Missionary Renegade: Democracy Now! Daily Digest: A Daily Independent Global News Hour with Amy Goodman & Juan González for Monday, June 15, 2015

Democracy Now! Daily Digest: A Daily Independent Global News Hour with Amy Goodman & Juan González for Monday, June 15, 2015
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As Democrats Walk Out on Obama's TPP Deal, Where Does Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton Stand?

Former secretary of state, senator and first lady Hillary Clinton kicked off her White House bid to become the first woman U.S. president by highlighting her support for income equality, regulating Wall Street and vowing to fight for a fairer economy. On Sunday, she broke her silence on the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, saying President Obama "should listen to and work with his allies in Congress, starting with Nancy Pelosi, who have expressed their concerns about the impact that a weak agreement would have on our workers to make make sure we get the best, strongest deal possible. And if we don’t get it, there should be no deal." Clinton’s comments come as the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday rejected the first in a series of trade bills despite President Obama making a personal plea for his own party’s support ahead of the vote. We speak with Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and author of "The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority"; and Jeffrey Sachs, a leading economist, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of "The Age of Sustainable Development."

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Former secretary of state, senator and first lady Hillary Clinton has kicked off her White House bid to become the first woman U.S. president. In a major address on New York’s Roosevelt Island Saturday, Clinton highlighted her support for gay marriage, women’s rights, income equality, clean energy and regulating Wall Street. She also vowed to fight for a fairer economy for ordinary Americans.

HILLARY CLINTON: Prosperity can’t be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers. Democracy can’t be just for billionaires and corporations. Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain, too. You brought our country back. Now it’s time, your time, to secure the gains and move ahead. And you know what? America can’t succeed unless you succeed. That is why I am running for president of the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: On Saturday, Hillary Clinton did not broach the one issue that has split the Democratic Party from its leadership, the issue of trade, and more specifically, the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal. The secretive TPP deal involves 12 countries and nearly 40 percent of the global economy. Clinton’s silence on the issue had garnered strong criticism from some members of her party and rivals seeking the nomination, including Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. On Sunday, Clinton finally broke her silence and expressed sympathy for critics of the TPP, saying their concerns about free trade are valid.

HILLARY CLINTON: In order to get a deal that meets these high standards, the president should listen to and work with his allies in Congress, starting with Nancy Pelosi, who have expressed their concerns about the impact that a weak agreement would have on our workers, to make make sure we get the best, strongest deal possible. And if we don’t get it, there should be no deal.

AMY GOODMAN: Clinton’s statement on the TPP marks her most significant break with President Obama since her presidential campaign began. Her comments come just days after the U.S. House of Representatives delivered a major blow to the TPP. On Friday, House Democrats overwhelmingly rejected the first in a series of trade bills, despite President Obama making a personal plea for his own party’s support ahead of the vote.

For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we’re joined by Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and author of The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority. And we’re joined by Jeffrey Sachs via Democracy Now! video stream. He’s a leading economist, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, author of many books, including, most recently, The Age of Sustainable Development.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Lori Wallach, let’s begin with you in Washington. Can you talk about what happened on Friday with the Democrats splitting from President Obama, including, significantly, Nancy Pelosi? And then address Hillary Clinton’s comments on the issue of TPP. Is she for it or against it?

LORI WALLACH: Well, first, on Friday, what happened requires a little bit of information about how we got there. So, fast track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but fast track, in general, has been very unpopular. It’s only been allowed for five of the last 21 years. So, to get it through the Senate, to get a few Democrats to support it, required also combining in the same piece of legislation a program called Trade Adjustment Assistance, an extension of that, which provides benefits for the workers who lose their jobs to the trade agreements that the fast track would enable. Those Senate Democrats required TAA to be part of the package as well as other guarantees.

That bill then went to the House. But in the House, fast track is enormously unpopular, as well, and the Republican leadership, knowing they would get very few Democrats to support it, had to maximize Republican votes. And the Republicans don’t like TAA. They hate TAA. Number one, it provides a body count of all of the workers hurt by bad trade policies, but they also see it as welfare for unions, because it gives retraining benefits, etc. So, they decided to do an incredible procedural gimmick, that is literally called the self-executing rule, and divide the question. They temporarily broke the trade package, passed by the Senate and sent over to the House, into three pieces. One piece was a $700 million Medicare cut, that was going to fund the TAA. Another piece was TAA, and another piece was fast track. And in order to pass the bill, to approve the bill the Senate sent to the House, and send it to the president to be signed, all the pieces had to be passed, and then that rule automatically put them all back together. The idea was, it was a way to let the Republicans vote for fast track but against TAA.

There was just one complication: The Democrats decided not to play by the Republicans’ rules. I mean, if you think about it, why would the Democrats, who passionately—most of them—oppose fast track for the TPP, vote for the TAA portion of the bill that makes it possible to send the fast track, that they hate, to the president to create fast track for TPP? Now, of course, it’s sad and—it’s sad that TAA had to be voted down as the way to do that. It’s a program that would provide maybe 70,000, 80,000 workers a year some kind of benefit, for those who have lost their jobs to past agreements. But the price of doing that would have been enacting a TPP that’s going to cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and push down all of our wages, plus enact a fast track for the next six years for whomever is president to do who knows what other job-killing trade agreement zooming through Congress. So, the way the stature of all of this works is, because the TAA title of the bill didn’t work, the self-executing rule couldn’t put everything back together, and so the entire proposition failed, as we all saw in the newspaper, and fast track is not passed.

AMY GOODMAN: So, where Clinton stands on this is absolutely key. I want to turn back to comments she made on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, speaking Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, laying out what she believes needs to be done in order to reach a trade deal.

HILLARY CLINTON: First, let me start by saying, no president would be a tougher negotiator on behalf of American workers, either with our trading partners or Republicans on Capitol Hill, than I would be. In my time, eight years in the Senate, I voted for some trade agreements, and I voted against others. I think I have a pretty good idea of what we can do to meet the tests that I believe any trade agreement, especially TPP, must meet. It needs to, number one, protect American workers. Number two, it needs to raise wages and create good jobs at home. Number three, it needs to be in our national security interest. I’ve been saying that for months.

AMY GOODMAN: That is Hillary Clinton speaking on Sunday in Des Moines. We’re joined by economist Jeffrey Sachs, as well. Can you explain, although she says it has to include all of these things, and she has to read it—are people actually able to read the deal that is being proposed, Jeffrey Sachs? And does it satisfy you that—what Hillary Clinton has said, considering your anti-TPP position?

JEFFREY SACHS: Well, you can read parts of it on WikiLeaks, but you can’t read the real current documents, except if WikiLeaks gets its hands on them. This is extraordinarily secretive. And for that reason alone, in my view, the trade promotion should have been defeated, as it has at least provisionally been. Why are we agreeing to fast-track something that the American people have not seen and debated? And when President Obama said that it’s not true, it’s not secret, he’s not really leveling, because he says, "Well, the American people will get to review it," but that’s only after it’s complete and subject only to an up-or-down vote, if fast track were to prevail.

So, the secrecy is very worrisome because we know that the lobbyists have swarmed all over these negotiations. This is not basically about trade. It’s basically about corporate prerogatives and investor privileges. And it includes many, many worrisome factors, such as a intellectual property boost for pharmaceutical industries and a notorious provision called the investor-state dispute settlement act, which really could weigh against governments carrying out their proper regulatory functions. Then the Republicans stuck in at the last moment a provision that said nothing about climate change can be part of this trade agreement. So, there are many, many traps, snares, landmines in this secretive agreement, in any event, and it should not go to fast track until the American people first have seen it and debated it, because there’s lots to worry about.

Now, Hillary’s statements yesterday, fine. The real heroes of this are Sander Levin, the ranking member of the Ways and Means; Nancy Pelosi, who showed great leadership on Friday; and Elizabeth Warren. They have been carrying this torch without much help from anybody else in—among the national leaders, including Hillary up until yesterday. But I’m glad that she stated what she did yesterday, because it’s a help. We’re not out of the woods yet, because there still is another vote coming, a lot of arm twisting. And we have to hope that the Democrats hold their position, because they’ve got it right.

AMY GOODMAN: Lori Wallach, if Hillary Clinton had come out yesterday and said, "I am opposed to the TPP," would it have killed it? And what does it mean, her raising concerns, with looking at her record? Was she deeply involved with the TPP and trade deals like this as secretary of state?

LORI WALLACH: Well, I think having a candidate say something that is helpful to the current debate, that casts suspicions on what’s going on, is good. Got more attention to it. I think that for her and for any candidate who’s running for president who says those kind of slightly amorphous things, that is where we get back to the fast track and what Jeff just said about the next stage going forward in Congress, because let’s just say Senator Clinton is elected as president, and then the question is: Under what authority will she be able to make trade agreements, the TPP or otherwise?

And so, going back to what’s going on in Congress, the most important thing everyone can do, to start with, is to thank every member of the House of Representatives who did the right thing. Because Jeff’s exactly right. The White House, the big corporate coalition, the GOP caucus, they’re coming back—the leadership—for another round this week of trying to revive the vote they lost. And the leader of this fight has been Congressman Rosa DeLauro. She’s done an amazing job over several years. A lot of members of Congress are really opposed to fast track. They were disgusted by the TAA that was put in front of them, the adjustment assistance. It was underfunded. It cut out lots of categories of workers, etc. It was accompanied by a cut in Medicare dialysis funding.

All around, I think our main piece of business is to thank those members of Congress—lots of Democrats, but a bloc of Republicans also—who voted to vote no on TPA, but very critically, those Democrats who voted no on TAA deserve our thanks. And when this vote may be replayed this week, we need them to continue to do the right thing and save us from fast-tracking the TPP. It’s a lot of pressure. The White House spent the whole weekend browbeating Democrats to try and get them to flip their votes on TAA, because if the TAA part of the bill is passed, that would send the whole fast-track package to the president’s desk. So the critical revote will be on TAA first, and then who knows what the Republican leadership will come up with next, so stay tuned.

AMY GOODMAN: Jeffrey Sachs, overall, Hillary Clinton’s rollout speech on Roosevelt Island on Saturday, and then in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, can you talk about the approach she has taken? You have written about and talked about the Clinton Foundation. I mean, she is clearly affected by her running mate, Bernie Sanders, adopting a lot of the language—rather, her competitor, her opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clearly, it has made a difference. Can you talk about where her support comes from and what she said, for example, about hedge funds? The top—what was it? The top five hedge fund investors have more money than all the kindergarten teachers throughout this United States and actually pay less taxes.

JEFFREY SACHS: First, I want to thank Lori for reminding us of the great leadership of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, which was absolutely spectacular. Shame on me for not mentioning her among the top congressional leaders.

You know, the Democratic Party sold at least part of its soul, or part of the party sold its soul, back in 1992 when President Clinton triangulated and brought Wall Street into the fold. And that’s been the part of the party that the Clintons have been associated with for a very long time, dealing with the big bankers on Wall Street, big campaign financiers, a lot of triangulation, of course. They have promoted these trade agreements for years. They’ve been triangulating.

But she has two strong progressive opponents: Bernie Sanders and Governor Martin O’Malley. They’re both running against TPA strongly. They’re both calling for a new approach of the Democratic Party. And clearly, that message is reaching Hillary. So I’m glad with what she said yesterday. It’s a much better policy message. But given the past history, it’s not where she and President Clinton brought the Democratic Party over the past generation, so it remains to be seen what this really means. It is a very good sign, though, about what it’s going to take to win the Democratic primaries.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you both for being with us. Jeffrey Sachs, speaking to us between international trips, thanks for joining us, leading economist and director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. Among his books, The Age of Sustainable Development. And Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, author of The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority.

This is Democracy Now! It’s the 800th birthday of the Magna Carta. In our last segment, we’re going to Lincoln Castle, where the Magna Carta is housed. We’ll speak with people’s historian Peter Linebaugh. Stay with us.

What Do 800-Year-Old Magna Carta & Black Lives Matter Have in Common? A People's Historian Explains

The Magna Carta turns 800 years old today. Known as the "Great Charter," it is widely considered the foundation of parliamentary democracy, human rights and the supremacy of the law over the crown. As dignitaries including the queen of England and Prime Minister David Cameron commemorate the sealing of the historic text, we go to Lincoln Castle in England, where the finest originals of the Magna Carta and the charters of English liberty are kept in a lockstone vault, and speak with people’s historian Peter Linebaugh, author of "The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberty and Subsistence for All." He is attending the event to draw connections between the Magna Carta and the Black Lives Matter movement.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We end today’s show in England, where celebrations are underway marking the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, considered by many to be the foundation of parliamentary democracy, human rights and the supremacy of the law over the crown. It was sealed June 15th, 1215. Thousands are gathering in the town of Runnymede near Windsor, Berkshire, to commemorate the sealing of the text. Dignitaries in attendance include the queen of England, Prime Minister David Cameron.

But we’re going to Lincoln Castle, about an hour from there, where the finest originals of the Magna Carta and the charters of English liberty are kept in a lockstone vault. And we’re joined there by Democracy Now! video stream, people’s historian Peter Linebaugh. He’ll speak at festivities there today about the relevance of the Magna Carta to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as Guantánamo. He’s the author of The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberty and Subsistence for All.

Peter Linebaugh, welcome to Democracy Now! Describe where you are right now as you go into the significance of the Magna Carta.

PETER LINEBAUGH: Yes, I’m in the Bishop’s Palace, 50 feet from Lincoln Cathedral, adjacent to Lincoln Castle, where the Magna Carta is. Lincoln Castle became a prison. And this, for me, is an opportunity to read for us and your listeners from Magna Carta. "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights ... or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land." Amy, those are the words from which habeas corpus, prohibition of torture, trial by jury and due process of law have stemmed from the last 800 years.

AMY GOODMAN: So, describe the Magna Carta. Some people might think it’s 800 pages, not 800 years old. But it is a simple document. Who wrote it? Who was it presented to?

PETER LINEBAUGH: It was an armistice, and it was about 20 inches by six inches. I just saw it recently. It is an armistice that concluded a civil war in England. Bad King John had squeezed the people of the forests of England for their money in order to recover lands in France and in order to enhance his own coffers. In reaction to that, the barons of England resisted. It was basically a conflict within the English ruling class, church and state. In fact, it was written in good part by Stephen Langton, the archbishop of Canterbury. However, both the big charter and the little charter depend and recognize the 90 percent of the people of England who were serfs and poor people and foresters and commoners. Amy, it took about 40 serfs to produce the food just for one horse of those barons and those knights. So while it was a document settling scores in the ruling class, that ruling class had to recognize the principle of the commons and had to recognize—well, in fact, it abolished capital punishment for killing of deer in the forests of England, a great step forward. It prohibited the disparagement of women. Its seventh chapter called for estovers of the widow in the common. Basically, it meant that she could have her fuel, she could have tools, she could have repairs for her house from the forest. And remember that the forest and woods, that was the petroleum of that epoch. That is, so many materials, so much wealth came exclusively from wood. So, for a woman or a widow, in particular, to have access to the commons meant survival.

AMY GOODMAN: So, relate it to the movements and happenings today—for example, the over a hundred men who are held at Guantánamo, how habeas corpus relates to the Magna Carta—and then talk about the Black Lives Matter movement.

PETER LINEBAUGH: OK. Well, habeas corpus was a sheriff’s writ, and it just meant "giveth the body." That’s the Latin. But a few hundred years ago, English law began to see this writ as a principle deriving from that chapter which I read to you, that you can’t—that sovereignty cannot seize a person or imprison them or send force against them except by judgment of their equals or, you know, a trial by jury. This pertains to the people in Guantánamo Bay who have not had a charge. There’s been no indictment. No criminal law has been violated. The state has not been forced to explain itself. Certainly, they’ve not had a trial. So even the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case called Boumediene, referred to Magna Carta as being violated by this practice.

As concerns Black Lives Matter and the movement, that so far, I think, this year 464 people have been killed by the police, this is sending force against people without trial by jury, not in accordance with the law of the land. And so, when Black Lives Matter began, after the—last August, after the killing of Michael Brown, many of us remembered that slavery itself came to an end thanks to Frederick Douglass’ references to Magna Carta. So Magna Carta has played a major role in American history in the freedom struggle led by former slaves and the African-American population. This is why Black Lives Matter is so important, not only against the racist power structure and the forms of white supremacy that exist in so many ruling institutions, but it’s also a recovery of this long tradition of struggling against sovereignty in the name of habeas corpus, trial by jury and prohibition of torture.

I think, Amy, it’s significant for another reason, which we’ve seen. The Guardian newspaper is now crowdsourcing the police killings. In other words, the FBI and the federal government is incapable and has neglected to keep count of those whom authority has slaughtered or has killed. Now, The Guardian is showing us—an English newspaper is taking the lead in providing us with this important information of state killings.

AMY GOODMAN: Peter Linebaugh, today, the prime minister of—the British prime minister, David Cameron, spoke of the need to reform U.K. human rights, to safeguard the Magna Carta’s legacy. The Guardian reports his speech was seen as a sign of the government’s commitment to break the link between the British courts and the European Court of Human Rights.

PETER LINEBAUGH: Well, this is a subject where many, many people in Great Britain are outraged. Remember, David Cameron is a—had a very small minority of the popular vote in the recent election. He is committed to withdrawing from the European human rights. And I haven’t heard the speech myself, so I can’t comment in detail about it. But it seems to those of my colleagues here that this is a profound and unpopular retrogression.

AMY GOODMAN: The New York Times headline today, "Magna Carta, Still Posing a Challenge at 800." Scholars argue, guiding principle or just a useful myth? And then, under the photograph of the Magna Carta, it says, "A photo of a ... version of Magna Carta [in the National Archives]. Some legal scholars believe that the charter is [no] big deal." Where do you fall, Peter Linebaugh?

PETER LINEBAUGH: The Magna Carta is not just the foundation of our liberties in restricting sovereignty, but it’s also a place where, if we read it carefully, we can see a principle for our future. And that principle is the principle of the commons, which you will find in a little charter, the Charter of the Forest. The common principle is that subsistence is available for all. The common principle is that of mutuality. The common principle is not of competition, but is of cooperation. And this principle may also be found in the charters of English liberty.

AMY GOODMAN: Now, you’re sitting in a room right now, but I was wondering if it’s possible—and I’m taking a risk here because this is live television and radio—could you pick up the computer and show us what it looks like right outside? I think your window looks over Lincoln Palace, where I was just speaking to you right before the broadcast. So here is Peter. He’s walking over to the window. And we’re looking outside. And describe, Peter—yes, that’s very good. You can lower it a little bit. Describe what it is that we see out there.

PETER LINEBAUGH: Well, you see a very well-to-do tea garden, that would do for a Jane Austen movie. Then you see workers’ housing, and you see some roofs of factories, which at one time was a foundry. And then, beyond, you see Lincoln Common. So you see an area similar to your Central Park in New York, which is land for the use and recovery of all.

AMY GOODMAN: Now, Peter, you’re about an hour or so away from Runnymede, where the official celebration is underway with the queen, with the prime minister. Explain the significance of Runnymede, where they are, and why you’re at Lincoln Palace?

PETER LINEBAUGH: I’m at Lincoln Palace, thanks very much to Ann, whose Voices from Lincoln is leading festivities here. And I’m also grateful to two artists. And I think it’s significant for us that it’s artists who around the world are helping us to restore our imagination. And it’s people like Ann who are calling out to ordinary voices and to lost and common folk to bring to us the meanings of Magna Carta, the meanings of the commons. We can’t rely on the queen and the prime minister and their ilk for this knowledge.

AMY GOODMAN: Peter Linebaugh, we want to thank you very much for joining us, people’s historian, retired from the University of Toledo, author of the book, The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All. He joins us from Lincoln Castle in Lincolnshire, England, where in a lockstone vault are kept the finest originals of the Magna Carta and the charters of English liberty. He’s speaking there tonight about the relevance of the Magna Carta to the Black Lives Matter movement. We’ll link to details on our website, as well as our previous interview with Professor Linebaugh on Guantánamo and habeas corpus.

That does it for our broadcast. Democracy Now! is hiring a senior news producer and an engagement editor. Find out more at democracynow.org. Both full-time jobs based here in New York City.

Israeli Report Finds 2014 Gaza War "Lawful" and "Legitimate" Ahead of Critical U.N. Investigation

The Israeli government has released a report that concludes its military actions in the 2014 war in Gaza were "lawful" and "legitimate." The findings come ahead of what is expected to be a critical United Nations investigation into the 50-day conflict that Israel has dismissed as biased and refused to cooperate with. More than 2,200 Palestinians died in what was called "Operation Protective Edge," the vast majority civilians. On Israel’s side, 73 people were killed, all but six of them soldiers. In its report, Israel says it made "substantial efforts" to avoid civilian deaths, insisting Hamas was to blame for the high number of civilian casualties and accusing Hamas militants of disguising themselves as civilians and of converting civilian buildings into military centers. We are joined by Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and the former executive director of The Jerusalem Fund. We also go to Tel Aviv to speak with Gideon Levy, Haaretz columnist, whose latest piece is "Israel washed itself clean of Gaza’s dead beach children."

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: The Israeli government has concluded its military actions in the 2014 war with Gaza were, quote, "lawful" and "legitimate." The report was released Sunday, just ahead of an imminent U.N. investigation into the 50-day conflict. Israel has refused to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Council’s inquiry, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as biased.

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: [translated] Whoever wants to know the truth, let them read this report. Let them also read the report by the senior generals. Whoever wants to continue with baseless, automatic blaming of the state of Israel, let them waste time reading the report by the U.N. commission.

AMY GOODMAN: More than 2,200 Palestinians were killed in the 2014 assault, the vast majority civilians. On Israel’s side, 73 people were killed, all but six of them soldiers. During the 50-day operation, more than 20,000 Palestinian homes were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced. In the report, Israel says it made substantial efforts to avoid civilian deaths, saying Hamas was to blame for the high number of civilian casualties. The report accuses Hamas militants of disguising themselves as civilians and of converting civilian buildings into military centers. In Gaza, Hamas dismissed the Israeli report. This is spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri.

SAMI ABU ZUHRI: [translated] The Israeli report, by which the occupation tries to clear itself of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, is an attempt to control the international public opinion and to preempt the report of the International Council of Human Rights regarding the committing of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli report has no value, because the Israeli war crimes are obvious and committed in front of a live and direct broadcast.

AMY GOODMAN: To talk more about the significance of the Israeli government report, we talk to two guests. On the phone from Tel Aviv, we’re joined by Gideon Levy, a Haaretz columnist, member of the newspaper’s editorial board. His latest article is headlined "Israel washed itself clean of Gaza’s dead beach children." He’s also the author of The Punishment of Gaza. And in Washington, D.C., Yousef Munayyer is with us, the executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. He’s the former executive director of The Jerusalem Fund.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Yousef Munayyer, let’s begin with you. Your reaction to this report? And let’s place it in context. Israel has investigated itself with this report. It’s just about to—it’s expected that the U.N. is about to release a report. Yousef?

YOUSEF MUNAYYER: Well, you’re right in that Israel has investigated itself, and this fits into a very familiar pattern that we’ve seen time and time again, really going back to the early days of the Israeli state. After various massacres, there are investigations, which almost always result in Israel declaring itself completely innocent or finding some minuscule charge to put on people that are, you know, then prosecuted and further have those charges mitigated even after that, to the point where there is nobody held accountable for anything at all. This is a PR stunt, is what it is.

And I think it speaks volumes that that’s the approach that the Israelis are taking, precisely because they know there is no way that they can convince the world that what took place in Gaza last year—you know, wiping out 89 entire families, killing 504 children—that that’s justifiable. They can’t, certainly not, you know, given the fact that this was done through massive weapons of war against a stateless population. That can’t be done. The best that they can hope to do is to obfuscate and to confuse and to cloud people’s perception of the issue by trying to issue a report that attempts to balance out or counteract a report that’s done by an independent entity. If the Israelis believe that the only way that they can get a report that supports the conclusions that they want and finds them innocent of all war crimes is to orchestrate that report by themself or have it put together by their friends, I think that tells you everything you need to know about Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip last summer.

AMY GOODMAN: Gideon Levy, your latest piece in Haaretz is headlined "Israel washed itself clean of Gaza’s dead beach children." Talk about what happened on that beach in Gaza and what this report has to do with that.

GIDEON LEVY: I think it’s a nice indication to the way that Israel is so-called investigating itself. Four children are being shelled on the beach of Gaza in front of the eyes of international journalists, who were screaming and screaming, "Those are children!" No way that the Israeli army, with more sophisticated devices, couldn’t see that those were children. And then, one year later, Israel just closes the file, in a case which could really serve the Israeli propaganda, in a case in which Israel could really prove the world that, at least in one case, Israel is investigating itself. But no, even the blood of those four fishermen children, those beach boys of Gaza, even their blood is not a reason for Israel to apologize, to bring someone—to take someone accountable for this. Their killing was, you know, force majeure. Nobody pushed the button. Nobody shelled them one bomb after the other. It’s not only one bomb; it were at least two bombs on them. And this, in a nutshell, the whole story, the report of the foreign Israeli—of the Israeli Foreign Ministry is, above all, pathetic and embarrassing. I mean, if they think that anyone in the world will take this piece of propaganda seriously, they underestimate the intelligence and the morality of the world. It’s really almost shameful to suggest this kind of report, when, as my friend said just now, when the facts on the ground are streaming, are crystal clear, more than 500 children being killed. You can blame all the killing on the Hamas. Can you really believe that anyone will take you seriously? Really, I mean, it’s every time, again and again—

AMY GOODMAN: Gideon Levy, you are—

GIDEON LEVY: —I think that—yes?

AMY GOODMAN: You are an Israeli Jewish reporter. You’re on the editorial board of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. How is the Israeli Jewish population taking this report?

GIDEON LEVY: Well, as you know very well, Amy, the Israeli public opinion is totally brainwashed in the recent years—no moral doubt, no discussion, no debate even. I mean, it is very clear to most of the Israelis, if not all of them, that the IDF is the most moral army in the world and that Israel should not be taken accountable for anything it has done in Gaza. This is hardly discussed even. It’s not even an issue in Israel.

AMY GOODMAN: Last week, the Israeli military announced it was closing its investigation into the killings of the four Palestinian children on the Gaza beach last year. The four boys were all cousins, aged nine to 11. They were killed while playing on the beach off a coastal road west of Gaza City during the war last summer. I want to turn to comments made by Mohamed Bakr, the father of one of the boys who was killed.

MOHAMED BAKR: [translated] Israel decides for itself what is true or not true. Our children are the same as other children around the world. Children of the Bakr family are the same as children around the world, like children in Britain, France, Germany and America. All the free nations are supporting us. We have the right, and we will achieve victory because we have the right. Our children were playing at the beach. What have they done to be killed in cold blood?

AMY GOODMAN: That is Mohamed Bakr, the father of one of the four children killed. Yousef Munayyer, is Israel participating in the—cooperating with the U.N. investigation that should come out at any moment? And also, is their report coming out—is that aimed at all at the International Criminal Court, with a body, a country, investigating itself? Are they hoping to head off any kind of ICC investigation?

YOUSEF MUNAYYER: Well, to answer your first question, no, they’re not participating in the U.N. inquiry. They’ve refused to participate in the U.N. inquiry. That’s been pretty much a standard of Israeli policy over the last number of years, where they’ve refused to even participate with United Nations inquiries because they simply believe that it’s not going to reflect the outcome that they would like to see, and so they just refuse to speak to them altogether. We saw that after the last major war on Gaza in 2008, 2009, and in other instances, as well.

And obviously, what we are seeing here is an effort to try to mitigate the isolation of Israel through a variety of different arenas, including the International Criminal Court, but also in other arenas in the international system and among civil society around the world, as well. The Israelis are increasingly growing isolated. They’re increasingly fearing being isolated. And I think that we are seeing, in the government today and in the discourse in Israel today, a reflection of that. I think they’re only going to move further to the right. It is going to be a more draconian government. We are seeing laws that are being initiated now to further silence dissent, even among Israeli NGOs that raise any bit of criticism against the government. But I think this is the kind of pressure that absolutely has to happen before there is any change in Israeli policy, but we have to realize that it is going to get worse before it gets better, because the people who are in power in Israel are not going to relinquish that power for a more equitable, more just solution easily. And they’re going to continue to lie and deceive not just the international community, but also their own people, into believing that they can sustain this system into the long term.

And, you know, with those boys on the beach, I think it’s a perfect example of how monstrous this war was, even by the Israeli military’s own statement on the issue. They concede that they were firing at figures that they did not even identify. They could not even see what they were shooting at, in a space where the vast majority of people are civilians, where 50 percent of the population is children. And lo and behold, this country, which brags in all corners of the world about its high-tech abilities, is unable to identify that these are children playing soccer on the beach, and knowingly fires at what it cannot even identify. And at the end of the day, four children are dead on the beach, along with 500 other kids at the end of that war. And the Israelis want us to believe that they did nothing wrong in this process. It’s just an argument that doesn’t hold water.

AMY GOODMAN: And your response to the U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, leaving Israel off a list of countries which kill or injure children during conflicts, the decision defying the recommendation of a U.N. special envoy and following intense pressure from Israel and the United States? Gideon Levy, can you weigh in on that? Did that surprise you?

GIDEON LEVY: It doesn’t surprise me, because as long as the United States will continue to support automatically and blindly anything that Israel is doing, as long as this policy will continue, the U.N. and other international institutions will have to really lose their way. Ban Ki-moon was in Gaza. I know that he was quite shocked from what he saw. And he knows how many children were killed in Gaza. And still, when the order by the United States, or the threat by the United States, is "don’t include Israel in this next list," then nothing helps. And as long as this pattern will continue, the international community will have to continue to swallow all those really shameful decisions by the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: Gideon Levy, I want to thank you for being with us, Haaretz columnist, member of the newspaper’s editorial board, latest piece, "Israel washed itself clean of Gaza’s dead beach children," also author of The Punishment of Gaza. And thanks so much in Washington, D.C., to Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. He is the former executive director of The Jerusalem Fund.

This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. When we come back, we go to Lincoln Castle in England, where the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta is underway. Stay with us.

Headlines:

Libya: U.S. Airstrikes Target Al-Qaeda Leader

U.S. airstrikes in Libya have targeted an al-Qaeda leader accused of orchestrating the deadly seizure of an Algerian gas plant, which left 38 foreign hostages dead in 2013. The Libyan government said U.S. airstrikes killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar and an unspecified number of other militants. But Belmokhtar has been reported killed in the past, and U.S. officials say they are awaiting forensic confirmation of his death.

Yemen Talks Begin in Geneva Without Houthi Rebels

U.N.-backed talks aimed at resolving the crisis in Yemen have opened in Geneva. Representatives for Shiite Houthi rebels have not yet arrived, after reportedly declining to board their flight on schedule. The Houthis claimed the provincial capital of Hazm over the weekend in their latest advance.

Report: Pentagon to Put Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe

The Pentagon is set to store heavy weaponry including tanks in Eastern Europe for the first time since the end of the Cold War. The New York Times reports the plan would see enough weaponry for as many as 5,000 soldiers stored across several countries, from Estonia to Bulgaria and Poland. It’s seen as a deterrent to potential Russian aggression amid the conflict in Ukraine. The plan still requires approval from the White House and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

House Democrats Derail Obama’s Push for TPP "Fast Track"

In a major blow to President Obama’s trade agenda, House Democrats have derailed attempts to speed through approval of the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal. Protesters from across the political spectrum have raised concerns it would undermine health and environmental regulations and hurt U.S. workers. On Friday, Democrats rejected a measure to give financial aid to displaced workers in a strategic move to block another bill giving Obama fast-track authority to ram the TPP through Congress on a yes-or-no vote. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sided with fellow Democrats against fast track.

Nancy Pelosi: "For these and other reasons, I will be voting today to slow down the fast track to get a better deal for the American people — bigger paychecks, better infrastructure, help the American people fulfill the American dream."

Clinton Urges Obama to Listen to Critics of TPP

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton broke her relative silence over the TPP Sunday, urging President Obama to listen to Democratic critics, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Hillary Clinton: "In order to get a deal that meets these high standards, the president should listen to and work with his allies in Congress, starting with Nancy Pelosi, who have expressed their concerns about the impact that a weak agreement would have on our workers, to make make sure we get the best, strongest deal possible. And if we don’t get it, there should be no deal."

Clinton’s remarks came after she failed to address the TPP in her first major address kicking off her presidential campaign. We’ll have more on Clinton’s speech and her stance on the TPP after headlines.

Ahead of U.N. Probe, Israel Declares Assault on Gaza "Lawful"

The Israeli government has issued a report concluding its actions during the military assault on Gaza last year were "lawful" and "legitimate." The report comes ahead of the imminent publication of a United Nations investigation into possible war crimes during the conflict, which killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians. The Israeli military has also closed its probe into the killings of four Palestinian children on a Gaza beach. Mohamed Bakr, the father of one of the children, condemned the move.

Mohamed Bakr: "Israel decides for itself what is true or not true. Our children are the same as other children around the world. Children of the Bakr family are the same as children around the world, like children in Britain, France, Germany and America. All the free nations are supporting us. We have the right, and we will achieve victory because we have the right. Our children were playing at the beach. What have they done to be killed in cold blood?"

Palestinian Killed by Israeli Army Jeep in West Bank; Israel OKs Force-Feeding Bill

An Israeli army jeep has struck and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank. The military said the jeep accidentally hit the man after he threw a petrol bomb at it, but witnesses said the man was walking to work when the jeep ran him down. Meanwhile, Israel has approved a bill to allow the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. We’ll have more on Israel and its report on Gaza later in the broadcast.

Sudan President Leaves South Africa, Evading Arrest for Genocide

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has left South Africa despite attempts to keep him there as he faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Darfur. His departure defied a court order to remain in South Africa as the International Criminal Court seeks to try him for crimes including genocide.

Hong Kong: Pro-Democracy Protesters Demand Free Elections

In Hong Kong, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have returned to the streets to demand free elections. Sunday’s protest came three days before a vote by lawmakers on a reform package which would let Hong Kong residents choose their city leader from a pool of candidates approved by a Beijing-friendly panel.

Japan: Thousands Protest Abe’s Push to Expand Military Role

In Japan, thousands of people rallied to protest Japan’s participation in the TPP free trade deal and to condemn Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to expand Japan’s military role. Despite Japan’s pacifist constitution, enacted after World War II, Abe is backing legislation to let Japanese troops fight overseas. Amid protests, his approval ratings have dropped to their lowest level since he took office.

Appeals Court Blocks Release of Albert Woodfox After 43 Years in Solitary

A federal appeals court has ordered former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement, to remain behind bars while Louisiana officials appeal a judge’s order for his immediate release. Woodfox has spent 43 years in solitary for the murder of a prison guard, a crime for which he and late, fellow Angola 3 member Herman Wallace say they were framed for their political activism. Woodfox’s two previous convictions for the crime have both been overturned, but Louisiana officials are now seeking a third trial. On Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals extended a stay on the judge’s order for his release, meaning it could be weeks or months until Woodfox is potentially freed. His attorney, Carine Williams, expressed her disappointment.

Carine Williams: "We are deeply disappointed that after 40 years of incarceration under the harshest conditions possible, Mr. Woodfox will not be released today. The district court decision, we believe, is the correct one. It is sound, well-reasoned, relies on clearly established law. The facts of this case are extraordinary. At this stage, the only outcome that could serve the interests of law and justice would be Mr. Woodfox’s immediate release."

6 Guantánamo Prisoners Transferred to Oman

Six Yememi prisoners have been transferred from Guatánamo to Oman, marking the first release from the prison in five months. The six men have been held without trial for more than 13 years. One of the prisoners, Emad Abdullah Hassan, has staged hunger strikes for years over his imprisonment without charge. Despite Obama’s 2009 vow to close Guantánamo within a year, 116 prisoners now remain.

AAUP Censures University of Illinois for Ouster of Steven Salaita

The largest professors’ group in the United States has censured the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign over its ouster of professor Steven Salaita. The university withdrew a job offer to Salaita last year after he posted tweets harshly critical of the Israeli assault on Gaza. On Saturday, the American Association of University Professors voted overwhelmingly to censure the university, saying it has "not adhered to generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure."

Leftist Women Mayors Take Control of Spain’s 2 Largest Cities

In Spain, leftist women have been sworn in as mayors in the country’s two largest cities. Ada Colau, a former anti-evictions activist who has been arrested for protesting banks, has become the first woman mayor of Barcelona. In the capital Madrid, Manuela Carmena, a retired judge and former member of Spain’s underground Communist Party, has become the city’s second woman mayor. Both have vowed sweeping reforms, including slashing their own salaries and stopping evictions. To see our interview with Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, click here.

Los Angeles Becomes Largest City to Enact $15-an-Hour Minimum Wage

Los Angeles has become the largest city in the United States to enact a $15-an-hour minimum wage. The measure signed by Mayor Eric Garcetti requires employers with 26 or more workers to pay at least $10.50 an hour beginning next July, then raises the wage each year until it hits $15 in 2020.

Texas: Dallas Police Kill Man Who Attacked Headquarters

In Dallas, Texas, police shot and killed a man they say planted pipe bombs outside police headquarters and opened fire on officers. James Boulware reportedly had a history of domestic violence and blamed police for taking away custody of his child.

Spokane NAACP Leader Rachel Dolezal: "I Do Consider Myself to Be Black"

And the head of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, has continued to insist she is black, despite reports by her parents she is actually white and has been faking an African-American identity for years. After Rachel Dolezal’s actions sparked an national outcry, she told Sky News she considers herself black.

Reporter: "Would you identify yourself as an African American?"

Rachel Dolezal: "I actually don’t like the term African American. I prefer black. And I would say that if I was asked, I would definitely say that, yes, I do consider myself to be black."

The Spokane NAACP chapter has postponed a meeting scheduled for tonight where Rachel Dolezal was due to address the controversy.

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