Saturday, July 5, 2025
Friday, July 4, 2025
Dear America, Happy Fourth of July... Happy that we have the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, The Rule of Fair and Just laws, and all the brave civil rights heroes through out our history who helped America become a more real democracy for all people... Not so happy that America is funding and arming Israel's ongoing violations of international law and human rights in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Dear America,
Happy Fourth of July... Happy that we have the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, The Rule of Fair and Just
laws, and all the brave civil rights heroes through out our history who
helped America become a more real democracy for all people.
Happy that we have libraries and museums and public schools and PBS for those who can not get to libraries, museums or schools.
Also happy that we have that great American invention- the internet,
giving US and everybody else the ability to seek out and read news
published worldwide.
Not so happy that America is funding and arming Israel's ongoing violations of international law and human rights in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Also not so happy that Israel is doing all it can to destroy UNWRA & The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The United Nations and UNWRA are a good choice, GHF is not, nor is Israel, despite the manipulative propaganda and cheer-leading by Israel-firsters who believe that arming state sponsored bigotry, violence, injustice and home demolitions is the best way forward.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes
Churches, Cinemas — and Moon Artifacts — Top List of Endangered Monuments 2025: Aerial bombardment has caused severe damage to monuments across the Gaza Strip, including the roughly 1000-year-old church of St Porphyrius, partly destroyed by a bomb in October 2023 that also killed 16-18 civilians.
“The situation in Gaza is apocalyptic.” ... “Palestinians continue to endure suffering beyond imagination.” ... “Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.” —Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur
“We had a population on the verge of starvation and those conditions are getting immeasurably worse – this needs to come to an end,” UNRWA Sam Rose tells @AJEnglish , referring to the current, deadly aid distribution in #Gaza. The GHF aid distribution system is not designed to address hunger. Instead of "orderly food distribution”, it brings dehumanisation, chaos and death to the people in Gaza. Lift the siege and let the UN do its work. Aid distribution must be safe and follow humanitarian principles.
“The humanitarian community calls for an end to the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" (GHF) since it provides nothing but starvation and gunfire to the people of Gaza. Since this scheme began, at least 500 starving people have been reported killed and nearly 4,000 injured while desperately struggling to get food. Under this new abomination, Gaza has gone from 400 aid distribution points to only four militarized distribution sites. Today, over 130 NGOs have called for the restoration of unified, UN-led coordination and distribution based on international humanitarian law inclusive of UNRWA.” Read the joint statement
Read the joint statement : oxfam.org/en/press-relea
Families in Gaza are in desperate need. When trying to retrieve the limited food that the Israeli authorities have permitted to enter, they have been shot at and crushed by trucks. The UN calls for investigations into the killing and injury of Palestinians trying to access food through the current food distribution in Gaza. Lift the siege now. Aid delivery must be safe, dignified, and accessible to all. Let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work.
“Gaza: no fuel allowed into the enclave for more than 4 months now. Without fuel, waste is piling up, clean water running out, clinics shutting down, electricity and telecoms patchy. All is deepening the immense suffering of 2 million people who continue to endure de-humanization and humiliation: a collective punishment. There must be a deal that will allow in a flow of basic supplies including fuel.” UNWRA
Forcing two million Palestinians out of Gaza isn’t ‘resettling’. It’s ETHNIC CLEANSING.
WATCH NOW: 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' – The Full Film They Didn't Want You To See
The timing of Israel’s assassination of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital and one of Gaza’s top cardiologists, was no coincidence. It happened on the very same day 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' was scheduled to air ...
BBC staff: we're forced to do pro-Israel PR.... A devastating letter signed by over 100 BBC journalists underlines one of the great scandals of our age- Owen Jones Jul 02, 2025
"Out of the 30 relatives killed, 18 were children, 5 were mothers, one was an unmarried young woman, and one was a 68-year-old elderly man. That’s 24 civilians, without any stretch of definition. That means 80% of those Israel slaughtered were clearly civilians. And if I may add one final detail: the husband of my first cousin—41-year-old Mujahed—was disabled and confined to a wheelchair." Mosab Abu Toha
The US government has tried for the second time to deport a stateless Palestinian woman, according to court documents – despite a judge’s order barring her removal.
If you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too. FREE PALESTINE!
Israel drops bombs on refugee camps: Israeli bombs have been blasting away at tents full of families with babies and little children
'Lucrative' business deals help sustain Israel's Gaza campaign- UN expert Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese... U.N. report names firms aiding Israeli settlements & Albanese calls for legal action against executives for international law violations
"I am sorry to say that my cousin Amna was killed today in an Israeli air strike on a cafe where journalists were meeting in #Gaza. She was nicknamed Frans/France as a child because she was so pretty. " Abdallah Alsalmi
In one of the massacres committed 30 June 2025 by Israel in Gaza, the artist Frans Al-Salmi and the journalist Ismail Abu Hatab were Killed. A month ago, she had made this portrait of him.
Exclusive Part 1: After the latest Israeli settler attacks, Christians in the Holy Land ask American Catholics for help: “Soldiers are usually with the settlers. They’re protecting the settlers, and they’re not doing anything” to protect those [the Palestinians] under attack. There’s nothing we can do. It’s a peaceful village, very quiet. I have a family tree of 600 years in Taybeh. I’m not gonna leave.”
Artist Frans Al-Salmi was murdered 30 June 2025 by Israel when the IDF bombed a beautiful seaside cafe in Gaza
Israeli attack on Gaza City beach cafe kills dozens, including journalist Palestinian photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab killed in attack, bringing journalist death toll to 227
Gaza: ‘Unbearable’ suffering continues, UN official tells Security Council
The UN Charter “brought rules and hope to a world in ruins”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a virtual ceremony on Friday [June 2020] commemorating 75 years since the Organization’s foundational text was signed... Eighty years on, UN Charter marked by reflection, resolve- and a run [2025]
Its preamble – “We the peoples of the United Nations” – echoed the determination to prevent future conflict, reaffirm faith in human rights, and promote peace and social progress.
It is the bedrock of international relations
LETTERS https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/letters
Dear America, Set the right example by scorning violence and racist hate... The world does not need more weapons of war. We need to prioritize peace and progress with respect for ALL human beings, regardless of supposed race or religion.
Dear America- Invest in the people's needs... Be for real freedom, justice, true equality, and respect for all of humankind!
Dear America- Stand up for international law and Human Rights, not the weapons industry.
Dear America- PLEASE SCORN VIOLENCE and stop arming Israel with lethal weaponry plus dumb excuses to cause cruel harm to others!
Life is not a video game. These are real human beings and American made weaponry has been creating a Holocaust with The Rule of Lawlessness in the Holy Land.
Taxpayers' money should not be shoring up greed, corporate corruption, injustice, and war.
Please, let Golden Rule thinking and the rule of fair and just laws guide US all towards a better way forward.
State sponsored violence is not the way to convince vulnerable people to veer away from arming religious tyranny and terrorism.
Hate crimes are escalating here in America with people primed by to think, say and do horrible things...
Slavery, Segregation and Forced Displacement are wrong. Wrong then and wrong now
This Earth Day please start noticing how much pollution and injustice war creates.
Building a Culture of Peace ...
"The United Nations was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell." ~Dag Hammarskjöld, second Secretary-General of the United Nations
"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
Churches, Cinemas — and Moon Artifacts — Top List of Endangered Monuments 2025: Aerial bombardment has caused severe damage to monuments across the Gaza Strip, including the roughly 1000-year-old church of St Porphyrius, partly destroyed by a bomb in October 2023 that also killed 16-18 civilians.
Churches, Cinemas — and Moon Artifacts — Top List of Endangered Monuments
The 2025 World Monument Watch list features a non-terrestrial site for the first time.
A baroque church, a modernist cinema, irrigation systems and indigenous trading paths all feature on a new list of world heritage sites in danger.
Published every two years by the World Monuments Fund (WMF), the 2025 World Monument Watch list also breaks entirely new ground by including in its 25-entry list a site at risk that isn’t even on Earth: the Moon, or more specifically the remnants of early landings left on its surface by astronauts.
The Moon’s listing reflects the need to “recognize and preserve the artifacts that testify to humanity’s first steps beyond Earth,” said WMF President and Chief Executive Officer Bénédicte de Montlaur in a statement.
“Items such as the camera that captured the televised Moon landing; a memorial disk left by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin; and hundreds of other objects are emblematic of this legacy. Yet, they face mounting risks amidst accelerating lunar activities, undertaken without adequate preservation protocols.”
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]
“The situation in Gaza is apocalyptic.” ... “Palestinians continue to endure suffering beyond imagination.” ... “Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.” —Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur
 |
| “The situation in Gaza is apocalyptic.” “Palestinians continue to endure suffering beyond imagination.” “Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.” —Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur |
“We had a population on the verge of starvation and those conditions are getting immeasurably worse – this needs to come to an end,” UNRWA Sam Rose tells @AJEnglish , referring to the current, deadly aid distribution in #Gaza. The GHF aid distribution system is not designed to address hunger. Instead of "orderly food distribution”, it brings dehumanisation, chaos and death to the people in Gaza. Lift the siege and let the UN do its work. Aid distribution must be safe and follow humanitarian principles.
 |
At least 613 killed at GHF hubs and near humanitarian convoys: UN
The United Nations human rights office has said it had recorded at least 613 killings at aid points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys.
“We have recorded 613 killings, both at GHF points and near humanitarian convoys – this is a figure as of June 27. Since then … there have been further incidents,” Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/7/4/live-hamas-seeks-ceasefire-guarantees-as-israel-intensifies-gaza-attacks
[AS
ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO
READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP
SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully
Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies
“The humanitarian community calls for an end to the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" (GHF) since it provides nothing but starvation and gunfire to the people of Gaza. Since this scheme began, at least 500 starving people have been reported killed and nearly 4,000 injured while desperately struggling to get food. Under this new abomination, Gaza has gone from 400 aid distribution points to only four militarized distribution sites. Today, over 130 NGOs have called for the restoration of unified, UN-led coordination and distribution based on international humanitarian law inclusive of UNRWA.” Read the joint statement
Read the joint statement : oxfam.org/en/press-relea
— UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini
GAZA: Starvation or gunfire — not a humanitarian response
JOINT STATEMENT
Oxfam and over 170 other NGOs operating in Gaza call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies. The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarized zones where they face daily gunfire and mass casualties while trying to access food and are denied other life-saving supplies.
Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families. The weeks following the launch of the Israeli distribution scheme have been some of the deadliest and most violent since October 2023.
In less than four weeks, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and almost 4,000 injured just trying to access or distribute food. Israeli forces and armed groups - some reportedly operating with backing from Israeli authorities - now routinely open fire on desperate civilians risking everything just to survive.
The humanitarian system is being deliberately and systematically dismantled by the Government of Israel’s blockade and restrictions, a blockade now being used to justify shutting down nearly all other aid operations in favour of a deadly, military-controlled alternative that neither protects civilians nor meets basic needs. These measures are designed to sustain a cycle of desperation, danger, and death. Experienced humanitarian actors remain ready to deliver life-saving assistance at scale. Yet more than 100 days since Israeli authorities reimposed a near-total blockade on aid and commercial goods, Gaza’s humanitarian conditions are collapsing faster than at any point in the past 20 months.
Under the Israeli government’s new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites with a single entry point. There, thousands are released into chaotic enclosures to fight for limited food supplies. These areas have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. Orphaned children and caregivers are among the dead, with children harmed in over half of the attacks on civilians at these sites. With Gaza's healthcare system in ruins, many of those shot are left to bleed out alone, beyond the reach of ambulances and denied lifesaving medical care.
Amidst severe hunger and famine-like conditions, many families tell us they are now too weak to compete for food rations. Those who do manage to obtain food often return with only a few basic items - nearly impossible to prepare without clean water or fuel to cook with. Fuel is nearly depleted, bringing critical lifesaving services – including bakeries, water systems, ambulances, and hospitals – to a standstill. Families are sheltering under plastic sheets, operating makeshift kitchens amid the rubble, without fuel, clean water, sanitation, or electricity.
This is not a humanitarian response.
Concentrating
more than two million people into further confined areas for a chance
to feed their families is not a plan to save lives. For 20 months, more
than two million people have been subjected to relentless bombardment,
the weaponization of food, water and other aid, repeated forced
displacement, and systematic dehumanization - all under the watch of the
international community. The Sphere Association, which sets minimum
standards for quality humanitarian aid, has warned that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's approach does not adhere to core humanitarian standards and principles.
This
normalization of suffering must not be allowed to stand. States must
reject the false choice between deadly, military-controlled food
distributions and total denial of aid. States must uphold their
obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law,
including prohibitions on forced displacement, indiscriminate attacks,
and obstruction of humanitarian aid. States must ensure accountability
for grave violations of international law.
We, the undersigned organizations, once again call on all third states to:
Take concrete measures to end the suffocating siege and uphold the right of civilians in Gaza to safely access aid and receive protection.
Urge donors not to fund militarized aid schemes that violate international law, do not adhere to humanitarian principles, deepen harm, and risk complicity in atrocities.
Support the restoration of a unified, UN-led coordination mechanism—grounded in international humanitarian law and inclusive of UNRWA, Palestinian civil society, and the wider humanitarian community—to meet people’s needs.
We reiterate our urgent
calls for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the release of all
hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, full humanitarian access at
scale, and an end to the pervasive impunity that enables these
atrocities and denies Palestinians their basic dignity.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/gaza-starvation-or-gunfire-not-humanitarian-response
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies
Families in Gaza are in desperate need. When trying to retrieve the limited food that the Israeli authorities have permitted to enter, they have been shot at and crushed by trucks. The UN calls for investigations into the killing and injury of Palestinians trying to access food through the current food distribution in Gaza. Lift the siege now. Aid delivery must be safe, dignified, and accessible to all. Let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work.
Families in #Gaza are in desperate need.
When trying to retrieve the limited food that the Israeli authorities have permitted to enter, they have been shot at and crushed by trucks.
The UN calls for investigations into the killing and injury of Palestinians trying to access food through the current food distribution in Gaza.
Lift the siege now.
Aid delivery must be safe, dignified, and accessible to all.
Let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work.
“Gaza: no fuel allowed into the enclave for more than 4 months now. Without fuel, waste is piling up, clean water running out, clinics shutting down, electricity and telecoms patchy. All is deepening the immense suffering of 2 million people who continue to endure de-humanization and humiliation: a collective punishment. There must be a deal that will allow in a flow of basic supplies including fuel.” UNWRA
“Gaza: no fuel allowed into the enclave for more than 4 months now.
Without fuel, waste is piling up, clean water running out, clinics shutting down, electricity and telecoms patchy.
All is deepening the immense suffering of 2 million people who continue to endure de-humanization and humiliation: a collective punishment.
There must be a deal that will allow in a flow of basic supplies including fuel.” — UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini
With zero fuel entering #Gaza due to restrictions placed by Israel, critical protection services such as mental health and psychosocial support have been severely impacted, compromising the well-being and recovery of survivors of violence and trauma.
I am appalled by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The last lifelines for survival are being cut off.
Without an urgent influx of fuel, incubators will shut down, ambulances will be unable to reach the injured and sick, and water cannot be purified.
The @UN has a clear and proven plan, rooted in the humanitarian principles, to get vital assistance to civilians – safely and at scale, wherever they are.
I renew my call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Forcing two million Palestinians out of Gaza isn’t ‘resettling’. It’s ETHNIC CLEANSING.
 |
| Forcing two million Palestinians out of Gaza isn’t ‘resettling’. It’s ETHNIC CLEANSING. Linda Mamoun |
WATCH NOW: 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' – The Full Film They Didn't Want You To See
 |
| WATCH NOW: 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' – The Full Film They Didn't Want You To See https://zeteo.com/p/watch-now-gaza-doctors-under-attack |
The timing of Israel’s assassination of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital and one of Gaza’s top cardiologists, was no coincidence. It happened on the very same day 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' was scheduled to air ...
It happened on the very same day Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was scheduled to air on Channel 4 and Zeteo.
This is the same documentary that the BBC had commissioned and cleared for broadcast back in February 2025—before abruptly pulling it on June 20.
Dr. al-Sultan’s daughter, Lubna, said the missile struck the only room where her father was staying.
It seems like the world still does not understand.
BBC staff: we're forced to do pro-Israel PR.... A devastating letter signed by over 100 BBC journalists underlines one of the great scandals of our age- Owen Jones Jul 02, 2025
@owenjonesjourno
Just the latest chapter in the biggest scandal of Western journalism of our time...
It was also signed by 300 other journalists and media professionals: one of them was yours truly. The BBC employees, as you would expect, are all anonymous, because otherwise they would face grave consequences to their careers.
The letter says:
We’re writing to express our concerns over opaque editorial decisions and censorship at the BBC on the reporting of Israel/Palestine. We believe the refusal to broadcast the documentary ‘Gaza: Medics Under Fire’ is just one in a long line of agenda driven decisions. It demonstrates, once again, that the BBC is not reporting “without fear or favour” when it comes to Israel.
It goes on to note that the decision not to
broadcast the investigation was taken by BBC management despite the
content being signed off in accordance with BBC guidelines and editorial
policy, which it says “Appears to be a political decision”, adding that
the BBC response shows the organisation “is crippled by the fear of
being perceived as critical of the Israeli government.” ... READ MORE https://www.owenjones.news/p/bbc-staff-were-forced-to-do-pro-israel
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies
"Out of the 30 relatives killed, 18 were children, 5 were mothers, one was an unmarried young woman, and one was a 68-year-old elderly man. That’s 24 civilians, without any stretch of definition. That means 80% of those Israel slaughtered were clearly civilians. And if I may add one final detail: the husband of my first cousin—41-year-old Mujahed—was disabled and confined to a wheelchair." Mosab Abu Toha
I’ve just completed a family tree of my relatives who were all killed in a single Israeli airstrike on October 13, 2023. It reveals that three entire families were wiped out, including my first cousin, Tahrir.
My goal isn’t only to honor each of them, but also to challenge the myth behind the casualty ratios Israel boasts about. This is not to suggest that the adult males were combatants—but even if you assumed they were, look at this:
Out of the 30 relatives killed, 18 were children, 5 were mothers, one was an unmarried young woman, and one was a 68-year-old elderly man.
That’s 24 civilians, without any stretch of definition.
That means 80% of those Israel slaughtered were clearly civilians. And if I may add one final detail: the husband of my first cousin—41-year-old Mujahed—was disabled and confined to a wheelchair.