Some Somali Americans in Ohio who have witnessed civil war in the old country worry that the bitterly-divided 2016 election portends violent unrest in the United States. Though others say the US constitution is strong enough to withstand such divisions.
According to a recording obtained by the Observer, in 2006 Hillary Clinton told the editors of the Jewish Press: “I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake. “And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.”
When it comes to aiding Israeli Apartheid, American Express is just another brick in The Wall, according to a new report. Roger Waters, lead singer behind Pink Floyd, lost a multimillion dollar American Express sponsorship for his 2017 US+Them tour after expressing solidarity this month with Palestinian students trying to end Israel’s apartheid system of military occupation using the same protest tactic that helped dismantle South African Apartheid (and, earlier, America’s Jim Crow): Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS.
Palestinian rights activists on American college campuses have become the target of posters that attempt to smear them as supporters of violence, with a new round of posters calling out students and teachers by name. The posters are the work of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a pro-Israel group that has a history of attempting to intimidate Palestinian activists, especially those in academia.
Fans of disturbing discussion of nuclear warfare must’ve enjoyed the third and final presidential debate, because there was an alarming discussion of how the apocalypse would go down.
The second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump featured a Muslim voter named Gorbah Hamed who asked Trump about the rise of Islamophobia that coincided with his rhetoric against them. Trump and Clinton sounded similar tones on what responsibility both Muslims have in alerting law enforcement to attacks plotted by fellow Muslims. Trump puts their responsibility in much more hostile terms, but both demand Muslims remain America’s first defense, and cast their inclusion as being essential to defeating terrorism.
The man who filmed the 2014 choking death of Eric Garner at the hands of New York police was sentenced to four years in prison on gun possession and drug sales charges, arrests he and his supporters claim are in retaliation for his smartphone recording of the controversial killing. Orta’s sentencing comes as Black Lives Matter activists are making deeper connections with advocates for Palestinian rights. In an interview with Mondoweiss in September, Orta offered his thoughts on the similarities between the civil rights struggles in Palestine and the United States: “It’s very important to document police brutality and spread the word, and keep witnessing.”
Americans on the 2020 Census might have the option of filling out “Middle East and North Africa” (MENA) as their ethnicity, having lacked such a specific category on previous census forms. Some Arab Americans seek the change, while others fear it will provide information to forces who want to discriminate against them.
President Barack Obama delivered a eulogy for former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres that praised the late leader, his Zionist mission and even the Haganah, but also said that Peres did not want Israel to be a place of slaves and masters.
Neither Clinton nor Trump have a long-term plan for Iraq or the middle east that doesn’t involve war. Clinton wants to destroy ISIS, but doesn’t offer any reason other than ISIS must be destroyed. Israel/Palestine, although it helps drive the religiously motivated violence in the region, doesn’t even register for either candidate.