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Saturday, July 25, 2026

Dear America- letter I just sent to my elected leaders: ICE and Israel should both be de-funded and de-fanged.

Gazelle near Gaza on the lower left hand corner of an 850 Ottoman Palestine map- Palestine illustrated atlas and modern history of the world 1851
Dear America,

Before Trump opted to join Israel in bombing Iran, Israel was already shamelessly violating multiple international laws and expectations with its aggressively cruel mistreatment of indigenous non-Jewish men, women, and children in all the "Holy" land that was once called historic Palestine.

Modern man-made Israel (with a name borrowed from our bibles and prayers and hymns) wants our money and weaponry.   Heck if you want to hand over all your personal money and your children's inheritances to modern man-made Israel, please feel free to do so- BUT NOT OUR TAX $$$$ !!!

We have worked hard for our money, and many of us live on a very tight budget in order to afford both food and housing. 

Public funds should be for public good- not for endless wars, catastrophic pollution, and data centers.

Violence, rage, revenge, and rampant destruction are entertaining fun in TV shows, movies and video games- but violence is totally counterproductive and monstrously cruel in real life.  

We live in a post-1948 world where respect for UNIVERSAL human rights is the basis for international laws and criminal courts.  We should be empowering that. 

The 'preemptive' US-Israeli war on Iran is wrong, and a huge waste of American money and life. 

Pervasive pro-Israel harassment campaigns aim to silence voices for peace and justice worldwide. 

Our elected leaders are bullied and bribed to support Israeli injustice and war. Corruption and greed have become ubiquitous.  Thanks to multiple PR firms and paid propagandists working for Israel our mainstream media ignores or downplays Zionist violence and crimes.

Fact is Israel has been waging manipulative misinformation wars on America for decades, doing all it can to block international sympathy and support for  the men, women, and children  of Palestine. 

Fact is a very foreign modern nation state has been aggressively bulldozing homes and bombing refugee camps with American made weaponry and technology:  Israeli pogroms against Palestinians should be galvanizing worldwide outrage and sanctions.   

State sponsored terrorism is the worst type of terrorism.

ICE and Israel should both be de-funded and de-fanged. 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

Rights groups call for help stopping Israeli 'pogrom' against Palestinians in West Bank: B’Tselem and Rabbis for Human Rights among others urge action after four Palestinians are killed by settlers near Nablus

Amputees take part in a match inspired by the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina amid the rubble in Gaza City. Palestinians widely supported Spain in the final because the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has strongly criticised Israel’s military campaign

The number of registered orphans in the territory [GAZA, Palestine] has risen to 65,279, including 54,468 children who it said lost one or both parents during the war.

"The headline is incredibly misleading. It completely reverses the point I was making. Rather than highlighting my explicit distinction between Zionist organizations and Jewish partners in justice, it collapses that distinction and leaves readers with the false impression that I accused British Jews collectively of complicity in Israel’s crimes. This is precisely the kind of framing that has made speaking about Palestine so difficult for so many years. It is not only manipulative; it fuels the false narrative that criticism of Israel is criticism of Jews." Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac - Jul 23, 2026

'A triumphant failure': How Israel's use of social media influencers to win back support backfired- Israel quadrupled its PR budget to $730m in 2026 and is reportedly paying influencers up to $7,ooo to post pro-Israel content

"Bombing the infrastructure people rely on will not make Iranians [or Palestinians] embrace those carrying out the attacks." .... ‘It’s truly hell here’: airstrikes, repression and water shortages become ‘new normal’ for Iranians

"At the very moment that the Israeli regime, with the support of the United States, is pursuing the dismantlement of UNRWA in violation of international law, there can be no accommodation of political projects designed to facilitate its replacement. UNRWA was established by General Assembly Resolution 302 because the international community failed to implement Palestinian refugees' rights under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194. Its mandate therefore remains exclusively under the authority of the General Assembly until those rights—including return, restitution, compensation, and reparation—are fulfilled. It cannot be transferred, conditioned, or terminated through political arrangements." Statement by BADIL and GPRN “Dismantling UNRWA: “The Board of Peace” Agenda”

DEAR AMERICA

Dear America - Jobs created by the weapons industry bring temporary economic relief to some- while inflicting immense pain and suffering on many many many more.

Pushing all commerce online to "Save A Tree" ends up decimating numerous forests and fields for energy and water hungry Data Centers. CEOs and our elected leaders take huge profits while taxpayers are left with escalating losses, including the surging loss of land and water for hyperscale Data Centers.

Anti-immigrant legislation and excessive funding for ICE are more about protecting wealthy people and corporations, who can hire illegals knowing that the workers and their families will be too afraid to complain about dangerous working conditions, low pay, long hours, and slum landlord housing.

You can't win a modern war. You can destroy homes & families, you can usurp land & resources from the rightful owners, and you can undermine & destroy a free press and the fourth estate- but people worldwide have memories, as well as a sense of right and wrong that cannot be bombed into oblivion.

STOP THE BOMBS and the bigotry, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop accepting bribes & propaganda & bad advice from a very foreign country that seeks to destroy support for UNIVERSAL human rights and the rule of fair and just laws.

Along the way we learned that slavery is wrong. We learned that domestic violence is wrong. We learned that racist hate is wrong. SO WHY are we funding Israel and why are we bombing Iran for Israel!!!

Violence is a problem- not the answer

"Attacks on critical infrastructure are not only about what is destroyed, but also about the people left without what they need to live. Even wars have limits and they must be respected." ICRC Red Cross

The power of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the power of ideas to change the world. It inspires us to continue working to ensure all people can gain freedom, equality and dignity...

In 1945, 50 nations came together in San Francisco to create a new organization for peace, prosperity & human rights- the United Nations

"The United Nations is the only place on Earth where all the world's nations come together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. This intergovernmental organization born out of the ashes of the Second World War remains indispensable to the pursuit of world peace, justice, equality and sustainable development" https://www.un.org/en/

The right of refugees to return to homes and lands they were expelled from is an individual right and cannot be unilaterally abrogated by third parties.  https://imeu.org/resources/resources/fact-sheet-palestinian-refugees-the-right-of-return-under-international-law/441

Human Rights

"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

Rights groups call for help stopping Israeli 'pogrom' against Palestinians in West Bank: B’Tselem and Rabbis for Human Rights among others urge action after four Palestinians are killed by settlers near Nablus

Israeli soldiers outside the Nablus Specialized Hospital on Friday. The army said it had detained two Palestinians in the hospital due to their alleged 'participation in the shooting' in the village of Tel (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)
Alex MacDonald

Israeli rights groups have called on the international community to intervene in order to prevent a "pogrom" in the occupied West Bank.

Organisations including B’Tselem, Rabbis for Human Rights and the Palestinian-run Adalah said action was needed to prevent further deaths after Israeli settlers killed four Palestinians on Friday.

A group of armed settlers killed the four Palestinians in the village of Tel, near Nablus, while a Palestinian seized a weapon from one of the settlers and opened fire, killing two of them.

Though an Israeli army investigation found that the settlers had entered an off-limits area, the Israeli government ordered the army to demolish the home of the Palestinian accused of killing the two settlers.

The military said it was conducting an operation in Nablus to arrest dozens of Palestinians who "participated in the incident".

Rights groups said that "immediate pressure" must be placed on Israel to stop further attacks, prevent "pogroms" and uphold international law.

"In recent days, violence by settler militias, enabled and supported by the Israeli army, has escalated across the West Bank, including the torching and destruction of Palestinian property, and the forced expulsion of families and communities," they said in a statement.

"These attacks have been met with silence and inaction from much of the international community, allowing the violence to continue and intensify."

Last month, B’Tselem said Israeli forces were killing Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank at the highest rate since 1967, with 54 shot dead in 2025 alone.

The Israeli human rights group said nearly one in four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied territory since October 2023 has been a minor, marking the highest proportion since the occupation began.

Despite the high child death toll, no one has been held accountable and there are no known indictments linked to the killings since October 2023.

B’Tselem said the deaths were not "isolated mistakes or violations of military orders".

Instead, it said they were the result of an Israeli policy that permits lax rules of engagement, routinely labels Palestinians as "terrorists", and shields soldiers who use lethal force.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-rights-groups-call-international-community-stop-pogrom-against-palestinians-occupied 

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Israel approves over $400m to fund 34 settlements in occupied West Bank

Bezalel Smotrich says the settlement expansion is intended to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state... READ MORE  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/revolution-israel-approves-funds-34-new-settlements-occupied-west-bank

Amputees take part in a match inspired by the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina amid the rubble in Gaza City. Palestinians widely supported Spain in the final because the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has strongly criticised Israel’s military campaign

Deir al-Balah, Gaza

A Palestinian girl searches for reusable items at a landfill site. Israel’s defence and finance ministers this week announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (£300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebrated the violent outposts as his ‘security partners’. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/jul/24/the-week-around-the-world-in-20-pictures?CMP=share_btn_url#img-8

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Gaza

Amputees take part in a match inspired by the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina amid the rubble in Gaza City. Palestinians widely supported Spain in the final because the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has strongly criticised Israel’s military campaign. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/jul/24/the-week-around-the-world-in-20-pictures?CMP=share_btn_url#img-6

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine] 

Gaza celebrates World Cup victory of Spanish team they took into their hearts

People gather at cafes and outdoor screenings to support team after Spain’s backing for Palestinian rights

The Spanish football team’s World Cup win has been celebrated in the streets of Gaza, where Spain’s support for Palestinian rights and Israel’s backing for the Argentinian team turned the competition into more than a football showdown.

Gathered at cafes and outdoor screenings, Palestinians defied the risk of Israeli attacks to cheer on a team they had taken to their hearts... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/21/gaza-celebrates-world-cup-victory-of-spanish-team-they-took-into-their-hearts

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Friday, July 24, 2026

The number of registered orphans in the territory [GAZA, Palestine] has risen to 65,279, including 54,468 children who it said lost one or both parents during the war.

Children are seen as displaced Palestinian families live in makeshift tents and severely damaged buildings amidst heavy destruction after Israeli airstrikes that left Khan Yunis in ruins, southern Gaza Strip, Palestine on July 17, 2026. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]

Gaza Ministry of Social Development reports increase in number of registered orphans

July 24, 2026 at 9:13 am

The Ministry of Social Development in Gaza said on Thursday that the number of registered orphans in the territory has risen to 65,279, including 54,468 children who it said lost one or both parents during the war.

In a statement, the ministry said 2,039 children had been added to its records after 10th  October 2025.

The ministry also reported that the number of registered widows had reached 28,224, including 742 women who were widowed during the same period.

According to the ministry, the figures reflect a worsening humanitarian and social situation, which it attributed to the continued conflict, repeated displacement, and the reduction of safe areas for civilians.

The ministry said its teams had documented damage to or strikes affecting more than 20 shelters and displacement camps, resulting in more than 638 families losing their homes completely, in addition to damage to more than 163 tents.

It also reported that shrinking shelter capacity and shifting front lines had forced more than 800 newly displaced families to sleep in the open.

The ministry said shelters were no longer able to provide even minimum levels of protection and called on the international community and mediators to take urgent action to end the fighting and ensure protection for displaced civilians... READ MORE  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260724-gaza-ministry-of-social-development-reports-increase-in-number-of-registered-orphans/ 

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

"The headline is incredibly misleading. It completely reverses the point I was making. Rather than highlighting my explicit distinction between Zionist organizations and Jewish partners in justice, it collapses that distinction and leaves readers with the false impression that I accused British Jews collectively of complicity in Israel’s crimes. This is precisely the kind of framing that has made speaking about Palestine so difficult for so many years. It is not only manipulative; it fuels the false narrative that criticism of Israel is criticism of Jews." Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac - Jul 23, 2026

 When Headlines Distort the Truth

What The Telegraph Got Wrong About My Response

I was recently approached by The Telegraph, a newspaper in the United Kingdom, to comment on the Church of England’s recent decision to receive and engage with Kairos Palestine II, among other Palestinian Christian documents. I was also asked to respond to the criticism directed at the Church by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Now notice something important. I clearly distinguished between those promoting Zionism and the many Jewish voices working for justice. In fact, I explicitly called on churches to listen to and amplify those Jewish voices. That distinction was not incidental—it was central to my response.

So what did The Telegraph do with it? It published the following headline: “British Jews complicit in Israel crimes, say Palestinian Christians.”

That is simply not what I said. It is not what Kairos Palestine II says. It is not what Palestinian Christians are saying.

The headline is incredibly misleading. It completely reverses the point I was making. Rather than highlighting my explicit distinction between Zionist organizations and Jewish partners in justice, it collapses that distinction and leaves readers with the false impression that I accused British Jews collectively of complicity in Israel’s crimes.

This is precisely the kind of framing that has made speaking about Palestine so difficult for so many years. It is not only manipulative; it fuels the false narrative that criticism of Israel is criticism of Jews.

Our position has been clear and consistent. The problem is not Jews. The problem is not Judaism. The problem is support for oppression, occupation, apartheid, and now genocide—whether that support comes from Jews, Christians, Muslims, or anyone else.

Likewise, those standing for justice include Jews, Christians, Muslims, and people of no faith. As I said in my response, and as Kairos Palestine II explicitly affirms, we welcome and encourage partnership with Jewish voices committed to truth and justice.

Perhaps most troubling of all, this kind of reporting distracts attention from the real issue. Instead of engaging with the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, or with the overwhelming evidence presented by international legal, human rights, and medical bodies, the conversation is redirected toward a manufactured controversy... READ MORE https://bipj.substack.com/p/when-headlines-distort-the-truth?r=62vmcy&triedRedirect=true

'A triumphant failure': How Israel's use of social media influencers to win back support backfired- Israel quadrupled its PR budget to $730m in 2026 and is reportedly paying influencers up to $7,ooo to post pro-Israel content

Anti-Trump and pro-Palestine protesters gather outside the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, DC on 19 February 2026 (Heather Diehl/Getty Images/AF
 Fleur Hargreaves

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that a majority, 60 percent of the American public, including 57 percent of Republican voters under the age of 50 and 84 percent of Democrats under 50, view Israel unfavourably.

Much of this is down to an increasing number of younger people using social media rather than mainstream outlets, which are overwhelmingly pro-Israel, for their news. 

To counter this shift, Israeli lawmakers approved a record budget of $730m for public diplomacy - known by its Hebrew name Hasbara - in March, amounting to almost five times its previous annual budget, which was already 20 times pre-2023 levels.

In September 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with several American influencers in New York to enlist them to amplify pro-Israel messaging in the US.

During the meeting, Netanyahu stressed the importance of their role, saying: "We have to fight with weapons that apply to the battlefields in which we’re engaged in and the most important ones are on social media."

He added that the deal, which saw American billionaire Larry Ellison, alongside several other pro-Israel businessmen, acquire TikTok's US operations, was "the most important purchase going on right now".

As part of its propaganda campaign, Israel used secret PR operations and hired corporate firms to manage paid influencer networks under a plan code-named the "Esther Project".

According to documents filed under the US's Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara), Israel paid influencers up to $7,000 per social media post, operating through its contractor Bridges Partners, which worked with a global ad agency called Havas Media Group Germany for an “Influencer Campaign”.

Havas also signed a $15m contract with Trump's former campaign manager Brad Parscale’s firm Clock Tower X, which was recently exposed to be behind a social media campaign to attack the US president’s ceasefire deal with Iran on behalf of Israel... READ MORE  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-use-social-media-influencers-support-backfired 

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]