News and Analysis (4/18/20)

Forget fake news about coronavirus being invented in a weapons lab; the real news is how Israel is weaponizing the virus …

• Israel Shuts Palestinian Coronavirus Testing Clinic in East Jerusalem (Haaretz)
• Israel Trading in Ventilators for Helpless Gazans Is Inhumane (Haaretz)
• Bio-Terror: Zombie Israeli Squatters with Covid-19 break Quarantine, Assault Palestinians at Close Quarters (Haaretz)

… leaving Palestinians to fight “the coronavirus crisis using familiar tactics from half a century of Israeli military occupation”:

• Palestinians In The West Bank Improvise Checkpoints To Help Fight Coronavirus (NPR / WAMA)

The state denies it is happening, but a doctor reports, “Certain patients from the majority community were not comfortable being in the same ward with patients of the minority community”:

• India Hospital Segregates Muslim and Hindu Coronavirus Patients (Al-Jazeera)

“[J]ournalists, human rights activists and Kurdish politicians languish in prison on terrorism charges. Yet …, Istanbul has become a beacon of safety for persecuted people across the Muslim world”:

• How Istanbul Won Back Its Crown as Heart of the Muslim World (The Guardian)

“Grocery shop owners … donate PPE to health workers, food to the elderly and even Easter eggs to local children.” A customer says, “That man deserves a knighthood”:

• The Scottish Muslim Couple Winning Hearts amid Coronavirus Crisis (Al-Jazeera)

“You don’t ask what I have to say, / but judge what I wear with pride. / I can climb mountains and cross oceans. / My spirit is free from prejudice freedom that Islam gives” — from a poem she wrote, recited at her funeral:

• Nora Illi, Swiss Muslim Convert Who Sparked Controversy, Dies at 35 (NY Times)

Emgage supports Biden despite his snub of their the forum they co-hosted at ISNA’s last annual convention that “left some Muslim leaders feeling that” he was among “the contenders … all but ignoring them”:

• Top Muslim Political Group Backs Biden (Politico)

The coronavirus lockdown in Kashmir has paused neither the Indian aggression or the rebel insurgency:

• 3 Indian Soldiers Killed, 2 Wounded in Kashmir Rebel Attack (NY Times)

Iran partially lifts its lockdown …

• Sanctions-hit Iran Gambles on Partial Covid-19 Lockdown Exit (France 24)

… while Pakistan permits congregational prayers on conditions including that “worshippers would maintain a 6-foot … distance from each other instead of … praying shoulder-to-shoulder”:

• Pakistan Lifts Limit on Mosque Congregations as Muslim Holy Month Approaches (NY Times)

Acquiring combat drones …

• Iran Acquires Three Bomb-Carrying Drones Capable of 900-Mile Range (Daily Beast)

… and aspirating to nuclear subs, Iran explains, “We are at our own home, while they (Americans) have come from the other side of the world and are creating problems for the regional countries with threats and sanctions”:

• Iran Says It Wants Nuclear Subs to Power Up Fleet After U.S. Navy Incident (Newsweek)