News came yesterday that Tomas Young, an Iraq war vet turned anti-war activist, had passed away in Seattle at the age of 34. Tomas enlisted in the Army just two days after the 9/11 attacks. Following his training at Ft. Hood, Texas he was deployed to Iraq and paralyzed after being shot through his spinal cord just five days into his first tour. Many CounterPunchers may remember Tomas from the excellent Body of War, a documentary film by Phil Donahue about Tomas’ struggles following his return from Iraq. Below is a letter Tomas wrote to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in June 2013. RIP Tomas Young. We promise to carry on your fight. – Joshua Frank

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Es ist ein Skandal, dass zwei jüdischen, progressiven Intellektuellen, David Sheen und Max Blumenthal wieder ein Auftrittsverbot in Deutschland erteilt wurde und sie nicht im Roten Salon auftreten durften. Warum schweigt Gysi zu einem Artikel aus der “Springernden Morgenpost” von dem berüchtigten Journalisten Benjamin Weinthal, allerdings einem mehr als “fragwürdigen und wenig glaubwürdigen “Vertreter der schreibenden Zunft”?

(06.06.2009) See Max Blumenthal‘s shocking footage of the reaction by some Israelis and American Jews in Jerusalem to Obama‘s speech to the Muslim world. Co-produced by Joseph Dana, aka Ibn Ezra: ibnezra.wordpress.com and Mondoweiss, a blog that covers the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Middle East from a progressive Jewish perspective.

(04.07.2009) Usually I offer a brief commentary on my video reports, but this one requires no comment at all. Quite simply, it contains some of the most shocking footage I have ever filmed. Watch it and see if you agree. (This video was removed from the Huffington Post on the grounds that it had “no news value” and “did not move the conversation forward.”)

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In a question and answer session at the Bundestag (German Parliament) on 10 December 2014, I speak about state-sponsored Israeli racism against African refugees

(11. November) The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the upsurge in violence and killings over the past few days in Israel and the West Bank. Violence only deepens distrust, while making more distant the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Secretary-General calls on all sides to do everything they possibly can to avoid further exacerbating an already tense environment. His thoughts are with the families of the victims.

Veröffentlicht am 17.10.2013

About 60,000 African migrants have arrived in Israel since 2006, fleeing unrest in their home countries. But upon arrival in the ostensibly democratic country, the migrants have faced intense persecution and have been branded as „infiltrators“ by right-wing politicians and activists.

For more, read Max Blumenthal‘s article, „Israel Cranks Up the PR Machine,“ http://bit.ly/19870PJ

(28. Oktober)

(10. November) The Jordanian prime minister has warned that the ongoing tension over the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) is inflicting a “stab wound” on the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.

Jordan‘s parliament on Tuesday called on the government to shoulder its responsibilities vis-à-vis the „repeated racist assaults [by Israeli authorities] on Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the desecration [of the city and mosque] with the tacit approval of the Zionist occupation police.“

„The series of flagrant assaults on Palestinian land, people and holy sites by the Zionists comes within the context of the Zionist occupiers‘ recklessness and arrogance regarding international resolutions and human rights charters,“ read a parliamentary statement.

(5. November) B’Tselem extends its condolences to the family of the man killed in the car attack earlier today (5 November 2014) in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarah. We send our wishes for a speedy recovery to the individuals injured in the attack. B’Tselem condemns any and all intentional assaults targeting Israeli and Palestinian civilians and reiterates its call to politicians and leaders to act responsibly and avoid fanning the flames of violence.

We are therefore extremely disturbed by the statement by Israel’s Minister of Public Security that “a terrorist who harms civilians should be killed”. This provocative call by a government minister to break the law and for execution without trial deserves the strongest possible censure, all the more so for being made by the minister responsible for law enforcement.

(30. Oktober) B‘Tselem is shocked and concerned over the attempt made yesterday to assassinate Israeli right-wing activist Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem, and hopes that he will regain full health. B‘Tselem urges the police, the Jerusalem Municipality and Israeli and Palestinian public leaders to act responsibly and safeguard the well-being and human rights of all residents in East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem.

(10. November)

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The most important trend in American Jewish politics today is the collapse of the center. The American Jewish establishment isn’t only being challenged by left-leaning groups like J Street. It also faces a less widely recognized, but equally powerful, challenge from the right.

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After delivering testimony at the Bundestag (German Parliament) about the recent Israeli assault on Gaza, journalist Max Blumenthal calls upon the audience to join him in confronting Die Linke party leader Gregor Gysi at his parliamentary office over his involvement in efforts to smear us with accusations of encouraging hatred of Jewish people, in order to discredit us and get our talks cancelled, thereby preventing Germans from learning of the extent of state-sponsored racism in Israel. Many in the audience, including German politicians from Gysi‘s own Die Linke party, applaud Blumenthal‘s call to confront Gysi at his office.

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Benjamin Netanyahu is against the State of Israel.

That’s the only way to describe the string of statements the prime minister has made over the past week. It seems he has decided to take off the statesmanlike mask he has donned for the past few years, and now he’s exposing his nationalist face to the public.

At first conference of Israeli-American Council, casino mogul and Netanyahu backer hints democracy in Israel not a bad thing to lose.

Speaking to The Electronic Intifada from Berlin, Blumenthal pointed out that the smear campaign against him and Sheen – and more importantly the effort to prevent discussion about Israel’s crimes in Gaza – was the product of the anti-Palestinian network funded by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

In his most recent racist and quasi-genocidal outburst, Adelson – a key funder of the US Republican Party – declared that the Palestinians are “a made-up nation” and that the “the purpose of the existence of Palestinians is to destroy Israel.”

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24-25 September – Brussels (…)
During this session, that will take place in Brussels on 24th and 25th of September, our jury, so far composed of Michael Mansfield QC, John Dugard, Vandana Shiva, Christiane Hessel, Richard Falk, Ahdaf Soueif, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, Roger Waters, Ronnie Kasrils, Radhia Nasraoui and Miguel Angel Estrella will listen to testimonies from Paul Behrens, Desmond Travers, David Sheen, Max Blumenthal

Das erste Russell-Tribunal, auch unter der Bezeichnung Vietnam War Crimes Tribunal (englisch für „Vietnam-Kriegsverbrechen-Tribunal“) bekannt, wurde 1966 von dem britischen Mathematiker, Philosophen und Literaturnobelpreisträger Lord Bertrand Russell sowie Ken Coates und weiteren Beteiligten, unter dem Dach der Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation (Bertrand-Russell-Friedens-Stiftung) ins Leben gerufen. Ziel des Tribunals war die Untersuchung und Dokumentation US-amerikanischer Kriegsverbrechen im Vietnamkrieg nach 1954.

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Daraufhin versucht Linke-Bundestagsabgeordnete Heike Hänsel David Sheen zu beruhigen. Dies sei nicht die Art, wie man hier miteinander umgehe, sagt sie. Sheens Antwort: »Aber jemand einen Antisemiten nennen und dadurch zu Rassismus und Gewalt anstacheln?« Während zu sehen ist, wie Linke-MdB Annette Groth und Sheen durch den Flur laufen, bekräftigt Hänsel erneut: »So machen wir das in Deutschland nicht.« Mit einem Lächeln antwortet Sheen: Vielleicht ist, dass das Problem. Ich bin kein Deutscher, ich bin Israeli und ich verhalte mich wie ein Israeli. Ich dachte ihr mögt Israelis!»

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