Artificial Intelligence in health insurance becomes a health risk, as it is being used to review denied cases through algorithms. However, these do not take into account the special circumstances of each case, which generates discrimination and inequality.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly present in daily life as a tool to streamline processes; in health insurance it is being used to review denied cases through algorithms, however, these do not take into account the special circumstances of each case, which generates discrimination and inequality.
Specialists pointed out during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services, that healthcare AI is often based on racial and economic biases that increasingly determine who receives treatment and who does not.
Artificial intelligence is thus being used to deny applications for health insurance, posing a health risk in cases requiring personalized medical assessment. An investigation by ProPublica this year revealed that insurers are now routinely denying millions of claims using AI.
Dr. Katherine Hempstead, a policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, explained that it is impossible to determine topics in health insurance policies through AI, since there are a wide variety of possibilities in each case.
“There are many different contexts and the rules are not the same for each insurance company and this creates a feeling of mistrust,” added Hempstead.
She also says that there are more people affiliated with Medical, the problem is that not everyone has the same access to medicines or services, since each case is different and often a feeling of inequality is generated among members.
In addition, he mentioned that insurance policies are increasingly more corporate and not so human, which affects the perception of patients who lose confidence in the system, since they deny requests and some services through the automated system generated by AI.
Dr. Miranda Yaver, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh, conducted a study for her book “Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States,” to be published in spring 2026, explaining these health insurance inequalities.
Yaver is concerned that Artificial Intelligence will gain ground in the health field, as an error could be generated and in the medical case it would represent the risk of a life and in the denied cases, some appeal and the result is in their favor, but not always, they are those who need it most, so equity and opportunities are reduced.
“AI has its advantages, but it is also important to think about the implications of these tools, which on the one hand, if they work well, can help us speed up the processes to provide the care that is needed, but on the other hand, they can destabilize, especially marginalized groups, essentially the most vulnerable groups,” said Yaver.
Josh Becker, a California senator and author of SB 1120, the Physicians Make Decisions Act, explained the importance of this law, which limits the scope of AI by requiring physicians to make the final decisions.
The bill is called “Doctors Make Decisions,” and it addresses concerns about medical decision-making that prioritizes patient well-being rather than letting automated systems make decisions that require a trained doctor. This bill aims to address critical gaps in the medical system.
“The algorithm does not have the capacity to make personal and individual decisions, which only doctors can carry out,” he said.
He commented that the use of artificial intelligence in the medical field and health insurance could help evaluate a similar study in the future, but at the moment AI is being talked about as a tool to increase efficiency and cut costs, which creates many threats to health.
Becker shared the case of a doctor who denied 60 thousand cases in a single month, which demonstrates a worrying system that denies patients, since many times they are not even given the opportunity to obtain the treatment they need.
Aerial view of Port-au-Prince and a place of displacement. Photo: United Nations
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The United Nations has updated the number of people killed in the massacre that took place in the port city of Cité Soleil, Haiti, in early December, to 207, for religious reasons.
Dozens of elderly people and voodoo religious leaders were killed in the violence by members of the gang known as Wharf Jeremie, who took the victims from their homes and a place of worship, interrogated them and finally executed them.
According to a new report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 73 women and 134 men were murdered between December 6 and 11, all accused of witchcraft, according to the Reuters news agency.
At least 300 members of the Wharf Jeremie gang are believed to have been involved in the raids, kidnappings and executions; human rights groups have attributed the massacre to the death of the son of the gang's leader, Monel Felix, who accused villagers of "causing" his son's illness through voodoo.
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti issued a statement calling for steps to be taken to strengthen police work: “Neither the police nor the judicial authorities intervene at Wharf Jérémie. Abuses committed there by gang members generally go unpunished.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum recalled that Mexico will not accept interference, especially from the United States.
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While US President-elect Donald Trump has warned that he will designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations as soon as he takes office, he seems to have little understanding that the weapons used by criminal cells in Mexico come from the United States, which is why President Claudia Sheinbaum has recalled that she will not accept “interference” in what is done on Mexican territory.
“I said it in the letter I wrote to President Donald Trump, who will take office in January of next year: that is where drugs are consumed, mainly; that is where weapons come from, and that is where we put our lives. That is not true,” said President Sheinbaum at a rally in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, on Sunday afternoon.
In his speech, he stressed that Mexico intends to collaborate and work together, but does not allow other countries, such as the United States, to interfere in the nation's national security.
"We collaborate, we coordinate, we work together, but we will never subordinate ourselves. Mexico is a free, sovereign and independent country and we do not accept interference in our country," the president said.
He pointed out that Mexico is implementing the National Security Strategy, which focuses on addressing the causes, to prevent young people from joining criminal groups and also to strengthen zero impunity.
"The most important thing for us is to build peace throughout the country," he said.
This Sunday, the program “60 Minutes of Overtime,” broadcast by CBS News, made an extensive account of the weapons used by cartels in Mexico, which are trafficked from the United States and how difficult it is to buy an authorized and legal weapon in the country, unlike in the neighboring country to the north.
He recalled that it is estimated that between 200,000 and half a million American firearms are smuggled into Mexico every year, a fact for which the Mexican government has filed two lawsuits: one against the arms manufacturer Smith & Wesson and one of its wholesalers, and another involving five American gun stores.
“If they believe that fentanyl overdoses are a problem, if they believe that migration across the border is a problem, if they believe that the expansion of organized crime is a problem in the United States, then they should be concerned about stopping the flow of guns coming into Mexico. And it needs to be stopped at the source, because all of those problems are driven by the supply of U.S. guns to the cartels,” said U.S. attorney Jonathan Lowy in an interview with 60 Minutes.
Jonathan Lowy, American lawyer, in an interview with 60 Minutes.
The media also recalled that, while in Mexico there is only one gun store in the entire country, located at the military base in Mexico City, in the United States there are more than 75 thousand active dealers.
In addition, in Mexico, obtaining a weapon is not an easy task. 60 Minutos witnessed how obtaining a pistol or low-caliber rifle is an odyssey, since it requires a special permit, psychological tests, drug detection tests, and extensive background checks.
This only official gun store sells barely a thousand weapons a month, all of them registered.
It should be noted that the weapons that the drug cartels have are all high-caliber. But that has not prevented them from obtaining them, especially in the United States.
In March, 60 Minutes spoke with then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who said homicides and cartel violence had skyrocketed during his six-year term, and said the United States was partly to blame.
Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. 60 Minutes.
“We have confiscated, during the time I have been in government, 50,000 high-powered, high-caliber weapons,” he said. “Fifty thousand weapons. And 75 percent of them are from the United States,” López Obrador said in the interview.
Tim Sloan, an attaché for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Mexico from 2019 to 2022, told 60 Minutes that when a gun is recovered at a crime scene, the ATF is tasked with tracking it down. In 2019, an incident at a cartel ranch near Guadalajara shocked him.
“There were dead bodies everywhere… There were 55-gallon drums with body parts in them,” Sloan said. “And every gun in that house came from the United States. All of them.”
Tim Sloan, former attaché of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Mexico, in an interview with 60 Minutes.
Sloan explained that most guns in Mexico are sold directly to traffickers or to so-called “straw buyers,” someone who buys a firearm on behalf of another person. He explained that thousands of dollars are offered to someone to go into a store in the U.S. and buy the gun in their name, and for many it is easy, especially if they have addiction problems and no criminal record.
“If buyers have no criminal record, they can buy as many guns as they want in certain states. Then comes the easy part: “just drive across the border,” Sloan said.
San Mateo County emergency officials have pledged to quickly address gaps in tsunami warning and response procedures and to routinely conduct drills.
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Emergency officials from the the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors se comprometieron a abordar rápidamente las lagunas en los procedimientos de alerta y respuesta ante tsunamis y a realizar simulacros de forma rutinaria.
Definir claramente términos como “terreno elevado” y marcar rutas de evacuación son algunas de las tareas del Departamento de Gestión de Emergencias del Condado de San Mateo tras la advertencia de tsunami del 5 de diciembre emitida por el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.
Los funcionarios también se comprometieron a lanzar una campaña de educación pública sobre los riesgos de tsunami que incluya cómo crear un plan básico de seguridad familiar.
“Estas son las cosas en las que trabajaremos en los próximos meses”, dijo la doctora Shruti Dhapodkar, directora del Departamento de Gestión de Emergencias del condado, a unos 75 residentes en un foro en Half Moon Bay sobre la respuesta local al tsunami. “Todos los años tenemos que practicar”.
“Lo único que quiero dejarles saber desde el principio”, dijo el supervisor del condado de San Mateo, Ray Mueller al inaugurar la reunión, “es que el equipo que ven reunido aquí frente a ustedes ha estado trabajando incansablemente desde ese día… tratando de descubrir cómo podemos seguir adelante y prepararnos para ese próximo evento”.
Varios miembros de la audiencia dijeron que estaban confundidos y alarmados la mañana del 5 de diciembre cuando los teléfonos celulares sonaron en todo el norte de California con la alerta de tsunami del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. La alerta, provocada por un terremoto de magnitud 7.0 en la costa del condado de Humbolt, fue cancelada después de aproximadamente una hora.
Asimismo, los funcionarios brindaron una mirada detrás de escena a los momentos clave después del terremoto registrado a las 10:44 horas, incluida la decisión de no activar una serie de sirenas de tsunami desde Pacifica hasta Pescadero.
Minutos después del terremoto, el Centro Nacional de Alerta de Tsunamis de Alaska informó que olas potencialmente dañinas podrían golpear la costa del condado de San Mateo poco después del mediodía.
Ante ello, la policía y los bomberos alertaron rápidamente a la gente en las playas costeras y áreas bajas para que se trasladaran a terrenos más altos.
En el Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia del Condado en Redwood City, el equipo de Dhapodkar estudió mapas de movimientos sísmicos y monitoreó una serie de boyas en alta mar en busca de señales de tsunami. Se comunicaron con sus homólogos en otros condados costeros y con la Oficina de Servicios de Emergencia de California, señaló el Ayuntamiento en un comunicado.
“Sabíamos que, a medida que recibíamos más datos, las cosas iban mejorando cada vez más gracias al Servicio Meteorológico Nacional y al Centro de Tsunamis”, dijo Dhapodkar. “También estábamos hablando con los condados al norte de nosotros: Humboldt, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, Marin. Las sirenas de tsunami no sonaron porque no las activamos nosotros”. “Esa fue la decisión correcta”.
“Queríamos evitar que se activaran las sirenas de tsunami para prevenir atascos, pánico, accidentes de tráfico y otras posibles lesiones a las personas en la costa”, agregó.
Los funcionarios de emergencia dijeron que sus objetivos inmediatos son: mejorar la información y el acceso a las zonas de peligro mediante la actualización de la señalización de tsunami, definir claramente las zonas de peligro y crear un mapa digital para uso del público.
Asimismo, mejorar la concienciación y la educación sobre los tsunamis, y fortalecer la preparación y la respuesta al crear y ejecutar simulacros anuales de tsunami.
Según el Servicio Geológico de California, desde 1800, más de 150 tsunamis han azotado las costas del estado. Muchos de ellos apenas fueron perceptibles, pero unos pocos han causado víctimas mortales o daños importantes; el más reciente fue un tsunami de 2011 provocado por un devastador terremoto de magnitud 9.0 en la costa de Japón que causó daños por valor de 100 millones de dólares a los puertos y bahías de California.
Properties to indigenous peoples will be delivered by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who signed the decrees for compensation, restitution and land titling in favor of the Tarahumara communities. Photo: Courtesy of the Presidency of Mexico
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will hand over property to indigenous peoples in Chihuahua; she signed decrees for compensation, restitution and land titling in favor of Tarahumara communities.
“Today is a historic day, because we are returning land, territory, to whom it belongs,” Sheinbaum said.
As part of the Plan for Justice for the Peoples of Sierra Tarahumara, the head of the Executive signed the decrees by which compensation, restitution and titling of 1,485 hectares in favor of the indigenous community of Guasachique and titling of 693 hectares of land as property of the indigenous community of Bosques de San Elías Repechique were granted, she reported in a statement. comunicado.
“Today we are doing justice. Justice is the essence of the Fourth Transformation, social justice, above all. Let the indigenous peoples never be abandoned again,” said the president. Photo: Courtesy of the Presidency of Mexico
The Justice Plans seek to work together with community members and the Government of Mexico, promoting dialogue and citizen participation.
“Today we are doing justice. Justice is the essence of the Fourth Transformation, social justice, above all. Let us never again abandon indigenous peoples, let us not think that progress is above indigenous peoples, let us never again deprive indigenous peoples of their land, but on the contrary, let us compensate for what has historically been taken from them,” said the president.
In addition, roads and artisanal paths will continue to be built in the Sierra Tarahumara, as part of the Plans for Justice and Comprehensive Development of Indigenous Peoples and Communities.
“Let the value of the indigenous peoples be recognized as the essence, as the deep Mexico, above all, with dignity; because what the Rarámuri people teach us, what the indigenous peoples teach us is that the deep dignity of the people of Mexico is found here in the Sierra Tarahumara and in every place where there is an indigenous people who preserve, who resist and who remind us that Mexico is what it is thanks to its indigenous peoples, not only those of before, but also, and above all, those of now. And, for that reason, the fourth transformation means social justice and returns dignity to the indigenous peoples and to the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum pointed out.
In addition, resources will be provided to the program La Escuela es Nuestra (The School is Ours) to promote education in this sector, and there will also be funds for Health Centers and to meet the demands of the Rarámuri communities.
The general director of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), Adelfo Regino Montes, reported that a total of 4.72 billion pesos have been invested in actions related to Environmental Justice and Productive Projects; Health and Environmental Medicine; Indigenous Education; Culture, Language and Identity; Infrastructure and Basic Services, as well as the implementation of all the Programs for Well-Being.
“Let the value of the indigenous peoples be recognized as the essence, as the deep Mexico, above all, with dignity; because of what the Rarámuri people teach us,” Sheinbaum pointed out. Photo: Courtesy of the Presidency of Mexico
East Palo Alto City Council shakes up, two new council members were sworn in Tuesday, but procedural irregularities were present at the ceremony. (City of East Palo Alto via Bay City News)
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Two new council members were sworn into office at East Palo Alto City Hall on Tuesday, but procedural irregularities were evident at the ceremony.
The reorganization of City Council following the November general election was delayed with outgoing councillors voting on issues beyond their term end date and moving unrelated items off the consent calendar.
“The concern I had with the inauguration was that they did a full agenda with the expired council,” newly elected Councilman Mark Dinan said in an interview Wednesday. “They were sworn in on Dec. 8, 2020, and their terms expired in four years by law. They shouldn’t have voted on anything substantial yesterday. It should have been purely ministerial, which is passing the torch.”
In the November election, Carlos Romero, Dinan and Webster Lincoln prevailed over their opponents in a crowded race for City Council with three vacant seats. Romero regained his seat, while former Mayor Antonio Lopez and Councilwoman Lisa Gauthier left office.
It is unclear whether outgoing councillors can continue to vote on resolutions despite more than four years having passed since they took office.
East Palo Alto’s municipal code mirrors state law, which states that the terms of elected city officials “shall be in accordance with state law for a period of four years beginning on the Tuesday following their election and until their successors are elected and qualified.”
Newly elected City Councilman Mark Dinan is sworn in at East Palo Alto City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in East Palo Alto, Calif. (City of East Palo Alto via Bay City News)
City Manager Melvin Gaines wrote in a statement that until the old council certifies the election results and the new council members are sworn in, the old council “continues to have the right, under state law, to meet and transact business.”
Among those matters, the former council decided to adopt a final plan for the future Ravenswood Business District, or RBD.
“They voted on some very, very big issues and that included the RBD that was part of the consent package,” Dinan said. “They didn’t discuss it, but it was voted on and approved. This is a billion-dollar development plan for East Palo Alto. It’s a very big deal.”
Dinan believes his and Lincoln's oaths were delayed until the end of the meeting because the previous council did not want either of them to influence the approval of the RBD's final plan.
“They didn’t want to do the oath at first for us, because then Webster and I would have voted on the RBD,” Dinan said. “When you do that, you’re doing it with two council members whose terms have already expired.”
But Gaines said the former council voted on the RBD plan Tuesday because it was originally supposed to be addressed at an earlier meeting that ended up being canceled.
“The agenda items from the 12/17/24 meeting that the outgoing councilmembers voted on were on the consent calendar,” Gaines wrote in her statement. “Many of these items were holdovers from a previous meeting that had been cancelled due to unexpected absences.”
Lincoln and Dinan sat patiently in the audience, anxiously waiting to be sworn in and recognized for their victory.
However, hours passed as council members heard public comments on unrelated matters and issued a proclamation to the city's Little League team for winning its district's Fall Baseball championship.
“I would question a city reorganization meeting where they spent more time honoring a worthy Little League team than actually reorganizing,” Dinan said. “It’s great what they’ve accomplished, but yesterday was not the time or place to do it, any more than it would be the place to make a proclamation before a wedding.”
Newly elected City Councilman Webster Lincoln is sworn in at East Palo Alto City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in East Palo Alto, Calif. (City of East Palo Alto via Bay City News)
The meeting was unusual compared to previous East Palo Alto City Council reorganization ceremonies. In the past, swearing-in rituals after elections have always focused solely on recognizing outgoing members, ushering in new candidates and naming a new mayor and vice mayor.
Dinan and Lincoln were finally sworn in after Lopez and Gauthier were honored. They cast their first official votes as new councilors in the election for mayor and vice mayor.
The new council unanimously promoted Councilwoman Martha Barragán as mayor. Barragán has served two years on the council.
They were split on who should be vice mayor. Romero was in favor of appointing Councilman Ruben Abrica. However, the two newly sworn-in councilmen and Barragan chose Dinan to take on the role in a 3-2 vote.
During the vote for vice mayor, Romero said he thought seniority should come first in the decision. Abrica is a three-time mayor and was one of East Palo Alto's first council members when the area was incorporated in 1983.
“I think it should be someone with a little more experience than Mr. Dinan,” Romero said. “I will have to vote ‘no.’”
Although Barragán voted in favor of Dinan being deputy mayor, he reiterated that Dinan and Lincoln should initially give up their position to councilors with more experience behind them.
“I think we will also rely on the most experienced members of our staff, our board, and also taking into account what the voters want from us,” Barragán said.
Even though Dinan's time at City Hall started on a sour note, he is excited to get to work as the new deputy mayor.
“I am deeply honored to join the City Council and doubly honored to be selected to serve as Deputy Mayor under my friend, Mayor Martha Barragán,” Dinan said. “I look forward to working with everyone at City Hall to address community concerns – housing, parking, economic development, parks and all the issues raised in the campaign.”
Ravneel Chaudhary, who ran unsuccessfully for a council seat, closed the meeting by calling on members to put their potential differences behind them in order to get things done and move East Palo Alto forward.
“I recognize that members of this council do not always align politically and that each of you brings different visions for the future of East Palo Alto, and that is perfectly fine,” Chaudhary said during public comment after the reorganization ceremony had been completed.
“I am hopeful that this new council will build on the accomplishments of its predecessors, putting aside personal egos to collaborate and address the critical issues facing our city,” he said.
No Palestinian organisation mourned the fall / Assad and Israel, “two sides of the same coin”: Palestinian activists.
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By flying to Moscow after the defeat of his army, Bashar al-Assad admitted the end of the dynasty founded by his father, Hafez, with a coup d'état in 1970: between the two, they ruled for 54 years, of which the last 13 were civil war, which ended in their defeat.
There is certainly great uncertainty about what the country's new leaders will do, whether their statements that their priorities are to overcome war and divisions, and to form a consensus government incorporating different factions and communities, are honest and can be materialized.
There is a dispute of narratives, in any case. From the point of view of Washington and its allies, a dictator has fallen; Syria has been removed as a key link in Iran's strategic scheme, fragmenting it; and Russia has lost a key ally in the Middle East, which also allowed it to maintain its only naval base in the Mediterranean.
On the other side, however, there is no agreement on the interpretation of this historic event. Some celebrate it as the liberation of the Syrian people, who suffered a dictatorship for more than half a century that bloodily oppressed not only Syrians, but also Palestinians and Lebanese.
Others denounce it as the opposite: a military coup promoted by the United States and Israel through Al Qaeda to break the axis of resistance, isolate the Palestinian cause, which al-Assad defended, and subjugate the Lebanese, whom Syria protected, with the support of Russia and Iran.
How much of this is true?
The Assad regime and the Palestinian cause
Not a single major Palestinian organisation regretted the fall of al-Assad. On the contrary, they expressed their support for the decisions of the Syrian people.
The Palestinian Authority said it stands by the Syrian people, “respecting their will and political choices, in order to ensure their security and stability and preserve their achievements.”
The Hamas Islamic Resistance Movement congratulated the Syrian people for achieving their “aspirations for freedom and justice.” “We firmly support the great people of Syria… and respect the will, independence and political choices of the Syrian people.” It added that it hopes Syria will continue “its historic and fundamental role in supporting the Palestinian people.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said the recent developments are a Syrian issue that relates to the “elections of the brotherly Syrian people.”
The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces in Damascus said they “sincerely hope for the right of the Syrian people to determine their future and build a unified and fully sovereign Syria within a framework of freedom, justice, democracy and equal citizenship without discrimination.”
And the people?
The New Arab portal He titled this note like this: “Even as they face genocide, Palestinians celebrate Syria’s liberation from Assad.” It opens with this paragraph: “Amid congratulations and tears, Palestinians were predominantly joyful over Syria’s liberation from Bashar al-Assad’s regime after more than five decades of dictatorial rule against the Syrian people. Many Palestinians described to The New Arab that the events in Syria were “a true victory over injustice, tyranny and corruption.”
What is the reason for the distancing, and even the celebration, regarding the tragic end of a regime that supposedly supported the Palestinian cause?
That was all a lie, the opposite of what the al-Assads had done for half a century.
Dima Khatib is a Syrian-born Palestinian, the daughter of refugees. She is the director of AJ+, a channel of the Al Jazeera network. On December 5, she gave a lecture at the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico on Israel’s extermination of Palestinian journalists. That evening, I had dinner with her and Al Jazeera correspondent John Holman. On the 7th, as Dima was flying back to Qatar, Bashar al-Assad was “evacuated” to Russia.
On the 12th, the journalist published this video about what she calls her “double exile”: she was prevented from going both to her homeland, Palestine, by the Israelis; and to the land of her birth, Syria, by the al-Assad regime. In it, she recalls the repressive environment she experienced as a child, which made her fear that her thoughts would be discovered; she denounces that the Syrian government murdered thousands of Palestinians to stifle resistance against Israel, and that during the revolution, it killed and imprisoned many more; and she points out that al-Assad “never confronted Israel despite having lost the Golan Heights” (Syrian territory that Israel invaded and annexed) and allowed “Israel to bomb Syria in recent years without doing anything about it.”
On the latter, it should be noted that the Israeli Air Force has been able to attack targets in Syria for years without receiving a response, even though Syria had the means to shoot down its aircraft since 2016, when Russia deployed its most modern anti-aircraft defense platforms, the S-400 and S-300, in the country (it withdrew them in recent days).
Dima goes on to say that “some passionate supporters of the Palestinian cause are reluctant to share the joy of Syrians liberated from Assad’s brutality, because they imagine it is some kind of setback for Palestine on a geopolitical chessboard. But that way of looking at it dehumanizes Syrians in the same way that we point out that media coverage dehumanizes Palestinians.”
Dima concludes: “The same values that make you support the Palestinians should also apply to the Syrians. They are human beings who deserve to breathe after enduring so much suffering at the hands of one of the most brutal regimes ever known.”
(At the end of this text, I will put the complete transcript of your video).
On December 7, I was able to witness the moment when Syrian poet Nouri al-Jarrah – who was a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization – received the unexpected news of al-Assad’s fall by telephone. We were with Iraqi writer Samuel Shimon and Palestinian academic Shadi Rohana, who did me the favor of translating Nouri’s brief interview with him, to record his first impressions of what had happened (You can find it here).
In the following days, I continued talking to him, letting emotions and ideas settle. In the following days, I will publish a chronicle about his life and his notions of exile and return. But I will give a preview of some of what is related to this topic.
Al-Jarrah was forced to go into hiding in Syria when, together with other comrades from the Syrian Communist Party, he denounced that the Syrian army and the Christian Phalangist militias of Lebanon, allied with Israel, had attacked the Palestinian refugee camp of Tal es-Zaatar in Beirut in 1976 (see description at the end of the text), killing some 2,000 people and wounding 4,000 more. Nouri then escaped to Lebanon, where he found that the Syrian government, through the Shiite militia Amal, continued to harass the Palestinians.
In 1974, with the mediation of the United States, Israel and Syria signed a “deconfliction” agreement, which only the latter has respected, while Israel has systematically violated it, first of all with the annexation of the Syrian territory of the Golan in 1981, and also with its air strikes that have become almost daily in the last decade.
Nouri al-Jarrah. Screenshot from Témoris Grecko's video
“The price of the regime’s permanence was to remain silent in the face of the occupation of the Golan,” says Nouri, and to suppress Palestinian resistance against Israel in both Syria and Lebanon.
“For us, as Syrians, the Palestinian cause is a fundamental part of our construction as human beings, existentially, culturally. Personally, I have lived the Palestinian experience and I consider myself a Palestinian,” the poet claims. “But for the last 13 years, the Israeli neighbor protected the Syrian regime from the revolution. Israel never attacked the weapons arsenals (of the army) because it knew that these weapons were being used against the Syrian people, they destroyed cities in their entirety. And now, once the regime fell, we see the State of Israel bombing the weapons factories, the military bases, the ships, everything that has to do with the weapons that Syria has had, because this dictatorial regime has behaved for many years like a wall defending the State of Israel from the opposition or from others. Why did Israel not attack Syria and those specific places before the fall of Israel? Because before these weapons were not going to be used against Israel and now it is not known.”
In media outlets more committed to the Palestinian cause - but not connected to Russia or Iran - such as the Middle East Monitor, there are articles explaining that the Assads actually protected Israel.
Like this one, from Gaza journalist Motassem A Dalloul“As a Palestinian, I consider Assad not only a guardian of Israel, but its defender. The Assad family, which belongs to the Alawite minority, exploited the perceived hostility towards the Israeli occupation to reinforce its authoritarian regime, which was based on the oppression of Syrians, suppressing their freedoms and deterring any real attempt to fight the Israeli occupation.”
Under the 1974 agreement, “the first of its kind between Israel and Arab regimes,” he continues, “the Assad regime turned Syria into a buffer zone between Israel and Arab and Muslim nations, using its relationship with Iran as a pretext to suppress any attempts at resistance against Israel.”
As early as November 2023, when the genocide was just beginning, Palestinian activists denounced al-Assad's criticism of Israel as “hypocritical” because their actions were the same, and said that the Syrian and Israeli regimes were “two sides of the same coin”.
Al Qaeda won with HTS and the Democrats won with Trump
The head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, Levant Liberation Organisation), the leading militia of the groups that defeated the regime, has abandoned his nom de guerre, Abu Mohamed al-Julani, in favour of Ahmed Hussein al-Shara. This is one of several signals he has been sending out to convince people that the Islamist fighter is transforming into a statesman, ready to govern in an inclusive way for the entire Syrian population, regardless of their ethnic or religious origin. How much of this is true? Will he contain the Salafist fundamentalism that he once championed? Will he give in to the intentions of his great ally, Turkey, to destroy Kurdish autonomy in the north-east of the country? Or will he understand that the way to pacify Syria is to generate agreements through consensus and tolerance? We will find out sooner or later.
The Russians and Iranians will not wait to find out, however. Old statements by US officials serve to describe al-Qaeda as a tool of Washington; and al-Julani's former membership in al-Qaeda and his relationship with the assassinated Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, founder of the Islamic State (the organisation that some still call ISIS although it abandoned that name nine years ago) are sufficient grounds for them to claim that it is al-Qaeda that has seized power, by design of the United States and Israel.
Al Julani speaks at the Grand Mosque in Damascus, on December 8. Photo by Aref Tammawi
Throughout the 21st century, Al Qaeda has served as an ogre to scare the unwary. Although, as a fundamentalist Sunni, it was an enemy of Saddam Hussein's secular Sunni regime in Iraq, Washington accused it of being its ally. It also did the same with Iran, although here the animosity is much greater, because for 16 centuries, Sunnis have considered Shiites, like the Ayatollahs of Tehran, to be heretics, traitors to the true religion. Israel has also maintained that Al Qaeda and the Islamic State control Palestinian organizations.
Russia also denounces Al Qaeda's involvement with all its Muslim enemies, both in Chechnya and Dagestan and in Syria.
In this case, his narrative goes so far as to present al-Julani and his HTS as representatives of both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Although the latter, who was part of Al Qaeda, became the biggest butcher of his former coreligionists when he split from it. He hunted down and hunted down thousands of Al Qaeda members and sympathizers in Syria, Iraq and other countries. You either belong to one or the other, it is impossible to belong to both.
Al Julani broke with Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State who declared himself caliph, in April 2013. Eleven years ago, almost twelve. He became his mortal enemy by maintaining his loyalty to Al Qaeda. Although that did not last long either: he left in 2016, eight years ago. Since then, his organization has changed its name and alliances several times until it took on its current name, HTS, and became linked to Turkey, which, according to the Turks, he kept informed of its movements.
None of this pleased either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. In January 2017, the merger of several militias to form HTS was preceded by attacks by the former, and for the next three years, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham waged a military campaign against both enemies in the Syrian province of Idlib, which it managed to bring under its control, establishing a local government. In 2022, HTS ideologue Abu Maria al-Qahtani issued a statement demanding the dissolution of Al Qaeda.
Screenshot of Al Julani, now Al Shara, in an interview with Frontline.
Even though he now claims respectability, dresses in civilian clothes and has reverted to his old name al-Shara, the HTS leader is responsible for serious human rights violations committed by his fighters, in addition to the background of the extremist ideology he espoused. All of this is worrying.
But attributing allegiance to Al Qaeda - and, moreover, to the Islamic State - is as credible as claiming that Donald Trump is actually an instrument of the Democratic Party, since he was a member of it until 2001.
Syrians and Phalangists in the Tal al-Zaatar massacre
On August 12, 1976, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut was stormed by Christian militias and Syrian troops after a 52-day siege. The death toll ranges from 1,500 to 2,000, many of them civilians; some 4,000 were wounded and thousands more displaced. The camp, known as Tal al-Zaatar (Thyme Hill), was one of the last strongholds of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the Christian-dominated area of East Beirut.
The siege began in January 1976, when Christian militias, led by the Phalangists of the Lebanese Front (LF) and allied with Israel, launched a campaign to expel Palestinians from northern Beirut, where they wanted to impose their hegemony. The Palestinians, for their part, saw Lebanon as a base for their fight against Israel and supported the Muslim and leftist forces of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM). The camp was fortified by the PLO and housed some 20,000 refugees.
The FL did not have enough strength to take the camp. The balance changed in June 1976, when the Syrian army intervened on the side of the besiegers and launched a brutal assault. The Syrians bombarded the camp with artillery and tanks, while Christian militias surrounded it and cut off water and electricity. The defenders resisted using homemade weapons and tunnels. The camp was subjected to constant bombing, sniping and starvation. Many refugees died from wounds, disease or malnutrition. Some committed suicide or were executed by their captors. Others managed to escape or surrender, but faced further violence or humiliation.
The fall of Tal al-Zaatar on August 12 marked a turning point in the Lebanese civil war. It completed the partition of Lebanon between the Muslims of the south and the Christians of the north. It also weakened the PLO's presence and influence in Lebanon and paved the way for the Israeli invasion in 1982. The massacre remained etched in Palestinian national consciousness and identity, as a symbol of their suffering and resistance, as well as a source of inspiration and solidarity.
The history of Tal al-Zaatar has been immortalized in several artistic works. The camp was dubbed “the capital of the poor” by Iraqi poet Muzaffar al-Nawab, who wrote a famous poem about it. The camp has also been depicted in films, novels, paintings and songs by Palestinian and Arab artists. The memory of Tal al-Zaatar is still alive among survivors and their descendants, who commemorate its anniversary every year.
Tal al-Za'atar. “The Dignity of Mourning” by Ismail Shammut
The al-Assad regime in Syria: Was it pro-Palestinian? Was it brought down by al-Qaeda?
As a Palestinian, I have been attacked for celebrating the end of the Assad regime.
The problem is that I am Syrian and Palestinian,
I am actually half Palestinian and of course I would celebrate it.
This is one of the most important moments of my life.
My mother is from Damascus, my father is a Palestinian refugee dispossessed in 1948.
He lived and died in exile.
I was born and raised in Damascus.
I was never allowed to enter Palestine even for a visit.
And since the Syrian revolution in 2011, I have also been banned from entering Syria.
Double exile.
When I was 10 or 11 years old, the school bus used to stop at Abbasid Square,
in the center of Damascus, so that we could all see two or three men hanging from a rope,
Their bodies wrapped in a white cloth,
and also with their faces covered.
They would have executed them at dawn and left them for us to see around 6:30 am.
The bus driver would say:
“Do you see children?
This is what happens if you don't do what you're told."
We all sat still on the bus,
trembling inside and out,
without saying a word when they told us to be quiet.
We all had to do
what we were told.
Everywhere, all the time.
Our parents too, our neighbors,
our relatives,
everyone.
I remember my heart always beating with fear and I was afraid that someone might hear it and make fun of me for it.
As a child, I was afraid to think because I worried that someone would find out my thoughts and my family would be punished for having them.
But wasn't the Assad regime anti-Israel and pro-Palestine?
If you ask me, I would say yes and no.
As a Palestinian, I received free education and healthcare. I would say that Syria was the best of the three countries that received many Palestinian refugees.
Egypt was the worst, Lebanon was in the middle, and Syria was the best.
But we had to be loyal to Assad's Ba'ath party, like all Syrians.
However, the regime never confronted Israel.
despite having lost the Golan Heights
and having allowed Israel to bomb Syria,
from time to time,
sometimes daily, in recent years,
without doing anything about it.
In fact, the regime's security forces have been responsible for the deaths of many thousands of Palestinians over the years,
through direct attacks in both Lebanon and Syria,
in an attempt to suppress independent Palestinian resistance to Israel.
Many hundreds more Palestinians have been killed in the course of the regime's suppression of the Syrian uprising.
There are many Palestinians among those detained in Syrian prisons,
Not because they have committed a crime or done something illegal,
They are all prisoners of conscience,
arbitrarily held for years or even decades in dungeons.
What is the difference between them?
and the Palestinians held by Israel under administrative detention?
Palestinians in Damascus' Yarmouk refugee camp suffered from hunger during the revolution. Some were thrown into holes in the ground and executed en masse in the infamous Tadamon massacre in 2013.
What is the difference between them?
and the Palestinians of Gaza today?
When I see families reunited and detainees released,
I know how they feel.
I see that some of you can't believe it, you are very surprised to be released.
It's a miracle!
I know the fear they must have had inside.
My father left Syria after life had become unbearable in the late 1980s,
under the rule of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father.
He was head of the Arabic Language Department at the Faculty of Humanities at Damascus University.
One of the teachers dared to deny entry to a student
for arriving more than 10 minutes late to the auditorium.
There were 400 students present.
The student turned out to be the son of a military intelligence officer. He returned with two bodyguards and the teacher was subjected to physical and verbal abuse in front of the entire class.
He arrived at my father's office bleeding, with his glasses broken,
with torn clothes.
My father said:
If I can't protect the professors in my department,
then there is nothing we can teach the students.
My heart is beating hard again.
He left Syria for Yemen.
Double exile.
Now some passionate supporters of the Palestinian cause
They are reluctant to share the joy of Syrians liberated from Assad's brutality,
because they imagine that it is some kind of setback for Palestine on a geopolitical chessboard.
But that way of looking at it dehumanizes Syrians.
just as we point out that media coverage dehumanizes Palestinians.
Syrians are not just a factor in a game of geopolitical chess.
Syria is not just a piece of land that happens to be strategically located on the map.
The same values that make you support the Palestinians
should also apply to Syrians.
They are human beings who deserve to breathe after enduring so much suffering at the hands of one of the most brutal regimes ever known.
His overthrow does not mean that tomorrow will be perfect in Syria.
It does not mean that this change is good for Palestine.
It may not be in the short term.
You can still share the joy
without applauding Syria's new leaders.
Syrians have paid with 13 years of blood and tears
Aerial view of the community of the Lev Tahor Jewish sect in El Amatillo, Guatemala. Photo: From the account of X @FJimenezmingob
Listen to this note:
The Public Ministry and the National Civil Police of Guatemala rescued 160 minors, alleged victims of abuse in a community of the Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor located in the village of El Amatillo, Santa Rosa.
During the operation carried out on Thursday, the Prosecutor's Office against Human Trafficking reported the discovery of the skeleton of a minor; in addition, 40 women from the community were also placed under protection.
The prosecutor's office reported that on November 11, it received a complaint in which a member of the sect was specifically named, accused of crimes of human trafficking in the form of forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape of minors.
The Public Prosecutor's Office detailed on its account on the social network X that during the raids they also found foreign and national passports, a digital video recorder, computers and other evidence.
The MP also clarified that these are not actions against a religious community: “It is essential to understand that this operation is being carried out in response to a series of complaints and is directed against individuals accused of committing serious crimes of human trafficking.”
H5N1 Avian Influenza Emergency: Avian influenza has spread across 16 states within the dairy cattle industry, so the emergency proclamation provides state and local agencies with the ability to prepare for a timely response in terms of staffing, hiring and other measures.
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The Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency after cases of avian influenza (H5N1) were detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California. This is a measure to expedite and expand coordinated monitoring, which seeks to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus.
The avian influenza virus (H5N1), better known as “bird flu,” has spread across 16 states within the dairy cattle industry, so the emergency proclamation gives state and local agencies the opportunity to prepare for staffing, hiring and other measures to respond in a timely manner.
“This proclamation is an action aimed at ensuring that government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to quickly respond to this outbreak,” Newsom said in a statement.
The official said the state is committed to further protecting public health, supporting the agricultural industry and ensuring Californians have access to accurate and up-to-date information.
He added that while the risk to the public remains low, they will continue to take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of this virus.
The release said California has implemented a comprehensive, interagency response to avian influenza on dairy and poultry farms to minimize farmworker exposure, reduce contamination of raw dairy products and mitigate the spread of the virus.
He also stressed that coordinated efforts are being made at the local, state and federal levels to remain alert, educating the public, health professionals, employers and workers on prevention and control measures to reduce the risk of exposure to avian influenza.
Another measure being taken, officials said, is access to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seasonal flu vaccine to reduce concurrent flu risks.
Also noted are coordinated public awareness efforts between the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), and other state agencies that maintain timely public updates, as well as multilingual outreach to dairy and poultry workers, targeted social media efforts to promote preventative practices, print and online resources for the public, and media interviews to keep Californians informed.
The first detected case of infection by the H5N1 avian influenza virus in a human being was in a child in California. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed it and reported that the child had mild symptoms and received antiviral medications against influenza while being monitored.
The child's family members were found to have symptoms and were tested negative for the avian influenza virus, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said.
According to the CDC risk assessment, the likelihood of human-to-human transmission is low, however, people with exposure to infected or possibly infected animals, such as poultry, dairy cows, or other animals such as livestock, are at higher risk.
Therefore, they recommend avoiding unprotected exposure to sick or dead animals, including wild and poultry birds, as well as other domesticated birds and wild or domesticated animals..
The city of Half Moon Bay presented the 2024 State of the City Address, led by now former mayor Joaquín Jiménez, who stood out for the closeness of his administration to the farmers in the area.
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After the city of Half Moon Bay held its City Hall reorganization ceremony, which marked a night of transition and celebration, presented the 2024 State of the City, led by now former Mayor Joaquín Jiménez.
Highlights included, in addition to the presentation of the 2024 State of the City address, heartfelt farewells to outgoing Councilmembers Joaquín Jiménez and Harvey Rarback, and a warm welcome to newly elected Councilmembers Patrick Jonsson and Paul Nagengast.
At the meeting, the City Council also reorganized and selected Robert Brownstone as mayor and Debbie Ruddock as deputy mayor for 2025.
In the video, Jimenez recalls how vibrant, strong and resilient the city of Half Moon Bay is, remembering the community's heritage and traditions.
The former mayor also recalled the seven lives tragically cut short on city farms in January 2023, prompting the city to take decisive action to seek aid for the affected community.
In this regard, she noted that what happened highlighted the inequalities that the city faces, as well as the demands for attention and action for equity, where this is not only an objective, but a commitment for each resident of Half Moon Bay.
On the other hand, Joaquín Jiménez assured that affordable housing remains a challenge and a priority, and acknowledged the steps taken for tenants to face, among other things, unfair evictions.
“As we look to the future, we will continue to honor the legacy of our agricultural heritage while striving for a more equitable and robust economic environment.”
“Together with the support of our partners, community organizations and each of your elected officials, we will build a city that reflects our values of compassion, inclusion and resilience,” he stressed.
“It has been an honor to be your mayor and council member for the past 4 years. There is still work to be done and I will continue to support this community with all my heart,” he concluded.
