Bob Geldof demands immediate end to Gaza suffering and says infants are being used as weapons of war
In an emotionally charged interview with Trevor Phillips on Sky News, musician and humanitarian Bob Geldof condemned the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, delivering sharp criticism of both the Israeli government and the broader international response. He accused Israeli authorities of "dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers," only for them to be "wantonly shot."
Geldof described the actions of the Israeli government and the IDF as a “disgrace,” branding Prime Minister Netanyahu and the military leadership as “liars.” He also criticised the UK government’s response saying it is inadequate and dismissed the focus on recognising a Palestinian state as a distraction from the immediate crisis. In his view, political gestures could wait, what matters now is ending the starvation and violence without delay.
Israel Just Lost Its Smartest Minds—Thanks to Its Own Stupidity
BDS has given Israel a kick in the proverbials once more, only this latest blow goes straight to the heart of their legitimacy.
Israel has long relied on its universities as much as its diplomats to project an image of respectability. Its academic institutions, particularly Technion, Tel Aviv University, and the Weizmann Institute of Science – have been celebrated as proof that Israel is a thriving liberal democracy at the cutting edge of science and technology, distinct from its neighbours in the Middle East. These universities have played a vital role in building Israel’s brand as the “Start-Up Nation,” securing lucrative research partnerships and collaborations across Europe and North America.
But all of that narrative is now increasingly under threat and Israel only has itself to blame. Across the world, universities are reassessing or severing their ties with Israeli institutions, citing their complicity in the occupation of Palestine and the war on Gaza. The University of Florence’s decision this month to cut multiple partnerships with Israeli institutions has become emblematic of this shift, for once one of these educational BDS stories getting some media attention, so often such news is being supressed.
Academic boycotts, despite the lack of coverage are a central and highly effective component of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, second only in terms of effect to financial boycotts. They are undermining Israel’s carefully cultivated global narratives, eroding its soft power, and creating a long-term generational shift that threatens its international legitimacy and as such, Israel is in a bit of a flap over it.
The University of Florence’s decision to join the global academic boycott against Israel marks another turning point in Europe’s intellectual climate, it follow on nicely from another video I’ve just made showing this also happening in Europe right now from a legal standpoint. Earlier this month, five of its departments—Mathematics and Computer Science, Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Architecture, and Political and Social Sciences—voted to sever existing partnerships with Israeli academic institutions.
Israel uses its academic institutions like Technion and Tel Aviv University to build a positive image, but this is now under threat. Universities are reassessing ties, citing complicity in the occupation of Palestine and academic boycotts are undermining Israel's global narratives. This erodes its soft power and threatens its international legitimacy.
And that's why Aipac and Trump are cracking down on student protests in the USA, changing the definition of anti-semitism to outlaw anit-genocide / pro-Palestine protests.
Has the US cancelled free speech?
Several groups of professors in the United States are suing the Trump administration over its policy of arresting, detaining, cancelling the visas of, and deporting students who participate in pro-Palestinian advocacy.
The crackdown on free speech is creating a chilling effect across US academia, argues Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which is one of the organisations that brought the lawsuit.
Jaffer tells host Steve Clemons that the issue is much wider than the rights of non-citizens in the country. The government’s actions have the effect of “stifling a political viewpoint that the government doesn’t like”.
