Tony Karon

Pessimist of the intellect, optimist of the will. Editorial lead at AJ+. Views are my own, not those of my employer. RT ≠ endorsement

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

U.S. should do more than secure release of Americans -- it should force an end to savage repression of all Palestinians by the psychotic racist regime U.S. enables; Israel could not commit its crimes without the arms, ammunition and impunity guaranteed by the U.S.

[Senator Chris Van Hollen @ChrisVanHollen]

Yesterday, the IDF seized 4 students from their homes in the West Bank, including 20-year-old American, Sama Safi.

The Israeli govt didn’t tell her family or the U.S. Embassy where or why she was being taken & is holding her without charges.

America must secure her release NOW.

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

And what of Germany’s historical responsibilities to the Palestinians? Nazi murder of 6m Jews in Europe created the conditions that led to the violent displacement of majority of Palestinians. Or are Palestinians, like Nama and Herero, not white enough in German eyes to expect equal regard?

[James Jackson @derJamesJackson]

German FM Wadephul admits that support for Israel “due to historical responsibility” cost them votes at the UN

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Albanians saying no Ivanka's "Doctrine of Discovery" and Jared's Board of Peace vibes... https://t.co/8kurHQ7PnT

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Why does football inspire such devotion? #DohaDebates

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Imagine if Spain, co-host of 2030 World Cup, imposed the same conditions on the USMNT that FIFA is allowing the U.S. to impose on Iran... https://t.co/JvWzivkiRY via @AJEnglish

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Today in No Normal Sport with Genocide... / Israel detains Palestine international women’s football player https://t.co/i2AGoMaWEn via @AJEnglish

[Laila Al-Arian @LailaAlarian]

It can’t be emphasized enough how little coverage Lebanon has received in proportion to the killing and destruction Israel committed

[Doha Debates @DohaDebates]

“Football was my way to liberate myself.”  —@HoneyThaljieh, co-founder of Women’s Football in Palestine

Football is more than a game. It’s identity, power, money and politics, all playing out on the field and beyond.

In the season finale of the Doha Debates Podcast, football experts @TonyKaron, @Davidsgoldblatt and @HoneyThaljieh unpack the state of the “beautiful game” and what it reveals about ourselves and the world.

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Greenlanders, beware! According to New York Times and others, this is the berserker who also persuaded Trump the U.S. needed to "acquire" Greenland...

[The Cradle @TheCradleMedia]

VIDEO | "[Israel] should counterattack every single hour of every single day, and no institution should be spared."

World Jewish Congress President Ron Lauder has called for deploying Israel’s national intelligence agency, the Mossad, against Israel’s adversaries in the global public relations arena. Lauder made the remarks during his address at the Jerusalem Post conference in New York City this week, advocating for a clandestine approach to countering anti-Israel narratives.

To spearhead this media offensive, Lauder proposed recruiting a specialized brigade of 'young and attractive' Israelis to dominate global media platforms. The billionaire stated that Israel needs these individuals to be on screens every single hour of every day, working overtime to make the case for the state. He framed the initiative as a strategic advantage, asserting that "while the Arabs may have oil," Israel has an abundance of smart, handsome, young men and women who can work on propaganda in order to counteract the rising tide of anti-Israel sentiment in light of the genocide in Gaza.

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Why Football Matters to Social Justice -- I had the honor and pleasure of discussing this with @HoneyThaljieh, @Davidsgoldblatt and Imran Garda in Buenos Aires https://t.co/lSYDxcx4BX

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Expressing the colonial DNA of Western liberal media…

[CJ Werleman @cjwerleman]

🚨 New study shows the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, CNN, Politico, USA Today and Axios collectively used the term "savage" 16 times for the killing of Israelis, but never for the killing of Palestinians.

Likewise, "slaughter" appeared 120 times in relation to the killing of Israelis, but only once for Palestinians.

"Massacre" was used 344 times in relation to Palestinians killing Israelis, but never for Israelis killing Palestinians.

"Barbaric" was used 14 times to describe the killing of Israelis, but zero times in relation to the deaths of Palestinians.

The cable coverage displayed a similar pattern.

MSNBC, presenters and guests used
"massacre" 177 times, "barbaric" 46 times, "savage" 23 times and "slaughter" 102 times in relation to Israeli deaths.

They never called the killing of Palestinians "barbaric" or "savage". In relation to Palestinians, they only used “massacre" eight times and "slaughter" four times.

References to "savagery" and "barbarism" echo the logic of settler colonialism, identifying the uncivilised natives as a problem to be solved.

Credit: ‘How to Sell a Genocide: Media’s Complicity in Genocide’ by Adam Johnson.

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Today's episode of Starmer's Britain in a Ridiculous Country...
https://t.co/v5uq1wKdup

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Seems oil markets no longer believe Trump promises of an imminent end to his Iran war. Perhaps they're noticing that he's trapped himself politically in a cycle of escalation, and that Israel has a veto as long as he fails to end its aggression in Lebanon?

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

From which we learn that unless he was willing to forcefully rein in Israel's rabid regime, President Trump has diminishing ability to control his own Iran war

[Mouin Rabbani @MouinRabbani]

Israel’s announcement that it intends to renew its terror bombing of Beirut is not really about Hizballah or even Lebanon.

Israel believes - I think correctly - that Iran will view such attacks as an unacceptable violation of the US-Iran ceasefire and respond accordingly.

Israel hopes that this will in turn produce a renewal of full-scale US-Iranian hostilities and successfully derail diplomacy.
Israeli assumptions are likely to be vindicated.

Very likely, but not certainly.

[Mouin Rabbani @MouinRabbani]

Israel’s announcement that it intends to renew its terror bombing of Beirut is not really about Hizballah or even Lebanon.

Israel believes - I think correctly - that Iran will view such attacks as an unacceptable violation of the US-Iran ceasefire and respond accordingly.

Israel hopes that this will in turn produce a renewal of full-scale US-Iranian hostilities and successfully derail diplomacy.
Israeli assumptions are likely to be vindicated.

Very likely, but not certainly.

[Hamidreza Azizi @HamidRezaAz]

Tasnim News Agency - affiliated with the IRGC - reports that #Iran's negotiating team is suspending the exchange of texts and messages with the US through mediator Pakistan, citing ongoing Israeli military operations in #Lebanon.

Tehran's stated ground is that Lebanon was a precondition for any ceasefire arrangement, and that arrangement has now been violated. Iranian negotiators say talks will not resume until Israeli operations Lebanon stop and Israeli forces withdraw from occupied Lebanese territory.

The announcement also carries a threat: full closure of the Strait of Hormuz - after some incremental ease of transit over the past couple of weeks - and "activation of the Bab al-Mandab front" as punitive measures against Israel and its allies.

This comes days after reports of a tentative US-Iran MOU to extend the ceasefire 60 days and launch nuclear talks. That was the cautious optimism of last week, but this is what followed it.

What this suggests is that the U.S. - and likely Israel - have consistently underestimated how structurally central Lebanon is to Tehran's position. The assumption appears to have been that enough pressure on Iran would render its Lebanon commitments rhetorical. That calculation looks wrong.

Lebanon matters to Iran both strategically and ideologically, and the pressure from the Islamic Republic's own support base to act - not just signal - on Lebanon has been building. Accepting a deal while Israel continues operations there would carry serious domestic costs. That's not a detail Tehran can paper over.

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Daniel Levy unpacks how Israel intends to sabotage any deal to end the U.S. war on Iran... https://t.co/eA0WhaRxwB

[Muhammad Shehada @muhammadshehad2]

Mark Israel's Day Parade in New York today by watching & spreading Israel's true history from the mouths of its own founders & leaders.

Education is propagandists' worst enemy:

[Tony Karon @TonyKaron]

Not that they give a toss about international law, but I wonder if Trump's lawyers told him former Philippines leader Duterte is at The Hague facing charges of crimes against humanity -- for the extrajudicial killing of suspected drug traffickers https://t.co/nilP0MdNvp

[Vali Nasr @vali_nasr]

Well, the Biden administration had the opportunity to do a deal in its first six months in office but it decided to double down on Trump’s maximum pressure strategy. Back then the WH thought Trump’s maximum pressure and demanding surrender from Iran was a great idea. They wished they had come up with it. It realized too late (and after the Iran realized Biden was no different from Trump and went to 60%) that was a mistake. The Biden team is very responsible for the mess Iran’s nuclear issue has become.