Opinion

Rashida Tlaib Hit With Wild New Smear

Edith Olmsted
Mon, September 23, 2024

Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, was attacked Monday for supposedly claiming that Michigan’s attorney general is going after pro-Palestinian protesters solely because she’s Jewish. The only problem is, Tlaib never said anything of the sort.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, posted on X Monday addressing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer while alleging that Tlaib had made an antisemitic statement about Attorney General Dana Nessel. Nessel is pursuing charges against pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan, alleging some had assaulted police officers and engaged in ethnic intimidation.

Greenblatt wrote, “When your attorney general prosecutes people for violating the law, harassing Jews, and attacking police officers, it’s in the interest of public safety. When a congresswoman accuses the attorney general of prosecuting protestors simply because she’s Jewish, it’s bias.”

In his post, Greenblatt linked an article published by Jewish Insider Sunday, which discussed an interview of Whitmer earlier that day on CNN. Host Jake Tapper had asked Whitmer to respond to Tlaib’s so-called argument that Nessel was “only doing it because she’s Jewish.” It’s unclear what Tapper’s source was for such a claim.

Whitmer declined to respond, saying, “I’m not going to get in the middle of this argument that they’re having.”

The Jewish Insider article stated that Tlaib “has also claimed that Nessel is only charging the protesters because she’s Jewish.” As evidence, that article repeatedly linked to yet another article, this one from the Detroit MetroTimes—which included no quote from Tlaib referring to Nessel’s Jewishness at all.

Nessel’s religious background was only mentioned as part of the description from the article’s author, who wrote, “Tlaib also criticized Nessel, who is the first Jewish person elected Attorney General of Michigan, for what she believes is a biased approach to the protest.”

A closer look reveals that Tlaib’s statement was not about Nessel being Jewish but about systemic anti-Palestinian bigotry.

“We’ve had the right to dissent, the right to protest,” Tlaib said, according to the MetroTimes. “We’ve done it for climate, the immigrant rights movement, for Black lives, and even around issues of injustice among water shutoffs. But it seems that the attorney general decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs.”

It should surprise no one that Greenblatt is attempting to blur the lines here. The ADL has reportedly held that all pro-Palestinian demonstrating is equivalent to antisemitism, even though it is often carried out by Jewish protesters and usually serves as a condemnation of the policy decisions of Israel, rather than the personhood of its Jewish citizens.

Cartoon showing Tlaib with exploding pager sparks controversy


Accused of fanning anti-Islam sentiment, the “National Review” drawing also drew attention to the alleged pro-terrorist actions of radical Democrats.

By Israel Today Staff | Sep 23, 2024 

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Source: @RepRashida/X.


A cartoon tying anti-Israel Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to Hezbollah sparked anti-Muslim-bias allegations by her and her supporters, as well as pushback by critics who noted her sympathy for Islamist terrorism.

It will “incite more hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities,” Tlaib wrote on X about the cartoon, which National Review published on Friday.

Created by Henry Payne, the cartoon shows Tlaib at a desk with a smoking pager and the caption: “Odd, my pager just exploded.”

On Sept. 17, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives exploded in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least a dozen and wounding thousands more in what Iranian terror proxy said was an Israeli attack. The following day, additional Hezbollah devices exploded.

The controversy around the cartoon highlighted allegations of racism by advocates of Tlaib and other far-left Democrats. It also underlined conservatives’ criticism of the slide by some Democrats towards anti-Israel vitriol and acceptance of jihadist terrorism.

Tlaib, a Palestinian American, has a history of appearing alongside terrorists at events. In 2019, she posed with Abbas Hamideh, a Hezbollah apologist and activist for Israel’s destruction, at her swearing-in ceremony in Detroit. In May of this year, she spoke at the People’s Conference for Palestine event in Detroit that also featured Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) member Wisam Rafeedie.

Like Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, Tlaib is on record as opposing a two-state solution in favor of the maximalist one-state model, which is shorthand for the dismantling of Jewish self-governance. She has denied Israel’s right to exist and has used the “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” slogan, which is widely understood to be a call to ethnically cleanse the Land of Israel of Jews.

Congress voted last November to censure the congresswoman for “calling for the destruction of the State of Israel” in connection with her use of that slogan.

Several Tlaib advocates joined her in condemning the cartoon, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who wrote on X: “The way Islamophobia and anti-Arab hatred is so deeply normalized and accepted in our politics is horrifying.”

Abdullah H. Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, which has a sizeable Muslim community, wrote on X: “Absolutely disgusting. Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia have become normalized in our media.”

Marina Medvin, a well-known conservative columnist and jurist, noted that the Dearborn-based Islamic Center of America on Friday hosted a vigil for the Hezbollah terrorists who were targeted on Sept. 17.

“You won’t believe this — or maybe you will: Rashida Tlaib’s Dearborn Michigan crowd is hosting a vigil for Hezbollah pager patrons,” Medvin wrote on X, attaching a banner advertising the event.

Brianna Wu, the executive director of Rebellion PAC, a progressive organization, on Sept. 19 aired her disappointment with Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez over their stance on anti-Israel terrorism.

“I am extremely frustrated to see AOC, who I used to think was one of the best politicians in the entire country, whitewash Hezbollah. I used to deeply respect Rashida Tlaib, who I thought was one of the most pragmatic leaders in the progressive movement. She’s proven herself to just be a flat out antisemite,” Wu wrote on X, where she has 170,000 followers.

Payne, the cartoonist, told journalist Simon Shaykhet of the ABC-affiliated WXYZ Detroit station that his cartoon was part of a series of works that looks at Tlaib’s “lack of congressional leadership in failing to support Israel’s battle for survival,” as “Jews are under an existential threat from Iran and its Hamas-Hezbollah proxies not seen since WWII.”

National Review has so far resisted calls to remove the cartoon.

Updated: Henry Payne Responds to Outrage Over His Cartoon Showing Rep. Rashida Tlaib With Exploding Pager

September 21, 2024, 11:28 PM  by  Allan Lengel

---

The controversial cartoon.

Updated: 11:25 p.m., Saturday -- Detroit News columnist Henry Payne responds to sharp criticism about his cartoon in the National Review showing U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib with an exploding pager. 

In an email to Deadline Detroit late Saturday night,  Payne writes:

"Metro Detroit has an unfortunate history of intolerant leadership from Orville Hubbard to Rashida Tlaib. And cartoonists' pens have long lampooned their demagoguery."

------------------

From Earlier Saturday

Amidst the rising tension over the conflicts in the Middle East, a controversial cartoon by a Detroit News columnist is stirring anger.

The cartoon by Detroit News auto columnist Henry Payne, who has a side gig as a cartoonist, shows Michigan U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib sitting at her desk with an exploding pager and a bubbled caption: "Odd. My pager just exploded." The cartoon appeared in The National Review, a conservative publication. 

The cartoon is an obvious reference to pagers assigned to members of the Lebanese organization, Hezbollah, that blew up this week in Lebanon and wounded thousands and killed dozens including children. Israel is believed to be behind the explosions, though it has not publicly confirmed that.

Many see the cartoon as a suggestion that Tlaib is a member of Hezbollah, a poltical and militant group and close Iran ally the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization.

On X, Tlaib, who has been a sharp critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, blasted the cartoon: 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib

"Our community is already in so much pain right now. This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe. It's disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism."

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud posted on X:

"Absolutely disgusting. Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia have become normalized in our media."

Democratic Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint, a colleague of Tlaib, also wrote on X:

"Implying that a member of Congress is affiliated with a terrorist organization because she's Palestinian is downright racist, Islamophobic, and puts people in danger. The cartoon must be retracted with an apology to Rep. Tlaib and Muslim Americans."

Henry Payne (Detroit News photo)

Even Tlaib's critics felt it went too far.

Said Adolph Mongo, host of the podcast, "Detroit in Black and White:" 

"I'm not a fan of hers. I think she's a phony when it comes to being perceived as a champion of Detroit and the Arab community.  But the cartoon went too far. In this climate you've got enough nuts that would look at that and try to cause harm. Henry Payne should apologize, but he won't."

U.S. lawmaker Rashida Tlaib slams racist image of her with exploding pager

Edited by Ed Newman
2024-09-21 


Washington, September 21 (RHC)-- Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has condemned as racist a cartoon that depicts her with a detonating pager, days after thousands of communication devices exploded across Lebanon in attacks blamed on Israel.

“Our community is already in so much pain right now. This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe,” Tlaib said of the cartoon published in conservative magazine National Review.

“It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism,” the only Palestinian-American lawmaker in the United States Congress wrote on X on Friday.

Created by Henry Payne, the cartoon shows a woman sitting at a desk with a name card reading “Rep. Tlaib” where a device explodes. The woman remarks: “ODD. MY PAGER JUST EXPLODED.”





The illustration alludes to attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded killing at least 37 people and wounding nearly 3,000, including civilians.

After the attacks, Tlaib shared a post by fellow Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez referring to it as a clear violation of “international humanitarian law”.

Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives who is a vocal critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, has often weathered harsh vitriol from Republican and some Democratic opponents, including baseless accusations of sympathies with Hamas.

In November, Tlaib was formally censured by the House, a step just below expulsion, for allegedly “promoting false narratives” about the Gaza war and “seeking Israel’s destruction”, charges she rejects.

Tlaib said at the time she “will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words.” Tlaib voiced her support on Thursday for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, criticising her colleagues in the US Congress for their silence as US-funded weapons continue to fuel bloodshed in the besieged enclave.

“We are living through one of, again, the most documented horrific crimes against humanity in our history. These are children who did not live to see their first birthday. We cannot normalize this,” said Tlaib.

“My colleagues continue to be silent. I wonder if it’s because these babies are Palestinian? They’re children, that’s it,” she added.

Rashida Tlaib Comments on Pro-Palestine Student Arrests Spark Controversy

Story by Khaleda Rahman  

Newsweek  23/09/24

Tlaib Shames Congress For Being 'Silent' On Gaza Deaths

View on Watch

Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib's comments about charges filed against people who took part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration have sparked controversy online, with some accusing her of antisemitism and others saying she was being smeared.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently announced charges against 11 people over their involvement in a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan. Most were students and alumni charged for refusing to vacate the campus encampment in May, the Detroit Metro Times reported.

Outrage over Israel's ongoing war in Gaza sparked protests on college campuses across the country in the spring, with students setting up encampments to call on their schools to cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling the war. Universities cracked down, and thousands were arrested nationwide. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, launched after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 that killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 others taken hostage.

Tlaib—the only Palestinian American in Congress and a vocal critic of Israel—slammed Nessel's decision to pursue charges against the protesters in an interview with the Metro Times earlier this month.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) speaks during a press conference with students from the Gaza solidarity encampment at George Washington University, Washington, DC, May 8, 2024. Her comments criticizing the Michigan Attorney General for pursuing charges against student protesters have sparked controversy. Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images© Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

She said the move was "going to set a precedent, and it's unfortunate that a Democrat made that move."

Tlaib said: "We've had the right to dissent, the right to protest. We've done it for climate, the immigrant rights movement, for Black lives, and even around issues of injustice among water shutoffs. But it seems that the attorney general decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs."


Nessel had defended the decision to charge the protesters, saying that "conviction in your ideals is not an excuse for violations of the law" and that "what is a crime anywhere else in the city remains a crime on university property."

She responded to Tlaib's comments to the newspaper on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, characterizing them as antisemitic.

In the post, she also criticized a Detroit News cartoon that showed Tlaib next to an exploding pager as Islamophobic.

"Rashida's religion should not be used in a cartoon to imply that she's a terrorist. It's Islamophobic and wrong," Nessel wrote. "Just as Rashida should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as Attorney General. It's anti-Semitic and wrong."

Newsweek has contacted Tlaib and Nessel for further comment via email.

Josh Kraushaar, the editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider, alleged in a piece on Sunday that Tlaib had "claimed that Nessel is only charging the protesters because she's Jewish" and that Nessel had "publicly decried the congresswoman's characterization as antisemitic and wrong."

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, later hit out at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for declining to weigh in on the matter.

"When a congresswoman accuses the attorney general of prosecuting protestors simply because she's Jewish, it's bias," Greenblatt wrote on X. "Saying you want to 'make sure that students are safe on our campuses' is just words if you are not willing to use your bully pulpit to speak out unequivocally on antisemitism and support holding people accountable for violating the law when it affects Jews."

Whitmer, a Democrat, said she was "not going to get into the middle of this argument" when asked about it during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

"I can just say this: You know, we do want to make sure that students are safe on our campuses, and we recognize that every person has the right to make their statement about how they feel about an issue, a right to speak out. And I'm going to use every lever of mine to ensure that both are true," she said.

Others on social media said that Tlaib had made no mention of Nessel's religion in her comments and that there was a smear campaign against the congresswoman.

"Why are you smearing Rashida Tlaib with an outright lie? She made no mention of anyone being Jewish," Katie Halper, a political commentator who is Jewish, wrote on X, in response to a post from Kraushaar.

"This is libelous but you're desperate because you can't criticize her without misrepresenting her as an antisemite. So disgusting."

Jon Rainwater, the executive director of Peace Action, wrote: "Greenblatt is blatantly lying w/ this antisemitism smear against Rep. Tlaib & Gov. Whitmer. He, AG Nessel, & Jewish Insider are spreading misinfo. Tlaib asked whether the AG's office was biased against protesters."

Some of the protesters "are no doubt Jewish," Rainwater wrote. "Many institutions inc. @ADL ARE biased."

Journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote: "There is a coordinated smear campaign going on against Rep. @RashidaTlaib. Again."

Michigan AG Dana Nessel: Rashida Tlaib’s criticism is ‘antisemitic’

Tlaib accused Nessel of prosecuting pro-Palestinian protesters because of “possible biases.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Ron Kampeas September 23, 2024 

Michigan’s Jewish attorney general has accused the state’s Palestinian-American congresswoman of antisemitism, in a war of words between two prominent Democrats that could upend an already tense battleground state.

The exchange between Attorney General Dana Nessel and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, formerly friends, stems from Nessel’s decision to file charges this month against 11 pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan. In a Sept. 12 statement, Nessel emphasized the right to free speech but accused the 11 protesters at the university’s encampment last spring of “violent and criminal behavior,” including obstructing police and trespassing.

In an interview with a local paper the following day, Tlaib likened the campus protests to other demonstrations against racism and for immigrant rights. She told the Detroit Metro Times that Nessel chose to prosecute the 11 because of “possible biases.”

“It seems that the attorney general decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs,” she said.

Nessel’s office confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she took that remark as a reference to her Jewish identity. In a social media post on Friday, she condemned a political cartoon that suggested Tlaib was affiliated with Hezbollah — and also called out the congresswoman for antisemitism.

The Detroit News cartoon depicted Tlaib looking at a smoking device on her desk, and saying “Odd, my pager exploded,” a reference to last week’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Rashida’s religion should not be used in a cartoon to imply that she’s a terrorist. It’s Islamophobic and wrong,” Nessel said on X. “Just as Rashida should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as Attorney General. It’s antisemitic and wrong.”

Tlaib’s office did not reply to a request for comment. But her defenders have cast doubt on the idea that she was commenting on Nessel’s identity.

“This is just a lie,” tweeted Dylan Williams, vice president for governmental affairs at the Center for International Policy, a progressive think tank. “Falsely accusing a Congresswoman who is a frequent target of bigotry of doing something she didn’t isn’t just defamatory — it risks inciting more hatred and even violence against her.”

The public spat between the two officials comes as the state’s top Democrats are seeking to tamp down debate over Israel and Gaza as a tight presidential and Senate election near. Democrats are relying on Michigan’s large Jewish and Arab populations if they are to win.

On Sunday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did not answer directly when CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked her if Tlaib’s statement was antisemitic.

“I’m not going to get in the middle of this argument that they’re having,” she said. “I can just say this. We do want to make sure that students are safe on our campuses, and we recognize that every person has the right to make their statement about how they feel about an issue, a right to speak out, and I’m going to use every lever of mine to ensure that both are true.”

The Tlaib cartoon, which also appeared in the National Review Online, has drawn broader condemnation, including from Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Jewish Democratic nominee for Michigan’s Senate seat. She called the cartoon “Islamophobic and downright dangerous” and called for its retraction. A group of Jewish House Democrats from across the country condemned the cartoon in similar terms, calling it a “toxically Islamophobic and anti-Arab affront.”

“While none of us always agrees with Representative Tlaib (just as she surely does not always agree with any of us) that is no reason to excuse this,” said the statement, issued Sunday.

The exchange is the latest stage in a souring of relations between Nessel and Tlaib, who were once allies. In 2019, Nessel came to the defense of Tlaib when the Trump administration persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block her from entering Israel and the West Bank, where Tlaib’s grandmother lives.

“As both a Jew and personal friend of Rep. Tlaib, I am outraged that she continues to face vile attacks simply for who she is and for doing her job,” Nessel said at the time. “Rashida does not judge a person based on religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation or any other classification.”

But as in so many other relationships, the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last Oct. 7 marked a shift. In November, Nessel took Tlaib to task for defending the phrase “from the river to the sea,” which many Jews see as a call for the destruction of Israel but which Palestinians say is a call for equality.

“Rashida Tlaib, I have supported and defended you countless times, even when you have said the indefensible, because I believed you to be a good person whose heart was in the right place,” Nessel said then. “But this is so hurtful to so many. Please retract this cruel and hateful remark.”

Whitmer Refuses To Condemn Rashida Tlaib’s ‘Anti-Semitic’ Attack On Michigan’s AG


By RIGHT WING Daily Wire News•
Sep 22, 2024 DailyWire.com•

Jacek Boczarski / Anadolu via Getty Images

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer refused to back up her attorney general during an interview over the weekend when she was asked about the attorney general prosecuting far-left anti-Semitic protesters at the University of Michigan.

The Democrat governor made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked by Jake Tapper about Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) anti-Semitic attacks on Attorney General Dana Nessel for prosecuting the students.

The 11 individuals were charged with a variety of crimes, including attempted ethnic intimidation, assaulting or obstructing a police officer, and more.

Tlaib responded by claiming that Nessel, who is Jewish, charged the students because she was biased in favor of Israel. “It seems that the attorney general decided, if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs” Tlaib claimed.

Nessel responded: “Rashida Tlaib should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as attorney general. It’s antisemitic and wrong.”

Whitmer refused to condemn Tlaib’s anti-Semitic remarks against Nessel and refused to take sides on the matter at all, saying that she only wants to “make sure that both these communities are protected and respected under the law in Michigan.”

Tapper pressed Whitmer again, noting that Tlaib’s accusation was serious and again gave Whitmer the opportunity to back up her attorney general.

“Like I said, Jake, I’m not going to get in the middle of this argument that they’re having,” Whitmer responded.

 

Israel Bombs Lebanon After Blowing Up Pagers in “Act of Mass Mutilation.” Is Ground Invasion Next?

DEMOCRACY  NOW!
September 23, 2024

Guests

Sintia Issa
editor-at-large at The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization

.
Ghassan Abu-Sittah
British Palestinian reconstructive surgeon.




​​Israel attacked more than 300 sites in Lebanon Monday, killing at least 182 people and injuring more than 700 others as fears grow of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli military also ordered residents of southern Lebanon to leave their homes if they live near any site used by the militant group. “At the heart of this is an attempt to manufacture consent and try to portray most southern Lebanese as Hezbolloh operatives,” says Sintia Issa, editor-at-large at the Beirut-based media organization The Public Source. We also speak with Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British Palestinian reconstructive surgeon volunteering at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where he has been treating victims of last week’s device explosions that injured thousands of people. He describes the disfiguring injuries from Israel’s booby-trapping of pagers and walkie-talkies, calling it “an act of mass mutilation.”

Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.


AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Lebanon, where Israel has attacked more than 300 sites today and fears of a broader regional war are growing. Al Jazeera and other media outlets report 100 people were killed in the wave of strikes today, 400 more wounded, as the Israeli army steps up pressure on Hezbollah. United Nations chief António Guterres told CNN he feared, quote, “the possibility of transforming Lebanon into another Gaza.”

Earlier today, Israel instructed residents of southern Lebanon to leave their homes if they live near by any site used by Hezbollah. Israel sent text messages, made phone calls to tens of thousands of people in what Lebanese officials decried as a form of “psychological warfare.” This is a Lebanese shopkeeper in Beirut.


LEBANESE SHOPKEEPER: [translated] I say this is the beginning of the war, definitely the beginning of a war.

AMY GOODMAN: This comes after Israel killed at least 45 people Friday in a massive airstrike on a densely populated residential neighborhood of Beirut. The dead include 16 members of Hezbollah, including two senior commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi. Lebanon’s Transportation Minister Ali Hamieh condemned the Israeli attacks.


ALI HAMIEH: [translated] The Israeli enemy, with all its continued crimes, with the excuse of pursuing Hezbollah, has targeted a residential compound. It has committed a massacre to a residential building, against unarmed children, women at their homes. … The Israeli enemy is taking the region to war.

AMY GOODMAN: Hezbollah responded by firing a barrage of rockets into Israel targeting an air base and weapons factories.

Meanwhile, former CIA director, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has accused Israel of terrorism for rigging thousands of walkie-talkies and pagers to explode in a coordinated attack last week that killed at least 37 people, injuring thousands more in Lebanon. Panetta spoke to CBS News.


LEON PANETTA: I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism. This has gone right into the supply chain. Right into the supply chain. And when you have terror going into the supply chain, it makes people ask the question: What the hell is next?

AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go to Beirut, Lebanon, where we’re joined by two guests. Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a British Palestinian reconstructive surgeon who arrived in Beirut last week to treat some of the thousands of people injured when pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. He’s also worked in Gaza with Doctors Without Borders. Also with us in Beirut is Sintia Issa, editor-at-large at The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization.

We’re going to go to Sintia first. Can you describe the latest in Lebanon, this morning’s attacks that we hear killed, what, 100 people, injuring hundreds more, and then make your way back through the weekend?

SINTIA ISSA: Thank you for having me, Amy.

This morning, between 6 and 7 a.m., as most people were still sleeping, Israel began its largest bombardment campaign of the year in South Lebanon and then gradually it made its way to the Beqaa, reaching all the way north of the Beqaa to the Hermel. That’s about 200 kilometers far from the border. These are locations that were not targeted up until this point in the war. And in fact, this is very reminiscent of 2006. We’re talking about a hundred locations or so, 50 or a hundred locations or so, between villages, towns and various parts of the landscape. Jbeil district, which is not really involved at all in this war, was also targeted, Laqlouq. This is also part of the psychological warfare that we are seeing.

And the bombing itself, you know, we saw plumes that were not necessarily the most familiar, so we’re talking about bombs that may have been added to the arsenal for the first time here in Lebanon, or at least used in Lebanon for the first time. The scale is incomparable so far.

Later, in the afternoon, at around noon, we had maybe another hundred or 200 strikes in different locations. As you did mention, it seems like there’s a hundred people who were killed already and several hundred more definitely wounded and injured. Sites near hospitals were targeted, in a clear indication that what has happened in Gaza may be coming to Lebanon, as well.

In relation to this, as well, southerners, but also different people, reaching Beirut, but mostly in the south, received text messages telling them to leave their homes if their homes contains a missile or a rocket. Israel also infiltrated the landline network in Sour, in the south, and called people and told them to leave if their house contains rockets or if they’re close to any weapons. There’s also a series of videos that Israel has been circulating on social media platforms for propagandistic purposes. These are animations where you can clearly see homes, and inside these homes there are rockets lying there. And the same message is basically telling residents of Lebanon to leave if their homes contains rockets.

So, what we’re seeing here is an attempt to manufacture consent for a carpet-bombing campaign that will no doubt, perhaps — let’s see how far it goes, but it promises at least to resemble a little bit what we’re seeing in Gaza.

AMY GOODMAN: So, how do people know if they’re near some kind of Hezbollah site?

SINTIA ISSA: There is a conflation that’s essentially happening with southerners in Lebanon. There’s a conflation between all civilians and Hezbollah happening at the same time. There is a — if the question is, “Where is Israel attacking right now?” it’s been fairly indiscriminate. We’ve seen that, you know, cities and towns, including the heart of Nabatieh, was bombed. So, the Ghazieh, next to Saida, also the square was bombed. So we’re talking about attacks that are happening in the thick of the towns, densely populated areas, not just in disparate places. And, you know, at the heart of this is an attempt to manufacture consent and kind of try to portray most southernese as Hezbollah operatives, their homes as essentially depots and caches.

AMY GOODMAN: Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem spoke at the funeral of Ibrahim Aqil, killed in Friday’s Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Beirut.


NAIM QASSEM: [translated] The Lebanese support front for Gaza will continue, no matter how long it takes, until the war on Gaza ends. Secondly, the people of the north won’t return. Rather, displacement will increase, and support will expand. The Israeli military solution only deepens Israel’s dilemma and that of the northern population without solving their problems. So, go to Gaza and stop the war.

AMY GOODMAN: So, if you could comment on what he was saying? And also, I wanted to go to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, who told ABC’s This Week the U.S. has been engaged in, quote, “extensive and quite assertive diplomacy.”


JOHN KIRBY: We don’t believe that a military conflict — and we’re saying this directly to our Israeli counterparts, George — we don’t believe that escalating this military conflict is in their best interest. … We want to make sure that we can continue to do everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border.

AMY GOODMAN: Sintia Issa, if you could comment?

SINTIA ISSA: Well, to be very clear, Hezbollah never intended to have a full-on war on Lebanon. That was not a part of their calculation or strategy at all, actually. They were very much interested in and intent on being a front of support and military solidarity to Gaza in the context of a genocide and ethnic cleansing. But Hezbollah never really wanted to have a full-fledged war. This is something that they stated themselves. And if we actually follow the facts on the ground, the actions, we will notice that they tried to work within the rules of engagement, target only military infrastructures and never civilian infrastructures. And that was always the intent. It was always Israel that wants to escalate this into a broader war with Lebanon. And for an entire year, Hezbollah has been trying to deescalate.

Now with what happened on Tuesday and Wednesday with about 3,000 people maimed in Dahieh in the span of seconds and then another assassination on Friday that took the lives of 54 people, injuring many more, it seems like war is forced upon Hezbollah. And if war is forced upon Hezbollah, then they will do it, and it will be a fierce battle, and it will be a costly battle for both sides.

Now, when it comes to the United States and John Kirby saying that, you know, the U.S. is very much trying to work for a ceasefire, again, if we actually try to compare the statements with actions on the ground, there’s large inconsistencies there. And the Lebanese people and the Palestinians and everyone in the region very much recognizes that the U.S. is not in fact trying to work on a ceasefire in real terms. In fact, the U.S. is quite complicit in what is happening in Gaza and now in this coming war on Lebanon. It supplies Israel with 60% of the weapons it’s using in Lebanon and Palestine, but also in Syria. It’s giving it diplomatic immunity in various U.N. Security Councils. And at the ICC, it’s basically stopping any incrimination of Yoav Gallant and Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes and plausible genocide. So the U.S. has been playing a very important role in this war from the very get-go.

And, of course, this question of peace process, you know, one remembers the — this question of ceasefire process, sorry, one remembers the peace process and the question of peace process. This question of process is really a ploy to extend the possibilities of capitulation, the possibilities of, in this case here, genocide in Palestine and increase the war on Lebanon. But the reality is just a ploy that’s presented to give more time to Israel to do more. Unfortunately, that’s the situation.

Of course, the war is maybe a fait accompli or not. I think the war can come to an end, and there are — there is a way out of this war. There is a roadmap. First, if the U.S. is indeed, you know, interested in reaching a ceasefire, it would halt all arms supply to Israel right now, the 60% it supplies. And, you know, since the U.S. does sanction about 30% of the countries in the world, then, in that case, it should be able to sanction Israel for committing war crimes against humanity and a genocide. And then, finally, it would lift all diplomatic and legal impunity for Israel at the ICC, for example. So, there is a road forward to end the war, and that’s to be sure.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to bring Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah into the conversation. You came to Lebanon last week. Interesting to hear the former CIA director, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta talking about the explosions of the pagers and the walkie-talkies as being a terrorist act. Can you talk about the effects on the ground and the kind of injuries you’re seeing, with, I think at last count, 37 dead, thousands injured?

DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH: This is the largest act of mass mutilation we’ve seen, even more than in the civil war in Sierra Leone, where warring parties were chopping each other’s hands off. This is — the explosive put in the pagers was sufficient to maim and not to kill. And so, what you have is over 3,000, with around 90% who have penetrating injuries to the eyes, some of whom both eyes, and a blast injury to the hand, with what we refer to in hand surgery as a mangled hand, because what happened is the pager went off, the victims picked up the pager and then looked at it, and it exploded in their hand facing their faces, and so there are also facial injuries.

Now, the act of booby-trapping these pagers meant that they went off when the people were in their cars with families, when they were in their homes, with kids picking up these pagers when they went off. And so, truly, the aim of this was to mutilate. And I tell my colleagues here that it’s reminiscent of the Marches of Return between 2018 and 2020, when Israel intentionally shot over 8,000 Palestinians in the lower limb with the aim of disablement and mutilation. And so, this is an act that was designed at inflicting disablement, at mutilation of the victims.

AMY GOODMAN: You know, it’s interesting you talk about the seconds’ delay, that it’s most like a double-tap bomb on a much smaller level — right? — when a country bombs another country, and then, as the rescue workers come running to help the people on the ground, they’re bombed again. In this case, it was a pager. And so, first it vibrates, forcing people — well, people instinctively then pick up or go over across the room to where it might not have hurt them, and then, as they pick it up, they are injured or killed.

DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH: And also, what happened the following day is that the walkie-talkies that had also been booby-trapped went off. And these walkie-talkies were being used by paramedics, by ambulance staff, by civil defense staff. And so, there was a kind of second wave of similarly, but with bigger explosive quantities in, with the same aim of inducing that terrible injury, paralyzing the health system and leaving these people with permanent disability.

AMY GOODMAN: On Friday, you were operating on victims of the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, when Israel bombed the residential building in Beirut?

DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH: Yes. And, I mean, that was our biggest worry, is that it highlighted the fact that as a result of around 3,000 wounded in the hospitals, there wasn’t any capacity left in the health system to take any of the wounded. And that’s what forced a lot of the hospitals to push for early discharge of the wounded over the weekend, because we felt that the health system was very exposed with all of these injured people in the beds, and we felt that there’s going to be another wave. And unfortunately, this came true this morning, that we needed to discharge a lot of the wounded early.

What you need to realize, this comes at the end of a four-year economic crisis that has really disabled the Lebanese health system and disabled the Lebanese government in terms of its ability to support the Ministry of Health. So, you have around a third of the doctors and nurses emigrated as a result of the collapse of the Lebanese currency. And you have a health system that’s mainly made up of small and medium-sized private institutions that, you know, just don’t have the purchasing capacity to buy the kind medications, consumables that they need. And those who did, it was used up on Tuesday treating and, since then, treating the 3,000 wounded.

AMY GOODMAN: You worked for weeks in Gaza treating the wounded, the injured there. How does what you’re seeing here in Beirut compare? You told The New York Times, “The Lebanese health system is in no way able to treat war wounded if it were to escalate into a full-blown war. the Lebanese health system is in no way able to treat war wounded if you were to escalate into a full-blown war. We are stuck in this loop. You just operate and operate. You feel like you are playing catch up all the time.” Dr. Abu-Sittah?

DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH: So, when we have these 3,000 wounded all within a couple of hours of each other, they flooded the health system, which then meant that they were being taken to the operating room. Really, I mean, this is the biggest hospital in Lebanon, the American University of Beirut Medical Center. And we had 10 rooms going all the time. We were doing around 50 to 60 cases per day. And it took us from Tuesday night, Wednesday morning ’til Saturday to finish the majority of the initial surgeries.

I mean, these patients, especially for their hand reconstruction, will need between five and 12 surgeries over the next five years to regain some hand function, to try to limit the disability that’s left. The eyes, that’s the even more devastating thing, the eyes, the loss of vision as a result of these injuries. That’s going to leave permanent disability. This is an act of kind of almost mythical mutilation. It’s an act of mutilation, not an — it was not an assassination attempt, but an act of mass mutilation.

AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, we want to thank you for being with us. My final question is — you moved to Beirut in 2011, joined the faculty of the American University of Beirut Hospital. Your mother was born in Lebanon. Why did you choose to go back?

DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH: On Tuesday, I realized, when I was in London — I had been in Glasgow as director, speaking at the opening ceremony of the academic year and then went back to London. And as the news came about on Tuesday morning, Tuesday morning and Tuesday afternoon, I realized the sheer number and the type of injuries which would require reconstructive surgery. And so, that was the decision. I took an overnight flight from London on Tuesday night and got here at 8:00 on Wednesday morning and came straight to the hospital. And we have literally been operating since then.

We’re now trying to clear the hospital, with the news of over 500 now wounded in the south. And we’re expecting these wounded, some of whom to come here, the most critically wounded. The Israelis have been targeting cars on the roads full of fleeing families. And so, we need — you know, I think the most important thing is that the humanitarian sector needs to realize that the Lebanese health system now needs help, before the Israelis bomb the airport. It needs trauma teams to be brought in. It needs them to be fully equipped and fully funded in terms of consumables and medication, because the system is not going to be able to deal with this.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you for being with us, Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, British Palestinian surgeon, speaking to us from Beirut, and Sintia Issa, editor-at-large at The Public Source, also in Beirut, Lebanon.

When we come back, press freedom groups are condemning the Israeli military for raiding and shutting down Al Jazeera’s main West Bank office in Ramallah. The raid was broadcast live on television. We’ll speak with Al Jazeera’s managing editor. Stay with us.
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“Israel Has No Right”: Al Jazeera Managing Editor Slams Israel’s Raid & Closing of West Bank Bureau

DEMOCRACY NOW!

September 23, 2024

This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today.Donate


GuestsMohamed Moawad
managing editor of Al Jazeera.

Links Al Jazeera


Israel stepped up its censorship of Al Jazeera on Sunday as soldiers raided the Qatar-based news network’s Ramallah offices in the occupied West Bank and ordered a 45-day closure of the bureau. This comes after the Netanyahu government banned the network inside of Israel in May under a new media law giving authorities broad power to censor foreign outlets deemed to be security threats. “It was a show of force, a show of intimidation to show journalists around the globe that what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank isn’t allowed to be reported,” Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad tells Democracy Now! Israeli forces have killed as many as 160 journalists in Gaza over the last year, including several who work for Al Jazeera. In 2022, an Israeli sniper killed the network’s acclaimed Palestinian American correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank.

Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.


AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

Press freedom groups are condemning the Israeli military for raiding and shutting down Al Jazeera’s Ramallah office in the occupied West Bank. The raid was broadcast live on TV Sunday morning. Heavily armed Israeli troops were seen entering the office and confiscating equipment while ordering the office closed for at least 45 days. This is an Israeli soldier confronting Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief Walid al-Omari.


ISRAEL SOLDIER: [translated] Good evening. There’s an order from the court to shut down Al Jazeera for 45 days. I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office now.


WALID AL-OMARI: [translated] Should we all leave?


ISRAEL SOLDIER: [translated] This is an order.


WALID AL-OMARI: [translated] Can I see it, please? This is the order which was brought to us by this office and in his military forces. The order says that it is an order to shut down the office of Al Jazeera channel for 45 days. And this is a military decision from the commander of the central area and the Israeli military. It asks us to leave this office immediately and to take our personal belongings and our cameras.

AMY GOODMAN: During the raid, Israeli troops also tore down a poster of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera journalist, the Palestinian American, who was fatally shot by Israeli troops May 11th, 2022, when she was outside the Jenin refugee camp.

Reporters Without Borders responded to this weekend’s raid with a statement denouncing, quote, “Israel’s relentless assault,” unquote, and repeating its call for the repeal of the Israeli law that allows the government to shut down foreign media. U.N. secretary-general spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Sunday the U.N. is deeply concerned about Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera’s offices in the occupied West Bank.


STÉPHANE DUJARRIC: We’re very concerned any time, anywhere in the world, media offices get closed, especially in conflict areas, where journalists are the eyes and ears of the world, and they need to be able to do their job free from harassment or any other type of impediment.

AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go to Doha, where we’re joined by Mohamed Moawad, managing editor of Al Jazeera.

Welcome back to Democracy Now! Can you lay out exactly what happened on Sunday morning, Mohamed?

MOHAMED MOAWAD: Thanks, Amy, for having me. Glad to be back with you.

When we spoke, when we last spoke in May, when the Israeli government took the decision of shutting down our offices in Jerusalem and the Palestinian — and Tel Aviv, I told you that the situation is ambiguous and that the law itself upon which the Israeli government took the decision is ambiguous, as well. It could be weaponized against us anytime. When the Israeli government feel that the intimidation — as type of intimidation isn’t enough, they can go farther, escalate the intimidation process. So, that’s exactly what happened.

Our bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, was live, was live on air, reporting on the exchange of strikes in Lebanon between Hezbollah and the Israeli forces. Suddenly, the Israeli soldiers — these were not ordinary officers, but, rather, you know, fully equipped and ready-for-combat-zone officers and soldiers, and they invade — I say “invade,” not “stormed.” They invaded the office, and they spoke to Walid al-Omari, who stood very strong against them, defending his right for freedom of the press. And he told them, “Why you are here? This is not a combat zone. This is a space for journalism.” They said that there is an order to shut down the office. And that’s when that the whole situation was chilling for us, because, you know, this is a dedicated space for journalism. This is an office for reporters, for journalists. This is not a combat zone.

They then went on to move from corner to corner in the office as if it’s a combat zone. And then they tore down our late colleague Shireen Abu Akleh’s picture from the wall. They stole all equipments from inside the office, despite the fact that the order itself that was handed to Walid al-Omari did not mention anything about equipments. And then they went farther, to follow our colleagues downstairs, where they continued reporting about the incident, and they took the mic from Walid al-Omari and said, “You’re not allowed to work here. Go home.”

But, you know, the whole situation here is not shutting down an office, it’s not a decision by the Israeli government that was executed by the army, a fully equipped army, but, rather, an invasion to the very principle of the press freedom around the world.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain how the Israeli military has jurisdiction here? Your Ramallah bureau, which is in charge of the whole West Bank coverage of Al Jazeera, is in Area A, an area marked as being under Palestinian control in the Oslo Accords. So what legal jurisdiction did Israel have to come in with their heavily armed soldiers?

MOHAMED MOAWAD: That’s why, Amy, it’s very difficult for us to find a way to challenge this legally, because, really, the whole situation is ambiguous. They say this is emergency law. This is according to the defense minister of Israel, an order by him to the army to enter the West Bank and shut down an office which does not — you know, does not include the power of the Israeli army in this area because it’s an area that is under the jurisdiction A, which is mainly for the Palestinian Authority to decide about.

But, you know, the whole — Israel has no right to kill over 160 journalists in Gaza, I mean, and they’ve done it, and they continue to do it. They’ve killed three colleagues at Al Jazeera. They continue to commit atrocities against journalists. So, it wasn’t surprising. By the way, it was the least decision, the least action they have taken against us, because we’ve lost colleagues.

But at the same time, it was a show of force, a show of intimidation to show journalists around the globe that what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank isn’t allowed to be reported about and that the coverage of Al Jazeera is an enemy for the Israeli government, despite the fact that we haven’t and we’re not weaponizing at all, and we’re not going to do that. We’re not weaponizing our platform, despite the fact that we are being intimidated, we have lost colleagues.

Just before I came on air, we’ve been airing the Israeli forces press conference. And we continue to do that, despite the fact that the Israeli government shut down our offices in Israel and the Palestinian territories to try to delegitimize our coverage and say that Al Jazeera is a one-sided coverage, don’t operate there. But we continue to cover. We continue to make sure that we give voice to the voiceless and at the same time make sure that both narratives are kind of covered.

AMY GOODMAN: One of the things you do on Al Jazeera when reporters are reporting on Israel, since you’re banned from Israel, is repeatedly say that. That’s unlike U.S. networks that don’t say, when they’re reporting on Gaza, that the Israeli military prevents them from going into Gaza. Talk about that editorial decision that you’ve made, as you have reporters in Amman and other places saying, “We are not allowed to be in Israel as we report this right now,” and what these images mean that you’re broadcasting that others don’t.

MOHAMED MOAWAD: This is exactly what we should be talking about, Amy. Shutting down Al Jazeera’s office is the headline, but the name of the game is preventing journalists from doing their job, either in Gaza, in the West Bank. They want us to report remotely. They don’t want us to be in the frontlines. And that’s crystal clear.

I mean, the whole international journalistic community should be talking about one topic when they see a journalist killed in Gaza. They should be talking about one topic when they see an office shut down in Gaza or in West Bank or in Israel. The one topic is: No international journalist was allowed to enter Gaza to cover the war there, to give voice to the voiceless, which is at the core of this and the principle, the main principle, of this profession. No international journalists.

Even the international journalistic community is not placing pressure on Israel to allow their colleagues to get into Gaza to cover. Remember the Arab Spring, when so many American and Western journalists challenged the bureaucracy of the authoritarian regimes to go cover from Tahrir Square or from Tunisia or from Syria or from Libya. Right now no one is placing that pressure. And it’s really, really annoying, because we should be defending the freedom of the press. We should be defending the right to know what’s happening there. We should not be — we should not shy from what’s happening in Gaza and be part of this concealing that the Israeli government is trying to do to conceal what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank and the atrocities being committed. They just want us to report remotely.

And we will continue to remind the world and the journalistic community that this is happening and that you should unite to place pressure on the Israeli government to give the right for journalists to enter Gaza. Even after a possible ceasefire, this should be the case to uncover what’s really happened there. I remind you that we still have six correspondents reporting from Gaza. And that’s something that we are committed to. We are committed to give voice to the voiceless. An office is nothing for us. We will continue the coverage. We asked our colleagues to stay safe in the West Bank right now until we figure out the legal procedure, because, as I told you, Amy, the situation is ambiguous. We can’t really know on what basis that decision was taken, but we expected it.

AMY GOODMAN: Mohamed Moawad, I want to thank you for being with us, managing editor of Al Jazeera, speaking to us from Al Jazeera’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Taiwan investigators widen probe into Lebanon device blasts

Taiwanese investigators initially searched four locations and questioned two people including Gold Apollo’s head, who has denied producing the devices. 

ST
Sep 23, 2024

TAIPEI – Taiwan investigators on Sept 23 questioned two more employees of a tech firm as part of a probe into the delivery of exploding communications devices to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Questions abound over where the devices came from and how they were supplied to the militant group after hundreds of pagers and two-way radios detonated across Lebanon on Sept 17, killing at least 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000.

The New York Times reported that Israel had inserted explosive material into a shipment of pagers from Taiwan’s Gold Apollo, citing US and other anonymous officials.

Taiwanese investigators initially searched four locations and questioned two people, including Gold Apollo’s head, Mr Hsu Ching-kuang, who has denied producing the devices.

On Sept 23, the prosecutors’ office said it had questioned two more company employees.

“Today, it also directed the National Security division... to interview former or current employees of (Gold Apollo) as witnesses,” said the prosecutors’ office in Taipei’s Shilin district, where the company is based.

“The two helped clarify the case, and the whole case is under intensive investigation,” the prosecutors’ office said in a statement.

Investigators have so far not named any of the witnesses, though Mr Hsu was seen on Sept 19 shuttling between the office and his headquarters with investigators.

Gold Apollo had initially pointed the finger at its Hungary-based partner BAC Consulting KFT, which the Taiwanese company had allowed to use its trademark.

But a Hungarian government spokesman said BAC Consulting KFT was “a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary”.

Taiwanese media had identified Mr Wu Yu-jen, a representative of Gold Systems – reportedly connected to BAC Consulting KFT – as another person brought in for questioning.

The island’s economic minister had said the authorities were “certain” that the exploding pagers in Lebanon were “not produced in Taiwan”. AFP

Thousands of lawyers protest judicial reforms in Morocco

Pamel Kaur | U. Auckland Law School, NZ

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 

Around 5,000 Moroccan lawyers protested a series of judicial reforms proposed by the government in Rabat on Saturday which would significantly diminish the role of defence lawyers and harm the integrity of the justice system.

The lawyers argue that the proposed reforms to Morocco’s Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code violate key legal principles by limiting a lawyer’s involvement in critical stages of legal proceedings. One of the most contentious points is the introduction of procedural changes that reduce the role of defence attorneys in civil and criminal cases. These changes are seen as a direct threat to the rights of defendants, as they limit access to adequate legal representation and, by extension, fair trials.

The President of the Bar Association, Elhoussain Iziani, criticized the controversial provisions of the reforms of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Penal Code, citing a section that permits the prosecution to “retry a case that has been judged”. There are concerns that this will undermine the rule of law by making judicial decisions subject to manipulation through retrials. Additional problematic provisions that Iziani highlighted include the creation of a mandate that would replace lawyers, the elimination of the Court of Cassation appeal process for cases worth less than 80,000 dirhams and a ban on filing an appeal for cases worth less than 40,000 dirhams.

According to French outlet Belpresse, the possibility of a strike cannot be ruled out in order to exert pressure on the government. Some attorneys are even discussing the notion of royal arbitration behind closed doors. Iziani emphasised that Morocco’s profession is currently experiencing an unprecedented crisis and urged the government to adequately oversee the laws.

Speech by UK Treasury chief interrupted by protesters over Gaza, climate change

'Still backing polluters, still arming Israel – we voted for change,' say protesters

Aysu Bicer |23.09.2024 - 



LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom

The UK Treasury chief faced an unexpected interruption on Monday when activists from the group Climate Resistance disrupted her keynote speech.

During the speech by Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the Exchequer, at a ruling Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, protesters stood up and unfurled a banner reading, "Still backing polluters, still arming Israel – we voted for change," in a direct challenge to Labour policies.

One of the activists shouted loudly: "We are still selling arms to Israel! I thought we voted for change, Rachel!" before being dragged out of the hall by security.

As the disruption unfolded, additional protesters were heard chanting "free Palestine" and "stop oil," pointing to environmental concerns and the UK’s continued support for Israel.

Reeves, appearing unrattled, responded firmly,: "Labour has become a party that represents working people, not a party of protest."

Sam Simons, a spokesman for the campaign group, said: "Labour promised us change – instead we’re getting more of the same.

"The same pandering to the fossil fuel industry, the same arms licenses that are fueling a genocide in Gaza, and the same austerity that sees the poorest hit hardest.”

He added: "It’s time for Labour to start putting the needs of people before the interests of profit.

"That means immediately stopping arms licenses to Israel, blocking new oil and gas, and standing up for the communities already being devastated by the climate crisis."

Labour swept into power in July, ending 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

US Ports Are Threatened With Strikes in Election-Season Jolt

By Laura CurtisSeptember 23, 2024 at 6:30AM EDT

McCown Container Results Observe

(Bloomberg) -- Just as US policymakers shift focus from curbing inflation to shoring up the job market, the economy faces a jolt that threatens the kind of supply-chain disruption and consumer discontent rife during the pandemic.

This time, the shock looms just weeks before a knife-edged election.

Some 45,000 dockworkers at every major eastern and Gulf coast port are threatening to strike Oct. 1. With talks at a stalemate since June, industry officials now believe a strike is inevitable, and ocean carriers and port operators have started sending out customer advisories and making contingency plans.

The trade gateways involved handle more than half of all goods shipped in containers to and from the US. A weeklong strike could cost the economy as much as $7.5 billion, according to one estimate. Millions of boxes of specialized cargo like bananas, plywood and autos could be hit, though energy terminals wouldn’t be affected.

If a strike does proceed, the flow of consumer goods, components for factories and certain vehicles would seize up, disrupting auto supply chains and other manufacturing networks in election battleground states. Refrigerated fruit imports and fresh meat exports would face spoilage and diversions, leading to shortages and higher prices.


The ripple effects would spread globally as port congestion bogs down shipping capacity and drives up freight rates, analysts warn.

The two sides remain far apart. The union is demanding a near-80% raise over six years, arguing workers deserve a share of profits won by foreign-owned container carriers during the pandemic. Reluctant to set such a precedent — and with some reserves in the bank — companies could wait it out longer than usual.

“A sleeping giant is ready to roar on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, if a new Master Contract Agreement is not in place,” Harold Daggett, the tough-talking leader of the International Longshoremen’s Association, said in a Sept. 17 statement.

Terminal operators and ocean carriers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, said in August their offer contains an “industry leading” wage increase — closer to the 32% won by West Coast dockworkers last summer.

But there’s another, even more intractable issue at stake. Daggett is demanding more restrictive language on automation, alleging certain companies are using technology in violation of the current contract.

Automation Fight

USMX’s offer preserves language on technology that’s in the current contract, which its members view as a concession against a global backdrop where automation is widely used at the world’s largest facilities, including in China, the Netherlands and UAE.

In a statement Monday, the USMX said despite additional attempts they have been unable to schedule a meeting with the union. The group said it’s heard from federal agencies, and would be open to working with federal mediators if the union were willing.

“We want to bargain and avoid a strike, but time is running out if the ILA is unwilling to return to the table,” the USMX said.

With just over a week before the deadline, the deadlock risks turning into a game of chicken that threatens an economy that’s weathering a sharp slowdown in job growth with lingering inflation concerns.

It would also test the White House’s willingness to get involved in the final month of a campaign geared toward winning union votes. Retailers, trade groups and House lawmakers are calling on the administration to help with negotiations — and intervene should a strike occur.


The union has warned the White House against getting involved. It has withheld endorsing a presidential candidate, though, according to Daggett, former President Donald Trump, “promised to support the ILA in its opposition to automated terminals” during a Mar-a-Lago meeting last fall. Neither Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris has drawn public attention to the strike threat.

Auto Industry

Jason Miller, an expert on supply chains at Michigan State University, assessed the goods most reliant on the affected ports, and found auto parts would be particularly hard hit. That could put carmakers in swing states like Michigan and Georgia in a bind.

Stellantis NV, which is facing its own strike threat, has an inventory buildup thanks to slow sales, though supply-chain issues could still hamper production of particular models. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Foreign automakers would also be affected, Miller says. South Korean parts imports enter primarily through the East and Gulf Coasts, feeding Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. plants in Alabama, Georgia and, to a lesser extent, Michigan.

BMW AG, the top US auto exporter, ships about 60% of its production out of South Carolina. The German company also imports all of the engines and transmissions it uses in US-made gas-powered vehicles, plus some high-end models.

A Bananageddon?

The impact on everyday staples would appear soonest in items that cannot be stockpiled. Americans consume more bananas per capita than any other fresh fruit, and, according to Miller, two-thirds of them are unloaded at East and Gulf Coast ports.

As a key distribution hub for Dole Fresh Fruit Co. and Chiquita Fresh North America, Port Wilmington in Delaware is the nation’s No. 1 gateway for bananas and an entryway for a range of other fruit — grapes from Chile, clementines from Morocco, pears from Argentina and kiwifruit from New Zealand.

They’d spoil if left on the docks too long, or face higher costs given the delays and extra refrigeration needs.

“Any fruit that arrives after Oct. 1 will be condemned to the trash can” if dockworkers walk out, said produce importer Peter Kopke, Sr. “And all of the people who have invested in that business will lose a fortune.”

Kopke’s imports — mainly citrus and grapes at the moment — mostly enter through Wilmington and Philadelphia, ending up at stores like those of Walmart Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp. and Target Corp. nationwide. For consumers, the price of fruit would go up within a week or two and “many small firms, privately owned, may be forced out of business,” he said.

Gabriela D’Arrigo, a marketing executive at produce distributor D’Arrigo New York, said if imports stopped “we would go out of the West Coast/LA, and then truck it” if needed — showcasing the kind of disruptions a strike would entail.

The union is set to meet Tuesday to discuss details on how certain goods would be treated during a strike, including whether some shipments would continue to be unloaded, according to an ILA spokesperson, who declined to comment on whether bananas or other fresh fruit are at risk.

Chilled beef and pork exports are also particularly vulnerable.

President’s Powers

“The protein supply chain cannot be stopped: the calves, hogs keep growing,” said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. “The frozen products can be stored, in cold storage facilities, but those will be quickly filled to capacity.”

President Joe Biden could ultimately invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which would force workers back to work during a “cooling off period” — though that could jeopardize union support for Harris heading into election day.

The Biden-Harris administration has never invoked Taft-Hartley to break a strike and isn’t considering doing so now, a White House official said last week.

As for the broader economic impact, the backlog from a weeklong strike would take at least four weeks to clear and impose a $4.5 billion to $7.5 billion hit, according to Grace Zwemmer at Oxford Economics. She expects that the drag would be made up once the strike is resolved and ports process any backlogs.

But by then the election will be over.

--With assistance from Cailley LaPara, Chester Dawson and Gabrielle Coppola.

(Updates with statement from employer group in second paragraph after ‘Automation Fight’ subheadline.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Russia explores the 42-year-sunken nuclear sub    K-27 in the Kara Sea



By Boyko Nikolov On Sep 23, 2024

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has revealed that its diving specialists are currently inspecting the K-27 nuclear submarine, which sank in the Kara Sea over four decades ago. The announcement came through its official Telegram channel, stating that the submarine, found in Stepovoy Bay, is classified as a radiation-hazardous facility. The K-27, a notorious relic from the era of the Soviet Union, has long been a concern due to the radiation threat it poses to the surrounding environment.

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The Ministry highlighted that the divers will dedicate the next month to evaluating the condition of the K-27, braving the extreme cold both in the air and water of the region. These inspections are part of Russia’s broader initiative to monitor and mitigate potential threats from its aging fleet of nuclear-powered vessels.

Meanwhile, in Kaliningrad, emergency teams have been scrutinizing the hull of a World War II shipwreck near the Pioneer Resort. This particular wreck has also been deemed a potential safety risk due to its closeness to a popular recreational spot. Although no explosives were found, the successful removal of other hazardous elements underscored the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to secure underwater wrecks across Russia.

Photo credit: Russian URRGS

In the past five years, the Ministry’s diving units have removed nearly 126,000 explosive objects from various underwater locations, highlighting the enduring danger associated with submerged military vessels.

The K-27 stands out in naval history for its groundbreaking role. Launched in 1963, it was a unique Soviet experiment designed to test new nuclear technology, making it the sole submarine of the Project 645 class. Modeled on the November-class [Project 627 Kit], it featured two VT-1 lead-bismuth liquid-metal-cooled reactors—smaller and more powerful than the more common pressurized water reactors but notoriously complex to operate.

Known as the “Zolotaya Rybka” [Little Golden Fish] for its high costs and crew luxuries, the K-27 represented the pinnacle of Soviet naval technology. Its elite crew enjoyed rare perks for the time, such as citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, which were uncommon for most Soviet citizens.

Photo credit: Reddit

The submarine was also famous for its safety features, with reactors explicitly designed to prevent the malfunctions seen in other Soviet submarines. To prove this, Captain Pavel Leonov famously sat atop one of the reactors, reassuring the crew, who were otherwise reluctant to enter the reactor compartment.

Despite its innovative design, the K-27 struggled with radiation issues from the beginning. Crew members initially detected radioactive particles on board, although these early warnings were largely disregarded.

The defining moment in the K-27’s operational saga occurred on May 24, 1968, when a significant reactor malfunction changed everything. The power output of the VT-1 reactor suddenly plunged from 87% to a mere 7%, and an alarming surge of gamma radiation flooded the reactor compartment.


Vyacheslav Mazurenko, a 22-year-old warrant officer at the time, later recalled the chilling instant they realized the gravity of their predicament: “We had a radiation detector, but it was turned off. When our radiation supervisor switched it on, it went off the scale.”



Tragically, the crew did not comprehend the full extent of the reactor failure until it was too late. By the time they managed to surface the submarine and return to their base at Gremikha on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, all 144 crew members had been exposed to radiation. Sadly, nine of them succumbed to radiation poisoning in the months that followed. The K-27 was permanently taken out of active service in June 1968 and eventually decommissioned in 1979.

In 1982, the K-27 was towed to the Arctic Novaya Zemlya nuclear testing range and deliberately sunk in the Kara Sea at a depth of 33 meters [108 feet]. Soviet authorities filled the submarine with asphalt to seal its fuel-filled reactors and drilled a hole in its aft ballast tank to ensure it would remain submerged.


However, this fix was always intended to be a stopgap measure. Experts caution that the sealant around the reactors is slated to last only until 2032. After this period, there’s a genuine concern about potential radiation leakage. Even more alarming is the possibility that the highly enriched uranium in the K-27’s reactors could spark an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction under certain conditions, posing a significant threat to the Arctic environment.

In recent years, Moscow has voiced growing concerns about the environmental hazards posed by the K-27 and other submerged Soviet submarines, such as the K-159. Combined, these vessels contain approximately one million curies of radiation. To put that into perspective, it’s about a quarter of the radiation released in the first month of the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Efforts to retrieve the K-27 and the K-159 are part of a wider plan aimed at reclaiming nuclear waste dumped in the Barents and Kara Seas during the Soviet era.

Raising the K-27 is no simple task. It’s a complex and expensive endeavor, with costs expected to exceed 300 million euros [$326 million]. European entities like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD] and Norway had initially shown interest in supporting these projects. However, geopolitical tensions—further strained by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—have led international partners to withdraw from the initiative. Consequently, the challenge now falls squarely on Moscow’s shoulders.


Despite its efforts, Russia currently lacks the necessary technology to safely recover the K-27. Back in 2001, a Dutch vessel achieved the recovery of the Kursk submarine. However, given current international relations, the Netherlands or other European nations are unlikely to assist Russia with the K-27 operation.



The deteriorating condition of the K-27 submarine presents a significant threat to the fragile Arctic ecosystem. With continued corrosion, the risks of radiation leaks will escalate. Thomas Nilsen, editor of the Independent Barents Observer, has warned, “Radiation leakages will come sooner or later if we just leave the K-27 there. The sub has already been on the seafloor for 30 years, and it was rusty even before it was sunk.”

In 2012, experts on radioactive contamination highlighted the critical need for careful handling of the K-27’s reactors during any recovery efforts. Excessive disturbance of the reactors could trigger an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction, leading to severe radioactive contamination in the Arctic waters.

Photo credit: Facebook

Russia’s ambitions to address its nuclear legacy in the Arctic are met with significant challenges. Without international cooperation, the likelihood of effectively recovering the K-27 and other nuclear waste remains low. The urgent environmental and safety concerns surrounding the K-27 underscore the pressing need for a global solution to nuclear waste recovery, ensuring the long-term protection of the Arctic and its unique ecosystem.



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