This Brave New World, CXVI
corpse-men's contours
echoed in swirling lines
of the blood-red sky ...
Biden embraces Netanyahu
in a bear hug
in broad daylight
Biden, Biden, you can't hide
loud and louder ...
the Washington apple
cut in half,... this rotten core
FYI: The title alludes to U.S.-Israel Relations: Shared-Value Initiatives (created since the 1980s)
1) The Nation, Nov. 4: Biden’s Bear Hug of Netanyahu is a Disaster: The renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas shows the incoherence of mixing humanitarian WORDS and bigger BOMBS.
2) Reuters, Oct. 21: 'I am a Zionist': How Joe Biden's lifelong bond with Israel shapes war policy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When Joe Biden met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet during his visit to Israel, the U.S. president assured them: "I don't believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist."
Entering national politics in 1973, Biden spent the next five decades forging his policy positions - iron-clad support for Israel's security coupled with backing for steps toward Palestinian statehood - as he served as U.S. senator, Barack Obama's vice president and finally president.
During his 36 years in the Senate, Biden was the chamber's biggest recipient in history of donations from pro-Israeli groups, taking in $4.2 million, according to the Open Secrets database.
"Whenever things were getting out of hand with Israel, Biden was the bridge," said Ross, now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "His commitment to Israel was that strong ... And it's the instinct we're seeing now."
3) The Times of Israel, Dec. 2: Israel said to tell neighbors and US of plans to create Gaza buffer zone after war
Jerusalem has informed Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey of the plans, three unnamed sources from the region told the Reuters news agency.
“Israel wants this buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from the north to the south to prevent any Hamas or other [terrorists] from infiltrating or attacking Israel,” one of the sources said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Thursday in Israel that the Israel Defense Forces will establish a buffer zone “deep” into Gaza after the war, Kan news reported Friday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that Washington opposes any reduction in Gaza’s territory.
“We don’t support any reduction of the geographic limits of Gaza… Gaza must remain Palestinian land, and cannot be reduced,” Kirby said during a press briefing.
4) CNN, Nov.9: UN human rights chief says both Israel and Hamas have committed war crimes
“The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on October 7 were heinous, brutal and shocking, they were war crimes – as is the continued holding of hostages,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians,” he added.
And 5) And 4) United Nations, Press Release, Nov. 16: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people
GENEVA (16 November 2023) – Grave violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the aftermath of 7 October, particularly in Gaza, point to a genocide in the making, UN experts said today. They illustrated evidence of increasing genocidal incitement, overt intent to “destroy the Palestinian people under occupation”, loud calls for a ‘second Nakba’ in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the use of powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure.
“Many of us already raised the alarm about the risk of genocide in Gaza,” the experts said. “We are deeply disturbed by the failure of governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate ceasefire. We are also profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel's strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilize to prevent genocide,” they said.
Added: This Brave New World, CXVII
a boy's stare
the grinding sound loud and louder
as the tanks roll in
Added: This Brave New World, CXVIII
a dog wanders
around tangled rubble ...
a blood-stained hand
FYI: Democracy Now!, Dec. 1: "Mass Assassination Factory": Israel Using AI to Generate Targets in Gaza, Increasing Civilian Toll
We look at a new report that reveals how Israel is using artificial intelligence to draw up targets in its military assault of Gaza. The report's author, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, has found that the IDF's increasing use of AI is partly a response to previous operations in Gaza when Israel quickly ran out of military targets, causing it to loosen its constraints on attacks that could kill civilians. In other words, the "civilian devastation that is happening right now in Gaza" is the result of a "war policy that has a very loose interpretation of what a military target is."
For more, read [Tel Aviv-based, news and opinion webzine] +972 Magazine, Nov.30: "A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza: Permissive airstrikes on non-military targets and the use of an artificial intelligence system have enabled the Israeli army to carry out its deadliest war on Gaza"
