30 july 2019
The country's Foreign Ministry says at least 10 people had access to the social media account of Germany's envoy to the Palestinian territories which last week promoted tweets by a Holocaust denier and videos praising attacks on IDF troops
Germany's Foreign Ministry says it has instituted new social media guidelines and disciplined personnel after anti-Israel and anti-Semitic tweets were "liked" by the official Twitter account of the German mission to the Palestinian territories. tweet
The heart icon for several tweets criticizing Jews and Israel was clicked some two weeks ago an account belonging to Germany's envoy to the Palestinian territories, Christian Clages. The tweets included a video praising attacks on IDF soldiers as well as footage of David Duke - former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and Holocaust denier - discuss an "allege" massacre of Jews.
It says the head of Germany's office in Ramallah, Christian Clages, and others were disciplined. The social media guidance sent to all diplomatic posts clarifies "that even 'likes' are understood as expressions of opinion of the German government" and now require the approval of two people.
The ministry says it "publicly made it clear the contents of the tweets concerned are unacceptable, contradict the attitude of the German government, and are not tolerated."
Germany's Foreign Ministry says it has instituted new social media guidelines and disciplined personnel after anti-Israel and anti-Semitic tweets were "liked" by the official Twitter account of the German mission to the Palestinian territories. tweet
The heart icon for several tweets criticizing Jews and Israel was clicked some two weeks ago an account belonging to Germany's envoy to the Palestinian territories, Christian Clages. The tweets included a video praising attacks on IDF soldiers as well as footage of David Duke - former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and Holocaust denier - discuss an "allege" massacre of Jews.
It says the head of Germany's office in Ramallah, Christian Clages, and others were disciplined. The social media guidance sent to all diplomatic posts clarifies "that even 'likes' are understood as expressions of opinion of the German government" and now require the approval of two people.
The ministry says it "publicly made it clear the contents of the tweets concerned are unacceptable, contradict the attitude of the German government, and are not tolerated."
29 july 2019
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The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) issued a report on the violations of media freedoms in Palestine during the first half of this year 2019.
The report pointed to the high number of violations that affected the media freedoms in Palestine during the first half of 2019, where “MADA” monitored and documented a total of 330 attacks compared to 277 attacks were monitored during the same period of 2018, a total increase of 53 attacks or 19%. The Israeli occupation forces and authorities committed 150 attacks (45% of the total attacks), and 115 attacks were committed by various Palestinian sides (35% of the total attacks. Most of the Palestinian attacks took place in the Gaza Strip, and 65 |
violations were committed by Facebook company, which closed pages and accounts for Palestinian journalists and writers in the West Bank and Gaza under the pretext of fighting “incitement to violence and terrorism” (20% of all attacks monitored and documented in the first half of 2019).
Despite the relative decline in the number of Israeli attacks compared to the first half of 2018, the number of Israeli attacks monitored in the first six months of the year 2019 still exceeds the average number of Israeli attacks in the past eight years.
The Israeli attacks were divided into 91 attacks in the West Bank including the occupied city of Jerusalem, and 59 attacks in the Gaza Strip. 55 of the total Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip were considered serious, because most injuries were physical injuries with live bullets and direct gas bombs, in addition to the destruction of the headquarters of two media institutions in the Gaza Strip.
The total number of physical attacks committed by the occupation army against journalists in the West Bank and Gaza was 88, constituting 59% of the total Israeli attacks, while four types of serious attacks (physical injuries, arrests, destruction of institutions and the use of journalists as human shields) reached 72% of all Israeli attacks monitored.
Regarding the Palestinian violations, there was a significant increase during the first half of 2019 compared with the same period of the previous year (increased by 67%). This was due to a large increase in the number of attacks monitored in the Gaza Strip, while a significant reduction in the number of violations in the West Bank has been observed.
A total of 27 Palestinian violations were monitored in the West Bank in the first half of 2019, with a total of 88 violations by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the same period.
The number of arrests and detentions topped the list of Palestinian violations, reaching 37 cases, noting that 16 journalists who were arrested and detained were tortured or ill-treated while in detention (15 of them in Gaza and one in the West Bank), Which is considered unprecedented for the Palestinians.
Despite the relative decline in the number of Israeli attacks compared to the first half of 2018, the number of Israeli attacks monitored in the first six months of the year 2019 still exceeds the average number of Israeli attacks in the past eight years.
The Israeli attacks were divided into 91 attacks in the West Bank including the occupied city of Jerusalem, and 59 attacks in the Gaza Strip. 55 of the total Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip were considered serious, because most injuries were physical injuries with live bullets and direct gas bombs, in addition to the destruction of the headquarters of two media institutions in the Gaza Strip.
The total number of physical attacks committed by the occupation army against journalists in the West Bank and Gaza was 88, constituting 59% of the total Israeli attacks, while four types of serious attacks (physical injuries, arrests, destruction of institutions and the use of journalists as human shields) reached 72% of all Israeli attacks monitored.
Regarding the Palestinian violations, there was a significant increase during the first half of 2019 compared with the same period of the previous year (increased by 67%). This was due to a large increase in the number of attacks monitored in the Gaza Strip, while a significant reduction in the number of violations in the West Bank has been observed.
A total of 27 Palestinian violations were monitored in the West Bank in the first half of 2019, with a total of 88 violations by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the same period.
The number of arrests and detentions topped the list of Palestinian violations, reaching 37 cases, noting that 16 journalists who were arrested and detained were tortured or ill-treated while in detention (15 of them in Gaza and one in the West Bank), Which is considered unprecedented for the Palestinians.
28 july 2019
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US Representative Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland and Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee
US President Donald Trump has launched a “racist” attack on Representative Elijah Cummings, yet another lawmaker of color, merely days after telling four congresswomen of minority backgrounds to go back to places where they came from. The president went on a twitter tirade on Saturday, accusing Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, of doing such a “poor job” that his district in Baltimore, Maryland has become a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." |
Trump went on to claim that conditions in Cummings' district, which is 52 percent African American, is "far worse and more dangerous" than those at the US-Mexico border.
"If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place," Trump said, arguing that the lawmaker’s district “is considered the Worst in the USA" and "no human being would want to live there." tweet
Cummings is a frequent critic of Trump and has launched several investigations into the Trump administration regarding the Republican president’s finances as well as some White House-related issues, including security clearances.
The latest attack came after Cummings, 68, criticized acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan over border conditions during a committee hearing on July 18.
He also erupted at Trump earlier this month after the president used similar racist language to attack four progressive Democratic congresswomen of color to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
The controversial remarks were addressed at Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib Michigan and Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts. Besides Omar, who is from a immigrant Somali family, the three other lawmakers were born in the US.
Continuing his attacks into Sunday, Trump also blasted the Oversight investigation without providing any basis for his claims. Interestingly, the tweets came shortly after Fox News aired a program in which a Republican strategist described Cummings' district as worse than those at the southern border.
Trump has been caught using Fox News as the source for many of his claims in the past.
Cummings hit back at Trump, defending his decision as the head of the House Oversight Committee and as a lawmaker.
"Mr. President, I go home to my district daily," Cummings wrote on Twitter Saturday in response. "Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents." tweet
Sanders, Pelosi react
Trump’s attack on Cummings drew harsh responses from other lawmakers, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Virginia Senator Bernie Sanders taking the center stage.
Pelosi led Democratic legislators in defending Cummings, describing the tweets as "racist attacks."
She described Cummings as “a champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague.”
“We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership,” Pelosi wrote. tweet
Sanders said he was shocked that Trump would use such words to describe American cities.
"It's unbelievable that we have a President of the United States who attacks American cities, who attacks Americans," the Vermont senator told CNN.
"Our job is to bring people together, to improve life for all people, not to be, have a racist President who attacks people because they are African Americans.
That is a disgrace and that is why we're going to defeat this President," said Sanders, one of the few Democratic presidential hopefuls who stands a chance to face Trump during the 2020 race for the White House.
"If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place," Trump said, arguing that the lawmaker’s district “is considered the Worst in the USA" and "no human being would want to live there." tweet
Cummings is a frequent critic of Trump and has launched several investigations into the Trump administration regarding the Republican president’s finances as well as some White House-related issues, including security clearances.
The latest attack came after Cummings, 68, criticized acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan over border conditions during a committee hearing on July 18.
He also erupted at Trump earlier this month after the president used similar racist language to attack four progressive Democratic congresswomen of color to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
The controversial remarks were addressed at Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib Michigan and Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts. Besides Omar, who is from a immigrant Somali family, the three other lawmakers were born in the US.
Continuing his attacks into Sunday, Trump also blasted the Oversight investigation without providing any basis for his claims. Interestingly, the tweets came shortly after Fox News aired a program in which a Republican strategist described Cummings' district as worse than those at the southern border.
Trump has been caught using Fox News as the source for many of his claims in the past.
Cummings hit back at Trump, defending his decision as the head of the House Oversight Committee and as a lawmaker.
"Mr. President, I go home to my district daily," Cummings wrote on Twitter Saturday in response. "Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents." tweet
Sanders, Pelosi react
Trump’s attack on Cummings drew harsh responses from other lawmakers, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Virginia Senator Bernie Sanders taking the center stage.
Pelosi led Democratic legislators in defending Cummings, describing the tweets as "racist attacks."
She described Cummings as “a champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague.”
“We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership,” Pelosi wrote. tweet
Sanders said he was shocked that Trump would use such words to describe American cities.
"It's unbelievable that we have a President of the United States who attacks American cities, who attacks Americans," the Vermont senator told CNN.
"Our job is to bring people together, to improve life for all people, not to be, have a racist President who attacks people because they are African Americans.
That is a disgrace and that is why we're going to defeat this President," said Sanders, one of the few Democratic presidential hopefuls who stands a chance to face Trump during the 2020 race for the White House.
19 july 2019
US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to talk to the press before departing from the South Lawn of the White House on July 19, 2019, in Washington, DC
US President Donald Trump takes fresh aim at congresswoman Ilhan Omar who has said she would "continue to be a nightmare to” him.
Omar, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, said Thursday that “his nightmare is seeing the beautiful mosaic fabric of our country welcome someone like me as their member of Congress.”
Trump, who was speaking to reporters on Friday, said what Omar has said was “a disgrace to our country."
"I'm unhappy when a congresswoman goes and says, 'I'm going to be the president's nightmare,'" he added. "She's going to be the president's nightmare. She's lucky to be where she is, let me tell you. And the things that she has said are a disgrace to our country."
Trump triggered a firestorm this week after he had tweeted that the four progressive members of the US House of Representatives, known as “the squad,” should “go back” where they came from, even though all are US citizens and three are US-born.
Omar, one of the four, was born in Somalia and immigrated to the US as a refugee in 1995 when she was a child. She became a US citizen in 2000 at age 17.
The other three members are Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
When asked on Friday that whether the backlash resulting from his comments would impact him politically, he said he did not care.
"I don’t know if it’s good or bad politically. I don’t care," Trump said, "Many people say it's good. I don't know if it's good or bad," he continued.
Trump's attacks have widely been seen as a bid to rally his right-wing base as the 2020 White House race heats up -- at the risk of inflaming racial tensions and deepening partisan divisions in America.
US President Donald Trump takes fresh aim at congresswoman Ilhan Omar who has said she would "continue to be a nightmare to” him.
Omar, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, said Thursday that “his nightmare is seeing the beautiful mosaic fabric of our country welcome someone like me as their member of Congress.”
Trump, who was speaking to reporters on Friday, said what Omar has said was “a disgrace to our country."
"I'm unhappy when a congresswoman goes and says, 'I'm going to be the president's nightmare,'" he added. "She's going to be the president's nightmare. She's lucky to be where she is, let me tell you. And the things that she has said are a disgrace to our country."
Trump triggered a firestorm this week after he had tweeted that the four progressive members of the US House of Representatives, known as “the squad,” should “go back” where they came from, even though all are US citizens and three are US-born.
Omar, one of the four, was born in Somalia and immigrated to the US as a refugee in 1995 when she was a child. She became a US citizen in 2000 at age 17.
The other three members are Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
When asked on Friday that whether the backlash resulting from his comments would impact him politically, he said he did not care.
"I don’t know if it’s good or bad politically. I don’t care," Trump said, "Many people say it's good. I don't know if it's good or bad," he continued.
Trump's attacks have widely been seen as a bid to rally his right-wing base as the 2020 White House race heats up -- at the risk of inflaming racial tensions and deepening partisan divisions in America.
US Representative Ilhan Omar (C) speaks on stage alongside US Representative Pramila Jayapal (R) during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 18, 2019
Muslim US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says she isn't backing down in her criticism of President Donald Trump, saying she's going to "continue to be a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us."
Omar, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, made the comments as she spoke to a crowd of supporters who greeted her on Thursday at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the state of Minnesota.
The freshman Democratic lawmaker has represented Minnesota's 5th congressional district since January 2019.
“His nightmare is seeing the beautiful mosaic fabric of our country welcome someone like me as their member of Congress,” Omar told her supporters.
“We are going to continue being a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us,” she added. "We are not deterred. We are not frightened."
Omar's supporters held signs saying "End racism now" and "I stand with Ilhan." She told them she was not deterred: "We are not frightened. We are ready."
Omar was born in Somalia and immigrated to the US as a refugee in 1995 when she was a child. She became a US citizen in 2000 at age 17.
Omar has been targeted this week by Trump who has questioned her patriotism.
Trump triggered a firestorm this week after he tweeted that the four progressive members of the US House of Representatives, known as “the squad,” should “go back” where they came from, even though all are US citizens and three are US-born.
The other three members of the so-called squad are Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
Trump stepped up his vilification of four liberal female lawmakers as “un-American” at a raucous rally on Wednesday, in Greenville, North Carolina. As Trump recounted past comments by Omar, the crowd began chanting: “Send her back!”
Omar told reporters at the US Capitol on Wednesday that Trump is "spewing his fascist ideology."
"As much as he's spewing his fascist ideology on stage, telling US citizens to go back because they don't agree with his detrimental policies for our country, we tell people that here in the United States: dissent is patriotic," Omar said.
Trump's attacks have widely been seen as a bid to rally his right-wing base as the 2020 White House race heats up -- at the risk of inflaming racial tensions and deepening partisan divisions in America.
Long before Trump turned up the heat on the four Democratic congresswomen of color, hateful rhetoric and disinformation about lawmakers was lurking online.
Racist, inflammatory and inaccurate content has circulated on far right blogs, news sites and social media accounts about the four female lawmakers since they ran for public office.
With his tweets and harsh comments, Trump has elevated that rhetoric, playing into a conspiratorial feedback loop that reared its head repeatedly during his campaign and presidency.
Muslim US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says she isn't backing down in her criticism of President Donald Trump, saying she's going to "continue to be a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us."
Omar, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, made the comments as she spoke to a crowd of supporters who greeted her on Thursday at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the state of Minnesota.
The freshman Democratic lawmaker has represented Minnesota's 5th congressional district since January 2019.
“His nightmare is seeing the beautiful mosaic fabric of our country welcome someone like me as their member of Congress,” Omar told her supporters.
“We are going to continue being a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us,” she added. "We are not deterred. We are not frightened."
Omar's supporters held signs saying "End racism now" and "I stand with Ilhan." She told them she was not deterred: "We are not frightened. We are ready."
Omar was born in Somalia and immigrated to the US as a refugee in 1995 when she was a child. She became a US citizen in 2000 at age 17.
Omar has been targeted this week by Trump who has questioned her patriotism.
Trump triggered a firestorm this week after he tweeted that the four progressive members of the US House of Representatives, known as “the squad,” should “go back” where they came from, even though all are US citizens and three are US-born.
The other three members of the so-called squad are Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
Trump stepped up his vilification of four liberal female lawmakers as “un-American” at a raucous rally on Wednesday, in Greenville, North Carolina. As Trump recounted past comments by Omar, the crowd began chanting: “Send her back!”
Omar told reporters at the US Capitol on Wednesday that Trump is "spewing his fascist ideology."
"As much as he's spewing his fascist ideology on stage, telling US citizens to go back because they don't agree with his detrimental policies for our country, we tell people that here in the United States: dissent is patriotic," Omar said.
Trump's attacks have widely been seen as a bid to rally his right-wing base as the 2020 White House race heats up -- at the risk of inflaming racial tensions and deepening partisan divisions in America.
Long before Trump turned up the heat on the four Democratic congresswomen of color, hateful rhetoric and disinformation about lawmakers was lurking online.
Racist, inflammatory and inaccurate content has circulated on far right blogs, news sites and social media accounts about the four female lawmakers since they ran for public office.
With his tweets and harsh comments, Trump has elevated that rhetoric, playing into a conspiratorial feedback loop that reared its head repeatedly during his campaign and presidency.
