Democrats are anticipating a large chunk of their caucus to sit out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin #Netanyahu'saddress to a #joint#session Congress.
Why it matters:
It would represent a significant repudiation of the Israeli prime minister amid persistent Democratic objections to how he has conducted the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress, which was a major snub of the Obama administration, was skippedby 58 Democratic lawmakers.
Many Democrats this year argued against inviting Netanyahu in the first place, accusing Republicans of attempting to divide their party with the speech.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told Axios the #boycott "will be large" and that there are "a lot of people who are extremely upset he is coming here."
Jayapal said she has spoken to several lawmakers who went to Netanyahu's 2015 speech but said they will not attend this time.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the progressive ranking member of the House Rules Committee, told Axios he will not attend and said: "I wish it wasn't [happening]."
Several other progressives previously told Axios when the speech was first floated in March that they would sit it out.
Some Democrats who have tried to balance their support for Israel and their discomfort with how the war has been prosecuted are struggling with whether to attend, as Axios previously reported.
One House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a lot of members will "wait up until the very end to decide" whether they will attend, calling it a "very fluid, unpredictable situation."
The lawmaker said that whether there is a #ceasefire in Gaza by the time Netanyahu speaks will be the key factor, predicting anywhere from 50 to 100 Democrats will skip the speech if the war is still raging.
Another, senior House Democrat said it is "all being discussed" and that "a number [of Democrats] are going and #disrupting" the speech.
The other side: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), a senior Progressive Caucus member, told Axios he is "hoping to have a conversation about it."
The senate of the University of #Barcelona (UB) approves a motion calling for the university to break all institutional and academic ties with Israel, including centers, research institutes, companies, and other institutions in Israel
If I am allowed to suggest the boycott in Malaysia, I would like to say that it is better to boycott Meta Platforms than fast food retails like KFC. Local workers working for KFC are affected and probably going to lose their jobs. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms get profits from your data for profits (which can be used to fuel the war) and surveillance (providing data who supports each party of the war).
You can start from the smallest thing: remove your accounts not related with your businesses/incomes, use other platforms than WhatsApp for family/friend groups.
"A group of shoppers who say they are fed up with the company's grocery prices said that as of Wednesday they would start boycotting the retailer's flagship Loblaws stores."
More power to them, but I'm pretty sure that deciding to shop somewhere else with lower prices is just, well, shopping. I wouldn't be inclined to call that a boycott.
Or perhaps I've been boycotting all sorts of shops for most of my life!
"Overall, we are pretty much like Russia now, only it isn't official yet with us. That may actually be worse, because if it were official, at least we'd be able to fight it," says Adar Shafran ("Running on Sand"), the director and head of the Israeli Producers Association. "When they want to submit a film to a festival, the Russians are told in advance not to do so. We aren't told that – our films simply aren't accepted."
Haaretz
Whilst the US is providing $Ms, #Israel will make no effort to behave like a civilised country. But the UK is just as shamed and inveigled by knowingly selling/providing arms to Israel. The governments of many Western powers are standing behind Israel. It is up to consumers/tourists to #boycott the country & its products.
TIL "#boycott - to refuse to do business with, as a sign of disapproval. The #eponym inspiration was Captain Charles Boycott (1832-97), an Irish land agent so treated in 1880, in an attempt by the Irish Land League to get a break on #rent." https://www.visualthesaurus.com/?word=boycott
At university of South #Florida hunger strikers for #palestine are entering their third week.
The university has instructed medical staff on campus to deny medical care to these students, they don’t all have insurance. Some have been hospitalized.
Through all this, the university continues to say they have zero control over their own money, and won’t meet with strikers.
#BestBuy is caving to threats by #christofascist#Republican investors, and will stop contributing to #LGBTQ non-profit organizations — including blocking their employee resource groups from making donations to those groups.