International

Pompeo: US to recognize the BDS movement as antisemitic

Published

3 years ago

November 19, 2020

Staff Writer

Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced Thursday that the US will recognize the BDS movement as antisemitic.

BDS (The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel. The movement was started in 2005 and its ultimate goal is to eliminate Israel.

Pompeo met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and said that he wants to join with all the other nations that “recognize BDS for the cancer that it is.”

Pompeo later released a statement that said the US “strongly opposes the global discriminatory boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign and practices that facilitate it, such as discriminatory labeling and the publication of databases of companies that operate in Israel or Israeli-controlled areas.”

He added that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism.”

The US will deny government support to groups that participate in the movement and the State Department will review its funds to make sure none are going to entities that support the BDS campaign, including foreign aid funding.

Netanyahu said the decision is “simply wonderful.”

Moreover, Netanyahu said that the partnership between Israel and the US in recent years is evidence that “the United States has no better friend than the State of Israel and Israel has no better friend in the world than the United States of America.”

The Prime <inister thanked President Donald Trump for recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights, leaving the Iran nuclear deal, putting “crippling sanctions” on Iran, killing Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, and for putting forward “the first truly realistic plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and for helping Israel forge peace with three Arab countries.”

“We are deeply grateful for all President Trump has done to strengthen Israel and advance peace,” Netanyahu said. “We are grateful for your unwavering support.”

International

Mental health crisis spikes among Afghan women after Taliban regained control two years ago

Published

22 hours ago

September 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The women of Afghanistan are suffering a mental health crisis since the Taliban regained power two years ago. According to a joint report from three U.N. agencies released Tuesday, approximately 70% of women experience feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression.

The numbers continue to rise, as there has already been a significant jump between April and June of this year alone, with an increase from 57% the preceding quarter.

The report, conducted by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, interviewed women online, in-person and in group consultations as well as individual telesurveys.

592 Afghan women in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces took part in the study. The Associated Press reports:

They have barred women from most areas of public life and work and banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade. They have prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. The ban was extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

Opportunities to study continued to shrink as community-based education by international organizations was banned and home-based schooling initiatives were regularly shut down by the de facto authorities — a term use by the U.N. for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education and the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report also served as a vessel for Afghan women to send a message to the rest of the world: do not validate the Taliban government. Forty-six percent of women said international recognition of the Taliban government should not happen under any circumstances, while 50% warned that recognition should only occur under specific conditions contingent on improving women’s rights.

The report notes that the women expressed concern that recognition would only encourage the Taliban government to continue becoming stricter in their policies and practices against women and girls.

Afghan women had specific ideas and suggestions: they “urged the international community to continue political and economic sanctions against the Taliban, including by not granting exemptions to a travel ban. They urged an increase in engagement with the Taliban on gender equality and women’s rights, including by engaging community and religious leaders in awareness and advocacy efforts” writes the Associated Press.