SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
rashida tlaib
Condemnation of Israel's Starvation and Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza Intensifies—Even From Within
"A sane state does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set goals for itself like the expulsion of a population," said one formerp Israeli lawmaker.
May 20, 2025
International outrage over Israel's intensified Gaza onslaught is mounting along with the death toll from airstrikes and forced starvation as a trio of Western leaders threatened "concrete actions" if the genocidal assault and siege on the Palestinian enclave don't stop—and as even prominent Israeli voices denounced their country's actions.
On Monday, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and Canada issued a rare joint statement strongly opposing the expansion of Israel's latest offensive, dubbed Operation Gideon's Chariots, which aims to conquer and indefinitely occupy all of Gaza and ethnically cleanse much of its population, possibly to make way for Jewish recolonization as advocated by many right-wing Israelis.
"Yesterday's announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate," the statement asserted. "We call on the Israeli government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza."
Five truckloads of humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday, The Times of Israelreported. Israeli authorities gave the United Nations permission for about 100 more aid trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday. This is a mere fraction of the at least 500-600 daily trucks needed to fulfill Gaza's tremendous humanitarian needs.
"Yesterday's announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate."
"The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law," the leaders added. "We condemn the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law."
Numerous Israeli officials have endorsed the forced starvation of Palestinians as a means to coerce them into leaving parts of Gaza. After calling for the "total annihilation" of Gaza earlier this month, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sought to soothe those who decried his government's decision to allow a trickle of aid into the strip by assuring them Monday that "we're destroying Gaza."
The three leaders' statement stresses that "we will not stand by" while the government of fugitive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "pursues these egregious actions."
"If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response," the leaders warned.
Shifting to the illegally occupied West Bank—where Israel is pushing ahead with a major land grab and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and civilian settler-colonists are killing, wounding, and forcibly displacing Palestinians—the joint statement added: "We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank. Israel must halt settlements which are illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians."
"We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions," the leaders vowed.
"Further action" was afoot Tuesday as the U.K. announced it is suspending negotiations with Israel on a free trade agreement, explaining that "it is not possible to advance discussions on a new, upgraded FTA with a Netanyahu government that is pursuing egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza."
U.K. Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer reiterated the "government's opposition to the wholly disproportionate escalation of military activity in Gaza and emphasize that the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible."
The U.K. also announced sanctions targeting three far-right Israeli extremists, including settler leader Daniella Weiss, as well as three illegal settlement outposts and two groups "that have supported, incited, and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank."
The British move stands in stark contrast with the Trump administration's reversal of sanctions imposed on a handful of Israeli settlers during the tenure of former President Joe Biden. Both Trump and Biden have lavished Israel with billions of dollars in armed aid and staunch diplomatic support. Trump has proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza and the transformation of the razed strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Netanyahu hit back at France, the U.K., and Canada on Tuesday, accusing the allies of "offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities."
More than 1,100 Israelis and others were killed and over 250 people taken hostage by Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023. An unknown number of Israelis were also killed by so-called "friendly fire" and under the Hannibal Directive, which authorizes lethal force against IDF soldiers in order to prevent them from being taken prisoner by enemy forces.
Also on Tuesday, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged Western governments to "economically and strategically isolate" Israel over Operation Gideon's Chariots.
"After the reoccupation of Gaza, the second step will be deportation," de Villepin said. "The political objective of Benjamin Netanyahu and his government is the deportation of the population of Gaza, which is the hallmark of ethnic cleansing."
De Villepin said that "there are three things that must be done immediately," including the suspension of the European Union's trade and cooperation agreement with Israel, an arms embargo, and referral of Israeli officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"If you want to stop what is happening today, you must make it clear to Israel that there will be a before and an after," de Villepin added.
The Hague-based ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including extermination and forced starvation. Israel is also facing a genocide case before the International Court of Justice.
The E.U.—which is Israel's largest trading partner— said Tuesday that it would review the wide-ranging trade and cooperation pact, citing a provision stating that relations "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles."
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said she would push for more punitive measures, including "sanctions against individual Israeli ministers."
"Israeli forces have begun a full-scale invasion to ethnically cleanse all Palestinians from Gaza."
In the United States, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American member of Congress,
said Monday on social media that "Israeli forces have begun a full-scale invasion to ethnically cleanse all Palestinians from Gaza."
"War criminal Netanyahu announced plans to forcibly expel the entire population and permanently occupy the land," she added. "This is the final stage of their genocide. World leaders must impose sanctions and a full arms embargo."
More Israelis are also condemning their country's actions in Gaza. On Monday, the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem accused Israel of "carrying out a deliberate, systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip" in a
social media post showing that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in recent days.
Overall, more than 53,500 Palestinians have been killed and over 121,000 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since October 2023, with at least 14,000 others missing and believed dead and buried beneath rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Millions more have been forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened by Israel's assault and siege.
Israeli Army Radio correspondent Doron Kadosh said Monday that Israel's planned location of humanitarian aid distribution centers suggests a more sinister motive:
The idea... is that anyone who comes from the north of the Gaza Strip to the dividing center will not be able to return north of the Netzarim corridor, but will be forced to stay south of the Netzarim corridor. This will be a "one-way ticket," and it will effectively force the Gazan population to come south of the Netzarim axis if they want to receive food. In this way, Israel intends to expedite and promote the evacuation of the Gazan population from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south. In this way, Israel believes, it will be possible to completely empty the northern Gaza Strip of its population.
"Despite dozens of evacuation notices, there always remained in the northern Gaza Strip a hard core of 200-300 thousand Gazans who refused to leave the south of the Netzarim axis," Kadosh added. "This time, Israel believes, it is a plan that will leave the Gazans no choice—and will force them to evacuate south."
Progressive former Israeli lawmaker Yair Golan—a decorated general who once served as deputy IDF chief of staff—faced sharp rebuke Tuesday after calling for the ouster of Netanyahu's "vengeful, unintelligent, and immoral" government.
During an interview with public broadcaster Kan, Golan said that Israel is "on the path to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa once was, if it does not return to acting like a sane country."
"A sane state does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set goals for itself like the expulsion of a population," Golan asserted.
Netanyahu responded by calling IDF troops "the most moral in the world."
"Golan and his friends on the radical left are echoing the most despicable antisemitic blood libels against IDF soldiers and the state of Israel," the prime minister added.
Meanwhile, United Nations experts warned that Israel's forced starvation—which has already killed at least scores of Gazans, mostly children and the elderly—could kill as many as 14,000 infants in the next two days unless the amount of aid entering the strip increases dramatically.
"We are witnessing, in real time, the deliberate starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare," Human Rights Watch
said Monday. "Over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are living in famine."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Tlaib Backs Primary Challenger McKinney Over Democratic Incumbent Thanedar
"I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better," said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in support of state Rep. Donavan McKinney.
May 12, 2025
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib drew praise from progressives Monday after endorsing a state lawmaker's Democratic primary challenge against an incumbent from a neighboring Michigan district.
Tlaib (D-Mich.) endorsed 32-year-old state Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-11), who last month announced he is seeking to oust pharmaceutical magnate-turned Congressman Shri Thanedar, who has represented Michigan's 13th Congressional District since 2023.
"Centering community not only means standing up to corporate donors and lobbyists but also means fighting to address community needs through robust community services and responsive representation," said Tlaib in a statement. "This type of leadership is missing for residents in the 13th and I know Donavan will bring it... I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better."
Big news! Rep. Rashida Tlaib is endorsing @donavanmckinney.bsky.social’s campaign for Congress—the first Congressional endorsement of this race. Rashida knows that voters in her neighboring district need a leader who will fight back against billionaire corruption—not a Congressman in name only.
[image or embed]
— Justice Democrats (@justicedemocrats.com) May 12, 2025 at 7:08 AM
McKinney, who is also endorsed by the progressive group Justice Democrats and more than a dozen current and former Michigan state lawmakers and other officials, said Monday on social media that he is "honored to have" Tlaib's support and "can't wait to serve by her side" in Congress.
According to Justice Democrats, McKinney's "priorities are protecting our economic security, ensuring families have access to clean air and water, ensuring every child can receive a quality public education, bringing justice to the criminal legal system, pushing for a robust, quality public transit system, and expanding the rights of unions and workers."
"He has worked to lower costs and increase affordability for the people of his district, taken on corporate monopolies, and fought to get big money out of politics on the state-level and he's running for Congress to bring that fight to Washington," the group added.
Thanedar responded to Tlaib's endorsement in an interview with the Detroit Free Press in which he said that "my focus is, and will continue to be, fighting [President Donald] Trump, bringing federal dollars back to the district, and serving my constituents."
"I'm confident voters in the 13th will choose me again in 2026," he added.
One issue of contention between Tlaib and Thanedar is Israel's U.S.-backed assault on Gaza, which is the subject of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case and the impetus for International Criminal Court arrest warrants targeting fugitive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Tlaib—the only Palestinian American member of Congress—is a staunch advocate of a Gaza cease-fire and cutting off U.S. military aid to Israel.
Thanedar previously co-sponsored a resolution in Michigan's House of Representatives advocating an end to U.S. aid for Israel, which he described an an "apartheid state"—a position aligned with the ICJ and numerous international and Israeli human rights groups.
However, Thanedar subsequently quit the Democratic Socialists of America over what he said was DSA's failure to condemn the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Blue Wave—a super political action committee linked to American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent $2.3 million on ads attacking Thanedar's 2024 primary opponent, Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters, who drew praise from the area's sizable Palestinian and Arab American community for her opposition to Israel's Gaza onslaught.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Progressives Mark Mother's Day With Calls to 'Honor Our Moms With Action'
"Today on Mother's Day, let's remember every mother deserves a livable wage, affordable childcare, paid family leave, and the ability to retire with dignity," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
May 11, 2025
As the Republicans who narrowly control both chambers of Congress plot cuts to programs that serve the working-class to pay for tax giveaways to the wealthy, progressive lawmakers on Sunday marked Mother's Day by renewing calls for policies that would improve the lives of U.S. families.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), founder of the Congressional Mamas' Caucus, said in a video shared to social media that "this Mother's Day, we're gonna fight to protect Medicaid, we're gonna fight for childcare, and we're gonna fight to make sure that our children have access to clean water."
Other representatives featured in the video also pledged to fight for federal programs, including Medicaid, which provides health coverage to low-income individuals; Head Start, which provides early childhood education and programming for working-class parents; and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly called food stamps.
President Donald Trump's administration recently reversed course on Head Start cuts by leaving them out of the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget—at least for now—but, as USA Todaynoted earlier this month, "other preschool and after-school programs may be in jeopardy as the Republican-controlled Congress wrestles over the federal budget this summer."
As part of that budget battle, GOP lawmakers are targeting programs including SNAP and Medicaid. In a U.S. House of Representatives floor speech, Tlaib declared that "too often, mothers are left behind in this chamber."
"In the richest country in the world," the mother-of-two argued, "no mother should worry about feeding her children or affording basic care. Ending child poverty is a policy choice. I introduced the End Child Poverty Act to provide universal child benefit for every child in our country and cut child poverty by 60%. Paid leave, affordable childcare, and universal school meals should be guaranteed, not privileges."
Tlaib also noted the Black Maternal Health Caucus' Momnibus Act, a bill she co-sponsors that aims to address the nation's maternal health crisis, and a new Mamas' Caucus campaign to battle GOP efforts to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid. She said that "this Mother's Day, I'm asking all of you to not only thank our mothers, but do it with action as we recommit to fighting for the dignity and health of every mother in our nation."
Like Tlaib, Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) used Mother's Day to recognize the U.S. maternal health crisis.
"As we honor our mothers, we must also recognize that too many are being failed by a system that should protect them," he said on social media. "In the U.S., Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, regardless of income or education. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries. Over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable. This is unacceptable."
"We will continue fighting for mothers today, tomorrow, and every day for their right to safe, dignified care, bodily autonomy, compassionate treatment, and healthy equity in America," Jackson added.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Sunday advocated for his Child Care for America Act, which aims to make childcare $10 per day for families but raise the pay floor for industry workers to $24 an hour.
Khanna, Jackson, and Tlaib have all backed the fight for Medicare for All—and the related bill for that was reintroduced late last month by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
"Today on Mother's Day, let's remember every mother deserves a livable wage, affordable childcare, paid family leave, and the ability to retire with dignity," Sanders said Sunday. "America must become a nation which treats all mothers and their kids with the respect and dignity they deserve."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) honored her own mom on Mother's Day by resharing, in a series of social media posts, the story about how she supported their family by securing a minimum wage job.
"After my daddy had a heart attack, he couldn't work for a while. Bills piled up. We lost our family station wagon. It looked like the house would be next to go. At night, I'd overhear my parents talk, and that's when I learned words like 'mortgage' and 'foreclosure,'" she recalled. "One day, I walked into my parents' bedroom. My mother's face was red and puffy. A dress was laid out over the bedspread—the dress that only came out for weddings, graduations, and funerals."
"'We are not going to lose this house,' she kept saying. 'We are not going to lose this house.' She'd never worked outside the home. She was terrified," Warren continued. "But she knew what she had to do. I watched her put that dress on, put on her high heels, and blow her nose. She walked to Sears. She got a minimum wage job. And that minimum wage job saved our house and saved our family."
"Today, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour—a wage that has not increased in over 15 years. With that, a family living on minimum wage is living in poverty."
The senator said that "this story is written on my heart. I'm remembering my mother's courage this Mother's Day. I'm thinking about all the mamas out there fighting for their families. And I'm thinking about all the ways the deck is stacked against mothers and families today. A mother today would not be able to work a minimum wage job and keep everyone afloat. Today, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour—a wage that has not increased in over 15 years. With that, a family living on minimum wage is living in poverty."
"And, without quality, affordable childcare, mothers have been shoved out of the workforce," she noted. "They will feel the consequences—in lost earnings, in lower Social Security benefits—for the rest of their lives. And, notably, most women who get abortions today are already mothers. Many are working multiple jobs that don't pay enough to support their children. Abortion bans make it even harder for those families to make ends meet."
While GOP policymakers are working to restrict reproductive freedom and cut safety net programs, Warren made her priorities clear: "I'm working to give every mother and every family a fighting chance—and I'm in this fight all the way."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular