mintpressnews--2020-04-27--The Truth About China’s COVID-19 Response

While the U.S. took two-and-a-half years to identify HIV/AIDS after the discovery of the first symptomatic case in the country , China discovered , identified and contained COVID-19 within a few months .
In the U.S. , over half a million people have died of HIV/AIDS ; worldwide that same number die every year .
Even now , in the U.S. , 13,000 die each year of the disease .
No wonder the world understands that China ’ s successful national mobilization to stop the COVID-19 virus was unprecedented , as recognized by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s rapid detection and transparency in reporting of the COVID-19 outbreak was a breathtaking display of medical , scientific and administrative effectiveness .
But misleading and false reports from the U.S. government and the media insist on rejecting the worldwide consensus .
Now that COVID-19 is a global pandemic , we might wish to learn something of the discovery and identification of the virus in Wuhan , Hubei Province , China .
The story of COVID-19 may begin with Dr. Zhang Jixian , director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese and Western Medicine .
She was the first to bring attention to the outbreak .
On December 26 , Dr. Zhang saw four patients at the hospital with flu-like symptoms , an elderly couple and their son , and a seller from the seafood market .
The cases puzzled her , since tests ruled out the two severe types of influenza , SARS-CoV-1 ( “ SARS ” ) and other diagnoses .
Dr. Zhang admitted and quarantined them because , she later explained , of her personal experience fighting the SARS outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Zhang reported the cases to the hospital chief , Dr. Xia Wenguang , who then reported to the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
Over the next two days , four more cases appeared .
On December 29 , Dr. Xia discussed the cases with ten experts from various medical disciplines and reported to Hubei Province ’ s CDC , which began epidemiological research that very day .
On December 31 , China informed the WHO of the mysterious cases of a “ viral pneumonia of unknown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new virus was identified , and within a week , Chinese scientists had sequenced the genome and shared the data with the world .
Through nearly all of January , it was unclear whether the virus was capable of human to human transmission and if so to what extent .
Nevertheless , patient quarantine and other protective measures had already been taken just in case the infection proved capable of “ sustained ” human-to-human transmission , something much more serious than animal-to-human or “ limited ” human-to-human transmission .
But by January 23 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though it was not until January 30 that the WHO ’ s international committee of experts found the outbreak constituted a “ public health emergency of international concern.
” A parallel story of discovery , centered on Dr. Li Wenliang , has been grossly distorted to belie the true one .
On December 30 , Dr. Li Wenliang , a Wuhan ophthalmologist , told friends on social media of his fear of a reemergence of SARS , based on patient records he had seen at the hospital .
Local police mildly reprimanded him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that might cause panic and interfere with medical treatment and the investigation of the disease .
The reprimand was perhaps understandable since the disease was not considered transmissible between people , nor was it the familiar SARS virus .
After Dr. Li ’ s own tragic death of COVID-19 , the reprimand was withdrawn by the government and an official apology given his family .
To be sure , Dr. Li was mistaken about the virus ( he was an ophthalmologist , after all ) .
And he might be faulted for posting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the matter was being correctly handled by disease control specialists .
Yet Dr. Li was vindicated in his worry of a possibly dangerous contagion .
U.S. officials and the media have dubbed Dr. Li a “ whistleblower.
” But Dr. Li did not report his concerns to medical or other authorities , nor to the public at large , which by definition is what whistleblowers do .
His social media posts came days after Dr. Zhang had appropriately reported her patients , “ blew the whistle , ” if you will , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indeed , “ whistleblowing ” does not seem to have been Dr. Li ’ s intent at all .
Most disturbing , the fabricated tale of a suppressed whistleblower places the vigilant Dr. Li in an uncertain light , when , in fact , he was simply sharing understandable concerns with friends .
The world owes China ’ s people and institutions a debt of gratitude for expertly identifying and containing COVID-19 , something that involved a national mobilization of productive resources , medical workers and hundreds of thousands of volunteers .
Two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two weeks .
COVID-19 test kit production increased 6-fold in less than two months ; production of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) increased 20-fold within a few weeks .
Wuhan was strictly quarantined , made possible by government delivery of food and supplies .
It is tragic that much of the west , especially the U.S. , squandered the time gained through China ’ s efforts .
In our hemisphere , the governments of Cuba , Nicaragua and Venezuela have acted quickly and successfully to control the virus .
But most other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in thrall to neoliberalism , have not .
In a display of contempt for human life at home and abroad , the U.S. government has failed to protect its own population from the disease , while continuing longstanding ( and bi-partisan ) wars and sanctions against peoples in both hemispheres that effectively turn the pandemic into a bio-weapon .
Historians will undoubtedly view this moment of U.S. history with particular revulsion .
Feature photo | A worker wearing a hazardous materials suit stands at a security checkpoint at a subway station in Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schiefelbein | AP Roger Stoll is a Latin America/Caribbean solidarity activist with the Task Force on the Americas , a three-decades-old anti-imperialist human rights organization .
He has published articles , book reviews and political poetry in Dissident Voice , Resumen Latinoamericano , Counterpunch , Popular Resistance , San Francisco Examiner , ZNet , Jewschool , and New Verse News .

While the U.S. took two-and-a-half years to identify HIV/AIDS after the discovery of the first symptomatic case in the country, China discovered, identified and contained COVID-19 within a few months. In the U.S., over half a million people have died of HIV/AIDS; worldwide that same number die every year. Even now, in the U.S., 13,000 die each year of the disease.
No wonder the world understands that China’s successful national mobilization to stop the COVID-19 virus was unprecedented, as recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Also well understood is that China’s rapid detection and transparency in reporting of the COVID-19 outbreak was a breathtaking display of medical, scientific and administrative effectiveness. But misleading and false reports from the U.S. government and the media insist on rejecting the worldwide consensus.
Now that COVID-19 is a global pandemic, we might wish to learn something of the discovery and identification of the virus in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
China’s Rapid COVID-19 Discovery and Response
The story of COVID-19 may begin with Dr. Zhang Jixian, director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Hubei Province Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine. She was the first to bring attention to the outbreak.
On December 26, Dr. Zhang saw four patients at the hospital with flu-like symptoms, an elderly couple and their son, and a seller from the seafood market. The cases puzzled her, since tests ruled out the two severe types of influenza, SARS-CoV-1 (“SARS”) and other diagnoses. Dr. Zhang admitted and quarantined them because, she later explained, of her personal experience fighting the SARS outbreak in 2003.
On December 27, Dr. Zhang reported the cases to the hospital chief, Dr. Xia Wenguang, who then reported to the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Over the next two days, four more cases appeared.
On December 29, Dr. Xia discussed the cases with ten experts from various medical disciplines and reported to Hubei Province’s CDC, which began epidemiological research that very day.
On December 30, Hubei’s CDC reported to China’s national CDC.
On December 31, China informed the WHO of the mysterious cases of a “viral pneumonia of unknown origin.”
On January 3, the new virus was identified, and within a week, Chinese scientists had sequenced the genome and shared the data with the world.
Through nearly all of January, it was unclear whether the virus was capable of human to human transmission and if so to what extent. Nevertheless, patient quarantine and other protective measures had already been taken just in case the infection proved capable of “sustained” human-to-human transmission, something much more serious than animal-to-human or “limited” human-to-human transmission.
But by January 23, Wuhan was in precautionary lockdown, though it was not until January 30 that the WHO’s international committee of experts found the outbreak constituted a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Falsifying the Narrative About Dr. Li Wenliang
A parallel story of discovery, centered on Dr. Li Wenliang, has been grossly distorted to belie the true one.
On December 30, Dr. Li Wenliang, a Wuhan ophthalmologist, told friends on social media of his fear of a reemergence of SARS, based on patient records he had seen at the hospital. Local police mildly reprimanded him and several others for spreading false rumors that might cause panic and interfere with medical treatment and the investigation of the disease. The reprimand was perhaps understandable since the disease was not considered transmissible between people, nor was it the familiar SARS virus. After Dr. Li’s own tragic death of COVID-19, the reprimand was withdrawn by the government and an official apology given his family.
To be sure, Dr. Li was mistaken about the virus (he was an ophthalmologist, after all). And he might be faulted for posting on social media about it, especially since the matter was being correctly handled by disease control specialists. Yet Dr. Li was vindicated in his worry of a possibly dangerous contagion.
U.S. officials and the media have dubbed Dr. Li a “whistleblower.” But Dr. Li did not report his concerns to medical or other authorities, nor to the public at large, which by definition is what whistleblowers do. His social media posts came days after Dr. Zhang had appropriately reported her patients, “blew the whistle,” if you will, for which she was officially lauded. Indeed, “whistleblowing” does not seem to have been Dr. Li’s intent at all. Most disturbing, the fabricated tale of a suppressed whistleblower places the vigilant Dr. Li in an uncertain light, when, in fact, he was simply sharing understandable concerns with friends.
Conclusion
The world owes China’s people and institutions a debt of gratitude for expertly identifying and containing COVID-19, something that involved a national mobilization of productive resources, medical workers and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. Two full-service hospitals were fabricated in less than two weeks. COVID-19 test kit production increased 6-fold in less than two months; production of personal protective equipment (PPE) increased 20-fold within a few weeks. Wuhan was strictly quarantined, made possible by government delivery of food and supplies.
It is tragic that much of the west, especially the U.S., squandered the time gained through China’s efforts. In our hemisphere, the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have acted quickly and successfully to control the virus. But most other governments (including our own), in thrall to neoliberalism, have not.
In a display of contempt for human life at home and abroad, the U.S. government has failed to protect its own population from the disease, while continuing longstanding (and bi-partisan) wars and sanctions against peoples in both hemispheres that effectively turn the pandemic into a bio-weapon. Historians will undoubtedly view this moment of U.S. history with particular revulsion.
Feature photo | A worker wearing a hazardous materials suit stands at a security checkpoint at a subway station in Beijing, Jan. 24, 2020. Mark Schiefelbein | AP
Roger Stoll is a Latin America/Caribbean solidarity activist with the Task Force on the Americas, a three-decades-old anti-imperialist human rights organization. He has published articles, book reviews and political poetry in Dissident Voice, Resumen Latinoamericano, Counterpunch, Popular Resistance, San Francisco Examiner, ZNet, Jewschool, and New Verse News.


mintpressnews--2020-04-27--Trump and Biden Trade Hit Pieces: Distinctions without a Difference

This season ’ s sequel to the “ Game of Thrones ” features reality TV star and the current occupant of the Oval Office versus the former Senator from MBNA and two-term VP .
It ’ s time to binge-watch dueling hit pieces from the U.S electoral duopoly going at it .
The narrower the distinctions between Democrats and Republicans , the more vociferous they get in inflating those distinctions as if a distinction were really a difference .
As liberation president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere famously observed , “ The United States is a one-party state but , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them.
” War with China – thinking through the unthinkable Behind the blame game between the Democrats and the Republicans is a bedrock consensus , for example , on identifying China as not just a commercial rival but as a future enemy in a nuclear war .
The U.S. imperial ship of state is set on a collision course with China .
Democrat Obama “ pivoted ” to Asia ; Republican Trump seamlessly followed course .
The RAND Corporation , a quasi-governmental think tank created to provide intelligence to the U.S. Armed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spells it out : War with China : Thinking Through the Unthinkable .
The corporate media echo the meme of China as the sinister enemy .
The Democrat-leaning New York Times reports , “ Chinese agents helped spread messages that sowed virus panic in US.
” “ Alarmed by fake text messages and social media posts , ” the newspaper of record warns , “ experts see a convergence with Russian tactics.
” With no sense of shame , the Times then accuses the “ pro-Trump news outlets ” of promoting “ conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox commentator Tucker Carlson hyperbolically exclaims , “ China did this [ coronavirus pandemic ] to the world and we should not pretend otherwise.
” Paranoically exhorting that “ in very real ways , the Chinese government controls us , ” Carlson demands , “ at some point our leaders should be held accountable ” for allowing China to “ undermine ” us .
So ditto head Biden issues a campaign video entitled , “ Trump did not hold China accountable , ” attacking Trump for correctly saying , “ China has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” This view , incidentally , is shared by the World Health Organization , which praised China for its exemplary handling of the pandemic .
The corresponding Trump hit piece retorts with a video of Biden saying , “ I complimented him [ Trump ] with dealing with China.
” Proving that the rightwing media and Trump do not have a lock on xenophobia and racism , the Democratic Party ad shows Biden screaming , “ I would be on the phone with China and making it clear , we are going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You have to be open !
” And “ Trump let in 40,000 travelers from China…left this country unprepared and unprotected ” from the Asian menace .
The direction of U.S. imperial policy is unquestioned as the partisan rivals compete to see , for example , who can be the bigger Sinophobe .
Not mentioned is that China ’ s rising economic power is in part a consequence of the U.S. neoliberal consensus to export industrial production to low-wage Asia .
Protecting the US working class is not what the politicians are squabbling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Trump ’ s National Security Strategy , which broke with the previous characterization of the world as a “ community of nations ” to the present description of a great power “ competitive arena.
” In the drive to achieve global “ full spectrum dominance , ” China and Russia are identified as military targets .
Substantive unity between the Democrats and Republicans is obscured by the smoke and mirrors of partisan bickering .
On some issues , the duopoly is so unanimous they do not even bother to make a show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. House of Representatives pushed through a bipartisan resolution increasing illegal unilateral sanctions against Nicaragua , which passed on a unanimous voice vote in eight minutes , with no debate and no one speaking in opposition .
By the end of March , after only a “ smidgeon of negotiating , ” Congress unanimously passed the record astronomical $ 2 trillion CARES Act boondoggle .
While workers are experiencing the highest recorded unemployment , the bipartisan act will gift 43,000 rich citizens an average “ windfall ” of $ 1.7 million each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ healthcare , transportation , sanitation , and other vital workers remain on the job , the Congress critters went on recess to shelter in place , demonstrating that theirs is not an essential service .
The decadence of the two-party system Being on the take at the expense of the U.S. people is a bipartisan pastime and a mark of finesse for the inside-the-beltway crowd .
Senators on both sides of the aisle benefited by insider trading , dumping stocks after a confidential coronavirus briefing .
Trump ’ s corruption needs no elaboration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dems on the same count .
A Trump hit piece points out that father Biden took son Hunter on a taxpayer funded official U.S. government visit to China , where the son profited with a “ billion dollar deal ” with a subsidiary of the Bank of China .
The highest-ranking Democrat , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears in a video showing how she ’ s persevering through shelter-in-place , giggling in front of her $ 24k refrigerators stocked with expensive ice cream .
A Trump hit piece juxtaposes that image with one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country saying , “ we ’ re starving.
” Joe Biden cluelessly compounds the error by tweeting , Nancy Pelosi has “ great taste ” in ice cream .
Meanwhile , nearly 2,700 families preregistered at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank drive-up .
NPR reported 10,000 cars waited hours in line for emergency food aid in San Antonio .
A couple of years ago , former Democratic Party presidential candidates John Kerry and Hillary Clinton attended a wedding hosted by the richest mogul in India for his daughter , estimated to cost $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and HRC inanely danced Bollywood-style , 170 million Indians barely subsisted on less than $ 2 per day .
Internet comedian Jimmy Dore observes , “ The Democratic Party is so corrupt , so unbelievably corrupt and out of touch , that a guy who sits [ not his exact word ] on a golden toilet gets to make fun of them for being out of touch elitists .
And it lands.
” We will have to wait until November to see who the Electoral College anoints in its game of thrones .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ finds the only remotely redeeming quality in Biden is that he isn ’ t Trump .
Biden supported Bush ’ s Iraq war and sided with the Republicans to defeat the student bankruptcy and prescription medicine price control bills .
He voted for cutting Social Security and for confirming Antonin Scalia .
With Democrats like this , you don ’ t need Republicans .
The problem with voting for either the Republicans or Democrats – besides that they rule – is that you need a scorecard to figure out which is the lesser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by helping to build a left third-party movement .
As socialist and one-time presidential candidate Eugene Debs commented : Feature photo | In this combination of file photos , former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington , Del.
, on March 12 , 2020 , left , and President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on April 5 , 2020 .
Photo | AP – File Roger D. Harris is on the state central committee of the Peace and Freedom Party , the only ballot qualified socialist party in @ @

This season’s sequel to the “Game of Thrones” features reality TV star and the current occupant of the Oval Office versus the former Senator from MBNA and two-term VP. It’s time to binge-watch dueling hit pieces from the U.S electoral duopoly going at it.
The narrower the distinctions between Democrats and Republicans, the more vociferous they get in inflating those distinctions as if a distinction were really a difference. As liberation president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere famously observed, “The United States is a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”
War with China – thinking through the unthinkable
Behind the blame game between the Democrats and the Republicans is a bedrock consensus, for example, on identifying China as not just a commercial rival but as a future enemy in a nuclear war. The U.S. imperial ship of state is set on a collision course with China. Democrat Obama “pivoted” to Asia; Republican Trump seamlessly followed course. The RAND Corporation, a quasi-governmental think tank created to provide intelligence to the U.S. Armed Forces, published a position paper that spells it out: War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable.
The corporate media echo the meme of China as the sinister enemy. The Democrat-leaning New York Times reports, “Chinese agents helped spread messages that sowed virus panic in US.” “Alarmed by fake text messages and social media posts,” the newspaper of record warns, “experts see a convergence with Russian tactics.” With no sense of shame, the Times then accuses the “pro-Trump news outlets” of promoting “conspiracy theories.”
On the Republican side, Fox commentator Tucker Carlson hyperbolically exclaims, “China did this [coronavirus pandemic] to the world and we should not pretend otherwise.” Paranoically exhorting that “in very real ways, the Chinese government controls us,” Carlson demands, “at some point our leaders should be held accountable” for allowing China to “undermine” us.
So ditto head Biden issues a campaign video entitled, “Trump did not hold China accountable,” attacking Trump for correctly saying, “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus.”
This view, incidentally, is shared by the World Health Organization, which praised China for its exemplary handling of the pandemic. The corresponding Trump hit piece retorts with a video of Biden saying, “I complimented him [Trump] with dealing with China.”
Proving that the rightwing media and Trump do not have a lock on xenophobia and racism, the Democratic Party ad shows Biden screaming, “I would be on the phone with China and making it clear, we are going to need to be in your country! You have to be open!” And “Trump let in 40,000 travelers from China…left this country unprepared and unprotected” from the Asian menace.
Rubber stamping the bipartisan consensus
The direction of U.S. imperial policy is unquestioned as the partisan rivals compete to see, for example, who can be the bigger Sinophobe. Not mentioned is that China’s rising economic power is in part a consequence of the U.S. neoliberal consensus to export industrial production to low-wage Asia. Protecting the US working class is not what the politicians are squabbling about.
Nor do they deeply differ on Trump’s National Security Strategy, which broke with the previous characterization of the world as a “community of nations” to the present description of a great power “competitive arena.” In the drive to achieve global “full spectrum dominance,” China and Russia are identified as military targets.
Substantive unity between the Democrats and Republicans is obscured by the smoke and mirrors of partisan bickering. On some issues, the duopoly is so unanimous they do not even bother to make a show of debating.
On March 8, the U.S. House of Representatives pushed through a bipartisan resolution increasing illegal unilateral sanctions against Nicaragua, which passed on a unanimous voice vote in eight minutes, with no debate and no one speaking in opposition.
By the end of March, after only a “smidgeon of negotiating,” Congress unanimously passed the record astronomical $2 trillion CARES Act boondoggle. While workers are experiencing the highest recorded unemployment, the bipartisan act will gift 43,000 rich citizens an average “windfall” of $1.7 million each, according to Forbes.
Then while healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and other vital workers remain on the job, the Congress critters went on recess to shelter in place, demonstrating that theirs is not an essential service.
The decadence of the two-party system
Being on the take at the expense of the U.S. people is a bipartisan pastime and a mark of finesse for the inside-the-beltway crowd. Senators on both sides of the aisle benefited by insider trading, dumping stocks after a confidential coronavirus briefing.
Trump’s corruption needs no elaboration, but he can legitimately criticize the Dems on the same count. A Trump hit piece points out that father Biden took son Hunter on a taxpayer funded official U.S. government visit to China, where the son profited with a “billion dollar deal” with a subsidiary of the Bank of China.
The highest-ranking Democrat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears in a video showing how she’s persevering through shelter-in-place, giggling in front of her $24k refrigerators stocked with expensive ice cream. A Trump hit piece juxtaposes that image with one of the millions of unemployed in this country saying, “we’re starving.”
Joe Biden cluelessly compounds the error by tweeting, Nancy Pelosi has “great taste” in ice cream. Meanwhile, nearly 2,700 families preregistered at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank drive-up. NPR reported 10,000 cars waited hours in line for emergency food aid in San Antonio.
A couple of years ago, former Democratic Party presidential candidates John Kerry and Hillary Clinton attended a wedding hosted by the richest mogul in India for his daughter, estimated to cost $100 million by Bloomberg. While John and HRC inanely danced Bollywood-style, 170 million Indians barely subsisted on less than $2 per day.
Internet comedian Jimmy Dore observes, “The Democratic Party is so corrupt, so unbelievably corrupt and out of touch, that a guy who sits [not his exact word] on a golden toilet gets to make fun of them for being out of touch elitists. And it lands.”
We will have to wait until November to see who the Electoral College anoints in its game of thrones. Even the premier progressive pundit Noam Chomsky finds the only remotely redeeming quality in Biden is that he isn’t Trump. Biden supported Bush’s Iraq war and sided with the Republicans to defeat the student bankruptcy and prescription medicine price control bills. He voted for cutting Social Security and for confirming Antonin Scalia. With Democrats like this, you don’t need Republicans.
The problem with voting for either the Republicans or Democrats – besides that they rule – is that you need a scorecard to figure out which is the lesser evil. That problem can be avoided by helping to build a left third-party movement. As socialist and one-time presidential candidate Eugene Debs commented:
I’d rather vote for something I want and not get it, than vote for something I don’t want and get it,”
…like war with China.
Feature photo | In this combination of file photos, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Del., on March 12, 2020, left, and President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on April 5, 2020. Photo | AP – File
Roger D. Harris is on the state central committee of the Peace and Freedom Party, the only ballot qualified socialist party in California.


mintpressnews--2020-04-27--A New Global Order? How Coronavirus Will Change the World Forever

The prophecies are here and it is a foregone conclusion : the post-coronavirus world will look fundamentally different from anything that we have seen or experienced , at least since the end of World War II .
Even before the ‘ curve flattened ’ in many countries that have experienced high death tolls – let alone economic devastation – as a result of the unhindered spread of the COVID-19 disease , thinkers and philosophers began speculating , from the comfort of their own quarantines , about the many scenarios that await us .
The devastation inflicted by the coronavirus is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fall of the Berlin Wall or the collapse of the Lehman Brothers , ” wrote Foreign Policy magazine in a widely read analysis , entitled ‘ How the World Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic ’ .
While major newspapers and news media outlets jumped on the bandwagon of trying to construct the various post-coronavirus possibilities , Foreign Policy sought the views of twelve thinkers , each providing their own reading of the future .
Stephen M. Walt concluded that “ COVID-19 will create a world that is less open , less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Robin Niblett wrote that it is “ highly unlikely… that the world will return to the idea of mutually beneficial globalization that defined the early 21st century ” .
‘ Mutually beneficial ’ is a phrase deserving of a completely different essay , as it is a claim that can easily be contested by many small and poor countries .
Be that as it may , globalization was a focal point of discussion among many of the twelve thinkers , although a major point of contention was whether globalization will remain in place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be redefined or discarded altogether .
Kishore Mahbubani wrote that , “ the COVID-19 pandemic will not fundamentally alter global economic directions .
It will only accelerate a change that had already begun : a move away from US-centric globalization to a more China-centric globalization ” .
While political economists focused on COVID-19 ’ s impact on major economic trends , globalization and the resultant shift of political power , environmentalists emphasized the fact that the quarantine , which has affected the vast majority of the world ’ s population , raises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late for Planet Earth after all .
Numerous articles , citing scientific research and accompanied by photo galleries that illustrate the blue skies over Delhi and the clean waters of Venice , all underline the point that the upcoming ‘ change ’ will prove most consequential for the environment .
With prophecies afoot , even discredited philosophers such as Slavoj Zizek , tried to stage a comeback , offering their own predictions of ‘ ideological viruses ’ , including “ the virus of thinking about an alternate society , a society beyond nation-state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the forms of global solidarity and cooperation ” .
In his article , published in the German newspaper Die Welt , Zizek proposes what he describes as a ‘ paradox ’ : while COVID-19 constitutes a ‘ blow to capitalism ’ it “ will also compel us to re-invent communism based on trust in the people and in science ” .
Ironically , only a few years ago , Zizek , who is often referred to as a ‘ celebrity philosopher ’ , advocated an ethnocentric discourse targeting refugees , immigrants and Muslims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approach that if you really talk with them ( meaning war refugees who sought safety in Europe ) you discover we are all the same people , ” Zizek said in his book ‘ Refugees , Terror and other Troubles with the Neighbors ’ .
“ No , we are not — we have fundamental differences.
” In an article discussing Zizek ’ s book , published in Quartz , Annalisa Merelli wrote , “ Following the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 , Zizek warned that liberals need to let go of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the problems that come from admitting people of different cultures to Europe , and in particular the denial of any public safety danger caused by refugees.
” This supposedly ‘ Marxist philosopher ’ went even further , borrowing from Christian theology in explaining that “ the Christian motto ‘ love your neighbor as yourself ’ is not as simple as it appears , ” criticizing the alleged ‘ prohibition ’ by some leftist circles of “ any critique of Islam ” .
“ It is a simple fact that most of the refugees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Western European notions of human rights , ” Zizek wrote , conveniently omitting that it is Western imperialism , colonialism and wars of economic dominance that have been the main triggers of Middle Eastern crises for at least a century .
It would be safe to assume that Zizek ’ s unorthodox ‘ reinvention of communism ’ excludes millions of refugees who are paying the price , not for the ills of ‘ the global economy ’ – as he conveniently proposes – but for war-driven Western hegemony and neo-colonialism .
Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideas is only meant to illustrate that ‘ celebrity philosophy ’ is not only useless in this context , but also a distraction from a truly urgent discussion on the mechanics of equitable change in society , a process currently hindered by war , racism , xenophobia , and populist-centric far-right ideologies .
In truth , it is far easier to predict the future of globalization or air-pollution when analysts are confronted with straight-forward indicators – technological advancement , exports , currency valuation , and air quality .
But speaking of the reinvention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boot , is the equivalence of intellectual guesswork , especially when the so-called intellectual is almost entirely detached from the trials of everyday society .
The problem with most analyses of the various ‘ futures ’ that lie ahead is that very few of these predictions are predicated on an honest examination of the problems that have plagued our past and afflicted our present .
But how are we to chart a better understanding and a suitable response to the future and its many challenges if we do not truly and honestly confront @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us to this dismal point of global crisis ?
We concur .
The future will bring about change .
It ought to .
It must .
Because the status quo is simply unsustainable .
Because the wars in Yemen , Libya , Syria , and Afghanistan ; the Israeli occupation of Palestine ; the dehumanization and economic strangulation of Africa and South America , and so on , must not be allowed to become an everyday occurrence .
But for that better , more equitable future to arrive , our understanding of it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ideologically defensible , and humane view of our troubled world , of ourselves and of others – and not within the detached and callous view of mainstream Western economists or celebrity philosophers .
It is indeed strange how Zizek and his like can still embrace an ethnocentric view of Europe and Christianity while still being viewed as ‘ communist ’ .
What strange breed of communism is this ideology that does not acknowledge the centrality and history of global class struggles ?
If we are to place the Marxist class struggle within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is befitting and tenable , then to assume that Western powers have historically represented the ‘ ruling classes ’ , while the colonized and historically oppressed Southern hemisphere makes up the ‘ subordinate classes ’ .
It is this dynamic of oppression , usurpation and enslavement that fueled the ‘ engine of history ’ – the Marxist notion that history is propelled by internal contradictions within the system of material production .
It would be simply naive to assume that an outbreak of a pandemic can automatically and inexorably , in itself , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such a romanticized ‘ change ’ will intuitively favor the ‘ subordinate classes ’ , whether within local societal structures or at a global level .
There is no denial that the current crisis – whether economic or within the healthcare system – is fundamentally a structural crisis that can be traced to the numerous fault-lines within the capitalist system , which is enduring what Italian anti-fascist intellectual and politician Antonio Gramsci refers to as ‘ interregnum ’ .
In his ‘ Prison Notebooks ’ , Gramsci wrote : “ The crisis consists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is dying and the new can not be born ; in this interregnum , a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.
” The ‘ variety of morbid symptoms ’ were expressed in the last two decades in the gradual decay , if not decimation , of the very global system that was constructed ever so diligently by capitalist Western forces , which shaped the world to pursue their own interests for nearly a century .
The collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s was meant to usher in a whole new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ core and unapologetically capitalist .
Little of that has actualized , however .
The first US-led Iraq military adventure ( 1990-91 ) , the parallel ‘ new world order ’ and subsequent ‘ new Middle East ’ , and so on , ultimately , amounted to naught .
Frustrated by its inability to translate its military and technological superiority to sustainable dominance on the ground , the US and its Western allies fell apart at a much faster rate than ever expected .
Barack Obama ’ s administration ’ s ‘ Pivot to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the oil-rich Middle East – was only the beginning of an inevitable course of decline that no US administration , however belligerent and irrational , can possibly stop .
Largely helpless before relentless crises facing the once-triumphant capitalist order , dominant Western institutions , the likes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) and the European Union ( EU ) , grew useless and dysfunctional .
No prophecies are required here to assume that the post-coronavirus world will further undermine the very idea behind the EU .
Interestingly , although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ’ at the time of Europe ’ s greatest crisis since World War II , turned out to be a farce , since it was China and Cuba that extended a helping hand to Italy and Spain , not Germany , France or the Netherlands .
It is rather ironic that the very forces that championed economic globalization – and derided reluctant countries that refused to join in – are the same as those that are now advocating some form of sovereignism , isolationism , and nationalism .
This is precisely the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about .
It should not be taken for granted , however , that this political vacuum can be filled through wishful thinking alone , for real , lasting and sustainable change can only be the outcome of a mindful process , one that keeps in mind the nature of future conflicts and our ideological and moral position in response to these conflicts .
Celebrity philosophers certainly do not represent , nor do they earn the right to speak on behalf of the ‘ subordinate classes ’ – neither locally nor globally .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counter ‘ cultural hegemony ’ , championed by the true representatives of oppressed societies ( minorities united by mutual solidarity , oppressed nations , and so on ) , who must be aware of the historical opportunity and challenges that lie ahead .
A distinct symptom of ‘ interregnum ’ is the palpable detachment exhibited by the masses towards traditional ideologies – a process which has begun much earlier than the outbreak of the coronavirus .
“ If the ruling class has lost its consensus , i.e.
, is no longer ‘ leading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exercising coercive force alone , this means precisely that the great masses have become detached from their traditional ideologies , and no longer believe what they used to believe previously ” , Gramsci wrote .
Admittedly , there is a problem with true democratic representation all over the world , due to the rise of military dictatorships ( as in the case of Egypt ) , and far-right populism ( as in the case of the US , various Western countries , India and so forth ) .
Bearing all of that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the people and in science ’ – as disconcertingly prescribed by Zizek – will neither ‘ re-invent communism ’ , restore democracy or redistribute wealth fairly and equitably among all classes .
And , needless to say , it will not bring the Israeli occupation to an end or humanely end the global refugee crisis .
In fact , the opposite is true .
Under the cover of trying to control the spread of the coronavirus , several governments have carried out authoritarian measures that merely aim at strengthening their grip on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hungary and Israel .
Not that Hungary and Israel have been governed according to high democratic standards prior to the spread of the coronavirus .
The collective panic that resulted from the high death-toll of a barely understood disease , however , served as the needed collective ‘ shock ’ – see Naomi Klein ’ s ‘ Shock Doctrine ’ – required by authoritarian regimes to seize the moment and to further erode any semblance of democracy in their own societies .
Following each and every global crisis , analysts , military strategists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prophesize seismic changes and speak of paradigm shifts .
Some even go as far as declaring the ‘ end of history ’ , ‘ clashes of civilizations ’ , or , as in the case of Zizek , a new form of communism .
French critic and journalist , Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr ( born November 1808 ) , has once written that “ the more things change , the more they continue to be the same thing ” .
Indeed , without a people-propelled form of change , the status quo seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dominance , cultural hegemony and undemocratic claim to power .
Undeniably , the global crisis invited by the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic embodies within it the opportunity of fundamental change ( towards greater equality or greater authoritarianism ) , or no change at all .
It is us , the people , and our true authentic voices – the ‘ organic intellectuals ’ , not the celebrity philosophers – who have the right and the moral legitimacy to rise up to reclaim our democracy and redefine a new discourse on a global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is either that we exercise this option , or the current ‘ interregnum ’ will fizzle out into yet another missed opportunity .
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle .
He is the author of five books .
His latest is “ These Chains Will Be Broken : Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons ” ( Clarity Press , Atlanta ) .
Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs ( CIGA ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His website is www.ramzybaroud.net Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle .
Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals .
She holds a Master ’ s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature , and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation .

The prophecies are here and it is a foregone conclusion: the post-coronavirus world will look fundamentally different from anything that we have seen or experienced, at least since the end of World War II.
Even before the ‘curve flattened’ in many countries that have experienced high death tolls – let alone economic devastation – as a result of the unhindered spread of the COVID-19 disease, thinkers and philosophers began speculating, from the comfort of their own quarantines, about the many scenarios that await us.
The devastation inflicted by the coronavirus is likely to be as consequential as “the fall of the Berlin Wall or the collapse of the Lehman Brothers,” wrote Foreign Policy magazine in a widely read analysis, entitled ‘How the World Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic’.
While major newspapers and news media outlets jumped on the bandwagon of trying to construct the various post-coronavirus possibilities, Foreign Policy sought the views of twelve thinkers, each providing their own reading of the future.
Stephen M. Walt concluded that “COVID-19 will create a world that is less open, less prosperous, and less free”.
Robin Niblett wrote that it is “highly unlikely… that the world will return to the idea of mutually beneficial globalization that defined the early 21st century”.
‘Mutually beneficial’ is a phrase deserving of a completely different essay, as it is a claim that can easily be contested by many small and poor countries.
Be that as it may, globalization was a focal point of discussion among many of the twelve thinkers, although a major point of contention was whether globalization will remain in place in its current form, whether it will be redefined or discarded altogether.
Kishore Mahbubani wrote that, “the COVID-19 pandemic will not fundamentally alter global economic directions. It will only accelerate a change that had already begun: a move away from US-centric globalization to a more China-centric globalization”.
And so on…
While political economists focused on COVID-19’s impact on major economic trends, globalization and the resultant shift of political power, environmentalists emphasized the fact that the quarantine, which has affected the vast majority of the world’s population, raises hopes that it might not be too late for Planet Earth after all.
Numerous articles, citing scientific research and accompanied by photo galleries that illustrate the blue skies over Delhi and the clean waters of Venice, all underline the point that the upcoming ‘change’ will prove most consequential for the environment.
With prophecies afoot, even discredited philosophers such as Slavoj Zizek, tried to stage a comeback, offering their own predictions of ‘ideological viruses’, including “the virus of thinking about an alternate society, a society beyond nation-state, a society that actualizes itself in the forms of global solidarity and cooperation”.
In his article, published in the German newspaper Die Welt, Zizek proposes what he describes as a ‘paradox’: while COVID-19 constitutes a ‘blow to capitalism’ it “will also compel us to re-invent communism based on trust in the people and in science”.
Ironically, only a few years ago, Zizek, who is often referred to as a ‘celebrity philosopher’, advocated an ethnocentric discourse targeting refugees, immigrants and Muslims.
“I never liked this humanitarian approach that if you really talk with them (meaning war refugees who sought safety in Europe) you discover we are all the same people,” Zizek said in his book ‘Refugees, Terror and other Troubles with the Neighbors’. “No, we are not — we have fundamental differences.”
In an article discussing Zizek’s book, published in Quartz, Annalisa Merelli wrote, “Following the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015, Zizek warned that liberals need to let go of the taboos that prevent open discussion of the problems that come from admitting people of different cultures to Europe, and in particular the denial of any public safety danger caused by refugees.”
This supposedly ‘Marxist philosopher’ went even further, borrowing from Christian theology in explaining that “the Christian motto ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ is not as simple as it appears,” criticizing the alleged ‘prohibition’ by some leftist circles of “any critique of Islam”.
“It is a simple fact that most of the refugees come from a culture that is incompatible with Western European notions of human rights,” Zizek wrote, conveniently omitting that it is Western imperialism, colonialism and wars of economic dominance that have been the main triggers of Middle Eastern crises for at least a century.
It would be safe to assume that Zizek’s unorthodox ‘reinvention of communism’ excludes millions of refugees who are paying the price, not for the ills of ‘the global economy’ – as he conveniently proposes – but for war-driven Western hegemony and neo-colonialism.
Our seemingly-disproportionate emphasis on Zizek’s unsettling ideas is only meant to illustrate that ‘celebrity philosophy’ is not only useless in this context, but also a distraction from a truly urgent discussion on the mechanics of equitable change in society, a process currently hindered by war, racism, xenophobia, and populist-centric far-right ideologies.
In truth, it is far easier to predict the future of globalization or air-pollution when analysts are confronted with straight-forward indicators – technological advancement, exports, currency valuation, and air quality.
But speaking of the reinvention of society, with little credibility to boot, is the equivalence of intellectual guesswork, especially when the so-called intellectual is almost entirely detached from the trials of everyday society.
The problem with most analyses of the various ‘futures’ that lie ahead is that very few of these predictions are predicated on an honest examination of the problems that have plagued our past and afflicted our present.
But how are we to chart a better understanding and a suitable response to the future and its many challenges if we do not truly and honestly confront and dissect the problems that have taken us to this dismal point of global crisis?
We concur. The future will bring about change. It ought to. It must. Because the status quo is simply unsustainable. Because the wars in Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan; the Israeli occupation of Palestine; the dehumanization and economic strangulation of Africa and South America, and so on, must not be allowed to become an everyday occurrence.
But for that better, more equitable future to arrive, our understanding of it must be situated within a historically valid, ideologically defensible, and humane view of our troubled world, of ourselves and of others – and not within the detached and callous view of mainstream Western economists or celebrity philosophers.
It is indeed strange how Zizek and his like can still embrace an ethnocentric view of Europe and Christianity while still being viewed as ‘communist’. What strange breed of communism is this ideology that does not acknowledge the centrality and history of global class struggles?
If we are to place the Marxist class struggle within broader and more global terms, it is befitting and tenable, then to assume that Western powers have historically represented the ‘ruling classes’, while the colonized and historically oppressed Southern hemisphere makes up the ‘subordinate classes’.
It is this dynamic of oppression, usurpation and enslavement that fueled the ‘engine of history’ – the Marxist notion that history is propelled by internal contradictions within the system of material production.
It would be simply naive to assume that an outbreak of a pandemic can automatically and inexorably, in itself, propel and produce change, and that such a romanticized ‘change’ will intuitively favor the ‘subordinate classes’, whether within local societal structures or at a global level.
There is no denial that the current crisis – whether economic or within the healthcare system – is fundamentally a structural crisis that can be traced to the numerous fault-lines within the capitalist system, which is enduring what Italian anti-fascist intellectual and politician Antonio Gramsci refers to as ‘interregnum’.
In his ‘Prison Notebooks’, Gramsci wrote: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum, a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”
The ‘variety of morbid symptoms’ were expressed in the last two decades in the gradual decay, if not decimation, of the very global system that was constructed ever so diligently by capitalist Western forces, which shaped the world to pursue their own interests for nearly a century.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s was meant to usher in a whole new world – uncontested, militaristic to the core and unapologetically capitalist. Little of that has actualized, however. The first US-led Iraq military adventure (1990-91), the parallel ‘new world order’ and subsequent ‘new Middle East’, and so on, ultimately, amounted to naught.
Frustrated by its inability to translate its military and technological superiority to sustainable dominance on the ground, the US and its Western allies fell apart at a much faster rate than ever expected. Barack Obama’s administration’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ – accompanied by military retreat from the oil-rich Middle East – was only the beginning of an inevitable course of decline that no US administration, however belligerent and irrational, can possibly stop.
Largely helpless before relentless crises facing the once-triumphant capitalist order, dominant Western institutions, the likes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), grew useless and dysfunctional. No prophecies are required here to assume that the post-coronavirus world will further undermine the very idea behind the EU. Interestingly, although not surprisingly, the ‘European community,’ at the time of Europe’s greatest crisis since World War II, turned out to be a farce, since it was China and Cuba that extended a helping hand to Italy and Spain, not Germany, France or the Netherlands.
It is rather ironic that the very forces that championed economic globalization – and derided reluctant countries that refused to join in – are the same as those that are now advocating some form of sovereignism, isolationism, and nationalism.
This is precisely the ‘interregnum’ that Gramsci has talked about. It should not be taken for granted, however, that this political vacuum can be filled through wishful thinking alone, for real, lasting and sustainable change can only be the outcome of a mindful process, one that keeps in mind the nature of future conflicts and our ideological and moral position in response to these conflicts.
Celebrity philosophers certainly do not represent, nor do they earn the right to speak on behalf of the ‘subordinate classes’ – neither locally nor globally. What is needed, instead, is a counter ‘cultural hegemony’, championed by the true representatives of oppressed societies (minorities united by mutual solidarity, oppressed nations, and so on), who must be aware of the historical opportunity and challenges that lie ahead.
A distinct symptom of ‘interregnum’ is the palpable detachment exhibited by the masses towards traditional ideologies – a process which has begun much earlier than the outbreak of the coronavirus.
“If the ruling class has lost its consensus, i.e., is no longer ‘leading’ but only ‘dominant,’ exercising coercive force alone, this means precisely that the great masses have become detached from their traditional ideologies, and no longer believe what they used to believe previously”, Gramsci wrote.
Admittedly, there is a problem with true democratic representation all over the world, due to the rise of military dictatorships (as in the case of Egypt), and far-right populism (as in the case of the US, various Western countries, India and so forth).
Bearing all of that in mind, simply counting on ‘trust in the people and in science’ – as disconcertingly prescribed by Zizek – will neither ‘re-invent communism’, restore democracy or redistribute wealth fairly and equitably among all classes. And, needless to say, it will not bring the Israeli occupation to an end or humanely end the global refugee crisis.
In fact, the opposite is true. Under the cover of trying to control the spread of the coronavirus, several governments have carried out authoritarian measures that merely aim at strengthening their grip on power, as was the case in Hungary and Israel.
Not that Hungary and Israel have been governed according to high democratic standards prior to the spread of the coronavirus. The collective panic that resulted from the high death-toll of a barely understood disease, however, served as the needed collective ‘shock’ – see Naomi Klein’s ‘Shock Doctrine’ – required by authoritarian regimes to seize the moment and to further erode any semblance of democracy in their own societies.
Following each and every global crisis, analysts, military strategists and philosophers take on whatever available platform to prophesize seismic changes and speak of paradigm shifts. Some even go as far as declaring the ‘end of history’, ‘clashes of civilizations’, or, as in the case of Zizek, a new form of communism.
French critic and journalist, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (born November 1808), has once written that “the more things change, the more they continue to be the same thing”.
Indeed, without a people-propelled form of change, the status quo seems to constantly reinvent itself, restoring its dominance, cultural hegemony and undemocratic claim to power.
Undeniably, the global crisis invited by the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic embodies within it the opportunity of fundamental change (towards greater equality or greater authoritarianism), or no change at all.
It is us, the people, and our true authentic voices – the ‘organic intellectuals’, not the celebrity philosophers – who have the right and the moral legitimacy to rise up to reclaim our democracy and redefine a new discourse on a global, not ethnocentric, form of justice.
It is either that we exercise this option, or the current ‘interregnum’ will fizzle out into yet another missed opportunity.
Feature photo | Israeli soldiers wearing protective face masks amid concerns over the country’s coronavirus outbreak n Tel Aviv, Israel, April 27, 2020. Oded Balilty | AP
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature, and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.


mintpressnews--2020-04-28--How Are You Gonna Pay For It? Stop Giving Money to Israel

( DavidSwanson.org ) —Did you know that the U.S. government has done something odd with your tax dollars ?
The ones you get so furious and indignant about when they ’ re used to feed anybody who ’ s hungry ?
It has given over 280 billion of those dollars to the government of Israel ( not counting classified hush-hush super-secret amounts ) .
Israel is not a poor country .
It is certainly not the poorest in the world .
Why is it the top recipient of “ aid.
” It isn ’ t .
Its military is .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for weapons , and most of those weapons have to be bought from U.S. weapons dealers — you know , the ones crammed into close quarters risking the spread of a deadly disease because their jobs have been deemed “ essential.
” Economists tell us that military spending reduces jobs , that you get more jobs by never taxing the money , or by taxing it and spending it on anything else .
That has to be even more strongly true when funneling the money through a foreign military .
So , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs program .
It also has some surprising corrupting influences on U.S. state governments , which themselves pile more billions onto the mountain of free loot for the Israeli military .
A new book by Grant Smith called “ The Israel Lobby Enters State Government : Rise of The Virginia Israel Advisory Board , ” recounts how the state of Virginia has created a state agency called the Virginia Israel Advisory Board which uses state funds to launch Israeli companies in Virginia at the expense of Virginia companies in Virginia , while boosting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last but not least — enriching its members with state funds .
Oh , and also “ attempting to insert Israeli government propaganda into the curriculum in the K-12 system ” of Virginia schools at public expense .
It ’ s not all weapons .
Have you ever bought Sabra hummus ?
You can ’ t answer no if you ’ ve paid taxes in Virginia .
Well , one might ask , ( as is perhaps implicitly asked by the silence of Virginia media outlets ) what ’ s so wrong in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bit of the corruption to Israel as a sort of fifty-first state ?
After all , there was a Holocaust 75 years ago , and there were fascists chanting about Jews in Charlottesville 3 years ago .
Surely worrying about corruption only when Israel gets in on it is Antisemitic just as worrying about Trump ’ s worldwide corruption only when Russians are involved is Russophobic .
I have 10 responses to that .
1 ) I worry about all corruption everywhere , oppose giving free weapons to any country on earth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 of the worst governments armed and trained by the U.S. military .
Israel wasn ’ t in that list by virtue of not technically being a dictatorship .
No other nation is in this list because no other nation gets the deal from the U.S. and Virginia that Israel does .
2 ) Some of the motivations for arming Israel with money that ’ s desperately required for human and environmental needs are a lot crazier than misguided anti-Antisemitism .
They involve Islamophobia , militaristic madness , and magical schemes to bring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world — including destroying you , dear reader .
3 ) As Grant Smith points out , “ Under the Symington and Glenn amendments now incorporated into the Arms Export Control Act , no U.S. president knowing about Israel ’ s nukes is supposed to approve aid transfers , absent specifically issued waivers .
Rather than comply with the law , presidents pretend they don ’ t know Israel has nukes and issue agency wide gag orders threatening any government employee who talks about it.
” 4 ) Israel uses its weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brutalized people of illegally occupied territories .
5 ) Israel uses its weapons to enforce a vicious Apartheid state .
6 ) Israel uses its weapons to train U.S. police departments in how to treat the U.S. public as a wartime enemy .
7 ) Israel pushes the United States toward illegal , murderous , catastrophic wars and programs of sanctions .
8 ) The United States is already too big and doesn ’ t need another state from thousands of miles away that gets the privileges without the responsibilities of inclusion in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States has colonies in the Caribbean and the Pacific and Washington D.C. that should be given priority as 51st state .
10 ) Global unity and survival come through cooperation among all nations , not the imperial expansion of one .
Feature photo | Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC ) 2020 Conference , March 2 , 2020 in Washington .
Alex Brandon | AP David Swanson is an author , activist , journalist , and radio host .
He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War .
He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org .
He hosts Talk Nation Radio .
He is a 2015 , 2016 , 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee .

(DavidSwanson.org) —Did you know that the U.S. government has done something odd with your tax dollars? The ones you get so furious and indignant about when they’re used to feed anybody who’s hungry? It has given over 280 billion of those dollars to the government of Israel (not counting classified hush-hush super-secret amounts).
Israel is not a poor country. It is certainly not the poorest in the world. Why is it the top recipient of “aid.”
It isn’t. Its military is. Most of those billions of dollars are for weapons, and most of those weapons have to be bought from U.S. weapons dealers — you know, the ones crammed into close quarters risking the spread of a deadly disease because their jobs have been deemed “essential.”
Economists tell us that military spending reduces jobs, that you get more jobs by never taxing the money, or by taxing it and spending it on anything else. That has to be even more strongly true when funneling the money through a foreign military. So, this scheme is the opposite of a domestic jobs program. It also has some surprising corrupting influences on U.S. state governments, which themselves pile more billions onto the mountain of free loot for the Israeli military.
A new book by Grant Smith called “The Israel Lobby Enters State Government: Rise of The Virginia Israel Advisory Board,” recounts how the state of Virginia has created a state agency called the Virginia Israel Advisory Board which uses state funds to launch Israeli companies in Virginia at the expense of Virginia companies in Virginia, while boosting Israeli imports to Virginia, and — last but not least — enriching its members with state funds. Oh, and also “attempting to insert Israeli government propaganda into the curriculum in the K-12 system” of Virginia schools at public expense.
It’s not all weapons. Have you ever bought Sabra hummus? You can’t answer no if you’ve paid taxes in Virginia.
Well, one might ask, (as is perhaps implicitly asked by the silence of Virginia media outlets) what’s so wrong in a completely corrupt political ecosystem with spreading a bit of the corruption to Israel as a sort of fifty-first state? After all, there was a Holocaust 75 years ago, and there were fascists chanting about Jews in Charlottesville 3 years ago. Surely worrying about corruption only when Israel gets in on it is Antisemitic just as worrying about Trump’s worldwide corruption only when Russians are involved is Russophobic.
I have 10 responses to that.
1) I worry about all corruption everywhere, oppose giving free weapons to any country on earth, and just wrote a book highlighting 20 of the worst governments armed and trained by the U.S. military. Israel wasn’t in that list by virtue of not technically being a dictatorship. No other nation is in this list because no other nation gets the deal from the U.S. and Virginia that Israel does.
2) Some of the motivations for arming Israel with money that’s desperately required for human and environmental needs are a lot crazier than misguided anti-Antisemitism. They involve Islamophobia, militaristic madness, and magical schemes to bring back Jesus at the expense of destroying the world — including destroying you, dear reader.
3) As Grant Smith points out, “Under the Symington and Glenn amendments now incorporated into the Arms Export Control Act, no U.S. president knowing about Israel’s nukes is supposed to approve aid transfers, absent specifically issued waivers. Rather than comply with the law, presidents pretend they don’t know Israel has nukes and issue agency wide gag orders threatening any government employee who talks about it.”
4) Israel uses its weapons for horrific wars against the trapped and brutalized people of illegally occupied territories.
5) Israel uses its weapons to enforce a vicious Apartheid state.
6) Israel uses its weapons to train U.S. police departments in how to treat the U.S. public as a wartime enemy.
7) Israel pushes the United States toward illegal, murderous, catastrophic wars and programs of sanctions.
8) The United States is already too big and doesn’t need another state from thousands of miles away that gets the privileges without the responsibilities of inclusion in the federal system.
9) The United States has colonies in the Caribbean and the Pacific and Washington D.C. that should be given priority as 51st state.
10) Global unity and survival come through cooperation among all nations, not the imperial expansion of one.
Feature photo | Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2020 Conference, March 2, 2020 in Washington. Alex Brandon | AP
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.


mintpressnews--2020-04-29--As US Economy Tanks, Study Finds Unemployment Numbers Likely Double Official Figure

As COVID-19 rips through the United States , a record 26.5 million Americans have filed for jobless benefits since mid-March alone ; numbers not seen since the height of the Great Depression .
Tens of millions have been laid off , furloughed , or seen business dry up in a matter of weeks .
“ Prepare yourself , ” said a worried Kevin Hasset , senior economic advisor to President Donald Trump , claiming that the economy “ will be as bad as anything we ’ ve ever seen , ” and predicting we will soon see unemployment levels of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in GDP .
The unemployment figures , as bad as they are , are actually a significant underestimate of the problem , according to a new study by the non-partisan D.C. think tank , the Economic Policy Institute .
Their survey of over 24,000 Americans found that , for every ten people who successfully filed for unemployment benefits in the last four weeks , three to four additional people attempted to apply but were unable to navigate the system to make a claim .
Two additional people did not even try because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they conclude , “ When we extrapolate our survey findings to the full five weeks of UI ( unemployment insurance ) claims since March 15 , we estimate that 8.9‒13.9 million [ more ] people could have filed for benefits had the process been easier.
” Adding these numbers to the millions of underemployed Americans , those who have been forced to retire early , or those who have simply given up , makes the likely total of unemployed top 40 million people ; all this from a 40-year low in February .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ frustrated filers and the UI system ’ s low payment rate highlight the need for policies to improve rather than hinder the UI application process , ” wrote the report ’ s authors , suggesting that , “ At a minimum , states should presume everyone is eligible and immediately pay benefits , only verifying eligibility and reviewing claims after the unprecedented wave of claims slows down.
” The news of 40 million unemployed comes on the same day as the total number of Americans officially infected with COVID-19 surpassed one million , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States is by far in the lead in both cases and fatalities , with more than four times as many positive tests as the nearest country ( Spain ) .
However , even these figures , shocking as they are , are certainly undercounts of the true toll of the virus , as CDC data shows far higher spikes in excess deaths over other years .
Those who die outside of the hospital are rarely tested for COVID-19 and not added to official totals .
A Siena College poll released on Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 32 percent ) , know someone who has already died of the virus .
Despite a national emergency being called on March 13 , the United States has only succeeded in flattening , not reducing , the infection curve .
Tuesday was the fifth-worst day for American coronavirus fatalities , with 2,470 , with Friday seeing the highest number of new cases .
Despite this , much of the country is already reopening after a half-hearted lockdown , ensuring the virus ’ spread .
Many of the poorest Americans have little option but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government ’ s less than generous aid package .
The same amount of people in the Siena College poll – 32 percent – also say somebody in their household has been fired amid the pandemic .
Amid a collapse in income for tens of millions , food banks across the United States have been inundated with increasingly desperate people .
“ Needs have skyrocketed not just here but around the country , ” said Eleanor Goldfield of D.C. Mutual Aid .
Even as food banks are cleaned out , farmers are dumping produce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no one to collect and distribute their food .
While no one seems to be able to agree on accurate figures for both the humanitarian and economic impact of COVID-19 on the United States , it appears that all concerned concur that the situation is becoming graver by the day , and no end is in sight .
Feature photo | Omaha food pantry workers load supplies into a vehicle driving up to the food bank in Omaha , Neb.
, April 23 , 2020 .
Nati Harnik | AP Alan MacLeod is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

As COVID-19 rips through the United States, a record 26.5 million Americans have filed for jobless benefits since mid-March alone; numbers not seen since the height of the Great Depression. Tens of millions have been laid off, furloughed, or seen business dry up in a matter of weeks. “Prepare yourself,” said a worried Kevin Hasset, senior economic advisor to President Donald Trump, claiming that the economy “will be as bad as anything we’ve ever seen,” and predicting we will soon see unemployment levels of 20 percent and a 40 percent collapse in GDP.
The unemployment figures, as bad as they are, are actually a significant underestimate of the problem, according to a new study by the non-partisan D.C. think tank, the Economic Policy Institute. Their survey of over 24,000 Americans found that, for every ten people who successfully filed for unemployment benefits in the last four weeks, three to four additional people attempted to apply but were unable to navigate the system to make a claim. Two additional people did not even try because of the complicated application process. Thus, they conclude, “When we extrapolate our survey findings to the full five weeks of UI (unemployment insurance) claims since March 15, we estimate that 8.9‒13.9 million [more] people could have filed for benefits had the process been easier.”
Adding these numbers to the millions of underemployed Americans, those who have been forced to retire early, or those who have simply given up, makes the likely total of unemployed top 40 million people; all this from a 40-year low in February.
“These findings on the millions of frustrated filers and the UI system’s low payment rate highlight the need for policies to improve rather than hinder the UI application process,” wrote the report’s authors, suggesting that, “At a minimum, states should presume everyone is eligible and immediately pay benefits, only verifying eligibility and reviewing claims after the unprecedented wave of claims slows down.”
The news of 40 million unemployed comes on the same day as the total number of Americans officially infected with COVID-19 surpassed one million, with over 60,000 confirmed deaths. The United States is by far in the lead in both cases and fatalities, with more than four times as many positive tests as the nearest country (Spain). However, even these figures, shocking as they are, are certainly undercounts of the true toll of the virus, as CDC data shows far higher spikes in excess deaths over other years. Those who die outside of the hospital are rarely tested for COVID-19 and not added to official totals. A Siena College poll released on Monday found that one-third of New Yorkers (32 percent), know someone who has already died of the virus.
Despite a national emergency being called on March 13, the United States has only succeeded in flattening, not reducing, the infection curve. Tuesday was the fifth-worst day for American coronavirus fatalities, with 2,470, with Friday seeing the highest number of new cases.
Despite this, much of the country is already reopening after a half-hearted lockdown, ensuring the virus’ spread. Many of the poorest Americans have little option but to return to work, given the government’s less than generous aid package. The same amount of people in the Siena College poll – 32 percent – also say somebody in their household has been fired amid the pandemic. Amid a collapse in income for tens of millions, food banks across the United States have been inundated with increasingly desperate people. “Needs have skyrocketed not just here but around the country,” said Eleanor Goldfield of D.C. Mutual Aid. Even as food banks are cleaned out, farmers are dumping produce and slaughtering livestock en masse, with no one to collect and distribute their food.
While no one seems to be able to agree on accurate figures for both the humanitarian and economic impact of COVID-19 on the United States, it appears that all concerned concur that the situation is becoming graver by the day, and no end is in sight.
Feature photo | Omaha food pantry workers load supplies into a vehicle driving up to the food bank in Omaha, Neb., April 23, 2020. Nati Harnik | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-04-29--Bezalel Smotrich: Israel’s New Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Takes Aim at the Holy Sanctuary

Zionism is founded on the idea that Jews today have rights to a land they had not inhabited for thousands of years .
These rights supersede the rights of the Palestinians , even though they have been living on that land for thousands of years .
Zionists have been so successful in selling this absurd idea , that for over one hundred years , they have been able to destroy Palestine , erase its history , kill and forcibly exile its indigenous population and bring to ruin ancient , iconic monuments that were a vital part of the landscape .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a man by the name of Bezalel Smotrich , the man who is slated to become the new Minister for Jerusalem Affairs .
Smotrich is part of a group that was once considered on the fringe of Israeli politics and which calls for building a Jewish Temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock .
No longer fringe , now this group has people like Smotrich in positions of power that threaten the very existence of Jerusalem ’ s most important religious and historical space , the Holy Sanctuary .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to visit Jerusalem and walk around the Holy Sanctuary can attest to its beauty and serenity .
Bezalel Smotrich is part of a movement that wants to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and , as I described here in an earlier article , build a Temple , where Jewish fanatics will sacrifice animals in rituals whose time has long passed .
According to the status quo that was established after the 1967 occupation of the Old City of Jerusalem , only Muslims are permitted to worship at the Holy Sanctuary .
Jews and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but not to worship there .
However , there is a sect of fanatic Jews who use the loophole that allows them to visit in order to bring tens of thousands of their followers into the sanctuary as a provocation .
It is worthy to note that Jewish law also strictly prohibits Jews from entering the Sanctuary .
In 2019 , on the Jewish day of Tisha B ’ av , the day in which according to Jewish tradition the Temple was destroyed , Israeli security services recommended that Jews be prohibited from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was because that day coincided with the Muslim holy day of Eid .
Smotrich and his supporters were outraged , and pressure from the right flank of the Netanyahu government was mounting .
Being a member of the security cabinet he acted swiftly and in the end , was able to lift the prohibition .
The government succumbed to the pressure , Jewish fanatics were permitted to go into the sanctuary and the usual provocation ensued .
Riots broke out as a result of this , in which countless Palestinians were injured and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minister I would close the Temple Mount to Arabs and immediately build a synagogue for Jews to pray there , ” Smotrcihc said in an interview in July 2017 .
In May 2018 he posted a video showing young Jewish fanatics with the Israeli flag in the Holy Sanctuary .
He wrote , “ Very soon our flag will be raised on our Temple , on the Temple Mount.
” He congratulated the young fanatics who were in the video , saying , “ I congratulate you on your display of courage and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had with Palestinian Knesset member Masoud Ghnaim , Smotrich said that Ghnaim should show gratitude for being a guest in Israel .
Then he boasted that the Jewish Temple will be built on the site of the Dome of the Rock .
In recent years , Smotrich has become somewhat of the “ right-wing darling ” of the Israeli media .
Well spoken , youthful looking and reasonable sounding even as he spews vicious lies and racist epithets .
Smotrich was born in a settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where he was educated in fanatic , racist educational institutions that disseminate an ideology known as “ Religious Zionism.
” It is a toxic combination of religion and fascism that received a boost after the 1967 war .
This education system created fanatic , violent gangs that have been terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967 .
They also created effective political movements that have greatly influenced and indeed shaped Israeli politics .
Smotrich himself was arrested for his role in the violent protests trying to stop Israel ’ s 2005 unilateral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gaza Strip .
In 2006 Smotrich was among the founders of the Regavim organization .
It is a racist organization of gangsters who are dedicated to terrorizing Palestinians .
They have been particularly aggressive in displacing Palestinians in the Naqab , in the southern part of Palestine , and in what is known as Area C in the West Bank .
Smotrich rose through the ranks of various neo-fascist Zionist political movements and in 2015 was elected to the Knesset .
In 2018 Twitter temporarily suspended his account after he tweeted that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not shot .
Since June of 2019 , he has served in the Israeli government as minister of Transportation , one of the largest portfolios in the government , and , what is perhaps more disturbing , he is a member of the government ’ s inner circle “ security cabinet.
” Smotrich , whose name and family come from a small town in Ukraine with no historical ties to Palestine , sees no problem saying that Palestinians have no historical claims to their land .
“ Palestinians are not a nation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Israeli high school , reminding his young audience that Zionist icons like Golda Meir said so too .
“ According to any definition of nationhood , Palestinian are no more than just Arabs.
” He tells the students that the Palestinians “ have no unique common history , culture , language or heritage .
They came here after we made this country prosperous.
” Smotrich is known for a plan he devised to resolve the Israeli Palestinian conflict .
He calls it “ The Decisive Plan.
” Both he and his plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kahane and his ideology .
Kahane was , and continues to be , the spiritual and political guru of violent , racist Jewish gangs like Smotrich ’ s that became known as the West Bank “ Settlers.
” Smotrich himself was raised on Kahane ’ s doctrine and he repeats it , though he is careful to give it his own “ reasonable ” tone .
“ There can never be an equitable resolution to the Arab Jewish conflict , ” he claims as he softens his audience with a litany of reasonable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which he refers to as history .
“ We didn ’ t start the 1967 war , they did !
” he explains , though clearly the Palestinians had no say or participation in that war .
“ At Oslo , we gave them everything , and they rejected it , ” referring to the Oslo Accords which brought further disaster to Palestinians .
These claims , that he makes with a voice that is quiet and reasonable and peppered with “ God willing , and Thank God , ” are just the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , and your friends and your children , real peace , real security , and real coexistence.
” He warns them , however , that this peace means “ one side will have to give up on their national aspirations.
” However , it is not going to be him , because “ we are right and they are wrong , this land belongs to us , right ?
” and the audience responds by clapping , affirming his claim .
“ Palestinian terrorism is fueled by the hope that they might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , nipping the hope for national aspirations for the Arabs in the Land of Israel is how we eliminate terrorism .
“ We must burn into them the awareness that there will never be an Arab state west of the Jordan River and that Judea and Samaria will forever be part of Israel , ” he says to applause .
“ Any Arabs who give up their national aspirations will be allowed to live here and enjoy the great wealth that we created in this land.
” Smotrich ’ s plan offers several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Arab countries or join the Muslim occupation of Europe.
” He says Europe is allowing the destruction of its own identity by allowing unchecked Muslim and Arab immigration for the sake of cheap labor .
“ We need to develop a plan to create immigration of choice.
” And , he says , “ The only ones to remain will be people who accept the state of Israel as a Jewish State.
” Smotrich says his plan is hard to grasp because it is out of the box .
He must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , supremacist regimes had rational reasons and even created laws that made their crimes against humanity seem legitimate .
The Smotrich plan offers three possibilities for the Palestinians : incentivized emigration , remaining without rights , or to fight and die .
According to Smotrich , “ There is nothing in common between the Nablusi Arab and the Hebronite Arab , ” and therefore all they really need are municipal rights , which he says he is happy to give them .
However , he clarifies , “ I will not give them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parliament.
” He admits , modestly , “ This plan may suffer from a “ democratic deficiency , ” but that ’ s ok because “ life isn ’ t perfect and there are no perfect solutions.
” “ There is no better plan , no plan that is morally superior to this , and no plan that is better suited for us.
” If we “ burn ” in their consciousness that they will never achieve their national aspirations , then most of the Arabs will be reasonable enough to choose to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with us .
There will always be those who decide to bang their heads against the wall and they will pay a heavy price for fighting.
” The alarm regarding the destruction of the Holy Sanctuary should have been sounded long ago .
Thankfully , it has not yet been destroyed and the Temple which Smotrich and his fellow fanatics want to build in its place , although it is in the advanced planning stages , has not yet been built .
Much of Arab Palestine , and indeed Jerusalem , has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recourse once Smotrich , the designated Minister for Jerusalem Affairs , takes power and gets his hands on the Holy Sanctuary .
Feature photo | Islam ’ s holy Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem ’ s Old City is seen trough a door decorated with a Jewish Star of David .
Oded Balilty | AP Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem .
He is the author of “ The General ’ s Son .
Journey of an Israeli in Palestine , ” and “ Injustice , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Five .
”

Zionism is founded on the idea that Jews today have rights to a land they had not inhabited for thousands of years. These rights supersede the rights of the Palestinians, even though they have been living on that land for thousands of years. Zionists have been so successful in selling this absurd idea, that for over one hundred years, they have been able to destroy Palestine, erase its history, kill and forcibly exile its indigenous population and bring to ruin ancient, iconic monuments that were a vital part of the landscape. The poster child of this idea today is a man by the name of Bezalel Smotrich, the man who is slated to become the new Minister for Jerusalem Affairs.
Smotrich is part of a group that was once considered on the fringe of Israeli politics and which calls for building a Jewish Temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock. No longer fringe, now this group has people like Smotrich in positions of power that threaten the very existence of Jerusalem’s most important religious and historical space, the Holy Sanctuary.
Jerusalem
Anyone who has had the good fortune to visit Jerusalem and walk around the Holy Sanctuary can attest to its beauty and serenity. Bezalel Smotrich is part of a movement that wants to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and, as I described here in an earlier article, build a Temple, where Jewish fanatics will sacrifice animals in rituals whose time has long passed.
According to the status quo that was established after the 1967 occupation of the Old City of Jerusalem, only Muslims are permitted to worship at the Holy Sanctuary. Jews and other non-Muslims are permitted to visit the Sanctuary but not to worship there. However, there is a sect of fanatic Jews who use the loophole that allows them to visit in order to bring tens of thousands of their followers into the sanctuary as a provocation. It is worthy to note that Jewish law also strictly prohibits Jews from entering the Sanctuary.
In 2019, on the Jewish day of Tisha B’av, the day in which according to Jewish tradition the Temple was destroyed, Israeli security services recommended that Jews be prohibited from entering the Holy Sanctuary altogether. That was because that day coincided with the Muslim holy day of Eid. Smotrich and his supporters were outraged, and pressure from the right flank of the Netanyahu government was mounting. Being a member of the security cabinet he acted swiftly and in the end, was able to lift the prohibition.
The government succumbed to the pressure, Jewish fanatics were permitted to go into the sanctuary and the usual provocation ensued. Riots broke out as a result of this, in which countless Palestinians were injured and arrested.
“If I were Prime Minister I would close the Temple Mount to Arabs and immediately build a synagogue for Jews to pray there,” Smotrcihc said in an interview in July 2017. In May 2018 he posted a video showing young Jewish fanatics with the Israeli flag in the Holy Sanctuary. He wrote, “Very soon our flag will be raised on our Temple, on the Temple Mount.” He congratulated the young fanatics who were in the video, saying, “I congratulate you on your display of courage and national pride.”
In a debate Smotrich had with Palestinian Knesset member Masoud Ghnaim, Smotrich said that Ghnaim should show gratitude for being a guest in Israel. Then he boasted that the Jewish Temple will be built on the site of the Dome of the Rock.
A Rising Star
In recent years, Smotrich has become somewhat of the “right-wing darling” of the Israeli media. Well spoken, youthful looking and reasonable sounding even as he spews vicious lies and racist epithets. Smotrich was born in a settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and then his family moved to the West Bank where he was educated in fanatic, racist educational institutions that disseminate an ideology known as “Religious Zionism.”
It is a toxic combination of religion and fascism that received a boost after the 1967 war. This education system created fanatic, violent gangs that have been terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967. They also created effective political movements that have greatly influenced and indeed shaped Israeli politics. Smotrich himself was arrested for his role in the violent protests trying to stop Israel’s 2005 unilateral withdrawal and removal of settlers from the Gaza Strip.
In 2006 Smotrich was among the founders of the Regavim organization. It is a racist organization of gangsters who are dedicated to terrorizing Palestinians. They have been particularly aggressive in displacing Palestinians in the Naqab, in the southern part of Palestine, and in what is known as Area C in the West Bank.
Smotrich rose through the ranks of various neo-fascist Zionist political movements and in 2015 was elected to the Knesset. In 2018 Twitter temporarily suspended his account after he tweeted that he was sorry Ahed Tamimi was arrested and not shot. Since June of 2019, he has served in the Israeli government as minister of Transportation, one of the largest portfolios in the government, and, what is perhaps more disturbing, he is a member of the government’s inner circle “security cabinet.”
A Decisive Plan
Smotrich, whose name and family come from a small town in Ukraine with no historical ties to Palestine, sees no problem saying that Palestinians have no historical claims to their land. “Palestinians are not a nation,” Smotrich said in a speech at an Israeli high school, reminding his young audience that Zionist icons like Golda Meir said so too. “According to any definition of nationhood, Palestinian are no more than just Arabs.” He tells the students that the Palestinians “have no unique common history, culture, language or heritage. They came here after we made this country prosperous.”
Smotrich is known for a plan he devised to resolve the Israeli Palestinian conflict. He calls it “The Decisive Plan.” Both he and his plan are mere reincarnations of the slain Meir Kahane and his ideology. Kahane was, and continues to be, the spiritual and political guru of violent, racist Jewish gangs like Smotrich’s that became known as the West Bank “Settlers.” Smotrich himself was raised on Kahane’s doctrine and he repeats it, though he is careful to give it his own “reasonable” tone.
“There can never be an equitable resolution to the Arab Jewish conflict,” he claims as he softens his audience with a litany of reasonable sounding lies based on fiction and mythology which he refers to as history. “We didn’t start the 1967 war, they did!” he explains, though clearly the Palestinians had no say or participation in that war. “At Oslo, we gave them everything, and they rejected it,” referring to the Oslo Accords which brought further disaster to Palestinians.
These claims, that he makes with a voice that is quiet and reasonable and peppered with “God willing, and Thank God,” are just the preamble. “I want to offer you, and your friends and your children, real peace, real security, and real coexistence.” He warns them, however, that this peace means “one side will have to give up on their national aspirations.” However, it is not going to be him, because “we are right and they are wrong, this land belongs to us, right?” and the audience responds by clapping, affirming his claim.
“Palestinian terrorism is fueled by the hope that they might be successful someday.” According to Smotrich, nipping the hope for national aspirations for the Arabs in the Land of Israel is how we eliminate terrorism. “We must burn into them the awareness that there will never be an Arab state west of the Jordan River and that Judea and Samaria will forever be part of Israel,” he says to applause.
“Any Arabs who give up their national aspirations will be allowed to live here and enjoy the great wealth that we created in this land.” Smotrich’s plan offers several other options, “they can go to the Arab countries or join the Muslim occupation of Europe.” He says Europe is allowing the destruction of its own identity by allowing unchecked Muslim and Arab immigration for the sake of cheap labor. “We need to develop a plan to create immigration of choice.” And, he says, “The only ones to remain will be people who accept the state of Israel as a Jewish State.”
Smotrich says his plan is hard to grasp because it is out of the box. He must have forgotten that Nazis and other violent, supremacist regimes had rational reasons and even created laws that made their crimes against humanity seem legitimate.
Three Choices
The Smotrich plan offers three possibilities for the Palestinians: incentivized emigration, remaining without rights, or to fight and die.
According to Smotrich, “There is nothing in common between the Nablusi Arab and the Hebronite Arab,” and therefore all they really need are municipal rights, which he says he is happy to give them. However, he clarifies, “I will not give them the right to vote for the national parliament.” He admits, modestly, “This plan may suffer from a “democratic deficiency,” but that’s ok because “life isn’t perfect and there are no perfect solutions.”
“There is no better plan, no plan that is morally superior to this, and no plan that is better suited for us.” If we “burn” in their consciousness that they will never achieve their national aspirations, then most of the Arabs will be reasonable enough to choose to leave or remain to live their lives with us. There will always be those who decide to bang their heads against the wall and they will pay a heavy price for fighting.”
The alarm regarding the destruction of the Holy Sanctuary should have been sounded long ago. Thankfully, it has not yet been destroyed and the Temple which Smotrich and his fellow fanatics want to build in its place, although it is in the advanced planning stages, has not yet been built. Much of Arab Palestine, and indeed Jerusalem, has already been destroyed, there will be no recourse once Smotrich, the designated Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, takes power and gets his hands on the Holy Sanctuary.
Feature photo | Islam’s holy Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem’s Old City is seen trough a door decorated with a Jewish Star of David. Oded Balilty | AP
Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem. He is the author of “The General’s Son. Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and “Injustice, the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”