USA
More changes on the COVID vaccine mandate for 11,000 Hanford workers


Annette Cary
Sun., November 21, 2021

Nearly 11,000 workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation have been given more time to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive an exemption.

There also appears to be a move by at least some employers at the site to allow accommodations that will allow more of those with approved religious or medical exemptions to continue working.

However, the deadline extension does not cover about 300 Hanford site workers who are employed directly by DOE. They face a Monday, Nov. 22, deadline to prove they are vaccinated.

The majority of Hanford workers are employed by DOE contractors and their subcontractors.

They had been given a vaccine mandate deadline of Dec. 8, but that has been extended to allow them until Jan. 18 to be fully vaccinated.

Because they are not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their final required dose of the vaccine, they have until Jan. 4 to receive the single dose required of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or the second dose required of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

The vaccine mandate for federal contractor employees has been contentious at Hanford, with almost 300 Hanford workers filing a lawsuit in federal court asking that the vaccine mandate be immediately overturned.

A Richland rally in opposition to the mandate drew hundreds on Nov. 3.

The mandate was extended after the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force changed the deadline and Hanford officials discussed the change with union leadership.

Workers may apply for a religious or medical exemption. But plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit say that while exemptions have been granted, accommodations have not been made in many cases to allow people who are not vaccinated to continue working.

The lawsuit claims that so many Hanford workers could lose their jobs due to the mandate that the nuclear reservation could not be kept safe and secure.

Scott Sax, president of Central Plateau Cleanup Co., said in a memo to workers late last week that leaders there would re-evaluate exemption requests.

They will to determining if a combination of masking, social distancing and weekly testing could be considered a suitable accommodation based on job classifications and workers’ day-to-day tasks.

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force has identified COVID-19 testing as a potential alternative to vaccination, he said in the memo.

“These are difficult decisions being made in very challenging times,” he said. “Each of us is entitled to our respective viewpoint and choice.”

Amy Schatz, manager of workforce resources at Washington River Protection Solutions, sent a similar message to that contractor’s employees.

“My hope is that each of you recognizes that we are making our best effort to choose a path that will protect our employees and bring us into compliance with our federally mandated contract requirements,” she told employees.

Most Hanford workers are being told they need to submit their vaccination status in the next few weeks.

Some contractors are contacting employees who have not yet submitted information and one is sending out a questionnaire for them to answer.

The 580-square-mile nuclear reservation next to the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington.

It was used from World War II through the Cold War to produce about two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

A COVID-19 vaccine requirement for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, DOE’s other large Tri-Cities facility, took effect last week as ordered by DOE contractor Battelle for 5,300 employees.

Some 94% of staff were fully or partially vaccinated by the deadline.

PNNL has lost 31 employees, or less than 1 % of its workforce, to retirement, resignation or termination because of the requirement to be vaccinated or have an exemption approved.

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Original Document (PDF) »

Contributed by Cameron Probert (Tri-City Herald)

On the scrap heap: Syria's 'horrific' child labour

Syria's decade-long conflict forced 15-year-old Mohammad Makhzoum out of the classroom and into a scrapyard, where the orphan works 12 hours a day to support his younger siblings.


© Bakr ALKASEM

Syrian boys transport coal in the town of al-Bab; conditions children work in are described as 'horrific' by the UN

Mohammad, who has been working since he was nine, leaves home everyday at dawn for a basic foundry where he helps melt metal amid thick and toxic black fumes.


© Bakr ALKASEM

Mohammad Makhzoum, 15, was orphaned during Syria's civil war and now works at a scrapyard, supporting his younger siblings

He said he wanted to make sure his sister and two brothers avoid a fate that has beset so many of Syria's children.

"I am their mother and father," he said, his face covered in soot, speaking from the run-down scrapyard in the northern city of al-Bab.

"I work so that they can continue their studies, because... they shouldn't be denied an education like I was."

An estimated 2.5 million children in Syria are out of school, with another 1.6 million at risk of dropping out, according to the UN's children agency UNICEF.

It estimates that nine in ten children in Syria live in poverty and more than 5,700 children -– some as young as seven -– have been recruited to fight.

- Worsening situation -

There is no official data in Syria on child labour rates. But they are believed to have steadily increased throughout the course of the conflict, with the coronavirus pandemic and an economic crisis fuelling further spikes over the past year.


© Bakr ALKASEM

Twelve-year-old Amer al-Shayban works at a makeshift oil refinery, seen here holding his baby sister in the Syrian town of al-Bab

"It is evident that child labour has increased in Syria...because of Covid-19 and the worsening economic crisis," UNICEF spokesperson Juliette Touma said.

"Children in Syria, when they are involved in labour, are exposed to conditions that are absolutely horrific," she said.


© Bakr ALKASEM

Few of Syria's children currently stand a chance of getting a decent life

Mohammad, who originally hails from the town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib district, dropped out of school at the age of nine to support his family after his father was killed by artillery shells fired by government forces.


© Bakr ALKASEM

Nadim al-Nako, aged 12, has given up hope of ever returning to school, after he dropped out two years ago

Two years ago, his mother was killed during a battle between rebels and regime forces in the same area.

He fled with his siblings to al-Bab, where they live in a small bullet-riddled flat, furnished with nothing but thin foam mattresses.

His weekly income of five dollars barely covers their food needs, but Mohammad still manages to source enough for his siblings' school supplies.

"I work for their sake... I like to see them comfortable," he said. "I want to see them become doctors or teachers, without having to suffer like I had to."

But few of Syria's children currently stand a chance of getting a decent life.

- 'War destroyed our dreams' -

At a makeshift oil refinery in al-Bab, 12-year-old Amer al-Shayban knelt in the freezing mud as he packed handfuls of charcoal in a plastic bag.

Then he dragged the heavy bag -- nearly half his size -- to feed a furnace that emits toxic fumes.

"I am forced to work... it's not in my hands," Amer said, explaining that he is the main breadwinner for his family.

"I work summers and winters in the refinery to support my parents... my chest hurts regularly because of the smoke and fumes."

When Amer finishes his shift, he washes off soot from his hands and walks to a nearby displacement camp, where he lives with his parents and five younger siblings.

His father suffers from diabetes and clogged arteries, leaving the family mostly reliant on Amer's monthly income of five dollars.

"I dream of carrying a pen and a notebook and going to school," he said. "That is better than the furnaces, the diesel and this smell."

Nadim al-Nako, aged 12, has given up hope of ever returning to school, after he dropped out two years ago.

Nadim works with a blowtorch most of the day -- without any safety googles -- in his father's workshop to make pots and pans.

His salary goes entirely to household expenses, he said.

"War destroyed our dreams," he said. "I don't care anymore about school or anything of the like, the only thing I care about is this profession."

str/rh/ho/jmm/pjm

AFP

Five years after peace pact, violence haunts Colombia

Soldiers still patrol Marquetalia, birthplace of the now-defunct FARC guerilla group

 (AFP/Raul ARBOLEDA)More

Hector Velasco
Mon, November 22, 2021, 

In 2016, the world hailed the peace accords that saw Latin America's most fearsome guerrilla group lay down arms to end a devastating, near six-decade conflict in Colombia.

But five years on, the peace remains fragile and violence endemic.

The accords dramatically slowed the national homicide rate.

Some 3,000 people per year were killed on average over more than five decades as a direct result of the conflict, according to Hernando Gomez Buendia of the Razon Publica news site.

In 2017, this number dropped to 78.

Overall, Colombia's homicide rate before 2012, when peace talks began, was about 12,000 per year -- those directly linked to the conflict and not, Juan Carlos Garzon of the Ideas for Peace Foundation told AFP.

From 2013 to 2016, it dropped to about 9,000 per year.

But the rate is on the rise again as Colombia experiences its most violent period in years.

"The bad news is that between January and September 2021, we are again at the level of 10,500 homicides," said Garzon.

Despite the dissolution of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), thousands of dissidents battle rivals for control of drug fields, illegal gold mines and lucrative smuggling routes.

According to the Indepaz peace research institute, there are 90 armed groups with some 10,000 members active in Colombia.

They include more than 5,000 FARC dissidents who rejected peace, some 2,500 members of the National Liberation Army or ELN -- the country's last active guerrilla group, and another 2,500 rightwing paramilitary fighters.

Last month, the UN warned that the deteriorating security situation represented a "considerable challenge" to the country's 2016 peace accords.

"The disarmament of FARC has produced a power void... that has benefited other armed actors," said Garzon.

- Narco wars -

The accords signed on November 24, 2016 promised to bring peace to a country traumatized by years of violence.

But things got off to a rocky start: Just days before the signing, 50.21 percent of Colombians rejected the deal in a referendum -- a setback that required last-minute adjustments to the document and deeply divided the country.

The justice promised in the more than 300-page peace deal for hundreds of thousands of victims of the conflict is yet to come.

A special tribunal set up to try the worst atrocities has charged former FARC commanders with the kidnapping of at least 21,000 people and the recruitment of 18,000 minors.

Senior military officials have been charged with killing some 6,400 civilians presented as guerillas.

No verdicts have yet been passed.

The tribunal has the authority to offer alternatives to jail time to people who confess their crimes and make reparations to victims -- a system some fear will let criminals get off scot-free.

"The peace process has served the culprits, but it has not served the victims of the FARC," police general Luis Mendieta, held hostage by the rebels for 12 years, told AFP.

"We are cooperating... but it was a war of more than 50 years and solving it in one, two or three years will not be possible," said ex-guerilla-turned senator Sandra Ramirez.

- Return to criminal life -

Former combatants of the FARC, which has since transformed itself into a minority political party, have also paid a heavy price: some 293 have been killed since the signing of the accords, either by rival groups or their dissident former brothers in arms.

Others, like FARC commander Ivan Marquez who helped negotiate the deal, took up arms again.

The deal also has not brought an end to Colombia's vast and violent narcotrafficking problem, with many of those who signed the pact having "returned to criminal life" as "coca grew exponentially," according to President Ivan Duque in a recent interview with AFP.

The document encouraged the voluntary substitution of illicit crops -- mainly coca used in cocaine-making -- with legal ones, but farmers complain that they have not received any help.

Colombia remains the world's biggest producer and exporter of cocaine.

In the cities, too, violence is rife amid high levels of unemployment and poverty, with a recent wave of often deadly robberies that prompted the government in September to deploy some 1,500 soldiers to assist police in crime prevention.

In May, violence also marred anti-government protests that were brutally put down by the police and soldiers.

More than 60 people were killed in weeks of clashes and a clampdown condemned by the UN, United States, European Union and international rights groups.

hec/vel/mlr/ec

Doomed 'Dune' storyboards sell for 2.7mn euros





Mon, November 22, 2021

The storyboards for the doomed 1970s film version of sci-fi classic "Dune" sold for 2.66 million euros ($3 million) at auction on Monday, around 100 times the expected price.

Long considered a mythical object by sci-fi fans, the notebook of drawings for the film by Franco-Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky triggered a bidding war at Christie's in Paris.

The film project was supposed to bring together some major stars of the period including Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger and Pink Floyd -- but fell apart after four years of preparation due to lack of funding.

The auction went down to two determined bidders, with an American eventually emerging victorious.

Christie's admitted their initial valuation for the drawings -- between 25,000 and 35,000 euros -- had failed to account for the spike in interest triggered by the new version of the film starring Timothee Chalamet, that has topped box offices around the world in recent months.

The drawings are collected in one large notebook, and were made by celebrated French graphic novelist Moebius (alias Jean Giraud, who died in 2012) and Swiss illustrator Giger, who went on to design the movie "Alien" in 1979 and died in 2014.

As well as Dali and Jagger, the tumultuous Dune project was also due to feature veteran Hollywood legends Orson Welles and Gloria Swanson in the cast, with Pink Floyd among the bands approached for the soundtrack.

Its infamous collapse was retold in the 2013 documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune".

The brainchild of author Frank Herbert, the novel "Dune" was first published in 1965 and became a six-volume space opera of massive influence, not least on the "Star Wars" franchise.

Following the latter's blockbuster box office success, Hollywood took renewed interest in "Dune" in the early 1980s.

That led to David Lynch's version, released in 1984 with a cast including British musician Sting and Patrick Stewart of "Star Trek: Next Generation". But that Dune movie had its own troubles and became one of the decade's biggest flops.

Jodorowsky's storyboards were said to have influenced later hits of the genre including "Blade Runner".

"We know of several other copies: one was offered for auction several years ago, another is in Jodorowsky's possession... A third has been partially reproduced online," said Christie's.

It said around 10 to 20 copies were produced, though it was hard to be certain.

jfg-pr/er/pvh

Climate warming forecasts may be too rosy: study

by Marlowe Hood

Most studies on global warming impacts contrast a "do nothing" scenario of 

unabated carbon emissions with a not-always plausible pathway to a 1.5C world.

UN projections of how much current climate policies and national pledges to cut carbon pollution will slow global warming are more uncertain than widely assumed, researchers reported Monday.

Leading into this month's COP26 summit, the UN said existing policies would see Earth's average surface temperature rise a "catastrophic" 2.7 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2100.

Renewed pledges from large emitters such as India would have a negligible effect on warming this century, the UN said during COP26, and were still worlds away from the Paris Agreement temperature goal of 1.5C of warming.

But the apparent precision of these estimates is misleading, according to a new study, written by several contributors to the UN reports it calls into question.

"The false precision to climate outcomes given during COP26 may lead countries to believe they are making good progress, when the opposite may be true," said first author Ida Sognnaes, a senior scientist at the CICERO climate research centre in Olso.

At issue is the standard method used to connect the dots between a set of climate policies and the end-of-century temperature increases they might lead to.

Most climate projections are based on models that start with the desired temperature outcome –- a cap on global warming of 1.5C or 2C, for example -– and then work backwards to see what policy levers need to be pulled in order to get there.

In this "backcasting" approach, experts adjust variables such as coal use, renewables and afforestation to hit the end-of-century target.

"Our study is a 'forecast'," said CICERO's director of research Glen Peters. "We model out where existing policies take us and then see where we end up."

Seven different climate modelling groups used this technique to assess how voluntary pledges under the Paris treaty running to 2030—known as nationally determined contributions—would play out by 2100.

Unrealistic scenarios

Their estimates, published in Nature Climate Change, ranged from 2.2C to 2.9C, roughly in line with the UN figures.

What stood out, however, was the lack of certainty.

"If you take the low end of that range, it may sound like we are really close to meeting the Paris goals," Peters told AFP.

"But it is equally likely that the outcome could be up around 3C, in which case much stronger policies would be needed."

Peters compared the new study's methods to those used to measure the impact of COVID policies such as mask wearing, social distancing or vaccination.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, COVID modelling has been updated every few months based on how policy is seen to be affecting the spread of the virus.

"New policy is based on where we are actually heading, not where we may have been heading if there was no action taken," Peters said.

Most studies on global warming impacts contrast a worst-case scenario of unabated carbon emissions, on the one hand, with aggressively optimistic pathways to a 1.5C world on the other.

The reality, however, is somewhere in between these extremes, and is likely to stay there for decades.

"We are filling a gap in the literature, and putting our money where our mouth is," Peters explained.New emissions pledges barely affect global heating: UN

More information: Ida Sognnaes, A multi-model analysis of long-term emissions and warming implications of current mitigation efforts, Nature Climate Change (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01206-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01206-3

Journal information: Nature Climate Change 

© 2021 AFP

‘Becoming Cousteau’ Shows Jacques Cousteau Sound Alarm For Climate Change In The ‘70s – Contenders Documentary

Fred Topel
Sun, November 21, 2021



Becoming Cousteau director Liz Garbus said her documentary about ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau shows that he recognized the dangers of climate change decades ago. Garbus spoke with Deadline’s Matthew Carey at Contenders Film: Documentary.

“We saw him start talking about it as early as 1971,” Garbus said. “When he started talking about coral reefs, he started talking about species of fish that were no longer populating areas he was diving in. And so he just, through firsthand experience, became concerned about the undersea world.”

Cousteau attended the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro as one of the only non-heads of state invited to speak. By then, he had a lot more to warn polluters about.

“He [was] really granted that global audience to sound the alarm for protecting the oceans, which he saw correctly as entirely linked to the survival of humanity,” Garbus said.

Early in his career, Cousteau helped oil companies map sites for offshore drilling. But the Frenchman expressed his regret for aiding in the environmental pollution that resulted from the practice.

“He said that he was told he was responsible for the great wealth of Abu Dhabi,” Garbus said. “I’m sure that’s an overstatement. I’m sure there were many facets of that wealth, but yes, he was a part of it and he did come to regret that and decry oil companies and their disregard for regulations.”

Becoming Cousteau also features underwater footage Cousteau captured, now restored to 4K quality. Garbus said she hopes new viewers hear his message.

“He’s important because for the past 50 years, he’s been sounding the alarm about the undersea world and our need to protect it,” Garbus said. “Of course, that has only become more urgent. And also as a voice who was beloved who could unite people from all factions to get behind this love of our planet and desire to protect it. That voice is sorely absent and needed today.”

Screening the National Geographic film at festivals including Telluride and Toronto, Garbus said many viewers become frustrated when they learn that Cousteau, who died in 1997 at 87, already was aware of environmental issues that have yet to be addressed.

“There’s been that sense of outrage like, ‘Wow, I cannot believe he’s been saying this since the ‘70s — how is it taking so long?’” Garbus said.

Becoming Cousteau is now playing in limited release. It premiere November 24 on Disney+.

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Portugal becomes fourth EU country to stop using coal plants

Environmental activists are welcoming the end of electricity generation from coal in Portugal

ByThe Associated Press

22 November 2021

LISBON, Portugal -- Environmental activists are welcoming the end of electricity generation from coal in Portugal, though they said Monday the possible conversion of the country's last coal-fired power plant into one that burns wood pellets would be a step in the wrong direction.

The Pego plant located 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of the Portuguese capital Lisbon stopped generating over the weekend, as Portugal became the fourth European Union country to stop burning coal to produce electricity.

Portugal has no coal, oil or gas, which are all imported, and has been investing heavily in green energy in recent decades.

“Coal’s dire economics and public desire for climate action are driving faster and faster phase outs across Europe," said Kathrin Gutmann, campaign director for Europe Beyond Coal, which aims to ensure coal is phased out in Europe by 2030.

Coal power is the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The challenge now is to ensure utilities do not make the mistake of replacing coal with fossil gas, or unsustainable biomass,” Gutmann said said in a statement.

But proposals for the continued use of Pego, which is out to tender, include biomass.

Portuguese Environment Minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes says other proposals include solar energy and electric vehicle production. Proposals must be presented by Jan. 17.

“Freeing ourselves from our biggest source of greenhouse gases is a momentous day for Portugal. But it is soured by the prospect of the plant being converted to burn forests,” said Francisco Ferreira, head of the Portuguese environmental association ZERO.

“Ditching coal only to switch to the next worst fuel is clearly not an answer," he said.

"Israel is my country, the Palestinians are my people"

Interview with Arab Israeli MP Essawi Frej

Essawi Frej, the first ever minister of Arab origin in an Israeli government, explains in interview with Markus Bickel what can be achieved in a coalition of opposites

The rotating government of alternating prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid (the latter is scheduled to lead the cabinet from August 2023) is unprecedented in Israel's history as a coalition of eight parties – from left-wing liberal to right-wing nationalist, Zionist to Arab. It has a mere one-vote majority in the Knesset and was initially united solely by the will to finally replace long-term Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party.

Elected in mid-June, this executive has so far withstood the pressure of its opponents and avoided any major tests of strength. Bennett's mantra – "we must overcome the politics of hatred and division within the nation" – is still proving an acceptable foundation for all 27 ministers to engage in the political process. One of them, Essawi Frej of the Meretz Party, head of the department for regional co-operation, is hoping at some stage to resume negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Trade and economic aid for the West Bank could be a way of gaining the necessary acceptance for such a proposal in Ramallah.

Mr. Frej, are you proud to be the first Arab minister in Israel's history?

Essawi Frej: You can ask me that question at the end of my term. I wish to be judged on my achievements, and it is too early for that. After all, we are just over a hundred days into Prime Minister Bennett's new government. What is at stake is the goal of making progress for Israel's Palestinian residents – and opening doors for the next generation. If this is achieved, maybe we will have something to be proud of one day.

In the 1990s, Arab parties secured Yitzhak Rabin a majority in the Knesset without being part of his cabinet. Today, the Islamist Ra'am party is openly in coalition with a right-wing head of government like Bennett, and you are part of his government. What has changed in the last thirty years?

Frej: Israel is my country; the Palestinians are my people. But the land comes first – a view, by the way, shared by ninety percent of Arabs in Israel. You cannot be part of this society and constantly attack it with stones and verbal abuse. And you cannot be part of this state and say that you hate it. It is not possible to hate something, while wanting to belong to it at the same time. I know that Arab Israelis are not equal to their Jewish fellow citizens. That's why I will continue to do everything I can to change the situation.

Israel's fragile cabinet formation: the new coalition government in Israel consists of
several ultra-right and conservative parties led by former Netanyahu allies,
centre-left parties such as Yesh Atid and the Labour Party, the left-wing Meretz,
the Kachol Lavan party (centre) and the Arab Ra'am party, which represents sections
of Israel's Palestinian citizens. Foreign Minister Jair Lapid, head of the second
largest Yesh Atid party, is considered the architect of the broad party alliance

Is that possible with this government?

Frej: I will not give up my fight for equality. You see, every one of the nine million Israelis has two identities – one national and one civil. My neighbour's nationality may be Jewish, and mine is Arab. That's where we differ, but our civil identity is the same: it's Israeli, and it keeps us together, even though people have repeatedly tried to divide us by claiming otherwise over the past seventy years. That is what I believe in, and that is what I stand for, as a member of the Knesset and as a minister.

What you say applies to the Palestinians in Israel. But negotiations with the leadership of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories have been rejected by the coalition led by Bennett and alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Why?

Frej: We have to proceed with caution if we are to build trust between the two sides. Since 2008, there have been no meetings at the highest level; only military officials have spoken directly to each other on pressing issues. That has changed under the new government: Defence Minister Benny Gantz met Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, in August. I have also met my counterpart from Ramallah. And there has also been a meeting between the health ministers. That would seem to imply change.

You don't really believe there can be a lasting solution to the conflict without the resumption of political negotiations ...

Frej: ... you have to distinguish between my personal opinion, my party's position and government policy. My opinion is clear: we are committed to a two-state solution. It is also the view held by the Meretz Party, a stance that is unlikely to change. At the same time, we are part of a government that does not want to move on implementation, because the coalition agreement stipulates that controversial issues such as the ongoing construction of settlements and a resumption of the political process should not be addressed. But that is not going to stop us from talking about it. Peace negotiations are part of our agenda.

Should there be negotiations with Hamas as well?

Frej: I am convinced we need to include Hamas. Again, however, the same thing applies: if we were to try to speed up the political process now, there would soon be no government.

End of the Netanyahu era: for the first time in twelve years, Israel has a

 government without Benjamin Netanyahu at the helm. The new eight-party coalition

 has a razor-thin majority in parliament. Despite ideological rifts, the broad coalition

 under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett agreed on a budget on 4 November 2021.

 A new election has thus been averted for the time being. Naftali Bennett and

 Yair Lapid intend to occupy the position of prime minister on a rotating basis

How then do you intend to achieve improvements for the Palestinian side during your time in office?

Frej: Before I became a politician, I worked in the private sector. I know what people need is to feel their situation is improving economically. Since our government has been in office, we have issued 15,000 new work permits for Palestinians working in Israel. Nevertheless, there are still 50,000 workers who are without official papers – and who have always received their wages in cash. This must change. If we can get Israeli employers to transfer this money to Palestinian banks in future, it would also boost the economic cycle there. I am hopeful we can achieve this by the end of the year.

Will such small steps make a difference? The Palestinian economy is on its knees, not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, where there is little reason for hope.

Frej: This is exactly why we are working to facilitate the transport of goods across the Green Line. Currently, goods are only allowed to enter and leave through four of the main checkpoints between the West Bank and Israel. Our goal is to open at least six to facilitate trade. We also promised a loan of 500 million shekels to the Palestinian Authority in August. This money is urgently needed, but so is donor support to give hope to the people. And quickly, because the situation is extremely precarious.

Again the question: are such steps really enough?

Frej: As I said, the Bennett administration is committed to bringing about incremental change at an economic and civil level. It's about creating a basis for negotiations, but for that you need solid ground, and currently that doesn't exist.

Is a two-state solution realistic at all, or is there a need for other models, such as a federation with equal rights for all citizens – regardless of whether they live in the West Bank, Israel or the Gaza Strip?

Frej: As long as all parties involved come together around one table, any and all of the options can be addressed. But what is needed in the end is an agreement. If we are strong, it should be possible, based on our common humanity, to reach an agreement.

What about the Abraham Accords? One year after Israel established diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and the State of Bahrain, the euphoria appears to have faded.

Frej: There has been an exchange of ambassadors with both the Emirates and Bahrain, and we hope Morocco will soon open its own consulate in Israel. Together we are thinking about how investments can be strengthened and peace passed on to the people. Moreover, relations with Egypt and Jordan, which had been somewhat strained lately, have also improved since the new government took office.

Do you expect other Arab countries to conclude normalisation agreements with Israel soon?

Frej: There is soon to be a joint meeting in the United Arab Emirates involving ministers from all six of the Arab states that are pursuing diplomatic relations with Israel. Far away from the cameras, to get to know each other personally. That is a good step and I am optimistic that it will be the first of many.

Interview conducted by Markus Bickel

© Der Freitag 2021

Essawi Frej, 57, has been minister for regional cooperation under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett since June. In 2013, he entered the Knesset for the first time as an MP for the left-wing liberal Meretz party. The politician, who comes from the Israeli-Arab town of Kufr Kasm, has a degree in economics.

Turkey and the Kurds

Joint Kurdish plan? Turkish opposition hope for election boost

For the first time in 19 years, polls suggest Turkey's opposition could be on track to defeat President Erdogan at the next election. To boost their appeal to Kurdish voters, politicians are now talking openly about solving the Kurdish issue. But how sincere are they and how realistic their chances of success? Leyla Egeli reports

With the opposition's Nation Alliance increasingly confident of wresting power from Erdogan at the next election, thereby concluding twenty years of rule by the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), the idea of a new peace process to address Kurdish concerns is once again being broached.

It is six years since the last 'peace process', intended to end hostilities between the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish army, collapsed. For their part, the ruling AKP and its ultra-nationalist ally, the MHP, claim they have solved the issue, thus producing "unity across the nation". But opposition leaders maintain the issue is a matter for parliament – a move apparently calculated to attract pro-minority People's Democratic Party (HDP) voters in the upcoming elections.

CHP’s approach to the peace process

The main opposition party – the CHP (Republican People's Party) – criticised the AKP administration during the last peace process, which began in 2013, for liaising directly with senior members of the PKK via intelligence channels and communicating solely with the pro-minority HDP, rather than bringing negotiations to parliament for more transparency.

When the process broke down in 2015, CHP chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu blamed the government for not being serious about finding a solution and called in parliament for a "reconciliation commission" to be set up.

Six years on, there is little sign that hostilities are abating. After countless military operations against the PKK in Turkey, northern Syria and northern Iraq, and with the HDP facing an official ban by the Supreme Court for "co-operating with a terror group", Kilicdaroglu has once again called for a peace process.

Hopeful of gaining support from the pro-Kurdish HDP: Sezgin Tanrikulu, human rights lawyer, MP and adviser to CHP chair Kilicdaroglu, points out that the HDP supported the bill his party brought to parliament during the previous peace process, and that they could be on the same page once again: "We offered to create a 'reconciliation commission' made up of MPs from all the political parties in the parliament, and establish a 'common mind committee'. The commission was to give the committee authority and legitimacy to speak to those parties to the conflict, and everything would be on the record"

He is also demanding that the HDP should be represented in parliament. Yet he appears to ignore the importance of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to the majority of HDP voters: "It’s crucial that the HDP is represented in the Turkish parliament. But Imrali [a reference to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan; Imrali is where he has been jailed for more than 20 years] is not legitimate. The issue must be solved by a legitimate body."

Are CHP tactics enough to attract HDP votes?

According to recent polls, the pro-minority HDP can still expect to take around 10 percent of the vote, and it has not entered into any alliance. The combined potential of the remaining opposition parties are not enough to present a viable challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which is why the opposition is hoping to gain the support of HDP voters.

Kilicdaroglu's latest initiative is a positive step, indicating that his party is open to moving towards reconciliation if they are elected. But it drew a swift reaction from senior HDP party members. Former HDP co-chair, Sezai Temelli, argued that the parliament is crucial, but that Ocalan is key to solving the problem. HDP’s current co-chair Mithat Sancar agreed, saying that "Imrali will definitely play a role in the process".

In interview with Qantara.de, CHP MP Sezgin Tanrikulu, a human rights activist, lawyer and an adviser to Kilicdaroglu, nevertheless emphasised that the HDP supported the bill his party brought to parliament during the peace process, and that they could be on the same page once again:

"We offered to create a 'reconciliation commission' made up of MPs from all the political parties in the parliament, and establish a 'common mind committee'. The commission was to give the committee authority and legitimacy to speak to those parties to the conflict, and everything would be on the record."

The oblique reference to 'parties to the conflict' would appear to imply the PKK and Ocalan. Tanrikulu believes the HDP would support the bill, were it to be tabled in parliament again.

Repulican People's Party unlikely to show its hand until just before the election: "Current CHP policy is to stay away from topics that might create division and problems within the Nation’s Alliance, and the Kurdish issue is one of them," says Vahap Coskun, law professor at Diyarbakir's Dicle University, in Kurdish-majority eastern Turkey. He is convinced, however, that " owing to the lack of options for Kurdish voters", it is likely the latter will vote for the Nation’s Alliance candidate if they feel the individual candidate is committed to ensuring genuine representation of all identities

Senior HDP member Meral Danis Bestas confirmed that "there is no way to solve the issue, other than dialogue", and that the HDP supported an 'on the record' process via parliament. But does the party believe in the sincerity of the opposition bloc?

She answered, "You may think this is naive, but if the opposition takes a positive approach, there will be more commitment to finding a solution. Political parties – nationalist or otherwise – can have an impact on the masses. We experienced it during the peace process."

How is the IYI’s stance affecting Kilicdaroglu?

The nationalist masses referred to by Bestas are the supporters of the Good Party (IYI), who present another obstacle to CHP’s efforts to send positive signals in the direction of the HDP.

The IYI, which was founded by politicians who broke away from the nationalist MHP in 2017, is CHP’s ally in the Nation Alliance. Although IYI Party members originally gave their support to Kilicdaroglu when he called for a parliamentary solution, there have been some raised eyebrows among its supporters in response to the CHP chair's latest initiative.

On a recent tour through mostly Kurdish-populated southeast Turkey, IYI Party chair Meral Aksener was approached by a Kurdish man, who declared: "You may deny Kurdistan, but you are in Kurdistan right now." With her nationalist voter base monitoring the rhetoric and aware of the sensitive nature of the issue, Aksener appeared to weigh her response carefully. Ultimately, however, she admitted she couldn’t accept the word "Kurdistan".

After a flurry of reactions – positive and negative – from both sides, she dug in further, claiming the man was working for the HDP, and that "Kurdistan" was an expression used by the "terror group". Later she called on the HDP to maintain a suitable distance from the PKK.

With much of Turkish society expecting an election sooner rather than later, the IYI and the CHP seem less than united in their approach to the Kurdish issue. Late in October, when the CHP objected to a bill giving the government authority to send Turkish soldiers to Iraq and Syria for another two years, the IYI voted in favour of the military campaign.

Dialogue is the only way: with the HDP party facing an official ban by Turkey's Supreme Court, it is crucial that Kurdish concerns are heard. "If the opposition takes a positive approach, there will be more commitment to finding a solution. Political parties – nationalist or otherwise – can have an impact on the masses," says HDP politician Meral Danis Bestas

Vahap Coskun, a professor of law at Dicle University in Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir, said that he didn't think the CHP would produce a serious plan for moving forward on the Kurdish issue until the elections. "Their policy is to stay away from topics that might create division and problems within the Nation Alliance, and the Kurdish issue is one of them. The CHP is merely sending a message to HDP voters that they will stand alongside them."

Meanwhile, the IYI is trying to consolidate support among its mostly urban, nationalist voter base. But is this indecisive policy fostering trust among HDP supporters that the Nation Alliance will breathe new life into the peace process should they come to power?

HDP voters showed they could be supportive during the 2019 local elections, says Tanrikulu, when they voted for the Nation Alliance candidates. He believes the issue could be solved with the genuine support of the IYI: "It is an issue that concerns Turkey: all sections of society should be included. I believe the IYI will show it is willing to help find a parliament-sanctioned solution to the problem."

Coskun, on the other hand, is convinced that, "owing to the lack of options for Kurdish voters", it is likely the latter will vote for the Nation Alliance candidate if they feel the individual candidate is committed to ensuring genuine representation of all identities.

When asked whether the Nation Alliance would be capable of putting forward constructive proposals on the path to future peace, he said it all depended on the strength of their parliamentary mandate.

Although it may not be a priority when they enter government, if the CHP – with the support of the HDP – treads a careful, middle-of-the-road path towards a Kurdish solution, it is likely they will get the green light from their political partners.

Leyla Egeli

© Qantara.de 2021

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fears Midterms Will See An Authoritarian Takeover By The GOP. 
By Stephanie Rollins Last updated Nov 22, 2021



 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) shared her fears that the Republicans could take over “very authoritarian” power if they win the House of Representatives in 2022.

On Zoom, MP Ocasio-Cortez said she believed the House minority leader would remove Democrats from their committee roles in response to MP Paul Gosar (R-AZ) being criticized for sharing an anime video, that showed him killing the progressive.

She said: “Republican Leader McCarthy has made it very clear that he is alluding very much to retaliation for Republicans to take over a majority.

“And that could mean that in order to take revenge on the consequences for his white nationalist member, he also dismisses democrats from their committees.”

MP Ocasio-Cortez added: “So it is unfortunate, but in all honesty, Republicans have made it very, very clear in several statements that if they win a majority in the House, they intend to take over the House in a very authoritarian manner. “

The House of Representatives voted 223 to 207 votes, broadly in line with party lines, to reprimand Rep. Gosar. Sole Agents Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) joined the Democrats to vote for censorship.

After the vote, McCarthy, the leader of the minorities in the House of Representatives, proposed against progressive Democrats and raised concerns about possible steps to blame them after the midterm elections.

He also proposed that MPs Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) be reassigned to the committee duties they had lost.

MP Greene was removed from her committee in February for posting on social media prior to her election, including advocating violence against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama.

Anime controversy

Meanwhile, Rep. Gosar, who has allied himself with white nationalists like Nick Fuentes, remains unrepentant, claiming the anime clip in which he killed Rep. Ocasio-Cortez with two swords was “nothing hateful”.

Following his conviction, Rep. Gosar retweeted the same video clip that he had deleted and which resulted in his being removed from his duties on the committee.

Newsweek has reached out to MP Ocasio-Cortez and House minority leader McCarthy for comments.

Several factors suggest that Republicans will do well in next year’s midterm elections.

The White House party often loses seats in elections and the Democrats are hampered by President Joe Biden’s poor approval ratings.

Republicans also recently got a big boost when they won the Virginia gubernatorial election, a race that was seen as a trailblazer for the mood before the midterm elections.

The US MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pauses during a press conference in the US Capitol on July 15, 2019. AOC fears an “authoritarian takeover” by the GOP.

Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images