Australian MPs react to Julian Assange’s release

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

An article of Yahoo News Australia

Julian Assange has walked free from prison after the WikiLeaks founder reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice, ending a years long legal saga that centred on the release of hundreds of thousands of classified State Department cables, a development that has been welcomed across the Australian parliament.


Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, addresses supporters Julian Assange outside Australia House on April 10, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images) Photo reproduced by Common Dreams

According to court documents filed on Monday, Mr Assange is expected to plead guilty to a single felony of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information, a violation under the US Espionage Act.

The plea deal will spare him further time in prison in the UK where he was reportedly suffering health issues and living in solitary confinement.

Having left prison on Monday after he was granted bail by the UK High Court, Mr Assange then boarded a private jet at Stansted Airport joined by UK High Commissioner Stephen Smith and left the country en route to Bangkok.

The 52-year-old is expected to front a US Federal Court on Wednesday in Saipan, a self-governing US territory located in the western Pacific, about 2400km east of the Philippines.

After being sentenced to the 62 months he has already spent in prison, he is expected to return to Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously raised Mr Assange’s case in talks with US president Joe Biden. Mr Albanese told parliament in February he hoped that a resolution to the case could be found.

In a short statement released on Tuesday morning, an Australian government spokesman confirmed Mr Assange’s legal proceedings scheduled in the US.

“The Australian government continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Assange,” the spokesman said.

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Question related to this article:

Julian Assange, Is he a hero for the culture of peace?

Is Internet freedom a basic human right?

(continued from left column)

“Prime Minister Albanese has been clear – Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration.”

Coalition frontbencher and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce on Tuesday thanked those who had supported Mr Assange’s release, including members of a self-funded parliamentary delegation to lobby US Congress for his freedom.

“There were so many people who were part of this process, and what it showed was people from both sides of politics, for different reasons, arrived at the same place,” Mr Joyce said on Tuesday morning.

But Mr Joyce warned there were still further steps to be taken before Mr Assange’s freedom was assured.

“In a 1500m race, you don’t stop and start waving at the crowd with 2½ laps (to go). Wait to the end of the race and then the race is over,” he said.

Greens senator David Shoebridge also welcomed Mr Assange’s release and remarked that he was “looking forward to welcoming Julian back home”.

“Let’s be clear, Julian Assange should never have been charged with espionage in the first place or had to make this deal. (He) has spent years in jail for the crime of showing the world the horrors of the US war in Iraq and the complicity of governments like Australia and that is why he has been punished.”

With Mr Assange en route to Australia, a statement released by WikiLeaks thanked those who had lent their support to co-ordinated efforts to free him.

“This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grassroots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations,” a WikiLeaks statement read.

“This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised.

“Julian’s freedom is our freedom”.

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East Asia, HUMAN RIGHTS

In Remembrance of James Lawson, a Force for Good and Champion of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

An article by Ethan Vesely-Flad in Common Dreams (licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called him “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” To Rep. John Lewis, he was “the architect of the nonviolence movement.” Jesse Jackson simply called him “the Teacher.” We at the Fellowship of Reconciliation are blessed to have counted him among our core team of organizers. It is with reverence that we remember his life and time with us.


James Lawson at work with the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1960. (Photo credit: FOR archives)

Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr., who died Sunday at age 95, was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and moved with his family to Massillon, Ohio, shortly after. As part of a deeply Christian family, James began regularly reading the bible and developed a prophetic and liberatory interpretation of the gospels at an early age. In a 2014 interview published by  Fellowship  magazine, Lawson told Diane Lefer, “By the end of my high school years, I came to recognize that that whole business – walk the second mile, turn the other cheek, pray for the enemy, see the enemy as a fellow human being – was a resistance movement. It was not an acquiescent affair or a passive affair. I saw it as a place where my own life grew in strength inwardly, and where I had actually seen people changed because I responded with the other cheek. I went the second mile with them.”

While attending Baldwin-Wallace College, Lawson met A.J. Muste, the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s executive secretary, a renowned pacifist and nonviolent direct action strategist. Deeply inspired, Lawson immediately joined the FOR. Graduating college in 1950, as the Cold War grew, Lawson determined that he would refuse the military draft. Instead of Korea, he was sent to prison, where he served 13 months.

In 1953, Lawson accepted an offer from Hislop College in Nagpur, India, to teach and coach athletics, giving him the opportunity to, like FOR members Howard Thurman and Bayard Rustin had done before him, explore the connections between the Indian self-determination movement and the African-American freedom struggle. Lawson spent the next three years on the subcontinent studying Gandhi’s life and the Satyagraha movement. “I combined the methodological analysis of Gandhi with the teachings of Jesus, who concludes that there are no human beings that you can exclude from the grace of God,” Lawson described to Lefer.

(Article continued in the column on the right)

Questions related to this article:

How can we carry forward the work of the great peace and justice activists who went before us?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

Lawson was completing a graduate degree at the Oberlin School of Theology when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., while visiting the campus, recruited him. King insisted to Lawson that his expertise was needed, not eventually, but immediately! “I mentioned to [King] that while in college I had long wanted to work in the South – especially because of segregation – as a place of work, and that I wanted to do that still,” Lawson told Fellowship magazine editor Richard Deats in 1999. “His response was: ‘Come now! Don’t wait! Don’t put it off too long. We need you NOW!”

When Lawson told A.J. Muste of his decision to move South, Muste quickly offered him a position as FOR’s Southern Field Secretary. Basing himself initially in Nashville, Lawson began working throughout the South, initially with FOR and then the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He focused especially on recruiting and training a generation of nonviolent direct-action activists. Those young people then launched the sit-ins and Freedom Rides and founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

In 1965, while representing SCLC on an International FOR delegation to Vietnam, Lawson met Thich Nhat Hanh. This encounter significantly affected Lawson, inspiring him to facilitate a meeting between the Buddhist monk and Dr. King, and ultimately led to King’s dramatic public stance against the U.S. war in Vietnam. Lawson’s profound assessment of U.S. militarism and what he called “plantation capitalism” shaped not only the interweaving of the 1960s civil rights and anti-war struggles but ultimately how our intersectional social movements are shaped today.

In 1974, in Los Angeles, Lawson continued his solidarity with impoverished low-wage workers. He founded Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice to enlist faith communities in this struggle and pushed direct action campaigns for which he was arrested “more [times] than [during] all his work in the South.”

Lawson spent his last decades both working within peace circles while offering critiques that their movements devoted too much of their focus outside U.S. borders. He believed that true change could only come from within. “Only by engaging in domestic issues and molding a domestic coalition for justice can we confront the militarization of our land,” he argued to Lefer in 2014. “We must confront that here – not over there.”

Whether prophetically interpreting the scriptures, challenging America’s original sin with the fierce power of nonviolent direct action, or strategically connecting with other monumental peace leaders, Lawson’s commitment to social justice was relentless and unwavering. We at the Fellowship of Reconciliation are blessed to have worked with and been mentored by him. As we continue to confront the injustices of our times, we know that Lawson’s spirit is walking beside us.

(Editor’s note: You may find a more detailed biography on the website of The Nation, but we have no budget to pay for reproduction.)

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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, North America

Complicity in Genocide—The Case Against the Biden Administration

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

An article from In These Times

Early this month (February 2024), a federal judge dismissed a case brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) charging  U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken with complicity in the Israeli-led genocide in Gaza.

But while many media outlets were quick to report on the case not moving forward, they largely missed a key aspect of the ruling: the judge did not dismiss the case on its merits but rather because it fell  “outside the court’s limited jurisdiction,” therefore rejecting it on technical grounds. In fact, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White’s statement appeared to uphold some of plaintiff’s key charges in the case:  “Both the uncontroverted testimony of the plaintiffs and the expert opinion proffered at the hearing on these motions as well as statements made by various officers of the Israeli government indicate that the ongoing military siege in Gaza is intended to eradicate a whole people and therefore plausibly falls within the international prohibition against genocide.”


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US President Joe Biden, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin look on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 2, 2023.
(PHOTO BY BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

The judge went further, urging Biden and his administration officials to scrutinize  “the results of their unflagging support” for the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza.

Judge White was not alone in his appraisal. The case, first heard on January 26 in front of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, saw roughly 100 human rights and humanitarian aid groups write briefs supporting CCR’s charges against the Biden administration. 

These briefs make it abundantly clear that the Biden administration, in its steadfast support of the Israeli government, is complicit in the ongoing genocide, the displacement of approximately 80% of Palestinians from their homes and the deaths of more than 29,000 so far in this latest chapter of a year-long Nakba (catastrophe) that never ended.

CCR’s lawsuit underscored the plight of a Palestinian people asserting their humanity and refusing to be sacrificed at the altar of  the 1948 Genocide Convention—which tasks governments with preventing genocides and forbids their complicity in genocides perpetrated by another party — and the U.S. Genocide Convention Implementation Act, passed in 1988, which incorporates this mandate into U.S. law.

As multiple human rights advocates and experts such as Israeli historian and Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies Raz Segal have laid out, Israel is carrying out a textbook case of genocide” in Gaza, backed by clear genocidal intent, laid bare in Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant’s Oct. 9 declaration: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.”

In response to the case, the Biden administration countered that CCR’s lawsuit should not move forward because supporting Israel is a foreign policy decision reserved for the executive branch, free from judicial interference; that the United States is not responsible for how Israel, a foreign government, acts; and that there is no federal law allowing the plaintiffs to sue.

CCR noted, first, that the issue is not whether the U.S. can make foreign policy decisions involving Israel but rather that the decision to aid in a genocide violates federal law, and the courts have a duty to uphold the law even against U.S. officials.

Second, CCR explained in detail how the Biden administration, far from a neutral spectator, is actively supporting the genocide through military, economic and diplomatic assistance.

Militarily, Secretary Blinken exercised emergency powers twice in December to approve the sale of armament worth approximately $254 million. According to the Defense Department, these supplies come from the War Reserve Stocks for Allies-Israel (WRSA-I), an obscure U.S. stockpile in Israel containing billions of dollars’ worth of equipment.

The administration now seeks to loosen WRSA-I restrictions for Israel, expanding access to weaponry, increasing the annual stockpile limits, and removing legislative oversight, while adding to the privileges Israel already enjoys such as permission to withdraw WRSA-I items without the prior justification required of all other recipient countries.

The U.S. has provided (or is on track to provide) Israel over 25,000 tons of military supplies: dozens of F‑35 and F-15 fighter jets (to be received in the coming years), a dozen Apache helicopters, two thousand Hellfire missiles, MK‑ 84 bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions to guide them, Spice bombs, M141 bunker‑buster munitions, one million rounds of 7.62 mm munitions and thousands of 155 mm artillery shells, 30 mm cannon munitions, night‑vision devices and much more. Meanwhile, the presence of U.S. surveillance drones in Gaza suggests the possibility of greater U.S. military involvement than previously thought.

Financially, President Biden requested an emergency supplemental budget exceeding $14 billion to support Israel. The House of Representatives responded with a bill reflecting this amount plus billions of dollars for joint operations assistance. The Senate has now passed a bill for $14 billion permitting the supply of currently forbidden military items to Israel, as well as waiving WRSA-I caps. These bills are currently being debated in Congress but enjoy broad bipartisan support.

And, diplomatically, the United States exercised its veto privilege at the United Nations Security Council to stall international calls for a cease-fire in Gaza on October 18, December 8 and February 20. The December instance followed UN Secretary General António Guterres’s invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter to refer to the Security Council a “ matter which, in [his] opinion, may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.”

Article 99 was last invoked in 1971 preceding the split of Bangladesh from Pakistan. Additionally, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly supported cease-fire resolutions on October 27 and December 12 , both of which the U.S. voted against. And, on December 22 , the U.S. abstained from a Security Council vote to direct humanitarian aid to Gaza after stalling for four days to remove a call for cease-fire from the resolution.

These various forms of support unequivocally constitute aiding and abetting of Israel’s cataclysmic destruction of Gaza, and the CCR argued as much in establishing that the U.S. has been actively complicit in the ongoing genocide.

Relatedly, the CCR referenced this very aiding and abetting in claiming that they do have a federal right to sue under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). As they explained, “aiding and abetting liability, particularly for U.S. defendants,” triggers the ATS goal of “provid[ing] a forum for violations of international law.”

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Question related to this article:

How can war crimes be documented, stopped, punished and prevented?

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Therefore, the CCR concluded, the courts do have a constitutional duty to put an end to the executive branch’s complicity in genocide; the executive branch is complicit based on its clear aiding and abetting in the form of military, financial and diplomatic support; and the ATS permits plaintiffs to sue federal officials for their violations of the Genocide Convention.

No conditions

CCR further charged Biden, Blinken and Austin with failure to prevent the genocide. The Genocide Convention and customary international law compel governments to exercise due diligence to prevent genocide, and self-defense is legally insufficient as a justification for eradicating a population. U.S. officials are liable if they could likely influence Israel’s conduct and if they should have known that Israel’s acts raised a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.

In Gaza, the U.S. indisputably can influence Israel’s conduct. The U.S. fills 92% of Israel’s arms imports. Much of this equipment can only originate from the U.S. as it utilizes proprietary technologies. Defense Minister Gallant admitted as much, when the U.S. pressured for humanitarian aid to Gaza, noting that “[t]he Americans insisted and we are not in a place where we can refuse them. We rely on them for planes and military equipment. What are we supposed to do? Tell them no?” The Biden administration similarly boasted about its influence in persuading Israel to pause aggressions for seven days in late November.

And the United States is doubtlessly aware of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The CCR shared its emergency legal briefing paper with Biden, Blinken, and Austin in October explaining these exact points. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in January that there is a plausible risk that Israel is carrying out genocide. Additionally, more than 800 public officials and diplomats across a range of countries, close to 80 of whom are based in the U.S. and work primarily within Blinken’s State Department, warned in February that their governments were at risk of being complicit in genocide.

In a previous case, the ICJ found Serbia to be liable for failing to prevent the genocide of Muslim communities in Srebrenica in 1995 by the Bosnian Serb forces, an independent actor that perpetrated the genocide with the support of the Serbian government. Dr. William A. Schabas, a renowned Professor of Human Rights Law and International Criminal Law, concluded that U.S. complicity in the war on Gaza “ has many parallels” with the Serbian government’s complicity in Srebrenica since, like the relationship between Israel and the U.S., “[t]he Bosnian Serb forces were very dependent upon weaponry and other logistical support from Serbia, and there were strong political and economic ties” between the two. The U.S. acknowledged this very duty to prevent genocide when it commented in support of Ukraine’s case against Russia at the ICJ in 2022.

The Biden administration blanketly denies the genocide charges against Israel while refusing to investigate them altogether. President Biden vowed that his “ administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.” Secretary Blinken has stated his view that South Africa’s “ charge of genocide [against Israel before the ICJ] is meritless.” And White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, on behalf of the Biden administration, that “[w]e find [South Africa’s] submission meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact, whatsoever,” later insisting that “ we find that that claim is unfounded.”

More recently, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi baselessly claimed that “ nothing [the U.S. has] sent since Oct. 7 [to Israel] has contributed to this brutality,” despite well recorded evidence to the contrary.

The U.S. State Department ordered officials to refrain from using the phrases “ de‑escalation,” “ cease-fire,” “ end to violence,” “ end to bloodshed,” and “ restoring calm” in press releases, and Secretary Blinken was found to have deleted references to a cease-fire in his posts on X (formerly Twitter) after they had already been sent out.

Conspicuously, a State Department task force on preventing atrocities took a full two weeks into the extremely brutal assault before meeting to discuss Israel and Palestine, and it was nevertheless sidelined by the administration.

According to Kirby, the U.S. imposes no conditions on weapons transfers to Israel even though the Foreign Assistance Act, the Leahy Law, and the Conventional Arms Transfer policy prohibit transfers when the weapons are likely intended to be used for genocide. Notably, transfers to most countries can be put on hold if one stakeholder suspects an item will be used unlawfully. In the case of Israel, multiple stakeholders, including the Bureau of Near East Affairs (NEA) and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, must first agree that such risk exists, and the hold must be approved by the Deputy Secretary of State.

Moreover, these transfers are shrouded in secrecy. Whereas the U.S. published pages detailing what weapons, and in what quantities, it provided to Ukraine, governmental disclosures concerning Israel amount to one brief sentence. Josh Paul, former director in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, remarks that there is no benefit in this secrecy except diminished oversight.

And the administration insists that it has remained close to the Israeli officials perpetrating the genocide. Kirby claimed that “ we have, since the beginning of the conflict, in the early hours, maintained a level of communication with our Israeli counterparts to ascertain their intentions, their strategy, their aims.” Secretary Blinken has held hours-long conferences with Israeli military officials, and Secretary Austin had near-daily calls with Minister Gallant “ to meet Israel’s needs, which include air defense, precision guided munitions, artillery and medical supplies.”

Responsibility to act

The U.S. District Court in California, spotlighting the ICJ’s finding of plausible genocide, implored the administration to reconsider its course for the welfare of the Palestinian people, finding the judiciary to be lamentably powerless to interfere with foreign policy decisions.

Looking to the future, a group of South African lawyers stated to the Biden administration their intention to sue the U.S. government for “ aiding, abetting and supporting, encouraging or providing material assistance and means to Israel” during a genocide. On February 12 , the South African government urgently requested that the ICJ use its powers to prevent further genocidal acts by Israel in light of the most recent attack on Rafah, “ the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza.”

As the CCR case makes clear, the United States government is currently facilitating the annihilation of Gaza and the Palestinian people. In the face of this massacre, Congress has a responsibility to rein in the abuses of the Biden administration by exercising its review authority to end any further aid to the Israeli government. While recent efforts to condition such aid have failed, that should not prevent members of Congress from taking a clear stand: now is the time to hold the Biden administration accountable for its complicity in the crime of genocide.

(Editor’s note: Recent polling data (May 8) in the United States indicates that 39% believe Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people living in Gaza, 38% saying Israel is not, and 23% saying they don’t know. A majority of Democrats (56%) and a slight plurality of Independents (36%) say they believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.)

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HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast, North America,

Gaza protests at universities around the world

. TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . .

A pictorial survey by CPNN

As of June 12 Wikipedia lists protests against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in more than 25 countries. “Twenty encampments have been established in the United Kingdom; across universities in Australia, beginning with the University of Sydney; and in Canada, including an encampment at McGill University. On May 7, protests spread further on European campuses after mass arrests at the University of Amsterdam campus occupation, including occupation of campus buildings at Leipzig University in Germany, Sciences Po in France, and Ghent University in Belgium. As of May 8, protests have taken place in more than 25 countries. On May 13, approximately 1,000 Dutch students and university staff took part in a national walk-out.”

Here are photos from the various countries. Click on the country name if you wish to see the source for the photo and caption.

AUSTRALIA


The pro-Palestinian student protesters who set up the camp at the University of Sydney want disclosure of and divestment from all university activities that support Israel, as well as a ceasefire and the end of government ties to Israel. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

BANGLADESH


Bangladeshi students wave Palestinian flags, as they march during a pro- Palestinian demonstration at the Dhaka University area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, May 6, 2024. Credit: AP/Mahmud Hossain Opu

CANADA


Pro-Palestinian supporters take part in a sit-in at the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa on Monday, April 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

COSTA RICA


Estudiantes de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) instalaron un campamento desde la noche del Primero de Mayo en el pretil de la Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio en solidaridad con Palestina

CUBA


Cubans rally in support of US students, Palestine (frame from video)

DENMARK


Pro-Palestinian protesters set up camp at the city campus of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Photograph: Thomas Traasdahl/AP

EGYPT


Students at American University of Cairo call for university to divest from corporations tied to occupation

FINLAND


Students began a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the University of Helsinki campus on Monday. The demonstration is organised by a group called Students for Palestine, which is demanding that the university cut ties with Israeli universities.

FRANCE


Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university with a huge Palestinian flag, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)”

GERMANY


Protesters attend a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters

GREECE


A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Israel’s military action in Gaza at Syntagma Square, central Athens, Greece, on May 11, 2024. People protesting at Athens Law School the following Tuesday were arrested [Michael Varaklas/AP]

INDIA


From Jatinangor, Unpad Students Support Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations in the US. Photo: ist

INDONESIA


The University of Indonesia academic community held a solidarity camp action at the University of Indonesia Campus, Depok, West Java, Friday (3/5/2024).

IRAQ


Iraqi university students carry Palestinian flags and placards during a rally at the Baghdad University campus. Photograph: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

IRELAND


A student encampment on the grounds of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, as seen from above. Photograph: Damien Eagers/Reuters

ISRAEL


Demonstrators protest calling to end the war in Gaza at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on May 28, 2024.Yoatan Sindel/Flash90

ITALY


Pro-Palestine protests, the first Italian protest with tents at the University of Bologna: “Stop complicity with Israel” Frame from video.

JAPAN


Japanese students rally at the Waseda University in Tokyo on Friday (May 3, 2024). Pro-Palestine student rallies spread across other countries after it began at Columbia University in April. (Anadolu)

continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

KUWAIT


Faculty members and students of Kuwait University carry placards during a protest in solidarity with Gaza and Palestine on April 29, 2024. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

LEBANON


Demonstrators hold Lebanese and Palestinian flags during a protest in solidarity with Gaza at the Lebanese American University (LAU), in Beirut, Lebanon April 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki

MEXICO


Pro-Palestinian activists erect a tent in front of the rectory building of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Photograph: Yuri Cortéz/AFP/Getty Images

MOROCCO


From the student movement in Morocco in solidarity with Gaza, May 8, 2024 (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed)

NETHERLANDS


Teachers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) held a walk-out on the Roeterseiland campus on May 13. Image ANP

NEW ZEALAND


Students take part in a pro-Palestine rally at the University of Canterbury on Thursday. Iain Mcgregor / The Press

POLAND


Students from the Jagiellonian University are occupying one of the buildings of the Jagiellonian University. The protesters demand unequivocal condemnation of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and the severance of all contacts with Israeli companies and universities. Photo PAP/Art Service.

PORTUGAL


Occupation of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon organized by the Student Climate Strike movement and several groups of students demanding justice for Palestine. Photo: Nuno Fox

ROMANIA


Several dozen young people are protesting at the University of Bucharest, where some of them have set up tents in the yard of the Faculty of Psychology, in a pro-Palestine movement, modeled on those in the USA. They say they will stay as long as it takes for the University of Bucharest to end any collaboration with Israel or institutions in Israel. The protesters put Palestinian flags around them, Photo: David Leonard Bularca / Hotnews

SOUTH AFRICA


Students have set up a “Wits liberated zone” solidarity encampment on the Wits University library lawns. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

SOUTH KOREA


Members of SNU Soobak, a student organization for solidarity with Palestine, carry out an anti-war sit-in on the campus of Seoul National University on May 8, 2024. (Kim Jung-hyo/The Hankyoreh)

SPAIN


Students camp at the University of Barcelona cloister to support Palestine on May 6, 2024 / Natàlia Segura

SWEDEN


Students all over Sweden are today joining the global student uprisings and are now occupying universities in Sweden, against the genocide in Palestine, for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation. Photo from twitter of Greta Thunberg

SWITZERLAND


The hall of EPFL’s architecture building in Lausanne is currently (May 7) occupied by around 50 Pro-Palestinian protesters. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

TUNISIA


Since yesterday Monday (April 29), students of the Institute of Press and Information Sciences have observed an open sit-in day and night, boycotting classes and exams, setting up tents and launching a movement they called “ Camp Shirine Abu Aqla”, in support of the Palestinian people.

UNITED KINGDOM


Students gather outside Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

UNITED STATES


CNN May 10:.As pro-Palestinian protests have erupted on college campuses nationwide, protesters — including students and faculty — continue to be arrested. Map: Where university protesters have been arrested across the United States. (click on map to enlarge)

YEMEN


DHAMAR April 29. 2024 (Saba) – Members of the Faculty of Education at Dhamar University organized a protest to denounce the massacres committed by the Zionist enemy in Gaza.

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global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

6 ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza

. TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . .

An editorial by Jennifer Bing for the American Friends Service Committee

Many people of conscience are looking for ways to support Palestinians in Gaza as violence continues to escalate. On Oct. 7, a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed at least 1,200 Israelis and took an estimated 200 hostages. Israel immediately launched attacks on Gaza. After months of bombardment, Israeli attacks have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza and displaced nearly 2 million from their homes.

Now Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that grows worse by the day. People are dying of starvation and disease. The entire health care system has collapsed. Still, Israel continues to hinder the delivery of aid and maintains its total siege on the territory.


A Palestinian girl walks next to a Banksy mural of children using an Israeli army watchtower as a swing ride, on a wall in Beit Hanoun town, in the northern Gaza Strip. April 10, 2015. Sameh Rahmi

Gaza’s 2.3 million people have long faced suffocating conditions imposed by Israel and upheld by the international community. For 16 years, Palestinians in Gaza have lived under Israel’s brutal blockade, isolated from the rest of Palestine and the world. More than 50% of Palestinians were unemployed and over 80% relied on humanitarian relief to survive. They had limited access to clean water, electricity, and medical care.  

Previous Israeli military attacks on Gaza—including devastating bombing assaults in May 2021, August 2022, and May 2023—killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed critical infrastructure. Even before Oct. 7, 2023, the psychosocial well-being of children, young people, and their caregivers had declined to alarming levels, according to Save the Children.  

Today, we must renew and strengthen our efforts to change these realities. Here are six ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza today.  

1) Contact your member of Congress and call for an immediate cease-fire. 
 
Popular opinion polls show a majority of people in the U.S. favor of a cease-fire. Millions have joined protests around the globe. Yet only a few members of Congress have publicly called for a cease-fire. Our elected officials must keep hearing from us.  

° Take a few minutes today to call your representative using this online form. Then, send them an email.  

° Join AFSC online for our weekly Action Hour for a Cease-Fire. Every Friday, we’ll share updates from AFSC’s staff in Gaza, tips for advocacy, and then make calls and write letters to Congress. Register here. 

2) Help bring attention to what’s happening in Gaza.  

° Take part in protests. Marches, rallies, and vigils are a powerful way to publicly demonstrate solidarity with Gaza. To make your message loud and clear, download and print our free posters for Palestine. 

° Write a letter to the editor. This is an effective way to show support for Gaza, counter harmful media narratives about what’s happening, and add context that news outlets often miss out on. Use these letter-writing tips.

(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

(continued from left column)

3) Learn more about Gaza and lift up Palestinian voices. 

Read “Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire.” This anthology features work by 12 Palestinian writers who imagine the future of Gaza beyond the cruelties of occupation and apartheid.  For a limited time, you can download the e-book for free. You can also listen to online conversations with “Light in Gaza” contributors and organize a group in your community to read the book.  Use our study guide  to help facilitate discussions.  

Check out articles by AFSC staff, including: 

Yousef Aljamal’s articles on decimation of education in Gaza and impact of 200 days of genocide in Gaza.

Article by Firas Ramlawi on AFSC’s efforts in Gaza to bring relief to children. 

Article by Zoe Jannuzi on creating community on AFSC’s weekly Action hours for a cease-fire. 

Check out our list of resources about Gaza, including films, articles, books, and websites. Seek out news coverage from outlets with Palestinian journalists reporting from Gaza including the Electronic Intifada, Middle East Eye, Mondoweiss, and Al Jazeera. 

4) Hold corporations accountable for their role in violating the rights of Palestinians in Gaza. 

This war is enabled by the U.S. military industrial complex, as was the case with Israel’s previous attacks on Gaza. This short list includes large weapon manufacturers  that have been complicit in military attacks on Gaza. Here is the list of companies that are profiting from current attacks on Gaza, which will continually be updated by AFSC.

However, that is the tip of the iceberg. Many U.S. corporations are involved in Israel’s apartheid regime and other routine human rights violations against Palestinians. Ensure your money is not contributing to human rights violations—and call on these companies to end their complicity in apartheid and war crimes. 

Visit AFSC’s Investigate website to learn more about companies involved in the occupation, and how you can join efforts to divest or boycott them. 

5) Join us in working to dismantle Israeli apartheid. 

In 2023, AFSC and partners launched the Apartheid-Free initiative. Over 324 communities, groups, and organizations, have pledged to call themselves “Apartheid-Free” and join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation. Use the resources on the Apartheid-Free website and sign up to receive our monthly newsletter to get involved and help build a movement for a world where all people are equal and treated with dignity and respect.

6) Make a gift. 

Donate to support AFSC’s emergency relief in Gaza: Your donation will bring humanitarian relief and support efforts to stop the violence and build conditions for peace.

Support AFSC’s advocacy for Palestinian rights. Help fund our ongoing work with communities across the U.S. to bring about peace, justice, and human dignity for all people. 
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global, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

USA: Graduation speeches for the cause of Palestine

. TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . .

Text from You Tube video (transcription by CPNN)

In California, Asna Tabassum, a graduating senior at USC, was selected as valedictorian and offered a traditional slot to speak at the 2024 graduation. She said she supports the pro-Palestinian cause that has grown at college campuses. After on-and-off campus groups criticized the decision and the university said it received threats, it pulled her from the graduation speakers schedule.

In Ohio, the graduating class of the University of Toledo were more fortunate. They were able to hear the speech of their valedictorian on behalf of the people of Palestine. Here is the text of her message.

“Salaam alaikum, meaning peace be upon you all.

“I was born in a beautiful city in Palestine. It is for this moment and this accomplishment that my parents decided to come here and build a life here. So to my mother and father, I’d like to begin by extending my deepest gratitude for their dedication, sacrifices, and love that were cornerstone to my success, as well as my brothers and sisters who have always been there for me. I am not alone in this gratitude. Every single one of you in the audience has sacrificed for a graduate here or contributed to their success in ways that we will never forget. So thank you all.

“Now, it is essential to understand and acknowledge the unique journey that has brought us all to this moment in our time here. In our time here, we have witnessed profound challenges and injustices that have shaken our world like never before. We witnessed and are still witnessing an unprecedented amount of loss of innocent life in Palestine. Over the last seven months, at least 40,000 human beings have been killed by the state of Israel. These people were not only innocent Muslims, but innocent Christians and innocent Jews, as well. These people were civilians, a majority of them children. We have witnessed the demolition of one of the oldest churches in the world, of mosques, of universities, and even of designated safe zones by the United Nations.

“Although today is a day of accomplishments and happiness, this is a difficult reality that we must acknowledge as we proceed to the next chapter of our lives. Why, you may ask? Because we, the people, are funding these horrors with our tax dollars. Every single one of you will continue into your professional lives and be impacted by this.

(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

(continued from left column)

“Consider the following, the fact that teachers who quite literally shape our future are paid less than a full-time and then an average full-time employee or that 1.2 million veterans who put their lives on the line for this country that they live below the poverty line or that our top health insurance companies made nearly 69 billion dollars in profits the same year that 68,000 Americans died due to a lack of access to health care.

“We are the generation that must address these issues at home. We must ask why we have sent around 320 billion dollars in foreign aid to a state convicted of war crimes, countless violations of international law and who are on trial for genocide while Americans are dying due to lack of access to health care.

“This is the message that I want to leave you all with today that we are the generation. A testimony to that statement is the thousands of beautiful brave students, faculty, and administrators who are camping outside of universities demanding for a better use of our funds.

“If there are any of you here who feel as though you cannot relate or are uninterested in what I have said thus far, I would challenge you to consider this. Growing up we learned about the atrocities of the Holocaust, the horrors of slavery, and we wondered how on earth did these things happen. Well, there is a popular phrase that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So if you wonder what you would have done during those horrific times, I implore you to take a look at what you are doing right now.

“We are the generation that will not accept being divided based on religion or background. We will not accept unwarranted, uneducated, and hateful labels as we demand a better future for ourselves and for justice.

“I apologise that this is not a typical graduation speech, but there is nothing typical about the times that we are living in. There is nothing typical about 15,000 children live-streamed deaths being watched. And there is nothing acceptable about our institutional complicity, silence, or the gross misuse of police force nationwide.

“The world is in desperate need of change, and we must be the ones to do it. So this goes to everybody here today, my friends and family, professors, deans, and my fellow students. We must use every opportunity we have to make change, no matter how scary it is. As the graduates of today, we have an opportunity to be the heroes of tomorrow.

“If we look to history, we will see that the students have always been on the right side of history. The key to this is solidarity, accepting discomfort at the cost of truth, having difficult conversations to find common grounds, and working together towards Salaam, which if you recall means peace.

“Remember when I leave this stage that my calling was one for peace, so to not support that would not be a reflection of our UT values or our humanity. I will end by sending my Salaam to the struggling teachers and veterans, to my fellow Americans, to my family in Palestine, to the people of Gaza, and to all of those who are fighting for peace.

“Congratulations to you all, and Salaam.”

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Mideast, North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

Bringing the Palestinian Message to Australia and New Zealand

. HUMAN RIGHTS . .

Excerpts with pictures of the tour in four installments/posts on the facebook page of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability

(Editor’s note: It is not in the headlines of the mass media, but there is a growing consciousness of people around the world that we need to stop the Israeli genocide, and work for a culture of peace. This may be seen in the reception of the people of Australia and New Zealand to the recent tour by Palestinians Mazin Qumsiyeh and his wife Jessie, as described in the following dispatches published on facebook.)

June 14. Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh and his wife Jessie concluded a very important trip to Australia and New Zealand (Aotearoa). Their goals were to gain long-term support for a) Palestine, b) sustainable human and natural communities globally, and c) Bethlehem University and our Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (palestinenature.org). The tour involved 53 days in 17 cities (Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Wollongong, Brisbane, Melbourne, Geelong, Canberra, Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North, Wanganui, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, Auckland).

They held 212 events, including speaking at lectures, workshops, rallies, informal gatherings, radio interviews, and media appearances. They drew a wide circle and met with people of all backgrounds: students, scientists, Aboriginal and Maori people, churches, mosques, Rotary clubs, environmental groups, museums, members of parliament in both countries, and local and national officials. They also met with scientists and political, religious, and community leaders. They averaged four events a day. They reached a total of 22,000 individuals and collected more than 3,400 emails to add to our contacts. Furthermore, they initiated over 20 potential joint projects.

There was an urgency regarding the situation in Palestine, involving genocide and ecocide, leading to a regional war and potentially a global catastrophic war. There was also an urgency regarding the state of our planet (e.g., with climate change).

The events also highlighted the ten-year anniversary of our institute (see this video https://youtu.be/qt8OTGoS198 and this booklet https://www.palestinenature.org/annual…/10-Years-PIBS.pdf). Here is a recording of an event with Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa: https://youtu.be/SfeM10YV8kw.

June 14bis. Wrapping up our educational activities in collaboration with Caritas Jerusalem, where we conducted eight visits benefiting 500 children. The aim of this collaboration was to introduce students to the biodiversity of Palestine, particularly in the Al-Makhrour region, and emphasize its importance in the success of environmental agriculture practices. Today, we hosted children from the Latin Scout Beit-Sahour. More educational activities and programs ahead.

June 1. New Zealand’s lectures and talks continue. We have been honoured by the hospitality and care for Palestine everywhere we go: Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, etc. We miss Palestine The talks in New Zealand are ongoing. We were honored by hospitality and interest in Palestine everywhere we went: Aukland, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, but we miss Palestine.

May 23. Jessie and I have been simply overwhelmed with events (2 to 5 events daily plus travel around this southern hemisphere continent). This morning only we had time off (due to an unexpected cancellation) to catch up, enter emails, and write you this note thanks and brief reflection. In our one-month tour of Australia, over 15,000 people heard our message of environmental justice and human rights and our tour of Aotearoa (New Zealand) is just beginning and already had 10 events over the past two days.
 
(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

We and our old and new friends were inspired over the past month from these events:-Several university encampments where we are inspired by students and faculty who demand their universities disclose any ties to genocide and divest and call for boycotts like we did with South Africa under apartheid. For more on encampments, see https://www.palestineiseverywhere.com/ and https://www.aljazeera.com/…/mapping-pro-palestine…

-Several rallies like the one in Gadi (aka Sydney) with 10,000 people

-Dozens of lectures at public events like the two events booked solid (300 and 100 people) at the Australian National University (ANU) to many others around the two countries in this continent

-Consultative and welcoming gatherings of activists and aboriginal leadership planning meetings. Here in Aotearoa (aka New Zealand), the Maoris were equally welcoming and inspiring.

-Conferences and conventions like the one of Australia Palestine Action Network (https://apan.org.au/ ) and the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (https://www.psna.nz/ )

-Many churches and seminaries of various denominations. As a Palestinian Christian, the message resonated of the need for christian communities to take a stand in line with what we Christian communities in the Holy Land have called for which is taking a moral and ethica stand in line with tenets of the faith (see https://www.kairospalestine.ps/ and https://sabeel.org/ )

-Other religious and secular community gatherings sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. I was especially inspired with the dedication of muslim communities from various backgrounds and the Arab communities (Chrisristan, Muslim, others). Their hospitality and kindness helped me feel at home and mitigated my feelings of “homesickness”

-Meeting with parliamentarians. Even during my brief visits over two days, I noted Zionist lobbyists who were not happy to see a Palestinian with a Kufiya in the parliament building. Outside activists organized a rally in front of the parliament building in commemoration of the ongoing Nakba. One MP from the labor party broke rank with her ruling party to say the truth (that it is a genocide and needs to stop). Other MPs show promise,

-Talks at high schools (the kids are amazing)

-Meeting with Rotarian Clubs (I am president of Rotary Club Bethlehem) to tell them of our humanitarian work and look for joint efforts.

-Meetings and talks at Botanic Gardens, seed banks, museums and other institutions doing similar work to ours (see palestinenature.org)

-Media appearances (social, TV, radio, newspapers, websites). Example:
St Mary’s Church/Anglican Cathedral Parnell
Green Left Television Show-1
Green Left Television Show-2
Podbean Climate Action Show

We had positive vibes in every one of these engagements and also grew ourselves with knowledge, new friends (thousands), and energy (spiritual and mental and physical- good food for heart, spirit and even stomach) and we thank all hosts and organizers for exceptional arrangements. We really feel the world changing but we must work hardeer to stop the genocide and decolonize globally. For me and Jessie, onward to more cities and then back to our beloved Palestine which we miss so much and then resume our volunteer and humanitarian work there. To support our collective work in Palestine (which has global reach),

PLEASE

See and act on our call for partnership: https://www.palestinenature.org/donations/PIBS-call.pdf

2) Volunteer (remotely or on site: https://www.palestinenature.org/volunteer

3) Donate https://www.palestinenature.org/donations

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East Asia, HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

These Israeli and Palestinian women who do not want to decide between Israel and Palestine

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

Radio Podcast by Anne-Cécile Mailfert for Radio France (translation by CPNN)

The day before yesterday, Israel celebrated “Jerusalem Day,” which commemorates the conquest of the city after the Six-Day War. For several years, this day has been marked by violent demonstrations by settlers who seek confrontation with the Palestinians in the old city, during what they call the “march of the flags”.

This is a senseless provocation as Palestinian civilians continue to die under bombs and Israeli hostages are still being held. After the Rafah tragedy, they have chosen endless war.

Faced with this deadly dynamic, peace activists, often women, exist, offer alternative stories and take courageous actions, of which we hear too little.


Frame from video of podcast with Anne-Cécile Mailfert

For example ?

Nava Hefetz, a female rabbi and activist for peace and human rights, and Ghadir Hani, a Palestinian Israeli, were both in Jerusalem to organize “humanitarian guards” throughout the city and protect Palestinians from settlers.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original French version of this article.)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from left column)

Since October 7, their movement, Standing Together, the largest bringing together Palestinians and Israelis for peace, justice and equality, has been organizing demonstrations across the country to call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Their “humanitarian guards” also ensure the passage of aid trucks into Gaza, often attacked by settlers. They oppose the occupation and work so that both peoples can live in security, freedom and self-determination.

Are these voices that we rarely hear?

Yes, and women we rarely see. The few times we talk about women is when they are victims of war rape (and again), bombings (and again), or bereaved by the loss of their children (and again, too little) . But we never see them when we talk seriously about negotiating war or peace. But women are not only objects of concern, they also have subjects, have interesting things to say and are undoubtedly more fruitful than many virile and bellicose speeches.

Reem Alhajajra, co-founder of Women of the Sun, a Palestinian association campaigns alongside Women Wage Peace on the Israeli side for justice and peace, and warns of the need to hear and make room for those who work for peace .

Works can also represent hope, without denying anything about history. Like Lina Soualem, in “Bye Bye Tiberias”, a magnificent documentary released in 2023, which pays tribute to the 4 generations of women in her family, and highlights the daily struggles of Palestinian women, who for years have had to overcome the impossible to realize their dream.

We cannot imagine the future without women. Peace cannot be won with weapons. Each in their own way, these women’s voices simply dare, and we know how difficult it is, to even imagine another present and a future other than that of war.

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Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

News from the Culture of Peace Foundation in Nigeria

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

Excerpts from the instagram page of the Culture of Peace Foundation

The Culture of Peace Foundation (CUPEF) brings together changemakers and thought leaders with a common vision to advance culture of peace and non-violence.

A official statement dated October 20, 2023 says “Culture of Peace Foudation was founded with a vision to advance UNESCO culture of peace and non-violence amongst all class of humanity regardless of race, gender, color or creed. The mission of the foundation is to create conditions for the attainment of sustainable peace through human capital development, empowering individuals and communities to cultivate culture of peace and non-violence.


Week one with Paulinho Muzaliwa and Titilope Adedokun CHC agri-technicians training program 2024 in cooperation with Culture of Peace Foundation

A lecture dated October 24, 2023 by Freddy Mutanguha, CEO of Aegis Trust, is publicized on the subject of “Strategizing for our collective future; Dialogues of peace; Dismantling Hate.”

January 13, 2024. Partnership with African University Student Platform for African Youth Conference January 18-20 in Kigali, Rwanda.

January 13, 2024. Farouk Chibuzor Akaolisha, founder and president of the Culture of Peace foundation speaks on NTA Channel 5, Abuja, concerning “Role of Intercultural Communication in Effective Leadership.”

January 20, 2024. The President of Culture of Peace Foundation Farouk Chibuzor met with some stakeholders in Maitama, Abuja at the office of CHC AgriTech Africa LTD to discuss better ways to engage with the state governments in some Northern States for the proposed AgriTech Training and Empowerment Project- a partnership between Culture of Peace Foundation (CUPEF) and CHC AgriTech Africa with commitment to train smallholder farmers in Nigeria on the use of eco-friendly and fast-acting microbiome technology to improve food security and environmental health protection.

March 30, 2024: culture_of_peace_foundation, Maitama, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Are you are a farmer, teacher, student, freelancer, unemployed graduate, civil servant, business person, or even a stay-at-home mom interested in creating new economic opportunities through agriculture, we invite you to register for the CUPEF-CHC Agri-Technicians Training Program to unlock exciting new opportunities in the agro-value chain.

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from the left column)

May 11, 2024. We are pleased to announce the launch of CHC Agri-Technicians Training Program on Microbiome Technology- a partnership between Culture of Peace Foundation (CUPEF) and CHC AgriTech Africa aimed at promoting food security and economic empowerment of smallholder farmers.

May 28, 2024. The First Session of Train the CHC Agritechnicians Program. Meet Our Distinguished Trainer- Ms Titilope delivered the topic on the “Benefits of Social Media for Farmers”. Titilope, a renowned social entrepreneur and digital expert shared insights on using social media to drive impactful change and empower communities. Creating opportunities for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture.

May 28, 2024. Paulinho Muzaliwa- Uganda Unidos Projects also shared knowledge and experiences with our participants us on “SOIL HEALTH”. Passionate about Regenerative Agriculture, Paulinho Muzaliwa is a multiple social impact award winner, Founder of UNIDOS Project and a Congolese Nationale living in Uganda as a Refugee.

May 29, 2024. The Second Session was delivered by Mr. Hammed Kayode on the “Art of Story Telling” taking the participants on exciting new experiences on how farmers an adapt a unique storytelling techniques to communicate their businesses and success stories to their target markets and the global community.

June 12: the Third session of CHC Agritechnicians Training Program in collaboration with @chc_agritech_africa_nigltd and @culture_of_peace_foundation featured two amazing Speakers, Earnest Corner and Dominique Edwards, both from the United States of America and Fellows at Western Union Foundation and Watson Institute. Our goal is to raise 100 Certified and Well-trained Agritechnicians that will reach and empower 100,000 farmers in 2024 and we aim to achieve this by collaborating with community leaders, social impact changemakers, farmers cooperatives, NGOs and Community Based Organisations to reach large number of smallholder farmers across communities for increased agricultural productivity and economic empowerment. We are currently working with diverse stakeholders both in the government and the private sector organisations to provide our Agritechnicians with mentorship and best experience in agricultural innovation for increased capacity development and sustainable food security.

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Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

‘Glimmer of Hope’ as UN Security Council Approves Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

An article by Brett Wilkins from Common Dreams

In a move that boosts the three-phase plan announced by President Joe Biden late last month, the United Nations Security Council on Monday voted 14-0—with permanent member Russia abstaining—in favor of a U.S.-sponsored resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza.


The ambassadors of the United Kingdom, United States, and Algeria raise their hands to vote in favor of a United Nations Security Council resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza in New York on June 10, 2024. (Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia chose not to exercise its power to veto the resolution, which urges Israel and Hamas to “fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”

Responding to the vote, Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that “although the Biden administration should have allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a permanent cease-fire resolution many months and many slaughtered Palestinians ago, we welcome today’s development as a positive and long overdue step toward ending the genocide.”

“The Biden administration must now use American leverage to force [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to agree to a permanent cease-fire so that the massacres of Palestinian civilians can end, all hostages and political prisoners can safely go free, international tribunals can begin holding those responsible for war crimes accountable, and the world can finally begin pursuing a credible end to the illegal occupation of Palestine that has fomented decades of injustice and oppression.”

As U.N. News explained:

Phase one includes an “immediate, full, and complete cease-fire with the release of hostages including women, the elderly and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed, and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.”

It calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from “populated areas” of Gaza, the return of Palestinians to their homes and neighborhoods throughout the enclave, including in the north, as well as the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale.

Phase two would see a permanent end to hostilities “in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.”

In phase three, “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza” would begin and the remains of any deceased hostages still in the strip would be returned to Israel.”

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

(article continued from left column)

The council also underlined the proposal’s provision that if negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the cease-fire will continue as long as negotiations continue.

“The only way to end this cycle of violence and build a durable peace is through a political settlement,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield—who vetoed several previous Security Council cease-fire resolutions— said following Monday’s vote.

The Biden administration has provided Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, arms and ammunition sales, and diplomatic cover.

In a statement, Hamas—which led the October 7 attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 people dead and over 240 others taken hostage—welcomed the resolution’s passage and affirmed  its willingness “to enter into indirect negotiations on the implementation of these principles.”

However, Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, Israel’s representative at the U.N., said her country’s objectives in the war have not changed and vowed to keep fighting “until all of the hostages are returned and Hamas’ military capabilities are dismantled.”

“Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time,” she added.

According to Palestinian and international agencies, at least 37,124 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed by Israeli forces during the 248-day Gaza onslaught, which is the subject of an International Criminal Court genocide case  brought by South Africa and supported by more than 30 nations and regional blocs. Nearly 85,000 Palestinians have also been injured. At least 11,000 other Palestinians are missing and believed buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out buildings.

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking  arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for alleged crimes including extermination.

Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama said  after Monday’s vote that “as a free and dignified people, the Palestinians will never accept living under occupation. They will never abdicate their fight for liberation.”

“This text is not perfect, but it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering,” he added. “We voted for this text to give diplomacy a chance. It is time to halt the killing.”

The Security Council resolution’s passage follows last month’s vote by the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood—a move supported  by 143 members of the World Body but vehemently opposed by Israel and the U.S. Only nine nations voted against recognizing Palestine as an independent state.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, Mideast, United Nations, ,