Category: Human Rights

February 3, 2019

The US Is Orchestrating a Coup in Venezuela

As Venezuela’s second president, Simon Bolivar, noted in the 19th century, the US government continues to “plague Latin America with misery in the name of liberty.” From engineering coups in Chile and Guatemala, to choreographing a troop landing at the Bay of Pigs intended to establish an exile government in Cuba, to training Latin American… Read more »

January 26, 2019

Michelle Alexander Is Right About Israel-Palestine

As a progressive Jew, I find that many of my family members and friends are still what we call “PEP” — progressive except Palestine. Amid ever-worsening injustices created by the Israeli system of apartheid and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, it is past time for this to change. I am hopeful that the firestorm… Read more »

October 31, 2018

Trump Administration Ramps Up Threats Against Iran

The alleged torture, murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, widely believed to have been carried out on orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, may put a crimp in Donald Trump’s plans to escalate his aggression against Iran. Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel are unified in their hatred of Iran, albeit… Read more »

October 20, 2018

Khashoggi’s Murder and Saudi War Crimes in Yemen Were Facilitated by US

The alleged torture, dismemberment and killing of Saudi citizen and US permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul has triggered justifiable outrage throughout the United States and around the world. But amid the outcry over Khashoggi’s death, many media and public figures still fail to acknowledge the war crimes Saudi Arabia is… Read more »

July 25, 2018

Israel Illegally Enshrines Apartheid in Its “Basic Law”

On July 19, 2018, the Israeli Knesset enacted a law that illegally enshrines a system of apartheid. The legislation, which has the force of a constitutional amendment, strips away any pretense that Israel is a democracy. Moreover, it violates customary and treaty-based international law. The “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People” says,… Read more »

July 2, 2018

In Upholding Muslim Ban, the Supreme Court Ignored International Law

The Supreme Court’s opinion in Trump v. Hawaii, affirming Donald Trump’s Muslim ban, allows the United States to act in flagrant violation of international law. Under the guise of deferring to the president on matters of national security, the 5-4 majority disregarded a litany of Trump’s anti-Muslim statements and held that the ban does not… Read more »

April 8, 2018

In Wake of Gaza Massacre, Israeli Leaders Should Be Prosecuted for War Crimes

On March 30, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers shot 773 unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, killing 17 and wounding 1,400. Twenty remain in critical condition. The protesters were marching to demand the internationally mandated right of return of refugees to their cities and villages in what now constitutes Israel. The Israeli leaders who ordered the massacre were… Read more »

October 8, 2017

The Vietnam War is Not History for Victims of Agent Orange

By Marjorie Cohn and Jonathan Moore Watching the Ken Burns-Lynn Novick 18-hour series, “The Vietnam War,” is an emotional experience. Whether you served in the US military during the war or marched in the streets to end it, you cannot remain untouched by this documentary. The battle scenes are powerful, the stories of US veterans… Read more »

June 21, 2017

Trump Takes Aim at Obama’s Détente With Cuba

HAVANA — Making good on his deal with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Florida), President Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to roll back some of the steps Barack Obama took to normalize relations between the United States and Cuba. In 2015, Obama weakened restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and… Read more »

June 8, 2017

Trump’s Climate Withdrawal is an Impeachable Offense

When President Donald Trump began the process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement, he acted in concert with 22 Republican senators, who collectively receive $10,694,284 in contributions from the coal and oil industries. These 22 senators wrote to Trump, asking him to pull out of the accord. The president and the… Read more »