National Arab American Bar Association’s Post

What does it mean to stop supplying American weapons to Israel? And the rejection of the prime minister of Israel to the American political moves in the region. It simply means that the Zionist lobby in the United States is so strong that the Prime Minister of Israel can confront the decisions of the American administration and reject them or refuse to agree with the efforts of this administration in the region. The ceasefire paper approved by Hamas was also approved by the Israeli delegation, the American CIA director, the Qataris, and the Egyptians, but was rejected by the Israeli Prime Minister for his own considerations. Some may ask: What next? I believe that the Israeli Prime Minister will soon submit to the American position before America turns a blind eye to the Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice and issues arrest warrants against him. We are on the verge of a truce that will lead to a ceasefire and an end to the war.

In this New Wave Global explainer, economist and investment banker Yousuf Nazar unpacks the political and historical context behind the recent 26th Constitutional Amendment, explaining why it was prioritized by the current government and military establishment. Watch the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/dBc9DTzY

Following up on a comment I made on somebody’s post regarding the nonsensical carveout that existed for Charedim to avoid compulsory service — and criticized by a Lone Soldier for expressing that opinion based on that, since I hadn’t served in the Israeli army I shouldn't express my opinion — I feel vindicated by the Israeli Supreme Court’s opinion. From the State’s founding, that carveout was always nothing but a Faustian bargain without basis in law. I value the study of Talmud and (mostly) see the value for those who devote their lives to that commitment. And, still, just because someone is observant and wants to be a chacham does not trump the tenets of compulsory service. As Israel faces seemingly existential threats against its very existence, to claim that serving the country is for ‘others’ seems morally bankrupt. Why should my nephew and his friends — all observant Yehudim — make the ultimate sacrifice while others think they are above such Earthly necessities? I am a proud Zionist and have always believed that claiming exemption from serving because of a ‘higher calling’ is cheap and lazy. To be Yehudi and living in Israel is a gift I argue is worth the price of service. That Faustian bargain has finally been struck down because Israel is not Iran. It is not a theocracy despite the best efforts of the far right. Donning a black hat does not make one’s life more valuable. Serve your country — like everyone else — and then spend as much time as G-d gifts you to learn his laws. But do not ask your brothers and sisters to carry your water because you think your life is best served aspiring to be shtark. And, the irrelevant sideshow arguments that Druze Israelis and Muslim Israelis are not subject to compulsory service is not the issue here. This has always been a political dilemma and nothing more. Today, the Israeli Supreme Court washed that problem away. Equal protection under law is a bedrock principle of democracy and Israel faces much criticism on that front. The court’s ruling today goes a long way in course-correcting that drift.

This horrible conflict is really not as complicated as Zionists try to make it. It started in 1948 by the racist European Zionist founders of Israel, who ethnically cleansed over 750K Palestinians. Zionists actually believe they own every Palestinian home & inch of land & have the right to kill indigenous Palestinian families that refuse to leave. This is ridiculous because Palestinians have literally been there for thousands of years, never left, & their genetics proves it. At some point their Canaanite & Jewish ancestors simply converted to Christianity &/or Islam. So why would that mean Jewish immigrants from Europe & the U.S., who have never even been there, own all of their homes & private property? Please listen to renowned Jewish-American Professor Noam Chomsky explain how ridiculous this ownership claim is: lnkd.in/gtHPPHUz What would you do if someone stole or demolished your house & livelihood, killed some of your family, & left the rest of you with nothing, to live in the squalor of a refugee camp? That is what Israel did to over 750K Palestinians in 1948, over 300K in 1967, over 250K since 1967, & now it's trying to do it to the families in Gaza for the second time. Most of the families in Gaza owned homes & farms where Israeli cities & towns now stand, which Israel literally stole from them. Most even still have their front door keys. Israel has also continued stealing more Palestinian homes & farms EVERY YEAR in the West Bank & East Jerusalem as part of its brutal 57 year apartheid & ethnic cleansing, & has imposed a brutal blockade of Gaza since 2005. ALL illegal under international law, immoral, & ongoing acts of war. Please listen to the ex-head of Israel’s Shin Bet (their FBI), Ami Ayalon, & ex-Israeli PM & General, Ehud Barak, BOTH say IF THEY WERE PALESTINIAN THEY WOULD FIGHT ISRAEL BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THEIR LIBERTY: lnkd.in/guNE7vay Even the ex-head of Israel’s Mossad (their CIA) said “There is an apartheid state here. In a territory where two people are judged under two legal systems, that is an apartheid state.” lnkd.in/gF_2dqvM. I will continue advocating for peaceful resistance & Palestinians have been trying for decades, but when they do, Israeli soldiers shoot them in the knees, kill them, or at least imprison & beat them. If you don't believe it, read this 2020 Haaretz article titled: '42 Knees in One Day': Israeli Snipers Open Up About Shooting Gaza Protesters: lnkd.in/g4VqQRzs I also cry for the 38 Israeli children & others killed on Oct 7th, but this horrible conflict did NOT start on that day, & the proof is the nearly 2300 Palestinian children Israeli soldiers & settlers killed between 2000 & Oct 2023, including 43 during the 9 months just before Oct 7th (all details on BTselem.org). And now, Israel is committing genocide with the weapons WE keep giving them & has now killed OVER 25,000 WOMEN & CHILDREN (~70% of the dead), & MORE EVERY DAY, according to The Pentagon: lnkd.in/gaMEPKSn

A universal strategy to combat criminals’ exploitation of money regulations involves coordinated efforts across governments, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies. This initiative includes strengthening regulatory frameworks with stringent KYC and reporting requirements, leveraging technology like AI and blockchain for improved detection, and enhancing international cooperation through platforms like the FATF. Public-private partnerships are also crucial for sharing information and implementing innovative solutions. By integrating regulatory reforms, technological advancements, international collaboration, and public-private cooperation, we can effectively disrupt global money laundering networks and safeguard the integrity of the financial system.

FATF Plenary Meeting: Updates on Beneficial Ownership, Virtual Assets, and Payment Transparency • The FATF Plenary in Paris discussed key issues related to money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing. • A new risk-based guidance for implementing Recommendation 25 on beneficial ownership and transparency of legal arrangements was finalized. • The FATF identified jurisdictions with significant virtual asset activity to support them in regulating and supervising this sector. • Kenya and Namibia were added to the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, while Barbados, Gibraltar, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates were removed. • The FATF agreed to release proposed revisions to Recommendation 16 on wire transfers for public consultation.

Yoseph Haddad, a 39-year old Arab-Israeli citizen and journalist, well-known throughout Israel, spoke recently before the Austrian Parliament about the Israel that I know as a liberal Zionist, and about the distortions by the European media and many on the American far left about Hamas’s ideology, nature and intentions vis a vis Israel. His 15-minute speech (see You-Tube link below) is a must-listen address by an Israeli-Arab who understands what this awful war is really all about and about the standing of Israeli Arabs today in Israeli society, however imperfect for Israeli-Arab citizens. The situation in the West Bank for Palestinians, however, is very different as they live under a military administration and near violent Israeli settlers and growing Palestinian terrorism. When the dust of this war settles, when Israel and the Palestinian Authority elect new political leadership with vision and a willingness to create a new path to peace, with the help of a wise and strong American President, perhaps there will emerge the will between Israelis and Palestinians actually to make peace. Listen here and share this YouTube with those you believe will be moved by Yoseph Haddad and his clear moral compass in these difficult and painful times.

Ebrahim Raisi, the ultraconservative cleric whose tenure as Iran’s president was marked by a mass uprising and an increasingly hawkish stance toward the West, has died after a helicopter crash. He was widely seen in Iran as a favorite to eventually succeed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Read more on his life, and the impact of his death.

Zionism Slithers On Outrageous, heinous, murderous, vengeful, insidious, sinister, and evil fail to describe the Israeli campaign to not only eliminate a defenseless Gazan population but to destroy their residences and infrastructure, thus reducing an innocent population to extinction so Zionism prevails. Recently, we witnessed 100 Palestinian deaths at Israeli hands in a school safety zone—mostly babies, children, and women. Panic-stricken Gazans whom Israelis herded into areas they reported safe, only to die in the bombed areas the next day. Documented accounts of systematic torture in Israeli prisons reach our ears every day. Armed Israeli settlers, deemed illegal by the UN and many countries, currently attack and displace Palestinians in the West Bank as the Israeli Occupation Forces applauds. At home in the U.S., the insidious Israeli orchestrator, AIPAC----the fifth dimension in American politics, spent close to twenty million on democratic primaries to oust vocal Israeli critics Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman. The Israeli government’s power-hungry deadly acts goosestep into infamy and justifiably before the International Criminal Court. You be the judge.