US Democrats Call for ‘Joy’ Amid Genocide
Helena Cobban / Just World Educational

(August 24, 2024) — This week’s the US Democratic Party put on two big performances that left me even more depressed than last week. In Chicago, the party’s big-bucks powers-that-be put on an intricately choreographed, North Korea-style pageant of “joy” and “unity” in which they very pointedly threw the party’s anti-genocide activists under a bus.

And during plane rides around West Asia, meanwhile, Secretary of State Blinken continued his lengthy “performance” of trying win a Gaza ceasefire deal, while American weapons continued to flow copiously to the most heavily armed and genocidal actor in the region.

For Blinken and his bosses — Pres. Biden, and now also VP Harris — that “performance” of diplomacy is precisely the point. “We are working ceaselessly… ” “We are working around the clock… ” Etc., etc. Their effort in this is either woefully uninformed or wittingly mendacious, or both.

Back on June 10, Biden’s ambassador to the UN presented, discussed, and voted for UN Security Council Resolution 2735 mandating a ceasefire plan that “would enable the following outcomes to spread over three phases:

“Phase 1: an immediate, full, and complete ceasefire with the release of hostages including women, the elderly and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas in Gaza, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north, as well as the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout the Gaza Strip to all Palestinian civilians who need it, including housing units delivered by the international community;

“Phase 2: upon agreement of the parties, a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; and

“Phase 3: the start of a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.”
… Both before the UNSC’s adoption of that resolution and since, Hamas has stated clearly that it accepts its terms. The (US-presented) text of the resolution itself claims that Israel had accepted it. But that was not true then, as PM Netanyahu made very clear. And it is still not true today.

In the ten weeks since June 10, Pres. Biden and his officials have claimed to be working to secure a “bridging proposal” that both Israel and Hamas could agree to. In truth, though, all the proposals they have mooted have moved the goalposts significantly in Israel’s favor, especially on the key issues of Palestinian freedom of movement within Gaza and Israel’s ability to keep a military presence in the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors.

For the past ten weeks Blinken and Biden have repeatedly claimed they have “won Israel’s agreement” to their bridging proposals and that they are close to securing the ceasefire– with only Hamas’s recalcitrance continuing to delay things. And on each occasion they claimed this, Netanyahu brusquely shut them down, telling the Hebrew-language media that he has never agreed to anything.

Yet Biden and his team have continued with their repeated pirouettes of their “performance” of diplomacy…

Israel releases photo of murdered Hamas leaders (circled) .

Israel  Orders the Assassinations of
Palestinian Leaders in Iran and Lebanon

These past ten weeks have also, as we know, seen Israel inflicting yet further privations, miseries, and cruelties on Gaza’s Palestinians.

On July 30-31, Netanyahu raised regional tensions yet further when his operatives killed the leader of the main Palestinian negotiating party, in Tehran, and the military head of Hizbullah, in Lebanon. The Iranians’ (and Hizbullah’s) threats to retaliate for those acts of terror still stand; and with the very evident failure of Blinken’s latest round of “diplomacy” the prospect of a regionwide explosion has now increased.

Yet the flow of American weapons to Israel, and of American forces to Israel-adjacent regions and sea-lanes, continues unimpeded… Go figure.

Two Great Episodes of the PalCast Podcast! I realize I now have two episodes of the PalCast podcast to tell you about. On August 14, PalCast host Yousef Aljamal and I sat down–virtually–  with Dr. Hani Albasoos, an academic expert on security and strategic studies who has taught in Gaza, Qatar, and Oman. He was with us from his current location in Qatar. In our convo,.Dr. Albasoos talked about the (endless!) ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and the delicate balance between Iran, Hezbollah, and Israel remains a critical concern. We also looked at prospects for the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Catch this episode on Apple or Spotify, to listen to our informed and thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Hani Albasoos. Then on August 20, Yousef, Tony, and I were joined by Ibrahim Alsemairi , who was speaking with us from the heart of Gaza, with the echoes of conflict reverberating through narrow streets around him. A teacher who is also a PhD candidate at the University of Utarah in Malaysia, Ibrahim carries the weight of displacement — a burden that has reshaped his life and that of his four children. Since October 7th, Ibrahim has been uprooted five times. His home, once a sanctuary, now exists only in memories and the crayon sketches his children create — a poignant testament to loss and resilience. In the midst of chaos, he strives to provide solace to his little ones, their innocence juxtaposed against the harsh realities of war. Additionally, he and some colleagues have embarked on an initiative to help plan the post-genocide rebuilding of Gaza’s educational system. Amidst rubble and despair, they sow seeds of hope, advocating for change, reconstruction, and healing. (I also got to give my — pretty pessimistic — midweek assessment of the DNC convention.)

You can catch this episode on Apple & Spotify. And if you haven’t subscribed to the PalCast podcast on your favorite listening yet — why on earth not? Please do so immediately! And tell your friends about it, too….