04/07/23 04/07/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we are calling for common sense gun legislation. we are calling for a ban of assault weapons in the response of this body is to assault democracy. amy: the republican-controlled house in tennessee has expelled two black democratic lawmakers after they joined a student-led protest in the state capitol

demanding gun control following last week's shooting in nashville that killed six, including three nine-year-old. we will speak to one of the expelled lawmakers, justin jones. then we go to the middle east as israel bombs southern lebanon and gaza as tensions soar in the region after israeli forces repeatedly raided the al aqsa mosque, beating and tear gassing palestinian worshippers as they -- during ramadan. and calls are growing for supreme court justice clarence thomas to be impeached following a blockbuster investigation by propublica. >> our investigationound justice thomas aed - accted e shuri -luxury travelrom harl crow er theourse of manyears. to givone exampleharlanrow ue juscehomas his prateetrom the ited stes to ionesiaears ago werehey wereety the

superm's pvate yacht and they went island hopping for about a week and a half. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel's military launched air strikes overnight in southern lebanon and the gaza strip after prime minister benjamin netanyahu promised that israel's enemies would "pay a price for any aggression." the strikes followed rocket attacks on israel from gaza, and from lebanon, in the largest such barrage since 2006. two israeli women reportedly sustained minor injuries. the palestinian ministry of health in gaza said israeli airstrikes hit a children's hospital east of gaza, terrorizing medical workers and patients but causing no injuries. in the occupied west bank,

gunmen opened fire on a vehicle near an illegal settlement in jericho, killing two and injuring a meanwhile, tensions third. were high at the al aqsa mosque in occupied east jerusalem ahead of friday prayers after israeli soldiers were filmed beating and tear gassing palestinian worshippers earlier this week during the holy month of ramadan. later in the broadcast, we'll speak with mohammed el-kurd, palestine correspondent for the nation magazine. more than 3300 afghan men and women employed by the united nations remained idled for a second straight day thursday after the taliban ordered a ban on women staff in afghanistan. this is amina mohammed, the u.n.'s deputy secretary-general. >> it is a clear violation of our fundamental human rights of women. female staff members are centl, including the delivery of lifesaving assistance and

subnational colleagues have already experienced restrictions on their movements. amy: this comes as the u.n. warns a record 28.3 million people in afghanistan are in need of assistance this year, with 6 million of them one step away from famine. meanwhile, the biden administration has released its long-anticipated report on the withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan in 2021. the report found u.s. officials should have begun an evacuation sooner, but determined actions taken by former president trump set the stage for chaos as the taliban overran the capital kabul. in the united states, the tennessee house of representatives voted thursday to expel two democratic members for joining peaceful protest seconds gun violence inside the state capitol last week. justin jones of nashville and justin pearson of memphis are both african-american and from tennessee's two largest cities. jones made an impassioned case against the proceedings before the republican supermajority

voted 72-25 to expel him. >> we called for you all to ban assault weapons and you respond with an assault on democracy. that is why the nation is watching you today. and i say to my colleagues on the other set of the aisle, no matter what you vote, you have the vote, but you will not be victorious because there generations of young people who see what is going on. amy: they were called the tennessee three but the third democratic representative, gloria johnson of knoxville, who is white, narrowly survived a vote on her expulsion. thursday's extraordinary proceedings were interrupted at times by thousands of protesters who packed the house gallery to support the lawmakers and their efforts to stem gun violence in the wake of the march 27 mass shooting at covenant school in nashville, which left re-adults and three nine-year-old students dead. president biden condemned the

expulsions as shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent. after headlines, we will go to nashville to speak with one of the expelled state representatives justin jones. supreme court justice clarence thomas is facing renewed calls for his impeachment after a propublica investigation revealed he failed to report frequent luxury trips paid for by the billionaire harlan crow. for more than two decades, thomas frequently joined crow aboard his private yacht, jet, at his private estates, and at bohemian grove -- an exclusive all-male retreat in california. the junkets likely violate a law passed after watergate requiring justices and other federal officials to disclose most gifts. new york congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez tweeted in response -- "this is beyond party or partisanship. this degree of corruption is shocking, almost cartoonish. thomas must be impeached." later in the broadcast, we'll speak with justin elliott, who

co-authored the propublica investigation. the biden administration proposed new regulations under title ix thursday to make it illegal for schools to impose blanket bans on transgender students playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. schools could, however, still bar transgender students from participating in competitive high school and college sports if deemed necessary to maintain "fairness in competition" after evaluating the sport, the level of competition, and the grade or education level involved. 20 states curreny have blaet bans on trans student atetes. meanwhile, the supreme court rud in favorf a 12-year-old transgender gi in west virginia, allowing her to continue compeng on her school's girls' track and cross-country teams while a lawsuit over a state ban proceeds. idaho republican governor brad little signed a bill into law criminalizing the act of helping someone under the age of 18 obtain an abortion in another state without parental consent.

it's the first so-called abortion trafficking law passed in the u.s. and carries penalties of two to five years in prison. alexis mcgill johnson, president of planned parenthood federation of america, said -- "the law will isolate young people and put them in danger, including those who are in abusive situations." meanwhile, in new mexico, democratic governor michelle lujan grisham signed a bill shielding abortion providers from prosecution, disciplinary action, or extradition attempts by other states. a warning to our audience, the following story contains graphic footage and accounts of police violence. the justice department has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of dalaneo martin, a black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a u.s. park police officer in washington, d.c., last month. the investigation was announced after tuesday's release of police body camera video showing the march 18 shooting. the video shows officers investigating what they called a suspicious vehicle with martin

sleeping behind the wheel. an officer opens the rear driver's side door of the suv and issues the command, "police! don't move!" martin accelerates with an officer in the back seat. the officer then fires multiple times before the suv crashes into the side of a home. a medical examiner later reported martin was shot six times and died instantly. his mother terra martin spoke to reporters on wednesday. >> i would the officer's name released immediately. i want him arrested. i want him to stop getting paid while he murdered my son and is still home with this family, not doing no work and getting paid for murder. amy: sudan's military rulers have once again delayed signing an agreement that would transition the nation from military to civilian rule. it prompted a new round of protests in the capital khartoum and other cities.

the agreement would allow for elections and the formation of a civilian government after over a year of military rule following the october 2021 coup. security forces fired tear gas at massive crowds as protesters were heard chanting, "no militia can rule a country." protesters also marked the fourth anniversary of a 2019 sit-in that led to the overthrow of longtime authoritarian president omar al-bashir. >> for the martyrs who have given their lives for this country, the protest will reach its end god willing and we will keep going until we reach a civilian democratic rule and without the return of any totalitarian system in sudan again. amy: many have criticized the deal for excluding the establishment of a transitional justice system or the implementation of key military reforms. and oklahoma's attorney general is asking for the murder conviction of death row prisoner richard glossip to be vacated in a decades-long case in which glossip narrowly escaped

execution three times. in 1997, 19-year-old maintenance worker justin sneed killed the owner of a budget motel in oklahoma. he admitted to the murder but accused glossip, the motel's manager, of orchestrating it, allowing sneed to avoid the death penalty. glossip has always maintained his innocence. oklahoma's attorney general cited evidence in a new report that shows sneed, who was a heavy drug user at the time of the murder, gave false testimony about his psychiatric condition and the state's failure to turn over key evidence. an appeals court must now decide whether to vacate glossip's conviction and order a new trial. glossip is currently scheduled to be executed on may 18. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in tennessee, where a republican supermajority in the state legislature carried out its threat thursday to expel two black democratic lawmakers from their seats for peacefully

protesting gun violence on the house floor last week, breaking with the quorum as thousands rallied outside the capitol to demand gun control days after the covenant elementary school shooting in nashville that killed six, including three nine-year-old's. justin jones of nashville and justin pearson of memphis are both african-american and prime tennessee's two largest cities. they were part of the tennessee three, but the vote to expel their white colleague gloria johnson, who joined them in solidarity, narrowly failed. in a minute, we will speak with jones. but first, we bring you some of the historic scenes that unfolded as justin jones and his colleagues defended themselves while supporters looked on from a packed gallery but stayed quiet so they could witness the proceedings. this is representative justin jones facing questioning from his republican colleague and laying out his defense. >> i was shocked to have the speaker of the house condemned

mothers and children and grandmothers and parents and concerned citizens, clergy, light on th and said they were violent insurrectionists. i thinhe owes the people of tennessee an apology. at no point was there violence. at no point did we encourage violence. in fact, what we were doing was calling for the endf gun violence and terrorizing our children day after day after day and all we offer our moments of silence. it is in that spirit of speaking for my constituents of being representative of the people that i approach this well on last thursday. breaking a house rule but exercising moral obedience to my constitutional responsibility to be a voice for my people, to be a voice of the tennesseans who

you choose not to listen to because of those nra checks that are so hefty in our campaign funds. -- in your campaign funds. there comes a time where peopl get sick and tired of being sick and tired. >> one of the questns that keeps coming back to my mind that i hope you can answer is when you say no action, no peace , what do you mean? what is represented jones mean by no peace? thank you. >> thank you. i would invite my colleague from putnam county to join any protest where that is very familiar chant that usually goes of justice, no peace. i believe the roots of it are -- line something martin luther king stated that true peace is not merely the absolute attention but the presence of justice. that is what i was saying. that until we act, there will be

no peace in our communities. in addition, i would like to read some context about that chant that comes from jeremiah 6:14. i will read the new living translation. they offer superficial treatments for my peoples mortal wound. they give assurances and peace where there is no peace. the new international version, they address the wood of my people so it was not serious. peace they say where there is no peace. that is what the chant means, we have no peace. until we act, there will be no peace for the thousands of children who came here demanding we act come who are afraid if they are in school they will be gunned down because you pass laws to make it easier to get a gun that it is to get health care. you pass laws to make it eier to get a gun that it is to vote. it will be no peace in tennessee untiwe act on this proliferation of weapons of poor

in our community. that is the pea ic was talking aboute thank you for your question. amy: after his questioning by republican ryan williams, tennessee republican lawmakers gave representative justin jones five minutes before their vote. this is how he concluded. >> thank you, mr. speaker. to my colleagues on the others out of the aisle, i want to say you have the vote to do what you're going to do today. i will let you know that when i came to this well, i was fighting for your children and grandchildren, too. to those here who will cast a vote forxpulsioni was fighting f your children, to come to live free from the terror of school shootings and mass shootings. when i walked up to this well last thursday, i was thinking about the thousands of students

who are outside demanding that we do something. many of their signs said "do something." do something, do something. that was their only ask of us. respond to the grief, respond to traumatize community but in response to that, the first action of this body is to expel members who are calling for commonsense gun legislation. we were calling for a ban of assault weapons and response of this body is to assault democracy. this is a historic day for tennessee but it is a dark day for tennessee because it will signal to the nation there is no democracy in this spate. there is -- if it can happen

here in tennessee, it is coming to your state next. that is why the nation is watching us, what we do here. my prayer to you is that even if you expel me, you still act to address the crisis of mass shootings because if i am expelled from here, i will be out there with the people. i pray we uphold our oath on this floor. because, colleagues, the world is watching. >> i hereby say represent objects is expelled. -- i hereby state president of jones is expelled. amy: that was speaker cameron sexton announcing the expulsion of tennessee state representative justin jones.

from the statehouse thursday in a party-line vote. republicans also voted to expel his fellow freshmen, another 27-year-old black democratic , representative justin pearson, who also faced questions as he defended himself. this is part of representative pearson's exchange with republican representative andrew farmer. >> that is why you're standing there, because of that temper tantrum he had that day. with a yearning to have attention. that is what you wanted. well, you're getting it now. i just advise you if you want to conduct business in this house, file a bill. we recognize, presented, and pass it. just pass a bill. >> representative pearson. >> now, you all heard that. how many of you would want to be

spoken to that way? how many of you would want to be spoken to that way? we are not talking about politics, not talking about even gun violence. how many of you would want to be spoken to that way? the reason that i believe the sponsor of this legislation of this resolution spoke that way is because he is comfortable doing it. because there is a decorum that allows it. there is a decorum that allows you to belittle people. we did not belittle nobody. what we said was that we could not the holden to gun lobbyists of the nra, we can't be beholden to organizations that don't want to see us make progress, we

can't be beholden to folks who don't want to see his help protect our communities. but there is something else i think that the sponsor of this resolution has alluded to and there are a few things here that you said that i want to address. he called a peaceful protest a temper tantrum. is what is happening outside these doors by tennesseans who want to see change a temper tantrum? sarah, who son noah was at the covenant school, he survived, he is five years old, she showed up here demanding that we do something about gun violence. is that a temper tantrum? is elevating our voices for justice or change a temper tantrum? but there is something in the decorum of this body that makes

it ok to say folks are exercising their first amendment rights to speak up for the hundreds of thousands of people collectively that we represent, there is something in that a quorum of this body that says it is ok to call that a temper tantrum, to call people we disagree with on the issues to say that all they want is attention. i will tell you what, i don't personally want attention. what i want is attention on the issue of gun violence. but instead, we are here the resolution you put up talking about expelling me for advocating for ending gun violence in the state of tennessee. i would much rather be talking with you about legislation to protect shelby county and protect our communities than talking about why we don't deserve to have our representation laws because we came -- saying we have got to do something. that is what i would like to be doing. so you brought attention or

tried to bring attention to me, but i want to turn the attention to the people. the people who will never be able to throw a temper tantrum for gun violence. you know, larry thorne, the mike hills, hallie scruggs, the william kennedys who will never have it chance to throw what you call as to pretension. for justice. reform. the ending up -- they will never have a chance. because we haven't taken our oath seriously. because we don't take people who disagree with seriously. we tell them, you just are throwing a temper tantrum stuff and cover multiple, tennessee republicans voted to expel democratic are visited of justin pearsofrom the house as well. at one point during his final remarks, the official tv feed for the tennessee house

continued to wrongly identify him as his colleague justin jones as he was giving his final statement. pearson ended by saying the struggle had just begun. >> we have good news, folks. we have got good news that sunday always comes. resurrection is upon us. it is a prophecy. it is a prophecy that came out of the cotton fields. it is a prophecy that came out of the lynching tree. it is a prophecy that still lives in each and every one of us in order to make the state of tennessee the place that it ought to be. so i have still t hope because i know we are still here and we will never quit! [cheers] >> out of order. amy: during about, thousands of supporters rallied in the halls of the state capitol and outside. when a reporter asked gloria

johnson why she thought there was a difference between her outcome -- she was not expelled but her colleagues were -- this was her response. >> i will answer your question. it might have to do with the color of our skin. america representative gloria johnson was a teacher at central high school in knoxville that faced a school shooting more than a decade ago. at the end of the night, the lawmakers, now known as the tennessee three, stood together again and johnson vowed to work to get her expelled colleagues back in the house. >> and i just cannot say enough about how proud i am always and forever to stand with these two brilliant young men who connect with their community, who really listen and understand the voters in their districts and across this state, who can tell

everybody in the most powerful way they -- they spoke to our members. they won't admit it, i don't think, but they spoke to those hearts. i could see it on faces. but still, what is the difference where i made it through and these two young men did not make it through? i think you are right -- we know. but here's the difference. i think we might have these two young men back very soon. [cheers] it is my promise to fight like hell to get both of them back. i make gloria johnson standing next to the justin's, justin pearson and justin jones, who

had just been expelled by the tennessee state legislature. we're joined now by justin jones, expelled them a credit tennessee state representative of nashville. welcome back. thank you so much for joining us after this marathon day. your feelings yesterday as you stood with such passion yet composure, dressing down your colleagues who are questioning you, then expelling you? justin jones? >> thank you so much for having me again. it is good to be here. amy: so your feelings right now? how is that possible -- i mean, it is not like your hired to work at a store and then you were fired. you were elected by the people of nashville. so how is it that a republican

supermajority can fire you, can expel you? >> i'm sorry, could not hear your other question. i am feeng -- when it happened, it did not feel real. if i did not know what happened to me, i would think it was 1963 and not 2023. that an almost entirely white republican caucus expelled the two youngest black lawmakers, not for anything unethical or criminal, but our first of them in activity and standing and doing our jobs to speak up for our constituents and speak up particularly of young people who were terrified of these weapons of war on our street. i am tired but tired of the injustices that rules the state capitol. i think what has been done, they may have one yesterday but they have not won as we go forward. they thought they would silence as, but in fact they have

amplified it because the nation can see how racist they are, the nation can see how retaliatory and absurd and authoritarian they are. i think that is what gives me hope is that they tried to kick us out but instead they put a spotlight on themselves for their shameful policies. that made it easier to get a gun then health care in the state. amy: we spoke to you a few days ago. i was what is a representative jones. but you are a representative. the question is, will you be medially reinstated next week -- immediately reinstated next week? they are talking about your behavior as you spoke out from the well of the house of representatives in tennessee. i wanted to ask you about republican state representative justin lafferty. we show this a few days ago as well, of knoxville, who pushed you and grabbed your phone as you filmed the interaction.

he attacked you. can you talk about, was he disciplined for violent behavior? >> not at all. representative lafferty come the same represented who tried to justify -- he can act out of decorum, act violently and he is welcomed within his party. that is what we brought up yesterday, we have had so many instances of behavior. you had the republican congress chairman get upset at his son's basketball game and pull down the pants of the referee. yet a member who admitted to being a child molester, representative david bird, he sat there -- david hock who was guilty of domestic violence. these things happened and there was no accountability. but for us, for exercising our first amendment activity, for saying we took our oath sears lead to protest against and

defend from anything injurious to the people, we took that serious. they expelled us, the most serious measure taken. it is shameful. what it was about is trying to silence the voices of the 78,000 people each of us represent. the most diverse district in the state. amy: can you tell us -- you represent the largest, most diverse cities in tennessee. the local governing bodies, for example, of metro nashville, could reappoint you immediately? >> that is what we are hearing. the question will be, will republican supermajority seat us? we would still have to run in a special election. will the speaker seat us back in the body or will this be a legal battle? just like julian bond, they refused to see tim in georgia when he was a young man who ran for the legislature through the

civil rights movement. we don't know what to expect. i don't think the nation -- what happened yesterday was unprecedented and should alarm us all. if it can happen in tennessee, it can happen anywhere. i hope people realize this is dora terrien is him, this is ousting of voices from a legislative body. this is not democracy. i know i am on democracy now!, but this is definitely not what democracy looks like. we're on a scary path toward fascism, autocracy in tennessee, the birthplace of the ku klux klan. amy: let's remember the significance of this week. this is the week of april 4, april 4 19 68, memphis, tennessee, dr. martin luther king jr. was gunned down and we are also here talking about gun violence that began this protest you are involved with, justin jones. so there was the tennessee three. you, justin pearson, and for you

johnson. you are both 27 and she is 60 years old. you are both black and she is white. she made no bones about it, she said the reason she was the color of your skin. at the end, walking through the streets of new york i was watching on my phone what was happening, and when justin pearson gave his final comment, the tennessee feed from the house of representatives called him justin pearson like they could not tell the difference between the two of you. >> they called him -- that confuse the name -- amy: sare, called him justin jones, your name. >> yeah. that is it. they saw two young black men speak up on the house floor, speak up in committees, and challenge the dominant narrative of white supremacy of plantation capitalism, of patriarchy. that terrified them that we were

the two youngest lawmakers, i'm 27 and pearson is 28. we represent the future of the state. that is what they are trying to stop. they want to hold on to the old south and we're trying to bring a renewed south that uplifts human rights in democracy, multiracial democracy and social justice. what we saw yesterday was a public lynching, let's be real. it was meant to set an example. we did not bow down. that is what i think has a upset is we did not break, we did not bow down. they want us to feel broken but we left with our fists up in the air because we knew this was not the end. they may expel us, but they cannot expel our movement and that is what terrifies them. amy: justin jones, we will continue to follow this most of a major protest is planned for monday. will you be there? because definitely will be.

i will boutside that chamber with these young people showing up every week until we take action to take these weapons of war off our street and into we represent the people of covenant. income justin jones come expelled representative of the state of tennessee, representing nashville. author of "the people's plaza: 62 days of nonviolent resistance" with a ford five reverend bishop barber. -- f with aorward by reverend bishop barber. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "a mother's prayer" by k michelle. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel bombed southern lebanon

and gaza over night as tension soars in the region days after israeli police repeatedly attacked palestinian worshippers inside the al-aqsa mosque compound in occupied east jerusalem. in response to the israel raids on the mosque, militants in southern lebanon and gaza fired dozens of rockets into israel. it was the largest rocket attack from lebanon in 17 years. israel says most of the rockets were intercepted. meanwhile, earlier today, two israeli sisters were shot dead, their mother critically wounded in a shooting near an illegal settlement under the occupied west bank. israeli authorities are searching for the perpetrators. this all comes as israel continues to impose a violent crackdown in the occupied west bank, where the israeli army has killed at least 94 palestinians this year. israel's raids on the al-aqsa mosque during ramadan have sparked international condemnation. palestinian rshippers said they were beaten and tear gassed as they prayed.

>> we were spending the night in the mosque and after we were done with late night prayers, the police started to evacuate worshipers from the outdoor yards. we were inside and the young men closed the doors that detained the young men and women. there were other worshipers to the stern part of the compound. in the yard to the eastern part of t compound, police were firing tear gas and stun grenades. it was a scene i cannot described and then they stormed it and started beating everyone and they detained people and they put the young men on their faces to the ground. they also beat them while in detention. amy: joining us now is mohammed el-kurd. he is the palestine correspondent for the nation where he recently wrote an article titled "israeli protesters say they're defending freedom. palestinians know better." mohammed el-kurd is from the sheikh jarrah neighborhood of occupied east jerusalem. mohammed, welcome back to

democracy now! what is happening right now in israel in palestine? >> what has been happening is a crackdown on palestinians from the israeli regime on all levels. it is important to remember, for two understand the tensions that may arise in these types of violence that may "erupt" does not happen in a vacuum and does not happen in isolation. palestinians are forced to live under the occupation. there have been 94 palestinians killed since the start of this year. that within itself is an escalation of violence. in the past two days, israelis who have been emboldened by international impunity and action have been using the bodies and the site of al-aqsa mosque as a stage to display brute force, to send a message

of sovereignty and security to the israeli public as well as a message of intimidation to the palestinians who use that mosque as one of their only remaining public spaces in a shrinking city. amy: can you explain what you understand happened in al-aqsa? >> according to eyewitness reports and according to the video footage that has been circulated all over the internet as well as tv channels, israeli occupation forces stormed al-aqsa mosque and used rubber bullets, tear gas, stun grenades ,butts of their rifles to be of worshipers and arrest over 400 worshipers detain and handed orders preventing them from denying them entry to the mosque or the old city for 15 days. later that day, and armed israel i seller -- many of the settlers that live in east jerusalem are

armed -- shot a 15-year-old boy. the settler was not arrested. amy: explain what is happening from gaza lebanon lebanon and. yet this barrage of rockets going into israel and then you have israel rocketing lebanon, though they were careful to say, they were not calling up hezbollah but saying palestinian militants and it looks like lebanon is not trying to escalate this. >> absolutely. it seems like the internal chasm that is splitting apart israeli society today my prevent them from entering a full-scale war which is why i assume they have been very cautious in their wording. but we must understand the palestinian people, regardless of the geography or the legal status of the refugee cap in lebanon or gaza strip, they feel

each other's pain. but it is not just retaliation for al-aqsa mosque. the israeli regime has been bombing syria for well over a year and has been bombing the gaza strip on and off for the past 15 years. the most important piece of context here is we must remember the gaza strip is an open air prison, the largest in the world, densely played a refugee camp where people do not have the right to movement, people do not have access to clean water. it has been declared uninhabitable. that within itself is an aggression. amy: you mentioned the israeli settlers and the jerusalem --israelis carrying guns. i wanted to ask you about itamar ben-gvir, israel's new minister of national security, ultranationalist invented of racist incitement is palestinians supporting a terrorist group.

in october, he waved a gun and shouted. this was during a confrontation in your neighborhood, in shape to rock, jerusalem, where settlers attempted to violently evict your family and others from their homes. just going to play a brief clip. >> palestinians throw stones, shoot them. amy: explain what he was saying and what he did. >> i have had a few interactions with itamar ben-gvir and others. while adjectives like far right and nationalists described him, i would argue he represent a large portion of the mainstream and not the french. you must understand these politicians use our neighborhoods, our front yards as avenues for political campaigning.

this display of racism and brutality, it serves to embolden and bolster his election campaign. which was insanely successful. he is now the minister of national security. this has been a pattern with itamar ben-gvir, but he is just a man send a quiet part out loud. truly the differences between him and the liberal zionist parties are purely cosmetic. he is willing to say and public what they say behind closed doors and whether policies and the laws they put forth have done for the palestinians, for the past seven decades. they have all been policies and laws and actions of racism, ones that promote ethnic cleansing, once that reeked of racism. amy: let me ask you about the massive israeli protests, not

about treatment of palestinians, but about what netanyahu wants to do to the supreme court, severely -- severely curtail the powers of the judiciary. can you talk about whether you think they will transform into supporting palestinians and also the mainstream media's coverage of what is happening right now with the escalating violence? >> i want -- watching a protest, i want to tell the israeli public they have a lot more in common than they realize because the body they're protesting to defend, the body they're trying desperately to save, the supreme court, which they say is a beacon of democracy, has its fingerprints all over the israel i government and apartheid regime. this is the same supreme court that in 2018 when the israeli

occupation forces created martyrs in the strip ruled there were doing so in self-defense come the same supreme court that upheld the legality come the failure law that prevents tens of thousands of palestinian couples and families of living together and uniting together. the same supreme court in january ruled incomplete violation of international law to forcibly expel over 1300 palestinians. one of the supreme court justices, which made this will impossible come is himself a settler in the west bank. so this is the body these people are trying to defend. i do not think they can transform into talking about or protecting the rights or defending irving advocates of the liberation movement because they're defending a body that is settler-made and serves settlers and was built on top of the rubble of palestinian lands and

was made to ethnically cleanse palestinians and to legalize that kind of ethnic cleansing. amy: do you think there is growing resentment about what government is doing to palestinians when it comes to these massive protests? >> i wonder. they have been able to show us they can mobilize in the hundreds of thousands and they can speak of and they can do all of the civil disobedience. they can engage in the boycott divestment and sanctions campaign against her own government. they have been showing as this and we are just told they're just not choosing to do it in favor of the palestinians, which makes sense. defending the lives of palestinians or protesting against the apartheid regime would mean they have to undermine their own privileges and their own luxuries they enjoy as settlers in historic

palestine. amy: mohammed el-kurd, thank you for being with us. we will link your latest piece at democracynow.org. coming up, calls are going for clarence thomas to be impeached after propublica thomas has frequently taken free luxury trips paid for by republican millionaire harlan crow. -- billionaire harlan crow. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "defend the freedom" by rim banna and henrik koitzsch. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. supreme court justice clarence thomas is facing renewed calls for his impeachment after a propublica investigation revealed he failed to report frequent luxury trips paid for

by a billionaire republican mega donor named harlan crow. the investigation reveals for about 20 years, tom's secretly accepted luxury vacations from crow in an apparent relation of a law requiring justices and other federal officials to disclose most gifts. one vacation about nine days of island hopping in indonesia aboard a 162 foot super yacht. clarence thomas and his wife ginni thomas flew to indonesia on crow's private jet posted thomas markle he vacationed at a resort in the adirondacks of new york, hanging on the walls of the resort is a painting of clarence thomas sitting with four other men, including harlan crow, as well as leonard leo of the federalist the study, thomas never reported any of the free trips as is. on thursday, alexandria ocasio-cortez tweeted -- "this is beyond party or partisanship. this degree of corruption is

shocking, almost cartoonish. thomas must be impeached." we are joined by justin elliott who co-authored the article headlined "clarence thomas and the billionaire." >> what we found is justice thomas has this extraordinary and are currently unprecedented relationship with this outside billionaire who basically is subsidizing his life. we are talking about trips on a private jet that charters for $10,000 to $15,000 per hour, cruises around the world on this super yacht you described. gular vations thhis billnaire d his frien who in some caseour pple -- these are ideological or potentially financial interests before the court. amy: explained with the rules are for supreme court justices. >> one of the striking things here as we got into it is how few rules there are, especially

compared to other people in the government. i have friends who work in the government and said they cannot even have someone buy them lunch. supreme court justices had very few rules. in terms of accepting gifts, one of the few things the lottery arson to do is -- the law requires them to do is disclose most gifts. this was a law passed in the 1970's after watergate. clarence thomas by not reporting his private jet trips and some of the other travel appears to be can repeat violation of that law according to the efflux lawyers we spoke to. amy: i want to read from your investigation. this fellow gets included executives at verizon, pricewaterhousecoopers, major republican donors, what of the leaders of the american enterprise institute, the painting of thomas at topper

age. i want to show this for our tv audience. it shows him in conversation with leonard leo of the federalist society. explain who the other people are and what top ridge is. >> top ridge is this incredible essentially private resort in upstate new york. it was built by the same eras built what is now doldrums mar-a-lago about a century ago. this property is owned by this dallas real estate billionaire harlan crow any regularly host thomas. not just -- it is a whole campus buildings. there is a staff of chefs and waiters and is sort of thing. it is very difficult to find out who is on these trips with justice thomas. we were able to get the names of guests on one or two occasions. even the harlan crow told us in

a statement he and his friends are not trying to influence justice thomas, the people, for example in the painting you described -- amy: what is the sculpture behind them? >> it is a sculpture of a native american man with his hands outstretched. we're not really sure why it is they are or what it is supposed to mean. i spoke to the painter who created the piece. he said in real life, that sculpture is two or three times bigger and he shrunk it in the painting for scale. we don't really know why it is there or why they made the choice to pose in front of it. all of the men in the painting, besides harlan crow, are conservative lawyers. and make leo, key to the choosing of conservative justices, especially under trump. >> leonard leo is very involved

in creating the current supreme court super majority and harlan crow donated to -- this is a guy who now has a warchest over $1 billion. we look at that painting, raises a lot of questions about harlan crow's statement this is about friendship and socializing. amy: tell us more about harlan crow, the billionaire gop super donor, who he is. can you tell us more about harlan crow? can you hear me? can you hear me, justin? while here fixing his isp, justin elliott rights and at the piece that clarence thomas has presented himself as a "everyman with modest taste." we're going to turn to a clip of justice thomas speaking in the

documentary "created equal: clarence thomas in his own words." >> i don't have any problem with going to europe but i prefer the united states. i prefer seeing the regular parts of the united states. prefer going across the world -- i prefer the rv parks. i prefer the walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. there is something normal to me about it. i come from regular stock. i preferred that. i prefer being around. amy: that is clarence thomas your response to that, justin elliott? and if you can tell us more about the man he spent a lot of time with, even if he extols walmart parking lot? >> a couple of thoughts. the irony is the document you just showed was made by friends of justice thomas. it is financed in part by

hundreds of thousands of dollars from none other than harlan crow. there's been a deliberate effort over the years by clarence thomas and his supporters to present him as a kind of everyman, regular guy like driving around in his rv. he absolutely does drive around the country in his rv, but they have never mentioned that he also is flying around on private jets and going on yachts, hanging out at resorts -- essentially private luxury hotels posted by this billionaire that is somehow never come up in all of these interviews. starkly different than the reality. with respect to harlan crow, he was born into money. he was an heir to a major jealous real estate fortune. he took over the family

business. he has wide-ranging business interests, particularly in real estate. it more relevant for this story, he has also been involved for over 20 years now and a conservative legal politics, giving groups like the federalist society and others. as you mentioned earlier, has longtime board member of the american enterprise institute, a think tank that is active on a lot of issues but including conservative legal advocacy and advocating for various things related to the supreme court. he is very deep in the political world, specifically the world of conservative legal politics. amy: and says the greatest threat is marxism? >> he did not agree to interview with us, but he gave an interview recently which you said his greatest fear is marxism. amy: we're going to leave it there as you write in propublica , soon after chrome at thomas three decades ago he began lavishing the justice with gifts

including a $19,000 bible that long frederick douglass. justin, we will lead to your propublica report "clarence thomas and the billionaire." 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!