Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

It is difficult and futile to argue which American president has historically been more pro-Israel. While former president Barack Obama, for example, has pledged more money to Israel than any other US administration in history, Donald Trump has provided Israel with a blank check of seemingly endless political concessions.

Certainly, the unconditional backing and love declared for Israel is common among all US administrations. What they may differ on, however, is their overall motive, primarily their target audience during election time.

Both Republicans and Democrats head to the November elections with strong pro-Israel sentiments and outright support, completely ignoring the plight of occupied and oppressed Palestinians.

To win the support of the pro-Israeli constituencies, but especially the favour of the Israel lobby in Washington DC, Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have deviated even further from the low standards set by the Democratic Obama administration. Despite his generous financial support for Israel and full political backing, especially during Israels wars on the Gaza Strip, Obama dared, at times, to censure Israel over the expansion of its illegal Jewish settlements.

The Biden-Harris ticket, however, is offering Israel unconditional support.

Joe Biden has made it clear, Harris was quoted as saying in a telephone call on August 26, he will not tie US security assistance to Israel to political decisions Israel makes, and I couldnt agree more. The call was made to what the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, termed as Jewish supporters. The Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel referred to this crucial constituency as Jewish donors.

The references above are sufficient to delineate the nature of the Democratic Party establishments current support for Israel. Although the view of the partys rank and file has significantly shifted against Israel in recent years, the Democratic upper echelon still caters to the Israel lobby and their rich backers, even if this means molding US foreign policy in the entire Middle East region to serve Israeli interests.

For Republicans, however, it is a different story. The partys establishment and the rank and file are united in their love and support for Israel. Though the Israel lobby plays an important role in harnessing and channeling this support, Republicans are not entirely motivated by pleasing the pro-Israel lobbyists in Washington DC.

The speeches made by Republican leaders at the Republican National Convention (RNC), held in Charlotte, North Carolina, between August 24-27 were all aimed at reassuring Christian Evangelicals often referred to as Christian Zionists who represent the most powerful pro-Israel constituency in the United States.

The once relatively marginal impact of Christian Zionists in directly shaping US foreign policy, has morphed over the years, particularly during the Trump presidency to define the core values of the Republican Party.

This is apocalyptic foreign policy in a nutshell, tweeted Israeli commentator, Gershom Gorenberg, on August 24. In Republican thinking, Israel is not as a real country but a fantasyland, backdrop for Christian myth.

Gorenbergs comments were tweeted hours before the controversial speech made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Americas top diplomat, who delivered his brief notes from beautiful Jerusalem, looking out over the old city. The location, and the reference to it, were clear messages regarding the religious centrality of Israel to US foreign policy, and the unmistakable target audience.

Trump was even more obvious during an August 17 speech in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. We moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem, Trump announced to a cheering crowd, and so the Evangelicals you know, its amazing with that the Evangelicals are more excited about that than Jewish people... Its really, its incredible.

Unsurprisingly, 22 per cent of Wisconsin residents identify as Evangelical Protestants.

This was not the first time that Trump has derided US Jews for not being as supportive of him as they are of his Democrat rivals. A year ago, Trump called Jewish Democrats disloyal to Israel. I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty, he said in August 2019.

This was not a simple case of Trumps typical political insensitivity but, rather, the cognizance that the real Republican prize in the coming elections is not the Jewish vote but the Christian Zionists.

In his speech before the RNC on August 27, Trump recounted to this same audience his pro-Israeli accomplishments, including the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018. Unlike many presidents before me, I kept my promise, recognised Israels true capital and moved our embassy to Jerusalem, Trump proclaimed.

The moving of the embassy, always a great opportunity to repeat the word Jerusalem before a jubilant crowd, was the buzzword at the RNC, repeated by all top Republicans, including former US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley. President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem, and when the UN tried to condemn us, I was proud to cast the American veto, Haley announced proudly, which generated an approving cheer.

In all of their references to Israel at the RNC, Republican leaders adhered to specific talking points: Iran, the US embassy move, the recognition of the Occupied Golan Heights as Israeli territories, the fight against anti-Semitism (silencing any criticism of Israel), and so on.

However, the Republican discourse seems to be detached from the traditional US foreign policy view that US support for Israel serves the geopolitical and geostrategic interests of Washington. This view, predominant among Democrats, seems to be almost entirely forsaken by Republicans, whose love for Israel is now dedicated to a purely religious mission.

In June 2015, when he was still a Congressman from Kansas, Secretary Pompeo once declared before a packed megachurch in Wichita, that the battles against evil is a never-ending struggle, one that will continue until the Rapture, a reference to what some Christians believe to be a sign of the end of times.

Addressing the RNC from Jerusalem on August 25, Pompeo must have felt that part of his spiritual mission has already been fulfilled.

Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr Baroud is a non-resident Senior research fellow at the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is http://www.ramzybaroud.net.

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'Christian Zionists' dictate the agenda of the Republican Party - Jordan Times

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

White House senior advisor Jared Kushner speaks alongside National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien at Abu Dhabi international airport on Monday, after taking the first commercial flight from Israel to the UAE. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images)

(CNSNews.com) Lashing out at the U.S.-brokered Israel-UAE agreement, Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a speech on Tuesday seemed particularly offended by the role played by President Trumps son-in-law, who is Jewish.

An excerpt of his remarks to education department heads, posted on Khameneis English-language Twitter feed, said, the UAE acts in agreement with the Israelis & filthy Zionist agents of the U.S. such as the Jewish member of Trumps family with utmost cruelty against the interests of the World of Islam.

White House special advisor Jared Kushner has been deeply involved in the administrations efforts to promote ties between Israel and Arab states, as part of Trumps vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

After the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab state in 26 years to normalize relations with Israel, this week Kushner joined National Security Advisor Robert OBrien on the first ever commercial flight from Israel to the Gulf state.

The agreement included a commitment by Israel to suspend controversial plans to extend its sovereignty over some of the territories disputed between Israel and the Palestinians, as envisaged in Trumps Mideast peace proposal.

Despite this, the Palestinian leadership repudiated the normalization agreement, viewing it as a further weakening of pan-Arab unity around the principle of tying recognition of Israel with a resolution of the Palestinian issue.

(The PLO executive committee last week called on all Arab states not to follow the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates which recently signed a normalization agreement with apartheid Israel.)

Apart from the Palestinian leadership and Iranian regime, others vocally rejecting the Israel-UAE agreement include the Assad regime in Syria, Turkeys Islamist government, and the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses educators by videoconference on Tuesday. (Office of the Supreme Leader)

In his video conference remarks to educators on Tuesday, Khamenei expressed the hope the Emirati rulers would wake up and make compensation for their recent actions.

By allowing the Zionists to set foot in the region, he said, the UAE had consigned the question of Palestine to oblivion.

The UAE betrayed the world of Islam, Arab nations, regional countries, and Palestine itself, Khamenei declared. Of course, this betrayal will not last long, but the stain of this infamy will remain on them forever.

Twitter did not block, flag or restrict access to the tweet in which Khamenei referred to filthy Zionist agents of the U.S. such as the Jewish member of Trumps family.

The ayatollahs English-language Twitter account now has more than 814,000 followers, an increase from just over half a million last November. He also has accounts in Farsi (263,000 followers), Arabic (129,000), French (63,000), Urdu (20,000), Spanish (10,000) and Russian (7,000).

Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis English-language Twitter account has 1.1 million followers, and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has 1.5 million followers.

In his remarks Tuesday Khamenei also revisited another familiar theme his conviction that the U.S. is trying to infiltrate education systems in countries like Iran to push Western norms and lifestyles.

Today, the Western social philosophy has proven to be a failure, even in the West itself, and its elements of corruption are quite visible from Hollywood to the Pentagon, he said. The enemy seeks to achieve what it is unable to do in military ways through infiltration and using tools such as the 2030 Agenda.

The Education Agenda 2030, one of the U.N.s Sustainable Development Goals, calls on countries to guarantee access to education for all people, whatever their age, sex or religion. Governments around the world signed onto the non-binding guidelines in 2015.

Although Rouhani signed on at the time, Khamenei later criticized him for doing so, banning compliance with the plan and describing it as a plot to spread Western values and culture throughout the world.

Among those in Iran who face restrictions of varying severity when it comes to education are women and members of the Bahai faith. The regime does not recognize the Bahai religion, one of Irans largest minority groups, and views its adherents as apostates.

See also:US is Satan, Israel is its Chained Dog, But Twitter Gives Ayatollahs Tweets a Pass (July 30, 2020)

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Ayatollah Decries 'Filthy Zionist Agents of the US Such as the Jewish Member of Trump's Family' - CNSNews.com

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

By: JNS

The Jewish state aspires to establish a Greater Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates, and will eventually demand lands in Medina and other regions of the Arabian peninsula, according to Palestinian Islamic scholar Omar Fora.

Speaking with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al-Quds Al-Youm television on Aug. 19, Fora warned that Israel does not endanger the Palestinian people alone.

Israel, he said, refused to open its embassy east of the Nile River because it considers all the land from the eastern bank of the Nile to the Euphrates River to be part of the biblical land of Israel.

Therefore, said Fora, it established its embassy west of the Nile, because it considers the land west of the Nile to be outside its territory.

Israel is not about to achieve these Zionist or biblical ambitions now, said Fora, but Israel wants to establish Greater Israel.

By Allah, he went on to say, the day will come when Israel demands lands in Medina, the lands of [the Jewish tribes of] Qurayza, Nadhir and Banu Qaynuda, as well as the lands of Khaybar.

This, he said, was the true goal of the Zionist movement.

Fora emphasized that he had no issue with Judaism, only with Zionism, but said that not all Jews would have the right to live in a Palestinian state.

The only Jews that have a right to live with us in Palestine, under our patronage and our authority, are those who have been living in Palestine, he said. But the Ashkenazi Jews, who came from overseas, from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and settled in this landthey should go back to where they came from.

Fora clarified that this would not apply to Mizrachi Jews, who he said would have the same rights and obligations that we have.

They would live with us, just like they live in Morocco, under the authority of the Kingdom of Morocco, they would live with us in Palestine.

(JNS.org)

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'Only Mizrahi Jews Have The Right To Live In Palestine,' Says Islamic Scholar - The Jewish Voice

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

(August 31, 2020 / JNS) Several left-wing Jewish groups have filed a petition to initiate the removal of the Zionist Organization of America from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston in the latest battle being waged between ZOA and liberal members of American Jewish community.

The petitionfiled by 21 JCRC Council members, including 11 representatives from the Workmens Circle, J Street, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Jewish Labor Committee, Keshet, New Israel Fund and Women of Reform Judaismclaims that rhetoric used by ZOA national president Mort Klein crosses into xenophobic and racist territory, and is not compatible with and is in conflict with the mission of JCRC.

Specifically, the petition says that Kleins recent comments on the Black Lives Matter movement have extended well beyond acceptable discourse on race.

Additionally, the petition cites ZOAs recent vicious attacks against HIAS stemming from its objection of former HIAS board chair Dianne Lob as the next chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, as well as past comments against Jewish mega-philanthropist George Soros, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and congresswomen Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

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Jeremy Burton, executive director of the Boston JCRC, told JNS that the organizations bylaws provide that the programs, activities and practices of our member organizations must be compatible and not conflict with the mission of JCRC.

It is the long-established and recently reaffirmed view of the JCRC Councilour policy setting body representing our forty member organizations and the community at-largethat we are committed to all aspects of our mission statement, including to promote an American society which is democratic, pluralistic and just.

The Council can and does, through its standard committee processes, review actions of our members that may reflect that such a compatibility is lacking, he said.

In June, the Boston JCRC, along with several dozen other New England Jewish groups, signed a letter reaffirming their stance against racism and support for Black Lives Matter.

Being a bystander has never been an option. We can only create an America that lives up to its unrealized promise of justice and equality for all by fully engaging in the fight against racism, the letter said. Our words and our actions must demonstrate that Black Lives Matter.

Grappling with cancel culture

This isnt the first recent instance of a member of the Boston JCRC being called into question over its actions.

Last year, the JCRC initiated a review process of the Boston Workmens Circle, one of the groups involved in the recent ZOA petition, over BDS support tied to Jewish Voice for Peace. Burton told JNS that since that review in 2019 no member of JCRC has acted in a way that is in conflict with these guidelines.

In a defiant statement, ZOA told JNS that this is another example of the far-lefts cancel culture aimed at undermining ZOAs and Mr. Kleins strong defense of Israel and the Jewish people.

Specifically, ZOA said that J Street, the New Israel Fund and Women of Reform Judaism defend the Israel-hating Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, Black Lives Matter Group, Linda Sarsour, George Soros, radical Muslims and Palestinians, but they condemn and wish to censor the oldest pro-Israel group in the U.S., the Zionist Organization of America.

ZOA continued: Instead of trying to censor ZOA, these Jewish group should join with Mort Klein, Alan Dershowitz, Caroline Glick and Melanie Phillips in condemning the anti-Semitic Israel-hating platform of the Black Lives Matter/M4BL organization, which promotes anti-Semitic BDS and falsely accuses Israel of perpetrating genocide and apartheid.

Indeed, while the Black Lives Matter movement has come to the forefront of American discourse in the aftermath of George Floyds death on May 25 at the hands of Minneapolis police, the largely decentralized movement itself has been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism for several years. In 2016, the Anti-Defamation League noted that a small minority of leaders within the Black Lives Matter movement have supported anti-Israeland at times anti-Semiticpositions.

However, as the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) recently noted, The Black Lives Matter (BLM) Network and the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) are often mistaken for the other or as one and the same. That is why many Jews mistakenly assert the M4BL platform and its hyperlinks to anti-Israel resource materials belong to the BLM network.

While the JCPA does acknowledge that there are invariably anti-Semites within BLM, this fact should not preclude participation in in the fight for equality in the U.S.

Work to protect the Jewish community

Several prominent African-Americans celebrities in recent month, including rapper Ice Cube, NFL star DeSean Jackson and TV host Nick Cannon, have come under fire for promoting anti-Semitism on social media, including praising notorious anti-Semite and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Notably, Klein spoke directly over the phone with Ice Cube in a two-hour conversation, during which the rapper told Klein that he rejected anti-Semitism and wanted to be allies in the fight against Jew-hatred.

At the same time, the Boston JCRC petition has become the latest venue in the battle between ZOA and left-wing Jewish groups.

In the spring, the ZOA objected to the election of Lob, a former chair of HIAS, as the next chair of the Conference of Presidents. While the election of Lob was delayed for a year as a result, the spat escalated, with HIAS filing a formal complaint against the ZOA for violating civil discourse within the Conference. ZOA hit back, saying that HIAS had itself engaged in severe violations and called for the group to be removed from the Conference, claiming that HIASs activities do not serve the Jewish community and conflict with the Conferences mission.

Klein said that J Street, NIF and Womens Reform have engaged in questionable actions themselves.

Klein accused J Street of unrelenting hostile activities towards Israel, and noted that U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor Anti-Semitism, Elan Carr, has labeled recent J Street social media as anti-Semitic.

Similarly, Klein said that the NIF spends millions of dollars funding groups that demonize and defame Israel, promote BDS and bring harassing lawfare claims against Israel.

He accused the groups of maligning ZOA for condemning Omars and Tlaibs BDS promotion and praise for convicted Jew-killer Rasmea Odeh, while they have praised Jew-hater/Israel-hater Linda Sarsour.

They should join ZOA in criticizing HIAS for working with the terrorist group Islamic Relief and for advocating to bring into the United States huge numbers of unvettable refugees from Mideast majority Muslim countries, he said. These groups policies that are hostile to Israel and Jews should make them ineligible to be a member of a pro Jewish group like JCRC.

ZOA has also said that they are considering a counterclaim since there is ample evidence to remove them from the Boston-JCRC.

However, taking on a more conciliatory tone, Klein told JNS that he welcomes a discussion on anti-Semitism and efforts to protect the Jewish community at home and abroad.

With rapidly increasing anti-Semitism here and abroad, now is the time to join ZOAs efforts to defend and protect the Jewish people and Israel, he said. I personally challenge them to a public discussion of these issues.

Burton said that the current matter will be referred to the membership committee for consideration, and that ZOA has been notified of this process.

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Several left-wing Jewish groups seek to oust ZOA from Boston JCRC over opposition to BLM - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

Israels plans to wipe Palestine off the map are very real, especially Benjamin Netanyahus intention to annex a huge section of the occupied West Bank. Such expansionism by the Zionist state has been the intention from the day it was created in Palestine in 1948. Alone among all UN member states, Israel has never declared where its borders lie and is always looking to expand and get Arab approval for its illegal land grabs. Israeli plans thus present a clear and present danger to Palestine and its people.

In the wake of the normalisation agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, therefore, it is no surprise that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories has issued a scholarly opinion a fatwa in which he apparently bans Emirati citizens from visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque. Nobody in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi can be the least bit surprised by this. Did they really imagine that the Palestinians would just shrug off US plans to force Arab states to normalise relations with the colonial-occupation state and accept Arab knives in their back?

The reality is that, yes, they probably did, and even if the Palestinians dont simply bow down and let Israel walk all over them again, who cares? It has happened many times in the past, and Israel gets away with it every time.

Nevertheless, the Palestinians are not ready to give up their struggle yet, even if some Arab rulers have abandoned them. Not all, mind you, but some. Several Algerian parties have reacted angrily to the Israel-UAE deal to normalise relations, describing it as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. Jibhat Al-Tahrir Al-Watani, one of the biggest political parties in the North African country, condemned the deal as well as the silence of Arab states. The agreement will remain in the history as a shameful stain on the forehead of its signers, it declared.

READ: UAE and Israel to establish spy base in Yemen Island

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wasted little time with his condemnation, and threatened to suspend relations with the UAE and withdraw the Turkish Ambassador from Abu Dhabi. We stand with the Palestinian people, insisted Erdogan. We have not let Palestine be defeated or let it be defeated.

Sadly, Palestine counts neither Turkey nor Algeria among its immediate neighbours. Ive always said that if Palestine was sandwiched geographically between the two it would be an independent nation by now. In fact, after checking out such neighbours, the Zionists founding father, Theodor Herzl, would likely have stuck with his original plan and chosen British East Africa for his Jewish State instead of Palestine. Yes, that was a real possibility.

The UAE is only the third Arab country to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Sadly, the Palestinians are surrounded by rulers propped up by the West who are only too happy to bend the knee to America and Israel. Ive long given up trying to work out who is whose poodle in that relationship; its a bit like trying to work out who is in control, the drug dealer or the heroin addict, because one cannot survive without the other.

The de facto UAE head of state, Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, sought to justify the deal by claiming that he had prevented Israel from annexing more of the West Bank. Trying to put some gloss on the dirty deal, Abu Dhabi later declared that mutual tourism would follow, including allowing Emiratis to visit and pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

READ: Kushner to join inaugural flight between Israel and UAE

Or maybe not. Mufti Muhammad Husseins fatwa is uncompromising. He says that prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque are not for those who have normalised with the Israeli occupation, and insisted that visitors to Al-Aqsa Mosque must pass through the Palestinian Authority areas or Jordan and not through Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport. If that is enforced and I am not sure how that could be done then yesterdays inaugural Tel Aviv-Abu Dhabi air bridge might have a lot of disappointed passengers in future.

In reality, though, I dont think the mufti will be holding his breath; his fatwa is likely to be a futile gesture born out of frustration, not least because, as we all know, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan made peace with Israel in 1994. After Egypt and prior to the new UAE deal, Jordan was the only Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel. It normalised relations with the occupation state long before normalisation entered the public vocabulary.

This illustrates the quandary in which the Palestinians find themselves. They need all the regional and international friends that they can get, and can ill afford to lose Jordanian support. Announcing a blanket Al-Aqsa ban on those who have normalised with Israel risks just that. The situation is doubly embarrassing because most Jordanian citizens are of Palestinian heritage, so much so that hardcore Zionists insist that Jordan is, in fact, the Palestinian state.

Jordan not only rejects this alternative homeland thesis, but King Abdullah of Jordan also reacted very coldly to the deal of the century and refused to hold an official 25th anniversary commemoration of the 1994 Wadi Araba Treaty.

The Kingdom has always had to tread a very fine line in its relations with the occupation state but, according to Alaraby earlier this year, King Abdullah confessed [in late October 2019] that the Jordanian-Israeli relationship is at an all-time low and that communication on key issues of the 1994 Wadi Araba peace treaty were no longer ongoing. The same report noted that Jordan which served as a conduit between Israel and Arab states joined the chorus of sceptics, putting it at odds with its traditional regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, who all welcomed the deal [of the century]. This might be a positive sign for the Palestinians; we can but hope.

READ: Kushner: Gulf states normalisation with Israel a matter of time

The muftis statement emphasised the requirement to refuse to recognise the occupation of Palestinian land, Jerusalem and Islams third holiest site, Al-Aqsa Mosque. He reminded worshippers that Israel had enforced a brutal occupation which captures our land, our people, our Jerusalem. He concluded that anyone visiting Palestinian lands should be affirming Palestines Arab and Islamic identity as well as rejecting the occupation and supporting the liberation of Palestine.

The normalisation agreement was brokered by US President Donald Trump and stipulated that Israel would suspend its planned annexation of parts of the West Bank in exchange for diplomatic relations with the UAE. Embarrassingly, days later Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the UAE deal did not mean that Israel would relinquish control of large swathes of the occupied West Bank. Israel will do what it wants, when it wants; if it has to wait a little while, no problem, as it will still be colonial-settlement expansion and business as usual no matter how many Arab governments sign deals favouring Israel above all others.

Instead of using strong-arm tactics, perhaps Washington should stop bullying Arab states into making deals with Israel and actually get the Zionist state to fulfil its obligations under the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, including the halting of settlement building, as well as, yes, the now discredited Oslo Accords with the Palestinians. Israel has ignored all of its obligations and made no concessions whatsoever; it is the Palestinians under occupation who face the most pressure to concede everything before Israel does anything.

King Abdullahs stance could be a reflection of his frustration at the fact that the optimistic treaty signed by his late father probably means as much to the Israelis as, well, Mufti Muhammad Husseins fatwa. That it means nothing at all, in fact, because treaties with Israel are worthless. He knows it; Egypt knows it; and the UAE will come to know it.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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The 'ban' on Emiratis praying in Al-Aqsa highlights the fact that treaties with Israel are worthless - Middle East Monitor

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

Israel will undoubtedly enthusiastically welcome and celebrate the occasion if Donald Trump wins the US presidential elections. No other US president has done so much for the Zionist state since Harry S Truman. Truman was the first world leader to officially recognise Israel as a Jewish state on May 14, 1948, only 11 minutes after its emergence.

It may be mentioned that Truman was a Democrat and recognised Israel despite his internationally famous foreign secretary George Marshall recommending not to do so at the time. He opined that the Jewish state would create more conflicts in an already tumultuous region. He was proved right. However, Washington and its allies calculatedly preferred a troubled region so that they could maintain and expand their economic and strategic interests. It is important to note that the creation of Israel was an outcome of the Jewish opposition to Turkish involvement in the First World War against the British and its allies.

It has been described in the US archives, which states "In 1917 Chaim Weizmann, scientist, statesperson and Zionist, persuaded the British government to issue a statement favouring the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. The statement, which became known as the Balfour Declaration, was, in part, payment to the Jews for their support of the British against the Turks during World War I. After the war, the League of Nations ratified the declaration and in 1922 appointed Britain to rule Palestine."

Those who are aware of the political history know very well that previously, the Democrats were more pro-Israeli than the Republicans. After the mid-sixties, the equation began to change. Now, the Republicans are considered more pro-Israeli, and since Donald Trump came to power, there have been no limits to this support. Trump has given them almost unlimited blank cheques. Besides, Israel has got Kushner, the son-in-law of the president, who directly looks after the interests of the Zionist state. Kushner, both by faith and deed, is a Zionist. Hence, it is natural that Israel will prefer to see Trump and Pence in the White House for another four years. But will they be too unhappy if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris come to power instead? Definitely not.

First, we may come to Biden's standpoints. Even before he had secured his nomination as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, as early as April 2020, he categorically declared that if elected, he would not put pressure on Israel to move its capital back from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. When Israel and UAE signed an agreement where the Emirates officially established relations with the Zionist state, Biden almost immediately welcomed it.

It seems the Democrats are happy that the Republicans, headed by Donald Trump, are making some unpleasant decisions that they tacitly support but could not take themselves because of diplomatic considerations. In other words, it demonstrates their opportunism in this regard. After the primaries, when it was clear that Joe Biden was going to be the nominee, the powerful pro-Israel US news outlet The Hill categorically wrote on July 29 that "Joe Biden is the candidate for Israel."

Then came the question of picking his running mate. Selecting Kamala Harris was an intelligent strategy on the part of Joe Bidena multi-dimensional "checkmate", if you will. Demands were made from different quarters to nominate an African-American woman for the second most important post of the administration. Harris is an African-American from her paternal side, but she is also an Indian-American and thereby an Asian-American, from her maternal side. There is a big Indian community in the US, most of whom are expected to vote for Kamala Harris.

Sensing the danger, the Trump camp has started using Trump-Modi posters in his election campaign. However, another very significant factor here is Kamala's Jewish connection. She is married to attorney Douglas Ehmhoff, who is Jewish by faith. After Joe Biden's formal announcement of his running mate, The Times of Israel wrote "In Harris, Biden chooses a traditionally pro-Israel Dem as his veep candidate." Similar statements have been seen in other Israeli media too.

Some observers have pointed out that Kamala Harris has expressed her support for the Kashmiri peoples' right to self-determination and has even spoken for the basic human rights of Palestinians, which caused concern in New Delhi and Tel Aviv (Jerusalem). But these are, at best, moral posturing. Even Trump has spoken for the Palestinian state! At the end of the day when crucial decisions are to be made, experts believe that the Biden-Kamala pair, if elected, will stand by Israel and India.

There is no doubt that Kamala, by her own individual merits, qualifies for the job more than many other aspirants. She is the daughter of two highly educated parents, both of them PhD holders. She herself is an excellent lawyer who served as the elected Attorney General of California. She made her mark on different aspects of the law, such as the death penalty, LGBT rights, environmental protection laws, sex crimes and immigrants' rights. In 2016, she was elected to the US Senate, securing around 60 percent of the vote. She has brilliant debating skills with to-the-point and thought-provoking deliberations. Many Democrats consider her to be an asset.

But in addition to these factors, Biden found an extra treasure in her which is considered vital for his election winning calculations. This is her Jewish connection. Securing the African-American vote is not enough. Without Jewish endorsement, it is almost impossible to win the US presidential elections. Hence, both the Republicans and the Democrats want their endorsement, or at least, want no opposition. In the context of Trump's blank cheque to Israel, Biden had to select a running mate who would be looked upon favourably by the Jewish lobby.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the strongest lobby groups in US politics, and Eric Cortellessa from The Times of Israel wrote on August 12 that Kamala Harris has a close relationship with AIPAC. Last year, she had a private meeting with AIPAC leaders and tweeted "Great to meet today in my office with California AIPAC leaders to discuss the need for a strong US-Israel alliance, the right of Israel to defend itself, and my commitment to combat antisemitism in our country and around the world." In November 2017, she visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In April 2019, the senator's then campaign communications director Lily Adams said that her "support for Israel is central to who she is." So in Kamala Harris, Israel can feel some sense of comfort.

At present, Israel prefers the Republican Trump-Pence pair. However, they do not plan to alienate the Democrats and the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris combination. Israel do not keep all their eggs in a single basket. They know that the election results can go either way. Whoever wins, Israel will gleefully tell the Palestinians "Heads we win, tails you lose this time too."

Anisur Rahman is a senior Bangladeshi journalist now living in Sweden.

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

(JTA) Last week, a researcher who focuses on extremism said he was concerned that the fatal shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, could start a trend of similar deadly incidents at protests.

Then, three days later, something like it happened in Portland, Oregon: One man was killed following a night of clashes between supporters of President Donald Trump and counterprotesters.

The alleged Kenosha shooter, Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, did not appear to be linked to any far-right organizations when he traveled there with an AR-15 rifle and killed two people on Aug. 25 amid ongoing protests sparked by the police shooting of an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake.

Multiple videos capture an incident in which Rittenhouse, of Illinois, appears to trip while running down a street and then shoots two people who are converging on him. Rittenhouse has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum.

The notion of a teenager crossing state lines with a semiautomatic rifle in hand to uphold public order shocked many Americans. But to Alex Friedfeld, an investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, it was the latest sign of a disturbing trend armed men showing up to scenes of unrest and, without training or a mandate, acting as self-appointed guardians of law and order.

That, Friedfeld says, isnt that different from the Portland shooting. Police have not identified a suspected shooter or the victim there, though the latter has been identified as wearing a hat with the insignia of Patriot Prayer, which the ADL calls a far-right group.

The Anti-Defamation League is perhaps best known for its efforts to document and combat anti-Semitism, but its analysts actually monitor many interrelated forms of extremism. Thats why Friedfeld and his colleagues at the ADL and other anti-extremism groups have been closely monitoring for months as Black Lives Matter protests have swept the country. And with tensions sure to rise as the November presidential election nears, Friedfeld worries that others may follow Rittenhouses example.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency spoke with Friedfeld about the Kenosha shooting, what it suggests about extremism in America and how the rising militia movement intersects with threats to Jews. Following the Portland shooting, JTA spoke with Friedfeld again about how the two shootings are related. That question-and-answer is appended at the end of this interview, which has been edited for length and clarity.

JTA: What are your reactions to the Kenosha killings and the circumstances surrounding them?

Friedfeld: What happened on Tuesday night was something that we have been kind of concerned about over the last few months, particularly since the outbreak of the Black Lives Matter movement. Since that point, you know, we have seen whats essentially armed vigilantes.

Sometimes they form up as more formalized groups, but often its just armed individuals or a few guys going out and linking up with other people, without a mandate or any certification or qualifications for this moment. They are tasking themselves with the responsibility of what they believe is keeping the people and their local communities safe.

But again, theyre taking it upon themselves. They are not police officers. There is no sense that they have the training to handle this right.

And so youve got these armed individuals who are inserting themselves into these very tense situations. And it creates the possibility that if things go south, if there is an escalation, that theyll find themselves outmatched or unprepared for the moment. And thats when bad things happen, especially when theyre carrying firearms.

No one should have let a 17-year-old kid patrol the streets while there are protests going on. He was in a position where he could actually kill people. And that should never have happened.

Whats the connection between Rittenhouse and the far-right militias and other extremist groups you research?

We have been tracking vigilante groups and militias that have been showing up at these protests across the country to provide security for local residents and their businesses.

And the Kenosha Guard [an independent militia that patrolled the protests on the night of the shooting] is one of these types of groups. Theyre not linked with the other ones, but its that same type of local security watch that were seeing rise to prominence in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

They put up this call basically saying we need to protect our city from thugs, from looters, from rioters. What these calls do is they normalize this idea that it is OK and proper for armed vigilantes to patrol the streets of Americas towns and cities in order to protect people and property.

On their pages, you can find these anti-Black Lives Matter sentiments. And thats pretty common among these vigilante groups. They will go out in public and say that they are there to protect all residents and to protect all businesses, and they just want to protect peoples right to protest. But when you actually look at the words that they say on their pages, you often find very staunchly anti-Black Lives Matter rhetoric.

In general, when you look at groups like the Kenosha Guard, do they tend to affiliate with the same anti-government extremist ideologies that other right-wing militias ascribe to?

The closest thing that we tend to find is that these groups will often align with the militia movement, and the more conspiratorial elements of the militia movement. But the fact is, a lot of these groups are really new. And because they were formed in response to Black Lives Matter, they tend to focus on Black Lives Matter, and we havent seen as much evidence that they talk about the conspiracies that animate the militia movement.

These groups are more vulnerable to those more classic militia movement conspiracies because they fit into that network. The mindset basically is that there is someone out there that wants to destroy America, and that they are the ones that have to resist it.

Does that lead to an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, that the ones who want to destroy America are the Jews?

I dont usually see overt anti-Semitism in terms of someone saying the Jews are behind it, but you do see [references to Jewish financier and progressive philanthropist] George Soros. I dont even know if you call it a dog whistle at that point. But its that coded language, George Soros being the most popular one. I mean, how many times over the last few months have we seen these conspiracies that George Soros is paying for Black Lives Matter?

The implicit message there is that he is paying to cause unrest to destroy American cities and towns. So you dont usually see overt anti-Semitism in the way that you would among white supremacists. But there is absolutely that coded language, particularly when it comes to conspiracies about George Soros and folks like that, that tries to pin the blame on them.

Theres something that is extreme that people feel that its OK to take guns into the streets with the implicit message of violence that that sends, that youre carrying a firearm that is loaded, that can hurt a lot of people in the street. That is something that is extreme, and they are in the streets inherently portraying a political message.

This idea that people feel comfortable to bring a gun into public [space], with all the messaging and inherent threats that come along with that, thats an act of extremism.

What are your thoughts on the way the Kenosha police reacted to the shooting?

I cant speak to the Kenosha police. Theyre still investigating.

What I can say though is the fact that the police did not immediately try and get rid of these guys, push these guys off the street or just say You can stay here, but put your guns away, that is concerning.

They werent breaking any laws by carrying the guns. But if you have a chaotic environment, I would think you would want to reduce the amount of guns.

Are you worried about shootings like this one becoming a trend?

The environment and conditions that made this shooting possible still exist. Nothing has changed to prevent this from happening anywhere else. So thats not to say that another shooting like this will occur. But those underlying conditions are still there. It is certainly possible, as summer turns to fall, that we see another incident like this.

There was nothing particularly special about Kenosha that resulted in the shooting happening there. As the election nears and people get even more heated and the stakes get even higher, these events [could] attract more hotheads, attract more of this extremist element.

Its not like in the wake of this we have seen guards say, Oh, wow, we need to stand down or something like that. Or we need to change the way we do these things to make sure that the people who are standing with us, we know who they are, we know that they are trained, or whatever. Or that police have come out and said, you know, we are not going to let armed men stand in the streets anymore. No one has responded like that.

The potential for this to happen still exists until we as a society take those steps, to say no more armed men in the streets that are not law enforcement.

How have militias responded to this?

The Kenosha Guard tried to distance themselves. I think, in general, a bunch [of militias] have come to his defense and said that he was in the right, that he was being attacked and he acted in self-defense.

Are these groups numbers on the rise since the start of recent Black Lives Matter protests?

Thats where we started to see a lot of these groups starting to form. They were formed in response to BLM. Their reason for being is usually protecting the city from Black Lives Matter protesters and antifa.

What this incident revealed is just how deadly the stakes can be by participating in these events. I think this incident revealed the danger that exists when you have a bunch of armed men standing around with little training in a situation that they are not prepared for. And firearms make that toxic mix even deadlier.

How does the Portland shooting relate to the Kenosha shooting? You said last week you were worried that something like the Kenosha shooting would happen again, and then something like it happened again.

I think this is another example of what weve been witnessing over the course of the summer, which is the rise in street violence. Militias are this environmental problem of there is this increasing amount of street violence that can affect anybody.

Were witnessing an increasing politicization of this violence. Rather than standing together as protesters and saying we will not condone the use of violence, people are blaming the other side for what happened. Rather than condemning the cycle, theyre perpetuating it.

When you view everything though the lens of almost-life-or-death struggles, committing an act of violence no longer seems as unreasonable.

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An expert analyst breaks down the 'militia movement' and other groups involved in the Kenosha and Portland shootings - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic...

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

Social media posts imply Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden supports or is supported by anti-fascist group Antifa because the URL antifa.com redirects to joebiden.com. As of this fact checks publication, antifa.com does redirect users to joebiden.com, but this is not proof of a connection among the two.

Reuters Fact Check. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

One viral post with over 67,000 shares is visible here . It reads, if you go to Antifa.com, it takes you directly to joe bidens webpage....whats that tell ya...try it yourself. Other popular examples can be seen here and here .

Several top officials from the Trump administration, including U.S. Attorney General William Barr, have blamed Antifa and other agitators for taking over the protests in U.S. cities. It is not clear how many, if any, of the protesters participating in demonstrations across the country are from Antifa, which experts say is not an organization but rather an amorphous movement (here).

Whois.net, a website that displays public information related to domain ownership (www.whois.net/), says that antifa.com is registered to NameCheap, Inc., a domain registration and web-hosting platform (www.namecheap.com/).

By using Internet Archives Wayback Machine (here: rb.gy/d2scrf), the earliest snapshot available where the page redirects to JoeBiden.com is August 8, 2020 (here: rb.gy/hsfyr5). The previous snapshot, from July 24, 2020 leads to a page titled We Are Antifa: Join Us & Take Action, and describes messages typically associated with the group (here: rb.gy/nwh30s). This site links to a YouTube channel (here) and a Twitter account that is now suspended (twitter.com/AntifaWebsite).

Mashable, a culture and tech news outlet, explained the ease with which any domain owner can forward visitors on to other websites: The owner of a domain name can redirect their domain name toanywebpage [] Its an easy process that just requires that you type in the URL you want your domain to redirect to in your registrars administration panel. (here)

Mashable explains, Could it still mean Joe Bidens campaign runs the domain? It could. But it could also mean that the Trump campaign or someone supportive of it did the same just to cause a little controversy. They add, It could also just be the work of a troll, a comedy group, or even someone just looking to add value to the domain when they look to sell it. Essentially, The point is the redirect on its own doesnt mean anything. (here)

While this could have been put in place by the Biden campaign, it would make little sense for them to have done so. Biden has condemned violence from the right and the left (here). Biden also said, following the shooting of Jacob Blake, that protesting police brutality is absolutely necessary, but burning down communities is not. (here)

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is an amorphous movement whose adherents oppose people or groups they consider authoritarian or racist, often using aggressive tactics, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors extremists(here).Horizontalin natureand largelylacking official organization, it is unclear how Antifa is funded, if at all (here).

Its horizontal nature and lack of clear leadership makes it impossible to confirm the claims or officially contact Antifa as a group. One Facebook page called Antifa International (here) told Reuters in a statement it didnt believe the group is getting involved with the elections because Antifa doesnt support any politician. A Twitter account called Antifa Checker (twitter.com/AntifaChecker) that says it filters true from false information about Antifa online told Reuters it believed Antifa.com was registered by a troll at some point.

Partly false. While antifa.com does redirect to Joebiden.com, there is no evidence of a connection between the two.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media postshere.

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Fact check: Antifa.com does redirect to Joebiden.com, but this is not proof of a link between the two - Reuters

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine honored the University of MissouriSt. Louis with at 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. UMSL was one of 90 recipients this year and received the award for the fourth time. (Photo by August Jennewein)

The University of MissouriSt. Louis is among the most culturally and ethnically diverse institutions in Missouri a fact its faculty, staff and students both celebrate and cultivate.

Outside organizations have taken notice of the universitys inclusive excellence efforts.

Today, INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine named UMSL one of 90 recipients of its prestigious 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The honorees will be featured along with the other recipients in the magazines November 2020 issue.

UMSL is the only university in Missouri to be included in this years list of awardees. It also marks the fourth time UMSL has received the honor after previously being recognized in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

As we state clearly in our strategic plan, it is not enough to simply celebrate and appreciate diversity, said Tanisha Stevens, vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion. We are continuously working to build a truly inclusive community where equity is one of the most important hallmark values. That means recognizing and respecting individual differences but holding true to the belief that we are better together because of those differences. This honor is recognition that the work that occurs on this campus exemplifies that value.

Stevens began serving as the interim director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in November, and Chancellor Kristin Sobolik elevated her position to the vice chancellor level in July. In announcing the shift, Sobolik said the addition of UMSLs first ever vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion reflects the universitys ongoing commitment to building a diverse campus community where all can feel welcome and thrive.

Under Stevens leadership, UMSL held the universitys firstVirtual Gathering for Racial Unity, which nearly 200 people attended on June 18. In July, the university solicited the help of Tabari Coleman, director of professional development at theAnti-Defamation League, to lead a series of discussions titled Dialogue, Decisions and Dissonance, giving participants a chance to talk about racial socialization and build awareness of knowledge gaps they might have. Additionally, this fall, UMSL is launching its Diversity Alliance, a network of faculty and staff who champion diversity and inclusion within their academic departments or units as well as introducing new professional training opportunities including a year-long anti-racism learning and dialogue series.

Stevens, who leads the chancellors cultural diversity committee continues to build on traditions such as the annualMartin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance and championed the MLK scholarship to support students. Stevens also continues to cultivate external partnerships, including participation on the Civic Progress Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force, an initiative with representatives from several local business organizations and educational institutions.

The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees and best practices for both continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion, said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2020

Photo credit: Facebook.com/BlackLivesMatter

By Aadi Gannavaram

Peaceful Black Lives Matter protests have a clear and historically-valid objective.

As a middle school student interested in US History, I was surprised by a recent article by Ravi Shanker Kapoor presenting a totally distorted picture of ongoing Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests against racial inequality.

Taking sporadic looting and stealing during the protests as evidence that the demonstrations are entirely motivated by criminal aspirations, it goes on to suggest that systemic racism could not possibly exist in the US.

However, Kapoor fails to take into account the harsh reality faced by African Americans in their everyday lives in America despite legislative efforts such as the 13th amendment and civil rights legislation that attempted to correct historic injustices.

The foundational tenet of the US constitution that all men are created equal remains a high minded ideal yet in practice never uniformly applied without regard to the skin color of the individual.

Even African Americans in the highest positions of power, such as US senators, are not immune to racism.

For instance, Tim Scott, an African American senator from South Carolina has recounted how he was pulled over seven times in a year by law enforcement officials for such trivial reasons as driving a nice car in a wealthy neighborhood.

He was also called boy, a derogatory term with racial connotations, by the policeman who also felt the need to have his weapon partially drawn.

On the other hand, the states second senator Lyndsey Graham, a caucasian, and other white lawmakers have never had to experience such treatment.

If this is how African Americans in positions of high power are treated, its tough to deny the existence of systemic racism.

ALSO READ: Voices: Why do Americans tolerate racism? (August 31, 2020)

For that matter, in over two centuries since independence, the US has had only 10 African American senators out of a total of 1,947 even though African Americans historically represented 10-12% of the population.

There is no justifiable reason other than systemic racism for this unbalanced representation of African Americans in the US Senate.

Police brutality against African Americans remains a constant problem that is compelling people from all walks of life to seek justice.

Cornell University professor Neil A. Lewis Jr. recounted recently how he gets pulled over by the police due to dirty license plates on his campus, a fate not so uncommon faced by millions of other African Americans.

A cursory search on social media platforms reveals thousands of memes mocking the unjust circumstances African Americans deal with routinely.

The experiences of systemic racism are not infrequent inconveniences and are widely shared by African Americans in the US.

The employment-population ratio for Black Americans has historically tended to fall quite a bit lower for whites or Latinos, according to a Business Insider report. This trend continues to persist to this day.

In the interest of balance, let us also consider other recent protests by predominantly whites in the US. If we apply Kapoors logic, one would have to conclude that the motivation of these protests is indeed subjugation and assertion of privilege.

For example, in Charlottesville, one of the most violent protests was carried out by Unite the Right a white supremacist group that disseminated anti-semitic, anti-African American, and white supremacist propaganda, all done by armed protestors displaying Nazi symbols and imagery.

White supremacists have committed at least 73 murders since Charlottesville, 39 of which were clearly motivated by hateful, racist ideology, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

These numbers include the deadly white supremacist shooting rampages in Parkland, Pittsburgh, Poway, and El Paso, the deadliest white supremacist attack in more than 50 years.

Similarly, the May storming of Michigan state house by predominantly white groups with military-grade weapons protesting the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic is a clear example of mob violence.

Compared to these protests that are nevertheless protected by the first amendment rights, the BLM protests were peaceful, and are clearly due to reasons that any observer of US history would conclude legitimate requiring a long overdue just response.

After comparing protests of each side and the harsh realities faced by African Americans all over the US, its not hard to conclude that the BLM protests were peaceful events with a clear and historically-valid objective.

Systemic Racism remains an undeniably true and horrid condition in the US, and these peaceful protests are a way of sensitizing the wider population to the urgency of solving the problem.

While some looters take advantage of the large crowds and gatherings across the nation to cause chaos, this does not make them in any way a part of the protest or its ideology.

Compared to the other end of the spectrum represented by the white-supremacist protests which used military-grade weaponry as a threat to get what they want, BLM protests are by and large civil and peaceful.

Its absurd to oppose the BLM movement as these peaceful protests and their ideologies are a necessary step in furthering a just American society.

(Aadi Gannavaram is a student of Herbert Hoover Middle School, Potomac, Maryland)

READ MORE:

What do I have to do with Black Lives Matter?(June 20, 2020)

Black Lives Matter: Are Indian Americans guilty of silence?(June 10, 2020)

A message to the Southeast Asian community regarding the Black Lives Matter movement(June 2, 2020)

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