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SvennoJ on 14 August 2024
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Ilhan Omar wins Democratic primary

The US legislator, who is a fierce critic of Israel, has clinched the Democratic nomination for a fourth term in a victory for the progressive wing of her party.

The Minnesota legislator, one of four progressive women whose 2018 election created the group known as The Squad, is expected to easily win the November 5 election.

Omar’s victory comes after fellow Squad members Representatives Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri lost their party primaries to opponents who had won substantial support from the pro-Israel fundraising group AIPAC.


Ilhan Omar poses for a picture with supporters after announcing her victory in the Minnesota Democratic primary election at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, on August 13


US exhibiting ‘many red flags for genocidal processes’: Lemkin Institute

A prominent US-based multinational NGO reports that it is “deeply concerned by the devaluation of life in and by the United States” as it shows a plethora of genocidal red flags.

According to the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, those include “extreme political divisiveness, institutional ossification and breakdown, political corruption, dependence on special interests, a highly militarised security sector, and widespread pessimism as well as popular disengagement from a political system that is increasingly unresponsive to the needs of ordinary people”.

“It is never in the interest of a state to commit genocide domestically, to countenance the rise of genocidal ideologies and groups, or to aid, abet, condone, or give diplomatic cover to genocide overseas,” the institute says.

It also calls on the US, among other things, to create anti-genocide mechanisms and dialogue at the national level, challenge the dominance of military spending, agree to adhere to its own laws on military support for foreign countries, and become a member of the International Criminal Court.


Israel attacked ‘nearly every inch of Gaza with US-made bombs’

Jewish Voice for Peace, a US-based advocacy group, has made a map of the more than 70,000 bombs that Israel has dropped on the Gaza Strip since October 7 using UN satellite data.

“With the US as its collaborator, the Israeli military is carrying out the goal of Zionism: the complete and total ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land,” the group says.

“The US isn’t just allowing the Israeli government to commit a genocide, it’s actively assisting it. It’s well past time for a weapons embargo. We demand a complete end to US funding, arming, and backing of the state of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.”



‘Enabling genocide’: Melbourne orchestra cancels pianist’s performance over raising Gaza awareness

The UN’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory says the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s cancellation of a prominent pianist’s performance after he dedicated a piece of music to journalists killed in Gaza is enabling the genocide in the enclave.

“Those who suffer genocide are the most unprotected, and humanity obliges us to stand up for them, using all means at our disposal, starting with our voice,” Francesca Albanese said in a post on X.

Musician Jayson Gillham was scheduled to perform at Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday, but he was dropped after he discussed the media workers killed in Gaza after a Sunday performance.

“The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world,” the musician told the audience, adding that Israel has killed more than 100 journalists since October 7.

In an email to those who wished to attend Gillham’s next performance, the orchestra said the pianist’s remarks “have caused offence and distress” and offered “a sincere apology”. The orchestra has made its social media accounts private after online backlash.