For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio, to commentary from the Middle East Media Research Institute and the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, to an interview from ScheerPost, and to an op-ed article from the Wall Street Journal; other postings are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and a 9/11 TRUTH entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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FROM APRIL 23 Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote, by Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves and Farnoush Amiri | AP WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debatE over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late Tuesday after the House had . . . READ MORE . . .
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UN rights commissioner slams Israel’s killing of women, children in Rafah. From Middle East Monitor. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, on Tuesday deplored the Israeli raids on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, saying the killing of women and children “is something that goes beyond warfare.” On Saturday evening, Israel carried out . . . READ MORE . . .
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Students at Columbia continue their pro-Palestinian protests. From NPR. Officials at Columbia University will continue to talk with student protesters after the deadline to clear out passed. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM APRIL 23 It began with defiance at Columbia. Now students nationwide are upping their Gaza war protests, by Karen Matthews and Nick Perry | AP NEW YORK — What began last week when Columbia University students refused to end their protest against Israel’s war with Hamas had turned into a much larger movement by Tuesday as students across the nation set up encampments, occupied buildings and ignored demands to leave. Protests had been . . . READ MORE . . .
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As protests consume college campuses, where’s the line between safety, free speech? Michel Martin of NPR speaks with Daniel Diermeier, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, about campus protests, free speech and student safety. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Germany will resume working with UN relief agency for Palestinians after a review. From AP. Germany said today it plans to follow several other countries in resuming cooperation with the UN relief agency for Palestinians in Gaza after the publication of an independent review of its neutrality. READ MORE . . .
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World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says, by Sylvia Hui | AP LONDON — The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gazaand Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned today in its annual report. READ MORE . . .
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FROM APRIL 18 What China’s embrace of Hamas means for U.S. national security—and how the Iranian attack on Israel, supported by China, exposes it as a supporter of terrorism, by Steven Stalinsky | Middle East Media Research Institute Since Oct. 7, the Israeli high-tech industry has encountered difficulties in importing components from China that have both civilian and military uses, while Hamas was found to be using advanced Chinese weapons, including cartridges and rifle sights, automatic grenade launchers . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM APRIL 18 Landless Brazilians & Gaza, by Vijay Prashad | Tricontinental Institute for Social Research / Consortium News Brazilian landless workers, who live on settlements and encampments of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), gathered roughly 13 tonnes of food to send to Palestinians in Gaza between October and December 2023. MST cooperatives across the . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM APRIL 22 The moral depravity of Western imperialism. Max Jones and Diego Ramos of ScheerPost talk with Michael J. Brenner, professor emeritus of international affairs at the University of Pittsburg, some days before the interview was posted, on domestic and international aspects of U.S. foreign policy, particularly as it pertains to Israel. Click HERE for video and transcript.
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FROM APRIL 17 Ukraine and Israel: moment of truth, by President Joe Biden | The Wall Street Journal If Congress passes military aid for Ukraine and Israel, we’d send military equipment from our own stockpiles, then use the money authorized by Congress to replenish those stockpiles—by buying from American suppliers—investing in America’s industrial base, buying American products made by American workers, supporting jobs in nearly 40 states, and strengthening our own national security. We’d help our friends while helping ourselves. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for an account from Politico.