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"Elliott Abrams has made a career of lying and committing criminal acts that have led to the death and suffering of innocent people from Guatemala to Iraq."
by
Jake Johnson, staff writer
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/07/trump-blasted-naming-war-criminal-and-iran-contra-convict-elliott-abrams-iran-envoy
Following the resignation Thursday of State Department Iran envoy Brian Hook, President Donald Trump named as his replacement current special representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams, a notorious warmonger and supporter of Latin American death squads who was convicted in 1991 of withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal.
"From El Salvador to Guatemala, Nicaragua to Panama, Elliott Abrams' life's work has been defined by the worst impulses of U.S. foreign policy: embracing war, ignoring gross human rights abuses, and supporting horrific authoritarian regimes," said Stephen Miles, executive director of Win Without War.Abrams will now serve in both roles simultaneously, alarming anti-war groups who say someone with a record as blood-stained as his "should be barred for life from government positions and recognized as the war criminal that he is."
Abrams' appointment as special envoy to Iran comes days after he confirmed during a Senate hearing that he is still "working hard" to topple Venezuela's democratically-elected President Nicolás Maduro. Sina Toossi, senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), warned that the Trump administration's installation of Abrams as the top U.S. diplomat to Iran shows the president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are "doubling down" on their push for regime change in Iran as well.
"Like most Trump appointees," said Toossi, "he is not fit for the position, and will continue to hurt U.S. interests by enacting a failing strategy that will only succeed in spreading chaos and misery."
In a statement late Thursday, anti-war group CodePink provided a snapshot of Abrams' views and record dating back to his time in the Reagan administration:
In the 1980s, he defended the infamous Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos Montt, whose violent crackdown on the indigenous Ixil Mayan people of Guatemala was so brutal that it was classified as genocide by the United Nations.
He denied that the Salvadoran military was responsible for the devastating El Mozote massacre where, in 1981, a U.S.-trained battalion murdered more than 500 civilians, slitting the throats of children along the way. Not only did Abrams deny the massacre and push for continued U.S. support for the notoriously brutal Salvadoran government, but he even claimed in a 1994 interview that "the U.S. administration's record in El Salvador is one of fabulous achievement."
He is vehemently anti-Palestinian and shamelessly supports Israel. As George Bush’s aide on the National Security Council, Abrams did everything he could to thwart peace negotiations. He repeatedly undercut any U.S. pressure on Israel to stop the building of settlements and cited the Holocaust as justification for Israel's killings of Palestinians (Jews are "a people who had learned from history what happens to Jews without security"). In 2015, he applauded then-Speaker John Boehner's decision to invite Netanyahu to address Congress without the approval of President Obama. He lauds Evangelical descriptions of Israel such as the belief that "Israel is connected to the idea that God favors and protects Americans."
In 1991, Abrams pled guilty to withholding information from Congress related to his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal, the secret and illegal scam in the 1980s to siphon profits from Iranian weapons sales to support the right-wing Contra rebels trying to overthrow the Sandinista government.
Abrams was a key supporter of the disastrous invasion of Iraq. In 1998, he submitted a letter to President Clinton encouraging him to depose Saddam Hussein. As Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy during George W. Bush’s second term, Abrams was in charge of promoting Bush's strategy of "advancing democracy abroad.”
Abrams championed the U.S. overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, echoing the tactics used by the neocons for intervention in Iraq.
Abrams' opposition to the Iran Nuclear Deal is epitomized by his attempts to encourage Israel to bomb Iran's nuclear sites before negotiations became too serious. He expressed concern that Israel's capacity to impede the deal was "already being narrowed considerably by the diplomatic thaw, because it is one thing to bomb Iran when it appears hopelessly recalcitrant and isolated and quite another to bomb it when much of the world—especially the United States—is optimistic about the prospect of talks."
In January 2019, Abrams was appointed to be the U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela, and used his position to support an attempted coup, quash diplomatic talks, and increase brutal sanctions, even during the pandemic.
"The dangerous conflict resulting from Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement will be exacerbated by a man committed to Washington's failed policies of regime change," CodePink said. "Elliott Abrams has made a career of lying and committing criminal acts that have led to the death and suffering of innocent people from Guatemala to Iraq. He embraces militarism, covers up for gross human rights abuses, and has a history of supporting authoritarian regimes."
'Friday Night Massacre' at US Postal Service as Postmaster General—a Major Trump Donor—Ousts Top Officials
America is in a dead sprint to authoritarianism. The man is pulling out all the stops to prevent the citizens of this country from holding a legitimate election in which he might face removal from office."
by Jon Queally, staff writer
Government watchdogs, Democratic lawmakers, and pro-democracy advocates declared it a "Friday Night Massacre" for the U.S. Postal Service after news broke in a classic end-of-the-week dump that Louis DeJoy—a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump and the recently appointed Postmaster General—had issued a sweeping overhaul of the agency, including the ouster of top executives from key posts and the reshuffling of more than two dozen other officials and operational managers.
According to the Washington Post:
The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of DeJoy and the cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared ballots in recent primary elections.
Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other roles.
Already under fire for recent policy changes at the USPS that mail carriers from within and outside critics have denounced as a sabotage effort to undermine the Postal Service broadly as well as disrupt efforts to carry out mail-in voting for November's election amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the moves unveiled late Friday were viewed as an overt assault on democracy and a calculated opportunity to boost Republicans' long-held dream of undercutting or privatizing the government-run mail service while also boosting their election prospects in the process.
"Another Friday night massacre by this administration—and this time dealing another devastating blow to our postal service," said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) "The American people deserve answers and we're going to keep fighting for them."
Scanlon was among more than 80 congressional lawmakers who sent a letter to DeJoy earlier in the day expressing "deep concerns" about operational changes he has made for mail carriers that have delayed deliveries and lowered standards.
"It is vital that the U.S. Postal Service not reduce mail delivery times, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages," the letter stated. "Eliminating overtime and directing postal workers to leave mail on the floor of postal facilities will erode confidence in the Postal Service and drive customers away, resulting in even worse financial conditions in the future."
Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, warned what occurred Friday is designed to weak the Postal Service, slow vote-by-mail, and disrupt the 2020 Census.
"We are sounding an alarm regarding personnel changes, policy shifts and service disruptions happening inside the U.S. Postal Service on Louis DeJoy's watch," Clarke said in a statement. "The postal service lies at the heart of our democracy and is critical to the success of an unprecedented vote-by-mail system that is needed for a fair and effective 2020 election season. The postal service helps ensure that our nation's most vulnerable communities are receiving medications and resources during the pandemic. It is also critical to the efforts to achieve a full and accurate 2020 Census."
Clarke said the administration's intentions are clear: "DeJoy, a Trump donor with no experience inside the postal service, has been installed to cause chaos and disruption at a time when the timely delivery of mail could not be more critical."
As Common Dreams reported earlier Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among those who signed the letter and also called for DeJoy's efforts to be investigated by the Inspector General of the USPS. Since 2016 alone, DeJoy has donated more than $2.5 million to the Republican Party and candidates. In 2020, prior to his appointment as Postmaster General by the GOP-controlled board of governors, DeJoy had already given approximately $360,000 to a Super PAC supporting Trump's reelection.
As the Post notes in its reporting, the reshuffling of top managers and executives—as well as a hiring freeze and push for early retirements—"worried postal analysts, who say the tone of DeJoy's first eight weeks and his restructuring have recast the nation's mail service as a for-profit arm of the government, rather than an essential service."
In a video posted to Twitter, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oreg.) characterized DeJoy as a "political crony" of the president's and also denounced the brazen efforts now on display as a "Friday Night Massacre" scenario
Appearing Friday afternoon on Capitol Hill, DeJoy brushed off accusations that he is acting as a political bag man for Trump. "While I certainly have a good relationship with the president of the United States, the notion that I would ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the president or anyone else in the administration is wholly off-base," DeJoy said.
But outside critics like Walter Shaub, former head of the Office of Government Ethics and a fierce critic of Trump's behavior as president, said the latest move should be seen as nothing less than a direct effort by DeJoy to exploit his authority at the Postal Service to further the president's political interests and reelection prospects
According to Brian Tyler Cohen, a liberal commentator and podcast host, "Congressional Democrats need to do something about this" immediately.
"If we wait until October/November, it'll be too late," said Cohen. "Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this isn't theoretical, it's happening RIGHT NOW." Cohen said this situation should be treated like a "five-alarm fire" and said action must be taken by both lawmakers and the U.S. public without delay
Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), chair of the House subcommittee which has oversight for the USPS, said what DeJoy is trying to pass off as simple organizational restructuring is actually "a Trojan Horse" designed to destroy one of the nation's most trusted and valued institutions from within.
Connolly on Friday night called it, "Deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election—an election that hinges on mail-in ballots."
# # #
"They are delaying Social Security checks and other mail and potentially disenfranchising millions of voters."
by
Jake Johnson, staff writer
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/07/leading-demand-ig-probe-warren-accuses-trump-and-new-postmaster-general-sabotaging?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other top Democrats on Friday demanded that the U.S. Postal Service inspector general launch an investigation into recent operational changes implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that threaten the timely delivery of mail-in ballots and "the well-being of millions of Americans."
The call for a probe comes after DeJoy, a major Republican donor to President Donald Trump and a former logistics executive, confirmed in a memo (pdf) Friday that he is pressing ahead with an overhaul of the "organizational structure" of USPS with less than 100 days to go before the November elections.
As Common Dreams reported last week, mail carriers have raised alarm over new policies barring overtime and prohibiting workers from sorting mail ahead of their morning deliveries, warning that the changes could be intended to pave the way for privatization. The policies have already resulted in major mail backlogs across the nation, from Pennsylvania to Michigan to New York.In their letter (pdf) to Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb, the Democratic lawmakers wrote that "given the ongoing concerns about the adverse impacts of Trump administration policies on the quality and efficiency of the Postal Service, we ask that you conduct an audit of all operational changes put in place by Mr. DeJoy and other Trump administration officials in 2020."
The "slower and less reliable mail delivery" caused by DeJoy's policies, the lawmakers warned, endangers "the well-being of millions of Americans that rely on the Postal Service for delivery of Social Security checks, prescriptions, and everyday mail of all kinds."
The lawmakers also urged the inspector general to investigate DeJoy's potential conflicts of interest. As the Washington Post reported, DeJoy and his wife's "holdings include between $30.1 million and $75.3 million in assets in USPS competitors or contractors."
In addition to Warren, the letter was signed by House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
On Twitter, Warren declared that "Trump and his postmaster are sabotaging USPS."
"They are delaying Social Security checks and other mail and potentially disenfranchising millions of voters," Warren wrote. "The USPS Inspector General should investigate Trump megadonor Louis DeJoy's bad decisions and personal conflicts of interest."
"Trump and Republicans appear ready to walk away from the negotiating table to do unworkable, weak, and narrow executive orders that barely scratch the surface of what is needed."
by
Jake Johnson, staff writer
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/07/dems-rebuke-legislative-malpractice-trump-team-talks-crumble-and-tens-millions-face?
More than 20 million Americans don't have enough food to eat, 30 million have seen their incomes cut in half due to the expiration of boosted unemployment benefits, and 40 million could face eviction if Congress and the White House don't act.
But these coronavirus-induced human crises have not yet been enough to break the deadlock between the Trump administration and Democratic congressional leaders as the two sides remain far apart in relief talks that have dragged on for more than a week with little to no progress.
With their end-of-the-week deadline fast approaching, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows met Thursday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and emerged after three hours seemingly no closer to a deal than they were before.
Though Schumer and Pelosi urged that negotiations continue until an agreement is reached on key issues like unemployment aid, money for state and local governments, and nutrition assistance, Mnuchin said Thursday that he is "not going to just keep on coming back every day if we can't get to a deal.""We had what I would call a consequential meeting," Pelosi told reporters. "It was one where we could see the difference in values that we bring to the table. We have always said that the Republicans and the president do not understand the gravity of the situation and every time that we have met, it has been reinforced."
Politico reported this week that the White House offered Democratic leaders several "concessions," including $400-per-week in boosted unemployment benefits—an $800 monthly reduction from the previous level—and $150 billion in aid to state and local governments. Pelosi and Schumer rejected both as insufficient.
By the end of the day Thursday, many senators had already left Washington, D.C. for a long weekend with a green light from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has largely remained on the sidelines throughout the bipartisan negotiations after unveiling a $1 trillion relief proposal that would have slashed boosted unemployment benefits by $1,600 per month.
"Is this just another Thursday?" Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) asked in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday evening. "You wouldn't know we're in a terrible economic collapse based on the fact that the Majority Leader is treating this period of time like just another Thursday when everything's fine, everything's good in America."
On Twitter, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote that "Americans are dying and going hungry and Mitch McConnell just sent Republicans home for the weekend."
"Our country already has a public health crisis," Wyden added. "We've already got an unemployment crisis. And with Republicans skipping town, now we've got a crisis of legislative malpractice."
Failure by the White House and Congress to reach an agreement on additional relief spending could have catastrophic human consequences as Covid-19 infections continue to soar across the U.S. and the economic recovery sputters.
The Washington Post's Jeff Stein noted on Twitter that no deal means no additional aid to state and local governments, no new round of direct stimulus payments, no money for schools, no emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service, no hazard pay for frontline workers, and no money for Covid-19 testing.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that the U.S. added 1.8 million jobs in July, a significant drop compared to 4.8 million in June and 2.7 million in May. Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, noted in a blog post that the U.S. is "still 12.9 million jobs below where we were in February, before the pandemic spread."
"Federal policymakers need to act now to reinstate the $600 unemployment insurance benefits to the 30+ million workers who are desperately trying to make ends meet," Gould wrote. "And, those benefits are supporting a huge amount of spending, which means, without it, the loss of about five million jobs."
"Federal policymakers also need to provide massive fiscal relief to state and local governments," added Gould, "so they can continue to provide necessary services and prevent unnecessary cuts to their budgets as their revenue falls."
In May, the Democrat-controlled House passed a bill proposing $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments and an extension of the $600-per-week unemployment insurance boost through January of next year. McConnell blocked the bill from even being considered on the Senate floor.
"They didn't act in the first week after the House acted," Merkley said of the Republican-controlled Senate. "Just treated it like another week. No concerns. Didn't act in the second week. Now we're 11 weeks since the House acted and still, the Majority Leader says, 'Don't worry, be happy.'"
"The president is not going to do a deal that has a massive amount of money to bail out state and locals," said Mnuchin.Mnuchin and Meadows are planning to meet once more with Pelosi and Schumer Friday afternoon. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Mnuchin said the two sides remain "very far apart" on aid to state and local governments facing massive budget shortfalls due to the Covid-19 crisis.
If the two sides don't reach a deal, Mnuchin said the president will move ahead with legally dubious executive orders to suspend collection of the payroll tax, extend enhanced unemployment benefits at an unspecified rate, and revive an expired eviction moratorium. Trump said he could sign the orders as early as Friday afternoon.
The Post reported that "any executive actions the president might take would likely provide much narrower relief than what a congressional deal could produce, even if they survived court challenges."
In a joint statement Friday morning, Pelosi and Schumer said they "remain committed to continue negotiating and reaching a fair agreement with the administration, but we will not go along with the meager legislative proposals that fail to address the gravity of the health and economic situation our country faces."
"Millions of Americans are still hurting," the Democratic leaders added. "And yet, despite this reality, President Trump and Republicans appear ready to walk away from the negotiating table to do unworkable, weak, and narrow executive orders that barely scratch the surface of what is needed to defeat the virus and help struggling Americans."
By Popular Resistance.August 7, 2020
https://popularresistance.org/as-new-york-eviction-moratorium-ends-tension-escalates/
With as many as 14,000 families potentially facing eviction, New Yorkers took to the street in Brooklyn on Wednesday. They marched right into the offices of landlord attorneys and into the Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Rachel Sharp of the Daily Mail reports:
Dozens of New Yorkers marched through the streets of Brooklyn Wednesday morning before entering two landlord attorney firms buildings and Brooklyn Borough Hall calling for a ban on evictions and cancellation of rent in the Big Apple.
The demonstration comes just hours before New York’s residential eviction moratorium expires, leaving thousands of tenants vulnerable to homelessness.
Fears are mounting over how many residents will manage to keep a roof over their heads as dismal research released at the end of July revealed almost half of New York renters were unable to pay rent.
Concerns have been exacerbated further by the reality that jobless Americans will now lose out on the $600-per-week enhanced unemployment benefits from the federal government if a new coronavirus stimulus bill is not urgently reached on Capitol Hill.
A separate protest was held in Manhattan Wednesday calling for an extension to the enhanced benefits that many desperate residents need.
New Yorkers were especially hard hit by the pandemic as the state – once the virus epicenter – endured a longer and stricter lockdown than others and thousands lost their jobs overnight when businesses shuttered back in March.
Swathes of masked protesters gathered with placards reading ‘shut down evictions’ and ‘cancel rent’ in downtown Brooklyn Wednesday.
Several signs called out New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo urging them to extend protections to tenants in the city.
There are steps that the courts could take to slow or halt the evictions. David Brand of the Queens Daily Eagle writes:
A state measure known as the Tenants Safe Harbor Act protects tenants who prove they were financially impacted by the COVID-19 economic fallout, but does not apply to renters whose eviction cases were settled pre-pandemic. Their fate rests with the state court system, which can extend the moratorium, or with individual judges handling each case, further fueling the uncertainty.
“We have no idea what the judges will do,” said Make the Road New York housing attorney Aura Zuniga.
“14,000 households are hanging. It would really be a crisis on many fronts if they lost their homes,” added Judith Goldiner, the top attorney in Legal Aid’s Civil Law Reform Unit. “I’m really worried. And I don’t know what the court is going to do.”
Landlords may be able to begin serving eviction warrants on Aug. 6, which means marshals could in theory execute evictions two weeks after that. But Queens Housing Court Supervising Judge Lansden said he does not expect tenants to get kicked out of their homes that quickly.
“I do not believe that we will see evictions occur two weeks from Thursday,” Lansden said, adding that he expects that the state Office of Court Administration or Gov. Andrew Cuomo will act to once again stay evictions.
For the second time in two weeks, Lansden told the Eagle that the situation was marked by uncertainty, for tenants, landlords and even jurists. “I dislike this phrase, but right now, it’s a fluid situation,” he said.
“I cannot tell you what’s going to happen tomorrow, much less two weeks from Thursday,” Lansden continued. “We are recognizing the court system can’t simply do nothing. We are recognizing the city of New York can’t be at a standstill, but you can rest assured that OCA is proceeding as cautiously and slowly as possible.”
Tenants’ attorneys have suggested that judges could calendar tenants’ final orders to show cause — last gasp attempts to stop evictions — weeks or months into the future to give renters some more breathing room to find a new apartment. Lansden said that was up to the individual judge.
“Each judge can operate in their own way,” he said. “We try to make things appropriate for the situation we’re dealing with and I have no idea what the situation will be.”
Some officials and attorneys have speculated that the state may require landlords to file a motion or take some other action in order to enforce eviction warrants, which would prolong the process and give tenants another chance to fight displacement in court.
New York City has identified the 14,000 families facing eviction and reached out to them to provide information about free legal services, according to the Department of Social Services.
“We’ve been sending targeted mailers this summer to tenants we identified may be at risk and are continuing that outreach, making New Yorkers aware of the resources available to them,” said DSS spokesperson Isaac McGinn. “In these unprecedented times, as our City reopens and New Yorkers get back on their feet, helping New Yorkers remain stably housed is our top priority.”
The impact of COVID-19 has not only prevented many tenants from paying their rent, it has also stopped people who can make their monthly payments from finding new apartments.
Landlords often agree to give tenants a certain amount of time to get their arrangements in order before forcing them to leave.Tenants whose cases were adjudicated prior to the March 16 suspension of proceedings would have found new homes by now, said Goldiner, of Legal Aid.
But COVID has prevented many New Yorkers from venturing outside their homes to hunt for apartments. Brokers were also barred from showing apartments until June.
“They were supposed to move, they could have moved, they agreed to move, but all of a sudden they couldn’t,” Goldiner said. “In the past, relatives or friends would have put them up, but now with the pandemic, people are scared.”
“A lot of folks are going to be homeless for a while.”
An extended eviction moratorium is just a stopgap measure for families families homelessness as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Goldiner said.
By Oren Ziv, +972 Magazine.
August 7, 2020
https://popularresistance.org/anti-occupation-activists-find-their-place-in-israeli-protests/
‘No Longer Outcasts.’
Left-wingers tried to insert their messages into mainstream Israeli protests for years, only to be rejected. Today’s anti-Netanyahu protests are very different.
The growing presence of Israeli anti-occupation protesters has been one of the most notable aspects of the wave of demonstrations that started on July 14 outside the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street, Jerusalem. Among other things, this bloc of protesters have demanded justice for Iyad al-Hallaq, a Palestinian with autism whom Israeli police shot dead in the Old City of Jerusalem in late May.
The anti-occupation bloc, comprising several hundred protesters, are not on the margins of the demonstrations. Last Saturday night, for example, it was possible to hear them chanting “Justice for Iyad” at the Prime Minister’s residence, even as Israeli riot police were forcefully dispersing the crowd.
In contrast to countless instances over the past decade, in which left-wing protesters have tried to insert radical messaging into mainstream demonstrations and been met with rejection or violence, this time, the response was very different.
The current protests did not start out this way. Back in May, a few dozen radical leftists tried to join in one of the “Black Flag” protests against Netanyahu’s anti-democratic maneuvers. The left-wingers brought banners reading “Israel is not a democracy — Apartheid;” the other protesters, mostly older participants, asked the police to push the group back to the edges of the demonstration.
‘No Longer Seen As An Outcast’
Dozens of anti-occupation activists taking part in recent demonstrations say the picture has greatly changed. Everyone that +972 spoke with said there have hardly been any hostile reactions to their presence, and certainly no attempts to ostracize or censor them.
Some say this is because the protests are decentralized; others say it is because the radical leftists are there in solidarity with the protests, and are not trying to overshadow them. Still others claim that government incitement has turned everyone in the demonstrations into “leftists,” thereby legitimizing the word.
What is more, the anti-occupation bloc has gradually become more integrated into the main demonstration. While at the start they stood separately, at Thursday’s and Saturday’s protests, different anti-occupation groups were dispersed throughout the crowd.
“People are simply joining in, and the messaging of the protests no longer scares them if they don’t agree with them,” says Sahar Vardi, a Jerusalem-based activist who was arrested in the first week that she took part in the protests. “Someone with a sign reading ‘Not right or left’ joined our group and chanted ‘Justice for Iyad,’ then continued on.”.
Vardi, like others whom +972 spoke with, believes the decentralized nature of the demonstrations has opened up a space for anti-occupation messaging within the broader movement. “Everyone is bringing their own message,” she explains. “People are coming out to protest because they’re desperate, but some of them agree with us. Anyone standing next to a leftist shouting about the occupation is no longer seen as an outcast.”
“There’s no unifying factor other than wanting to topple Bibi,” says activist Uri Givati. “Everyone will give a different reason as to why they’re coming [to protest]. So people can’t say, ‘anti-occupation protests — no; my protest — yes.’
“I haven’t encountered any attempts to silence us,” Givati adds. “It’s because people are having financial difficulties, and are saying to themselves: ‘Anyone who can stand with us should join in.’”
Givati was arrested at last Thursday’s protest. Police claimed he was interfering with officers in the line of duty, and at the police station he was asked to sign a restraining order barring him from Jerusalem. He refused, and at a court hearing to extend his arrest, Givati’s own film of his arrest led the judge to release him without conditions.
During his arrest, Givati says, he and fellow activists helped other protestors who were being arrested for the first time, telling them what to expect until their release. Givati rejoined the protests on Saturday.
‘It’s Leading People To Think Freely’
Other leftists say that the tolerance toward anti-occupation protesters is because they have been showing up since the first demonstration, and so subsequent newcomers have become accustomed to anti-occupation slogans being an established part of the proceedings.
Government incitement against the protesters has also played a role, some say. “The right has called the protest ‘left-wing’ and ‘anarchist,’” says Adi Winter, a protester who was arrested last Thursday and ordered to stay away from the Prime Minister’s Residence for 10 days. “That has actually allowed us to be leftists,” she adds.
“If they call us anarchists, then let’s be anarchists,” says Vardi. “People on the ground, who know how complicated the protests are, aren’t going along with these labels. They’re not snatching our signs, and a number of people come up to ask us questions. Some do say that [our message] is not connected, but not aggressively — they’re starting a conversation.”
“Trying to shamelessly slander [protesters] might actually have the opposite effect,” says Ariel Bernstein, an activist who was arrested at a demonstration last week. “It’s leading people to think freely and not censor others. These protests are allowing people to express their opposition to the government’s behavior, and they can see there are others ready to fight alongside them.
“It’s infuriating for the police and for the Public Security Minister [Amir Ohana, who has been trying to find different ways of shutting down the protests], because all of a sudden there’s a group of people who don’t really care about being called leftists,” Bernstein adds.
‘We’re Starting To Change, Too’
Anti-occupation protesters have also been trying to connect their message to the demonstration’s central theme.
“Our goal is, as far as possible, to reach a broad common denominator,” a young activist told +972 last Thursday. “If we had a sign reading ‘Free Palestine,’ it would have been seen as a provocation.”
The fact that most anti-occupation protesters also identify with the “Bibi out” message is helping bridge the divide between the different protesters. They are also united in their messaging around corruption, anti-democratic trends, and the state of the economy. Anti-occupation protesters also note a shift in their own approach.
“We want to make these connections, because people are waking up,” says Vardi. “It’s not just ‘anyone but Bibi,’ it’s also about the government and the occupation.”
“We’re not here to exploit the demonstration — we’re starting to change, too,” says Winter. “We shouldn’t be thinking that we’re better [than others]. We need to understand that in order to radicalize [others], we need to be part [of the protests].”
Some protesters have contrasted the current demonstrations with the 2011 social protests, during which most participants were outraged at efforts to draw attention to the Nakba. This is, Winter says, part of a broader understanding that more groups need to join the fold — “haredim, Ethiopians, Palestinians.” At the demonstrations last Thursday, many protesters encouraged ultra-Orthodox Jews to join in — which didn’t happen in 2011, according to Winter.
“We’re obviously also protesting against corruption,” says Givati. “Corruption is one of the causes of the occupation. We want to talk about the occupation because many people don’t understand how deep the corruption goes.” He, too, is noticing a change in his outlook: he is becoming more tolerant about protesting alongside people with whom he would, in ordinary circumstances, strongly disagree with.
‘Easy To Draw The Connection To The Occupation’
Many anti-occupation protesters believe that the murder of Iyad al-Hallaq helped open people up to their message.
“People told me this protest was the most important of all,” says Itai, an activist carrying a placard about al-Hallaq at a demonstration last week. “[The shooting] was shocking, an autistic person who was murdered. The only time someone remarked on my sign was not over its contents, but over the fact that I was standing opposite the police with it — they said we hadn’t come to protest the police.”
Some trace the birth of the “anti-occupation bloc” to the protest that took place after al-Hallaq’s murder, when hundreds of people demonstrated in Jerusalem and blocked the light rail. Those protests, people say, brought the left back out onto the streets.
Ariel Bernstein, who was arrested at last Tuesday’s protest while also holding a sign mentioning al-Hallaq, says he is “surprised” at the amount of support the message has received. “We tried protesting before the current demonstrations, but people didn’t really join.”
Now, however, he sees young and old people alike — not necessarily that politically active — going out to protest, even in the face of death threats and verbal and physical abuse from right-wingers.
“We’re there for them,” Bernstein adds. “They know they have support. And when La Familia [the far-right ‘ultras’ of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club] come to protect Netanyahu, we’re clearly talking about a war against fascism.”
Beyond the murder of al-Hallaq, some protesters also believe that the annexation affair — which brought thousands of people out to demonstrate in the run-up to July 1 — has also helped bring different groups together.
“People are saying that Bibi is focusing on annexation instead of worrying about us,” says Givati. “They can see that the government is dealing with that instead of the economy, and from there it’s easy to draw the connection to the occupation.”
A group of three protesters drew a fair amount of attention for dressing up in the colors of the Palestinian flag and carrying signs that read, “A corrupt leader for a corrupt people.” Aside from two people who brought Palestinian flags, this group had the greatest potential to cause friction.
“There’s pushback,” says one of the protesters, Uri. “but also a willingness on the part of the protesters to receive some internal criticism. With the loss of trust in the government, people are feeling less need to maintain their faith in the state and what it represents… you can’t separate the government from the occupation and the state of constant war.”
‘Palestinians Will Not Come Without Their Identity’
Most of the protests so far have not included speeches, yet dancing, songs, and impromptu performances have been an integral part of the events. At a demonstration on July 14, before protesters began marching downtown and confronting police, hip hop group Pe L’Ozen performed with messages against occupation, racism, and police violence. Even when the word “occupation” was uttered in one of the songs, the audience did not stop dancing.
This was even more pronounced during the protest last Thursday. The organizers set up a stage outside Netanyahu’s home, where Neta Wiener and Samira Saraya, two members of the Israeli-Palestinian hip hop troupe System Ali, performed in front of thousands. “The pain is the same, the voice of Iyad al-Hallaq is the voice of George Floyd,” sang Saria, “I haven’t been able to breathe for 72 years, tell me how much more is possible?” The crowd cheered and applauded.
“The truth is that I was surprised, I expected them to boo us,” Saraya said after the show. “There were some people who said [our performance] was unrelated and the protest was apolitical. If we did not have a clear statement to make, we would not have gone onstage. We would not come here to make people happy, but rather to convey political messages that connect police violence that has existed here since the founding of the state to what is happening now.”
Saraya notes that there is a gap between the treatment of the Balfour protesters and the treatment of Palestinian demonstrations in Israel. “Public Security Minister Ohana is trying to persuade the police commissioner to use more violence,” says Saria. “He wants the police to use the same amount of violence against everyone. He’s right. Ohana has admitted that the police treat Arabs and Blacks differently [than the anti-Netanyahu protests].”
Saraya is also well aware that Palestinian citizens of Israel have mostly refrained from attending the demonstrations. Despite the fact that the political messages have been received positively, she wonders whether a Palestinian flag at the protests would be similarly welcomed. “Palestinians will not come without their identity,” she said. “The problem is not the flag, but how you react to the flag that I am flying.”
By James Tatsch, WSWS.August 7, 2020
https://popularresistance.org/a-lot-of-people-really-dont-think-we-should-be-working-right-now/
GM Fairfax Worker Speaks Out On Spread Of COVID-19.
The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with a worker at the General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, about conditions at the facility that are leading to the spread of the deadly COVID-19 disease.
Last week saw the highest number of new recorded cases for the Kansas City metro area since the start of the pandemic. The ever-increasing level of confirmed cases takes place as infection levels are soaring across both Kansas and Missouri, which have been recording record-breaking highs on a near-daily basis.
The GM Fairfax Assembly Plant is a sprawling 4,900,000-square-foot facility located in the Fairfax Industrial District along the Missouri River. Beginning production in 1988, on the grounds of the former Fairfax Airport, the plant now employees 2,385 workers in the production of the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac XT4 models.
Following the two-month shutdown of the auto industry forced by workers through a series of wildcat strikes earlier this year, production at the Fairfax Plant officially resumed on June 1, with the reinstitution of two full-time shifts. A third shift at the plant was previously cut and roughly 1,000 laid off in 2017, with the company’s move encountering no opposition from the United Auto Workers.
Prior to restarting production this summer, GM and the UAW trumpeted safety protocols such as hand washing, sanitizing, temperature screening and physical distancing, claiming they were adequate to protect workers from infection. All of these would-be preventative measures have amounted to little more than empty talk as demonstrated by the expanding outbreaks of infections across the auto industry since its reopening.
Following the June 1 restart of the Fairfax plant, a GM spokesman was forced to release a statement acknowledging that an employee at the plant had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 11. In the statement, GM claimed that the employee was infected outside work, while providing no evidence to support this claim.
“They always say it’s outside of work,” commented Sam, a Fairfax worker, in response to the GM statement (Sam’s real name has not been used as protection against retaliation). Asked if he thought that was the only case at the plant since reopening, he said, “I have a hard time buying that. I’ve heard of a lot more than one person who had COVID.”
The worker continued, “I heard someone had the COVID who works near the main door, the main entrance. Someone who was in the Cleanroom. Someone else on the Tech Team, and they’re all over, they go to several areas in the plant throughout the day.” He noted the high volume of workers calling off work every day. “What happens to those that were around that person? If they were exposed why weren’t they quarantined?”
“I think they’re trying to hide as much as they can, and the true impact on the plant. I believe the UAW and GM are in cahoots with each other. There’s no doubt in my mind. Both sides are withholding the truth.”
The cleaning and safety protocols that GM has outlined publicly have largely been ignored inside the plant. “The only thing I know of is that they’re cleaning the bathrooms more frequently. Cleaning ladies wiping down the rails. But that’s about all I see.” He added, “We’re given an additional five minutes to disinfect our work area before the line starts. They give us a spray bottle of something, we don’t know what it is. But now management is starting to complain that it’s damaging the equiptment and surfaces.”
“People are wearing masks, social distancing, but it’s getting worse because you really can’t distance, there’s a lot of jobs side-by-side where it’s impossible to control. People on the line are working two to three feet from each other, you’re right on top of each other sometimes.”
Commenting on the temperature in the plant, he recalled, “Prior to the July shutdown, they did cool some areas down. But since we returned it’s been hot. It was hot enough I was glazing in sweat.” He added, “One of the complaints for me is when you wear safety glasses and the mask, it causes the glasses to fog up, and makes it a lot harder to see. They said to rub some Joy [dish soap] on it, which helped a little bit, but not that much and you end up with soap on your face.”
Another factor he found seriously concerning was the potential for the transmission through the environmental system. “I think no matter what you do, whether manufacturing or in the schools, the heating and ventilation systems are going to spread it. If the virus gets in that system, it’s going to blow it right on you.”
Prior to the pandemic, GM laid off a number of temporary workers before they were to become full-time, Sam said. Such actions render all but meaningless the so-called “pathway” to full-time employment touted by the UAW in the 2019 national contract. “They had a lot of temp workers who were waiting to become permanent, and GM let them all go.” Since then, many of the temps hired to fill in the gaps from absenteeism have quit. “I was told there were about 170 people hired, and after a few days, there were just about 50 people left. It’s very demanding work. The turnaround is huge.”
There is an immense danger that workers may be unknowingly infected on the job and not yet showing symptoms. “A lot of people are very concerned for their families, or their children—afraid of giving it to their grandpas or grandmas, bringing the COVID home and infecting their loved ones.” He added, “We know there is no cure for it, and without a cure, that puts a lot of lives in jeopardy. That’s a lot of lives to put at risk. At what point do lives matter?”
Voicing concerns to management or the UAW or raising safety issues have time and again proved to be a dead end for workers at the plant. The UAW safety reps “don’t do anything,” he said. “They always have some kind of stupid story to help GM out.
“I see retaliation in this plant, I see the union working together with management and people are recognizing that.”
Faced with the intransigent refusal of management and the union to ensure safety, workers at Detroit-area Fiat Chrysler plants and the Ford Dearborn Truck plant have established rank-and-file safety committees independent of the UAW and management to fight for a healthy and safe workplace. These committees have demanded full disclosure of COVID-19 cases; for production to be halted for cleaning when infections occur; and regular, universal testing.
Asked what he thought about workers organizing independently, Sam responded, “We don’t feel like the UAW protects us anymore. We feel like we’re sold out. A lot of people are very angry. The world is changing, and we need to change too.
“We’re starting to break down and get tired of it. It’s just a matter of time before we organize and go after what’s right. That’s where our power is, in numbers.”
