The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they unfold.
US House resolution condemns chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution condemning the popular pro-Palestinian chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic.
The motion passes by 377 to 44.
????BREAKING: My legislation CONDEMNING the slogan, “from the river to the sea, ‘Palestine’ will be free” has passed the House.
These antisemitic activists want nothing more than the destruction of Israel & the Jewish people inside it.
America will always #StandWithIsrael.???????????????? pic.twitter.com/OfIgUI3QII
— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (@RepDesposito) April 16, 2024
Citing safety, USC cancels speech by valedictorian who backs Palestinians
The University of Southern California cancels a commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian who has publicly supported Palestinians, citing security concerns, a rare decision that is being praised by several pro-Israel groups and lambasted by free speech advocates and the country’s largest Muslim civil rights organization.
Andrew T. Guzman, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the private university in Los Angeles, says in a statement that debate over the selection of valedictorian Asna Tabassum to give the May 10 commencement speech took on an “alarming tenor.” Her speaking would have presented “substantial” security risks for the event, which draws 65,000 people to campus, he says.
While Guzman does not specify whether there had been threats, he says that “we cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses.”
“The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” Guzman writes.
US says new sanctions on Iran coming soon, expects allies to follow
The United States says it will soon impose new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program after its weekend attack on Israel, and that it expects its allies and partners to follow with parallel measures.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s announcement comes after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated punitive measures were in the works, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said his office was working on it.
“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program” as well as the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian defense ministry, Sullivan says.
“We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” he adds.
“These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.”