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War & Peace
Canadians Fume at Trump 'Tariff Bullying' as Carney Says Ottawa to Recognize Palestine
"It is time to align with human rights and international law. It is not a time to bend the knee," said the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
Jul 31, 2025
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Canada's decision to conditionally recognize Palestinian statehood "will make it very hard" to complete a trade deal with the United States' northern neighbor, prompting widespread condemnation of the president's not-so-thinly-veiled threat.
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Ottawa will grant formal recognition to Palestine at September's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York if the Palestinian Authority agrees to hold an election in 2026 and implement other democratic reforms.
Asked if he had consulted the U.S. about recognizing Palestine, Carney told reporters that "we make our own independent foreign policy positions."
Carney's announcement came as Israel—which is facing an ongoing genocide case at the International Court of Justice—is under increasing pressure to end its 663-day, U.S.-backed war and siege on Gaza, which has killed or maimed more than 220,000 Palestinians and fueled famine.
The far-right government of Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, is also openly pursuing plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians so it can be transformed into what Trump has described as "the Riviera of the Middle East."
Critically, Carney's announcement also came amid trade deal negotiations between U.S. and Canadian officials ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline for 35% tariffs on all imported Canadian goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
"More evidence there's no limit to Trump's goal to use tariff bullying to chip away at the sovereignty of other countries... on any issue at all," Canadian economist Jim Stanford said Thursday on the social media site X.
"See also his harsh tariffs on Brazil for prosecuting Trump's close friend and coup schemer Bolsonaro," he added, referring to disgraced former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is also known as the "Trump of the Tropics."
What do we even think we are negotiating here? A "deal" that will be subject to constant threats to tear it up based on the arbitrary moment-to-moment mood swings of our trading partner's president? Trump's word is meaningless, why delude ourselves to believe he'd honour any "deal" we'd negotiate?
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— Luke LeBrun (@lukelebrun.ca) July 31, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Dean Baker, a U.S. economist who co-founded the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said on X: "Looks like Trump wants us all to pay higher taxes in support of Israel's mass murder in Gaza. Can someone explain to me how this is 'America First?'"
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said on social media that "Donald Trump has openly endorsed plans to ethnically cleanse and annex Gaza, along with his own outrageous ideas of making Canada the 51st state."
"As Canada strikes out an independent foreign policy by planning to recognize Palestinian statehood, Trump's attempt to suggest that the trade deal is in peril because Canada took a step in the right direction is just another transparent attempt at bullying from a man who changes the goal posts in every trade 'negotiation' in any case," the group continued.
"This is the time to stand strongly in support of Canadian values," NCCM added. "It is time to align with human rights and international law. It is not a time to bend the knee. Canada must push forward by imposing further sanctions on Netanyahu's government, reviewing the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, applying a full two-way arms embargo on the [Israel Defense Forces], and helping those escaping Gaza arrive in Canada."
Although Canada's government insists that it has prohibited arms transfers to Israel since January 2024, research by four groups—World Beyond War, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and Independent Jewish Voices—revealed this week that there have been at least 47 shipments from Canadian weapons manufacturers to Israeli armaments companies between October 2023 and July 2025.
Trump and members of his administration sought to assuage anxiety over U.S. tariff whiplash by promising bigger, better deals. In April, Peter Navarro, the top White House trade adviser, vowed that Trump would hammer out "90 deals in 90 days." However, 90 days later, the U.S. has finalized deals with around half a dozen nations, with the suspension of Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs set to expire on August 1. After that, Trump is set to impose tariffs as high as 50% on many countries.
Trump's attacks on longstanding allies have prompted calls for solidarity among Western democracies as they move to recognize Palestine.
"By trying to bully nations out of recognizing Palestine, Trump is making himself the biggest hurdle to a two-state solution and a lasting peace," British Member of Parliament Ed Davey, who leads the center-left Liberal Democrats, said on the social media site Bluesky Thursday. "The U.K. must stand strong with Canada and our allies, we should recognize the Palestinian state right now. No more delays."
Earlier this week, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain stands poised to formally recognize Palestine at September's UNGA if Israel does not take "substantive" steps to end its war on Gaza, allow aid into the strip, and renounce annexation of the illegally occupied West Bank. Trump signaled that he would not object to U.K. recognition of Palestine.
Around 150 of 193 U.N. member states already recognize Palestine, and this week France and Malta also said they would do so at the UNGA. On Thursday, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said that his government "is considering recognition of the Palestinian state."
There have been increased calls for Canada to find ways to lessen its dependence on the U.S.
"Clearly, August 1 is barely the beginning of this struggle for Canada's heart and soul, never mind a 'deadline,'" Stanford asserted. "Regardless of what happens this week, Canada must charge ahead on this epic mission to rebuild an economy that can survive independently of the U.S."
In a bid to gain some independence from their increasingly unreliable neighbor, Canada and Mexico are working to establish a new land and sea trade corridor that would completely bypass the United States, an initiative projected to cost the U.S. economy at least tens of billions of lost dollars, according to PPR Mundial. In addition to utilizing diverse modes of transport, including rail and maritime connections, the bilateral proposal is expected to incorporate advanced digital technologies including blockchain to manage customs and other formalities.
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'The Tide Is Turning,' Says Sanders as Majority of Senate Dems Vote to Block Arms Sales to Israel
"The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future."
Jul 31, 2025
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' latest effort to block additional American arms sales to Israel failed again late Wednesday at the hands of every Republican senator and some Democrats.
But a majority of the Senate Democratic caucus voted in favor of Sanders-led resolutions that aimed to halt the Trump administration's sale of 1,000-pound bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits, and tens of thousands of assault rifles to the Israeli government.
The first resolution, S.J.Res.41, failed by a vote of 27-70, and the second, S.J.Res.34, failed by a vote of 24-73, with the effort to block the sale of assault rifles to the Israeli government garnering slightly more support than the bid to prevent the sale of bombs.
The following senators voted to block the assault rifle sale: Sanders, Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
And the following senators voted to block the sale of additional bombs: Sanders, Alsobrooks, Baldwin, Blunt Rochester, Duckworth, Durbin, Heinrich, Hirono, Kaine, Kim, King, Klobuchar, Luján, Markey, Merkley, Murphy, Murray, Schatz, Shaheen, Smith, Van Hollen, Warnock, Warren, and Welch.
Three Democratic senators—Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan—did not vote on either resolution.
"Every senator who voted to continue sending weapons today voted against the will of their constituents."
In a statement responding to the vote, Sanders said growing Democratic support for halting arms sales to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an indication that "the tide is turning" in the face of Israel's "horrific, immoral, and illegal war against the Palestinian people."
"The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza," the senator said. "The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future."
Wednesday's votes revealed a significant increase in support for halting U.S. military support for the Israeli government compared to earlier this year, when only 14 Democratic senators backed similar Sanders-led resolutions.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who did not vote on the Sanders resolutions in April, said Wednesday that "this legislative tool is not perfect, but frankly it is time to say enough to the suffering of innocent young children and families."
"As a longtime friend and supporter of Israel, I am voting yes to send a message: The Netanyahu government cannot continue with this strategy," said Murray. "Netanyahu has prolonged this war at every turn to stay in power. We are witnessing a man-made famine in Gaza—children and families should not be dying from starvation or disease when literal tons of aid and supplies are just sitting across the border."
The Senate votes came days after the official death toll in Gaza surpassed 60,000 and a new poll showed that U.S. public support for Israel's assault on the Palestinian enclave reached a new low, with just 32% of respondents expressing approval. The Gallup survey found that support among Democratic voters has cratered, with just 8% voicing approval of the Israeli assault.
"The vast majority of Democratic voters say Israel is committing genocide, and have repeatedly demanded that their party's elected officials in Congress stop helping President Trump deliver more and more weapons to Israel with our tax dollars," Margaret DeReus, executive director of the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, said Wednesday. "Tonight proved that an increasing number of Democrats in the Senate–more than half of the Democratic caucus–are hearing that demand."
Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, called the vote "unprecedented" and said it "shows that the dam is breaking in U.S. politics."
"Our job is to increase the pressure on every member of Congress to stop all weapons and military funding," said Miller. "For 22 months, the U.S. has enabled, funded, and armed the Israeli government's slaughter and starvation in Gaza, and still the majority of senators just voted to continue sending weapons to a military live-streaming its crimes against humanity."
"The overwhelming majority of Americans want to stop the flow of deadly weapons to the Israeli military and end U.S. complicity in its horrific genocide against Palestinians," Miller added. "Every senator who voted to continue sending weapons today voted against the will of their constituents."
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NYT Condemned for Clarifying Starving Palestinian Child's 'Preexisting Health Condition'
"If a publication ran an editors' note to 'clarify' that some portion of Nazi death camp victims had preexisting conditions, it would rightfully be accused of Holocaust denialism," said one observer.
Jul 30, 2025
As the U.S. corporate media stepped up its coverage last week of the impact Israel's near-total blockade on Gaza is having on Palestinians, at least 154 of whom have now starved to death, Israeli officials zeroed in on just one of the children featured in a New York Times report.
After suggesting that his case showed reports of starvation in Gaza are overblown, they evidently managed to convince the newspaper to issue a clarification.
The Times mentioned Atef Abu Khater, a 17-year-old whose father said he was "not responding to the treatment" he was getting for severe malnutrition, and four-month-old Yahia al-Najjar, who died on July 22 after his mother, who was subsisting on one serving or lentils or rice per day, was unable to nurse him.
But the Israeli media and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which facilitates humanitarian aid in Gaza, focused on the story of 18-month-old Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, whose mother told the Times, "I look at him and I can't help but cry."
I24 News reported Wednesday that after the story was printed, COGAT "publicized records showing the child suffered from severe preexisting medical conditions."
Al-Mutawaq was born with cerebral palsy, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday, adding that the Israeli government had uncovered another photo of the child's family in which his older brother looked "distressed but relatively healthy."
"Their mother also does not appear to be suffering from any symptoms of starvation," the outlet mused.
Children are most at risk for being severely impacted by hunger and starvation, and often die at twice the rate of adults, according to the International Rescue Committee.
As images of Al-Mutawaq's mother holding his skeletal body were published by other outlets, the U.S.-based pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting also took notice.
The photos, said the website, were being used "as visual proof of a humanitarian catastrophe. More than that, as proof that Israel is deliberately starving the people of Gaza."
Israeli officials themselves have said they are deliberately starving the people of Gaza, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying in May that Israel would let only the "tiniest amount" of aid into the enclave so the world would "continue providing us with international protection." International human rights groups and experts have assessed that Israel is carrying out a policy of deliberate starvation.
Nonetheless, HonestReporting demanded that "every outlet that promoted this false narrative must update their coverage to reflect the full truth: Mohammad has a medical condition."
Late on Tuesday, the Times appeared to respond to the outcry.
In addition to publishing an addendum to its initial reporting, the newspaper's communications department issued an official statement.
It emphasized that children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, and noted that it had learned of Al-Mutawaq's health condition.
"We... have updated our story to add context about his preexisting health condition," said a spokesperson. "This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation."
In at least one case, the communications department directly responded to a pro-Israel journalist who had said photos of Al-Mutawaq did not show "the face of famine."
The Times did not suggest Al-Mutawaq's health condition negated or lessened the impact of the malnutrition he is also suffering from.
But a number of observers were aghast at the paper's apparent decision to appease the Israeli government and pro-Israel groups and media outlets that had suggested reporting on Al-Mutawaq's case was "misleading" and "playing into the hands of Hamas' propaganda war."
"If a publication ran an editors' note to 'clarify' that some portion of Nazi death camp victims had preexisting conditions, it would rightfully be accused of Holocaust denialism," said writer Natalie Shure. "This is one of the most depraved things The New York Times has ever published."
Some emphasized that the news of Al-Mutawaq's health condition hardly vindicates Israel, especially considering that the Israel Defense Forces have decimated Gaza's healthcare system since they began bombarding the enclave nearly 21 months ago.
"This actually makes it even more grotesque," said Nathan Robinson of Current Affairs. "Of course the first people to die have preexisting health problems. Starvation is a eugenic policy which first kills off the weakest and sickest. Israel acts like proving 'preexisting health problems' is a defense. It's an indictment."
Some pro-Israel entities appeared to view the Times' addendum and statement as something of a victory, with the right-wing news outlet The Daily Caller writing that the newspaper was "forced to backtrack on reporting of Gazan child after getting key element wrong."
The Times' move didn't stop others from criticizing the newspaper. The Instagram account Jewish Lives Matter said the spokesperson's statement didn't reverse the "journalistic malpractice" the paper had committed. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the Times was guilty of "blood libel"—a reference to medieval antisemitic allegations that Jewish people used the blood of Christian children in rituals.
As for the Israeli government, hours after the Times issued its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs moved on to criticizing media outlets for printing photos of another emaciated child: Osama al-Raqab, who has cystic fibrosis in addition to suffering from malnutrition brought on by Israel's blockade.
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US Gaza Freedom Flotilla Members Say No Consular Support Given After Abduction by Israeli Forces
Flotilla members said labor organizer Chris Smalls—the last remaining American volunteer still in Israeli custody—was brutally assaulted by his captors.
Jul 30, 2025
The Trump administration failed to provide any consular support to American volunteers kidnapped last week by Israel Defense Forces troops in international waters while trying to deliver humanitarian aid to starving Gazans, freed U.S. detainees said Wednesday.
"No U.S. Embassy officials have visited us or inquired about our condition—despite our repeated appeals," detained professor Frank Romano, a citizen of both the U.S. and France, said before his transfer Wednesday to an unspecified Israeli airport for deportation.
Four other Handala volunteers who were aboard the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) vessel Handala—Vigdis Bjorvand (Norway), Santiago González Vallejo (Spain), Braedon Peluso (United States), and Sergio Toribio Sanchez (Spain)—were also taken to the airport for deportation on Wednesday. Two other Americans aboard the Handala, attorney Huwaida Arraf and 77-year-old Bob Suberi, were released earlier from Israeli custody along with some of the other 19 FFC volunteers who were seized.
One American, Amazon Labor Union (ALU) co-founder Chris Smalls, remains in Israeli detention at Givon Prison, along with Hatem Aouini of Tunisia.
According to the Israeli legal advocacy group Adalah: "They are being held in overcrowded, poorly ventilated cells, without ventilation or cooling, despite the extreme summer heat. They are being denied basic hygiene supplies, and their sleeping areas are infested with bedbugs. With no yard time, they remain confined in closed rooms all day, without fresh air or space to move."
FFC said Smalls—the only Black activist aboard the Handala—"was physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals" after his capture, which occurred without resistance.
"They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back," the coalition said in a Tuesday Instagram post. "When his lawyer met with him, Christian was surrounded by six members of Israel's special police unit. This level of force was not used against other abducted activists."
Jacob Berger, an American actor aboard the Handala who arrived in New York on Tuesday, said in an Instagram video that Smalls "is in great spirits" and "appreciates all the support and love" he's received. "Remember, we have to keep all eyes on Gaza."
Still, advocates questioned why the mainstream media has given little coverage to Smalls, a public figure who met with former President Joe Biden at the White House after leading the drive to unionize Amazon warehouse workers in New York.
Chris Smalls met w/ Biden at WH, but not ONE major outlet covered the IDF detaining & beating Smalls w/ @freedomflotilla.bsky.social. Smalls was choked & beaten by 7 IDF soldiers. paydayreport.com/amazon-union...
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— Mike Elk (@mikeelk.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 2:48 AM
"Despite Smalls having been profiled by every major media outlet in the U.S. when he successfully led the union drive at Amazon, not a single major media outlet has covered his violent detention by the IDF three days ago," Payday Report senior labor reporter Mike Elk wrote Tuesday.
Elk called out Teamsters president Sean O'Brien, who "has stayed silent on the detention of Smalls, who founded the Amazon Labor Union, which is now an affiliate of the Teamsters."
Pretty hard to believe that the particularly heinous and brutal treatment Christian Smalls was subjected to by Israeli authorities was not a function of racism given it was not inflicted on other Handala detainees.And the US media dgaf.
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— Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 4:53 AM
The executive board of ALU-IBT Local 1 said on social media Tuesday, "We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained activists aboard the flotilla, an end to targeted racist treatment, and we call on the broader labor movement to take a stance for Palestinian liberation."
"Gaza has been under a relentless and inhumane military assault for nearly two years," the board added. "This genocide has caused mass starvation, the forced displacement of millions, and the intentional deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians. There is an immediate need for unrestricted food and medical aid to Gaza."
On Tuesday, the Gaza Health Ministry said that the death toll from Israel's 662-day assault and siege on Gaza topped 60,000, although that figure is likely a vast undercount, according to multiple peer-reviewed studies.
Also on Tuesday, the United Nations-affiliated Integrated Phase Food Security Classification warned that the "worst-case scenario" has already taken hold in Gaza, where half a million people are enduring famine-like conditions, more than 20,000 children have been treated for malnutrition since April, and at least 147 people—including at least 88 children—have died of starvation, according to U.N. and local officials.
The Handala was the third FFC vessel to attempt to break Israel's decadeslong blockade and deliver aid to Gaza since Israel launched its war and siege on Gaza after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
In May, the Conscience was attacked twice in international waters off Malta, presumably by Israeli forces. No one was harmed in what FFC said was a drone strike on the ship. However, the activists were forced to abort their mission.
Last month, Israeli forces seized the U.K.-flagged Madleen and detained its crew members as they sought to deliver food, children's prosthetics, and other supplies to Gaza. FFC volunteers aboard the Madleen included Rima Hassan—a member of the European Parliament—and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Fifteen years ago, Israeli forces raided an FFC convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Israeli attackers killed nine FFC volunteers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
FFC volunteers vowed to keep trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, despite the risks to their lives and liberty.
"Our countries are allowing Israel to deliberately starve Palestinians as part of this genocidal campaign that it has been carrying out. And we are horrified and not going to sit by and not do anything about it," Arraf told Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman during a Monday interview.
"We will not stop," Arraf added. "So we are actively working on another one. We want the whole world to see the extent to which Israel goes to prevent baby formula from getting into Gaza, and hopefully rise up in all ways possible. Until the siege is broken, the genocide ends, and Palestine is free, we will continue sailing."
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