Third-party US presidential candidate Jill Stein calls for suspension of military aid to Israel

Jill Stein, who is campaigning to stand as a third-party candidate in the US presidential election in November, said that if elected she would immediately halt military support for Israel’s “apartheid government.” (Reuters/File Photo)
Jill Stein, who is campaigning to stand as a third-party candidate in the US presidential election in November, said that if elected she would immediately halt military support for Israel’s “apartheid government.” (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 10 June 2024
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Third-party US presidential candidate Jill Stein calls for suspension of military aid to Israel

Third-party US presidential candidate Jill Stein calls for suspension of military aid to Israel
  • Stein, a member of the Green Party, says she would stop ‘police oppression’ of students protesting against the war in Gaza, and preserve the rights of Arab and Muslim Americans
  • She approached Lebanese American Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, to be her running mate but he is 3 months too young to meet Constitutional age requirements

CHICAGO: Jill Stein, who is campaigning to stand as a third-party candidate in the US presidential election in November, said that if elected she would immediately halt military support for Israel’s “apartheid government,” and push Israelis and Palestinians to embrace a “genuine peace.”

In an exclusive interview with Arab News, she said American policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict is driven by lobbyists, and that anyone who challenges the Israeli government over its responsibility for ethnic cleansing in Palestine is denied their constitutional rights.

Stein is a candidate for the Green Party, which advocates on a range of issues, including environmental action and the constitutional rights “of all Americans.” She said she would halt the “police oppression” of students who stage campus protests demanding an end to what many consider a genocide in Gaza, stop the flow of weapons to Israel’s government, and preserve the rights of Arab and Muslim Americans who “continue to be the victims of racism, violence and Islamophobia.”

She added: “Arab and Muslims have been taken for granted in America. They are victims of racial profiling, Islamophobia and the violence against Arabs in this country.

“There is an absolute violation of our constitutional rights, by the government, to shut down our dialogue. People are trying to grapple with this genocide we are seeing in live and real time on our iPhones and on our computer screens.

“We need to talk about it but both the Democrats and the Republicans want to label this discussion as insurrection, as a betrayal and to try to criminalize it,” Stein, a Jewish American physician who grew up during the Vietnam War, said in reference to the police response to the wave of protests by students on hundreds of campuses around the country against the war in Gaza.

“They send in the riot police and bash the heads of protesters who are simply saying what the highest courts in the land are saying, the international Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court: this is a genocide that is taking place in Gaza, this is against the law and it must be stopped.

“It is even against US law to send weapons to Israel, which is violating humanitarian rights, which is interfering in the delivery of humanitarian aid. On all counts, it is actually illegal to provide Israel with military support and weapons right now. The people who are standing up to assert our legal values and our human values are being criminalized and being charged with crimes.”

Stein approached 34-year-old Lebanese American Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn in Michigan, to be her vice presidential running mate, before it was pointed out that candidates must be at least 35 years old when they take office, and he would be three months short of meeting this Constitutional requirement.

“The Arab American community is being dealt an incredible injustice,” Stein said, adding that she believes they deserve a stronger political voice and protections from abuse.

“We need to stand up as Americans on behalf of all of us to assert our rights to a foreign policy that reflects our values. In fact, we need a foreign policy based on international law, human rights and diplomacy. That is what Americans are calling for.

“But we have a system led by political and economic elites who are used to, basically, fighting their way into domination. We have a foreign policy based on the exercise of raw military power.”

Stein said she also opposes the actions of authorities in more than than 28 states that have passed “anti-BDS laws” that target campaigners who criticize Israeli government policies and call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

“It is a violation of our basic civil liberties, our freedom of speech, our freedom of political association, our freedom to protest for redress of grievances. This is what democracy depends on,” Stein said.

“In terms of BDS, our government should be leading the charge on BDS. How do we get Israel to comply when Israel has nuclear weapons? We are not going to send in the troops but we can absolutely deny Israel weapons. We can deny Israel funding. We can deny Israel the rockets it depends on. We have the power here.”

In support of her argument, Stein cited the actions of former presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, who forced Israeli authorities to back down during military conflicts in the Sinai in 1956 and Lebanon in the 1980s, respectively.

Stein denounced the attacks by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7 last year but said that criticism of the Israeli state and its actions “is not antisemitism” and the world cannot close its eyes to the violence against Palestinians that has been taking place since the founding of the Jewish State in 1948.

“Israel needs to pull back,” she said. “That violence is mostly committed by Israel. No civilian lives should ever be targeted or lost. But that is not just, ‘Stop killing people’ — you have to stop the occupation, you have to stop the ethnic cleansing, you have to stop destroying people’s homes and seizing their homes, you have to stop destroying the farmlands and their olive trees, you have to stop this all-out war against the Palestinian people.

“This has been a longstanding ethnic cleansing that has eventually accelerated into the genocide that exists now. We must take the side of international law. The United States has the power to do this with a simple phone call. Congress has the power to stop the transfer of weapons to Israel while they are violating human rights.”

Stein was in Illinois and Indiana last weekend to organize volunteers who are collecting the signatures she needs to be included on presidential ballots in those states.

To be included on the ballot in a state, a candidate must collect a minimum number of signatures from residents of that state supporting their candidacy, the number of which varies from state to state. If they meet this target, after any challenges that might remove names from their lists, they can appear on the ballot in that state.


Abkhazia leader says ready to resign if protesters vacate parliament

Abkhazia leader says ready to resign if protesters vacate parliament
Updated 57 min 24 sec ago
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Abkhazia leader says ready to resign if protesters vacate parliament

Abkhazia leader says ready to resign if protesters vacate parliament
  • Rare protests have erupted in recent days in the republic, nestled between the Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea, over an economic deal with Moscow
  • “I am ready to call elections, to resign.. and stand in elections. Let the people say who they will support,” the leader of the separatist republic Aslan Bzhania said

MOSCOW: The president of the Moscow-backed breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia announced Saturday that he is ready to resign after protesters stormed the regional parliament, opposing an investment deal with Russia.
Rare protests have erupted in recent days in the republic, nestled between the Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea, over an economic deal with Moscow.
Abkhazia is recognized by most of the world as Georgian territory, but has been under de-facto Russian control since a brief 2008 war between Moscow and Tbilisi.
“I am ready to call elections, to resign.. and stand in elections. Let the people say who they will support,” the leader of the separatist republic Aslan Bzhania said.
He said his condition was that the protesters who entered parliament and a presidential administration building next door should vacate the premises.
“Those who took over the presidential administration should leave,” he said.
The tiny territory, known for its natural beauty, has been thrown into turmoil over concerns that a proposed investment deal with Moscow could see apartment complexes mushroom in the region.
Protesters have been blocking roads in the main city of Sukhumi for several days this week.
Russia on Friday advised its citizens not to travel to Abkhazia, a traditional holiday destination for Russians.


Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence

Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
Updated 16 November 2024
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Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence

Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
  • Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans
  • “We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said

AMSTERDAM: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saved his governing coalition on Friday despite threats of an exodus by cabinet members over the right-wing government’s response to violence against Israeli soccer fans last week.
Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans in Amsterdam around the Nov. 7 match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Her resignation triggered a crisis cabinet meeting at which four ministers from her centrist NSC party also threatened to quit. If they had, the coalition would have lost its majority in parliament.
“We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said at a news conference late on Friday in The Hague.
Last week’s violence was roundly condemned by Israeli and Dutch politicians, with Amsterdam’s mayor saying “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” had attacked Israeli fans.
The city’s police department has said Maccabi fans were chased and beaten by gangs on scooters. Police also said the Israeli fans attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
Achahbar, a former judge and public prosecutor who was born in Morocco, felt comments by several political figures were hurtful and possibly racist, De Volkskrant daily reported.
“Polarization in the recent weeks has had such an effect on me that I no longer can, nor wish to fulfil my position in this cabinet,” Achahbar said in a statement.
Schoof, a former civil servant who does not have a party affiliation, denied any ministers in the cabinet are racist. Details of the cabinet discussion were not disclosed.
The coalition is led by the anti-Muslim populist party PVV of Geert Wilders, which came top in a general election a year ago. The government was installed in July after months of tense negotiations.
Wilders, who is not a cabinet member, has repeatedly said Dutch youth of Moroccan descent were the main attackers of the Israeli fans, although police have not specified the backgrounds of suspects.
Schoof said on Monday the incidents showed that some youth in the Netherlands with immigrant backgrounds did not share “Dutch core values.”


North Korean troops in Ukraine war ‘extremely significant’ for east Asia security: Japan minister

North Korean troops in Ukraine war ‘extremely significant’ for east Asia security: Japan minister
Updated 11 min 40 sec ago
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North Korean troops in Ukraine war ‘extremely significant’ for east Asia security: Japan minister

North Korean troops in Ukraine war ‘extremely significant’ for east Asia security: Japan minister
  • “This will not only deepen the severity of the Ukraine situation, but also have extremely significant implications for east Asia’s security situation,” Iwaya said
  • “We are seriously concerned over this development, and strongly condemn it“

KYIV: Japan’s foreign minister warned Saturday that North Korean troops entering the Ukraine conflict would have an “extremely significant” effect on east Asian security.
Takeshi Iwaya was in Ukraine after weeks of reports that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia, with the West and Ukraine saying they were already operating in Russia’s Kursk border region.
Japan has joined Seoul in condemning North Korea for supporting Moscow.
“This will not only deepen the severity of the Ukraine situation, but also have extremely significant implications for east Asia’s security situation,” Iwaya said. “We are seriously concerned over this development, and strongly condemn it.”
The minister visited Bucha, a town outside Kyiv where Russian forces are widely believed to have committed serious atrocities against civilians during a brief occupation early in the war.
He said that “our stance remains unchanged that Japan will stand side by side with Ukraine.”
Iwaya said he had agreed with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga for Tokyo and Kyiv to hold a “bilateral high-level security policy dialogue,” including the strengthening of “our cooperation on intelligence-sharing on security.”
Sybiga said North Korean troops entering the Ukraine conflict is “evidence that the future of not only the European but also the global security architecture is being decided in Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian minister called his Japanese counterpart’s visit an “important sign of solidarity, especially in such a difficult time.
He praised ties with Tokyo:
“And although there are eight thousand kilometers between us, our countries are really close in values.”


Iran ‘categorically’ denies envoy’s meeting with Musk

Iran ‘categorically’ denies envoy’s meeting with Musk
Updated 16 November 2024
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Iran ‘categorically’ denies envoy’s meeting with Musk

Iran ‘categorically’ denies envoy’s meeting with Musk

TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman on Saturday “categorically” denied The New York Times report on Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations meeting with US tech billionaire Elon Musk, state media reported.
In an interview with state news agency IRNA, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was reported as “categorically denying such a meeting” and expressing “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard.”
The Times reported on Friday that Musk, who is a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met earlier this week with Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani.
It cited anonymous Iranian sources describing the encounter as “positive.”
Iranian newspapers, particularly those aligned with the reformist party that supports President Masoud Pezeshkian, largely described the meeting in positive terms before Baghaei’s statement.
In the weeks leading up to Trump’s re-election, Iranian officials have signalled a willingness to resolve issues with the West.
Iran and the United Stated cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
Since then, both countries have communicated through the Swiss embassy in Tehran and the Sultanate of Oman.


Indian private university opens first international campus in Dubai

Indian private university opens first international campus in Dubai
Updated 16 November 2024
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Indian private university opens first international campus in Dubai

Indian private university opens first international campus in Dubai
  • Indian FM inaugurated the Dubai campus of Symbiosis International University on Thursday
  • Under national education policy, New Delhi wants to internationalize Indian education system

New Delhi: A private Indian university has opened its first international campus in Dubai this week, marking a growing education cooperation between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. 

Symbiosis International University is a private higher education institution based in the western Indian city of Pune with at least five other campuses operating across the country, offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate-level programs. 

It is considered one of the top private business schools in the South Asian country, ranking 13th in management in the Indian Ministry of Education’s National Institutional Ranking Framework. 

SIU’s Dubai campus, which will offer management, technology and media and communications courses, was officially inaugurated on Thursday by Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the UAE minister of tolerance and coexistence. 

“I am sure that this campus will foster greater collaboration and research linkages between scholars of India and UAE, for mutual prosperity and global good,” Jaishankar said during the ceremony. 

“(The) ceremony is not just an inauguration of a new campus; it is a celebration of the growing educational cooperation between our two countries. Right now, Indian curriculum and learning is being imparted through more than 100 International Indian Schools in UAE, benefitting more than 300,000 students.”

Under India’s National Education Policy 2020, New Delhi aims to internationalize the Indian education system, including by establishing campuses abroad. 

Another top Indian school, the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, began its first undergraduate courses in September, after starting its teaching program in January with a master’s course in energy transition and sustainability. 

Initially launched in September with more than 100 students, the SIU Dubai Campus is the first Indian university in Dubai to start operations with full accreditation and licensing from the UAE’s top education authorities, including the Ministry of Education. 

“A university setting up a campus abroad is not just a bold step, but a concrete commitment to the goal of globalizing India. They certainly render an educational service, but even more, connect us to the world by strengthening our living bridges,” Jaishankar added as he addressed the students. 

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, pro-chancellor of Symbiosis International University, said that the school’s establishment in Dubai was in line with the UAE’s education goals. 

“Internationalization is central to the UAE’s educational vision,” Yeravdekar said on Friday. 

“By opening our campus in Dubai, we are creating a gateway for students from around the world to engage in a truly global academic experience, where they can benefit from international faculty, real-world industry collaborations, and a curriculum that meets the needs of a changing world.”