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Dan Cohen

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In August 2014 Dan Cohen and Max Blumenthal entered Gaza and began collecting the harrowing testimonies that would become the basis for their new documentary, “Killing Gaza.” Cohen writes, “Killing Gaza will stand as a lasting testament to a people struggling to wriggle out from under the boot of a ruthless empire by resisting their occupation through every means available.”

On June 19 an article appeared in the Times of Israel criticizing Dan Cohen and David Sheen’s recent video ‘Worship God By Nakba’: Jerusalem march celebrates Israeli occupation with messianic fervor. The article claims that the moment in the film that the title is taken from, when a marcher yells “Worship God By Nakba” was mistranslated to include the word “Nakba.” In the article below, Cohen and Sheen respond to the criticism and the ensuing controversy, including why they have decided to remove the word “Nakba” from the video.

The Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City was cleared of its Palestinian inhabitants on the eve of the Ramadan holiday, June 5, to make way for a flag procession by Jewish religious nationalists. Some celebrants distributed stickers calling for “transfer” of Palestinians, while a Netanyahu minister called for seizing “sovereignty” of the Muslim noble sanctuary in the Old City to rebuild a Jewish temple. Watch this shocking video by Dan Cohen and David Sheen from this year’s Jerusalem Day march.

“Extremist and dangerous forces have taken over Israel and the Likud movement,” Moshe Ya’alon remarked at a press conference following his ouster as defense minister. The focus of attention was on Netanyahu’s imminent appointment of Avigdor Lieberman to the defense ministry, overlooking Ya’alon’s replacement in Likud: US-born settler and face of the Temple Movement Yehuda Glick. While Lieberman’s appointment signifies a success for Israel’s secular right wing, Glick’s entrance to the parliament is a major step forward in the Religious Zionist takeover of Israel.

On May 7, 2016, fire broke out in the Abu al-Hindi home in Gaza’s Shati (Beach) refugee camp. Started by a tipped candle, the flames grew quickly grew out of control. Three children, Yusra, 3, Rahaf, 2, and Nasser, 6 months, perished in the burning house, and Muhannad, 8, was severely burned. Ali, 6, is the only survivor without physical injuries but lives with deep psychological trauma. The fire is a direct result of severe electricity shortages due to the ongoing and tightening Israeli/Egyptian since and repeated Israeli military assaults.

After 21 months of a one-way ceasefire, Israel is once again escalating attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip. Yesterday, Israeli shelling killed Zaina Attia al-Amour, a 54-year-old grandmother and two days before, airstrikes on Gaza City injured three children and 65-year-old Hassan Hassanien. Outside of Gaza, media outlets have finally broken a de facto vow of silence on Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave, however, they have been framed as retaliatory. The Associated Press wire story was picked up by numerous mainstream media outlets. Here’s the headline: Israel Retaliates to Gaza Fire With Strikes on Hamas Targets.

The episode since Israeli medic-soldier Elor Azarya was filmed summarily executing Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sharif in Hebron has been a sobering reminder of the right-wing’s total and long-standing dominance in Israel. Dan Cohen explains what the aftermath of the murder tells us about Israeli society and what we can expect next.

A Vice News report claiming to expose a “leaked” Israeli military investigation into last month’s execution of a Palestinian man in Hebron is actually a regurgitation of the official Israeli government line disseminated shortly after the killing, and part of an effort to portray the killer as a bad apple, rather than a soldier following orders.

Dan Cohen reports from Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square where last night more than 5,000 Israelis gathered in in a massive outpouring of support for Elor Azarya, the Israeli soldier and French citizen who was recently indicted on manslaughter charges for executing a wounded, immobile Palestinian man on March 24 in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. Cohen writes the rally was, “the largest public display of fascism since the last war on Gaza in 2014, when anti-war protesters were beaten in the streets. Among the sea of flags and signs, one read “My honor is loyalty” – the motto of the Nazi SS. Last night was the latest example of the genocidal current running through the Israeli right wing, one that has support from the grassroots to the Knesset.”