Latest news with #Palestinian-led
The National
6 days ago
- Business
- The National
Scottish community-owned island announces boycott of Israel
The community-owned island on Scotland's west coast is home to 120 people, all of whom are members of the Isle of Eigg Residents Association (IERA) – which has now made public its support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. A Palestinian-led movement, BDS looks to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law through boycotting its goods and services. In a statement, the residents association said this decision – passed unanimously at a meeting last week – was taken in order to 'stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and to raise awareness of the complicity of these companies in genocide'. For example, the boycott means the island's only shop will stop stocking goods from Israel firms as well as its biggest supporters – including Coca Cola due to its alleged links to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 'We are a diverse island community, and many of us rely on these companies for medicine, technology, and the transport of goods that are otherwise unavailable,' the statement went on. 'This action is about solidarity, education, and contribution to a worldwide movement that has succeeded in pressuring businesses to cut economic ties with the apartheid state of Israel and end complicity in war crimes and operations in occupied territories. The IERA added: 'The action is not about creating an environment of hostility or policing individual choices. We embrace the inevitability of mistakes and imperfection, and prioritise the importance of community, unity and informed choices, encouraging each other to take action with the little bargaining power we have—our money. This is part of a continuous commitment to fundraising and solidarity with oppressed peoples.' The residents association also said it was inspired by the community of Govanhill in Glasgow, who recently announced it would be working toward being an 'apartheid-free zone'. The statement concluded: 'We invite others to reflect, learn, and explore how their communities might take meaningful steps toward justice and solidarity.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Andrew Cuomo Ad Leans Into Racism With Edited Photo of Zohran Mamdani
A pro-Andrew Cuomo super PAC released a mailer this week that modified the image of Zohran Mamdani, the progressive frontrunner in New York City's mayoral race, to appear as if he has a darker, longer beard. The altered image of Mamdani, a New York state representative, appeared next to text on a mailer claiming that Mamdani 'rejects' the police and capitalism. It also claimed that Mamdani 'rejects Israel,' on the basis that the Ugandan-born Democratic Socialist supports a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement known as BDS that advocates for economic sanctions against Israel. The advert also advertised Mamdani as a candidate who 'rejects Jewish rights,' claiming that he 'refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.' It was developed by Fix The City Inc., a group predominantly paid for by DoorDash, according to the group's website. 'Andrew Cuomo is afraid he'll lose, so his donors want you to fear me,' the assemblyman posted on X Thursday. 'His SuperPAC just sent out a mailer that artificially lengthened and darkened my beard.' 'This is blatant Islamophobia—the kind of racism that explains why MAGA billionaires support his campaign,' he added. Mamdani's connection to New York City's Jewish community was challenged by a curveball during last week's mayoral debate when he was asked, as a hypothetical mayor of New York City, if he would visit Israel. 'I believe you need not travel to Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers,' Mamdani said. 'That is what I'll be doing as the mayor.' Why Mamdani would be involved with sensitive foreign affairs as the local leader of New York is unclear, but the debate moderators did not appear privy to their own lack of rationale. Instead, they followed up by questioning Mamdani if he believed Israel had a right to exist. 'I believe Israel has a right to exist,' he said. 'As a Jewish state?' the moderator pressed. 'As a state with equal rights,' Mamdani replied. Speaking with Fox 5's Good Day New York in the wake of the debate, Mamdani clarified that he is 'not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else.' The gross visual attempt to sway the voters of New York appears especially desperate on the heels of Mamdani's surging numbers: A survey published late Wednesday found that—for the first time—Mamdani had actually topped Cuomo's campaign, beating the ex-governor by 35 percent to 31 percent. The survey was conducted by Public Policy Polling for Democrat Justin Brannan's city comptroller campaign. Cuomo's continued presence in the race nearly defies logic. The former New York governor was forced to resign from his leadership position in 2021 after he was deemed too corrupt for Albany. Four years on, several major political backers, including a lobby of New York City landlords, have forced Cuomo back into the limelight, surging him toward a political comeback to Gracie Mansion despite his lagging popularity.
The Journal
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
70-year-old Irish woman deported from Israel after being denied legal representation in court
AN IRISH WOMAN has been deported from Israel this afternoon, ten days after she was arrested by Israeli forces for 'entering an active military zone' in the West Bank. 70-year-old great-grandmother Máire Ní Mhurchú, originally from Douglas, Co Cork, was detained by Israeli forces in the village of Khallet al-Dabaa in the Masafer Yatta region of southern West Bank on 1 June. Murphy was arrested shortly after Israeli forces declared the village a 'closed military zone.' According to Palestinian sources, residents and international solidarity activists were forcibly removed from the area. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organisation that supports nonviolent resistance in the West Bank and Gaza, said Murphy had been complying with Israeli orders to leave when she was harassed by Israeli settlers. Murphy was initially held at Ben Gurion Airport, before being transferred to Givon Prison in Ramla on Tuesday. She appeared before court in Israel this week to appeal the deportation order given to her by Israeli authorities – though the ISM claim she was denied legal representation and was unable to contact her lawyer , despite her requests for them and multiple attempts by her lawyer to get in touch through the prison service. Murphy was deported to the UK this afternoon. Advertisement Her son, Dale Ryan, said that her family 'are all very relieved' to have her home. 'The past 10 days have been intense and we have had to trust that the Israeli authorities would treat my mother fairly and ensure her basic needs were met,' Ryan said. 'From their treatment of the Palestinians over the past several decades, this was not something we had the most confidence in. He added that his mother wanted to remain in the West Bank 'helping them in any way she could', but conceded that Murphy 'would have been pleased that her situation helped to draw some more eyes to the appalling treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank'. 'I know after a day's rest my mother will be back gathering support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for the fair treatment of all Palestinians, after me and all her family give her a massive hug.' According to the ISM, Israeli forces are now demolishing the houses and water systems left in Khalet Al-Dabaa, together with makeshift tents. 'These communities face an ongoing and escalating campaign of ethnic cleansing and forcible displacement being carried out by Israeli settlers with the full support of the Israeli state,' an ISM spokesperson said. They added that they were disappointed in the 'shy response' from both the Irish and British governments. 'Murphy's case has served to remind us that the international community not only has an obligation to stop trade and relationships with Israel, but also to take decisive steps to bring the genocide and occupation of Palestine to an end,' the spokesperson added. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Morocco World
04-06-2025
- Health
- Morocco World
UNICEF: 50,000 Children Killed or Injured in Gaza
Rabat_ As the world marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, few places reflect the meaning of this day with more devastating clarity than the Gaza Strip, where Israel's ongoing genocide has turned Palestinian childhood into a global site of horror, grief, and impunity. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement issued a statement on the occasion, urging immediate and decisive global action to stop the genocide in Gaza. The Palestinian-led movement called for 'targeted lawful diplomatic, sports and other sanctions on Israel' to halt the mass killing of civilians, especially children. It also reiterated the demand for a comprehensive military and energy embargo on Israel, insisting that those responsible for the massacres in Palestine be prosecuted through international legal mechanisms. The world must not only 'stand in mourning, but in urgent demand for justice,' the statement stressed. 'Nowhere is this day more tragically embodied than against Palestinian children in Gaza, where Israel's ongoing and livestreamed genocide has resulted in the mass killing of Palestinian children,' the BDS movement declared. It recalled that UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in November 2023 that Gaza was 'becoming a graveyard for children.' Nearly 20 months into Israel's genocidal assault, the phrase is no longer metaphorical. Even the graveyards themselves have been bombed. The scale of violence unleashed on Gaza's children defies moral comprehension and numerical abstraction. Israel's unimaginable violence in Gaza In a statement on May 27, UNICEF revealed that over 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza since Israel began its assault in October 2023. The UN agency has described this grim figure as 'unimaginable.' Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, condemned the violence as part of a pattern of systemic, targeted harm. His statement marked the last weekend of May as another chapter of carnage: On May 24, an Israeli airstrike obliterated the al-Najjar family home in Khan Younis, killing nearly all ten siblings under the age of 12. Only one child survived, critically injured. On May 27, a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced families was attacked, reportedly killing at least 31 people, including 18 children. 'These children — lives that should never be reduced to numbers — are now part of a long, harrowing list of unimaginable horrors,' Beigbeder said. 'Grave violations against children, the blockade of aid, starvation, forced displacement, and the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure — in essence, the destruction of life itself in the Gaza Strip.' Long before the genocide in Gaza escalated, Palestinian children held a haunting place in Arab consciousness. And now more than ever, they stand as symbols of resilience, born into brutal military occupation, exile, siege, and ethnic cleansing. Israel has robbed generations of Palestinians of the sweet oblivion of childhood. Today, the image of a Palestinian child is one of unimaginable grief: thousand-yard stares, lone survivors sitting beside the corpses of their families, tiny hands carrying bloodied remains and amputated limbs. These children identify their mothers only by strands of hair, die with a fist of rice clutched in their hands, or lie weightless under the rubble of their homes, their souls hovering silently above.
CairoScene
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Why Are Artists Boycotting Sónar Festival 2025?
Why Are Artists Boycotting Sónar Festival 2025? Over 70 artists have dropped out of Sónar 2025 over ties to KKR, an investment giant linked to arms and Israeli military tech. More than 70 artists have pulled out of Sónar Festival 2025 in protest of its ownership ties to KKR, a global investment firm linked to weapons manufacturing, surveillance technology, and Israeli military contracts. What began as a quiet call to accountability has grown into a full-blown boycott campaign, raising urgent questions about the politics behind music festival funding. KKR—short for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts—acquired Superstruct Entertainment in 2020. Superstruct owns or controls more than 80 festivals worldwide, including Sónar, Outlook, DGTL, and Parookaville. With the ongoing genocide in Gaza and heightened scrutiny over financial complicity, artists and activists are demanding transparency about who funds the events they participate in, and what those companies profit from. The boycott was spearheaded by the Palestinian-led BDS movement, which called Sónar's relationship with KKR 'involuntary complicity in genocide.' That statement struck a chord. In a matter of days, artists like Ikonika, Florentino, Manuka Honey, and ABADIR publicly canceled their scheduled appearances. Egyptian artist ABADIR wrote: 'I can't participate in good conscience… This is about anti-racism and solidarity.' Sónar initially responded by stating that it 'promotes respect for human rights.' But as pressure mounted, the festival issued a second statement on May 19th, saying: 'We have no control over KKR's investments, and we express solidarity with Gaza's civilians.' It added, 'No ownership structure will define who we are.' But many aren't buying it. Amsterdam's DGTL Festival, also owned by Superstruct, released a much firmer statement acknowledging that 'KKR's investments are unethical' and promising to reassess its affiliations. Even Boiler Room came under fire after launching a pro-Palestine fundraising campaign while remaining silent about its own past ties to KKR, a contradiction that artists and audiences were quick to point out. For many, the issue is not just about Gaza. It's about the role of music in systems of oppression. As stages grow larger and more corporate, the decisions about who profits from culture, and who is erased by it, are no longer invisible.
