It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Israel designates 6 Palestinian rights groups as terrorist organizations, irking US and infuriating human rights orgs
BY SHIRA HANAU OCTOBER 24, 2021 Benny Gantz speaks at a Blue and White party meeting, June 29, 2020. The defense minister reportedly said that "anything that is not related to the coronavirus will wait.” (Noam Moskowitz)
(JTA) — Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that Israel’s government will consider six leading Palestinian rights organizations operating in the West Bank as terrorist groups, prompting its first public spat with the Biden administration.
The groups include some of the leading Palestinian civil society groups advocating for farmworkers, women, children, and Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.
Gantz called out their alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated by the U.S. and others as a terrorist group. The PFLP was responsible for a string of plane hijackings in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the groups named by Gantz have been dogged by accusations from Israeli groups of ties to the PFLP for years.
By designating the groups as terrorist organizations, Israel can close the organizations’ offices, seize their assets and effectively stop donations to the groups. The groups named are Addameer, Al-Haq, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International Palestine, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Ned Price, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said the Biden administration will ask Israel to clarify its reasons for the decision. He also said the Israeli government “did not give us advance warning” about the announcement.
“Officials in the American administration were updated in advance of the intention to make this declaration and they received intelligence information about the matter,” the official said.
Several human rights organizations around the world condemned Gantz’s announcement on Friday.
“This appalling and unjust decision is an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement. For decades, Israeli authorities have systematically sought to muzzle human rights monitoring and punish those who criticize its repressive rule over Palestinians,” the organizations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a joint statement.
New Israel Fund, a progressive Jewish organization operating in Israel and the United States, called the announcement “repressive.”
“At a time when both Palestinians and Israelis need civil society to work overtime, we stand with all those who work to hold their governments to account,” the group said.
At the same time, organizations that had advocated for the designation for years celebrated.
“The Israeli announcement confirms what our research has shown years – this time 6 Palestinian NGOs were designated as terrorist organizations as part of the PFLP network. All are funded by European gov’ts and deeply involved in political warfare against Israel,” NGO Monitor, an Israeli organization that publishes reports on non-governmental organizations that work on Israel-Palestine related matters, said in a tweet.
Israel wants to silence rights groups reporting on violations: NGO official
Palestinian NGO official told The New Arab that Israel adopted "political decisions" against Palestinian civil organisations to keep themselves silent towards violations against Palestinians.
He said that "for many decades, Israel is seeking to shut up all the civil human rights organizations operating in the Palestinian territories, to continue its ongoing violations against the Palestinian people, including their lands. (Getty)
Israel wants to shut down civil rights groups operating in occupied Palestinian territories who have been reporting on Israeli violations against Palestinians, an official from Al-Haq - one of the NGOs Israel designated as a "terrorist organisation" this week - has told The New Arab.
Tel Aviv has adopted "political decisions" against Palestinian rights organisations in attempt to silence them after they reported on its illegal activities against local Palestinians, Shawan Jabarin, the vice president of Al-Haq said.
"For many decades, Israel has tried to silence to all the civil human rights organisations operating in the Palestinian territories, so it can continue ongoing violations against the Palestinian people living under occupation," Jabarin said.
"It is unacceptable to stand by silently and watch Israeli aggression against Palestinians," Shawan stressed, adding that "this is the main reason that pushed Israel to label us as a terrorist organisations."
On Friday, Benny Gantz, the Israeli defence minister, declared six Palestinian human rights groups as "terror organisations", alleging that they were operating as "an arm" for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
"Those organisations are active under cover of civil society institutions, but on the ground, they belong to an arm of the PFLP leadership, which means that they are working against the existence of Israel," Gantz said in a statement.
Al-Haq, Addameer, Defense for Children-International, The Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, the Bisan Research and Advocacy Center and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees - Palestine's most high-profile NGOs - were outlawed.
Under a 2016 statute, the declaration enables Israeli authorities to close the nonprofits' offices, seize their assets and ban supporting their activities.
"They may be able to close us down. They can seize our funding. They can arrest us. But they cannot stop our firm and unshakeable belief that this occupation must be held accountable for its crimes," Jabarin said.
Jabarin also criticised the timing of the announcement, which was late on Friday, saying that "when Gantz issues such an order on Friday, it means he doesn't want the world to see his actions."
Mohammed El-Kurd, a prominent activist, poet and reporter from occupied East Jerusalem's threatened Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, condemned the move as a "clear declaration of war against Palestinian civil society".
"This doesn’t mean that one should shy away from supporting these organizations [and] we should all stay posted to see what future communal efforts are needed from us to fight [against] this vicious campaign," he tweeted.
Amnesty and HRW, who collaborate extensively with many of the impacted organisations, called the move an "appalling and unjust decision" and "an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement".
"For decades, Israeli authorities have systematically sought to muzzle human rights monitoring and punish those who criticize its repressive rule over Palestinians," they said.
The international NGOs acknowledged travel bans and deportation have menaced their workers, though "Palestinian human rights defenders have always borne the brunt of the repression."
Hitting out at the international community for its "decades-long failure… to challenge grave Israeli rights abuses", encouraging their "brazen" behaviour, Amnesty and HRW turned to the global response.
"How the international community responds will be a true test of its resolve to protect human rights defenders.
"We are proud to work with our Palestinian partners and have been doing so for decades. They represent the best of global civil society. We stand with them in challenging this outrageous decision."
Israel’s coalition at odds over designation of PFLP-linked organizations as terrorist groups
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz calls the move “highly problematic”; Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked calls it an “important move based on solid intelligence.”
BY ARIEL KAHANA Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz addresses the Knesset during a memorial ceremony marking 26 years since the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Oct. 18, 2021. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90.
(October 24, 2021 / Israel Hayom) Israel’s decision last week to declare six Palestinian human rights groups terrorist organizations is causing tension in the country’s fragile coalition.
“It is highly problematic to define civil society organizations as terrorist groups,” said Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, leader of the left-wing Meretz Party, on Saturday. “The matter must be examined carefully because it has implications for human rights and democracy. The defense establishment must present its findings and clear evidence to the public,” he added.
On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that the six groups—Al-Haq, Addameer, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees—operate as arms of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP is considered by several countries to be a terror organization, including the United States and the European Union.
Later in the day, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price claimed that Israel had failed to provide an advance warning of the move and said Washington would seek an explanation. The announcement also caused backlash from the European Union, the Palestinian Authority, international human rights organizations and progressive Democrats. However, officials in Israel insist that both the Biden administration and the European Union—both of whom have funded the Palestinian groups in the past—were briefed on the decision before it was announced.
Labor Party MK Naama Lazimi said on Saturday that “unless intelligence led to the declaration of the Palestinian human rights organizations as terror groups, the move is serious and certainly puzzling for a sovereign state that should not only not flinch away from human rights groups,” but should support them.
In response, Blue and White MK Yael Ron Ben-Moshe criticized Lazimi, saying her comments were uncalled for given that it was “an investigation by the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] and the defense and justice ministries that found that certain organizations aid terrorism, engage in terrorism and its senior officials are arrested for terrorist activity.”
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked commended Gantz on the decision, calling it “an important move based on solid intelligence from the Shin Bet and [the IDF] General Staff.”
These organizations, she said, had “disguised” themselves as human rights groups for years. These groups, she added, “actually aid terror activities by the PFLP and fuel support for the BDS [movement]. Many countries have funded these organizations, and it is good that they [the defense and justice ministries] are putting an end to it.”
Palestinian human rights groups refuse to be silenced by Israeli terror designation
Palestinians attend a rally organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in Gaza City, in June 2021
PALESTINIAN human rights organisations have called for international solidarity, branding Israel’s designation of six leading organisations as terrorist groups part of a “sinister plot” to silence resistance.
At a joint press conference on Saturday, the groups condemned the move by Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz as “an alarming and unjust escalation of attacks against the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, justice and the right to self-determination…”
Mr Gantz accused six organisations, including al-Haq, Addameer and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, of links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist organisation that Israel considers a terrorist group.
He said that the human rights organisations and NGOs raised money through “a variety of forgery and deceit” and used it to fund the activities of the PFLP.
But the groups rejected the terror allegations as baseless smears, noting that many of them had played a leading role in the case for charges to be brought against Israel for war crimes against the Palestinian people at the International Criminal Court.
Al-Haq director general Shawan Jabarin said that the allegations were a result of “the Israeli failure to challenge the work of the organisation on the basis of law and evidence, instead using its political power as an occupying colonial regime with the ability to create the law that serves its illegal interests.”
Addameer and Defence for Children International said that the banning of the human right groups was part of “an attempt to eliminate Palestinian civil society,” while the United Nations said that it was “alarmed” at the decision.
“These designations are the latest development in a long, stigmatising campaign against these and other organisations, damaging their ability to deliver on their crucial work,” a UN statement said.
Samidoun, which was designated a terror organisation earlier this year, called for Israel to be confronted with “action and resistance.”
The group said: “This repression must inspire us to build greater mutual defence and solidarity against all attempts to use the terrorist label to criminalise Palestinian resistance, action and organising.”
It added that the term “terrorist” had become meaningless when applied by the Israeli government, recalling that President Isaac Herzog had used it against US ice cream firm Ben and Jerry’s after it said that it would no longer sell its products in illegal settlements.
The international community, including human rights groups, civil society organisations and the UN, were urged to speak out and the groups also called for “solid and concrete measures” to ensure that the terror designation is revoked.
THE MONINGSTAR UK
Counterterrorism Off the Rails: Israel’s Declaration of Palestinian Human Rights Groups as “Terrorist” Organizations
On Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, Israeli Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, declared six West Bank Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations.” Among them are prominent and well-established human rights organizations such as Al-Haq – which has been active in the occupied territories since 1979. The declaration has received sharp rebukes from international and Israeli human rights groups, the UN, and severalmembers of the U.S. Congress. The U.S. State Department requested Israel to provide explanations for this move, and some left wing members of the Israeli cabinet have requested that Gantz suspend the declaration. Israel asserts that the organizations “belong and constitute an arm of the organization[al] leadership” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) — a small, far-left group designated by Israel, the U.S. and the EU as a terrorist organization — and are used to funnel money to the PFLP’s armed activities, as well as to promote other PFLP activities. The Palestinian organizations, unsurprisingly, deny these allegations vehemently and claim that they are being targeted as part of an ongoing and broadening campaign of political persecution and silencing.
In the balance of this article, we make two arguments. The first is that Israel’s Counterterrorism Law of 2016, which forms the legal basis for Gantz’s declaration, is flawed beyond repair. It reflects the severe danger that inheres in laws of this kind, the recent declaration against Palestinian human rights groups being one radical example.
The second claim goes beyond the problematic nature of this specific law and focuses on the wider context of the Israeli declaration. Taken together, the defective law and the political context must lead the international community, including the United States, to firmly reject this new declaration.
In 2021, it should be clear to everyone that criminalizing human rights groups on the basis of classified intelligence is absolutely unacceptable.
A Defective Law
The Israeli Counterterrorism Law of 2016 was introduced to replace and update older laws, including emergency legislation dating back to the British Mandate, which targeted both Jewish and Arab resistance to British rule. Its stated rationale was to replace antiquated and draconian provisions with those fitting a democracy. Sadly, this is far from what happened. While the law includes many problematic provisions, its dangers are perhaps best reflected in its granting to the Minister of Defense the power to declare a group as a “terrorist organization” (Chapter 2, art. A).
Such a declaration bears severe consequences. The most dramatic of these is the instantaneous subjection of an organization’s employees to criminal penalties going forward, and the authority to seize the organization’s assets. This means that the entire staff of Palestinian human rights organizations — from lawyers to researchers — can be potentially jailed, and that Israeli forces can now enter their premises and seize their property. Moreover, the declaration does not only affect the organization itself. It might criminalize those who assist in its activities. Potentially, this includes Israeli and foreign NGOs and legal and other professionals that are in regular contact with the banned organizations.
Given the human rights interests at stake with such a declaration, one would expect the process for making it to be as exacting and transparent as possible. The Counterterrorism Law, however, does the opposite, leaving those it targets with little to no protection. First, a group almost always learns it was declared as a terrorist organization ex post facto. There is no right to a hearing prior to the decision, and no forum where an organization can present evidence to prevent the declaration. It is only after a decision is made that the organization is invited to rebut the declaration. Yet, it is up to the minister of defense — the same official that made the declaration — to decide whether to uphold the organization’s petition and reverse the ministry’s decision.
Second, although the law gives the organization an ex post “hearing,” the organization is effectively destined to fail in reversing a declaration. The minister’s decision will almost always be based on classified intelligence, and, according to the law, there are no disclosure obligations, including to the target organization. Thus the right to a hearing provided by the law is barely worthy of this name. In short, the organization is formally free to request that the declaration be reversed, but a successful rebuttal is all but completely impossible. How can one refute allegations one does not know and in this setting?
Third, an option remains to petition the Supreme Court to strike down the declaration. But similar problems that haunt the process of a declaration persist here as well. The Court has long allowed the use of secret evidence in its proceedings. In all likelihood, should a petition be made, the state will argue that the declaration was based on classified information, which can be disclosed to the Court only ex parte. At this stage, the organization — like all Palestinians that seek to challenge administrative actions based on classified intelligence — would have to make a Kafkaesque choice: if it refuses the ex parte procedure, it loses, since the state will enjoy the presumption of regularity. If it accepts, it will most likely lose, because it won’t be able to refute the secret evidence of which it has no knowledge — while participation will help legitimize both the process and substantive decision.
To sum up this point, the Counterterrorism Law provides a vestige of due process but in fact allows Israel’s security apparatus almost unfettered discretion. This is not a theoretical claim. It has been the case with administrative detention of Palestinians for decades (albeit based on other pieces of legislation), and as we see now, will also be the case with Palestinian human rights groups.
A Disturbing Political Context
While there is much to be said about Israel’s Counterterrorism Law, the real story here is the broader context in which the NGO declaration operates. We have no access to the evidence. The state asks us to believe that well respected Palestinian groups, funded for years by major European states, are actually fronts for the fringe PFLP. To many in the Israeli human rights community, this sounds shockingly ludicrous. But one does not need first hand acquaintance with these organizations to be highly suspicious of this declaration. In a sense this action is but another case – such as the attack on the Gaza media tower during the 2021 hostilities in Gaza – in which the state holds all of the information, refuses to disclose it, yet expects the public to accept versions that seem counterintuitive at best.
The most important, and glaringly obvious, source of skepticism is the fact that Israel is an occupying power, and the organizations seek to expose the human rights abuses which take place under this occupation. There is an inherent conflict of interest here, in which “security considerations” are intermingled with Israel’s now explicitly stated policy to maintain the occupation and to entrench its settlements.
This recent move is also not isolated, as it appears to be a part of a pattern to curtail human rights activities in the occupied territories. In 2019, Israel expelled Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine director for alleged violations of its anti-boycott law (which applies also to boycotting Israeli settlements). In 2020, Israel denied visas to UN human rights officials following the UN’s business and human rights report on corporate activities in West Bank settlements. This took place amidst a campaign by the government against Israeli human rights groups (which has been somewhat put on hold following the fall of the Netanyahu government). While the new Israeli government also includes parties that oppose the occupation, the government was formed on the basis of maintaining the status quo in the occupied territories — which effectively translates to continuing the far right policy of previous governments. Against this backdrop, Friday’s declaration appears to be part of a wider strategy to counter organizations that the government proclaims are engaged in “delegitimization” of the state.
A further point of concern and suspicion arises when comparing Israel’s aggressive move against Palestinian NGOs with its non-response to the alarming increase in settler violence in recent months. IDF forces regularly refrain from interfering in such attacks, sometimes actively protecting the participants from Palestinians, arguing that it is not the IDF’s job to deal with Israeli citizens. Needless to say, no settler group has been declared a terrorist organization, and barely no suspects, for that matter, have been prosecuted or punished for these acts of violence. A firm understanding of this discriminatory background should lead any objective analyst to treat the state’s administrative measure with utmost scrutiny.
The wider legal and political context also pushes toward suspicion and concern. As is well known, the International Criminal Court has recently opened its investigation into the situation in Palestine, and some of the banned Palestinian groups have been actively engaging with the Court. Some of them have also been vocal in advancing allegations that the crime of apartheid is committed against Palestinians – allegations that have been recently adopted by some mainstream international human rights organizations. In parallel, groups like Al-Haq have been increasingly active in calling out human rights abuses by the Palestinian Authority, as part of an outcry which reached a boiling point after the death of activist Nizar Banat in a Palestinian jail. Israel relies on the Palestinian Authority for security coordination. In some respects, there may even be an overlapping interest on the part of the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority to undermine some of these groups; but regardless of that potentially shared interest, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s declaration comes at a time when the human rights organizations are gaining significant traction for their claims against Israel at the international level.
In light of this broader context, it simply cannot be accepted that well-known and widely respected Palestinian human rights groups be designated as “terrorist organizations” by executive fiat and on the basis of classified intelligence. The reasons are too murky, the interests too conflicting, and the stakes are far too high for this extreme action to pass as tolerable. In general, no legal system worthy of its name should provide for the designation of human rights groups as “terrorist organizations” by decree. Failure to reverse the course in Israel will surely undermine efforts to prevent a similar lurch toward closing off dissent and human rights monitors in other countries. Photo image: Al-Haq participates in 6th Session of the UN open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights between Oct. 26-30, 2020
Adam Shinar (@adam_shinar) is associate professor at Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University.
Palestinian rights groups see muzzle in Israel's terror tag Israel Palestinians Rights Groups
Shawan Jabarin, director of the al-Haq human rights group, at the organization's offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Israel on Friday, Oct. 22, declared six prominent Palestinian human rights groups to be terrorist organizations, saying they were secretly linked to a left-wing militant movement. It was not immediately clear what the distinction would mean for the groups, most of which also protest rights violations by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)More JACK JEFFERY Sat, October 23, 2021
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Activists called on the international community Saturday to help reverse Israel's unprecedented designation of six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations, a label that effectively outlaws them.
They said the decision amounts to an attempt to silence groups that have documented Israel's harsh treatment of Palestinians over the years. Some of the groups have close ties with rights organizations in Israel and abroad.
Israel claims the targeted groups were a front for a small PLO faction with a violent history, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Israel’s terror label for the six groups, including some that receive European funding, appears to have caught the United States and Europe off-guard. Israel later insisted some Biden administration officials were notified ahead of time.
The move against the rights groups comes at a time when efforts to negotiate the terms of a Palestinian state alongside Israel are hopelessly bogged down. For years, the U.S. and Europe have been engaged in politically less costly conflict management, rather than pushing for a solution, while Israeli settlements on occupied lands sought for a Palestinian state have continued to expand.
Amid the paralysis, Europe, in particular, has invested in strengthening Palestinian civil society, an effort now seemingly being challenged by Israel's decision to outlaw well-known rights groups.
The terrorism label would allow Israel to raid the groups’ offices, seize assets, arrest employees and criminalize funding and expressions of support.
Rights groups in Israel and abroad have expressed outrage over the “terror” label.
Palestinian activists said they are counting on international pressure to get the decision reversed.
“We hope that the International community will put enough pressure on Israel so that it will back down,” Ubai Aboudi, head of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, one of the targeted groups, said Saturday. Aboudi said he was previously charged by Israel with being a PFLP member, but denied ever belonging to the group.
Sahar Francis, the director of the prisoners rights group Addameer, told a news conference that she was grateful for the international statements of support, and that "we expect this campaign and pressure to continue in order for it to be fruitful.” Addameer is also one of the targeted groups.
Shawan Jabarin, who heads the veteran rights group Al-Haq, said Israel's designation came as a surprise and that the groups had not been given a heads-up. Two of the six groups said they would not be forced underground despite the uncertainty of their new status,
An Israeli defense official alleged in a statement Saturday that the six groups “operate as an organized network” under the leadership of the PFLP. The statement claimed the groups serve as a lifeline for the PFLP through fund-raising, money laundering and recruiting activists.
It also named several members of the rights groups who were later arrested as alleged members of the PFLP military wing. The small PLO faction has a political party and a military wing that has carried out attacks that killed Israelis.
The PFLP is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and Western countries.
The six groups have denied the allegations and have denounced Israel’s terrorism designation as a blatant attempt to squash reporting on rights abuses in the occupied territories, mainly by Israel, but also by the increasingly authoritarian Palestinian autonomy government.
The U.N Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Saturday that the reasons cited by Israel’s defense minister were “vague or irrelevant,” and denounced his decision as the latest move in a “long stigmatizing campaign” against the organizations.
The European Union delegation to the Palestinian territories acknowledged financing activities by some of the rights groups. It said past allegations of the misuse of EU funds by partners “have not been substantiated” but that it takes the matter seriously and is looking into it.
“EU funding to Palestinian civil society organizations is an important element of our support for the two-state solution,” it said Friday.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, said it had not been given advance warning about the decision and would seek more information. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that “we believe respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and a strong civil society are critically important to responsible and responsive governance.”
The other four groups targeted by Israel include Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. The majority of the organizations target human rights violations by Israel as well as the Palestinian Authority, both of which routinely detain Palestinian activists.
FOLLOWING IN PUTIN'S FOOTSTEPS
Israel's defense minister names 6 Palestinian NGOs terrorist organizations Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz arrives for the traditional group photo of the new government with President Reuven Rivlin on June 14. Gantz on Friday named six Palestinian nongovernmental organizations as terrorist organizations.
Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz Friday declared six Palestinian nongovernmental organizations as "terrorist organizations," a move that brought immediate condemnation from Palestinian officials and some human rights groups.
Gantz's Defense Ministry said groups operating in a network run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fell in the terrorism organization category.
"The security organizations will continue to act and intensify the strikes against terrorism and the terrorist infrastructure everywhere, and by all means," Gantz said, according to the Jerusalem Post. "I call on the countries of the world and international organizations, to assist in this fight, and to avoid contact with companies and organizations that supply materials to terrorism." The six groups are Addameer, al-Haq, Defense for Children Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bisan Center for Research and Development and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh denied the charges that the organizations were terrorist groups.
"The Israeli decision amounts to a serious violation of international law," Shtayyeh said, according to Palestinian news outlet WAFA. The targeted institutions operate in accordance with Palestinian law, and work in partnerships with international institutions."
"This appalling and unjust decision is an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement," the groups said. "For decades, Israeli authorities have systematically sought to muzzle human rights monitoring and punish those who criticize its repressive rule over Palestinians.
"While staff members of our organizations have faced deportation and travel bans, Palestinian human rights defenders have always borne the brunt of the repression."
Palestinian rights groups outraged by Israel’s terror tag
Activists call on international community to help reverse terrorism label
Sahar Francis, director of Palestinian prisoner rights group Addameer, speaks, as Shawan Jabarin, director of the al-Haq human rights group, right, and Ammar Hijazi, representative Palestinian Minister of Foreign Minister, left, listens during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 23, 2021. AP
Israel claims the affected groups are a front for a small faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) with a violent history, known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Israel’s terror label for the six groups, including some that receive European funding, appears to have caught the US and Europe off guard.
Israel later insisted some officials from the administration of US President Joe Biden were notified in advance.
The terrorism label would allow Israel to raid the groups’ offices, seize assets, arrest employees and criminalise funding and expressions of support.
Rights groups expressed outrage over the “terror” label.
Palestinian activists said they were counting on international pressure to have the decision reversed.
“We hope that the International community will put enough pressure on Israel so that it will back down,” said Ubai Al Aboudi, head of the Bisan Centre for Research and Development, one of the affected groups.
Palestinians attend a rally organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in Gaza City. AP
Mr Al Aboudi said he was previously charged by Israel with being a PFLP member, but denied ever belonging to the group.
Sahar Francis, the director of the prisoner rights group Addameer, said she was grateful for the international statements of support, and that “we expect this campaign and pressure to continue in order for it to be fruitful.”
Addameer is also one of the affected groups.
Shawan Jabarin, who heads the veteran rights group Al Haq, said Israel’s designation came as a surprise and that the groups had not been given notice. Two of the six groups said they would not be forced underground despite the uncertainty of their new status.
An Israeli defence official alleged on Saturday that the six groups “operate as an organised network” under the leadership of the PFLP. The official said the groups serve as a lifeline for the PFLP through fund-raising, money laundering and recruiting activists.
The six groups have denied the allegations and denounced Israel’s terrorism designation as an attempt to silence reporting on rights abuses in the occupied territories, mainly by Israel, but also by the increasingly authoritarian Palestinian autonomy government.
Allegations denied
The six groups denied the allegations and have denounced Israel’s terrorism designation as an attempt to silence reporting on rights abuses in the occupied territories, mainly by Israel, but also by the increasingly authoritarian Palestinian autonomy government.
The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory said the reasons cited by Israel’s defence minister were “vague or irrelevant” and denounced his decision as the latest move in a “long stigmatising campaign” against the organisations.
The EU delegation to the Palestinian territories acknowledged financing activities by some of the rights groups. It said past allegations of the misuse of EU funds by partners “have not been substantiated” but that it takes the matter seriously and is looking into it.
Israel designates Palestinian civil society
groups as terrorists, U.N. 'alarmed'
A girl wearing a protective face mask and the headband of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) looks on during a rally to show solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Maher Al-Akhras
Fri, October 22, 2021
By Rami Ayyub
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel on Friday designated six Palestinian civil society groups as terrorist organisations and accused them of funnelling donor aid to militants, a move that drew criticism from the United Nations and human rights watchdogs.
Israel's defence ministry said the groups had ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), a left-wing faction with an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis.
The groups include Palestinian human rights organisations Addameer and Al-Haq, which document alleged rights violations by both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.
"(The) declared organizations received large sums of money from European countries and international organizations, using a variety of forgery and deceit," the defence ministry said, alleging that the money had supported PFLP's activities.
The designations authorise Israeli authorities to close the groups' offices, seize their assets and arrest their staff in the West Bank, watchdogs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a joint statement.
Addameer and another of the groups, Defense for Children International - Palestine, rejected the accusations as an "attempt to eliminate Palestinian civil society."
The United Nations Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories said it was "alarmed" by the announcement.
"Counter-terrorism legislation must not be used to constrain legitimate human rights and humanitarian work," it said, adding that some of the reasons given appeared vague or irrelevant.
"These designations are the latest development in a long stigmatizing campaign against these and other organizations, damaging their ability to deliver on their crucial work," it said.
Israel's ally the United States was not given advance warning of the move and would engage Israel for more information about the basis for the designations, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters.
"We believe respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and a strong civil society are critically important to responsible and responsive governance," he said.
But Israel's defence ministry said: "Those organizations present themselves as acting for humanitarian purposes; however, they serve as a cover for the 'Popular Front' promotion and financing."
An official with the PFLP, which is on United States and European Union terrorism blacklists, did not outright reject ties to the six groups but said they maintain relations with civil society organisations across the West Bank and Gaza.
"It is part of the rough battle Israel is launching against the Palestinian people and against civil society groups, in order to exhaust them," PFLP official Kayed Al-Ghoul said.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the "decision is an alarming escalation that threatens to shut down the work of Palestine's most prominent civil society organizations."
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek the territories for a future state.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Tel Aviv; Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem; Editing by William Maclean and Mark Porter)
Lev Parnas, former Giuliani associate with deep Jewish connections, convicted on 6 counts related to campaign finance violations
BY SHIRA HANAU OCTOBER 24, 2021 Lev Parnas arrives at federal court in New York City for an arraignment hearing, Oct. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Lev Parnas, the Jewish Ukrainian-American businessman and former close associate of Rudy Giuliani who was arrested two years ago on charges of campaign finance violations, was convicted on six counts by a jury in New York City on Friday.
The charges could land Parnas in jail for up to five years for the first five counts. The sixth count for which he was convicted, falsifying records to the Federal Elections Commission, carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years.
Speaking to the press after the verdict, Parnas spoke vaguely about his next steps. “Obviously I’m upset, but at this time I just want to get home to my wife and kids and deal with it. I want to thank [my] lawyers, Joe and Stephanie. They put out an incredible fight,” Parnas said, according to CNN. Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman had close ties to multiple Jewish figures and organizations, including prominent Ukrainian rabbi Moshe Azman — who met with Giuliani in Paris in 2019.
A prominent Orthodox synagogue association also honored Parnas and Fruman six months before their arrests in 2019 with an award, which the association’s first vice president told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was given before the charges against them were widely known. Both Parnas and Fruman were arrested for attempting to trade political contributions for support for a cannabis company they were starting. Parnas was also convicted of funneling money from Fruman to the Republican Party and to PACs that supported Donald Trump through a fake company and then lying about it to the FEC.
During the trial, prosecutors showed jurors several photos of Parnas and Fruman with members of Donald Trump’s inner orbit. According to CNN, Parnas and Fruman met with Trump during the White House Hanukkah party in 2018.
FEATURE
Shining a light on one of Judaism’s most enigmatic scholars
Documents obtained by the National Library of Israel grant a rare glimpse into the mind of “Monsieur Chouchani,” who taught many of the 20th century’s Jewish cultural and intellectual figures, including Elie Wiesel.
BY ELAD NEVO
Monsieur Chouchani taught many of the 20th century's Jewish scholars.
Archive Photograph: No credit.
(October 24, 2021 / Israel Hayom) For Israeli Philosophy Professor Shalom Rosenberg, the world is divided into two kinds of people: those who had the privilege of meeting Monsieur Choucani and those who did not.
An enigmatic scholar, Choucani taught many distinguished students in Europe, Israel and South America after World War II. Besides Rosenberg, his disciples were French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, and more.
Although not much is known about Choucani, including his real name, recent documents obtained by the National Library of Israel shed light on his genius. Fifty notebooks handwritten by Choucani were donated to the library by Rosenberg, who met the scholar in South America. The papers were studied, deciphered and organized by the National Library and are now available to the public.
According to archivists, the notebooks are full of ideas on Jewish thought, memory exercises and mathematical formulas that were incredibly difficult to decipher.
“Choucani’s notebooks are a gold mine,” said Yoel Finkelman, curator at the National Library. “His works are exceptionally challenging to decipher because he did not write orderly paragraphs. He put down parts of sentences, mathematical equations, and acronyms in which he encrypted his ideas,” added Finkelman. Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories
“Moreover, he had his own kind of vocabulary, and only through tracking down a word as it appears throughout the rest of the text can one begin to understand its meaning,” he said.
A page from one of Choucanii’s notebooks. Credit: National Library of Israel.
According to Finkelman, the library worked on deciphering Choucani’s works in order to “understand what he knew, how he thought and how he formulated his religious and educational views.” He also said the library considered it “of paramount importance to bring to the public’s attention the story of one of the most mysterious and influential figures in twentieth-century Jewish thought.”
David Lang, an archivist at the National Library, said another aspect that made the process of deciphering Choucani’s notebooks complex was how diverse his knowledge was.
“The notebooks cover all subjects in Judaism—Torah, Talmud, Jewish law, rabbinic literature, philosophy, Kabbalah, ethics and Hassidism,” said Lang. “He also spent a great deal of time on mathematics and physics, and Choucani’s interest in the history of science is also evident,” he added.
According to Lang, Choucani had a photographic memory and was able to recall and cite the entire Bible, Talmud and various Jewish texts from memory, and had also mastered several languages.
A portrait of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.
Wiesel, who greatly admired his teacher, wrote that Choucani “mastered some thirty ancient and modern languages, including Hindi and Hungarian. His French was pure, his English perfect, and his Yiddish harmonized with the accent of whatever person he was speaking with. The Vedas and the Zohar he could recite by heart. A wandering Jew, he felt at home in every culture.”
For Rosenberg, who was born in Buenos Aires in 1935 and moved to Israel in 1963, meeting Choucani was a dream.
“Shalom spoke about Choucani all the time, and so in 1967, I surprised him with a gift—a trip to Montevideo, Uruguay, to meet him,” said his wife Rina. Despite the limited amount of time they spent together, Choucani left a tremendous impression on Rosenberg, as well as on the rest of his students.
Philosophy professor Shalom Rosenberg. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Choucani arrived in Uruguay after spending several years in Israel, Algeria and France. While in Israel, he studied with renowned Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine.
Kook called Choucani “one of the most excellent young people … sharp, knowledgeable, complete and multi-minded.”
His comprehensive knowledge even helped him escape the horrors of the Holocaust. When arrested by Nazi officers in France, he claimed he was a Muslim. Doubting whether that was true, officials summoned the chief mufti of France at the time, who, after a three-hour conversation with Choucani, declared he was “a holy Muslim.”
The Jewish scholar eventually made his way to Uruguay, where he died unexpectedly in 1968.
“He felt that Uruguay was so far away, the war would never spread to there,” said Rina Rosenberg. In 1968, she and her husband participated in a Jewish teachers’ seminary in the South American country, which Choucani also attended.
“He used to always sit in his room and teach,” she said. “He never came to the dining hall, but only ate in his room. He was charismatic and impressive. Shalom told me Chouchani told him he preferred to teach women because he said their heads had not been tainted by yeshivas.”
Choucani passed away during that same seminar.
“One Saturday night he suddenly fell ill,” Rosenberg recalled. “Shalom and a few others took him to a local hospital, where he died. Shalom was devastated. He thought Choucani could have been saved, but the hospital didn’t even have oxygen to give him.”
Rosenberg, who is the former chair of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has spent many years deciphering Choucani’s work. He asserts that Choucani’s real name was most likely Hillel Perlman, and that he was born in the Belarusian town of Brisk.
A few years ago, he was joined by his student Hodaya Har-Shefi, who wrote a thesis on Choucani and is now writing a doctorate.
By studying Chouchani’s work, she learned that “he gave a lot of attention to the teacher-student relationship. It is also interesting to see his attitude towards the sages, how he criticized their work, but at the same time, deeply respected them.
According to the National Library, Choucani challenged his students with difficult questions and encouraged them to improve and progress, and especially to think in unexpected ways.
“Choucani did not want his works to be published in his lifetime,” Har-Shefi continued. “He also did not like students taking notes and summarizing his lessons. He had tremendous respect and caution for the written word.
“He wanted people to teach and learn the right way, and he tried to pass on these tools to his students to make sure Jewish tradition continues.”
Professor Hanoch Ben-Pazi, who walked Har-Shefi through her thesis work, says Choucani’s personal experience mirrored that of European Jewry who moved to the West in the first half of the 20th century.
“Choucani belongs to the same group of young people from Eastern Europe who came to the West and admired the Enlightenment and the vast knowledge that was now available to them,” he said. “The same thing happened to Rabbi [Joseph] Soloveitchik, Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Lubavitcher Rebbe [Menachem Mendel Schneerson.]”
Soloveitchik, Heschel and Schneerson were all born in Eastern Europe, but immigrated to the United States in their youth and went on to become the greatest Jewish leaders of the 20th century.
“They all tried to preserve the Torah world, but still wanted to be part of the enlightened world,” Ben-Pazi continued. “This is a complicated task. In the end, each of them had their own journey.”
Ben-Pazi has also spent a great deal of time deciphering Choucani’s works.
“It is clear that from a historical and biographical point of view that Chocani’s is a classic Jewish story,” he said. “On the other hand, seeing how his teachings affected his students and where it led them, we see that his influence on Western thought, albeit indirect, is much greater than one would assume.”
A young, gay Russian Jew navigates ’80s New York in ‘Minyan,’ a new film set in Brighton Beach
BY ANDREW LAPIN OCTOBER 22, 2021 Ron Rifkin, Samuel H. Levine and Christopher McCann in "Minyan." (Strand Releasing)
(JTA) — A gay Russian Jewish teenager comes of age in Brighton Beach in the touching new independent film “Minyan,” a subtle and sensitive drama that tells an unexpected story about the Brooklyn neighborhood’s large immigrant Jewish community.
Based on a short story by David Bezmozgis, an author who has long grappled with Russian Jewish identity in meticulous and probing ways, Eric Steel’s film finds a unique way to highlight its queer themes through the prism of an Orthodox Jewish culture that heavily prizes manhood, and strength in numbers. If 10 men gathering in prayer is a holy act, the film posits, then surely two men gathering in love must have some degree of holiness to it, as well.
Samuel H. Levine, who riveted Broadway audiences in “The Inheritance,” turns in a fully lived-in lead performance as David, the only son to a family of Soviet Jewish immigrants in 1986. David, whom Levine plays with a quiet, subdued curiosity, feels little affection for his parents: His mother (Brooke Bloom), insistent on sending him to a yeshiva where he is routinely bullied, seems blind to his true needs, while his abusive, philandering father seems to be imparting the wrong ideas about masculinity. To discipline his son for getting into a fight with another yeshiva student who mocks him for being Russian, David’s father sucker-punches him in the face.
Instead, David gravitates to his grandfather Josef (Ron Rifkin), whose calm, matter-of-fact rituals bring him comfort. As the film opens, Josef has decided to seek out a new apartment for himself after the death of his wife. Here we see why the film is called “Minyan”: Josef is only able to secure a fixed-income apartment in a synagogue building once David agrees to join him, because together they give the congregation the requisite 10 men it needs to pray.
In all these buildings full of Jews dealing with repressed generational trauma (the Holocaust and the Soviet Jewish purges are both frequently invoked), David finally discovers a little piece of himself. His neighbors in the synagogue are two elderly men who live together; they have a storyline that explains their arrangement, which the community accepts, but it’s clear they find more comfort in this open secret than they ever could have in the USSR. Soon after meeting them, David begins to explore a local gay bar, and loses his virginity to a brooding bartender (Alex Hurt) who, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, seems shocked by his new lover’s youth and ignorance of the disease — and how David, having already avoided one life of misery at the grace of his parents, is unaware he may now be dooming himself to another.
As David quietly, tentatively tries to navigate his environment (partially with the help of James Baldwin’s books, which are invoked as holy texts on par with anything in the Talmud), “Minyan” finds meaningful ways to frame his maturity alongside his growth in Jewish thought. Aided by David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg’s klezmer score, the film spotlights the moments when its hero comes into his own: leading a Mourner’s Kaddish prayer, advocating for a fellow Jew’s living conditions or simply listening to his mother describe her relief that she could give him a new life where he wouldn’t be targeted for his Judaism.
Little in Steel’s prior filmography — his most notable previous directing credit was the controversial 2006 documentary “The Bridge,” which secretly filmed a year’s worth of suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge — indicated that he aimed to tackle a story as delicate and human as “Minyan.” But Steel himself grew up gay and Jewish in the 1980s, and he’s smartly fused Bezmozgis’ source material with his own memories to create a film with a personal touch. The movie even feels in league with works by Ira Sachs and Andrew Haigh, the reigning kings of layered, nuanced stories about gay communities, while also being deeply Jewish. “Minyan” is an intimate story of outcasts in many forms.
“Minyan” opens today at the IFC Center in New York and expands to Los Angeles and on-demand rental Oct. 29.
QatarEnergy signs deal with ExxonMobil Canada on farm-in exploration license
FILE PHOTO: A sign is seen in front of the Exxonmobil Baton Rouge Refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Andrew Mills Sun, October 24, 2021 DUBAI (Reuters) - QatarEnergy has signed a deal for a 40% stake in one of ExxonMobil’s major offshore explorations in Canada, the Qatar state-owned oil and gas firm said on Sunday.
The deal marks QatarEnergy’s first foray into offshore exploration in Canada, the company said in a statement.
The agreement will give QatarEnergy a farm-in exploration license for EL 1165A, currently held by ExxonMobil Canada.
The Hampden exploration well activities are planned in deep water, 450 km off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. ExxonMobil Canada will retain the remaining interest in the exploration.
Over the past two years, Qatar Energy has expanded internationally, gaining stakes in oil and gas projects around the world by signing deals with major energy companies, including ExxonMobil.
Qatar is the world's largest supplier of liquefied natural gas and aims to expand production to 127 million tonnes annually by 2027 from the current 77 million tonnes.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
TOXIC CHEM FIRE
Tug fights container fire on cargo ship off British Columbia
By Kevin Light October 24, 2021 Container ship Zim Kingston evacuated due to a fire on board near Victoria
Victoria, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Reuters) -A tug boat spent the night fighting a container fire that broke out on Saturday on a cargo ship carrying mining chemicals off British Columbia, the Canadian Coast Guard said on Sunday, adding that it would continue to monitor the situation.
Sixteen crew members were evacuated from the MV Zim Kingston on Saturday, while five remained onboard to fight the fire.
“Overnight the tug Seaspan Raven has cooled the hull of the M/V #ZimKingston by spraying the hull with cold water,” the coast guard said on Twitter. “Due to the nature of chemicals onboard the container ship, applying water directly to the fire is not an option.”
Images captured by Reuters on Sunday showed two tug boats spraying water toward the ship.
The coast guard warned that there was an emergency zone around the ship, telling all vessels to stay at least two nautical miles away, and the Transport Ministry restricted all aircraft, including drones, from flying within two nautical miles or below 2,000 feet over the ship.
Earlier on Sunday Danaos Shipping Co, the company that manages the container ship, said in a statement that no injuries had been reported.
The fire “appears to have been contained,” and a salvage and fire extinguishing agency was brought in to ensure the safe return of the vessel’s crew, Danaos said.
The mishap comes as more bad weather is expected to hit the area on Sunday and amid a global shipping traffic jam that has held up deliveries all over the world.
On Saturday, Canada’s coast guard said the ship itself was not on fire and only 10 containers were burning.
Canada’s coast guard said it has been working with its U.S. counterpart to track 40 containers that had previously fallen overboard when Zim Kingston encountered bad weather, saying they posed a significant risk to mariners.
The company did not immediately respond when asked if the lost containers were linked to the fire.
“Mariners are advised to stay clear of the area. Currently there is no safety risk to people on shore, however the situation will continue to be monitored,” the coast guard said on Saturday, when video obtained by Reuters showed fire cascading down from the deck of the ship into the water.
“This is extremely concerning. The ship and containers are very close to Victoria, BC, and a big storm is forecast to hit tonight. We … are worried this may be yet another environmental disaster,” said David Boudinot, president of Surfrider Foundation Canada, an environmental organization.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya, Chris Helgren and Nur-Azna Sanusi; Additional reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Frances Kerry and Mark Porter)
The container ship Zim Kingston burns from a fire off the coast of Victoria
Fire cascades down from the deck of the container ship ZIM Kingston into the waters off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Fire cascades down from the deck of the container ship ZIM Kingston into the waters off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Container ship Zim Kingston evacuated due to a fire on board near Victoria
Obama attacks GOP candidate’s ‘phony, trumped-up culture wars’ during Virginia rally
Published: Oct. 24, 2021 Former President Barack Obama, left, campaigns with Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe at Virginia Commonwealth University on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, in Richmond, Virginia. The Virginia gubernatorial election, pitting McAuliffe against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, is November 2.
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama waded into VirginIa’s gubernatorial race, criticizing Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin for supporting “phony, trumped-up culture wars” in his bid to flip the state.
Speaking at a rally in Richmond for Democrat Terry McAuliffe, Obama said Youngkin was seeking to win by signaling support for baseless claims about fraud in the 2020 election that led to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Either he actually believes in the same conspiracy theories that resulted in a mob, or he doesn’t believe them but he’s willing to go along with them, to say or do anything to get elected,” Obama said of the former Carlyle Group co-CEO on Saturday. “And maybe that’s worse, because that says something about character.”
The rally was one of several early-voting drives held by McAuliffe’s campaign hosted by high-profile guests such as Vice President Kamala Harris and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. With national attention focused on the contest ahead of next year’s midterm elections, a rally with President Joe Biden is slated for next week.
Saturday’s event in front of a library at Virginia Commonwealth University attracted about 2,000 supporters. They were repeatedly encouraged to turn in mail-in ballots or go to one of the city’s early-voting sites, the closest of which was about a mile away.
Obama praised McAuliffe as an energetic former governor who could hit the ground running on jobs and education. But like other speakers at the two-hour rally, he spent much of his speech arguing that Youngkin — whom he never specifically named — and Republican lawmakers would roll back expanded voting options, access to abortion and public health measures on the coronavirus pandemic.
He highlighted a recent pro-Youngkin rally in which attendees recited the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag from the Jan. 6 riot.
While Youngkin was not involved in planning the event and later said the pledge was “weird and wrong,” he has given mixed signals about former President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud, calling for an audit of the state’s voting machines and appearing at an “election integrity” event at Liberty University in the state.
McAuliffe’s lead has steadily shrunk from this summer. One recent poll showed him tied with Youngkin.
Republicans say the Virginia race could show a path to recapturing some of the suburban voters they lost during the Trump administration. Democrats are seeking to generate enough enthusiasm to maintain control of a state Biden won by 10 points last year.
Ryan Teague Beckwith of Bloomberg News wrote this story.
EXPLAINER: What the metaverse is and how it will work
By KELVIN CHAN and MATT O'BRIEN
FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2021 file photo, Hadrien Gurnel, software engineer EPFL's Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+) explores with a virtual reality helmet the most detailed 3D map of the universe with the virtual reality software VIRUP, Virtual Reality Universe Project developed by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in St-Sulpice near Lausanne, Switzerland. The term metaverse seems to be everywhere. Facebook is hiring thousands of engineers in Europe to work on it, while video game companies are outlining their long-term visions for what some consider the next big thing on the internet. Essentially, it’s a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play. You can go to a virtual concert, take a trip online and try on digital clothing. But tech companies still have to figure out how to connect their online platforms.(Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
LONDON (AP) — The term “metaverse” seems to be everywhere. Facebook is hiring thousands of engineers in Europe to work on it, while video game companies are outlining their long-term visions for what some consider the next big thing online.
The metaverse, which could spring up again when Facebook releases earnings Monday, is the latest buzzword to capture the tech industry’s imagination.
It could be the future, or it could be the latest grandiose vision by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that doesn’t turn out as expected or isn’t widely adopted for years — if at all.
Plus, many have concerns about a new online world tied to a social media giant that could get access to even more personal data and is accused of failing to stop harmful content.
Here’s what this online world is all about:
WHAT IS THE METAVERSE?
Think of it as the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” you can go inside of — instead of just looking at on a screen. Essentially, it’s a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices.
It also will incorporate other aspects of online life such as shopping and social media, according to Victoria Petrock, an analyst who follows emerging technologies.
“It’s the next evolution of connectivity where all of those things start to come together in a seamless, doppelganger universe, so you’re living your virtual life the same way you’re living your physical life,” she said.
But keep in mind that “it’s hard to define a label to something that hasn’t been created,” said Tuong Nguyen, an analyst who tracks immersive technologies for research firm Gartner.
Facebook warned it would take 10 to 15 years to develop responsible products for the metaverse, a term coined by writer Neal Stephenson for his 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash.”
WHAT WILL I BE ABLE TO DO IN THE METAVERSE?
Things like go to a virtual concert, take a trip online, and buy and try on digital clothing.
The metaverse also could be a game-changer for the work-from-home shift amid the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of seeing co-workers on a video call grid, employees could see them virtually.
Facebook has launched meeting software for companies, called Horizon Workrooms, to use with its Oculus VR headsets, though early reviews have not been great. The headsets cost $300 or more, putting the metaverse’s most cutting-edge experiences out of reach for many.
For those who can afford it, users would be able, through their avatars, to flit between virtual worlds created by different companies.
“A lot of the metaverse experience is going to be around being able to teleport from one experience to another,” Zuckerberg says.
Tech companies still have to figure out how to connect their online platforms to each other. Making it work will require competing technology platforms to agree on a set of standards, so there aren’t “people in the Facebook metaverse and other people in the Microsoft metaverse,” Petrock said.
IS FACEBOOK GOING ALL IN ON THE METAVERSE?
Indeed, Zuckerberg is going big on what he sees as the next generation of the internet because he thinks it’s going to be a big part of the digital economy. He expects people to start seeing Facebook as a metaverse company in coming years rather than a social media company.
A report by tech news site The Verge said Zuckerberg is looking at using Facebook’s annual virtual reality conference this coming week to announce a corporate name change, putting legacy apps like Facebook and Instagram under a metaverse-focused parent company. Facebook hasn’t commented on the report.
Critics wonder if the potential pivot could be an effort to distract from the company’s crises, including antitrust crackdowns, testimony by whistleblowing former employees and concerns about its handling of misinformation.
Former employee Frances Haugen, who accused Facebook’s platforms of harming children and inciting political violence, plans to testify Monday before a United Kingdom parliamentary committee looking to pass online safety legislation.
In this Thursday, May 13, 2021 file photo, a view of a Gucci advertisement campaign selected for an exhibition to celebrate the vision of Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele at the Gucci Garden Archetypes, in Florence, Italy.The term metaverse seems to be everywhere. Facebook is hiring thousands of engineers in Europe to work on it, while video game companies are outlining their long-term visions for what some consider the next big thing on the internet. Essentially, it’s a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play. You can go to a virtual concert, take a trip online and try on digital clothing. But tech companies still have to figure out how to connect their online platforms. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File) IS THE METAVERSE JUST A FACEBOOK PROJECT?
No. Zuckerberg has acknowledged that “no one company” will build the metaverse by itself.
Just because Facebook is making a big deal about the metaverse doesn’t mean that it or another tech giant will dominate the space, Nguyen said.
“There are also a lot of startups that could be potential competitors,” he said. “There are new technologies and trends and applications that we’ve yet to discover.”
Video game companies also are taking a leading role. Epic Games, the company behind the popular Fortnite video game, has raised $1 billion from investors to help with its long-term plans for building the metaverse. Game platform Roblox is another big player, outlining its vision of the metaverse as a place where “people can come together within millions of 3D experiences to learn, work, play, create and socialize.”
Consumer brands are getting in on it, too. Italian fashion house Gucci collaborated in June with Roblox to sell a collection of digital-only accessories. Coca-Cola and Clinique have sold digital tokens pitched as a stepping stone to the metaverse.
Zuckerberg’s embrace of the metaverse in some ways contradicts a central tenet of its biggest enthusiasts. They envision the metaverse as online culture’s liberation from tech platforms like Facebook that assumed ownership of people’s accounts, photos, posts and playlists and traded off what they gleaned from that data.
“We want to be able to move around the internet with ease, but we also want to be able to move around the internet in a way we’re not tracked and monitored,” said venture capitalist Steve Jang, a managing partner at Kindred Ventures who focuses on cryptocurrency technology.
WILL THIS BE ANOTHER WAY TO GET MORE OF MY DATA?
It seems clear that Facebook wants to carry its business model, which is based on using personal data to sell targeted advertising, into the metaverse.
“Ads are going to continue being an important part of the strategy across the social media parts of what we do, and it will probably be a meaningful part of the metaverse, too,” Zuckerberg said in the company’s most recent earnings call.
That raises fresh privacy concerns, Nguyen said, involving “all the issues that we have today, and then some we’ve yet to discover because we’re still figuring out what the metaverse will do.”
Petrock she said she’s concerned about Facebook trying to lead the way into a virtual world that could require even more personal data and offer greater potential for abuse and misinformation when it hasn’t fixed those problems in its current platforms.
“I don’t think they fully thought through all the pitfalls,” she said. “I worry they’re not necessarily thinking through all the privacy implications of the metaverse.”
EXPLAINER: Will lawmakers dig into Kristi Noem, appraisers?
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Family Leadership Summit in this July 16, 2021, file photo in Des Moines, Iowa. South Dakota lawmakers will be taking a look at a state agency that has been at the center of questions about whether Gov. Kristi Noem used her influence to aid her daughter's application for a real estate appraiser license. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers will be taking a look at a state agency that has been at the center of questions about whether Gov. Kristi Noem used her influence to aid her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license.
But it could have a big impact for the Republican governor, who has generated speculation about a possible 2024 White House bid. Noem has come under scrutiny after The Associated Press reported that she held a meeting in her office last year that included her daughter, Kassidy Peters, and the director of the Appraiser Certification Program, which had moved days earlier to deny Peters’ application for a license. Peters received her certification four months later.
WHO WILL BE SPEAKING?
Lawmakers have carved out a few hours in a packed schedule to hear from four people.
One is the Appraiser Certification Program’s former director, Sherry Bren. She was called into the July 2020 meeting in the governor’s office and was pressured to retire shortly after Peters received her license that November.
Another official slated to speak is Secretary of Labor and Regulation Marcia Hultman. She was also in the meeting and later pressured Bren to retire. Hultman has defended her actions by saying there have been positive changes at the agency since Bren left.
Lawmakers have also called the president of the state’s professional appraiser association, Sandra Gresh. She has raised concerns about the new direction of the state program.
The director of the state’s Office of Risk Management, Craig Ambach, also is expected to appear. His office helped negotiate a $200,000 payment to Bren for her to retire and withdraw an age discrimination complaint. Both Bren and Hultman are bound by a clause in that settlement that bans them from disparaging each other.
WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED AT THE MEETING IN NOEM’S OFFICE?
It is not entirely clear. The governor hasn’t answered detailed questions about the meeting. Bren told the AP it covered the procedures for appraiser certification and that she was presented with a letter from Peters’ supervisor that criticized the agency’s decision to deny the license.
In a YouTube video responding to the AP’s report, Noem pointed out that Bren had been in her position for decades, and she charged that the system “was designed to benefit those who were already certified and to keep others out.”
IS THERE A SHORTAGE OF APPRAISERS?
Yes. Industry experts have long said that’s a problem, especially in rural states. In South Dakota, many experienced appraisers are nearing retirement age.
However, the governor’s ability to “streamline” requirements for a license would be limited because they are mostly set at the federal level.
As governor, Noem has worked to ease licensing requirements for an array of professions. She said she had been working on appraiser regulations for years.
Asked for examples of that work prior to last year, her spokesman Ian Fury pointed out that Noem, during her eight years in Congress, twice signed onto GOP-sponsored bills that would have, among other financial reforms, adjusted federal appraiser regulations.
HOW CAN THE SHORTAGE BE SOLVED?
Since Bren’s departure, Noem’s administration has moved to waive certification requirements that go beyond the federal standards, such as an exam for entry-level appraisers.
But the leadership of the Professional Appraisers Association of South Dakota has raised concerns about those moves. The group says the biggest barrier to becoming an appraiser is a lack of supervisors who can train new appraisers.
Before Bren left her job, she was working to launch a first-of-its-kind program that would allow appraiser trainees to take hands-on courses and avoid the traditional apprenticeship model that has become a bottleneck. Bren helped the state win a $120,000 annual federal grant and later testified in the Legislature in support of a bill to create the training program. Noem signed it into law this year.
WHAT WILL THE COMMITTEE DO?
It’s not clear. Republican lawmakers said they will start by asking about the state agency and why there are difficulties to becoming an appraiser. But they also acknowledged that the meeting was an opportunity to question the governor’s conduct. Just two Democrats sit on the 10-person committee.
If lawmakers are satisfied, they could move on from the issue.
They also could decide to delve deeper. The committee has the power to subpoena witnesses and records, but that would require approval from the Executive Board, a ranking committee of top legislators.
Kathleen Clark, a law professor who specializes in government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, said she would not be satisfied with the governor’s explanation that she was simply trying to “cut the red tape.”
“It is conceivable that the agency processes needed improvement,” she said. “But the presence of the daughter and the timing of the meeting suggest that this was not a meeting aimed at improving processes in general, but instead aimed at pressuring the agency to change its mind.”
French sexual abuse victims denounce police mistreatment
By SYLVIE CORBET and ARNO PEDRAM
Thousands of French women have denounced in a new online campaign the shocking response of police officers victim-blaming them or mishandling their complaints as they were reporting sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)
PARIS (AP) — One rape victim was asked by Paris police what she wore that day, and why she didn’t struggle more. Another woman was forced to fondle herself to demonstrate a sexual assault to a skeptical police officer.
They are among thousands of French women who have denounced in a new online campaign the shocking response of police officers victim-blaming them or mishandling their complaints as they reported sexual abuse.
The hashtag #DoublePeine (#DoubleSentencing) was launched last month by Anna Toumazoff after she learned that a 19-year-old woman who filed a rape complaint in the southern city of Montpellier was asked by police in graphic terms whether she experienced pleasure during the assault.
The hashtag quickly went viral, with women describing similar experiences in Montpellier and other police stations across France. French women’s rights group NousToutes counted at least 30,000 accounts of mistreatment in tweets and other messages sent on social media and on a specific website.
Despite recent training programs for French police and growing awareness around violence against women, activists say authorities must do more to face up to the gravity of sex crimes, and to eradicate discrimination against victims.
Addressing the national issue last week, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said “there are questions that cannot be asked to women when they come to file a complaint.”
“It’s not up to the police officer to say whether there was domestic violence or not, that’s up to the judge to do it,” he added.
He also announced an internal investigation at the Montpellier police station.
The prefect of the region of Montpellier had previously condemned in a statement what he called “defamatory comments” against officers. He denounced “false information” and “lies” aiming at discrediting police action.
Toumazoff denied launching an anti-police campaign, saying the hashtag aims at urging the government to take action.
“By letting incompetent and dangerous officers working in police stations, (authorities) expose the whole profession to shame,” she told The Associated Press. She said the victim mentioned in her initial tweet does not wish to speak publicly while her rape complaint is under investigation.
The Montpellier regional branch of powerful police union Alliance argued that officers are just doing their jobs. “While police officers understand the victims’ distress, the establishment of the truth requires us to ask ‘embarrassing’ questions,” it said.
A 37-year-old Parisian woman told the AP about her experience at a police station after she was assaulted this year by a man living near her home, who had previously harassed her in the street.
Once, he blocked her path and pressed her against a wall, touching her belly and her breast and threatening to kill her, she recalled.
The woman described arriving scared and crying at the police station, where officers welcomed her “very kindly.”
But then, she said, the officer in charge of filing the complaint did not write down her description of the assault, so she refused to sign the document.
“I had to tell it all again,” she said. The officer asked if she was certain that the abuser wanted to touch her breast.
“I had to make the gesture so that he sees that it was not another part of the body,” she said. “Making me repeat and ... mime the gesture in front of a wall, that’s humiliating. I found it very degrading. I felt I was like a puppet.”
The case is still ongoing. Police suggested a change of apartment to move away from her abuser, she said.
FILE - In this March 8, 2021 file photo, women react during a march to mark International Women's Day, in Paris. Despite recent French training programs for police and growing awareness around violence against women, activists say authorities must do more to face up to the gravity of sex crimes, and to eradicate discrimination against victims. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
Another Parisian woman, aged 25, said she was left “traumatized” by the police treatment after she had been raped by her ex-boyfriend in 2016.
When she filed her initial complaint, the police officer, who had received special training, “explained to me why he was asking all these questions, he was in a spirit of kindness,” she remembers. “I felt rather safe and that he believed me.”
Months later she was summoned to another police station, located in the same street where her attacker was living. Feeling very anxious at the idea of potentially seeing him, she said she was talked to as if she was “stupid” and “a liar.”
Police asked what she was wearing that day, why it was different from when she was having consensual sex with him, how she could argue she was surprised if he was wearing a condom, she recalled. An officer told her, “I don’t understand why you did not struggle more.”
The complaint was closed without follow-up due to lack of evidence. The young woman described the police response as very difficult to live through, with a “huge impact” on her private life and almost leading her to giving up her studies.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault.
Speaking to lawmakers at the National Assembly, the interior minister acknowledged things “can still be improved” on the matter across France.
The government has set the goal to have at least one specially trained officer in each police station for dealing with domestic violence and sexual abuse. An annual survey led by national statistics institute INSEE shows that currently only 10% of victims in these cases file a formal complaint.
The #doublepeine movement comes after the shocking killing earlier this year of a woman who was shot and set on fire in the street by her estranged husband. One of the officers who had taken her domestic abuse complaint a few months earlier had recently been convicted for domestic violence himself.
Darmanin promised that officers definitively convicted for such acts won’t be allowed to be in contact with the public anymore.
Women have been raising the alarm for years, Toumazoff said, denouncing announcements by politicians not followed by action.
“When there are urgent situations, like terror attacks, they can do things because it’s urgent,” she said. “It’s the same here. Women’s lives are at stake. It’s urgent every day.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/URHORBHHARQFQOO3YJOZV7UG3U.jpg)
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/thenational/9e2159fa-e4db-4215-b498-6b3607b75bee.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/H3HYHENACXC2UZ3NATFNRH3MQM.jpg)
