Israel: From a dream to a present shaken to the core


Lisa Hänel

DW

April 25, 2023

The modern state of Israel was founded 75 years ago. To many, it was a story of success and salvation. This year, the commemoration is more political than ever.

Israel's commemoration of the founding of its state traditionally begins with the lighting of 12 torches on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. They stand for the biblical 12 Tribes of Israel. This year, the celebrations are overshadowed by the protest of hundreds of thousands of Israelis against their government's judicial reform plans. It is one of the biggest crises in the country's crisis-ridden history.

The state was founded on May 14, 1948, following the Gregorian calendar. But because the holiday follows the Jewish calendar, this year it falls on the evening of April 25.

In essence, Israel emerged from crisis and was born into crisis. When David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, the Jewish inhabitants of the Holy Land had already been at war with their Arab-Palestinian neighbors for months.

For many Jews, the proclamation of their own state just three years after the Holocaust felt like a release. "The year 1948 is very closely connected with 1945 — on the one hand, we have the end of European Jewry, very clearly marked by the year 1945, and three years later, the founding of the state of Israel, which is, so to speak, the redemption of this annihilation," the Israeli sociologist Natan Sznaider told DW. "It was like a resurrection. I think that's a narrative that's not only official, but also shared by most Israelis: the founding of the state as an almost theological act of liberation," he added.

May 1948 in Tel Aviv: David Ben-Gurion (standing) proclaims the independence of the State of Israel

 AFP/dpa/picture-alliance

Between 1941 and 1945, 6 million European Jews were brutally murdered in the Holocaust, crammed into ghettos, starved, murdered, worked to death, exterminated in German death camps. It was an unprecedented genocide, and an unimaginable crime. If was followed by a possibly unique historical decision: In 1947, the UN General Assembly — with 13 votes against — adopted a partition plan for Palestine, which at the time was still a British mandate territory, providing for the establishment of a Jewish and an Arab state. Jerusalem was to be governed by a special international regime. The Arab side rejected the plan, but Jewish representatives agreed. A civil war ensued, with violence on both sides.
A state of one's own

Although the horrors of the Holocaust contributed considerable momentum to the founding of the state of Israel, the idea of a Jewish homeland goes much further back. The most famous representative of the Zionist idea is Theodor Herzl. In 1896, under the impression of rising antisemitism, especially in France, Herzl wrote "The Jewish State," a pamphlet with very practical ideas for the establishment of a state.

Herzl first explored alternative possibilities to Palestine, but other representatives of the Zionist movement were opposed from the start. They invoked the millennia-old spiritual connection of the Jewish people to Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. "From a Zionist point of view, the Jews are first and foremost a people, a nation, not a religion, and just like other nations, they deserve their homeland and state sovereignty," says Michael Brenner, a historian and current director of the Center for Israel Studies at American University in Washington DC.

Tel Aviv in 1915, six years after the city was founded

World History Archive/picture alliance

The 1917 Balfour Declaration was a diplomatic breakthrough — the British promised to support a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. The declaration was deliberately vague, however, and the British also gave Arabs in Palestine hopes for their own state. As a mandate power, Britain thereby ultimately contributed to the tensions in the region. Several large waves of immigration to Mandatory Palestine followed, often in response to antisemitic persecutions in Europe. In 1909, the city of Tel Aviv was founded on the Mediterranean Sea. The British repeatedly tried to halt immigration, even as Jewish suffering increased after the Nazis had seized power in Germany.

One country, two peoples

Violent exchanges between Jews and Arabs began in Mandatory Palestine as early as the 1920s, for example in Jaffa and Jerusalem. "The basic problem, of course, is that two peoples have a claim to the same land, and both justify that claim historically," says Brenner. After the proclamation of the state of Israel, five Arab armies declared war on the fledgling country. Israel won the war and occupied about 40% of the territory designated for Palestine. As a result, or in some cases even beforehand, some 700,000 Palestinians were expelled and fled the country. In Palestinian discourse, this came to be known as the Nakba, or disaster.

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War was fought between the State of Israel and a military coalition of Arab states

CPA Media Co. Ltd/picture alliance

In 1967, another war shifted the balance of power once again: Since then, Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and largely blockaded the Gaza Strip. Israel faces international criticism for its occupation policy; many governments, including the German government, regard the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories as a breach of international law.

In the 1980s, a generation of New Historians, as they called themselves, established itself in Israel. They "challenged the sacred cows that existed, these basic 'truths' of what shaped official Israel," Brenner says. That included addressing the consequences the establishment of Israel had for Palestinians — to this day, a sensitive and frequently disregarded topic in Israel.

Back to the original idea

"It will probably be the most political Independence Day Israel has ever seen," said Sznaider. For weeks, people have been taking to the streets to demonstrate against a planned judiciary reform. The plans are currently on hold, but the protests continue.

Protesters are currently considering holding a ceremony with torches in Tel Aviv as an alternative to the one in Jerusalem, as a sign that they do not feel represented by the current right-wing religious government, and want a different future for their state.

"There will be two Independence Days at the same time," Sznaider concluded.

Both sides consider themselves positioned in the tradition of Israel's founding fathers and mothers. Among Zionists, there have always also been religious Zionists. Today's settler movement in the occupied territories also sees itself as a successor movement to the settlement of the land in the 1920s. "They try to present themselves as a kind of super-Zionists, attempting to complete the plans of the originally secular Zionist movement, which was also left-wing and Social Democratic," said Brenner.

The protesters take a different point of view. Each week, demonstrators deliberately refer to the founding ideas of the Jewish state as they wave Israel's flag and invoke its Declaration of Independence.

The protests have been going on for monthsImage: Ilan Rosenberg/REUTERS

They insist on Israel's democratic origins, on a free country under the rule of law for all its citizens. As Israeli historian Tom Segev once said in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine: "David Ben Gurion would probably be beside himself" if he knew what point Israeli society has reached.

Tensions that have always existed within the Zionist movement are coming to bear in Israel at the moment, Brenner said. "Many of the divisions in Israeli society go back to the early days, and perhaps it's a small miracle that it took 75 years for them to erupt so strongly," the historian explained.

At every protest, tens of thousands of protesters sing Hatikva, the Israeli anthem. "One of the verses of the national anthem is about being a free people in their own land," Sznaider said. "At the moment, however, there are two definitions of what exactly it means to be a free people in one's own land."

This article was originally written in German.

Climate change: How can we make flying greener?


Gero Rueter

DW

April 25, 2023

Biofuels, alternative flight routes and newer, green aircraft technology can make flying better for the environment. How close are we to introducing these climate-friendly alternatives?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the global aviation sector was flying high in 2019, it contributed almost 6% of the planet-warming greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. A year later, with the industry crippled by pandemic-related flight cancellations, that figure had dropped by 43%. Last year, it was still 37% lower.

But air traffic has been steadily increasing, according to industry body the International Air Transport Association.

Greenhouse gas emissions are rising too. In response, the European Parliament has announced a proposal to introduce environmental labels for air travel from 2025. The system would serve to inform passengers about the climate footprint of their flights.

Carbon dioxide accounts for only about a third of the global warming effect attributed to air travel. Two-thirds is caused by other factors, most significantly the condensation trails, or contrails, aircraft leave behind.

Alternative flight routes could prevent contrails

Contrails — those narrow, white clouds that trace an airplane's path through the sky — are formed when jet fuel, which contains kerosene, burns. At the average cruising altitude of between 8,000 to 12,000 meters (around 26,000 to 40,000 feet), low temperatures cause water vapor to condense around the soot and sulfur left behind by jet emissions. The resulting ice crystals can remain suspended in the air for hours.

Contrails trap heat in the atmosphere, much like in a greenhouse, greatly amplifying the impact of flying on the world's climate. Recent studies have shown that contrails are around 1.7 times more damaging than CO2 emissions, when it comes to global warming.

Contrails, which can linger for hours, trap heat in the atmosphere

Image: Ohde/Bildagentur-online/picture alliance

On the plus side, contrails are relatively easy to avoid. Using satellite data, flight planners can optimize aircraft routes to avoid weather patterns that favor the formation of contrails. Pilots can also fly their jets 500 to 1,000 meters lower, for example, where temperatures aren't as cold.

"It doesn't require much effort to make these changes," said Markus Fischer, divisional director at the German Aerospace Center, adding that it would mean between 1 to 5% more fuel and flight time. However, he told DW, that would result in a 30 to 80% reduction in the warming effect caused by factors other than CO2, he said.

The European Union aims to include these non-CO2 climate effects in future European emissions trading agreements. Airlines will have to start reporting such pollutants from 2025, according to a preliminary agreement in the European Parliament.

Producing e-kerosene with green energy

Burning kerosene derived from petroleum produces lots of CO2 and, at high altitudes, other greenhouse gases such as ozone. The CO2-free alternative is e-kerosene.

E-kerosene can be produced in a climate-neutral way using green electricity, water and CO2 extracted from the air. First, hydrogen is generated using a process involving electrolysis, and then CO2 is added to produce synthetic e-kerosene.

The problem is that to be cost-effective, e-kerosene needs to be made with plenty of solar and wind power — and so far, there isn't enough of this renewable energy. New production plants for green hydrogen, CO2 direct air capture and synthetic fuels must also be built.

The EU is pushing for at least 2% of aviation fuels to be environmentally friendly by 2025, increasing every five years to reach 70% by 2050. The proposal is yet to be passed.

Biokerosene can be produced from plants like rapeseed

Image: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/picture alliance

Could planes be powered with cooking oil?

Another option for planes is to refuel with biokerosene, which can be made from rapeseed, jatropha seeds or old cooking oil. Small-scale production plants already exist, but producers would need to greatly expand capacity to keep up with demand. Intensive production of biokerosene is also limited by the scarcity of arable land — the use of which is itself controversial, as it prevents take space needed for growing food.

Under a European Commission proposal, biofuels and e-kerosene would be mixed with conventional fossil kerosene from 2025. The share of biofuels in the mix would then rise by 2% per year, to reach 63% by 2050. The European Parliament has set a goal of 85% by mid-century.
Battery-powered short-haul flights on the horizon

With electric engines and batteries, flights could avoid producing direct emissions or heat-trapping contrails. But current batteries are too heavy and have insufficient storage capacity, limiting planes to short distances of just a few hundred kilometers.

This all-electric jet from Eviation Aircraft is expected to have a range of 445 kilometers

Image: Eviation Aircraft

Several companies are in the process of tinkering with battery and aircraft optimization. Israeli manufacturer Eviation Aircraft, for example, is building an all-electric jet with seating for nine passengers. The private aircraft is expected to have a range of 445 kilometers and a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour (about 250 miles per hour).

Norway is aiming to launch the first regularly scheduled electric flight service in less than three years. The country plans to connect the coastal cities of Bergen and Stavanger, some 160 kilometers apart, with a flight served by a battery-powered aircraft with space for 12 passengers from 2026.

Electromobility revolution takes to the skies 01:55

Hydrogen aircraft show promise, but not ready

Smaller airplanes that run on hydrogen have recently been in the spotlight. These aircraft use hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity and efficiently power the plane's propellers. The jet engines on long-haul aircraft can also run on hydrogen but would be less efficient.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is planning to launch a hydrogen-powered passenger plane by 2035. These aircraft could account for more than 30% of global air traffic by 2050, according to a study by global consulting firm McKinsey.

But hydrogen-powered aircraft continue to pose numerous challenges. The volatile gas only becomes liquid at minus 253 degrees Celsius (minus 423 Fahrenheit), and must be stored under high pressure in special tanks. That means extra space and weight requirements for airplanes, and those plans have yet to be developed. In addition, airports will need to develop new refueling infrastructure for hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Hydrogen — fuel of the future? 09:00

One sure way to reduce emissions: Fly less

Even in the most optimistic scenarios, air travel won't be completely free of emissions by 2050. Experts believe that if the industry implements ambitious restructuring plans — completely replacing standard jet fuel with green hydrogen and e-kerosene, and rerouting planes to prevent contrails — it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%.

However, a recent study in the scientific journal Nature noted that even a complete switch to e-kerosene would still result in a residual negative effect on the climate. Therefore, avoiding all but necessary flights and giving preference to climate-friendly modes of transportation remains key, said the UBA, Germany's federal environment agency.

Choosing climate-friendly transportation over flying can help reduce emissions

Image: Flighttracker

Aviation experts have also stressed the need for new, lightweight airplanes with optimized wings, the use of propellers instead of jet engines and reducing airspeed. They point out that these measures could reduce fuel use by around 50%, compared to today.

Integrating environmental costs into the price of airline tickets would help to implement all these measures, said European clean transport campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E). Airlines currently pay nothing to account for their contribution to the climate crisis. Including environmental costs in air fares would be a fair way to promote a restructuring of the aviation industry and would make it easier to switch to climate-friendly modes of transport, according to T&E.

This article was originally published in German.

What now for Germany's remaining nuclear waste?

Jens Thurau

DW

April 25, 2023

Germany's nuclear power might be gone, but nuclear waste isn't going anywhere. The search for a location for a final repository remains a challenge

Nuclear energy in Germany has been history since mid-April. At one time, up to 20 nuclear power plants fed electricity into the German grid. But all that is over now. The last three nuclear power plants ended their operations on April 15.

To Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke of the Green Party, the date marks a new dawn: "I think we should now put all our energy into pushing forward photovoltaics, wind power storage, energy saving, and energy efficiency, and stop these backward-looking debates," she said in a recent radio interview.

April 15 also effectively ended a decadeslong political dispute in Germany. In light of the tense situation on the energy market due to Russia's war in Ukraine, there are still voices demanding that nuclear power be extended

The waste issue

And yet, the issue of nuclear energy will linger for Germany for some time yet, as the reactors still have to be dismantled, and the final disposal of the radioactive nuclear waste has not yet been clarified.

Like almost all other countries that have operated, or continue to operate nuclear power plants, Germany has yet to find a place to safely store the spent fuel. Currently, Germany's nuclear waste is in interim storage at the sites of abandoned power plants, but the law requires that nuclear waste be safely stored in underground repositories for several millennia.

"The interim storage facilities are designed to last for quite some time," Wolfram König, president of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE), told DW. "They are supposed to bridge the time until a final repository is available. … What we are looking for is geological depth, a suitable layer of salt, in granite or in clay rock, which will ensure that no radioactive substances reach the surface again for an indefinitely long period of time."

Environment minister Steffi Lemke thinks it's time to move on

Image: Hiro Komae/AP Photo/picture alliance

Location, location, location

That's a principle that Germany shares with all of the 30 or so countries that still operate, or have operated nuclear power plants in the past: Radioactive waste is to be disposed of underground. But where exactly? For a long time, Gorleben, located in the Wendland region of Lower Saxony, northeastern Germany, was the site most favored by politicians looking for an underground repository for nuclear waste.

But Gorleben became the location of fierce protests against nuclear energy, so politicians decided a few years ago to abandon the site. Now, the search is on throughout Germany, with more than 90 possible sites under consideration. "We can and must assume that the search process in Germany, with the construction of a final repository, will take approximately as long as we have used nuclear energy, namely 60 years," König said.

Meanwhile, the dismantling of Germany's 20 or so nuclear power plants that have been built will also take time. That, according to König, is the responsibility of their operators, who estimate it could take between 10 and 15 years.

The Gorleben nuclear waste site was eventually abandoned after several years of protests, one of which was pictured nearby in 2011

Image: BREUEL-BILD/picture alliance

A worldwide headache

So far, reactors have been shut down in Italy, Kazakhstan, and Lithuania, while other countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Belarus, are building new nuclear plants.

But the permanent, safe storage of radioactive waste is an unresolved issue everywhere.

Finland is furthest along in its planning. In a report by German public broadcaster ARD, Vesa Lakaniemi, administrative head in the municipality of Eurajoki, southern Finland, talked about the construction of the final storage facility for nuclear waste in his town: "Whoever profits from electricity must also take responsibility for the waste. And that's how it is in Finland." The estimated construction costs for the Eurajoki repository is €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion).

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are currently 422 nuclear reactors in operation worldwide, with an average age of about 31 years. The recent "World Nuclear Industry Status Report" said that, despite a few countries building new nuclear power stations, there was no evidence of a "nuclear renaissance." In 1996, some 17.5% of the world's energy was produced in nuclear reactors — in 2021 it was below 10%. Nevertheless, the radioactive legacy will keep Germany preoccupied for many years to come.

EU members approve carbon market scheme, other climate laws

DW

April 25, 2023

EU countries have given the final sign-off for a series of new climate change-related laws, which seek to create financial incentives for keeping emissions in check, and penalties for failing to do so.

The 27 member states in the EU on Tuesday approved a revamp to the bloc's so-called carbon market, which is set to make it more costly to pollute for businesses in Europe, sharpening the main tool the EU has to discourage carbon dioxide emissions in the industrial sector.

The changes to the EU's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), more commonly called the bloc's carbon market, are one of five new laws given final approval on Tuesday after being proposed by the European Commission and after a favorable vote at the European Parliament last week.

The approval was announced amid a meeting of the bloc's environment ministers in Brussels.

 
What is the carbon market?

Since 2005, European factories and power plants have had to purchase permits to cover their CO2 emissions, with the prices becoming more prohibitive as their usage increases against norms for their sectors.

The idea is to create financial incentives for keeping emissions in check, and penalties for failing to — and to generate funds for climate-related projects.

It applies to power-generation industries, energy-intensive industries and the aviation sector. Eventually it will be expanded to cover greenhouse gases other than CO2, such as methane and nitrogen oxides.

The law's existence has coincided with emissions from those sectors falling by 43% in the EU but what share of that might be correlation and what share might be coincidence is harder to ascertain, amid various partially-related breakthroughs helping to limit emissions.

The changes will set more stringent targets and tougher penalties as time passes.

"The new rules increase the overall ambition of emissions reductions by 2030 in the sectors covered by the EU ETS to 62% compared to 2005 levels," the EU said of the changes.

Scientists present landmark global warming report  01:55

The free permits granted to companies for lower levels of emissions will be gradually phased out, by 2034 for heavy industries and by 2026 for the aviation sector, for instance.

There had been some resistance to the changes within the bloc, which are roughly two years in the making.

Only 23 of 27 EU members voted in favor; Poland and Hungary opposed it, Belgium and Bulgaria abstained.

Critics like Poland had argued that the targets were too ambitious and would place an unfair strain on industry.

Some EU policies and laws — international sanctions are one example of current relevance amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine — require unanimous approval from member states, but for most a qualified majority vote suffices.

What else was approved?

The changes to the ETS are part of the EU's "Fit for 55" package of climate plans, a reference to its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 compared with a 1990 benchmark.

Four more alterations were approved on Tuesday.

The first is a plan to incorporate parts of the shipping industry into the ETS, meaning they too will need to buy permits to cover their emissions at times.

A new, separate ETS will be established for the buildings and road transport sectors and some others, mainly small industry according to the EU.

Changes specifically tailored to the aviation sector were also approved.

The EU will also introduce what it calls its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which concerns products imported from outside the EU for carbon-intensive industries.

According to the EU, its aim is "to prevent ... that the greenhouse gas reduction efforts of the EU are offset by increasing emissions outside its borders through the relocation of production to countries where policies applied to fight climate change are less ambitious than those of the EU."

Finally, the EU is setting up what it calls a Social Climate Fund.

It "will be used by member states to finance measures and investments to support vulnerable households, micro-enterprises and transport users and help them cope with the price impacts of an emissions trading system for the buildings, road transport and additional sectors," the EU said.

The bulk of the funds would hail from the carbon market revenues generated by the ETS, Brussels said, with member states contributing the rest.

msh/jcg (AFP, Reuters)

RIP
US singer Harry Belafonte dies at the age of 96

DW

April 25, 2023

Belafonte was one of the few Black singers who achieved success in the 1950s in the US.

Singer, actor and civil rights campaigner Harry Belafonte died on Tuesday at the age of 96, the US media reported.

He died of congestive heart failure while in his New York home with his wife Pamela by his side, according to his public relations firm.

Belafonte was born in Harlem to a Jamaican mother and a father from the French territory of Martinique. He became a superstar entertainer who introduced a Caribbean flair to mainstream US music.

He gained fame for hits such as "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)," selling millions of records throughout his career. He was one of the first Black artists to succeed against the backdrop of segregation.

But he also dedicated much of his time, and money, to pursuing civil rights. He was a close friend to Martin Luther King Jr and his family.

Harry Belafonte: A legend's life in pictures

He became a world star with his version of "The Banana Boat Song" in the 1950s. The "King of Calypso," who died at the age of 96, was not only a gifted entertainer, he was also deeply committed to human rights.

Sounds from the Caribbean

His tunes are known around the world: "The Banana Boat Song" with its cheerful "Day-O," or "Matilda," about a girl who steals money from a young man before disappearing to Venezuela, as well as the Caribbean love song "Island in the Sun." Thanks to these popular songs, entire generations know

13 images

Everett Collection/picture alliance

The 'King of Calypso'
In 1956, Belafonte had his breakthrough in pop music with the album "Calypso." Critics accused him of mixing calypso music with jazz and folk elements to create a canned pop sound. But Belafonte just laughed off the bad reviews, inviting his critics to a debate instead: "Anyone who tries to stop me with nonsense about what is or isn't commercial is in for a fight."

As news of Belafonte's death spread, tributes came from all sections of society, from fellow artists, politicians and even prominent CEOs.

Martin Luther King's daughter Bernice wrote on Twitter that the singer was very compassionate towards her family and even paid for babysitting her and her siblings.



US Senator Bernie Sanders said that Belafonte was not only a great entertainer, but also "a courageous leader in the fight against racism and worker oppression."

"Jane and I were privileged to consider him a friend and will miss him very much," Sanders said.

Ex-US President Barack Obama called Belafonte "a barrier-breaking legend who used his platform to lift others up."



"Michelle and I send our love to his wife, kids, and fans," Obama added.

American actress Mia Farrow also remembered Belafonte as a beautiful singer and "a brilliant and brave civil rights activist, a deeply moral and caring man."

Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the world has lost a true giant today. "Harry Belafonte was a barrier breaker who helped reshape our world through his civil rights advocacy, his music, and his acting," he wrote on Twitter.

dh, ab/jcg (Reuters, AFP)

HEGEMONIC THREAT TO NK

US nuclear sub to dock in South Korea

DW

April 25, 2023

A US nuclear submarine is to visit South Korea, with leaders set to announce a reinforced nuclear shield for the Asian country, Biden officials say. The move comes amid aggressive nuclear posturing by the North.

A US nuclear missile submarine will soon visit South Korea for the first time since the early 1980s, senior US officials said on Wednesday.

The announcement comes as US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol are set to reveal details of enhanced military cooperation in response to North Korea's missile tests and growing nuclear arsenal.

What else has been said?

An official said the measures to be announced at the White House were unprecedented in recent years and were being taken in response to the North Korean threat.

"The United States has not taken these steps, really, since the height of the Cold War with our very closest handful of allies in Europe. And we are seeking to ensure that by undertaking these new procedures, these new steps, that our commitment to extended deterrence is unquestionable," the senior official said.

Biden and Yoon are to present a document called the Washington Declaration that will outline details of the enhanced US military protection for South Korea.

Among other things, Washington also plans to increase information sharing with Seoul.

However, officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that no US nuclear weapons were to be deployed to South Korea and that Seoul would reconfirm its commitment to not seek a nuclear arsenal itself.

During the Cold War, the US did station nuclear weapons in allied countries in Europe.

It also had hundreds of nuclear warheads in South Korea, but withdrew all of its nuclear weapons in 1991 as Cold War tensions eased.

In 1992, both Seoul and Pyongyang signed a joint declaration pledging that they would not "test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons."

North Korea has since regularly violated that commitment.

tj/wd (AFP, AP)

German intelligence classifies AfD youth wing as 'extremist'



DW- TODAY

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution had been monitoring the Young Alternatives for suspected right-wing extremism since 2019. This has now been upgraded to a confirmed case of extremism.

https://p.dw.com/p/4QZpm

Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has reclassified the far-right Alternative for Germany party's (AfD) youth wing as an extremist entity that threatens democracy, it said on Wednesday.

The domestic spy agency began monitoring the Young Alternatives organization for suspected extremism in 2019, but it will now be monitored as a confirmed case of right-wing extremism.

It said the the group "propagates a racial concept of society based on basic biologistic assumptions."
Other groups classified as extremist

Also mentioned in Wednesday's announcement were two other groups that would now be classified as extremist entities: the Institute for State Policy and the One Percent group.

There is no longer any doubt that these three associations of persons are pursuing anti-constitutional endeavors," said Thomas Haldenwang, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).

"They are therefore classified and processed by the BfV as confirmed right-wing extremist endeavors."
AfD entering the mainstream

The news could be a blow for the AfD, which was recently polling at around 15-17%, just a few percentage points behind the Greens and the ruling Social Democrats (SPD).

The party began in 2013 as an anti-euro party but has shifted further to the right on issues like migration to become Germany's most successful far-right party since World War II.

More recently it has capitalized on voter anger over rising energy prices in the wake of sanctions on Russia.

zc/wd (dpa, Reuters)

GOP sets up showdown with head of teachers union

THEIR FAVORITE BOOGIE WOMAN

BY LEXI LONAS - 04/26/23 

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten addresses reporters during a press conference on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 to discuss the American Teacher Act.

A fight between Republicans and teachers unions three years in the making will come to a head Wednesday as GOP members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic laser in on American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten.

Weingarten will be the sole witness to appear at the 2 p.m. hearing, which Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) has said will “delve into the role Ms. Weingarten and the AFT played in editing the CDC’s school reopening guidance and keeping schools closed longer than necessary.”


Wenstrup was referring to the “Operational Strategy for K-12 Through Phased Mitigation” guidance the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released during the height of the pandemic that made suggestions on how and when schools should reopen for in-person learning.

Weingarten, Wenstrup said, “may have jeopardized the well-being of our nation’s children during the COVID-19 pandemic. If so, she should be held accountable.”

The hearing will not be the first time tension between Republicans and teachers unions has bubbled to the surface, with the GOP’s embrace of school choice and the traditional Democratic support for the unions causing strife for years.

Republican members will no doubt take the opportunity to voice a number of grievances with teachers unions at the hearing, which itself has been a long time coming.

Almost two years ago, Americans for Public Trust released emails they received from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that showed communications between AFT and the CDC regarding the guidance, infuriating the GOP.

“We are grateful for the agency’s effort to bring some measure of organization and framework to guidance. We are likewise grateful for the inclusion of some of the mitigation efforts we have been calling for since last year,” read an email from AFT to the CDC. “It is our hope that we can be engaged early in the process moving forward, as we believe our experiences on the ground can inform and enrich thinking around what is practicable and prudent in future guidance documents.”

The correspondence showed Weingarten joined a call with CDC officials, and the CDC said in emails they accepted some of the suggestions from AFT on the guidance.

Since the release of the documents, Republicans have blamed AFT and other teachers unions for keeping students out of in-person classes, saying their suggestions to the guidance are the reason schools did not open quicker.

AFT, along with others, did get an advanced look at the guidance with the ability to make suggestions. Wenstrup sent out letters to 14 nongovernmental organizations the CDC worked with on its guidance asking about communications between the groups.

AFT, however, argues Republicans have blown the influence its union had out of proportion and that the few changes the CDC accepted from it did not have any effect on school closures.

AFT counsel Michael Bromwich, a high-profile attorney who has represented former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe and now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, sent a letter to Wenstrup last week detailing the “false and misleading claims” Republicans have made.

The only proposal changes the CDC approved from AFT, according to Bromwich, was the guidance should encourage schools to provide accommodations for teachers at high risk for COVID-19 and language that said guidance might have to be updated if a new variant caused transmissions to spike.

“During the call, the AFT promised to send the CDC proposed language to consider related to accommodations for high-risk educators and staff, which a senior AFT staff member sent to the CDC on February 1, 2021,” Bromwich said.

Bromwich argued it would have been “irresponsible” for the CDC not to consult with AFT on any of the guidance, since the teachers union has 1.7 million members.

Republicans on the subcommittee dismissed the letter last week.

“A letter is like a free throw, no one is playing defense. Next week, Ms. Weingarten will be under oath. The Select Subcommittee appreciates AFT foreshadowing her testimony, and we look forward to discussing it on Wednesday,” a subcommittee spokesperson said.

Weingarten has already submitted her written opening testimony, reiterating much of what Bromwich said in the letter to the committee.

The union leader also spends much of the testimony talking about how she was pushing for school reopenings since 2020, pointing to news articles written about her efforts and AFT’s school reopening plan released in May 2020.

“We did all this work… yet Chairman Wenstrup, you and this Subcommittee are focusing on a few sentences in the CDC’s 38-page Operational Strategy. Not the relentless efforts and numerous steps the AFT took to reopen schools safely,” Weingarten said in the submitted testimony.

This hearing is a sequel: Part one last month examined the general consequences of school closures during the pandemic. The topic ended up becoming a debate over who was to blame for the prolonged closures, with Republicans pointing the finger at teachers unions while Democrats said it was the fault of the Trump administration in handling the pandemic. 

In her testimony, Weingarten is set to reiterate the Democrats’ point during the last hearing, blaming the policies of the Trump administration for schools having to be closed because they weren’t supported in safe practices to reopen.

“It is offensive to suggest, as your letter does, that our agenda was otherwise—to keep schools closed. We are schoolteachers, school nurses and school-related personnel. We teach children, and we believe kids need to be in school. In school buildings,” she plans to say.

“And it is even more offensive to suggest that our views at any time were shaped by considerations other than our profound desire and duty to protect children and their educators from the ravages of COVID-19.”

Sanders forgoes 2024 bid, endorses Biden

BY AL WEAVER - 04/25/23 THE HILL

Annabelle Gordon
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is seen during a nomination hearing for Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su to be Secretary of Labor on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that he is supporting President Biden’s reelection in 2024 and is foregoing a third presidential bid.

Sanders, who finished second to Biden in 2020 for the Democratic presidential nomination, made the announcement hours after Biden announced his bid for a second White House term. He also discouraged any progressive politician or individual from challenging the incumbent president, asking them to train their focus on defeating former President Trump or another eventual GOP nominee.

“The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman’s right to choose, or not address the crisis of gun violence, or racism, sexism or homophobia,” Sanders told The Associated Press in an interview. “So I’m in to do what I can to make sure that the president is reelected.”

“People will do what they want to do,” Sanders said about a possible progressive challenger to the president. “I think Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee. And my job, and I think the progressive movement’s job, is to make certain that he stands up and fights for the working class of this country and does not take anything for granted.”

Sanders had left the door open to a 2024 campaign for much of the past year, largely in case Biden, 80, declined to seek a second term. Biden has for months teased that he would seek four more years in office, but he waited until Tuesday to make that call official. Transgender lawmaker in Montana faces censure or expulsionWoman pleads guilty in ‘Killer Clown’ case

The decision also means that Sanders, 81, will not seek the presidency again. Sanders, who also finished second to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race for the Democratic nod, said running for the presidency was “a wonderful privilege.”

“I enjoyed it very much, and I hope we had some impact on the nature of American politics. But right now, my job is to do what I can as chairman of the [Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee], to see Biden gets reelected and to see what I can do to help transform policy in America to help protect the needs of workers,” he told the AP.

Sanders is up for reelection for a fourth term in 2024, but he has yet to announce his plans.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to take on new role at Harvard

BY JULIA MUELLER - 04/25/23

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, July 8, 2022. New Zealand’s arts council has decided to stop funding an organization that each year hosts Shakespeare festivals and competitions for thousands of teens and Ardern, who participated in the festival herself as a teenager, said Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, that she disagrees with the decision. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Tuesday that she’ll join Harvard University for a semester as she takes on two fellowships after exiting her country’s Parliament.

Ardern said she’s “incredibly humbled” to join Harvard Kennedy School as its 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and as a Hauser Leader at the school’s Center for Public Leadership.

“Jacinda Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership,” Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said in a statement Tuesday. “She earned respect far beyond the shores of her country, and she will bring important insights for our students and will generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders at all levels.”

The ex-prime minister will also work with the Berkman Klein Center at the Harvard Law School as its first Knight Tech Governance Leadership Fellow, the school said.

“It’s rare and precious for a head of state to be able to immerse deeply in a complex and fast-moving digital policy issue both during and after their service,” said Professor Jonathan Zittrain, the co-founder and faculty director of Berkman Klein Center, in a statement.

Ardern said the center has been “an incredibly important partner” as New Zealand worked to address violent extremism online after a white supremacist shooter killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand’s Christchurch in 2019.

“While I’ll be gone for a semester (helpfully the one that falls during the NZ general election!) I’ll be coming back at the end of the fellowships. After all, New Zealand is home!” Ardern said in an Instagram post.

After more than five years as prime minister, Ardern announced her resignation in January — several months before New Zealand’s general election later this year — saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” to continue leading the island nation.