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By Dr Ranjan Solomon

Palestine won too without even playing!

Since the historical decision when Qatar was awarded the FIFA hosting rights in 2010, it has constructed seven gigantic stadiums and refurbished Stadium 974, named after the country’s international dialing code. This stadium has more than normal stadium value. It is a port-side structure with more than 40,000 seats built also from recycled shipping containers and steel. A virtual city will house the stadium where the final match will be held. Qatar has also constructed state-of-the-art infrastructure, a new airport, a metro system, a series of roads and 100 new hotels. No other Muslim nation has hosted such a sizeable global event. Players, fans, sports administrators, and social media alike have declared it as the “Best World Cup ever”.

The western media had audaciously labeled Qatar with racial-colonial stereotypes and were iniquitous in the reportage of the buildup. BBC irrationally boycotted the opening ceremonies. Their loss, it turned out to be. English fans at home watched the ceremonies nevertheless. Qatar chose to chip away with dogged determination, and created the architecture of the perfect preparatory plan to harness human expertise, and financial investment. They have now altered the story line and fans are loudly singing songs of praise. .

ITV’s Mark Pougatch splashed a pertinent observation: Qatar gave fans from Africa and the Middle East centre stage, and a generally soother milieu “without the hostility and aggro associated with alcohol”. Europeans arrived internalized with prejudice about the alcohol ban. This ban has harvested safety and freedom for people, especially women, to roam the streets late into the night safe and secure. Budweisser sales were set to skyrocket during the 29-day tournament. You could have alcohol in the hotels but not on the grounds. Result? Hooliganism banned!

Ellie Molloson, a campaigner for better match-day experiences for women stated: “… coming here has been a real shock to my system… no catcalls, wolf whistles or sexism of any kind.” The World Cup ripped apart negative of myths about Arabs and Muslims. It has served as the fulcrum of friendliness, respect and hospitality associated with visiting a Muslim country. During the opening ceremony of the World Cup, Morgan Freeman, and Ghanem Al-Moftah, a Qatari YouTuber and philanthropist with caudal regression syndrome conveyed a shared moment of reflection on how Islam’s message is one of unity and understanding. Biased impressions underwent a 180 degree transition. Instances of large conversions to Islam left people pleasantly surprised. Listening to the Azan sung from a remote controlled earphone was sobering and peace-giving. Visitors visited Masjids and encountered the rich Qatari culture. 700 camels joined an animal pageant with a $2.25 million prize money tag – a taste of local culture and numerous ground-breaking episodes.

Fans brought into centre-stage their urgency for a just world. Celebration of Palestine and the Palestinian flag at the Qatar World Cup 2022 by millions of Arab fans were compelling reasons to rethink assumptions on Arab people’s relationship with Palestine. European fans also sloganeered, “Free Palestine” and waved Palestinian flags. Israelis on the grounds were shunned when their media traversed the grounds insensitive to what Israel was doing in the Palestinian Territories through cruel battering, land theft, and refusing to end apartheid politics. Clearly Arab people remain steadfast in their allegiance to the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Israelis were baffled and even fuming as they sought to manipulate and only ended failing to make the link between Israel’s apartheid and military occupation in Palestine. Moroccan fans draped in harmonizing outfits, sang songs, chanted and danced with fervor. They wore Palestinian kuffiyas with the colours of the Palestinian flag. Moroccans equivocally claimed: ‘The love for Palestine runs in our veins.”

Now on not only the uniquely rich white countries host the World Cup anymore. A Muslim country hosts the FIFA tournament in its magnificent eight stadiums, and the doors are pushed open for Muslim nations to be equal partners with imperialist nations. Qatar is making FIFA history because it is the smallest country ever to host the world’s biggest sporting event. Qatar has added to its national stock hotels and stadiums – future Qatar treasures. Most crucially, Qatar has created an image make-over.

The most tangible example transformation was in the treatment of migrant workers. An investigation by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2013 prompted global outrage when it claimed that thousands of laborers from countries such as India, Bangladesh and Nepal were being forced to adhere to the ‘kafala’ system of employment in order to build Qatar’s World Cup infrastructure. Qatar reformed its kafala system. ITUC General Secretary, Burrows, one of Qatar’s most strident critics, has since lauded the emirate as a role model for migrant worker’s standards. Strident changes dot the arena of women’s sports. Striking evidence suggests that the World Cup has acted as a catalyst for gender-inclusivity.

The myth of the Arab as the ‘other’, an uncivilized, non-Christian, exotic and inferior entity whose social order is utterly opposed to modern values of the West lies shattered. Qatar deconstructed these myths and now the world has a model – non-western, and possibly superior to what the West offers. Qatar built a new identity as an emerging model of a modern monarchy-state that succeeded in finding the right balance between modern efficiency, symbolized in the efficient management of mega-sport projects, and the authenticity of Arab culture.

Goa could learn a thing or two from Qatar. Upgraded plans laid for hosting BRICS in Goa lie incomplete six years on. The Colva road broadening is finally being sorted; Attal Settu lies incomplete as do multiple across-the-board projects and infrastructure in disrepair. Panjim is in shambles. White elephants galore are closeted in the political cabinet!

An array of international events is on the anvil in Goa. It is a gripping urgency to shun rhetoric, and get work done. Goa could learn a few things from Qatar. Political willpower alone is the way.

Ranjan Solomon is a political commentator

14 December 2022

Source: countercurrents.org

By Countercurrents Collective

People’s mobilizations in Peru continued Tuesday in many areas. The protesting people reiterated the demand for the closure of Congress, the release of former President Pedro Castillo, resignation of acting President Dina Boluarte and the holding of new elections.

Citing community media, a teleSUR report said:

Protests that have taken place in Peru included Plaza San Martin, downtown Lima (capital), Lambayeque, Cusco, Ica, Tacna, and other regions.

The Ombudsman’s Office rectified the number of deaths after the National Police repression of the demonstrations. It indicated that a total of six deaths had been confirmed so far.

“The Ombudsman’s Office wishes to inform the public that there are six and not seven people dead in the context of the protests taking place in the country,” the agency said, adding that among the victims are two teenagers.

During the last days of demonstrations, many sections of the people have denounced police repression against peaceful protests.

teleSUR’s correspondent in Jaime Herrera, Peru reported:

The Plaza San Martin, an emblematic venue during demonstrations, “has been taken over by the Police.”

“More than 2,000 police officers are preventing the people who are gathered here from being able to meet inside this square,” he said.

On this day, the Peruvian Judiciary also announced that the Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court rejected the appeal presented by former president Castillo against the preliminary detention issued against him for the alleged crime of rebellion.

The crisis in Peru has increased after Congress approved, last December 7, Castillo’s vacancy and swore in Dina Boluarte as the new president.

The measure was executed after Castillo declared the temporary dissolution of Congress, called elections for its renewal, decreed the establishment of an emergency government and a national curfew.

Peru’s President Castillo Says He Will Be Released Wednesday, Even After Judge Denies Appeal

An optimistic statement by Peru’s imprisoned president is likely to give hope to the tens of thousands of largely indigenous demonstrators who’ve taken to the streets since the leader was detained by security forces after attempting to dissolve the country’s extraordinarily unpopular legislature.

The embattled President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, issued a statement insisting he’ll be released Wednesday, even after a judge denied his appeal and demanded the head of state remain in detention amid what’s being widely characterized as a parliamentary coup.

“Compatriots: tomorrow, Wednesday, December 14, seven days have passed since an unjust and abusive detention,” Castillo wrote in a statement published on his Twitter page. “Seven days in which the people have shown me their solidarity and commitment in defense of our government and its future. Tomorrow at 1:42 p.m. I will go free.”

Peru has been rocked by massive demonstrations this week calling for Castillo to be released from jail and for the dissolution of Congress, which currently holds an approval rating of just 10%.

Tensions in the Andean nation continue to grow, with thousands of largely-indigenous protesters having seized major highways – as well as the airport in Arequipa, the second-most populous city in the country.

Prosecutors are seeking to sentence Castillo to three years in prison for “the alleged crime of rebellion.” He’s been kept under lock and key since security forces detained him on Dec. 7 after he attempted to head off a third congressional impeachment attempt by dissolving the historically-unpopular legislative body.

The armed forces and police of Peru initially issued an ambiguous statement but subsequently moved to detain Castillo, who was reportedly handed over by his driver to a SWAT team as he sought political asylum at the Mexican embassy.

The U.S. State Department immediately leapt to the defense of the new regime, with Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols writing just a day later that “we applaud Peruvians as they unite in support of their democracy,” and that “the U.S. welcomes President Boluarte and looks forward to working with her administration to achieve a more democratic, prosperous, and secure region.”

But neighboring governments in Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia and Mexico are insisting that Castillo be released, describing the Peruvian president as the victim of “anti-democratic persecution.” On Tuesday, they issued a joint statement expressing their “deep concern” regarding the situation, which they described as an effort to “reverse the popular will expressed with free suffrage.”

The governments called for Castillo’s human rights to be respected, and reiterated that they continue to recognize Castillo as the legitimate president of Peru.

The government of Honduras also expressed alarm at the “serious constitutional breach.” Hours after Castillo was arrested, the Honduran foreign ministry conveyed its “strong condemnation of the coup d’état that took place in Peru,” which it said is “the result of a series of events to erode democracy.”

Police Repression Leaves 7 Peruvians Dead

Another teleSUR report said:

On Monday, the Peruvian police harshly repressed massive protests against President Dina Boluarte and the Congress, leaving seven dead and hundreds injured.

“These have been two very unfortunate days with a balance of seven people dead… two of them were minors. All died as a result of shots,” said Eliana Revollar, the Ombudsman.

“We are asking for the investigation of these cases, which are really useless deaths because this would not have happened if the decisions had been made in due time,” she added, emphasizing that the Peruvian crisis needs a political solution.

The most violent clashes are taking place in the south of the country, specifically in the departments of Arequipa and Apurimac, which have become the epicenter of protests.

In Andahuaylas, the demonstrators attacked 14 police stations and one police headquarters, where the troops were attacked with hunt-made explosives.

In Lima, citizens attacked the headquarters of the Public Ministry and the facilities of the America and Panamericana television channels.

In an attempt to control the social upheaval, Boluarte decreed a 60-day state of emergency on Monday in seven provinces of Apurimac. Her decision suspends constitutional rights related to the inviolability of the home, freedom of transit through the territory, freedom of assembly, and personal freedom and security.

The protests began on Dec. 7 when Congress appointed Boluarte as president after removing Pedro Castillo, who is being held in a prison accused of rebellion and conspiracy.

Farmers, Indigenous peoples, and students announced a national strike that will begin on Tuesday to demand the closure of Congress and the start of a constituent process.

Only 10% of Peruvians Approve The Congress An earlier report said:

On November 27, the results of the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP) show: 86% of the people in Peru disapprove performance of the Congress of the Republic. This means that only 10% approve and the rest do not know or have an opinion.

In addition, it was learned that José Williams, president of Parliament, also surpasses Pedro Castillo in negative perception. 68% of the country disapproves of his performance. Only 14% approve.

A few weeks ago, parliamentarian  Norma Yarrow  spoke loud and clear about her position and indicated to the media that she agrees that new presidential elections should be held in Peru.

“We want there to be new elections, for everyone to leave with the changes to the Constitution that there must be and new elections. We need peace in this country,” the legislator told RPP Noticias.

Map Of The Roads And Highways Blocked By The Protesters

The main roads of Peru have been taken over by protesters demanding new general elections. The north, center and south of Peru have registered one of the biggest traffic blockades of the year and the Peruvian National Police (PNP) shared an official report for the country’s residents.

These are more than 8 cities in which road blockades have been registered. In the case of some regions there are up to 10 routes taken by the strikers.

In this sense, Alberto Otárola , Minister of Defense, reported that the National Road Network is declared in emergency  , to ensure the free transit of all Peruvians and so that they can adequately exercise the rights that the constitution guarantees them.

The south of the country is the one with the greatest number of roads intercepted by protesters. Know what they are:

Arequipa

– km. 51 Via Arequipa – Puno.

– km. 617 Chala Caraveli Arequipa.

– km. 900 at the height of Vaso Regulador de Agua, crossing with San Camilo.

– km. 921 and KM 925 from Alto Ingreso to Pedregal.

– km. 966 South Pan-American Highway, intersection with La Joya.

– km. 969 South Pan-American Highway at the height of Leche Gloria.

– KM.782 South Pan-American Highway (Ocoña Bridge).

– km. 907 Majes junction on the Panamericana Sur.

Map of roads blocked in Peru due to strike. (PNP)

The protesters have not only taken the roads , but have also taken over and looted some establishments such as the Gloria Milk Plant. In addition, they set fire to part of the dairy company’s facilities. The same thing happened with a bank branch in Arequipa.

4 Countries’ Joint Statement On The Situation In Peru

Following is the joint statement of the government s of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico:

The governments of the Argentine Republic, the Republic of Colombia, the United Mexican States and the Plurinational State of Bolivia express their deep concern over the recent events that resulted in the removal and detention of José Pedro Castillo Terrones, President of the Republic of Peru.

It is not news to the world that President Castillo Terrones, from the day of his election, was the victim of undemocratic harassment, in violation of Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights, “Costa Rica Pact”, approved on November 22 of 1969, to later be subject to judicial treatment in the same way, in violation of article 25 of the aforementioned convention.

Our governments call on all the actors involved in the previous process to prioritize the will of the citizens that was pronounced at the polls. It is the way of interpreting the scope and meanings of the notion of democracy contained in the Inter-American System of Human Rights. We urge those who make up the institutions to refrain from reversing the popular will expressed with free suffrage.

We request that the authorities fully respect the human rights of President Pedro Castillo and that he be guaranteed judicial protection under the terms enshrined in the last cited article.

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14 December 2022

Source: countercurrents.org

By Vijay Prashad and José Carlos Llerena Robles

On December 7, 2022, Pedro Castillo sat in his office on what would be the last day of his presidency of Peru. His lawyers went over spreadsheets that showed Castillo would triumph over a motion in Congress to remove him. This was going to be the third time that Castillo faced a challenge from the Congress, but his lawyers and advisers—including former Prime Minister Anibal Torres—told him that he held an advantage over the Congress in opinion polls (his approval rating had risen to 31 percent, while that of the Congress was just about 10 percent).

Castillo had been under immense pressure for the past year from an oligarchy that disliked this former teacher. In a surprise move, he announced to the press on December 7 that he was going to “temporarily dissolve the Congress” and “[establish] an exceptional emergency government.” This measure sealed his fate. Castillo and his family rushed toward the Mexican Embassy but were arrested by the military along Avenida España before they could get there.

Why did Pedro Castillo take the fatal step of trying to dissolve Congress when it was clear to his advisers—such as Luis Alberto Mendieta—that he would prevail in the afternoon vote?

The pressure got to Castillo, despite the evidence. Ever since his election in July 2021, his opponent in the presidential election, Keiko Fujimori, and her associates have tried to block his ascension to the presidency. She worked with men who have close ties with the U.S. government and its intelligence agencies. A member of Fujimori’s team, Fernando Rospigliosi, for instance, had in 2005 tried to involve the U.S. Embassy in Lima against Ollanta Humala, who contested in the 2006 Peruvian presidential election. Vladimiro Montesinos, a former CIA asset who is serving time in a prison in Peru, sent messages to Pedro Rejas, a former commander in Peru’s army, to go “to the U.S. Embassy and talk with the embassy intelligence officer,.” to try and influence the 2021 Peruvian presidential election. Just before the election, the United States sent a former CIA agent, Lisa Kenna, as its ambassador to Lima. She met Peru’s Minister of Defense Gustavo Bobbio on December 6 and sent a denunciatory tweet against Castillo’s move to dissolve Congress the next day (on December 8, the U.S. government—through Ambassador Kenna—recognized Peru’s new government after Castillo’s removal).

A key figure in the pressure campaign appears to have been Mariano Alvarado, operations officer of the Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG), who functions effectively as the U.S. Defense attaché. We are told that officials such as Alvarado, who are in close contact with the Peruvian military generals, gave them the greenlight to move against Castillo. It is being said that the last phone call that Castillo took before he left the presidential palace came from the U.S. Embassy. It is likely he was warned to flee to the embassy of a friendly power, which made him appear weak.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, and journalist.

José Carlos Llerena Robles is a popular educator, member of the Peruvian organization La Junta, and representative of the Peruvian chapter of Alba Movimientos.

14 December 2022

Source: countercurrents.org

By Dr César Chelala

When he was a child in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina, Lionel Messi was nicknamed “La Pulga” (the flea) because of his short stature. This didn’t stop him from starting to play soccer since he was five years old. In 2004, when Kobe Bryant, the famous basketball player visited his friend Ronaldinho, considered one of the best soccer players in the world, he told Bryant, “Kobe, I want you to meet the player who is going to be the greatest soccer player who ever lived.” He didn’t know that his words would be prophetic.

In 1998, when he was eleven, Messi was diagnosed with Growth Hormone deficiency, a treatment that his parents couldn’t afford. Carles Rexach, sporting director of FC Barcelona, saw him play in Argentina and immediately offered to pay all his medical bills if he and his family would to start a new life in Barcelona. Messi traveled to Barcelona, Spain, with his father, leaving his mother in Rosario, Argentina, to take care of his brothers.

It wasn’t easy for Messi to adapt to this new environment, where he felt isolated from his teammates who made fun of him for being so short and not speaking Catalan, the language of Barcelona. “My teammates were big, rough and kind of assholes. They didn’t really pay attention to me, they would speak Catalan among themselves,” he said in the TV series Sin Cassette. “I cried a lot. I would lock myself in my room and cry my eyes out in secret. I didn’t want my dad to find out,” quoted Guillem Balagué, author of “Messi: The Biography”.

Despite these initial problems, he gradually adjusted, becoming the most successful player in his club’s history. And these childhood adversarial events not only strengthened his resolve to become a very good player, but also to devote part of his earning to improve children’s lives.

In 2007, he established the Leo Messi Foundation based in Rosario, a charity aimed at helping children in crisis situations to gain access to better health and education. It is his way of expressing gratitude for overcoming his own childhood health problems. During an interview Messi said, “Being a bit famous now gives me the opportunity to help people who really need it, particularly children.”

Messi’s foundation supports sick Argentine children by allowing them to get paid for treatment in Spain, covering hospital, round-trip transportation from Argentina and recovery costs. He also pays for Argentinian doctors to be trained in Spain in special fields of research and donates money to pay doctors’ salaries and to rebuild a children’s hospital in Rosario.

Since 2004, he has been collaborating with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). In March 2010, Messi became its Goodwill Ambassador, where he has continued his work in support of vulnerable children. Four months after becoming that organization’s ambassador, he carried out a mission to Haiti, where he helped raise public awareness to the plight of that country’s children, after a devastating earthquake that ravaged the country. In addition, he has participated in UNICEF’s campaigns to prevent HIV/AIDS, and promote education and the social inclusion of disabled children.

As a result of the war in Syria more than a million children were out of school and millions more were at risk of dropping out. The Messi foundation collaborated with UNICEF in building fully furnished classrooms so that 1,600 children affected by the war in Syria could continue their educational activities.

The work of the foundation in Mozambique is also remarkable. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. On health-related missions to that country, I was able to see that children in remote areas often have high rates of malnutrition and must walk several miles to attend school, where they arrive hungry. Through a program called “Programa de Desayuno Escolar” (School Breakfast Program) funded by Messi’s foundation, children are fed when they arrive at school and before they go to class. This also lowers the rate of absenteeism, which is elevated in some rural areas, and is often caused by children being weak by lack of food.

The program started in three schools, but there are now 40 schools receiving aid, plus three kindergartens and three orphanages, benefiting 15,000 children. Pregnant women and some sick adults unable to eat solid food have been added to the program. As a result, more children are now coming to school from deprived areas which have been negatively affected by climate change. Thanks to Messi’s program, children not only are better fed, but they also have improved physical growth and intellectual development.

In addition to other projects, the Lionel Messi Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation funded the creation of the Pediatric Center at Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital in Barcelona, which was inaugurated on June 16, 2022. The Center treats children and adolescents with cancer, while at the same time conducts research to find more effective treatment for them through an integration of its research and medical teams.

Throughout his professional career Messi has proven to be a remarkable person. Considered by many experts as the best soccer player in history, he is not only the most recognizable face of soccer worldwide. He is a kind man whose humanitarian work improves health and brings food and hope to thousands of disadvantaged children.

Dr. César Chelala is an international public health consultant, co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award and two national journalism awards from Argentina.

13 December 2022

Source: countercurrents.org

By Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel

Recent years have seen a resurgence in nostalgia for the British empire. High-profile books such as Niall Ferguson’s Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, and Bruce Gilley’s The Last Imperialist, have claimed that British colonialism brought prosperity and development to India and other colonies. Two years ago, a YouGov poll found that 32 percent of people in Britain are actively proud of the nation’s colonial history.

This rosy picture of colonialism conflicts dramatically with the historical record. According to research by the economic historian Robert C Allen, extreme poverty in India increased under British rule, from 23 percent in 1810 to more than 50 percent in the mid-20th century. Real wages declined during the British colonial period, reaching a nadir in the 19th century, while famines became more frequent and more deadly. Far from benefitting the Indian people, colonialism was a human tragedy with few parallels in recorded history.

Experts agree that the period from 1880 to 1920 – the height of Britain’s imperial power – was particularly devastating for India. Comprehensive population censuses carried out by the colonial regime beginning in the 1880s reveal that the death rate increased considerably during this period, from 37.2 deaths per 1,000 people in the 1880s to 44.2 in the 1910s. Life expectancy declined from 26.7 years to 21.9 years.

In a recent paper in the journal World Development, we used census data to estimate the number of people killed by British imperial policies during these four brutal decades. Robust data on mortality rates in India only exists from the 1880s. If we use this as the baseline for “normal” mortality, we find that some 50 million excess deaths occurred under the aegis of British colonialism during the period from 1891 to 1920.

Fifty million deaths is a staggering figure, and yet this is a conservative estimate. Data on real wages indicates that by 1880, living standards in colonial India had already declined dramatically from their previous levels. Allen and other scholars argue that prior to colonialism, Indian living standards may have been “on a par with the developing parts of Western Europe.” We do not know for sure what India’s pre-colonial mortality rate was, but if we assume it was similar to that of England in the 16th and 17th centuries (27.18 deaths per 1,000 people), we find that 165 million excess deaths occurred in India during the period from 1881 to 1920.

While the precise number of deaths is sensitive to the assumptions we make about baseline mortality, it is clear that somewhere in the vicinity of 100 million people died prematurely at the height of British colonialism. This is among the largest policy-induced mortality crises in human history. It is larger than the combined number of deaths that occurred during all famines in the Soviet Union, Maoist China, North Korea, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, and Mengistu’s Ethiopia.

How did British rule cause this tremendous loss of life? There were several mechanisms. For one, Britain effectively destroyed India’s manufacturing sector. Prior to colonisation, India was one of the largest industrial producers in the world, exporting high-quality textiles to all corners of the globe. The tawdry cloth produced in England simply could not compete. This began to change, however, when the British East India Company assumed control of Bengal in 1757.

According to the historian Madhusree Mukerjee, the colonial regime practically eliminated Indian tariffs, allowing British goods to flood the domestic market, but created a system of exorbitant taxes and internal duties that prevented Indians from selling cloth within their own country, let alone exporting it.

This unequal trade regime crushed Indian manufacturers and effectively de-industrialised the country. As the chairman of East India and China Association boasted to the English parliament in 1840: “This company has succeeded in converting India from a manufacturing country into a country exporting raw produce.” English manufacturers gained a tremendous advantage, while India was reduced to poverty and its people were made vulnerable to hunger and disease.

To make matters worse, British colonisers established a system of legal plunder, known to contemporaries as the “drain of wealth.” Britain taxed the Indian population and then used the revenues to buy Indian products – indigo, grain, cotton, and opium – thus obtaining these goods for free. These goods were then either consumed within Britain or re-exported abroad, with the revenues pocketed by the British state and used to finance the industrial development of Britain and its settler colonies – the United States, Canada and Australia.

This system drained India of goods worth trillions of dollars in today’s money. The British were merciless in imposing the drain, forcing India to export food even when drought or floods threatened local food security. Historians have established that tens of millions of Indians died of starvation during several considerable policy-induced famines in the late 19th century, as their resources were syphoned off to Britain and its settler colonies.

Colonial administrators were fully aware of the consequences of their policies. They watched as millions starved and yet they did not change course. They continued to knowingly deprive people of resources necessary for survival. The extraordinary mortality crisis of the late Victorian period was no accident. The historian Mike Davis argues that Britain’s imperial policies “were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet.”

Our research finds that Britain’s exploitative policies were associated with approximately 100 million excess deaths during the 1881-1920 period. This is a straightforward case for reparations, with strong precedent in international law. Following World War II, Germany signed reparations agreements to compensate the victims of the Holocaust and more recently agreed to pay reparations to Namibia for colonial crimes perpetrated there in the early 1900s. In the wake of apartheid, South Africa paid reparations to people who had been terrorised by the white-minority government.

History cannot be changed, and the crimes of the British empire cannot be erased. But reparations can help address the legacy of deprivation and inequity that colonialism produced. It is a critical step towards justice and healing.

Dylan Sullivan Adjunct Fellow in the School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University

Jason Hickel Professor at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

19 December 2022

Source: www.transcend.org

By Hawaiian Kingdom Blog

9 Dec 2022 – Usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation was listed as a war crime in a 1919 report by the Commission on Responsibilities of the Paris Peace Conference that was established by the Allied and Associated Powers at war with Germany and its allies in the First World War. The Commission was especially concerned with acts perpetrated in occupied territories against non-combatants and civilians.

Usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation is the imposition of the laws and administrative measures of the Occupying State over the territory of the Occupied State. Usurpation, according to Black’s Law dictionary, is “The unlawful encroachment or assumption of the use of property, power or authority which belongs to another.”

The Commission did not indicate the source of this crime in treaty law but it would appear to be Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Regulations, which states, “The authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all the measures in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.” Article 43 is the codification of customary international law that existed on January 17, 1893, when the United States unlawfully overthrew the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom and began its prolonged belligerent occupation.

In the annex of its 1919 report, the Commission charged that in Poland the German and Austrian forces had “prevented the populations from organising themselves to maintain order and public security” and that they had “[a]ided the Bolshevist hordes that invaded the territories.” It said that in Romania the German authorities had instituted German civil courts to try disputes between subjects of the Central Powers or between a subject of these powers and a Romanian, a neutral, or subjects of Germany’s enemies. In Serbia, the Bulgarian authorities had “[p]roclaimed that the Serbian State no longer existed, and that Serbian territory had become Bulgarian.” It listed several other war crimes committed by Bulgaria in occupied Serbia: “Serbian law, courts and administration ousted;” “Taxes collected under Bulgarian fiscal regime;” “Serbian currency suppressed;” “Public property removed or destroyed, including books, archives and MSS (e.g., from the National Library, the University Library, Serbian Legation at Sofia, French Consulate at Uskub);” “Prohibited sending Serbian Red Cross to occupied Serbia.” It also charged that in Serbia the German and Austrian authorities had committed several war crimes: “The Austrians suspended many Serbian laws and substituted their own, especially in penal matters, in procedure, judicial organisation, etc.;” “Museums belonging to the State (e.g., Belgrade, Detchani) were emptied and the contents taken to Vienna.”

The crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation was referred to by Judge Blair of the American Military Commission in a separate opinion in the Justice Case, holding that “This rule is incident to military occupation and was clearly intended to protect the inhabitants of any occupied territory against the unnecessary exercise of sovereignty by a military occupant.” Australia, Netherlands and China enacted laws making usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation a war crime. In the case of Australia, the Parliament enacted the Australian War Crimes Act in 1945 that included the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation.

The war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation has not been included in more recent codifications of war crimes, casting some doubt on its status as a crime under customary international law. And there do not appear to have been any prosecutions for that crime by international criminal tribunals of late. However, the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation is a war crime under “particular” customary international law. According to the International Law Commission, “A rule of particular customary international law, whether regional, local or other, is a rule of customary international law that applies only among a limited number of States.” In the 1919 report of the Commission, the United States, as a member of the commission, did not contest the listing of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation, but rather only disagreed, inter alia, with the Commission’s position on the means of prosecuting heads of state for the listed war crimes by conduct of omission.

The Hawaiian Kingdom Royal Commission Inquiry views usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation as a war crime under “particular” customary international law and binding upon the Allied and Associated Powers of the First World War—United States of America, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, principal Allied Powers and Associated Powers that include Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Thailand, Czech Republic, formerly known as Czechoslovakia, and Uruguay. Great Britain, as an empire at the time, included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa who also fought in the First World War. Therefore, as an international crime under particular customary international law, these countries are obligated to prosecute this war crime in their courts.

In the Hawaiian situation, usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation serves as a source for the commission of other war crimes within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom, which includes the war crimes of compulsory enlistment, denationalization, pillage, destruction of property, deprivation of fair and regular trial, deporting civilians of the occupied territory, and transferring populations into an occupied territory. The reasoning for the prohibition of imposing extraterritorial prescriptions or measures of the occupying State is addressed by Professor Eyal Benvenisti:

The occupant may not surpass its limits under international law through extra­territorial prescriptions emanating from its national institutions: the legislature, government, and courts. The reason for this rule is, of course, the functional symmetry, with respect to the occupied territory, among the various lawmak­ing authorities of the occupying state. Without this symmetry, Article 43 could become meaningless as a constraint upon the occupant, since the occupation administration would then choose to operate through extraterritorial prescription of its national institutions.

Usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation came before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) in 1999. In Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom, the Permanent Court of Arbitration convened an arbitral tribunal to resolve a dispute where Larsen, the claimant, alleged that the Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom, by its Council of Regency, the respondent, was liable “for allowing the unlawful imposition of American municipal laws over the claimant’s person within the territorial jurisdiction of the Hawaiian Kingdom.” The PCA accepted the case as a dispute between a “State” and a “private party” and acknowledged the Hawaiian Kingdom to be a non-Contracting State in accordance with Article 47 of the 1907 Hague Convention. The PCA annual reports of 2000 through 2011 specifically states that the Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom proceedings were done “Pursuant to article 47 of the 1907 Convention.” According to Bederman and Hilbert of the American Journal of International Law:

At the center of the PCA proceeding was the argument that … the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist and that the Council of Regency (representing the Hawaiian Kingdom) is legally responsible under international law for the protection of Hawaiian subjects, including the claimant. In other words, the Hawaiian Kingdom was legally obligated to protect Larsen from the United States’ “unlawful imposition [over him] of [its] municipal laws” through its political subdivision, the State of Hawai‘i [and its County of Hawai‘i].

In the situation of Hawai‘i, the usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation would appear to have been total since the beginning of the twentieth century. This is an ongoing crime where the criminal act would consist of the imposition of legislation or administrative measures by the occupying power that goes beyond what is required necessary for military purposes of the occupation. Since 1898, when the United States Congress enacted an American municipal law purporting to have annexed the Hawaiian Islands, it began to impose its legislation and administrative measures to the present in violation of the laws of occupation.

Given that this is essentially a crime involving government action or policy or the action or policies of an occupying State’s proxies such as the State of Hawai‘i and its Counties, a perpetrator who participated in the act would be required to do so intentionally and with knowledge that the act went beyond what was required for military purposes or the protection of fundamental human rights.

Usurpation of sovereignty has not only victimized the civilian population in the Hawaiian Islands for over a century, but it has also victimized the civilians of other countries that have visited the islands since 1898 who were unlawfully subjected to American municipal laws and administrative measures. These include State of Hawai‘i sales tax on goods purchased in the islands but also taxes placed exclusively on tourists’ accommodations collected by the State of Hawai‘i and the Counties.

The Counties have recently added 3% surcharges to the State of Hawai‘i’s 10.25% transient accommodations tax. Added with the State of Hawai‘i’s general excise tax of 4% in addition to the 0.5% County general excise tax surcharges, civilians who are visiting the islands will be paying a total of 17.75% to the occupying power. In addition, those civilians of foreign countries doing business in the Hawaiian Islands are also subjected to paying American duties on goods that are imported to the United States destined to Hawai‘i. These duty rates are collected by the United States according to the United States Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.

The far reach of the victims of war crimes committed in the Hawaiian Islands includes civilians throughout the world in various countries.

At the United Nations World Summit in 2005, the Responsibility to Protect was unanimously adopted. The principle of the Responsibility to Protect has three pillars: (1) every State has the Responsibility to Protect its populations from four mass atrocity crimes—genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing; (2) the wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual States in meeting that responsibility; and (3) if a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter. In 2009, the General Assembly reaffirmed the three pillars of State’s Responsibility to Protect their populations from war crimes and crimes against humanity under resolution A/63/308, and in 2021, the UN General Assembly passed resolution A/75/277 on “The responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.”

Rule 158 of the International Committee of the Red Cross Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law specifies that “States must investigate war crimes allegedly committed by their nationals or armed forces, or on their territory, and, if appropriate, prosecute the suspects. They must also investigate other war crimes over which they have jurisdiction and, if appropriate, prosecute the suspects.” This “rule that States must investigate war crimes and prosecute the suspects is set forth in numerous military manuals, with respect to grave breaches, but also more broadly with respect to war crimes in general.”

Determined to hold to account individuals who have committed war crimes and human rights violations throughout the territorial jurisdiction of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Council of Regency, by Proclamation on April 17, 2019, established a Royal Commission of Inquiry in similar fashion to the United States proposal of establishing a Commission of Inquiry after the First World War “to consider generally the relative culpability of the authors of the war and also the question of their culpability as to the violations of the laws and customs of war committed during its course.”

In mid-November of 2022, the Royal Commission of Inquiry published War Criminal Reports no. 22-0002, 22-0002-1, 22-0003, 22-0003-1, 22-0004, 22-0004-1, 22-0005, 22-0005-1, 22-0007, and 22-0007-1 that provides the evidence that U.S. President Joseph Biden, Jr., Vice-President Kamala Harris, Admiral John Aquilino, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, Senator Charles Schumer, Representative Nancy Pelosi, State of Hawai‘i Governor David Ige, Commissioner Ty Nohara, Tax Director Isaac Choy, Hawai‘i County Mayor Mitchell Roth, Hawai‘i County Council Chairwoman Maile David, Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino, Maui County Council Chairwoman Alice Lee, County of Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami, and Kaua‘i County Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro have committed the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation. Accomplices to this war crime include: U.S. Attorneys Brian Boynton, Anthony Coppolino, and Michael Gerardi; State of Hawai‘i Attorneys Holly T. Shikada and Amanda J. Weston; County of Hawai‘i Attorneys Elizabeth Strance, Mark Disher and Dakota Frenz; County of Maui Attorneys Moana Lutey, Caleb Rowe and Iwalani Mountcastle; and County of Kaua‘i Attorneys Matthew Bracken and Mark Bradbury.

The reports have documented the necessary evidence that satisfies the elements of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation: (1) the perpetrators imposed imposed or applied legislative or administrative measures of the occupying power going beyond those required by what is necessary for military purposes of the occupation, which is the actus reus or the criminal act; (2) the perpetrators were aware that the measures went beyond what was required for military purposes or the protection of fundamental human rights, which is the mens rea or the guilty mind; (3) their conduct took place in the context of and was associated with a military occupation; and (4) the perpetrators were aware of factual circumstances that established the existence of the military occupation.

With regard to the last two elements listed for the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation: (1) there is no requirement for a legal evaluation by the perpetrator as to the existence of an armed conflict or its character as international or non-international; (2) in that context there is no requirement for awareness by the perpetrator of the facts that established the character of the conflict as international or non-international; and (3) there is only a requirement for the awareness of the factual circumstance that established the existence of an armed conflict that is implicit in the terms “took place in the context of and was associated with.”

According to Professor Dietrich Schindler, “the existence of an [international] armed conflict within the meaning of Article 2 common to the Geneva Conventions can always be assumed when parts of the armed forces of two States clash with each other. … Any kind of use of arms between two States brings the Conventions into effect.” Dr. Stuart Casey-Maslen, author of The War Report 2012, further concludes that an international armed conflict “also exists whenever one state uses any form of armed force against another state, irrespective of whether the latter state fights back.”

The Hawaiian Kingdom has been in an international armed conflict with the United States since January 16, 1893, when U.S. troops invaded the city of Honolulu. The Hawaiian Kingdom has been under military occupation since January 17, 1893, when Queen Lili‘uokalani conditionally surrendered to the United States forces. For a comprehensive legal narrative and analysis of this international armed conflict download the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s ebook The Royal Commission of Inquiry: Investigating War Crimes and Human Rights Violations Committed in the Hawaiian Kingdom (2020).

The 123 countries who are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court have primary responsibility to prosecute war criminals under complementary and universal jurisdiction. This type of jurisdiction gives State Parties the first responsibility before the International Criminal Court can initiate proceedings and authority to prosecute individuals for international crimes to include the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation without regard to the place the war crime was committed or the nationality of the perpetrator. With the exception of the United States, China, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Thailand, the Allied Powers and Associated Powers of the First World War are State Parties to the Rome Statute.

In this situation where the citizenry of these countries have become victims of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation, they can seek extradition warrants in their national courts in order for their governments to prosecute these war criminals under the passive personality principle. The passive personality principle provides countries with jurisdiction for crimes committed against their nationals while they were abroad in the Hawaiian Islands. This has the potential of opening the floodgate to lawsuits from all over the world.

The commission of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation can stop when the United States, the State of Hawai‘i and the Counties begin to comply with Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Regulations and administer the laws of the Occupied State—the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Hawaiian Kingdom Blog – Weblog of the acting government of the Hawaiian Kingdom presently operating within the occupied State of the Hawaiian Islands by the USA

19 December 2022

Source: www.transcend.org

By Baher Kamal

7 Dec 2022 – “Western Europe and the European Union remain the highest scoring regions in the world’s corruption index; progress has halted and worrying signs of backsliding have emerged.”

This is how Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report introduces its section: A Decade of Stagnating Corruption Levels In Western Europe Amidst Ongoing Scandals.

The report shows that while corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide, “in Western Europe and the European Union, 84% of countries have declined or made little to no progress in the last 10 years.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has given European countries “an excuse for complacency in anti-corruption efforts” as accountability and transparency measures are “neglected or even rolled back.”

Transparency International further explains that “weakening good governance and checks and balances heightens the risk of human rights violations and further corruption.”

An excuse

The Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

According to the 2021 ranking, the Western Europe and European Union average holds at 66, and these are the region’s most signalled States:

• Countries like Poland (56) and Hungary (43) have backslid, with harsh crackdowns on rights and freedom of expression.
• Others still near the top like Germany (80), the United Kingdom (78) and Austria (74) faced serious corruption scandals.
• Denmark (88) and Finland (88) top the region and the world (alongside New Zealand), with Norway (85) and Sweden (85) rounding out the top.
• Romania (45), and Bulgaria (42) remain the worst performers in the region.
• Switzerland (84), Netherlands (82), Belgium (73), Slovenia (57), Italy (56), Cyprus (53), and Greece (49) are all at historic lows on the 2021 Index.

For each country’s individual score and changes over time, as well as analysis for each region, see the region’s 2021 CPI page.

In short, in the last decade, 26 countries in the region have either declined or made little to no significant progress.

Allowing corruption to fester

On this, Flora Cresswell, Western Europe regional coordinator of Transparency International said:

“Stagnation spells trouble across Europe. Even the region’s best performers are falling prey to major scandals, revealing the danger of inaction. Others have allowed corruption to fester, and are now seeing serious violations of freedoms…

… Nor does the region exist in a vacuum: lack of national enforcement in Europe means corruption is exported globally as foreign actors utilise weak laws to hide money and fund corruption back home.”

In the last decade, 26 countries in the region have either declined or made little to no significant progress, it warns.

Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. The Index uses data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others.

The scores reflect the views of experts and business people. (See: The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated.”

“European countries watered down a landmark proposal to clean up business and stop corporate abuse. It is a loss for the women and men who work in terrible conditions around the world to make the goods that end up in our shopping trolleys. The only ones celebrating today is the regressive business lobby.”

— Marc-Olivier Herman, Oxfam EU’s Economic Justice Policy Lead

Europe waters down a law to clean up business

The European Justice ministers on 1 December 2022 agreed on a proposal for a law to make companies accountable for the damage they cause to people and the planet.

In response, Oxfam EU’s Economic Justice Policy Lead, Marc-Olivier Herman, said:

“Today, European countries watered down a landmark proposal to clean up business and stop corporate abuse. It is a loss for the women and men who work in terrible conditions around the world to make the goods that end up in our shopping trolleys. The only ones celebrating today is the regressive business lobby.”

The original proposal was already a far cry from the game-changer law we expected. Now, after EU countries played their part, it is only weaker, warns Herman.

Many loopholes

“There are more and more loopholes allowing companies to escape their obligations to clean up their business.”

“The financial sector can continue to bankroll human rights violations and damage to the planet without being held accountable as it remains up to each European country to decide whether they want to make banks and other financial players clean up business.”

Anti-Corruption?

The 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December, states that the world today faces some of its greatest challenges in many generations – challenges which threaten prosperity and stability for people across the globe. The plague of corruption is intertwined in most of them.

An outstanding world body fighting crime: the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), reveals the following findings about the consequences of corruption:

Two Trillion US dollars in procurement is lost to corruption each year (OECD 2016)

89 billion US dollars a year is lost to corruption in Africa, close to double its 48 billion US dollars in foreign aid (UNCTAD 2020).

What else is needed to fight this human rights violation?

Baher Kamal, a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment, is an Egyptian-born, Spanish national, secular journalist, with over 45 years of professional experience — from reporter to special envoy to chief editor of national dailies and an international news agency.

19 December 2022

Source: www.transcend.org

Palestine Update 613
Editorial comment

By Ranjan Solomon

Israel’s far right government threatens Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza, and Israel with vindictive military measures. It stems from base-level political attitudes. In a poll, 48 percent of Jewish Israelis approved that “Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel.” In line with this way of thinking in the polity, Israel’s violent repression of Palestinians will only increase in the near future. Not just that, Jewish critics of the government are also going to face forms of persecution. It might be less than what the Palestinians have to cope with; but it will be political hounding all the same.

As Settlers dig in their heels and reap political capital from the new government, Palestinians anticipate a ‘Hebron-ization’ of the rest of Israel. Clearly, these are tough times for those who are not die-hard Zionists.  And yet, as we see day-after-day, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have dropped their support for the two-state solution alongside rising support for armed groups. They see no hope in dialogue, or co-existence that is socially and politically asymmetric. These thoughts are best articulated by Salah Hammouri from his prison cell on the possible eve of his deportation. “This settler-colonial project wants your land without you on it, confiscates your dream, destroys your reality, tries to deny your memories, whilst accusing you of terrorism and vandalism…But homeland, belonging, and challenging Zionist settler colonialism do not need an identity card. They need political consciousness, a sense of oneself and a project, a will, and vision. Each of us faces these same challenges from our own position and place in the world, always confronting and resisting. For this we do not ask permission and do not apologize.”  A full blown war will occur sooner-than-later given that political movement by Israel is on a downward trajectory. Israel does not recognize any red lines anymore and will stop at nothing including cementing the occupation now, and an impotent international community watch sitting on their hands.

Readers are invited to read these items of news and disseminate widely.

On behalf of MLN Updates

Ranjan Solomon

18 December 2022

By Shira Rubin

HEBRON, West Bank – Last month, as tens of thousands of right-wing Jewish pilgrims paraded through Hebron’s old city under the protection of the Israeli army, 18-year-old Aisha Alazza ventured on to her balcony to catch a glimpse. As she sipped coffee and watched the march spiral into violence, a gang of Israeli men approached from across the road, shouting “Whore!” at her in Arabic and throwing stones. She was struck in the face.

Since Palestinian cars are banned from this neighbourhood, an ambulance was out of the question. Instead, Alazza’s four sisters took her inside, applied ice and oils to the swelling wound and waited for the men to go away.

Alazza knows she will see them again – after all, they are her neighbours. They are also directly linked to members of Religious Zionism, the once-fringe, far-right political bloc that has championed asserting Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and will be the second largest force in the new Israeli government.

Even before Religious Zionism assumes office – taking on influential cabinet portfolios that will give them unprecedented control over this contested territory – their promises to set the stage for annexation are exacerbating the daily dangers and indignities of life in the occupied West Bank, residents say. Many warn that Hebron’s bloody, biblically tinged conflict, between its 800 hardline Israeli settlers and its 200 000 Palestinians, is a test case for the future of relations between the two peoples under the next government.

Some of the faces in incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new administration are familiar ones to Hebron. Both Itamar Ben Gvir and Orit Strook are residents of the nearby hardline settlement of Kiryat Arba and have harassed and assaulted Palestinians for decades.

“Netanyahu has given Ben Gvir the jurisdiction to do whatever he wants, and what he wants is us gone,” said Alazza this week, from the balcony where she was struck.

Israel’s most far-right and pro-settler government in its history is being sworn in during one of the deadliest years for both Israelis and Palestinians. Since last spring, a string of Palestinian attacks in Israeli cities and many military posts has been met with near nightly Israeli military raids across the West Bank, leaving at least 150 Palestinians and 31 Israelis dead.

For activist Tal Sagi, however, the violence and deteriorating relations have had one positive side effect – Israelis are paying attention to the occupation again.

The former soldier with the anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence said that many Israelis are shocked by the images coming out of Hebron, where on the same day that Ben Gvir was appointed head of the expanded National Security Ministry, Israeli soldiers violently confronted left-wing Israeli activists.

Viral videos show a soldier pinning an activist to the ground and punching him repeatedly, and another, from the same unit, saying, “Ben Gvir will make order in this whole place … You’re screwed … You’re done making this place into your ‘whorehouse’.“

“There’s something good about Hebron being in the news,” said Sagi, who grew up in a West Bank settlement and later served in Hebron. “There’s so much normalisation, so much silence that many Israelis – people I know – aren’t even aware that entire swaths of land and groups of people are under Israeli military control.”

Religious Zionism’s head, Bezalel Smotrich, will be granted oversight of the Defence Ministry, as well as access to billions of shekels as alternate leader of the Finance Ministry. He has vowed to enshrine in law the rights of residents in all settlements, especially to facilitate further building in the West Bank.

Smotrich and Ben Gvir were both suspected of being involved in terrorism in their youth, supporting attacks against Palestinians and Israeli politicians who sought to sign peace deals to end the conflict.

“I’m going to make sure that Israel takes responsibility for Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich told 103fm Radio on Monday, using the biblical name for the West Bank. He added that previous administrations have “choked” the growth of the half million strong population of settlers.

Harel Chorev, a researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, said that though the Religious Zionism bloc represents a small minority of the Israeli electorate with just 14 seats in the 120-member Knesset, their critical role in the next coalition will give them outsized power.

“They are a minority, but one that is determined and dogmatic, that thinks it is the pioneers of the new frontier,” he said. “They will be able to dictate the policy in a territorial struggle, in which they want to limit their opponents’ ability to expand.”

A former high ranking official in Cogat, the Israeli military agency responsible for civil affairs in the occupied West Bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity about sensitive military issues, called Religious Zionism’s expected authority in the West Bank “a creeping annexation, taking away all options for a two state solution”.

Smotrich and Ben Gvir, he said, “could bring about all kinds of explosions”.

Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist who gives tours to bring attention to the occupation, said those explosions were already happening in Hebron, which he said should be a cautionary tale for the rest of Israel.

“In the past two years, there’s been a gradual Hebron-isation of the rest of Israel,” he said on his first tour since being released from an intermittent week-long detention for filming the video of the soldier that went viral.

As he walked through the streets with his group, Amro was confronted by a young settler who harangued him. When Amro just walked away, the man shouted repeatedly “where are you running away to, Issa?”

“For years, we have known about the oppression and the brutality, but now there’s also the fascism in the next government, and that makes it harder for everyone to close their eyes,” Amro said, struggling to make himself heard over the settler’s shouting.

The tour then turned a corner onto Shuhada Street, once the bustling heart of the old city that is now a ghost town of shuttered buildings. At one end is the Bab al-Zawiyah checkpoint, where since the right wing election victory, the wait for Palestinians coming back into the city from work or errands has stretched up to six hours.

A remote control machine gun that can be loaded with stun grenades, sponge-tipped bullets and other anti-riot tools, was attached to the upper level of the gate in September. For weeks, Palestinians who passed underneath it had thought it was just a camera.

Suddenly a police officer backed by two armoured vehicles pulled up around Amro and his group and informed him he’d been detained. The angry settler from earlier had called them in claiming that Amro was violating a restraining order supposedly barring him from the city.

“We don’t want you making trouble, any provocations,” said the Israeli officer, as he handed back the group’s IDs after recording the numbers, and letting the tour resume.

“Is it a provocation for me to discuss my own rights?” asked Amro repeatedly. The officer ignored him.

Shira Rubin is a journalist for The Washington Post based in Tel Aviv, covering news from Israel, the Palestinian territories and the region.

10 December 2022

Source: washingtonpost.com

By Edo Konrad

Most left-wing Israeli Jews do not generally think of themselves as political dissidents, and have likely never aspired to such a status. Despite the lavish praise they receive for their bravery, Israeli-Jewish leftists have the ability to speak out without suffering the consequences faced by Palestinians, not to mention activists in other undemocratic states. Leftist Jews have very often been afforded the privilege of being opponents of the right, rather than its enemies.

But all that seems like it may change, and far quicker than even the biggest pessimists in my camp anticipated. In just the last month, since Itamar Ben Gvir was appointed as presumptive national security minister, Bezalel Smotrich given the power to lord over the day-to-day lives of millions of Palestinians in the occupied territories, and Avi Maoz granted the power to implement his homophobic agenda in school curriculums, the shifts have been palpable for Jewish critics of the state and its occupation. The government has not yet been formed, but it is clear to everybody which way the wind is blowing.

Israeli police have since summoned Israel Frey, a left-wing Haredi journalist, for interrogation over a tweet praising a Palestinian who sought security forces, rather than civilians, for a planned attack (Frey has thus far refused to appear before the police). Israeli soldiers attacked and threatened leftists, some of them journalists, during a tour in occupied Hebron (a routine event for Palestinians in the city). Right-wing activists managed to pressure the Pardes Hanna-Karkur Local Council to cancel a screening of my colleague Noam Sheizaf’s new film on the occupation due to his politics. And on Thursday, during a hearing by the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky interrupted Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu to call him a “traitor” and an “informant” who should “be imprisoned.”

The path to this moment was paved long ago. While loud and unabashed, there have been relatively few Jewish left-wing dissidents in Israeli history who have challenged the Israeli regime — from conscientious objectors, to nuclear whistleblowers, to groups such as the Israeli Black Panthers and the smattering of other independent left-wing groups — while most have focused on reforming specific policies. Meanwhile, Israel has an increasingly right-wing public that has become accustomed to managing an endless military dictatorship over the West Bank and a lethal siege on Gaza, and has little patience for anyone who criticizes it, or even speaks about it openly. The political right, from former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett — the hero of the “government of change” — to Smotrich and Ben Gvir, believe in forcing Palestinians to kneel before Israel (lest we forget that Bennett’s government dissolved over his coalition’s failure to re-authorize separate West Bank legal systems for Palestinians and Israeli Jews).

Meanwhile, much of the Zionist left no longer has anything of value to say about the occupation, and very often closes ranks with its opponents on the right in attacking Palestinians and the radical left. In Jewish-Israeli society, this has left behind a shrinking cadre of left-wing Jewish activists who recognize that dismantling apartheid and colonialism is the only way to move toward a more just future for Palestinians and Israelis.

Into that vacuum left by the Zionist left swept far-right groups with connections to the Israeli government that have made it their duty to seek out those Jewish Israelis who refuse to toe the party line. A little less than a decade ago, these organizations were behind a chillingly concerted bottom-up effort to delegitimize anti-occupation groups such as Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem, Ta’ayush, and others because they refused to remain silent in the face of Israel’s human rights abuses. What seemed like a novel phenomenon in 2015 is now part of the playbook for every single aspiring right-wing politician. In this sense, the attacks of the last month are not new, but they carry a great deal of weight given the makeup of the new government.

Over the last few weeks, we have witnessed how, time and time again, it is Palestinians who are repeatedly on the front lines of Israel’s repression, most prominently in the story of Dr. Ahmad Mahajna, who is still fighting for his job after he was falsely accused of handing sweets to a 16-year-old Palestinian who carried out a stabbing attack and who was in his care at Hadassah Medical Center. For over a month, Mahajna was ceaselessly attacked by the media and far-right activists for his so-called support for “terrorism,” until enough people came forward to put an end to the witch hunt. If left-wing Israeli Jews are being transformed into dissidents, Palestinians are always one false move from being labeled enemies of the state, simply by their very existence.

Yet this transformation of Israeli leftists into dissidents is a reminder that no one is safe from Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and Maoz’s attempts to suss out the “wrong kind of Jews.” After they come for Palestinians — particularly in Area C of the West Bank, so-called mixed cities, and the Naqab/Negev — they will come for the anti-apartheid activists. After that, it could be anyone who resists the religious coercion of the agents of Jewish theocracy.

Jewish dissidents-to-be need to know the path will be fraught and often dangerous. Some of us will inevitably leave (plenty already have), while others, particularly those without anywhere to go, will either stay and fight alongside Palestinians, asylum seekers, the LGBTQ community, and any other group this government comes after, or step away from activism altogether. Those looking from the outside at what is transpiring on the ground at lightning speed need to know that we are only at the very beginning.

Edo Konrad is the editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine.

16 December 2022

Source: www.972mag.com