Latest news with #Amaral
IOL News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Is Equating the Gaza Genocide to Auschwitz a Misrepresentation?
A woman mourns over the shrouded body of a Palestinian killed during a reported Israeli strike on a humanitarian aid distribution warehouse in the Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza City, in the central Gaza Strip on June 30, 2025. Despite misconceptions, Israel is not trying to starve the Gazan people, says the writer. Image: AFP Nicholas Woode-Smith Roberto Amaral's comparison of Gaza to Auschwitz is not just patently ahistorical but belies an ignorance of the realities of the Gaza conflict and the true human cost of the Holocaust (From Auschwitz to Gaza: The modern-day concentration camp, published in the Sunday Independent and IOL, 9 June 2025). To equate the systematic industrial genocide of six million Jews in Auschwitz with Israel's military campaign in Gaza is not only a gross distortion but a deeply offensive minimisation of the Holocaust. In five years, a patch of dirt approximately 346 acres large, guarded by 10 miles of barbed wire, became the last resting place of over 1.1 million innocents. The vast majority of those exterminated were Jews. Auschwitz was just one of the many concentration and death camps constructed by the Nazi regime to exterminate Jews and their perceived enemies. Six million Jews were systematically rounded up, put into hellish camps, and shot, gassed, brutalised, tortured and slaughtered. The global Jewish population only recovered from this genocide in recent years. The scale of the operation and its cold and calculated industrial efficiency were unlike anything that the world had ever seen before. Jakub Nowakowski, Director of Cape Town's Holocaust & Genocide Centre, poignantly highlights the intense and concentrated cruelty of the Nazi's final solution: 'Six camps... became centres of industrialised murder... In Bełżec alone, 500,000 Jews were killed in just ten months.' Amaral's use of the term 'Luciferian' to describe Israel reveals much of the underlying bigotry of his argument. Describing an entire state as satanic is not a political critique; it's dehumanisation. This language echoes some of the oldest antisemitic tropes in history, many of which fuelled genocidal ideologies in Europe. Amaral wishes to paint Israel as the fundamental antagonist in what is a tragic and complicated conflict. He fails to mention the October 7 massacre, one of the largest mass atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust, and the event that caused this war in the first place. As Nowakowski pertinently comments: 'It is worth keeping in mind that it was Hamas that sparked this latest cycle of violence with its attack on Israel on October 7, two years ago, not the Israeli army.' Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Further, Amaral refuses to call the conflict a war, stripping Gazans and Hamas of their agency and acting as if Palestinians are only passive victims who have not pulled a single trigger. It is this passivity that Amaral asserts is further evidence of Israel's genocide against the Gaza people. But there is a large difference between Gaza and Auschwitz. And genocide isn't just about the number of dead. As Nowakowski explains: 'The definition of genocide... turns on one thing above all else—intent. For an atrocity to be genocide, its defining objective must be the physical elimination of a group, or a part of that group.' In the case of the Holocaust: 'These six camps, including Bełżec, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Treblinka, became centres of industrialised murder... Their deaths were not collateral; they were the objective.' Genocide is not Israel's objective in Gaza. Israel is not marching civilians into gas chambers or firing wantonly at innocents. And despite misconceptions, Israel is not trying to starve the Gazan people either. The vast majority of civilian deaths have occurred because of Hamas' strategy of embedding itself among civilians, using homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques to store weapons and launch attacks on Israeli civilians, attempting to kill them merely for being Jewish. The fact of the matter is that if Israel could achieve its military objective of saving its hostages and eliminating Hamas as a threat to its people without harming a single civilian, that is what they would choose. A true genocide would have no such discernment between combatants and noncombatants. The Jews of Europe, the Tutsis of Rwanda, the Armenians, and the Bosnian Muslims were targeted because of who they are. The aim was their extermination. Amaral and other writers risk overextending the term 'genocide' and dulling its moral edge. It risks confusing true genocide with what is already a tragic, albeit necessary, war. To call Gaza a modern Auschwitz is not only historically incoherent, but devalues the unique horror of the Holocaust, where genocide was not a side effect. It was the mission. Civilian deaths in Gaza must not be dismissed. But they must also not be mislabelled. If we are to prevent future genocides, we must first be honest about what they are and what they are not. Comparing Gaza to Auschwitz reveals a deeper moral confusion. The Jews of Europe were powerless civilians systematically rounded up and exterminated solely for who they were. In Gaza, Israel is targeting Hamas, a heavily armed terrorist group that governs Gaza, started this war, and uses its people as shields. There is no moral equivalence between mass murder and tragic collateral damage. To pretend otherwise is to insult the memory of Holocaust victims and obscure the reality of today's war. To call Gaza another Auschwitz is not just a mistake. It is a betrayal of memory and a barrier to truth and peace. * Nicholas Woode-Smith is the the Managing Editor of the Rational Standard and a Senior Associate of the Free Market Foundation. He writes in his personal capacity. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African. *** EDITOR'S NOTE: The claims made in this article reflect factually incorrect statements regarding Israel's ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, as ruled by the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court's findings, and the ongoing and unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Qatar Tribune
10-06-2025
- Science
- Qatar Tribune
Qatar takes part in Chileforum to share views on educational innovation
Tribune News Network Doha In a bid to deepen international dialogue on the future of education, representatives from Qatar participated in a high-level forum on 'Reimagining Education: New Paths for Educational Innovation', hosted by Fundación Reimagina in Santiago, Chile. The event, held as part of the Qatar-Chile 2025 Year of Culture (YoC), brought together educators, policymakers, and innovators to explore new models for educational reform and cross-sector collaboration. 'Promoting collaboration between organisations, countries and sectors is a core value of Fundacion Reimagina. In order to fulfil our mission of ensuring education that responds to the challenges of 21st-century society, we require partnerships and exchanges that guarantee higher educational quality and the development of key skills, such as creativity, critical thinking and digital proficiency. This requires a profound and practical approach to innovation, which we aim to promote at this meeting with Years of Culture and WISE,' said Ana María Raad, founder of Reimagina and AprendoLAB. The forum featured contributions from Aurelio Amaral, director of programmes at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, and Hazem Idriss, deputy director of community development at Qatar Museums. Their presence underscored Qatar's growing role in fostering education and cultural diplomacy as tools for building bridges across continents. A recent example of this commitment is AprendoLab, a project by Fundación Reimagina that was named one of the six 2024–25 WISE Prize for Education Finalists. The finalists have been working over the past year to develop solutions for fundamental challenges in education systems, such as accelerating foundational literacies, improving the teaching and learning of Arabic, and addressing emerging challenges of artificial intelligence in education. AprendoLab, headquartered in Chile, supports stronger teacher-student engagement through digital resources designed to close educational and technological gaps. Currently being piloted in Chile, Mexico and Ecuador, the project focuses on enhancing both teacher capacity and student learning outcomes. 'Innovation in education requires a systems-thinking approach—one that values grassroots ideas and connects them with global frameworks,' said Amaral on the sidelines of the forum. 'Events like this are essential for bringing diverse voices together to co-create inclusive, resilient learning ecosystems.' Amaral also highlighted WISE's global role in advancing education through research, policy dialogue, and cross-sector partnerships. Since its founding in 2009 by, WISE has become a global platform for educational transformation. Idriss's participation in the forum coincided with a broader visit to Chile and Argentina, where he is conducting site assessments for Qatar Museums' international volunteer programme, an initiative that became an integral part of annual Years of Culture programming during the Qatar-Indonesia 2023. The programme pairs Qatari and Qatar-based students, artists, and staff with local communities in host countries to promote experiential learning and skill exchange.
Qatar Tribune
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Qatar participates in 'Reimagining Education' forum in Chile
SANTIAGO: In a bid to deepen international dialogue on the future of education, the State of Qatar participated in 'Reimagining Education: New Paths for Educational Innovation,' a high-level forum hosted by Fundacion Reimagina in Santiago, Chile. The event, held as part of the Qatar-Chile 2025 Year of Culture, brought together educators, policymakers, and innovators to explore new models for educational reform and cross-sector collaboration. The forum featured contributions from Aurelio Amaral, Director of Programs at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, and Hazem Idriss, Deputy Director of Community Development at Qatar Museums. Their presence underscored Qatar's growing role in fostering education and cultural diplomacy as tools for building bridges across continents. "Innovation in education requires a systems-thinking approach—one that values grassroots ideas and connects them with global frameworks,' said Amaral on the sidelines of the forum. "Events like this are essential for bringing diverse voices together to co-create inclusive, resilient learning ecosystems." Amaral also highlighted WISE's global role in advancing education through research, policy dialogue, and cross-sector partnerships. Since its founding in 2009 by, WISE has become a global platform for educational transformation. For Idriss, the value of education extended beyond the classroom. He shared lessons from Qatar's international volunteer initiatives, which pair service-based learning with cultural exchange. Idriss's participation in the forum coincided with a broader visit to Chile and Argentina, where he is conducting site assessments for Qatar Museums' international volunteer program, an initiative that became an integral part of annual Years of Culture programming during the Qatar-Indonesia 2023. "Promoting collaboration between organisations, countries and sectors is a core value of Fundacion Reimagina. In order to fulfil our mission of ensuring education that responds to the challenges of 21st-century society, we require partnerships and exchanges that guarantee higher educational quality and the development of key skills, such as creativity, critical thinking and digital proficiency. This requires a profound and practical approach to innovation, which we aim to promote at this meeting with Years of Culture and WISE," said Ana María Raad, Founder of Reimagina and AprendoLAB. A recent example of this commitment is AprendoLab, a project by Fundacion Reimagina that was named one of the six 2024–25 WISE Prize for Education Finalists. The finalists have been working over the past year to develop solutions for fundamental challenges in education systems, such as accelerating foundational literacies, improving the teaching and learning of Arabic, and addressing emerging challenges of artificial intelligence in education. Organizers hope that by linking local innovation in Chile with international examples, the forum can spur new partnerships and create momentum for scaling high-impact educational strategies, a powerful legacy of the Qatar-Chile 2025 Year of Culture.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Experts call Kennedy's plan to find autism's cause unrealistic
Washington: For many experts, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's promise for "pulling back the curtain" to find autism's causes in a few months is jarring - and unrealistic. That's because it appears to ignore decades of science linking about 200 genes that play a role - and the quest to understand differences inside the brain that can be present at birth. "Virtually all the evidence in the field suggests whatever the causes of autism - and there's going to be multiple causes, it's not going to be a single cause - they all affect how the fetal brain develops," said longtime autism researcher David Amaral of the UC Davis MIND Institute . "Even though we may not see the behaviors associated with autism until a child is 2 or 3 years old, the biological changes have already taken place," he said. Kennedy on Wednesday announced the National Institutes of Health would create a new database "to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases" by merging Medicaid and Medicare insurance claims with electronic medical records and other data. He has cited rising autism rates as evidence of an epidemic of a "preventable disease" caused by some sort of environmental exposure and has promised "some of the answers by September." What is autism? Autism isn't considered a disease. It's a complex brain disorder better known as autism spectrum disorder , to reflect that it affects different people in different ways. Symptoms vary widely. For some people, profound autism means being nonverbal and having significant intellectual disabilities. Others have far milder effects, such as difficulty with social and emotional skills. Autism rates are rising - not among profound cases but milder ones, said autism expert Helen Tager-Flusberg of Boston University. That's because doctors gradually learned that milder symptoms were part of autism's spectrum, leading to changes in the late 1990s and early 2000s in diagnosis guidelines and qualifications for educational services, she said. What's the state of autism research ? The link between genes and autism dates back to studies of twins decades ago. Some are rare genetic variants passed from parent to child, even if the parent shows no signs of autism. But that's not the only kind. As the brain develops, rapidly dividing cells make mistakes that can lead to mutations in only one type of cell or one part of the brain, Amaral explained. Noninvasive testing can spot differences in brain activity patterns in babies who won't be diagnosed with autism until far later, when symptoms become apparent, he said. Those kinds of changes stem from alterations in brain structure or its neural circuitry - and understanding them requires studying brain tissue that's available only after death, said Amaral, who's the scientific director of a brain banking collaborative called Autism BrainNet . The bank, funded by the nonprofit Simons Foundation, has collected more than 400 donated brains, about half from people with autism and the rest for comparison. What about environmental effects? Researchers have identified other factors that can interact with genetic vulnerability to increase the risk of autism. They include the age of a child's father, whether the mother had certain health problems during pregnancy including diabetes, use of certain medications during pregnancy, and preterm birth. Any concern that measles vaccinations could be linked to autism has been long debunked, stressed Tager-Flusberg, who leads a new Coalition of Autism Scientists pushing back on administration misstatements about the condition. What about Kennedy's database plan? The U.S., with its fragmented health care system, will never have the kind of detailed medical tracking available in countries like Denmark and Norway - places with national health systems where research shows similar rises in autism diagnoses and no environmental smoking gun. Experts say Kennedy's planned database isn't appropriate to uncover autism's causes in part because there's no information about genetics. But researchers have long used insurance claims and similar data to study other important questions, such as access to autism services. And the NIH described the upcoming database as useful for studies focusing on access to care, treatment effectiveness and other trends. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Korea Herald
11-05-2025
- Health
- Korea Herald
Experts cast doubt on RFK plan to find autism's cause
WASHINGTON (AP) — For many experts, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s promise for "pulling back the curtain" to find autism's causes in a few months is jarring — and unrealistic. That's because it appears to ignore decades of science linking about 200 genes that play a role — and the quest to understand differences inside the brain that can be present at birth. "Virtually all the evidence in the field suggests whatever the causes of autism — and there's going to be multiple causes, it's not going to be a single cause — they all affect how the fetal brain develops," said longtime autism researcher David Amaral of the UC Davis MIND Institute. "Even though we may not see the behaviors associated with autism until a child is 2 or 3 years old, the biological changes have already taken place," he said. Kennedy on Wednesday announced the National Institutes of Health would create a new database "to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases" by merging Medicaid and Medicare insurance claims with electronic medical records and other data. He has cited rising autism rates as evidence of an epidemic of a "preventable disease" caused by some sort of environmental exposure and has promised "some of the answers by September." Autism isn't considered a disease. It's a complex brain disorder better known as autism spectrum disorder, to reflect that it affects different people in different ways. Symptoms vary widely. For some people, profound autism means being nonverbal and having significant intellectual disabilities. Others have far milder effects, such as difficulty with social and emotional skills. Autism rates are rising — not among profound cases but milder ones, said autism expert Helen Tager-Flusberg of Boston University. That's because doctors gradually learned that milder symptoms were part of autism's spectrum, leading to changes in the late 1990s and early 2000s in diagnosis guidelines and qualifications for educational services, she said. The link between genes and autism dates back to studies of twins decades ago. Some are rare genetic variants passed from parent to child, even if the parent shows no signs of autism. But that's not the only kind. As the brain develops, rapidly dividing cells make mistakes that can lead to mutations in only one type of cell or one part of the brain, Amaral explained. Noninvasive testing can spot differences in brain activity patterns in babies who won't be diagnosed with autism until far later, when symptoms become apparent, he said. Those kinds of changes stem from alterations in brain structure or its neural circuitry — and understanding them requires studying brain tissue that's available only after death, said Amaral, who's the scientific director of a brain banking collaborative called Autism BrainNet. The bank, funded by the nonprofit Simons Foundation, has collected more than 400 donated brains, about half from people with autism and the rest for comparison. Researchers have identified other factors that can interact with genetic vulnerability to increase the risk of autism. They include the age of a child's father, whether the mother had certain health problems during pregnancy including diabetes, use of certain medications during pregnancy, and preterm birth. Any concern that measles vaccinations could be linked to autism has been long debunked, stressed Tager-Flusberg, who leads a new Coalition of Autism Scientists pushing back on administration misstatements about the condition. The US, with its fragmented health care system, will never have the kind of detailed medical tracking available in countries like Denmark and Norway — places with national health systems where research shows similar rises in autism diagnoses and no environmental smoking gun. Experts say Kennedy's planned database isn't appropriate to uncover autism's causes in part because there's no information about genetics. But researchers have long used insurance claims and similar data to study other important questions, such as access to autism services. And the NIH described the upcoming database as useful for studies focusing on access to care, treatment effectiveness and other trends.
