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Trump administration accuses Columbia University of violating anti-discrimination laws

Trump administration accuses Columbia University of violating anti-discrimination laws

NBC News04-06-2025
The Department of Education says Columbia University has violated federal anti-discrimination laws stemming from the handling of campus protests of the Israel-Hamas war. NBC News' Yamiche Alcindor reports on the meaning of the alleged violation of Title VI protections.June 4, 2025
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US special envoy Witkoff visits food distribution centre in Gaza
US special envoy Witkoff visits food distribution centre in Gaza

South Wales Guardian

time2 hours ago

  • South Wales Guardian

US special envoy Witkoff visits food distribution centre in Gaza

International experts warned this week that a 'worst-case scenario of famine' is playing out in Gaza. Israel's near 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2.0 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people. Envoy Steve Witkoff and the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, which has been almost completely destroyed and is now a largely depopulated Israeli military zone. Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while heading to such aid sites since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office. Israel and GHF say they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated. In a report issued on Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said GHF was at the heart of a 'flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' Mr Witkoff posted on X that he had spent more than five hours inside Gaza in order to gain 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza'. He did not request any meetings with UN officials in Gaza during his visit, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters. UN agencies have provided aid throughout Gaza since the start of the war, when conditions allow. Chapin Fay, a spokesperson for GHF, said the visit reflected Mr Trump's understanding of the stakes and that 'feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority'. The group said it has delivered over 100 million meals since it began operations in May. All four of the group's sites established in May are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid. More 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli fire since May while seeking aid in the territory, most near the GHF sites but also near United Nations aid convoys, the UN human rights office said last month. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said on Friday they received the bodies of 13 people who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that US officials visited. GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent shootings had occurred near UN aid convoys. Mr Witkoff's visit comes a week after US officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe. Mr Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages. The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on October 7 2023 and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including about 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Families criticise Starmer and say hostages ‘will rot in Hamas dungeons'
Families criticise Starmer and say hostages ‘will rot in Hamas dungeons'

Times

time3 hours ago

  • Times

Families criticise Starmer and say hostages ‘will rot in Hamas dungeons'

Hostages held captive in Gaza will continue to 'rot in Hamas dungeons' under Sir Keir Starmer's plan to bring peace to the Middle East. Lawyers representing the relatives of British people who were held by Hamas and those who had been murdered said the prime minister's peace plan would harm the remaining hostages in Gaza. Adam Wagner KC and Adam Rose, acting for the seven British families of hostages in Gaza, said four of the families met with senior Foreign Office officials on Thursday evening. In a statement, they said that British recognition of a Palestinian state if Israel and Hamas failed to reach a ceasefire by September would 'disincentivise Hamas from agreeing a deal'. They asked: 'Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?'. They said the families had 'held out some hope that the policy could not be as they feared and that since the UK had chosen to impose conditions on recognition, those conditions would also be on Hamas, as otherwise they would essentially be rewarded for continuing to commit war crimes, including hostage taking and encouraged to continue that path'. But that 'it was clear from the meeting last night that the British government's policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them'. Wagner and Rose claimed the release or otherwise of hostages would 'play no part' in the decision ministers will make in September and added: 'In other words, the 'vision for peace', which the UK is pursuing and which the families heard much about last night, may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons, just as British and British-linked hostages Emily Damari and Eli Sharabi did before them.' Starmer said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allowed more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. While he also called for Hamas to immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', he did not explicitly say these conditions would factor into a decision on whether recognition would go ahead. The US accused Starmer, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and President Macron of France of being 'clumsy' by saying they would recognise a Palestinian state before all hostages were released. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said recognition of Palestine as a state was 'irrelevant' and told Fox News Radio: 'The UK is like, well, 'if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. So if I'm Hamas, I say, 'you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire.' If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September.' The British families want the government to 'confirm that without the hostages being released, there can be no peace, and that this will be an important part of its decision as to whether to proceed with recognition and its current plan'. Starmer said this week that 'I've been absolutely clear and steadfast that we must have the remaining hostages released, that's been our position throughout'. However, Damari, a British-Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas, accused him of 'not standing on the right side of history' and said she was 'deeply saddened' by his decision. The families of Damari and Sharabi were among those who met with the Foreign Office. Also present were relatives of Nadav Popplewell, who died while held captive, as well as those of Oded Lifshitz, who also died, and Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released. The government said: 'We have announced our intention to recognise Palestine in September to protect the viability of the two-state solution. The first step in that process must be a ceasefire and there is no question about that. 'Our demands on Hamas have not changed. For there to be any chance of peace, the hostages must be released. Hamas must lay down its weapons and commit to having no future role in the governance of Gaza. 'We must also see significant progress on the ground including the supply of humanitarian support and for Israel to rule out annexations in the West Bank, and a commitment to a long-term sustainable peace. We will make an assessment ahead of UNGA (the United Nations general assembly) on how far both Israel and Hamas have met the steps we set out. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.' President Trump had also expressed his 'displeasure and disagreement' with Starmer over the promise to recognise a Palestinian state. The US president, who had previously suggested he was relaxed about the prospect, even though he disagreed, hardened his stance after more countries said they would recognise Palestine. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump had expressed his 'displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada'. She told reporters: 'He feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages.' Dame Diana Johnson, the crime and policing minister, said there would be an assessment in September on whether the British government will recognise a Palestinian state. Asked if hostages being released would be a condition of that, she told Times Radio: 'Neither side has a veto on what the British government choose to do in September. And that will be an assessment that will be taking place in September. 'The prime minister has set out what he expects from Israel. Obviously, that's a democratically elected government, very different to Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation.' She said: 'We need to actually have the ceasefire, and then move on to trying to re-establish that peace process and the establishment of what my party and I think generally is accepted, a two-state solution.'

Top Dem senator posts 679-word salad excuse after she missed key vote to go on Stephen Colbert's doomed show
Top Dem senator posts 679-word salad excuse after she missed key vote to go on Stephen Colbert's doomed show

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Top Dem senator posts 679-word salad excuse after she missed key vote to go on Stephen Colbert's doomed show

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin posted a lengthy explanation for why she missed a vote on bills that would block arms sales to Israel to appear on Stephen Colbert 's canceled CBS talk show instead. Slotkin, a former CIA agent and considered a rising star in the Democrat Party, raised eyebrows when she posted a photo from backstage at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York to promote her appearance, writing: 'Tune in tonight!!' After missing the vote on the bill - which was rejected but saw a surprising majority of Democrats voting in favor - Slotkin attempted to explain herself in a 679-word long post to X. She claimed that she 'unfortunately missed' the vote but then offered that she would have joined 27 other Democrats in voting for the bill, pushed by socialist independent Bernie Sanders. 'I owe it to my state to make clear where I stand: Had I made it back for the vote yesterday, I would have voted yes to block offensive weapons to Israel based on my concerns over lack of food and medicine getting to civilians in Gaza,' she wrote. Slotkin, who is Jewish, added that she is a 'strong supporter of the Jewish State of Israel' but that she hears 'calls from Michiganders who have friends and family trying to survive in Gaza.' Michigan notably was a hotbed for the 'Uncommitted' movement, which refused to vote for Joe Biden and later Kamala Harris over the Democrats' support of Israel. At no point did Slotkin apologize for her absence, instead saying the proposal was ineffective. 'In general, I think these Disapproval votes are a bad way to do foreign policy. The Executive Branch, whether run by Democrats or now Republicans, has the responsibility to set U.S. foreign policy, and to lead negotiations with both allies and adversaries.' She finished writing: 'No one leader should so significantly threaten the long-term security of the state of Israel. I urge the Trump Administration and the Israeli Prime Minister to get aid in as soon as possible and save lives.' People of all political stars and stripes seemed baffled by the lengthy post, asking Slotkin to simply do her job. 'You skipped doing your job in order to appear on the Colbert show. Shame on you,' wrote one. Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner added: 'You don't need to explain being against sending offensive weapons to Israel. This is what your constituents want. No essay needed.' AIPAC Tracker, an account that publishes money given to American politicians by the pro-Israel lobby, wrote: 'The essay is not necessary, Senator. The people simply want you to stand against genocide. Your obfuscation is telling.' The Senate rejected the effort Wednesday from Sanders to block the sale of U.S. bombs and firearms to Israel, though the vote showed a growing number of Democrats opposed to the arms sales amid widespread hunger and suffering in Gaza Sanders, an independent from Vermont, has repeatedly tried to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel over the last year. The resolutions before the Senate on Tuesday would have stopped the sale of $675 million in bombs as well as shipments of 20,000 automatic assault rifles to Israel. They again failed to gain passage, but 27 Democrats - more than half the caucus - voted for the resolution that applied to assault rifles, and 24 voted for the resolution that applied to bomb sales. It was more than any of Sanders' previous efforts, which at a high mark in November last year gained 18 votes from Democrats. The vote tally showed how the images of starvation emerging from Gaza are creating a growing schism in what has traditionally been overwhelming support for Israel from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Sanders said Democrats are responding to 'a significant majority of the American people who are tired of spending billions and billions of dollars on an Israeli government which is currently starving children to death.' As the war approaches its second year, the leading international authority on food crises said this week that a 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.' announce measures , including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops. But the U.N. and Palestinians on the ground say little has changed, and desperate crowds continue to overwhelm delivery trucks. The Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, argued that Hamas was to blame both for the conflict and the current situation in Gaza. All Republican senators voted against Sanders' resolutions. 'They use the people of Gaza as human shields, and they steal the food that the people of Gaza need,' Risch said. 'It is in the interest of America and the world to see this terrorist group destroyed.' Known as joint resolutions of disapproval, the measures would have had to pass both houses of Congress and withstand any presidential veto to become binding. Congress has never succeeded in blocking arms sales with the joint resolutions. Democratic senators spent an hour on Wednesday evening with a series of floor speeches calling attention to the children who have starved to death in Gaza. They are also calling on the Trump Administration to recalibrate its approach to the conflict, including a large-scale expansion of aid into Gaza channeled through organizations experienced working in the area. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement following the vote that the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'have a responsibility to urgently' surge food and other aid into Gaza. Still, he voted against the resolution. 'I have also long held that security assistance to Israel is not about any one government but about our support for the Israeli people,' said Schumer, a New York Democrat. Other senior Democrats were breaking from that standard. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat who voted against similar resolutions from Sanders in the past, voted in support of the legislation this time. 'As a longtime friend and supporter of Israel, I am voting yes to send a message: the Netanyahu government cannot continue with this strategy,' she said in a statement. Another Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said it was still 'painful' to support the resolution. 'For many of us who have devoted our congressional careers to supporting Israel, standing by them through difficult times, it is impossible to really explain or defend what is going on today,' Durbin said. 'Gaza is starving and dying because of the policies of Bibi Netanyahu.'

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