News Releases

  • Israel “Denying Water to Millions”

    “MECA has worked for 14 years to build water purification units throughout the Gaza Strip that provide safe, clean water to more than 100,000 children through our Maia Project. But with Israel’s attacks on water infrastructure and cutting off electricity, many of these units can’t operate.”


  • Is Israel Killing U.S. Citizens by Refusing a Cease-fire?

    “More signs, then, point to the possibility that a cease-fire could expedite the release of these civilian hostages. The more complex task is a prisoner swap — exchanging captured IDF soldiers for Palestinians in Israeli jails. Hamas has indicated it wants to use the Israeli soldiers it is holding in a deal to free the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, of whom 1,123 are political prisoners held under Israel’s laws of ‘administrative detention’ without charge or trial.”


  • Israel and the “Systematic Destruction of People’s Ability to Survive”

    “As Rachel wrote to us shortly before she was killed, ‘This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop.’”


  • Reports: Israel Bombs Hospital, Killing Hundreds as Biden Vetoes Ceasefire at UN and Goes to Support Israel

    “An Israeli airstrike” hit Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital in Gaza City, which “was packed with the wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter. At least 500 dead, according to health ministry.”


  • ADL’s Aims are “Genocide” and “War”

    “The ADL is historically and presently a Cold War organization, it views the world in terms of the West and the Rest. Its attacks on critics of Israel often, without irony, target Jewish peace organizations who are doing real work with Palestinians and communities of color. Echoing the language of right-wing panic about ‘socialism,’ the ADL’s Greenblatt has taken to labeling efforts to stop Israeli violence as ‘Soviet propaganda.’”


  • Medicare Advantage Overpayment Tops $100 Billion

    Medicare Advantage results in a “$100 billion annual payoff for attracting inexpensive enrollees, upcoding disease severity, and biased price-setting procedures.”


  • Censoring Pro-Palestinian Speech; Attacks on Muslims

    “The contradiction at the heart of Israel has been that a state founded by victims of racism was itself a racist state. For some time, that meant Israel had to carry out a difficult balancing act: an apartheid system with the rhetoric of liberal values, tolerance, and antiracism. And it became necessary to distort the concept of antisemitism to include criticism of Israeli apartheid.”


  • Hezbollah Expert: Hamas Trying to Follow in Hezbollah’s Footsteps, Israel Pursuing Exodus of Palestinians

    “How good is Israel at ‘defending itself’? We’re not seeing it significantly inflicting damage on Hamas’ infrastructure, only deliberate large-scale targeting of civilian areas. Those brandishing this ‘right’ must be fully aware that all Israel does is punish a population? In reality, all Israel seems to be doing is taking this opportunity to pursue a long-standing dream: force a large-scale exodus out of Gaza, the home of 2 million or so Palestinians, many of whom in the first place escaped other areas of Palestine to be trapped there. Hamas is first and foremost attempting to break the prevailing military-security status-quo…


  • Noted Nonviolent Activist Deported by Israel on the Way Forward

    “I have spent my life advocating for Palestinians and Israelis to use nonviolent means to resolve their conflicts. Because Israel feared Palestinian unity and mass nonviolent action, I was expelled by the government in 1988. Since then, I have, on several occasions, personally advocated with Hamas leaders to abandon armed struggle and embrace nonviolent campaigns. Yet, today, Palestinians and Israelis are once again killing each other.”


  • Israeli “Intent to Kill in the Thousands”: * International Law * Ethnic Cleansing

    “Israel plans to flatten Gaza. This is beyond comprehension. There’s no irony that in the name of battling ‘barbarism,’ Israel with the backing of the U.S. and most European capitals, will unleash a genocidal campaign.”


  • ExxonMobil: Under Fire

    On Wednesday (July 11), an array of groups will be protesting the policies of ExxonMobil. Many are calling for a boycott of the oil giant. The following activists and policy analysts are available for interviews: CHRIS DORAN Doran is campaigns director for PressurePoint, an organization launching its first major campaign directed at ExxonMobil on Wednesday.…

  • U.S. Preparing to Resume Nuclear Tests?

    Critics are expressing dismay in response to published reports that the White House is exploring options for resumption of American nuclear blasts. The Knight Ridder news service reported Thursday that “the Bush administration has asked U.S. nuclear weapons scientists to examine ways that nuclear test explosions beneath the Nevada desert could resume more quickly if…

  • Mideast Issues: *Iraq Sanctions * Sharon’s Record * Algeria

    DENIS HALLIDAY The UN Security Council is conducting a rare open meeting on Iraq today. Halliday is a former assistant secretary general of the UN and ex-head of the UN’s oil-for-food program in Iraq. He just returned from a visit to Iraq along with Hans von Sponek, who subsequently was head of the oil-for-food program.…

  • U.S. Decision on Brazil and AIDS Drugs: Global Implications?

    With the Associated Press reporting Monday afternoon that “the United States has withdrawn a complaint with the World Trade Organization over a law used by Brazil to ensure cheap drugs to fight AIDS,” public health advocates are assessing the implications. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: MARIA LUISA MENDONCA Director of the Global…

  • Talks on Tobacco Lawsuit: Set Up for a Sellout?

    While the Justice Department moves ahead to arrange settlement talks with major tobacco firms, critics are speaking out. The following tobacco policy advocates are available for interviews: JEANNETTE NOLTENIUS Noltenius, executive director of the Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco, said today: “Too many people have died of tobacco-related diseases for the Justice Department not…

  • Ford-Firestone and Beyond: Car Safety and Broader Issues

    JOAN CLAYBROOK President of Public Citizen, Claybrook said today: “As lawmakers delve into the Ford-Firestone tragedy, a larger issue needs to be addressed: Rollover crashes are dangerous, but they need not be deadly. The federal regulatory agency that oversees the companies has failed the American public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — under constant…

  • With Battle Set to Begin in Senate Today, Analysts Assess “Patients’ Bill of Rights”

    With the Senate scheduled to begin debate today on proposals for a patients’ bill of rights, there were news reports this morning that Republican leaders will seek a delay. Meanwhile, some medical policy critics contend that the proposed Senate measures are too narrow in scope. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: QUENTIN YOUNG,…

  • Foreign Policy: Bush’s European Visit, Pentagon Papers, Vieques

    GREGORY PALAST Columnist for the London Observer, Palast said today: “There’s a sense in Europe that Bush is threatening and menacing. He’s not viewed as just a buffoon, as he is by many in the United States. Global warming, Star Wars and the death penalty are very serious issues in Europe. Bush is not viewed…

  • After McVeigh Execution: Feel Any Better Now?

    RICHARD MORAN Professor of sociology and criminology at Mount Holyoke College, Moran is currently working on a book about the death penalty. He has testified at dozens of death penalty sentencing hearings. Moran said today: “McVeigh was unapologetic because, like many murderers, he viewed his killing as evening the score. The death penalty is generally…

  • Death Penalty, Racism, McVeigh, FBI

    BRYAN STEVENSON Executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and assistant professor at the New York University School of Law, Stevenson is author of the article “Deliberate Indifference: Racial Bias and Administration of Capital Punishment.” He said today: “Attorney General Ashcroft’s claim that there is no racial bias in the federal death penalty is without…

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