US Congress members denounce Israeli restrictions on academic freedom in Palestine

Jamaal Bowman, a representative from New York, sent a letter, co-signed by 11 of his Democratic colleagues, to the secretaries of state, homeland security, and education calling for an inquiry into the restrictive new rules. (bowman.house.gov)
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Updated 04 June 2022
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US Congress members denounce Israeli restrictions on academic freedom in Palestine

  • 12 Democrats called for an inquiry into new rules limiting numbers of American academics and students at Palestinian universities in the Occupied Territories
  • In a letter sent to the secretaries of state, homeland security and education they pointed out that there are no similar restrictions placed on Israeli universities

WASHINGTON: A dozen members of the US Congress have asked the Biden administration to look into recently introduced Israeli rules that limit the numbers of American academics and students who can teach or study at Palestinian universities in the Occupied Territories.

Jamaal Bowman, a representative from New York, sent a letter, co-signed by 11 of his Democratic colleagues, to the secretaries of state, homeland security, and education calling for an inquiry into the restrictive new rules. They were announced by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, which functions as the de-facto Israeli military government in the Occupied Territories.

The Congress members said in their letter: “According to the recent COGAT announcement, a limit of only 100 foreign academics and 150 foreign students will be allowed to teach or study at Palestinian universities.”

They said the new rules will “severely restrict the ability of American academics and students to teach and study at Palestinian universities” in the Occupied Territories, “while no similar restrictions apply to American academics and students seeking to teach and study at Israeli universities, nor to Israeli academics and students seeking to teach and study in the United States.”

In addition, they noted that the Israeli government “will only grant visas to professors and students for approved fields of teaching and study and limit the amount of time professors and students can spend at Palestinian universities.”

They said: “We find the policies outlined by the COGAT to formalize discriminatory treatment of Palestinian Americans and other citizens.”

These new rules are due to take effect in July, the members of congress noted, and they asked Biden administration officials to reveal how many Americans seeking to study or teach at Palestinian universities have been denied entry to Israel and on what basis?

They also asked the State Department to clarify its position on the new procedures, which “would have the effect of limiting academic freedom of American citizens seeking to study and/or teach at Palestinian universities.” They set a deadline of June 10 for a response.

The other members of Congress who co-signed the letter include Rep. Betty McCollum and Rep. Ilhan Omar, both from Minnesota, Rep. Marie Newman, a progressive from Illinois who has been a vocal advocate for the rights of Palestinians, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American from Michigan.

Chris Habiby, the legislative and policy coordinator for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told the Arab News that the new COGAT rules “simply formalize the practices that Arab Americans, and in particular Palestinian Americans, have been experiencing for decades.”

He added: “The ADC appreciates the courage of shown by Congressman Bowman and 11 other House Democrats in calling out Israeli discrimination against Palestinians.”

Israel has asked the Department of Homeland Security, which polices entry into the US, to include Israeli citizens visiting America in the US Visa Waiver Program. Objections to this center on allegations of Israeli discrimination against American citizens of Palestinian or Arab descent who are subjected to intrusive searches and often denied entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Visa Waiver Program includes statutory requirements that must be met before any country is considered for inclusion. One key requirement is “reciprocity,” which means that American citizens visiting a country that is a member of the program must be treated the same way as a citizen of that country who is visiting the US.

The letter from the members of Congress points out that according to the US State Department: “Some US citizens of Arab or Muslim heritage (including Palestinian Americans) have experienced significant difficulties and unequal and occasionally hostile treatment at Israel’s borders and checkpoints.”

Habiby urged US authorities to put pressure on Israel to prevent the new rules taking effect.

“The Biden administration must take concrete steps to ensure that the Israeli government does not implement this ordinance,” he said.


Filipino Muslim students host iftars in Manila universities to foster unity, strengthen bonds

Updated 17 March 2025
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Filipino Muslim students host iftars in Manila universities to foster unity, strengthen bonds

  • ‘University Tour Iftar’ started in 2023 to unite young Filipino Muslims during Ramadan
  • Muslims make up around 10 percent of Philippines’ 120 million population

Manila: As they seek to strengthen the bonds within the Philippines’ minority Muslim community, a group of students are bringing iftar to various universities in Manila during Ramadan to promote meaningful connections among young Muslims and their Catholic peers.

In the Catholic-majority Philippines, Muslims make up about 10 percent of its 120 million population, living mostly on the island of Mindanao and in the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, as well as in Manila.

Throughout Ramadan, which began on March 2 this year, Filipino Muslim students who make up the Students Association for Islamic Affairs, Inc., or SAIA, have been running the “University Tour Iftar” initiative to unite young Muslims in the Philippine capital and build deeper connections with non-Muslim youths.

“This is where Muslim students around Metro Manila gather and break our fast together, as we get to know each other and strengthen our bonds,” SAIA President Alinaid Angcob II told Arab News.

SAIA was established in 2009 by Muslim students and young professionals from universities in Manila with the mission of uniting the youths in their community and inspiring them to excel in their careers.

Since it was first launched during Ramadan in 2023, SAIA’s iftar events have become gatherings of some 30 to 50 people. This year, the iftars have so far been held at various universities in Manila, including the University of Makati, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philippine Normal University.

“We always tend to have a friendly atmosphere and unity among us, even with our differences in cultures,” Angcob said.

During the iftar event, before they close the fasting day with hearty meals, Angcob and his team also organize discussions on fasting and the importance of Ramadan. They welcome non-Muslims as a way to raise more awareness about Islam and increase interfaith bonds.

“One of our organization’s biggest missions is to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood, sisterhood among Muslim students and professionals here in Metro Manila. So, we thought that one of the ways we could achieve that unity and brotherhood is through a salo-salo (shared meal),” Jaffar Malic, SAIA external vice president, told Arab News.

Dates are always part of the fast-breaking meals, though the group tries to add regional specialties, like Maranao-style rice noodles, so that non-Muslims can learn about the variety of food, customs and traditions in the Filipino Muslim community.

They get support from Muslim-owned businesses in Manila and donations from friends to run the iftar program.

“Many businesses especially here in Metro Manila that are Muslim-owned are very willing to support our cause because they can see that we have this drive to help and unite the Muslim students here in Metro Manila. There are also non-Muslims, like some of them are my friends, who give donations,” Malic said.

“Even though the food is simple, sharing it goes a long way. It creates an opportunity for dialogue and for non-Muslims to experience what it’s like to be part of our community.”

For him, being a part of SAIA and participating in the iftar program gave him “a sense of belonging” as a Muslim in the Philippines.

“It’s like finding a community that understands you for who you are and what you believe in without compromising,” he said. “It’s a really big deal for all of us, especially since we are here in Metro Manila, which is a place that’s dominated by non-Muslims.”

The initiative has also received positive feedback from non-Muslims who participate.

“We can really see that they start to develop curiosity and the desire to know more about Islam especially since most of them have Muslim friends, and they want to know the perspectives and understand the experiences of their Muslim friends,” Malic said. “It’s really more than just a meal.”

Lenon, a student at the Philippine Normal University who went with two other non-Muslims, was among those who attended the iftar to support his Muslim friend.

“We agreed to come, hoping to learn something about our friend’s religion so we can connect with him better,” Lenon said.

The discussions were a source of better understanding of Ramadan for the non-Muslim attendees, like Janelle.

“I learned that fasting is not just about food; it’s also about discipline and the strength of faith,” she said.


Philippine Senate launching probe of Duterte’s ICC arrest

Updated 17 March 2025
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Philippine Senate launching probe of Duterte’s ICC arrest

  • The probe was initiated by Senator Imee Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
  • Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on March 11 and flown to the Netherlands just hours later

MANILA: The Philippine Senate said Monday it will conduct a formal probe of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and swift handover last week to the International Criminal Court, which is to try him for alleged crimes against humanity.
The 79-year-old, the first Asian former head of state charged by the ICC, stands accused of the crime against humanity of murder over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups have said killed thousands.
The probe was initiated by Senator Imee Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand Marcos but a close friend of Duterte’s eldest daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.
The two families have had a spectacular falling out since Marcos teamed with Duterte to win an election landslide in 2022. The latter has since been impeached on charges that include an alleged assassination plot against the president.
“As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I am calling for an urgent investigation into the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, an issue that has deeply divided the nation,” Imee Marcos said in a statement Monday.
“It is imperative to establish whether due process was followed and to ensure that his legal rights were not just upheld but protected,” she said, adding: “Our sovereignty and legal processes must remain paramount.”
Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on March 11 after a brief trip to Hong Kong and flown to the Netherlands just hours later where he was turned over to the ICC.
The Senate has set a public hearing for Thursday and invited top police and other government officials to give evidence.
Imee Marcos has tracked a course largely independent from her brother on many issues, though she is running for re-election under the administration’s ticket in the May 12 midterm elections.
Hours after Duterte’s arrest, Imee Marcos warned at a news conference that it could “only lead to trouble.”
Separately, a veteran international lawyer with ICC experience has been tapped to join the former president’s defense team.
Nicholas Kaufman, a British-Israeli national, has previously represented clients at The Hague including former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba and Aisha Qaddafi, daughter of the deceased Libyan dictator.
“The president (has) already appointed Nicholas Kaufman as his lawyer,” Vice President Duterte confirmed at a press briefing outside the Hague, according to a transcript made public Sunday by her office.
“We had a meeting with him yesterday, and then we will have a meeting in person when he arrives this weekend,” she told reporters after her father’s Friday appearance.
In an email to AFP, Kaufman said he was “honored to have been asked to assist former President Duterte in composing his defense team in which my future role is yet to be precisely determined.”
“Indeed, I look forward to denouncing the State-sponsored abduction of the former President to a case in The Hague devoid of jurisdiction.”


Georgia court slaps fresh 4.5-year prison term on jailed ex-leader Saakashvili: lawyer

Updated 17 March 2025
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Georgia court slaps fresh 4.5-year prison term on jailed ex-leader Saakashvili: lawyer

  • Saakashvili and rights groups have denounced his prosecution as politically motivated

Tbilisi: A Georgian court on Monday sentenced ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili to four and a half years behind bars for illegally crossing the border, bringing the pro-Western politician’s total sentence to 12.5 years.
Saakashvili, 57, was sentenced in absentia in 2018 to six years in prison for abuse of office and, last week, he received a nine-year sentence for misspending public funds.
He began serving the term in 2021, when he returned to the country from exile.
On Monday, Saakashvili was sentenced to “four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing Georgia’s border” when he covertly returned from exile in Ukraine, lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili told AFP.
“Taking into account the combination of sentences, Mikheil Saakashvili’s overall prison term is set at 12 years and six months,” said Judge Mikheil Jinjolia.
Saakashvili and rights groups have denounced his prosecution as politically motivated.
He is being held in a civilian hospital, where he was transferred in 2022 after staging a 50-day hunger strike to protest over his detention.
The European Parliament has called for his immediate release, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that Saakashvili, a Ukrainian national since 2019, be transferred to Kyiv.
Zelensky — who appointed Saakashvili as his top adviser to oversee reforms — accused Russia of “killing” Saakashvili “at the hands of the Georgian authorities.”
The European Union and the United States have urged Georgia to ensure that Saakashvili is provided medical treatment and that his rights are protected.
Council of Europe rights watchdog has branded him a “political prisoner,” while Amnesty International has called his treatment an “apparent political revenge.”


Mount Fuji hikers to be charged $27 on all trails

Updated 17 March 2025
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Mount Fuji hikers to be charged $27 on all trails

  • A record influx of foreign tourists to Japan has sparked alarm about overcrowding on the nation’s highest mountain
  • Thanks in part to the new restrictions, the number of climbers who tackled Mount Fuji declined to 204,316 last year, from 221,322 in 2023

TOKYO: Hikers attempting any of Mount Fuji’s four main trails will be charged an entry fee of 4,000 yen ($27) from this summer, after local authorities passed a bill on Monday.
A record influx of foreign tourists to Japan has sparked alarm about overcrowding on the nation’s highest mountain, a once-peaceful pilgrimage site.
Last year, Yamanashi region – home to Mount Fuji – introduced a 2,000 yen ($14) entry fee plus an optional donation for the active volcano’s most popular hiking route, the Yoshida Trail.
A cap on daily entries and online reservations were also brought in on that trail by officials concerned about safety and environmental damage on Fuji’s majestic slopes.
The Yoshida Trail fee will be doubled for this year’s July-September climbing season, while neighboring Shizuoka region passed a bill on Monday to also charge 4,000 yen for its three trails, which were previously free.
Thanks in part to the new restrictions, the number of climbers who tackled Mount Fuji declined to 204,316 last year, from 221,322 in 2023, environment ministry data shows.
Although climber numbers continue to be eclipsed by pre-pandemic levels, “200,000 hikers is still huge,” Natsuko Sodeyama, a Shizuoka prefecture official, told AFP.
“There is no other mountain in Japan that attracts that many people in the span of just over two months. So some restrictions are necessary to ensure their safety.”
Mount Fuji is covered in snow for most of the year, but during the summer hiking season many trudge up its steep, rocky slopes through the night to see the sunrise.
The symmetrical mountain has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai’s “Great Wave.” It last erupted around 300 years ago.


Bangladesh’s Yunus to visit China this month

Updated 17 March 2025
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Bangladesh’s Yunus to visit China this month

  • The Nobel Peace laureate took charge of Bangladesh last August after the ouster of premier Sheikh Hasina
  • Yunus is slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the March 26-29 visit

DHAKA: Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus will travel to Beijing on a diplomatic goodwill visit this month as frosty relations with neighboring India spur his caretaker administration to court new friends.
The Nobel Peace laureate took charge of Bangladesh last August after the ouster of autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after a student-led uprising.
India was the biggest benefactor of Hasina’s government and her ouster sent cross-border relations into a tailspin.
That has prompted the caretaker government helmed by Yunus to seek greater ties with Beijing, New Delhi’s chief rival for power and influence in the Asian subcontinent.
“Bangladesh aims to elevate this bilateral relationship to new heights,” Yunus’s media secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters on Sunday in a briefing on next week’s visit.
“They will discuss a wide range of issues concerning both countries.”
Yunus is slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the March 26-29 visit.
He will also receive an honorary doctorate from Peking University and meet several Chinese firms to explore investment opportunities.
“Bangladesh aspires to become a manufacturing hub and is keen to partner with China in this endeavor,” Alam said.
Diplomatic talks are also expected to touch on Bangladesh’s immense population of Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled a violent military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar in 2017.
China has acted as mediator between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the past to broker the repatriation of the persecuted minority, although efforts stalled because of Myanmar’s unwillingness to have them returned.
Interim Bangladeshi foreign minister Touhid Hossain visited China in January in what was his first official trip abroad.
China’s ambassador in Dhaka, Yao Wen, said last month that Beijing “firmly supports Bangladesh in upholding its national independence, sovereignty, and dignity.”