A 92-year-old survivor of the 1945 Nagasaki atomic bombing delivered a powerful speech recounting the horrors of nuclear war as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Nihon Hidankyo, a group dedicated to nuclear disarmament. Terumi Tanaka, speaking in Oslo, detailed the devastation he witnessed, including the deaths of five family members and the charred ruins of his city, while urging the world to uphold the taboo against using nuclear weapons. Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots organization of Japanese atomic bomb survivors, received the award for nearly 70 years of advocacy against nuclear weapons. Their work gains urgency as geopolitical tensions rise, with nuclear powers like Russia and Israel hinting at the possibility of using such weapons. Tanaka expressed his sorrow and anger over the weakening of the nuclear taboo, which the Norwegian Nobel Committee also emphasized in its decision. Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes highlighted the increasing dangers posed by nuclear weapons, as none of the nine nuclear-armed states show significant interest in disarmament. Instead, many are modernizing their arsenals, a trend Frydnes described as a threat to global security. He called on nations, especially those bound by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to fulfill their commitments to reduce nuclear stockpiles. Read: Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japanese organization of atomic bombing survivors Nihon Hidankyo Tanaka’s vivid recollections of the Nagasaki bombing underscored the devastating human toll of nuclear warfare. He described the blinding flash, the ensuing shock wave, and the heartbreaking aftermath of finding his loved ones’ charred remains. Reflecting on decades of survivor-led efforts for nuclear abolition and justice, he called for global citizens to reject nuclear weapons and pressure their governments to change policies. “The belief that nuclear weapons cannot—and must not—coexist with humanity must inspire change,” Tanaka said, urging action to prevent a repeat of such tragedies. Source: With inputs from agencies

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was granted a temporary release from an Iranian prison on Wednesday following a complex surgery to address cancer concerns, during which part of a bone in her right leg was removed, her supporters reported. Footage from Tehran showed Mohammadi stepping out of an ambulance with her black hair uncovered by a hijab and her right leg encased in a fabric cast. Calling into the street, she exclaimed, “Hello freedom! Women, life, freedom! Freedom is our right! Long live freedom!” Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate hospitalized with severe health issues According to a campaign advocating for Mohammadi, the temporary release will last 21 days, after which she is expected to return to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence. The Iranian government has not officially acknowledged her medical furlough, despite calls from her supporters for her permanent release. They argue that Mohammadi, 52, requires at least three months of recovery in a safe and sanitary environment to heal properly, emphasizing that her imprisonment for peaceful activism was unjust. Mohammadi is currently serving a combined prison sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges of colluding against state security and spreading propaganda. Despite repeated arrests and prolonged incarceration, she has continued to advocate for human and women’s rights, including supporting the 2022 women-led protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, during which many women defied Iran's hijab mandate. Mohammadi's health has been a major concern during her imprisonment, with her supporters reporting multiple heart attacks and emergency surgery in 2022. A bone lesion suspected to be cancerous led to her recent operation, her lawyer revealed earlier this month. Nobel Prize in Economics awarded for groundbreaking research on why nations succeed or fail Rebecca Vincent of Reporters Sans Frontières expressed relief over Mohammadi's temporary release, describing it as a positive step but stressing the need for sufficient recovery time at home. “We remain deeply concerned about her health and urge the Iranian authorities to ensure her proper recovery,” Vincent said. Mohammadi’s release coincides with growing domestic discontent in Iran, where economic struggles fueled by sanctions over its nuclear program have led to protests and government crackdowns. The impending return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has raised concerns about the potential resumption of a "maximum pressure" policy against Iran, further complicating the country’s challenges. 

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus congratulated Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese atomic bomb survivors' group, on its winning of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024. "Congratulations to Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024. Your unwavering commitment to nuclear disarmament and peace is an inspiration to us all," Prof Yunus said in a message. Prof Yunus, also Nobel Peace Laureate, said: "Your advocacy and tireless efforts to ensure that the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are never forgotten resonate deeply in our quest for a safer world". Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japanese organization of atomic bombing survivors Nihon Hidankyo "Thank you for your courage and dedication. Warmest congratulations once again," the message read. Nihon Hidankyo has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for its dedication to creating a world free from nuclear weapons.    

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was made as the “taboo against the use of nuclear weapon is under pressure.” THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Han Kang first South Korean writer to win the Nobel literature prize The Nobel Peace Prize is being awarded Friday against a backdrop of devastating conflicts raging in the world, notably in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan. Alfred Nobel stated in his will that the prize should be awarded for "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” Since 1901, 104 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded, mostly to individuals but also to organizations that have been seen to advance peace efforts. Last year’s prize went to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for her advocacy of women’s rights and democracy, and against the death penalty. The Nobel committee said it also was a recognition of “the hundreds of thousands of people” who demonstrated against “Iran’s theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women.” Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to 3 scientists for work on proteins, building blocks of life But in a year of such conflict, the Norwegian Nobel Committee that decides on the winner could opt not to award a prize. The last time that happened was in 1972. In the Middle East, persistently spiraling levels of violence over the past year have killed tens of thousands of people, including thousands of children and women. The war, sparked by a bloody raid into Israel by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023 that left about 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, has spilled out into the wider region. The war in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says more than half are women and children. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed, with thousands more injured and around 1 million displaced since mid-September, when the Israeli military dramatically expanded its offensive against Hezbollah. The war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia's invasion, is heading toward its third winter with a staggering loss of human life on both sides. The U.N. has confirmed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilian dead, but that doesn’t take into account as many as 25,000 Ukrainians believed to have died during the Russian capture of the city of Mariupol or unreported deaths in the occupied territories. Western officials have estimated Russian military casualties around 600,000, with perhaps 150,000 dead, and public reports put Russian civilian dead around 150, mostly in the border region of Belgorod. Ukrainian military deaths were last announced in February at 31,000 and the president has said there are six wounded for every soldier killed. On the African continent, Sudan has been devastated by a 17-month war that that has so far killed more than 20,000 people and forced more than 8 million people from their homes, while roughly another 2 million were already displaced within the country before hostilities broke out. The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Unlike the other Nobel prizes that are selected and announced in Stockholm, founder Alfred Nobel decreed the peace prize be decided and awarded in Oslo by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee. The Nobel season ends Monday with the announcement of the winner of the economics prize, formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of her tireless campaigning for women’s rights and democracy, and against the death penalty. Mohammadi, 51, has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. She has remained a leading light for nationwide, women-led protests sparked by the death last year of a 22-year-old woman in police custody that have grown into one of the most intense challenges to Iran’s theocratic government. Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, began Friday's announcement with the words “Woman, Life, Freedom” in Farsi — the slogan of the demonstrations in Iran. “This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with its undisputed leader, Narges Mohammadi," Reiss-Andersen said. She also urged Iran to release Mohammadi in time for the prize ceremony on Dec. 10. The Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced in Oslo Friday For nearly all of Mohammadi’s life, Iran has been governed by a Shiite theocracy headed by the country’s supreme leader. While women hold jobs, academic positions and even government appointments, their lives are tightly controlled. Women are required by law to wear a headscarf, or hijab, to cover their hair. Iran and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries to mandate that. In a statement released after the Nobel announcement, Mohammadi said she will "never stop striving for the realization of democracy, freedom and equality.” “Surely, the Nobel Peace Prize will make me more resilient, determined, hopeful and enthusiastic on this path, and it will accelerate my pace," she said in the statement, prepared in advance in case she was named the Nobel laureate. Norwegian author Jon Fosse wins the Nobel Prize in literature An engineer by training, Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times and convicted five. In total, she has been sentenced to 31 years in prison. Her most recent incarceration began when she was detained in 2021 after attending a memorial for a person killed in nationwide protests. She has been held at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, whose inmates include those with Western ties and political prisoners. U.S. President Joe Biden and Amnesty International joined calls for Mohammadi’s immediate release. “This award is a recognition that, even as she is currently and unjustly held in Evin Prison, the world still hears the clarion voice of Narges Mohammadi calling for freedom and equality,” Biden said in a statement. “I urge the government in Iran to immediately release her and her fellow gender equality advocates from captivity.” Friday's prize sends "a clear message to the Iranian authorities that their crackdown on peaceful critics and human rights defenders will not go unchallenged,” Amnesty said. Mohammadi's brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, said that while “the prize means that the world has seen this movement,” it will not affect the situation in Iran. “The regime will double down on the opposition" he told The Associated Press. "They will just crush people.” Mohammadi's husband, Taghi Rahmani, who lives in exile in Paris with their two children, 16-year-old twins, said his wife "has a sentence she always repeats: ‘Every single award will make me more intrepid, more resilient and more brave for realizing human rights, freedom, civil equality and democracy.'” Rahmani hasn't been able to see his wife for 11 years, and their children haven't seen their mother for seven, he said. Their son, Ali Rahmani, said the Nobel was not just for his mother: "It's for the struggle." "This prize is for the entire population, for the whole struggle from the beginning, since the Islamic government came to power," the teen said. Women political prisoners in Evin aren’t allowed to use the phone on Thursday and Friday, so Mohammadi prepared her statement in advance of the Nobel announcement, said exiled Iranian photographer Reihane Taravati, a family friend who spent 14 days in solitary confinement there before fleeing to France this year. Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second Iranian woman, after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won in 2003. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Friday's selection “a tribute to all those women who are fighting for their rights at the risk of their freedom, their health and even their lives.” It’s the fifth time in its 122-year history that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given to someone in prison or under house arrest. In 2022, the top human rights advocate in Belarus, Ales Bialiatski, was among the winners. He remains imprisoned. Mohammadi was in detention for the recent protests of the death of Mahsa Amini, who was picked up by the morality police for her allegedly loose headscarf. More than 500 people were killed in a security crackdown, while over 22,000 others were arrested. But from behind bars, Mohammadi contributed an opinion piece for The New York Times in September. “What the government may not understand is that the more of us they lock up, the stronger we become,” she wrote. Iran's government, which holds Mohammadi behind bars, criticized the Nobel committee's decision as being part of the “interventionist and anti-Iranian policies of some European countries.” It “is another link in the chain of pressure from Western circles against Iran,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement. Iranian state media described Mohammadi as being “in and out of jail for much of her adult life," calling her internationally applauded activism “propaganda” and an “act against national security.” In Tehran, people expressed support for Mohammadi and her resilience. "The prize was her right. She stayed inside the country, in prison and defended people, bravo!" said Mina Gilani, a girl's high school teacher. Arezou Mohebi, a 22-year-old chemistry student, called the Nobel “an award for all Iranian girls and women,” and described Mohammadi "as the bravest I have ever seen." Political analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi said the prize might lead to more pressure on Mohammadi. “The prize will simultaneously bring possibilities and restrictions,” he wrote online. “I hope Narges will not be confined by its restrictions.” Before being jailed, Mohammadi was vice president of the banned Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran, founded by Nobel laureate Ebadi. The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Unlike the other Nobel prizes that are selected and announced in Stockholm, founder Alfred Nobel decreed the peace prize be decided and awarded in Oslo by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee. The Nobel season ends Monday with the announcement of the winner of the economics prize, formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.  

The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 went to jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties, the award’s judges said Friday. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the judges wanted to honour “three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the neighbouring countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.” “Through their consistent efforts in favour of human values and anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalized and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations, a vision most needed in the world today,” she told reporters in Oslo. Ales Bialiatski, one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s, has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development. He founded the Viasna (Spring) organization in 1996 following the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president dictatorial powers and that triggered widespread demonstrations. Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families. Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners. Bialiatski was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014 and was again arrested in 2020 following large-scale demonstrations against the regime. He is still detained without trial. In Russia, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Memorial compiled and systematised information on political oppression and human rights violations being the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities. It gathered and verified information on abuses and war crimes perpetrated on the civilian population by Russian and pro-Russian forces during the Chechen wars. In 2009, Natalia Estemirova, the head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, was killed because of this work. The organisation was stamped early on as a “foreign agent” as part of the government’s harassment of Memorial. The authorities decided that Memorial was to be forcibly liquidated and the documentation centre was to be closed permanently in December last year. But the people behind Memorial refused to be shut down and closures became effective in the following months. The other winner, Center for Civil Liberties, was founded in Kyiv in 2007 to advance human rights and democracy in Ukraine, taking a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. The organisation has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year, it has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. The award follows a tradition of highlighting groups and activists trying to prevent conflicts, alleviate hardship and protect human rights. Last year’s winners have faced a tough time since receiving the prize. Journalists Dmitry Muratov of Russia and Maria Ressa of the Philippines have been fighting for survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to silence them They were honoured last year for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on December 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1895.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is already a veteran at surprising the world in just three years in power. He's done it again this week by announcing that, after a year of waging war, he will lead it from the battlefront. Abiy’s rule has been short in the vast sweep of Ethiopian history, but he has spent almost all his life preparing for it. Told as a child by his mother that she believed he would lead Ethiopia, he now speaks of martyrdom, if needed, to hold the nation together. Abiy rocketed to office out of seemingly nowhere in 2018 with vows of dramatic reforms to a long-repressive national government. He also announced he would make peace with neighboring Eritrea after years of bitter conflict. For that, the youthful prime minister was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, less than a year later, Abiy announced his military was at war with the leaders of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, who had dominated the previous national government but quickly found friction with the prime minister. Political differences turned to gunfire in November 2020. Read: People fleeing Ethiopia allege attacks, forced conscription Tens of thousands of people have been killed since then, and close to half a million people inside Tigray now face the world’s worst famine crisis in a decade, one that the United States has called “entirely man-made.” The 45-year-old Abiy has now plunged into the fight, arriving at the battlefront on Tuesday, a government spokesman said. The prime minister is no stranger to war. As a teenager, he joined fighters who eventually overthrew the country’s Marxist Derg regime, then signed up for the new government's military. He took part in Ethiopia’s war against Eritrea as a radio operator, serving at the border in Tigray, and later became a lieutenant colonel. Now roles are dramatically reversed. The Tigray fighters Abiy once called friends are now the enemy, and the Eritrean soldiers he once fought have been allowed to join the war as Ethiopia's allies. Years after his career turned from the military to politics, Abiy faces a battlefield challenge he has never faced before: Commanding an army. But the prime minister is known as a man with a sense of destiny. He “clearly has a personal sense of his right to be ruler of Ethiopia and take on the responsibility it entails,” said Christopher Clapham, a retired professor associated with the University of Cambridge. Overseeing the fracture of Ethiopia, a nation with a 3,000-year history, would be a “massive blow” to Abiy, Clapham said, and by heading to the battlefront he is following the tradition of emperors. Read:Urgent efforts to calm Ethiopia as war reaches one-year mark But emperors can fall, and governments, too. The rival Tigray forces, whose advance on Ethiopia’s capital in recent weeks prompted a national state of emergency, want to see Abiy gone, by force if needed. The deeply religious prime minister came to office preaching national unity, and representing it as well. The son of a Christian and Muslim and of mixed ethnic heritage, he shocked Africa's second-most populous country by apologizing for the past government's abuses. Tigrayans have recalled cheering him on, at first. “War is the epitome of hell for all involved,” Abiy said in his Nobel address in those earlier days. Now the hardened positions by the warring sides, each believing they can be victorious, have tested the efforts of mediators from the United States and African Union. Abiy believes the Tigray forces will be pushed back into their region, U.S. envoy Jeffrey Feltman said this week. But he added, “I question that confidence.” The war front, Feltman said, is edging closer to Ethiopia’s capital, with the Tigray fighters newly on the move toward Debre Sina, less than a day’s drive from Addis Ababa. The fighters are also trying to cut off a crucial supply line from neighboring Djibouti, a further threat to Africa’s diplomatic capital. Accordingly, a growing number of countries have told their citizens to leave immediately. And the U.S. has told Americans again and again that no Afghanistan-style evacuation is coming for them. The war, Abiy said in announcing his move to the battlefront, “is a struggle that determines whether we exist or not. But we will definitely win. It is unthinkable for Ethiopia to be defeated. We are in a time when it requires to lead the country by paying the sacrifice.” He called on fellow Ethiopians to meet him there.

Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expression in countries where media outlets have faced persistent attacks. The Norwegian Nobel Committee stressed that an independent press is vital in promoting peace. “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee, explaining why the prize was awarded to two journalists. Read:Tanzanian Abdulrazak Gurnah awarded Nobel literature prize “Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time," she said. Ressa in 2012 co-founded Rappler, a news website that has focused “critical attention on the (President Rodrigo) Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign,” the Nobel committee said. She and Rappler “have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.” Reacting to the news, Ressa told Norway’s TV2 channel that “the government (of the Philippines) will obviously not be happy,” “I’m a little shocked. It’s really emotional," she added. “But I am happy on behalf of my team and would like to thank the Nobel Committee for recognizing what we are going through.” The award-winning journalist was last year convicted of libel and sentenced to jail in a decision seen as a major blow to press global freedom. She was the first woman to win a Nobel this year. Muratov was one of the founders of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993. “Novaya Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power,” the Nobel committee said. “The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media,” it added. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 17 media workers were killed in the Philippines in the last decade and 23 in Russia. The Nobel committee noted that since the launch of Novaya Gazeta, six of its journalists have been killed, among them Anna Politkovskaya who covered Russia’s bloody conflict in Chechnya. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Muratov as a “talented and brave” person. “We can congratulate Dmitry Muratov — he has consistently worked in accordance with his ideals,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. Reiss-Andersen noted that the peace prize has gone to journalists in the past, including Ernesto Teodoro Moneta of Italy who was cited in 1907 “for his work in the press and in peace meetings.” In 1935, German journalist Carl von Ossietzky was awarded the prize “for his burning love for freedom of thought and expression” after revealing that the Nazi regime was secretly re-arming in breach of the World War I peace accord. Read:Nobel in chemistry honors 'greener' way to build molecules Ressa has been particularly critical also of the role of tech companies such as Facebook in manipulating public debate, and their failure to curb hate speech. Speaking on Rappler's site after the award was announced, Ressa said that the “virus of lies that has been introduced through the algorithms of the social media platforms, it infects real people and changes.”

You and I are human beings, with family, perhaps children and grandchildren, certainly with friends and neighbors. We are of different nationalities, ethnicities, beliefs. We have all seen extreme poverty, and witnessed wars and the killing and the dying, whether firsthand or through the news.  We have similar sentiments. Empathy is a part of us, in our DNA. Unless one can completely block out this aspect of all human beings, it is impossible to view what has happened in the last weeks the people of Gaza without being heartbroken, angry, and feeling helpless. The country inflicting such disproportionate war on the inhabitants of Gaza is the one that was carved out of ancient Palestine following one of the worst, and one of the most heartbreaking man-made human calamities, the Jewish Holocaust.  As the smoke clears, and as both parties finish their “victory celebrations,” it is on all of us to ask ourselves what we can do. A mostly barren region of the world, the Israeli and Palestinian land is the holy birthplace of the prophets of the three primary monotheist religions of the world. One would think that with the wisdom of these powerful religions, it would be a heaven of harmony. Instead, we find a hell on Earth, a ground soaked in the blood and tears of far too many innocent victims. No conflict has consumed so much thought, wisdom and mediation by so many sages. It has produced more “peace plans” and “road maps” than any other conflict of the last century, the writers and planners at times rewarded prematurely with the Nobel Peace Prize, creating false optimism followed by disillusion, more frustration and anger. The hopes of Palestinians have been betrayed by their own leaders, by the rulers of their fellow Arab nations, and by the US. We have just witnessed a new round of horrors, unleashed by an Israeli state that is apparently without moral constraints, one that believes it somehow has God’s exclusive mandate to be the unchallenged regional power, and one that believes itself entitled to nuclear arsenal that is denied to others in the region. Hamas rockets are easily overwhelmed by the unmatched air force and infantry army of Israel, the world’s 4th world military power. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. AS of 2020, the United States had provided Israel $146 billion (current, or noninflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilateral assistance and missile defense funding. In 2021, the Trump Administration requested and additional $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel and $500 million in missile defense aid. Israel receives the second largest foreign aid allocation in the US budget, second only to Afghanistan, including ultra-modern lethal weapons, advanced missile shield technology and the most advanced jet fighters. Rhetoric and fist-waving aside, Israel has no discernible external threats to its survival. Iran is as close as it comes to a plausible enemy – but with no nuclear weapons against Israel’s 200 nuclear warheads it is difficult to call this credible. The rockets fired by Hamas, most of them destroyed by Israel’s “Iron Dome,” are comparable to a child throwing rocks at an army of tanks in proportion to Israeli might. Yet the Israeli army has continued to wage wars against the Palestinian people, as it has done since the Arab-Israel war of half a century ago. The recent conflict, ignited by the invasion by Israeli security forces of the most sacred of Muslim sites, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, resulting in hundreds wounded, is only the latest move in a long campaign. It is made even more absurd today by the fact that 44% of the population of Gaza is under 14 years old, a demographic often seen in populations that have been subjected to campaigns of annihilation. The US is an irreplaceable partner in the region and is critical to is resolution. The Biden Administration is inheriting a legacy of extraordinary blunders by the Trump administration that were received by Netanyahu as a green light and license for a scorched earth war against the Palestinians. It will demand courage and wisdom, and strong international support, to undo. A path to the resolution must begin with all parties being held to the recognized international standards for crimes against humanity. No alliance with the powerful should shield any state or party from accountability for the violation of these standards. International Standards of crimes against one’s fellow human beings, when applied to Slobodan Milošević or Omar Al-Bashir but not to Benjamin Netanyahu become pointless.  Every conflict in this ongoing theater of insanity, including the “eviction” by armed forces from one’s home, to missiles landing in one’s bedroom in Gaza to a 10-year-old Israeli girl cowering in fear in a shelter, should reaffirm the validity and urgent need for the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. The only other option is a unified state composed of Israelis and Palestinians, with the recognition that Palestinians would be the majority. There are no other options. The next steps on this vital road must now include unimpeded access to Gaza for international humanitarian agencies, and international support for the reconstruction and compensation for the destruction of infrastructures and human lives needlessly lost and wounded. Our common empathy and humanity demand it.   (This article was published in Wall Street International on June 4, 2021 from New York, USA)

The head of the World Food Program says the Nobel Peace Prize has given the U.N. agency a spotlight and megaphone to warn world leaders that next year is going to be worse than this year, and without billions of dollars “we are going to have famines of biblical proportions in 2021.”