Between tomorrow and Friday, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) will host a weapons bazaar that ought to be called “The Merchants of Death”.

The times for these merchants are positively bullish, given that total global military expenditure exceeded US$2.4 trillion last year, an increase of 6.8 percent in real terms from 2022.

The introductory note to the event is mildly innocuous:

“The Land Forces 2024 International Land Defence Exposition is the premier platform for interaction between defence, industry and government of all levels, to meet, to do business and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the global land defence markets.”

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• Netanyahu and the Israeli protesters are on the same genocidal page

The website goes on to describe the Land Defence Exposition as “the premier gateway to the land defence markets of Australia and the region, and a platform for interaction with major prime contractors from the United States and Europe”.

At the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2022, the event attracted 20,000 attendees, 810 “exhibitor organisations” from 25 countries, and ran 40 conferences, symposia and presentations.

From 30 nations, came 159 defence, government, industry and scientific delegations.

Land Forces 2024 is instructive as to how the military-industrial complex manifests. Featured background reading for the event involves, for instance, news about cultivating budding militarists.

Where better to start than in school?

School military ‘pathways’
From August 6, much approval is shown for the $5.1 million Federation Funding Agreement between the Australian government and the state governments of South Australia and West Australia to deliver “the Schools Pathways Programme (SPP)” as part of the Australian government’s Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The programme offers school children a chance to taste the pungent trimmings of industrial militarism — visits to military facilities, “project-based learning” and presentations.

Rather cynically, the SPP co-opts the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) aspect of government policy, carving up a direct link between school study and the defence industry.

“We need more young Australians studying STEM subjects in schools and developing skills for our future workforce,” insisted Education Minister Jason Clare. It is hard to disagree with that, but why weapons?

There is much discontent about the Land Forces exposition.

Victorian Greens MP Ellen Sandell and federal MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt wrote to Premier Jacinta Allan asking her to call off the arms event.

The party noted that such companies as Elbit Systems “and others that are currently fuelling . . . Israel’s genocide in Palestine, where 40,000 people have now been killed — will showcase and sell their products there”.

Demands on Israel dismissed
Allan icily dismissed such demands.

Disrupt Land Forces, which boasts 50 different activist collectives, has been preparing.

Defence Connect reported as early as June 4 that groups, including Wage Peace — Disrupt War and Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance, were planning to rally against the Land Force exposition.

The usual mix of carnival, activism and harrying have been planned over a week, with the goal of ultimately encircling the MCEC to halt proceedings.

Ahead of the event, the Victorian Labor government, the event’s sponsor, has mobilised 1800 more police officers from the regional areas.

Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbines did his best to set the mood.

“If you are not going to abide by the law, if you’re not going to protest peacefully, if you’re not going to show respect and decency, then you’ll be met with the full force of the law.”

Warmongering press outlets
Let us hope the police observe those same standards.

Warmongering press outlets, the Herald Sun being a stalwart, warn of the “risks” that “Australia’s protest capital” will again be “held hostage to disruption and confrontation”, given the diversion of police.

Its August 15 editorial demonised the protesters, swallowing the optimistic incitements on the website of Disrupt Land Forces.

The editorial noted the concerns of unnamed senior police fretting about “the potential chaos outside MCEC at South Wharf and across central Melbourne”, the context for police to mount “one of the biggest security operations since the anti-vaccine/anti-lockdown protests at the height of covid in 2021–21 or the World Economic Forum chaos in 2000”.

Were it up to these editors, protesters would do better to stay at home and let the Victorian economy, arms and all, hum along.

The merchants of death could then go about negotiating the mechanics of murder in broad daylight; Victoria’s government would get its blood fill; and Melbournians could turn a blind eye to what oils the mechanics of global conflict.

The protests will, hopefully, shock the city into recognition that the arms trade is global, nefarious and indifferent as to the casualty count.

Dr Binoy Kampmark lectures in global studies at RMIT University. This article was first published by Green Left and is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate tweeted this clip remarking that even greeting others with a ‘namaste’ had ceased to exist. (Archived link)

अच्छा, तो अब नमस्ते प्रणाम भी बंद हो गया?

वैसे BJP की मीटिंग में इतना मातम मायूसी का माहौल क्यों? pic.twitter.com/YyW1o67nCV

— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) July 28, 2024

Similarly, Pappu Ram Mundru, associated with Congress Rajasthan, tweeted the same clip with a similar caption. (Archived link)

अच्छा, तो अब नमस्ते प्रणाम भी बंद हो गया?

वैसे BJP की मीटिंग में इतना मातम मायूसी का माहौल क्यों?

pic.twitter.com/jlpLdiGH23

— Pappu Ram Mundru INC (@PRMundru) July 28, 2024

Several other X (Twitter) users and Facebook posts shared the video with the same claim.

Fact Check

To verify these claims, Alt News examined the BJP’s official X (Twitter) handle. We came across a video of the chief ministers’ meeting at the BJP headquarters. In this 20-second clip, Yogi Adityanath is seen greeting Prime Minister Modi within the first few seconds of the footage.

Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi held a meeting with BJP Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers at BJP Headquarters, New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/bHLoEPKVfs

— BJP (@BJP4India) July 28, 2024

For the convenience of the readers, we have made a comparison between the viral video and the clip posted by BJP on X. This comparison clearly shows that Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath did greet Prime Minister Modi. However, due to a difference in the camera angles, the UP chief minister’s gesture was not caught in the clip which went viral leading to the misconception that he had not greeted the PM.

To sum it up, a video from the BJP chief ministers’ meet held at the party’s headquarters in Delhi is being misleadingly shared with the claim that Yogi Adityanath did not greet PM Modi upon the latter’s arrival. However, a second video from the event disproves this claim, showing that Adityanath did, in fact, greet the Prime Minister.

The post Did Yogi Adityanath not greet PM Modi at CMs’ meet? False claim by Supriya Shrinate appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Kinjal.

“Free Tibet. Dictator Xi Jingping, your time is up!” declared a large white banner that his motorcade had to drive under on the Boulevard Périphérique after his arrival on Sunday, on his way for a state visit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Atop the banner was the flag of Tibet — a symbol of the Tibetan independence movement that has become known as the “Free Tibet flag.” 

The visit was Xi’s first European tour since 2019 and marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations. 

Ethnic Tibetan from France, Belgium, Hungary and elsewhere gathered to express their anger over Beijing’s restrictions on religious and cultural expression in Tibet — which China invaded in 1950 and now controls — and human rights violations. 

Uyghurs also rallied in Paris, seeking to draw attention to the abuses their families and friends have suffered in the far-western region of Xinjiang, including mass arbitrary detentions in prisons. The United States and some Western parliaments have identified China’s persecution of the Uyghurs as a genocide and crimes against humanity.

The protesters were joined by Chinese, Taiwanese, Mongolian and Vietnamese human rights activists as well as Hong Kong pro-democracy supporters.

“Under Xi Jinping’s rule, the situation in Tibet has gone from bad to worse,” Tenzin Yangzom, campaigns coordinator at International Tibet Network, said in a statement. 

“Today, we confronted Xi with our message that his time is up and Tibet will be free as he was forced to drive under our banner and Tibetan flags,” she said. “President Macron and European leaders should not be rolling out the red carpet for a man guilty of genocide.”

More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in the city's Place de la République on May 5, displaying Tibetan flags and placards in French, calling for an end to repression inside Tibet, the release of Tibetan prisoners and a stop to China’s construction of dams in the region. 

As street performers depicted the dismal human rights situation inside Tibet, they then marched to the Place de la Bastille, where they remained for over four hours. 

Within Xi’s sight, Tibetan activists waved Tibetan national flags — an action banned in Tibet by the Chinese government and punishable by arrest, Students for a Free Tibet said in a statement. 

French politicians

Even French politicians got into the act, calling on Macron to raise the Tibet issue with Xi in a letter signed by 14 senators on May 2. 

“The resumption of Sino-Tibetan dialogue and respect for the rights of the Tibetan people must be at the heart of the French strategy vis-à-vis China,” the letter said, in a reference to the Chinese government’s cutoff of talks in 2010 between Beijing and the Dalai Lama on genuine autonomy for Tibetans.

Uyghurs gathered at Madeleine Square, close to the French president’s residence, to show their opposition to Xi, said Dilnur Ryhan, president of the European Uyghur Institute.

Some pro-China activists holding Chinese flags attacked the group in three waves, one after the other, while Chinese agents wearing dark sunglasses were positioned around the square, closely monitoring their activities, she said.

Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur detained in “re-education” camps for two years but who now lives in France, urged Macron to address the plight of those still detained in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses there.

Not all agree

Anti-Xi activists from China also participated in the protests, including one who identified himself as Jiang, an artist living in Paris who represents the group Freedom Square.

Jiang said Xi Jinping’s views and actions do not have the support of all Chinese, including his “ethnic cleansing” of Tibetans, his comprehensive surveillance of Chinese citizens, aggression towards Taiwan and suppression of Hong Kong. 

“These views are actually different from ours,” he said. “We want to convey to the outside world that China does not only have one voice, and Xi Jinping does not represent us." 

Xi is a dictator, said Liu Feilong, a Chinese dissident who lives in the Netherlands, who decided to go to Paris and participate in the demonstrations after seeing protest announcements on social media.

“Xi Jinping not only harms people living in China, but also infiltrates democratic countries in Europe and America, posing a serious threat to universal values,” he said. “I escaped from China for freedom and found the freedom I wanted in the Netherlands, so I should also defend freedom and universal values.”

After France, Xi will visit Serbia and Hungary — two European countries that are shifting towards authoritarianism and are big beneficiaries of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to connect China with other nations. 

It includes plans for a Budapest-Belgrade high-speed railway financed mainly by China to transport Chinese goods from the Greek port of Piraeus into Europe. 

With reporting by RFA Tibetan, RFA Uyghur and Kitty Wang of RFA Mandarin. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Roseanne Gerin for RFA.

The tweet has received more than 1.2 lakh views and has gone viral.

The video was also shared on Facebook.

Fact Check

By reverse searching one of the key-frames of the viral video, Alt News came across an Instagram post by Aware India, an NGO that works on women’s empowerment. The caption of the video, written in Tamil, mentions a boarding school of the Kalvarayan tribe in Tamil Nadu and the name of writer Geetha Ilangovan.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by AWARE India (@awareindia2020)

Geetha Ilangovan is the author of the book ‘Dupatta Podunga Thozhi’ (Put on a Scarf, My Friend), a collection of 30 essays. When Alt News reached out to her, she told us about a campaign undertaken by Aware India to reach out to rural tribal young girls and women of Tamil Nadu and educate them about feminism and body positivity. She added that child marriage was prevalent in Tamil Nadu and the state government, along with various NGOs, was trying to educate girls about the ills of it.

“Recently, several books of contemporary Tamil feminist literature were distributed among students in schools across Tamil Nadu. My book was one of them. When I arrived at this specific school in Kallakurichi of Tamil Nadu, the children were excited to welcome me. They did so by discarding their dupattas out of the windows, as a  symbolic gesture of fighting sexism,” Geetha said, adding, “this had nothing to do with any sort of protest against North Indian attire or anything like that.”

The author also informed us that a three-day camp was being held at the school and she visited it on the second day. On Day 1, author Nivedita Louis had interacted with the students and it was there that the idea of welcoming Geetha by flinging the dupattas originated.

“When Nivedita asked them what books they had read, they mentioned my book, Dupatta Podunga Thozhi. They said they had could related to it because they also found that their family and people around them would force them to wear a dupatta. Then Nivedita suggested that when I would there the following day, they could throw down their scarves to welcome me. It was discussed in a lighthearted manner, but the girls fancied the idea and actually did it,” Geetha told Alt News.

We noticed that The Quint posted the video on its YouTube channel and and said that the students had thrown their scarves away to greet the author. The author (clad in yellow) can be seen waving at the students expressing her amusement at the gesture.

In an article titled ‘Off With the Dupattas: Why TN Tribal Students Discarded Scarves To Beat Sexism‘, The Quint said, “On 13 March, a school in Kallakurichi of Tamil Nadu witnessed an unusual event, visuals of which have now gone viral – girl students of eight schools discarded their dupattas from atop a three-storied building to greet a woman author, Geeta Ilangovan.” It adds, “The author… was surprised to see scarves of different hues being flung down from the building as the students mouthed a collective greeting – ‘Hi’. The gesture harboured both cultural and gender connotations, Ilangovan said.”

Therefore, the claim by Ashok Swain about young girls in Tamil Nadu protesting against ‘North Indian and patriarchal’ school uniform by throwing scarves out of their classrooms is false. They were actually greeting author Geetha Ilangovan at their school.

Vansh Shah is an intern with Alt News.

The post Video of TN girls throwing down scarves to greet author viral with misleading claim appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Vansh Shah.

Radio Free Asia sampled and translated comments on Twitter and other social media, including tweets sent in reply to a request for thoughts on the 96-year-old Jiang’s legacy. Twitter and other U.S. media platforms are blocked in China but some people skirt the ban with VPNs.

Jiang Zemin has just passed away. Shouldn’t be relevant news in 2022, but it is. - Phillip Wong @Tetracarbon

Jiang Zemin implemented many policies in Tibet that destroyed Tibetan culture and Religion. - A Tibetan in Spain

I don't want to mourn you, Jiang. - A Tibetan Netizen

When he went up, there were a lot of people on the street; when he left, there were still a lot of people on the street. - Keypad @XiaoJianpan624

A considerable number of people miss the opening up and development in the 1990s. - ruby@XiaoJianpan624

The dictator who came up after drinking 6.4 blood imprisoned good people like his predecessor Zhao Ziyang to death. - youlinhui @wuhua595

Going to hell, too, in my opinion. - youlinhui @wuhua595

Objectively speaking, he promoted reform and opening up, took the market economy route, joined the WTO, and opened up the most opportunities for all. An age of opportunity! - Martian @ChanHannah4

From a historical point of view, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the era of Jiang Zemin is the golden age of China. If the rule of law had been strengthened, it would have been an era that met the expectations of the people. - Old week @HYnZlxwWoIr05wo

A friend pointed out that when HK govt turned their website grayscale for Jiang Zemin they accidentally turned it into the Black Bauhinia flag. Ah the self own - Xun-ling Au @XunlingAu

They miss a happy face on the #CCP #JiangZemin made nice with the world and smoothed the ruffles feathers after the #TiananmenMassacre He brought back #HongKong under a treaty broken by #XiJinping . #Taiwan beware you're next. - Jonny@jonnytheheat

Millions of them, with their organs harvested, when they were still alive... in the eye of some western politicians, biz men, they call it "complicated." keep in mind, when you dance w/ Hitler, Jiang Zemin, Xitler...you are vibrating w/ evil, and it will drag you to hell… - SoaringEagle @GaryJWater

Former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, who ordered the persecution and forced organ harvesting of millions of religious and ethnic minorities in China, passed away today from multiple organ failure. - Debbie Grimmer @DebbieGrimmer

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA.

"Mr. President, this is apartheid."

That's the message that U.S. President Joe Biden will see on billboards and digital screens as he travels through parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) this week—the opening leg of his first trip to the Middle East since taking office.

Prominent Israeli human rights group B'Tselem—which released an exhaustive report last year detailing how Israel is an anti-democratic "apartheid regime" whose policies impose Jewish supremacy over Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea—put up the banners in the occupied West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah ahead of Biden's Wednesday afternoon arrival in Tel Aviv to protest Washington's unconditional support for such brutal inequality.

Without $3.8 billion in annual military aid from the United States, B'Tselem said in a statement, "Israel would not have been able to politically, geographically, and demographically reengineer the area under its control; to impose military rule over millions of subjects and deny them rights for 55 years; to annex East Jerusalem to its sovereign territory; or to systematically discriminate against its Palestinian citizens."

"When the U.S. stops backing Israel's apartheid—it will end," the group tweeted.

"When the U.S. stops backing Israel's apartheid—it will end."

Soon after landing in Tel Aviv, Biden reiterated Washington's "unshakeable commitment" to Israel.

Jewish Voice for Peace Action has launched a petition addressed to the president calling for "an end to U.S. military funding for Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and an end to your administration's shielding of the Israeli government from accountability in the international arena."

Following the publication of B'Tselem's well-documented analysis of Israeli apartheid, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International—two of the world's leading human rights organizations—corroborated its findings in groundbreaking reports of their own, and Palestinian groups have long made the case that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid.

"The human rights community has reached an updated consensus, shared across the board by Palestinian, Israeli, and international organizations, that this reality constitutes apartheid," B'Tselem executive director Hagai El-Ad said Wednesday. "One U.S. administration after another has continued to back Israel with international support and immunity, allowing it to violate human rights without demanding accountability."

"The U.S. must acknowledge that the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is governed by an apartheid regime, and change its attitude to Israel accordingly," said El-Ad. "When the attitude changes—so will the regime."

In addition to drawing attention to Israeli apartheid, B'Tselem also unveiled a digital screen demanding justice for slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh—a demand that was echoed by Palestinian journalists.

Abu Akleh, a world-renowned Al Jazeera reporter, was shot dead on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. Although investigations by the United Nations Human Rights Office, B'Tselem, and numerous newspapers have found that Israeli soldiers fired the bullets that killed Abu Akleh, the Biden administration has sought to downplay wrongdoing while refusing to conduct its own criminal probe.

During his roughly 48-hour visit to Israel and the OPT, Biden is scheduled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid before sitting down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on Friday.

In an opinion piece published Wednesday by +972 Magazine, El-Ad wrote that Biden "will not see the more than 1,000 Palestinians of Masafer Yatta slated for forced transfer by the Israel he is so committed to supporting—the very state whose highest court greenlit the war crime of expelling these communities by using the groundless excuse of turning their land into a military training area."

"The olive trees and the modest fields do not care that the Biden administration refuses to name Israel's policies in this part of the occupied West Bank as a war crime, nor do the residents of Masafer Yatta expect the White House to lift a finger to help them," wrote El-Ad. "But why shouldn't the Biden administration, at the very least, take its thumb off the scales?"

"There is no parity of power between Israel and the Palestinians," El-Ad continued. "These are not two equal sides. Can America, at least, stop tipping the scales in favor of the side that already has everything going its way against those who are trying to make a living out of dust and empty skies?"

During Biden's visit, U.S. Jews held a demonstration outside the White House to demand that Biden halt the violent dispossession of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta.

The next stop on Biden's tour is Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to try to persuade Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost global oil supplies to ease the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine without appearing to embrace an autocrat accused of numerous human rights violations, including authorizing the grisly execution of Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi and bombing Yemen with U.S. weapons.

A coalition of peace groups including CodePink, Hands Off Yemen, and World Beyond War denounced Biden's decision to meet with Israeli and Saudi leaders, writing Wednesday in a joint statement:

We stand firmly against the occupation of Palestine, the blockade and war on Yemen, as well as Saudi Arabia and Israeli occupation forces' blatant attacks on free press. We condemn the Biden administration's ongoing collaboration with two of the most egregious sponsors of state violence in the world. With this visit, this administration has once again demonstrated its commitment to U.S. military and economic dominance over all other objectives.

Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, argued that "President Biden must seize this opportunity to prioritize the advancement of human rights over short-term interests, and make clear that there can be no double standards when it comes to promoting human rights."

"If the U.S. continues on its current course," he added, "it will only embolden abusive governments to further silence dissenting voices, oppress minorities, and ruthlessly crush the rights of millions of people in the region."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Kenny Stancil.

"Mr. President, this is apartheid."

That's the message that U.S. President Joe Biden will see on billboards and digital screens as he travels through parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) this week—the opening leg of his first trip to the Middle East since taking office.

Prominent Israeli human rights group B'Tselem—which released an exhaustive report last year detailing how Israel is an anti-democratic "apartheid regime" whose policies impose Jewish supremacy over Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea—put up the banners in the occupied West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah ahead of Biden's Wednesday afternoon arrival in Tel Aviv to protest Washington's unconditional support for such brutal inequality.

Without $3.8 billion in annual military aid from the United States, B'Tselem said in a statement, "Israel would not have been able to politically, geographically, and demographically reengineer the area under its control; to impose military rule over millions of subjects and deny them rights for 55 years; to annex East Jerusalem to its sovereign territory; or to systematically discriminate against its Palestinian citizens."

"When the U.S. stops backing Israel's apartheid—it will end," the group tweeted.

"When the U.S. stops backing Israel's apartheid—it will end."

Soon after landing in Tel Aviv, Biden reiterated Washington's "unshakeable commitment" to Israel.

Jewish Voice for Peace Action has launched a petition addressed to the president calling for "an end to U.S. military funding for Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and an end to your administration's shielding of the Israeli government from accountability in the international arena."

Following the publication of B'Tselem's well-documented analysis of Israeli apartheid, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International—two of the world's leading human rights organizations—corroborated its findings in groundbreaking reports of their own, and Palestinian groups have long made the case that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid.

"The human rights community has reached an updated consensus, shared across the board by Palestinian, Israeli, and international organizations, that this reality constitutes apartheid," B'Tselem executive director Hagai El-Ad said Wednesday. "One U.S. administration after another has continued to back Israel with international support and immunity, allowing it to violate human rights without demanding accountability."

"The U.S. must acknowledge that the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is governed by an apartheid regime, and change its attitude to Israel accordingly," said El-Ad. "When the attitude changes—so will the regime."

In addition to drawing attention to Israeli apartheid, B'Tselem also unveiled a digital screen demanding justice for slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh—a demand that was echoed by Palestinian journalists.

Abu Akleh, a world-renowned Al Jazeera reporter, was shot dead on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. Although investigations by the United Nations Human Rights Office, B'Tselem, and numerous newspapers have found that Israeli soldiers fired the bullets that killed Abu Akleh, the Biden administration has sought to downplay wrongdoing while refusing to conduct its own criminal probe.

During his roughly 48-hour visit to Israel and the OPT, Biden is scheduled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid before sitting down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on Friday.

In an opinion piece published Wednesday by +972 Magazine, El-Ad wrote that Biden "will not see the more than 1,000 Palestinians of Masafer Yatta slated for forced transfer by the Israel he is so committed to supporting—the very state whose highest court greenlit the war crime of expelling these communities by using the groundless excuse of turning their land into a military training area."

"The olive trees and the modest fields do not care that the Biden administration refuses to name Israel's policies in this part of the occupied West Bank as a war crime, nor do the residents of Masafer Yatta expect the White House to lift a finger to help them," wrote El-Ad. "But why shouldn't the Biden administration, at the very least, take its thumb off the scales?"

"There is no parity of power between Israel and the Palestinians," El-Ad continued. "These are not two equal sides. Can America, at least, stop tipping the scales in favor of the side that already has everything going its way against those who are trying to make a living out of dust and empty skies?"

During Biden's visit, U.S. Jews held a demonstration outside the White House to demand that Biden halt the violent dispossession of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta.

The next stop on Biden's tour is Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to try to persuade Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost global oil supplies to ease the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine without appearing to embrace an autocrat accused of numerous human rights violations, including authorizing the grisly execution of Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi and bombing Yemen with U.S. weapons.

A coalition of peace groups including CodePink, Hands Off Yemen, and World Beyond War denounced Biden's decision to meet with Israeli and Saudi leaders, writing Wednesday in a joint statement:

We stand firmly against the occupation of Palestine, the blockade and war on Yemen, as well as Saudi Arabia and Israeli occupation forces' blatant attacks on free press. We condemn the Biden administration's ongoing collaboration with two of the most egregious sponsors of state violence in the world. With this visit, this administration has once again demonstrated its commitment to U.S. military and economic dominance over all other objectives.

Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, argued that "President Biden must seize this opportunity to prioritize the advancement of human rights over short-term interests, and make clear that there can be no double standards when it comes to promoting human rights."

"If the U.S. continues on its current course," he added, "it will only embolden abusive governments to further silence dissenting voices, oppress minorities, and ruthlessly crush the rights of millions of people in the region."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Kenny Stancil.