On Sunday, Nechirvan Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Region, expressed his support for the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faiq Zaidan, rejecting any attacks or insults against him.https://t.co/IWdsWhYRiE
— Wladimir van Wilgenburg (@vvanwilgenburg) June 30, 2024
Saturday, the Iraqi government released its response:
The Foreign Ministry followed the statements and directions of the United States Congressman Mike Waltz, regarding the President of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council judge Faiq Zidan, the Ministry affirms its categorical rejection for these statements that undermine the person of the president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, judge Faiq Zidan, and the basic rights of the Iraqi state, in which the judiciary represents the primary guarantor of rights and freedoms.
The Ministry considers these statements a blatant interference in Iraqi internal affairs, and affirms that the attempt to influence the Judicial authority is a violation of the most important elements of the state entity, which is responsible for achieving justice, equality and stability in the country.
The Foreign Ministry regrets the attempts to involve Congress in such issues, as it constitute an interference in the sovereignty of states and their judicial systems.
Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Iraq
June 29, 2024
If anything can unite Baghdad and Erbil, it's a messy American foaming at the mouth and refusing to learn his lane. If some member of the Iraqi Parliament elected to call out Samuel Alito, how do you think Waltz would respond?
Kurdistan Region leaders on Sunday stated their support for Faiq Zidan,
president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, who an American lawmaker
wants to label a "tool of Iranian influence.”
“We affirm our support for and solidarity with Judge Faiq Zidan,
president of the Supreme Judicial Council. We highly appreciate his
significant efforts and dedicated service to the judiciary and the
nation,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on X.
“We reject any targeting, defamation, or statements that harm his reputation or undermine his standing,” he added.
SHAFAQ writes, "US Representative Mike Waltz, a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, is set to introduce an amendment to the foreign appropriations bill on Thursday that would designate Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council and its President, Zaidan, as 'assets controlled by Iran'." Waltz isn't doing that on Thursday. This Thursday is the Fourth of July, an American holiday and Congress will not be in session.
You'd think Waltz could bond with some Iraqi officials over their mutual homophobia. IPS speaks with Human Rights Watch's Sarah Sanbar who explains:
On 27 April 2024, the Iraqi parliament passed an amendment to the country’s 1988 anti-prostitution law, effectively criminalising same-sex relations and transgender identities. The amendment states that same-sex relations are punishable with between 10 and 15 years in prison, and provides for one to three years’ imprisonment for those who undergo or perform gender-affirming medical procedures.
The law also punishes those who ‘imitate women’ with a seven-year prison sentence and a fine of between 10 and 15 million Iraqi dinars (approx. US$7,700 to US$11,500) and criminalises the ‘promotion of homosexuality’, a vague and undefined expression.
The passing of this law follows years of steadily increasing hostile rhetoric against LGBTQI+ people. Prominent politicians and media personalities have consistently spread harmful stereotypes, tropes and disinformation. They often claim homosexuality is a western import that goes against traditional Iraqi values.
This rhetoric has increasingly translated into government action. For example, on 8 August 2023, the Communications and Media Commission issued a directive ordering all media outlets to replace the term ‘homosexuality’ with ‘sexual deviance’ in all published and broadcast language. The directive also banned the use of the word ‘gender’, which shows how the crackdown on LGBTQI+ rights is intertwined with broader issues, and is also used to target and silence women’s rights organisations working on gender-based violence.
Sadly, as in many other countries, LGBTQI+ people in Iraq are being used as political pawns and scapegoats to distract from the government’s failure to provide for its people. Tensions are growing between the more conservative and religious groups in society and government and those that take a more secular approach to governance. The fact that conservatives have gained increasing support in successive elections allows laws like this to be passed. Such a law probably wouldn’t have been passed even a few years ago.
Last week, RUDAW noted, "As many in the world celebrate pride month, Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid ratified controversial amendments to the country’s anti-prostitution law criminalizing any practice of homosexuality and transsexuality." That is now the law in Iraq. It is not the law in the Kurdistan. That is a semi-autonomous region. The Kurdistan Parliament would have to adopt the law. As bad as things are for the LGBTQ+ community in the KRG, the region's dependence upon international business (and support) could likely prevent the measure from being passed their.
in iraq (aka where i live), if you are lgbtq, at least one of these three things will happen: either you'll get ignored, made fun of, or and/or killed. don't worry, i'm not one of those people. if someone tells me they're lgbtq, i'll respond with 'ok' and go on with my day.
— McFlehbury (@Flehbury) June 30, 2024
THE PRESIDENT: Madam Secretary. Hello, hello, hello. (Applause.) Thank you. Please.
Hello, everyone. Happy Pride! (Applause.)
Thank you, Ann Marie and Diana. Thank you, thank you. They’re off the stage already. I don’t blame them. (Laughter.) It’s your love for each other and your vision for this community and for our country that brought this center to life. And I mean that sincerely.
And I want to thank Cynthia for the beautiful performance.
And, by the way, thank you all for being here today and for being here, including — the governor here? She — I was told she might be able to be here.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yep. Right over there.
THE PRESIDENT: Where is she?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: There she is.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, there you are. (Applause.)
(President Biden greets Governor Hochul.)
THE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.)
GOVERNOR HOCHUL: (Inaudible.)
Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Is Senator Gillibrand here?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: All right, well —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: O.M.G., that’s a big deal. (Laughter and applause.)
(President Biden greets Senator Gillibrand.)
THE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.)
SENATOR GILLIBRAND: (Inaudible.) God bless you.
He’s the best! He’s a fighter! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And I can see her sitting in front of me, one of the proudest appointments to this Cabinet I’ve ever made: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (Applause.) Deb, (inaudible). And members of the National Park Service.
Look, Jill just talked about the power of stories. Fifty-five years ago today, on this hallowed ground, a pivotal story for our nation unfolded. The soul of the nation was literally tested. That’s not hyperbole. The soul of the nation was tested, and the heart of this movement was ignited. And the course of history has changed forever.
Not just here, but I traveled around the world; they look to us. They look to us, and it’s part of our foreign policy as well now.
This beloved bar became the site of a call to cry for freedom, dignity, and equality and respect — a rebellion that galvani- — galvanized the LBGTQ+ community all across the nation and, quite frankly, around the world. You — I — I mean, you’d be amazed the number of places I am, whether its India or other places, where people talk about the gay movement here in the United States of America. I mean it.
You marked a turning point in civil rights in America. You inspired the hearts of millions of people around the world. To this day, Stonewall remains a symbol of the legacy and leadership of the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans women of color — (applause) — who, for generations, have been at the forefront of helping realize the promise of America for all Americans.
Look, in 2016, President Obama — I was his vice president at the time — designated Christopher Park as a national monument. Today, I am proud to unveil a new visitor center for Stonewall National Monument, the first-ever LGBTQ+ visitor center in the national parks of America. (Applause.) And it matters. It matters.
We remain in a battle for the soul of America. I know I’ve said that for a while now. People looked at me when I first said it like I was kidding. I’m not. We’re in the battle for the soul of America.
But I look around at the pride, hope, and light that all of you — all of you bring, and I know it’s a battle we’re going to win and continue to make progress.
LGBTQ+ people are some of the most inspiring people I know. And, of course, the courage — you know, I — I talk to a lot of younger LGBT- — LGBTQ people, in their teens and 20s, and I remind them: For a lot of people who started this operation, you took your life in your own hands — not figuratively, literally. You took your jobs in your own hands. You were put up in a position where you were — so much to lose, and you still did it. You still did it.
I remember my dad was dropping me off to get a license to be a lifeguard in Wilmington, Delaware, at a swimming pools. And I got out of the car in Rodney Square, they called. And there’s a — that’s where the DuPont Building is and the Hercules Corporation — all in that one quarter.
And two well-dressed men were kissing each other. And I hadn’t seen that before. I looked at my dad. I was 16 years old. I looked at my dad, and he said, “It’s simple, Joey. They love each other. It’s simple.” (Applause.)
He was a good man.
And your courage and contributions enrich every part of American life. You set an example — I’m not exaggerating — for the entire world. That’s what this center, this monument, this month is all about.
So, today, let’s proudly remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. And there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter what their background, period, period, period. (Applause.)
As you can tell, I want to say a hell of a lot more, but I’m not going to — (laughter) — because I want to hear a guy you — you know, there’s a guy that you’ve probably heard about. He’s a dear friend. A guy’s, like so many Americans, whose family loves this iconic music — my family loves it. And, of course, his incredible music career. He also empowered countless people to be themselves, to be treated with dignity and respect they deserve, including those in the fight against HIV/A- — H- — HIV/AIDS, a fight he led with sheer willpower.
Two years ago, Jill and I had the honor to host him in the White House and bestow on him the National Humanitarian Med- — Humanities Medal, one of America’s highest awards.
So, today, we’re honored to be with him again here at Stonewall.
Please welcome Elton John. (Applause.)
The Israeli army continues to use its tanks to deliberately run over live Palestinian civilians and crush their bodies, in addition to using civilians as human shields, in the ground operations of its crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing since 7 October 2023.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor field team documented a compound and comprehensive crime against a civilian family comprising an elderly woman and her four children, including three young women and a one-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter. The family was attacked with gunfire and bombs after Israeli forces stormed their house on Thursday evening, 27 June. They were later taken outside and detained for over three hours despite their injuries in their home, near Israeli tanks in a dangerous combat zone, where they were used as human shields. The 65-year-old mother, identified as Safiya Hassan Musa Al-Jamal, was run over by an Israeli tank and killed in front of her son.
In his testimony to the Euro-Med Monitor team, the elderly woman’s son, Muhannad Al-Jamal, 28, said: “We were living in Al-Nazaz Street in Al-Shuja’iya, east of Gaza, when at approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday we were surprised to hear the sound of shelling and explosions. We made an unsuccessful attempt to leave. All around us was chaos. We went inside, up to the first floor, and sat in a room in the center of the house. As we were sitting there, we noticed that Israeli tanks were moving closer to the area. Then the bombing started to get more intense, and I saw that many of the tanks had turned and were now positioned on the adjacent land of our neighbours, bulldozing and destroying it before raising the Israeli flag on the property. I was with my mother, my three sisters, and niece in the room. We were very careful not to make any noise. At the end of the afternoon or before sunset, the tanks began firing shells toward my brother's ground floor flat in our home. I got my family together and we sat in one of the rooms, reciting the Shahada (a statement of belief that Muslims recite before death) and waiting to see what would happen to us.
"After sunset, we heard gunfire in the street, and then I realised that the soldiers had stormed the house after blowing up a wall. When they found us in the room, they started firing at the walls randomly and threw five bombs amid gunfire. They were shouting in Hebrew, and we did not understand what they were saying. I was hit by shrapnel in my back, along with my sisters. My mother was struck by a large piece of shrapnel in her chest while my sisters were screaming, "We are civilians." The soldiers then moved forward one by one, yelling, "Shut up," before dragging me away. They forced me to take off my clothes and put me against the wall. After my mother and sisters entered with a female soldier, the soldiers pointed their weapons at me for half an hour.
“They asked me to carry my mother on my back. After that, a different soldier ordered me to place her on a stretcher, so I did. I then carried her with another soldier out through the opening that the army attack had made. We then went to a nearby area and were placed in a tank, where I placed the stretcher in front of me before exiting. After that, they brought me back to the house. They later took me down and handcuffed me. My sisters were at the tank's door when a soldier arrived at roughly 9:45 p.m. and asked them to wait before he removed the handcuffs and put shackles on my hands and a blindfold on my eyes. He stopped me on a sand hill, and he was shining a laser at me. I felt that they were going to execute me. Then he turned on the tank and ordered me to get into it. It was a different tank from the one my mother was in. Later, the tank shifted and swung around. After that, they dropped me in what appeared to be a set of stairs, and I had no idea where I was. I was asked to follow their directions as I moved. This went on for about 15 minutes while rude remarks were made. Then I was grabbed by the neck by one of the soldiers. After I moved fifty meters, they put me in yet another tank. I moved in, then they took me down and put me in a tank that contained the stretcher that we used to transport my mother. Later on, the tank moved.
“I had assumed that we would be taken to a medical facility so that my mother could be treated, but instead they tackled me and my mother, putting her on the ground. After a few minutes, I realised we had arrived at the Mushtaha Roundabout, at the end of Al-Nazzaz Street. I inquired as to my location. "Your mother will be taken by ambulance," he said. My mom was on the ground, unconscious. There were two tanks on the right and left surrounding the roundabout. After the soldiers entered the tank, it started to move backward and ran over my mother.
"When I saw the scene, I thought I had gone insane and began to cry and scream.... I fled, fearing for my life, as the tank on the right tried to run me over. However, the two tanks moved in another direction, and the tank on the left was trying to run my mother over once more, but that did not happen. Afterwards, the tanks pivoted and pointed their weapons towards me. Out of fear, I hid by taking cover. All I could hear as I started to scream was the sound of gunfire. Dogs were getting closer to my mother's body and I shoved them away as they were going to eat her body. This was on Friday just after midnight, around 1 a.m. The soldier in the tank knew where he had placed her and was able to avoid her, but he deliberately ran over her. I could not bear the situation amid the heavy gunfire, and I could not carry my mother after the tank ran over her. I was shocked by what had happened, but I could hardly cover my mother and ran from the place, thinking if there had been an ‘ambulance,’ as he said, he would not run over her. I went looking for my sisters, as I did not know their fate. I kept crying as I walked through the intense gunfire until I came across someone on a balcony who offered me a bottle of water and directed me along a safe route that would get me to my friends' location in a stairwell. I made every effort to get in touch with my sisters, and eventually I found out that they were receiving medical care at Baptist Hospital. They inquired about my mother, so I told them."
His sister, Areeji, 30, added to the Euro-Med Monitor team: “When the soldiers stormed our house and started shooting and throwing bombs, we told them that my mother was injured and dying. We noticed that she had a large wound, and a female soldier arrived to provide first aid. We observed her attempting to treat her repeatedly, and I witnessed my mother on the verge of death. After they had taken my brother, they held us for a while before telling us to head to Salah al-Din Street. When we asked about my mother, they said they would take her to the hospital. Then, they gave us a green light (torch) and we started to move. We were injured and bleeding, and we had a one-and-a-half-year-old baby girl with us. When we got to the area before the Shuja'iya intersection at 11:30 p.m., there were tanks there, a lot of gunfire, and I waved the green light (torch) until we passed. No one was following us until we got to the Baptist Hospital."
Euro-Med Monitor has previously documented many instances of the Israeli army killing Palestinian civilians by intentionally running over live civilians with military tanks.
This morning, ALJAZEERA reports, "Palestinian detainees are tortured 'day and night' in Israel’s prisons, the director of al-Shifa Hospital Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya tells Al Jazeera after his release from eight months’ detention." MIDDLE EAST EYE notes:
The Palestinian director of Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital was released on Monday morning after months in Israeli detention.
Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya was detained in November while in a UN-led humanitarian convoy evacuating patients who had been forced out of al-Shifa hospital during an Israeli military raid.
He was released back to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza with around 50 other detainees, including at least one other doctor.
Upon his release, he said Palestinian prisoners are suffering unprecedentedly harsh conditions in Israeli jails, not seen since the 1948 Nakba, and urgent action must be taken to free them.
Prisoners are subjected to all forms of torture while being deprived of their most basic rights, he said at a press conformance.
Abu Salmiya was arrested on Nov. 23 along with several medical staff while traveling through Salah al-Din Street from Gaza City to southern areas of the Strip after the Israeli military attacked Al-Shifa Hospital.
Speaking to Anadolu, he described the prisoners' conditions as "tragic, unprecedented in Palestinian history, with severe food shortages and physical humiliation."
He emphasized the urgent need for decisive action to release all prisoners from Israeli jails, noting that the hardships faced by the detainees are unparalleled since the Nakba.
"The Israeli occupation arrests everyone, and medical staff have died in Israeli prisons due to torture and a lack of medical care," he stressed.
"The enemy has demonstrated its cruelty in dealing with prisoners and medical personnel. Hundreds of medical staff have been targeted and are being tortured in occupation prisons," he added.
Gaza remains under assault. Day 269 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, "At least 37,900 Palestinians have been killed and 87,060 injured in Israel's war on Gaza since October 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Monday. In the past 24 hours, 23 people were killed and 91 others injured, the ministry added in a statement." 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:
