Human Rights

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – US arms transfers are conditioned by federal law, as the Congressional Research office explains, which “prohibits security assistance to ‘any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.’” (Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended in 1976 with Section 502B(a)(2) […]

Genocide

Does the Destruction of Homes in Gaza constitute Genocide?

The Conversation

By Priya Gupta, McGill University | – (The Conversation) – The intentional destruction of homes — by a government or private entity, during war or peacetime, on an individual or communal basis — is referred to as “domicide” by scholars and by Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. […]

Apartheid

As Israel defies UNSC demand for Gaza Ceasefire, UN Human Rights Body slams ongoing “Genocide”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Security Council has finally passed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, from which the US abstained, so it was passed by the other 14 members. Although UNSC resolutions are binding, and countries like Iraq and Iran have been severely punished for disobeying them, the US is running interference for […]

Displaced and Refugees

The Prospect of Mass Famine in Gaza is beginning to Change Minds in Washington

Juan Cole

By Jonathan Este, The Conversation | – (The Conversation) – As the casualty count on the Gaza Strip approaches 32,000 people, in itself a terrible and distressing statistic, another number also stood out this week. It is reported that in the past week, more than 100 aid workers have been killed. Twenty-three on March 19 […]

Canada

Is Canada’s Decision to cut Arms Sales to Israel a Bellwether for NATO?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The vote in the Canadian parliament this week to halt new arms exports to Israel is of great symbolic importance in ways that may not be apparent on the surface. The measure called for no new arms and military technology transfers to Israel, for support for the International Court of […]

Anti-intellectualism

Israeli Violations of Academic Freedom in the occupied Palestinian Territories

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association Joseph R. Biden President of the United States Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ambassador Omar Zniber President, UN Human Rights Council Francesca Albanese UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Dear President Biden, High Commissioner Türk, Ambassador Zniber, and […]

Anti-Zionism

In Zionist Academia there is No Room for Dissent

Lior Sternfeld

By Sonia Boulos and Lior Sternfeld | – Madrid and State College, Pa. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – In a statement from March 12, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the suspension of Professor Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian, an internationally renowned Palestinian scholar and a faculty member in the Law School and School of Social […]

Displaced and Refugees

UN and EU slam Israel: Imposing on Palestinians ‘Levels of Food Insecurity never Recorded anywhere in the World’

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Union’s Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borell and the European Commissioner for Crisis management Janez Lenarčič, issued a statement on Monday on the findings of a UN-backed report that found that Israel’s total war on Gaza has put the remaining Palestinian population in imminent risk of starving […]

Displaced and Refugees

Sudan: Urgent Action Needed on Hunger Crisis

Human Rights Watch

Security Council Should Act on Access for Aid Deliveries ( Human Rights Watch ) – (New York, March 15, 2024) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to alert the Security Council in the coming days that Sudan has entered a downward spiral of extreme conflict-induced hunger, Human Rights Watch said today. The council […]