Navajo Tech 1st among tribal universities to offer PhD


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In this photo provided by Navajo Technical University, graduates at the school stand during a ceremony in Crownpoint, N.M., Dec. 16, 2022. On Friday, March 24, 2023, school officials said the creation of a doctoral program focused on Dine culture and language marks a milestone for the university and is the first doctoral program among tribal colleges and universities in the United States.

 (Wafa Hozien/Navajo Technical University via AP)

A university on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. launched its accredited doctoral program, becoming the first among more than 30 accredited tribal colleges and universities across the country to offer such a high level degree.

The program at Navajo Technical University will be dedicated to sustaining Diné culture and language. Diné is the Navajo word meaning “the people” and is commonly what tribal members call themselves.

A celebration is planned on the Crownpoint campus in western New Mexico in April, and the school already started accepting applications for the fall semester.

The offering marks a milestone for the university, which already has more than 30 degree and certificate programs spanning science, technology, engineering, business and liberal arts, Navajo Tech President Elmer Guy said.

Guy told The Associated Press on Friday that he believes the program in which students will receive a Ph.D. in Diné Culture and Language Sustainability will have a profound impact on the future of the tribe’s language and culture. He said he’s excited to see how students shape their dissertations.

The idea was to create a program that would lead to employment opportunities and effect change for Navajo communities on the reservation that stretches into New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

“I thought it would be important to make that connection,” Guy said, explaining that it’s a step beyond the call by tribal leaders for their people to learn the language and stay engaged with their culture. “Individuals will get a degree and they’ll be professionals. You have to make it applicable. By making it more meaningful, people will have an interest in it.”

The effort is paying off. About 20 students have applied so far and will be vying for five coveted spots in the inaugural class, said Wafa Hozien, an administrator who helped with the program’s creation.

A collaboration with other academic institutions and community partners, the doctoral program was developed with the help of tribal elders, university professors and linguistic experts. Community-based research and internships will be part of the curriculum so students gain practical experience they can apply in the real world.

Guy said he’s hopeful this inspires other tribal colleges and universities to create their own programs.

Hozien said Navajo Tech’s program represents a paradigm shift in that learning through a Diné lens — with culture and language — creates leaders who can advocate for their people in the judicial system, education, land management, business, technology and health care, for example.

Guy said the work done by the university to train court reporters to document Navajo testimony and translators to help with reading ballots during election season already has addressed some of the pressing needs within communities.

The possibilities will be even greater as students earn doctoral degrees, he said.

“They will be part of solving problems,” Guy said. “These students have energy and creativity, and our job is to give them the tools.”

In this photo provided by Navajo Technical University, university President Elmer Guy poses during a higher education conference in Albuquerque, N.M., March 8, 2023. On Friday, March 24, 2023, school officials said the creation of a doctoral program focused on Dine culture and language marks a milestone for the university and is the first doctoral program among tribal colleges and universities in the United States. (Wafa Hozien/Navajo Technical University via AP)

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Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Italy partisans criticize Meloni over Nazi massacre comment

By NICOLE WINFIELD

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A man walks amid the graves of the 335 victims of one of the worst World War II-era massacres in German-occupied Italy at the Ardeatine Caves in Rome, on its 79th anniversary, Friday, March 24, 2023. 335 people were shot to death on March 24, 1944, as a reprisal for an attack by partisans that killed 33 Nazi soldiers on a street in Rome. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni marked the anniversary Friday of one of the worst World War II-era massacres in German-occupied Italy, but the main association of partisans who fought to free Italy from fascism quickly criticized her comments.

Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, issued a statement to commemorate the March 24, 1944 massacre at the Ardeatine Caves on Rome’s outskirts. There, 335 people were shot to death as a reprisal for an attack by partisans that killed 33 Nazi soldiers on a street in Rome.

Meloni said it was up to all Italians to remember the “barbaric” slaughter and to teach future generations what happened. She said the massacre “marked one of the deepest and most painful wounds inflicted on our community: 335 innocent Italians slaughtered simply because they were Italian.”

The National Association of Italian Partisans, or ANPI, which preserves the memory of the World War II resistance movement against fascism and has warned of an emboldened far-right in Italy, criticized Meloni for “not remembering everything.”

The group faulted in particular the premier’s reference to the 335 people killed merely “because they were Italian.”

“Sure, they were Italians, but they were chosen on the basis of a selection that affected anti-fascists, resistance fighters, political opponents and Jews,” ANPI leader Gianfranco Pagliarulo said in a statement.

He added that the list of those who were slaughtered was compiled “with the complicity” of Rome’s police chief, the interior minister of deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s northern Republic of Salo and a Nazi war criminal. Pagliarulo said they were “all fascists.”

Opposition lawmakers also faulted Meloni’s comment. “One day will you be able to write the word ANTIFASCIST?” tweeted Nicola Fratoianni, a lawmaker from the Alliance of Left Greens.

Meloni has sought to allay concerns about her party’s neo-fascist roots, insisting during Italy’s election campaign last year that the Italian right had “handed fascism over to history” and had unambiguously condemned the suppression of democracy and anti-Jewish laws.

Since becoming premier in October, she also has reached out repeatedly to members of Rome’s Jewish community.

But one of the Brothers of Italy’s leaders, Senate President Ignazio La Russa, has also proudly displayed Mussolini memorabilia in his home. La Russa joined Italy’s president and other dignitaries at a commemoration Friday at the Ardeatine site, which took place while Meloni was in Brussels for a European Union summit.

Asked about her comments, Meloni said she was being inclusive, or “omnicomprehensive,” in describing antifascists as Italians, the ANSA news agency said.

Italy never went through a process similar to Germany’s denazification, and a neo-fascist party, the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, was part of Italy’s first postwar government in 1946. Meloni joined the MSI’s youth branch as a teen-ager in Rome and went onto lead the youth branch of MSI’s successor party, the National Alliance.

The Brothers of Italy party succeeded the National Alliance and retains the tricolor flame of the original MSI as its logo.

DEA overseas review barely mentions corruption scandals

By JIM MUSTIAN and JOSHUA GOODMAN
 

Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. After nearly two years and at least $1.4 million spent, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Friday, March 24, 2023, released an external review of its overseas operations that gave short shrift to recent corruption scandals and offered a series of recommendations that critics dismissed as overly vague.

 (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — After nearly two years and at least $1.4 million spent, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Friday released an external review of its overseas operations that barely mentions recent corruption scandals and offers recommendations that critics dismissed as overly vague.

Much of the 50-page report outlines the DEA’s sprawling, 69-country “foreign footprint,” while lauding its efforts to plug gaping holes in the oversight of undercover money laundering operations and special vetted units overseas.

“This report is stunningly vague in its actual evaluation of known problems at the DEA and remedies to fix them,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “This speaks to the agency’s broader effort to evade oversight. The agency has attempted to dodge my oversight inquiries but I intend to push forward.”

The external probe was announced in 2021 following reporting by The Associated Press on the crimes of José Irizarry, a disgraced former DEA agent now serving a 12-year federal prison sentence after confessing to laundering money for Colombian drug cartels and skimming millions from seizures and informants to fund an international joyride of fine dining, parties and prostitutes.

Jose Irizarry speaks during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)

Irizarry told the AP last year that DEA agents have come to accept that there’s nothing they can do to make a dent in the flow of illegal cocaine and opioids into the United States that has driven more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year.

“The drug war is a game,” Irizarry said. “It was a very fun game that we were playing.”

Irizarry’s case got one paragraph in the external review. An ongoing federal grand jury inquiry into some of his jet-setting former DEA colleagues was mentioned in a footnote. Also, Irizarry’s lawyer told AP he offered to make his client available for an interview for the review but was never contacted.

“Interviews and documents demonstrated that the DEA has already largely implemented the recommendations from the DOJ OIG to enhance the oversight of compliance risks arising out of the agency’s foreign operations,” the review concluded, referring to the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General.

The probe found fault with the bureaucracy it said bogs down the assignment of agents to foreign divisions and recommended putting incentives in place to attract “top talent to hard-to-fill offices.” It also blamed the “corrupting influence” of cartels for instances of “individual misconduct by DEA personnel.”

“DEA also could do more to ensure supervisors are effectively evaluated and ultimately held accountable for compliance-related issues,” the review found.

Other recommendations included more regular audits of foreign offices and vetted police units, and stricter controls on expenses.

The external review was conducted by former DEA administrator Jack Lawn and Boyd Johnson, a former federal prosecutor who handled international drug cases. Public records show the no-bid contract was awarded to the law firm WilmerHale, where Johnson works, at a cost of $1.4 million. Johnson did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The report made little mention of the turmoil that has roiled DEA operations in Mexico, where law enforcement cooperation collapsed amid the tenure of a regional director who was quietly ousted from his post for having improper contact with lawyers for narcotraffickers.

AP reported earlier this year that Nicholas Palmeri served just 14 months in the post and retired before an Office of Inspector General report found he sought government reimbursement to pay for his own birthday party.

“For a report that cost the government over $1.4 million, it does not seem to recommend the types of changes that would actually prevent another Irizarry or other misconduct,” said Bonnie Klapper, a former federal prosecutor in New York. “While the report is very thorough in laying out DEA’s role and responsibilities, it mentions only a very few examples of misconduct, and its recommendations don’t go far enough.”

Palmeri arrived to Mexico in the wake of one of the biggest setbacks in recent years in the U.S.-led drug war: the botched arrest of former Mexican Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos. The retired general was nabbed on a sealed U.S. drug warrant upon arrival at the Los Angeles airport in 2020 only to be released a few weeks later under pressure from Mexico’s leftist president, who retaliated by disbanding an elite police unit that was a key DEA ally.

Neither the Cienfuegos incident nor the arrest of another prominent U.S. ally in Mexico — ex-security chief Genaro Garcia Luna — are mentioned in the report.

“The report’s key takeaway about improving information sharing and breaking down internal silos couldn’t be more commendable,” said John Feeley, a retired U.S. diplomat who worked alongside the DEA in numerous postings overseas. “But the biggest silo that needs to be dismantled from an operations perspective is the DEA’s failure to communicate to front offices and ambassadors when it’s investigating senior officials of host nations.”

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, who has declined repeated interview requests, said in a statement that the agency would implement all 17 of the report’s recommendations.

“DEA is committed to meeting the challenges presented by today’s global drug threats and ensuring that our work is conducted at the highest level possible,” she said.

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Goodman reported from Miami. Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

Teachers press school safety in wake of Denver shooting

By COLLEEN SLEVIN, JESSE BEDAYN and THOMAS PEIPERT

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Students and parents from schools across Colorado take part in a rally, Friday, March 24, 2023, outside the State Capitol in Denver, calling for state lawmakers to consider gun control measures during the current legislative session. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) — Colorado teachers flooded into the state Capitol Friday to press for better protections for students and school staff after a 17-year-old Denver student shot two administrators, fled to the mountains and killed himself.

Roughly 1,500 teachers and their supporters called for improved school security, more mental health support and tighter gun control measures, adding to pressure on lawmakers a day after students and parents converged at the Capitol to make similar demands.

School shootings are becoming increasingly frequent in the U.S., and teachers at the rally voiced the fears they feel during safety lockdowns that are now regular occurrences.

They also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s shooting at East High School, which came as the boy was being patted down for weapons, a daily requirement because of his behavioral issues including a pending firearm charge, according to school officials.

Some East High School teachers at Friday’s rally said they did not know any students at the school were being regularly patted down until the shooting.

“I want to go into a building every day where I don’t need to ask if my kids are getting a pat down because I know nobody is bringing guns into the school,” said English teacher Josh Garfinkel.

Schools were canceled Friday in Denver in response to the shooting. Officials have said they’ll put armed officers into city high schools through the remainder of the school year, reversing a policy enacted just a few years ago in response to protests over racial injustice following the killing of George Floyd by police.

The teachers Friday gathered on the steps in front of the Colorado capitol for speeches and chants, then circled the building as some played brass instruments and drums before filing inside.

Elementary school teacher Raegan Haines said she’s had three lockdowns at her school this year. She said lawmakers need to make it harder to access guns.

“You think, what am I going to do with these kids? How can I keep these kids quiet? Who am I going to put my body in front and why do I have to make that choice?”

She added that when the teachers entered the Capitol, “we had to walk through metal detectors and everything is plated in gold. We don’t get that same sense of security at schools.”

Colorado Democrats hold majorities in both state chambers and have made gun control a priority.

Pending bills would expand who can petition to temporarily remove a firearm from someone who poses a danger, raise the minimum age to possess a firearm from 18 to 21, require three-day waiting periods after buying guns, and ban semi-automatic firearms.

The semi-automatics ban is unlikely to find traction. The fate of the others could fall to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. He’s supported expanding red flag laws but not specifically endorsed raising the age to possess guns or the three-day waiting period.

Teachers said their students also face more mental health problems and not enough social workers or psychologists to help.

At East High School, about a half-dozen psychologists and social workers at East High must take care of 2,500 students, said Kristy Skarphol, a math teacher at the school. This year they’ve also been reaching out to teachers who might be struggling amid all the lockdowns.

“We’re just spread way too thin for what we need,” Skarphol said.

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Associated Press reporter Matthew Brown contributed from Billings, Montana.

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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Turkey elections: Pro-Kurdish HDP will not field presidential candidate

Move by left-wingers paves way for united front by opposition against Erdogan

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C), with HDP co-chairs Pervin Buldan (L) and Mithat Sancar (R) at a press conference after a meeting in the parliament in Ankara on 20 March 2023 (AFP)

By MEE staff
Published date: 22 March 2023 

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), the third-largest party in parliament, announced on Wednesday it will not be putting forward a presidential candidate in the upcoming May elections, opening the way for a united opposition against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Party co-chair Pervin Buldan made the statement on behalf of the Labour and Freedom Alliance - which includes the HDP, the Turkish Workers Party (TIP) and other leftist parties - at a press conference in Ankara.

'We will fulfill our historical responsibility towards one-man rule in the presidential elections'

- HDP co-chair Pervin Buldan

“We will fulfill our historical responsibility towards one-man rule in the presidential elections," she said.

"We are determined to hold accountable those responsible for the great destruction from this government, which has maintained an administration based on poverty, corruption, plunder and rent, for the realisation of democracy, fundamental rights and freedoms, and social justice in the country."

Although she did not make it explicit in the press conference, it is widely assumed the HDP will throw its weight behind Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Republican People's Party (CHP) leader who is the nominated candidate for the opposition National Alliance.

Kilicdaroglu met with the HDP leadership in the Turkish parliament building on Tuesday, the day before the announcement, during which he reportedly promised to remove restrictions on the Kurdish language and address other issues related to Turkey's largest minority.
Overcoming obstacles

The National Alliance had formally resisted allying with the HDP due to the Turkish nationalist sentiments of many of those involved, particularly the centre-right Iyi Party.

However, supporters of the HDP are widely seen as potential kingmakers in the election and Kilicdaroglu has made numerous appeals to Kurdish and left-wing voters.

Turkey: Leftist leader says Erdogan 'should be put on trial' for earthquake response

Read More »

A report by the independent Medyascope outlet on Wednesday indicated a surge in parliamentary candidate applications for the CHP, a party long associated with Turkish nationalism, in Kurdish-majority cities in Turkey.

The HDP has faced numerous obstacles in the run-up to the elections, which have been set by Erdogan for 14 May.

In March 2021, the chief public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Bekir Sahin, applied to the Constitutional Court for the HDP to be banned, citing its alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The HDP has denied any PKK links and claims the closure case is an attempt by the government to shut down the party.

Dozens of HDP members and officials, including two former co-leaders, are currently in jail in Turkey.

On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court rejected the HDP's request to delay the outcome of the closure case until after the May election.

Morocco: Human rights activists and academics call for an end to normalization with Israel.

March 24, 2023\

A group of activists gather to protest in Rabat, Morocco 

[Abu Adem Muhammed - Anadolu Agency]

March 24, 2023 

Human rights activists, academics and community figures in Morocco yesterday called to stop the normalisation of Rabat with Israel and demanded to sever relations with it.

This comes at a time of increased military, economic and educational agreements linking Morocco and Israel, at a time when Israeli operations against the Palestinian people are escalating.

For several months now, the Israeli army has continued to carry out operations in the northern occupied West Bank, concentrating in the cities of Nablus and Jenin, under the pretext of pursuing wanted persons, resulting in the death, injury, and arrest of dozens of Palestinians.

The signatories of the statement condemned the "military occupation of Palestine" and demanded "to sever any relationship with the Israeli government and any relationship with the apartheid regime occupying Palestine."

"Such decisions will not only put Morocco on the side of justice and international legitimacy but will also respond to the deep aspirations of Moroccans and their historical attachment to the cause of the liberation of Palestine," they said.

The signatories pointed out that the demand to stop normalisation comes considering "the deteriorating situation of the Palestinian issue, positions calling for the extermination of Arabs and the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the extremism of the Israeli government."

In February, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said his country's relationship with Israel "will not affect the relationship with the Palestinian people."

1st hijab-wearing judge join bench at US Court in New Jersey

As the first hijab-wearing judge on the bench, US attorney Nadia Kahf has been appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court, according to local media.

March 24, 2023

US attorney Nadia Kahf has been appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court, becoming the first hijab-wearing judge on the bench, local media reported.

Kahf, who is of Syrian origin, is a law and immigration attorney from the township of Wayne. She took the oath of office yesterday with her hand on a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, according to local news website North Jersey.

She will serve as a Passaic County Superior Court judge after New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy nominated her a year ago, according to local media.

Though Kahf is not the first Muslim woman to serve as a state judge, she is the first to wear a hijab on the bench.

Since 2003, she has sat on the board of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organisation where Kahf now serves as chairwoman.

She is also the legal adviser to Wafa House, a nonprofit domestic violence and social services agency based in the city of Clifton, and chairwoman of the Islamic Centre of Passaic County.

UK: London lights up for Ramadan for the first time ever

To celebrate the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, which is anticipated to begin on Wednesday depending on the sighting of the new moon, Central London's famous West End has been decked with lights for the first time

March 19, 2023


For the first time ever, Central London's iconic West End has been decorated to mark the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, which is expected to commence on Wednesday, pending sighting of the new moon.

London's Coventry Street, which connects two of the city's busiest squares – Piccadilly and Leicester Square has been illuminated with the message "Happy Ramadan" along with lights depicting crescent moons and stars and traditional lanterns known as fanoos which are commonly used to decorate streets across the Middle East for the fasting month, especially in Egypt where they are thought to have originated.

READ: Gaza readies for Ramadan

The West End is already a popular shopping and tourist destination and during Ramadan it isn't uncommon for surge in wealthy Gulf tourists during the fasting month, which has been referred to by the British media as the "Ramadan Rush". London also has the highest concentration of Muslims, with 15 per cent of Londoners describing themselves as Muslim.

The historic decorations come days after the Royal Mint, the UK's oldest company and official maker of coins announced that it had issued a gold-minted bullion, depicting the Kaaba in Islam's holiest site in Makkah.

Algeria's gas vs. rightwing ideology: Will Italy change its position on Jerusalem?

March 19, 2023 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (R) welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) with a ceremony at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy on March 10, 2023. 

[Israeli Gov't Press Office (GPO) -


Dr Ramzy Baroud
March 19, 2023

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Tel Aviv for Rome on 9 March, he was flown to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv by a helicopter because anti-government protesters blocked all the roads around it.

Netanyahu's visit was not met with much enthusiasm in Italy, either. A sit-in was organised by pro-Palestine activists in downtown Rome under the slogan, 'Non sei il benvenuto' – 'You Are Not Welcome'. An Italian translator, Olga Dalia Padoa, also refused to translate his speech at a Rome synagogue, which was scheduled for 9 March.

Even Noemi Di Segni, President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, though unsurprisingly reiterating her love and support for Israel, expressed her concern for Israeli state institutions.

Back in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu's trip to Italy was slammed by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid as "a wasteful and unnecessary weekend on the country's dime." But Netanyahu's trip to Italy had other goals, aside from spending a weekend in Rome or distracting from the ongoing protests in Israel.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, published on 9 March, the Israeli prime minister explained the lofty objectives behind his trip to Italy. "I would like to see more economic cooperation," he said. "We have natural gas: we have plenty of it and I would like to talk about how to bring it to Italy to support its economic growth."

In recent weeks, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has shuttled between several countries in search of lucrative gas contracts. Not only does Meloni want to secure her country's need for energy following the Russia-Ukraine crisis, but she wants Rome to be a major European hub for gas imports and exports. Israel knows this, and is particularly wary that Italy's major gas deals in Algeria on 23 January could undermine Israel's economic and political position in Italy, as Algeria continues to serve as a bulwark of Palestinian solidarity throughout the Middle East and Africa.

READ: Hamas urges Algeria to adopt Palestinian prisoners' issue

Netanyahu had other issues on his mind, aside from gas. "On the strategic front, we will discuss Iran. We must prevent it from going nuclear because its missiles could reach many countries, including Europe, and no one wants to be taken hostage by a fundamentalist regime with a nuclear weapon," Netanyahu said with the usual fear-mongering and stereotypical language pertaining to his enemies in the Middle East.

Netanyahu has two main demands from Italy: not to vote against Israel at the United Nations and, more importantly, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Though East Jerusalem is recognised by the international community as an occupied Palestinian city, Netanyahu wants Rome to change its position, which is consistent with international law, based on the flimsy logic of the "strong and ancient tradition between Rome and Jerusalem."

Using the same logic, that of natural resources and arms exports in exchange for political allegiance to Israel at the UN, Netanyahu has achieved much success in normalising ties between his country and many African nations. Now, he is applying the same modus operandi to Italy, a European power and the world's ninth-largest economy.

Whether this strategy is an outcome of the growing subservience of Europe to Washington and Tel Aviv, or Netanyahu's own failure to appreciate the changing geopolitical dynamics around the world, is a different matter. But what is clear is that Netanyahu has perceived Italy as a country in desperate need of Israeli help. During the meeting with Meloni, Netanyahu promised to make Italy a gas hub for Europe and help Rome solve its water issues, while Meloni, for her part, reiterated that "Israel is a fundamental partner in the Middle East and at a global level."

The most enthusiastic response to Netanyahu's visit, however, came from far-right Italian Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, who strongly backed the Israeli call to recognise Jerusalem as its capital "in the name of peace, history and truth." This response, although inconsistent with Italian foreign policy, was hardly a surprise. The leader of the La Lega Party has often been criticised for his racist language in the past. Salvini, however, was 'reformed' in recent years, especially following a visit to Israel in 2018, where he declared his love for Israel and criticism of Palestinians. It was then that Salvini began rising in the mainstream, as opposed to regional, Italian politics.

OPINION: Palestinians are not liars: confronting the violence of media delegitimisation

But this is not Salvni's position alone. The Italian government welcomed Netanyahu's visit without making a single criticism of his far-right government's extremist policies carried out in Occupied Palestine. While this position is in line with Italian foreign policy, it is hardly surprising from an ideological point of view, as well.

Although Italian politics, in the past, showed great solidarity with the Palestinian people's struggle for liberation and right of self-determination – thanks to the revolutionary forces that had a tremendous impact on shaping the Italian political discourse during World War II and the country's subsequent liberation from fascism – that position shifted throughout the years. As Italy's own politics itself reared towards the Right, its foreign policy agenda in Palestine and Israel completely moved towards a pro-Israel stance. Those now perceived to be pro-Palestine in the Italian government are a few and are often branded as radical politicians.

However, despite the official pro-Israel discourse in Italy, things for Netanyahu are not as easy as they may appear, especially when it comes to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Indeed, Meloni did not express an outright commitment to the Israeli demand. To the contrary, in an interview with Reuters last August, even before becoming Italy's prime minister, Meloni seemed cautious, merely stating that this is "a diplomatic matter and should be evaluated together with the foreign ministry".

There is a reason behind Meloni's hesitation. Italy's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would place Rome outside the consensus of international law. In an open letter to Meloni, United Nations Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, reminded the Italian government that the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would constitute a stark violation of international law.

Italy's foreign policy is also accountable to the collective policies of the European Union, of which Rome is an integral member. The EU supports the UN's position that East Jerusalem is an occupied Palestinian city and that Israel's annexation of the city in 1980 is illegal.

Moreover, Italy's recent landmark deal with Algeria's state-owned gas company, Sonatrach, in January, makes it particularly difficult for Rome to take an extreme position in support of Israel. The delicate geopolitical balances resulting from the gas crisis, itself a direct outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, make any shifts in Italian foreign policy on Palestine and Israel akin to an act of self-harm.

OPINION: The 'principal threat': Time to talk about the Palestinian class struggle

For Italy, at least for now, Arab gas is far more important than anything that Netanyahu could possibly offer. The new Rome-Algiers deal would grant Italy 9bn cubic meters of gas, in addition to the gas supply already flowing through the TransMed pipeline, 'BNE Intellinews' reported. This vital infrastructure connects Algeria to Italy via Sicily which, in turn, flows through pipelines under the Mediterranean Sea. "The expansion of these vital routes has already been planned, aiming to augment the current capacity of 33.5 bcm per year," the business news website added.

Meloni, although a far-right politician with no particular affinity or respect for established international norms, understands that economic interests trump ideology. "Today Algeria is our first gas supplier," Meloni said in a press conference in Algiers after signing the agreement. The deal, she said, would supply the country with "an energy mix that could shield Italy from the ongoing energy crisis."

Such a fact would make it impossible for Italy to deviate, at least for now, from its current position regarding Jerusalem, and the illegality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. While Israel would find it difficult to persuade Italy to change its position, Algeria, Tunisia and other Arab countries might finally find an opening to dissuade Italy from its blind support of Israel.

Israel’s Netanyahu heckled by hundreds of protesters during London visit

Women's rights activists protest during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Britain, London, March 24, 2023. 

© Toby Melville, Reuters

Issued on: 24/03/2023 - 
Text by: NEWS WIRES

Hundreds of protesters rallied Friday outside Downing Street in central London to heckle the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a meeting with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak.

Netanyahu has faced weeks of escalating protests in Israel over his government’s judicial reform programme, which would increase politicians’ power over the courts and critics argue is a threat to democracy.

Demonstrators in the UK capital, many holding Israeli flags and placards critical of the country’s veteran leader, shouted “shame” in Hebrew as he greeted Sunak at the door of 10 Downing Street.

They erected the letters of the word “democracy” on Whitehall opposite the entrance to the gated street, while wielding signs accusing Netanyahu of dragging Israel towards “dictatorship”.

“It’s important to be here because maybe at some point they won’t have the right to protest in Israel,” Dana Drori, a mother-of-two in her 30s, told AFP at the protest, alongside her young daughters.

“It’s anger, it’s sadness,” she said of her emotions. “It’s just hard to believe it’s becoming a dictatorship.”

In a televised address hours before departing for London, Netanyahu pledged to restore unity within his increasingly fractured country, but gave little away about how he would do that while still pursuing the reforms.
‘Strategic ties’

Some of Israel’s allies abroad, including the leaders in the United States and Germany, have raised concerns about the controversial overhaul.

However, Sunak and his ministers have not commented on it.

The UK government released few details about the two-day visit, but Netanyahu’s office said in a statement his meeting with the British leader will “focus on the Iranian issue”.

The pair will discuss “the need to formulate a united international front against Iran in order to stop its nuclear program”, it added.

They are also expected to talk about strengthening bilateral “strategic ties” as well as issues including the war in Ukraine and developments in the Middle East, the statement noted.

Netanyahu is also set to meet hardline interior minister Suella Braverman—who has herself faced stinging criticism over contentious UK plans to deter asylum-seekers—to discuss countering global terrorism.

Further protests by pro-Palestinian groups are expected in central London later Friday, with some Palestinians attending the morning rally.

“As Palestinians from the diaspora we see ourselves at the front line of the fight for a free Palestine and when Netanyahu comes to visit in our backyard we have to protest it,” said one 24-year-old protester, who gave her name only as Yasmine.

(AFP)

Hundreds gather in London to protest Netanyahu's visit to the UK

Groups of people have gathered in the streets of London to protest Netanyahu’s visit to the UK

March 24, 2023 












Hundreds of people gathered outside Downing Street today in the British capital, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met his British counterpart Rishi Sunak.

The protest was called for by the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Stop the War Coalition, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Muslim Association of Britain (MAB).

Since the start of the year, 90 Palestinians – including 17 children and one woman – have been killed across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. With this year being one of the bloodiest for Palestinians in decades, state-sponsored terrorism – such as the recent pogrom in the Palestinian village of Huwara – symbolise a reality whereby thesecurity of Palestinians is increasingly coming under threat.

With Netanyahu at the helm of these developments, the PFB said it was "shocked that he is being welcomed with open arms to the United Kingdom. Netanyahu not only has a long history of human rights violations against Palestinians – including the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, the bombing of Gaza, and the construction of a Separation Wall – but has also been singled out for criticism by Israelis themselves."

There have been calls for the UK to cancel Netanyahu's visit on the basis of his move towards growing authoritarianism and anti-Palestine racism.

"Amidst these developments, the UK – rather than welcome Netanyahu with open arms – should be issuing an arrest warrant for him for the war crimes he has committed against the Palestinian people." said Zaher Birawi, chairman of the PFB.

READ: Israelis and Jews protest against Netanyahu's visit to London