#saudi arabia israel normalization

[swamyworld]

Saudi Arabia Israel News In Hindi, Why is Saudi Arabia arresting those who speak ill of Israel, what is the intention of Prince Salman - saudi arabia steps up arrests of those attacking israel online on the orders of mohammed bin salman al saud

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has stepped up arrests of citizens for social-media posts related to the Israel-Hamas war. It is believed that this action is a sign of Saudi Arabia’s willingness to agree to diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia has said it could establish diplomatic ties if Israel committed to a Palestinian state. Detaining people for online comments is common in Saudi Arabia, with…

[plitnick]

Saudi-Israel Normalization Is Not A Path To Ending The Violence in Palestine and Israel

Once again, Biden is trotting out this terrible, potentially destructive idea that has little chance of even coming to be and no chance of being helpful. In the latest edition of the Cutting Through newsletter, I explain why this is a bad idea, and why it is being pushed even harder right now.  Saudi-Israel Normalization Is Not A Path To Ending The Violence in Palestine and Israel

[magamaroc111]

السعودية حسمت التطبيع الإيجابي مع إسرائيل زلزال الحوز المغرب في تضامن ق...

[timesnew7]

Crown prince Salman: Saudi Arabia and Israel getting 'closer' to normalization

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) has revealed in a US television interview that his country is moving closer to normalizing relations with Israel. He also expressed concerns about Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, stating, "If they get one, we have to get one, for security reasons and the balance of power in the Middle East. But we don't want to see that." MbS made these remarks in an interview with Fox News, where he discussed a range of topics, including the potential for diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. He emphasized the importance of resolving the Palestinian issue as part of any normalization agreement. “For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part," the Saudi Arabi's de facto leader said. Regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, MbS expressed worry about the consequences if Iran were to acquire a nuclear bomb and stated that such a scenario would lead to a "big fight with the rest of the world." US officials are actively working on brokering a historic deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which would include discussions on US security guarantees, civilian nuclear assistance for Saudi Arabia, and potential Israeli concessions to the Palestinians. While challenges remain, the US sees potential benefits in such a mega-deal, including reducing tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict, countering Iran, and strengthening alliances in the Gulf. The interview coincided with a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which they pledged to work toward Israeli-Saudi normalization. Both leaders also expressed concerns about Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. MbS defended OPEC+'s decision to cut oil output, denying that it was intended to aid Russia in its war in Ukraine. He also discussed the need for reforms in the Saudi security system to prevent incidents like the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the future. While the potential for improved US-Saudi relations and Israeli-Saudi normalization exists, it faces challenges in the US Congress due to concerns over MbS's role in various issues, including the Khashoggi case, Yemen's conflict, and oil prices. (With inputs from agencies) Read the full article

[arabian-batboy]

If a war between Iran and Israel really will emerge it will not just be Iranians who will suffer, but every country in the region will be somewhat involved, which includes some nations that are already declared as one of the poorest, most war-torn and starved nations in the world. All of whom all be completely unprotected while Israel wreak havoc on their citizens (excluding those who live in puppet-states aligned with the US) with full-support and funding from the US and other Western superpowers to ensure that no matter happens, their influence and interests in the Middle East will not be lost and they'e willing to sacrifice the lives of as many non-Israeli civilians as they want to in order to achieve their goal.

This is one of the reasons they implanted this cancerous tumor called Israel in our region, to act as military base that cause instability and state-sponsored terrorism in the area so that it would be easier for them to exploit these failed-states that surround it and the best part is? All they have to do to maintain this military base is give them a couple billions and some weapons yearly so that those blood-lust Zionist settlers can do all the dirty work for them, that's NOTHING compared to the costs and casualties of other wars that had the US be directly involved in like Vietnam or Iraq or Afghanistan (off the record; but that's exactly why they're using Saudi Arabia to indirectly destroy Yemen, they learned their lesson, its always better to use a proxy.)

If a war breaks out? The US will not be in any real danger, because they're half-way across the world and all the fighting will be in West Asia and North Africa, far away from them. No American building is in danger of being destroyed, no American city is under the threat of being bombed, the average American citizen will not be in any danger and can just continue living their life like normal, hence why they're always the first ones to start making those WW3 memes, because they're not the ones in danger of dying.

This is precisely why the US's imperialism in the Middle East hasn't slowed down in decades, because they do not suffer any negative consequences from it. All the destruction and casualties they cause is inflicted solely on the native people and the native people only, for the US, they only have things to gain from these wars, whether it was stolen resources or more instability that will further their control and influence in the area.

The US, like every single oppressive empire in history, will not suddenly grow a conscious over-night and immediately halt all their wrongdoings simply because they don't want the innocent people in other countries to suffer anymore. The only way to stop their imperialism is to have them believe that its not worth it anymore, to have the cons of being involved in our region out-weight the pros.

Because at the moment if the only cons here are "innocent Muslims will die"? Then those motherfucking colonizers will NOT stop, they will only stop once it reaches a point where its also the colonizers who are dying alongside the native population and the first step for that to happen is to dismantle this giant settler-colony built square in the middle of our region and forcing these Western Superpowers to choose between continuously spending trillions of dollars to maintain their interests directly or to fucking leave us alone already and save those trillions for something else.

[criptochecca]

After six months of brutal fighting and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, multiple Israeli and western commentators have argued that Hamas is winning the war and making military history in the process.

[…]

Hamas had survived "the IDF onslaught for longer than any war Israel has ever fought," and in "doing so, they have thoroughly dented Israel's much vaunted deterrent status. In brief, and with daunting potential long-term consequences for Israel, the IDF no longer looks invincible."

Hamas has blocked a potential normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which looked inevitable before the war began on 7 October, and put the Palestinian issue "back squarely on the international map" after years of the Palestinian Authority (PA) failing to do so.

A final victory for Hamas, Phillip notes, is the “head-spinning speed of Israel's post-October 7 delegitimization in the eyes of many in the world.”

[…]

Following the withdrawal of the 98th Division from the southern Gaza city, Harel noted that the Israeli army's “two goals were the capture of top Hamas officials in Gaza and the rescue of the Israeli captives currently held by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.”

"The public should be told the truth: The enormous death and destruction the IDF is leaving behind in Gaza, alongside quite a few losses on our side, aren't currently bringing us any closer to achieving the war's goals," he concluded.

[…]

"Israel's failure is not based on presenting the goals of the war – which were fully supported by all Western countries. The failure lies entirely in the execution," Eyal wrote, adding that "war is not won just by killing. A complementary political act is needed."

The first failure, according to the report, was "the civilian suffering in Gaza."

"Those who want to overthrow the rule of Hamas in Gaza do not conduct a Roman-style revenge campaign, carry out a protective wall or retaliatory action as if it were the 1950s."

[…]

Eyal also noted that Israel had become isolated in the international community and that even its allies in Washington and Brussels were beginning to turn against it.

"Not only has [Israel] lost support in most of the West, and is very close to an arms embargo from Europe, even among its great ally, the tectonic plates are in motion."

[magz]

Palestine related news summary from LetsTalkPalestine, May 1 to May 4, 2024.

[Ways to help, sources, and more: LetsTalkPalestine Linktree]

May 1.

(Instagram reel of UCLA protest. Includes footage of treating n washing a pro-palestine protestors' bloody head)

Day 208

🇨🇴 Colombia to cut diplomatic ties w/ Israel

•⁠ ⁠33 killed, 57 injured in the last 24 hours. Real number likely higher

⚖️ US lobbying ICC not to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, after Israel's threat to respond by retaliating against Palestinian Authority for sparking ICC investigation

🇫🇷 France denies selling weapons to Israel used in Gaza, claiming what's sold will be re-exported to 3rd countries via Israel, but did supply Israeli Iron Dome defense system

🇹🇷 Turkey set to follow Columbia & Nicaragua by joining South Africa's ICJ case against Israel

🎓 Zionist mob attacked Palestine protestors at UCLA w/ fireworks & pepper spray for 3 hours, police didn’t intervene (📹👆). Columbia & CUNY asked NYPD to raid & arrest 280+ student protestors. New encampments across UK, Tunisia & Canada

🚚 First aid trucks enter through Beit Hanoon crossing to north Gaza despite Israel's promise to open 1 month ago. Nearly half of aid convoys to north Gaza denied by Israel.

May 2.

(Instagram post, news update. The Israeli occupation has killed Palestinian Dr. Adnan Al-Barash.)

Day 209

• 28 Palestinians killed, 51 injured in last 24 hours. Note that the toll is underreported.

🏥 Dr. Adnan al Barash killed in captivity after IOF abducted him in Dec (📷👆)— 496 medical personnel killed in Gaza + 309 in captivity

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia arrests many for anti-Israel online posts, incl. an executive & media figure. Timing suspicious w/ reports of renewed normalization talks

• IOF attacks aid convoy, killing 1

🇹🇷 Turkey stops all trade w/ Israel after banning 54 exports to Israel

🇺🇸 US House pass “antisemitism awareness” bill using repressive IHRA definition of antisemitism despite antisemitism covered in anti-discrimination law. Why is IHRA definition problematic? See tinyurl.com/ynsfy8sx

• IOF airstrike in central Gaza killed 5, incl. a child

🪨 37m tons of rubble in Gaza, heavy contamination w/ unexploded ammunition & 800,000 tons of asbestos

🎓 Columbia & Emory University face federal investigation for anti-Muslim discrimination, reports of doxing & harassment

May 3.

Day 210

• World Press Freedom Day: Israel killed 100+ journalists since Oct 7 + holding 53 captive

• 26 killed, 51 injured in the last 24 hours. Note the toll is underreported.

• Israel attack on Rafah killed 7, incl. a mother & her children — the children’s bodies were shredded by the airstrikes

🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago recognizes the State of Palestine as West Bank & Gaza

🇬🇧 UK sanctions 2 Israeli groups + 4 settlers for violence in West Bank, warns of more sanctions if no Israeli action against settler attacks

• Israeli strike on Bureij camp killed 5, incl. a child

💰 UN estimates cost to rebuild Gaza at $40bn; more than post-WWII reconstruction

🎓 Goldsmiths University students in London win & obtain demands after occupying library — @ goldsmithsforpalestine on instagram for details

🎓 University encampments for Gaza go global spreading to 🇨🇦 🇮🇳 🇳🇿 🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇯🇵 🇰🇼 🇱🇧 🇹🇳 🇯🇴. US crackdown w/ 2,200 students arrested

• Iran-backed Bahraini militia launches attack at southern Israeli port Eilat

May 4.

Day 211

✝️ Israel blocks entry of many Palestinian Christians to Jerusalem for Holy Saturday celebrations

•⁠ 32 Palestinians killed, 41 injured in Gaza in last 24 hours. Toll underreported

•⁠ ⁠IOF killed 5+ in 15-hour siege on Tulkarem (West Bank) & clashes with Hamas resistance fighters. IOF targeted fighters’ homes w/ women & kids inside, demolished homes trapping many under rubble

•⁠ ⁠Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 11 incl. 3 in bombings of tents in Rafah

•⁠ Head of UN WFP says north Gaza experiencing “full-blown famine” and it’s only a matter of time before south Gaza faces same level of starvation

🇫🇷 British-Palestinian @ dr.ghassan.as denied entry to France for Senate address as witness of Gaza Genocide as Germany put year-long ban on his entry to Europe (Schengen)

🇺🇸 88 US lawmakers warn Biden that Israeli aid blockade violates US ‘foreign assistance’ law

•⁠ IOF abducts 5 overnight in West Bank

🎓 Uni encampments spread to Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Cuba & Costa Rica

[germiyahu]

When the war ends (who knows when that will be though) and you know at least 95% of Gazans are still alive and can begin rebuilding their lives (hopefully with Israeli financial compensation), the antisemites who insist a genocide is occurring will do one of a few things:

Refuse to acknowledge that Israel was interested in a peace plan. They will never give Israel credit for deescalating or withdrawing. They will most likely attribute any (semi) permanent ceasefire and hostage deal to Joe Byron "forcing" Netanyahu to comply. I don't think this is too likely as I can't really see them switching up on Biden and suddenly thinking he's a good leader or a morally driven person. So this group might delusionally believe that Egypt or Saudi Arabia, maybe Iran/Russia... or laughably, Hamas or the Houthis, were the ones to "force" Israel to back down. And you know what, I'll take it personally. As long as they can see that no genocide occurred, I don't care if they're too petty to admit that Israel never intended to commit one.

Lose interest. It's that simple. When the dust settles and no evidence of genocide is constantly being fabricated and shoved in their lazy incurious faces... they'll move on to something else. Some of them will become lifelong obsessed antizionists and will probably agitate all their circles to continue talking about The Genocide That (almost) Was, but even they will have to go "dormant" about it eventually.

Continue to insist that a genocide is occurring. Whether it's the people who play with semantics and devalue words and change definitions who'll be saying that Israel committed/is committing a "psychological" genocide or something... or the conspiracy theorists who will cite the lack of evidence and news coverage as proof that the Genocide has moved on to a quieter stage... or the people who say "this genocide has been ongoing for 80 years this is just a lull in Isnotreal's ethnic cleansing program to save face and wait for further instructions from their American masters!" I think this will be the largest group. Antisemitism, as a conspiracy theory, is just too fun and too addicting for these people. They don't have the tools to get themselves out of this cult. And it's not Jews' responsibility to help them. Thankfully the other two groups' existing, and of course, all of us normal people, will make this a small minority in the grand scheme of things.

[jewish-sideblog]

Obviously Hamas actions are abhorrent and the rise in antisemitism is uncalled for. What is the proper the response to 75yrs of apartheid though? Something has to be done about that or his cycle will never cease.

So you came from the post in which I explicitly named three organizations working for a two-state solution. And didn’t think… to look into… their proposals for a two-state solution…

As a reminder, before Hamas’s attack, Israel was working on normalizing peaceful relations with Saudi Arabia. That’s dead in the water because Hamas broke a ceasefire and killed a thousand Jewish civilians.

Before Hamas’s attack, there were massive, frequent, and often daily protests among the Israeli public, speaking out against an administration comprised of anti-Palestinians. Those are on hold now, because a thousand Jewish civilians were killed, and the country is at war. But Netanyahu’s coalition of asswipes is built like a house of cards, and they’ll suffer in the next election. That much is clear.

Hamas wasn’t looking to gain territory, win, or free Palestine on October 7th. Israel has never lost a war in its modern history, and it has overcome far worse odds than a couple thousand terrorists. There’s no feasible way for Hamas to have won. They broke the ceasefire and killed civilians anyway. Why? Why waste those lives and those resources, knowing that Israel would retaliate against Gazans?

Because Hamas looked around and saw something that horrified them. They saw Arab nations, once their allies, walking away from the idea of killing millions of Jews in favor of normalization and peace with Israel. They saw the citizens of Israel, rallying in unprecedented numbers for peace and democracy. They saw Fatah, their Palestinian enemies since 2007, ready to come back to the bargaining table for a peaceful two-state resolution.

Hamas broke a ceasefire for a media ploy. They did it, knowing that it would stop the normalization process between the Saudis and Israelis. They did it, knowing that it would bring an abrupt halt to Israeli protests. They did it, knowing that Israel would retaliate, and that the world would be watching as Hamas put Palestinian civilians in the line of fire and blamed it on Israel. They were looking to propagandize a dying movement, and friend, it seems like you bought into it.

Something does have to be done about Israeli’s treatment of Palestinians. Something does have to happen to end this cycle of violence. And plenty of things were being done about it, in the Knesset, on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. But Hamas considers peace without genocide to be a failure. Peace without genocide leaves Hamas out of a job. So they put a stop to it, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian lives.

And you don’t gotta take that from me. Ask them. They aren’t trying to hide it, they’ve been saying it all month. It’s in their founding charter.

[applesauce42069]

Wait, Bibi explicitly said he wouldn't accept any Palestinian state? Do you have any sources where I could read more on this? Because uhhh, holy shit??

oh boy. i've been following this for the past week and its been giving me whiplash. you'll see why.

So from what i understand, Blinken was working on a deal to end the war, offering Israel normalization with some of its neighbours including Saudi Arabia. The key to this was the creation of a Palestinian state. Bibi rejected this, report from January 18:

Then everyone was kind of like: what the fuck and this report came out on January 19:

Also this which I feel:

Then Netanyahu and Biden had a phone call and afterwards Biden said that a two state solution was "not impossible" with Netanyahu, January 20:

Then Netanyahu was like "no":

And he's holding to that:

this article claims that he's leaving room open for a "demilitarized palestinian state" but like. come on.

this may be controversial to some but i have two hopes right now:

the international community (especially the US) demands an end to the current trajectory and forces the creation of a palestinian state in a way that will secure safety for israelis and palestinians alike.

netanyahu is forced to call an election and he gets replaced with someone who is actually trying to make things better and not worse. if this happens i will travel to israel and vote netanyahu out. it is the least i can do.

thats just me though.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Top White House official Brett McGurk is quietly floating a controversial plan to reconstruct Gaza after Israel’s assault concludes, HuffPost has learned, despite serious concerns from some officials inside the administration that it would sow the seeds for future instability in the region.

In recent weeks, McGurk has been pitching national security officials on a plan suggesting an approximately 90-day timeline for what should happen once active fighting in Gaza ends, three U.S. officials said. It argues that stability can be achieved in the devastated Palestinian region if American, Israeli, Palestinian and Saudi officials launch an urgent diplomatic effort that prioritizes the establishment of Israel-Saudi ties, the officials continued. Such a development is widely referred to as “normalization,” given Saudi Arabia’s refusal to recognize Israel since its founding in 1948.

There is a widespread belief that similar U.S.-led deals that involved Israel and other regional Arab governments — and that downplayed Palestinian concerns — have fueled anger and violence, including the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militants inside Israel.

Still, U.S. President Joe Biden has echoed his predecessor Donald Trump in arguing that those agreements are vital for the region’s future. Biden’s focus on an Israel-Saudi pact has been especially alarming for Palestinians and officials working on Israeli-Palestinian peace. And McGurk’s accelerated timeline has only caused more concern.

McGurk’s plan would use the incentive of aid for reconstruction from Saudi Arabia and possibly other wealthy Gulf countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to pressure both the Palestinians and the Israelis, per the officials. In this vision, Palestinian leaders would agree to a new government for both Gaza and the occupied West Bank and to ratchet down their criticisms of Israel, while Israel would accept limited influence in Gaza.[...]

A recently conducted poll of Saudis by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy found that nearly 96% believe Arab states should cut any ties with Israel over its conduct in Gaza, and Saudi Arabia has long maintained that it will not establish ties with Israel unless the Israelis permit the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, a host of other forces in the region would rage against an agreement perceived as sidelining Palestinians. That group includes the Houthis[...] “These plans are delusionally optimistic and have numerous spoilers and parties that will be unlikely to cooperate or do what the U.S. plans,” one U.S. official said, pointing to the Houthis but also Palestinians and Israelis[...]

Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week told Israeli counterparts that he expects them to do more to achieve a Saudi-Israel pact than they would have had to do prior to their campaign in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported.[...]

McGurk previously worked on Middle East issues under Trump, who promoted his set of agreements between Arab states and Israel — the so-called Abraham Accords — as one of his biggest triumphs.[...]

In his first public remarks after the Oct. 7 attack, McGurk claimed that he never sidelined Palestinian concerns in pursuing an Israel-Saudi agreement.[...]

“There’s a lot of deja vu in what we’re hearing about the allegedly new thinking,” said Khaled Elgindy, an analyst at the Middle East Institute think tank and former adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. “I have a hard time believing that the administration that misread the region for three years before Oct. 7 and certainly deprioritized the Palestinians … can understand Palestinian aspirations.”

“Even if they did understand what was required, would any Palestinian leader be willing to trust them after they have facilitated the annihilation of Gaza?” Elgindy added.[...]

Blinken raised the idea of a new Palestinian Authority cabinet with Abbas this week and the Palestinian leader’s response was “poor,” a U.S. official told HuffPost. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller disputed that presentation in an email to HuffPost, writing, “This account is false in every respect.”[...]

Lawmakers have repeatedly said their interest in helping Israel make friends in its neighborhood does not outweigh their concerns about what the U.S. would need to commit to in diplomacy for a Saudi-Israel pact — likely a binding American defense treaty with Saudi Arabia and U.S. assistance with a Saudi nuclear program, among other enticements. Congress would have to approve a treaty and could also scrutinize or bar other U.S.-Saudi deals.

12 Jan 24

[plitnick]

Why the White House Backs Bibi: Biden and the Sukkot War, Part II

In the conclusion of this piece for The Battleground, I get into the reasons why Joe Biden has risked the 2024 election, his personal legacy, and the stability of the entire Middle East in order to back Israel and a prime minister to whom he had previously been giving the cold shoulder.   You can find Part 1 of this article here.

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Today, people in Israel are really loving Germany. If you're wondering why, it's related to SA's lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ. While the US, the UK and Canada all said that SA's accusation against Israel is baseless, Germany is actually putting its money where its mouth is. Instead of just saying the accusation is not rooted in reality, Germany has asked to join the lawsuit as a third party on Israel's side, protesting the misuse of the convention for the prevention and punishment of genocide. For the record, in the wake of the Holocaust, Israel was one of the countries pushing for the adoption of this convention, and one of the first to sign it. It's unbelievable poetic justice, that it's the Germans now coming to the defence of the Jewish state.

Yesterday, an independent Palestinian terrorist attack was carried out, one Israeli was injured, 3 terrorists were eliminated as they were breaking into a Jewish community. The man who was injured had identifies the cuts in the barbed wire fence, was hit by bullets, but was able to alert Israeli security forces, who stopped the attack. Two of the terrorists were 16 years old, the third was 19 years old. Firearms, knives and an axe were found on them. Here's CCTV footage of them while they were breaking into the community:

As the international coalition's forces have moved from defensive to offensive measures against the Houthis (the Iranian funded terrorists from Yemen), Israel is preparing for possible retribution carried out against our people, especially the southern city of Eilat.

The Israeli hostages in Gaza have not had their medications for 99 days. The Red Cross has refused to take these meds from the families, saying that while Hamas doesn't allow it, they can't pass anything to the hostages anyway. Now there's talk about Qatar possibly forcing Hamas to allow it, maybe as a part of some deal. We'll see. There's a lot of cases where reports from Qatar say Hamas have agreed to this or that (mostly in terms of agreeing to a new hostage deal), and then it turns out it was just the Qataris' suggestions to Hamas, being reported as if Hamas had accepted them. Against this backdrop, the Palestinian Red Crescent has reported it continues to provide ambulatory, mobile medical services to Palestinians who can't make it to hospitals, including giving them their meds.

Meanwhile, SA is proving once more that anti-Zionism is the new antisemitism, because it is being used to hurt Jews worldwide, by removing the Jewish captain, David Teeger, from the national cricket team under the excuse that there are anti-Israel protests against him.

Blinken says that Saudi Arabia is still interested in normalization (meaning, a peace agreement) with Israel. I'm going to be honest, I don't think it's a coincidence that it took the Saudis this long to say it. If Israel had folded, and stopped its war against Hamas, I suspect the Saudis would have taken this to mean that Israel is not strong enough to be an ally against Iran. The fact that the war continues, despite international pressure to stop (and effectively surrender to Iranian-funded Hamas), gives moderate Arab states hope that an alliance with Israel against Iran won't fail them and crumble at the first sign of trouble. I believe that's something that hasn't been talked about enough, how moderate Arab countries have been watching this war with Hamas, and how destructive it would be, if Hamas would have won. And any scenario where Hamas still exists and rules Gaza, even in a limited capacity, would be understood as their victory.

Jewish students at Harvard are suing the university for its longstanding failure to fight antisemitism, including in allowing antisemitic material to be taught in class. This is a reminder that the issue was never Claudine Gay specifically, there's a much bigger problem at hand in Harvard and other western universities, and her resignation is just the first step. I'm glad Jewish students are taking this initiative, to force Harvard to take more steps.

The Israeli Air Force has drawn this imitation of the yellow ribbon, worn as a part of the call to release the Israeli hostages, in the skies of Gaza (pic taken from inside southern Israel):

This is 71 years old Uri ben Tzvi.

I got to watch an interview with him. Uri survived the Hamas massacre on Oct 7 at kibbutz Be'eri, he and his wife hid together for hours, including 3.5 hours during which terrorists were rampaging through their home. Two hours later, they were saved thanks to their son, an IDF officer in an elite unit, who managed to make it out of his own home, and join security forces. But Uri recounted how almost any noise makes him jump now, and how almost all of his age group was wiped out. When he goes to the dining hall (kibbutzim are communal, everyone eats meals together), his friends that he used to sit with are no longer there. He insisted that Oct 7 was a kind of Holocaust, as Jewish kids were once again hiding in closets, terrified for their lives.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[qqueenofhades]

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/02/white-house-israel-gaza-palestinian-state/677554/

i think this is a pretty decent article in general, but this is a passage i particularly want to highlight:

"The U.S. can’t force Israel to do anything it regards as anathema to its interests. All Washington can do is lay down its own markers, including open recognition of a Palestinian state and a clear warning to Israel that its rejectionism will do significant damage to bilateral relations. The bear hug of support that Biden has provided for Israel over Gaza, at times with no international backing, cannot be gratis. The U.S. has a right, indeed a responsibility, to demand Israeli cooperation on this indispensable priority. Failing that, Washington will have to reevaluate the merits of America’s special relationship with Israel.

That is unlikely to happen before the U.S. election. But Biden might be more willing to apply the full weight of American influence on Israel if he wins a second term. Historically, second-term presidents—freed from the domestic political constraints of seeking reelection—tend to take on such issues with more determination. And if Biden really believes that U.S. interests—and ultimately Israel’s future—rest on the creation of a Palestinian state and normalization with Saudi Arabia, he could act decisively."

like i can't see any scenario where Biden's re-election would make the current situation worse! idk why it's so hard for some people to get!

I mean... yeah. I literally said the other day that Biden would be much more likely to go MORE left in a second term, because he's always gone more left when he's been pushed before, he wouldn't have to face the general electorate again, and because he's already in such a precarious position right before the election (which again, NETANYAHU KNOWS and is using to his advantage in attempting to get Trump back in). There's also the fact that literally nothing, no cause whatsoever for anyone anywhere, would be helped by Trump being elected instead. But that's apparently "baseless fearmongering" for Online Leftists who resent it when reality intrudes on their glorious revolution fantasies and/or anyone points out the basic real-world consequences of their rhetoric, so...

We've already seen that Biden can be successfully pressured, in four short months, to make drastic changes to decades of long-standing US/Israeli policy. There's no reason except sheer brainrot and terminally online idiocy to think that re-electing him will make the current situation worse (and on the other hand, as noted, many reasons to think that now he will be able to act more forcefully and without the worries of being sabotaged in an election year). Yet for the Schrodinger's Imperialists who think all Western and American influence is Always Bad, but Acktually Good when it relies on being used as magical thinking to instantly solve major global/geopolitical crises with literal millennia of roots and sources, this is just really hard, I guess. GENOCIDE JOE. There, that's easier.

[taviamoth]

🚨 Day 209 (@letstalkpalestine)

• 28 Palestinians killed, 51 injured in last 24 hours. Note that the toll is underreported.

🏥 Dr. Adnan al Barash killed in captivity after IOF abducted him in Dec— 496 medical personnel killed in Gaza + 309 in captivity

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia arrests many for anti-Israel online posts, incl. an executive & media figure. Timing suspicious w/ reports of renewed normalization talks

• IOF attacks aid convoy, killing 1

🇹🇷 Turkey stops all trade w/ Israel after banning 54 exports to Israel

🇺🇸 US House pass “antisemitism awareness” bill using repressive IHRA definition of antisemitism despite antisemitism covered in anti-discrimination law. Why is IHRA definition problematic? See tinyurl.com/ynsfy8sx

• IOF airstrike in central Gaza killed 5, incl. a child

🪨 37m tons of rubble in Gaza, heavy contamination w/ unexploded ammunition & 800,000 tons of asbestos

🎓 Columbia & Emory University face federal investigation for anti-Muslim discrimination, reports of doxing & harassment

[palestinegenocide]

Biden is ‘pristine’ on Israel, says megadonor Haim Saban

We’ve reached the point where Everything that Joe Biden and his mouthpieces say about the Gaza war is a lie.

They say that they deplore civilian deaths in Gaza, and yet they send more money for Israeli munitions and block any effort to hold Israel back, “casting international humanitarian law to the winds.” And when they are pressed about this, Biden’s surrogate Nancy Pelosi says that no American arms have gone to kill Palestinian civilians.

They say that Israel has a strategy to defeat Hamas. It has no strategy. (Even the liberal Zionists admit.) It has only rage and anguish, at the highest level.

They say that this war has given hope to the two-state solution. This is the talking point from Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Chris Coons, Martin Indyk, Tom Friedman, J Street and the State Department. But Netanyahu is dead set against a Palestinian state.

So they say that the problem is Netanyahu – he’s the “pinchpoint,” Senator Coons says — but the Israeli Knesset voted overwhelmingly this week to oppose a Palestinian state.

They say that Biden has argued with Netanyahu about the embarrassing fact that Israel is wantonly killing 10s of thousands of Palestinian civilians. But there is actually No diversity in Israeli leadership over collective punishment, smashing Gaza to bits and mass murder and ethnic cleansing. Over 2/3 of Jewish Israelis oppose humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The State Department and Tom Friedman declare we are just trying to keep alive the dream of normalizing Israel with Arab autocracies so as to spread peace through the bad neighborhood of the Middle East. But Saudi Arabia says it won’t dream of such a thing till Palestinians have sovereignty. And everyone knows that a chief cause of the horrific Hamas attacks on Israeli families in their homes was that the international community was taking Palestinians for granted.

It’s all lies, because Biden knows that the truth will just hurt him. All of America, even evangelicals, are for a ceasefire. Michigan progressives are deserting Biden. The rage is “unprecedented,” even the NY Times says. “The chorus of voices from foreign capitals has grown thunderous in recent days… “

Biden and his friends tell these lies for a simple reason that I talk about to the point of boredom (because so few talk about it). He needs the Israel lobby on his side, way more than he thinks he needs Michigan progressives.

This week Biden had a fundraiser in L.A. co-hosted by Haim Saban – whose only issue is Israel – and a vice-chairman of the ADL— which says that to oppose Zionism makes you an antisemite. Ticket prices, $3,000 to $250,000.

And as Saban told TheWrap, Biden is “pristine” on Israel in these “dire times.”

He’s paying a political price… There’s never been a president as supportive in facts, not only in words, of Israel… [M]ost specifically, in these dire times for Israel, he’s been pristine.

Without the U.S., Israel would be fighting with “sticks and stones.”

These lines from the leading Democratic donor should have been on our airwaves and leading papers. But no, this is a scandal in plain sight because it would just feed the claim that pro-Israel Jews have outsize political influence in the U.S., which everyone knows anyway. And by the way, a PR firm with close links to the White House is an attack dog against journalists who say a kind word about Palestinians.

Biden is pristine because the American Jewish community and Israel are deluded about Israel.

They believe Israel is a robust democracy. No, it is a robust apartheid state– all the human rights organizations affirm– a Jewish supremacist state in which Palestinians have second-class and no-class rights– an order that Palestinians will reject, by any means.

So today Israel perpetrates a likely genocide against those people, killing nearly 30,000 Palestinians, most of them trapped civilians.

And Biden is pristine in his support of this slaughter because he needs political backing in the U.S.

Back in 2015, Obama said that only Israel in all the world was against the Iran deal and it would be an “abrogation” of his constitutional duty if he went with Israel.

Today all the world but Israel wants the slaughter to end, and Biden is abrogating his constitutional duty so as to be pristine in support of Israel.

The difference between Obama and Biden is that Obama was in his second term and could take a stand against the tail wagging the dog. Biden is in his first and cannot. So he and everyone around him just lies.

Thanks for reading,