06/23/14 06/23/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! freedom and freedom of the press is fundamental to democracy. and we are deeply concerned that this verdict is part of a broader attempt to muzzle the media freedom that upholds democracies around the world. >> three al jazeera journalists are sentenced to between seven and 10 years in prison.

we will go to cairo for the latest. we will speak with the brother of one of the jailed journalist. then to iraq. >> no country is safe from that kind of spread of terror, and none of us can afford to leave that entity with a safe haven which would become the base for and all,ainst anyone not only in the region, but outside of the region as well. >> as john kerry meets with iraqi prime minister malik he, sunni militants seized reporter crossings into syria and jordan. in the presbyterian church votes to pull millions of dollars in investment from three companies that it says supply israel with equipment used in the occupation of the palestinian territories. we will speak with a presbyterian minister and a rabbi who support the divestment move. >> [indiscernible] decisions andal

align with one's eyes is anti-semitic. withdrawing money from companies that destroy homes and livelihoods and changing the lives, this is not anti-semitic. >> all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. an egyptian court has sentenced three al jazeera journalists to between seven and 10 years in prison. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed were convicted on terrorism charges. these include spreading false news in support of the muslim brotherhood, deemed by the government a terrorist group will stop they have been jailed since december in a case that's stoked international outrage. in a statement, al jazeera said the verdict defied "logic, sense, and any semblance of justice." as the sentence was read today, one of the three journalists, mohamed fahmy, yelled out "where is john kerry?"

a reference to his surprise visit to egypt just one day before. john kerry was in cairo to help restore u.s. ties with the egyptian government nearly one year after a military coup. john kerry held talks with the new president sisi for the former egyptian general who led the overthrow of mohamed morsi last july. the obama administration partially suspended aid egypt, but has avoided a full cutoff by refusing to deem morsi's ouster a coup. at a news conference in cairo, john kerry said he expects a full resumption of u.s. military aid in the coming months, beginning with around 570 $5 million already released in the last 10 days. john kerry a said egypt wilson received a long shipment of military helicopters -- john kerry said egypt wilson received a long-awaited shipment of military helicopters. >> they will be used in a place were egypt has been working very, very hard in concert with israel and others and with us in

order to push back against these terrorist activities. >> he spoke one day after egyptian forces broke up a march against an anti-protest law that bars unsanctioned demonstrations. dozens of people were arrested as police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. solidarity rallies were also held in eight cities worldwide. john kerry is the highest level u.s. official to visit egypt since morsi's ouster last july. he said he raised the al jazeera journalists case with sisi and also the mass trials that abroad death sentences for hundreds of muslim brotherhood supporters. on saturday, an egyptian court confirmed the death sentences of nearly 200 prisoners, including the brotherhood's general guide mohamed badie. more on egypt after the headlines. following his visit to egypt, john kerry is in baghdad today for talks of the embattled prime minister maliki and other political leaders. at of his arrival, he signaled

the obama administration is prepared to drop the support for maliki. iraqis tol help complete this transition if they choose it. if they want, they have an opportunity to choose leadership that could represent all of iraq, a unity government that brings people together and focus on isil. i am convinced they will do so not just with our help, but the help of almost every country in the region as well as others in the world who will always stand thisainst the tyranny of kind of terrorist activity. >> his comments follow reports the white house has condition military support for the iraqi government on a leaky's resignation. his visit to baghdad comes as sunni militants with the islamic state of iraq and syria have captured were territory. over the weekend, isis militants seized three border crossings

with syria and jordan as well as four nearby towns. in iraqi government airstrike meanwhile has reportedly killed at least seven civilians and wounded 12 others in the isis held tikrit. residents a army helicopters fired on civilian cars lined up at a gas station. the iraqi government is coming in only killed insurgents. more on iraq later in the broadcast. killed twoces have more palestinians in the continued crackdown following the kidnapping of three teenagers. two palestinians were shot dead sunday, including one man who allegedly had thrown rocks at israeli troops. demonstrators confronted y forcesian authorit asking for protection. at least four palestinians have been killed and 330 have been detained since the teens were kidnapped earlier this month while hitchhiking from a jewish settlement. no group has claimed responsibility, but the israeli government has blamed hamas.

meanwhile in the u.s., activists are hailing what is being called a major milestone for the global campaign to boycott and divest from israel over its treatment of palestinians. at its general convention friday, the presbyterian church of the u.s. voted to divest from three companies it says supply israel with equipment used in the occupation of palestinian land. the companies are motorola solutions, caterpillar, and hewlett-packard. we will have more on the story later in the broadcast. new figures show the number of refugees is at its highest level since after world war ii. the un's says over 51 million people are displaced worldwide, half of them children. the un's high commissioner for refugees unveiled the figures on friday. >> if we have for the first time since the second world war more than 50 million people displaced persecution, it is

because we are witnessing a multiplication of new conflicts in the world and the global conflict iterates local displacement. at the same time, old conflicts seem never to die. the obama administration is responding to the surge in child migrants with increased detentions and speedier deportations. thousands of children are being held in u.s. attention centers after fleeing violence and poverty in central america. the new york times reports the white house plans to open additional detention facilities and fast-track immigration trials to allow for quicker deportation. tracking devices such as ankle will -- ankle bracelets will be deployed to monitor immigrants set to be deported. judgestion officers and

will be assigned on an emergency basis to the rio grande valley in texas. more than 47,000 unaccompanied children have been caught at the u.s. border since october. on friday, vice president biden met with leaders from el salvador, guatemala, and honduras to discuss the migrant crisis. 200nveiled new funding of $55 million for repatriation programs and efforts to tackle tank violence in central america. american prisoner of war army sergeant bowe bergdahl has been released from military hospital to begin operation -- outpatient care. the army says her doll has been transferred to a military base in texas where he will continue to recover from five years in taliban captivity. indreds of people rallied albuquerque, new mexico on saturday to protest a spate of deadly police shootings. a recent justice department

report found a pattern of excessive force in the killings. federally mandated reforms are expected in the coming weeks. activists in detroit have appealed to the united nations over the city's move to shut off the water of thousands of residents. the detroit water authority says it has over 323,000 to link with accounts. it's begun turning off the taps of those who don't pay bills ort total above $150 or that 60 days late. the detroit water authority carries an estimated $5 billion in debt and has been the subject of privatization talks. in a submission to the un's special rapporteur on the human right to save drinking water and sanitation, the activists say detroit is trying to push through a private takeover of it water system at the expense of basic rights. the group food and water watch said -- "by denying water service to

thousands, detroit is filing human right to water." a man who allegedly threatened to kill the head of the council on american islamic relations has been arrested in new york. , the largest muslim civil rights group the united states, said bernard laufer sent death threats to the director and other staff. an episcopal chaplain has made history as the first transgender priest to preach at the historic national cathedral in washington. reverend dr. cameron partridge to liver to sermon as part of events marking lgbt pride month. >> i moved by how are decisions are calling us into a deeper awareness of the mystery of the human person to for the end of the day, to respect the dignity of every human being as we promise in our baptismal covenant, is to actively create

space for the unfolding of our lifelong growth as members of christ's body. whoever we may be. >> the reverend dr. cameron partridge, the first openly transgender priest to preach at the national cathedral in washington, d.c. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. an egyptian court has sentenced three al jazeera journalists to between seven and 10 years in prison. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed were convicted on terrorism charges including spreading false news in support of the muslim brotherhood, deemed by the government a terrorist group. the three have been jailed since december in a case that's stoked international outrage. the sentence came down one day after u.s. secretary of state john kerry met with egypt's new resident, the army chief sisi.

peter greste's brother mike was in the courtroom when the sentence came down. >> the wrong verdict. i don't know how the judge came to the decision. i will be very interested to hear his reasons for giving that verdict. it doesn't make any sense. >> amnesty international decried the jail sentences saying it was "a dark day for media freedom in egypt." the australian foreign minister julie bishop also condemned the sentencing. >> peter greste is a well respected australian journalist. he was in egypt to report on the political situation. he was not there to support the muslim brotherhood. outcome of the recent elections in egypt and we will now initiate contact at the highest levels in the new egyptian government to see

whether we can gain some kind of intervention from the new government, and find out what are intervention is indeed possible at this stage. i have spoken at length with peter greste's parents. they're considering their legal options, including appeal options. we do not know how long ago process would take -- an appeal process would take. in the meantime, we will provide whatever assistance we can to mr. greste and to his family. we understand that egypt has been through some very difficult times and there's been a great deal of turmoil in egypt, but this kind of verdict does nothing to support egypt's claim to be on a transition to democracy. and the australian government

urges the new government of egypt to reflect on what message is being sent to the world about the situation in egypt. freedom and freedom of the press is fundamental to democracy, and we are deeply concerned that this verdict is part of a broader attempt to muzzle the media freedom that upholds democracies around the world. >> the australian foreign minister julie bishop condemning egypt for sentencing three al jazeera journalists -- peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed to between seven to 10 years in prison. we go to egypt where we're joined by the brother of journalists mohamed fahmy, adel fahmy. and we're joined by democracy now! correspondent sharif abdel

kouddous who was in the courtroom today as well. adel fahmy, can you respond to the verdict of the court? yes, it was an absolute shock for all of us. we totally expected the opposite. [indiscernible] it is very sad with the judicial .ystem has given the verdict adel.hink we just lost

we will try to get him back. sharif, you were there with the families, with the packed courtroom. tell us what happened today. >> what this really means is that in egypt, journalism is a crime. the courts found these three journalists guilty, giving mohamed fahmy and peter greste as well as baher mohamed three years, and in adding on more -- giving them seven years, then adding on three more casings, having shell making baher mohamed having 10 years. they were trying to respond to

this outrageous verdict and had to be pulled. peter greste said nothing, simply held up a closed fist in the air and baher mohamed was shaking his head. this is the little margin of freedom of expression and freedom of the press that has been continually shrinking in egypt. it is a very heavy blow today. they are accused of -- a prosecution has accused these three journalists of tarnishing egypt's image abroad, doubt a terrorist organization -- the muslim brotherhood -- and a prosecution throughout the trial did not show a shred of evidence. some of the evidence had nothing to do at all with egypt, including footage from peter ,reste in somalia and kenya even shots of their parents and so forth.

essentially, the court could journalism itself on trial. many of the journalists today could have faced the same charges because they did nothing more than do their jobs. peter greste was only in egypt for a couple of weeks. the defense lawyers throughout the trial have asked the prosecution and the judge whether simply airing the views of an opposing voice is a crime hasgypt, and the sentence put freedom of the press really a large step back in the country. caseof the prosecution's rested on this technical report by three experts that went through all of the footage that was seized in the arrest of these three journalists. these expertial,

witnesses denied the had any authority to judge whether these to analyst endangered national security, which contradicted initial claims made to the prosecutor on which the entire case rests. it was a very weak case. the amnesty international observer blasted this case and said it will have a very negative effect on freedom of the press in egypt. >> this is mohamed fahmy from the cage in the courtroom, condemning the proceedings. >> [inaudible] the prosecutor has a lot to answer for for allowing [indiscernible] >> that is mohamed fahmy,

speaking from the cage. as the sentence was read, mohamed fahmy also yelled out, "where is john kerry?" a reference to john kerry's surprise visit to egypt just the day before, just this weekend. adel fahmy is back with us. the significance of secretaries they john kerry, talking about the are no love all aid to military aid to egypt -- talking about the military aid to egypt, your brother convicted and sent to the seven to 10 years in prison, adel? [inaudible]

against this appalling verdict, the u.s. as well. yesterdaysisi [indiscernible] now i think this case really requires strong intervention by all governments. this ridiculous justice system. >>adel, could you tell us about mohammed? tell us how he ended up in egypt, his life as a journalist. mohamed, in several countries prior to returning to egypt, he lived [indiscernible]

he worked with the red cross in lebanon. war andcover the iraq worked with cnn when the revolution in egypt was occurring. after cnn, he he joined al only since 2013. that is another point we , he was only at his job for three months. >> sharif, it is not only these three journalists, although,

they are in prison and according to the court, will be for the next seven to 10 years, but a whole group of other al jazeera reporters have been sentenced to up to 10 years in absentia. >> right. the case names 20 defendants. there were five students who were charged in the case, which seemingly has no connection whatsoever to al jazeera. the first time three journalists ever saw them was in the defendant's cage. four of the students were sentenced to seven years in prison. one of them, is the son of the muslim brotherhood leader, was acquitted. sentenced and abstention to 10 years in prison. al jazeera has said nine of the 20 named in the case have a connection to the network. so some people in the case, they're not all journalists, but

one of the people named met with mohamed fahmy for just a half an hour for tea. she is a dutch journalist and she found out she was on the charge sheet, that should the hide in the dutch embassy to leave the country. really, just a haphazard list of charges. the prosecution really provided no evidence that showed these journalists have done anything other than just basic journalism . the prosecutor accused al jazeera of "forming a devilish " to bring down governments in syria and yemen and egypt. mohamed fahmy himself in the last court session before this verdict, held up george bush's autobiography and said, "to say that journalists can bring down brings shameiraq

on all of the media martyrs that died covering that war" and said it was george bush that destroyed iraq, not al jazeera. this case is going to have reverberations around the world. we saw a heavy diplomatic presence in the courtroom with ambassadors from canada, from australia to from the netherlands, and latvia. both the canadian and australian ambassador said none of the evidence provided in the trial -- they did not understand how the judge came to this verdict. we will have to see what happens going forward. we have -- they have the right to appeal. president sisi has the right to pardon them or provide amnesty. as you mentioned, this came a day after john kerry, the secretary of state, visited or the first time in a high-level meeting between secretary of state and the newly and operated

president, and you voice what appeared to be strong u.s. support for egypt, for the state government, saying the aid will be brought back to its previous levels, that he is confident 10 apache helicopters will be delivered to egypt soon. then the next day we have this really abominable verdict come down. we will have to see how the state department response. >> i was watching one of the al jazeera reporters has been sentenced in absentia come in the al jazeera studios in doha earlier today, saying whilst was much more concerned about the jailed journalist, of course, but this means as journalists, it is difficult for them to travel because any country that egypt has agreements with could have her extradited, or the others convicted in abstention, because they been convicted in

egyptian court. about to ask adel fahmy his brother's condition. he had dislocated his shoulder? yes, he sustained injuries shortly before he was arrested back in december, due to the negligence inside and harsh conditions. he was denied early diagnosis and treatment. it has become a disability. this was punishment enough, then to get the verdict today. [indiscernible] he will never have 100% functionality of this arm again. [indiscernible]

>> and the significance of the country speaking out in the kind of worldwide outrage that has been expressed? does it matter at all -- we just heard the foreign minister of australia, julie bishop. what role has canada played in putting pressure on the egyptian government and what difference does it make when people speak out around the world? does it make any difference for your brother mohamed fahmy, for peter greste in prison? >> yes, it is extremely important, in my opinion. the governments now have to step up and express how tall they are by this. and egypt to realize they cannot defy the world. we are very grateful for the journalists covering this and

keeping their story alive. now it is time for the diplomats to start getting into this and the pressure has to continue. >> i want to thank you both -- >> [indiscernible] >> adel fahmy, we will continue to cover the case of mohamed fahmy, baher mohamed, and peter greste imprisoned there. thank you so much to sharif abdel kouddous speaking to us from cairo, egypt. when we come back, we will go to were secretary of state john surpriset after his visit to cairo, egypt, and that is to iraq. we will be speaking with patrick cockburn. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. u.s. secretary of state john kerry made a surprise trip to baghdad today to meet with maliki.rime minister he signaled the obama administration is prepared to .rop support for maliki his visit to baghdad comes as sunni militants the islamic state of iraq in syria, isis, have captured more territory over the weekend the militants seized three border crossings with syria and jordan as well as four nearby towns. iraqi government airstrike meanwhile has reportedly killed at least seven civilians and wounded 12 others in the isis held tikrit. residents say army helicopters fired on civilian cars lined up at a gas station. the iraqi government is claiming it only killed insurgents. we go directly to baghdad where we're joined by patrick cockburn

, middle east correspondent for "the independent" who has been reporting from baghdad. on of his recent pieces is titled, "in baghdad, a city gripped by fear, news is priceless -- but isis is winning the propaganda war." patrick, talk about what you are expensing right now in baghdad. -- experiencing right now in baghdad. >> it is a very frightening city. nobody quite knows what is going to happen. the news keeps coming in a isis.r gains by --ahe whole of anbar portion of the anbar province has fallen. there are six or 7 million people, the majority shia.

but the fact remains that since , theall of modul, -- mosul government hasn't won any victories. isis has gone taking more cities. you see militiamen in the streets of baghdad. the price of everything has gone up. is an atmosphere of panic. >> and the significance of john kerry being in baghdad right now and what message he is sending to maliki, the prime minister? clearly the message is leave, go, we need a new prime minister and we need a new political leadership. and that'll probably happen. the sense i get all of these diplomatic maneuvers with john kerry and the iranians and the

iraqi government all in slow time, but the advance of isis islamiststreme sunni is much faster than that. doubt maliki has been a disastrous prime minister. better andsomebody to get things up and running, it is going to take time. and the time is it really there. >> what is the message that kerry is sending? i want to turn to comments of the secretary of state. this is the secretary of state speaking in cairo a day before the big verdict and down today on the al jazeera reporters who have now been convicted and sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison. this is what he said in cairo. >> we will help iraqis to complete this transition if they

choose it, if they want, they have an opportunity to choose leadership that could represent all of iraq. the unity government that brings people together and focus on isil. i am convinced they will do so not just with our help, but with the help of almost every country in the region as well as others in the world who will always stand up against the tyranny of this kind of terrorist activity. >> so the role of the united states and whether maliki will retain power, and also, patrick cockburn, the role of iran? john kerry, in to get the sort of feeling that he is in quite got a grip on the situation. i mean, the people who have taken mosul the most of northern and western iraq really aren't interested in the unity government. what they've been doing is killing shia in large numbers.

, krikuk, people were fleeing their homes. 21 tribal chiefs in the same area were reportedly executed. is all about,sis the islamic state. the idea is, you could have a government which will include , which we sort of already have in baghdad, but this would be more representative, and the main leaders of the sunni community apart from isis and some of the baathists to would rally to the government. but the situation has changed because these terms are now under the control of isis. it will be very difficult to get them out. i think there's a certain amount

of wish fulfillment and fantasy and what kerry is saying -- in what kerry is saying. the iranians want to protect baghdad, but at the same time they don't want to see new government installed, which in their eyes would be a leaky which is pro-iranian. this is not been good news for the iranians. the government they supported is clearly a dysfunctional disastrous government. well, thee arguing, first thing is to deal with this attack from isis and then we will think about changing governments. of course, if that attack is dealt with, the government won't change. government doesn't

change, then it is very unlikely there will be much progress in the war. >> let's turn to voices of baghdad residents. opposed to military intervention. >> it cannot be solved through military intervention. it has to be solved through diplomatic and political channels. this is our message to obama. we said to him we do not want him to send reinforcements were aircraft carrier. this cannot help us. the situation in iraq is very critical and it needs quick solutions. >> we hope for such a stand. forces need to protect the iraqi people as stipulated in the framework agreement. turn to want to comments made in protest in the united states. there have been protests against any kind of u.s. intervention in iraq. antiwar protesters

gathering outside the white house this weekend. are here today to stand in opposition to any new war in iraq. u.s. government, the obama administration has said they're sending 300 advisors into iraq and said he will consider bombing as he determines whether there are appropriate targets. the simple fact is, what we're seeing in iraq is purely a result of u.s. intervention. this is a country that before the shock and on patient, the people of iraq were not divided along sectarian or religious lines. another group of protesters stood next to the antiwar protesters, holding iraqi flags, some called on u.s. president obama to intervene in the crisis unfolding in iraq. i thought we had that clip. let's turn back to patrick cockburn who is in baghdad right

now, hearing these different voices both in iraq and in the and of the states, patrick? mean, i can see the arguments on both sides. but there's no question that isis is closing in on baghdad. leavehe people of baghdad their will be massacred if they don't. who is responsible for this? well, maliki was made prime minister by the united states, by the american ambassador. washington regarded him coming under the influence of iran. the fact that iraq you leaders have been determined by outside powers, it has led to the

present disaster situation. or simply have not been leaders here who have sufficient support . >> patrick? we may have just lost patrick cockburn. we will go to a break and see if we can get him back on. patrick cockburn is the middle east correspondent for "the independent" who has been reporting from baghdad. one of his recent pieces is headlined, "in baghdad, a city gripped by fear, news is priceless -- but isis is winning the propaganda war." as we attempt to get him back on, we are going to go to another clip. of david barrows, a peace protester who was in the white house outside this weekend. >> i'm here because i don't want

another war started. i don't want bombing. i'm sick of these bombings. they do absolutely no good. we are bombing all over the place, killing women and children and men who have nothing to do with the war. it really makes me sick. i was born in this country. i just wonder what is going on with the american people. wake up, america. we have got to stop doing this terrorism. we are becoming the people of terrorism. >> that was a peace protester outside the white house this weekend. let's go to a break and see if we can get patrick cockburn back on. it sounds like we just got him. we have been hearing voices of people who are for and against u.s. intervention. can you talk about the military advisors as president obama is calling them, the 300 or so advisers that are being sent to iraq? suppose one of their main objectives would be to find out what the real situation is on the ground.

for such an enormous government -- meant to be 350,000 men in the iraq he army. $41 billion over the last three years. at this army seems to have disappeared. -- but this army seems to disappeared. to understand the limitations of what the u.s. can do here. a lot of the debate, looked at from abroad, seems to assume powerse u.s. has sort of to holy change things on the ground here, which i sincerely doubt. so will they change anything? well, they were probably give a little more confidence to the .raqi army if there were airstrikes, i suppose the iraq he army would

like it. but remember, five or six years ago, there was a nor ms. u.s. army here, plenty of airstrikes -- there was me enormous you as army here with plenty of airstrikes, and it didn't really get anywhere. , thank you forn being with us. we will have a link to your article in "the independent" at democracynow.org. we will go to break and then hear about the decision of the presbyterian church to divest from three companies doing business with israel. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. now to a discussion on what is being hailed as a major milestone for the global campaign to boycott and divest from israel over its treatment of palestinians. at its general convention in detroit on friday, the presbyterian church of the u.s. voted to divest from three

companies that it says supply israel with equipment used in the occupation of palestinian territory. motorolanies are solutions, caterpillar, and hewlett-packard. the value of presbyterian holdings in the companies is about 20 $1 million. according to the church, the companies profit from israeli occupation of palestinian land by selling bulldozers, andeillance technology, other similar products. the decision by the presbyterian church usa to divest passed by 310 to three under three, making it the largest religious group to vote for divestment. two years ago, the assembly rejected a similar divestment proposal by two votes. the vote also supported interfaith cooperation, the right of israel to exist, and a two state solution. to talk about the significance, we are joined by two guests. in cleveland, ohio, dr. nahida gordon is professor emerita at case western reserve the, a

palestinian-american born in jerusalem before 1948. she's a presbyterian and a member of the steering committee of the israel-palestine mission network in the presbyterian church usa in san francisco, rabbi alissa wise is with us, director of organizing at jewish voice for peace. her group supported the presbyterian church's divestment decision. we welcome you both to democracy now! cleveland.egin in let's begin with dr. nahida gordon. explain what happened this time, what made this vote different from the vote before when this was defeated. >> i think with time, more people in the presbyterian church, particularly the commissioners on the floor of the general assembly, are beginning to know more of what is really going on in the west bank and east jerusalem and gaza, thanks to the news and news sources on the internet,

they're being perceived more and more on what is going on in palestine and the terrible conditions under which the palestinians are living. from last build assembly to this assembly, so we know more and understand more. we had some people on the floor who said some wonderful things to explain what is going on. we organized and worked very hard for this decision. and we succeeded and we're very gratified with this. >> can you talk about the companies that the presbyterian church will divest from? >> yes. we feel the church would be complicit in the occupation if we remained divested in the street companies. caterpillar, most people assume these very huge bulldozers which are weaponize.

they have machine guns on them and i believe some are electrified. they destroy houses with one simple swipe. we assume them uproot olive trees. on may 19, they used bulldozers to destroy we believe between 1500 to 2000 fruit trees. they built roads for the israelis only. they've been used in building the separation wall, which goes deep into the west bank into palestinian territory. and they have built settlements. motorola solutions produces fuses for bombs the israelis use against the palestinians. they bomb gaza almost regularly. they produce surveillance equipment which is illegal.

hewlett-packard produces by metric, amongst other things, biometric scanners which are used at checkpoints which are throughout and inside the west bank. if you are on the border between -- a few are on the border, but the large majority are at checkpoints within the west bank. >> the israeli prime minister netanyahu criticized the decision by the presbyterian church to divest from u.s. companies that operate in the israeli-occupied west and territories. he spoke on "meet the press" on sunday. >> it troubles because it is so disgraceful. you look at what is happening in the middle east, and americans see this enormous area riveted by religious hatreds, by savagery of unimaginable proportions. and you come to israel and you see the one democracy that upholds basic human rights, that guards the rights of all

minorities, that protects christians -- christians are persecuted throughout the middle east. most americans understand israel is a beacon of civilization and moderation. >> we're bringing in rabbi alissa wise, director of organizing at jewish voice for peace. can you respond to prime minister netanyahu? >> sure. thank you for having me on this morning. i am concerned about prime minister netanyahu's framing of what israel is because quite certainly, as dr. nahida gordon just described, there are really urgent and critical human rights issues that need to be addressed both within the west bank gaza and easterly solemn and also critical issue around like a basic equal rights for palestinian citizens of israel. the reasons behind this presbyterian call for divestment and the reason so many around the world urging divestment as a way to remedy the urgent human

rights abuses going on on the ground. >> and what is your role as a rabbi in arguing for this in the presbyterian church? >> well, i just spent the last week in detroit at the presbyterian general assembly. , i was my role was invited there by the israel-palestine network and others that serve as a witness in support to the presbyterian process. as we like this in the jewish question geto jews three opinions. there's quite a bit of diversity in the jewish community around these questions around what to do about what is now 47-year-old occupation. how do we stop these human rights abuses against palestinians? in part it is to be a strong interfaith partner and support to our friends of the presbyterian church, which

involves interfaith -- strong interfaith partnerships involve kind of staying at the table, even in moments of deep disagreement. it is my sincere hope those integers committed he and other faith communities who might be disagreeing with this decision will stay at the table and not only that, will actually dig deep to actually hear the message of their presbyterian brothers and sisters. one of the things most frustrating that i find from those others of the jewish community that oppose the divestment bills is that they have no real practical solution to what to do to and these human rights abuses. you never get to hear their ideas about what will stop settlement construction, what will stop the daily humiliation of palestinians at checkpoints, what will stop the bulldozing of all of trees and the demolition trees and theive demolition of homes. it is my hope that the act of

the presbyterians will push all of us to ask those legal questions. >> i went to turn to comments --e by the president >> i represent the overwhelming majority, literally millions, and we're all united. we are not united about everything, but on this, we are completely united that this act of divestment, which is whatever the language said, it is an affirmation of the global boycott divestment and sanctions movement, the global bds has claimed is as a great victory -- local bds has claim this as a great victory. a sense of betrayal by the respite during church. opportunity ton speak with rabbi jacobs myself when i was in detroit briefly. we spoke about the very issue. intensebecause of the

muzzling that intense within the jewish community around these issues, the severe restrictions that we have seen in the past year through the jewish students on college campuses challenging whether julie mccarthyite restrictions on the way debate and dialogue can happen around israel and on college campuses, we actually don't know exactly are supportive of this isn't right or wrong idea, or those really who want to speak out for justice and feel silenced by the policies of the jewish community. beyond that, i think rabbi jacobs asked the presbyterian general assembly made a last-ditch effort to strong-arm the presbyterian vote against divestment by offering a last-minute meeting with netanyahu, by all accounts, backfired because it was seen as a manipulation. and it is clear that, as i said

before, there's not consensus in the jewish committed he on any issue, most certainly this issue. i think it does a disservice to the entire jewish community and to our interfaith partners to misrepresent that. >> how many rabbis signed onto to the open letter to the presbyterian church, rabbi alissa wise? >> you mean the open letter from the jewish voice for peace? >> yes. >> i don't know the exact number. the truth is, it is not a numbers game. supportiveany rabbis of this policy that simply cannot come out of the woodwork for fear of losing their jobs. so i think what is most important is that jewish voice for peace is an organization that is small and growing and being able to kind of create the space for those in the jewish community that wish to express these values of a hope-free polity for palestinians to really come to light and bear fruit. >> finally, dr. nahida gordon,

where does the researcher in church go from here? -- where does the presbyterian church go from here? >> technically, we will not invest in these three companies. where we go from here? we need to continue to work for the human rights of palestinians. we are very much concerned with our partners in the country as well as israel. we are not against the israeli people, but we would like to see the government of israel starts treating the palestinians better. we would like to see the end of the occupation and see palestinians have their human rights, have freedom -- basically, that is it. we need to see the palestinians have their freedom. >> dr. nahida gordon, thank you for being with us. palestinian-american who was born in jerusalem before 1948,

presbyterian, and a member of the steering committee of the israel-palestine mission network. and rabbi alissa wise. that does it for our program. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to 1uogothem to