Shibley Telhami
@ShibleyTelhami
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Passionately Egalitarian. Professor, University of Maryland; Director, Critical Issues Poll; NR Senior Fellow, Brookings. Views are my Own. RT≠Endorsement
Joined October 2012
His arrogance, moral blind spots, decades of accumulated baggage, and cognitive decline – have combined to make a lethal combination, predictably enabling immense suffering of millions, hurting US interests and values, weakening his party, and aiding the return of Donald Trump.
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“President Biden and Vice President Harris, we are 99 American physicians and nurses who have witnessed crimes beyond comprehension. Crimes that we cannot believe you wish to continue supporting”.
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Israeli officials finally tell truth about Trump's Iran policy: 'it was all a big lie. the overall strategy. ended in failure. Iran was closer to nuclear military capability on day he left office than it was when he first entered the WH'.
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Senior Pakistan official admits election rigging as protests grip country: "Chatta said there was so much “pressure” on him that he contemplated suicide, but that he then decided to make a public confession."
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Those of us shocked by Biden’s Gaza stance are asking who this man really is. Still not sure, but article in @theintercept led me to a 2020 @TimesofIsrael article on former Israeli PM Begin being surprised by Biden’s openness to inflicting civilian casualties in Lebanon in 1982:
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Trump’s former national security adviser, H.R. McMaster: “Our secretary of state [Mike Pompeo] signed a surrender agreement with Taliban. This collapse goes back to the capitulation agreement of 2020. The Taliban didn’t defeat us. We defeated ourselves.”
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“50% of Biden 2020 voters say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians.”
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Within days, Trump's strike will look more and more ineffective, forcing a decision: escalate or live with perception of failure
JUST IN: Syrian warplanes take off from air base hit by U.S., carry out strikes in Homs countryside - Syrian observatory for human rights.
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"Eighty-two percent of all U.S.-based respondents, including almost all assistant professors (98 percent), said that they self-censor when they speak professionally about the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Just over 81 percent of those self-censoring said they primarily held back.
"Scholars Who Study the Middle East Are Afraid to Speak Out: Polling data indicate widespread self-censorship."
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Awful: AMIDEAST, which places Palestinian students in US colleges shared this: Last night, a new Hope Fund scholar arrived at Logan Airport with valid visa, to be a freshman at Harvard. He grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon. He was refused entry and put on next plane out.
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"Israeli soldiers rummaging through private homes in Gaza. Forces destroying plastic figurines in a toy store, or trying to burn food and water supplies in the back of an abandoned truck. Troops with their arms slung around each other, chanting racist slogans as they dance in a
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"In 2006, Carter published his now-famous book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. I was troubled. I led 15 members of the Board of [the Carter Center] to resign. But in the intervening years, I realized that he was likely right."
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In retrospect, it’s astonishing that Joe Biden was successfully sold to us as a man defined by empathy.
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If you want to understand the standards used in applying the label "terrorist" to Palestinians, just watch Israel's National Security Minister call "terrorist" the grieving mother of an autistic man shot dead by an Israeli police officer who was acquitted by Israeli court.
Horrible!."Get out of here, you terrorist," said Israeli minister of security Itamar Ben-Gvir, to the mother of a Palestinian autistic boy who was shot dead intentionally by Israeli forces. Yesterday, an Israeli court acquitted the killer of all charges after fully endorsing
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"Palestine emergency services in Gaza have uncovered a mass grave with 50 bodies at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, two weeks after Israeli forces withdrew from the area."
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Support for Israel among young US evangelical Christians drops sharply; since 2018, backing for Israel down from 75% to 33% now; nearly half of evangelicals aged 18-29 say they favor establishment of Palestinian state.
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Unusually good news on this Labor Day: Palestinian Freshman Previously Denied Entry to the United States Arrives at Harvard in time for the start of classes. Great, immediate, action by AMIDEAST and Harvard to get this done.
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New poll: Biden is losing to Trump among Hispanics, young voters, and his support among Black voters is declining. At least some of that is due to his shocking enablement of mass killing in Gaza.
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A new poll conducted in Michigan by the Howard University shows President Biden’s support among Black voters has dropped to 49% from 94% in 2020, while Trump's support has risen to 26% -- three times what it was in 2020.
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Tufts Fletcher School's Prof Nadim Rouhana: "I find it paternalistic, even offensive, to claim that the student movement is based on ignorance and outside agitation, or to color it with bigotry. For me, students are acting as a corrective force in a world that needs correction"
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Qatar's Prime Minister: how can mediation succeed when one side assassinates negotiator?
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"Some experts raised an additional possibility: that the president is directing his own care, and demanding intense treatment despite risks he may not fully understand. The pattern even has a name: V.I.P. syndrome"
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For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war in Gaza under increasing international criticism for the resulting humanitarian calamity.
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Recent Israeli Polls have shown that Netanyahu’s far-right coalition would lose if elections were held today, but one new finding caught my attention: Most Israelis, 56%, now support changing the racist 2018 nation-state law, compared to only 40% in September. Why, especially in
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“Many Israelis believe –or are brainwashed to believe– that if we only take a huge stick and hit the Arabs one more strong blow, they will be afraid and leave us alone for all time and everything will be alright. For the last hundred years we have been raising a bigger and bigger
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David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel’s first prime minister, was involved in a secret operation to poison the drinking water of Arab communities in 1948, documents show.
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In 2006, Jimmy Carter faced a storm when he warned that Israeli control of occupied Palestinian territories could become apartheid. Now, 59% of Middle East scholars polled describe what exists as a "one state reality akin to apartheid."
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"Let this front page serve as a reminder of how white supremacy is aided by – and often relies upon – the cowardice of mainstream institutions" via @usatoday.
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Besieged Gazans find more solidarity in the Ivy League than in the Arab League
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A leaked memo by Assistant Secretary of State Bill Russo warns: "The Israelis seemed oblivious to the fact that they are facing major, possibly generational damage to their reputation not just in the region but elsewhere in the world." Via @ishaantharoor .
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1/ Put aside Biden’s ruinous moral failure on Gaza and on the related current US campus crises; I am shocked that he and his team appear in denial about the political suicide he is committing as a result.
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Portugal's Former Secretary of State for European Affairs: "No one could accuse the U.S. of double standards. What it is vulnerable to is the accusation that it no longer has any standards at all.".
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Reminder from University of Chicago poll: When Muslim students hear "FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA," 76% understand it to mean Arabs and Jews living together in two states or one state; but 66% of Jewish students take it to mean Palestinians should replace Israelis in the territory.
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"Today I informed my colleagues that I have resigned from the State Department, due to a policy disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel. To further explain my rationale for doing so, I have written the attached note."
State Dept official resigns in protest of Biden Admin policy re Israel’s assault on Gaza. Read his letter:.
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More Americans, including growing number of Republicans want the US to stay the course in supporting Ukraine as long as it takes. Take a look at my analysis of our latest UMD Critical Issues Poll. @BrookingsInst @BrookingsFP @bsosumd @UMDGVPT @sadatchair
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Arab public sentiments go well beyond Biden. We are witnessing a paradigm-forming event. Arab outrage is with US and West broadly. In my view, this moment is greater than the Iraq war, which was also a horrific moment. But the West was divided then, and it was about the US,.
In polls in the Arab world around the 2003 Iraq war, I recall that George W. Bush superseded then hardline Israeli PM Ariel Sharon as the most disliked leader in the world. My guess is that if a similar poll were held today, Joe Biden would supersede Benjamin Netanyahu.
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'Israel told Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza — and stepped up attacks there'.
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Bernie Sanders: “In terms of aid to Israel, in my view, the American people do not want to see that money being used to support policies that violate human rights and that treat the Palestinian people as second class human beings."
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'The US bears considerable responsibility for entrenching the one-state reality. Israeli settlement construction would not have survived, and occupation would not have endured, without US efforts to shield Israel from repercussions at the UN'
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How will Pete Buttigieg stand up to Trump? “I’m a gay man from Indiana. I know how to deal with a bully.”
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An Israeli journalist was derided and spat at, including by an Israeli soldier and a child, as he spent a day dressed as a priest in Jerusalem to investigate spiraling hate crimes against Christians in the city.
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A new low for the US Congress: hosting and applauding a foreign leader at the People’s House, who is attacking millions of Americans who have protested the carnage in Gaza, including thousands of Jews, as Hamas supporters or foreign agents. Shocking, shameful, and dangerous.
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Note language Biden uses to dismiss ICC action, referring to "this prosecutor," attributing the decision to one man, when in fact there was unanimous support for this action by the ICC's panel of experts; and "this prosecutor" was Israel's preferred candidate for the position.
“Outrageous.” Biden in two sentence statement on ICC prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Israeli PM and DM: . “The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no
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'Stained glass window of Jerusalem Christian holy site is broken after Israeli throws stones at It; the place is believed to have been the site of the Last Supper, amid a sharp rise in vandalism and assaults against Christians and Christian institutions'.
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"Traditional marriage is between a man, a woman and his porn star".…
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Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman refuses to visit Israel to accept prize, citing ‘recent events';' says she 'does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel'
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.@mehdirhasan on possible plans for Biden to visits Saudi Arabia: “personally I find the whole thing odd that we are going to send our president to SA to say ‘give us more oil while you bomb Yemen so we don’t have to get oil from Russia as it bombs Ukraine’”
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Only 3 days after 9/11, Tony Blair was told by Bush he intended to attack Iraq with no evidence linking Iraq to 9/11; Blair was "stunned" but went on to champion the ruinous war that damaged a rules-based order. Now, @nytimes gives him podium on Ukraine.
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In 2006, Jimmy Carter faced a storm when he warned that Israeli control of occupied Palestinian territories could become apartheid. Now, 59% of Middle East scholars polled describe what exists as a "one state reality akin to apartheid." via @BrookingsInst
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.@BrookingsInst Bruce Riedel, former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush when 9/11 attack occured, breaks news at our Sadat Forum: On September 14, just 3 days after 9/11 attack, President Bush told a stunned British PM Tony Blair: "We are also going to attack Iraq."
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@lawrence_wright Sure, the impact of the occupation on the Israeli soldiers is ALSO worth noting; but the first thing to contemplate is the overwhelming and devastating impact of the brutal military rule on the Palestinians who have known nothing but this for five and a half decades.
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Israeli PM Netanyahu: “Two state solution would be a reward for terrorists.” There you have it.
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Update: The Harvard Crimson now has a story on this:. I am told that both AMIDEAST and Harvard are working quietly to reverse the decision and to have the student arrive before start of classes.
Awful: AMIDEAST, which places Palestinian students in US colleges shared this: Last night, a new Hope Fund scholar arrived at Logan Airport with valid visa, to be a freshman at Harvard. He grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon. He was refused entry and put on next plane out.
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Hospital director says any person moving within hospital compound is being attacked by Israeli snipers: “One member of medical crew who tried to reach the incubator to lend a helping hand to the babies born inside was shot and killed. We lost a baby in the incubator, we also lost.
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About half of US Democrats and half of all young Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, poll shows; more than one third of all Americans say the same.
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As the American killing of Iran's Qassem Suleimani makes the slope toward war far more slippery, here is a reminder of where the American public is on possible war with Iran: Fully 75% oppose it, even after the September 14 attack on Saudi oil fields.
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Former executive director of Israel’s human rights organization, B’Tselem: "It is time for Israelis to adopt a different attitude towards the Palestinians - to treat them as equal human beings".
Israel has become addicted to both its regime of Jewish supremacy over the Palestinians – and the ability to leverage the memory of the Holocaust, so that the crimes it commits against them won't rally the world against it. | @IrishTimesOpEd
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Biden reportedly has many regrets from appointing Garland as AG to ending his reelection candidacy -- but the one calamitous policy he should regret the most is apparently not on that list: Gaza.
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The vanity, the indecency, the political ambition, the blatant violation of international law, the disservice to US interests -- all in one tweet.
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My Take: According to recent polling data, the majority of Americans blame Trump’s policies for heightened tensions with Iran—and the killing of Suleimani won’t change that.
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Israel to approve 4,000 housing units for Jewish settlers in occupied West Bank -- which is illegal under international law
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The most important part of this statement by @POTUS is his acknowledgment that Israel's bombings are "indiscriminate" which makes them war crimes under international law, and those responsible can be held accountable under domestic and international law.
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"Scholars Who Study the Middle East Are Afraid to Speak Out: Polling data indicate widespread self-censorship."
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@realDonaldTrump @SecretService The man seems clueless about how this tweet will come across around the world: an apparently fearful American president, holed up in the White House, expressing gratitude to the secret service protect him from angry Americans outside.
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@realDonaldTrump @justinamash To his credit, @justinamash said: "I'm not here to represent a particular political party; I'm here to represent all of my constituents and to follow the Constitution." Following the constitution must be a troubling principle to @realDonaldTrump, especially for a GOP Congressman.
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"In a blow to Israeli institutions of higher education, the American Association of University Professors announced on Monday that it had reversed its longstanding policy of opposing academic boycotts."
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Recipe for eruption in Jerusalem and beyond: Israeli police greenlight march rallying for 'full Jewish control' over Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount in Jerusalem, demanding end of control by the Waqf, the Islamic endowment which administers the holy site.
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My students -- who have read more books but would never brag about it, or claim this qualifies them to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- have the dignity never to present something of the quality and moral-bankruptcy of this plan as a term paper.
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Almost half of Gaza's population now in Rafah, an area of only 24sq miles.
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The Israeli military says that it would not bring criminal charges against soldiers involved in the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American who was dragged from a car, bound and blindfolded after being stopped at an impromptu checkpoint last year.
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"Between 2015 and 2017, three Saudi princes living in Europe disappeared. All were critical of the Saudi government - and there is evidence that all were abducted and flown back to Saudi Arabia… where nothing further has been heard from them."
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Claims that UNRWA is Hamas "proxy" are "just flat-out lies," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says - CBS News
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"How many Gazans must die, how many Israeli ministers must promote ethnic cleansing, how many failures must Netanyahu deny – for the US to reconsider its immoral, unconditional support for the depraved war being waged by Israel's government?" @djrothkopf
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A military report warned that striking a giant dam in Syria could cause tens of thousands of deaths. The U.S. Bombed It Anyway.
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Really shows how the old time Democratic leadership is so out of touch with constituents. Large majority of Democrats support a ceasefire and over 1000 Black pastors just demanded one. This is the kind of disrespectful, delegitimizing message that will only further alienate them.
OMG! .Is this the Dem Party's plan to delegitimize authentic fury over the slaughter in Gaza? Labeling Gaza ceasefire calls as "Putin's message"?. That's what Pelosi tells CNN. She wants FBI to investigate links between protesters and Putin. How's this different from Trump's MO?
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Some people can keep a sense of humor even in challenging times: This was sent to me by a friend:
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In interview, Netanyahu confirms what his minister of finance had already said: that after the Gaza war is over, the Israeli military intends to control the strip
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The US has blocked a statement put forward by Algeria to the UN Security Council that would have assigned blame to Israel for the killing of more than 100 Palestinians awaiting food aid in northern Gaza.
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My undergraduate students have too much dignity -- and knowledge -- to submit something like this as a term paper.
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"False Messiahs: How Zionism’s dreams of liberation became entangled with colonialism," by @BRRubin
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Israel's Deputy Knesset speaker says "Israel will protect itself without the US if they will not support us." Enormous US political, military, and financial support for Israel has been so taken for granted that this man has no idea how essential it is.
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1/4: Conventional wisdom is that the rapid collapse of Afghan army has been disastrous. I have a different take. It probably saved hundreds if not thousands of lives. We are told that the US and everyone else knew the Taliban would win, but not within days, but weeks or months.
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This is big: Israel claimed its 1967 land conquests weren't planned. Declassified documents reveal otherwise. The documents describe detailed preparations that were made in years before 1967, with intention of organizing in advance control of territories.
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'Wikipedia’s editors vote to declare the ADL “generally unreliable” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding it to list of banned and partially banned sources. An overwhelming majority of editors also deemed ADL unreliable on the topic of antisemitism'.
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Biden: "I, too, am heartbroken by images out of Gaza and deaths of many thousands of civilians, including children." But he still talks about them as if they were victims of natural disaster, not of Israeli bombings using US-supplied weapons and funds.
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Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian is a dual American and Israeli citizen.
Breaking news: Palestinian professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian has been arrested for "suspicion of incitement." Jerusalem's Hebrew University suspended her last month after she said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. She told Democracy Now! her personal safety was at risk.
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Remarkable statement from former CIA Director: "the Israelis usually fire and then ask questions".
Quite a criticism of IDF standards from former CIA Director Leon Panetta: “You have to be able to verify, to take time…and I have to tell you that in the past, at least in my experience, the Israelis usually fire and then ask questions.”
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"Mr. Barr’s attempt to remove Mr. Berman came two days after excerpts released from Mr. Bolton’s upcoming book described what Mr. Bolton said was Mr. Trump’s willingness to intervene in criminal investigations, including one in Mr. Berman’s office.".
New Twist: Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday night abruptly tried to fire the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, who has investigated several of President Trump’s closest associates, but Mr. Berman said he would not leave.
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.@mehdirhasan with @AliVelshi: We still take our shoes off and are still at war 20 years later, because of Al-Qaeda's threat. But that threat was never existential to our democracy. What is a threat is people in this country trying to stop democracy, and we must take it seriously
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@SenSanders Why only Democrats? As the ACLU has argued this is unconstitutional; it’s anti-American, and all Americans should oppose it.
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“It was bound to happen. They are assuring us we are safe. If we were safe, screeners would not be getting sick.”
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Twenty years ago, America was led under false pretense into a ruinous war, as our discourse fell in line. Those of us who opposed the war had to pay with our own funds for a NYT ad I initiated with two others: “War With Iraq Is Not In America’s National Interest.” Unforgivable.
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@DeanObeidallah @realDonaldTrump This goes way beyond 'mad'; here is the president of the USA, leader of the "free world" threatening "retribution" over humor. Astonishing.
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Retire Gen Chuck Boyd says he has been a Republican, but quietly. "I fervently believe that military officers should not get involved in presidential politics, even when retired. But this year is different," because Trump is 'a danger to democracy.'
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Watch Senator @ChrisVanHollen Question Blinken and Austin on Israel: "The number of children killed in Gaza so far is six times more than the number of children killed in entire Ukraine war. If you scale that to US population, it's comparable to 240,000" .
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