Pro-Palestinian support only partly undermined Newman’s re-election

Illinois Congresswoman Marie Newman, shown in this photo attending a gathering of Arab Americans, antagonized party establishment for her strong stance against the Israeli government's atrocities and her strong position on Medicare for all. (SUpplied)
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Updated 21 April 2023
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Pro-Palestinian support only partly undermined Newman’s re-election

  • Despite her pro-Arab and pro-Palestinian stance, Newman managed to serve only one term representing the 3rd Illinois Congressional District, which has a large concentration of Palestinian and Arab voters

CHICAGO: Former Congressman Marie Newman, one of the most pro-Arab and pro-Palestinian members of Congress, lost re-election last year in part because of her criticism of Israel’s government but also because she fought to protect health care needs and opposed the growing influence of corporate PAC on elections.

Newman was elected to Congress in November 2020, but served only one term representing the 3rd Illinois Congressional District, which a New York Times analysis listed as having one of the largest concentrations of Palestinian and Arab voters.

In an interview with Arab News, Newman said that “some leaders” of the Democratic Party establishment targeted her in redistricting, forcing her to face-off with a more senior congressional incumbent, Sean Casten, in the newly drawn 6th District, which diluted Palestinian, Arab and Muslim voter support.

“The district changed dramatically. Over 60 percent of the district was taken away from me, meaning that we were left with 40 percent . . . there was the typical Illinois politics shenanigans that always go on but you can’t cry in your beer about it. You have to live with that. And I think it was that I was outspoken on a few topics, and these are topics the party establishment does not like in general, in the nation,” Newman said, noting that 20 to 25 percent of the former 3rd District was Arab, Muslim and South Asian.




In this November 12, 2020 photo, then Representative-elect Marie Newman arrives at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. for an orientation. (Getty Images/AFP/File)

“I was very, very outspoken on no corporate PAC money, and no corporate money and no corporate influence, and that made the party establishment very angry. I was also very outspoken on Medicare for all. The reason we don’t have Medicare for all is that our politicians accept money from health care and pharma, and all things attached to those topics. Another area I was very outspoken on was humanitarian rights, among those in my district. There was a preponderance of folks who felt very strongly. And I might add it wasn’t just Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Americans and South Asian Americans who felt strongly on that topic.”

During her single two-year term in office, Newman introduced many bills supporting the Palestinian and Arab American community and co-sponsored several that were critical of Israel’s government.

Newman co-led the fight with Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan to put a spotlight on Israel’s home demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in May 2021, which was signed by nearly 30 members of Congress.

Newman also supported blocking additional US funding for the “Iron Dome,” criticized Israel’s targeting of Palestinian children during raids and military operations, and endorsed the recognition of the word “Nakba,” which commemorates the UN decision to separate Palestine into a two-state checkerboard rather than as one democratic state for Christians, Muslims and Jews.

As a consequence, Newman was often attacked by pro-Israel activists, rightwing members of Congress and even members of the Democratic Party as being “antisemitic” because she challenged Israel’s government policies.

“It was never that I was antisemitic or that I was putting down Jewish folks or Israeli citizens. I was critical of the Israeli government and I was very clear on that,” Newman told Arab News.

“But the problem is that there were folks that didn’t like me because I was not fond of corporatized politicians and corporatized elections. I was very strong on Medicare for all and other matters of economic equity. There are many issues in that basket, student debt relief and the like.”

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Newman said that she is proud of her stand on Palestinian, Arab and Muslim rights, and her criticism of Israel’s government. “And then on humanitarian rights, I was very strong in speaking out. Let’s be clear about what is really happening on the ground, what the Israeli government is doing. The problem they had with me, they being the established and the corporatized Democrats, I have a Jewish husband. I have Jewish kids. They couldn’t call me antisemitic. That was a problem for them.”

Newman said that when she was accused, falsely, of being antisemitic, “They would walk away with their tails between their legs. I just wasn’t having that and it was not going to happen. That has stopped many people and they don’t do that as much as they did.”

She said that her position in support of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim rights was critical in the opposition she faced that caused her to lose re-election in the June 28, 2022 Democratic Primary to two-term Democrat incumbent Sean Casten.

“I do think a strong piece of it was that I was speaking out for Arabs, Muslims and South Asian Americans in a very strong way,” Newman said.

“They (her critics) did not enjoy a lot of my positions on that front and I do think that made them angry and there were a lot of issues they did not like.”

Newman added, “The first time I started to speak out on corporate money and the conditions in Palestine and Israel, I remember I got several phone calls not just from donors, from other electeds . . . It was warnings, threats.”

Palestinian-American Shadin Maali, who served as Newman’s former chief of district affairs for the 3rd Congressional District, said that Newman was an “active voice” in speaking out on humanitarian rights for all people, including Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, in America.

“Congresswoman Newman reached out in a way to our community that no other elected leader had in the past to understand our issues and to fairly represent the district on all issues, especially human rights within our borders and abroad while she was in Congress,” said Shadin, who is now senior director for growth and operations for EmgageUSA, a coalition of organizations representing Muslim issues.

“The 3rd Congressional District has the largest Palestinian constituency in the country before it was divided. She was the first to reach out in a very positive way to the community and attend all of the events.”

Being a woman made her vulnerable in American politics, she said, adding, “I am just going to say it very clearly, that white men over 50 with a lot of money always win. They always do.”

But Newman emphasized that she could not stand by and watch the “meanness and hatefulness coming out of the Israeli government,” adding, “I don’t believe the Israeli people are that way at all. I don’t believe the Jewish people are that way at all. For me, I think we would all be wise to understand that our reputation is at risk when we don’t pay attention to humanitarian rights.”

Under redistricting, the former 3rd Congressional District was divided among five congressional districts, diluting the political cohesiveness of the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim community.

Parts of the former 3rd Congressional District are now represented by Congressman Bill Foster, Casten, Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Congressman Danny Davis.

In April, 2023 Newman was appointed chief executive officer of Little City Foundation, a social services organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Little City serves more than 900 people through its residential facilities, day programs and at-home assistance in northern Illinois.


’Strong likelihood’ famine imminent in north Gaza, say food security experts

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’Strong likelihood’ famine imminent in north Gaza, say food security experts

The warning comes just days ahead of a US deadline for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza

LONDON: There is a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of the northern Gaza Strip, a committee of global food security experts warned on Friday, as Israel pursues a military offensive against Palestinian militants Hamas in the area.
“Immediate action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or have influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation,” the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said in a rare alert.
The warning comes just days ahead of a US deadline for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

Israeli army discovers ‘Hezbollah training center’ near UNIFIL outpost as raids continue in Lebanon

Updated 28 min 22 sec ago
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Israeli army discovers ‘Hezbollah training center’ near UNIFIL outpost as raids continue in Lebanon

  • Several videos showed residential houses and tourist, social and religious facilities being set with explosives and blown up remotely
  • Adraee also accused Hezbollah of “using ambulances to transport saboteurs and arms” and called on “medical personnel to avoid dealing and cooperating with Hezbollah members”

BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Friday continued to destroy houses in Lebanon’s southern border villages to establish a buffer zone. The latest bombing targeted the areas of Yaroun, Aitaroun and Maroun Al-Ras in Bint Jbeil.
Several videos showed residential houses and tourist, social and religious facilities being set with explosives and blown up remotely.
In parallel with the deliberate destruction, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued “a new urgent warning to the residents of southern Lebanon,” instructing them “to refrain from returning to the south, or to their houses or olive fields,” describing the region as “a dangerous combat zone.”
Adraee also accused Hezbollah of “using ambulances to transport saboteurs and arms” and called on “medical personnel to avoid dealing and cooperating with Hezbollah members.”
The army will take the “necessary measures against any vehicle transporting armed members regardless of its type,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army claimed that “surveillance cameras of the Oded Brigade reservists captured a Hezbollah training center just 200 meters from a UNIFIL outpost.”
The army claimed that “the forces discovered the training facility, which was used by Hezbollah for training, studying, and storing large quantities of weapons.”
It said that “the facility contained missile launchers used for firing at Israeli settlements, as well as documents and instructional books detailing Hezbollah’s operational methods, maps of Israel, explanations of the Israeli army’s equipment, and additional weapons.” The army said “the weapons were confiscated and the compound was dismantled.”
The Israeli army resumed raids on the Baalbek-Hermel area, killing and injuring people and causing further destruction.
The Ministerial Emergency Committee estimated that, as of Thursday evening, Israel had conducted 121 raids, including 56 on Nabatieh, 24 on Baalbek and 23 in the south.
The committee said the number of people killed so far in Israeli attacks on Lebanon exceed 3,100, while 14,000 people have been injured.
More than 1.2 million people have been displaced, with close to 200,000 staying in shelters, it added.
Lebanese observers believe this transitional phase, from now until US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, is the most dangerous period for Lebanon.
Raids on Kfar Tebnit killed two people after a building comprising residential apartments and commercial shops was destroyed.
A raid on Zebdine in Nabatieh killed Mohammed Fayez Mokaddam and his sons, Fayez and Hadi Mokaddem, after their building was destroyed.
Zaher Ibrahim Ataya, a medic with Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Committee from the southern town of Tair Harfa, was killed when Israeli forces struck a newly established medical center.
The strike was part of a broader Israeli aerial campaign that targeted more than 50 towns across the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts in the past 48 hours.
The Lebanese Red Cross chief Georges Kettaneh announced that rescue teams have returned to Wata Al-Khiyam to complete the recovery of victims from an incident on Oct. 27.
Working alongside UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese Army, teams recovered four bodies and remains, with efforts continuing to ensure the mission’s completion.
Earlier the Red Cross retrieved 17 bodies from the site where civilians, who had been tending to livestock, sought shelter in a building during an Israeli incursion.
The Israeli military initially stalled permission for the Lebanese Red Cross to recover the victims, eventually granting only a four-hour window for the operation.
The Israeli air campaign extended to Lebanon’s Bekaa region, with strikes hitting Hrabta town west of Baalbek and Hosh Al-Sayyed Ali near the Syrian border north of Hermel.
Sirens sounded across northern Israel, including Haifa, Nazareth, Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas, as well as the Ramat Trump settlement in the Golan Heights and Israeli media reported approximately 30 rockets launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel and Haifa’s suburbs.
The Israeli military confirmed detecting about 20 rockets, with some being intercepted, and reported drone incursions in northern airspace, including one near Caesarea.
The Israeli military announced the death of a soldier from Battalion 8207, Alon Brigade (228), who succumbed to wounds sustained in southern Lebanon on Oct. 26, while Israeli army radio detailed a fierce battle in the border village of Aitaroun that claimed the lives of six Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah said on Friday it had launched “dozens of rockets reaching as far as Haifa and south of Nazareth.”
The group claimed strikes on several targets, including the Stella Maris naval base and Ramat David air base, northwest and southeast of Haifa, respectively, Kiryat Shmona settlement, and military gatherings in Misgav Am and Margaliot settlements.
In response to Israeli infiltration attempts, Hezbollah reported targeting Israeli forces south of Adaisseh with artillery fire. The group also claimed to have destroyed a military bulldozer and inflicting casualties on accompanying infantry forces trying to advance northwest of Kfarkila.


Buried for 14 hours after Israeli strike, Lebanese toddler makes recovery

Updated 23 min 6 sec ago
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Buried for 14 hours after Israeli strike, Lebanese toddler makes recovery

  • Two-year-old Ali Khalifeh is the only survivor of his family after Israel blew up the apartment block where they lived
  • The toddler’s parents, sister and two grandmothers all perished in the strike that killed 15

SIDON, Lebanon: Rescuers did not expect to find two-year-old Ali Khalifeh alive after an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed his entire family and left him trapped under the rubble for 14 hours.
Amputated, bandaged and hooked to a respirator in a hospital bed that was way too big for him, “Ali is the sole survivor of his family,” said Hussein Khalifeh, his father’s uncle.
The toddler’s parents, sister and two grandmothers all perished in the strike on September 29, days after Israel intensified its attacks on Hezbollah militants.
The strike on Sarafand, some 15 kilometers (nine miles) south of the coastal city of Sidon, flattened an apartment complex and killed 15 people, many of them relatives, according to residents.
“Rescue workers had almost lost hope of finding anyone alive under the rubble,” 45-year-old Khalifeh told AFP from the hospital in Sidon where his two-year-old relative was being treated.
But then “Ali appeared among debris in the shovel of the bulldozer, after we all thought he had died,” he said.
“He emerged from the rubble, barely breathing, after 14 hours.”
Israel has been at war with Hezbollah since late September, when it broadened its war focus from fighting Hamas militants in Gaza to securing its northern border with Lebanon.
An escalating Israeli air campaign, after nearly a year of low intensity cross-border fire, has killed more than 2,600 people across Lebanon since September 23, according to health ministry figures.
Signs of the violence were apparent even at the hospital in Sidon where Ali was rushed to following the strike on Sarafand.
The toddler, under a medically induced coma after doctors amputated his right hand, has since been transferred to a medical facility in the capital Beirut where he is due to undergo pre-prosthetic surgery.
“Ali was sleeping on the couch at home when the strike hit. He is still asleep today... were are waiting to complete his surgeries before waking him up,” said the relative Hussein Khalifeh.
Other family members were also fighting to stay alive after the Sarafand strike.
One of Khalifeh’s nieces, 32-year-old Zainab, was trapped under the rubble for two hours before being rescued and transferred to the nearest hospital, said the man.
It was there that she was later informed that her parents, her husband and three children, aged between three and seven, had all been killed.
The strike left her with only one, severely injured eye.
Zainab said she “did not hear the sounds of the missiles that rained down on her family’s home,” according to Khalifeh.
“She only saw darkness and heard deafening screams,” he said.
Ali Alaa El-Din, a doctor treating her, said that “the psychological scars that Zainab suffered are much greater than her physical injury.”
He has also tended Zainab’s sister Fatima, 30, who was wounded in the same strike.
Both had injuries “throughout their bodies, with fractures in the feet and damage to the lungs,” said the doctor.
Medically, he added, “Zainab and Fatima’s cases are not among the most difficult cases we have faced during the war, but they are the most severe from a psychological and human perspective.”


UN accuses Israel of ‘deliberate’ attack on peacekeeping position in Lebanon

Updated 12 min 58 sec ago
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UN accuses Israel of ‘deliberate’ attack on peacekeeping position in Lebanon

  • UN Interim Force in Lebanon cites ‘seven other similar incidents’
  • Accuses Israel of ‘flagrant violation of international law and resolution 1701’

NEW YORK: The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon on Friday said two Israeli excavators and a bulldozer destroyed part of a fence and a concrete structure in one of its positions in Ras Naqoura in southern Lebanon.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon added that in response to its “urgent protest,” the Israel Defense Forces denied any activity was taking place inside its position.

UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel, an area that has seen more than a year of fighting that turned into fierce clashes since last month between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters.

Israel claims that UN forces provide cover for Hezbollah, and has told UNIFIL to evacuate peacekeepers from southern Lebanon for their own safety.

But UNIFIL said the incident, which took place on Thursday, “like seven other similar incidents, is not a matter of peacekeepers getting caught in the crossfire, but of deliberate and direct actions by the IDF.”

UNIFIL issued a statement warning that “the IDF’s deliberate and direct destruction of clearly identifiable UNIFIL property is a flagrant violation of international law and resolution 1701.”

It called on the IDF and all other actors to honor “their obligation to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times.”

UNIFIL also expressed concern over the destruction and removal this week of two of the blue barrels that mark the UN-delineated line of withdrawal between Lebanon and Israel (the Blue Line). Peacekeepers said they directly observed the IDF removing one of them.

“Despite the unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels, peacekeepers will continue to undertake our mandated monitoring and reporting tasks under resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said.


Netanyahu appoints Yechiel Leiter as new ambassador to US

Updated 53 min 44 sec ago
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Netanyahu appoints Yechiel Leiter as new ambassador to US

  • His son was killed last year in Gaza war against Hamas
  • Leiter’s appointment came three days after Trump’s election to second term as US president

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed US-born Yechiel Leiter, an official who previously served as chief of staff in the finance ministry, as the next Israeli ambassador to the United States.
“Yechiel Leiter is a highly capable diplomat, an eloquent speaker, and possesses a deep understanding of American culture and politics,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
His appointment was also welcomed by Yisrael Ganz, the head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing councils of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a territory Palestinians want as part of a future state.
Ganz said Leiter, who lives in the Gush Etzion settlement area, as “a key partner in English-language advocacy for Judea and Samaria,” a name used by many Israelis for the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Leiter’s appointment came three days after Donald Trump’s election to a second term as US president, celebrated by many Israelis because of his strong support for Israel.
As well as serving in the finance ministry, Leiter also held positions as deputy director general in the Education Ministry and acting chairman of the Israel Ports Company.
His son was killed last year in the Gaza war against Palestinian militant group Hamas while serving with the Israeli military.