VICTORIA VALENZUELA, [email protected], @victoriaevalenz
Valenzuela is an independent journalist in California covering criminal justice. Earlier this year, she wrote the piece “‘Deadly Exchange’: U.S. sends hundreds of law enforcement to Israel to learn ‘worst practices’ from IDF” for The Real News, which reports: “Through police exchange programs, local and federal officials travel to Israel for training that advocates say further militarizes the police and exacerbates harm to marginalized communities.”
Committee to Protect Journalists reports: “Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi, of 9News, was hit by a rubber bullet on Sunday while covering protests in Los Angeles.”
Valenzuela reported: “It is not uncommon for police to drive around with their lights flashing in Black and working-class neighborhoods in Atlanta. This is a tactic used to intimidate and make their presence known; for residents of these neighborhoods, it can feel like psychological warfare. U.S. law enforcement learned this strategy from Israeli forces.
“Thousands of law enforcement officials have traveled to Israel to learn new repression strategies and surveillance techniques from the Israel National Police, Israel Defense Forces, and the Shin Bet, who inflict violence, crowd control, and surveillance onto Palestinians. … Police departments in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Atlanta, among others, have close ties with Israeli forces.”
Her recent pieces for Truthout include “As ‘Cop Cities’ Spread to Nearly Every State, Activists Are Pushing Back” and “Trump Cuts Leave Thousands of Kids to Face Immigration Court Alone.” Also, see “Trump Cuts Leave Thousands of Immigrant Children to Face Immigration Court Alone.”
Earlier this year, she wrote “Los Angeles Is Leading the Way in Resisting Trump’s Mass Deportations” for Waging Nonviolence.