by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 19, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/9/19/headlines
At Least 25 Killed in Walkie-Talkie Explosions in Lebanon, One Day After Pager Attack Kills 12
Sep 19, 2024
In Lebanon, at least 25 people were killed and more than 600 others wounded on Wednesday when more hand-held electronic devices exploded without warning. Most of the explosions were of walkie-talkies, but there are also reports of mobile phones; laptops and even solar panels suddenly exploding.
The blasts sowed further panic across Beirut and southern Lebanon one day after some 4,000 pagers exploded simultaneously, killing 12 people and leaving thousands more with gruesome injuries. Wednesday’s explosions triggered fires that engulfed homes, stores, cars and motorcycles. Some of the blasts occurred during the funeral of 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, who was killed in Tuesday’s pager attack. Lebanon has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights, while Lebanese citizens say they now live in fear everyday household electronics could suddenly explode. It’s widely believed Israel is behind the attacks. This is Lebanese politician Ahmad Hariri.
Ahmad Hariri: “The Lebanese people must be aware of what the Israeli enemy aims to achieve. They want to sow discord among us or strike Lebanon at a time when international attention is focused on the upcoming American elections. This suggests that the Israeli army might be preparing to execute a malicious plan to strike Lebanon, like they struck Gaza.”
Evidence in Pager Explosion Points to Israel as U.N. Warns Against Weaponizing Civilian Objects
Sep 19, 2024
The New York Times reports the electronic pagers had been manufactured by a company in Budapest, Hungary — BAC Consulting — that was actually a front company run by Israeli intelligence officers. Many of the pagers were obtained earlier this year after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned against using cellphones to avoid Israeli surveillance.
On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned nations against weaponizing civilian objects.
Secretary-General António Guterres: “The logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a preemptive strike before a major military operation. So, as important as the event in itself is the indication that this event confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”
Israel Declares War Is Moving Toward Lebanon Border as It Continues Deadly Attacks in Gaza
Sep 19, 2024
Israel has declared it’s launching a “new phase” of war, redirecting forces from Gaza to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. But Israel’s carnage in Gaza continues, with deadly attacks reported today in Rafah and Jabaliya, while many children were injured in an Israeli quadcopter attack on Nuseirat. Rescue workers are rushing to uncover possible survivors buried under rubble in the Bureij camp.
In Khan Younis, a father mourned the loss of nearly his entire family to an Israeli strike, including his three children. His youngest was just one-and-a-half years old.
Muhammad Abu Houj: “Come and see. What did he do? One year and 9 months old. What did he do? Did he fire a rocket? He was sitting, safe, amongst us. Look, people. Look, o world. One year and 9 months old. Look at how my son is.”
Third Doctor from Gaza Dies in Israeli Custody After He Was Abducted in Hospital Raid
Sep 19, 2024
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday Dr. Ziad Mohammed al-Dalou, who was abducted by Israeli forces during its March raid on Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, has died in an Israeli jail. He’s the third doctor to die in Israeli custody since October 7 and one of at least 60 Palestinians who’ve since perished in Israeli prisons, which are rife with abuse and torture.
U.N. General Assembly Adopts Resolution Calling on Israel to End Illegal Occupation of Palestine
Sep 19, 2024
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution Wednesday demanding Israel end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory within 12 months. One hundred twenty-four countries voted in favor of the nonbinding resolution. Israel and the United States were among the 14 member states to vote no. It was the first resolution formally introduced by the State of Palestine since it took a permanent seat at the General Assembly last week.
“We Must End Our Complicity”: Sanders Unveils Resolution to Block $20B in Arms Sales to Israel
Sep 19, 2024
In Washington, D.C., Sen. Bernie Sanders is preparing a “joint resolution of disapproval” against a planned $20 billion in U.S. arms sales to Israel. He spoke from the Senate floor Wednesday.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “Netanyahu’s policies have trampled on international law, made life unlivable in Gaza and created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history. … The simple fact is that we must end our complicity in Israel’s illegal and indiscriminate military campaign, which has caused mass civilian death and suffering.”
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Germany appears to have put a hold on new exports of weapons to Israel amid ongoing legal challenges.
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Lebanon: 37 Dead, 3,400+ Injured in Wave of Explosions in Electronic Devices Booby-Trapped by Israel
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 19, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/9/19/ ... transcript
We get an update from Beirut, after at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded in Lebanon on Wednesday when walkie-talkie radios across the country exploded without warning, the second day of an apparent Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah members by booby-trapping handheld communication devices. A day earlier, at least 12 people were killed and thousands more left with gruesome injuries when pagers began exploding across the country. Lebanon has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights, while Lebanese citizens say they now live in fear that everyday household electronics could suddenly explode. Among those killed in the attacks are children, medics and other civilians. “This has been widely reported in the Western press as a sophisticated campaign that targeted alleged Hezbollah operatives, but the reality is that, for the most part, these explosions were occuring in civilian areas,” says journalist Lara Bitar, editor-in-chief of the Beirut-based independent media organization The Public Source. Bitar warns that Israel’s “terrorist attacks” could be a prelude to a larger assault. “The Israeli government has already taken a decision to escalate, to wage full-scale war on all of Lebanon.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We begin today’s show in Lebanon, where there’s widespread fear after a second wave of explosions involving electronic devices went off across the country. Israeli agents are reportedly responsible for rigging the devices. On Wednesday, thousands of walkie-talkies and other devices blew up, killing more than 25 people and injuring more than 600. Some of the blasts occurred at funerals for victims of Tuesday’s explosions which targeted electronic pagers, when 12 people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured, including many members of Hezbollah. This was the scene at one funeral on Wednesday.
AMY GOODMAN: Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib condemned what he called a “blatant assault on Lebanon’s sovereignty and security,” unquote. Hospitals in Lebanon have been overwhelmed with severe injuries as patients have come in after losing eyes and limbs.
DR. DANIA EL HALLAK: We saw young victims, and we saw very old victims. And all just had the same type of wounds. They had puncture wounds on their faces. They had amputated limbs. They had open abdomens, intestines out, bowels out. Unfortunately, there were — there were wounds that you couldn’t explain. There were ruptured eyeballs. There were fractured mandibles, fractured bones, bones out. So, basically, it was the first time I ever see the wounds like that. I couldn’t even classify some wounds or categorize some wounds.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: The New York Times reports the electronic pagers had been manufactured by a front company run by Israeli intelligence officers. Many of the pagers were obtained earlier this year after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned against the use of cellphones to avoid Israeli surveillance. On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the weaponization of civilian objects.
SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES: I think it’s very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponize civilian objects. That should be a rule that everywhere in the world governments should be able to implement. The link of what’s happening in Lebanon with what’s happened in Gaza is obvious since the beginning. I mean, the Hezbollah has been very clear in saying that it has launched its operations because of what’s happening in Gaza and that it will stop when there will be a ceasefire in Gaza.
AMY GOODMAN: On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s focus is turning more to its northern border with Lebanon. He said, quote, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war,” unquote. Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to give a televised speech today.
We go now to Beirut, where we’re joined by Lara Bitar, editor-in-chief of The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization.
Thanks so much for being with us. These last two days, Lara, have been unprecedented. You have the shock of Tuesday, when all of these pagers exploded, killing 12 people, injuring close to 3,000, and then, yesterday, more explosions in walkie-talkies and not clear what other electronic devices. The total, 37 dead, what, something like 3,500 people injured. Can you describe the situation on the ground right now?
LARA BITAR: Good morning.
So, as you can imagine, the events of the past two days have caused a lot of panic, a lot of fear and, to a large extent, paranoia, which was aided by a disinformation campaign, to a large extent. Over the past couple of days, or at least yesterday, for the most part, people were receiving messages over different WhatsApp groups, on social media platforms, that any and every electronic device can be detonated by the Israelis. So people were scared of using their cellphones. People were hearing that even kitchen appliances were exploding, solar panels, laptops and so on. Thankfully, for the most part, this turned out to be a disinformation campaign, and it did not really — was not really materializing on the ground as was being reported across different channels. That may be the only solace from the events of the past couple of days, where we saw civilian areas and civilians being targeted.
This has been widely reported in the Western press as a sophisticated campaign that targeted alleged Hezbollah operatives, but the reality is that, for the most part, these explosions were occurring in civilian areas, in vegetable markets and in the supermarket and the funeral, as you mentioned. And that’s on one hand, but also, on the other, not everybody who’s carrying these pagers and these walkie-talkies is a Hezbollah fighter, nor were any of them on the combat field or on the frontlines in the southern part of the country. It’s very important to note that Hezbollah is not just a resistance group or a militant group. Hezbollah is also a political party here in Lebanon that is represented in Parliament. And Hezbollah also runs and operates several large civil institutions. So, we saw medical personnel and healthcare workers being killed and injured and maimed by these explosions. We saw children. We saw even the Iranian diplomat. So this was a indiscriminate attack that made the Lebanese population feel that anyone can be targeted, at any point, anywhere in the country.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, Lara Bitar, if you could respond — give us a sense of what you expect Hassan Nasrallah to say today when he speaks at 5 p.m. Beirut time? You’ve suggested that this might be the very early stage of a much larger and much bigger war that has the potential to implicate the entire country. What are you expecting in terms of a response from Hezbollah?
LARA BITAR: It’s very difficult to anticipate what the secretary-general will be saying today. But one thing is clear, at least to my mind and to many who are following very closely what’s been happening in Lebanon: It seems that the Israeli government has already taken an action — a decision to escalate, to wage a full-scale war on all of Lebanon. And it seems to me that it doesn’t really matter what Hezbollah decides to do at this point and what form of retaliation the party engages in, that the Israeli — that the genocidal Israeli government has made up its mind to launch a full-scale war on all of the population.
And I think the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon can give us some significant clues as to what could potentially happen. So, in 2006, which was a war that lasted about 33 or 34 days, Israel started off by cutting communication lines. That was the first thing that it did before launching a wider-scale war on the rest of the country. And it seems like this is what it’s doing yet again, cutting the communication lines, and not just of Hezbollah members, but for military personnel, for paramedics, for aid workers, doctors and so on, causing a lot of disorientation, a lot of chaos, a lot of panic. And then this would be acting as a prelude to something that could potentially be much bigger and much scarier.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Lara Bitar, I’d like to ask you about what the response has been from different political parties in Lebanon to these widespread attacks. Let’s just go to Lebanese parliamentarian Mark Daou, who spoke to the BBC earlier today. This is what he had to say.
MARK DAOU: The reality is Lebanon has been suffering for the past 11 months from the war in Gaza, economically, financially, but also because we had some unilateral actions by Hezbollah, as well, to start bombing from South Lebanon. We’re talking to Hezbollah and telling them you need to take all your decisions within the institutions of the state. Acting as a rogue, unilateral actor on the military front is causing all of Lebanon damages because of Israeli aggressions, their genocidal war and their lack of respect for the rules of war or even for crimes against humanity.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Lara, if you could respond to what Mark Daou said and whether this is a widespread belief, the fact that Hezbollah is operating unilaterally and that it should not be, it should be working within the imperatives and desires of the Lebanese state?
LARA BITAR: So, Lebanon is split between two camps. On one hand, you have Hezbollah supporters who believe that we have a moral, ethical, political duty to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and also in the West Bank. Hezbollah scholar Amal Saad referred to this as anticipatory self-defense and as military solidarity. We can roughly estimate that about half of the country or so supports this operation and this campaign that was initiated by Hezbollah on October 8.
And on the other hand, the second camp is fiercely in opposition, not only to this operation, but to Hezbollah in general. And they are using the war of the past 11 months as a means to weaken Hezbollah, to attempt to strip the resistance group from its weapons, to demoralize its supporters. The second camp has been consistently lobbying the international community to exert additional pressure on the militant group.
So, right now the country is not really unified. But in the aftermath of the two terrorist attacks that took place on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, we saw for the very first time wide condemnation across the board in Lebanon, but also for the first time, to some extent, in the international community.
AMY GOODMAN: You tweeted on Tuesday, the day of the pager explosions, “We should learn from the mistakes that were committed in 2000 and not repeat them when the next big day of liberation comes. And it will. Sooner or later.” What did you mean?
LARA BITAR: Many of us believe that the liberation of Palestine is inevitable and that it’s only a matter of time. In that tweet, in particular, I was referring to certain individuals, certain groups and, to some extent, some political parties who are constantly agitating against Hezbollah, who have in the past collaborated with Israel, and who would much rather see the country be completely destroyed rather than maintain Hezbollah in power or have Hezbollah maintain its weapons. In that tweet, I was referring to what happened in the aftermath of liberation in May 2000, when the southerners who had endured the torture, the abuse, the humiliation by the Israeli occupation forces and their Lebanese allies, those residents were asked to simply turn the page, to forget about what had happened, and to coexist with those who had tortured them.
And I was just referring to this mistake, in particular, that I believe has allowed these Zionists, to some extent, to continue to operate in the country. We saw something happen during the 2006 war, but this was on the level of government officials. And we know this from WikiLeaks cables. Several prominent government officials were agitating for war against Hezbollah. They were pushing the international community and supporting Israel to continue its bombardment of all of Lebanon in order for them to get rid of Hezbollah. And that, in my opinion, is a betrayal of the citizens of the country and the sovereignty of the country.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, Lara Bitar, I would like you to talk about what your concerns are about how this war could escalate along the border. I’d just like to go to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who spoke Wednesday at an air force base near Haifa.
YOAV GALLANT: [translated] I believe that we are at the start of a new phase in the war, and we must adapt. … First of all, the center of gravity is moving north. The meaning is that we are moving resources and forces and energy in the northern direction. … The action is being done by all the bodies, and the goal is a clear one, and it’s simple: to return the residents of the communities in the north to their homes safely.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Lara Bitar, what do you think that means, their moving forces to the northern border?
LARA BITAR: It’s difficult to predict, but again, looking at the 2006 war, we can expect the bombing of bridges, of roads, power plants, irrigation and drinking water systems and other vital infrastructure. In 2006, an airport runway was also bombarded, and Israel imposed a sea, air and land blockade on Lebanon.
But I just want to address the point that this war that Israel will be waging against Lebanon is an attempt to return its settlers to the northern part of occupied Palestine. And I imagine that this is how most media organizations will be reporting on this war. But I think it’s important for us to go back a little bit in history and recall that Zionist organizations, as early as 1919, were pushing for the demarcation of the border after the Litani River, which means 30 kilometers, or 19 or 20 miles, deep inside Lebanon. So, this is not really very much about returning the settlers to their homes, but this is about this long-standing desire and intent of the Zionist project to seize the Litani River.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Lara Bitar, finally, will this —
LARA BITAR: Or I should say parts of the Litani River. Yes?
AMY GOODMAN: Will this make Hezbollah more popular in Lebanon? And compare its power to the Lebanese government.
LARA BITAR: There is no Lebanese government really to speak of. Lebanon is still reeling from an economic crisis that started in 2019. The state is almost bankrupt. Most state institutions are barely functional. There is absolutely no comparison between the power of the Lebanese government in comparison to Hezbollah.
AMY GOODMAN: Lara Bitar, we want to thank you very much —
LARA BITAR: And as far as Hezbollah’s — sure.
AMY GOODMAN: Go ahead.
LARA BITAR: I just wanted to respond to the question of Hezbollah’s popularity and support. We do know that Hezbollah supporters are only increasing their actions, their mobilizations, their support of the party. And it doesn’t really seem to matter what the political group does or the militant group does. Their supporters are fiercely behind them. And what we’ve been hearing over the past couple of days, but also over the past 11 months, is that they continue to be even more determined to wage this war against Israel. And the supporters of the party and loyalists to the party are willing to give up their children, their homes, their livelihoods in support of the mission and political project of Hezbollah.
AMY GOODMAN: Lara Bitar, editor-in-chief of The Public Source, speaking to us from Beirut. The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization.
Coming up, we speak with Maya Berry. She’s executive director of the Arab American Institute, came under fierce questioning by Republican senators during a hearing on hate crimes this week. And we’ll be speaking with a congressmember from Illinois who’s introduced a bill against hate crimes, based on the 6-year-old Palestinian death in Chicago, a little boy killed by his landlord. Stay with us.
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Arab American Leader Responds After GOP Senator Says at Hearing, “You Should Hide Your Head in a Bag”
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 19, 2024
We speak with Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, after she faced racist and hostile questioning from Republicans at Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, including Senator John Kennedy, who told Berry, “You should hide your head in a bag.” The experience illustrated the very problem of dehumanization the hearing was meant to address, Berry says: “That kind of bigotry and hatred is difficult to hear from anyone, but to actually experience it at a hate crime hearing from a sitting member of this institution was pretty extraordinary.” We also speak with Democratic Congressmember Delia Ramirez of Illinois, who has introduced a resolution to honor 6-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American boy stabbed to death in a Chicago suburb last October in an anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian attack. “This horrible bigotry and hate have real consequences in the Arab community and the Palestinian community, in other communities, and it makes us all less safe,” Ramirez says of Kennedy.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: As rights groups warn dehumanizing rhetoric around Israel’s U.S.-backed war on Gaza has put the lives of Muslims and Arabs in the U.S. at risk, we look now at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on the “Tide of Hate Crimes in America.” Committee chair Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois called the hearing. His constituent, Hanan Shaheen, sat in the front row. Her 6-year-old son, Wadea al-Fayoume, was stabbed to death in an anti-Muslim hate crime by her landlord in a Chicago suburb in October. Shaheen herself was also stabbed at least 12 times.
Durbin has introduced a resolution honoring Wadea along with Illinois Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, who will join us in a minute to discuss growing support for the Wadea Act. We’ll also be joined by the Arab American witness at Tuesday’s hearing who faced hostile questions from Republicans, Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. But first, let’s go to Republican Senator John Kennedy questioning Berry.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You support Hamas, do you not?
MAYA BERRY: Senator, oddly enough, I’m going to say thank you for that question, because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today in a very effective way.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Let’s start first with a yes or no.
MAYA BERRY: Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support. But you asking the executive director of the Arab American Institute that question very much puts the focus on the issue of hate in our country.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: OK. Well, I got your answer, and I appreciate it. What is the — you support Hezbollah, too, don’t you?
MAYA BERRY: Again, I find this line of questioning extraordinarily disappointing, Senator.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Is that a no?
MAYA BERRY: That you have —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Or yes?
MAYA BERRY: You have Arab American constituents that you represent —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: But is that a —
MAYA BERRY: — in your great state.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Yes, ma’am, I understand that. But is — my time is limited, and I apologize, but is that a yes or a no?
MAYA BERRY: A yes-or-no question to do I support Hezbollah? The answer is I don’t support violence, whether it’s Hezbollah, Hamas or any other entity that invokes it. So, no, sir.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You can’t bring yourself to say no, can you?
MAYA BERRY: No, I can say no. I can say yes.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: But you haven’t.
MAYA BERRY: What I can say is your line of questioning —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You just can’t bring yourself to do it.
MAYA BERRY: Senator —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Do you support or oppose Iran in their hatred of Jews?
MAYA BERRY: Again, I’m going to emphasize, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, none of them is going to —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You can’t bring yourself to say no, can you?
MAYA BERRY: This discussion — sir, I don’t support —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: It’s real simple.
MAYA BERRY: Excuse me. I’m going to —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: And —
MAYA BERRY: If I may?
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Nah, nah, no!
MAYA BERRY: As a Muslim woman — as a Muslim woman, sir, I’m going to tell you —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: I —
MAYA BERRY: — I do not support Iran. But what I will tell you is that —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You —
MAYA BERRY: — this conversation —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: I’m running out of time.
MAYA BERRY: OK.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: I’m sorry. You —
PROTESTER: Senator Kennedy —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You called our decision —
PROTESTER: [inaudible]
CHAIR: Please.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: — to cut funding —
PROTESTER: [inaudible] Goodbye.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You called our decision to cut funding — well, first, what’s the United Nations Relief and Works Agency?
MAYA BERRY: It’s UNRWA, which is —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Yeah.
MAYA BERRY: — the institution that exists to provide services and aid to the nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: And you called our decision to cut funding for them, quote, “an incredible moral failure,” close quote.
MAYA BERRY: That is absolutely correct. But again, I would suggest that conversation —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: And we did —
MAYA BERRY: — is about foreign policy —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: We did that because nine UNRWA staff members were fired for actually helping Hamas on October 7th. Isn’t that the case?
PROTESTER: [inaudible]
MAYA BERRY: I don’t believe that that’s correct in terms of the —
CHAIR: Audience will please —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: Let me ask you one more time: You support Hamas, don’t you?
PROTESTER: [inaudible] dead in Gaza!
MAYA BERRY: Sir?
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You support UNRWA and Hamas, don’t you?
MAYA BERRY: Sir?
PROTESTER: [inaudible]
CHAIR: Please.
MAYA BERRY: I think it’s exceptionally disappointing that you’re looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying, “You support Hamas.”
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You know what’s disappointing to me?
MAYA BERRY: I do not support Hamas.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You can’t bring yourself to say —
MAYA BERRY: I do not support Hamas or any —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: — you don’t support UNRWA, you don’t support Hamas, you don’t —
MAYA BERRY: I was very clear on my support for UNRWA.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: — support Hezbollah, and you don’t support Iran.
MAYA BERRY: I oppose —
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: You should hide your head in a bag.
AMY GOODMAN: “You should hide your head in a bag,” Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, at Tuesday’s Senate hearing on hate crimes.
Maya Berry joins us now in our New York studio. And in the Cannon Rotunda in Washington, D.C., we’re joined by Congressmember Delia Ramirez of Illinois.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Maya Berry, you’re now the head of the Arab American Institute. During 9/11, you were the legislative director of the minority whip, Congressmember David Bonior. You’re well known on Capitol Hill. Can you talk about what Kennedy said to you? And talk about the other two witnesses, as well.
MAYA BERRY: It’s difficult to talk about what Senator Kennedy said to me, because I still, sitting here in front of you, actually do not know what he meant when he said, “Put a bag over your head.” I worry about the senator’s 31,000-plus Arab American constituents and the rest of the constituents he represents from Louisiana. That kind of bigotry and hatred is difficult to hear from anyone, but to actually experience it at a hate crime hearing from a sitting member of this institution was pretty extraordinary.
The hearing itself — but you’re right to point this out — is incredibly important to do. We have been, year after year after year, breaking records for the number of hate crimes in our country, a trajectory that’s increased since the 2015 year, which tied with the 2016 presidential election. And the fact that the hearing that was supposed to cover the issue of hate crime and how to formulate a better response was derailed by a group of senators who chose to have the conversation about a political agenda they wanted to advance with regards to Israel and instead use it as an opportunity to further dehumanize people, it’s not how we fight antisemitism, and it’s certainly not how we fight anti-Arab racism.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Maya Berry, could you speak specifically about the increase in hate crimes from 2023 to 2024, in other words, following the October 7th attacks and then the war, the assault on Gaza?
MAYA BERRY: Yeah. There’s been a sense, obviously, anecdotally and looking at specific news accounts, that there’s been an increase. One of the things that we did in preparation for the hearing is that we actually pulled all of the 2023 data from 27 states plus the District of Columbia. And we did that because the federal data on hate crime has not been released yet for 2023. That won’t be coming out until a bit later.
And we found exactly what we thought, which was that there’s been an extraordinary increase of hate targeting both the Arab American and the Jewish American community: in the case of the Jewish American community, just over a thousand to more than 2,000; in the case of Arab Americans, it went from just over a hundred to 180. All of that is to say, by the way, one of the most important things to understand about hate crime data is the massive underreporting problem that exists. Based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Department of Justice, only about 1% of hate crimes are actually reported. So those numbers tell us that, yes, there’s a significant problem, but it’s significantly worse than that. And then, just to point out, the post-October numbers, that’s where you saw at least half of those crimes.
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about Kenneth Stern, who was another witness, who is director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate.
MAYA BERRY: Yeah. Professor Stern was there specifically because I think there was an anticipation that this conversation might delve into the idea of debating what antisemitism is or isn’t. He is actually the author of the IHRA Definition, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of Antisemitism, that he specifically wrote for the purposes of data collection outside of the United States primarily, to provide guidance. The definition is designed and written to introduce the idea of Israel and Israel issues into conflating it with the very real problem of antisemitism that exists. So, the problem has been — it’s we need to talk about antisemitism; we must not conflate it with anti-Israel criticism or criticism of Zionism. And, you know, he spent some considerable time trying to educate the senators on the importance of not doing that and the harm that it can cause to communities.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, what do you think — Maya, what do you think needs to be done in order to make government more responsible? I mean, [size=15\20]what the Republicans did, of course, the way they questioned you, was completely outrageous[/size]. But even beyond that, you know, taking that out of the picture, what is missing from the way in which the state, the federal government and also state governments, respond to this kind of violence?
MAYA BERRY: I think that’s the question and incredibly important to keep elevating. Part of how policy is set is that you’re asking the right questions and that it’s informed by data. And one of the things that has to happen in this process is actually what happened at the hearing, meaning the convening the hearing to have this discussion so we elevate the issue and the crisis of hate that we’re in. We strongly believe that part of that is requiring mandatory hate crime reporting, which means that every municipality that receives federal funding should have to report on hate crime. We’re not there yet. The introduction of the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act was a vehicle to improve hate crime data collection and reporting. And I think there’s more that can be done in that space. But the point is, we must have our government focus on the actual problem as opposed to distractions from it, which do not advance safety for anyone.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to bring Delia Ramirez into this conversation, who is standing in Congress right now, in Washington, D.C., in the Cannon Rotunda. In the front row of this hearing, your constituent, Senator Durbin’s constituent, since he’s the head of the committee, and he is also the Illinois senator, introduced her, Hanan Shaheen, the mother of Wadea al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old boy who — Palestinian child, who was killed by their landlord. Can you explain what happened then, in October, and what you’ve done in introducing your bill around hate crimes, how the Democrats dealt with this grieving mother, who herself was knifed repeatedly, and how the Republicans dealt with her?
REP. DELIA RAMIREZ: Yeah. Look, I was listening to what Senator Kennedy said, and it really was difficult for me not to have an out-of-body experience in reaction to what he did. Hanan Shaheen and Wadea al-Fayoume were constituents of Congresswoman Underwood, just a few minutes from my district. And when the conversation Senator Dick Durbin and I had about finally having a hearing that actually, since October 7th, talked about the rise of Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian hate and antisemitism and the impact that it has in our communities, it was with Wadea and his mother’s face in mind. And the idea that a hearing that was supposed to be about educating us on what this impact is around our country becoming the perfect example of what elected officials do and how they spew the hate that killed Wadea al-Fayoume was heartbreaking, but also, I think, to Maya’s point, was exactly what we’re talking about.
What Senator Kennedy did in that hearing, the consequences of his horrible bigotry and hate have real consequences in the Arab community and the Palestinian community, in other communities, and it makes us all less safe. The Wadea resolution is about honoring the life of a little boy that was stabbed 26 times by his landlord because Wadea and his mother are Palestinian. And the resolution was about honoring his life and also saying we have to end the bigotry and we have to end the spewing hate and the words that are used by elected officials and the media. That is what this resolution was about. And actually, it’s what inspired Senator Durbin to have this hearing on the rise of hate crimes.
What Senator Kennedy did should have real consequences. Here’s what I’m telling you. You can’t come into the House floor or the Senate chamber without a tie. You have to pay a fine. You can’t use a camera while you’re on the floor. You’ll get fined. But you can treat a witness, treat Maya the way that Kennedy treated Maya, and have no consequences? To me, that is the biggest ethics violation and an example of elected officials not being accountable to their people. And what he did should have consequences. And I’m going to look into what we could be doing to ensure that no elected official use a hearing room to further spew the hate that we’re seeing in the rise of hate crimes around the country.
AMY GOODMAN: As we talk about the issue of hate, Donald Trump said he is heading to Springfield, Ohio, where he and his vice-presidential running mate, now a sitting senator, Ohio Senator JD Vance, have falsely accused the Haitian community of eating pets. It is something that has generated enormous laughter, derision, but, much more importantly, horror, because of what’s happening in the streets of Springfield — state troopers marching through the streets, kids afraid to go to school, bomb threats at schools, at hospitals. You, yourself, Delia Ramirez, are an immigrant, an immigrant from Guatemala. If you can talk about this attack on the immigrant community and what it means, how it’s reverberating for you, as well?
REP. DELIA RAMIREZ: Let me start by saying that what is happening in Springfield, Ohio, is Donald Trump’s fault. All of it. The idea that you make immigrants less than human — which is exactly what his strategy has been the entire time, since he started his campaign eight years ago. This man is intentionally creating ways and using words and accusations to make immigrants less than human — Haitian immigrants, Black immigrants. I mean, if that is not racism and bigotry, and if you can support this man, then it makes me question if you’re a racist and a bigot, as well.
The people of Springfield have said, “Leave us alone.” Haitian immigrants in this town are boosting our economy. Its own mayor, the city manager, the entire community has said, “Enough is enough. You, Donald Trump, is bringing hate to our community. You, Donald Trump, is making us less safe. You, Donald Trump, is impacting our economy,” because now we’re having to spend all this money on safety because of what he did. Shame on Donald Trump. Donald Trump, the last thing he should be doing is going to Springfield, Ohio. What he should be doing is asking himself, “Who am I? And why do I hate people so much?”
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, though I’m not quoting his words directly, he just said in a town hall forum he’ll go to Springfield, but who knows if he’ll make it out? We’re going to leave it there. I want to thank you so much, Illinois Congressmember Delia Ramirez, speaking to us from Washington, D.C., in the Cannon Rotunda. And thank you to Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. We thank you for both being with us.
Coming up, we speak to a Burmese genocide scholar about Burma, the latest news there, and his trip to the West Bank. Stay with us. Back in 20 seconds.
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Standing at Gaza Border Felt Like Visiting Auschwitz: Burmese Genocide Scholar Maung Zarni
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 19, 2024
The United Nations is warning about widespread human rights abuses in Burma as the military regime intensifies the killings and arbitrary arrests of tens of thousands of civilians since seizing power in a coup over three years ago. A new report from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says many of those detained by the Burmese military are children taken from their parents, with dozens of minors dying in custody. “What it paints is an extremely disturbing picture of Burma descending into this human rights abyss. If you’re living there, it’s a complete living hell,” says Burmese scholar, dissident and human rights activist Maung Zarni. He also discusses his recent visit with faith leaders to the West Bank and the border of Gaza, drawing parallels between Burma’s and Israel’s human rights abuses. “Israel has taken the practices and policies of genocide to a whole new level,” says Zarni.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: The United Nations is warning Burma is “plumbing the depths of a human rights abyss” as the military regime intensifies the killings and arbitrary arrests of tens of thousands of civilians since seizing power in a coup over three years ago. The gruesome findings are part of a new U.N. human rights report detailing how the Burmese military detained children who were taken from their parents. Dozens of those children have died in custody.
We end today’s show with Maung Zarni, a Burmese genocide scholar and human rights activist who’s been a vocal critic of the Burmese junta and Israel’s war on Gaza and the Israeli occupation.
AMY GOODMAN: In August, Maung Zarni traveled to the occupied West Bank and the Gaza border.
MAUNG ZARNI: Here at this Rafah crossing, sandwiched between Israel and Egyptian border, I feel like I am standing outside a giant concentration camp. When I see the tanks coming in and out, hearing airstrikes, I feel like I am once again visiting Auschwitz.
AMY GOODMAN: Maung Zarni, Burmese genocide scholar and human rights activist, joins us now from Kent, England, co-founder of the Forces of Renewal for Southeast Asia, or FORSEA.
Welcome back, Zarni, to Democracy Now! It’s so important to have you with us. Talk about the groups you traveled to the Gaza border and to the West Bank with and your thoughts not only about what’s happening there, but comparisons to what’s going on, the horror that’s going on in Burma right now.
MAUNG ZARNI: Well, Amy, I am greatly indebted to the North American-based, particularly the U.S.-based Rabbis for Ceasefire and Christians for Ceasefire, as well as the Jerusalem-based liberation theologian group called Sabeel. And these three organizations facilitated a visit of the 28-member delegation. And most of the delegates are, you know, clergymen and clergywomen and people of faith. And I am, rather, a humanist, a human rights activist, but nonetheless I joined them, because I wanted to bear witness to what’s happening.
As you know, you have — you know, I’ve covered my own native country of Burma for 30 years and since we have known each other. And Burma and Israel, we regained our — Burma regained independence in 1948. Israel established itself as a sovereign state in 1948. They had what Golda Meir called a love affair. And these newly independent states after the Second World War are now undergoing a genocide trial or, you know, proceedings at the International Court of Justice. And so, you know, Burma is no stranger when it comes to mass atrocities.
What I found in Israel actually shocked me more than what I was prepared. You know, I have studied genocide for decades, and I’ve studied Nazi genocide, Cambodian genocide, my own country’s so-called Buddhist genocide of Rohingya people in western Burma. But Israel has taken the practices and policies of genocide to a whole new level. You know, what I found there — I’ve said this, as well, in other forums — a vast ecosystem of genocidal methodologies or methods.
That is to say that Israel has invented, very creatively, a system of depopulating the pre-1967 Palestine land using different methods, separating different pockets of subpopulation of Palestinians, from Gaza as open-air prison to other various parts of West Bank, you know, five- or six-tier citizenships with severely limited basic and fundamental rights, the severely — you know, severe restriction of life’s essentials, like access to food system, agricultural land, not just simply confiscating massive agricultural land, you know, across Israel. The chicken farms that Israeli companies run, and settlers, that have set up fantastic stone houses in communities fenced off, have chickens. Let me put this this way. Chickens in Israel, in Israeli companies’ farm, have far more access to water and electricity than Palestinian villages and people. And checkpoints, 810-kilometer-long wall — and it’s not just for security purposes. It is actually — the U.N. said it in 2005 — the wall, 810-kilometer-long wall, has been the prime driver behind mass deprivation — in other words, mass poverty of Palestinian people. And so, it’s rather frightening.
And Ramallah, you know, it’s thriving, the city, a bubble. But the locals tell me that the Israeli IDF and security agency will come in and do anything they want, and Palestinian Authority is completely helpless and that they cannot do nothing. They cannot protect the Palestinian people, even in Ramallah — forget about West Bank and other places.
Land confiscation. You know, we came very close to being tear-gassed by the IDF because we were supporting a farm family that have been evicted after their farm has been confiscated in Jerusalem, UNESCO World Heritage agricultural areas. And so, the Hebrew-speaking local colleagues in Jerusalem area who were with us told us that we need to vacate the place because the IDF is going to start firing tear gas and stun guns or grenades.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Zarni, finally, we want to turn to what’s going on in Burma. If you could respond to the new U.N. human rights report and their warning about what’s going on in Burma?
MAUNG ZARNI: Yeah. The new U.N. human rights report cover a one-year period since spring of 2023. What it says — what it paints is an extremely disturbing picture of Burma descending into this human rights abyss. You know, if you’re living there, it’s a complete living hell. You know, 3 million people are being displaced by a civil war between the army, on one hand, and various — you know, the pro-democracy or pro-ethnic liberation armed groups. You know, then we got hit by the typhoon over the last 10 days, and another 700,000 people, they’re displaced and dispossessed.
And so, the only problem is that in the past the Burmese military, the junta, has been the number one or sole perpetrator of egregious human rights crime, but since the coup three years ago, we have a mushrooming of armed organizations in the name of like a pro-democracy movement, and they join hands with different ethnic or ethnonationalist organizations. And so, there are organizations, such as Arakan Army, which represent the Buddhist Rakhine in western Myanmar. Now they are —
AMY GOODMAN: We have 15 seconds, Maung Zarni.
MAUNG ZARNI: — [inaudible] permitting genocide. Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you so much for being with us. Of course, we’ll continue to cover what’s happening in Burma and also in Gaza and the West Bank. Maung Zarni, Burmese dissident, human rights activist, scholar of genocide, co-founder of the Forces of Renewal for Southeast Asia, speaking to us from Kent.
Very happy belated birthday to Sam Alcoff! That does it for our show. Democracy Now! produced with Mike Burke, Renée Feltz, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. Thanks for joining us.
