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Category: Politics

‘America is under attack’: Inside the anti-DEI crusade

‘America is under attack’: Inside the anti-DEI crusade

The New York Times reports: In late 2022, a group of conservative activists and academics set out to abolish the diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Texas’ public universities. They linked up with a former aide to the state’s powerful lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who made banning D.E.I. initiatives one of his top priorities. Setting their sights on well-known schools like Texas A&M, they researched which offices and employees should be expunged. A well-connected alumnus conveyed their findings to the…

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To end this war, Biden must apply on Israel all the diplomatic and military leverage at his disposal

To end this war, Biden must apply on Israel all the diplomatic and military leverage at his disposal

Daniel Levy writes: The first and most critical shift required is for the administration to embrace the need for a full cease-fire now. That demand cannot be one of rhetoric alone. The administration should condition the transfer of further military supplies on Israel ending the war and stopping the collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population, and should create oversight mechanisms for the use of American weaponry that is already at Israel’s disposal. Ending Israel’s Gaza operation is also the…

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U.S. pushes hostage-release plan aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war

U.S. pushes hostage-release plan aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war

The Wall Street Journal reports: The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process that would start with a release of hostages and, eventually, lead to a withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war in Gaza, diplomats involved in mediating the talks said. Neither side in the conflict has agreed to the terms of the new proposal—which includes steps at odds with the stated positions of Israel and Hamas. Taher…

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How the Biden administration helps Israel sidestep U.S. human rights laws

How the Biden administration helps Israel sidestep U.S. human rights laws

The Guardian reports: Top US officials quietly reviewed more than a dozen incidents of alleged gross violations of human rights by Israeli security forces since 2020, but have gone to great lengths to preserve continued access to US weapons for the units responsible for the alleged violations, contributing – former US officials say – to the sense of impunity with which Israel has approached its war in Gaza. An estimated 24,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed by…

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Israel’s right to tyranny

Israel’s right to tyranny

Amjad Iraqi writes: It’s hard to overstate the symbolic power of the Jan. 11 hearing at the International Court of Justice. In a moving display of solidarity, a diverse lineup of South African, Irish, and British lawyers meticulously laid out their evidence for charging Israel with the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip. The malicious statements of Israeli officials, including cabinet ministers and generals, were recited as declarations of murderous intent. Videos of mass destruction, often recorded gleefully by…

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Israeli protesters demand Gaza cease-fire in rare anti-war march through Tel Aviv

Israeli protesters demand Gaza cease-fire in rare anti-war march through Tel Aviv

NPR reports: Omri Goren holds a stack of purple flyers that say: “Only peace will bring security.” He’s part of a small anti-war movement in Israel calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million people are struggling to survive months of Israeli bombardment and a near total siege of the territory. Goren was among a few hundred people who came out to march and protest in Tel Aviv Thursday night in support of peace. Emotions in Israel…

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In Judge Kaplan’s court, Trump plays with fire

In Judge Kaplan’s court, Trump plays with fire

The Washington Post reports: In the high-stakes world of presidential trials, there are no judges like Lewis A. Kaplan. At 79, after decades on the bench, the senior judge is one of the most well-regarded legal minds in New York. And he has a unique history that makes Donald Trump’s courtroom behavior over the past week potentially dangerous for the former president of the United States. Trump is on trial in a civil case as writer E. Jean Carroll seeks…

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Why the United States can’t ignore the ICJ case against Israel

Why the United States can’t ignore the ICJ case against Israel

Zaha Hassan writes: Last week, South Africa presented a well-argued case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s judicial arm, alleging Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the charges and claims its actions in Gaza are self-defense. A state-to-state complaint about “the crime of crimes” should be a big deal to the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, particularly when it involves a close ally receiving around $4 billion per year in U.S. security assistance (and fast-tracked for more)….

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Top IDF commanders believe freeing hostages not compatible with goal of destroying Hamas

Top IDF commanders believe freeing hostages not compatible with goal of destroying Hamas

The New York Times reports: After more than 100 days of war, Israel’s limited progress in dismantling Hamas has raised doubts within the military’s high command about the near-term feasibility of achieving the country’s principal wartime objectives: eradicating Hamas and also liberating the Israeli hostages still in Gaza. Israel has established control over a smaller part of Gaza at this point in the war than it originally envisaged in battle plans from the start of the invasion, which were reviewed…

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Growing number of Senate Democrats challenge Biden’s unwavering embrace of Israel

Growing number of Senate Democrats challenge Biden’s unwavering embrace of Israel

The Washington Post reports: Five Senate Democrats on Friday signed onto a measure that would condition aid to Israel on its compliance with international law, bringing the total number of co-sponsors to 18. And a prominent Democrat, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, is rounding up support for his amendment to stop President Biden from circumventing Congress when he orders weapons transfers to Israel, a maneuver the president has pursued twice in recent months. Earlier this week, 11 senators voted for…

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Iran warns Israel that air strike on Syria will not go unanswered

Iran warns Israel that air strike on Syria will not go unanswered

BBC News reports: Iran’s president said an air strike on the Syrian capital that killed five senior members of Iran’s security forces will not “go unanswered”. Ebrahim Raisi said Israel was to blame for the attack, which also killed a number of Syrian forces. Israel has not commented. For years it has carried out strikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria. Such strikes have intensified since the Israel-Gaza war began following Hamas’s 7 October attacks on Israel. In a statement posted…

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The U.S. lacks what every democracy needs

The U.S. lacks what every democracy needs

Richard L. Hasen writes: The history of voting in the United States shows the high cost of living with an old Constitution, unevenly enforced by a reluctant Supreme Court. Unlike the constitutions of many other advanced democracies, the U.S. Constitution contains no affirmative right to vote. We have nothing like Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, providing that “every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of…

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The Biden problem: A populist message won’t do much to elevate a deeply unpopular candidate

The Biden problem: A populist message won’t do much to elevate a deeply unpopular candidate

The Washington Post reports: In private conversations over the past several weeks, aides to President Biden have discussed proposing new taxes on the wealthy this year to help fund Social Security benefits as the presidential election looms, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. With former president Donald Trump again vowing to protect Social Security if elected, some advisers to Biden’s team believe pushing to bolster the program’s…

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Van Hollen and other Democratic senators say Biden needs to abandon ‘quiet diplomacy’ with Netanyahu

Van Hollen and other Democratic senators say Biden needs to abandon ‘quiet diplomacy’ with Netanyahu

Politico reports: Democratic lawmakers are furious with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for rejecting the idea of creating an independent Palestinian nation after fighting in the Gaza Strip ends. Netanyahu was blunt about his intentions during a news conference on Thursday, saying that Israel “needs security control over all territory” west of Jordan after the war, he said. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty.” A two-state solution has been a key goal of the Biden administration as it plans…

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King Bibi, false messiah

King Bibi, false messiah

David Stromberg writes: Watching Bibi speak ever since October 7, one senses that, for far too long, he has been told that he is King Bibi—and that he truly believes in the prophetic claims of his role as Israel’s unrivaled and divinely installed leader. Even though Bibi is not religious, he presides over the most religiously extreme and messianic coalition in Israel’s history, a throwback to the kind of ideologically tainted mysticism invoked by Nathan of Gaza to elevate Sabbatai…

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