Category Archives: racism

Inoreader – ‘Back to the dark ages’: US rules out domestic violence for asylum claims

US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions rules that domestic and gang violence cannot be considered grounds for asylum, in a ruling that will affect large numbers of Central Americans and could undermine claims of women suffering from sex trafficking.

Source: Inoreader – ‘Back to the dark ages’: US rules out domestic violence for asylum claims

‘Children are being used as a tool’ in Trump’s effort to stop border crossings – The Boston Globe

US Border Patrol agents separated Wil from his father six months ago, after the pair made the long journey from violence-torn Honduras to the US border in Arizona, attempting to claim asylum there. Within days of arriving in the United States, Wil watched as his father was taken away in handcuffs, joining a long line of other chained men. That, according to his foster parents, was the last time he saw his dad. In the intentionally brutal logic of President Trump’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the US border, Wil is actually among the lucky kids. At least his foster parents know where his father is being held, though not when father and son might be reunited. Three other young children in the care of Coryn and Silas don’t know the location of their parents and have had no contact with them for weeks.

Source: ‘Children are being used as a tool’ in Trump’s effort to stop border crossings – The Boston Globe

Journalist Mohammed al-Baba shot by IDF while covering Gaza protests – IFEX

Mohammed al-Baba, a photographer for Agence France-Presse, was hit by a live round fired by the Israel Defense Forces while covering a protest east of the northern Gazan city of Jabalia.

Source: Journalist Mohammed al-Baba shot by IDF while covering Gaza protests – IFEX

What would you do if soldiers dragged your son out of bed in the middle of the night? | +972 Magazine

The soldiers pass through the house. In one of the rooms a terrified woman holds a small child, telling the soldiers that she is alone with the children. “Everything is okay,” the soldiers tell her. What is so okay about their forced presence in the middle of the night? After that, the soldiers tell the adults to bring the children to them. Young children are woken up in order to stand before the soldiers. The soldiers make another round inside the house, another round of talks with the adults, and the soldiers continue on their way. What was the purpose of the raid? What were they looking for? Who were they looking for? Did the soldiers themselves even know? Was the systematic fear the raid instilled itself the purpose of the raid?

Source: What would you do if soldiers dragged your son out of bed in the middle of the night? | +972 Magazine

In memory of Razan al-Najjar | +972 Magazine

I then returned to the comments that had accumulated under the picture of the young woman who went to care for wounded protesters and came back in a shroud. My heart struggled to contain the sadness. I apologize to my well-intentioned friend. The bitter truth is that the Israeli collective consciousness is light-years away from a place where it can even begin speak about the basic concepts of justice, human rights, and human equality before God. I doubt that years of occupation and moral corruption can be corrected. I also apologize to Razan, the young Gazan woman who lived her whole life under occupation, more than half under the brutal siege. She did not taste a single day of freedom in her short life. She went out into the Valley of Death by the separation barrier to care for her wounded countrymen and never came back. With shame beyond words, I apologize. Rest in peace Razan, may your memory bring freedom and justice to your people.

Source: In memory of Razan al-Najjar | +972 Magazine

They Spoke Spanish in a Montana Store. Then a Border Agent Asked for Their IDs. – The New York Times – If they had Canadian accents and speaking English, what would he have done?

Shocked by the encounter, Ms. Suda retrieved her cellphone from her car, hit record and confronted the agent as he was relaying their information over a radio inside his sport utility vehicle. They had been racially profiled, Ms. Suda told the agent. “It had nothing to do with that,” the officer, who identified himself as Agent O’Neal, responded in the cellphone video. “It’s the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store in a state where it’s predominantly English-speaking.”

‘Open up or we’ll tase you’: Police arrest activists protesting Gaza violence | +972 Magazine

“The fact that the protests took place in downtown Haifa is no coincidence. This is the same place where Arab residents were kicked out of so it could be turned into a recreational area with bars. Since 2013, there has been an increase in the mistreatment of political activists – in terms of numbers arrested, release conditions, preventative arrests, etc.” “Ultimately, this is foolish behavior. They do not have the tools to influence us. They still believe that arresting three or four organizers will stop people from going into the streets, as if they are puppets. They are unable to understand that we have a political demand. They won’t be able to stop that.”

Source: ‘Open up or we’ll tase you’: Police arrest activists protesting Gaza violence | +972 Magazine

Asylum seeker hospitalized after being stabbed by group of Israelis | +972 Magazine

Adam says that passersby told him that the same group of Israelis had tried to attack an asylum seeker earlier that day, but had given up when they realized there were too many people around. He has no doubt that the attack was racially-motivated. “These are people who I saw for the first time. They came here to mess with refugees.”

Source: Asylum seeker hospitalized after being stabbed by group of Israelis | +972 Magazine

Trump Calls Some Unauthorized Immigrants ‘Animals’ in Rant – The New York Times

The president’s language and his focus on California drew a sharp rebuke from Jerry Brown, the state’s Democratic governor. “Trump is lying on immigration, lying about crime and lying about the laws of California,” Mr. Brown said in a statement. “Flying in a dozen Republican politicians to flatter him and praise his reckless policies changes nothing. We, the citizens of the fifth-largest economy in the world, are not impressed.”