2020-03-31: News Headlines

Miko Peled (2020-03-31). Remembering Theresa Halsa: Revered Veteran of the Palestinian Resistance. mintpressnews.com Amman, Jordan — "I didn't join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering, I joined out of a sense of patriotism," Theresa Halsa, a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an In 1972, Halsa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv. The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed to release Palest…

Karl Grossman (2020-03-31). Right-Wing Media Joined Trump in Enabling Health Disaster. fair.org "If Hitler succeeds in pointing the way of peace and order and an ethical development which has been destroyed throughout the world by war, he will have accomplished a measure of good not only for his own people but for all humanity."—William Randolph Hearst (New York Times, The downplaying of the coronavirus by the right-wing press in the United States was preceded decades ago by the media owned by William Randolph Hearst enabling a different sort of toxicity by promoting a positive image of Nazism in the US.

Staff (2020-03-31). Dr. Abdul El-Sayed: Communities Enduring Racism & Poverty Will Suffer Most Due to COVID-19. democracynow.org As the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States tops 3,100, states are demanding ventilators and medical supplies. Michigan is a growing hot spot and struggling to prepare for a surge in cases, but President Trump has repeatedly attacked Michigan's governor, calling her "that woman." We speak with the former director of the Detroit Health Department, Abdul El-Sayed. He's a physician and epidemiologist, and his new book is just out today, "Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic." His recent piece for The Guardian is headlined "Coronavirus is exploiting an underlying…

teleSUR (2020-03-31). UN Regrets Lack of Progress in Middle East Peace. telesurenglish.net UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Monday said he regretted the lack of progress on the ground, expressing concern over Israeli settlements and its plans to annex Palestinian land. | RELATED: | The expansion of Israeli settlements continues to pose a significant obstacle to achieving a viable two-state solution, Mladenov told the Security Council via video teleconference…

Jonathan Cook (2020-03-31). As Israel's Netanyahu uses Coronavirus to Consolidate Power, his Chief Rival Caves In. dissidentvoice.org Benny Gantz, the former Israeli general turned party leader, agreed late last week to join his rival Benjamin Netanyahu in an "emergency government" to deal with the coronavirus epidemic. Two weeks ago he had won a wafer-thin majority vote in the parliament that gave him first shot at trying to put together a coalition government. …

WSWS (2020-03-31). New Zealand: Christchurch terrorist pleads guilty. wsws.org Many questions remain about the attack by fascist gunman Brenton Tarrant last year, which killed 51 people and injured 49 at two Christchurch mosques.

WSWS (2020-03-31). US military veterans who fought as mercenaries for Ukrainian fascists indicted on double murder charges. wsws.org Alex Zwiefelhofer and Craig Lang are accused of orchestrating the double murder and robbery of Serafin and Deana Lorenzo to finance a trip to Venezuela for the purpose of killing "communists."

Robert Norse (2020-03-31). Updates from the "Ignore Them Until they Disappear or Die Off" Genocide Zone. indybay.org While City & County officials who live indoors postulate, ponder, and predict, no safe shelters, sanitary shithouses, or reliable food services have opened up to replace those shut down. HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) critic passes on some updates and the latest in-the-field reports from Food not Bombs still-serving-under-fire foodster Keith McHenry.

Susan Price (2020-03-31). Palestinians face two enemies: Occupation and pandemic. greenleft.org.au The number…

RT (2020-03-30). WATCH: Jerusalem's Church of Holy Sepulchre closes for first time since BLACK DEATH. rt.com Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre has closed its doors to the public for the first time since the Black Death ravaged the city in 1349, as authorities try and get to grips with the modern coronavirus plague. | The custodians of one of the holiest buildings in Christianity were forced to lock the highly carved wooden doors after the Israeli government shut down places of worship in a bid to contain the spread of the Covid-19 illness. | The restrictions ban residents from leaving their homes, except to buy food and medicine, to seek medical treatment or for essential work. The clergy at the extraordinary…

Staff (2020-03-30). Palestinians Cancel Land Day March Over Coronavirus Concerns. imemc.org March 30th marks Palestinian Land Day, commemorating the day on March 30, 1976, when Palestinians inside Israel protested against the Israeli government announcement of the seizure of 21,000 dunams (5,189 acres) of Palestinian land. The Israeli police violently suppressed the demonstrations, killing 6 young Palestinians, and injuring and arresting many …

Ali Salam (2020-03-30). Israel's Shin Bet Slaps PLC Member with Administrative Detention. imemc.org The Shin Bet, Israel's intelligence agency, on Sunday, decided to renew the detention of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member and Hamas leader, Hasan Yousuf, for four months, under administrative detention. Sheikh Hasan Yousuf, 65, was scheduled for release on March 31, 2020, and just two days before his release, …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-30). Israeli Authorities to Uproot Ancient Palestinian Trees in Northern Nablus. imemc.org Israeli authorities in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, reportedly warned Palestinian residents in the area, that Israeli forces would soon uproot dozens of trees in the tourist zone of Almasoudiya. Palestinian Chief of Israeli colonial settlements file in northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told local media outlets that …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-30). Palestinian Prisoners Concerned, as Coronavirus Hits Israeli Prisons. imemc.org The Ramallah-based Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners, said on Monday, that Israeli authorities have reported three Coronavirus-positive cases among Israeli wardens in both the Ofer and Nitsan jails, where there are hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The committee added that the discovery of such positive cases signals a crisis for …

Staff (2020-03-30). How to Fight Fascism While Surviving a Plague. truthout.org How can we fight fascism as public health restrictions tighten? Kelly talks with Shane Burley about organizing for survival and the analysis of state power we need right now. | Note: This a rush transcript and has been lightly edited for clarity. | Copy may not be in its final form. | Kelly Hayes: Last week we talked a bit about organizing during a pandemic and what we ought to be doing with ourselves. Even for people who have been doing the work of activism and organizing for quite a while, this is a moment of uncertainty an…

Hatewatch Staff (2020-03-30). Neo-Confederate Group Moves Ahead with Conference Amid Covid-19 Outbreak. splcenter.org Michael Hill has no intention of letting a global pandemic cancel plans for the League of the South's annual conference.

splcenter (2020-03-30). The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan. splcenter.org The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.

Wim Laven (2020-03-30). Are You Prepared to Needlessly Die for Your Country? counterpunch.org When I was a young boy, I used to play war, and watch movies that celebrated violence. Rambo showed the awesome potential for a single devoted patriot to turn the tables on evil. I had a glamorous account of war, and as an 8-year-old I did not understand why my father cried when we went

PCHR (2020-03-30). PCHR Calls upon International Community to Assist Healthcare System in Gaza Strip to Fight Coronavirus. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is closely monitoring the health conditions in the Gaza Strip, and the healthcare system's preparedness to combat the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and its possible outbreak. PCHR confirms that the healthcare system will not be able to deal with patients infected with the coronavirus …

sputniknews (2020-03-30). IDF, US Military Hold Joint Drills Using F-35 Jets in Southern Israel Amid COVID-19 Outbreak – Photo. sputniknews.com Earlier in March, the two countries called off the cheduled joint exercise Juniper Cobra over concerns that it might facilitate the spread of the virus among the military.

yenisafak (2020-03-30). Netanyahu to go into quarantine after aide tests positive. yenisafak.com Netanyahu decided to enter self-quarantine until he receive the test result, according to his office.Netanyahu's parliamentary adviser Rivka Paluch tested positive for the novel coronavirus.Israeli PM will undergo a coronavirus test for a second time after Paluch tested positive, local media said.Paluch reportedly spent the last few days "in the vicinity" of Netanyahu, Knesset members and other advisers, the Jerusalem Post reported.Netanyahu had tested negative for coronavirus after he and his immediate circle underwent tests for the virus on March 15.Israeli health authorities have so far confirmed 16 deaths and…

yenisafak (2020-03-30). COVID-19: Pakistan's top court halts prisoner release. yenisafak.com Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday halted the release of hundreds of prisoners who were supposed to be set free in an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus in the country's overcrowded jails, local media reported.Several high courts, including the Islamabad High Court, last week, had ordered the release of over 500 under-trial prisoners and those already sentenced for their involvement in petty crimes, to reduce burden on the jails."Coronavirus is a serious issue but the decisions taken in haste and fear won't work," Chief Justice of Supreme Court Gulzar Ahmed remarked, according to local broadcaster Geo News…

Fréa Lockley (2020-03-30). Amid a global pandemic, Palestine has been wiped from the map. Again. thecanary.co Amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Palestine has been removed from the map. The global tracker for cases from Johns Hopkins University no longer lists Palestine. This couldn't come at a more poignant time. Because 30 March is Land Day in Palestine. This has been an important date since Where is Palestin…

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-29). Israeli Police in Occupied East Jerusalem Invade a Number of Palestinian Neighborhoods, Abduct One. imemc.org Israeli police forces, at dawn Sunday, invaded the occupied city of East Jerusalem, storming a number of Palestinian neighborhoods, according to local sources. Palestinian sources and witnesses said that Israeli police forces invaded through out Saturday night and early on Sunday, al-'Isawiya village and stormed a number of neighborhoods. Sources …

PCHR (2020-03-29). PCHR Condemns Israeli Authorities Discriminatory Treatment of Palestinian Workers Suspected with Coronavirus. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli occupation authorities' discriminatory and unethical treatment towards Palestinian workers in Israel, by dumping workers suspected with coronavirus symptoms in the West Bank at checkpoints and seam points within the Annexation Wall that separates Israel and the West Bank without providing …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-03-29). Analysis: Palestine Is Occupied, Segregated, And About To Face COVID-19. imemc.org Israel's military control of Gaza and the West Bank has only grown more brutal during the pandemic. Workers are held in quarantine, prisoners have been infected, and Israel is withholding money that could be used to help contain the outbreak. By Taya Graham for The Real News Network Israeli Journalist …

Ali Salam (2020-03-29). Israeli Navy Shoots, Injures Palestinian Fisherman off Gaza Coast. imemc.org One Palestinian fisherman was wounded by Israeli forces on Sunday, while fishing off the coast of the northern besieged Gaza Strip, according to local sources. Sources told Quds News Network (QNN) that the fisherman was in his boat fishing, when Israeli soldiers opened fire at him, wounding him with a …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-29). League of Arab States Reiterates Support to the Palestinian People. imemc.org The Cairo-based League of Arab States, comprising of 22 Arab countries, reiterated on Sunday its support to the Palestinian people's struggle against the Israeli occupation and called for unveiling all Israeli practices that undermine the existence of Palestinians on their own homeland. The league's reiteration came in a statement, issued …

Ali Salam (2020-03-29). Dr. Ashrawi Sends Message of Solidarity from Palestine. imemc.org Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, on Saturday, sent a message of solidarity to the rest of the world, in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. | Dr.

teleSUR (2020-03-29). Palestinian Shoemaker Starts West Bank's Mask Factory Overnight. telesurenglish.net As soon as Amjad Zaghir got word of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bethlehem, the 30-year-old Palestinian shoemaker from Hebron decided to transform his shoe factory into the only manufacturer of face masks in the occupied West Bank, as +972 Magazine reported Monday. | RELATED: | "I approached my friend, a pharmacist, and asked him what materials are used to make masks," recalled Zaghir. "He explained that what we use in…

news.un (2020-03-28). COVID-19: UN envoy hails strong Israel-Palestine cooperation. news.un.org Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has praised the coordination between the Israeli and Palestine authorities in reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ali Salam (2020-03-28). 300 Palestinian-owned Olive Trees Cut by Illegal Settlers near Bethlehem. imemc.org Israeli settlers, on Saturday, cut down 300 olive trees on Palestinian owned land in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local official. Hasan Breijieh, a member of the Anti-Wall, Anti-Settlements Commission, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that the illegal colonial settlers cut the trees in an area close …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-28). Israeli Troops Open Fire on Palestinian Farmer in Southern Gaza. imemc.org Israeli troops opened fire at Palestinian farmers and shepherds, early on Saturday, near the border fence in eastern Khan Younis city, southern Gaza Strip, according to local sources. Local Palestinian media sources and witnesses said that Israeli troops, stationed on the Israeli side of the border, opened their machine guns …

Ali Salam (2020-03-28). Isareli Settlers Attack Palestinians, Injure One near Hebron. imemc.org Israeli settlers attacked, on Friday, Palestinian herders and other civilians in the village of Al-Tuwani, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local activist. Fo'ad Amour, a local rights activist, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that illegal colonial settlers, accompanied by attack dogs, assaulted herders …

Declan Terence Bradley, Mariam Abdulmonem Mansouri, Frank Kee, Leandro Martin Totaro Garcia (2020-03-28). [Commentary] A systems approach to preventing and responding to COVID-19. thelancet.com A novel zoonotic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in a pandemic of respiratory infection [1,2]. COVID-19 has provoked restrictive infection control measures, social and economic disruption, and expressions of racism [3]. Systems thinking can help policymakers understand and influence the spread of infection and its multifaceted consequences across the community since society is itself a complex adaptive system [4]. It can provide a framework to look beyond the chain of infection and better understand the multiple implications of decisions and (in)actions in face of such a complex situation involving many inte…

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-28). Palestinian Political Parties Call for Digitally Marking Land Day. imemc.org The Higher Committee for Follow-up, consisting of majority of Palestinian political factions in the occupied West Bank, decided Saturday that due to current widely-spread Coronavirus in Palestine and other world countries, there will be no marches for marking the Palestinian Land Day of March 30, 2020. Instead, the committee urged …

teleSUR (2020-03-28). Russia Calls to Lift 'Genocidal' Sanctions Against Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Russia's Foreing Minister Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Friday reiterated her country's call to lift the illegal economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela, which they consider as a "genocide tool" in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | "We will not tire of repeating our call to immediately cancel arbitrary unilateral sanctions that at the current juncture of the epidemic become almost a weapo…

Miko Peled (2020-03-27). From Electoral Politics to Coronavirus Response: In Israel, Apartheid Mentality Reigns. mintpressnews.com Israel's longstanding political crisis didn't end due to some altruistic desire to pull together in a time of crisis, it ended because Israelis were faced with a choice, work with Arabs or throw it all away, writes Miko Peled.

splcenter (2020-03-27). Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers. splcenter.org As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, tens of thousands of immigrants, many of whom came to this country seeking asylum, seem to have been forgotten by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — the agency holding them captive with no way to protect themselves.

Vijay Prashad (2020-03-27). We won't go back to normal, because normal was the problem. mronline.org It is hard to remember that just a few weeks ago, the planet was in motion. There were protests in Delhi (India) and Quito (Ecuador), eruptions against the old order that ranged from anger at the economic policies of austerity and neoliberalism to frustration with the cultural policies of misogyny and racism. Ingeniously, in Santiago …

Elie Mystal (2020-03-26). The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier to Get Away With Discrimination. thenation.com The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier to Get Away With Discrimination…

Moss Robeson (2020-03-26). How a network of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists penetrated Canada's Conservative Party to lobby for military conflict. thegrayzone.com Once an underground network of fascist ideologues shunned by the Ukrainian Canadian community for "criminal ideas," Canada's ultra-nationalist Bandera lobby…

Cassie Miller (2020-03-26). White Supremacists See Coronavirus as an Opportunity. splcenter.org Far-right extremists believe the intense uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19 will aid their ability to recruit new members into their movement.

Fight Back (2020-03-25). MN shows solidarity with Palestine during COVID-19 pandemic. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) wanted to be a part of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network's global week of action for Palestinian Land Day but they couldn't do it as a protest the way they had originally planned. Instead on March 24 the MN AWC reorganized their protest as a call-in day, and then did a five-person social distancing bannering protest. | In 1976, Land Day marked a turning point as the first mass mobilization by Palestinians within Israel against colonialism and land theft. Israeli police shot and killed six Palestinian citizens of Israel for protesting the Israeli go…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-03-25). BJP and Israel: Hindu Nationalism is Ravaging India's Democracy. dissidentvoice.org It was only a matter of time before the anti-Muslim sentiment in India turned violent. A country that has historically prided itself on its diversity and tolerance, and for being 'the largest democracy in the world' has, in recent years, exhibited the exact opposite qualities — chauvinism, racism, religious intolerance, and, at times, extreme violence. …

splcenter (2020-03-25). SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.

splcenter (2020-03-25). Once a High-Profile Neo-Nazi, Azzmador Has Pulled a Disappearing Act. splcenter.org At "Unite the Right" in Charlottesville, Virginia, Azzmador appeared to be everywhere.

news.un (2020-03-25). Moving forward requires confronting slavery's 'racist legacy': UN chief. news.un.org In his message for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, observed on Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General called for the dismantling of racist structures and institutions so that the world can move forward.

Miko Peled (2020-03-24). King David's Ancient Road: How Israeli Archaeologists Are Aiding the Theft of Silwan. mintpressnews.com Claiming "science" as their reason and in total disregard for the wellbeing of the population, tunnels are dug under Palestinian homes in Silwan, destroying foundations and forcing residents to flee.

Kathryn Casteel and Will Tucker (2020-03-24). Arbitrary & excessive: Marijuana trafficking sentences in Alabama. splcenter.org Alabama resident Lee Carroll Brooker garnered national attention in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the marijuana trafficking case that put Brooker, in his 70s at the time, in prison for life.