February, 05 2020, 11:00pm EDT
People's Action Cheers Sanders Win in Iowa
People's Action celebrated Bernie Sanders' win in the Iowa Caucuses, cheering the victory of people power over organized money.
"From the Homes Guarantee to Medicare for All to Free College for All and a People's Green New Deal, Bernie Sanders took the needs and ideas of the multiracial working class seriously--and then took up those demands as his platform," People's Action's Ryan Greenwood said. "Bernie engaged with people-powered organizations like ours in a way that no other candidate did, and in Iowa he reaped the benefits."
DES MOINES, IOWA
People's Action celebrated Bernie Sanders' win in the Iowa Caucuses, cheering the victory of people power over organized money.
"From the Homes Guarantee to Medicare for All to Free College for All and a People's Green New Deal, Bernie Sanders took the needs and ideas of the multiracial working class seriously--and then took up those demands as his platform," People's Action's Ryan Greenwood said. "Bernie engaged with people-powered organizations like ours in a way that no other candidate did, and in Iowa he reaped the benefits."
People's Action endorsed Sanders after a year-and-a-half-long democratic process among its 1.3 million members nationwide. The organization's process included the largest independent people's presidential forum held in Iowa, lauded by The Nation as "2020's Most In-Depth, People-Powered Forum." Its member groups Iowa CCI Action Fund and Iowa Student Action represent the largest people's group and the largest student group in the state, respectively.
Bernie Sanders won both rounds of popular votes in the Iowa caucuses, meaning most people voted for Sanders, and Sanders and Buttigieg will get the same number of delegates to the DNC. The state delegate equivalent metric being used by Buttigieg to tout a paper-thin lead over Sanders is the least important metric in the Iowa caucuses.
Because he won the popular vote (including 43 percent support from immigrants and people of color) Sanders is best positioned to win the subsequent primaries. WIth Elizabeth Warren's third-place showing and 60 percent of caucusgoers supporting Medicare for All, it's clear our ideas are winning.
People's Action, Iowa CCI Action Fund, and Iowa Student Action have been at the center of the action throughout the campaign, creating crucial moments that helped differentiate candidates from one another. Iowa Student Action member Greg Chung was responsible for the now-famous birddogging of Pete Buttigieg, in which the former mayor was asked if getting big money out of politics included not taking donations from billionaires and closed-door fundraisers. Buttigieg answered "no," and the resulting video clip received 3.2 million views on Twitter and forced more transparency from Buttigieg's campaign.
"The differences in the campaigns really became clear here in Iowa," Adiel Pollydore, national leader of Student Action, said. "Senator Sanders ran a movement politics campaign that listened to people, not donors. We were disappointed to see Biden and Buttigieg double-down on lies about Medicare for All, parroting their donors' corporate talking points instead of listening to the grassroots. The corporate Democrats' performance on health care, climate change, student debt, and housing affordability was deeply disappointing.
Greenwood added: "Bernie is running for president to make our lives better. That's why he's going to beat the candidates backed by big money. That's why he won in Iowa. That's why he's going to beat Trump. Our members from New Hampshire to Los Angeles will be going door-to-door tomorrow to ask people to join us because by electing Bernie, we elect all of us."
People's Action builds the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections.
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'Protest Works': Trinity College Dublin Agrees to Divest From Israeli Firms
Trinity's incoming student union president stressed that the school "refused to follow the U.S. example of bringing police in and made it clear that it would not pursue anything like that here."
May 09, 2024
Students at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland protesting the school's complicity in Israeli crimes in Palestine began dismantling their encampment Wednesday after administrators agreed to divest from three companies with ties to Israel's illegal settler colonies in the occupied West Bank.
TCD—which earlier this week
decried the "disproportionate response" to some pro-Palestine campus protests abroad—said an agreement between protesters and administrators had been reached on Wednesday afternoon, and that "plans are being put in place to return to normal university business for staff, students, and members of the public."
"We are glad that this agreement has been reached and are committed to further constructive engagement on the issues raised," senior dean Eoin O'Sullivan said. "We thank the students for their engagement."
Outgoing Trinity College Dublin Students' Union (TCDSU) president László Molnárfi called the agreement a "testament to grassroots student-staff power."
Incoming TCDSU president Jenny Maguire contrasted the situation at her school to the violent repression of student-led protests on some U.S. campuses.
"The college was determined that it would be an example going forward," Maguire said, according toThe New York Times. "It refused to follow the U.S. example of bringing police in and made it clear that it would not pursue anything like that here."
TCD's statement affirmed:
We fully understand the driving force behind the encampment on our campus and we are in solidarity with the students in our horror at what is happening in Gaza. We abhor and condemn all violence and war, including the atrocities of October 7th, the taking of hostages, and the continuing ferocious and disproportionate onslaught in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the dehumanization of its people are obscene. We support the International Court of Justice's position that "Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip."
"Trinity will endeavor to divest from investments in other Israeli companies," the school added, vowing to establish a task force on the issue.
"A real and lasting solution that respects the human rights of everyone needs to be found," the TCD statement said.
The protest camp—which was spearheaded by TCDSU and the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement—was erected Friday night on Fellow's Square, at the heart of Ireland's oldest university. Students demanded that TCD sell off its investments in three Israeli companies included on a United Nations "blacklist" first published in 2020 for their links to human rights violations committed by Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The TCD protest came amid Israel's 216-day assault on Gaza, which has left at least 124,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in what the International Court of Justice in January called a "plausibly" genocidal campaign. Support for Palestine runs strong and deep in Ireland, which, like Palestine, was also colonized by the British, and where many people see parallels between their historic repression and Israel's crimes against Palestinians.
TCD's campus—which is located in the center of the Irish capital—had been shut down for five days, a move that affected the school's income as it houses the Book of Kells, an ancient Celtic manuscript visitors pay from €16-€33.50 ($17-$36) to see. According toThe Irish Times, the Book of Kells generates approximately €350,000 ($377,000) in weekly income during the busy summer months.
Last week, the TCD fined TCDSU €214,000 ($231,000) for financial losses stemming from multiple protests held throughout this academic year.
Meanwhile in the United States—where a pair of Republican senators this week introduced legislation to brand students protesting for Palestine as "terrorists" and add them to the no-fly list—campus encampments continued to spread from coast to coast.
On Wednesday, progressive U.S. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) spoke alongside student protesters from George Washington University outside the U.S. Capitol.
https://t.co/MvLg0MMN90
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) May 8, 2024
"We will not stop in defending these students until [the] end in regards to the genocide... until there is an immediate and permanent cease-fire that includes complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza," said Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress. "We're proud to use our positions in office to bring these voices, so you all don't forget why there are encampments, why there are movements and dissent around this country."
While crackdowns and violence by police and Israel supporters have garnered most of the headlines in the U.S., at least eight schools across the country including California State University, Sacramento; Evergreen State College; University of California, Riverside; Brown University; Rutgers University; State University of New York, Purchase; Northwestern University; and University of Minnesota have agreed to some or all of students' demands.
After a week of demonstrations at a student-led encampment at California State University, Sacramento, administrators said they would revise the school's socially responsible investment policy and refrain from investments linked to Israeli human rights violations in Palestine.
"I think it's so significant what we did here because we're essentially raising the bar for all universities," Sacramento State sophomore Michael Lee-Chang toldThe Intercept. "We've had every single one of our demands met, and that's how it should be. We're here for Palestine, and student power shouldn't be underestimated. I can't state just how excited I am and can't wait to see how our win helps other campuses reach their victories too."
Faculty at U.S. colleges and universities have also been taking a more active role in the protests. Professors and other staff at the New School in New York City set up a solidarity camp on Wednesday, erecting tents with signs including "Faculty Against Genocide" and "Jews for Palestine."
As of Thursday, more than 800 Jewish professors had signed an open letter demanding that lawmakers and U.S. President Joe Biden oppose the so-called Antisemitism Awareness Act, House-approved legislation the educators warn will "amplify the real threats Jewish Americans already face" by "conflating antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel."
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'Inexcusable': Amnesty Slams Biden Admin for Delaying Report on Israel's Use of US Weapons
"The Biden administration had months to put together a report on information they should already be collecting."
May 09, 2024
A leading human rights organization on Wednesday slammed the Biden administration's decision to indefinitely delay the release of a report on whether Israel and other U.S. allies are using American weaponry in compliance with international law.
"The Biden administration had months to put together a report on information they should already be collecting—whether grave human rights violations and other serious violations of international law are being committed using U.S.-provided weapons in seven conflicts around the world," said Amanda Klasing, national director for government relations at Amnesty International USA. "They must release it urgently."
"This is especially urgent," Klasing added, "given the Israeli military's ground operation in Rafah, in the occupied Gaza Strip, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians, including 600,000 children, are sheltering. Burying the head in the sand tactic doesn't make the violations of the government of Israel go away."
Required under a White House policy implemented in February, the report was supposed to be delivered to Congress on May 8.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said during a press briefing Wednesday that the administration will "have it up in the coming days," but declined to offer a specific timeline.
"It is overdue for President Biden to end U.S. complicity with the government of Israel's grave violations of international law."
U.S. President Joe Biden admitted in a CNN interview Wednesday that the Israeli military has killed civilians in Gaza with American-made bombs—something human rights organizations like Amnesty have been documenting for months.
In a research brief submitted to the Biden administration last week, Amnesty detailed three cases in which Israel's military has used U.S.-made weapons in violation of international law. In October, Israeli forces used Joint Direct Attack Munitions manufactured by Boeing to carry out airstrikes on two Gaza homes, killing 43 civilians—including 19 children and 14 women.
While applauding Biden's decision to halt a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel as it attacks Rafah, Amnesty said Wednesday that it was "inexcusable" for the State Department to postpone the long-awaited report.
"It is overdue for President Biden to end U.S. complicity with the government of Israel's grave violations of international law," said Klasing. "Tough conversations with counterparts in Israel are tragically and clearly not doing the job—violations continue unabated, and civilians are paying the price with their lives."
It's unclear why the administration was unable to meet its own deadline for providing U.S. lawmakers with the report on Israel's use of American weaponry.
Kevin Martin, the president of Peace Action, argued in an op-ed for Common Dreams on Thursday that the delay "reflects internal divisions within the State Department not just about Israel's fallacious claim of compliance, but what to recommend to the executive branch in terms of possible action against Israel."
An internal State Department memo that leaked last month showed that officials at four of the department's bureaus did not believe the Israeli government's written assurances that its use of American weaponry in Gaza has followed international law.
Several State Department officials have resigned since October over the Biden administration's decision to arm Israel's assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,900 people and sparked an appalling humanitarian crisis.
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, said Thursday that the Biden administration's "suspension of massive bombs to Israel is an important but long-overdue acknowledgment that Israel has been using American weapons to indiscriminately kill Palestinian civilians in violation of the most basic laws of war."
"Suspending all weapons transfers to Israel shouldn't be a political tactic," said Whitson, "but rather adhering to long-standing laws that prohibit arming abusers."
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800+ Jewish Professors Urge Biden, Senate to Oppose 'Dangerous' Antisemitism Bill
"Criticism of the state of Israel, the Israeli government, policies of the Israeli government, or Zionist ideology is not—in and of itself—antisemitic," reads a new letter.
May 09, 2024
A Dartmouth University professor who once served as the school's head of Jewish studies and was violently arrested at a Palestinian rights protest last week was among more than 800 Jewish educators who had signed a letter as of Thursday, demanding that lawmakers and U.S. President Joe Biden oppose a bill claiming to combat antisemitism.
The Awareness of Antisemitism Act, said the letter, would actually "amplify the real threats Jewish Americans already face" by "conflating antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel."
The bill, which was passed by the Republican-controlled House last week over the objections of 70 progressive Democrats and 21 Republicans, would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which includes "targeting of the state of Israel" and "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis."
The Awareness of Antisemitism Act, which could soon be taken up by the Senate, would require the Department of Education to consider the group's working definition when determining whether harassment is motivated by antisemitism.
The professors noted that the working definition has been "internationally criticized," with more than 100 civil society organizations—including some Israeli groups—calling on the United Nations last year to reject the IHRA's interpretation because it has been "misused" to shield Israel from legitimate criticism.
"We hold varied opinions on Israel," reads the letter. "Whatever our differences, we oppose the IHRA's definition of antisemitism. If imported into federal law, the IHRA definition will delegitimize and silence Jewish Americans—among others—who advocate for Palestinian human rights or otherwise criticize Israeli policies."
The professors pointed out the irony that by using the IHRA definition—which also includes "accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel" than their own home countries—the bill "hardens the dangerous notion that Jewish identity is inextricably linked to every decision of Israel's government."
"Far from combating antisemitism, this dynamic promises to amplify the real threats Jewish Americans already face," the letter reads.
Annelise Orleck, the Dartmouth professor who was arrested last week, was joined by other Jewish academics including City University of New York professor Peter Beinart and professor emeritus Avishai Margalit of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in signing the letter.
Orleck, a labor historian, told ABC affiliate WMUR after her arrest that she hopes Dartmouth and other schools that have cracked down on and condemned pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks will "stop weaponizing antisemitism."
The professors urged political leaders who are "earnestly concerned with antisemitism" to "join hundreds of Jewish scholars from across the globe who have endorsed alternative definitions of antisemitism—such as those contained in the Nexus Document or Jerusalem Declaration. Unlike the IHRA definition, these documents offer meaningful tools to combat antisemitism without undermining Jewish safety and civil rights by insulating Israel from legitimate criticism."
When the Antisemitism Awareness Act was passed by the House last week, Jewish-led Palestinian rights groups were among those that condemned the proposal.
Biden has angered pro-Palestinian rights groups by suggesting the campus protests that have spread across the U.S. in recent weeks, with students and faculty demanding an end to U.S. support for Israel as it bombards Gaza, are inherently antisemitic.
"Criticism of the state of Israel, the Israeli government, policies of the Israeli government, or Zionist ideology is not—in and of itself—antisemitic," reads the professors' letter, which was first publicized Wednesday. "We accordingly urge our political leaders to reject any effort to codify into federal law a definition of antisemitism that conflates antisemitism with criticism of the state of Israel."
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