Abby Martin Questions Blinken
U.S. lawmakers continue to call for an independent investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. This week the Biden administration received another congressional letter about the incident, this one coming from two politicians who would never be mistaken for defenders of Palestine, Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Mitt Romney (R-UT). The letter doesn’t mention Israel, and doesn’t acknowledge that Abu Akleh was Palestinian in addition to American, but their demands are short and to the point:
We are deeply disturbed by the killing of an American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot to death while reporting near the city of Jenin in the West Bank on May 11, 2022. We urge that the State Department ensure there is a full and transparent investigation and accountability for Ms. Akleh’s death. The killing of a U.S. citizen and of a journalist engaged in the work of reporting in a conflict zone is unacceptable.
All over the world, journalists pursue truth and accountability at great personal risk. Press freedom is a core American value, and we cannot accept impunity when journalists are killed in the line of duty.
We insist that the Administration ensure a full and transparent investigation is completed and that justice is served for Ms. Akleh’s death. Please provide a detailed update on the progress of this effort within 30 days.
They’re not going to get an update within 30 days. In fact, there’s a good chance they will never get one at all. At best State Department spokesman Ned Price might be asked about the issue again and he will reiterate that the Biden administration condemns the killing and wants a transparent investigation that doesn’t involve the ICC. It’s pretty easy to ignore some letters if you’re the president.
In contrast, it has not been smooth sailing for Secretary of State Tony Blinken recently. He gave the commencement address at a Georgetown graduation ceremony last month and was greeted by protests from students. This week he was in Los Angeles for a Summit of the Americas event that was supposed to consist of softball questions and standard platitudes. However, he ended up being confronted by journalist Abby Martin, who raised some important inquiries like, why do United States allies keep killing journalists and facing no consequences?
“Secretary Blinken, what about Shireen Abu Akleh?,” asked Martin. “She was murdered by Israeli forces. CNN just agreed to this. These are our two greatest allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Israel. They have murdered American journalists and there have been absolutely no repercussions . . . you’re sitting up here talking about the freedom of press and democracy. The United States is denying sovereignty to tens of millions of people around the world with draconian sanctions for electing leaders that you do not like. Why is there no accountability for Israel or Saudi Arabia for murdering journalists?”
“I deplore the loss of Shireen,” responded Blinken. “She was a remarkable journalist, an American citizen…We are looking for an independent, credible investigation. When that investigation happens, we will follow the facts, wherever they lead. It’s as straightforward as that.”
Blinken’s response here is actually pretty interesting. It might sound like the same kind of stuff that Ned Price says during State Department briefings, but that’s not exactly true. Almost immediately after the killing, Price said that the United States trusted Israel to conduct its own probe into the matter and the administration raised no concerns when the IDF announced there would be no criminal investigation.
Two weeks ago Price said he expected probes from the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to be “transparent and impartial” and noted that Biden wasn’t prejudging them. However, in the same press conference he reiterated that the U.S. government disagreed with Palestinian officials handing over their findings to the ICC and asking them to launch their own investigation.
Unlike Price’s comments, Blinken’s language is in line with the many congressional letters Biden has received. He’s saying the investigation should be independent, which would obviously mean that it wouldn’t be conducted by Israel in any capacity. If the Secretary of State really thinks this, then why isn’t it the administration’s official policy? It feels like he’ll inevitably be confronted about the issue again, so maybe he will be asked next time.
Big Thief Cancels Israel Gigs
Big BDS news today. The indie rock band Big Thief has canceled two concerts in Israel that had been scheduled for July. Less than a week ago the band put out a statement defending its decision to play Tel Aviv, which prompted backlash from Palestine activists across social media. The band’s bass player, Max Oleartchik, grew up in the city and currently lives there.
“We are well aware of the cultural aspect of the BDS movement and the desperate reality of the Palestinian people,” reads the original statement. “In terms of where we fit into the boycott, we don’t claim to know where the moral high ground lies and we want to remain open to other people’s perspectives and to love beyond disagreement. We understand the inherently political nature of playing there as well as the implications. Our intention is not to diminish the values of those who support the boycott or to turn a blind eye to those suffering. We are striving to be in the spirit of learning.”
The backlash obviously worked. “We would like to start by clarifying a few things from our first post,” reads the new statement. “When we spoke of loving ‘beyond disagreement’ and not knowing ‘where the moral high ground lies,’ that was in specific reference to playing shows in Israel during a time when BDS is calling for a cultural boycott. This was not in reference to the Israeli occupation and the displacement of Palestinians. To be clear, we oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. We believe in total freedom and self-determination for all Palestinians.”
“Although we have much to learn, these basic realities were never in question for us,” it continues. “We acknowledge that aspects of our previous post were written unclearly and in avoidance of the magnitude and importance of this conversation. We also recognize there are limitations in our perspectives based on our various layers of privilege. We said we are ‘well aware of the cultural aspects of the BDS boycott’ and we have since realized that that is not the case.”
Big Thief’s decision was celebrated by human rights groups and activists, but condemned by Barby, the Israeli concert venue they were supposed to perform at. In a social media post, they called the band “a bunch of miserable spineless musicians who are afraid of their own shadow”, referred to BDS as “Nazi fear boycotts” and wished Big Thief “all the evil in the world.”
The band’s decision highlights the growing power of the BDS movement. They played Israel in 2017 and were set to play again in 2020 before the pandemic hit. Something has clearly shifted.
This week at the site, before Big Thief canceled the shows, organizer Calla Walsh wrote about the controversy and the need for musical solidarity with Palestine.
Odds & Ends
?? The recent testimony of a CIA-contracted psychologist revealed that Trump CIA Director Gina Hapsel personally oversaw torture at black site. From the New York Times:
WASHINGTON — During Gina Haspel’s confirmation hearing to become director of the C.I.A. in 2018, Senator Dianne Feinstein asked her if she had overseen the interrogations of a Saudi prisoner, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, which included the use of a waterboard.
Ms. Haspel declined to answer, saying it was part of her classified career.
While there has been reporting about her oversight of a C.I.A. black site in Thailand where Mr. Nashiri was waterboarded, and where Ms. Haspel wrote or authorized memos about his torture, the precise details of her work as the chief of base, the C.I.A. officer who oversaw the prison, have been shrouded in official secrecy.
But testimony at a hearing last month in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, included a revelation about the former C.I.A. director’s long and secretive career. James E. Mitchell, a psychologist who helped develop the agency’s interrogation program, testified that the chief of base at the time, whom he referred to as Z9A in accordance with court rules, watched while he and a teammate subjected Mr. Nashiri to “enhanced interrogation” that included waterboarding at the black site.
?? From Middle East Eye: US: Students denounce decision to pull CUNY funding after BDS endorsement.
?? From The Intercept: Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) is targeting progressive Illinois Rep. Marie Newman in her upcoming primary. Akela Lacy reports:
“In January, DMFI PAC endorsed Rep. Sean Casten, who currently represents the old 6th District and was elected in 2018. The group made a $259,000 ad buy in the district on Tuesday, its first media expenditure in the race, and started running the ads Wednesday. Newman’s campaign said it expects several additional buys from the group totaling six to seven figures over the next three weeks.”
? In the last newsletter I mentioned that NYC Councilwoman Inna Vernikov pulled $50,000 from CUNY law school because the faculty endorsed a BDS resolution. The money was supposed to go toward legal representation for her constituents. Now Vernikov is trying to probe alleged antisemitism at the school, but obviously she means Anti-Zionism.
?? A joint analysis carried out by The Washington Post and the Security Force Monitor (SFM) at Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute looked at warplanes used by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to attack Yemen and found that “a substantial portion of the air raids were carried out by jets developed, maintained, and sold by U.S. companies, and by pilots who were trained by the U.S. military.”
? Ali Harb in Al Jazeera on how pro-Israel spending impacts Palestinian activism.
Stay safe out there,
Michael
