We stand firmly against injustice in all its forms. Nothing can justify the current war crimes committed by Israel in occupied Palestine. Equally, nothing can excuse the continued support offered by other nations to this apartheid regime. If you believe in human rights, dignity, and justice, then we urge you to boycott this rogue state. Silence is complicity, do what’s right.
The damaged gate of Al Aqsa University, which was destroyed by the Israeli army, stands in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 14, 2024 [File: Reuters/Doaa Rouqa]
We have come together as Palestinian academics and staff of Gaza universities to affirm our existence, the existence of our colleagues and our students, and the insistence on our future, in the face of all current attempts to erase us.
The Israeli occupation forces have demolished our buildings but our universities live on. We reaffirm our collective determination to remain on our land and to resume teaching, study, and research in Gaza, at our own Palestinian universities, at the earliest opportunity.
Inspired by my reporting at @TheGrayzoneNews, this brilliant takedown by @propandco provides the strongest and most accessible refutation of the bogus atrocity propaganda Israel concocted to justify its genocidal rampage in Gaza
“It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” Herzog said at a press conference on Friday. “It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’etat.”
Background: Despite the countess massacres on Palestinians by the Israeli occupation, the ICC hasn’t been able to investigate these crimes nor sanction Israeli war criminals. The USA and Western countries were behind ICC’s inactions.
Palestine, oh land of beauty, Occupied by powers mighty, Once by Britain, now by Israel, Apartheid state, says Amnesty's call.
Innocent lives lost to settler's hand, Unpunished by courts of the land, Homes destroyed as punishment cruel, Human rights ignored as a rule.
Gaza's people imprisoned en masse, Their rights and freedoms trampled like grass, Racist laws against Palestinians in place, Pride of the right-wing, a disgrace.
Oh Palestine, your beauty endures, Despite the pain and suffering you've endured, May justice and peace one day prevail, And your people's spirits never fail.
The decision to sic the police on peaceful protesters is evidence that people in charge are panicking. They’re terrified of the strength of the movement for Palestine.
NYPD officers in riot gear march onto Columbia University campus, where pro-Palestinian students are barricaded inside a building and have set up an encampment, in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Kena Betancurt / AFP via Getty Images)
Columbia University found itself at the center of a global movement after students launched a Gaza Solidarity Encampment late last month. On Tuesday night, Columbia president Minouche Shafik, having apparently decided that the protests could no longer be tolerated, called in the New York Police Department to “maintain order” and ensure that no more tents pop up on the West Lawn. The NYPD happily complied. Officers forced their way into Hamilton Hall, which had been occupied by protesters, and violently cleared the building. Dozens of peoplewere arrested. Further uptown, police ran riot at the City College of New York, where another student encampment and occupation had sprung up. Hundreds of officers stormed the school, violently arrested protesters, and hauled dozens of people away. After the campus had been cleared, police raised the American flag.
New York City Council member Chi Ossé summed the scene up well, tweeting, “Tonight in the United States of America, we are witnessing a militarized police force, funded by NYC taxpayers, arresting American students in the name of a foreign country that’s carrying out a genocide.”
This shock-and-awe campaign was about smashing a rapidly expanding student movement whose bravery has captivated people around the world. It was about eliminating the threat that the pro-Palestine movement poses to business as usual. It was about showing university donors, Republicans, Democrats, and the White House that these schools knew which side they were supposed to be on.
And it was about reminding these students—these kids who had the nerve to sit in tents—of who is in charge and who isn’t. The students at Columbia and City College and UCLA and the University of South Florida and all of the more than 70 Gaza solidarity protests that have emerged at campuses around the country committed the sin of believing that it is acceptable for them to try to influence what happens at their school or—heaven forbid—what happens in the world at large. The hope is that these protesters will learn who the world is really supposed to work for—that there is a sky-high price to be paid for questioning the natural order of things. You can feel the question thrumming through the violence and repression: How dare you?
But here’s the lesson in all this: The people in charge are scared. They are terrified of the power of the movement for Palestine—of its size, moral righteousness, fearlessness, diversity, and love. And they are terrified that one of the key pillars of the American system—support for Israel no matter what it does—is being shaken.
Administrators and politicians are panicking. People aren’t supposed to question the billions of dollars we send to Israel or the nature of Israel’s apartheid system. They’re supposed to think that Zionism is sacred and that no Jew could ever oppose it. They’re supposed to stand by and watch as Israel commits crimes against humanity. And instead, they are rising up. There are more encampments every day.
The past seven months have been horrendous. The atrocities Israel has committed are almost too much to wrap your mind around, and the US government’s complicity is almost too much to bear.
But if we have seen the worst of what the world has to offer, we have also seen the best. The movement for Palestinian liberation is stronger than ever. People are putting their futures, and their lives, on the line for Palestine in numbers we’ve never seen. There has been a collective awakening. Nobody knows what that awakening will lead to, but it feels clear that, on some fundamental level it can’t go back to the status quo.
The students all over the country know the answer, and so does everyone else fighting for Palestinian liberation. The answer is this: You dare because that is how the world changes. And make no mistake, the world is changing now. All the cops in the world can’t stop that
• Attackers: Zionist terrorist gangs “Irgun” and “Stern,” operating under the orders of Haganah commander David Shaltiel.
• Casualty count: about 360 people killed, with atrocities committed against women, children, and the elderly.
In the aftermath of the Deir Yassin Massacre: Heart-wrenching images of orphans left in the wake of tragedy, symbolizing resilience amidst the devastating aftermath
Description of the event: In 1948, a tragic event called the Deir Yassin Massacre occurred. This was an attack on the Palestinian Arab village of Deir Yassin, near Jerusalem. The village had around 750 people and 144 houses, with separate schools for girls and boys. Zionist terrorist gangs, known as the “Irgun” (active between 1931 and 1948) and “Stern” (founded in 1940), carried out the attack following the orders of Haganah commander David Shaltiel as part of a plan. Approximately 120 men from these gangs attacked the village, causing destruction, killing its residents, and taking control. After the initial attack, the members of the Zionist gangs celebrated by committing more atrocities against innocent women, children, and older people in the village. They even paraded with the bodies of the victims and heartlessly threw them into a village well. The total number of people who lost their lives in the Deir Yassin Massacre was about 360, making the impact of Zionist violence during that time extremely distressing.
Reference:
[1] Al-Khaldi, Walid. “Deir Yassin, Friday 9/4/1948.” Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1999.
[2] Kana’aneh, Sharif and Nahed Zitawi. “The Palestinian Destroyed Villages, Number ‘4’, Deir Yassin.” Birzeit: Birzeit University, Center for Documentation and Research, 1987.
[3] De Reynier, Jacques. “Deir Yasin, April 10, 1948.” In Walid Khalidi, ed., From Haven to Conquest: Readings in Zionism and the Palestine Problem until 1948. Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1971.
[4] Pa’il, Meir [Interview with]. “Jewish Eye-Witness.” In Daniel McGowan and Mark Ellis, ed., Remembering Deir Yassin: The Future of Israel and Palestine. New York: Olive Branch Press, 1998.
[5] Palumbo, Michael. The Palestinian Catastrophe: The 1948 Expulsion of a People from Their Homeland. London: Faber & Faber, 1987.
[6] Muslih, Nour al-Din. “Expelling the Palestinians: The Concept of ‘Transfer’ in Zionist Thought and Planning, 1882 – 1948.” Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992.
