“When You Make Enemies Everywhere, You Can’t Sell Anything”. “The No-Win War”. China vs. America

In a recent article before Trump’s tariff announcement, I mentioned the growing movement to boycott Made in USA because of its continuing to abet Genocide in Gaza. That has now spread even farther in defiance of the tariffs. But I would also have to add the stupendous level of arrogance emanating from Trump and his team. Trump is now the quintessential Ugly American. 

As demonstrated by the several Global Times editorials I provided, there are many things to learn about the Trade War from other perspectives than what we’re provided with by Big Lie Media. After reading several of Guancha’s offerings, I chose the one associated with the above headline, which was also Guancha’s lead article for the reason that it explained the most in a non-convoluted manner. Its author is Zhang Xuanyu and is entitled “Overseas risks have intensified, and the US media is worried that the export of US services will become the target of tariff countermeasures”:

After taking office, U.S. President Trump wielded the “tariff stick” in an attempt to eliminate the U.S. trade deficit in goods in one fell swoop but deliberately ignored trade in services.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on the 10th, although the United States buys more goods from abroad than sells goods, in the field of trade in services, the U.S. trade surplus was close to a record high last year. U.S. services exports, which Trump didn’t take into account when calculating tariffs, are being drawn into the trade war he provoked.

On the 9th, Trump announced that he would suspend the so-called “reciprocal tariffs” and impose only the same 10% “base tariff” for the next 90 days. However, the tariffs imposed on China have been increased to 125%.

Despite Trump’s changes, the impact of tariffs has made countries nervous and markets have been volatile, the report said.

According to the report, although countries cannot easily impose tariffs on the service industry, they can impose taxes, fines and even ban sales on American companies. In response to Trump’s threat of sweeping tariffs, the EU has begun targeting big US tech companies. Trump has also angered foreign consumers, putting U.S. services exports at risk. Many foreign consumers may choose to avoid U.S. banks, asset managers, and other companies. As markets grapple with Trump’s extreme trade reforms, the slowdown won’t help dampening demand.

For decades, countries exported cars, phones, clothes, and food to the United States, to which the United States provided bonds, software, and management consultants.

Data shows that in 2024, the United States will import $3.3 trillion in goods, export $2.1 trillion, and have a cumulative merchandise trade deficit of $1.21 trillion for the year. 2024 will be the year with the largest trade deficit in the nearly 250-year history of the United States.

At the same time, the United States trade surplus in services increased from $77 billion in 2000 to $295 billion last year. This is in stark contrast to the mid-20th century, when the United States was a manufacturing powerhouse with a surplus in exports of goods but a deficit in trade in services.

With the development of the United States, the service industry has gradually become the dominant force in the American economy. Software and financial products became major U.S. exports. For some of the largest service companies, foreign markets are now more important than the U.S. market.

Brad Setser, an economist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said corporate tax avoidance tactics had also boosted exports of services. Many U.S. companies register in other countries with lower taxes and then pay fees to their U.S. parent company. These fees are counted as intellectual property or asset management fees and are classified as services exports. This is why the United States has a large trade surplus in services with Ireland, Switzerland, and the Cayman Islands.

In some cases, while the U.S. imports far more goods from these places than it exports, it sells more services. Taking the EU as an example, if the trade in goods and services is comprehensively counted, the trade volume between the United States and the EU is basically balanced.

The head of China’s Ministry of Commerce said in response to reporters’ questions on the white paper “China’s Position on Several Issues Concerning Sino-US Economic and Trade Relations” on the 9th that the United States is the source of China’s largest deficit in trade in services, and the scale of the deficit is generally expanding, reaching US$26.57 billion in 2023, accounting for about 9.5% of the total U.S. trade surplus in services. Taking into account the three factors of trade in goods, trade in services, and the local sales of domestic enterprises in each other’s countries, the benefits of economic and trade exchanges between China and the United States are roughly balanced.

Now, EU politicians have hinted that they may retaliate against the United States by imposing tariffs on American tech companies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month that Europe has many cards in its hands, from trade to technology to market size, “a force that is built on the fact that we are prepared to take resolute countermeasures.” All means are on the table“. The European Union suspended the countermeasures against the US tariffs, which were scheduled for April 15, for 90 days. But von der Leyen said the EU wanted to give the negotiations a chance. If the negotiations are not satisfactory, countermeasures will be taken. “Preparations for further countermeasures continue.”

Countries and their consumers can slam the U.S. service sector in a variety of ways, the report said. Foreign tourists who book U.S. hotel rooms and flights are seen as an outlet for the U.S., but Mr. Trump’s actions have stoked growing anti-American sentiment and deterred potential tourists. Another blow is that China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a risk reminder for Chinese tourists to the United States on the 9th, reminding Chinese tourists to fully assess the risks of traveling to the United States and be cautious.

Recently, citizens of Canada, Germany, and France have been detained at airports for “unknown reasons” for several weeks. The U.S. is frequently featured in security advisories, which are issued by so-called U.S. allies such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Denmark.

In addition, foreign consumers have begun to boycott American brands, and David Weinstein, a professor of economics at Columbia University, said that trade tensions with China during Mr. Trump’s first term ultimately hurt American service companies doing business in China, “when you make enemies everywhere, you can’t sell anything.“

On Facebook, a Swedish group that boycotts American goods has more than 80,000 members, where users discuss how to buy non-American laptops, dog food and toothpaste. In a similar French group, members praised European laundry detergents and smartphone apps and debated whether cognac and scotch were better alternatives to bourbon.

Such protests have even prompted some businesses to make changes. Supermarket chains in Denmark and Canada have started to use special symbols to mark local products, making it easier for customers to identify local products when shopping. With the rise of the “Buy Canada” movement, a growing number of U.S. companies say Canadian retailers refuse to sell their products, and some have even canceled their orders. Swiss chocolatier Lindt said this month that it would start selling chocolate made in Europe rather than the United States in Canada to avoid tariffs and fend off the risk of a consumer backlash.

The boycott has also spread to the digital world. European consumers say they have canceled their subscriptions to US streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. [My Emphasis]

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So, given the fact that corporate tax avoiders “fees” are counted as service exports, the genuine total of service exports is much lower than stated, although just how much is unknown and also constitutes another false addition to GDP. That overall trade between the Outlaw US Empire and China is “roughly balanced” contradicts Team Trump propaganda. As the last paragraph informs, a very easy target for global consumers are the very popular streaming services. The abrupt halt and 90-day moratorium announced yesterday was clearly caused by Trump’s Deep State controllers telling him what to do as they were getting harmed with more harm clearly on the way. So, the dead cat bounced, and the markets returned to red ink, while the shorting of gold also clearly failed.

China’s government has issued a White Paper on the issue, “China’s Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations,” which is in English and is very comprehensive. Friday’s Global Times edition has an editorial, “China’s ‘fight to the end’ is backed by strong confidence,” and details why that’s so. Here are some excerpts:

China has the ability and confidence to address various risks and challenges. Facing the unreasonable “reciprocal tariffs” imposed by the US, China has, on one hand, resolutely taken necessary countermeasures in accordance with World Trade Organization rules, firmly defending its legitimate rights and interests while safeguarding the multilateral trade system and international economic order. On the other hand, China issued a white paper entitled “China’s Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations,” once again clarifying to the US and the world that China-US economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, and that the two countries should find proper solutions to resolve the issues through dialogue and consultation….

In recent days, both the European Union and ASEAN have expressed their willingness to work with China to jointly support multilateralism and the healthy, stable development of global trade.The New York Times noted that the US’ “barrage” of trade levies and unpredictability about what it might do next, in fact, have made China “a more appealing option” for companies scared to make a hasty decision amid upheaval in global trade. Many have decided to stay in China, which is completely contrary to the US’ original intention of exerting maximum pressuring on China and calling for “investing in the US.” Deutsche Welle, citing experts, stated that in the trade war, China is likely to be the more resilient side….

This confidence and resolve stem from a strong belief in China’s path and a firm commitment to safeguarding the multilateral trading system.China is resolutely protecting a rules-based multilateral trade system, promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and expanding the “pie” of shared development. The growing consumption potential released by China is increasingly transforming “Chinese demand” into “global opportunities.” By honoring its commitment to high-level opening-up, China continues to create a world-class business environment based on market principles, the rule of law, and international standards, making it a strong magnet for foreign investment.“Optimism for China,” “upward revision to China’s growth forecasts,” and “more investment in China” have become buzzwords in the international business community. [My Emphasis]

Of course, Trump in his mania doesn’t want Win-Win outcomes; he wants Win-Lose/Zero-sum where the winner is always the Empire. In its concluding paragraph, it includes the sad lamentation by what was once The Outlaw US Empire’s biggest promoter:

Thomas Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times, recently lamented that the trade war has put the US into “a no-win war.” In the face of US bullying tactics, which use tariffs as a maximum pressure weapon, China has demonstrated not only its ability to respond to crises but also its belief in seizing the trend of the times. [My Emphasis]

The declining Outlaw US Empire has a person on its throne that might soon be called America’s Nero or perhaps the American Croesus with the latter being more apt. As many have already noted, the 90-day moratorium will merely increase overall business uncertainty and do nothing to mitigate risk; so, we can expect the markets to fall further, gold to rise higher, and the flight from US Treasuries to continue. Meanwhile as another writer said, businesses will find ever more novel ways to circumvent the imposed tariffs with Apple already leading the way. Next up are the indirect negotiations between the Empire and Iran in Oman this Saturday where Trump again has fewer cards in his hand than he thinks.

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Karl Sanchez is a retired academic and culinary alchemist.

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The Geopolitics of Elite Insanity. “Transforming the Entire World into A Planetary Technocracy.” Robert J. Burrowes

Part III: The dangerous delusion that governments, including BRICS governments, are sovereign and can stop the technocratic takeover

[First published on 28 January 2025] 

As the geopolitical order is being rapidly reshaped to better serve Elite interests, most analysts writing on the subject are being suckered into perceiving the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa recently expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) as some sort of ‘alternative’.

See, for example:

Ben Norton’s claim that ‘BRICS… will change the world’ in ‘BRICS expands with 9 new partner countries. Now it’s half of world population, 41% of global economy’.

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs’ claim that ‘BRICS is… a potential opening for a far more peaceful and secure world order…. [and] can be a boon for all countries’ in ‘The BRICS Summit Should Mark the End of Neocon Delusions’.

The claim of Alfred de Zayas, the first UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, that ‘BRICS represents a “new dawn” of multipolarity’ and ‘the very existence of BRICS and the future-oriented Kazan Summit offer an alternative to Western nihilism.’ in ‘The BRICS Summit in Kazan: A Manifesto for a Rational World Order’.

And Abayomi Azikiwe’s claim that ‘BRICS represents a historical pattern of efforts to build alternatives to the existing world capitalist system…. BRICS Plus Summit is a manifestation of the international movement towards ending the domination of the world’s peoples by international finance capital.’ in ‘BRICS Declaration Reinforces Call for Multipolarity: Kazan summit rejects unilateralism advanced by the West’.

Of course, more astute analysts are clearly seeing through the facade and exposing how the BRICS countries are simply implementing the same technocratic program as countries outside the BRICS. See, for example, Riley Waggaman’s ‘Would you like to know what BRICS just declared?’

The point is simple: Beneath any superficial differences between what BRICS countries (sometimes now referred to as BRICS+ given the recent accession of another five members) might be doing that appears to be reshaping planetary geopolitics into a multipolar world order that will somehow supersede the US-led unipolar world order, lies a deeper and darker truth.

This truth is that the Global Elite is rapidly and progressively transforming the entire world into a planetary technocracy populated by transhuman slaves. This means that perceptions that are limited to longstanding worldviews that see the world as statist and/or capitalist/socialist, for example, miss or misperceive the profound changes that are taking place.

No government, including those of the BRICS countries, is resisting these profound changes. No government, including those of the BRICS countries, will resist these profound changes.

The geopolitical world does not revolve around sovereign nation-states because no nation is sovereign. That is, no government of a nation-state is able to exercise independent and ultimate authority over all of its (internal and external) affairs.

Of course, this has long been the case as explained by preeminent historian Professor Carroll Quigleyin his classic work published in 1966. See Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time. pp.5-6.

‘[T]he powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations…

‘It must not be felt that these heads of the world’s chief central banks were themselves substantive powers in world finance. They were not. Rather, they were the technicians and agents of the dominant investment bankers of their own countries, who had raised them up and were perfectly capable of throwing them down. The substantive financial powers of the world were in the hands of these investment bankers (also called ‘international’ or ‘merchant’ bankers) who remained largely behind the scenes in their own unincorporated private banks. These formed a system of international cooperation and national dominance which was more private, more powerful, and more secret than that of their agents in the central banks.’

Apart from Quigley’s extensive and invaluable book, you can read a reasonable summary of how Elite power – politically, economically, socially and militarily – was gained and is being exercised in Historical Analysis of the Global Elite: Ransacking the World Economy Until ‘You’ll Own Nothing.’

Of course, in the case of ‘democratic’ countries at least, you are meant to believe that ‘your’ government is, indeed, free to make decisions governing your security and well-being and that you have certain rights, including voting rights, to have a say in determining the government of the country in which you live.

To conceal the reality that no nation is sovereign, governments have long been empowered to make decisions about minor matters (which may still have critical impact on some populations) that have no bearing on the fundamental Elite program while any significant ‘decisions’ made by governments are confined to endorsing Elite directives and mobilizing the relevant agents in government, bureaucracies, the media, the military and elsewhere to implement the latest components of the Elite program.

So until you recognize that governments at all levels – and the international institutions with which you are most familiar, starting with the United Nations and the World Health Organization – are merely window-dressing or ‘shadow puppets’ that are designed to distract you from the real bases of power in the world system, then you will continue to misunderstand what is happening, who is driving it and how it is being done. And any effort you make to resist the rampant violence and injustice inherent in what is happening, will fail.

And that is precisely what the Elite intends.

After all, the most effective way to thwart opposition to any program is to make sure that any potential opponents do not understand the rules of the game (including, in this case, who exercises effective power in the world system) while making sure that these potential opponents are given a lot of noisy and colorful distractions (such as regular elections and other party-political processes, not to mention art and sport in various forms) to keep the bulk of them occupied at the same time.

The recent US presidential election has been a perfect example of this distraction, with a vast range of commentary on a wide range of superficial changes and only the rarest analyst even noting the number and range of wealthy technocrats appointed by Donald Trump to play key roles in his new administration let alone explaining the significance of this.

In essence, it is better for the Elite to have you putting all your passion and energy into fighting on a field of battle that is utterly irrelevant and to keep you unaware of where the real battlefield lies.

What better way to neutralize all opposition than to have it focused on the wrong ‘game’?

The Rapidly Advancing Planetary Technocracy

While many authors have been discussing the rapid advance of the planetary technocracy in recent years, and specialists such as Patrick Wood have been warning us for much longer – see ‘Technocracy News & Trends’ – there is no doubt it remains a topic that is incredibly poorly understood.

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Possible scenario of smart and sustainable mobility (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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This means that the threat posed by the changes being imposed on us go largely unrecognized. These invasive technologies include digital identity (to which will be attached your ‘social credit score’), Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), geofenced imprisonment in a ‘smart city’, 24-hour surveillance using three-dimensional facial recognition cameras (which capture your unique ‘face print’), spying on us through a vast network of ‘smart’ devices (computers, televisions, refrigerators… as well as social media platforms, smart street poles and lights) connected via 5G/6G and the Internet of Things, and controlling our movements through a parallel range of technologies including geofencing, driverless cars, vehicle kill switches, drones (used as aerial police), robots (including as a ‘deadly force option’) as well as autonomous and electromagnetic weapons. Beyond these threats, ‘vaccines’, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, geoengineering and other technologies are being used to reshape planetary life profoundly, to your detriment.

But if you do not already have a clear grasp of the historical origin and development of the technocratic dangers that are now rapidly undermining human life, identity, privacy, freedom and security you can get an excellent understanding from Patrick Wood’s most recent book on the subject The Evil Twins of Technocracy and Transhumanism or fine overviews in this recent article by Joshua Stylman ‘The Technocratic Blueprint: A Century in the Making’ or this two-part series by Jesse Smith: 

‘Technocracy Ascending – Part 1: Why It’s Crucial to Understand the End Game’ and 

‘Technocracy Ascending – Part 2: Trust Me, I’m a Technocrat’.

And if you still do not believe that BRICS and all other countries are implementing the Elite’s technocratic program, you can read more in articles such as these, starting with the recent BRICS summit declaration in October 2024:

BRICS Summit 2024 ‘Kazan Declaration: Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security’.

If you cannot immediately perceive the commitment of BRICS countries to the Elite’s technocracy, Riley Waggaman spells it out. See ‘Would you like to know what BRICS just declared?’

But Waggaman has also previously explained in some detail how the Russian government is busy imposing the Elite’s technocracy on Russians. See ‘Is Putin in cahoots with the globalists?’

As for China, in the words of Iain Davis, China is the world’s ‘first technate’. In fact, this has been systematically facilitated by the West following the rise to power of Deng Xiaoping after Mao’s death in 1976. China was effectively infiltrated by US members of the Trilateral Commission (known as ‘Trilateralists’) to influence the development path in China and, for example, since 1979 ‘The Israeli government and Israeli defence contractors have consistently acted as facilitators for the transfer of the most sensitive Western defence and surveillance technology to China.’ See ‘China: The World’s First Technate – Part 2’.

So if Russia and China are already advanced technocratic states, what about other BRICS countries?

Well, even if we consider just three of the most critical foundational components necessary to build a technocratic state – deployment of 5G, digital identity and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) – it turns out that the other BRICS countries are all well advanced.

Despite the well-documented electromagnetic dangers of 5G, the technology has already been extensively rolled out in these countries: ‘5G Progress Report: Brazil’, ‘5G rollout in India fastest in the world, officials say’ and ‘5G rocking in South Africa’.

Digital identity is also well advanced: ‘Digital version of Brazil’s new national identity card now available in some states’, ‘On biometric IDs, India is a “laboratory for the rest of the world”’ and ‘New digital ID system for South Africans – here’s what to expect’.

In relation to CBDCs, Brazil, India and South Africa all have advanced pilot programs or are in the process of implementation. See ‘Central Bank of Brazil Confirms It Will Run a Pilot Test for Its CBDC This Year’, ‘Government announces Digital Rupee: What is it and more’ and ‘South Africa Reserve Bank Commences Retail CBDC Feasibility Study’.

If you wonder about the most recent members of the BRICS, a quick search will confirm their heavy involvement in imposing the Elite’s technocracy, starting with the three foundational components nominated above. In relation to Iran, for example, deployment of 5G, digital identity and CBDCs is well advanced. See ‘4,000 sites to provide 5G internet in Iran by March 2025’, ‘Smart Government National Portal’ and ‘Iran central bank to launch digital currency on pilot basis’.

In summary, all national governments along with their relevant corporate allies are involved in the process of building the technocratic infrastructure that will, one day soon, enslave those of us left alive in a ‘smart city’ prison.

If you want further evidence, just do an internet search specifying a country and a technology (5G, digital ID, CBDCs, facial recognition, geofencing…) and/or check out the progress of your nearest city in its transformation into a ‘smart city’.

Defending Ourselves Against the Advancing Technocracy

It is going to take enormous effort to defend ourselves against the political, economic, social, technological and other changes which are now being rapidly imposed upon us.

This is because ‘The Global Elite is Insane Revisited’, and virtually all humans are utterly submissive as an outcome of the violence they each suffered during childhood. 

See ‘Why Violence?’ and ‘Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice’.

And whether or not you act in response to other Elite projects being carried out in other parts of the world, resisting the advancing technocracy is crucial for your own future:

‘Fighting for Our Humanity, Fighting for Our Future’.

‘We Are Human We Are Free’ identifies the strategic action necessary to defend yourself from this technocracy (with critical actions explained, 

most simply, on the ‘We Are Human We Are Free’ one-page flyer, available in 23 languages).

Conclusion

No government is free of Elite control. Governments are simply Elite agents doing what they are told by various Elite agents in banking, foreign policy, technology and other contexts.

Fundamentally, the Elite program is killing off the bulk of the human population and using a range of technologies to technocratically enslave those transhumans left alive in a ‘smart city’ prison.

This program advances rapidly while our ignorance and fear means that most people fail to perceive the true nature of the threats, who is driving them and what is necessary to resist them effectively.

This means that even those people who claim to be aware are usually trapped taking some powerless action (such as signing a petition to a government, changing their vote at the next election, demonstrating in the street) rather than acting powerfully to defend themselves against the Elite by resisting its imperatives.

The reality is that you can defend yourself quite effectively by taking the actions nominated in ‘We Are Human We Are Free’ but we need enough people taking these actions to defeat the entire program or the Elite will simply use its transhuman and robot agents to hunt us down once those who readily complied are already dead or imprisoned.

Our fight is with the Global Elite. Not your government, an international organization or anyone else.

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Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?’ His email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is here. He is a regular contributor to ‘Global Research’.

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‘Psychologically tortured to the last minute’: Ahmad Manasra, arrested at 13, is finally free after a decade in Israeli prison

Ahmad Manasra was arrested at 13 and kept in solitary confinement for years. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in prison and was at serious risk of self-harm. His release to a remote location far from his family was Israel’s final act of torture.

Qassam MuaddiApril 10, 2025

Ahmad Manasra was released after nearly 10 years in Israeli prison. Released in a remote location far away from his loved ones, a Bedouin family recognized him and called his family. (Photo: Social Media)

Israeli authorities released Palestinian prisoner Ahmad Manasra, 23, on Thursday after spending ten years in Israeli prison. Imprisoned at the age of 13, Manasra’s case drew international attention due to “legal inconsistencies in his trial, the deterioration of his psychological condition as a result of his cruel arrest and treatment in prison, and denying him treatment,” his lawyer, Ahmad Zabarqa, told Mondoweiss.

Manasra was arrested during the 2015 “Knife Intifada,” a wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli forces and settlers carried out by hundreds of Palestinian youth in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and occasionally by Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship. Manasra was involved in an incident where he was accused of “taking part” in a stabbing attack alongside his cousin, Hasan, who was shot dead by Israeli police on the scene.

When arrested, Manasra had suffered a severe injury to his head that caused a skull fracture and cranial bleeding. Video footage of Manasra lying and bleeding on the ground while being yelled and cursed at by Israeli settlers went viral at the time. Another leaked video that circulated widely among Palestinians on social media showed a moment during Manasra’s interrogation by the Israeli intelligence; an interrogation officer screamed at Manasra and attempted to intimidate him into a coerced confession, while Manasra, still a child, replied consistently that he didn’t remember anything and asked to be taken to a doctor.

Manasra’s mental health severely deteriorated in prison over his decade of incarceration. In 2022, Zabarqa pleaded for Manasra’s early release in light of being diagnosed with schizophrenia from being held in solitary confinement. At the time, Zabarqa had told Amnesty International that Manasra’s mental health condition posed “a real danger to his life,” as he had considered committing suicide. The European Union, Amnesty, and the UN also urged Israel to expedite Manasra’s early release, but the Israeli court rejected the petition in June 2022, as he was imprisoned on charges of engaging in “terrorism.”

On Thursday, Israeli authorities released Manasra in a remote location several kilometers from the Israeli prison where he was held in the Naqab desert, where his family was waiting for him at the prison gate. According to his lawyer, Ahmad Manasra was left alone without a phone and was later found and recognized by a Bedouin family, who contacted his family.

“The way Ahmad was released is a continuation of his psychological torture to the last minute,” a spokesperson for the Palestinian Mental Health Network who followed Manasra’s case told Mondoweiss.

“The way Ahmad was released is a continuation of his psychological torture to the last minute,” a spokesperson for the Palestinian Mental Health Network who followed Manasra’s case told Mondoweiss.

“Ahmad suffered a severe deterioration in his psychological condition due to his arrest and detention conditions. He was severely wounded in the head at the moment of his arrest, which caused a skull fracture, and then he was subjected to cruel interrogation,” the spokesperson noted, asking not to be named. “Ahmad was also put in solitary confinement for a prolonged period of time, which worsened his condition, and although the Israeli court allowed him medical visits, it didn’t allow the provision of psychological treatment.”

The spokesperson added that “according to a report we received from Physicians for Human Rights, who last visited Manasra in prison in September 2024, his psychological health is in very difficult condition and he needs urgent treatment.”

“Ahmad needs a gradual, slow integration into social life, which is why he needs to be surrounded by his family,” the spokesperson said. “His healing process begins today.”

Precedent for penalizing Palestinian minors

Manasra’s lawyer, Ahmad Zabarqa, told Mondoweiss that Manasra’s trial had two legal inconsistencies. “First, he was charged with assisting in a murder attempt because he was in the company of his cousin, Hasan, who was killed at the scene by Israeli police and accused of stabbing two Israelis, although Ahmad himself did nothing,” Zabarqa said. “Second, he was below the legal age to be judged as a criminal.”

Zabarqa explained that Israeli law deals with minors under 14 as cases for rehabilitation rather than punishment, which caused the Israeli court to continuously postpone his ruling for months until he was 14. “He was then retrospectively sentenced as eligible for a penal sentence,” he said.

The way the court handled Ahmad’s sentencing then formed a precedent for how Israeli courts would deal with Palestinian minors generally. “It was the first case of its kind,” Zabarqa pointed, “but later, Israeli courts practiced the same tactic of postponing the ruling and sentencing of minors according to their age in multiple cases — and they were always cases against Palestinian minors.”

“Our assessment as lawyers is that the court regarded Ahmad Manasra’s case from a nationalistic point of view, and not a legal one, breaching Israeli law itself,” Zabarqa stressed. “This is a form of discrimination.”

“Ahmad Manasra was submitted to renewed orders of solitary confinement multiple times, adding up to two years of solitary confinement, despite his fragile psychological state,” he added. “Our petition for an early release in 2022 was well-grounded in medical reports, but the court treated it again, in our opinion, from a nationalistic point of view, and not a legal one.”

In April 2022, a short Palestinian film featured the case of Ahmad Manasra as an example of the 105,000 “empty places” left behind by Palestine’s prisoners and martyrs. After Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, the pre-October 7 prison population nearly doubled.

 

Judge says Trump can deport Mahmoud Khalil over his political beliefs

Michael ArriaApril 11, 2025

Mahmoud Khalil (Photo courtesy of Writers Against the War on Gaza)

The Trump administration’s push to deport Palestine activist and former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is based on an accusation of “antisemitism,” according to a source who saw the government’s filing.

Facing a court deadline to hand over evidence justifying Khalil’s, the Department of Homeland Security submitted a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens that have the potential to damage the foreign policy interests of the United States.

A day after the memo was submitted, Louisiana Judge Jamee Comans said she had no authority to question Rubio’s decision.  

“I would like to quote what you said last time that there’s nothing that’s more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness,” Khalil told the judge. “Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process.”

“This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family,” he continued. “I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me are afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months.”

Rubio’s memo

Rubio’s memo, which was obtained by the Associated Press, concedes that Khalil’s time in the United States has been “otherwise lawful,” but that allowing him to stay in the country would hinder the U.S. government’s “policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”

“Condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,” Rubio added.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson initially accused Khalil of being connected to Hamas, but the administration has never provided any proof of this accusation. The political organization is not mentioned at all in the memo.

Court documents filed at the beginning of the trial suggest that the Trump administration might rely on a provision from the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which was used to target Holocaust survivors suspected of being Soviet agents. 

“An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable,” reads that provision.

Rubio also calls for the deportation of another permanent resident in the filing, but their name is redacted.

“This document shows that the Secretary of State’s determination that Mr. Khalil is deportable is based solely on his free speech activities as he has alleged in his habeas litigation,” said the Center for Constitutional Rights’s Samah Sissay, who is one of Khalil’s attorneys. “The government has not stated any legitimate foreign policy interest that is negatively impacted by Mr. Khalil but instead erroneously attributes prejudiced views to him for participating in the student encampment at Columbia University and speaking out against the United State’s support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The government has not met its burden and Mr. Khalil should be released.”

“The only argument that they have for deporting Mahmoud Khalil is that he engaged in ‘thoughtcrime’,” tweeted journalist Hannah Gais.

Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by ICE agents outside his home in New York on March 8, after the State Department revoked his student visa and green card. He has spent the past month in an immigration detention center in Louisiana.

A federal judge blocked Trump’s deportation order and the case has been proceeding in a New Jersey court.

Khalil’s arrest kicked off a wave of repressionagainst students, many of them connected to the Gaza solidarity protests of last spring. Some self-deported to avoid arrest, while others face court proceedings. Last month Rubio estimated that he revoked at least 300 visas.

Additionally, the Trump administration has blockedbillions of dollars in government funding to schools as part of its alleged campaign to combat antisemitism. The government has implied that universities can regain the congressionally approved funding by cracking down on Palestine activism across their campuses. Some schools, like Columbia and Harvard, have already begun to comply with Trump’s recommendations. 

Last week, Khalil dictated an op-ed that was published in the Columbia Spectator.

“The student movement will continue to carry the mantle of a free Palestine,” he wrote. “History will redeem us, while those who were content to wait on the sidelines will be forever remembered for their silence.”

Judge Comans has given Khalil’s attorneys until April 23 to request a stay of his deportation. If they don’t meet that deadline, she will order him to be deported to his birthplace of Syria, or Algeria, where he is a citizen.