The panel of three judges instead ordered Alabama to continue using a court-selected map that includes two majority-Black districts. Those congressional district lines were used in the 2024 elections.
In their decision, the judges found that the redistricting plan adopted by Alabama‘s GOP-led legislature in 2023, which state officials sought to reimplement for this year‘s House contests, intentionally discriminated on the basis of race, in violation of the Constitution‘s 14th Amendment.
To Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, and all others of faith,
And to those who follow no formal religion but hold deeply to the universal values of peace, justice, and human dignity:
The U.S. – Israel launched this war of aggression on 28 February 2026, for a second time in less than a year, while Iran-U.S. were engaged in diplomatic negotiations.
This is not merely a war over land, resources, or geopolitics. This is a war that will determine the very meaning of ‚good‘ and ‚evil‘ in our time and for future.
What has been unleashed upon our peace-loving nation is not just another conflict. On one side stand those who delight in violating every law of war and basic human decencyâthose who murder for sport, who slaughter children to torment their families, who fire newest missiles at womenâs sports halls simply to test their destructive power.
This is a war between those who boast of torpedoing unarmed vessels âfor more fun,â and those who go to extraordinary lengths to protect innocent lives.
This is a war between professional liars who fabricate justifications for atrocity, and a proud people who defend their homeland and human dignity relying solely on their own strength and resolve.
This is a war between those whose decisions are shadowed by moral compromise, and those who act with a clear conscience.
This is a defining struggle for the future of humankind. It will decide whether civilizationâs hard-won achievementsâhuman rights, the rule of law, and basic moralityâwill survive or be swept away.
We must choose:
Do we accept a world ruled by modern slave mastersâarrogant, domineering, and unaccountableâwho govern through coercion, lies, and extortion?
Or do we stand for a world grounded in respect, justice, peace, and human dignity?
Humanityâs conscience is not yet dead. But in times like these, silence is complicity with evil.
If you reject the path of barbarism and domination, then find the moral courage to speak, to act, and to stand on the right side of historyâbefore the world descends into an abyss of lawlessness and subjugation.
The choice is yours.
And history will remember.
Commenting on social media, Hadash-Taâal chair MK Ayman Odeh wrote pointedly: âWeâll wait to hear the police spokesperson claim that âthe soldier felt threatened by Jesusâ.â
(March 31, 2026)
1. The undersigned, scholars of international law in Israeli academic institutions, wish to express our outrage and clear condemnation of Israelâs new death penalty law. It is not only immoral and in violation of the most basic dictates of public conscience, but is also unlawful both in terms of domestic constitutional law and Israelâs obligations under international law.
2. Israel is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights from 1966. Under the Covenant it is prohibited to reintroduce the death penalty once abolished â a prohibition which includes, according to the Human Rights Committeeâs General Comment 36 (2018), a ban on extending the list of crimes to which the death penalty applies or relaxing associated procedural safeguards, even for states that have not formally abolished the death penalty. As long as the death penalty is applicable, legal proceedings relating to its imposition must meet all due process safeguards, including the right to seek commutation of the death sentence. The right to commutation is also guaranteed in the Fourth Geneva Convention from 1949. Furthermore, under the Covenant, States must act towards abolition of the death penalty, and in no case may the death penalty be imposed in a discriminatory manner.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) filed a petition with the Supreme Court demanding the repeal of the âDeath Penalty for Terrorists Lawâ, minutes after it passed its second and third readings in the Knesset. On Tuesday morning, Adalah â The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights and Gisha, together with Hadash-Taâal MKs Aida Touma-Sliman, Ayman Odeh, and Ahmed Tibi, filed a second urgent petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding that the âDeath Penalty for Terrorists Lawâ be declared null and void. The petitioners argue that the law represents a complete negation of the right to life and imposes cruel and inhuman punishment.
(video)
Israeli police used a water cannon on Tuesday to disperse dozens of protesters in Jerusalem after Israel‘s parliament approved the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. (AP Video: Paz Bar).
The penalty â execution by hanging â must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing, with no possibility of pardon. The death penalty will be determined in military courts where only Palestinians are tried. These courts have an approximately 96% conviction rate, based largely on âconfessionsâ extracted under duress and torture during interrogations.
The death penalty will be the default sentence, and judges will be able to commute it to life imprisonment only in special circumstances. In addition, the judges will no longer be required to reach a unanimous decision.
Racist National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the lawâs strongest backers, has repeatedly worn a noose-shaped lapel pin, symbolizing executions under the bill. He described hanging as âone of the optionsâ, alongside the electric chair.
According to the Communist Party of Israel, âdeath penalty for Arabs law Is a racist legislation that entrenches legal apartheid against Palestinians.â
The HadashâTaâal faction also strongly condemned the Knessetâs approval today of the âDeath Penalty for Palestinians law. âThis law is not merely a punitive measureâit is an official declaration of the institutionalization of apartheid and racism, and the transformation of the legal system into yet another tool in the violent political repression of the Palestinian people.â
Based on the principle of the sanctity of life, HadashâTaâal opposes the death penalty under all circumstances and against any person, âbut more when it comes to selective, racist legislation that contradicts Israelâs obligations under international law.â
Throughout the west, criticizing the Netanyahu government is now a crime punishable by imprisonment. Glenn Greenwald on the end of free speech.
10. International human rights law applies concurrently with international humanitarian law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, to which Sudan is a state Party. International criminal law also applies, and the situation in Darfur from 1 July 2002 is subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 ( 2005 ).
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14. The Rapid Support Forcesâ military campaign was reinforced by local Arab militias and allied groups, and by mercenaries reportedly deployed through foreign security firms or networks and equipped with advanced weaponry and communications systems. Witnesses described the Rapid Support Forcesâ use of heavy artillery, drones and electronic warfare capabilities. The Rapid Support Forces appear to have benefited from logistical military support, in violation of the arms embargo under Security Council resolution 1593 (2005 ).
19 February 2026
GENEVA â The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in a new report today that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a coordinated campaign of destruction against non-Arab communities in and around El-Fasher, the hallmarks of which point to genocide. While the Mission documented war crimes and crimes against humanity, the evidence establishes that at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed.
These acts include killing members of a protected ethnic group; causing serious bodily and mental harm; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the groupâs physical destruction in whole or in part â all core elements of the crime of genocide under international law.
The report to the Human Rights Council, âHallmarks of Genocide in El-Fasher,â found that genocidal intent is the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the RSFâs systematic pattern of ethnically targeted killings, sexual violence, destruction, and public statements explicitly calling for the elimination of non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa and Fur.
Mona Rishmawi, a member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan (FFMS) and an expert on the Darfur conflict, said the mission‘s conclusion represents a âserious and urgentâ finding that should compel governments to take immediate steps to halt weapons flows to the RSF.
âThis report, and the conclusion that the threshold of genocide has been reached, has to be taken extremely seriously,â she told MEE in an interview on Sunday. âIf the same modus operandi continues, we will see more situations like el-Fasher. Stopping the flow of weapons is essential.â
Though it denies the charges, there is widespread evidence, as reported by MEE, linking the United Arab Emirates with the supply of arms and other goods to the RSF.
Just before noon, the White House blamed a staffer for the video posted to Trumpâs Truth Social account and said the post had been removed. The statement came after serious backlash, including from GOP Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, who called the post racist and said Trump should remove it.
The White House initially dismissed criticism that the video was racist, and said it is from a meme depicting Trump and the Obamas as characters from the Lion King. Trump does not appear in the video, which he posted just before midnight on Feb. 5 with no accompanying text.
But by noon ET on Feb. 6 â after the post had been up about 12 hours â it no long appeared on Truth Social. A White House official told USA TODAY on Feb. 6 a White House staffer had erroneously made the post and that it was taken down.
In response to the Bondi attack, it is tempting, as many on the Jewish left have done for years, to promote the idea of safety through solidarity, according to which the strengthening of bonds between different marginalized communities is the key to each otherâs protection. But as a colleague said to me recently, the pursuit of safety may be a delusion. Such sentiments feel empty in the face of an attack like Bondi. Indeed, so few of these communities enjoy any sense of safety in the unfolding era of political violence and instability.
(December 14, 2025)
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attack on a celebration of Hanukkah in Sydney, Australia. He expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and extends his wishes for a swift and full recovery to those injured.
The Secretary-General stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Australia during this difficult time. The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the Jewish community in the country and worldwide as they gather to celebrate peace and light.
The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms and reiterates that attacks on religious communities and peaceful celebrations strike at the core values of tolerance, coexistence and human dignity.
This report builds on Adalahâs position paper of 23 October 2024, which reviewed key bills at advanced stages of the legislative process, many of which were later enacted into law. The information contained in this report and the position paper also join Adalahâs online Discriminatory Laws Database in documenting about 100 Israeli laws that directly or indirectly discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
The laws examined in this report span multiple themes and violate numerous fundamental rights, including freedom of expression (FoE), protest, and thought; the right to citizenship and legal status; the rights to family life, equality, social benefits, and equality in the allocation of state resources; principles of criminal justice; and prisonersâ rights. While these violations are legitimized by the hostile public and political climate fueled by the war, their roots lie deep in Israelâs constitutional and political culture, which is based on the principle of Jewish ethno-national supremacy. These laws reinforce and entrench the ongoing pattern in Israeli law of creating and consolidating separate legal systems for Palestinians and Jews.
Notably, the trends identified in this report do not represent a fundamental shift in the stateâs approach toward Palestinians. Even before the war, Adalah noted in its January 2023 position paper, which analyzed the current governmentâs guiding principles and coalition agreements, that the principles underpinning Israelâs system are based on Jewish ethno-national supremacy throughout all territory under its control. The government explicitly declared in its guiding principles, âThe Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right over all areas of the Land of Israel.â These statements were not unprecedented but rather a direct continuation of the logic underlying the Jewish Nation-State Law, passed by the Knesset on 19 July 2018, and of the constitutional framework established since the stateâs founding, reflected in its explicit ethno-national identity as a âJewish and democraticâ state. However, the crimes committed by Hamas and other armed groups in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 have beenâand continue to beâused by Israeli authorities to justify intensifying these trends and further consolidating a regime of ethno-national supremacy on an even larger scale.
For over two years, Israeli public life has been shrouded in a heavy, disorienting fog. There has been an unending churn of crises, conflicts, and anxieties at home and abroad: the shock of the Hamas attack of October 7 and Israelâs genocidal campaign of revenge on Gaza, the fight to bring back the hostages and against the stateâs vilification of their families, the reckless confrontations with Iran. Together, these have left Israeli society suspended in a collective stupor, obscuring the depth of the abyss into which we are rapidly descending.
But the same cannot be said of our parliamentarians. As a disturbing new report by the Haifa-based legal center Adalah shows, they have used the chaos of the past two years to advance more than 30 new laws entrenching apartheid and Jewish supremacy â joining Adalahâs existing list of now more than 100 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens.
One of the reportâs central findings is a sweeping assault on freedom of expression, thought, and protest across a wide array of arenas. It includes laws prohibiting the publication of content that includes âdenial of the events of October 7,â as determined by the Knesset, and restricting broadcasts of critical media outlets that âharm state security.â
âWhat is unfolding in El Fasher recalls the horrors Darfur was subjected to twenty years ago,â Mr. Fletcher said, referring to the atrocities of the early 2000s that shocked the world and eventually led to International Criminal Court indictments.
âBut somehow today we are seeing a very different global reaction â one of resignation,â he continued. âThis is also a crisis of apathy.â
âThe Sudan crisis is, at its core, a failure of protection, and our responsibility to uphold international law,â Mr. Fletcher said. âAtrocities are committed with unashamed expectation of impunityâŠthe world has failed an entire generation.â
(October 30, 2025)
The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific violence occurring in El Fasher. The situation is both tragic and appalling.
We have said this before, and we will say it again â the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias have committed genocide.
The RSF has and continues to systematically kill men and boys â even infants â and deliberately target women and children for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence. These crimes are ethnically motivated.
RSF militias are targeting civilians as they flee, killing innocent people escaping conflict, and preventing those who remain from accessing life-saving supplies.
The United States condemns these abhorrent atrocities in no uncertain terms. Those responsible should be held accountable, including through sanctions, as noted by the Sudan Sanctions Panel of Experts in its most recent report.
(…)
Colleagues, ending wars is a priority for President Trump, and the United States remains committed to working with our partners and other stakeholders to resolve the crisis.
Together, we are focused on securing an immediate humanitarian truce, halting external support, and advancing a transition to civilian governance.
(June 19, 2025)
In a letter addressed to the Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany published today, Commissioner OâFlaherty raises concerns about restrictions to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly of persons protesting in the context of the conflict in Gaza, as well as about reports of excessive use of force by police against protesters, including children.
Commissioner OâFlaherty also observes restrictions on events, symbols, or other forms of expression in this context. He recalls that member states have little scope to impose restrictions on political speech or on debate on matters of public interest, in line with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe standards on freedom of expression, hate speech and hate crime. He urges the German authorities to be vigilant that the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is not distorted, instrumentalised or misapplied to stifle freedom of expression and legitimate criticism, including of the state of Israel.
Recalling that member states have legal obligations to refrain from undue interference with human rights and to ensure the effective enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for all, the Commissioner asks the German authorities to avoid taking measures that discriminate against persons based on their political or other opinions, religion or belief, ethnic origin, nationality or migration status.
(June 6, 2025)
It is my understanding that since February 2025, the Berlin authorities have imposed restrictions on the use of the Arabic language and cultural symbols in the context of the protests. In some cases, such as an assembly in Berlin on 15 May 2025, marches have been restricted to stationary gatherings. Furthermore, protestors were allegedly subject to intrusive surveillance, online or in person, and arbitrary police checks. I am also concerned by reports of excessive use of force by police against protesters, including minors, sometimes leading to injuries.
(…)
I understand that restrictions have been justified on the basis that events, symbols, or other forms of expression âdisrupt public orderâ or âdisturb public peaceâ. The case-law of the European Court of Human Rightsâ (the Court) establishes that freedom of expression âapplies not only to âinformationâ and âideasâ that are favourably received, regarded as inoffensive, or which leave one indifferent [âŠ] – it implies pluralism, tolerance and openness, without which there is no âdemocratic societyââ. In assessing the necessity of the interference, member states have little scope to impose restrictions on political speech or on debate on matters of public interest, unless the views expressed comprise incitements to violence, and must always carry out such an assessment case by case.
I observe that other justifications invoked for the restrictions on rights include the prevention of antisemitism. I note with concern reports indicating that the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) has been interpreted by some German authorities in ways which lead to the blanket classification of criticism of Israel as antisemitic. In that regard, I urge you to be vigilant that the IHRA working definition is not distorted, instrumentalised or misapplied to stifle freedom of expression and legitimate criticism, including of the state of Israel
(June 19, 2025)
In a letter addressed to the Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany published today, Commissioner OâFlaherty raises concerns about restrictions to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly of persons protesting in the context of the conflict in Gaza, as well as about reports of excessive use of force by police against protesters, including children.
Commissioner OâFlaherty also observes restrictions on events, symbols, or other forms of expression in this context. He recalls that member states have little scope to impose restrictions on political speech or on debate on matters of public interest, in line with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe standards on freedom of expression, hate speech and hate crime. He urges the German authorities to be vigilant that the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is not distorted, instrumentalised or misapplied to stifle freedom of expression and legitimate criticism, including of the state of Israel.
Recalling that member states have legal obligations to refrain from undue interference with human rights and to ensure the effective enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for all, the Commissioner asks the German authorities to avoid taking measures that discriminate against persons based on their political or other opinions, religion or belief, ethnic origin, nationality or migration status.
The march commemorates Jerusalem Day, which marks Israelâs capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war.
In the eyes of the western empire, there are some people who may be murdered with mass military violence, and others who may not be. There are some types of children who can be photographed with their ribcages sticking out because of deliberately inflicted starvation without causing much of a stir, and there are other types of children for whom such photographs would shake the earth.
In the eyes of the western empire, Jews are considered fully human, while Muslims and Arabs are not. A massacre of Jews is a terrible, unforgivable atrocity which cries out to the heavens for limitless vengeance, while Israelâs daily massacres of Palestinians merit nothing more than a footnote.
The Kurdistan Workers‘ Party (PKK) on Monday announced its decision to disband and end its armed struggle, following a call in February by its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.
The Kurdish armed group, which has waged a war against Turkey since the 1980s, said that it had completed its „historic mission“ and brought the Kurdish question to a point where it could be resolved through democratic politics.
(…)
The DEM Party also expects the government to release thousands of its members imprisoned on non-violent charges and to end the practice of unseating its popularly elected mayors.
(February 19, 2025)
It sounds like the plot of a particularly absurd black comedy: an American Jew goes out to hunt Palestinians on the streets of Miami, mistakenly identifies a father and son â both Israeli Jews â as Palestinian, and immediately unloads a magazine on them; the two miraculously survive and escape. At the hospital, the son publishes a post saying that he and his father âsurvived an attempted murder motivated by antisemitism,â signing off the post with the popular Israeli slogan, âDeath to Arabs.â
The states view Mr. Trumpâs attempt to limit birthright citizenship as âextraordinary and extreme,â said New Jerseyâs attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, who led the legal effort along with the attorneys general from California and Massachusetts. âPresidents are powerful, but he is not a king. He cannot rewrite the Constitution with a stroke of the pen.â
âDenying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional â itâs also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values. Birthright citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is. This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans. We will not let this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans go unchallenged. The Trump administration‘s overreach is so egregious that we are confident we will ultimately prevail,â said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
A collection of advocacy groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit late Monday challenging President Donald Trumpâs executive order to halt the automatic granting of citizenship to children born in the United States.
The executive orders include some things that scholars and legal experts say may be out of the reach of the presidentâs pen and could be tied up in courts or legislatures for years, including ending birthright citizenship, a right embedded in the Constitution and bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling that grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
(January 18, 2021)
One of the biggest lessons contained in the documents is abundantly clear: Whatever you do, donât let them think youâre a communist.
For Hoover, an Ahab-type character in pursuit of his cursed whale, the mere whiff of such leanings could trigger the dirtiest of tricks in the FBIâs arsenal.
âNo holds were barred,â said assistant FBI director William C. Sullivan in his testimony for the U.S. Senateâs Church Committee, as recorded in documents held by the Library and freely available on the digital repository HathiTrust. âWe have used (these techniques) against Soviet agents. They have used (them) against us.â
âWe did not differentiate,â Sullivan said. âThis is a rough, tough business.â
âPresident Biden has an opportunity to make history by addressing the racist and unjust federal death penalty system and keep an early campaign promise he made to the American people,â Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said this month after the ACLU and more than 130 other civil and human rights organizations sent Biden a letter urging him to commute the sentences of those on death row.
(December 17, 2024)
In the petition, Adalah Attorney Salam Irsheid argued that the law is clearly racist in intent, especially given the widespread persecution and criminalization of hundreds of Palestinian citizens by Israeli authorities and other entities since the outbreak of the war 7 October 2023, for merely expressing entirely lawful opinions. The lawâs deliberate vagueness, and the fact that it only addresses âincitement to terrorismââwhich is used almost exclusively to target Palestiniansâwhile excluding incitement to violence or racism, highlights its discriminatory purpose. By granting broad, unchecked powers to political and administrative authorities, the law enables punitive actions to be taken against Palestinian educators for expressing views that fall outside the mainstream consensus, thereby severely undermining their basic right to freedom of expression. Adalah further argued that the law breaches the principle of the separation of powers, as it grants the Education Ministry the authority to infringe on teachersâ rights to freedom of expression and occupation, effectively requiring a determination of whether they have committed a criminal offense, even if no charges have been filed against them.
Hadash MKs opposed the proposed legislation, calling it âdime-store fascist populism and McCarthyism.â According to Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman, âThe Knesset is advancing two bills targeting critical students and professors, aimed primarily at Palestinian and leftist voices in academia. These bills seek to silence any remaining voices resisting the governmentâs policies of occupation and war. This marks another step in the fascist agenda to suppress any real opposition to the extreme right. Heads of universities, professors, and students recognize the danger of such legislation and are voicing their opposition.
On past week, the Knesset plenum, in a preliminary reading, passed a proposed law that would amend the Students Rights Law, allowing most Israeli higher education institutions to implement gender separation. MK Son Har-Melech proposed the law, which 55 members of the Knesset (MKs) supported and 45 MKs opposed.
(November 29, 2024)
I am not alone in opposing his tyranny. The consistent political opposition inside Israel itself, made up of democratic Jews and Arab citizens, finds the notion of democracy in Israel under Netanyahu absurd too. Democracy in Israel never really existed, owing to the state of Israelâs definition as an ethnic concept, antithetical to political egalitarianism.
A state that under its basic laws declares one group politically superior to the other cannot be regarded as a democracy, but as an ethnocracy. Since its formation, Israel has been pursuing discriminatory policies towards its own Palestinian citizens in all spheres of life â housing, employment, welfare and education. Even the supposed Israeli bill of rights, the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, doesnât dare to mention the right to equality.