SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Top advisor Jared Kushner, his wife Ivanka Trump, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sulman at the White House in 2018. (Photo: The White House/flickr)
Just as Jared Kushner answered questions about the close ties between the White House and Saudi Arabia in New York on Tuesday, the Middle Eastern kingdom beheaded 37 people in its largest mass execution in at last three years.
The executions, of mostly Shiite men accused of terrorism related crimes, were part of what Washington's Gulf Institute director Ali Al-Ahmed called "the largest mass execution of Shiites in the kingdom's history."
Al-Ahmed identified 34 of the 37 victims as Shiite.
According to reports, Saudi Arabian security services nailed one of the heads to a poll as a warning and one victim was crucified after his execution.
The killings were announced by Saudi state media Tuesday morning, Eastern time, right before Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior advisor to the president, took the stage at the Time 100 Summit event honoring the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
\u201cSaudi Arabia confirms beheading 37 citizens, most of them minority Shiites, in a mass execution for alleged terrorism-related crimes. One body and its severed head was tied to a pole as a public warning.\u201d— Steve Herman (@Steve Herman) 1556044650
During an interview at the event with Time White House correspondent Brian Bennett, Kushner fielded questions on a number of foreign policy questions, including the Israel/Palestine conflict and the Trump administration's closeness to Russia.
Kushner was also asked a series of questions on Saudi Arabia and the relationship between the U.S. and the kingdom, especially in light of the murder of Jamal Kashoggi in October 2018 and the war on Yemen.
\u201cKushner doesn't dispute U.S. intelligence services' conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi https://t.co/iVRb7y2A98\u201d— CBS News (@CBS News) 1556033736
In his replies, Kushner downplayed the significance of the murder, pled ignorance on the details of the crime, and admitted that he offered Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman guidance as the world demanded accountability.
\u201cKushner seems to acknowledge he advised Saudi Crown Prince MBS after #Khashoggi's murder.\n\n"The advice I gave was be as transparent as possible and that obviously we have to make sure there is accountability for what happened," Kushner says at #TIME100 summit\u201d— Jennifer Hansler (@Jennifer Hansler) 1556033740
"Obviously, we have to make sure there's accountability for what happened," said Kushner, before pivoting to a series of remarks critical of Iran, the Palestinians, and the Yemeni Houthis.
In response to the beheadings, Maya Foa, director of the U.K.-based human rights groups Reprieve, put the "egregious display of brutality" squarely at the feet of MbS and the Kingdom's western allies which have shielded it from exactly the accountability Kushner says he supports.
"That the Saudi regime believes it has impunity to carry out such patently illegal executions, without notice," Foa said, "should shock its international partners into action."
\u201cReprieve Director @mayafoa: \u201cThis is another egregious display of brutality by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. That the Saudi regime believes it has impunity to carry out such patently illegal executions, without notice, should shock its international partners into action."\u201d— Reprieve (@Reprieve) 1556043171
In March 2018, The Intercept reported that Bin Salman bragged that he had Kushner "in his pocket."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Just as Jared Kushner answered questions about the close ties between the White House and Saudi Arabia in New York on Tuesday, the Middle Eastern kingdom beheaded 37 people in its largest mass execution in at last three years.
The executions, of mostly Shiite men accused of terrorism related crimes, were part of what Washington's Gulf Institute director Ali Al-Ahmed called "the largest mass execution of Shiites in the kingdom's history."
Al-Ahmed identified 34 of the 37 victims as Shiite.
According to reports, Saudi Arabian security services nailed one of the heads to a poll as a warning and one victim was crucified after his execution.
The killings were announced by Saudi state media Tuesday morning, Eastern time, right before Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior advisor to the president, took the stage at the Time 100 Summit event honoring the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
\u201cSaudi Arabia confirms beheading 37 citizens, most of them minority Shiites, in a mass execution for alleged terrorism-related crimes. One body and its severed head was tied to a pole as a public warning.\u201d— Steve Herman (@Steve Herman) 1556044650
During an interview at the event with Time White House correspondent Brian Bennett, Kushner fielded questions on a number of foreign policy questions, including the Israel/Palestine conflict and the Trump administration's closeness to Russia.
Kushner was also asked a series of questions on Saudi Arabia and the relationship between the U.S. and the kingdom, especially in light of the murder of Jamal Kashoggi in October 2018 and the war on Yemen.
\u201cKushner doesn't dispute U.S. intelligence services' conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi https://t.co/iVRb7y2A98\u201d— CBS News (@CBS News) 1556033736
In his replies, Kushner downplayed the significance of the murder, pled ignorance on the details of the crime, and admitted that he offered Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman guidance as the world demanded accountability.
\u201cKushner seems to acknowledge he advised Saudi Crown Prince MBS after #Khashoggi's murder.\n\n"The advice I gave was be as transparent as possible and that obviously we have to make sure there is accountability for what happened," Kushner says at #TIME100 summit\u201d— Jennifer Hansler (@Jennifer Hansler) 1556033740
"Obviously, we have to make sure there's accountability for what happened," said Kushner, before pivoting to a series of remarks critical of Iran, the Palestinians, and the Yemeni Houthis.
In response to the beheadings, Maya Foa, director of the U.K.-based human rights groups Reprieve, put the "egregious display of brutality" squarely at the feet of MbS and the Kingdom's western allies which have shielded it from exactly the accountability Kushner says he supports.
"That the Saudi regime believes it has impunity to carry out such patently illegal executions, without notice," Foa said, "should shock its international partners into action."
\u201cReprieve Director @mayafoa: \u201cThis is another egregious display of brutality by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. That the Saudi regime believes it has impunity to carry out such patently illegal executions, without notice, should shock its international partners into action."\u201d— Reprieve (@Reprieve) 1556043171
In March 2018, The Intercept reported that Bin Salman bragged that he had Kushner "in his pocket."
Just as Jared Kushner answered questions about the close ties between the White House and Saudi Arabia in New York on Tuesday, the Middle Eastern kingdom beheaded 37 people in its largest mass execution in at last three years.
The executions, of mostly Shiite men accused of terrorism related crimes, were part of what Washington's Gulf Institute director Ali Al-Ahmed called "the largest mass execution of Shiites in the kingdom's history."
Al-Ahmed identified 34 of the 37 victims as Shiite.
According to reports, Saudi Arabian security services nailed one of the heads to a poll as a warning and one victim was crucified after his execution.
The killings were announced by Saudi state media Tuesday morning, Eastern time, right before Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior advisor to the president, took the stage at the Time 100 Summit event honoring the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
\u201cSaudi Arabia confirms beheading 37 citizens, most of them minority Shiites, in a mass execution for alleged terrorism-related crimes. One body and its severed head was tied to a pole as a public warning.\u201d— Steve Herman (@Steve Herman) 1556044650
During an interview at the event with Time White House correspondent Brian Bennett, Kushner fielded questions on a number of foreign policy questions, including the Israel/Palestine conflict and the Trump administration's closeness to Russia.
Kushner was also asked a series of questions on Saudi Arabia and the relationship between the U.S. and the kingdom, especially in light of the murder of Jamal Kashoggi in October 2018 and the war on Yemen.
\u201cKushner doesn't dispute U.S. intelligence services' conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi https://t.co/iVRb7y2A98\u201d— CBS News (@CBS News) 1556033736
In his replies, Kushner downplayed the significance of the murder, pled ignorance on the details of the crime, and admitted that he offered Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman guidance as the world demanded accountability.
\u201cKushner seems to acknowledge he advised Saudi Crown Prince MBS after #Khashoggi's murder.\n\n"The advice I gave was be as transparent as possible and that obviously we have to make sure there is accountability for what happened," Kushner says at #TIME100 summit\u201d— Jennifer Hansler (@Jennifer Hansler) 1556033740
"Obviously, we have to make sure there's accountability for what happened," said Kushner, before pivoting to a series of remarks critical of Iran, the Palestinians, and the Yemeni Houthis.
In response to the beheadings, Maya Foa, director of the U.K.-based human rights groups Reprieve, put the "egregious display of brutality" squarely at the feet of MbS and the Kingdom's western allies which have shielded it from exactly the accountability Kushner says he supports.
"That the Saudi regime believes it has impunity to carry out such patently illegal executions, without notice," Foa said, "should shock its international partners into action."
\u201cReprieve Director @mayafoa: \u201cThis is another egregious display of brutality by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. That the Saudi regime believes it has impunity to carry out such patently illegal executions, without notice, should shock its international partners into action."\u201d— Reprieve (@Reprieve) 1556043171
In March 2018, The Intercept reported that Bin Salman bragged that he had Kushner "in his pocket."