News and Analysis 7/23/21

Backlash to the ice-cream maker’s decision to distinguish between Israel and the territories it occupies has shown that “for many Israelis, the distinction no longer exists”:

• What the Ben & Jerry’s Decision Reveals About Israel (The Atlantic)

Former UN rights chief Navi Pillay will lead an investigation into ‘systematic’ abuses in occupied Palestinian territories and Israel:

• Ex-UN Rights Boss to Head Probe into Israel, Hamas Alleged Crimes (Reuters)

High profile politicians, activists, journalists, as well as their family members in Indian occupied Kashmir were listed as “potential targets” for the Israeli developed spyware program Pegasus…

• Top Kashmiri Leaders, Journalists, Activists Among Potential Pegasus Targets (Deccan Herald)

…as civilian backlash in India against Israel and the Modi establishment rises after the spyware targeted “forty journalists who had previously been harassed and received threats for criticizing PM Narendra Modi”:

• Targeted Indian Journalists Slam Their Gov’t – and Israel – Over NSO Spyware (Haaretz)

When it comes to Muslims, popular language modelling display more artificial bigotry than artificial intelligence:

• Rooting Out Anti-Muslim Bias in Popular Language Model GPT-3 (Stanford)

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei … called on officials to deal with the crisis” rather than blame protesters:

• Iran’s Khamenei: Do Not Blame People Protesting over Water Crisis (Reuters)

146 Palestinians were injured on Friday by Israeli troops “in the West Bank village of Beita” medics said, during protests against an illegal Israeli settlement outpost:

• 146 Palestinians Injured by Israeli Troops in Occupied West Bank (Palestine Chronicle)

The US military carried out two strikes against the Taliban overnight “in support of Afghan forces in the Kandahar province” multiple defense officials said, targeting captured equipment …

• U.S. Strikes Taliban Targets in a Show of Force in Afghanistan (NY Times)

… while Iran’s neighbors’ desires for “friendly ties with Kabul are tested by a desire to engage with the powerful Taliban movement that has retaken much of the country”:

• What Russia, China, Iran Want in Afghanistan when U.S. Troops Leave (Newsweek)

Israel tell its high court, “The Palestinian Authority does not systematically persecute people because of their sexual orientation”:

• Palestinians Accused of Collaboration to Get Israeli Work Permits, but Not LGBTQ Asylum Seekers (Haaretz)

A large Iranian navy ship was spotted by the Danish Defense Ministry in the Baltic Sea and appears to be heading toward Russia, “It is expected that they are on their way to the annual naval parade in St. Petersburg”:

• Iranian Ships that Appeared Headed for Venezuela Are Now in Baltic Sea Approaching Russia (CNN)

Abdullah Khan