Bolstered by a momentous ICJ ruling, Palestinians, including Americans, gave three hours of testimony against the Biden administration.

Lawyers involved with the lawsuit playing out in federal court said that the ICJ ruling bolsters their case. Their lawsuit argues that Biden, Blinken, and Austin are liable under U.S. law for failing to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza.

Barry Trachtenberg, a professor of Jewish history and author of two books about the Holocaust, testified as an expert witness in the case – over repeated objections from Justice Department attorneys. When he filed his declaration in the case in November, he said, some 11,000 Palestinians had been killed. Today, that number is far greater.

“Everything that we feared and more is unfolding,” he said, noting that often, legal actions about genocide happen long after the fact. “What makes this situation so unique is that we’re watching the genocide unfold as we speak. And we’re in this incredibly unique position where we can actually intervene to stop it using the mechanisms of international law that are available to us.”

  • underisk@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    Every time someone tells you how little power a president has to realize his political objectives I want you to think about how eager, steadfast, and unilateral Biden has been in assisting a foreign country in the waging of a genocidal war. Then imagine he put that kind of political will behind literally anything positive.

    • IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      It’s weird to me that it’s so unclear what the president actually can and can’t do. Before Trump took his presidential powers for a test drive everyone said it was impossible for a president to do those things. It seems like Biden has found out how to bypass Congress too, but not for the noble purposes we were hoping for.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        If Trump’s presidency was good for anything, it was good for giving us innumerable examples of why it’s so dumb to pretend that Democrats were powerless when they had Congress and the presidency for two years.

        • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          It should be a lesson: Democrats CHOOSE to not try. “Enlightened Centrism” is a brain disease fundamentally incapable of standing up to fascism.

        • WanderingVentra@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          Well there was lots of times Trump was stopped, too. His Muslim ban was struck down by courts, his wall or trying tk destroy health care would sometimes be slowed in Congress, or his administration would try to slow down his insane impulses. That’s a large part of why they have that new plan to basically replace a ton of the bureaucrats with us men instead of law abiding citizens.

    • FenrirIII@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      It’s not just any foreign country. It’s Israel. There’s a shit ton of policy, diplomacy, geographic interests, and money involved. There is literally no president in recent history that would act much differently. The majority of Congress is on board with this.

      • underisk@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        If the majority of congress is on board, then why repeatedly circumvent them and put himself as the sole person responsible for these wildly unpopular actions during his reelection campaign?

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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          9 months ago

          Because he represents the country?

          Spending is controlled by Congress. Foreign policy is largely handled by the President, though spending and authorization of the use of force has to be approved by congress.

          Also if he’s using it in his campaign why do you think it’s unpopular? Do you believe they don’t do polling?

          You may be in one of those internet information silos and not have a good understanding of what’s happening. Hamas committed genocide. People are against genocide. A lot of people are attempting to “both sides” this and claim “uhhh… Israel genocide too” but that’s insane and only makes the Pro-Palestine movement look like lunatics. People cosplay as Hamas members at Palestine marches, literally cosplaying as people that committed genocide. Again, looks like lunatics. Attacks on synagogues, and jewish businesses. The dog whistles “from the river to the sea.” sound an awful lot like blood and soil. Trying to discredit a democracy. Violent movent, misogynistic and homophobic leadership, anti-democracy, genocide… looks an awful lot like a fascist movement.

          The best argument in support of Israel is a five minute conversation with a pro-palestine activist. There’s too much hatred in that movement, and given the inability of that movement to separate itself from Hamas, it seems Hamas is the source of all of this hatred on display is the group Israel is currently fighting against. Send them the needed weapons to eliminate the blight on humanity that is Hamas.

          Once it’s done the children on the internet claiming to be socialists while supporting a fascist organization lead by billionaires in Qatar and a genocidal maniac in an underground lair in what’s left of Gaza will soon forget and move on to the next thing their hormones have them outraged over. The tankie socialist kids don’t vote anyway, (or if they do it’s for some bullshit third party) so why bother trying to please people whose heads are so full of ideological bullshit and propaganda originating from Iran they are completely incapable of even seeing what they look like to people outside of their information silo?

      • 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚐@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Listen to who is not criticising Biden.

        This is a both-sides issue.

        Edit: The Republican House could bring immediate legitimate and bipartisan articles of impeachment against Biden for 1) sidestepping Congress to arm Israel and 2) abuse of power to foment genocide.

            • TigrisMorte@kbin.social
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              9 months ago

              When their is a viable alternative option. As I am not a member of any political party, I am not able to Vote in the Primary.
              And No, I think you are poorly informed fools.

              • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                When their is a viable alternative option.

                The Boomers and the DNC will make sure there never is one. You want change? They’re your biggest obstacle.

                No, I think you are poorly informed fools

                Buddy that’s irrelevant. If you need our votes so you’ve gotta listen to our demands. You, the DNC, the Boomers are free to ignore us but then you will lose the general election. Make a choice.

      • Doorbook@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Vote A he will save you from B is not working. Because when A ignore you completely that mean both A and B are bad and voting for A is only going to help A groups not you. A is killing you family and B is killing your family so why you care to vote for A if the end result is the same.

        Let A and B decide among themselves what they want, and take your energy and voice to better places instead of aiding one against the other.

        • Lun0tic@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Ummm…what did I just read? Like a poorly written Metal Gear Solid translation with a mega ineffective solution.

          • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            Like, how exactly?

            Especially when the topic is Israeli genocide, on which both parties have the exact same position?

            • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              That’s not true. One party wants to defend Israel because it is the only hope for lasting human rights and democratic values in the entire region. One party wants Israel to start a hot war with Iran so it has an excuse to nuke the largest Arab state sponsor of Islamicism and Islamic extremism.

              • NoneOfUrBusiness@kbin.social
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                9 months ago

                Bruh… You still going on about the human rights nonsense? You do realize that Israel is, putting it lightly, an Apartheid state right?

                • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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                  9 months ago

                  No I don’t realize that at all.

                  Do you realize Palestinians have had 100 years to reject violent religious extremism, suicide bombings, human shields, and the organized and intentional targeting of civilians, and in that 100 years such ideological violence is more popular than ever?

                  • WanderingVentra@lemm.ee
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                    9 months ago

                    Claiming Palestinians have religious extremism while defending Israel, an apartheid ethnostate that has different courts depending on your religion and is doing a genocide for an old book, is hilarious. And if you don’t know that Israel is an apartheid state, something claimed by Amnesty, international, Human Rights Watch, and multiple other NGO’s and countries, then I’m not sure you’re educated enough on this issue.

                    First of all, none of those things have been happening for hundred years. Everyone got along in that area until Zionism took hold and it became obvious the British and French were going to renege on their deal to the Palestinians in order to carve out a bunch of their land to give to foreigners without giving them a state. People they had rejected to this land to avoid dealing with their own antisemitism. The same people that had been forming terrorist groups to take over more territory and achieve their dream of their own state at the cost of wiping out the local people living there. The first Intifada wasn’t until the late 1980’s, and Hamas wasn’t until around then. They won the election in Gaza because diplomacy and non violent resistance hadn’t been working for 20-40 years.

                    Second, all those things Israel has been doing more of and worse. Except instead of suicide bombings, it’s been just regular bombings. And even then, there hasn’t been suicide bombings for like 20 years. Israel kills way more civilians and claims human shields just as an excuse to keep doing it, which is the dumbest excuse in the world to kill a bunch of civilians. It’s like entering a hostage situation and just mowing down everyone. No police force has done that (except for maybe Israel’s). Unless you think they mean physical human shields, which I’ve rarely seen any evidence of that being mass practiced.

                    Most Palestinian resistance has been peaceful, and even peaceful resistance has been denigrated. People lose jobs for supporting BDS and people have lost their legs for doing the Great March of Return. They still lose West Bank settlements, still have no water, not enough food, no sovereignty or control over power, massive unemployment, and no way to fix it because Israel occupies them. Israel has promised they’d start working on a two state solution within 5 years for the last 20 years and finally gave up that farce with Bibi’s comments recently. Of course Hamas sucks, but what else do you expect? What would you have them do? Just sit down and die?

              • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                What you’re saying is untrue.

                The parties say two different things. They do exactly the same things with the same results.

                And I’m about 30 years past giving parties credit for saying good things and doing bad things.

                • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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                  9 months ago

                  You’re correct in sentiment, but good luck explaining how the lesser of two evils is still evil whilst claiming the result is the same. You’re conflating a lot of topics by bringing in Israel’s actions. The result is exactly the same because there is a third actor doing it.

                  Even when it’s strictly things state side, it’s only “exactly the same” if the bar is, “it won’t get completely fixed”, because there is a HUGE difference between Republican plans and Democrat plans. Even if the Dems are still barely offering crumbs, it’s more crumbs than a kick in the teeth.

                  • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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                    9 months ago

                    No they’re both kicks in the teeth. Maybe one with a steel toed boot and the other with a tennis shoe but… it’s still a kick to the teeth.

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        9 months ago

        I’m not American, but I’m kind of starting to hope Biden doesn’t win. Just so that these foolish people get what they deserve. The level of stupidity is pouring out right now is just astonishing.

        • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Hey, “stupid” person here. I’m 100% fine with literally whatever you want to call me. But we were very clear during the 2020 primaries we didn’t want Biden and we reluctantly voted for him in the 2020 general to give him a chance. We made it as clear as possible to him and everyone around us that he was on thin ice.

          So, sure, call us stupid or whatever. But how stupid do you all have to believe we were bluffing twice?

          • S_204@lemm.ee
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            9 months ago

            Yes, Americans have shown themselves to be stupid beyond belief. You’re going to vote for Biden again, your option of shooting yourself in the face isn’t a better option but as I’m not American, I’m starting to hope y’all do exactly that so you get what you deserve.