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Worldnews

Deepest Contradictions: Yale Bans Pro-Palestine Group Amid Ben-Gvir Visit

Observers denounce punishment of pro-Palestine protesters and silence on Israeli minister who supports abuses in Gaza. Yale University has become the latest top institution in the United States to ban a pro-Palestine group, this time for protests against a visit by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir’s stop near the university in New Haven, Connecticut, on Wednesday sparked outrage as protesters criticised the minister’s support for surging attacks on Gaza, and most recently, his calls to bomb “food and aid depots” in the Palestinian territory. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Raed Jarrar, the advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), described the university’s silence about Ben-Gvir, who has “openly called for genocide”, and its subsequent crackdown on protesters “not just a moral contradiction – it’s a moral and legal failure”. The demonstrations began on Tuesday night when protesters gathered on campus and began setting up tents at a short-lived encampment. While lasting just a few hours, the scene was similar to encampment protests that swept across US universities last year, often prompting crackdowns and policy changes from administrators. The next day, Yale said in a statement that the encampment had violated its policies related to the use of outdoor spaces and students who had been warned or punished in previous incidents would face “immediate disciplinary action”. It added that the university was investigating “concerns … about disturbing anti-Semitic conduct at the gathering” without providing any details. The administration also said the student organisation Yalies4Palestine would lose its official status for sending “out calls over social media for others to join the event” and for later taking credit for the event. In a statement to the student newspaper, the Yale Daily News, a group of pro-Palestine protesters denied the event was affiliated with or planned by any group. The protests then continued on Wednesday night when Ben-Gvir arrived for a speech at the Shabtai, a private Jewish society that describes itself as “based at Yale University” although it is not formally affiliated with or located at a property owned by the university. Ben-Gvir briefly taunted the protesters with what his office told CNN was a “victory sign” gesture as he was met with chants of “shame on you”, according to video of the event. His office later said a water bottle had been thrown at him from the crowd, which included students and nonstudents, and he was unharmed. Yale’s latest punishment for pro-Palestine protesters comes during a wider pressure campaign on top universities by the administration of President Donald Trump. While former President Joe Biden was seen as endorsing crackdowns on pro-Palestine protests, which he broadly described in April last year as “anti-Semitic”, the Trump administration has escalated the response. Using claims of “anti-Semitism”, the Trump administration has sought to deport noncitizen pro-Palestine university protesters and has frozen or threatened to freeze federal funding for several top institutions, including Columbia University in New York and Harvard University in Massachusetts, if they do not agree to a series of policy changes. Throughout the protest movement, organisers have repeatedly challenged the notion that such demonstrations are anti-Semitic, noting the regular involvement of Jewish students and disavowing rare instances of anti-Jewish statements made at often publicly open demonstrations. In their statement carried by the student newspaper, pro-Palestine protesters at Yale accused administrators of coming down particularly harshly to avoid recourse from the Trump administration. “Attacking students and alienating community members didn’t save Harvard or Columbia. It won’t save Yale,” they said. Yale did not reply to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on whether concerns about a Trump administration response informed its disciplinary actions or if it had any response to Ben-Gvir’s visit. For her part, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, responded to a video on X showing protesters refusing to break a human chain to allow a student to pass through their ranks on campus. The post claimed: “Jewish students aren’t allowed to walk through Yale’s campus anymore!” Dhillon wrote that her office is “tracking the concerning activities at Yale, and is in touch with affected students”.   While critics said heavy-handed responses to pro-Palestine protesters have become commonplace in the US, some observers said the dissonance on display at Yale has been particularly striking. Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2008 by an Israeli court of inciting racism and supporting a “terrorist” organisation, the founded Kach group, which supported the annexation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territories. He has called for a no-holds-barred military operation in Gaza, where UN experts already say Israel is committing “genocidal acts”. He has appealed for Israel to commit what would constitute war crimes under international law in Gaza. Most recently, he posted on X that he told “senior Republican officials” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that Israel should bomb “food and aid depots”. Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, said Yale’s silence regarding Ben-Gvir speaking at an organisation that claims to be based at the university “exposes the deepest contradictions in our society and in these institutions that are supposed to be dedicated towards truth seeking and critical thought”. “[Ben-Gvir] faces no red line,” she said. “But the people protesting can face severe consequences.” “This is a moment where universities are fighting for their lives and trying to argue to the American public that they are worth saving in the face of Trump’s onslaught,” she said. “And yet they show no moral courage.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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News_Naija

APC LG Aspirant Backs Obasas Son For Agege Council Poll

The Vice Chairman of Agege Local Government and a leading aspirant in the July 12 council election, Mr Oluwagbenga Abiola, has welcomed his party’s decision to field Abdulganiyu Obasa as the APC’s flagbearer in the upcoming local government poll. Abiola is a political protégé of the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly and APC leader in Agege, Mr Mudashiru Obasa. Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos, Abiola affirmed his loyalty to the party and to Obasa. NAN recalls that on Monday, Agege stakeholders urged Obasa to allow his son, Abdulganiyu, to contest the council chairmanship. According to them, this would reward the Speaker’s years of humanitarian service and political impact in Agege. Reacting to claims that he faced pressure to withdraw, Abiola said he remained deeply grateful to Obasa for shaping his political journey. He pledged total support for the Speaker’s leadership and said he would never oppose the party’s direction or Obasa’s guidance. Abiola stated: “Let me make it clear — I will never go against my leader, Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa. This is the man who made me. He appointed me Special Assistant on Media when he became Speaker in 2015. In 2016, I was appointed Sole Administrator of Agege LG, thanks to his recommendation to the governor. That appointment made me the youngest council boss in Lagos State at the time. “In 2017, I became Secretary to the Local Government, and in 2021, Vice Chairman — all through the party’s and Speaker’s support. So tell me, why would I oppose a man who built me politically and helped me grow in experience and influence?” He admitted his ambition to become Chairman, but insisted he must submit to the party’s collective decision. “Yes, I aspired. Every Vice Chairman dreams of becoming Chairman. But the party has spoken, and I fully agree. Leaders and stakeholders have united. They’ve asked the Speaker to allow his son to contest. I respect and support that. I stand with Obasa, with APC Agege, and with all decisions taken by the party and stakeholders,” he added. Abiola noted that service to people was his true goal and believed more opportunities would come in the future. “I trust my leader. He knows what’s best and can recommend me for even greater responsibilities when the time is right. I’m still young and full of energy. I’ll work for the party and ensure we achieve victory,” he said. He added that he had instructed members of his Obasa Youth Alliance to fully support the party’s decision. NAN

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Worldnews

At Least 59 Palestinians Killed As Israel Escalates Gaza Bombardment

Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 59 as military issues evacuation orders for Beit Hanoon and Sheikh Zeid. At least 59 people, including children, have been killed in a barrage of Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Rescue teams and medics in the enclave said at least 12 people belonging to the same family were among those killed on Thursday when their home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia was targeted. Six members of another family – a couple and their four children – were killed when an air strike levelled their home in Gaza City, the civil defence said in a statement. Ahmed Arar, a first responder in Gaza City, said there were “large quantities of body parts and remains”, including those of many children, after the attack. “There are only hands, legs, and heads. They are all severed and torn,” Arar told Al Jazeera. Another 10 people were killed and several others wounded in a strike on a former police station in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, according to a statement from the Indonesian Hospital, where the casualties were taken. “Everyone started running and screaming, not knowing what to do from the horror and severity of the bombing,” 23-year-old Abdel Qader Sabah, from Jabalia, said of the attack that hit the station that is located near a market. Israel’s military said it struck what it described as a Hamas “command and control centre” in the Jabalia area, without clarifying if it was targeting the police station. The army has previously used similar justifications in attacks that hit hospitals and numerous shelters housing displaced Palestinian families. At least 26 people were killed in other Israeli attacks across the territory, according to medics and the civil defence agency. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said there is “an ongoing surge in the rate of Israeli attacks on the entire Gaza Strip”. He said that civil defence crews are still working to dig through the rubble at the scene of the latest attack in Jabalia. He cited one rescue worker as saying many of the victims have sustained burn wounds. Israel resumed its military assault on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire that had brought a temporary halt to fighting in the blockaded territory. The military is continuing to seal vital border crossings for the eighth week in a row, denying the entry of much-needed humanitarian aid, including medical supplies and fuel, worsening an already deep humanitarian crisis amid relentless bombardment. Israel’s army chief, visiting troops in Gaza on Thursday, threatened a “larger” offensive if captives seized in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, are not freed. “If we do not see progress in the return of the hostages in the near future, we will expand our activities to a larger and more significant operation,” Eyal Zamir said. The Israeli military, meanwhile, ordered Palestinians living in the northern areas of Beit Hanoon and Sheikh Zeid to evacuate in advance of an attack. The United Nations has warned that Israel’s expanding evacuation orders across Gaza are resulting in the “forcible transfer” of people into ever-shrinking areas. Aid agencies estimate that the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since the war began.   Also on Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said the Durra Children’s Hospital in Gaza City had become nonoperational, a day after an Israeli strike hit the upper part of the building, damaging the intensive care unit and destroying the facility’s solar power panel system. Gaza’s health system has been devastated by Israel’s 18-month-old military campaign, putting many of the territory’s hospitals out of action, killing medics, and reducing crucial supplies. Efforts by key mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have so far failed to produce a lasting ceasefire. Since Israel resumed its assault, at least 1,978 people have been killed in Gaza, raising the overall death toll to at least 51,355 since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The military said Thursday that Israeli tank fire killed a UN worker in the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah last month, according to an investigation’s initial findings. It had initially denied operating in the area where a Bulgarian employee of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was killed on March 19. The findings come after the military on Sunday reported on a separate probe into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza. It finally admitted that operational failures led to their deaths, and said a field commander would be dismissed. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Futbol

Liverpool Title Push Back On Track - But When Can They Win It?

Liverpool are on the brink of the Premier League title after their late 2-1 win against West Ham on Sunday moved them 13 points clear at the top. Arne Slot's side bounced back from last weekend's defeat at Fulham - their first in 26 league games - thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Virgil van Dijk. It means the Reds need just six points from their remaining six games to secure a record-equalling 20th top-flight title. That would put the Merseysiders on 82 points, with second-placed Arsenal only able to reach 81 even if they won all of their remaining games. But Liverpool could win the league as soon as this Sunday. If Arsenal lose at Ipswich in the day's early game (14:00 BST) then the Reds will be champions with a victory at Leicester (16:30). If Arsenal draw, then a Liverpool win would all-but-seal the title as they would be 15 points clear with 15 to play for, and with a vastly superior goal difference. If both teams match each other's result then Arsenal would have to avoid defeat at home to Crystal Palace on 23 April (20:00) to delay Liverpool's coronation. Even if Arsenal win, Liverpool would claim the title with a home win over Tottenham on 27 April. We've all heard the accusations and whispers this season from rival fans, haven't we? 'This Liverpool team isn't actually that great.' 'The Premier League is a poor league this season.' 'Liverpool's class of 2024-25 wouldn't have won the title in another season.' How fair is this, though? Firstly, it has to be said Liverpool's usual rivals are not having their best seasons. Defending champions Manchester City are on track for their worst campaign under Pep Guardiola, Manchester United are set for their worst season in Premier League history, Arsenal are 11 points adrift of their points tally at this stage of last season, while Tottenham and Chelsea have suffered their own struggles as well. It's been a good season for Liverpool to hit full stride then. And Slot's men have certainly done that. Even if Arsenal were on the 74 points they had reached at this stage last season, when they were top of the table, Liverpool would still be two points ahead of them. Arsenal's much-lauded Invincibles finished their title-winning campaign on 90 points back in 2004. Slot's men need 15 points from six games to beat that. In 32 Premier League seasons, only 14 sides have reached that mark and one of them - Manchester United in 1993-94 - did so in a 42-game season. Liverpool are also the only side to get 90-plus points and not win the title - doing so twice under Jurgen Klopp - meaning only 12 of the previous 31 league-winning sides posted in 90 points or more. You can only beat what is front of you and Liverpool have done just that in formidable style. 20 April: Leicester (A) 27 April: Tottenham (H) 4 May: Chelsea (A) 11 May: Arsenal (H) 18 May: Brighton (A) 25 May: Crystal Palace (H)