The Harvard walkout: ‘Israeli officials will eventually speak to empty venues’ — Middle East Eye (11/15)

On Wednesday, around 100 students staged a dramatic walkout during an event at the Harvard Law School, where Dani Dayan, Israel’s consul-general in New York City, was scheduled to speak.  Just as Dayan was about to begin his address, protesters who had taken up most of the mid-section of the auditorium, stood up, lifted placards that read “Settlements are a war crime”, then turned their backs on Dayan, and walked out in silence. As the venue emptied, Dayan could be heard muttering: “I remember doing this in kindergarten.”  But it was the protesters’ silent action that carried beyond the auditorium. Dayan was left to speak on “The Legal Strategy of Israeli Settlements" to a mostly empty venue. On the internet, a video of the walkout went viral and words of encouragement and congratulations came pouring in for taking a stand and making Dayan uncomfortable.

Another Election, Another War — Mondoweiss (11/14)

Media use of “targeted killing” whitewashes Israeli attacks — Electronic Intifada (11/14)

The “pinpoint” strike or “targeted killing” is back. Mainstream media simply can’t resist such terms even when the wording is clearly misleading. The New York Times described Baha Abu al-Ata, who was killed in an Israeli air strike early Tuesday, as a senior commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Adopting the language of the Israeli army, The Times wrote that “Targeted strikes against militant leaders have led to war before, and Israel has sworn them off in the past.” But this was no “targeted” strike. In the third paragraph, the newspaper of record notes that Asma Abu al-Ata, the commander’s wife, was also killed in the attack on their home in the Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City. Not until the 24th paragraph is it noted that one of Abu al-Ata’s young sons was injured as well. 

No justifying Israel’s bloodshed in Gaza — Electronic Intifada (11/14)

Israel kills 8 members of same family in Gaza — Middle East Monitor (11/14)

Israeli forces kill another young Palestinian man ‘for no reason’ in Hebron refugee camp — Mondoweiss (11/11)

Israeli forces shot and killed a young Palestinian man outside his home today in the al-Arroub refugee camp in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron. Omar al-Badawi, reported to be 22-years-old, was shot in the abdomen near the front steps of his home in the camp during protests commemorating the death of revered Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Eyewitness reports said that al-Badawi was exiting his home in an attempt to put out a small fire that had started nearby as a result of clashes between Israeli forces and local protesters. A video, published by Quds News Network, shows al-Badawi slowly exiting an alleyway next to his home and waving a white towel — seemingly to indicate to soldiers that he meant no harm.