Skip to content

Tag: Palestine

13M Children Forced Out Of School By Western Destabilization Efforts In Middle East
A trio of children play soccer amid the stone walls and cobblestone streets of Palestine. March 28, 2014. (Flickr / Miriam Mezzera)
September 16, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

13M Children Forced Out Of School By Western Destabilization Efforts In Middle East

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Years of war and unrest devastated education in the Middle East and North Africa, leaving more than 13 million children without safe or reliable schools across the region, according to a new report from UNICEF.

The report, “Education Under Fire,” which was released on Sept. 3, details the bitter cost of war on the future of millions of children. The report focuses on nine countries where millions have been displaced by near constant conflict and bombing since 2011.

More than 8,850 schools in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen are unusable “because they have been damaged, destroyed, are sheltering displaced families or are occupied by parties to the conflicts,” the authors noted. Just in 2014, 214 schools were attacked in the region.

Read more13M Children Forced Out Of School By Western Destabilization Efforts In Middle East
Boycott On Aisle Three: Avoid These 6 Products That Support Israeli Apartheid
In this September 9, 2015 photograph, a protester in a Guy Fawkes mask painted with the Palestinian flag, holds a sign painted with the Palestinian flag that reads, "Stop the Genocide," while standing near UK police in London. (Flickr / Ron F.)
September 14, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

Boycott On Aisle Three: Avoid These 6 Products That Support Israeli Apartheid

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which supports an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, is growing fast, in part because of how easy it is for people to participate. One of the simplest ways to support BDS is by making the right choices at the grocery store.

More Americans than ever support Palestinian liberation, and the movement is spreading to a record number of college campuses. It’s becoming such a threat to Israeli imperialism that opponents are pouring millions into opposing BDS, even enlisting NBA players and Hollywood celebrities. The U.S. government is consideringlegal options to fight the movement and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton recently declared her opposition to BDS.

However, the campaigns waged by the movement’s wealthy opponents are no match for the Internet. Several websites help consumers avoid companies and products with ties to Israeli occupation. The following list is compiled from bdslist.org, bdsmovement.net and a 2013 report from Alternet’s Alex Kane:

Read moreBoycott On Aisle Three: Avoid These 6 Products That Support Israeli Apartheid
GOP Mega-Donor Sheldon Adelson Recruits NBA To Fight Israeli Boycott Movement
Omri Casspi, playing for the Sacramento Kings in March 2009. (Wikimedia Commons / Chamber of Fear)
July 31, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

GOP Mega-Donor Sheldon Adelson Recruits NBA To Fight Israeli Boycott Movement

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

A delegation of eight professional basketball players visited Israel earlier this month. Yet this was no simple sightseeing visit: Multiple reports suggest the trip was part of a renewed, multimillion dollar effort to oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Organized by Omri Casspi, an Israeli player for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, the first reports appeared on JNS.org, a global Jewish news service, which claimed the trip was sponsored by “a foundation [Omri] Casspi has formed, which seeks to fight anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement initiatives.” Casspi, along with eight teammates, flew aboard a private jet on a tour of his home country. Later, Casspi insisted the trip was “nothing about politics,” forcing JNS.org to add a correction to the story.

However, the private jet on which players flew to Israel is owned by Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate known for pouring millions of dollars into opposing the BDS movement. Further, Casspi is known to sponsor an anti-BDS foundation in his own name, and the trip also featured “charity” events designed to build goodwill for Israel, sponsored by the basketball nonprofit NBA Cares.

Read moreGOP Mega-Donor Sheldon Adelson Recruits NBA To Fight Israeli Boycott Movement
New Calls For Justice Emerge One Year After Brutal Murder Of Palestinian Teen
16-year-old Mohammad Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teenager whose burned body was found Wednesday, July 2 in the Jerusalem Forest.
July 10, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

New Calls For Justice Emerge One Year After Brutal Murder Of Palestinian Teen

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

One year after a 16-year-old Palestinian was kidnapped from his home in Jerusalem and burned to death by Israeli settlers, his family and neighbors haven’t found peace, and justice seems even more elusive.

In the early morning of July 2, 2014, Mohammed Abu Khdeir was waiting for friends when he was kidnapped near his home. Witnesses and surveillance video showed him being forced into a car. His scorched and beaten body was found soon after in a nearby forest; Abu Khdeir had been burned alive by Jewish extremists.

Many saw Abu Khdeir’s brutal death as retaliation for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens, who were buried just the day before. But even the mother of one of the slain Israelis decried the death of the Palestinian, telling the media, “There is no difference between blood and blood. Murder is murder. There is no justification and no atonement for murder.” The killing further inflamed the already high tensions between the people of Gaza and the occupying army in the lead up to the summer’s brutal war, during which Israeli forces killed thousands of civilians.

Read moreNew Calls For Justice Emerge One Year After Brutal Murder Of Palestinian Teen
10 Years Later, Israel Under Pressure From Successful Boycott Movement
Activists near the White House hold a "Boycott Israel" banner during a rally for Palestine. August 2, 2014. (Flickr / Stephen Melkisethian)
July 8, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

10 Years Later, Israel Under Pressure From Successful Boycott Movement

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Ten years after Palestinian civil society put out the original call to action, the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement has become a global force. With Israel and its supporters now spending millions to prop up the country’s public image, it’s hard to deny the changes these activists have created through global solidarity.

First published July 2005, the original BDS letter was signed by over 170 global human rights organizations as well as unions, political parties and other associations based in Palestine. A year after Israel continued building its Gaza wall, despite the objections of the United Nations and international courts, and with illegal Jerusalem settlements similarly continuing to expand, there seemed no other choice than to target Israel’s finances directly. The movement is modeled after similar, successful efforts to boycott supporters of South Africa’s racist apartheid regime, and the BDS movement counts high profile fighters of apartheid like Desmond Tutu among its supporters.

Below are five of the biggest achievements of the last 10 years:

Read more10 Years Later, Israel Under Pressure From Successful Boycott Movement
White Phosphorous War Crimes Connect Israel To Monsanto
File: A rain of deadly sparks falls from the sky during a controlled explosion of confiscated white phosphorous rounds set off by U.S. forces in Iraq. January 1, 2008. (Flickr / United States Forces Iraq)
June 16, 2015
Kit
Leave a Comment

White Phosphorous War Crimes Connect Israel To Monsanto

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Monsanto Corporation, the agribusiness giant best known for its pesticides and genetically-modified crops, also manufactured white phosphorous for the U.S. government over at least the past 20 years. Used in incendiary military weapons, the United States sold white phosphorous-based weapons to Israel, which used those weapons to commit brutal war crimes against Palestinians living in Gaza in 2009.

White phosphorous is created from phosphorous through industrial processes — it is not a naturally occurring substance. Exposure can cause severe and often fatal burns, or other complications such as organ failure, with even survivors suffering from long-term health effects.

In addition to its use in weapons, white phosphorous is also used to create phosphoric acid, a key ingredient in some fertilizers, which likely explains why Monsanto would manufacture the substance.

At one point, Monsanto was the only U.S.-based firm manufacturing the substance. This, of course, caught the military’s attention.

Read moreWhite Phosphorous War Crimes Connect Israel To Monsanto