GEORGIA COURT RULES ANTI-BDS LEGISLATION UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A federal court in the US state of Georgia ruled that a law created to discourage the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was in violation of the First Amendment, making Georgia the fifth state to have such legislation struck down after Kansas, Arizona, Texas and Arkansas. In a ruling issued on May 21, District Court Judge Mark Cohen rejected efforts by Georgia officials to dismiss a lawsuit from Abby Martin, a journalist who has uncovered human rights abuses at the hands of the Israeli government. In his 29-page order, Judge Mark Cohen ruled that the University System of Georgia violated Martin’s constitutional rights when it cancelled her speaking engagement on a college campus because she refused to sign a state-mandated oath pledging not to engage in boycotts of Israel.
Meanwhile, United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) became the first public school educators union in the United States to heed Palestinian civil society and endorse the movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.
BOSNIAK LEADER SAYS HIS COUNTRY DOES NOT SUPPORT ISRAEL
A Bosniak member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Presidential Council on May 16 reacted to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu’s tweet thanking nations for supporting Israel against Palestine, saying his country does not support the killing of innocent civilians. “My message to [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu is that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not and cannot support the killings of innocent civilians in Gaza by Israeli military forces,” Sefik Dzaferovic wrote on Facebook. Bisera Turkovic, the country’s foreign minister, also rejected the Israeli premier’s tweet. “Bosnia and Herzegovina supports a just solution between Palestine and Israel, no attack will lead to peace and stability,” she said in a statement. “We call for an immediate end to the attacks … only negotiations can bring about lasting peace. We also support initiatives that would help stop the wave of violence.”
ABDUL HADI URGES MUSLIM COUNTRIES TO HELP PALESTINIAN CAUSE
The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who is also the President of PAS, the Islamic Party of Malaysia, hopes that Muslim countries will proactively support the Palestinian struggle in defending its sovereignty and to oppose the Israeli Zionist regime. He said in the current situation, the Muslim community the world over should support the uprising of a united Palestinian people, not only throughout Palestine but also in Israel. “Palestinian Arabs, both Muslims and Christians alike, have risen. We are very happy that the Arab people around Palestine have been supporting the move with strong enthusiasm. “Israeli Zionists have erred in steps such as mengusik sarang tebuan (poking a hornet’s nest) by invading the Sheikh Jarrah area, expelling Palestinians from their homes to be inhabited by Jewish immigrants, as well as invading Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.
MALAYSIA MUST PLAY PROACTIVE INTERMEDIARY ROLE IN OIC
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is in a precarious period. The recent attack by the Israeli Defence Forces on one of Islam’s holiest sites, Al-Aqsa, has only deepened the question mark on its existence, as such. Now, the OIC is divided into two blocs. The Saudis and GCC countries like the UAE and Bahrain are on one side and Iran and Turkey on the other. Therefore, it is left to Muslim countries in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, to play intermediary roles in uniting almost 1.9 billion Muslims around the world. Malaysia, particularly, has a remarkable standing within the Muslim world and it can play a leading role in making OIC meaningful and useful and keep it from becoming a dead horse, which it appears to by leading towards.
CONCERN OVER AUSTRALIAN GOVT’S BIAS TOWARDS ISRAEL
The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison’s comments that, “Israel unquestionably has the right to defend itself and its people, unquestionably,” has raised concern among Muslim community leaders and Palestine advocacy groups of the pro-Israel policy of the current Australian government amid relentless bombardment by Israel that UN says is ‘Hell on Earth’ for the lives of children in Gaza. Israeli warplanes have carried out 1,810 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 279 people including 69 children with 2,000 wounded inflicting more than $323 million of damage and destroying at least 1,335 homes, 184 residential towers and office buildings, 66 schools and primary healthcare clinics and 33 media institutions, displacing more than 72,000 Palestinians so far.
SECOND IMAM MURDERED THIS MONTH IN CONGO
An imam was assassinated in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a military state of siege has been in effect to allow security forces to fight armed groups in the region. Sheikh Djamali Moussa, a known imam in the territory of Beni, North Kivu province, was killed by an unidentified commando in Mavivi, 15 km (9.3 miles) from the city of Beni. The incident took place while the victim was returning to his home in the evening. It is the second murder of an imam in less than one month in Beni. On May 1, Sheikh Ali Amin, the top imam in Beni, was killed while leading prayer in the Mupanda mosque. It was in the middle of Ramadan. Moussa was the representative of civil society in Mavivi. The imams were best known for their regular alerts on the movement of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters in the region.
CHINA TARGETS MUSLIM WOMEN TO SUPPRESS BIRTHS IN XINJIANG
In most of China, women are being urged to have more babies to shore up a falling birth-rate. But in Xinjiang, they are being forced to have fewer. China’s government ordered women in her mostly Muslim community in the region of Xinjiang to be fitted with contraceptive devices. They are brought to government clinics where doctors, using a metal speculum, insert an intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy. Birth-rates in the region have already plunged in recent years as the use of invasive birth control procedures has risen.
AUSTRALIA’S MAINSTREAM MEDIA PERPETUATING ISLAMOPHOBIA
A new study from All Together Now (ATN), an Australian not-for-profit organisation promoting racial equity, found comment sections on racialised opinion pieces in Australia’s mainstream media are increasingly polarising readers and perpetuating Islamophobia. The report titled Politely Racist explores online reader comments in response to negatively racialised opinion pieces about Muslim people and unravels the role played by comment sections in perpetuating, normalising and consolidating racist ideas. From September 2020 to January 2021, ATN analysed comments posted by readers responding to 29 articles that contained negative opinions about Muslim Australians in three leading newspapers: The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and The Sydney Morning Herald.
SA FILM FESTIVAL BOYCOTTS ISRAEL PRODUCTIONS IN SUPPORT OF GAZA
The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) decided to boycott Israeli cinematic productions, in protest against the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip and the continuing violation of Palestinian rights. DIFF declined the participation of Director Yakie Ayalon with his documentary “Eretz Go”, which recounts the journey of an immigrant family from Nigeria to Israel. Ayalon received an email from the organising committee stating that the festival is committed to boycotting Israel, based on its belief in social justice and the value of human rights and dignity. The DIFF organising committee said: “We will not be presenting any films made by Israeli directors during the Durban International Film Festival as long as the rights of Palestinians continue to be repressed by the Israeli government,” adding that they had once lived through a similar apartheid system in South Africa.