Author: benfell

An Israeli ‘public relations’ problem

benfell

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.

It’s because of the humanitarian issue that we [Israel] are isolated from the world. We already lost image-wise.[2]

Lazar Berman argues that Israel has made concessions to the U.S. and the rest of the world on the Gaza War. He thinks any operation in Rafah will be much less than promised. But he thinks that the concessions have been made far too begrudgingly, that this is making the defeat of Hamas untenable.[3]

The concession that will count will be a full, unconditional ceasefire. Until we have that, I’m not really buying Berman’s “concessions.” But what’s important is a recognition that Israel has lost, indeed squandered its advantages in the war for world public opinion. Zionists won’t admit it, but they know their hands are being slapped, that they will not soon be able to do again what they are now doing in Gaza.

Even Donald Trump, hardly a friend to the Palestinians, sees it, which is why he urges Israel to finish the war quickly. Of course, part of that is that “[t]he former president has held personal animosity toward [Binyamin] Netanyahu ever since the prime minister publicly acknowledged Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election” but it’s also clear he sees a public relations problem.[4]

Whether you view the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a public relations problem or as genocide, Israel needs to stop it. The country will bleed regardless—nobody can seriously believe the war on Gaza will solve anything. The question is whether the country will do so with any world support at all ever again.

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/

Times of Israel, “Israel acknowledges killing 7 aid charity workers in ‘tragic, unintentional’ airstrike,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-promises-probe-as-slain-aid-workers-home-countries-demand-explanation/

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden rebukes Israel over aid workers, but his Gaza policy is unchanged,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/03/biden-world-central-kitchen-tough-statement-israel-policy/

Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry

Haroon Siddique, Eleni Courea, and Patrick Wintour, “Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law,” Guardian, April 3, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/former-supreme-court-judges-say-uk-arming-israel-breaches-international-law

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s ‘unintentional’ strike on aid workers stirs global outrage,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/03/israel-strike-world-central-kitchen-aid-workers-global-outrage/

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden warns Netanyahu the situation in Gaza is ‘unacceptable,’” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/04/biden-warns-netanyahu-situation-gaza-is-unacceptable/

Trinidad Deiros Bronte, “The unpunished deaths of other civilians question Israel’s willingness to clarify the attack on WCK,” El País, April 4, 2024, https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-04/the-unpunished-deaths-of-other-civilians-question-israels-willingness-to-clarify-the-attack-on-wck.html

Michael R. Gordon and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Ties Support for Israel to Civilian Protection in Gaza, ” Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-netanyahu-set-to-talk-as-gaza-aid-worker-deaths-add-to-pressure-on-israel-9dee3793

Jacob Magid, “Senior Israeli official warns of growing ‘shoot first, ask later’ culture in IDF,” Times of Israel, April 4, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-israeli-official-warns-of-growing-shoot-first-ask-later-culture-in-idf/

Kate Sullivan, “Trump says Israel needs to ‘finish what they started’ and said war with Hamas is ‘taking a long time,’” CNN, April 4, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/04/politics/trump-israel-comments/index.html

Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/

Dov Lieber, Rory Jones, and Margherita Stancati, “Israel Says Troops Lacked Grounds for Strike That Killed Aid Workers in Gaza,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-to-allow-more-aid-into-gaza-after-biden-warning-over-u-s-support-49bc42e4

Lazar Berman, “Israel’s begrudging approach to humanitarian aid could cost it the war in Gaza,” Times of Israel, April 6, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-begrudging-approach-to-humanitarian-aid-could-cost-it-the-war-in-gaza/

  1. [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  2. [2]Einav Levy, quoted in Lazar Berman, “Israel’s begrudging approach to humanitarian aid could cost it the war in Gaza,” Times of Israel, April 6, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-begrudging-approach-to-humanitarian-aid-could-cost-it-the-war-in-gaza/↩
  3. [3]Lazar Berman, “Israel’s begrudging approach to humanitarian aid could cost it the war in Gaza,” Times of Israel, April 6, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-begrudging-approach-to-humanitarian-aid-could-cost-it-the-war-in-gaza/↩
  4. [4]Kate Sullivan, “Trump says Israel needs to ‘finish what they started’ and said war with Hamas is ‘taking a long time,’” CNN, April 4, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/04/politics/trump-israel-comments/index.html↩

Joe Biden ramps up his words on Gaza, still not his deeds

benfell


Fig. 1. Photograph by author, April 4, 2024.

I came home tonight (April 4) to find this (figure 1). I’ve seen a robin hanging about and all I can say is it took some real determination to build this nest. I don’t know what you call that thing that connects the light to the wall, but it’s small and round, not a favorable platform. I had seen from nesting material that had fallen on the floor that someone was trying to build a nest there and I had judged this impossible.

The location is obviously attractive: It’s a sheltered location that will be extraordinarily difficult for predators to reach. The big problem is that I come and go from time to time. I guess I’m gonna find out how this goes.

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 2. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.

It’s still all words and it’s really not clear that this is anything more. But the words Joe Biden uses with Binyamin Netanyahu are becoming more threatening.[2]

Hours after the call [between Joe Biden and Binyamin Netanyahu], Israel announced that it would increase the amount of aid going into Gaza “to prevent a humanitarian crisis,” according to Netanyahu’s office. The U.S. welcomed the announcement.

Israel agreed to allow use of Ashdod port in southern Israel for delivery of assistance for Gaza and to open the Erez border crossing, which has been closed since the Oct. 7 attacks, as a new route for aid to reach north Gaza. Israel will also allow a significant increase in deliveries from Jordan into Gaza, the U.S. said.

“These steps…must now be fully and rapidly implemented,” White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.[3]

We’ll see about that. What I’m finding interesting is that Netanyahu appears to be climbing down. There’ll be a price for that and guess who the scapegoats are? The drone pilots who launched the attack, of course: “The Israeli military said it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three.”[4]

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/

Times of Israel, “Israel acknowledges killing 7 aid charity workers in ‘tragic, unintentional’ airstrike,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-promises-probe-as-slain-aid-workers-home-countries-demand-explanation/

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden rebukes Israel over aid workers, but his Gaza policy is unchanged,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/03/biden-world-central-kitchen-tough-statement-israel-policy/

Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry

Haroon Siddique, Eleni Courea, and Patrick Wintour, “Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law,” Guardian, April 3, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/former-supreme-court-judges-say-uk-arming-israel-breaches-international-law

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s ‘unintentional’ strike on aid workers stirs global outrage,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/03/israel-strike-world-central-kitchen-aid-workers-global-outrage/

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden warns Netanyahu the situation in Gaza is ‘unacceptable,’” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/04/biden-warns-netanyahu-situation-gaza-is-unacceptable/

Trinidad Deiros Bronte, “The unpunished deaths of other civilians question Israel’s willingness to clarify the attack on WCK,” El País, April 4, 2024, https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-04/the-unpunished-deaths-of-other-civilians-question-israels-willingness-to-clarify-the-attack-on-wck.html

Michael R. Gordon and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Ties Support for Israel to Civilian Protection in Gaza, ” Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-netanyahu-set-to-talk-as-gaza-aid-worker-deaths-add-to-pressure-on-israel-9dee3793

Jacob Magid, “Senior Israeli official warns of growing ‘shoot first, ask later’ culture in IDF,” Times of Israel, April 4, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-israeli-official-warns-of-growing-shoot-first-ask-later-culture-in-idf/

Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/

Dov Lieber, Rory Jones, and Margherita Stancati, “Israel Says Troops Lacked Grounds for Strike That Killed Aid Workers in Gaza,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-to-allow-more-aid-into-gaza-after-biden-warning-over-u-s-support-49bc42e4

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh


Fig. 3. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, with the “Golden Triangle” and downtown Pittsburgh. Photograph by author, October 15, 2023.

I haven’t been very much affected by the weather. I’ve been driving for DoorDash recently and in a zone that’s mostly high and . . . well, still pretty fucking wet, but certainly not underwater. I did cross a bridge over Chartiers Creek, which meanders from Washington, Pennsylvania, to the Ohio River there along the Pittsburgh-McKees Rocks boundary, however, and noticed that an adjacent parking area was partly underwater.

One thing I am adamant about is not moving into a flood plain. A whole bunch of folks now have some clean-up and repairs to do.[5] I don’t. And that’s why.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Large swaths of the Pittsburgh region remain under water as scope of Western Pa. flooding comes into focus,” April 4, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/04/pittsburgh-flooding-updates/stories/202404040056

Joe Napsha, “Too familiar: Residents near creeks, streams begin flood cleanup,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 4, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/too-familiar-residents-near-creeks-streams-begin-flood-cleanup/

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Photos: Pittsburgh region flooded after days of heavy rain,” April 4, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/04/photos-pittsburgh-region-flood-heavy-rain/stories/202404040074

Joe Napsha, “Westmoreland flood damage may not be bad enough for disaster declaration,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 5, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/westmoreland-flood-damage-may-not-be-bad-enough-for-disaster-declaration/

Neoliberalism

Academic repression

Student loans


Fig. 4. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[6] fair use.

The proposed regulation is expected to outline several categories that would qualify borrowers for debt relief, including financial hardship, the people said. For example, borrowers with high debt loads and low incomes could see their loan balances reduced or eliminated under the plan. It could also outline a path to relief for borrowers who have carried their debt for decades; who now owe more than their initial loan amount because interest has piled up; or who are eligible for relief through other federal programs, but haven’t applied.[7]

This would certainly cover me, but of course, it will be tied up in the courts for who knows how long.[8]

David Dayen, “Congress Poised to Prevent One Form of Student Debt Relief,” American Prospect, April 5, 2024, https://prospect.org/education/2024-04-05-congress-prevent-student-debt-relief-flight-faa/

Andrew Restuccia, “Biden to Make Second Attempt at Large-Scale Student Loan Forgiveness,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/biden-to-make-second-attempt-at-large-scale-student-loan-forgiveness-ef1da5fe

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 5. Cartoon by Ben Jennings, January 24, 2024, via the Guardian,[9] fair use.

Hafiz Rashid, “Another One Bites the Dust: Trump 2020 Lawyer Officially Disbarred,” New Republic, April 2, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180365/eastman-trump-2020-lawyer-disbarred

Heather Cox Richardson, “April 2, 2024,” Letters from an American, April 3, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-2-2024

Sarah Fortinsky, “Ty Cobb says 11th Circuit may remove judge from Trump documents case,” Hill, April 3, 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/4573686-ty-cobb-says-11th-circuit-may-remove-judge-from-trump-documents-case/

Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein, “Judge Cannon shoots down Trump’s presidential records act claim,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/cannon-trump-jack-smith-presidential-records-act/

Hafiz Rashid, “Yet Another One of Trump’s 2020 Attorneys Could Be Disbarred,” New Republic, April 4, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180473/another-trump-attorneys-jeffrey-clark-disbarred

Human Science

Inquiry

Quantitative
Artificial intelligence idiocy


Fig. 1. Image credited to David Blaikie from Hampshire, UK, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Henry Mance, “AI keeps going wrong. What if it can’t be fixed?” Financial Times, April 6, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/648228e7-11eb-4e1a-b0d5-e65a638e6135

  1. [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  2. [2]Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden warns Netanyahu the situation in Gaza is ‘unacceptable,’” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/04/biden-warns-netanyahu-situation-gaza-is-unacceptable/; Michael R. Gordon and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Ties Support for Israel to Civilian Protection in Gaza, ” Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-netanyahu-set-to-talk-as-gaza-aid-worker-deaths-add-to-pressure-on-israel-9dee3793↩
  3. [3]Michael R. Gordon and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Ties Support for Israel to Civilian Protection in Gaza, ” Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-netanyahu-set-to-talk-as-gaza-aid-worker-deaths-add-to-pressure-on-israel-9dee3793↩
  4. [4]Dov Lieber, Rory Jones, and Margherita Stancati, “Israel Says Troops Lacked Grounds for Strike That Killed Aid Workers in Gaza,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-to-allow-more-aid-into-gaza-after-biden-warning-over-u-s-support-49bc42e4↩
  5. [5]Joe Napsha, “Too familiar: Residents near creeks, streams begin flood cleanup,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 4, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/too-familiar-residents-near-creeks-streams-begin-flood-cleanup/↩
  6. [6]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩
  7. [7]Andrew Restuccia, “Biden to Make Second Attempt at Large-Scale Student Loan Forgiveness,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/biden-to-make-second-attempt-at-large-scale-student-loan-forgiveness-ef1da5fe↩
  8. [8]Andrew Restuccia, “Biden to Make Second Attempt at Large-Scale Student Loan Forgiveness,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/biden-to-make-second-attempt-at-large-scale-student-loan-forgiveness-ef1da5fe↩
  9. [9]Ben Jennings, “Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s progress along the Republican nomination trail – cartoon,” Guardian, January 24, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jan/24/ben-jennings-on-donald-trumps-progress-along-the-republican-nomination-trail-cartoon↩

A gap so vast the Andromeda Galaxy could pass right through it

benfell

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine


Fig. 1. Graphic by Roya News,[1] March 3, 2024, fair use.

A few issues ago, I remembered a book I had read long ago, that I haven’t a prayer of being able to locate and cite properly, that explained that the underdog in asymmetric warfare wins when the colonizer commits some outrage that turns public opinion overwhelmingly against it. Of all the outrages Israel has committed in its war on Gaza, I would not have picked an attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy[2] to be the one. Honestly, I wouldn’t even have guessed.

But I’m beginning to suspect—and indeed, if we’re to believe a Wall Street Journal report—this might be it;[3] at the very least, I think this prefigures a crisis and a shift that will inevitably come. The discrepancy between western rhetoric on getting aid to Gazan civilians and western support for Israel’s genocide[4] is clearly drawing more attention because of it and a lot of western policies that enable that genocide simply don’t withstand any kind of scrutiny whatsoever.

At some point, it has to be embarrassing:

[John] Kirby added that the State Department has so far “not found any incidents where the Israelis have violated international humanitarian law,” a legal designation that could cause the United States to block military exports to the country.[5]

Except that we know this is a bald-faced lie.[6] The Joe Biden administration is simply in denial of the evidence it has. And an awful lot of people have noticed this.

At this point, the discrepancy between what Biden and other western leaders say about Israeli atrocities and what they do is so vast, the Andromeda galaxy could pass right through it. This is simply not a tenable position and the only way it can last is if something else comes along to divert public opinion, which would, in other circumstances, be an entirely reasonable if entirely lamentable expectation. But Israel keeps committing these outrages, trapping western leaders in a very embarrassing position.

This issue ain’t going away. Western politicians can’t fudge, simply because Binyamin Netanyahu won’t allow them to. They need to get on the right side of it.

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/

Times of Israel, “Israel acknowledges killing 7 aid charity workers in ‘tragic, unintentional’ airstrike,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-promises-probe-as-slain-aid-workers-home-countries-demand-explanation/

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden rebukes Israel over aid workers, but his Gaza policy is unchanged,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/03/biden-world-central-kitchen-tough-statement-israel-policy/

Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry

Haroon Siddique, Eleni Courea, and Patrick Wintour, “Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law,” Guardian, April 3, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/former-supreme-court-judges-say-uk-arming-israel-breaches-international-law

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s ‘unintentional’ strike on aid workers stirs global outrage,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/03/israel-strike-world-central-kitchen-aid-workers-global-outrage/

Trinidad Deiros Bronte, “The unpunished deaths of other civilians question Israel’s willingness to clarify the attack on WCK,” El País, April 4, 2024, https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-04/the-unpunished-deaths-of-other-civilians-question-israels-willingness-to-clarify-the-attack-on-wck.html

Michael R. Gordon and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Urges Immediate Gaza Cease-Fire in Call With Israel’s Netanyahu,” Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-netanyahu-set-to-talk-as-gaza-aid-worker-deaths-add-to-pressure-on-israel-9dee3793

Jacob Magid, “Senior Israeli official warns of growing ‘shoot first, ask later’ culture in IDF,” Times of Israel, April 4, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-israeli-official-warns-of-growing-shoot-first-ask-later-culture-in-idf/

Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 1. Cartoon by Ben Jennings, January 24, 2024, via the Guardian,[7] fair use.

Former White House attorney Ty Cobb predicted Wednesday that the 11th Circuit Court could ultimately decide to remove Judge Aileen Cannon from the case involving former President Trump’s mishandling of classified documents at his estate in Florida.

In an interview on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” the former Trump administration official pointed to special counsel Jack Smith’s most recent filing and said he thinks it makes clear that Smith could take the case up to the 11th Circuit if Cannon does not rule promptly.

“I think that Jack Smith — I think the filing today makes it plain that she has to rule, and if she doesn’t rule under either scenario, they’ll be in a position to take her up to the 11th Circuit. And I think the 11th Circuit will likely take her off the case,” Cobb said.[8]

I can only imagine that if we actually got a real judge on this case, Donald Trump would be in very, very, very deep trouble. I’m guessing that’s why Aileen Cannon ruled the way she did, saying that “the [Presidential Records Act] ‘does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss’ either the mishandling charges or the related obstruction charges against Trump.”[9] I’ve yet to see informed reaction to Cannon’s decision, but what I see in the Washington Post account of her ruling[10] doesn’t seem terribly coherent.

Hafiz Rashid, “Another One Bites the Dust: Trump 2020 Lawyer Officially Disbarred,” New Republic, April 2, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180365/eastman-trump-2020-lawyer-disbarred

Heather Cox Richardson, “April 2, 2024,” Letters from an American, April 3, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-2-2024

Sarah Fortinsky, “Ty Cobb says 11th Circuit may remove judge from Trump documents case,” Hill, April 3, 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/4573686-ty-cobb-says-11th-circuit-may-remove-judge-from-trump-documents-case/

Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein, “Judge Cannon shoots down Trump’s presidential records act claim,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/cannon-trump-jack-smith-presidential-records-act/

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh


Fig. 1. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, with the “Golden Triangle” and downtown Pittsburgh. Photograph by author, October 15, 2023.

Photographs show the 10th Street Bypass deeply underwater[11] and I gather it’s the same story with the Parkway by the Monongahela Wharf.[12]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Large swaths of the Pittsburgh region remain under water as scope of Western Pa. flooding comes into focus,” April 4, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/04/pittsburgh-flooding-updates/stories/202404040056

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Photos: Pittsburgh region flooded after days of heavy rain,” April 4, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/04/photos-pittsburgh-region-flood-heavy-rain/stories/202404040074

  1. [1]Roya News, “Exposé reveals list of essential aid items banned by ‘Israel’ from entry into Gaza,” March 10, 2024, https://en.royanews.tv/news/49795/2024-03-03↩
  2. [2]Times of Israel, “Israel acknowledges killing 7 aid charity workers in ‘tragic, unintentional’ airstrike,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-promises-probe-as-slain-aid-workers-home-countries-demand-explanation/↩
  3. [3]Michael R. Gordon and Nancy A. Youssef, “Biden Urges Immediate Gaza Cease-Fire in Call With Israel’s Netanyahu,” Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/biden-netanyahu-set-to-talk-as-gaza-aid-worker-deaths-add-to-pressure-on-israel-9dee3793↩
  4. [4]Trinidad Deiros Bronte, “The unpunished deaths of other civilians question Israel’s willingness to clarify the attack on WCK,” El País, April 4, 2024, https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-04/the-unpunished-deaths-of-other-civilians-question-israels-willingness-to-clarify-the-attack-on-wck.html; Jacob Magid, “Senior Israeli official warns of growing ‘shoot first, ask later’ culture in IDF,” Times of Israel, April 4, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-israeli-official-warns-of-growing-shoot-first-ask-later-culture-in-idf/; Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/↩
  5. [5]Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/↩
  6. [6]Julian Borger, “State department official’s resignation highlights rifts over US Gaza policy,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/27/state-department-resignation-gaza-biden-policy↩
  7. [7]Ben Jennings, “Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s progress along the Republican nomination trail – cartoon,” Guardian, January 24, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jan/24/ben-jennings-on-donald-trumps-progress-along-the-republican-nomination-trail-cartoon↩
  8. [8]Sarah Fortinsky, “Ty Cobb says 11th Circuit may remove judge from Trump documents case,” Hill, April 3, 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/4573686-ty-cobb-says-11th-circuit-may-remove-judge-from-trump-documents-case/↩
  9. [9]Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein, “Judge Cannon shoots down Trump’s presidential records act claim,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/cannon-trump-jack-smith-presidential-records-act/↩
  10. [10]Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein, “Judge Cannon shoots down Trump’s presidential records act claim,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/cannon-trump-jack-smith-presidential-records-act/↩
  11. [11]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Photos: Pittsburgh region flooded after days of heavy rain,” April 4, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/04/photos-pittsburgh-region-flood-heavy-rain/stories/202404040074↩
  12. [12]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Large swaths of the Pittsburgh region remain under water as scope of Western Pa. flooding comes into focus,” April 4, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/04/pittsburgh-flooding-updates/stories/202404040056↩

First Ukraine, then Europe will pay a price for Donald Trump’s capitulation; first Gaza, than Joe Biden will pay a price for Israel’s genocide

benfell

I am not even remotely caught up. Look for more, later.

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.

There will be no Iftar celebration at the White House this year:[2]

The American Muslim community said very early on that it would be completely unacceptable for us to break bread with the very same White House that is enabling the Israeli government to starve and slaughter the Palestinian people in Gaza.[3]

The cancellation comes on the heels of better than expected results for a protest vote in Wisconsin’s Democratic presidential primary elections Tuesday. Voters who selected an “uninstructed” option on their ballot instead of voting for [Joe] Biden or Representative Dean Phillips (who has suspended his campaign) currently make up 8 percent of the results, or just over 48,000 votes, exceeding organizers’ goal of at least 20,000 votes, which was Biden’s margin of victory over Donald Trump in 2020.

Wisconsin’s results follow similar efforts in states across the country, which began with Michigan’s “uncommitted” movement, spearheaded by the state’s Arab and Muslim American communities. The results on Super Tuesday in March shattered expectations in the swing state, also exceeding Biden’s 2020 margin of victory.[4]

It would seem there are a few people who won’t vote for a war criminal, at least in the primaries. But I’m thinking something has to give—and soon.

First, there is the obvious issue that Joe Biden’s re-election may well hinge on getting Gaza right, somehow threading a needle between Zionist voters’ demands and the demands of, overwhelmingly, just about everyone else.[5] But as well, if it is illegal under international law for the United Kingdom to supply aid to Israel,[6] it follows—even if we ignore the administration’s own evidence[7]—that it is just as illegal for the U.S. to do so. And the law here simply follows a moral imperative. Biden’s policy is out of step both with international law and with international and domestic opinion.[8]

That’s very difficult ground for any politician to hold. The lesson for Republicans on abortion, which they refuse to heed, is really very similar. The question here will be whether Biden will be smarter than Donald Trump and how long it will take for him to be so.

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/

Times of Israel, “Israel acknowledges killing 7 aid charity workers in ‘tragic, unintentional’ airstrike,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-promises-probe-as-slain-aid-workers-home-countries-demand-explanation/

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Matt Viser, “Biden rebukes Israel over aid workers, but his Gaza policy is unchanged,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/03/biden-world-central-kitchen-tough-statement-israel-policy/

Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry

Haroon Siddique, Eleni Courea, and Patrick Wintour, “Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law,” Guardian, April 3, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/former-supreme-court-judges-say-uk-arming-israel-breaches-international-law

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s ‘unintentional’ strike on aid workers stirs global outrage,” Washington Post, April 3, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/03/israel-strike-world-central-kitchen-aid-workers-global-outrage/

Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 2. Historic Russian empire, from the New York Times, possibly March 6, 2014, fair use.[9]

Germany and Europe have a lot more riding on Ukraine’s survival than the U.S. does. For the Europeans, a Ukrainian defeat could be disastrous for the Continent’s security.

European leaders fear that if [Vladimir] Putin wins in Ukraine and [Donald] Trump returns to the presidency, countries like Latvia or Moldova might be next.

Discussing that prospect, a senior European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, recently told POLITICO and other media outlets: “These are the things that keep me up at night.”[10]

It’s worth remembering that, as I’ve long pointed out,[11] Vladimir Putin’s ambition almost certainly exceeds Ukraine.[12]

“There’s nothing that can help Ukraine now because there are no serious technologies able to compensate Ukraine for the large mass of troops Russia is likely to hurl at us. We don’t have those technologies, and the West doesn’t have them as well in sufficient numbers,” one of the [anonymous] top-ranking military sources told POLITICO.[13]

Will we finally take this seriously when Russian tanks are in Paris? Where’s the line?

Heather Cox Richardson, “April 2, 2024,” Letters from an American, April 3, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-2-2024

Jamie Dettmer, “Ukraine is at great risk of its front lines collapsing,” Politico, April 3, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-great-risk-front-line-collapse-war-russia/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 3. Cartoon by Ben Jennings, January 24, 2024, via the Guardian,[14] fair use.

Hafiz Rashid, “Another One Bites the Dust: Trump 2020 Lawyer Officially Disbarred,” New Republic, April 2, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180365/eastman-trump-2020-lawyer-disbarred

Heather Cox Richardson, “April 2, 2024,” Letters from an American, April 3, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-2-2024

Competitive authoritarian regime project


Fig. 4. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Mitchell during signing ceremony of the voting rights act. Yoichi Okamoto, August 6, 1965, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Rick Perlstein, “Joe Lieberman Not Only Backed Bush’s War; He Also Helped Make Bush President,” American Prospect, April 3, 2024, https://prospect.org/politics/2024-04-03-joe-lieberman-helped-make-bush-president/

Heather Cox Richardson, “April 3, 2024,” Letters from an American, April 4, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-3-2024

Neoliberalism

Democratic (neoliberal) Party


Fig. 5. “Well, for once they can’t blame me.” Photomechanical print, art by John S. Pughe, 1907, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Rick Perlstein, “Joe Lieberman Not Only Backed Bush’s War; He Also Helped Make Bush President,” American Prospect, April 3, 2024, https://prospect.org/politics/2024-04-03-joe-lieberman-helped-make-bush-president/

  1. [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  2. [2]Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry↩
  3. [3]Edward Ahmed Mitchell, quoted in Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry↩
  4. [4]Hafiz Rashid, “‘Unacceptable’: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza,” New Republic, April 3, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180409/white-house-cancels-event-gaza-outcry↩
  5. [5]Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/↩
  6. [6]Haroon Siddique, Eleni Courea, and Patrick Wintour, “Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law,” Guardian, April 3, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/former-supreme-court-judges-say-uk-arming-israel-breaches-international-law↩
  7. [7]Julian Borger, “State department official’s resignation highlights rifts over US Gaza policy,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/27/state-department-resignation-gaza-biden-policy↩
  8. [8]Adam Taylor, “Biden’s ‘red line’ on Gaza is nowhere to be found,” Washington Post, April 4, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/04/biden-wck-world-central-kitchen-israel-policy-change/↩
  9. [9]New York Times, “Ukraine Crisis in Maps,” n.d., http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-divisions-crimea.html↩
  10. [10]James Angelos, “Trump’s already back, America has ditched Ukraine. What does Europe do now?,” Politico, February 8, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/olaf-scholz-joe-biden-united-states-support-ukraine-trump-return/↩
  11. [11]David Benfell, “Where does Vladimir Putin stop?” Not Housebroken, November 16, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/04/where-does-vladimir-putin-stop/↩
  12. [12]Julian O’Shaughnessy, “I’m reconquering just like Peter the Great, insists Vladimir Putin,” Times, June 10, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/president-putin-creates-police-department-to-impose-martial-law-xqhlt79fn; Reuters, “Hailing Peter the Great, Putin draws parallel with mission to ‘return’ Russian lands,” June 9, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hailing-peter-great-putin-draws-parallel-with-mission-return-russian-lands-2022-06-09/; Ishaan Tharoor, “Putin makes his imperial pretensions clear,” Washington Post, June 13, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/13/putin-imperial-russia-empire-ukraine/↩
  13. [13]Jamie Dettmer, “Ukraine is at great risk of its front lines collapsing,” Politico, April 3, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-great-risk-front-line-collapse-war-russia/↩
  14. [14]Ben Jennings, “Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s progress along the Republican nomination trail – cartoon,” Guardian, January 24, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jan/24/ben-jennings-on-donald-trumps-progress-along-the-republican-nomination-trail-cartoon↩

Right-wing populism only gets Recep Tayyip Erdoğan so far. We’re finding out the limits.

benfell

Illiberalism

Türkiye


Fig. 1. Map of the Ottoman Empire in 1914 attributed to Chamboz, March 26, 2021, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Elçin Poyrazlar, “Turkey’s Erdoğan suffers blow in crucial mayoral elections as secular opposition surges,” Politico, April 1, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-election-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-suffers-blow-as-opposition-rpp-holds-five-cities/

Ishaan Tharoor, “Turkey’s shock elections offer another lesson for the world,” Washington Post, April 2, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/04/02/turkey-election-autocracy-global-lessons-democracy/

Gilead

Donald Trump
Finances


Fig. 2. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Zach Everson, “Trump Posts $175 Million Bond In New York Civil Fraud Lawsuit,” Forbes, April 1, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/04/01/trump-posts-175-million-bond-new-york-civil-fraud-lawsuit/

Shayna Jacobs, “Trump posts $175M bond to keep N.Y. authorities from seizing property,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/01/trump-new-york-bond-175-million/

Heather Cox Richardson, “April 1, 2024,” Letters from an American, April 2, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-1-2024

Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 3. Cartoon by Ben Jennings, January 24, 2024, via the Guardian,[1] fair use.

Hafiz Rashid, “Another One Bites the Dust: Trump 2020 Lawyer Officially Disbarred,” New Republic, April 2, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180365/eastman-trump-2020-lawyer-disbarred

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Hush money


Fig. 4. Cartoon by Jesse Duquette, undated, via “Minneapple23” [pseud.] on Imgur, April 1, 2023, fair use.

Hafiz Rashid, “Trump Completely Melts Down Over New Gag Order in Hush Money Trial,” New Republic, April 2, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180334/trumps-big-mouth-cost-again-hush-money

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh


Fig. 5. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, with the “Golden Triangle” and downtown Pittsburgh. Photograph by author, October 15, 2023.

A tornado watch is up for Pittsburgh until 2 am.[2]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Severe weather updates: Pittsburgh under tornado watch as powerful storm system gains steam,” April 2, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/02/pittsburgh-severe-weather-forecast-updates/stories/202404020059

Cheryl Vari, Cameron Knight, and Quinlan Bentley, “Severe storm warnings and tornado watches lifted in Cincinnati area as storms move east,” Cincinnati Inquirer, April 2, 2024, https://www.cincinnati.com/story/weather/2024/04/02/tornado-threat-in-ohio-kentucky-on-tuesday-april-2-severe-storms-national-weather-service/73175866007/

Imperialism

Israel


Fig. 6. John Bolton and Binyamin Netanyahu at a press conference. Office of U.S. National Security Advisor, August 20, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Binyamin Netanyahu might just have managed to widen the war on Gaza.[3] Especially worringly,

[The Islamic Republic News Agency] said Iran holds the United States responsible for the strike, though Axios reported Tuesday that the US had told Tehran that it “had no involvement” in or prior knowledge of the attack on the consulate in Syria. A senior US official quoted in the report said the message had been “communicated directly” to Iran.[4]

Times of Israel, “Iran and Hezbollah vow ‘punishment and revenge’ for strike that killed IRGC generals,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-and-hezbollah-vow-punishment-and-revenge-for-strike-that-killed-irgc-generals/

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 7. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[5] fair use.

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/

Times of Israel, “Israel acknowledges killing 7 aid charity workers in ‘tragic, unintentional’ airstrike,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-promises-probe-as-slain-aid-workers-home-countries-demand-explanation/

  1. [1]Ben Jennings, “Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s progress along the Republican nomination trail – cartoon,” Guardian, January 24, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jan/24/ben-jennings-on-donald-trumps-progress-along-the-republican-nomination-trail-cartoon↩
  2. [2]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Severe weather updates: Pittsburgh under tornado watch as powerful storm system gains steam,” April 2, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/02/pittsburgh-severe-weather-forecast-updates/stories/202404020059↩
  3. [3]Times of Israel, “Iran and Hezbollah vow ‘punishment and revenge’ for strike that killed IRGC generals,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-and-hezbollah-vow-punishment-and-revenge-for-strike-that-killed-irgc-generals/↩
  4. [4]Times of Israel, “Iran and Hezbollah vow ‘punishment and revenge’ for strike that killed IRGC generals,” April 2, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-and-hezbollah-vow-punishment-and-revenge-for-strike-that-killed-irgc-generals/↩
  5. [5]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩

Genocidal bullies

benfell

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.

I remember the bullies who tormented me all through junior and senior high school saying to me, “Stop making me hit you!” To them, it was a joke. I offered no resistance, no provocation for their attacks. Saying that was their idea of irony.

When I read the Washington Post story about the devastation of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, read of Israel blaming Gazans—they say “Hamas,” but effectively mean Gazans, whether or not involved with Hamas—for the way in which Israel is prosecuting this war,[2] I am reminded of those bullies.

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump
Finances


Fig. 1. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The [$175 million] bond [needed to delay Leticia James’ moves to seize Donald Trump’s property] was provided by California-based company Knight Insurance. The chair of that company is Don Hankey, who presides over an auto-services empire.[3]

Zach Everson, “Trump Posts $175 Million Bond In New York Civil Fraud Lawsuit,” Forbes, April 1, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/04/01/trump-posts-175-million-bond-new-york-civil-fraud-lawsuit/

Shayna Jacobs, “Trump posts $175M bond to keep N.Y. authorities from seizing property,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/01/trump-new-york-bond-175-million/

  1. [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  2. [2]William Booth and Lorenzo Tugnoli, “Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/01/gaza-al-shifa-hospital-israel/↩
  3. [3]Zach Everson, “Trump Posts $175 Million Bond In New York Civil Fraud Lawsuit,” Forbes, April 1, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/04/01/trump-posts-175-million-bond-new-york-civil-fraud-lawsuit/↩

Is Binyamin Netanyahu’s downfall now imminent?

benfell

Imperialism

Israel


Fig. 1. John Bolton and Binyamin Netanyahu at a press conference. Office of U.S. National Security Advisor, August 20, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

To be clear, the Israeli protests against Binyamin Netanyahu have little if anything to do with any rejection of the war on Gaza or how it is being conducted. This is partly about hostages Hamas and other groups still hold in Gaza.[1]

“If the families knew how small the gap is, which Netanyahu is refusing to close in negotiations with Hamas, they would explode,” said Amos Malka, a former head of the Israel Defense Forces’ military intelligence directorate who was among the speakers at the rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, who is still held in Gaza, said Netanyahu’s handling of the hostages situation had been “incomprehensible and criminal”.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu, after you abandoned our families on 7 October, and after 176 days when you didn’t bring a deal [for their return], and because you are continually engaged in torpedoing a deal, we have realised that you are the obstacle to the deal. You are the obstacle. You are the one who stands between us and the return home of our loved ones,” she said.[2]

But there’s also this pesky issue of Haredi men having to serve in the Israeli Defense Force:[3]

The issue isn’t how the Gaza war is being fought, but rather who must fight in it. While Israeli Jews are subject to a mandatory draft at age 18 — and regular reserve duty for decades afterward — an exception is made for the growing number of haredi Orthodox Israelis, who instead receive state funding to study Torah. (Arab Israelis also receive an exemption from military service.)

Israeli governments have come together and fallen apart due to debates over the haredi draft exemption. But this time, the stakes are higher: Israel is currently fighting a grueling war in Gaza and faces a looming conflict on its northern border — crises that have compelled hundreds of thousands of men to serve reserve duty for months on end.

Last month, to keep its troop numbers up, the government published proposed regulations that would lengthen reserve duty for soldiers. That spurred outcry from Israeli veterans who question why they must serve more while their haredi peers do not serve at all.[4]

In a separate protest, scores of demonstrators associated with the Brothers in Arms movement, formed of reservists, rallied in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood on Sunday, demanding the conscription of ultra-Orthodox, also known as Haredi, men into the IDF.

“I believe, I believe, I believe in enlisting in the military,” the protesters chanted. Counter-protests by ultra-Orthodox men are expected this week.

As well as a deadline to end the exemption, which the Netanyahu government has sought to extend, Israel’s supreme court has also ordered an end to government subsidies from Monday for many ultra-Orthodox men who study the Torah in religious schools instead of serving in the army.[5]

Ben Sales, “Should haredi Orthodox Jews serve in the Israeli army? The debate could collapse Israel’s government,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 29, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/03/29/israel/should-haredi-orthodox-jews-serve-in-the-israeli-army-the-debate-could-collapse-israels-government

Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum, “Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters call for Netanyahu’s removal,” Guardian, March 31, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israeli-protesters-call-benjamin-netanyahu-removal

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Century III Mall


Fig. 2. “The exterior of the closed Century III Mall taken from a drone . . . in West Mifflin.” Photograph by Benjamin B. Braun, May 11, 2023, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,[6] fair use.

Tawnya Panizzi, “Demolition starts on Century III Mall,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 31, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/demolition-starts-on-century-iii-mall/

Pennsylvania and surrounding areas

Pittsburgh, the Ohio Valley, and surrounding areas

Pollution


Fig. 3. Photographer unknown, circa 1940-1950, from Smoke Control Lantern Slide Collection, ca. 1940-1950, AIS.1978.22, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh, via Bloomberg,[7] fair use.

It seems carbon credits, which sound to me like a shell game, have arrived in Pennsylvania. Companies earn credits for capping the wells that can be sold to companies needing credits to appear “green.”[8]

Anya Litvak, “Pennsylvania’s many orphaned wells just might yield a pot of gold,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 1, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2024/04/01/pennsylvania-orphan-wells-oil-and-gas/stories/202403170069

Illiberalism

Türkiye

Elçin Poyrazlar, “Turkey’s Erdoğan suffers blow in crucial mayoral elections as secular opposition surges,” Politico, April 1, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-election-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-suffers-blow-as-opposition-rpp-holds-five-cities/

  1. [1]Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum, “Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters call for Netanyahu’s removal,” Guardian, March 31, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israeli-protesters-call-benjamin-netanyahu-removal↩
  2. [2]Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum, “Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters call for Netanyahu’s removal,” Guardian, March 31, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israeli-protesters-call-benjamin-netanyahu-removal↩
  3. [3]Ben Sales, “Should haredi Orthodox Jews serve in the Israeli army? The debate could collapse Israel’s government,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 29, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/03/29/israel/should-haredi-orthodox-jews-serve-in-the-israeli-army-the-debate-could-collapse-israels-government; Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum, “Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters call for Netanyahu’s removal,” Guardian, March 31, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israeli-protesters-call-benjamin-netanyahu-removal↩
  4. [4]Ben Sales, “Should haredi Orthodox Jews serve in the Israeli army? The debate could collapse Israel’s government,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 29, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/03/29/israel/should-haredi-orthodox-jews-serve-in-the-israeli-army-the-debate-could-collapse-israels-government↩
  5. [5]Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum, “Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters call for Netanyahu’s removal,” Guardian, March 31, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/israeli-protesters-call-benjamin-netanyahu-removal↩
  6. [6]Neena Hagen, “The fall of the Century: Once a retail shopping jewel, the West Mifflin mall has been left to rot,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 21, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2023/05/21/centuryiii-west-mifflin-mall-slag-heap-kaufmanns-sears-police-closed-crime/stories/202305210039↩
  7. [7]Mark Byrnes, “What Pittsburgh Looked Like When It Decided It Had a Pollution Problem,” Bloomberg, June 5, 2012, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-05/what-pittsburgh-looked-like-when-it-decided-it-had-a-pollution-problem↩
  8. [8]Anya Litvak, “Pennsylvania’s many orphaned wells just might yield a pot of gold,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 1, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2024/04/01/pennsylvania-orphan-wells-oil-and-gas/stories/202403170069↩

When disinformation is the primary strategy

benfell

Imperialism

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[1] fair use.

It seems just a bit conspiratorial:

[T]he strategy that matters most for the Kremlin is not the military strategy, but rather the spread of disinformation that causes the West to back away and allow Russia to win. That disinformation operation echoes the Russian practice of getting a population to believe in a false reality so that voters will cast their ballots for the party of oligarchs. In this case, in addition to seeding the idea that Ukraine cannot win and that the Russian invasion was justified, the Kremlin is exploiting divisions already roiling U.S. politics.[2]

I had understood the link between the illiberal movements in the U.S. and elsewhere and Russia to be somewhat opportunistic. Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric affirms values dear to the right and the right responds accordingly. Heather Cox Richardson suggests that Putin’s courtship of the right has been an intentional strategy to support Russian imperialism.[3] This, of course, fits with a somewhat discredited narrative blaming Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016 on Russian disinformation efforts, but that that narrative has been partly discredited—yes, there was an effort, but no, it wasn’t “the cause” of her defeat—hardly means the effort has been abandoned or that Russians have not improved their tactics since.

I haven’t known what to make of Russian and Chinese hacking efforts. A lot of it, which we hear less about, is directed at economic targets. They want our technology. Some has been directed at government targets. They want our secrets. Some of it, however, has clearly been an effort, much like that of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, to defend their imperialism in the court of public opinion. But to be honest, that this might be aimed more foundationally at amplifying and enhancing right-wing voices hadn’t occurred to me. Cox assembles a substantive case that this is so.[4]

Heather Cox Richardson, “March 29, 2024,” Letters from an American, March 30, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-29-2024

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 2. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[5] fair use.

There’s a Republican congressman who wants all the wars over quickly.[6] Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence sharing with Israel is beginning to draw scrutiny:[7]

At the start of the war, the U.S. intelligence community framed guidelines for sharing intelligence with their Israeli counterparts, but top White House policymakers ultimately determine whether any violation has occurred, people familiar with the process said.

U.S. intelligence agencies compile instances of potential violations of the laws of armed conflict by both sides in Gaza as part of a biweekly report titled the “Gaza Crisis Potential Wrongful Acts Summary,” outlining specific incidents and trends related to the war, one of the people familiar with the process said. . . .

Israel is responsible for certifying its own compliance [with U.S. law], and in some cases does so orally, officials said. In addition, they said, it is hard to know how U.S.-provided intelligence is used once it is combined with Israel’s own data.[8]

Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/

Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4

Illiberalism

Gilead

White Christian nationalism


Fig. 3. If one weighs by geography rather than population, Pennsylvania is very much a white Christian nationalist kind of place. Photograph by author, January 5, 2023.

Heather Cox Richardson, “March 30, 2024,” Letters from an American, March 31, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-30-2024

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure


Fig. 4. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh’s hidden T station is getting new life. Is there a future?” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 30, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburghs-hidden-t-station-is-getting-new-life-is-there-a-future/

  1. [1]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  2. [2]Heather Cox Richardson, “March 29, 2024,” Letters from an American, March 30, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-29-2024↩
  3. [3]Heather Cox Richardson, “March 29, 2024,” Letters from an American, March 30, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-29-2024↩
  4. [4]Heather Cox Richardson, “March 29, 2024,” Letters from an American, March 30, 2024, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-29-2024↩
  5. [5]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  6. [6]Maegan Vazquez, “Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima,’” Washington Post, March 31, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/30/michigan-lawmaker-gaza-hiroshima/↩
  7. [7]Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4↩
  8. [8]Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-and-israels-unprecedented-intelligence-sharing-draws-criticism-a85979b4↩

Special people

benfell

It seems a few people think they’re special, that they do not need to comply with laws that other people must comply with. The obvious example is Donald Trump. But an awful lot of Israelis would likely make a similar claim; it appears absolutely incomprehensible to them that Palestinians are human beings with human rights. And to this ever-lengthening list, we must add Joe Biden, who has approved yet another arms package for Israel,[1] despite this aid being flatly illegal.[2]

Illiberalism

Gilead

Donald Trump


Fig. 1. Donald Trump, depicted in an orange jumpsuit, reportedly by the Drudge, date unknown, via Mediaite,[3] fair use. Apparently, no mugshot was taken when he was actually arrested over hush money paid to Stormy Daniels.[4]

Since leaving office in 2021, former President Donald J. Trump has spent more than $100 million on lawyers and other costs related to fending off various investigations, indictments and his coming criminal trials, according to a New York Times review of federal records.

The remarkable sum means that Mr. Trump has averaged more than $90,000 a day in legal-related costs for more than three years — none of it paid for with his own money.[5]

Chris Lehmann, “Trump’s New Line of Work: Bible Salesman,” Nation, March 28, 2024, https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-bibles-lee-greenwood/

Molly Cook Escobar, Albert Sun, and Shane Goldmacher, “How Trump Moved Money to Pay $100 Million in Legal Bills,” New York Times, March 29, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/27/us/politics/trump-cases-legal-fund.html

Coup attempt

2024

Fig. 1. Cartoon by Ben Jennings, January 24, 2024, via the Guardian,[6] fair use.

Tori Otten, “A Judge Finally Found Fraudulent Votes. They’re All From a Republican,” New Republic, March 28, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180230/georgia-official-vote-illegally

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[7] fair use.

On January 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to comply with a series of provisional measures based on its finding that there was plausibility to an application filed by South Africa against Israel that Israel’s actions in Gaza fall under the scope of the Genocide Convention.

Lawyers for Israel denied allegations of deliberately causing humanitarian suffering in the enclave, where hunger is rising, and said South Africa’s repeated requests for additional measures were an abuse of procedures.

The ICJ on Thursday reaffirmed those measures and further ordered Israel to ensure “the unhindered provision at scale… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements,” and to allow in medical supplies, as well as “increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.”[8]

Nidal Al-Mughrabi, “Israel pounds Rafah in southern Gaza despite ceasefire calls,” Reuters, March 25, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-kills-dozens-gaza-attacks-besieges-two-hospitals-palestinian-medics-say-2024-03-25/

Felicia Schwartz, “UN Security Council passes Gaza ceasefire resolution,” Financial Times, March 25, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/d96cafbd-4bb0-4b31-8285-7be53ccd6082

Ishaan Tharoor, “The U.S. and Israel have a ‘major credibility problem,’” Washington Post, March 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/03/25/israel-united-states-credibility-confrontation/

Karen DeYoung, Yasmeen Abutaleb, and Toluse Olorunnipa, “Biden-Netanyahu rift grows, as Israel cancels delegation visit,” Washington Post, March 26, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/25/biden-netanyahu-un-delegation-rift/

Alon Pinkas, “Netanyahu has been spoiling for a fight with the US. He may not survive this one,” Guardian, March 26, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/26/benjamin-netanyahu-joe-biden-un-security-council-resolution-ceasefire-gaza

Ishaan Tharoor, “U.S. allows U.N. ceasefire vote, but it’s too late for many in Gaza,” Washington Post, March 26, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/03/26/united-states-united-nations-veto-israel-ceasefire-gaza/

Julian Borger, “State department official’s resignation highlights rifts over US Gaza policy,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/27/state-department-resignation-gaza-biden-policy

Rory Carroll, “Ireland backs bid to include blocking of aid in definition of genocide,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/27/gaza-ireland-joins-battle-to-include-the-blocking-of-vital-aid-in-definition-of-genocide

Louis Mian and Benjamin Brown, “‘Reasonable grounds’ to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, UN rights expert says,” CNN, March 27, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/middleeast/israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-un-rights-expert-says-intl/index.html

Melanie Swan, “Israel admits it may not be able to destroy Hamas now US has turned its back,” Telegraph, March 27, 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/27/israeli-intelligence-admits-may-not-destroy-hamas/

Peter Beaumont and Lorenzo Tondo, “‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid,” Guardian, March 28, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/28/famine-is-setting-in-icj-orders-israel-to-unblock-gaza-food-aid

Times of Israel, “ICJ orders Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, demands report in 30 days,” March 28, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/icj-orders-israel-to-increase-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-demands-report-in-30-days/

John Hudson, “U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel,” Washington Post, March 29, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/29/us-weapons-israel-gaza-war/

  1. [1]John Hudson, “U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel,” Washington Post, March 29, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/29/us-weapons-israel-gaza-war/↩
  2. [2]Julian Borger, “State department official’s resignation highlights rifts over US Gaza policy,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/27/state-department-resignation-gaza-biden-policy↩
  3. [3]Alex Griffing, “Drudge Puts Trump in an Orange Jumpsuit as Site Monitors His Potential Indictment,” Mediaite, August 29, 2022, https://www.mediaite.com/news/drudge-puts-trump-in-an-orange-jumpsuit-as-site-monitors-his-potential-indictment/↩
  4. [4]Sarah D. Wire and Alexandra E. Petri, “Trump charged with 34 felony counts in alleged hush money cover-up case,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-04-04/donald-trump-alleged-hush-money-investigation-indictment-arraignment↩
  5. [5]Molly Cook Escobar, Albert Sun, and Shane Goldmacher, “How Trump Moved Money to Pay $100 Million in Legal Bills,” New York Times, March 27, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/27/us/politics/trump-cases-legal-fund.html↩
  6. [6]Ben Jennings, “Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s progress along the Republican nomination trail – cartoon,” Guardian, January 24, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jan/24/ben-jennings-on-donald-trumps-progress-along-the-republican-nomination-trail-cartoon↩
  7. [7]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  8. [8]Times of Israel, “,” March 28, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/icj-orders-israel-to-increase-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-demands-report-in-30-days/↩

For Israel, the game is up

benfell

Imperialism

China


Fig. 1. “Map of Qing Empire filled with the flag.” Graphic by Daniel222potato [pseud.], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ishaan Tharoor, “China decries U.S. ‘bullying.’ But, to many, China is the bully,” Washington Post, March 29, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/03/29/china-security-us-region-influence-confrontation/

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.

The game is up. Israel has lost:

In its legally binding order, the [International Court of Justice] told Israel to take “all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

The ICJ also ordered Israel to immediately ensure “that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance”.[2]

I’m not quite clear on the relationship between this ruling[3] and the case that South Africa brought to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.[4] But with a ruling like this, it’s awfully hard to see how Israel prevails in that case.

Israel needs to comply. It won’t. It’s far too self-righteous to do so. But the writing has been on the wall here for a while now: The world, which has plenty of experience with this sort of thing, simply does not buy Israel’s excuses. And this ruling will only reinforce that skepticism.

Nidal Al-Mughrabi, “Israel pounds Rafah in southern Gaza despite ceasefire calls,” Reuters, March 25, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-kills-dozens-gaza-attacks-besieges-two-hospitals-palestinian-medics-say-2024-03-25/

Felicia Schwartz, “UN Security Council passes Gaza ceasefire resolution,” Financial Times, March 25, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/d96cafbd-4bb0-4b31-8285-7be53ccd6082

Ishaan Tharoor, “The U.S. and Israel have a ‘major credibility problem,’” Washington Post, March 25, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/03/25/israel-united-states-credibility-confrontation/

Karen DeYoung, Yasmeen Abutaleb, and Toluse Olorunnipa, “Biden-Netanyahu rift grows, as Israel cancels delegation visit,” Washington Post, March 26, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/25/biden-netanyahu-un-delegation-rift/

Alon Pinkas, “Netanyahu has been spoiling for a fight with the US. He may not survive this one,” Guardian, March 26, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/26/benjamin-netanyahu-joe-biden-un-security-council-resolution-ceasefire-gaza

Ishaan Tharoor, “U.S. allows U.N. ceasefire vote, but it’s too late for many in Gaza,” Washington Post, March 26, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/03/26/united-states-united-nations-veto-israel-ceasefire-gaza/

Julian Borger, “State department official’s resignation highlights rifts over US Gaza policy,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/27/state-department-resignation-gaza-biden-policy

Rory Carroll, “Ireland backs bid to include blocking of aid in definition of genocide,” Guardian, March 27, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/27/gaza-ireland-joins-battle-to-include-the-blocking-of-vital-aid-in-definition-of-genocide

Louis Mian and Benjamin Brown, “‘Reasonable grounds’ to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, UN rights expert says,” CNN, March 27, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/middleeast/israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-un-rights-expert-says-intl/index.html

Melanie Swan, “Israel admits it may not be able to destroy Hamas now US has turned its back,” Telegraph, March 27, 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/27/israeli-intelligence-admits-may-not-destroy-hamas/

Peter Beaumont and Lorenzo Tondo, “‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid,” Guardian, March 28, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/28/famine-is-setting-in-icj-orders-israel-to-unblock-gaza-food-aid

  1. [1]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
  2. [2]Peter Beaumont and Lorenzo Tondo, “‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid,” Guardian, March 28, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/28/famine-is-setting-in-icj-orders-israel-to-unblock-gaza-food-aid↩
  3. [3]Peter Beaumont and Lorenzo Tondo, “‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid,” Guardian, March 28, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/28/famine-is-setting-in-icj-orders-israel-to-unblock-gaza-food-aid↩
  4. [4]Jess Bravin, “South Africa Accuses Israel of Genocide in U.N. Court,” Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/south-africa-accuses-israel-of-genocide-in-u-n-court-3af69eb7; Ryan Grim, “South Africa Just Made Its Case at The Hague. What’s Next?” Intercept, January 11, 2024, https://theintercept.com/2024/01/11/south-africa-israel-genocide-charges/; Barbara Moens, Jacopo Barigazzi, and Eddy Wax, “South Africa’s genocide case against Israel lays bare Europe’s feeble power,” Politico, January 11, 2024, https://www.politico.eu/article/south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-lays-bare-europes-feeble-power/; Claire Parker and Emily Rauhala to Today’s Worldview list, “What to know about the genocide case against Israel at the ICJ,” Washington Post, January 11, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/todays-worldview/; Yves Smith, “Israel Capitulates at the Start of International Court of Justice Genocide Hearing,” Naked Capitalism, January 11, 2024, https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/israel-capitulates-at-the-start-of-international-court-of-justice-genocide-hearing.html↩