Rumbling Middle East fault lines make this Israel-Gaza war different

Jeremy Bowen - BBC international editor
Mon, November 13, 2023 

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in the southern Gaza Strip last week

If this Gaza war was like all the others, a ceasefire would probably have been in force by now.

The dead would be buried and Israel would be arguing with the United Nations about how much cement could come into Gaza for rebuilding.

But this war is not like that. It is not just because of the enormity of the killing, first by Hamas on 7 October, mostly of Israeli civilians, followed by Israel's "mighty vengeance" as its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it, which has mostly killed Palestinian civilians.

This war is different to the others because it comes at a time when the fault lines that divide the Middle East are rumbling. For at least two decades, the most serious rift in the region's fractured geopolitical landscape has been between the friends and allies of Iran, and the friends and allies of the United States.

The core of Iran's network, sometimes called the "axis of resistance", is made up of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis in Yemen and assorted Iraqi militias that are armed and trained by Iran. The Iranians have also supported Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Iran is also getting closer to Russia and China. Iran has become a significant part of Russia's war effort in Ukraine. China buys a great deal of Iranian oil.

The longer the war in Gaza goes on, and as Israel kills more Palestinian civilians and destroys tens of thousands of homes, the greater the risk of conflict involving some members of those two camps.

The border between Israel and Lebanon is heating up, slowly and steadily. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah want a full-scale war. But as they trade increasingly heavy punches, the risks of uncontrolled escalation will grow.

The Houthis in Yemen have been launching missiles and drones towards Israel. They have all been brought down, so far, by Israel's air defences or by US Navy warships in the Red Sea.

In Iraq, militias supported by Iran have attacked American bases. The US retaliated at some of their sites in Syria. Again, all sides are trying to limit escalation, but controlling the tempo of military action is always difficult.

On America's side are Israel, the Gulf oil states, Jordan and Egypt. The US continues to give strong support to Israel, even though it is clear that President Joe Biden is uncomfortable about the way Israel is killing so many Palestinian civilians. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has said publicly that too many Palestinian civilians are being killed.

America's Arab allies have all condemned what Israel is doing and called for a ceasefire. The sight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes in northern Gaza and walking down the main road south raises the ghosts of Israel's victory over the Arabs in its independence war in 1948.

More than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes at gunpoint by the Israelis, events referred to by Palestinians as al Nakba - the catastrophe. The descendants of the 1948 refugees include much of the population of the Gaza Strip.

Dangerous talk by some of the extreme Jewish nationalists who are supporting the government of Benjamin Netanyahu about imposing another Nakba on Palestinians is alarming Arab states in America's camp, particularly Jordan and Egypt. One minister in Netanyahu's government even mused about dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to deal with Hamas. He was reprimanded but not sacked.

All that can be dismissed as the ravings of the lunatic fringe, but it is being taken seriously in Jordan and Egypt. Not nuclear weapons, of which Israel has a large and undeclared arsenal, but the prospect of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians being forced over their borders.

As for the war itself in Gaza, senior western diplomats from countries that are firm allies of Israel's allies, told the BBC that ending the war, and dealing with the aftermath will be "difficult and messy".

One said that "the only way through will be rebuilding a political horizon for Palestinians". That was a reference to an independent Palestine alongside Israel, the so called two-state solution, a failed idea that survives only as a slogan.

Reviving it, perhaps in the context of a wider accommodation between Israel and the Arabs, is an ambitious plan, and perhaps the best idea around. But in the current atmosphere of pain, alarm and hatred it will be very difficult to deliver.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will have "overall security responsibility" for the Gaza Strip "for an indefinite period"

It won't happen under the current leaderships of both Palestinians and Israelis.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has not revealed his plan for the day after the fighting ends in Gaza, but he has rejected America's idea of installing a government led by the Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and ejected by Hamas from Gaza in 2007.

The second part of the American plan is for negotiations on a two-state solution, something that Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed throughout his political life.

Not only is Mr Netanyahu against independence for the Palestinians. His survival as prime minister depends on support from Jewish extremists who believe the entire territory between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean was given to the Jewish people by God and should all be inside Israel's borders.

Many Israelis want him out, blaming him for the security and intelligence failures that allowed the attacks of 7 October to happen.

The Palestinian President Abbas is in his late 80s and is discredited in the eyes of potential voters, though he has not subjected himself to the ballot box since 2005. The Palestinian Authority cooperates with Israel on security in the West Bank but cannot protect its own people from armed Jewish settlers.

Leaderships change, eventually. If this terrible war in Gaza doesn't force the Israelis, Palestinians and their powerful friends to try again to make peace, then the only future is more war.

Newport Beach student suspended for remarks to another student, including "Free Palestine"

Ruben Vives
Sat, November 11, 2023 

Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A Corona Del Mar Middle and High School student was suspended this week for remarks made to another student that included the words "Free Palestine," according to school officials and social media posts.

Annette Franco, a spokeswoman for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, confirmed that the student was suspended but declined to provide any details. She emphasized in an email to the Times that students are not disciplined for exercising their right to free speech.

"While we cannot share specifics of the situation, due to student privacy, we assure you that appropriate action was taken based on the facts of what occurred," she wrote in a statement. "We value students freedom of speech, but we will not tolerate hateful speech in our schools, especially not hate speech that incites others to engage in this negative behavior."

The incident comes about a month after swastikas were tagged on the locker of a Jewish student, and after Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, sparking an ongoing war that has left 1,200 Israelis and 11,000 Palestinians dead. Authorities are investigating the swastika incident as a hate crime.

The family of the student in the recent incident could not be reached for comment Saturday. But a woman identifying herself as Zeina on Instagram claimed she was the student's aunt. In her post, she provided details about the incident with a photo of the suspension letter written by Jacob Haley, the principal at Corona Del Mar Middle and High School.

In the suspension letter, the student is accused of violating two education codes that prohibits students from harassing and threatening other students. The letter read: "The incident that caused this suspension follows: [the student] said threatening remarks to a young lady in class. He said 'Free Palestine'."

The student, whom The Times is not naming because he is a minor, was suspended for three days.

In the Instagram post, the woman claimed her 13-year-old nephew had been called a "terrorist" by the female student and that her nephew responded by repeatedly saying, "Free Palestine".

The woman claimed it wasn't the first time her nephew had been harassed at school.

"Two weeks ago [he] was threatened with hate and racism comments by two Israeli students," she wrote in her post. "The Israeli students told him go back to your country which is [Palestine] and started laughing, saying oh too bad you don’t have a country it’s getting bombed."

The woman said her sister reported it to the principal who told her he would speak to the two boys and that neither of them got suspended. In the same social media post, the woman also took video and photos of a book on Israel that was sitting on the principal's desk, accusing him of being biased.

Franco, the spokeswoman for the district, did not know if the two students in the most recent incident were suspended.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Norway urges Israel to release full Palestinian tax transfer

Mon, November 13, 2023 

 World leaders address the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City


By Gwladys Fouche

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere urged Israel on Monday to release the full tax transfer it is withholding from the Palestinian Authority (PA), saying the payment was "critical" for the welfare the Palestinian population.

Norway is the chair of the international donor group to the Palestinian territories, known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee. It was a facilitator in the 1992-93 talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to the Oslo Accords providing for limited Palestinian self-rule.

On Nov. 2, Israel said it would proceed with a tax revenue transfer to the PA in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but would withhold funds bound for Hamas-ruled Gaza, where the PA helps cover public sector wages and pay for electricity.

Israel's decision came after an internal cabinet debate over whether to make the transfer as Israel battles Hamas militants that rule the Gaza Strip.

On Nov. 6, the PA said it would not accept a partial transfer from Israel. It is estimated to spend some 30% of its budget in Gaza, where it also pays for medicine and social assistance programmes.

"We call on Israel to maintain the agreed transfer of what is Palestinian value creation, because these are taxes and VAT and financial sources (of income)," Stoere told Reuters in an interview in Oslo.

The tax transfer helped deliver essential services in Gaza and in the West Bank, he said, so withholding it was "directly affecting the welfare and health of the Palestinian population".

"Norway has been very clear that any development towards (the) breakdown of the PA will only serve the extremist forces on the Palestinian side," he added.

Stoere did not say how much the withholding of money was worth but said it was "a substantial amount".

The Western-backed PA exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank but does not administer Gaza, where Islamist rival Hamas seized control in a brief civil war in 2007. The PA still has thousands of Gaza civil servants on its payroll.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Christina Fincher)

Raised to see Israel as a ‘Jewish Disneyland’, two US film-makers are telling a different story

Sam Wolfson
Sun, November 12, 2023 

Erin Axelman was a fervent Zionist by the time they reached high school in the late 2000s. For their bat mitzvah, they had received a copy of Exodus by Leon Uris. The 1958 novel, one of the bestselling books of the decade, tells a story about the creation of the Israeli state that helped cement American Zionism. “It’s this kind of heroic, almost mythical tale of the creation of the state of Israel and it was incredibly empowering,” Axelman said.

After reading Exodus, Axelman “became obsessed with Israel”, they said. “I considered joining the Israeli military and fantasized about moving there.” They latched on to the story of Jews returning home.

Then in high school, a teacher, taking note of Axelman’s enthusiasm, suggested they read about the history of Palestine. It proved a wake-up call. “The narratives I’d learned up to that point only mentioned Palestinians in passing or as an obstacle,” said Axelman. “But I read for an entire year Palestinian historians like Rashid Khalidi and leftwing Israeli historians like Tom Segev.” They say the process reminded them of what they’d learned in school about the history of the US, “in terms of a people who came to a new country that were refugees or immigrants and created a city on a hill, a beacon of light and a democracy. That narrative is incredibly empowering until you hear about the Native Americans and you realize it lacks some really basic points.”

That change in perception was the inspiration for the documentary Israelism, which Axelman directed with Sam Eilertsen. The film argues that some American Jews are told a story – about Jews escaping persecution and genocide to return to their ancestral homeland – that almost entirely erases the existence of Palestinians. It’s a narrative that has been incredibly influential in shaping global attitudes about the Israeli state and US alliances in the Middle East.

The film focuses on the lives of two young American Jews – Simone Zimmerman, who went to a Jewish school and lived in Israel on an exchange program, and Eitan (who doesn’t use his last name), who joined the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) after graduating high school. Zimmerman describes what she went through as a system of “indoctrination” and “mass mobilization” to turn her into an advocate for Israel within the US. It depicts a system of education and advocacy that demands pro-Israeli activism of some young Jewish Americans. There’s particular focus on what’s taught by the Birthright Israel Foundation on the free trips it organises to Israel for Jews living around the world that are part-funded by the Israeli government.

The film shows American Jewish children in elementary school waving Israeli flags and chanting: “We wanna go! We wanna go!” At a private Jewish middle school, children are filmed reading Alan Dershowitz’s The Case for Israel, and at Birthright “mega events” in Jerusalem thousands of American teenagers are filmed cheering the IDF as a speaker tells them: “It’s up to you to be our soldiers abroad … ready to sway public opinion in Israel’s favor.”

All the subjects of the documentary go through a transformation, in many cases meeting with Palestinians and visiting the West Bank. It depicts a growing movement of Jews, many of them young, who want to support Palestinian rights and lessen Israel’s centrality to American Jewish identity.

The documentary was made before the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and subsequent bombing of Gaza. But demand for the film has soared in the past few weeks. The film-makers are now holding weekly virtual screenings as well as a major tour of the US and Europe that is selling out. “People say to us: ‘I want to show my family this film, to help them understand,’” Axelman said.

The duo say promoting the film in the wake of the 7 October attacks has been difficult. “When I first went to Israel-Palestine when I was 21, I volunteered at this hostel with this amazing Israeli guy who does anti-occupation work and runs this hostel with Palestinian folks,” said Axelman. “Both of his parents were murdered by Hamas, and seeing the pain on his face in interviews is unbearable. It’s been obviously a very difficult time for our team – many folks have lost people, or are terrified that they’re going to lose people.”

Axelman says that their film helps explain that complexity of feeling now – that it’s impossible to understand the lenses through which people view the conflict without understanding the stories they’ve been told. “If you think of Israel as totally the land of the Jewish people, it seems like a very straightforward narrative that Hamas committed an isolated incident of pure evil terrorism,” Axelman said. “It’s true that Hamas murdered innocent civilians on a mass scale that is unbelievably traumatizing for Jewish people. It’s also true that happened in the context of brutal occupation that has existed for the entirety of most Palestinians’ lives.”

Axelman grew up in a small Jewish community in rural Maine. Their parents were hippies, of the same generation as Bernie Sanders. Axelman and their brother were the only self-identifying Jewish kids at their high school. “We got made fun of, it made us feel very different,” they said. “It was difficult to formulate a positive Jewish identity, feeling like an outsider and processing the horrors of the Holocaust and the horrors of antisemitism as a young person.”

Learning about Israel was a salve. “It’s true we do have an incredible ancient history there and so it makes sense, from a very basic standpoint, that it has a lot of emotional resonance. Because it is true we needed to escape Europe.”

Eilertsen, the film’s other director, experienced similar depictions of Israel growing up. “In the reform and conservative Jewish movement, Israel is sort of always introduced as almost like a Jewish Disneyland, this place where Jews can be fully Jews,” he said.

By the time they got to Brown University, Axelman was meeting other young people who “had been taught to love Israel unconditionally” but changed their views after coming into contact with Palestinians and hearing their stories.

They remember the leader of Brown Students for Israel, “who would essentially harass Palestinian students, and went to work for the ADL after college”, referring to the staunchly pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League. A decade later, Axelman says, those same students are doing Palestinian human rights work. “Seeing so many of these pro-Israel student leaders go through this transformation made me really interested in making this film.”

The film also argues that in some American Jewish communities, cultural celebration of Israel is channeled into high-stakes political activism. It shows how Hillel, the Jewish campus organization active in most colleges in the US, pushes Jewish students towards pro-Israel advocacy, with ex-IDF soldiers attending meetings of students. One interviewee, Sarah Anne Minkin, the director of programs at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, describes a set of institutions that turn “young Jews into soldiers for Israel”.


Donald Trump addresses Aipac in 2016. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

One of the main ways this happens, the film says, is through the pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).

“This energy and this education quickly turns into actual political lobbying for Israel. We film people who, in Jewish high school, were sent to Aipac conferences to do lobbying. And in that lobbying, the most important thing is Israel is depoliticized. Supporting Israel is presented as this emotional state; it’s just something you’re supposed to do. And criticizing it is simply antisemitism,” Eilertsen said.

The directors point to Aipac’s unwavering support for Donald Trump, even as he refused to condemn antisemitic white nationalists, as evidence of the way the organization prioritizes support for Israel over other interests.

Zimmerman, whose high school sent her to Aipac conferences, says it was just a normal part of her life. “That’s part of the indoctrination, to tell young Jewish people they have to be soldiers in the battles to defend Israel, whether it’s on the ground or on the battleground of public opinion,” she said.

Zimmerman and the film-makers stress that the US has myriad strategic interests in the Middle East that are separate from the Israel lobby. “It’s about these countries’ foreign policy – but they use the narrative about protecting Jews conveniently as an excuse to justify other aspects of their foreign policy,” she said.

The film-makers are precise in their criticism of Aipac, and stress that it does not represent all American Jews, a diverse community that includes anti-Zionists and people with no connection to Israel. “​When people start making exaggerated claims about the power that Aipac actually has, that can slide into antisemitism,” said Eilertsen. “But the reality is that Aipac and aligned groups like Democratic Majority for Israel do have a lot of influence on Capitol Hill and they are widely credited” with helping elect candidates of their choice and defeat others they deem insufficiently supportive of Israel, he said. “These are facts, not conspiracy theories, so the idea that it’s antisemitic to say they have influence on our politics is an absurd deflection.”

Not everyone agrees. Writing in the Jewish Journal, an LA-based weekly, the columnist David Suissa said Israelism “wants us to believe that Zionist advocacy was so one-sided and all-consuming it created a generation of young Jews who, feeling duped, have turned against the Jewish state”. A board member of the UCLA branch of Students Supporting Israel, a Zionist group, told the Jewish Journal she felt the film was “extremely problematic” and “full of propaganda”.

The directors acknowledge there are people who come to the screenings who don’t agree with the premise of the film and ask critical questions. They encourage this, they say. But there hadn’t “been a single screening where someone hasn’t come up to us and said: ‘This is my story too,’” says Eilertsen.

They point too to the film’s hopeful tone, showing how through campus life, more open discussion and the Jewish left, many young Jews have a more evolved position on Israel. It shows a mass sit-in at the headquarters of the Birthright foundation, with Jewish protesters demanding a more honest dialogue.

“If there’s anything that gives me even a drop of hope in this horrific time, it’s that more people are going to take the blinders off,” said Zimmerman. “That people are going to stop believing the lies we were taught and have the courage to face the reality of Israel and not the fantasy of it.”

• This article was amended on 13 November 2023 to clarify that the Israeli government does not fully fund the free trips to Israel organised by the Birthright Israel Foundation.

• Israelism is screening in-person across the US and online for free. For details go to https://www.israelismfilm.com/screenings

‘I will not be silenced’: Rashida Tlaib won’t stop fighting for Palestinian rights

Robert Tait and Lauren Gambino in Washington

THE GUARDIAN
Sun, November 12, 2023 

Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

As Israeli ground troops battled in Gaza City amid a spiralling civilian death toll on Tuesday, the congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American member of the US Congress, rose to answer a censure motion rebuking her for comments she made about the war.

Gripping a photograph of her sity, her grandmother who lives in the occupied West Bank, she defended her stance and declared that she “will not be silenced” and “will not let you distort my words”.

“I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable,” Tlaib said, her voice breaking. The congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota reached to comfort Tlaib, a show of solidarity between the only Muslim women in the chamber. Tlaib continued: “The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me.”

Related: Criticism of Israel exposes generational and ideological rifts in Democratic party

Late that night, 22 Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in censuring Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion. As the gavel came down, her closest allies in the Democratic party’s progressive wing, all people of colour, encircled Tlaib as if to form a protective shield.

The extraordinary scene crystallised the fierce devotion and respect that Tlaib – one of 14 children of Palestinian immigrants to the US – commands among her political allies, friends, staff members and, according to supporters, many of her constituents in her Michigan congressional district.

But in its intensity, it also underlined the fierce passions aroused among critics of the Michigan Democrat, 47, who has become – at least since Hamas’s attack on Israel last month – one of the most polarising figures on Capitol Hill.

The censure against Tlaib, proposed by the Republican congressman Rich McCormick of Georgia, accused her of “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel”. Its passage made Tlaib only the 26th member of the House of Representatives to be censured since its formation in 1789.

Tuesday’s vote, which came days after she avoided an earlier censure motion, was triggered by the presence of a highly charged slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, in a video Tlaib posted on social media last week that also accused Joe Biden of supporting “genocide” and called for an immediate ceasefire amid Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

However hurtful personally for Tlaib – a legislator known for her diligence and conscientiousness on behalf of her constituents – she signalled that she had no intention of backing down, reflecting the stubbornness Biden himself praised two years ago, when, following a memorable eight-minute heated conversation on Palestinian rights on the runway of Detroit’s airport, he complimented her as “a fighter”.

“She will not be deterred by a censure motion passed by the House of Representatives. Not a bone in my body believes that,” said Abbas Alawieh, a senior Democratic strategist who previously worked as Tlaib’s legislative director.

“Rashida is a person on a mission. She is fiercely protective of the people she loves. She will stop at nothing. For her, to support or not to support a cause isn’t a theoretical political question. It’s a question of whether or not her family members deserve to stay alive. It’s the life or death of people she’s directly connected to.”

This commitment has fortified her against a shocking degree of personal abuse that would have felled other politicians, said Alawieh, who recalled spikes in phone calls to her office and verbal attacks in public, often after Fox News or other rightwing news channels had criticised her views.

“When I went to work for her, I couldn’t believe how often the phone rang,” he said. “You couldn’t even imagine how many vile, unacceptable bad words could be strung together in sentences. It will be a sentence jam-packed with sexism, racism, Islamophobia – just all of it.”

Tlaib, whose father was born in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina, has long been a lightning rod for criticism from Israel’s staunchest supporters, who have alleged that her views and rhetoric are antisemitic.

In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack, she faced backlash from Republicans and some Democrats over her initial statement, in which she expressed grief for the loss of “Palestinian and Israeli lives” but did not mention Hamas, though she did call for “ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system”.

A sign outside the congressional office of Rashida Tlaib. Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

She drew additional fire from her critics after being one of nine Democrats to vote against a House resolution – subsequently adopted by a vote of 412-10 – declaring solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attacks.

Explaining her opposition in a floor debate on 25 October, she said the resolution was “not a serious examination of the root causes of the violence we are witnessing and doubles down on decades of failed policy”.

Unconditional US military support for Israel had failed to bring “peace and justice” to the region, she said.

She added: “Achieving a just and lasting peace where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights and freedoms, and where no person lives in fear for their safety, requires ending the blockade, occupation and dehumanizing system of apartheid.”

Her opponents have also pointed to her use of the “river to the sea” slogan. While Tlaib and others justify the phrase as an “aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful co-existence”, critics say it is a pro-Hamas chant calling for the eradication of the Jewish state.

The Democratic congressman Brad Schneider of Illinois cited her embrace of the slogan and her refusal to remove a tweet blaming Israel for a devastating explosion at al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza City that killed hundreds, despite Israeli denials and US intelligence claims that a misfired Palestinian rocket had caused the damage.

“Congresswoman Tlaib has repeatedly insisted on using inflammatory language that dangerously amplifies Hamas propaganda and disinformation,” Schneider said in a statement. “Representative Tlaib most certainly understands the import and impact of her words and yet still chooses to use them anyway. We are at an exceedingly perilous moment, when emotions and intentions are on a razor’s edge.”

Even Bernie Sanders, the leftwing senator from Vermont, who has spoken out forcefully against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza while stopping short of a ceasefire call, voiced muted criticism of Tlaib’s use of the slogan.

Calling her a “friend” who had been “shaken” by the bloodshed in Gaza, Sanders told CNN: “We need a serious discussion on how the hell we get out of this difficult situation, maintain democracy, bring peace to the world. And it ain’t easy, but slogans are not going to do it on any side.”

The congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York, a fellow member of the progressive “Squad” who has also called for a ceasefire, dismissed the focus on the slogan as “a distraction”, calling Tlaib “one of the strongest, most compassionate people I know”.

“Congresswoman Tlaib has always been an advocate of peace, justice and human rights,” he said. “It is false and misleading to imply that she intended to call for destruction or violence. She is not in support of Hamas. We should all be doing everything in our power to end violence against innocent civilians.”

Conservatives have demanded Tlaib take down the Palestinian flag displayed outside her congressional office, saying it was disrespectful in the wake of the Hamas attack. One Republican member advocated a ban on foreign flags in the Capitol, while another, the congressman Brian Mast of Florida, wore a uniform from his time serving in the Israel Defense Forces. On X, he wrote: “Tlaib’s Got Her Flag, I’ve Got My Uniform.”

Mast later said there were “very few innocent Palestinian civilians … I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term innocent Nazi civilians”, remarks that some House Democrats believe warrant a censure.

Tlaib’s previous outspokenness has landed her in hot water with pro-Israel advocates. The liberal Israel advocacy group J Street withdrew its endorsement of her campaign in 2018 after she publicly voiced support for a one-state solution to the Middle East conflict, in open contradiction of the organisation’s policy favouring two states, Israel beside an independent Palestine. As part of her support for a one-state solution – entailing a single democratic state encompassing Israel and the occupied territories – Tlaib has said she is uncomfortable with the idea of uprooting Jewish settlers from their homes in the occupied West Bank.

She will be known for being the freedom fighter and the justice warrior. She will be known for being the peacekeeper 

Cori Bush

In a floor speech in 2021, Tlaib, arguing against a bill to send $1bn in additional funding to support Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense program, accused Israel’s far-right government of operating a “violent apartheid system”, a characterization that drew a furious response from longstanding Democratic supporters of Israel. Tlaib, who has long sought to condition aid to Israel on Palestinian rights, was one of just nine lawmakers to vote against the measure.

Tlaib has Jewish supporters, particularly among leftwing groups that echo her ceasefire calls and have staged demonstrations in Washington accusing Israel of unleashing a “genocidal” war in Gaza.

“Congresswoman Tlaib is truly an incredible person and one of the few members of Congress who genuinely cares about people,” said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a leftist group that openly describes itself as anti-Zionist.

“She has so much warmth and love, and makes everyone feel welcome and safe around her. This is really important because we see this horrible smear campaign that turns her into the opposite of what she is – which is someone who cares deeply for Israelis who have been killed, as well as Palestinians who have been killed. We are proud to be her ally in this.”

Eva Borgwardt, the national spokesperson for If Not Now, another Jewish group that has staged ceasefire rallies in concert with JVP, said Tlaib was a victim of anti-Palestinian racism being espoused by Republican politicians who see her as a “threat to their vision of a white Christian supremacist future of America”.

“As a Jewish American, I’m absolutely terrified of the implications of the ongoing targeting of Rashida, because Jewish and Palestinian safety is tied together,” she said. “I cannot imagine what it’s like to face what she has dealt with. I can only hope to have a tiny amount of the integrity and strength that it must take to stand up and lead in Congress every day despite threats from other congressmen down the hall.”

As the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress, Tlaib carries “a greater burden” when she challenges US policy toward Israel, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Democratic members of Congress with a sign demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

 Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

But he said Tlaib is not acting alone. For many constituents in her district, which includes the city of Dearborn, home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country, Palestinian rights are deeply personal, he said.

“For people in her district, this isn’t some sort of foreign policy issue,” Walid said. “These are people who have family members who are directly impacted by occupation and bombs being dropped on civilians.”

Despite her support in the district, Tlaib’s detractors hope that her denunciations of the US response to the Israel-Hamas war will draw a primary challenge from the party’s center, like the ones facing other Israel sceptics within the party.

In Detroit, she is now the target of an attack ad by a Democratic pro-Israel group. The ad sharply criticises Tlaib for her vote last month against a House resolution declaring solidarity with Israel following the Hamas assault, as well as her past vote against funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. It also argues that her ceasefire bill “would allow the terrorists to rearm themselves”.

“We thought it was important for her constituents and neighbors to know that she is not only wrong on the substance, but radically out of step with the Democratic party,” said Mark Mellman, whose group, the Democratic Majority for Israel, is behind the ad.

He continued: “We’re trying to see if she might moderate her positions as a result of her constituents. And if not, perhaps someone will be interested in taking her on.”

Tlaib’s supporters have denounced the ad’s rhetoric as “dangerous” and demanded its removal in light of a sharp rise in Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment.

The irony of all this, say longtime associates, is that Tlaib has never set out to be a pro-Palestinian organiser – preferring to focus on local issues such as poverty, pollution and water rights, particularly in African American communities.

She campaigned vigorously to win a $600m lead pipe replacement and challenged socially conservative parts of her district with her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.

“When people in her district think about Rashida in general, they think ‘water is a human right’,” said Alawieh. “She was obsessed with the idea.”

That may once have been true. But nationally, her reputation is set to be defined by more global – and more bitterly contested – concerns.

For Cori Bush, a progressive Democrat from Missouri who sponsored ceasefire legislation with Tlaib, it is destined to eclipse the present turmoil and land the Michigan congresswoman a place squarely on the right side of history.

“Even though the censure happened, people must understand that that is not her legacy,” Bush said. “Rashida Tlaib’s legacy will be about saving lives. It will be about making sure the Palestinians know that they belong and that they should exist in this world.

“She will be known for being the freedom fighter and the justice warrior. She will be known for being the peacekeeper.”


Video shows Rashida Tlaib protesting Trump in 2016, not backing Hamas | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
Mon, November 13, 2023 


The claim: Rashida Tlaib was dragged out of an event for protesting in support of Hamas

An Oct. 20 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, being pulled away by security officers at an event as she shouts at the attendees.

“You guys are crazy!” Tlaib is heard yelling as attendees shout back at her. "You're an animal! Get a job!" someone behind the camera yells.

“Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib a Democratic (sic) supporting Hamas,” the on-screen text says.

The post was liked more than 30,000 times in three weeks.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Our rating: False

Tlaib was not protesting in support of Hamas. That video is seven years old and was taken at an event for former President Donald Trump.
Tlaib disrupted 2016 Trump event in protest

The video is from an August 2016 event in Detroit where Donald Trump delivered a speech during his first presidential campaign.

Tlaib, at that time a former state legislator, wrote in a guest opinion column for the Detroit Free Press that she disrupted the event because she felt it was “unbecoming of any American to not stand up to Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric and tactics.”

“Courteous behavior can’t be reserved for someone who labels hardworking Mexican immigrants who have come to pursue the American Dream as ‘rapists,’” Tlaib wrote in the piece.

The video of the incident resurfaced three years later after Tlaib was elected to Congress. Trump referenced the video while criticizing her in a 2019 speech.

Fact check: Mike Johnson remarks on abortion's impact on workforce misrepresented

Though this video doesn't show a protest tied to Palestine, Tlaib has come under heavy condemnation by her colleagues in the U.S. House for her comments regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, has long been critical of Israel's government and supportive of Palestinian actions.

Tlaib told the Detroit Free Press in October that the actions of the militant group Hamas were "war crimes" and that critics were distorting her position. But the House voted to censure her on Nov. 7 for comments she made in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Censure is a measure used to issue a severe public rebuke against a member of Congress, but it does not mean that member is removed from office.

USA TODAY reached out to Tlaib’s spokesperson and the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response from either.
Our fact-check sources:

WDET 101.9, Aug. 9, 2016, Was Trump’s Speech In Detroit A Turning Point For His Campaign?


Detroit Free Press, Aug. 24, 2016, Rashida Tlaib: Why I disrupted Donald Trump


The Hill, July 23, 2019, Trump slams Tlaib as ‘lunatic’ over resurfaced protest video


The Hill, Sept. 21, 2022, House Democrat slams Tlaib for ‘antisemitic’ remarks on Israel


Trump White House Archives, July 23, 2019, Remarks by President Trump at Turning Point USA’s Teen Student Action Summit 2019


@RashidaTlaib, Nov. 3, X post


House of Representatives, accessed Nov. 10, Discipline & Punishment

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Old video shows Tlaib protesting Trump, not supporting Hamas | Fact check


Will Marsha Blackburn Be Censured for This Racist Tweet on Rashida Tlaib?

Tori Otten

NEW REPUBLIC
Mon, November 13, 2023 


Senator Marsha Blackburn shared a racist tweet about Representative Rashida Tlaib over the weekend. Recent evidence shows she likely won’t face any consequences for it.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, has understandably been vocal in her support for Palestine and for a cease-fire since the war in Gaza began. The House censured her last week for her words, with 22 of her fellow Democrats joining Republicans in reprimanding her.

But Blackburn has gone a step further and accused Tlaib, with no evidence, of being linked to Hamas.

“Rashida Tlaib has alleged ties to Hamas,” the Tennessee Republican tweeted Sunday. “Based on these allegations, it’s sadly not surprising she’s calling for a genocide against the Jewish people.”

Blackburn is referring to Tlaib’s use of the phrase “from the river to the sea.” While many Jewish and pro-Israel groups say the saying is antisemitic, it has also been used by Israeli politicians. Tlaib defended her use of the phrase, saying it was a call for “freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.” Before she was censured, Tlaib called out the rise of both antisemitism and Islamophobia.

But while Tlaib has been censured for calling for peace, there is no outcry on Capitol Hill yet over Blackburn accusing her colleague of links to an extremist group. And there may never be one.

Republicans have repeatedly said outrageous things about Palestine, primarily calling for the extermination of an entire country and people. They make no distinction between Hamas and Palestinian civilians, and yet no one is getting in trouble for it.

What’s more, House Speaker Mike Johnson has a Christian nationalist flag flying outside his district office. The creation of a Christian nation implies the elimination of all other religions, and yet no one is accusing Johnson of calling for genocide.

The closest another lawmaker got to facing consequences was when Representative Brian Mast compared Palestinian civilians to Nazis. A Democratic representative drafted a resolution to censure the Florida Republican, but it has since been dropped.

More than 11,000 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s ongoing retaliation to Hamas’s October 7 attack. The fighting has also killed at least 39 journalists and other media workers and more than 100 United Nations employees.

“Stand Up For Palestine” Demonstration Planned For International Documentary Festival Amsterdam – Update

Matthew Carey
Sun, November 12, 2023


UPDATED with details on the Palestinian solidarity demonstration outside the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. About 200 people gathered outside the main hub of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam today, to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, and to criticize IDFA for its response to a protest on the festival’s opening night, which saw three demonstrators display a banner with the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.”

On Friday, the festival apologized for the opening night disruption and called the slogan “hurtful.” Many Jews consider it not simply hurtful, but inherently antisemitic and a threat to wipe out the state of Israel. The festival wrote, “That slogan does not represent us, and we do not endorse it in any way. We are truly sorry that it was hurtful to many.”

More from Deadline

IDFA Documentary Festival Opening Night Interrupted By Pro-Palestinian Protesters With "From The River To The Sea" Banner

IDFA Completes Competition Lineup With Films Probing Conflicts In Gaza, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine War

IDFA Announces Competition Lineup In 2 Categories, Plus Best Of Fest Program Ahead Of Amsterdam Festival's 36th Edition

Yara Yuri Safadi (L) and others at the “Stand Up for Palestine” demonstration at IDFA.


But at today’s demonstration, multiple speakers defended the slogan. Yara Yuri Safadi, an organizer of the protest, read a letter from Palestinian filmmaker Basma al-Sharif, who quit the festival’s Envision jury in protest over the festival’s response to the opening night demonstration. Al-Sharif’s letter said, in part, “I do not comply with the statement made by the festival… From the river to the sea is the land of historic Palestine that stretches from the river Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. From the river to the sea, Palestinians are subjected to the conditions of occupation and apartheid. From the river to the sea, Palestinians should unite in their struggle for liberty, justice, and determination. From the river to the sea, we want Palestinians, Jews, foreign workers and refugees to be equal and free.”

The crowd moved from outside the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam to a space indoors, where several people spoke emotionally about the situation in Gaza. Palestinian filmmaker Mohammed Almughanni said he was baffled by those who object to the slogan. “I really don’t understand these people who find it hurtful, this statement,” he said. “Weren’t they hurt by the footage and things that we have been exposed to for the past month? I have seen things that I would never imagine that I would see. I hear things from my family that I would never imagine that I would hear. My sister gave me her testament. She gave me her [last will and] testament because everybody is expecting to die at any moment.”

On Friday, IDFA issued a statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, writing, “To acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinian people today does not mean ignoring the pain of the victims on the Israeli side. All pain is respected, and all this killing must stop. The world of arts and culture has a responsibility towards this, and IDFA acknowledges that.”

But Safadi, who noted she has moderated many filmmaker discussions for IDFA in recent years, said IDFA’s call for a ceasefire should have come much earlier. “I was waiting every single day on the IDFA website to see what the fuck are they going to say about this?” she said. “When are they going to call for a ceasefire?”

Meanwhile, leaders of Israel’s film community have condemned IDFA for permitting the protest at the opening ceremony, saying that it gave “a stage to antisemitic sentiment and extremist ideology which only deepens hatred and polarization.”

EARLIER: The Palestine Film Institute is planning to hold a “Stand Up For Palestine” rally on Monday at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s biggest nonfiction film festival.

The demonstration is set for 2 p.m. local time outside the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, one of the main hubs of IDFA. The PFI emailed festival attendees late Sunday advising them of the demonstration, which comes amid Israel’s continuing siege of Gaza following the devastating October 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, the Islamist group that governs Gaza. In the early morning raid, Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 Israeli civilians and seized more than 240 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory bombing and invasion has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

In its announcement of the demonstration, the Palestine Film Institute wrote, “While unspeakable violence keeps raining down on Gaza, while the Israeli occupation continues to murder Palestinians by their thousands, while genocide is unfolding before our very eyes, we cannot continue business as usual.”

The Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, where Monday’s “Stand Up For Palestine” rally will be held.

The statement added, “We ask you to join us to gather, express solidarity, and join the demand for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocide, and an end to the occupation of Palestine. The platform will be open to all to express their solidarity, their pain, and their hope. Stay warm and bring umbrellas.”

Controversy erupted at IDFA’s opening night ceremony last week when three pro-Palestinian demonstrators interrupted remarks by the festival’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia. The protestors displayed a banner bearing the controversial slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.” That slogan, which has been widely condemned, is considered by some Israelis and Jewish groups abroad as a call for Israel’s destruction and an incitement to genocide.

Nyrabia applauded after the demonstrators chanted “Ceasefire now!” and applauded as the demonstrators left the stage. He later clarified that he had not seen the words written on the protesters’ banner.

Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia at IDFA’s opening night event on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023

“I apologize for not paying attention to the banner in the moment,” Nyrabia wrote in a statement issued on Friday. “I clapped to welcome freedom of speech, and not to welcome the slogan. I only learned about the slogan on the banner from the team as I went backstage when the opening film started.” He said the slogan “is a triggering statement and an offensive declaration for many, regardless of who carries it. It does not represent IDFA, and was and will not be endorsed.”

The festival itself also apologized for the incident. It wrote, “IDFA would like to clearly state that we understand that the slogan was hurtful, and sincerely apologize for how this happened. There are many ways that people use or read this slogan, and that various sides use it in opposing ways, all of which we do not agree with, and we believe that this slogan should not be used in any way and by anybody anymore. IDFA does not endorse or agree with any of that.”

After IDFA made its apology, the Palestine Film Institute rebuked the festival, and announced it would cancel activities at the IDFA Market in response.

“With hearts weighed down like the rubble in Gaza, the Palestinian Film Institute (PFI) announces its withdrawal from all organized activities at the IDFA Market,” the group wrote in a statement. “This includes the presentation of three poignant documentary projects capturing the supposed ‘essence’ of the Palestinian experience. While recognizing the attendance of many, we, as programmers, filmmakers, and audience members, assert our refusal to collaborate with a festival engaged in institutional violence and censorship.”

Palestine Film Institute logo

The PFI statement continued, “For five weeks, IDFA remained silent in the face of the ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Over 11,000 lives lost, 1 million displaced, and 3,000 missing; a grim picture of the atrocities against Palestinians. Moreover, journalists and documentarists bravely documenting war crimes were targeted and murdered, with 41 killed in the last 36 days by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“In response to IDFA’s silence, three activists seized the Opening Night stage, holding a banner that displayed the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” An iconic slogan of solidarity that envisions a unified, equal land for Palestinians of all faiths, reminiscent of pre-Nakba times.

“Even though the above-mentioned slogan is legally protected and considered non-discriminatory under Dutch law, in a damaging statement released on the 10th of November, IDFA decided to condemn this slogan, overshadowing the activists’ plea for solidarity and liberation. IDFA eventually issued a belated statement on the same day, calling for a ceasefire only after the vilification of Palestinian voices.”

For very different reasons, the apology from IDFA and Nyrabia angered some prominent members of Israel’s film industry. They issued their own statement on Friday suggesting IDFA was supporting calls for Israel’s destruction.

“Allowing and applauding a sign which states that ‘From River to the Sea Palestine will be Free’ is a call for the eradication of Israel, the Jewish homeland and of Jews in general,” said the statement signed by 16 leading members of the Israeli film community. “Applauding and cheering the protesters on, was the festival’s director, Mr. Orwa Nyrabia, which allows us to believe that this is IDFA‘s official and reprehensible stance towards Israel and towards Jews.”

The statement continued, “These are undeniably terrible times for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are suffering daily, as they are for the citizens of Israel, in the wake of the atrocities carried out by Hamas on October 7th, and for the 240 hostages who are still being held by the terror organization.

“We are at a crucial and critical time in history and words matter- Nyrabia’s muted and pale official response to the event “IDFA… distances itself from the slogan stated on the activists’ canvas” further iterates that he is fully aware of the horrific meaning of this slogan, the hate it mongers and the antisemitism it invokes.”

IDFA runs until November 19 in the Dutch capital. Two hundred and fifty films are being screened at the festival.

‘They Are Behaving in a Fascist Way:’ An Israeli-Arab Lawmaker on the Stifling of Anti-War Voices

Yasmeen Serhan
Mon, November 13, 2023 


Israeli policemen detain a demonstrator that was participating in a vigil against the arrests of leaders of the Arab-Israeli community, in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023. Credit - Ahmad Gharabli—AFP/Getty Images

As Israel continues its war to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, its government is waging a simultaneous battle to root out dissent at home. On Thursday, Israeli authorities detained several high-profile Israeli Arab leaders—among them former parliamentarian Mohammad Barakeh, the chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee, the national representative body of Palestinian citizens of Israel—for organizing a protest vigil against the ongoing war in Gaza.

Earlier this week, Israel’s high court rejected a petition by Arab Israeli political parties and human rights advocates challenging a police ban on demonstrations against the war in two Palestinian towns. Israeli lawmakers also passed an amendment to the country’s counterterrorism law that introduced a new criminal offense for consuming “terrorist materials,” which the human-rights organization Adalah—The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel warned would criminalize “even passive social media use.” Indeed, dozens of Palestinian citizens of Israel are estimated to have been arrested for speech-related offenses, including one woman who was reportedly charged with inciting terrorism over her WhatsApp status, which read, “may God grant them victory and protect them.”

The crackdowns amount to “an attack on the entire Arab population,” says Aida Touma-Sliman, an Arab Israeli lawmaker representing the left-wing Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (known as al-Jabha or Hadash in Arabic and Hebrew, respectively) in the Knesset, the Israeli legislature.

Read More: As War Rages in Gaza, Violence Surges in the West Bank

Speaking with TIME by phone from Jaffa, Touma-Sliman discussed the arrests of her colleagues, the wider crackdown on anti-war expression in Israel, and what it means for the country’s minority Arab population.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

---

TIME: What has the situation in Israel been like for Palestinian citizens since Oct. 7?

Aida Touma-Sliman: Since the beginning of this, we were very cautious. We were very clear in our position and feeling really shocked by what happened on the 7th of October.

More From TIME

Meanwhile, the minister of national security [Itamar Ben-Gvir] was distributing weapons all over the cities. The police chief [Kobi Shabtai] said very clearly that we will never allow any demonstration against the war and whoever wants to send sympathy to Gaza will be sent there. On top of that, we knew that on the public level, there are groups of very right-wing people who are doing a kind of incitement against the Arab population. They are tracking people who are working in Jewish institutions, students, doctors. They are tracking their Facebook and their social media. And if there is a small sign—even in the past—about your Palestinian side, they will report directly to the Minister of the National Security and people will be persecuted. We had hundreds of people either investigated or arrested.

Can you talk about the circumstances that led to your colleagues’ arrest?

We understood that the threat to our population was really serious. Our main concern was not to bring our community to be attacked, so we considered very carefully how we were going to protest. The first attempt was when the High Follow-Up Community decided to have two big meetings indoors: one was with Jewish democratic forces to start talking about the situation and the position against the war, and second was the massive popular meeting for the Arab community—but again, indoors, because we were not sure that if we do it outdoors that it’s not going to be dangerous for the participants. The police called the different halls, the premises we were supposed to have the meetings in, and threatened that they are not allowed to have these meetings and, if they do it, they will suffer economically. We were not able to find a place that can be rented and the police published a declaration that we are not allowed to have those meetings. So instead, we did a virtual Zoom meeting where more than 450 people, two thirds of them Israeli Jews, participated and it was a really powerful and good meeting. They stand clearly against the war.

And then we decided that there is no way not to demonstrate or to say anything about what is happening in Gaza. So we decided that only between 20 and 30—only the Arab leadership, members of the High Follow-Up Committee, including the MKs and party leaders—will have a protest. Only standing, in Nazareth, with one slogan: Stop the War. We told the police that we are going to have this protest, that it’s going to be only leadership, that it’s not going to be a massive demonstration or something like this. The next day, when Barakeh was heading to Nazareth, they arrested him.

How do you interpret these crackdowns? Is this an attempt by the Israeli government to effectively criminalize expressions of Palestinian identity and solidarity?

Not only the Palestinian identity. I think that whatever they couldn’t pass through the judicial overhaul, they are passing now under the cover of the war. When nobody is paying attention, they are eliminating the freedom of speech. They are not allowing any real opposition. Yesterday night, there were two protests in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem led by our Jewish comrades against silencing the Palestinian community. And they were cracked down brutally.

Because the Palestinians are the main power against the policy of occupation, of destruction, of war, it looks like it’s only criminalizing the Palestinians. But it is also criminalizing the anti-war voices. They are behaving in a fascist way. They are establishing a fascist regime under the pretext of the war because the war has political goals relating to conquering Gaza and annexing a large part of the West Bank. They need to prepare the legislation to protect them later on and they need to silence any opposition for that.

Is there any meaningful political opposition to the government right now?

There is political opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Yesh Atid, opposition leader Yair Lapid’s party, which is in opposition to him because he is not doing enough, in their opinion, and they want to replace him. But they are not against the war policy.

We—meaning Hadash and Ahmed Tibi’s Ta’al Party—are the only ones who are voting against. There is no real opposition. All of them are supporting what the government is doing.

What does this all mean for Palestinian citizens of Israel today?

You have to understand that many of our workers and employees who are working in Jewish areas are not going to work or asking to work from their homes because they are feeling insecure. We have seen what happened to our students in Netanya, where they were in their dormitories and they were attacked. Instead of arresting those who were calling “Death for Arabs” and trying to attack these students, they evacuated the students. And they are not allowed to go back to their dormitories. People feel that they are under constant danger.

Are you concerned that the policies of this crackdown might outlast the war?

It will stay. None of [Israel’s leaders] will dare even to try to change it. The atmosphere is really bad. I don’t think that any government that will come will challenge these—at least not immediately. It’s going to take years.

How do you see this ending?

There are signs that they are starting to go for a ceasefire. I don’t think it’s going to end, really. Netanyahu understands very clearly that the day the war ends, his career is also going to end. There is a lot of criticism and the voices are more and more clear about him—that he should resign, that he should leave his position, that he is responsible for what happened. So he understands that very clearly and I’m afraid that he will look badly for a victory photo or a victory moment that can convince people to keep him.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I think a message should be clear to the Biden administration that they are as much responsible for what is happening in Gaza. The massacres of people, children who are killed there—Biden is as responsible as Netanyahu for the unconditioned support and the financial and weapons that are sent to Israel.

And I’m tired. That’s it.

Write to Yasmeen Serhan at yasmeen.serhan@time.com.