepin and Schröder today? How can sending German tanks to fight in Ukraine, and now in Russia itself, fail to remind Russians of previous German invasions and solidify support for the war? And won’t the call for Europe to confront Russia by moving from a “welfare state to a warfare state” only feed the rise of the European hard right?

So are the new European militarists reading the historical moment correctly? Or are they jumping on the bandwagon of a disastrous Cold War that could, as Biden and Trump have warned, lead to World War III?

When Trump’s foreign policy team met with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on February 18, ending the war in Ukraine was the second part of the three-part plan they agreed on. The first was to restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia, and the third was to work on a series of other problems in U.S.-Russian relations.

The order of these three stages is interesting, because, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted, it means that the negotiations over Ukraine will be the first test of restored relations between the U.S. and Russia.

If the negotiations for peace in Ukraine are successful, they can lead to further negotiations over restoring arms control treaties, nuclear disarmament and cooperation on other global problems that have been impossible to resolve in a world stuck in a zombie-like Cold War that powerful interests would not allow to die.

It was a welcome change to hear Secretary Rubio say that the post-Cold War unipolar world was an anomaly and that now we have to adjust to the reality of a multipolar world. But if Trump and his hawkish advisers are just trying to restore U.S. relations with Russia as part of a “reverse Kissinger” scheme to isolate China, as some analysts have suggested, that would perpetuate America’s debilitating geopolitical crisis instead of solving it.

The United States and our friends in Europe have a new chance to make a clean break from the three-way geopolitical power struggle between the United States, Russia and China that has hamstrung the world since the 1970s, and to find new roles and priorities for our countries in the emerging multipolar world of the 21st Century.

We hope that Trump and European leaders can recognize the crossroads at which they are standing, and the chance history is giving them to choose the path of peace. France and Germany in particular should remember the wisdom of Dominique de Villepin, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder in the face of U.S. and British plans for aggression against Iraq in 2003.

This could be the beginning of the end of the permanent state of war and Cold War that has held the world in its grip for more than a century. Ending it would allow us to finally prioritize the progress and cooperation we so desperately need to solve the other critical problems the whole world is facing in the 21st Century. As General Milley said back in November 2022 when he called for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, we must “seize the moment.”

Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies are the authors of War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, published by OR Books, with an updated edition due this summer.

10 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

“War provides an outlet for every evil element in man’s nature. It enfranchises cupidity and greed gives a charter to petty tyranny, glorifies cruelty and places in position of power the vulgar and base.”  (C.E.M Joad. Guide to Modern Wickedness, 1936)

What if Arab -Muslim Leaders were Intelligent and Honest?

Are they deaf or dead conscience not to see what is happening on the ground across Gaza and other parts of Palestine? Their portrait of deception, vice and treachery to the expectations of masses is exhibited worldwide. Every authoritarian leader, every prince, every king is a despot in his heart and enemy of the human race as history reveals. The Arab Summit (Cairo) should have known and determined the agenda and issues facing helpless people of Gaza for their security and survival. How to undo the Israeli occupation and restore normal life to the people of Gaza was the top most issue to be considered and resolved. Not so, they wanted to fly high to rebuild Gaza even though it is occupied and targeted daily to disrupt the civilian lives trying to imagine some consolence in an unthinkable world of tomorrow. Their absurd proposition to rebuild Gaza under continuous Israeli occupation is nothing more than a joke to common sense. Most modern Arab states are managed by secret police and masses live in fear and hatred of the rulers. Wherever people cannot think freely and reason the unreason, consequently human progress is stalled and anarchy and insanity become the rule of the land.

PM Netanyahu has achieved his ambitions to destroy Gaza for vengeance and to destabilize the Arab world for futuristic domination. and The Arab League and OIC do not represent the Muslim masses except they are olgirach entities to mislead the people. The Hamas- Israel ceasefire deal was shaky, fluid and unpredictable from the very beginning as Israel and America just wanted their hostages freed and keep the occupation of Gaza intact without Israeli IDF withdrawal. Most of the leading Arab leaders were complicit in making the Gza war happen and catastrophic destruction of the infrastructures and killings were happening on their television screen and witnessed by the concerned global community. They were silent spectators as some have heavy financial investments in Israel and American corporate entities producing AI, surveillance technology and other industrial setups. If logic, honesty and sense of moral-political responsibility were implied, a collaborative will and action was deemed necessary to check the Israeli intransigence and warfare against 2.5 million innocent civilian population of Gaza and offer some leadership security and protection to the beleaguered masses. Please see: “Israel Lost the War and America Betrayed Humanity in Gaza.”

https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2024/05/15/israel-lost-the-war-and-america-betrayed-humanity-in-gaza.php

Ironically, Arab-Muslim leaders talk in public discourse but lack prompt action to offer any tangible help to the victims of War. They lost the path of reality and truth and just pretended to be concerned about the Israel onslaught of the Gaza masses. The deaths and destruction are unparalleled in modern times as if it was another chapter of a Third World War against the Arab and Muslim world. The affluent oil producing Arab leaders breathe oxygen away in seclusion and comforts of palaces guarded by foreign mercenaries and do not live with people to know the reality of on-going pains and horrors of killings imposed on the people of Palestine.

Arab Leaders live in Palaces, not with People

The Arab world lives in a conflicting time zone and its stance does not match the reason and aggressiveness of the Israeli war plans for ‘Greater Israel’ supported by the US and more so by the Trump Presidency. Does reason not know how to protect the Islamic interests? Now, American and Israeli unreason appears a dominant brute force to destroy the Muslim masses and put a finished answer on the Palestinian identity and movement for an independent State of Palestine. The UNO and global systems of peace and security are broken, dysfunctional and would never act to safeguard the interests of the Arab-Muslim world, simply because the Arab-Muslim leadership is composed of dummies, inept and egoistic former agents of European imperialism and have no moral or intellectual capacity to respond to situations of urgency for the people of Islamic world.

Their cowardly unreason and unthinking of Islamic interests, is causing catastrophic outcomes for the besieged people of Gaza and across Palestine. The Arab-Muslim leaders are more like a cult working together to replace the Islamic values and principles of accountability with technology, entertainment and diversion of morality – this could well be witnessed in Saudi Arabia, the UAE or other Arab gulf states enjoining good times and sports while the people in Gaza are bombed and massacred. The Divine warning of the Quran is self-explanatory: “We have revealed for you (O men!) a book in which is a message for you: Will ye not then understand?” (21: 10). And it warns: “Then the Apostle will say: O My Lord! My people took this Qur’an for just foolish nonsense.”(25:30), “Does Man not see; It is God Who created him from sperm. Yet Behold! he (stands forth) as an open Adversary.” (36:77).

The Arab Summit (Cairo) a Fake Trajectory of Escape from Realities

The Arab League Summit (Cairo) last week was publicized to address the focal issue of peace and security of the much ravaged and destroyed strip of Gaza by Israel-American war on the innocent people who had nothing to do with alleged terrorism claimed by Israeli think tanks. Across the globe, concerned people were watching if the Arab leaders would use knowledge, courage, and sense of honesty to help the besieged masses of Gaza – the new killing ground of Israeli experiments to displace the inhabitants for a Greater Israel concurred by the US new President Trump – an enthusiastic supporter of likeminded Netanyahu – who is in desperate search of settling his mental microscope for a different powerful future by ignoring and rejecting the Israel masses call of peace, normalization of relationships and safe return of the hostages.

The crises facing the Muslim Ummah needed urgent critical thinking for a navigational change and expert consultations (‘Shura’ in Quranic term) to foster conflict management, change, security and peace with other nations. But the emerging crises clearly indicate the Western policies and practices goals to incapacitate the Arab intellectual hub into unthinking of the present or future. There seems to be no escape from the current volatile political crises, when Arab leaders act as if they had no knowledge of what massive deaths and destruction meant to contemporary rational thinkers. Temptation and compulsion of evil embedded in psychological factors of sectarian rivalries operate across many Arabian gulf regions to perpetuate in-house fear, death and destruction. Recently, Gaza and West Bank Palestinians witnessed the forcible massive displacement of people from their homes under false pretext of terrorism, and continuing atrocities in other parts of Palestine. Who will deal with restoration of peace, normalcy and conflict management? Do the Arab-Muslim leaders have any moral and intellectual capacity to extend security and sense of protection to the helpless people of Palestine? Rationality is replaced by a perpetuated insanity. Time and history are not on the side of the Arab kings and princess doomed to be replaced by those friendly to the Western powers and new political imagination of the people seeking societal change as was the aim of Arab Spring, 2011. As it stands now, Arab leaders have no other thought and priority except to check the depleted oil prices, and count the dead bodies – soon they could be part of abstract statistics debated and defined by the American and Israeli warriors as to how the Arabs lost their national freedom, human dignity and oil pumping economic happiness. To reverse the naïve blunders for accidental change and to strike a rational outlook for the future, this author (“Arab Leaders: Waiting to Count the Dead Bodies.” Opinion Maker:) and “Arab Leaders Count Dead Bodies but Peacemaking is not the Aim.” Uncommon Thought Journal, USA):, offered the following insight and reminder to all concerned in the Arab -Muslim world:

Once the Arabs were leaders in knowledge, creativity, science and human manifestation, progress and future-making – the Islamic civilization lasting for eight hundred years in Al-Andalusia- Spain. But when they replaced Islam – the power and core value of their advancements with petro-dollars transitory economic prosperity, they failed to think intelligently and fell in disgrace and lost what was gained over the centuries. They relied on Western mythologies of change and materialistic development which resulted in their self- geared anarchy, corruption, military defeats and disconnected authoritarianism. The Western strategists ran planned scams of economic prosperity to destroy the Arab culture with their own oil and their own money turning them redundant for the 21st century world and beyond. Today, the Arab -Muslim leaders are so irrational and cruel that they reject all voices of reason and honesty from Muslim scholars for political change, public institutions building and human development only to bring more deaths and destruction to their societies. Please also see: https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2023/10/07/how-did-arab-leaders-betrayed-islam-and defied-the-logic-of-political-change-peace-and-security.php / “How the prosperity bubble destroyed the Arab Moral and Intellectual culture” Uncommon Thought Journal: 6/12/2013/ https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2023/10/07

Professor John Esposito, (Unholy War and What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, 2nd ed. 2011), a reputable scholar of Western-Islamic culture and history at the Georgetown University, offers a lesson in a rational context:

“An important lesson of history is that rulers and nations do rise and fall. Unforeseen circumstances can bring up unanticipated change. Few expected the breakup of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe to occur when they did ……now is the time for those in all walks of life (political, economic, military, media and academic) who wish to see a new order not to be silenced but to speak out, organize, vote and be willing when necessary to make sacrifices in promoting a new global order.”

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and has spent several academic years across the Russian-Ukrainian and Central Asian regions knowing the people, diverse cultures of thinking and political governance and a keen interest in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution 2019, and a forthcoming book: Apathy to Peace and Wars on Ukraine and Palestine, Kindle Direct Publishing, USA, 2025.

11 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Dr Marwan Asmar

The current talks between US officials and Hamas leaders in Qatar is certainly a deep wound for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had long promised that he would finish off the Islamic organization in Gaza for good.

Indeed, it’s a double-wound for Netanyahu and his extremist government who had been under an illusion, perhaps a strong word to use, that US President Donald Trump would long share the Israeli extremist objectives of taking over Gaza, getting rid of its people en masse, and end Hamas rule in the 364-kilometer enclave.

Trump, especially over the past few weeks, had certainly given the Israelis that impression, especially when he blurted out at a devastating press conference with Netanyahu in the White House in early February 2025, that what he wants is to create a Middle East Riviera in Gaza that would include ‘voluntarily’ displacement of the 2.2 million Palestinians living there and swiftly end Hamas-rule. The president added what he wants to do is for the United States to take over Gaza and make it a top property front-beach development.

The whys, ifs, and hows didn’t matter whilst the details were left to be ironed out for later, while the focus zoomed on what was Trump saying which literally seemed to be straight off the top of his head as unrehearsed “blabber” non – certainly not members of the new administration – knew about as the new man in the White House dictated his shallow views and hearsay.

To Netanyahu it was music to his ears and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He just stood, smiled, glared and looked into the cameras pleased with his friend. To say the least however, he was gob-smacked and taken off-guard.

Trump’s bombshell announcement created an almost mass hysteria among the Palestinians, Arab world and internationally with people aghast, not knowing what to say, what to do and how to respond. Trump had then just announced the trampling on decades of international law – behest through the United Nations resolutions condemning Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza and its heinous and vile military rule.

Enters Hamas in US thinking

However, Netanyahu’s smirk was soon wiped off when it became clear that Trump was offering him Dutch-courage support while directly talking to Hamas officials at the same time. The Israelis become livid, especially when they got to know about the on-going meetings through third parties and leaked sources.

Today, Netanyahu is in a state of a quandary. For the first time he is finding that the political strings and threads are no longer in his court anymore as was the case with the former administration and despite the fact Trump just unfroze the MK-84 2000-pound bombs to Israel which Joe Biden slammed on Israel in May 2024 and adding that the security of Israel remains his top priority.

But today Netanyahu has become deeply-troubled with what is being regarded as double-talk and double-dealing! The bombs supply were to be a palliative to what is being “cooked” behind closed doors.

In Trump, and through his team led by Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler, Netanyahu is finding out that the new republican president in the White House is not an easy man and despite the strong Israeli lobby in Washington he doesn’t necessarily mean what he says and he is always looking out for America as the No. 1 interest. It is high politics trickery designed to get things done.

For the first time in this 16-month war on Gaza which Israeli started after 7 October, 2023, Netanyahu is finding himself in a corner, no longer able to pay just lip-service to the multitude of talks held in Doha and Cairo over the months of 2024 and which led to nowhere but increased the destruction of Gaza and the killing of its people.

Although Trump maybe a very good friend to Israel – a claim registered in his earlier administration when he moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, a first-ever move by a US president and openly-backed the continued occupation of the Golan Heights, the businessman-politician is not interested in wars and has moved immediately to stop the three-year-old Ukraine war with Russia and now is dilly-dallying with Gaza.

The current talks in Doha are aimed to extend the ceasefire to be executed in three stages reached on 19 January, just one day before Trump officially entered the White House.  While stage I has just ended, the Netanyahu government is foot-dragging, not wanting to move onto the second and third stage mainly because of ideological, domestic political reasons and his eminent threat of going to prison on corruption charges.

Netanyahu fears continuing the ceasefire deal would mean the end of his government that is controlled by extremists who want the war on Gaza to continue and have stated time and again that they would bring the government down if Netanyahu makes a deal that is less than re-occupying Gaza and stamping out Hamas which continues to be a fanciful dream.

Present talks

But the present US talks in Gaza with the Islamist organization that ruled the enclave since 2007, and under a tight Israeli siege that continues today, is creating a flurry of muted tense relations between Tel Aviv and Washington occasionally coming out in-the-open as was the case through a leaked phone call between Boehler, a new man in charge of the hostages file in the US administration and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close Netanyahu ally.

His protest was made recently by refusing to go with his Israeli team to join the latest bout of negotiations in Doha to kick-start the second stage of the ceasefire and release more hostages at their current number of 60  including one US-Israeli soldier and four American bodies that have been killed by Israeli bombardment and kept during Israel’s war on the enclave in the last months.

At the present time four meetings were held between American and Hamas officials with the last headed by chief of the movement Khalil al-Hayya. To say the least, Israel is irritated, angry, and dumbfounded and what is happening. Netanyahu is simply flabbergasted at Trump which he always regarded as a deep personal friend of him and Israel. He  and Dermer had impressed on the US administration not to take Hamas directly but it is clear the latter has not and is not heeding to the suggestion and going their own separate way.

Through different media sources and to the annoyance of the Israelis Boehler has stressed that talks so far has been “very helpful” and indicated that a resolution of the freeing of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be finalized in the next few weeks.

The world is watching to see how this intricate situation will unfold. The Trump administration is trying to play down their meetings with the Hamas leaders, but this is not working, especially as  Boehler keeps talking to the media about how constructive the talks are going and the fact that these Hamas leaders are “pretty nice guys,” and these “guys are just like us,” as he recently told CNN.

The next few weeks will show more. When he came to office, Trump said that if Hamas doesn’t surrender, he would turn Gaza into hell. Judging what is happening on the ground today such a comment is merely rhetorical.

Dr Marwan Asmar is an Amman based journalist
E-mail: marwan.asmar59@gmail.com

11 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

Misinformation has circulated online, claiming that Israel supplies electricity to Gaza for free or as a humanitarian effort. In reality, the situation is entirely different.

Does Israel Provide Electricity to Gaza?

Before the Israeli genocide, which started in October 2023, Gaza used to buy about 120 megawatts of electricity from Israel each month. The Palestinian Authority (PA) paid approximately $11 million for this electricity, with Israel deducting the amount from Palestinian tax revenues it collects on the PA’s behalf. This supply came through ten power lines and covered about half of Gaza’s energy needs.

In October 2023, Israel cut off all power to Gaza as part of its genocide. This decision left nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents without electricity. By December 2024, Israel restored one power line to supply a desalination and wastewater treatment plant. This was done due to sanitation concerns and fears that worsening conditions could impact Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.

Doron Arbel, the head of the Israeli Electric Corporation, stated that there is currently no electrical line transmitting power from Israel to Gaza, and they do not maintain the electricity network there at all. “Most of the electricity provided in Gaza comes from rooftop solar panels or electrical generators,” he added.

He also mentioned that the power line supplying the water desalination plant in Gaza with Israeli electricity has been disconnected. This plant, the only one in Gaza that relied on Israeli electricity, had been operating and providing water since July. However, it has now stopped working.

Israel’s Contradictory Announcements

Despite already cutting off Gaza’s power, Israel announced in March 2025 that it would stop supplying electricity to the strip. Analysts believe this statement was meant for internal Israeli audiences, suggesting pressure on Hamas in negotiations.

Before Israel’s blockade, Gaza needed and used to pay for around 500 megawatts of electricity daily. Only 212 megawatts were available:

• 120 megawatts purchased from Israel.
• 32 megawatts purchased from Egypt.
• 60 megawatts generated by Gaza’s sole power plant.

Even with this limited supply, power cuts were common. Residents received electricity in eight-hour intervals, which dropped to six hours during peak summer and winter demand. Many relied on private generators, but Israel’s blockade of fuel has made that impossible since the war began.

Since October 2023, Israel has destroyed much of Gaza’s power grid. According to the spokesperson for the Gaza Electricity Company, Mohamed Thabet:

• 70% of distribution networks, totaling 3,680 kilometers, have been damaged, with losses exceeding $450 million.
• There have been 51 martyrs among the company’s staff and employees.
• 90% of the company’s storage facilities have been destroyed.
• 80% of its vehicles and equipment have been lost.
• No spare parts or equipment have been allowed in for repairs. Without urgent intervention, Gaza’s electricity crisis will continue to worsen.

Consequences of Power Cuts

The lack of electricity has led to severe humanitarian consequences:

Hospitals in Crisis: Medical centers rely on fuel-powered generators. Israel’s blockade of fuel has led to hospital shutdowns, increasing preventable deaths.

Water and Sanitation Breakdown: Without electricity, water pumps and desalination plants cannot operate, leaving residents without clean drinking water. Sewage treatment plants have also failed, causing wastewater to flood streets and spread diseases.

Food Shortages and Starvation: Bakeries cannot operate without power, worsening food shortages. Limited humanitarian aid and Israel’s continued blockade have pushed Gaza to famine.

School Closures: The lack of electricity has disrupted education. Schools remain closed or function at minimal capacity, impacting the future of Gaza’s children.

On January 19, 2025, a ceasefire agreement facilitated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States temporarily halted fighting. However, Israel has not fully honored the terms, leading to worsening humanitarian conditions.

Despite growing international pressure, Israel continues to block essential supplies, including electricity, water, and fuel. The situation remains dire, with no clear resolution in sight.

11 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Andre Damon

The Israeli government announced Sunday that it will completely shut off electricity into Gaza, following the blockade of all food and humanitarian supplies earlier this month.

The total blockade is aimed at implementing the plan, first proposed by far-right members of the Israeli government and later publicly adopted by the Trump administration, to ethnically cleanse Gaza by making the enclave unlivable, forcing its people to flee “voluntarily” in order to avoid starving to death.

When asked, “What does Israel’s government allow to get into Gaza so far?”, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric replied, “Nothing. I mean, there’s been no goods coming in. No trucks coming in.”

UN humanitarian coordinator Muhannad Hadi said:

The entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza has been halted for nine consecutive days. … International humanitarian law is clear: Civilians’ essential needs must be met, including through the unimpeded entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance.

“Israel cutting off electricity supplies to Gaza means, among others, no functioning desalination stations, ergo: no clean water,” said Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that it is a “genocide alert.”

Since October 11, 2023, Gaza has experienced a complete electricity blackout after then-Energy Minister Israel Katz ordered the Israeli Electric Corporation to halt electricity supply. On November 14, 2024, the South Sea desalination plant became the only facility in Gaza to be reconnected to Israel’s power grid.

The plant, Gaza’s main water desalination facility, which provides the majority of the enclave’s drinkable water, has been operating at only 20 percent capacity on generator power. The plant will be completely shut down within 10 days if the blockade continues, a spokesperson for the Gaza’s Coastal Municipalities Water Utility said Monday.

In December, Amnesty International reported that in several parts of Gaza, Palestinians had access to only 2 to 9 liters (a half gallon to less than 2.5 gallons) of water per person each day for both drinking and washing. This falls significantly below the 15-liter (almost 4 gallons) per person minimum required for basic survival.

Tania Hary, executive director of the Palestinian rights organization Gisha, said:

Cutting the electricity supply used for civilian purposes like desalinating water is not “using the tools at our disposal,” as Minister [Eli] Cohen says, it’s committing the crimes at Israel’s disposal.

As a result of the shutoff of electricity and fuel, Gaza’s food supply is just days away from total collapse.

Six out of 22 bakeries still in operation have been forced to close in recent days after running out of fuel, the head of Gaza’s bakers’ union told Reuters. “The remaining bakeries may close down in a week or so should they run out of diesel or flour,” he said.

As mass hunger stalks Gaza, people have been waiting in lines for hours for less than a day’s worth of food. “For every person, there’s only half a loaf of bread, half a pita bread. I leave home at 6:00 a.m. and return at 1:00 p.m. with just one loaf of bread,” 75-year-old Abu Essam Abu Sahloul, a Khan Younis resident, told Reuters.

Samah Sahloul, another resident of the city, told Reuters:

We used to have electricity to cook with, but now there’s no electricity, and there’s no firewood to bake in an oven. As for the children, how am I supposed to feed them?

Ghada al-Rakab, a mother of six living in a tent in Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera:

What kind of life are we living? No electricity, no water. … What else is there left in life? May God take us and give us rest.

In a statement, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said the cutoff of food and fuel “is clearly a weaponization of humanitarian aid.”

Amnesty International spokesperson Erika Guevara Rosas said:

Israel’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza’s main operational desalination plant, a week after it halted the entry of all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, including fuel and food, violates international humanitarian law and is further evidence of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

She continued:

These inhumane and unlawful actions are a clear indication that Israel is continuing its policy of deliberately imposing on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction—an act prohibited under the Genocide Convention. They are also a reminder of the control Israel has as occupying power, allowing it to turn life-critical services on and off at any given point.

Seif Magango, spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office, told AFP that “blocking access to the necessities of life for civilians intended to pressure a party to an armed conflict through hardship imposed on the civilian population as a whole raises serious concerns of collective punishment.”

Even as it continues the total blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza, Israel has only expanded its daily attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, despite a nominal “ceasefire.”

In a report published March 10, B’tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, accused Israel of carrying out the “Gazafication” of the West Bank. This includes mass arrests, severe movement restrictions, airstrikes and widespread destruction. From October 2023 to March 2025, airstrikes killed 261 people, a drastic rise from previous years. Mass displacement has forced thousands into makeshift camps.

The organization concluded:

Israel intends to use the shift in combat to establish irreversible facts on the ground: reshaping the West Bank to further its aspiration of permanently displacing some Palestinians and forcing others into living conditions that will eventually drive them to leave.

On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Israeli government is creating an administration for the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. “We are establishing a migration administration, we are preparing for this under the leadership of the Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and Defense Minister [Israel Katz],” he said.

Endorsing Trump’s proposal for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, Smotrich said that “sources in the American government” agreed “that it’s impossible for two million people with hatred towards Israel to remain at a stone’s throw from the border.”

He continued, “If we remove 5,000 a day, it will take a year,” adding, “The logistics are complex because you need to know who is going to which country. It’s a potential for historical change.”

11 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Phil Pasquini

Located on busy M Street in tony Georgetown, the Tesla dealership was the scene of a weekly protest on March 8 as part of an ongoing worldwide #TeslaTakeDown campaign. Protesters demonstrated against the electric car company and its unelected CEO Elon Musk head of DOGE for the dismantling of the American government and for ongoing public displays of his Nazi sympathies.

While small in number, this Saturday’s #TeslaTakeDown protest was popular with passing motorists one of whom stopped in traffic on the busy street in front of the dealership and continuously blew his horn to the delight of the protesters and passersby and to the frustration to those caught in the traffic backup that resulted.

Both the driver and passenger of one Tesla that passed by attempted to cover their faces from the protesters as supporters and others stopped to take pictures of the protest along with selfies.

Signs being held aloft referred to Musk as a “menace” in denoting the DOGE looting of the Treasury, along with their “stealing of taxpayers’ personal and financial information and data.” The takeover of Social Security, and the firing of 30,000 federal workers along with the gutting of our scientific and essential infrastructures were also dully referenced.

By targeting Tesla, protesters are sending Musk a financial shockwave to erode his wealth along with that of his stockholders by placing intense pressure on the company’s finances and reputation. Many owners have elected to express their disgust with Musk by selling their Tesla stock and cars to free themselves of any links with him and the company. The protests, both big and small, have been gaining momentum across the country and globally as Musk continues to eviscerate federal government.

Tesla dealerships and charging stations along with the cars and Cyber trucks have also been taking a toll with increased vandalism. And this week, seven of the company’s charging stations were set on fire in Massachusetts and an arsonist in France torched twelve vehicles at a dealership destroying eight cars and severely damaging four others. The Georgetown dealership had been recently damaged by someone with a sharp instrument who etched its surface.

The New York Times reported that on Thursday last week, during a Cabinet meeting in the Oval Office, a contentious confrontation broke out among co-president Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others. The article related that Musk accused Rubio of having fired “nobody” and through a series of heated exchanges, Rubio told of 1,500 workers who had taken early retirement and buyouts thus reducing the workforce at State. Reuters reported that Trump in his usual about face from an intransient position “…told his Cabinet heads that they, not Musk, have the final say on staffing and policy at their agencies.”

Trump also changed his analogy from letting Elon “go wild” to that of department heads using a scalpel implying that the original approach was not working. Trump laughingly has also praised Musk by calling him an “amazing and caring person.”

When questioned later by a reporter about the confrontation, a sore point for the irritable Trump, he denied that it had occurred. Which brings about what former mayor of New York Ed Koch once said about Trump: “I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized.”

Tesla protests, along with Musk’s DOGE firings, Nazi salute, chainsaw dance antics and his interference in European politics, have resulted in the company’s stock taking a plunge since January from $404 per share to $262 on Friday. The 41.58 percent decrease in stock value means that for Musk, who owns 13 percent of the company, a loss of $102 billion. All of this is “self-driven” by numerous factors including a growing global dislike for all things Musk. In Tesla speak, it can be characterized as an “unscheduled disassembly.”

The decline in share value is being driven by European and UK sales that have dropped by an average of 47.5 percent while US sales have declined by 24 percent since January. China, where the car was once quite popular and is now facing strict competition with less expensive and well-appointed EVs like BYD and others, saw sales drop by 29 percent.

After Musk’s Nazi salute coupled with his interference in the recent German election, where he supported the Alternative for Germany (AfD) an extremist-far-right nationalist political party, sales have taken an immense decline by plummeting 59 percent since January. However, Spain has the record for the largest sales decline of 74.5 percent.

Even with the introduction of the new long range Model Y, the company is expected to continue losing money as its less than popular CEO continues ignoring his “cash cow” in favor of taking over the US government on his new foray into politics. His “clown car” government antics while admired by some are a big turnoff to most people as reflected in the sales decline.

It is anyone’s guess as to how much longer the “Bro-Fest” between Musk and Trump will continue as Musk becomes increasing hungrier for power and in becoming a liability instead of a foil for Trump. Once he has served his purpose, whatever that might be, Musk’s sure to be dumped.

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

© 2025 nuzeink all rights reserved worldwide

10 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Cedric Prakash

Many years ago, there was a popular American song which one gustily sang at camps, picnics and other get-togethers. Thanks to its very catchy tune, it was always a hit. The chorus of the lyrics went thus:

“This land is your land, and this land is my land

From California to the New York island

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me”

A special stanza of the song was:

“There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me

A sign was painted said ‘Private Property’

But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing

This land was made for you and me.”

The song is essentially a protest song, first composed by the American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940. It was a critical response to Irving Berlin’s ‘God Bless America’ Its melody is based on a Carter Family tune called ‘When the World’s on Fire’. The song was a hit then, particularly during World War II; over the years, the lyrics of the song have undergone several changes and adaptations. The essence however remains the same, “this land was made for you and me.” In 2025, it was listed at No. 11 of ‘The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time.’ Given the context of the highly polarised and divided world we live in– this song is definitely all the more relevant today!

About a week ago, on Sunday 2 March, at the 97^th Academy Awards, ‘No Other Land’ won the coveted Oscar for the Best Documentary Film. The film has been made by four Israeli and Palestinian activists (Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor) and is a powerful examination of life under occupation. It is their directorial debut. They describe the film as an act of resistance on the path to justice during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

‘No Other Land’ is a portrait of a West Bank village under Israeli military occupation. The documentary film gets its title from a statement by a long-time Masafer Yatta resident who says, “we have no other land. It is our land. That is why we suffer for it.” For the ones who have seen this path-breaking documentary. ‘No Other Land’ is a breathtakingly powerful chronicle of what it means to live with the constant threat of eviction. The film captures with heartrending detail the relentlessness of Israel’s effort to remove any trace of Palestinian presence in the West Bank. This reality is what the world painfully witnesses today and yet does not dare to address collectively!

The documentary has the friendship between Basel and Yuval as a backgrounder. Their relationship is filled with intense emotions. Basel is very anxious over the fate of his family and village, to the point of exhaustion. Yuval expresses guilt and sorrow over being unable to prevent imminent destruction or to persuade his fellow- Israelis to see reason. There is a sad but grim irony when Basel says that he has a law degree, but can only find work as a construction labourer in Israel. The manner in which the judiciary can be used to redesignate land use and thus enable unfeeling eviction policies points to a familiar playbook predicated on absolute denial of basic human rights.

In their acceptance speech, two of the film’s four directors pleaded for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist who is from Masafer Yatta, a region of the West Bank said, “About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter [is] that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now – always fearing settlers’ violence, home demolitions and forceful displacements that my community, Masafer Yatta, is living and facing every day under the Israeli occupation.…We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” Adra also described the issues faced by his village, including home demolitions and displacement.

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli investigative journalist, co-director of the film said, “When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law, and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control. Israelis and Palestinians are ‘intertwined’; my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe.”

In February 2024, at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, ‘No Other Land’ won the Berlinale Documentary Award and the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film. During his acceptance speech then, Abraham criticized Israel saying, “We are standing in front of you now, me and Basel are the same age. I am Israeli; Basel is Palestinian. And in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. I am living under a civilian law and Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another, but I have voting rights. Basel is not having voting rights. I’m free to move where I want in this land. Basel is, like millions of Palestinians, locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end”.

Adra chipped in saying, “It’s our first movie; since many years my community, my family has been filming our community being erased by this brutal occupation. I am here celebrating the award, but also very hard for me to celebrate when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza. Masafer Yatta, my community, is being also razed by Israeli bulldozers. I ask one thing: for Germany, as I am in Berlin here, to respect the U.N. calls and stop sending weapons to Israel.”

Since its release in February 2024, the documentary has won numerous awards and accolades from all over the world. However, for obvious reasons it has not been screened in India. Even its entry to certain Film Festivals here, has been inexplicably cancelled. The fascist regime which rules the country today will not allow Freedom of Speech and Expression to its citizens. A film which shows the Israeli regime in poor light, is in India, a certain ‘no-no’! Even in the United States, the film has failed to find a distributor because it reveals truths that Americans should not see! When the film won the Oscar, it was natural that some Israelis were outraged, using every trick in the book to denigrate the directors of the film and the cast.

‘No Other Land’ is about divisiveness and discrimination, about demonization and denigration, about demolition and destruction! At the receiving end are the Palestinian people – the ‘other’! It is not without reason that Pope Francis has been praying every single day for them and regularly speaking to those affected in Gaza. It is a film which is a powerful manifestation of the terrible reality faced by millions all over the world. Here in India, the Kuki-zo people of Manipur and the minorities (particularly Muslims and Christians) have to face this reality daily!

As the bull-dozers, continue to go on rampage demolishing and destroying the lives and homes of the vulnerable, it is time that the fascist and dictatorial rulers of the world realise that “this land was made for you and me” and wake up to the statement by the Masafer Yatta resident “we have no other land. It is our land. That is why we suffer for it.”  Yes, there is No Other Land!

*(Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/ writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com  )

10 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Dr. Ramzy Baroud

The conversation on settler colonialism must not be limited to academic discussion. It is a political reality, clearly demonstrated in the everyday behavior of Israel.

Israel is not merely an expansionist regime historically; it remains actively so today. Additionally, the core of Israeli political discourse, both past and present, revolves around territorial expansion.

Frequently, we succumb to the trap of blaming such language on a specific set of right-wing and extremist politicians or on a particular US administration. The truth is vastly different: the Israeli Zionist political discourse, though it may change in style, remains fundamentally unchanged throughout time.

Zionist leaders have always associated the establishment and expansion of their state with the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, later referred to in Zionist literature as the “transfer.”

Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, wrote in his diary about the ethnic cleansing of the Arab population from Palestine:

“We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it any employment in our own country… Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.”

It is unclear what happened to Herzl’s grand employment scheme aimed at “spiriting” the population of Palestine across the region. What we know is that the so-called “penniless population” resisted the Zionist project in numerous ways. Ultimately, the depopulation of Palestine occurred through force, culminating in the Nakba, the Catastrophe of 1948.

The discourse of the erasure of the Palestinian people has been the shared foundation among all Israeli officials and governments, though it has been expressed in different ways. It has always had a material component, manifesting in the slow but decisive takeover of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, the confiscation of farms, and the constant construction of “military zones.”

Despite Israeli claims, this “incremental genocide” is not directly linked to the nature and degree of Palestinian resistance. Jenin and Masafer Yatta illustrate this clearly.

Take, for example, the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the northern West Bank, which, according to UNRWA, is the worst since 1967. The displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians has been justified by Israel as a military necessity due to the fierce resistance in that region, primarily Jenin, but other areas as well.

However, many parts of the West Bank, including the area of Masafer Yatta, have not been engaged in armed resistance. Yet, they have been primary targets for Israel’s colonial expansion.

In other words, Israeli colonialism is in no way linked to Palestinian resistance, action or inaction. This has remained true for decades.

Gaza is a stark example. While one of the most horrific genocides in recent history was being carried out, Israeli real estate developers, members of the Knesset (Parliament), and leaders of the illegal settlement movement were all meeting to discuss investment opportunities in a depopulated Gaza. The callous tycoons were busy promising villas on the beach for competitive prices while Palestinians starved to death, amid an ever-growing body count. Even fiction cannot be as cruel as this reality.

It is no wonder that the Americans joined in, as evidenced by equally ruthless comments made by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, and eventually by the President himself.

While many at the time spoke about the strangeness of US foreign policy, few mentioned that both countries are prime examples of settler colonialism. Unlike other settler colonial societies, both Israel and the US are still committed to the same project.

Trump’s desire to take over and rename the Gulf of Mexico, his ambition to occupy Greenland and claim it as American territory, and, of course, his comments about owning Gaza are all examples of settler colonial language and behavior.

The difference between Trump and previous presidents is that others used military power to expand US influence through war and hundreds of military bases worldwide without explicitly using expansionist language. Instead, they referenced the need to challenge the Soviet “red menace,” “restore democracy,” and launch a global “war on terror” as justifications for their actions. Trump, however, feels no need to mask his actions with false logic and outright lies. Brutal honesty is his brand, though in essence, he is no different than the rest.

Israel, on the other hand, rarely feels the need to explain itself to anyone. It remains a model of a ferocious, traditional colonial society that fears no accountability and has no regard for international law.

While the Israelis pushed to conquer and ethnically cleanse Gaza, they remained entrenched in southern Lebanon, insisting on remaining in five strategic areas, thus violating the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, which was signed on November 27.

A perfect case in point was the immediate—and I mean immediate—expansion into southern Syria, the moment the Syrian regime collapsed on December 8.

As soon as the events in Syria opened up security margins, Israeli tanks rolled in, warplanes destroyed almost the entirety of the Syrian army, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the armistice agreement signed in 1974.

That expansion continued, though Syria represented no so-called security threat to Israel whatsoever. Israel is now in control of the Sheikh Mountain and Quneitra inside Syria.

The unquenchable appetite for land in Israel remains as strong as it was upon the formation of the Zionist movement and the takeover of the Palestinian homeland nearly eight decades ago.

This realization is crucial, and Arab countries, in particular, must understand this. Sacrificing Palestinians to the Israeli death machine with the flawed calculation that Israel’s ambitions are limited to Gaza and the West Bank is a fatal mistake.

Israel will not hesitate for a minute to militarily move into any Arab geographic space the moment it feels able to do so, and it will always find US support and European silence, regardless of how destructive its actions are.

Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab countries could find themselves facing the same predicament as Syria today: watching their territories being devoured while remaining powerless and without recourse.

This realization should also matter to those busy finding “solutions” to the Palestinian-Israeli “conflict,” which narrowly frame the problem to that of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Settler colonialism can never be resolved through creative solutions. A settler colonial state ceases to exist, and a settler colonial society ceases to function if territorial expansion is not a permanent state of affairs.

The only solution to this is that Israel’s settler colonialism must be challenged, curtailed, and ultimately defeated. It may be a difficult task, but it is an inescapable one.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle.

10 March 2025

Source: countercurrents.org