Sunday, April 03, 2022


'Hysterical, dangerous & counterproductive': Israel reacts to Amnesty's 'apartheid' label

In-depth: After Amnesty International's historic report that found Israel was committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians, Tel Aviv has launched a targeted campaign to delegitimise the organisation based on claims of anti-Semitism.

Analysis
Nick McAlpin
London
29 March, 2022

Tel Aviv has been waging a multi-front campaign against Amnesty International following its historic report that concluded that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.

Amnesty International, among the world's leading human rights groups, has been the target of online advertising smearing the group, efforts to remove its tax-free status and public condemnation regarding the document, which aligns with Palestinian civil society's long-held stance.

In the report, Amnesty crucially determined that apartheid exists not just in occupied Palestine, but also within Israel and for Palestinian refugees abroad.

This sets Amnesty apart from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Israeli rights NGO B'Tselem, neither of which considered the experiences of refugees abroad in separate 2021 reports, though B'Tselem concluded apartheid exists inside Israel.

"Israeli authorities seek both to slam Amnesty's report as anti-Semitic and let it fade away by avoiding mentioning it too often"

Discussing the Israeli state's response to Amnesty, Israeli historian and director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies Ilan Pappé said, "This has always been the line since the very beginning of the Zionist project. Any reference that contradicts the Zionist narrative is not legitimate and is informed by anti-Semitism.”

But Pappé doesn't see much difference between Israel's reaction to Amnesty's findings and its response to HRW and B'Tselem's reports from his reading of Israeli and pro-Israel media.

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Hugo Goodridge

However, Pappé believes that Tel Aviv is "definitely more worried", arguing this is because of Amnesty's reputation.

He said Israel has had an "ambivalent reaction", starting with a "fierce" response before going quiet. An Israeli state "attack" usually lasts longer, according to Pappé.


Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, speaks about the human rights group's report calling Israel an "apartheid" state that treats Palestinians as "an inferior racial group" on February 1, 2022. [Getty]

This indicates the Israeli authorities seek both to slam Amnesty's report as anti-Semitic and let it fade away by avoiding mentioning it too often, Pappé contended.

The day before Amnesty's apartheid report was released, an Israeli foreign ministry statement asked for it to be withdrawn, alleging it uses "extremist language and distortion of historical context… designed to demonise Israel and pour fuel onto the fire of anti-Semitism".

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty, responded by telling AFP "a criti[que] of the practice of the State of Israel is absolutely not a form of anti-Semitism."

She said her organisation had "offered to talk to [Foreign Minister Yair Lapid] about the report… in October", adding that he had not responded to this.

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Suraya Dadoo

"It is far too late for him now to just call on us not to publish the report," she maintained.

Since then, Amnesty has still not received any engagement from the Israeli authorities, according to Kristyan Benedict, a campaign manager for Amnesty International UK.

Israeli officials have also largely refrained from condemning the rights group in English-language media, despite a mild intervention from United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas, who said he "would not call" what's happening inside Israel "apartheid". The Palestinian politician has previously been criticised over other remarks on Israel.

While the Israeli authorities have stuck to a familiar strategy in traditional media, they have innovated with online advertising, launching a smear campaign.

"While the Israeli authorities have stuck to a familiar strategy in traditional media, they have innovated with online advertising, launching a smear campaign"

At least three variations of a Google ad appeared for some users searching for terms containing "Amnesty". All ad versions seen by The New Arab claim Amnesty's apartheid report "quotes lies spread by terrorist organizations", with two calling it "anti-Semitic".

They also all link to an Israeli foreign ministry mini-site alleging the report seeks to "eliminate the State of Israel – or deny its right to exist – as the nation state of the Jewish people".

The webpage contains videos and links to several articles that either support Israel or criticise Amnesty.

"I think the Israeli authorities' response pre-launch, during and after has been hysterical, dangerous and counterproductive," said Benedict. He highlighted that 13 of Israel's top human rights groups strongly criticised the Israeli state's reaction to his organisation's report.



Advertisements appearing on Google alleging that Amnesty International 
is "biased and anti-Semitic".


"There is an awareness of the cynical nature of the Israeli authorities with regards to trying to hide [Israel's] crime of apartheid… by using the allegation of anti-Semitism, or supporting terrorism or other outlandish claims – against a range of rights organisations," Benedict continued.

Benedict added that the NGO considers Israel's conduct through the apartheid convention, the Rome Statute – which is the foundational document of the International Criminal Court – and other international law.

"If [the Israeli authorities] want to say that international law is inherently anti-Semitic, then they can say that," he said.

Marc Owen Jones, an assistant professor in Middle East studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar and author of Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East, wasn't shocked the Israeli foreign ministry alleged Amnesty's criticism was anti-Semitic. However, he said he was "a little surprised" the ad "actually suggested that Amnesty wanted the destruction of Israel".

"I thought that was quite extreme language," he added.

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Emad Moussa

As far as Jones is aware, he hasn't before seen the Israel state use a Google advertising campaign against a human rights group like the one it employed on Amnesty. Jones criticised the ad appearing on the search giant's platform.

"I think that's pretty… appalling how a company should receive money from a government to spread its propaganda, especially when that propaganda involves trying to gloss over gross human rights violations and potential crimes against humanity… no company should allow a government to use their platform to spread propaganda that comes at the expense of people's lives and livelihoods."

Google told The New Arab it had "reviewed these ads carefully and found they do not breach our ads policies".

Jones added that he feels the ad having been permitted on Google shows Big Tech firms are motivated by profit, stressing that he believes it also "highlights an element of political bias".

"I doubt the Myanmar regime would've been able to take out an advert criticising a report that was documenting abuses against its population," the academic said.


"In addition to digital advertising, Israeli authorities have made an effort against Amnesty in the offline world. There has been a move towards axing the tax-exempt status of the NGO's section in Israel"

A Google spokesperson told The New Arab, "We are committed to provide a safe and positive experience for all our users and do not allow ads or destinations that display misrepresentations, such as clickbait, shocking content or dangerous or derogatory content.”

In addition to digital advertising, Israeli authorities have made an effort against Amnesty in the offline world. There has been a move towards axing the tax-exempt status of the NGO's section in Israel, Israel Hayom reported in early February.

The outlet said the justice minister signed off on rules which would enable this, but a spokesperson for Amnesty's Tel Aviv branch on 13 March said no measures had yet been taken.

He added that the constitution committee would consider sanctions against Amnesty Israel, including concerning its tax exemption.

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Brooke Anderson

According to Benedict, Amnesty has had many issues with Israeli officials over the years, including concerning its Israeli wing's tax status.

The Israeli foreign ministry pointed The New Arab to its press release from the day before Amnesty's report was published.

The ministry also highlighted comments allegedly made by Paul O'Brien, the executive director of Amnesty's US branch. He was quoted by Jewish Insider as saying Israel "shouldn't exist as a Jewish state", and that "Amnesty takes no political views on any question, including the right of the State of Israel to survive."

The foreign ministry contended that O'Brien had shown "the true face of the organisation, calling for the elimination of the nation state of the Jewish people".

O'Brien tweeted that his comments "were taken out of context". He said he hadn't "questioned the right of Israel to exist" and argued he "has been misreported".

He added that his comments related to Amnesty's issues with Israel's nation-state law, which affords only Jews the right to self-determine within Israel.

"Despite Israel’s targeted campaigns and efforts to delegitimise organisations criticising its human rights abuses, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny Israel’s crime of apartheid"

O'Brien said his "exact words" were: "No I don’t believe that Israel should be preserved as a state in which one race is legally entitled to oppress another.

"But yes I understand that the Jewish people have a legitimate concern about their existence being threatened and that needs to be part of the conversation."

The Amnesty leader added that he "repeatedly" expressed his organisation's backing for both Jewish and Palestinian self-determination at the event. He said he explained "[s]everal times" that his organisation "has no political view on the legitimacy or existence of any state".

On 14 March, Jewish Insider published what it said was an audio recording of O'Brien's speaking engagement, along with a transcript of selected parts of this. The New Arab could not immediately verify the authenticity of the recording or transcript.

Just last week, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Michael Lynk submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council reaching the same conclusion as Amnesty.

Despite Israel’s targeted campaigns and efforts to delegitimise organisations criticising its human rights abuses, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny Israel’s crime of apartheid.

Nick McAlpin is a staff journalist at The New Arab.
Follow him on Twitter: @NickGMcAlpin

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On the first day of Ramadan, Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The bloodshed came as Palestinians marked the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which has previously seen intensified attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian protesters on Friday [Getty]

The New Arab Staff
02 April, 2022

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians travelling in a car in the occupied West Bank early on Saturday, as Palestinians marked the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

A special unit of the Israeli army opened fire on a car with the three men inside near the town of Arraba, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The three men were identified as Khalil Tawalbeh, from Jenin, Saeb Abahreh, from al-Yamoun town, near Jenin, and Saif Abu Libdeh, from Tulkarm, according to Wafa.

After the shooting, a large unit raided and sealed off the area, preventing ambulances from entering, Wafa said, adding that Israeli forces took away the bodies after refusing to hand them over to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israeli forces also took away the car, which was riddled with bullet holes, according to witnesses.

Israeli forces alleged that the three were members of the Islamic Jihad group, adding that they opened fire in an operation to arrest them.

The Islamic Jihad confirmed the three deaths.

"We mourn the death of our three hero fighters," the armed wing of the Islamist movement said.

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The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Gaza Strip’s Hamas issued a warning to the Israelis.

"The enemy's policy of assassination in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem will not provide it with so-called security," Hamas said.

The bloodshed came as Palestinians marked the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which has previously seen intensified attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Last year during Ramadan, Israeli forces attacked Palestinian worshippers in the al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, which led to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas.

On Friday, Israeli forces shot dead a 29-year-old Palestinian during protests in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Ahmad al-Atrash was taking part in a protest against Israeli settlements and had previously served six years in an Israeli prison before he was killed by Israeli forces fire.

The Israeli army said that during a "riot" in Hebron, "a suspect hurled a Molotov cocktail" at soldiers, who "responded with live fire".

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 70 people were wounded in Friday's clashes with the Israeli army in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank.

Rights groups have repeatedly slammed Israeli forces for showing "appalling disregard for human life" by using "reckless and unlawful lethal force" against Palestinians.

Amnesty International has repeatedly urged an end to the "worrying rise in unlawful killings by Israeli forces, fostered by a culture of impunity".

The West Bank, which has been occupied by Israeli forces since the 1967 Six-Day war, is home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers, living in communities deemed illegal under international law.
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WOMEN LEAD THE SUDAN REVOLUTION

'Rape will not stop us': In Sudan, sexual violence is a weapon against women's resistance

In-depth: Women are on the frontlines of Sudan’s popular uprisings demanding civilian rule, but security forces have been using sexual violence as a weapon to deter women’s political participation and defeat the resistance.

Analysis
Nadine Talaat
30 March, 2022

Since last October, the streets of Sudan have been filled with anger, resistance, and exhilaration as hundreds of thousands of people across the country continue to protest against the military takeover and demand civilian rule.

On December 19th, as crowds chanted for freedom and sang revolutionary songs commemorating the 18 December revolution, reports began to emerge that regime-backed military and security forces had carried out organised mass rape and sexual assault attacks against at least 13 female protestors at the demonstrations.

Since then, more reports have emerged of sexual violence being used as a weapon by state forces in a targeted campaign against female protesters. This month, security forces allegedly gang-raped an 18-year old after she was stopped on her way home after asking if she had participated in the day’s demonstrations.

In Sudan, as is the case across the region, gender-based violence and discrimination are an everyday reality for women. But in the context of political upheaval, such as a revolution or a military coup, sexual violence often becomes much more aggressive and systematic, leaving women in particularly vulnerable positions.

"In the context of political upheaval, such as a revolution or a military coup, sexual violence often becomes much more aggressive and systematic, leaving women in particularly vulnerable positions"

The recent coup and ensuing uprisings have created conditions that are ripe for sexual violence, explained Sulaima Ishaq El-Khalifa, the head of Sudan’s governmental unit for combatting gender-based violence.

“Since the 25th of October, the rule of law has broken down, there is a lack of institutional responsibility, and there is no state…Whenever there is political violence in Sudan, women and girls will be affected and attacked,” El-Khalifa said.

In response, El-Khalifa and her team established anonymous hotlines and made public announcements to reach out to victims of sexual violence. She says that the most important immediate consideration is providing the necessary medical attention to prevent long-term health consequences, such as medication needed to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

However, because of the social stigma associated with sexual assault, many women never report their assaults or seek medical care afterwards. “We are a rape culture. People always blame the victim rather than criminalising the criminal” El-Khalifa said.

Sudanese women chant slogans during a rally on April 13, 2019. Despite the threat of sexual violence, Sudanese women have been at the frontlines of the country's many uprisings. [Getty]


It’s therefore likely that the number of women who were assaulted is far higher than official numbers, concealing the scale and systematic nature of the issue.

Previous political uprisings in Sudan have seen similar patterns of violence against women, intended to punish those who take part.

“We expect this. In Sudan we have a history of using sexual violence as a tool of war and political violence…Security forces use sexual violence regularly with both women and men, so it was not a surprise,” El-Khalifa said.

Recent reports of sexual violence and aggressive behaviours by security forces were reminiscent of the Khartoum Massacre of 2019, where members of the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces brutally dispersed a sit-in demonstration, killing over 100 demonstrators and raping dozens of women and men.

El-Khalifa, who was there providing psychological and social support for the women and girls affected by gender-based violence, said that current events feel like she’s reliving a nightmare.

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Aisha Aldris

“In Sudan, we have not yet healed from what happened on the 3rd of June, and now with this coup it feels like we are back to level zero where women and girls can be targeted all the time.”

The weaponisation of sexual violence is by no means a culturally specific phenomenon, and has become characteristic of conflict and protest movements across the world. In the region, the use of sexual violence in protests was also prevalent during the Egyptian revolution of 2011, where violence against women was used to try and break the women on the frontlines.

“During the protests, you could see women using their bodies in extremely powerful ways, shaking their fists at police men, going face to face with army generals, women were out there using their bodies to resist,” said Sherine Hafez, professor of gender and sexuality studies at University of California, Riverside and author of Women of the Midan: The Untold Stories of Egypt’s Revolutionaries.

Hafez explained that, in patriarchal societies where women’s political participation is condemned, their heightened visibility during uprisings is deemed unacceptable, and sexual violence becomes a weapon systematically wielded to deter their participation in revolution, quelling their resistance.

"The ultimate goal becomes to disempower and defeat the revolutionary movement through the conquering of women’s bodies"

“This kind of violence against women is meant to repress their presence in the public sphere, not just their political presence but their presence altogether,” Hafez explained.

“In places like Egypt and Sudan, politics is seen as a space for men. When women are present in these large numbers in these masculine spaces …their presence is so offensive to some who respond with violence to prevent it from happening. That's why their presence elicits such aggressive reactions,” she continued.

In a context such as this, where women’s presence in the public sphere becomes irreconcilable to the powers that be, Hafez argues that women’s bodies become sites of resistance themselves. The ultimate goal becomes to disempower and defeat the revolutionary movement through the conquering of women’s bodies.

The use of sexual violence is a powerful threat, and both El-Khalifa and Hafez note that many of the Sudanese and Egyptian women they spoke with described the fear and the anxiety that gripped their bodies before they went out to protest, and how it made them hesitant to join the masses.

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Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

This fear and internalised repression intended to disempower women is meant to scare them into retreating and drive them away from protests. But in Sudan, women continue to take to the streets in defiance, even organising their own marches against sexual violence and in support of survivors.

On December 23, the streets of Khartoum were filled with women chanting ‘rape will not stop us’.

“Women and girls in Sudan know very much how much risk they are enduring and how much they could go through, but it does not defeat their capacity to resist and to fight for democratic transitions,” said El-Khalifa.

In fact, while sexual violence is a visceral and ominous reminder of what women risk by joining protests, it also serves as a reminder of what they are fighting for.

El-Khalifa believes that the fight for freedom and democracy is deeply intertwined with the fight for women’s rights and liberation, and sees her work in protection and prevention and advocating for women’s rights as deeply political, not just humanitarian.

"Today, despite the centrality of women in resistance movements, from Egypt to Sudan, women’s rights and gender equality are often sidelined in the formal political processes that take place in the aftermath of revolution"

“If you talk about changing the situation for women you are talking about changing policies - it's a radical transformation within the political arena. Women’s protection is the key for more political, economic, and social participation of women.”

Today, despite the centrality of women in resistance movements, from Egypt to Sudan, women’s rights and gender equality are often sidelined in the formal political processes that take place in the aftermath of revolution.

Still, Hafez believes that there is much to be celebrated. “In Egypt, the revolution succeeded in reshaping how we think about protest and women’s political participation… They lay down a claim on the physical and political space that cannot be forgotten.”

Much of today’s activism around women’s rights and gender equality in both countries has been invigorated by past and present political uprisings and continues to challenge the patriarchal structures that oppress women and demand accountability.

El-Khalifa agrees that the future is hopeful. “It's the time for women now.”

Nadine Talaat is a London-based journalist writing about Middle East politics, US foreign policy, and media studies. She is also part of The New Arab's editorial team.
Follow her on Twitter: @nadine_talaat


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The East India Company in Persia: Trade and cultural exchange amid upheaval

While most people know the East India Company through its activities in the Indian subcontinent, few are aware of its involvement in Iran. Peter Good's latest book paints a nuanced picture of how the company operated in spite of turmoil.

Book Club
Usman Butt
30 March, 2022

Peter Good's "The East India Company in Persia" is a important work of an under-studied area of British and Iranian history [Bloomsbury]


The East India Company is perhaps the best known British joint-stock business from the 17-18th century.

Given its royal charter on 31 January 1600, its merchants set out to explore potential trade routes with India, the company would go on to govern India and was a major force in the subcontinent until 1858 when it was dissolved.

A lot of work has been produced on the company’s history in India, but what many do not realise is the East India’s operations extended beyond South Asia.

"The East India Company in Persia provides a much needed intervention into an under-explored topic and will act as a basis for further exploration into the history of the British-Persian relationship"

Iran was a major area of influence for the company and Peter Good’s The East India Company in Persia: Trade and Cultural Exchange in the Eighteenth Century aims to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge of this section of its history.

The East India Company in Persia opens with the story of Englishman, Danvers Graves, who would enjoy various titles including Agent for Persia for the company.

Sent to the ancient city of Kerman to oversee the company’s operations, he ends up providing an account of one of the most infamous events in the history of that city, Nader Shah’s assault on the city in 1747.

A military commander who seized power and became king, Nader Shah, whose rule was marked by its cruelty, wanted taxation out of Kerman and the city’s residents' refusal to pay up led to the Shah burning the place down.



While many fled, Graves did not. He decided he needed to protect the company’s operations in Kerman and so tried multiple times to meet with the Shah, each official request failed and Graves did something risky.

What we would today call door-stepping, Graves turned up to the Shah’s compound unannounced and while the guards were challenging him, “Graves saw the Shah walking nearby and decided that the only way he was likely to speak to him was by attracting his attention directly. Graves began loudly arguing with the guards and officials.

This had the desired effect; the Shah ordered that the Englishmen be allowed entry and granted him a brief audience.” The meeting had some success, although the Company’s property in Kerman was attacked and some of its Persian servants abducted.

As Good argues, the tale of Graves illustrates the complexity and the multifaceted nature of the company’s operations in Persia which not only included business but diplomacy and close contact between rulers and state officials.

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Good offers a fascinating account of how the company lived and worked in eighteenth-century Iran. The aim of the book is to paint a nuanced picture of the company’s activities, which too often falls prey to simplistic accounts of aggressive foreigners stealing a nation.

While not dismissing these takes, Good offers a more complex reading where the Company acts in accordance with local elites. The East India Company was invited into Persia by Shah Abbas I who wanted access to English battleships to fight off the Portuguese and in 1621 a formal treaty was signed between the two.

The Safavid ruler issued a Farman, or a royal decree from an Islamic ruler allowing for certain rights to an individual or community, to the company.

"What makes Good’s study delightful to read is the blend of mercantile, political and social history"

These rights initially included assisting in the running of customs in the port city of Bandar Abbas, for shares in the revenues collected at the port and the right to freely trade silk tariff-free in the Shah’s dominions.

Later Farmans issued by later Shahs would include the right of Englishmen to be governed by English rather than Persian law while living in Iran. In 1697, under Shah Soltan Husayn, the Farman also included the right of any child born by an Englishman and local woman, to be treated as English under these provisions. “These concerns reflect how settled the Company had become and that there were clearly pastoral issues that needed addressing as well as those of trade.”



Indeed what makes Good’s study delightful to read is the blend of mercantile, political and social history.

He points out that while Bandar Abbas was an important place to trade from, for the English who settled there life was pretty hard, as accounts from westerners stationed there show, “Le Bruyn took note of the large European graveyards ‘filled with lofty tombs and covered domes.’

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Usman Butt

He stated that the reader should not be surprised by the great number of graves blaming ‘unhealthy air’, ‘excessive heat’ and ‘burning fevers, which are there more common than in any other place’.” Indeed in the 17th and 18th centuries, Good notes, young men arriving from England could expect to live only 3 years upon their arrival in Asia.

Outbreaks of disease, especially the plague, were something that haunted locals and the Company. The East India Company in Persia provides a much-needed intervention into an under-explored topic and will act as a basis for further exploration into the history of the British-Persian relationship. A real delight to read and based on the East India Company’s records, it offers a fresh perspective on the Company’s history outside of India.

Usman Butt is a multimedia television researcher, filmmaker and writer based in London. Usman read International Relations and Arabic Language at the University of Westminster and completed a Master of Arts in Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter.
Follow him on Twitter: @TheUsmanButt

The East India Company in Persia: Trade and Cultural Exchange in the Eighteenth Century Hardcover – Feb. 24 2022

by Peter Good  (Author)

In 1747, the city of Kerman in Persia burned amidst chaos, destruction and death perpetrated by the city's own overlord, Nader Shah. After the violent overthrow of the Safavid dynasty in 1722 and subsequent foreign invasions from all sides, Persia had been in constant turmoil. One well-appointed house that belonged to the East India Company had been saved from destruction by the ingenuity of a Company servant, Danvers Graves, and his knowledge of the Company's privileges in Persia. This book explores the lived experience of the Company and its trade in Persia and how it interacted with power structures and the local environment in a time of great upheaval in Persian history. Using East India Company records and other sources, it charts the role of the Navy and commercial fleet in the Gulf, trade agreements, and the experience of Company staff, British and non-British living in and navigating conditions in 18th-century Persia. By examining the social, commercial and diplomatic history of this relationship, this book creates a new paradigm for the study of Early Modern interactions in the Indian Ocean.






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'A year-after-year disaster:' The American West could face a 'brutal' century under climate change

Elizabeth Weise
Sat, April 2, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO – The West, once a beacon for all that was new and hopeful in America, could become an example of the grim, apocalyptic future the nation faces from climate change.

The last five years already have been harrowing.

Whole neighborhoods burned down to foundations. Children kept indoors because the air outside is too dangerous to play in. Killer mudslides of burned debris destroying towns. Blood-red skies that are so dark at midday, the streetlights come on and postal workers wear headlamps to deliver the mail.

And it's going to get worse unless dramatic action is taken, two studies published this week forecast.

The first predicts the growth of wildfires could cause dangerous air quality levels to increase during fire season by more than 50% over the next 30 years in the Pacific Northwest and parts of northern California.

A second shows how expected increases in wildfires and intense rain events could result in more devastating flash floods and mudslides across a broad portion of the West.

“These studies reinforce the likelihood of a brutal future for the West,” said Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist and dean of the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability.

"Even climate scientists are scared," he said. If climate change isn’t curbed, a “dystopian” landscape could be the result.


El Dorado County firefighters battle a fire close to a home off of U.S. Highway 89 in the Christmas Valley community near Meyers, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.

Deadly mudslides: More Americans are threatened as heavy rains loom over scorched lands

Each study, based on evermore-precise climate modeling, follows previous research showing the recent red skies, torched forests and neighborhoods, and catastrophic flooding and mudslides could be the new normal unless carbon emissions are halted soon.

“These papers echo an overwhelming trend,” said Rebecca Miller, who studies the impact of fire on the West at the University of Southern California. “Fires and their impacts are getting more severe and are projected to just get worse, becoming a year-after-year disaster.”

What this means for the West, home to 79 million people, is in some ways a return to the past.

“When you moved to the West a century ago, it was an inhospitable place. There was an underlying danger," said Bruce Cain, director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. "We’re returning to that.”

The dire consequences, however, may be an incentive for Americans to take meaningful climate action.

“It’s a kick in the pants to get stuff done,” Cain said.
Bad air days

Rising levels of dangerous particles in the air due to smoke from wildfires are a growing threat not just in the American West but across the country, the paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed.

In just the last five years, the West saw a series of historically large and destructive fires that burned millions of acres, destroyed thousands of homes and killed hundreds of people. The annual area burned by forest fires in the region has increased tenfold over the past half-century.

The smoke from those fires turned skies red and was so pervasive that Pacific Coast cities from Los Angeles to Seattle kept children indoors during recess and canceled sporting events. Residents were advised not to go outside and to tightly close windows and doors. Sales of air filters skyrocketed.

Downtown Los Angeles and Dodger Stadium are shrouded, looking south from Elysian Fields through the smoke from the Bobcat and the El Dorado fires, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020.

'It could happen tomorrow': Experts know disaster upon disaster looms for West Coast

By the end of the century, these kinds of dangerous, polluting fires could occur every three to five years across the Pacific Northwest and parts of northern California, the study by scientists at Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found.

“These unhealthy particle pollution levels that occurred in the recent large fires may become the new norm in the late 21st century,” said Yuanyu Xie, a researcher in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at Princeton and one of the paper’s authors.

The scientists modeled several scenarios. In what’s known as the “middle of the road” climate change scenario, in which carbon emissions don’t start to fall before mid-century and don’t reach net-zero until 2100, the models show smoke pollution increasing by 100% to 150%.

In the “business as usual” scenario, in which society doesn’t make concerted efforts to cut greenhouse gases, smoke increases 130% to 260%.

The danger stretches across the United States. Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds and even thousands of miles. In July, smoke from Western wildfires triggered air quality alerts and caused smoky skies and red-orange haze in New York, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.

Staten Island ferry commuters take in the view of the Statue of Liberty seen through the haze on July 20, 2021, in New York. Smoke from wildfires across the U.S. West, including Oregon's Bootleg Fire, has wafted over large swaths of the eastern United States. New York City's skies were hazy with smoke from fires thousands of miles away.

“It’s not simply a health threat to people who lives in Western states. We’re seeing impacts hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away,” said the American Lung Association's senior vice president for public policy Paul Billings.

The particles in smoke can penetrate deep into the lungs, creating and exacerbating multiple health issues.

“It can cause asthma attacks, strokes, heart attacks and increases in cardiovascular problems,” said Billings. There's also evidence that smoke may impact pregnancy and birth outcomes.

Cloudbursts, floods and mudslides

A second paper, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, modeled two separate trends in the West – increasing "fire weather" and increased extreme rainfall events – that together spell trouble.

In the past, extreme rainfall was unlikely to follow a major wildfire, but the one-two punch is becoming more common and can be a dangerous combination.

Westerners have long lived with so-called fire weather, times of exceptional heat, dryness and wind that increase fire danger. The National Weather Service even produces fire weather forecasts. The researchers' models show that these extreme events will increase in the coming decades.

Extreme rain: How a summer of extreme weather reveals a stunning shift in the way rain falls in America.

At the same time, the frequency and intensity of extreme rain events are projected to also increase in much of the western United States, the study showed. By mid-century, midsized heavy rain events are expected to increase by more than 30%.

“It’s like rolling dice, you have your set of fire dice and your set of rain dice. Sometimes it comes up fire and rain in the same year,” said Samantha Stevenson, a climate modeler at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a co-author of the paper.

That poses an additional risk to anyone living downhill from charred areas. Fires destroy vegetation that holds soils in place and can sometimes harden the ground, lessening its ability to absorb water. Both contribute to the possibility of catastrophic flash floods and what scientists call debris flows.

“It’s a mixture of rocks, soil, vegetation and water that’s moving downhill at a rate you can’t outrun,” said Matthew Thomas, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “A flood can inundate a home, but a debris flow can take it off its foundation.”

Models run by scientists predict that in the Pacific Northwest, more than 90% of fire weather days will be followed within six months by extreme rain events. Over five years, almost all fire weather will be followed by at least one extreme rainfall event – and it can take that long for scorched land to recover.

The findings were similar, though less extreme for California and Colorado.

The results surprised Danielle Touma, an environmental engineering researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who co-authored the paper.

“Seeing the numbers on your screen, it’s quite shocking,” she said.

The phenomenon is already visible.


A man stands in a roadway flooded by Issaquah Creek and takes photos Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Issaquah, Wash. Heavy rain sent the creek over a major roadway, under an apartment building east of Seattle and up to the foundations of homes as heavy rains pounded the region. A flood watch was in effect through Friday afternoon across most of western Washington.

A USA TODAY investigation last year found that between 2018 and 2021, fast-moving debris flows have damaged and destroyed hundreds of homes, closed major transportation routes across at least three states and caused more than $550 million in property damage. Close to 170 people have been injured and 28 people died since 2018.

Last year, flash floods in Colorado’s Poudre Canyon killed at least three people. It occurred in the burn scar left by the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, the largest recorded fire in Colorado history.

In 2018 the Montecito mudslide killed 23 people near Santa Barbara, and properly loss claims totaled $421 million. It came just a month after the Thomas fire, one of the largest in state history, killed two people, destroyed at least 1,000 structures and cost $1.8 billion in property damages.

The speed at which wildfires have worsened across much of America has exceeded predictions by the scientific community, said Overpeck.

“If anything, the theory and the models were underestimating how hard and fast these impacts would accumulate,” he said. “Mother Nature is making that crystal clear.”


San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood at 9:55 am Pacific Daylight Time on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Smoke from numerous wildfires over a layer of marine fog turned the sky an eerie orange color. Cars were using headlines and some street lights were still on.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Climate change: The West to see worse air pollution, fires and floods

Contact Elizabeth Weise at eweise @usatoday.com

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Rappahannock Tribe reacquires sacred ancestral home in Virginia


The Fones Cliffs, a 465-acre piece of sacred land along the Rappahannock River in northern Virginia, was reacquired by the Rappahannock Tribe on Friday. 
Photo by Jeffrey Allenby/Chesapeake Conservancy

April 2 (UPI) -- The Rappahannock Tribe has formally reacquired 465 acres its ancestral home at Fones Cliff, a sacred site located along the eastern side of the Rappahannock River in northern Virginia.

A four-mile stretch of white cliffs jutting up from the riverbank dominates the site, which officially changed stewardship on Friday. The area is also home to one of the largest bald eagle populations along the east coast.

"We have worked for many years to restore this sacred place to the Tribe. With eagles being prayer messengers, this area where they gather has always been a place of natural, cultural and spiritual importance," Rappahannock Tribe Chief Anne Richardson said in a press release from environmental nonprofit Chesapeake Conservancy.

The cliffs will be placed in trust with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Their location -- inside the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge -- will remain publicly accessible.

The tribe plans to construct a 16-century village replica on the site for public education purposes, CNN reported. Tribal officials also plan to use the site to expand their "Return to the River" program, which teaches Rappahannock youth traditional tribal knowledge and practices.

English settlers forced the Rappahannock Tribe from their ancestral home in the 1660s.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams lauded the tribe's reacquisition of the land in a press release from the Department of the Interior on Friday.

"The Department is honored to join the Rappahannock Tribe in co-stewardship of this portion of their ancestral homeland. We look forward to drawing upon Tribal expertise and Indigenous knowledge in helping manage the area's wildlife and habitat," Haaland said.

"This historic reacquisition underscores how Tribes, private landowners, and other stakeholders all play a central role in this Administration's work to ensure our conservation efforts are locally led and support communities' health and well-being."

After 350 years, the Rappahannock Tribe Gets Land Back

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (pictured, far left) joined members of the Rappahannock Tribe and other dignitaries to celebrate the return of 465 acres of ancestral tribal lands. Also shown (from left): Dr. Carol Angle, Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson, and Chesapeake Conservancy President & CEO Joel Dunn (Photo: Chesapeake Conservancy)

BY JENNA KUNZE APRIL 02, 2022

On Friday, the Rappahannock Tribe celebrated a historic win: the reacquisition of 465 acres of their ancestral homeland at Fones Cliffs, a sacred stretch of bluffs on the eastern side of the Rappahannock River in eastern Virginia.

“We have worked for many years to restore this sacred place to the Tribe. With eagles being prayer messengers, this area where they gather has always been a place of natural, cultural and spiritual importance,” Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson said.

The federally recognized Rappahannock Tribe can trace its history in the area to before the 1600s, when English explorer John Smith arrived on their shores. The  tribe lived in at least three villages on the Cliffs—Wecuppom, Matchopick and Pissacoac—before being chased away some 350 years ago.

“My people have lived here since the beginning,” Chief Richardson told an All Things Considered reporter earlier this year.

The land-back movement was made possible by a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Chesapeake Conservancy, and the tribe itself. Fones Cliffs will be permanently owned by the tribe, and placed in trust with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The tribe called the news a huge win for both racial justice and conservation. Fones Cliffs is one of the most important sites for bald eagles on the east coast, as well as rare and threatened plant life.

The land will be publicly accessible and held with a permanent conservation easement conveyed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to a press release from the tribe.

Fones Cliffs (Photo by Jeffrey Allenby for Chesapeake Conservancy)Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland joined the tribe on Friday to celebrate their announcement in Chance, Virginia, today.

“The Department is honored to join the Rappahannock Tribe in co-stewardship of this portion of their ancestral homeland,” Haaland said. “This historic reacquisition underscores how tribes, private landowners and other stakeholders all play a central role in this administration’s work to ensure our conservation efforts are locally led and support communities’ health and well-being.” 

The tribe plans to build walking trails along the river, and a replica of a 16th-century village where tribal members can educate the public about their history.


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