Saturday, May 18, 2024

17 US medical workers leave Gaza as the assult continues

A few hours ago, Laura Barron Lopez (PBS NEWS WEEKEND) explained, "Tonight, there is turmoil within Israel's government. Benny Gantz, a centrist in Benjamin Netanyahu's War Cabinet is threatening to quit if a government does not adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza by June 8th." AP notes, "His announcement on Saturday escalates a divide within Israel’s leadership more than seven months into a war in which it has yet to accomplish its stated goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack." Daniel Estrin (NPR) adds, "The ultimatum by Benny Gantz, a former army chief and current minister in Israel's three-member war cabinet, reflects growing discontent among Israel's leadership about the protracted war in Gaza and Netanyahu's far-right political partners. The move could pose a significant challenge to the stability of Netanyahu's government." Christy Cooney (BBC NEWS) provides this context, "Mr Gantz was speaking just days after another war cabinet member, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, urged Mr Netanyahu to state publicly that Israel had no plans to take over civilian and military rule in Gaza."

Meanwhile KITABAT notes that 20 American doctors arrived in Gaza at the start of the month and the closing of the Rafah crossing (by the government of Israel) left the doctors stranded. 17 of them were able to leave today. YENI SAFAK reports:

The doctors were part of a group of international doctors trapped at the European Hospital near KHan Younis in the Gaza Strip after Israel's closing of Rafah crossing.

Speaking at a briefing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said those "who wanted to leave" came out on Friday. He did not provide further details.

"I won't speak for the other three, but just I can assure you that any of them that wanted to leave are out now," he told reporters.

Dr. Ammar Ghanem was one of the 17 trapped in Gaza.

The doctor is also one who returned to the US. Marnie Munoz (DETROIT FREE PRESS) reports:

Dr. Ammar Ghanem, who went to Gaza on a medical relief mission and had been stranded by an Israeli blockade there since May 6, returned on Saturday and was greeted as a hero by a crowd of family and friends at Detroit Metro airport.

Ghanem of West Bloomfield Township immediately embraced his children, who said they had been eagerly waiting at the international arrivals gate for his last flight home from Frankfurt to land.

"It was the best day of my life," his daughter, 10-year-old Haneen Ghanem, said of the moment she learned he would be able to safely return.

Some doctors on the the medical mission chose to remain in Gaza, despite escalated danger with Israel's latest military assault, Ghanem said.

"Those are the real heroes," he said.

ABC NEWS notes, "Tamer Hassan, a registered nurse, Dr. Jomana Al-Hinti and Dr. Adam Hamawy were the only ones out of a group of 20 American medical professionals who stayed behind to help treat patients." One of the three, Adam Hamawy, spoke with NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED earlier today:

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, HOST:

We begin tonight's program in Gaza, where, despite aid trucks now coming ashore from a floating pier, the humanitarian situation remains dire. One area where that's especially true is medical care. Supplies are low, and doctors are scarce. Adam Hamawy is an experienced combat surgeon and U.S. Army veteran who is currently in Gaza. He refused an evacuation when he realized he would have to leave colleagues behind. In a statement released today, he had strong words for U.S. leadership. Quote - "I want our president to know that we are not safe." He added, "as a doctor, I cannot abandon the remaining members of my team, and as a former soldier, I cannot abandon my fellow Americans."

We reached Dr. Hamawy earlier today via WhatsApp. Doctor, welcome.

ADAM HAMAWY: Thank you very much for having me.

KURTZLEBEN: Of course. I'm hearing some background noise there. Tell us where you are right now.

HAMAWY: I am right across the street from the European hospital. There's a nursing college here, and this is where most of the doctors and staff stay when, you know, their families are elsewhere, just so that they could be close to the hospital and not have to travel at night.

KURTZLEBEN: I do want to talk more about this statement that you made. It's really powerful. And in it, you call on President Biden and other world leaders to, quote, "use their full influence to ensure medical personnel can continue their critical work without being put in harm's way," end quote. Now, we know that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden aren't always in agreement on Gaza. So to you, what does a change in policy here look like? What would that help look like?

HAMAWY: It's basically abiding with our international agreements that have been in place for a long time. There are no - there's no one that argues that - you know, there's the Geneva Convention. There's like, the rules of war where like, once you have medical personnel involved, any combatant who's injured, anyone who's providing medical care should be allowed to do that safely. And that's something that we have tried to honor in the past. That's something that we try to enforce on others when they don't do it. So this should not be the exception. Here we have doctors that have been consistently been targeted. We have hospitals that have been consistently been targeted.

The mood here in the hospital, especially since many of the Americans have left, is that there's a sense of fear now because there's a risk that is not unprecedented that this hospital is going to be next. And already since the last two days, there have been people leaving. There's less patients coming, and there's plans to move operations to other locations in the near future, especially when the remaining humanitarian workers like myself leave the hospital at some point.

KURTZLEBEN: Yeah. I did want to ask you about the mood in the hospital among the patients you're treating, their families. How much hope or, on the other hand, fear are you hearing from them?

HAMAWY: Everyone is asking us. Everyone is asking, are you leaving? Are you leaving also? Everyone's asking about the ones who left by name. Like, when I tell them that, yes, they did leave, and we're still here with you, they just go silent because everyone knows that this is not going to be a long-term thing. And everyone understands that there's a limit and this won't go on forever. So they don't have to say anything. You could just see it in their eyes. And you could feel it. I mean, the halls are much emptier now than when I first came, and, you know, a little bit more empty now than it was two days ago.

ALJAZEERA reports, "Nearly 800,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah since Israel launched its offensive against the southern Gaza city last week, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has said." Lazzarini also stated, "When people move, they are exposed, without safe passage or protection. Every time, they have to start from scratch, all over again." United Nations humanitarian affairs officer Yasmina Guerda states, "No matter where you look, no matter where you go, there's destruction, there's devastation, there's loss." She termed the situation a "nightmare" and said everyone should be thinking how they can help end the destruction.

As the violence continues, ALJAZEERA reports, "Israel’s intensifying air and ground attacks killed at least 64 Palestinians in Gaza, including 28 in a raid on a home near the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern parts of the enclave. Dozens more are buried under the debris." THE NATIONAL notes, "At least 15 people died and 30 were wounded in an Israeli air strike on Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Planes bombed the gate of a school sheltering refugees in the camp and hit people who were trying to return to their homes, according to Wafa."

Gaza remains under assault. Day 225 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 reaches 35,386, with 79,366 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:

On bodies trapped under rubble, ALJAZEERA notes this morning:

We’re talking about a three-storey building that housed not only residents but also dozens of other displaced Palestinians in Rafah that made it to Nuseirat three days ago.

I met the neighbours. I met the family. I met one of the relatives of people still trapped under the rubble earlier today. They were telling me heartbreaking things.

Imagine escaping the air strikes in Rafah, looking for a safe space but being killed after three days of evacuating – not only being killed but being trapped where the Civil Defence teams do not have any equipment to remove or pull these people from under the rubble.

I saw Civil Defence teams doing their best to pull people from under the rubble. They were digging with their bare hands, with very basic tools. This was not the first time we have seen this scene. We have been seeing this for more than seven months now.

Unfortunately, it may come to a point where the Civil Defence teams will give up on this house because there are more people being targeted every single hour across the Gaza Strip.

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."

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Tlaib Introduces Resolution Recognizing 76 Years of the Nakba

May 15, 2024

Justice for All

Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) introduced a House Resolution Recognizing the Nakba and Palestinian Refugees’ Rights.

The Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and homeland during creation of the state of Israel (1947-49). The Nakba did not end in 1948, but continues to this day as Israeli forces commit genocide in Gaza.

“The Nakba never ended. Today we are witnessing the Israeli apartheid government carry out genocide in Gaza. A campaign to erase Palestinians from existence,” said Congresswoman Tlaib. “Over 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes. Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed. Children are starving to death. The entire population of Gaza is on the brink of famine. Mass graves with over 390 bodies were recently discovered at Nasser and Al Shifa hospitals. As we mark the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, we honor all the lives lost since the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians began, and the Palestinians who were forced from their homes and violently displaced from their land. This immense trauma, including the loss of their loved ones and connections to the communities they grew up in, needs to be acknowledged. True peace must include the presence of justice.”

The Israeli government also continues the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians for illegal settlements and segregated communities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the destruction of Palestinian homes and seizure of agricultural land, revocation of residency rights, and denies the internationally recognized legal right of return of millions of Palestinian refugees. Yet, our country enables this with continued funding and supply of weapons.

Congresswoman Tlaib’s resolution commemorates the 76th anniversary of the Nakba and promotes better education and understanding of this well-documented historical event. The resolution also calls on Congress to reinstate support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides live-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.

This legislation is cosponsored by Congressmembers Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Cori Bush (MO-01), André Carson (IN-07), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Summer Lee (PA-12).

The full text of the resolution can be found here.

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Bush, Bipartisan House and Senate Colleagues, Victims of U.S. Nuclear Tests, Uranium Mining, and Nuclear Waste Call for House Vote on RECA Expansion at Press Conference

May 17, 2024

Bush, Bipartisan House and Senate Colleagues, Victims of U.S. Nuclear Tests, Uranium Mining, and Nuclear Waste Call for House Vote on RECA Expansion at Press Conference

WATCH (at 29:13): Advocates Demand House Speaker Mike Johnson “Pass RECA Before We Die”

Washington, D.C. (May 17, 2024) — Yesterday, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), Congresswoman Leger Fernández (NM-03), Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-MN), and a group of bipartisan members in the House hosted a press conference with members of communities across the country with illnesses linked to radiation exposure from the production and testing of nuclear weapons to call on House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote on a bill that would extend and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

As of today, the House has just nine working days remaining to act on the RECA expansion bill passed by the Senate. The program, which provides health screenings and compensation for people sickened by U.S. testing of nuclear weapons, expires June 7.

The Senate bill, which Speaker Johnson must bring to the floor for a vote, would expand the program to Missouri, which has been historically excluded, increase compensation provided to those harmed, and extend the program for six years.

“The people standing up here today are proof that World War II is still killing people in this country. My district of St. Louis doesn’t only need RECA, they deserve RECA. Speaker Johnson needs to bring RECA to the floor immediately. Every minute he lets this bipartisan, Senate-passed legislation sit in his lap without action is a minute closer to people having life-saving compensation taken away. We must extend and expand RECA Now,” said Congresswoman Cori Bush.

“We are here to fix a 79-year-old injustice by the Federal Government that has taken thousands of American lives,” said Congresswoman Leger Fernández. We stand on a bipartisan basis with communities who share a common bond of hardship, death, and illness that came about because of our nation’s program to build and test atomic weapons. Democratic leadership is with us. Speaker Johnson, let us vote on RECA expansion and extension.”

Speakers in attendance at the press conference included Senator Luján (D-NM), Representative Bush (D-MO), Representative Vasquez (D-NM), Congressman Moylan (R-Guam), Phil Harrison, a former uranium miner and member of the Navajo Nation, Mary Dickson, a downwinder and cancer survivor from northern Utah, and Karen Nickel, co-founder of JustMoms STL. Senator Hawley (R-MO) was unable to join the press conference in person but said:

“The federal government didn’t just mislead the American people; it lied to them—for decades—about the nuclear waste it dumped in their backyards. And have Missouri radiation victims received an apology? No. Recognition? No. Compensation? Not a dime. Now it’s time for Speaker Johnson to right these wrongs and send RECA to the House floor before the program goes dark come June 7,” said Senator Hawley.

"Last month, the Senate sent a resounding bipartisan message that RECA must be extended and strengthened to compensate victims who suffered in the name of national security. Every member of Congress owes a debt for the sacrifices made by those impacted by nuclear fallout, including Speaker Mike Johnson, and should act now so RECA does not expire,” said Senator Luján.“Victims of radiation exposure have suffered for too long without compensation. The House must act now to ensure these victims receive the compensation they are owed, and I'll never stop fighting to right this wrong."

“I am proud to be the House Republican co-lead to this effort to reauthorization and expand RECA. The House must take up Senator Hawley’s bill and give the American people the chance to see where their representatives stand on this issue,” said Congressman Moylan. “Guam’s lack of inclusion in the original RECA is an injustice only furthered by every day we delay in compensating those Americans who were affected by radiation exposure just because they lived downwind of the tests in the Bikini Atoll. I will fight every day and on every bill moving through our chamber to force a vote on RECA.”

“I’m fighting to reauthorize and expand RECA in this year’s NDAA to finally bring justice to the communities like those in New Mexico and beyond, who have been suffering for far too long,” said Congressman Vasquez. “Last year, Speaker Johnson removed RECA from the final NDAA. We are running out of time to deliver justice and much-needed economic aid to our southern New Mexico communities.”

“RECA is not a partisan issue. This is a human rights issue,” said Congresswoman Stansbury. “New Mexico’s history with innovation is storied but painful, and it is up to us now to ensure people in our state—especially the downwinders—have the support and care they deserve. As we learn more about the devastating and deadly impact of radiation and nuclear testing, we must not let RECA expire and we must include the downwinders. Speaker Johnson, hear us! We must bring this vital legislation to the House floor. Our colleagues in the Senate sent it to us to bring it over the finish line. I stand with the downwinders and support an expansion to RECA.”

Congresswoman Bush has been a longtime advocate for the cleanup of Manhattan Project waste. Examples of some actions that Congresswoman Bush has put forward include:

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Bush requested an urgent meeting with Speaker Johnson to further push for immediate action on RECA before it expires. She also sent a letter to every single one of her colleagues urging them to support RECA.
Earlier this month, Congresswoman Bush joined Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and colleagues in a bicameral letter urging House Speaker Mike Johnson to immediately act to pass RECA.
In April 2024, Congresswoman Bush joined advocates and impacted community members to urge the U.S. House of Representatives to take immediate action on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

In March 2024, Congresswoman Bush delivered a speech on the House Floor on the Exclusion of RECA from the spending bill.

In October 2023, Congresswoman Bush leveraged her position on the House Oversight Committee to secure a Government Accountability Office report detailing the effects of Manhattan Project waste in St. Louis.
- In June 2022, initiated a federal review with the Government Accountability Office for the cleanup of radioactive contamination of Coldwater Creek in St. Louis County.

In August 2023, Congresswoman Bush met one-on-one with Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at the Weldon Spring Site Interpretative Center to discuss radioactive waste across St. Louis left decades ago by the Manhattan Project.

In April 2023, Congresswoman Bush partnered with Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to introduce the bipartisan, bicameral Justice for Jana Elementary Act of 2023,which would require the cleanup of Jana Elementary School in Florissant, Missouri located in the Congresswoman’s district.

In July 2022, Congresswoman Bush secured an amendment through the House-passed appropriations bill that transferred $500,000 to study the impacts of low-level radiation on human health and the environment.

In May 2022, Congresswoman Bush introduced the Coldwater Creek Signage Act which would require signage to be posted along Coldwater Creek informing residents of the dangers of radioactive waste exposure.

Congresswoman Bush voted in favor of H.R. 3967, the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act or Honoring Our PACT Act, which will finally treat toxic exposure as a cost of war by addressing the full range of issues impacting toxic-exposed veterans, including access to earned benefits and health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Included in the PACT Act’s final text were four of Congresswoman Bush’s amendments:
- Amendment 32: This amendment would require that veterans who worked or spent time near the Manhattan Project in St. Louis be studied to determine the impacts of toxic exposure on their health.
- Amendment 22: This amendment would require the Department of Defense to look back and review all known cases of toxic exposure on their military bases not only here in America, but also abroad.
- Amendment 17: This amendment would incorporate race and ethnicity as demographic options in a study on the rate of cancer in veterans.
- Amendment 18: This amendment would include a variety of external factors to be considered in a medical study on all veterans serving after September 11, 2001. Those factors include race, age, period of service, military occupation, gender and disability status.
In July 2021, Congresswoman Bush passed an amendment to H.R. 3684 – the INVEST in America Act. The amendment would require the EPA Administrator to undertake a review of current and ongoing efforts to remediate radiological contamination at Coldwater Creek and to post public signage to prevent exposure risks for residents in the surrounding areas. The Congresswoman worked with activists, community members, and organizations including Just Moms STL, to introduce the amendment.

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Congressman Robert Garcia’s Statement Condemning Peruvian Government For Passing Homophobic Law Classifying Transgender Individuals As “Mentally Ill”

May 15, 2024

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Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released the following statement after the Peruvian Government’s Health Ministry ruled to classify transgender, non-binary, and intersex people in Peru as “mentally ill:”

“As a gay Peruvian-American and the first Peruvian American to serve in Congress, it’s clear to me the decision by the Boluarte administration and the right-wing Congress to attack and label trans and intersex Peruvians as “mentally ill” is discriminatory, dangerous and shameful,” said Congressman Robert Garcia. “Instead of working on real problems – democratic backsliding, illegal mining and logging, and worker exploitation – this extreme measure moves Peru backward. I’ll be working directly with the State Department to push back on this direct attack on LGBTQ+ Peruvians.”

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"Como peruano-americano gay y el primer peruano-americano en servir en el Congreso, es claro para mí que la ley del gobierno de Boluarte y el Congreso derechista de atacar y etiquetar a los peruanos trans y de genero no binario como "enfermos mentales" es discriminatoria, peligrosa y vergonzosa", dijo el congresista Robert García. "En lugar de trabajar en los problemas reales como el deterioro de la democracia en el país, la minería y la explotación forestal ilegal, y la explotación de los trabajadores, esta medida extrema hace que Perú retroceda en vez de avanzar. Trabajaré directamente con el Departamento de Estado Estadounidense, para rechazar este ataque directo contra los peruanos LGBTQ+."

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Issues:Expanding Protections for the LGBTQI+ Community

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Baldwin, Moore Introduce Legislation to Support Mental Health for Pregnant Women and New Moms

05.15.2024

Baldwin, Moore Introduce Legislation to Support Mental Health for Pregnant Women and New Moms

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) introduced the Mental Health and Making Access More Affordable (MAMA) Act to better ensure pregnant women and new mothers can access affordable mental health care and substance use disorder services. The legislation would require commercial and government insurance plans to cover mental health care and substance use disorder services for pregnant women and new mothers for no additional cost for patients. Right now, one in five women in the U.S. suffer from a mental health disorder in the months before or after giving birth, the majority of whom never receive care.

“Wisconsin is in a maternal mortality crisis, and we need to do more to support new and expecting mothers and their babies,” said Senator Baldwin. “I’m proud to lead this effort to help more new mothers get the mental health support and substance use disorder treatment they need to stay healthy and set themselves and their babies up for success down the road.”

“Making substance use treatment and mental care more accessible and affordable is critical to tackling the maternal health crisis and protecting the health of mothers and their children. With this legislation, we can help remove cost as a barrier that prevents too many mothers from seeking the care and treatment they need. I am thrilled to partner with my colleagues on this much-needed legislation,” said Congresswoman Moore.

Maternal mental health conditions are the most common complication of pregnancy and birth, affecting 800,000 families in the U.S. each year. These rates are much higher among minority and lower-income populations, who face systemic barriers to care. Women of color are 3-4 times more likely to experience pregnancy-related complications during pregnancy and childbirth and to die from these complications. Low-income individuals are also less likely to receive treatment for their maternal mental health conditions. Suicide and overdose are also the leading cause of death for women the first year following pregnancy, and failure to treat maternal mental health conditions costs the U.S. $14 billion annually.

Specifically, the Mental Health and MAMA Act would:

Require commercial, Federal Employee Health Benefits plans and state/local government insurance plans to cover mental health or substance use disorder services with no cost-sharing to beneficiaries from the onset of regular pregnancy care and ending one year after the last day of an individual’s pregnancy.
Extend existing continuity of care requirements as passed in the No Surprises Act for mothers up to one year postpartum. These protections include network and coverage change notification requirements.

The legislation is also led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and House companion legislation is being led by U.S. Congresswomen Annie Kuster (D-NH-02) and Lucy McBath (D-GA-07).

Endorsing organizations include the National Partnership for Women & Families, Power to Decide, March of Dimes, MomsRising, The Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, National Council of Jewish Women, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Shades of You, Shades of Me, African American Breast Feeding Network, Dartmouth Health, Black Child Development Institute – Milwaukee and Meta House.

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After Nearly 14,000 WA Taxpayers File Federal Taxes Using Direct File Pilot, Murray Joins Over 130 Lawmakers in Touting Successes of Program, Urging Biden Administration to Expand Direct File and Make Permanent

May 16, 2024

After Nearly 14,000 WA Taxpayers File Federal Taxes Using Direct File Pilot, Murray Joins Over 130 Lawmakers in Touting Successes of Program, Urging Biden Administration to Expand Direct File and Make Permanent

Members write in letter: “We believe that the IRS can offer free and easy tax filing to every American taxpayer who wants it—and that, with Direct File, it will.”

13,954 taxpayers in Washington state filed their federal tax returns using Direct File this year

Taxpayers gave Direct File rave reviews, with 90 percent rating their experience positively and 86 percent saying it increased their trust in the IRS

ICYMI: As Tax Filing Season Ends, Senator Murray Highlights Successes of Direct File Pilot in Washington State

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tom Carper (D-DE), and U.S Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Katie Porter (D-CA-47) and Brad Sherman (D-CA-32) and over 130 lawmakers in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel, applauding the successful pilot of the Direct File program, and urging them to make it permanent and expand its functionality and scope. The letter follows the conclusion of the 2024 tax season and implementation of the IRS Direct File program in 12 pilot states, including Massachusetts, which allowed taxpayers to file their returns for free, directly with the IRS.

“We write to commend you on the historic and resoundingly successful launch of Direct File, the first free, public, electronic federal tax filing tool in U.S. history. Taxpayers want and deserve a free and easy filing option, and thanks to this year’s pilot, taxpayers used Direct File to claim over $90 million in tax refunds and save $5.6 million in estimated filing fees,” said the lawmakers. “We applaud your leadership and Direct File’s incredible success this year, and we call on you to make Direct File a permanent program, expanding it and improving it further next year and in the years to come.”

The Biden administration announced in May of last year that they would be launching a Direct File pilot in 2024. This past tax season, over 140,000 taxpayers used the tool across 12 pilot states, saving taxpayers more than $90 million in refunds and an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees on their federal returns alone. A survey of 11,000 users found that 90 percent ranked their experience with Direct File as “Excellent” or “Above Average,” and 90 percent of survey respondents who used customer service similarly found the experience “Excellent” or “Above Average.”

“The IRS’s delivery of this new, wildly successful filing tool… demonstrates the huge returns from investing in the IRS and in government technology in general,” continued the lawmakers. “We hope Direct File will support additional sources of income, integrate with more states, offer more flexible identity verification procedures, and accommodate additional tax benefits, with a focus on refundable credits available to low- and middle-income families. Direct File should also continue streamlining the filing process by using taxpayer data that the IRS already has.”

“We congratulate you on the success of the Direct File pilot and stand ready to work with you on making the program permanent and expanding it. We believe that the IRS can offer free and easy tax filing to every American taxpayer who wants it — and that, with Direct File, it will,” concluded the lawmakers.

The full text of the letter and full list of signatories from the Senate and House is HERE.

Direct File was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, landmark legislation Senator Murray helped pass in 2022 as then-Assistant Majority Leader. The Inflation Reduction Act invested new resources in the IRS to allow the agency to provide world class service to taxpayers, including by developing new tools like Direct File that make it easier for Americans to file their taxes. This investment in the IRS will also reduce the deficit by ensuring wealthy individuals, large corporations, and complex partnerships pay taxes owed. Last June, Murray signed onto a letter to Commissioner Werfel and Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo expressing support for the Direct File pilot and urging IRS to make a strong tool available to as many taxpayers as feasible in 2024. Murray announced the launch of Direct File in March of this year and highlighted the successes of direct file in Washington state in April.

Earlier this week, more than 250 groups sent a letter to Commissioner Werfel and Secretary Yellen also encouraging them to make Direct File permanent and expand it.

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Iraq snapshot

Friday, May 17, 2024. The International Criminal Court hears more about the slaughter in Gaza, aid workers continue to be targeted, students continue to protest, and much more.

Amy Goodman (DEMOCRACY NOW!):

The International Rescue Committee is warning the scale of the crisis in southern Gaza “defies imagination” as Israel intensifies its attack on Rafah while key border crossings remain shut down. More than 600,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah despite having no safe place to go. Another 100,000 Palestinians have fled in the north. Overnight, Israel deployed an additional commando brigade to Rafah. This is a Palestinian woman in Rafah who is in mourning after Israel killed her husband and son.

Afaf al-Halqawi: “My son was beautiful as a moon. He was a groom. He went inside to his bride, thank God. … There’s no safe place, not in Rafah, not in Khan Younis. They slaughtered Jabaliya, they slaughtered al-Nuseirat, and they slaughtered Rafah. Safety is only with God. May God have mercy on us.”

On Wednesday, Israel shelled a clinic in Gaza City run by the U.N. aid agency UNRWA, killing at least 10 displaced Palestinians, including children. Earlier today, Israeli forces targeted residential buildings and an ambulance in Jabaliya, killing multiple Palestinians, including a pregnant woman. Separately, five Israeli soldiers were killed Wednesday in Jabaliya when they were shelled by an Israeli tank. Seven other Israeli troops were injured in what’s being described as a friendly fire incident.

As appalling as that news is -- and it's disgusting -- grasp that this news is from yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW! and the White House has no response and the Israeli government continues to assault Gaza -- with US approval and weapons. Jeffrey St. Clair (COUNTERPUNCH) observes this morning:

The US has long been Israel’s largest arms merchant. For the last four years, the US has supplied Israel with 69% of its imported weapons, from F-35s to chemical munitions (white phosphorous), tank shells to precision bombs. Despite this, the Biden administration claims not to know how these weapons are put to use, even when they maim and kil American citizens.

Since the start of the latest war on Gaza, the US has had both defense department and CIA officials in Israel helping the Israelis with intelligence, logistics, targeting and bomb damage assessment. Still, the Biden administration claims not to have any hard evidence that the weapons it has transferred to Israel have been used to slaughter civilians, torture detainees or restrict the flow of humanitarian aid to starving, dehydrated and sick Palestinian civilians.

Under pressure from Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkeley and other congressional Democrats, in February, President issued National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20, or “National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability With Respect to Transferred Defense Articles and Defense Services”), which directed the State Department to “obtain certain credible and reliable written assurances from foreign governments receiving [U.S.] defense articles and, as appropriate, defense services” that they will abide by U.S. and international law. NSM-20 also requires the Departments of State and Defense to report to Congress within 90 days on the extent to which such partners are abiding by their assurances. “assessment of any credible reports or allegations that defense articles and, as appropriate, defense services, have been used in a manner not consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law.” The NSM-20 report also required the Biden administration to assess whether Israel has fully cooperated with United States Government-supported and international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in the area of conflict. They missed the 90-day mark by two days, likely to push the release of the report to late on a Friday afternoon, a traditional dead zone for news you’d like to bury.

Since October 7, the Biden administration has approved more than 100 Foreign Military Sales arms transfers to Israel. Two of the shipments used an emergency authority to circumvent Congressional review. The surge of weapons transfers to Israel began in early October and so much material was being shipped that the Pentagon had a difficult time finding enough cargo aircraft to deliver them. While the Pentagon regularly details weapons sent to Ukraine, it has only issued two updates on the kind and amount of weapons sent to Israel. But those two reports, both issued in December, suggest that the weapons included artillery shells, tank rounds, air defense systems, precision-guided munitions, small arms, Hellfire missiles used by drones, 30-mm cannon shells, PVS-14 night vision devices and disposable (though probably not biodegradable) shoulder-fired rockets. In late October, one sale to Israel including $320 million worth of JDAM kits for converting unguided “dumb” bombs into GPS-guided munitions. This was in addition to a previous sales of $403 million worth of the same guidance systems. From October 7 to Dec. 29 alone, US weapons shipments to Israel included 52,229 M795 155-millimeter artillery shells, 30,000 M4 propelling charges for howitzers, 4,792 M107 155-mm artillery shells and 13,981 M830A1 120-mm tank rounds.

For over seven months, this genocide has been allowed to continue. At TRUTHOUT, Sharon Zhang reports:

In an emergency hearing furthering South Africa’s genocide case on Thursday, South Africa warned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel has begun a new stage of genocide in Gaza that the court must move against with “extreme urgency.”

South Africa’s legal team is seeking provisional measures from the ICJ for Israel to immediately withdraw from Rafah and take every action possible to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza, on top of orders for Israel to comply with provisional orders the court issued in January and March.

“Israel is escalating its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, and in so doing, is willfully breaching the binding orders of this court,” South African ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela said in opening remarks.

“South Africa had hoped, when we last appeared before this court, to halt this genocidal process to preserve Palestine and its people,” Madonsela continued. “Instead, Israel’s genocide has continued apace and has just reached a new and horrific stage.”

In oral arguments, the South African delegation stressed the profound danger that Israel’s invasion of Rafah poses for the future of all Palestinians in Gaza, citing Israel’s near-total aid blockade and violent dismantling of nearly all basic infrastructure, including the region’s medical system.

Molly Quell (AP) points out, "It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide." John Bacon and Jorge L. Ortiz (USA TODAY) note, "Israel will provide a response in court Friday. Israeli officials have previously denied in court claims the country's military campaign violates the 1949 Genocide Convention, arguing that it stepped up efforts to provide humanitarian aid for Gaza in accordance with previous court orders." The hearing continued this morning. ALJAZEERA notes:

The main argument Israel was bringing today was that the fact that South Africa says that there is at least not enough humanitarian aid coming into Rafah is basically a lie, according to Israel.

And also they said that South Africa’s claim that Rafah is this last refuge for the people in Gaza is untrue. They say they acknowledge that there are a lot of civilians there, but they also say it’s a Hamas stronghold and they have to continue this military operation.

So basically rejecting South Africa’s request to the court to order Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah and also withdraw from Gaza altogether.

It was an interesting hearing this time, because in the beginning Israel said it didn’t have enough time to prepare – there was far too short notice.

That hearing has completed for today and the court hears testimony again tomorrow.

And the assault continues and many in the media try to spin the 'pier' as good news when the reality remains that aid is just not getting in. Cindy McCain spoke about the crisis to SKY NEWS.

Starving children and adults in Gaza are dying after being reduced to the "size of a skeleton", according to the World Food Programme boss.

Cindy McCain, executive director of the UN agency, said her staff describe it as "a complete disaster" and there are serious problems getting trucks in safely and in sufficient numbers.

Israel's offensive following the Hamas attack on 7 October has displaced much of Gaza's population, many of whom are fleeing again as Israel escalates attacks in the southern city of Rafah.

Hundreds of thousands are starving and desperate, and Mrs McCain told Sky News the reality is devastating.

She told Yalda Hakim: "Imagine a child wasting into the size of a skeleton - and of course passing from it - and an adult doing the same thing. That's what we're seeing on the ground.

"If we could get in now we might be able to fend off a hardcore famine, but we're not there yet and we're not getting in."

Cease-fire would be the best, Cindy told SKY NEWS, but she doesn't see it happening any time soon.

The Israeli government continues to block aid. That is not by chance. A pattern emerges, as Owen Jones notes, if you pay attention.

The pattern has been attacking aid workers -- such as murdering the 7 World Central Kitchen workers, the continued attacks by Israeli 'civilians' on aid convoys -- attacks that result in no legal consequences.

From yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Aid agencies are running out of food in southern Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing offensive in Rafah. The World Food Programme says it’s run out of stocks in Rafah and has suspended food aid distributions there for several days. No food has entered the two main border crossings in southern Gaza for more than a week, since the Israeli assault on Rafah began and Israeli forces seized control of and closed the border crossing with Egypt. Some 1.1 million Palestinians are on the brink of starvation, according to the U.N., while a full-blown famine is taking place in the north. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said today, quote, “The impact is devastating for over 2 million people.”

AMY GOODMAN: This comes just days after Israeli settlers blocked aid trucks headed to Gaza through the occupied West Bank from Jordan. Footage of the incident shows settlers raiding the aid trucks, throwing food into the road and setting fire to vehicles at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian truck drivers say they fear for their lives after the attack.

ADEL AMER: [translated] We went to the checkpoint, and after the check, we were surprised to see settlers on the roundabout of the checkpoint. They damaged the cars. They tore the tires off the trucks. They threw the contents of the truck on the ground. We gathered some of the products and sent some of those products on to a bulldozer and sent them to sheep farms. Around 15 trucks were damaged. Their haul was damaged. Windows of the trucks were broken. Some drivers were beaten. Some of the products were thrown away, and the whole loss for Hebron is around $2 million.

AMY GOODMAN: At a White House press briefing Monday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked by reporters about the attack on the aid convoy.

JAKE SULLIVAN: It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys coming from Jordan, going to Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance. We are looking at the tools that we have to respond to this, and we are also raising our concerns at the highest level of the Israeli government. And it’s something that we make no bones about. This is completely and utterly unacceptable behavior.

AMY GOODMAN: The attack on the aid convoy was the culmination of weeks of Israeli settlers attempting to block aid trucks from reaching Gaza.

For more, we’re going to Tel Aviv to speak with Sapir Sluzker Amran, an Israeli human rights lawyer and peace activist who documented the attack on the aid convoy right near Hebron. She’s the co-director of Breaking Walls, an intersectional feminist grassroots movement.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, Sapir. It’s so good to have you with us. If you can describe exactly what took place, how you ended up there when the Israeli settlers attacked the aid convoy, and what exactly they did to the convoy and to you?

SAPIR SLUZKER AMRAN: Thanks, and thank you so much for having me. Before we get into details, just to say from Tel Aviv that we are calling for ceasefire and safe return of the hostages, and hope to see this war ending as soon as possible and not seeing another one.

So, I came on Monday. It was after a few months where they’re organizing those kinds of actions, those looting actions. Settlers and their supporters, they are organizing in those WhatsApp groups, getting notifications from inside information, actually, to know where the trucks are going and coming from, and then trying to block them or to loot and destroy the entire food on the trucks. And when I came on Monday, it was to — I wasn’t sure. It was trying to document — it was after seeing those footages, those videos that they published a few months now, trying to organize groups. But people were afraid. And they should be afraid, because they’re coming with guns and knives and axes even. And the police and the IDF is totally on their side and not protecting us. But when I was there, I came to document and to understand a bit what’s going on.

And then, after they had this, like, first round of looting the convoy there, they started to go to another crossing in order to see if there was more trucks there, because they got an inside information again that there might be other trucks a few minutes’ drive from that crossing. I was there with another activist, and we went to the drivers of the trucks to see if we can help. And they were very surprised. They didn’t understand why there were Jewish people, Israelis, that want to help them. It took them a minute to understand that we are Arabs, but not Palestinians, we are Arab Jews, and we are with them. So, we started to pack everything again on one of the trucks. And we almost finished, and then they came back, more people — I think there were around few dozens, and then it became almost 150 people. At that time, they did whatever they want.

So, I want to be specific. This event, I got a message on WhatsApp that this event’s starting, and they’re asking people to come around 9:30 in the morning. They were there on their way. So they were there at 10 a.m. I came at 12:00. I left, though, for my own safety. Around 3 p.m., there were dozens of people, and people kept coming. So, it happened for hours. There were a few soldiers there without a supervisor. They didn’t know what to do. They were just going around, maybe two policemen, and that’s it. And what the settlers did is tearing up the entire food that was there. There were bags of rice, bags of sugar and instant noodles in bags. And they did it in a way that we cannot repair it. They did it in a way that they were tearing everything down, jumping on the instant noodles so we cannot save it. And, yeah, that was the situation.

We saw a lot of families there. I think that the youngest person that was there was maybe 3 years old, a kid with his father, like it was like a fun day, a festival day, and more teenagers that were there. And they did whatever they want. They laughed, they enjoyed, and they said it was the best action that we had 'til now. It was in Tarqumiyah crossing. And I think many came because it's in the area of the settlers, so it was very easy for them just to be first and to hold those trucks.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Sapir, could you talk about what the settlers did specifically to you, what happened to you? And then explain who the settlers are and what their justification is for doing that, for disrupting the aid convoys and destroying all the aid. They say that the aid is helping Hamas, and they want to obstruct its delivery until the hostages are released. Who are the settlers? And do they have any connection to the government?

SAPIR SLUZKER AMRAN: Yeah. So, I think, just to say, I’m not the story here. Yes, I will share that I was injured. One of the settlers — so, I was — I’m not sure how, but I couldn’t stand aside when I saw them running again, going on the trucks with sugar bags, going on the trucks with their knives and weapons and axes and all kinds of sharp objects and tearing down everything. And I couldn’t. And I started to run towards them and document it and tell them, “Please, stop. Stop. What are you doing? This is food. This is food. Like, you have to understand, inside of ’48, inside Israel, we have more than 2 million people that are under the poverty line. This is food. We have, an hour from now, people that are hungry. They can be your family that are hungry an hour from here.” And they didn’t care about it.

So I went on the truck and tried to stop them. And I called and I screamed on the IDF. There were like very young soldiers. I told them, “Come! Come and help me! This is your role! This is not my role! Come and help me! I can’t do it on my own!” And my friend was documenting it and trying also to talk with them and trying to stop them while they were doing it. And they tried to prevent her to photograph. And she managed to do it anyway.

So, when I was on the truck, yeah, one of the settlers, in front of an IDF that was right next to us, he kind of slapped me extremely hard, and then he was trying to escape. The police was there. The police took him. I told them, “I want to press charges.” They said, “No,” and they hid him so I couldn’t document him, even though I have his photo and the video. And then, after 10 minutes, he came back, like nothing was happened. So they took him only to protect him, not for something else.

And I was the only one that the government, that the IDF, the police, asked for to see an ID. All that time, they didn’t ask anyone from them, from the settlers, to get out of this area, that it was like a parking lot — only us, only the two of us, just the two of us. And they were just sitting there or standing there while I was telling them, “You’re standing right here. You see someone with a knife. That person, a teenager, took a knife at me.” I told them, “You see him. At least take the knife. At least take the knife so, like, he won’t attack me.” And they didn’t care about it. They were just standing aside like there is nothing that they can do, like it’s normal, what’s happening.

AMY GOODMAN: So, Sapir, we only have a few minutes left —

SAPIR SLUZKER AMRAN: Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: — and we want to know: Who are these Israeli settlers? Who are the people that destroyed the aid truck?

SAPIR SLUZKER AMRAN: Yeah, so, those are the people, settlers, that are, you know, living in the settlements. They’re Orthodox Jews. They’re from the national Zionist Jewish stream, Zionist stream. They have many supporters in government. They are the government. It’s not that they’re supporters.

And we know that yesterday — I want to say something like that right now I can show you — I can add you right now, Amy, to a WhatsApp group, because they’re organizing right now to do it again. So, they have this information. No one is trying to stop them. I think maybe it’s not clear that nothing has changed from Monday. They are still doing it. I don’t know what is showing on the international media, what the Israeli government is publishing. But they are doing it right now, with their names, with their numbers, and they don’t care about presenting even theirselves and documenting theirselves, because they know that nothing is going to happen to them, no circumstances, no objects, and nothing will happen at all.

So, they are connected to the government. We know that some of them are working with the government. We know that some of them — I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re funded from the government. We have MKs, members of the parliament, the Israeli parliament, that are supporting it and coming to those actions. We have someone that is a CEO of a right-wing organization that just got, a few months ago got — he has a photo with one of the MKs, the chairman of the Knesset, giving him a diploma to thank him for his service to Israel. OK? So, they are — last week, it was the mayor of one of the big cities in the south of Israel. They are the blood, and they are part of it. What you are doing is just, we can call it, privatization, privatization of the violence, which means that the government know. They hide because of the U.S. They have to pretend that they are obeying international law. But, in fact, they don’t want to. So they have these kids, they have these settlers, they have their supporters, that they are part of their political parties, and also they’re also funding them, to tell them, “Go to this crossing and handle it.”

AMY GOODMAN: Sapir —

SAPIR SLUZKER AMRAN: So, that’s why the police is not intervening, because the police belongs to Ben-Gvir and those kinds of people. So, yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: Sapir Sluzker Amran, I want to thank you so much for being with us, Israeli human rights lawyer and peace activist, who went to the Tarqumiyah crossing in Hebron to document the attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy by Israeli settlers. She’s also the co-director of Breaking Walls, an intersectional feminist grassroots movement.

We had this in The Times of Israel: Israeli extremists mistook, on Wednesday, two days after the attack on the convoy she described — they mistook a regular commercial truck traveling in the West Bank for a convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza and attacked the vehicle. The vigilantes set a fire in the road, dumped the truck’s contents onto the pavement and assaulted the Palestinian driver. Video from the scene showed the driver lying on the street bloodied.

When we come back, we’ll talk with Human Rights Watch about their new report on Israeli forces attacking humanitarian aid convoys in Gaza. The group has also documented Russian forces executing surrendering Ukrainian soldiers. We’ll go to Kyiv to speak with the HRW representative, and we’ll look at ethnic cleansing in Sudan. Back in 20 seconds.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: Voices of some the hundred university professors and faculty and their allies from higher education institutions across New York, gathering yesterday at Grand Central Station during rush hour to sing and read out a joint letter from faculty across a number of schools calling for an end to genocide in Gaza.

, the lies spread about UNRWA in an attempt to destroy that UN agency, you name it.

On UNRWA, THE NEW ARAB notes:

In the face of Israel's ongoing attacks on Rafah and on UNRWA, Iraq has pledged US$25 million to support Palestinian refugees through the agency.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the announcement on Tuesday, stating that the country will contribute US$25 million to UNRWA.

Omar Al-Barzanji, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, expressed condolences to the victims of the Israeli invasion of Rafah during a joint press conference with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, who paid an official visit to Baghdad. Al-Barzanji also condemned the Israeli incursion into Rafah.

He also expressed Iraq's concern about the severe funding shortage faced by UNRWA and its inability to assist Palestinian refugees, reaffirming Iraq's rejection of the restrictive policies imposed on UNRWA and calling for increased support for the agency.

While courts and elected officials do nothing, students are the ones standing up and demanding an end to the slaughter in Gaza.

That solidarity march took place today. LE MONDE notes that the protests that began in the US are spreading across Europe, "The exam period, the end of the academic year, heavy-handed police evacuations and campus closures have, in some places, weakened student activism against the war in Gaza, particularly in the United States and France. But elsewhere across Europe, protest hotspots are emerging, with students calling for an end to Israeli bombardments in Gaza and for their universities to cut ties with companies and institutions linked to Israel." France and Australia were the first to follow the US students. Australian students are witnessing bullying and intimidation. Eric Ludlow and Oscar Grenfell (WSWS) report:

Over the past 24 hours, a campaign against student protest encampments opposing the Israeli genocide in Gaza has ratcheted up sharply. Two universities have issued eviction notices, others have held “crisis meetings,” and at the University of Melbourne, a senior manager has made a frothing denunciation of protesters and called for the police to mobilise against them.

Whether the crackdown is being nationally coordinated or not—and the timing strongly indicates that it is—the repressive actions of university administrations are in line with demands from the political and media establishment, particularly Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

This week, he has denounced the protests as “divisive” displays of “hatred” and “ignorance” that do not “have a place” in society. Albanese claimed that antisemitism is greater than at any point in his lifetime, in a deepening of the lying conflation of opposition to Israel’s horrific war crimes with anti-Jewish bigotry.

The remarks have had the character of an incitement to the Zionist thugs and far-right forces who, on three occasions over the past fortnight, have violently attacked student encampments in the dead of the night. They have been aimed at creating a climate of intimidation and manufactured hysteria in which the university administrations will feel compelled and emboldened to dismantle the protests.

That was underscored by a statement from University of Melbourne deputy vice-chancellor Michael Wesley yesterday. Referencing the fact that students at the university are continuing an occupation of the Arts West building they began on Wednesday, Wesley declared that “red lines have been crossed.”

Without evidence, he said protesters were “intimidating” other people and “have caused considerable damage.” Speaking more like a national security official than an academic administrator, Wesley asserted that “intelligence” had shown that many involved were not students but “professional protesters.”

“They are outside agitators and the sort of actions they are taking suggest to us that they could be potentially dangerous,” he said. “The way they have organised themselves within the building would suggest to us that they are preparing to resist being forcibly evicted.”

The deputy vice chancellor menacingly stated that police would now “be including the campus in their regular patrols. When it comes to ending the protest, we will largely be reliant on Victoria Police. This is going to be a very substantial operation.” Victoria Police this morning stated there had been no formal eviction notice from the university, and so they could not immediately act.

Wesley’s comments, however, are chilling. The use of quasi-military terminology about “red lines” and “substantial operations” is a warning that the university authorities are prepared to greenlight violence against protesters who are not accused of physically harming anyone, or of committing any real wrongdoing.

In the US, KTVU reports, "Officers have arrested at least 12 Gaza war protesters on Thursday, who took over a vacant building near UC Berkeley's campus one day earlier, university officials say. Campus police and outside law enforcement agencies responded to Anna Head Hall on Thursday to clear the building. The university-owned building is off campus. Several others, who occupied the building, were forcibly removed." Nollyanne Delacruz (EAST BAY TIMES) reports, "Twenty students from St. Mary’s College in Moraga occupied a chapel and eight students began a hunger strike on Wednesday night to push the university to disclose all of its financial investments and divest from any corporations supporting Israel’s war in Gaza. The students remained in the Chapel of the Most Blessed Virgin, near the entrance to campus, on Thursday. They also called on the school to not remove a vigil dedicated to Palestinian children killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 at the St. John the Baptist De La Salle statue on the campus." And Maya Stahl, Sarah Huddleston and Shea Vance (COLUMBIA SPECTATOR) report:

Barnard College celebrated its Commencement on Wednesday afternoon at Radio City Music Hall. Among the plush red chairs, graduates stood out in their Pantone 292 regalia, with many donning keffiyehs, pinning signs to their robes calling for divestment, and painting their caps.

Many graduates pinned to their regalia red poppies with the names of children killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, and several wore stoles with yellow ribbons, a symbol calling for the return of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Gaza remains under assault. Day 224 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 reaches 35,303, with 79,261 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:

On bodies trapped under rubble, ALJAZEERA notes this morning:

We’re talking about a three-storey building that housed not only residents but also dozens of other displaced Palestinians in Rafah that made it to Nuseirat three days ago.

I met the neighbours. I met the family. I met one of the relatives of people still trapped under the rubble earlier today. They were telling me heartbreaking things.

Unfortunately, it may come to a point where the Civil Defence teams will give up on this house because there are more people being targeted every single hour across the Gaza Strip.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Harrison Loves Josh" went up last night. The following sites updated: