News and Analysis (2/18/21)

In a “warm conversation” with Netanyahu, Biden supports Trump’s normalization policies and commends Netanyahu’s Coronavirus policies …

• Biden and Netanyahu Talk Iran, U.S.-Israel Alliance (Politico)

… and Biden is accused of downplaying human rights violations at Xinjiang’s camps for saying, after BBC reports highlighting systematic rape and torture, “Culturally, there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow…”:

• Biden Takes Heat After Calling Uighur Muslim Genocide ‘Different Norm’ (Daily Sabah)

Amnesty International criticized Iran’s prison system treatment after Hadi Rostami, received lashes and an extended sentence after attempting suicide:

• Amnesty Slams ‘Inhumanity of Iran’s Criminal Justice System’ (Arab News)

As Muslim voter-turnout increases in New York City, Andrew Yang receives backlash for skipping a forum sponsored by Muslim groups for a podcast with Sam Harris who has history of anti-Islamic views:

• Yang Takes Hit for Interview with ‘Islamophobe’ While Skipping Muslim-Sponsored Forum (NY Daily News)
• New York Muslim Groups Organize to Turn Out Voters in Upcoming Local Elections (Bklyner)

The Muslim community in Buffalo complains of the lack of halal options in their public school system and fear students “will go throughout the school day hungry, hindering their learning”:

• Muslim Community Center Pushes for Halal Foods in Buffalo Public Schools (WKBW-TV)

“What Yazidis requested is already a recognised right for Jewish, Christian, and Druze religious minorities in the country”:

• Syria Lists Yazidis as a Muslim Sect. Outraged, They Say Otherwise (TRT World)

“The case unraveled and the charges were dropped after prosecutors revealed their inadequate disclosures to the defense, including when a prosecutor suggested that the government ‘bury’ a key exculpatory document”:

• NY Judge: No Proof U.S. Prosecutors Knowingly Hid Evidence in Iran Sanctions Case, Despite Misconduct (Reuters)

Muslims sometimes sidestepped the sparsity of Muslim cemeteries in Italy by shipping bodies to their home country, but Covid has made that impossible:

• In Naples, Muslim Families Struggle to Bury Coronavirus Victims (Aljazeera)

A Palestinian court decision and an Iranian travel ban that limit the freedom of travel of grown women demonstrate how Islamic law intended to protect women from danger can be perverted into denial of their fundamental rights:

• Palestine Court Restricts Travel for Unmarried Women, Children (Jurist)
• Husband of Iran’s Ski Coach Bars Her from Leaving Country (NBC Sports)

“The ICC’s affirmation of jurisdiction in the occupied Palestinian territory promises a protracted process, at best”:

• The ICC in Palestine: Reasons to Withhold Hope (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Johaer Jilani