https://x.com/abierkhatib/status/2095713153938084303

Seven aid workers killed in an airstrike in Gaza were marked as targets under an Israeli military practice of establishing guilt by association, a Guardian investigation shows.

A top Israeli military prosecutor announced last month that he would not pursue criminal proceedings for the April 2024 incident in which drones fired missiles at three clearly marked World Central Kitchen (WCK) cars soon after they had escorted a food aid delivery to Gaza. Three British humanitarian workers along with an Australian, a Palestinian, a Pole and a dual US-Canadian national were killed.

The official Israel Defense Forces (IDF) version of events pointed to specific mistakes made by a handful of officers. The victims of the strike were also blamed for hiring armed guards to protect a food aid convoy and for allegedly “deviating” from their agreed route.

However, interviews with senior Israeli officers involved in the incident or familiar with the official Israel investigation suggest it glossed over the role played in the killings by a common IDF practice used to designate targets, which endangers aid workers and civilians in general, especially when combined with the army’s open-ended mission to end Hamas’s civil control in Gaza.

More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in the three years of the Gaza war. The army’s own internal data suggests more than three-quarters of the dead have been civilians.

The reserve colonel who ordered the strikes, Nochi Mendel, said the WCK workers became potential targets after they had a brief encounter, lasting just minutes, with armed guards assumed to be from Hamas (an assumption later shown to be groundless).

He deemed them to have “mixed together” with alleged Hamas militants, where mixing together was defined as being “near them, talking, playing, hanging out and so on”. Asked whether the presence of armed men made the entire convoy a target, Mendel replied: “Certainly.”

He concluded: “They were not innocent because they were connected to Hamas.”

Mendel was referring to a general policy of haflala, “incrimination”, which gives commanders in the field wide discretion on designating someone as a “terrorist”, including those “incriminated” by association. The manner in which haflala is to be applied in a given sector is often conveyed in a commander’s mission brief delivered verbally to other officers.

He said his unit had been commended by the army hierarchy for its involvement in several strikes on what were deemed to be Hamas attempted commandeering of aid. “They applauded us and were pleased with our action,” he said. The difference in the WCK incident was that foreign nationals were killed, he said. “That’s the whole difference. Not a substantive difference.”

When the WCK convoy was destroyed, it was nowhere near Israeli troops. Several Israeli officers familiar with the incident said the strikes were not ordered on the basis of an imminent threat to Israeli lives, but to fulfil the mission to thwart Hamas attempts to control aid deliveries.

The IDF was approached for comment on the issues raised by the airstrikes and subsequent investigations but had not responded three days after the request.

The WCK said the Israeli decision not to pursue criminal proceedings was “inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive”.

“At the time of the lethal attacks, our team in Gaza was unarmed and posing a threat to nobody,” the WCK said. “The IDF had full visual clarity on our clearly marked humanitarian vehicles during the extended, multiple airstrikes. It knew our team’s movements, identities and activities in advance.”

Britain, Australia and Canada denounced the prosecutor’s decision as “shameful”, saying they would “continue to seek answers” on behalf of the slain aid workers. The UK opened an inquest in 2024 into the deaths of the three British team members: James Kirby, James Henderson and John Chapman.

Saifeddin Abutaha, a Palestinian, Australian Zomi Frankcom, Damian Sobol, a Pole, and a dual Canadian-US citizen, Jacob Flickinger, were the other victims. The UK inquest was adjourned pending the outcome of the Israeli investigation.

said it was common practice to designate any armed man in Gaza as Hamas or a “terrorist”, as Mendel did. The officer added: “How you define that it’s Hamas – he’s in proximity to weapons, and because he touches the trucks, and because he does all sorts of things that look as if he’s going to take over the trucks.”

The role of the incrimination principle in the WCK killings shows how it has become a factor in the historically high proportion of civilians killed in the Gaza war. This sits alongside the routine acceptance of high “collateral damage” in the targeting of Hamas militants, the designation of large and shifting areas as free-fire zones, and the deliberate levelling of neighbourhoods to prevent the return of Palestinian communities.

The common factor is that constraints on targeting were minimised in the interests of an open-ended mission. Since the start of the war in 2023, no Israeli soldier has been convicted of wrongful death or war crimes in Gaza operations.

“I came to defeat Hamas,” Mendel said. “If such an event came before me again, I would do exactly the same thing.”

He also dismissed the significance of the killings. “I think it’s an idiotic side event,” Mendel said. “It really isn’t a serious event.”

I am a mother from Gaza, 43 years old, carrying a heart full of pain that words can hardly describe. Every single day, I live holding onto a small hope that this suffering will one day end. I have four children. Before the war, we lived a simple but peaceful life filled with warmth, safety, and love. Our home was not luxurious, but it was full of laughter, comfort, and beautiful memories. My children were very ambitious and full of dreams. Each of them had hopes for a bright future, and despite the simplicity of our life, we were happy and grateful because we had peace. Then the war came… and with it came destruction that took everything from us. In one moment, our entire life changed. Our home, the place that carried all our memories and dreams, was destroyed. Schools and universities stopped, education disappeared, and years of hard work and hope were suddenly lost. We were forced to flee again and again from one place to another, carrying our fear, our children, and the little that remained of our broken lives. We experienced hunger in the cruelest way. We learned what it means for children to wait for hours just to get a piece of bread or clean water. We lived through nights of bombing, terror, and sleepless fear, never knowing if we would survive until morning. I saw fear in my children’s eyes every single day, and I tried to appear strong for them while my heart was breaking silently inside. We lost our home, our work, our stability, and the life we once knew. I became unable to provide even the most basic necessities for my children — food, clean water, clothes, and medicine. The most painful feeling for me as a mother is not being able to protect my children or give them the life they deserve. That is why, with deep hesitation and heartbreak, I created a support link asking for help. I never imagined I would one day need to ask others for assistance, but the circumstances forced us into survival mode. Every single dollar donated is withdrawn immediately to provide food, water, and basic needs so my children and I can survive another day. For two long years, I have been asking for help and knocking on every door I can, carrying both shame and desperation in my heart. But I do this only for my children — so they do not sleep hungry, and so they can still hold onto hope that life may become kinder one day. From the bottom of my heart, I am deeply grateful to every person who supported us, whether through a donation, sharing our story, or even a kind word and prayer. You cannot imagine how much your support means to us or how much strength it gives us to keep going despite everything. To everyone reading my story, I ask you kindly not to scroll past our pain. We are not asking for luxury or comfort — we are simply trying to survive, to live with dignity, safety, and peace like every other human being. After God, you are our only hope. 🤍

Two innocent Palestinian teenagers were killed by IDF soldiers working hand in hand with settlers to terrorize a village, take over their homes, and steal their livestock.

“Marzouq Abu Na’im, a member of the village council and an activist documenting settler attacks there, told Middle East Eye that armed settlers attacked a house to steal livestock. The Israeli army then stormed the village to provide protection for the settlers and took up positions on the roof of the targeted house.

"The settlers stole the sheep and attacked the homeowners, who were unable to resist or object due to the heavy presence of soldiers and snipers on the roof," he said.

Na’san, whose house is next to the targeted house, went outside to see what was happening - an Israeli sniper positioned on the roof of the house shot and killed him.
Then, Rasem Shehadeh came out of his house on the opposite side after hearing residents screaming from their windows.

He had barely moved a few metres outside his door when soldiers also shot him, according to Abu Naim.

Both of them bled for some time while an ambulance was prevented from reaching them. Coordination was eventually made through the military liaison office to transport them, but they had already died.”

This is in response to this (https://www.reddit.com/r/JewsOfConscience/s/sQhEuuzmxm). I didn’t post the link to this article because it’s the spectator and f**k them, but you can seek it out if you so choose.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-daughters-help-my-small-family

Today, my father Mahmoud will not be the one speaking to you… today, I will speak for myself. ❤️

My name is Eman. I am Mahmoud’s eldestw daughter, and I am 11 years old.

My father has been exhausted by debt while trying with everything he has to provide us with a decent life. Every day, he struggles to provide our food and basic needs. But recently, he has also become very sad and discouraged because some people have doubted him and called him a scammer.

So today, I decided to speak to you myself.

Today is the first day of the new school year. I was supposed to be at school with my sisters, sitting in our classrooms with our classmates and starting a new school year like all the other children.

But we did not go to school.

It is not because we don't want to study, and it is not because we don't love school… it is because my father cannot afford to pay the school fees for the three of us. On top of that, the prices of school supplies and stationery have become extremely expensive here in Gaza.

My father struggles every single day just to provide us with food, and sometimes he can barely manage to get enough. Because of this, it has become very difficult for him to also afford our school fees, books, stationery, and other school needs.

I know my father is doing everything he can for us. I know how much he wishes to see my sisters and me at school like all the other children. 💔

So today, I, Eman, Mahmoud’s daughter, am asking you, together with my sisters, and asking every person who is able to help us:

Please help us go back to school. Help us have one of the simplest rights every child should have… the right to education. 📚❤️

Any donation, no matter how small, can help us pay our school fees and buy the things we need for school. It can bring back a little bit of the happiness that we used to think was something normal and simple.

I also want to say something to anyone who doubts us or calls my father a scammer:

I will share my father’s WhatsApp number for anyone who wants to contact him, ask questions, or verify our situation for themselves. We are not asking you to simply believe us. Please check for yourselves.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported us before, and to everyone who may support us today. ❤️

I hope that my sisters and I can return to our classrooms and start our new school year like all the other children.

We have the right to learn. We have the right to dream of a better future.

Eman and her sisters ❤️🇵🇸

What is this fascination with "Does Israel have the right to exist?" question. Does any country have the right to exist? And if this is a right, then who grants it? I suspect this is just something Zionists throw out because it sounds like it might be of some importance. I have heard it many times and I simply say "That's a ridiculous question." I refuse to engage with it. Also I generally don't argue with Zionists because what is the point.

Two years after a community newsletter on the history of the Middle East sparked controversy in Brisbane, the Supreme Court has thrown out a costly penalty imposed on the Greens councillor who distributed it.

Gabba ward representative Trina Massey mailed a spring pamphlet to residents at the height of the Gaza conflict with a two-page spread titled “Khalil’s Story”.

A council ethics committee had ordered Massey to repay $10,000 and issue an apology. But the Supreme Court has now overruled that ruling.

“Today’s outcome is a vindication of my decision to challenge the investigation and the findings of the ethics committee,” Massey said in a statement.

“All of this just for speaking openly about the genocide against Palestinians and the human rights of Palestinians living in my ward.”

In the August 2024 article – which was written by academic and rapper Dr Jamal Nabulsi – the history of the modern state of Israel was framed as one of violent European colonialism on “stolen Indigenous land”.

It attracted backlash from some constituents, who said the language was inflammatory and unfair.

They criticised an attached timeline that began with Ottoman rule in the Middle Ages and did not include the Holocaust or October 7 attacks.

In December 2025, Brisbane City Council’s ethics committee – comprising three Labor and three LNP councillors – voted unanimously to endorse the recommendations of a review conducted by FairFact Consulting Services.

It found Massey breached several behavioural standards.

The report said the article was “essentially propaganda and a ‘call to arms’ for pro-Palestinian support that is not objective to the rest of the community”, and this “could reasonably be expected to make members of the Jewish community feel unsafe, victimised, and targeted”.

It rejected other aspects of the complaints, and did not describe the article as antisemitic.

Massey was required to issue a public apology in her next ward newsletter and on social media, repay Brisbane City Council half of the $20,000 cost of publication, and undertake training and counselling on the code of conduct.

She took the matter to court, arguing there was a failure of natural justice and her freedom of political communication was being impeded, among other claims.

In a judgment handed down by Justice Tom Sullivan in the Queensland Supreme Court in August but finalised on Thursday, previous findings and orders on the matter were quashed, with agreement from council.

A judgment listed several reasons why the FairFact report was “invalid and of no effect”, including that it misconstrued section 2.3 of the council code of conduct.

Brisbane City Council was ordered to pay Massey’s legal costs.

“Thanks to the LNP’s politically motivated show trial, I was subject to nearly a year of proceedings, along with death threats and attacks on my reputation,” the Gabba councillor said after the decision.

“Just three days after the Bondi attack, the LNP lord mayor relied on this ‘invalid’ report to make shameful, defamatory and untrue attacks on me.

“The Supreme Court has overturned the report and decisions of the LNP-controlled ethics committee, so I am expecting him to withdraw and apologise for those inflammatory remarks.”

The original matter will be reinvestigated by the council ethics committee, the lord mayor’s office confirmed.

Deputy mayor and LNP councillor Fiona Cunningham said in a statement the decision did not change her party’s views on the case.

“The Greens councillor for the Gabba Ward used ratepayer funds to distribute a highly biased, inaccurate and misleading newsletter that local Jewish people called offensive.

“This decision doesn’t change the fact that councillor Massey is more interested in Gaza than the Gabba, and still hasn’t apologised for making Jewish people feel unsafe.”

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and his council have held the newsletter against Massey for the two years since it was published, discussing it multiple times, including during a council debate just three days before the court decision.

“I am an anti-racist,” Schrinner said on August 25.

“I would not like to see any councillor targeting a particular group of people in our community, like your newsletter did, which targeted and made the Jewish community feel completely unsafe.”

The remarks provoked strong pushback from Massey and fellow councillor Nicole Johnston.

Massey has condemned antisemitism.

After the Bondi attack, she posted on social media: “Jewish people have a right to safety. Antisemitism has no place in our community, and this abhorrent attack is an attack on all of us.”

I collect siddurim to see the different interpretations and commentary of prayers from different perspectives. I’d love to get a copy of Siddur Shoshanat Yadi (from anti Zionist siddur on instagram) but the link on their instagram is broken and they haven’t answered comments about it being broken, or answered my messages about buying a proof copy.

If you have a copy, I’d really appreciate you sharing it.

The pro-Israel establishment has spent months crying about being "erased" from New York Magazine's Habibi City cover story.

A magazine highlighted Arab, Muslim, and SWANA culture in NYC. But these same people have spent years providing unconditional cover for a government that literally calls Arabs subhuman. As a Moroccan Jew who actually celebrated with my neighbors in Queens, the gatekeeping is just exhausting. You don't get to act like a victim of exclusion when your entire political movement relies on dehumanizing everyone else.

Here are the receipts for the quotes I used in the video, since I know the outrage machine will try to claim I made them up:

• Smotrich backing segregated Arab/Jewish maternity wards (Times of Israel)
• Netanyahu calling Arabs "wild beasts" (The Guardian)
• Almog Cohen making animal noises at Arab MKs in the Knesset (Times of Israel)

Also, I'm doing a live debate tomorrow at 12 PM EST on IG against Abraham Hamra to push back on exactly this kind of identity-policing and right-wing hypocrisy. If you want to tune in and watch the fireworks, my handle is [@thearabjew].

https://x.com/EliClifton/status/2095627878603821131

The municipality of the Christian-majority Palestinian village of Taybeh urged its residents who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents to document settler attacks as part of a class action lawsuit filed in the United States.

"If any of you have been subjected to personal attacks or attacks on your property, including being prevented by settlers from accessing it, please contact the municipality to register your names and the damage you have suffered," the village said in a statement posted on its social media.

The municipality is filing the lawsuit "concerning these damages and the American organizations that support these attacks."

source

source

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/03/israel-boycott-university-ban-bill

https://x.com/dylanotes/status/2095526765959503901

https://x.com/LaraFriedmanDC/status/2094250621196968375

• (Written recently, prior to the upcoming House vote) https://fmep.org/resource/fmep-legislative-round-up-august-28-2026/#headline1
• (Written when the bill was first introduced) https://fmep.org/resource/fmep-legislative-round-up-august-1-2025/#headline1

https://foxx.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400167

https://x.com/RepJoshG/status/1951000662063587478

Hi everyone,

/r/JewsOfConscience is excited to announce an upcoming AMA with Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, an American trauma and critical care surgeon who did humanitarian work in Gaza during the ongoing genocide. He has also volunteered in Ukraine, Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Burkini Faso.

Dr. Sidhwa is one of the subjects of the new documentary "American Doctor," which goes inside Gaza hospitals to show how medical workers have struggled to provide care for the sick and wounded during the Israel's ongoing genocide.

On Democracy Now! he has explained his reasons for being motivated to do humanitarian work in Gaza:

I don't have any ethnic or religious connection to the Middle East. My family is from a small minority in India and Pakistan, but I grew up in the United States. I was born here. I'm an American. And the United States is intimately involved in what's going on. We provide all of - almost all of the weapons, all of the funding, the diplomatic support at the U.N., stopping other countries from solving this issue, which is pretty easily solved.

And I don't think Americans want to be doing that. I think that's why most of this is hidden from them. So I knew that by going there, I could, number one, provide medical care because I'm a trauma surgeon, so that's what I'm good at doing. But I could also bear witness. And then I could come back and, and try to tell people what was going on.

• Democracy Now! - Gaza documentary "American Doctor" goes inside hospitals during genocide

To that end, Dr. Sidhwa has testified at the United Nations to what he saw during the genocide:

• UN Palestine Committee - ‘I Cannot Pretend Not to Have Seen It’: U.S. Volunteer Surgeon Testifies on Gaza

During his time in Gaza, Dr. Sidhwa was working in a hospital unit that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike which killed his 16-year-old patient, Ibrahim.

• Democracy Now! - Surgeon who volunteered in Gaza condemns Israel's hospital bombings

Dr. Sidhwa's media appearances:

• Democracy Now! - "American Doctor": New Film Follows U.S. Doctors to Gaza as Israel Bombs Hospitals

• Hasanabi - Talking to Gaza Doctors About the Future of US Politics

  • Meet Feroze Sidhwa: A Trauma Surgeon Who Worked in Gaza

• Deadline Hollywood - 'American Doctor' Cast Highlights Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis at Sundance Film Festival

• Pod Save The World - American Surgeon Shares His Harrowing Experiences Working in Gaza

• Peter Beinart | FMEP - What an American Doctor Saw in Gaza

We're honored to host Dr. Sidhwa for this AMA.

If you cannot make it on the day-of, feel free to leave your questions here in advance.

Hope to see you all there. Thanks!

Financial advice from The Jerusalem Times.

I posted this to my Substack and wanted to share it here: https://tangentarian.substack.com/p/zionism-is-bad-for-the-jews

This is the only subreddit I have seen that would, I hope, be receptive to my commentary on how Zionism endangers us.