Thursday, 25 January 2024

Washington and Tel Aviv: Morally Diseased

BY RON JACOBS

Image by Henry Ridgwell (Wikicommons).

The US recently announced it will be carrying out a sustained campaign against the current ruling group in Yemen. Where I come from, we call that expanding a war. Known as Ansar Allah, this group’s military element have been fighting against US-affiliated interests for close to a decade; first in their battle against the Yemeni government now claiming to rule from the Yemeni city of Aden, then against the Saudi military (heavily armed by the US war machine), and now by the Pentagon itself. The latest round was triggered by Washington’s unceasing and insistent support for the Israeli massacre in Gaza. In response to Washington’s refusal to even call for a ceasefire there, the Ansar Allah forces began attacking merchant ships enroute to Israel. US forces eventually responded with a series of bombing and missile attacks on Yemen. Given the failure of the US attacks to do anything except strengthen Ansar Allah’s resolve, the White House and Pentagon are now mustering their forces for what the Washington Post is calling a sustained campaign. The stated goal of this new front is to weaken Ansar Allah’s military capabilities. In truth, the goal is to further intimidate Iran, Iraq, Syria and any other challengers to Washington’s fading hegemony in the region. This goal could very well turn Washington’s expansion of the conflict into an even greater cataclysm. This is a warmonger’s dream and a fool’s journey.

During the weeks of Israel’s current slaughter in Gaza and the West Bank, Washington has been claiming it wants no wider war. At the same time, the arms and ammo have continued to flow to the Israeli military. Anyone with a brain not washed by the US/Israeli propaganda machine understands that shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deadly weapons to a military awash in the blood of its criminality is not the way to diminish a war. This is exactly what Washington is doing. If Joe Biden and his posse truly wanted the Israeli slaughter to end, the arms shipments would be halted until Tel Aviv stopped the killing. Likewise, if it wanted the Ansar Allah attacks on shipping to end, it would call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the delivery of aid to Gaza. The White House announcement that it is widening the war against Yemen is further proof that Washington is not interested in peace in the region we call the Middle East, much less a just peace.

In a recent piece published on the “defense” industry site called Defense One, the authors of the piece describe how China is “winning” the middle east. They describe the growing economic partnerships with different countries in the region, the occasional arms deal and the growing influence of the so-called Silk Road initiative. At the same time, the article discusses a desire by US allies to distance themselves from their former dependency on Washington. This is most recently expressed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) declining to join the Washington-created coalition to defend the shipping lanes in the Red Sea; the shipping lanes where the Yemeni attacks on certain merchant ships are taking place. The essence of China’s role in the region—like China’s role in much of the world—is that it is neither stirring up conflict in those nations it seeks alliances with nor is it fighting any wars. Furthermore, Washington’s usual insistence that those it seeks to entangle lessen or end their ties with Russia and China is being met with greater refusal. Of course, this stick when compared to China’s carrot becomes less attractive with each US arms shipment to Israel during its current campaign of mass murder.

The world remains at a precipice. The ongoing antagonism of Washington and its clients, whether the latter seem to act alone, like Israel or at Washington’s behest, like Kyiv, is the primary cause of this state of affairs. Washington’s refusal to modify its belief that it is the leader of the world and is therefore, as Joe Biden repeated recently, the “indispensable nation” is but one reason military conflict is all too often the response to geopolitical issues. Other reasons are more mundane: the US economy’s dependence on the war and fossil fuels industries primary among them. Meanwhile, much of the rest of the world, is in the process of creating the next framework for international relations—a system based on multipolarity where cooperation (or at least detente) is encouraged and economic disputes are resolved without military conflict. Instead of the world following the rules of what US Secretary of State Blinken calls the rules-based order (where Washington makes the rules and changes them at will), this new order rejects the concept of any nation having such power. This foundation of this developing approach has Washington in a tither. Its rulers cannot conceive of a world without Washington at the top.

Getting back to Gaza and Yemen, it’s important to note that the most effective resistance to the Israel’s brutal occupation and siege of Palestine is being conducted by armed resistance groups like Hamas and Ansar Allah and not by any recognized government. These groups, in a manner similar to the National Liberation Front (NLF) in southern Vietnam and the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) in Algeria during their struggles for liberation, are portrayed in the imperial media in a way that denies the support they enjoy among the oppressed people whose banner they carry. However, as history makes quite clear, dismissing the legitimacy of such organizations is, to put it mildly, imprudent. In actuality, as the history of the Algerian and Vietnamese anti-colonial struggles makes clear, it reduces the imperial military’s choices to two: be ready to wage a long and uneven war or be willing to kill every member and supporter of the resistance. Even then, the victory of the colonizer is uncertain. Indeed, the longer the conflict continues, the greater the likelihood the occupier nation’s population will demand an end to the slaughter, tired of losing its children to the rulers’ wars.

The Martinican writer and philosopher Aime Césaire wrote that “the civilization that justifies colonialism (and imperialism) is morally diseased.” This diagnosis describes the ruling classes of the United States and Israel. Their militaristic fever is destroying Gaza and the West Bank as we watch. This contagion also infects the populations of Israel and the US in different proportions. The only antidote continues to be an end to the Israeli occupation and siege and a free Palestine.

Ron Jacobs is the author of Daydream Sunset: Sixties Counterculture in the Seventies published by CounterPunch Books. He has a new book, titled Nowhere Land: Journeys Through a Broken Nation coming out in Spring 2024. He lives in Vermont. He can be reached at: ronj1955@gmail.com

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/24/washington-and-tel-aviv-morally-diseased/

Russia slams ‘British cosplay’ at UN Security Council

France has refused to call an emergency session over Ukraine shooting down a plane with its own POWs

Paris is copying London and abusing its powers at the UN to protect Kiev, Moscow’s deputy envoy to the world body said on Wednesday, after the French ambassador refused Russia’s request for an urgent session of the Security Council.

An IL-76 carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners scheduled to be exchanged was shot down on Wednesday morning over Russia’s Belgorod Region. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently in New York, told reporters that he had requested an emergency UNSC session over the incident.

Lavrov urged the French ambassador – who currently chairs the council – to avoid repeating the April 2022 situation, when the British presidency took three days to approve Russia’s request to discuss the alleged massacre in Bucha.

”We have a shocking development in the Security Council today,” Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said on X (formerly Twitter) several hours later, noting that France “declined our request for an urgent Council meeting.”

The French ambassador said he would schedule the meeting for 5pm on Thursday, “in a clear attempt to shield their Kiev regime clients” and buy President Vladimir Zelensky’s government “more time to come to its senses and invent some at least distantly plausible explanation of what it has committed,” the Russian diplomat added.

65 Ukrainian POWs killed in plane crash: What we know so far

Not only is France abusing its council presidency, Polyansky argued, it is also “cosplaying the lowest standards of their British neighbors” from April 2022. The once glorious French diplomacy has “shrunk to miserable swindling and pathetic manipulations!” he added.

Ukrainian media outlets initially claimed the plane had been transporting missiles, but scrubbed their stories when it emerged that their own POWs were among the 74 dead. The Ukrainian General Staff eventually released a statement saying that Russia had been flying in missiles used to attack Kharkov so the flights were a legitimate target.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukraine had been notified in advance that its prisoners, due to be exchanged later in the day, would be on board the flights headed for Belgorod. The second plane, with 80 POWs on board, turned around and landed safely after the first IL-76 was shot down.

Moscow has accused Kiev of “terrorism” and callous disregard for the lives of its own citizens. Commenting on a screenshot showing both the initial and revised Ukrainian reporting on the incident, Polyansky said that Kiev was once again “inflating the bubble of lies” to avoid blame, no matter how ridiculous its narrative may sound.

https://www.rt.com/news/591230-russia-france-ukraine-cosplay/

EU media should learn from RT – Borrell

The bloc’s outlets must adopt the tools of the Russian network if they hope to win the “battle of narratives,” the top diplomat has said

The EU’s media outlets should take notes from RT if they hope to make themselves heard outside of the West, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday. He described the Russian broadcaster as a prime example of successful work in the Arab world, in particular.

The High Representative for Foreign Affairs was speaking at a conference aimed at combating disinformation, manipulation, and foreign interference, according to its organizer, the EU’s diplomatic service. Borrell criticized the Western-centric approach of EU media and argued that it simply does not work.

“We believe that everybody around the world speaks English or French,” he said, adding that the bloc thus fails to reach millions of people who speak Arabic or Chinese. The official then said that RT did not have such a problem.

“The other day at the Cairo Airport, it was full of advertising for Russia Today broadcasting in Arabic. Russia Today has arrived in the Arabic world and it is announcing themselves as a good source of information in Arabic. We have to do the same thing: to speak and to use the same language,” Borrell said.

They think you believe. We believe you think

He then also pointed to the growing presence of Russian media in Sub-Saharan Africa, claiming that it is influencing the views of people on the continent “against the Western countries.” Borrell maintained that the West is engaged in a “battle of narratives” with Russia, adding that this battle “has to be won.” To do so, the EU needs effective instruments, “capacities, tools and dedicated people,” he argued.

“Sorry to say but we need people who speak not only English but Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and languages spoken by hundreds of millions of people which are not part of our traditional parameters [of] our linguistical culture,” he stated, calling the competition with Moscow’s outlets “a matter of security.”

The West has long viewed RT as a seemingly omnipotent threat. The broadcaster has been banned on YouTube and platforms owned by the US-based Meta tech giant, including Facebook and Instagram, since the spring of 2022.

US labels satirical RT video a national security threat

Many Western nations have also demanded that TV services and other platforms ban RT’s content from being shown on their territory. Even before the conflict, RT’s German-language channel, RT DE faced a difficult legal battle to broadcast in Germany. The nation’s banks refused to work with the channel, and regulators in Berlin threatened legal action when it finally began broadcasting from Serbia in December 2021.

RT DE was eventually blocked by German regulators in February 2022, a month before the European Commission ordered a bloc-wide ban on all RT channels and websites.

In 2022, Western media also sounded the alarm over Russian media expansion in the Global South. Last year, RT was including in Washington’s list of security threats.

In 2023, RT launched a major PR campaign in various regions around the world under the slogan: “They think you believe. We believe you think.” It was aimed at highlighting the network’s global presence, as well as challenging multiple Western narratives about both Russia and the nations of the Global South.

https://www.rt.com/news/591226-eu-take-cues-rt-borrell/

French Mercenaries Dying in Ukraine: The West Encourages the Enlistment of Militants to Fight on Kiev’s Side

Lucas LEIROZ

Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant

Paris is believed to be secretly encouraging large numbers of mercenaries to join Kiev’s forces, especially after political events in the African Sahel

❗️Join us on Telegram, Twitter , and VK.

You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram.

Recently, Russian forces bombed military facilities in Kharkov, killing more than sixty foreign mercenaries, most of them French. The case gained great attention in the media for showing the high participation of foreign troops in hostilities against Russia, which makes it clear that NATO countries are participating in the conflict in an intense way, not only with the mere sending of money and weapons.

The incident in Kharkov resumed discussions on the topic of the presence of foreign mercenaries on Ukrainian soil. Since the beginning of the special military operation, non-Ukrainian citizens have often died on the battlefield when fighting on Kiev’s side. Russia has already made it clear that eliminating enemy mercenary troops is one of its top priorities, which is why attacks like this recent one will continue to happen until foreigners stop arriving in Ukraine.

There are several reasons why mercenary soldiers enlist to fight in Ukraine. There are those militants who are ideologically committed to the ultranationalist ideology of the Kiev regime, who join the Ukrainian forces in “solidarity” with the neo-Nazi dictatorship. There are those ordinary citizens, mainly from emerging countries, who are attracted by the opportunity of a job in the military field, being induced to enlist. And there are also professionals from the private military sector who are hired by the Ukrainian state or Western countries to conduct operations in Ukraine.

All these foreign troops play a vital role in the Western-Ukrainian war efforts. Foreigners help compensate Kiev for its losses, as they replace native fighters who perish in combat. At the same time, these soldiers, especially those from NATO countries, help the Western bloc acquire real direct combat experience with Russian forces – preparing the alliance for a possible future scenario of total war.

Currently, the Atlantic military alliance cannot send official troops to Ukraine, as this would represent the start of a direct war with Moscow. The real meaning of the conflict in Ukraine is precisely the use of Kiev as a proxy to wage war against Russia, however this could change in the future. As Ukraine rapidly loses and anti-Russian paranoia in the West continues to grow, it is possible that the situation will become out of control at some point. In this sense, one way for Western countries to prepare is by sending unofficial troops to the Ukrainian battlefield, where frictions with the Russians are already occurring. These soldiers tend to pass on field experience and data to officers in their countries, which is why they must be considered especially dangerous, with their elimination being a priority for Moscow.

However, one detail that draws attention in the recent case of Kharkov is the strong presence of French citizens among the mercenaries. In fact, there are undoubtedly many French nationals fighting for the Ukrainian regime. Last year, Paris’ intelligence admitted that at least 400 French fighters were on the Ukrainian front – around thirty of them being known neo-Nazi criminals. Considering that these are public data exposed by the French government itself, it is possible to say that the real number may be much higher.

Paris is believed to be secretly encouraging large numbers of mercenaries to join Kiev’s forces, especially after political events in the African Sahel. With the recent wave of pro-Russian revolutions in African countries, the French sphere of influence on that continent has been severely diminished. Paris appears to be trying to “compensate” for its frustration in Africa with massive support for Kiev, sending large numbers of mercenaries to defend the regime.

This is also the opinion of Stevan Gajic, an analyst at the Institute of European Studies in Belgrade, who recently said in an interview that Macron is “hysterical” about Russia. Gajic believes that the French president’s recent speeches in Paris and Davos, calling for a “victory” against Russia, show how fanaticized he is in his anti-Russian hatred. Gajic stated that Paris is “especially frustrated” after the wave of revolutions in Africa and that he thinks “that’s another motive for such feverish support of the Ukrainian cause, and NATO’s cause against Russia”.

However, any kind of support for the Ukrainian regime is becoming embarrassing for the West itself. Just as NATO’s weapons are destroyed every day on the battlefield, foreign mercenaries are frequently targeted and neutralized. Instead of “wearing down” Russia or training its citizens for direct war in the future, the West is only losing influence and being demoralized. Furthermore, with massive deaths on the front lines, the tendency is for fewer and fewer mercenaries to accept fighting for Kiev.

It is also important to remember that these non-Ukrainian citizens are not protected by international humanitarian law and that Moscow has already made it clear that, if captured, they will be judged as neo-Nazi mercenaries – in the same way that has happened with militants from fascist organizations such as the Azov Battalion. So, considering the high risks of death in combat and lack of legal protection, fighting in Ukraine definitely doesn’t seem “profitable” for professional mercenaries, which is why a drop in the number of foreign troops is expected in the near future.

Kiev, in turn, will continue to massively encourage the arrival of these mercenaries. Zelensky recently proposed a law giving citizenship to all foreigners who fight in the war, as a way of fostering interest in enlisting abroad. But, given the destruction of the country and the lack of good prospects for the future, it is unlikely that Kiev will achieve great results with such measures.

https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/01/24/french-mercenaries-dying-in-ukraine-the-west-encourages-enlistment-of-militants-to-fight-on-kiev-side/

War on Gaza: Israeli sniper kills renowned Palestinian psychologist Fadel Abu Hein

Tributes are pouring in to renowned Al-Aqsa University academic who focused on trauma arising from conflict

Doctor Fadel Abu Hein, a professor and psychologist at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa University, was killed on 23 January 2024 (Screengrab/X)

By Nadda Osman

Published date: 24 January 2024 13:30 GMT | Last update: 6 hours 32 mins ago

Tributes are pouring in to Palestinian academic Fadel Abu Hein, a professor and psychologist at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa University, after he was killed by an Israeli sniper on 23 January.

Abu Hein's death comes as Israeli forces encircled the Khan Younis area of Gaza, which is home to Al-Aqsa University.

The university has been damaged in Israeli attacks, but displaced Palestinians continue to shelter there, amid Israeli demands that they leave.

Abu Hein, who was in Khan Younis when he was killed, was considered an expert in treating trauma and mental health conditions resulting from years of war.

His students and those familiar with his work left a series of tributes to him after learning about his death.

“Fadel Abu Hein has been interviewed over the years about his role in his community, you should read his words, recognise his academic work. My heart breaks for the life he has endured, the dignity he displayed and his unnecessary death, huge loss to the people of Gaza,” one academic posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“So sad to lose a fellow academic… psychology professor Fadel Abu Hein continued much needed expertise, research, and community activities in the field of trauma and its impact on mental health of Palestinians, especially children in Gaza,” said another.

Abu Hein's work involved travelling to Europe and the US as part of academic conferences and meetings.

Israel has killed at least 94 other academics in its war on the besieged enclave. A total of at least 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far, the vast majority of them civilians.

Abu Hein was a professor of psychology at Al-Aqsa University for over 20 years, and had published several journals and research articles in his field.

He was also the director of the Community Training Centre for Crisis Management (CTCM) in Gaza.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2005, Fadel said that Palestinian children had become “indifferent to death” following the Second Intifada.

“In the long term, the trauma will grow with the child and becomes part of the personality,” he added, saying that children had become traumatised by Israeli shooting, night raids, demolitions and other people's stress.

No access for ambulances

Abu Hein was reportedly arrested by Israeli forces in 2003 during an incursion which resulted in 13 Palestinians being killed, including his three brothers.

A report in the New York Times from the same year said that he pleaded not guilty to charges of weapons possession and incitement, after he was detained.

His family home was later razed to the ground by Israel.

War on Gaza: 'There is nothing left. They destroyed everything'

The Center for Human Rights said Abu Hein had been subjected to sleep deprivation and was forced to remain in painful positions for extended periods of time during his interrogation.

One of Abu Hein's academic focuses was working to overcome the stigma around mental health issues, especially among men.

He said that continuous conflict had a “disastrous effect” on the psyche of Gaza’s children and that common long-term trauma symptoms included panic, lack of confidence and no sense of safety, which made them more introverted or more aggressive towards others.

“It is difficult to provide psychological treatment [for the children] because Gaza lives in a changing reality from time to time,” he said in an interview in 2022.

Khan Younis, where Abu Hein died, is the latest focus of Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza, which has left much of the northern area of the territory uninhabitable.

Since the war began, Palestinians have been forced to move from one area to another as Israel looks to uproot Hamas from Gaza.

As snipers and tanks settled into positions in Khan Younis on Tuesday, ambulances were left unable to reach the wounded.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-prominent-professor-al-aqsa-university-killed-israel

London Jewish youth club helps 'teenagers in crisis' join Israeli army

Boys Clubhouse, which last week hosted a British man who fought in Gaza, runs project in Jerusalem which supports boys it helps to enlist for Israeli military

Photos on the Jerusalem Cave Club's website celebrate soldiers who have been drafted into the Israeli army or completed their service (Screengrab)

By Simon Hooper in London and Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem

Published date: 24 January 2024 15:43 GMT | Last update: 2 hours 12 mins ago

A London youth club for vulnerable Jewish boys runs a project in Jerusalem which assists young British men it has supported to join the Israeli army.

The Boys Clubhouse, in Hendon, is currently being investigated by the Charity Commission after it organised an event last week for excluded schoolboys to mark the return to the UK of a British man, Levi Simon, who was recently fighting for Israel in Gaza.

Middle East Eye can reveal that the Boys Clubhouse also has a Jerusalem venue called the Cave Club, which provides guidance and support for British nationals joining the Israeli military’s Lone Soldiers programme.

Some of those helped by the Cave Club appear to have been signposted there from the Boys Clubhouse.

The Cave Club’s website says: “Boys who have progressed from the UK program and wish to come to Israel to find their path here, have a center that helps them on their new journey.”

Many of the young men from the UK it helps, it says, “have experienced social, educational and emotional difficulties or have struggled with addictions and other mental health issues as a result of abuse, trauma and broken homes”.

The Boys Clubhouse, which is a registered charity, describes itself on a fundraising page as providing a “secure and safe haven for Jewish teenagers in crisis” and “a place of last resort for adolescents who have become estranged from family and society”.

Ari Leaman, the founder and chief executive, was awarded an MBE in the recent New Year Honours List “for services to young people and to the community in Hendon”.

'If you are looking to join the IDF or Israeli Border Police as a lone soldier you have come to the right place'
– Cave Club website

The Boys Clubhouse says the Cave Club is a satellite project with links to the Israeli army, as well as schools and universities, and offers “a range of opportunities not available in the UK”.

Staff at the Cave Club include an IDF liaison officer who is described as “our go-to guy for army recruits”.

The club offers the Garin Machal programme, a six-week training course that offers a fast track for foreign nationals looking to join the Israeli army. Its website displays images and messages congratulating soldiers who have enlisted or completed their service.

“Over the years there has been an increasing number of boys coming from diaspora and enlisting to the IDF some of them are trying to find a new path or simply as a feeling of duty to defend our count[r]y,” it says.

“If you are looking to join the IDF or Israeli Border Police as a lone soldier you have come to the right place. We have many boys joining the IDF from the UK and Europe every year.”

Posts on the Cave Club's website celebrate soldiers who have been drafted into the army, or have completed their service.

One post from 2019 reads: "Raff who is from the UK joined us last summer to join the IDF, he it made through the grueling Garin Machal pre-army program and is now part of the Golani brigade!! Keep it up and we wish you all the best!"

According to the Boys Clubhouse’s latest annual reports filed to the Charity Commission, during 2021 and 2022 its “Israel Project” helped 55 people.

Middle East Eye asked the Boys Clubhouse how many people it had helped to join the Israeli army, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

'[The club manager] is very, very active with the soldiers, British and American. He is receiving a lot of donations from abroad'
- Cave Club neighbour, Jerusalem

MEE visited the Cave Club in Jerusalem on Wednesday, but the venue was closed. A neighbour told MEE that the club was supporting British and American soldiers.

"They collect donations from outside and give them to them [the soldiers]," the neighbour said.

Another neighbour said the club's manager, Hillel Frickers, organised events for people who had been "rejected" in the UK and the US.

"He is very, very active with the soldiers, British and American. He is receiving a lot of donations from abroad," the neighbour said.

The Cave Club did not respond to MEE's request for comment.

'Huge advantage on the front line'

Since the start of the war in Gaza, following the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on 7 October, the Cave Club has been promoted on social media as a distribution point for aid sent from the UK for Israeli soldiers.

“So many army bases are hearing about it and sending their soldiers to get humanitarian supplies!” a social media post promoting the aid campaign said in late October.

Another post in early November said donors had supplied 720 suitcases for soldiers in three weeks, including body armour, helmets and gun flashlights.

A video posted by Levi Simon on his Instagram page, which is no longer available, described the aid provided at the Cave Club as “the ultimate gear, gives us a huge advantage on the frontline”.

“You have everything here,” he said. “You have your tactical pouches and I am a machine gunner so I can put my spare tins of bullets in it.”

MEE contacted Simon for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Police attend protests outside the Boys Clubhouse on 17 January, 2024 (MEE) — Police attend protests outside the Boys Clubhouse in north London, 17 January 2024 (MEE)

Revelations about the Boys Clubhouse’s support for young British men seeking to join the Israeli army appear to raise further concerns about its activities, after the Charity Commission said last week it was investigating the organisation.

Other charities in the UK fundraising for the Israeli army are also being investigated by the regulator.

The Commission launched a regulatory compliance case into the Boys Clubhouse after details of its event with Simon were made public, prompting angry confrontations outside the centre between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel activists, and causing organisers to move it to another venue.

Leaman told the Jewish Chronicle newspaper that Simon had been invited to speak to four boys who had been excluded from school “to inspire the boys to do well in life, it had nothing to do with the army… it was a talk about overcoming adversity and not doing drugs”.

Simon has attracted controversy by posting footage of himself in Gaza on his Instagram page, including a video in which he searches through a drawer of women’s underwear in a home abandoned by Palestinians.

In other videos he raises an Israeli flag over a school and suggests that the school will soon be teaching Hebrew, and draws a Star of David and writes "Am Yisrael Chai" (The people of Israel Live) on the wall of an abandoned home.

Tarek Younis, a senior lecturer in psychology at Middlesex University, which is also in Hendon, said the recruitment of vulnerable Jewish youths from the local area into the Israeli army raised significant ethical and safeguarding issues.

“In times of crisis and distress, youth are particularly prone to external influences and they may be more prone to individuals who position themselves as role models,” said Younis.

"Marginalised youth may also see limited opportunities to progress in life, and so the IDF benefits directly from promising ‘a better future’.

'I’m especially concerned and worried the IDF is recruiting vulnerable youth from our neighbourhood'
- Tarek Younis, Middlesex University lecturer

“As a senior lecturer working not far from the Boys Clubhouse, I’m especially concerned and worried the IDF is recruiting vulnerable youth from our neighbourhood. I’m sure many of the students and staff at Middlesex University, who represent a very ethnically diverse population, would agree.”

MEE asked the local council, Barnet Council, which has provided funding to the Boys Clubhouse, whether it was aware that the organisation had a project in Jerusalem supporting those it had helped to join the Israeli army, and whether any safeguarding concerns about its activities had been raised.

Barnet Council had not responded at the time of publication.

Israel’s forces have been accused of committing war crimes in Gaza by humanitarian and human rights organisations, and the country faces a complaint of genocide brought by South Africa that is currently being considered by the International Court of Justice. Israel denies those accusations and says it is acting in self-defence in Gaza.

In the UK, pro-Palestinian legal campaigners have filed a complaint to the Metropolitan Police’s war crimes unit, calling for British nationals serving in the Israeli military to be investigated.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/london-jewish-youth-centre-helps-teenagers-crisis-join-israeli-army

SATISH SHARMA - not just Rotigraphy.