Dweezil Zappa is the son of Frank Zappa. He's a good
guitarist, not really so much of a singer. I had to do the math. Wow.
If I did it right, he was 15 when his HAVING A BAD DAY album came out.
Didn't realize he was that young at the time. But that album was kind
of a hit and that was due to his looks.
The 80s had a popular magazine
called SMASH HITS that was little more than glossy 8 x 10s of various
pop stars. People would buy it for the photos of Corey Hart, George
Michael (and Andrew when Wham was still together), Madonna, Jody Watley
and others.
At 15. Dweezil wasn't just made for the magazine, he was
made for the cover. So that's what I mean by his looks sold that 1986
album. He's in the news:
Dweezil Zappa is
headed to Phoenix to launch a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of
two career-defining albums that took his legendary father’s music to a
wider mainstream audience than acts as willfully eccentric as Frank
Zappa tend to reach — “Apostrophe,” his only Top 10 entry on the Billboard album chart, and “Roxy & Elsewhere,” which hit No. 27.
The Rox-Postrophy Tour is the latest step in a musical journey Dweezil started in 2006 with Zappa Plays Zappa: Tour de Frank to celebrate the legacy his father left when he died in 1993 of prostate cancer.
The
photo with the article doesn't tell us much but I was wondering, "Did
the looks last?" They changed. He's still an attractive guy but it's a
different kind of attractive. And let me repeat, back in 1986, I
didn't know he was only 15. I thought he was older than that. But with
SMASH HITS no longer around, it's left for me to do the updates. :D
(By the way, SMASH HITS paid very well for photos back in the day.)
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, July 25, 2024. The War Criminal Netanyahu spoke to the US
Congress just as Americans learn more about the psyop operations
Netanyahu has been carrying out against the American people, the GOP
calls for more violence, talk of US troops leaving Iraq, and much more.
What happened when the war started?
I
was immediately afraid for the safety of my family, my siblings and
their families. This was compounded by the stress of being a new mother
trying to shield my son from the impact of the bombings and the upheaval
in our home, which was filled with noise and anxiety.
Within
four days of the war starting, our home had become a refuge for more
than 60 people, mostly relatives of my husband. Some were displaced due
to the Israeli army’s threat to their neighbourhoods and some due to
shelling on their homes that forced them out.
Ahmed
had trouble sleeping. Calming and reassuring him was a challenge made
more difficult by the [lack of food and nutrition] needed for
breastfeeding.
What happened next?
My
ordeal escalated on 19 October. By that point, there were 31 people
sheltering in our house, as the rest had decided to move south. [The
Israelis] targeted the entire street; at least seven houses including
ours. Some of us were in a room together after I had fed Ahmed, kissed
him and put him to bed in another room. I don’t know why, but my husband
left the room we were in to do something.
Seconds
later, the house was bombed and I saw total darkness. A few moments
after that, men I did not know pulled me out from under the rubble. I
screamed at them, begging them to save my son.
I
couldn’t believe it. Ahmed was just there with me. When I put him to
bed that day, I did not know it was the last kiss, the last embrace.
Only six people survived.
I am so sorry to hear that. Were you injured?
I was
in intense pain, so I was taken to Kamal Adwan hospital [in Beit Lahia],
where I waited in bed all night hoping for news about my husband and
son. The next morning, my father and mother came with pale faces. As
soon as I saw them, I knew that a calamity had befallen my life for
ever. They told me they had both died. I felt my world come crumbling
down. My son was just five months and three weeks old. I had already
bought him clothes that would last until he turned two or more. I was
very excited to see him wear them. I wanted him to grow up quickly and
become my companion and friend.
She
now has to try to rebuild a life that's been destroyed and the War
Criminal responsible for the deaths of her husband and child -- and so
many other civilians -- spoke to the US Congress yesterday. Not present
for the speech and disgusting spectacle were,
per James Bickerton (NEWSWEEK):
Vice President Kamala Harris
Senator Patty Murray
Senator Richard Durbin
Senator Jeff Merkley
Senator Bernie Sanders
Senator Chris Van Hollen
Senator Tim Kaine
US House Rep Sara Jacobs
US House Rep Ilhan Omar
Us House Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
US House Rep Robert Garcia
US House Rep Ami Bera
US House Rep Parmila Jayapal
US House Rep Maxwell Alejandro Frost
US House Rep Jim Clyburn
That's the list NEWSWEEK published but, as
COMMON DREAMS notes, there were many more: "More than 135 congressional Democrats, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and U.S. Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) boycotted Netanyahu's speech.
"
Following her
call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest during his visit to Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib
protested the right-wing leader's Wednesday address before a joint
meeting of Congress by holding up a sign reading "war criminal" and
"guilty of genocide."
"They will not erase us. Palestinians exist and we deserve to live.
Our presence today will be a reminder that we aren't going anywhere,"
Tlaib (D-Mich.) said on social media. "I will never back down in
speaking truth to power. The apartheid government of Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians."
Tlaib—the only Palestinian American member of Congress—brought a guest:
Hani Almadhoun, "who has lost over 150 members of his extended family
in Netanyahu's genocide" in Gaza.
"After witnessing his sister forced to eat animal feed, he and his
family were determined to start a soup kitchen to feed their starving
neighbors," the congresswoman said. "The Israeli apartheid regime is
using starvation as a weapon of war, a war crime."
Brett
quotes many members who boycotted including US House Rep Greg Casar who
stated, "I am boycotting Netanyahu's address. Today, families of
Israeli
hostages called the prime minister's speech a 'PR stunt' intended to
cover up his own failures."
Hundreds of Jewish activists were arrested in the U.S. Capitol complex
on Tuesday after staging a sit-in to protest Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. and address to Congress this
week, carrying signs and wearing shirts with slogans like “Not in Our
Name” as they demanded an end to Israel’s U.S.-backed genocide of
Palestinians in Gaza.
Protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace called for Biden to stop
sending weapons to Israel and to push for an immediate ceasefire,
occupying the Cannon House Office building rotunda — the same place protesters occupied in October to demand a ceasefire as Israel was first embarking on its genocide.
“No one is free until everyone is free,” “Jews say stop arming
Israel” and “Jews say: stop the genocide,” read some of the banners
hoisted by the crowd, who were clad in matching red shirts with a demand
for an arms embargo.
Senator Bernie Sanders called out the open arms welcome to a War Criminal on Tuesday.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday night spoke on the floor
of the U.S. Senate about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming
address to a joint meeting of Congress and the ongoing, horrific
humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
Sanders’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched live here:
M. President, tomorrow, Wednesday will be a unique moment in Congressional history.
Throughout
the many years of our country, leaders from dozens of countries with
all kinds of political backgrounds and persuasions have been invited to
address a joint meeting of Congress.
To the best of my knowledge,
however, tomorrow will be unique: in bringing Prime Minister Netanyahu
to address a joint meeting of Congress, it will be the first time in
American history that a war criminal has been given that honor.
Frankly,
this invitation to Netanyahu is a disgrace and something that we will
look back on with regret. With this invitation, it will be impossible,
with a straight face, for the United States to lecture any country on
Earth about human rights and human dignity.
M. President, as you
well know, along with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and several others,
Prime Minister Netanyahu has been credibly accused of war crimes by the
International Criminal Court (ICC). That court may soon issue arrest
warrants for Sinwar and Netanyahu.
The case against Sinwar and his
Hamas accomplices are clear. They were the organizers of the horrific
October 7th terrorist attack on Israel that began this war and involved
the mass murder of 1,200 innocent men, women, and children, the taking
of hostages, and sexual violence. These war crimes are well-documented,
and very few people would dispute the merits of these charges.
The
ICC prosecutor’s charges against Netanyahu are also well-founded. The
charges focus on the starvation of civilians as a method of war, as well
as intentional attacks against the civilian population. Specifically,
the prosecutor says that Netanyahu is responsible for “depriving
[civilians] of objects indispensable to their survival, including
willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva
Conventions.”
A separate UN independent commission of inquiry
likewise found that both Hamas and the Israeli military have committed
war crimes since October 7th, leading to widespread civilian deaths. The
commission said the Israeli military’s “intentional use of heavy
weapons with large destructive capacity in densely populated areas
constitutes an intentional and direct attack on the civilian population,
particularly affecting women and children.”
M. President, I think
we all agree that Israel had the right to defend itself against the
horrific Hamas attack on October 7th. But Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing
government has, since that attack, waged what amounts to total war
against the entire Palestinian people, making life unlivable in Gaza and
killing tens of thousands. These actions have trampled on international
law, on American law, and on basic human values.
M. President, I
understand that the mass media and many of us in Congress have been
preoccupied in recent weeks with the awful assassination attempt against
former President Trump and the changes at the top of the Democratic
presidential ticket.
But while all of this is going on, it is
absolutely irresponsible for us to turn our backs on one of the worst
humanitarian disasters in modern history, especially when that disaster
has been aided and abetted by U.S. taxpayer dollars and weapons.
In other words, it’s not just the Israeli government. It is us and our money and our weaponry as well.
M.
President, let’s be clear as to what’s going on in Gaza. Since this war
began, among a population of 2.2 million people, at least 39,000
Palestinians have been killed and 89,000 injured – sixty percent of whom
are women, children, or elderly people. Most observers believe that
death toll is much higher, because thousands of people remain buried
under the mountains of rubble. Their bodies have not yet been recovered.
M.
President, some 1.9 million people have been driven from their homes,
90% of the population. Take a deep breath. 90% of the population driven
from their homes. The vast majority of these desperate and poor people
have now been displaced not once, not twice – but in some cases four or
five times – herded around like cattle. Just yesterday, Israel announced
another evacuation order for Khan Younis, and 150,000 people were
forced to flee on a moment’s notice. Just yesterday.
M. President,
when we talk about housing, it’s not just that people have been
displaced time and time again. More than 60 percent of Gaza’s housing
has been damaged or destroyed – including 221,000 housing units that
have been completely destroyed. Where are these people going to go to if
and when this war ever ends?
And with that housing destruction,
more than one million people have been made permanently homeless. Entire
neighborhoods have been wiped out. Today, more than a million
Palestinians, almost half of the population of Gaza, are living in
tents, trying to find shelter, trying to find protection from intense
summer heat.
But M. President it is not just the housing that has been destroyed.
Gaza’s
civilian infrastructure has also been devastated. Water and sewage
systems have been made inoperable. And the result: raw sewage is running
through the streets, spreading disease, and there is very little clean
water. Many roads are impassable, and there is virtually no electricity.
But it’s not just housing and infrastructure that has been destroyed.
M.
President, Gaza had twelve universities, schools of higher learning.
Every single one of them has been bombed, and 88 percent of all school
buildings have been damaged. In other words, under Mr. Netanyahu’s
leadership, the entire educational system in Gaza has been annihilated.
In fact, 540 people have been killed while sheltering in UN schools.
But
M. President it’s not just the housing that’s been destroyed. Not just
the infrastructure of Gaza that has been destroyed. Not just the
educational system which has been destroyed.
At a time when almost
90,000 people are dealing with war-related injuries in Gaza – including
many, many children who’ve lost their arms and their legs, who are
suffering all kinds of diseases – the healthcare system has been
systematically obliterated. 21 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are completely out
of service, and the remainder can only partially function. The World
Health Organization has recorded more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare
facilities since October 7th.
As a result, disease is spreading
due to shortages of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Cases of
hepatitis, dysentery, and other infections are on the rise. And cases of
polio have now been detected. Malnourished women struggle to breastfeed
their newborns, formula is inaccessible, and even when available cannot
be used without reliable sources of clean water. So, the tiniest
children and their mothers suffer as well.
But, M. President, it
is not just the displacement of 1.9 million people, it’s not just the
mass destruction of housing, it’s not just the obliteration of the
infrastructure, it is not just the destruction of the educational
system, it’s not just the annihilation of the health care system in Gaza
that we are seeing. It is worse than that.
And I hope that my
colleagues who attend Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks on Wednesday remember this
as they rise, time and time again, to give him a standing ovation.
As a result of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid, people in Gaza are now starving to death.
So, remember when people stand up and applaud: children, women, innocent people in Gaza are now starving to death.
According
to the best available research, drawing on leading experts from the UN
and other aid organizations around the world, some 495,000 Palestinians
face starvation. These groups estimate that more than 50,000 children
require treatment for acute malnutrition and are at risk of starving to
death. At least 30 children – documented cases, and I suspect it’s a lot
higher number than that – have starved to death.
So, as you stand up and applaud that guy, remember the starving children.
But
even those who get the lifesaving care they need will carry the scars
of this for the rest of their lives. As every psychologist will tell
you, a child’s brain develops fastest in the first two years of life,
and childhood malnutrition does lifelong cognitive and physical damage.
And
I would ask my colleagues to stop for a moment and think about the
psychological damage this war has done to the children there. Imagine
being a child living with the constant buzzing of drones above your
head, wondering if they are going to rain fire and bullets onto your
home. Wondering if they might strike at any moment. Imagine being a
little 5-year-old witnessing your relatives killed, your neighborhood
destroyed. Imagine being a little 10-year-old: think about going hungry
night after night, about searching for hours for water to drink. Think
about being pushed from one place to another, carrying your belongings
through streets running with sewage and amid piles of rubble and trash.
That is what Mr. Netanyahu – the man Congress is honoring tomorrow – has done to the children of Gaza.
According
to the UN and virtually every humanitarian organization functioning in
Gaza, Israel has intentionally blocked humanitarian aid – including
food, water, and medical supplies – from reaching the desperate people
of Gaza.
Let’s be clear: there is NO excuse for this. Blocking
humanitarian aid, killing aid workers, and creating the conditions for
starvation – these are not only acts of extreme cruelty, but they are
clear violations of both U.S. and international law. They are war
crimes. And Netanyahu heads the government that has enacted these
policies.
So tomorrow, M. President, when members of Congress give
Mr. Netanyahu a standing ovation, I hope for one second they will
remember the starving children in Gaza.
I hope while they applaud,
that they will think about the hundreds of aid workers killed, the
dozens of hospitals bombed, the housing destroyed, and the universities
obliterated.
M. President, when Mr. Netanyahu rises to speak
tomorrow, I also hope that my colleagues remember that all this death
and destruction is not just the unfortunate byproduct of a brutal war.
Revenge and destruction are the explicit policy of this Netanyahu’s
extremist government.
Two days into the war, Israeli Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant said, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza
Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is
closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”
And that is exactly how they have pursued this war. Let me repeat: the
Israeli Defense Minister described the Palestinian people as “human
animals” – and, tragically, they have acted consistent with that view.
Let us be clear: the Israel of today is not the Israel of the past. It is now run by a right-wing, extremist government.
National
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, has long
advocated for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from the region.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the man responsible for the occupied
West Bank, is also an extreme racist and has called for the expulsion of
Palestinians from the land. He has called for segregated hospital wards
for Jews and Arabs because, “Arabs are my enemies.” That is the current
Israeli finance minister and the man in charge of the West Bank.
So
it should be no surprise that this extremist government, in addition to
destroying Gaza, has overseen record Israeli settlement in the occupied
West Bank, in violation of international law and commitments to the
United States. Israeli forces and vigilante settlers have killed more
than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7th, including 131
children.
Just last week, the International Court of Justice
issued a ruling on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. A panel of
15 accomplished judges from around the world confirmed what most of the
world has long known: that occupation is illegal and must end.
I
know that there are some here in Congress, not many, but some, who have
condemned Netanyahu and his right-wing extremist government. But that is
not enough. We cannot condemn a Prime Minister, who the ICC considers a
war criminal, while at the same time continuing to provide his
government with tens of billions of dollars in military aid. That is
hypocrisy at its worst.
Just today, M. President, seven major
unions, including the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), American
Postal Workers Union (APWU), International Union of Painters (IUPAT),
National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International
Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Electrical Workers
(UE), some of the largest unions in America representing about 6 million
workers, sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to immediately
halt all military aid to Israel.
They are absolutely right.
Netanyahu
is a right-wing extremist and a war criminal who has devoted his career
to killing the prospects for a two-state solution and lasting peace. He
should not be welcome in the United States Congress.
On the
contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank should be roundly
condemned, and his right-wing extremist government should not receive
another nickel of U.S. taxpayer funding.
The U.S. has long ignored many commands of international law, but its
casual disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has come
into sharp focus this week as the U.S. Congress extends a warm welcome
to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just five days after the
ICJ notified all UN member states that they have a legal “obligation not
to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by
Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The World Court’s historic 83-page advisory opinion, which
was issued on July 19 and held that the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian territory is illegal, was quickly hailed by Middle East
political expert Nomi Bar-Yaacov as a “legal earthquake” and the strongest decision that the court had ever issued.
Unsurprisingly, however, both the Israeli and U.S. governments
denounced the ICJ’s ruling and proceeded with their plans — including
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, D.C. — as if it had never occurred.
The purpose of Netanyahu’s trip is to shore up U.S. support for his
ongoing genocidal campaign against the Palestinians in Gaza and for his
crusade against Iran.
AMY GOODMAN:
In Washington, D.C., thousands of protesters are planning to march on
Capitol Hill today as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
addresses a joint session of Congress as the death toll from Israel’s
war on Gaza tops 39,100 — and expected to be much higher.
On Tuesday, 400 Jewish activists, including over a dozen rabbis, were
arrested during a sit-in inside the Capitol to protest Netanyahu’s
visit and to demand an immediate U.S. weapons embargo on the Israeli
government.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are boycotting Netanyahu’s speech,
including Senators Dick Durbin, who is the majority whip, Chris Van
Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Patty Murray, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders,
who spoke Tuesday.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:
Netanyahu is a right-wing extremist and a war criminal who has devoted
his career to killing the prospects of a two-state solution and lasting
peace in the region. He should not be welcomed to the United States
Congress.
AMY GOODMAN:
Maryland Senator Ben Cardin will preside over the Senate during
Netanyahu’s speech, after vice president, presidential candidate Kamala
Harris declined to go.
In the House, Democratic Congressmember Rashida Tlaib called for
Netanyahu to be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.
In a statement, she said, quote, “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing
genocide against the Palestinian people,” unquote.
New York Congressmember Jerry Nadler, the most senior Jewish member
of the House, said he’ll attend Netanyahu’s speech out of respect for
the state of Israel, but Nadler said, quote, “Benjamin Netanyahu is the
worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the
Romans into Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago,” Nadler said.
A number of prominent Israelis have also criticized congressional leaders for inviting Netanyahu. Last month, The New York Times published an essay
headlined “We Are Israelis Calling on Congress to Disinvite Netanyahu.”
The essay was co-authored by six prominent Israelis, including former
Israeli President Ehud Barak and former Mossad Director Tamir Pardo.
Another one of the co-authors joins us now. David Harel is the
president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and a
professor of computer science and applied mathematics at the Weizmann
Institute of Science. He’s joining us from Rehovot, Israel.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Professor Harel. Why do you think it’s wrong for Netanyahu, your prime minister, to address this joint session of Congress?
DAVID HAREL: Good afternoon here. Good morning over there.
I think Congress has made a terrible mistake in inviting Netanyahu.
First of all, he does not represent the majority of Israelis. He clings
to power because of a coalition which includes some very, very extreme
people. We feel deeply, and many, many Israelis feel, that the actions
of this government are bringing Israel downhill to the point that we may
be losing our country. It’s not just a crisis. It’s not just some
things that are happening that we are not happy with. We actually feel
that the existence of the country, that we so love and all six of us
have served for many, many decades in various capacities, is at a grave
risk of collapsing the country down, down to nothing.
At the very, very least, we feel that such an invitation to Netanyahu
should be — should have been contingent on his doing essentially three
things. Returning the 120 hostages home, there was a way to do that six,
seven, eight months ago. There’s a way to do it right now, which he
seems to be pushing off, time after time. The second thing is to stop
the war in Gaza. We here in Israel are bleeding daily, with members of
the military getting killed almost daily. And I don’t even want to
mention the scores of civilians in Gaza that have died and keep on
dying. This war has to stop immediately. It should have stopped a long
time ago. And the third thing, he should have called for elections.
There is a clear majority of around 60, 70% of Israeli citizens who want
elections to be called. I mean, if these three things were to take
place, I would understand an invitation for Netanyahu to speak at
Congress.
But right now the citizenship at large has lost faith in him and his
government and their actions. And we feel — in fact, let me quote you a
father of one of the hostages, I think it was yesterday or today in
Washington, who said — and this is a very nice term — he said what
Netanyahu is going to be doing in Congress is a political theater. He
has really one main goal, and that is to speak before Congress to get
the ovations — that always come with the act — and to strengthen his
base in Israel. And by the way, strengthening the base in Israel might,
sadly and terrifyingly, have the consequence of the war being prolonged
even further and the return of the hostages being delayed even further,
and that includes, of course, some of the hostages who are U.S.
citizens. So, in any case, it’s not only kind of a farce or a political
theater, as this person said, but it’s also something that might have
very bad additional consequences on the situation here rather than
making things even better.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Professor Harel, what has been the reaction within Israeli society to your letter,
especially in light of the fact that just last week the Knesset
overwhelmingly voted to reject a two-state solution and Palestinian
statehood?
DAVID HAREL:
Yes. Well, first of all, to your last point, what I failed to mention,
and I’ll mention now, is that there’s really two things on the table
right now that Netanyahu has to decide upon. One, of course, is the
deal, that is very, very similar to the one he himself put forward some
weeks ago, for returning the hostages. And the other is that would come
together with some kind of normalization of the relationship with Saudi
Arabia, letting a Palestinian setup rule Gaza and — this comes to the
point that you just made — making the possibility of moves toward a
two-state solution much more viable than they seem now. So, it’s not
just a one act or one war or one hostage problem. This thing touches
upon a much more global and significant issue of perhaps moving towards
the so badly needed steps to peace in the Middle East.
As to the reactions here, well, of course, we got some flak from
people who thought that — not only people who disagree with the contents
of our essay in The New York Times,
but people who say, “Even if you are right, you should not be washing
your dirty laundry outside of the country.” Some people said, “These
problems should have been solved within the country. You can raise your
alarm and your voice here, but not outside.” And to that, I have two
things to say. One is, Netanyahu himself goes abroad to voice his
opinions, to put forward what he believes in, often to put forward
things that are incorrect, in order to garner support. And if he and his
government can take their laundry outside of the country and show what
they want, then there’s no reason why ordinary citizens like ourselves
should not be able to do so.
We’ve also, however, got a lot of support. I mean, I have hundreds of mails and WhatsApps and telephone calls following that New York Times
guest essay that we wrote which support us, and some people even saying
that the courage needed to do that is tremendous. I don’t know about
courage. What I can say is that out of the six people who authored this
essay, I’m the only one who holds a position and gets paid by the
government, as president of our academy. And in that sense, I do want to
say that it wasn’t easy for me to decide to join this effort and
actually to lead the writing, in a sense. I could have said, you know,
“No, I have this role, and I shouldn’t be doing this.” But I think the
situation is just so terrible and a danger to the state of Israel, and
therefore also to the Jewish people at large, is so devastatingly
alarming that I would be willing to give up anything, including my post
at the Israel Academy, in order to voice what I think is the absolute
truth outside. And in terms of laundering dirty laundry outside, you
know, this is not just dirty laundry. The situation is terrible. And,
you know, sometimes you need a foreign-made washing machine to help
clean your laundry. And I’m not saying this as a joke. And this is one
of the reasons that we decided to do this.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And,
Professor, you mentioned that you’re president of the Israel Academy of
Sciences and Humanities, which has urged academic institutions around
the world to resist calls to boycott research institutions and
scientists in Israel. Could you explain why?
DAVID HAREL:
Yes. Well, it was actually — let me say, there are three narratives
that I identify when I try to listen to the music that you hear on
campuses in the United States and also in some places in Europe, you
know, the riots, the slogans. And if we want to bring this down to the
real essence, there are three things that you can hear people chanting
or saying or shouting. One is antisemitism, which, very simply put, is,
you know, let the Jews disappear somehow, to put very mildly. The other
is anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism, which is almost the same thing, which
is that the state of Israel disappear somehow. And I’m putting this
mildly, too. And the third is anti what Israel is doing or what the
Israeli government is doing. And I go around, at the top of my voice, in
Israel and abroad, fighting against the first two of these. Whatever
Israel is doing, and however much I disagree with what is happening in
Gaza and the way our government is carrying itself, including
internally, the judicial reform, the attacks on academia and on cultural
institutions, that is no reason at all to call for antisemitism or even
to call for the Israeli state to disappear. So I will fight with all my
might against those two things, antisemitism and anti-Israelism. But I
will also do whatever I think I should do personally as an Israeli
citizen to bring about a better government around here with better
things.
As to boycotts on science, science is universal. It’s borderless. I
do not collaborate with a colleague in Britain or United States or
France or Germany because I am a mediocre scientist and the person over
there is a better scientist. We collaborate because collaboration,
international collaboration, is the essence of science, especially in
the natural and exact sciences. And boycotting Israeli science is really
damaging science in general.
You know, just to give an example which I like to give, recently, Ada
Yonath, a Nobel Prize chemist at our institute, Weizmann Institute, who
deciphered the structure of the ribosome, she did not do her work alone
in her attic. She collaborated with several collaborators in Europe.
She did her work using international grants from international bodies
that grant research money. And what’s even more important, the results
of her research are not just going to bring about improvements locally. I
mean, her work is poised to help medicine in general. It’s going to
help not only me, but also you and people everywhere around the world.
Boycotting science has the opposite effect, because scientists and
humanity experts and intellectuals, they very, very often lead the
battle against fascism, against fake news, for reasonable and logical
thinking, for critical thinking. And if you weaken science, you not only
weaken — if you weaken science in Israel, you not only weaken science
in general, but you weaken the kind of logic and critical thinking that
is needed in order to counter the bad trends that one sees not only in
Israel these days, but throughout the world. So, the other thing I go
around asking for is to stop these boycotts. There’s no need for them.
There’s no point in them. They’ll only do harm globally.
AMY GOODMAN:
Professor Harel, do you agree that the presumptive Democratic nominee
for president, Kamala Harris, is correct in not presiding over today’s
joint session of Congress that Netanyahu will be addressing?
DAVID HAREL: Definitely. She’s definitely right. In fact, I don’t want to take any credit whatsoever, but our essay
appeared a month ago, and since then, there have been a lot of
follow-ups by Israelis calling for members of Congress not to appear,
you know, to kind of boycott, if I may use the same word that we just
used a few minutes ago, to boycott his speech in Congress.
I’m very happy that Kamala Harris will not be sitting behind him and
having to clap every time he says something for which he will get some
kind of ovation. I’m very happy that something, I presume, between 50
and 100 members will not show up. And I am happy that there will be
protests outside the Capitol to protest his invitation and to protest
his speech. And if we have made a minor, modest contribution to that by
voicing our opinion a month ago, then I’m very happy about that.
AMY GOODMAN:
Professor David Harel, we want to thank you for being with us,
president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, professor of
computer science and applied mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of
Science, speaking to us from Rehovot, Israel. We’ll link the New York Times article
you recently co-authored, “We Are Israelis Calling on Congress to
Disinvite Netanyahu.” Co-authors of the essay include the former Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the former Mossad Director Tamir Pardo.
Coming
up, on Tuesday, 400 Jewish activists, including a dozen rabbis, were
arrested at a sit-in at the Capitol to protest Netanyahu’s speech to
Congress. Back in 20 seconds.
Over two dozen organizations on Wednesday demanded that the Biden administration launch a multi-agency investigation into recent reporting
that "the Israeli government is engaging in illicit social media
influence operations targeting U.S. elected officials and U.S. civil
society."
Pointing to June reports by The New York Times, Haaretz, and The Guardian,
the groups—including the Center for International Policy, CodePink,
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), National Iranian American
Council (NIAC), U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) Action, and
Win Without War—wrote to President Joe Biden and the departments of
Homeland Security, Justice, and State.
As Israel began waging war on the Gaza
Strip in retaliation for the Hamas-led October 7 attack, the country's
Ministry of Diaspora Affairs "allocated about $2 million to the
operation and hired Stoic, a political marketing firm in Tel Aviv, to
carry it out," the Times reported June 5, citing related documents and unnamed Israeli officials.
Although the Israeli ministry denied involvement in the campaign and
Stoic didn't respond to requests for comment, the newspaper noted that
"at its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real
Americans on X, Facebook, and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The
accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and
Democrats."
As The Guardian reported on June 24, "That effort is only one of many such campaigns coordinated by the ministry."
The newspaper detailed "a sprawling relaunch of a controversial Israeli
government program initially known as Kela Shlomo, designed to carry
out what Israel called 'mass consciousness activities' targeted largely at the U.S. and Europe."
"Concert, now known as Voices of Israel, previouslyworked with groups spearheading a campaign
to pass so-called 'anti-BDS' state laws that penalize Americans for
engaging in boycotts or other nonviolent protests of Israel," The Guardian explained, referring to the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.
"Its latest incarnation is part of a hardline and sometimes covert
operation by the Israeli government to strike back at student protests,
human rights organizations, and other voices of dissent," according to
the newspaper. "Voices' latestactivities were conducted through
nonprofits and other entities that often do not disclose donor
information."
Speaker and Spitfire of
the House -- and poster boy for conversion therapy -- Mike Johnson spent
Tuesday and Wednesday attacking members of the US Congress and
defending the War Criminal.
For those who have had to endure that coverage, below is Mike Johnson and his adopted son in private moments.
From confused go-cart builder to menace in Congress, Mike Johnson.
Oh,
I'm sorry. Did people not know that Johnson had a passion for
go-carts? Or that he once cared about clean air? There's so ver much
that the American people do not know about Mike Johnson.
Gaza remains under assault. Day 293 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza
by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.
But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge
for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel,
the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover
for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.
Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily
basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to
school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe
Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll.
The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom
believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The
slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US
Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned
the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of
Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted,
"More than
1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza --
have
been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million
women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million
people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "Gaza death toll rises to 39,145 with 90,257 wounded.." Months
ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained
on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000
Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of
their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe
Lazzarini Tweeted:
April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as
killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000
Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has
estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into
Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."
As for the area itself?
Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s
military offensive
has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole
neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been
blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are
still standing, but most are battered shells."
Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a
new study of satellite imagery
by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and
Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of
45 per cent of housing
destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate
of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second
World War."
March for Our Lives, which was launched six years ago after yet another U.S. mass shooting, announced its first-ever political endorsement on Wednesday, backing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' bid for the White House.
"The stakes couldn't be higher," said the group, which was founded in the wake of the February 2018 massacre
at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. "As one
of the largest youth-led movements in the nation, we are clear-eyed
about the challenge ahead and we believe that Kamala Harris is uniquely
suited to meet this moment."
Warning of the threat posed by Republican former President Donald Trump—who just survived an assassination attempt—and
his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), March for Our Lives said
that "the country that young people will soon inherit stands at the
precipice—on one side, authoritarianism that threatens our fundamental
rights, including our right to live freely without fear of gun violence;
on the other, a world where we can keep fighting to build the future
that young people know we deserve."
"We need an ardent defender of democracy, a gun violence prevention
champion, and a leader who will listen to young people, give us a seat
at the table, and fight for our future. We believe that Kamala Harris is
that candidate, and the right person to stand up for us and fight for
the country we deserve," the organization continued, detailing how she
has been "a forceful champion for gun safety and for young people" as vice president and a U.S. senator representing California.
"Young people are inheriting an increasingly precarious world," the
group added, highlighting youth deaths from gun violence, Israel's war
on the Gaza
Strip, the escalating climate emergency, and far-right politicians
pushing extremist policies. "We have been struggling to feel excited
about voting in this election, and are increasingly pessimistic that
change is possible. But we know that another Trump presidency is simply
not an option that young people can afford—our lives are literally at
stake."
This as the party of violence and death continues to embrace it and to call for more violence.
Chris Walker (TRUTHOUT) reports on the GOP continued dry humping violence:
On Monday, an Ohio Republican lawmaker introducing GOP vice
presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance suggested that, should Vance and
presidential nominee Donald Trump fail to win the 2024 election, their
supporters should engage in a “civil war to save the country.”
State Sen. George Lang later apologized for his comments at the rally
when it became apparent that he was going viral online for endorsing
political violence in order to instill candidates of his own preference
against the will of American voters.
Vance did not condemn Lang’s comments during the rally or acknowledge them in any statements since.
Baghdad and
Washington are closing in on a deal that would see the US-led coalition
end its presence in Iraq after a decade of fighting ISIS.
An Iraqi delegation spent Monday and Tuesday
in Washington for the latest round of talks to wind down the coalition
and establish new bilateral security partnerships with each country that
still has troops there.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani is under increasing domestic pressure
to agree on a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces, most of
which are American, but the US is wary about pulling out of Iraq amid a
continued ISIS presence.
Iraqi
politician Jawad Al Bulani, who is on the parliamentary security and
defence committee, said Baghdad and Washington “are putting the
finishing touches on the withdrawal deal of all foreign troops in the
coalition in Iraq”.
“They are in the final stages now to go ahead with the deal,” Mr Al Bulani told The National.
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