6h ago (13:30 GMT) Israeli army releases 15 detainees, then drops bombs on them: Survivors Palestinian detainees in Gaza have testified that shortly after their release from Israeli detention centre, Israeli forces targeted the group by dropping bombs on them, leading to numerous deaths. Farid Sobh said in a video testimony verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad that he was in detention with about 15 Palestinians. “After four days in detention, we were released. We were handcuffed and blindfolded. The Israeli soldiers kept torturing us. They even urinated on us. I was beaten, kicked and battered all over my body,” he said. “After that, we were released and as we started walking off on the asphalt, they threw grenades and fired a drone missile on us. Some [seven] of my men were killed. I ran for my life and miraculously survived. I came to this hospital [Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis] to check the injuries I suffered.” Mahmoud Abu Taha, another survivor of the same deadly incident, confirmed Sobh’s account. https://www.aljazeera.com/
Jewish activists attend a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza in London, UK , July 6, 2024 [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Farmer who used to export food from Gaza says Israeli forces bulldozed his crops Ibrahim Dheir, a 34-year-old Palestinian farmer, has told the AFP news agency that Israeli forces destroyed 20 dunams (5 acres) of land he used to lease near the southern city of Rafah. “As soon as the Israeli bulldozers and tanks entered the area, they began bulldozing cultivated lands with various trees, including fruits, citrus, guava, as well as crops like spinach, molokhia [jute mallow], eggplant, squash, pumpkin and sunflower seedlings,” Dheir said. Like many other farmers in Gaza, Dheir’s family used to export produce to the occupied West Bank and Israel before October 2023, but he now says he has “no work or income”. Still, Dheir hopes he’ll be able to return to farming soon. “We want the war to stop and things to return to how they were so we can farm and cultivate our lands again,” he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/
Let's see what the residents of Gaza think of Hamas. Gaza residents lash out at Hamas as support for the terror group sinks More Palestinians in Gaza are lashing out at Hamas — not Israel — for the bloodshed and deaths that has continued to ravage the territory as the terror’s group popularity plummets. https://nypost.com/2024/07/06/world-news/support-for-hamas-sinks-among-gaza-residents-report/
Biden's poison is spreading...... The christian world's view that muslims are evil is gonna bite them all in the ass. Opinion The blaring warning for Albanese that Morrison ignored until he lost Angus Livingston Deputy News Director July 9, 2024 https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...on-ignored-until-he-lost-20240705-p5jrgu.html Labor should not ignore the Gaza issue roiling in some of its key heartland seats, and the reason why is staring them in the face. We only have to look back to 2022 when, for years leading up to the federal election, the Coalition stumbled from misstep to mishap over climate, integrity and the treatment of women. Scott Morrison’s Liberals did not deal with the teal threat. Now Anthony Albanese has to avoid a similar fate for some of his MPs.Credit: James Brickwood/Alex Ellinghausen It was not everywhere. It was not in every seat. It was not every MP. But on election day, it hurt the Liberals in seats they never expected to lose. And crucially, it happened extremely quickly. This is the lesson Labor and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese must consider as they deal with the loss of West Australian first-term senator, Fatima Payman, and grapple with an extended cost-of-living crisis with seemingly no end in sight. Payman’s decision to quit the party over Labor’s position on the war in Gaza shocked Canberra not just because she dared to go against the way the party has always done things, but because she was prepared to take a personal hit to stand up for what she believes in. It’s unusual in those parts. The cause she stood up for has taken root in some key Labor areas. It is not a niche issue for a particular cohort of voters. She wants stronger action to support Palestinians in Gaza, and Labor has so far only been able to cautiously step forward with statements. Outside the Canberra triangle (Parliament House, drinks with lobby groups, and shared taxis to the airport) there is boiling community anger about Australia’s position on Palestine, and the Gaza war. Again, it is not everywhere. It is not in every seat. But importantly for Labor – and just as it happened for Liberals in 2022 – it is happening in seats they would normally take for granted. Some political insiders believe Wills MP Peter Khalil is as good as gone. His inner-city Melbourne electorate, which was once held by Bob Hawke, has split between the Green-voting south and the more Muslim north. Now both ends want him out because of Labor’s position on Palestine. Dandenong MP Julian Hill is running against Zahid Safi, an Afghan-Australian Muslim refugee already preselected for the Liberal Party in what is one of the most diverse seats in the country. Hill’s vote was already declining in 2022, but Labor’s response to the Israel-Hamas war has likely made things worse. Senator Fatima Payman quit the Labor Party on Thursday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen In Western Sydney, can senior ministers like Chris Bowen, Tony Burke and Jason Clare really rely on their strong personal votes staying strong? There are still some big Labor margins in those seats, yes. But there were big Liberal margins in 2022, and those seats are now teal. Part of the problem the Liberals faced in 2022 was the triple whammy: stories about the Coalition splitting over coal, the Liberal party’s views on women, or jobs for Liberal mates were constant. Voters felt that there was always something. For Labor, the cost-of-living pressures, a failure to prove themselves as meaningfully different from the other lot, and their stance on Gaza have meant the grind never ends. If the best Labor MPs can muster up is platitudes about a two-state solution – something that seems further away than ever – they should consider what happened to their former colleagues whose words didn’t match up with their party’s actions: Josh Frydenberg tried to walk the line on climate change. Trent Zimmerman stood up for trans kids. Tim Wilson was the Bayside progressive. All were mercilessly punted the minute voters were given a chance to do so. Labor still has time to turn it around, and the next election will not be won or lost on a single issue. But teal campaigners have proven themselves to be masters at gathering steam quickly and uniting voters in vulnerable electorates. In January 2022, there were warning signs of looming upset in some Liberal seats, but they hadn’t all coalesced. By May 2022, teal support had exploded. Payman’s decision has the potential to open the door for independent or Greens candidates ready to seize the moment in seats where Labor should be worried. As the last election showed, it doesn’t take much of a swing away from an incumbent to suddenly threaten what used to be a safe seat. However the issue of Gaza appears in the padded halls of parliament, Labor needs to be aware that community disappointment is spreading in some of its most treasured seats. The signs are blaring, just like they were in 2022. Labor cannot say it wasn’t warned, or that history won’t repeat itself.
Haniyeh says that Israeli army operations may return ceasefire talks to square one July 9, 2024 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...ons-may-return-ceasefire-talks-to-square-one/ Chairman of Hamas’ Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh holds a press conference in Tehran, Iran on March 26, 2024 [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency] The head of the Hamas political bureau said on Monday that Israeli military operations in Gaza may take ceasefire talks back to square one. Ismail Haniyeh apparently made his comment in a telephone call to mediators, saying that “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his army will be fully responsible” for a possible collapse of the negotiations. On Monday, the movement accused Netanyahu of placing more obstacles in the path of the talks to stop the war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. “While Hamas is offering flexibility and positivity to facilitate an agreement to stop the Zionist aggression, Netanyahu is placing more obstacles to the negotiations, escalating his aggression and crimes against our people, and increasing his attempts to forcibly displace them to hinder all efforts to reach an agreement.” The movement called on the mediators to “intervene to put an end to Netanyahu’s games and crimes,” and asked the international community and the UN to “uphold their legal and humanitarian responsibilities and put pressure [on the occupation state] to stop the crime of genocide.” In this context, the movement said that, “The [Israeli] army’s escalation of its aggression against Gaza and its forcing of tens of thousands of residents from their homes under the weight of violent bombing is a continuation of the war of genocide that violates international laws and treaties.” Netanyahu said on Sunday that any ceasefire agreement in Gaza must allow Israel to continue fighting until it achieves its war goals. He added that the agreement must prohibit the smuggling of weapons to Hamas across the border between Gaza and Egypt and must not allow thousands of “militants” to return to northern Gaza, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. Israeli analysts doubted Netanyahu’s seriousness about agreeing a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. They believe that the Israeli prime minister fears that reaching the potential agreement would end the war on Gaza, leading to the fall of his government due to the threats by his far-right coalition partners who are opposed to any ceasefire deal. READ: Netanyahu slams army spokesman saying Hamas will exist in 5 years
What is Zionism? Zionism is a new religion invented by Zionists. The religion of the Zionists. Zionism does not exist in Judaism. The Jewish religion never accepts the newly invented non-religious view called Zionism, which is why Jews are against Zionism. Since Zionists knew that Jews would not accept Zionism, they distorted Jewish history and distorted religious texts to legitimize Zionism and interpreted them as they wished. Their aim is to destroy Judaism and impose Zionism as a Jewish religion. Zionists are trying to destroy Judaism and impose Zionism on Jews as the new Judaism. For this reason, they are trying to equate being against Zionism with being against the Jewish religion, so that Zionism will become legitimate as the Jewish religion. France and America legalized anti-Zionism as Antisemitism in order to support this project of the Zionists.
Let's see how Hamas treats Palestinians who criticize them in Gaza. This is also your reminder that since 2005 Hamas has killed more people in Gaza than the IDF. Hamas critic beaten by masked men in Gaza https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx82xx9pj5do A Palestinian activist known for organising anti-Hamas protests in Gaza has been taken to hospital after an attack by a group of masked men. Amin Abed, 35, was admitted in critical condition after being kidnapped near his home by five assailants on Monday afternoon. A well-known activist, Mr Abed told the BBC: “I will not stop using my right to express my rejection of the 7 October attack." Public dissent against Hamas has grown in recent months as residents of Gaza grow angry at the huge toll inflicted on the enclave since the start of the war. More than 38,240 people have been killed, including 50 in the past day, in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, since Israel began its offensive following Hamas's unprecedented 7 October attack. ‘Armed with machetes’ Mr Abed described being kidnapped near his house by a group of five men who were armed with guns and machetes. He was taken to a semi-demolished house, beaten, and called "an agent for Israel" and "a traitor". The leader of the group told Mr Abed's assailants to break his fingers so he could not again write criticism of Hamas or "the heroic events of 7 October". After a group of passers-by attempted to intervene, the attackers fired shots into the air and told them to stay away, claiming they were from Hamas security forces. Eventually, the assailants left and bystanders were able to take Mr Abed to a hospital. Mr Abed is considered a popular figure. Before the war, had been arrested multiple times for speaking out against Hamas rule. On Monday morning, Mr Abed wrote a long criticism of Hamas on Facebook, accusing the group of “dividing the Palestinian people” and “quashing their dream of a state”. “We are tired, world,” he wrote, “we are really tired.” Last week, in an interview with the BBC, he said: “[Hamas] has a lot of support among those outside Gaza’s border, who are sitting under air conditioners in their comfortable homes, who have not lost a child, a home, a future, a leg.” Days earlier, he criticised Hamas in an interview with Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya. A clip from the interview was picked up on TikTok. In 2019, Mr Abed helped organise protests over the state of Gaza’s economy. Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank and political rival of Hamas, released a statement on Monday condemning “the blatant assault on activist Amin Abed in Gaza”. It did not name Hamas, but said the "de facto authorities in Gaza" had allowed "criminality" to spread in the enclave and held them fully responsible for Abed's well-being. Hamas violently ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip in 2007, a year after winning national elections, reinforcing its power there and deepening a schism between the two dominant Palestinian groups. Gaza’s Hamas-run police force has largely disappeared from the streets since the start of the war because of being targeted in Israeli air strikes, though the group remains the official authority in the territory. The BBC has approached Hamas for comment. The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to its attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
opinion Zionism, anti-Zionism, and the doxxing of the “Zio600”: Does compassion have to be a zero-sum game? David Slucki Posted 15 Feb 2024 https://www.abc.net.au/religion/zionism-anti-zionism-doxxing-and-whatsapp-zio600-group/103472344 The leak of the details of 600 Jewish artists and academics who are members of a private WhatsApp group reproduces a centuries-old conspiracy theory about Jews wielding an outsized influence over the societies in which they live. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis / NurPhoto via Getty Images) In the aftermath of the atrocities committed on 7 October 2023 and in the context of the mounting death-toll of residents of Gaza, Australia has seen a fresh wave of antisemitic tropes wash across mainstream and social media. Perhaps the most egregious is the suggestion that a nefarious cabal of powerful Jews is secretly influencing policy makers and public institutions. This is just the latest expression of a centuries-old conspiracy theory about Jews wielding their financial and cultural capital to undermine the societies in which they live. The recent leak of the names and personal details of 600 Jewish artists, creatives, and academics who are members of a private WhatsApp group brazenly reproduces this trope. These Jews — many of whom evidently joined the group because they felt isolated within the arts world and were seeking support and community — stand accused of using their purported power and influence to stifle criticism of the State of Israel. Those who either facilitated this troubling instance of mass doxxing, or are prepared to justify it after the fact, point to the anti-Palestinian sentiments expressed by some of the members of the WhatsApp group and to “organised moves to punish Palestinian activists and their allies”. There is no question that some of the opinions expressed by some members of the group are objectionable — including to other members of the group! But that’s not what is at issue here. The question is: Is it right to assign collective blame to all the members of a private Jewish WhatsApp group, casting them as co-conspirators, branding them “Zios” (an antisemitic dog-whistle popularised by American white supremacist David Duke) and releasing their personal information, including photos, job titles, and employers, knowing this might lead to intimidation, harassment, and violence? Not all the members had their photos or places of employment listed, and this particular leak did not include some of the kinds of information typically associated with doxxing — such as home addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers. Nonetheless, it is apparent that considerable effort went in to compiling the identities of and information concerning members of the WhatsApp group. It is hard to imagine what other purpose there could be for releasing their information than to expose them to harassment and intimidation. One can try to dignify doxxing in this instance by calling it “anti-Zionism”, and it is certainly true that there is a meaningful distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. The existence of a strong contingent of anti-Zionist Jews in Australia is evidence enough of that fact. But the doxxing of members of what is derisively called the “Zio600” WhatsApp group is a clear example where the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism has been erased. Zionism and anti-Zionism Neither Zionism nor anti-Zionism are neatly defined. In Jewish thought, they exist on a continuum of the ways Jews imagine their sense of belonging — both internally and with surrounding non-Jewish societies. For Jewish anti-Zionists, anti-Zionism can range from opposition to Jewish statehood — on the grounds that it has come at too great a cost and is part of a global colonial movement — to the simple belief in doikeyt (here-ness), the notion that Jews can be fully Jewish in any place they live and do not need a state. Many Zionists, conversely, would argue that anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitic, because they contend that Israel is the only guarantee of security and continuity for the Jewish people. Whether one likes it or not, however, the majority of Jews in Australia identify themselves as Zionist — as many as 70 per cent according to a 2017 survey of the Australian Jewish community and upward of 77 per cent according to the more recent Crossroads23 survey. Many of these Australian Jews who do identify as Zionist despair deeply at the bombing campaigns carried by the Israeli government on Gaza, which has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians. Many oppose occupation, favour a two-state solution, and want to find ways to rectify historical and contemporary injustices against Palestinians while maintaining Jewish statehood. At the same time, these Jews’ attachments to Israel remains sincere and rooted in historical and religious factors — including the centrality of the Land of Israel in Jewish history, narratives, and thought, and the sense of abandonment many felt as European Jewry was decimated by the Nazis. The term “Zionist” does not in itself capture the breadth of Jewish, or even Zionist, thought in Australia, and is too simplistic a shorthand. So what is being accomplished by branding someone a “Zionist” as though it were a self-evident term of derision? Who, exactly, are the “Zio600”? The binary between “Zionist” and “anti-Zionist” lacks both historical rigour and an adequate understanding of the complex reality of the Jews of Australia, to say nothing of Jewish history. Jews sit across the political spectrum and cannot be collapsed into such simplistic, opposing camps. Jews are a diverse bunch, with multiple layers of attachment. They are ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and politically heterogenous. One need only look at the vast array of Jewish institutions and organisations — Zionist, non-Zionist, and anti-Zionist — to see this. And the membership of the WhatsApp group, the now infamous “Zio600”, reflects this diversity. Many of the so-called “Zio600” do not even identify as Zionist. Some consider themselves anti-Zionist, and many are vocal critics of Israel and its relentless bombing of Gaza since October, and have been outspoken critics of Israel over the years. This highlights the inconsistency of the leakers’ stated aims: to show how those in what they call a “zionist group chat” were secretly trying to silence “criticism of a genocide”. In a kind of tit-for-tat logic, this argument goes, those releasing members’ information were simply defending themselves. Although there may have been individuals who did cross the line in what they wrote or who were seeking to have some journalists or artists whom they perceived to be antisemitic or anti-Israel cancelled, the overwhelming majority of the group was not. Nor was the “group chat” set up to do that — it’s disingenuous to claim otherwise. Most of those whose names were released are not public figures; some were simply exercising their democratic rights to sign a petition or write letters to the national broadcaster objecting to the public statements of a presenter. They are hardly pioneers on this front. Even if their worst crime is that they are “Zionists”, they do not deserve to be doxxed and threatened. These actions have real world consequences. It is not just a question of hurt feelings, but of physical security and of livelihood — some have received death threats, others have been targeted for nothing more than being on the list. Some Jewish artists have told me they are now hesitant to be Jewish in public. And while it is disappointing that it took this to happen for the federal government to seriously consider anti-doxxing laws — given the prevalence of doxxing in the social media era — hopefully such laws will help protect the integrity of public discourse and free speech, as well as the privacy of individuals. We don’t have to choose sides Now, some might say that pointing to instances of antisemitism against the backdrop of the mass casualties in Gaza prioritises Jewish feelings over Palestinian lives. But to use an old cliché, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can both hope for the immediate end of Israel’s campaign in Gaza and justice for Palestinians, and care about the safety of Australian Jews, Palestinians, and Muslims. We can acknowledge the psychological impact and trauma that 7 October had on Jews around the world, and show our solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and around the world. Compassion is not a zero-sum game. And yet we all demand that everyone choose a side, we apply purity tests, and we scour one another’s social media profiles for evidence of the inhumanity of others, even as we refuse to show them the same humanity we ourselves demand. But we don’t have to be so polarised. We can recognise each other’s trauma, anxieties, fears, and overlapping attachments without resorting to bullying, harassment, and doxxing. This is true whether one is Zionist, anti-Zionist, or somewhere in between. Surely we can hold multiple truths at once: that Israel must urgently end its bombing in Gaza and address the humanitarian crisis there without delay, and that antisemitism in Australia is real and is not limited to the far-right. True, we’re not in 1930s Germany and another Holocaust of the Jews is not imminent — but that doesn’t mean we should ignore antisemitism when it is in front of our eyes. Just as we ought not ignore other forms of discrimination, harassment, or racism, we must also be vigilant when Jews are threatened. David Slucki is the Director of Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation and the Loti Smorgon Associate Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture at Monash University.
Biden decided to take sides and is largely responsible for the antisemetic mess we see currently. Biden decided to support Israel's land stealing and a corrupt Netanyahu. Biden decided not to be impartial or fair. Biden decided to fuel the war in Gaza and to promote violence as a solution. Biden is the person encouraging Netanyahu to continue in power and in using violence. Biden is the one turning a blind eye to war crimes. Biden is the leader of America and decided to take sides by publicly declaring he was a Zionist, when he's not even a Jew. I'm sure many impartial people were offended by that. For all intents and purposes, Biden is a puppet of Israel, and said "No matter what, we will support (a corrupt) Israel".