September legislative updates and news
Legislative Updates
Federal
- September 18: Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a hearing to discuss hate crimes in the United States.
- Chief among instances discussed was the murder of Wadea Al-Fayoumi - a six-year-old Palestinian American boy, stabbed to death by his landlord. Wadee’s mother, who was also stabbed, was in attendance.
- Referencing Wadea’s case, Durbin addressed his fellow senators saying, "I also thought about what the 6-year-old boy - I have a 5-year-old granddaughter. I love her like life itself. I cannot imagine this poor little boy answering the door and losing his life because he's Palestinian. My God," Durbin said. "We can't say the things that I've just said in the same sentence without some people saying, 'Well, you've just chosen sides.'"
- At the hearing, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) accused the Executive Director of the Arab American Maya Berry Insitute of being a "Hamas Supporter."
- Berry responded saying she does not support Hamas, but the question shines light on why the hearing was held; it puts the focus of hate in the U.S. on display.
- Chief among instances discussed was the murder of Wadea Al-Fayoumi - a six-year-old Palestinian American boy, stabbed to death by his landlord. Wadee’s mother, who was also stabbed, was in attendance.
- September 24: Shortly after the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on hate crimes in America, the Senate passed a resolution unanimously to honor Wadea Al-Fayoumi. This marked the first time Congress recognized Palestinian-Americans in a resolution.
Kentucky
- September 24: State Representative Daniel Grossberg (D-Louisville) resigned from the KY Antisemitism task force, following an ethics investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
- Grossberg, who is Jewish, was instrumental in getting Governor Andy Beshear (D) to create the task force.
- Grossberg has also been a staunch defender of Israel in Kentucky, following the start of the Gaza Genocide last year; he is a sitting member of the KY-Israel Caucus.
Lexington
- September 16: Lex4Palestine endorsed Jill Stein for President.
- Reminder: The deadline to register to vote in Kentucky is Monday, October 7th.
- Click here to view voting deadlines.
- Register to vote online: https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/ovrweb/.
- Click here for a tutorial on how to register.
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News
- September 4: Meta employees reveal the "Head for Policy for Israel and the Jewish diaspora" at Meta is a former advisor to Netanyahu for "Jewish Diaspora Affairs," as well as personally escalating censorship of the Columbia University Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.
- September 13: Chile joins South Africa's International Court of Justice case against the Zionist entity.
- September 18: The Zionist occupation commits a massacre in Lebanon by implanting explosives in pagers destined for Lebanon in a supply-chain attack spanning from Taiwan to Europe. 50% of the people killed were children and healthcare workers.
- September 18: The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passes a resolution demanding that the Zionist entity cease its occupation within 12 months.
- September 23: The US government sends more troops to the SWANA region.
- September 24: The US government continues to reject the idea that the Zionist occupation is blocking aid to Gaza, despite multiple of its agencies concluding so.
- September 25: In a first, Hezbollah missiles reach the suburbs of Tel-Aviv, near where the Mossad headquarters are located.
- September 26: Cornell PhD student faces deportation for being anti-Zionist and joining protest on campus.
- September 26: Despite repression from universities, students continue to protest Zionist genocide.
- September 27: The Zionist occupation recruits African refugees to join genocide effort in exchange for asylum. (Important context: The Zionist occupation has a long history of contributing to the conditions that cause Africans to become refugees, including export of weapons, technology, and training.)
- September 27: Credit rating firm Moodys downgrades the Zionist entity by two steps, from A2 to Baa1, with a negative outlook. This indicates a lack of confidence in Zionist businesses and their stability, due to the the entity prioritizing genocide over stability, as well as consistent pressure by resistance groups.
- September 28: The Zionist occupation, after days of bombing Lebanon, assassinates the leader of Hezbollah. An occupation official said the entity killed him because Hezbollah fights for the Gaza Genocide's end.
- September 29: Zionist occupation kills 11 Palestinians in Gaza. The occupation's Minister of Education says there's no difference between Hezbollah and Lebanon and that Lebanon will cease to exist.
- September 30: Wafa Aludaini, a Palestinian journalist, and her family assassinated by a Zionist airstrike. She is the 174th journalist killed by the entity in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Expressions
Rest in power Marcellus Williams: On September 24, Marcellus "Khaliifah" Williams, a black Muslim man, was executed by the State of Missouri, via lethal injection, for a crime he did not commit. We honor Marcellus’ memory by sharing a poem he wrote during his stay in Death Row. Despite facing impending death, Marcellus found it in his heart to decry the genocide of the Palestinian people and stood in power and solidarity with them:
The Perplexing Smiles of the Children of Palestine
despite the actions of the few
And excessive retaliation,
drones,
planes,
bombs,
tanks,
rubble,
buildings demolished,
vanished houses and neighborhoods,
hospitals targeted,
U.N. shelters disrespected,
murder,
death,
deliberate killing of noncombatants,
babies buried alive,
amputations,
hunger and political starvation,
lack of or no water,
strategic sanitation,
daily terror,
and terrorized daily,
military maneuvering,
moving here and there,
to return back again to nowhere,
trauma with all its manifestations,
international prayers and hesitation,
defiance to the realization of two nations,
global aid thwarted,
global amnesia,
siblings and relatives gone forever,
parental worries –
in the face of apex arrogance
and ethnic cleansing by any definition…
still your laughter can be heard
and somehow you are able to smile,
O resilient Children of Palestine!
This article, like all original content in The Kentuckian, is released into the public domain. The Kentuckian is an independent publication. It doesn't represent the opinion of the Kentucky Party or any of its committees.