08/16/19 08/16/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. trump: the things they whatsaid, omar, tlaib, they have said is disgraceful. i cannot imagine why israel would let them in. amy: after an unprecedented call by president trump to block congresswomen rashida tlaib and ilhan omar from entering israel to travel to the occupied

territories. after tlaib reapplied on humanitarian grounds to visit is grandmother, the reverse decision on the condition that she does not promote the boycott divestment and sanctions movement during her visit. we'll go to ramallah for response from palestinian parliament member dr. mustafa barghouti, and we'll speak with rebecca vilkomerson of jewish voice for peace, which is among -- who herself as been banned for promoting bds. then "the great land robbery: the shameful story of how 1 million black families have been ripped fm m theifarmrms. >> it is dear to me that my children know what my ancestor went through for wre w we e and o we are because am a firm belver that if we don't knknow o hisisto, theneneepeat the mtakes ov and ove

agai amy:e will sak witvann wkirk wro the cov story for the lantic magaze abouou how blacpeople in thu.s. ve been spossess of 12 miion acreof land er the th centu and howhis contributed tohe racial wealth gain the uteted stes. all th and mor coming . welcome to democracy nowow!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel has announced it will conditionally allow congresswoman rashida tlaib to visit family in the west bank a day after barring both tlaib and fellow congresswoman ilhan omar from entering israel to travel to the occupied territory. israel is still refusing entry to omar. israel initially blocked them after president trump took the unprecedented step of publicly urging israel to bar entry to

the women, the first two female muslim members of congress. on israeli prime minister thursday, benjnjamin netanyahu defended israel's decisision to bar the u.s. lawmakers. >> by law, we'e're not willing o submit anyone into israel and calls for the boycott of the state of israel and asked to do legitimatize the state of the jews. say rashidaorities tlaib will be allowed to visit on humanitarian grounds to visit her ailing grandmother on the condition she does not promote bds. the decision was widely denounced even by aipac, the american israel public affairs committee. on thursday, rashida tlaib tweeted that israel's decision to bar her and omar was "a sign of weakness -- the truth of what is happening to palestinians is frightening."

the prominent palestinian diplomat hanan ashrawi decried israel's initial decision. >> this is really unacceptable. it is a direct insult to the american people. an insult to the representatives s of the americn people, and a way in which israel's shows -- cannot tolerate and will prevent anybody from interacting with the palestinian people are showowing the reality of this cruel and illegal occupation on the ground. amy: the family of rashida tlaib in the west bank has also expressed outrage the congresswoman must accept conditions on her visit. we will have more on this story after headlines. tension is growing in kashmir as pakistani and indian troops have repeatedly exchanged fire across the line of control. al jazeera reports six indian

soldiers as well as three pakistani soldiers and two pakistani civilians have died over the past 24 hours. this comes just over a week after india revoked the special status of the indian-controlled part of the muslim-majority region. meanwhile, in london, thousands of demonstrators rallied on thursday to protest india's crackdown in kashmir. sheikh ramzy is the director of the oxford islamic information center. >> it is totally wrong to capture the country, to occupy the country. they're going to be many people who die. [indiscernible] amy: authorities in gibraltar have ordered the release of an iranian oil tanker which had been seized by british marines in july. the trump administration responded to the news by threatening to deny visas to any

crew members who rejoin the ship. meanwhile, reports have emerged that the united states has taken part in secret talks between the united arab emirates and israel on developing new ways to confront iran. in news from asia, north korea test fired two missiles off its eastern coast earlier today. this makes the six north korean missile test in the past month. it comes a day after north korea rejected calls for more peace talks with south korea. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration has confirmed july was the earth's hottest month since record keeping began 140 years ago. in a statement noaa said -- "much of the planet sweltered in unprecedented heat. the record warmth also shrank arctic and antarctic sea ice to historic lows." july was the 415th consecutive month with above-average temperatures.

meanwhile, australia is facing criticism for watering down a climate agreement at the pacacic island forum, which has just wrapped up in tuvulu. fiji prime minister frank bainimarama tweeted -- "we came together in a nation that risks disappearing to the seas, but unfortunately, we settled for the status quo in our communique. watered-down climate language has real consequences -- like water-logged homes, schools, communities, and ancestral burial grounds." meanwhile, a new cornell university study finds that a global surge in methane gas emissions over the past decade is largely due to the fracking boom i in the united states and canada. publishing in the journal bio-geo-sciences, professor robert howarth finds the recent increase in methane gas emissions is massive, with chemical fingerprints indicating a large increase o of leaked gas

from shale drilling. meththane is far more potent thn carbrbon dioxide at trapping het in the atmosphere. and methane is the second-largest greenhouse gas contributor. in other climate news, more than 270 people have died over the past two weeks in india due to heavy monsnsoon rains. more than one million people have been displaced. the ninth circuit court of appeals has rejected an attempt by the trump administration to deny detained migrant children soap, toothpaste, and beds. justice department attorney sarah fabian had argued that the government is not required to provide such necessities to children detained at the border. at a hearing in june, her claim was questioned by all three judges on the panel, including judge wallace tashima. >> if you don't have a toothbrush, if you don't have soap, if you don't have a blanket, it is not safe and sanitary. wouldn't everyone agree to that?

do you agree to that? is a fair there reason to find those things may be part -- >> not may be, are apart. why do you say maybe? you mean there are circumstances when a person does not need of a toothbrush, toothpaste, and soap for days? in custody, itk is for grilling intended to be much shorter terms so it may b e for shorter term stay in cbp custody some of those things may not be required. amy: in their ruling on thursday, the federal judges wrote -- "assuring that children eat enough edible food, drink clean water, are housed in hygienic facilities with sanitary bathrooms, have soap and toothpaste, and are not sleep deprived are without doubt essential to the children's safety." in related news, the associated press has revealed dozens of immigrant families are planning

to sue the u.s. government for harm suffered after being separated at the border from their loved ones. the ap reports several of the claims involved young children who were sexually, physically, or emotionally abused inin federally funded foster care. a correctional officer in rhode island has been placed on leave after he drove his truck into a line of protesters calling for the release of asylum seekers being jailed in cedar falls, rhode island. [screams] amy: wednesday's protest was organized by jewish activists with the group never again action. protesters were peacefully blocking a driveway to the wyatt detention center when the correctional officer, captain thomas woodworth, drove his large pickup truck into the

crowd, striking several protesters. two protesters were hospitalized, including a 64-year-old activist who fractured his leg and suffered from internal bleeding. three other protesters were later hospitalized after police used pepper spray to disperse the peaceful protest. in a statement, never again action said -- "we will continue to fight until we close the concentration camps, shut down ice, and secure permanent protection for all 11 million undocumented people in the u.s." more information has come to light about the dayton's police department handling of last week's mass shooting when a gugunman shot dead ninine peopln a a span of 32 secononds befefoh popolice killed d him. a preliminary autotopsy showowse policece fired 24 to 26 bullllet the gunman, who had 52 wounds on his body. the dayton police have also revealed a at least one of thehe victims who died was shot by

both the gunman and the police, but authorities claim the lethal round d was fired by the gunman. the police also accidentally shot and injured anonother persn at the s scene. in pennsylvania, more than two dozen government officials, including democratic governor tom wolf, called on the republican-led state legislature to enact new gun control measures after a gunman in phphiladelphia shot t and injujd six police officers. this is pennsylvania senator sharif street. >> we in the commonwealth of pennsylvania have not done everything we are supposed to do. we are derelict in our duties. it is because the majajority caucus are afraid of the nra. there are derelict in their duties. they turned their back on the commonwealth of pennsylvania and the people w who were murdered n square hill, turned their backs on the people shot in our communities every day. they turned our backs on people rie andin allentown and ee

the people of north philadelphia, including its police department, who should not have to go up against people who have firearm second shoot at a didistance, fire weapons in rapidfire. amy: in news from africa, "t"the wall street journal" is reporting employees of the chinese telecommununications git huawei helped authorities in uganda and zambia to spy on political opponents and journalists. in uganda, the actions of huawei helped the government intercept the whatsapp and skype messages of prominent opposition leader bobi wine, who was later arrested along with dozens of his supporters. wine is now running for president. in zambia, huawei helped authorities locate opposition bloggers leading to their arrest. in campaign news, former colorado governor john hickenloerer hasroppppedis bidid toecome prident. he is noconsiderg runnin for nate agast repubcan cumbent ry gardn. d "the wl streetournal" porting esident ump has

peatedlysked advers if i uld be psible fothe unit ates to y greenld from denmark. trump is said to be interested in greenland's abundant natural resources and geopolitical importance. the united states already has a major military base in greenland, the thule air base. but government of greenland has a message, "greenland is not for sale." one danish politician said -- "the idea that denmark should sell 50,000 citizens to the u.s. is completely insane." trump is scheduled to meet with the prime minister of denmark nextxt month. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel has announced it will conditionally allow congresswoman rashida tlaib to visit family in the west bank a day after it barred both tlaib and ilhan omar from entering

israel to travel to occupied palestine. israel is still refusing entry to all more. israel initially blocked entry to both lawmakers after president trump took the unprecedented step of publicly urging israel to bar entry to the women. the first two female muslim members of congress. trump tweeted thursday -- "it was show great weakness if israel allowed representative omar and representative tlaib to visit. they hate israel and all jewish people." israeli primime minister benenjn netanyahu defended his decision thursday. he defendeded his decision to br both the u.s. lawmakers. law, we're not willing to admit anyone i into israelel who calls for the b boycott of the state of israel and next to the legitimatize the state of the jews.

commerce member to legal now be allowed entry on humanitarian grounds to visit her ailing 90-year-old shedmother on the condition does not promote the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement during her visit. both congresswomen rashida tlaib and ilhan omar have voiced support for the bds movement, the global solidarity campaign with the palestinian people. the nonviolent movement seeks to use economic and cultural pressure to force israel to end its occupation of palestinian lands. the congresswomen were planning to tour east jerusalem and the occupied west bank. after learning of the ban, congressmember ilhan omar released a statement that read in part -- "it is an affront that israeli prime minister netanyahu, under pressure from president trump, would deny entry to representatives of the u.s. government. trump's muslim ban is what israel is implementing, this time against two duly elected members of congress."

both centrist and progressive democrats crititicized israel's move and trurump's statements. u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi urged d israel to o reconsider s decicision. memeanwhile, congrgressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez tweeted -- "i cannot move forward with scheduling any visits to israel until all members of congress are allowed." despite outcry from democratic leaders, as well as palestinians, president trump double-downed on his position later on thursday. pres. trump: they are very anti-jewish and very anti-israel. i think it is disgraceful the things they've said. this isn't just a one line mistake. what they've said about israel and jewish people is a horrible thing and they've become the face of the democrat party. so i did absolutely put out a very strong statement. i think if you look at their language, if you look at what

they're said -- if i ever said horribleuld be a month, to put it mildly. the things that said, omar, isib, what they'veve said disgraceful. i cannot imagine what israel would let them -- amy: last week, the staunchly pro-israel lobbying group aipac, the american israel public affairs committee, sponsored a trip to israel for 41 democratic members of congress. the delegation was led by the house majority leader, maryland democrat steny hoyer. after news broke that congressmember's tlaib and omar were blocked from entering israel, hoyer called israeli officials on the congresswomen's behalf to no avail. he later released a statement saying israel's decision was outrageous. even aipac tweeted its disapproval saying, "every member of congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally israel firsthand."

the congresswomen's trip was co-sponsored by miftah, a west bank-based nongovernmental organization. the organization was founded by hanan ashrawi, a senior palestinian official with the palestine liberation organization. this is ashrawi responding to news of ththe trip''s cancellat. >> this is really unacceptable. it is a direct insult to the american people. it is a direct insult to the representatives of the american people. and it is a way in which israel shows a dictatorship that cannot tolerate any criticism and that it will prevent anybody from interacting with the palestinian people were seeing the reality of this cruel and illegal occupation on the ground. amy: the family of rashida tlaib in the west bank also expressed outrage, even after rashida to leave was accepted on

humanitarian grounds to visit her grandmother, saying therere ould be no conditions put on the congressmember's visit. well, for more, we go now to ramallah, west bank to speak with dr. mustafa barghouti. he is a member of the palestinian parliament and secretary general of the palestinian national initiative, a political party. he was a presidential candidate in the 2005 elections. and here in new york, we're also joined by rebecca vilkomerson, executive director of jewish voice for peace, or jvp. her group is among those standing in solidarity with congressmembers ilhan omar and rashida tlaib. rebecca vilkomerson herself has beenen banned from entering israel, despite the fact she has israeli and american citizenship also prefer inters -- we turn first to dr. mustafa barghouti. can you respond to president u.s. not allowing two

congress members, israel complying and then after congressmember rashida tlaib appealed on humanitarian grounds to have her perhaps last visit with her grandmother, they said she could condition on her not promoting boycott, divestment, and sanctions. your response, dr. barghouti? we don't know at this point commerce member ilhan omar has not been allowed into the occupied territories or israel. >> well, let me first say why does israel behave in this main year? i think the israeli establishment before everything else is frightened from exposing the realities here in palestine. they are afraid that such h a visit with the media coverage will expose their longest occupation in modern history, will expose the severe violations of human rights of palestinians at the hands of the israeli establishment, and

expose the worst apartheid ever where racial discrimination is practiced againstt palestinian's in the worst possible way. thatecond reason -- prove israel is not a democracy. no democracy in the world would prevent elected congresswomen from the united states from visiting. proof that israel -- third, i think this act is reflecting a racial discriminatory approach. there is which i think some type of similarity between netanyahu and mr. trump will step racial discrimination agagainst people because of ther religion -- origin or the religion or their opinions. at the end of the day, israeli efforts to impose on rashida tlaib conditions for her visit

is that thing but an act of separation of freedom of expression will stop i hope she does not accept that. i also hope she does not allow separating her because i think both of them should be allowed to come in. as was said, the fact israel took such a decision is an insult to democracy and to the american people. they claim tontry have an alliance with. it shows the real skin of thihis israeli establishment, which insists on only not only havinig an occupation against palestinians, but consolidating a system of apartheid. their attacks on bds and solidarity movements with palestinian people is nothing but an act of psychological terror to frighten people from telling the truth. it would have been very important in exposing the

reality here because we know that in many, many american media outlets, the truth is not coming through to the american publicic. all we w want is the american public knows the truth, knows the reality. if the american public knows the truth, they will immediately take a stand, i'm sure, against the system of oppression and apartheid. amy: rebecca vilkomerson, your response? aniss identified you as israeli citizen. yoyou are not. but you have been banned from going into israel. can you talk about what happened to rashida tlaib, and ilhan omar, clearly a story developing? >> the news today that rashida was given what was called humanitarian grounds, really reflects how much israel considers itself entitled to completely control the lives in all caps of movement of all palestinian people. rashida was forced to make a

decision that palestinians are often forced to make because of the way israel controls its borders and for decades has not been allowing palestinians in. in many ways, this is a continuation of ongoing israeli policies. there is been a spotlight on it because she did to leave is a u.s. congress person. a spotlight on it because it is unprecedented that a sitting president would suggest to a foreign country that a member of his own government should not be allowed into the country. from an american political perspective, i think that is unprecedented. but from the israeli perspective, this is a continuation of their apartheid and at the discrimination. it is that any different from what they've been pursuing for decades now. amy: you yourself has been barred from going into israel? >> that is right. that is the to of the iceberg. they're trying to control the political thought in the political expression of people who disagree with their

policies. again, that is based on years and years and years of that kind of effort and religious discrimination they've been imposing. amy: it is quite astounding, bitter irony that you president trump going after the squad, the , telling themomen to go back to their countries. three of them, including rashida tlaib, born in the u.s. here he said go back to their countries. and now he is demanding of israel that israel not allow rashida tlaib, who was the first palestinian-american congresswoman, from returning to her family land where her grandmother lives. >> and that should be her human right. she should not have to ask for special exception. i think is important we focus on the role of the democrats. the democrats inability to hold israel accountable for any of its human rights violations has

allowed it to increase if unity is repressive policies. although the democratic leadership made some statements in support of the two congresswomen yesterday,y, in reality, for years now they y he been working against the bds movement, trying to pass legislation against it, calling it anti-semitic. they have contributed to the demonization and delegitimization of these congresswoman which resulted in these actions. it is a key moment for the democrats because while the old guard like nancy pelosi and steny hoyer who defend israel at all costs, the younger people, people of color, women, the polls show that is true that -- that is the population of people who have shifted and the positions on israel in the last years and represented by people like the squad, that there is a real disconnect between old guard democrats and the new

democrats and their needs to be some actual concrete action. platitudes are not enough. we had one thing we should condition aid to israel, a bill trying to place conditions on aid allowing to put palestinian children into jail. omar's representative legislation to protect the bds movement. these are actual concrete actions that democrats could take two protect theheir own colleagues r rather than allowig trump and netanyahu to set the agenda. i think that is what we need to look for now, those kinds of actions. aam thrilled because jvp couple of days ago i could not have talked in these terms, so we are just now watching jvp work, doing electoral defending our champions, and holding elected officials accountable. i think that is reflection of where we are in the mood. we're starting to push policies because we do have this rift in

the democratic party. amy: were you surprised that aipac coming out that there is any light between aipac and trump or aipac and israel right now, that they condemn the decision? >> it was very clear they made this decision not based on principle, but on pr, essentially. lookdo not want israel to bad and they are invested in a bipartisan consensus around israel. they are losing that and losing the democrats for losing the democratats at the base and now starting to lose thehe democrats who are elected. i think this is a move for self-preservation or than anything else. amy: where going to go to break and come back to this discussion with rebecca vilkomerson, head of jewish voice for peace, and dr. mustafa bargrghouti, a membr of the palestinian parliament. back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

amy: "can i go on" by sleater kinney. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel has announced it will conditionally allow congress woman to lead to visit family in the west bank a day after it barred both rashida tlaib and sister congresswoman ilhan omar from entering israel to travel to occupied palestine. israel is still refusing entry to omar. israel initially blocked entry to both lawmakers after president trump took the unprecedented step up publicly urging israel to bar entry to the women. the first two female muslim members of congress. on thursday, the american israel public affairs committee known as aipac tweeted -- "we disagree with the support for the into israel and anti-peace bds movement, along with tlaib's calls for a one state solution. we also believe every member of congress should be able to visit and expands our democratic ally israel firsthand."

this is tlaib responding to news banning his niece from entering the country. >> it is an unfairir decision. receipt itit is palestininian. she isis originally from papalestine. her grandfather and father originally arere from palelesti. she wanted to visit her country of palestine. she wanted to visit her family and relatives. it is unfair that she is banned from visiting palestine. amy: commerce member rashida tlaib shared a photograph of her grandmother on twitter a few hours after israel announced its decision to bar her injury. and she wrote "this woman right here is my grandmother. she deserves to live in peace and with human dignity. i am who i am because of her, she tweeted. early this morning, the israeli government reversed its decision on rashida tlaib conditionally

saying on human a during grounds they will let her in to visit her grandmother, but she cannot advocate bds, cannot advocate boycott, divestment, and sanctions. we continue our conversation f from -- withss dr. mustafa barghouti joining us and rebeccamallah vilkomerson. dr. mustafa barghouti, ifif you can explain the law that israel and explained ago the grounds on which they have been barred, now again, this exception made for congressmember to leave to visit her grandma --tlaib to visit her grandmother if she does not speak out? >> well, this law was used against the bds movement.

the bds movement is a nonviolent . it is a peaceful movement that calls for sanction of the occupation and sanctioning the israeli policies in the occupied territories. and this law is used to prohibit and prevent anybody who is in solidarity with the palestinian people, anybody who is supporting the right of the palestinians to be free from occupation, and the right of the palestinians to have a free, independent t and sovereign sta. they use it as an instrument to prohibit these people who are in solidarity with palestinians from visiting palestine and from entering israel. this is not the only law that is racist here. therere is another law passed by the knesset and astonished everybody, the national -- the state national law which says this land, including the occupied territories, is a place for jewish people only. it is restricted to jewish

people. in my opinion, these two laws, specifically the law against bds, is nothing but an instrument to hide the truth and reality. they think this way they will prevent the world from knowing the facts on the ground. they think this way they will stop the growth of the solidarity movement to the palestinian people -- which is actually happening. al over the world, there's much bigger understanding,g, especially among the younger population, for instance in the u.s., young american democrats who are supporting the democratic party. even among young jewish people there is a growing support to the palestinian right for freedom against the system of israel israel apartheid, israeli racism. what they're doing is to impose these laws that are only used by dictatorships. in history byd

governments that are authoritarian and are trying to oppress and suppress the freedom of expression. that is why -- by the way, humanitarian approval. most of the palelestinian people are restricted in terms of freedom of movement. many people in the gaza strip are not alallowed even for humanitarian reasons to come to the west bank. most of us in the west bank are not allowed to go to jerusalem, not even for humanitarian causes. in my opinion, this is in israeli deceit and no congresswoman in the united states, including rashida tlaib and ilhan omar, should accept conditions from the israeli side that would restrict their freedom of expression, of movement. on the opposite, they should insist on the freedom of movement and insist on their right of knowing the truth about what is happening to it and exposing it toto the world.

amy: i want to read an article from middle east i about the home of her shooter to leaps family in the west bank. they write -- on "the modest home o tlaib's grandfather lives west the city. it is nestled between two military bases at an intersection between adjacent , about 100 villages meters east of the house sits in israeli military site that is been in place since 2011. israeli soldiers are by and blocks with weapons pointed at passersby." that description is from middle east i. would you care to elaborate on that, dr. barghouti?

>> absolutely. that is a very important point. let me explain. the west bank is part of the occupied territories that were occupied is serial in 1967. west bank and gaza is supposed to become the land of the palestinian future state according to this agreement, which israel has violated constantly, especially under netanyahu. inside the west bank and part of the apartheid system that israel has created, they have invented something that does not exist does noth africa, exist even during the worst segregation time in the united states. they invented segregated roads. these are major highways, big roads, tons of them, that are cutting the west bank north, south, used, west, connecting israeli illegal settlements with israel and they are prohibited for palestinians.

i'm talking about roads in the occupied palestinian territories which are prohibited for palestinians. if a palestinian is caught walking or driving on any of these roads, he would be sentenced to six months in jail and maybe more. the israeli army has established a road which cuts the palestinian territory into two pieces, prohibits and prevents people from normal movement. we were attacked more than once on this road and we demonstrated against the segregated roads. in this particulular case, thiss an example of how the whole geography of the palestinian territories of the west bank is harmed and destroyed by the alsoing of these roads and by the building of the apartheid

wall, which started to be built in 2002 and has become three times as long and twice as high as it used to be. anis another instrument of apartheid system. what is the goal of this? the goal of this is to destroy the continuity of palestinian territories, to prevent the palestinians from having a state of their own, and to consolidate a system of racial discrimination and apartheid beingalestinians clustered in ghettos. that is very clear system of apartheid that should be condemned by everybody. i am sure it must've been americans would know the reality about what is happening here, it would be first to criticize israel. first to refuse this israeli imposed position where if you this iscide -- unacceptable.

there's a difference between criticizing the jews as people which is unacceptable and criticizing israeli policies which should be condemned as apartheid occupation. amy: before this latest reversal of allowing rashida tlaib in honesty manager and grounds, netanyahu wrote -- that was netanyahu. rebecca vilkomerson? >> after clarify might has been an kids to live with me in new york. as a jewish american, i'm entitled to israeli citizenship

but i have declined to pursue it because i don't want to be co-opted into the israeli project. i think there's always a reason that israel had about security, but the reality is we have to reframe this around human rights and people's dignity and freedom. that is everything that dr. barghouti just mentioned. speaking a little about my own community, i think we have a lot to answer for. our institutions spoke out against the congresswomen being denied yesterday but they have done so much to create an atmosphere where it is impossible to criticize israel without being called anti-semitic and has tried to pass laws that do the same thing and are ignoring the fact that larger and larger numbers of american jews in particular, younger american jews in particular, but all americans, including young people, women of color, support palestinian rights. i think that is an inevitable .hift happening

that is why we are starting to see these changes also in congress. amy: they also mentioned originally saying no to the congresswoman rashida tlaib's support for a one state solution. israel'step understanding they have the ability and the power and the right to limit people's political opinions, that they can say we grant you the ability to come to the west bank but only few don't speak about bds, we are banning you because you support a particular political solution -- the idea that is a legitimamate reason to ban somee from especially a u.s. congresswoman -- amy: who is deciding with the u.s. should do about your support for israel will step so you -- so u.s. congress people go to where they're giving large amount of support. what is the level of aid? is $38 billion.

it is more aid than any other country receives and the world, and that is why i think -- it is the responsibility now congress to take action to use all the money levers of economic aid, diplomatic cover they offer israel and the u.n., all of those things to say this can't stand because it -- the idea that a congressperson could not visit israel because she is visiting palestine, she calls it, last week members of congress visited israel under the auspices of aipac. the idea it would not be possible for a palestinian-american congresswoman to go to her own ancestral home and to be a little report directly abouout e condititions on the grouound, tt is one of her key and should bees the respononsibilities of all members of congress given the level of a that offer israel. amy: dr. mustafa barghouti, hanan ashrawi tweeted "they're coming to palestine, not israel. and for slick, it is the occupied power that holds call-center the

palestinians." >> it would be palestine. the israelis have to choose, either they accept a two state solution and allow us to have a free state or we live in one state, but with total and complete equality for democratic rights for everybody. by the way, many congress men and women come here and never meet palestinians. this is not new. the fact that omar and rashida did not want to meet israelis, they are right. -- if they want to establish that every congresswoman and man who comes here should meet palestinians as well. amy: we want to thank you both for being with us, dr. dr. mustafa barghouti --, member of the palestinian parliament, and rebecca vilkomerson who is head of jewish voice for peace. when we come back, we will speak

to atlantic staff writer vann newkirk about his new cover story "the great land robbery: the shameful story of how 1 million black families have been ripped from their farms." stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "blue harvest blues" by mississippi john hurt. this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. over the 20th century, black people in the u.s. were dispossessed of 12 m million acs of land. half of that loss, 6 million acres, occurred over just two decades from 1950 to 1969 -- a period largely associated with the civil rights struggle. this mass land dispossession, which affected 98% of black agricultural land owners, is part of the pattern of institutional l racism and discrimination that has contributed to the racial wealth gap in the united states. many of the driving forces behind this land theft were

legal and originated in federal policies. in a new articicle on the histoy of this mass of land theft, our next guest writes -- "unlike their counterparts even two or t three generations agog, black peopople living and workrg in the delta today have been almost completely uprooted from the soil." vann newkirk is a staff writer at the atlantic where he covers politics a p polic his new piece is the atlantic's september cover story, "the great land robbery." can you tell us what this robbery is? >> so the robbery refers to mostly the 20th century in the mid-20th century and beyond, federally funded and federally directed in some cases discriminatory effort against african-american farmers that wound up by several mechanisms with those farmers losing, like you said, 6 million acres of land over just 19 yeyears, from

1950 to 1969. and most of it concentrated around the civil rights movement with a lot of f that lanand beig tataken, a lotff those beiei denieded purpoposefully with the intent of keeping black folks from protesting for their civil rights. amy: explained this period, this pivotal period when millions of acres were taken from lack americans. 1950 to 196969. government, they installed a couple of programs duduring the great depressssiont were basicalally crereated in an agricultural a as we know it today. they subsidized come heavily subsidizeded crop g growing a ad controlled prices when commodity priceses went too low.w. the creationmoted of lararger and larger and more and more cononsolidateted farms. those efforts served to drive

lots of small farms of all races off their farms, but actually mamanifested in a kindnd of novl and e even morere dire way in heavily black placecein the unitited states. black folks did not have a whole lot of land but they did have places like mississippi, which i wrote abouout. but what does federal reforms did is they gave the money to locally elected boards and in places across the deep south, black folks could not vote on those boards. basically, a gave the plantation owners, their children, their grandchildren, the people who lived in on the side of the confederacy in the civil war and their descendents, a gave them even more power to dispossess and disenfranchise black farmers, and they used that power could extensively to the tune of f almost the e entiretyf blblack farming collapsing. amy: i want to turn to a video of willena scott-white who is featured in your piece. the scott family is one of the few families who were able to

reclaim land that was possessed by the usda. she talks here about what happened to her father's land and what that land means to her family. that we were me weeded out of histor and ths how i e it. i'm going to t not to cry. it is dear to me that children know what my ancesto went through, where we a and who we are. cause i a firm liever that if don't know o history, then we repeat the mistakes over anover again. my d's nd was ten. it was n foreclod on by da. my dad nt in and alied r money torrigate s beans becausit was s hot. thcounty agent rused to ve

m a to water hisrorops. he said, are you not supsesed to be from ect thisyour farng likehite fol he c erything d have tt year. ththis is whwhen they started tt get enough money to farm with. amy: can you tell us the story of the scotttt family, how t thr land was losost, how they y camo regainin it? sr.her grarandfather e ed scott came from alabama and got over to mississippi in the late 19th century. a titan in his corner of mississippipi. an incredibly y gifted f farmern many ways more well respected in some local white f farmers. and he was one of those farmers who was talented and lucky enough to be of the purchase of plot of land his first 100 acres from a local guy ph brooks, a ite landner.r. he becamthe early middle siz

landownersblblack landowners in ththe reon.. he encouraged all ofisis children to get their own pls of lan they kept it all in comm. and over t course h his lifetimebuililt uthrough eer lent andorce of wil, abt 10 acres oland. ., took overo jrr . he fought in wor w war iandd came b bk and also became an incredibly talented former and r r manar. hedded to ose lalaholdings at both them dithat marked them as unie was a mece to nodabble ior s see out feralununds. they emphazed hvily sel sustnability andeaning on privatfunding keep thr fo of a flt. when they had the inflation crcrisis, they had to rereach o.

when he started reaching out come he got a little t the first yeyear but then you see the locl power structures realize this guy may be foaming -- farming like white guys. littlecks he drives are too shiny. the difficulty comes when he tries to get into catfish farming, which is heavily subsidized by the federal government. they onlnly offer the dodollar amount that isis about half of e average operable whitite farmer who isis, frankly, way less confident, in the region. -- competent, in the region. it is doomomed from t the start. they lose a lot of their land pretty quickly o over thehe 19's and 1990's. willena kind of shehepherded him fo the lawsuit where they won aa lot of it back in the case against the usda. amy: you talk about how ultimately wall street

got very interested in the land. you write, for example, the teachers insurance and annuity a, as well asia other corporate entities, that all owned tens of thousands of acres of land in mississippi and surrounding states, how do these companies come to own this land? and what about the issue of reparations? farmland wasn't originally considered a really valuable investment asset. farmland is volatile. it is difficult to predict from year to year what your yields going to be. it is an asset that is been below the sterling grade of investment classes. after the great reression whenen the dollar weakenedd anand withe future threats of both climate change a and overpopulation, really placing a premiumum bothn land and on ararable land for re production off food that is only

goining to increase in value,, farmland became mumuch more attrtrtive to o large investoro, particularly pension funds. about andndh i wririte the piece,e, is kind of emblemac of the very y sudden interest tf pension funds and farmlmland across the united states. right now pension funds in the mississippi delta own more land than black folks who were there. and now that conne t to my story, most t the fmland in the u.s. is nened alady. so wherere invesrs goingo lo for lanfrom? comingp for ationhere it is a rackaged to reall larg parcels oftenatappens most where it is being stolen from black folks. the missisppppi dea isis we me of the largest portfoosos thehe u. are.e. connecting to rerations, for one, wall reetet ia major inintest right now and farmlan

that w once owned by black folks. weave to rkon withhat. have toeckon wi t the ft itit was unid states federal policy tt allowed that. so h h do we rkon with the fa that now ts lulucrive asse cla is makioney for lots o peoe, lots people acrosshe coury opension nds, may even ouide the country, a it is not makin or the aican amecan d descennts of t farmers who lid there who were enslav to theiand who made th land -- who arare basically and we are discriminating against? i think reparations has to be part of that conversation. yet to start thinking about if the federal government took this find a way totet to invested back into them. if you think about this as a federaral investment in white farmers, in wall street eventually why wouldn't it be ethicacal, why wouldn't it be necessssary for the federal government to invest and black

farmers the same way? amy: you are talking about something like 12 million acres of land. that is about the size of vermont and new hampshire combined. your final comment? >> 12 mimillion acres. it is a staggering amount of landnd. it amounts to something north of hundreds o of millions to perhas trillions of dollars worth of lost.legacy, culture that is titanic. and whatever policy comes next has to be just as titanic. amy: vann newkirk, thank you for being with us staff writer at , the atlantic where he covers politics and policy. we willing to your latest piece, "the great land robbery: the shameful story of how 1 million black families have been ripped from their farms." that does it for this broadcast. 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 democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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