The killing of Razan al-Najjar, 21, a medic, brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire since the beginning of the Great Return Match on March 30th to 119, including another medic. More than 13,400 have been injured, including 330 who suffered life-threatening wounds.
Today an Israeli sniper shot and killed Razan al-Najjar, a 21-year-old volunteer medic in Gaza, She was wearing a white coat when she was shot and was reportedly tending wounded Palestinians when she was shot.
Comedian Roseanne Barr lost her show for racism in a tweet this week, but she has a long history of hateful speech about Palestinians and Muslims, and of likening supporters of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) to Nazis. In one case she impersonated Adolf Hitler in a photo meant as a joke, putting human-shaped cookies in an oven, and said the victims were Palestinians. She did not suffer career-wise for those comments.
The US Immigration Act of 1924 limited acceptance of European refugees, and caused many Jews fleeing oppression to go to Palestine, thus fostering the establishment of Israel. If the US had not barred refugees, we might have saved a lot of trouble in the Middle East, something Donald Trump should consider today.
Four more filmmakers have joined a growing number of artists boycotting the Tel Aviv LGBT International Film Festival in response to a Palestinian call. French director Océane Michel explained on Facebook: “I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and express my total disagreement with Israel’s policy towards Palestine. For this reason, I refuse to take part in the pinkwashing strategy of the Israeli government. I want my movie withdrawn from the festival.”
The International Association of Relational Psychotherapists and Psychoanalysts has responded with fear and suppression to efforts by advocates for Palestinian mental health to raise awareness of Palestinian conditions at its June conference in New York– even calling for a police presence. The association is promoting Israel and its plan to hold its 2019 conference in Tel Aviv, despite a groundswell of opposition.