genocide

Javier Bardem says Nakba ‘never ended,’ calls Gaza ‘genocide’ in UN message

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Javier Bardem attends the opening ceremony during the 72nd San Sebastian International Film Festival at Kursaal Donostia in San Sebastian, Spain on September 20, 2024 [JB Lacroix/WireImage]

Spanish actor Javier Bardem said the Nakba “never ended,” describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and its policies in the occupied West Bank as “ethnic cleansing and apartheid” in a message marking the anniversary of the 1948 mass displacement of Palestinians, Anadolu reports.

The US social media company X account of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations on Friday shared Bardem’s recorded remarks during a screening for UN representatives of the Palestinian-themed film All That’s Left Of You.

In his message, Bardem stressed that the Palestinian people have long struggled against what he described as Israel’s policies of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

“We understand that the Nakba never ended. It is playing out today in Gaza as genocide and in the West Bank as ethnic cleansing and apartheid,” Bardem said.

READ: Palestinians mark 78th Nakba anniversary amid war, ongoing displacement

The Spanish actor also praised the Palestinians’ century-long “determination to remain on their land and to thrive as a people with a rich culture who deserve to be free and to return home,” describing their struggle against erasure as one defined by extraordinary resilience, courage, and steadfast resolve.

The film, which portrays the trauma and search for hope experienced by three generations of a Palestinian family following the 1948 Nakba, was selected by Jordan as its submission for the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.

Palestinians commemorate May 15 as the “Nakba” (“Great Catastrophe”) following Israel’s declaration of independence on May 14, 1948, and the subsequent forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.

During the Nakba, Israel expelled nearly 1 million Palestinians from their homes and destroyed 675 Palestinian towns and villages. More than 70 massacres were carried out by Zionist militias, killing over 15,000 Palestinians.

While Israel continues what Palestinians and rights groups describe as genocide in Gaza, Israeli forces have also intensified raids, violence, and repression against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

READ: ‘No to war, and free Palestine’ says Javier Bardem at the Oscars

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.

Continue ReadingJavier Bardem says Nakba ‘never ended,’ calls Gaza ‘genocide’ in UN message

No, It’s Not Antisemitic to Charge Israel With Genocide and It’s Dangerous to Say It Is

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Article by James Zogby republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Students protest in support of Palestine during the University of Michigan’s Spring Commencement ceremony on May 4, 2024 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

It posits that Israel represents all Jews and therefore criticism of Israel becomes criticism of the Jewish people and it denies the victims of Israel’s behaviors their legitimate right to speak of their pain.

Is it antisemitic to say that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza? More generally, is it “hurtful and insensitive” for someone to acknowledge the suffering that Israel has inflicted on the Palestinian people? In recent weeks, actions by two different institutions of higher learning brought these two questions to the forefront.

On April 15, a group of faculty and student organizations at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, hosted celebrated Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mosab Abu Toha to speak at the campus. During his appearance, to set the stage for the poems he was to read, Abu Toha shared his experiences living in Gaza during the start of the Israeli assault. He told of the members of his and his wife’s families who had been killed in Israel’s bombing campaigns. Entire families erased, neighborhoods laid waste, memories eradicated. It was, he stated, a genocide.

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Days after event, Le Moyne’s president issued a statement apologizing for the discomfort that Abu Toha’s remarks may have created for some in the college community. The letter noted that his use of the word genocide in connection with the state of Israel caused “real hurt” and was leaving “some members of our community to feel unwelcome.” The president concluded by affirming that “antisemitism, along with all forms of bigotry and hate, has no place at Le Moyne.”

Abu Toha responded to the president’s letter with an “open letter” of his own, rejecting the implication that using the word genocide to describe Israel’s actions could be termed antisemitic.

It is worth noting that the assumption underlying this assertion fits hand-in-glove with the claim of real antisemites who argue that the consequences of Israel’s bad behaviors can legitimately be visited on all Jews.

“Seriously?” he asked. “Are the crimes of the Israeli state representative of all Jewish people? I personally refuse to believe that is the case… I never used the word ‘Jewish’ during the entire event; I refuse to conflate the faith of Judaism with the actions of Israel.”

He concluded: “If anyone told you they felt ‘hurt’ because I used the word genocide, then I ask you: How should I feel? How should my wife feel after losing her father? How should my three children feel after losing their grandfather?”

And then, this past weekend, the University of Michigan held its commencement ceremonies. One of the speakers was the president of the faculty senate. He began his short but eloquent remarks by noting that while the university celebrates its athletes and their accomplishments, there are other heroes who should also be celebrated—those who challenged the stale and unjust status quo of the university by opening the doors to inclusion and understanding.

He began by mentioning a young woman who in 1858 challenged the school’s opposition to enrolling women as students. He went on to note the first Jewish faculty member and the Black Action Movement that pressed the university to expand their curriculum to honor the black experience, and closed by recognizing the “student activists… who sacrificed much to open our hearts to the injustices happening in Gaza.”

His remarks were so beautifully constructed and presented that they elicited a roar of approval from those in attendance. The video of the event appearing on the university’s website shows his colleagues and administrators applauding the speech.

Within a few days, the same university president who is seen applauding issued a letter denouncing the professor’s speech as “hurtful and insensitive” and “inappropriate.”

(To avoid “further controversy” the university removed the video of the event—in which the president is seen applauding the speech—from the website).

The question that must be asked, in addition to those noted above, is what is the logic behind this claim that the remarks of both Abu Toha and the faculty senate president were hurtful to the point of being antisemitic?

The place to begin is by asking: “What is antisemitism?” The simplest and clearest definition is that antisemitism is hatred of, stereotyping of, or discrimination against Jewish people because they are Jews. Like other forms of bigotry, it claims that there are inherent characteristics or behaviors that are shared by all Jews, simply because they are Jewish.

Given this, the only way that criticism of Israeli actions can constitute antisemitism is if the critic implies that Israel does what it does because it is Jewish and “that’s the way Jews are,” or if the person making the claim of antisemitism maintains that because Israel says it is a Jewish state that whatever it does represents all Jews and therefore criticism of Israeli policies is the same as criticism of the Jewish people.

This latter position has long been propagated by pro-Israel organizations. Until recently, this proposition was mostly rejected, but it has now come to gain acceptance. It is dangerous precisely because it posits that Israel represents all Jews and therefore criticism of Israel becomes criticism of the Jewish people. It is worth noting that the assumption underlying this assertion fits hand-in-glove with the claim of real antisemites who argue that the consequences of Israel’s bad behaviors can legitimately be visited on all Jews. Interestingly, this is the same logic that has long plagued Arab Americans who have been victims of hate crimes because it was claimed that their ethnicity or religion made them legitimate targets in response to the actions of some Arab groups in the Middle East.

The other consequence is that, as Abu Toha correctly notes, it denies the victims of Israel’s behaviors their legitimate right to speak of their pain and call out, with specificity, the agent who caused it because of the hurt that might cause those who support Israel—or in the case of the University of Michigan, to deny the right of students to empathize with and demand that Palestinian victims be heard, because acknowledging Palestinian pain might also cause hurt feelings.

Article by James Zogby republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Continue ReadingNo, It’s Not Antisemitic to Charge Israel With Genocide and It’s Dangerous to Say It Is

The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

  • Book Author(s):Robin Andersen
  • Published Date:July 2026
  • Publisher:OR Books
  • ISBN-13:9781682196267

by Ramona Wadi  walzerscent

While independent and alternative media wrought a change in US public opinion since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, mainstream media provided Israel with a coverup for its crimes. “This book does not make for easy reading,” Rashid Khalidi wrote in the introduction to Robin Andersen’s The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza (OR Books, 2026). While legacy media justified genocide and acted as a mouthpiece for Israel and the US, independent media illustrated genocide as it happened. As Israel’s genocide continued without political opposition, legacy and mainstream media framed Palestinians in Gaza and anyone opposing the genocide as “the villains of the story, rather than the war criminals who perpetrated these murders, and this destruction and starvation.”

Mainstream media portrayal of Israel’s genocide in Gaza followed not only a predictable sequence, but also one that became ingrained and fortified despite the countless times such reporting was debunked by facts.

One notable discrepancy, Andersen writes, is the readily available information from Israeli media itself on the start of the genocide. While Western journalism simplified the start of the genocide through Hamas’s infiltration and attack on Israel, Israeli media noted the military’s role in the killing of Israeli civilians, with testimonies from Israelis expressing anger at the military. Andersen notes that if US media had included Israel’s killing of its own citizens while implementing the Hannibal directive, “the rudimentary narrative structure would have lost a good deal of its persuasive value.”

Indeed, the simplistic narrative emphasised by US mainstream media required a starting point. October 7 provided the peg not only for supporting Israel’s genocide, but for obliterating the entire Zionist colonial history and appropriation of Palestinian territory. Without context, news became a series of events obfuscated and far removed from history. However, language still played an important role. As Andersen states, “Genocide does not happen without a language to incite it.” From the initial statements by Israeli officials, the media hastened to demonise Palestinians also by choosing to omit the accurate terminology which would have described Israel’s genocidal actions.

Leaked memos from legacy media showed the extent to which news was disseminated in a manipulated manner. Editorial directives controlled the narrative omitting genocide, even as genocide was livestreamed through alternative and social media.

Israel’s kill toll was questioned as rhetorical propaganda, while  outlets such as CNN and the New York Times failed to attribute airstrikes to Israel. Language depicting Palestinians’ living conditions during the genocide also eliminated how Israel forcibly displaced Gaza’s population – neighbourhoods, instead of camps. Evidence of dead bodies was framed in assumptions that questioned realities, while Israel’s massacres at the so-called aid sites were described as “food-aid related deaths” by the Guardian, for example. The New York Times fared no better: “Death of Gazans Hungry for Food Prompt Fresh Calls for Ceasefire”.  

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Similar tactics were employed by mainstream media’s discussion of Israel’s bombing of Al-Shifa hospital. Focusing on Israel’s propaganda justifying the strikes – a Hamas command and control centre beneath the hospital – mainstream media linked Al-Shifa to war crimes, but not Israel. As happened during the start of the genocide, when many statements were debunked by alternative media, Israel’s narratives on al-Shifa proved to be false. However, mainstream media still relied on Israel’s official narrative, which were altered several times as independent investigations progressed. When Israel targeted a refugee camp and burnt Palestinians to death, CNN reported on what Israel told the Biden administration. “It’s what Israel said to us,” a US official stated to CNN. Language, in the context of Israel’s attacks on al-Shifa hospital, was even more ambiguous. Andersen quotes the New York Times, which frames the attacks within the language of natural disasters – al-Shifa “stood in ruins on Sunday, as if a tsunami had surged through it following a tornado.” 

Andersen notes that for every instance of mainstream media’s manipulation of genocide for Israel’s benefit, alternative and independent media carried the investigations and answers to the public. From the initial disproven claims of beheaded babies that unleashed a frenzied support for Israel’s genocide, to claims of rape attributed to Hamas, independent media provided not only the proof of untruths, but also the network that supported the disseminated lies. Independent media also established the targeted killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, creating a sharp contrast between journalists covering genocide in real time, and mainstream reporters whose priority was to impart the Zionist narrative. Mainstream media’s refusal to mention targeted assassinations of Palestinian journalists contributes to Israel’s efforts to silence journalists reporting from Gaza – the only sources available also considering that Israel refused entry to international journalists. The tacit silence from mainstream media in the US contradicts the essence of journalism, all for preserving the continuation of genocide. 

“The many examples of journalistic malpractice include in this book expose corporate media’s acquiesce to power and their abandonment of independence and the mandate to inform,” Andersen writes in the conclusion. Israel’s genocide in Gaza exposed the extending parameters of incitement, and the reach Zionism has at an international level. Mainstream media in the US contributed to a growing divide not only between media sources, but also in disrupting clarity – those that advocate for justice are now equated with terrorists, and those that defame people calling for justice are thriving in impunity.

The numerous examples Andersen cites in her extensive research of media reporting on Gaza call for a sobering scrutiny, not only on intent, but on the violation of language and its repercussions on Palestine, on Gaza, and on all people opposing colonialism and genocide. 

Andersen notes that the manipulation of Israel’s genocide in Gaza had other precedents, such as the US war on Iraq which was based on fabricated claims of weapons of mass destruction. Within the Iraq context, however, mainstream media had issued public apologies for their propaganda. Andersen notes that none have been forthcoming so far with regard to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. 

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn't know anything about democracy.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn’t know anything about democracy.

Continue ReadingThe Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

‘We Refuse to Be Silenced’: Gaza Doctors Documentary Censored by BBC Wins Prestigious Award

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Article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Ben De Pear accepts the Current Affairs Award for ‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack’ onstage during the 2026 BAFTA Television Awards on May 10, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)

“Just a question to the BBC,” said the documentary’s executive producer. “Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the BAFTAs screening later tonight?”

The makers of a documentary about Israeli attacks on healthcare workers and infrastructure in Gaza won a prestigious BAFTA award on Sunday—and they used their acceptance speech to lash out at BBC for refusing to air their work.

The film, “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” was originally scheduled to be aired by the BBC in early 2025 before the network announced in June that it would not be releasing the documentary because it had “come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality.”

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Shortly after, the documentary was picked up by the UK-based Channel 4 and aired in July.

UK journalist Ramita Navai, the main reporter of the documentary, criticized the BBC for declining to show the film, which she denounced as a political decision.

“Israel has killed over 47,000 children and women in Gaza so far,” Navai said. “Israel has… targeted every single one of Gaza’s hospitals. It’s killed over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers. It has imprisoned over 400 in what the UN now calls a ‘medicide.’ These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refuses to show. But we refuse to be silenced and censored.”

Ben de Pear, the film’s executive producer, also pointed the finger at the BBC as he accepted the BAFTA award for best current affairs television program.

“Just a question to the BBC,” said de Pear, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the BAFTAs screening later tonight?”

As reported by Al Jazeera, de Pear after accepting the award also praised Palestinian journalists Jaber Badwan and Osana Al Ashi, who contributed on-the-ground footage for the documentary at the risk of their own lives.

“[We] woke up every day wondering if the two journalists on the ground were still alive,” de Pear told reporters backstage.

Article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says disinhibition and swearing are typical and common symptoms
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says disinhibition and swearing are typical and common symptoms
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Continue Reading‘We Refuse to Be Silenced’: Gaza Doctors Documentary Censored by BBC Wins Prestigious Award

Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail for Turkey 8 days after Israeli raid on it

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/global-sumud-flotilla-sets-sail-turkey-8-days-after-israeli-raid-it

 Demonstrators wave a giant Palestinian flag outside Greece’s Foreign Ministry in Athens, April 30, 2026, during a rally to protest the interception of Gaza aid ships by Israeli forces near Greek waters

THE activist-led mission attempting to sail to Gaza with humanitarian aid set sail for Turkey today, eight days after the Israeli military kidnapped some of its members in a much-criticised raid in international waters off the coast of Greece.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a collection of about 57 mostly small sailing ships, had to stop and take stock on the Greek island of Crete after the Israeli raid on April 30.

During the raid 180 members were taken to an Israeli ship, where, the flotilla activists said, many of them were subjected to beatings and torture before they were handed over to the Greek authorities.

Two men, Saif Abukeshek — a Spanish and Palestinian citizen — and Thiago Avila from Brazil were taken to Israel, where they have been held in detention on trumped-up terrorism charges.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/global-sumud-flotilla-sets-sail-turkey-8-days-after-israeli-raid-it

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingGlobal Sumud Flotilla sets sail for Turkey 8 days after Israeli raid on it