Sarah Leah Whitson Profile picture
Executive Director of DAWN @dawnmenaorg Formerly ED of MENA Division at Human Rights Watch
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Nov 17 4 tweets 1 min read
Here's Trump hanging out last night w Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of Saudi @PIF_en, a nearly trillion dollar cash cow involved in terrible abuses, inc a role in the murder of #JamalKhashoggi & gobbling up so many US assets that the Senate launched investigative hearings into its national security risks For details about how PIF planes controlled by Yasir and his buddies transported the murderers who flew to Istanbul to kidnap and kill Khashoggi, and tortured and imprisoned the original owner of the fleet of planes:
dawnmena.org/u-s-consulting…
Sep 4 5 tweets 2 min read
For everyone just “outraged, outraged” by the execution of an American citizen by a bunch of terrorist thugs, I remind you of the execution of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu-Aqleh, assassinated in cold blood, broad daylight, by the @IDF in 2022. Image The @idf lied and lied about it until multiple investigations confirmed it was their bullets, with a trigger pulled by a sniper who shot her exposed neck in the narrow area exactly between her helmet and flak jacket.
Apr 27 7 tweets 2 min read
NEW: “The ⁦@StateDept⁩ should immediately invoke Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act & suspend all military assistance to Israel in light of extensive evidence, inc a leaked State Dept memo, documenting Israel’s blocking of U.S aid to Gaza”

dawnmena.org/u-s-state-depa… “3 recent reports, inc the leaked internal State Department memorandum, an internal assessment by USAID & report of the Independent Task Force on National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel, conclusively confirm that Israel's conduct impeding & blocking humanitarian aid has triggered the legal requirement to halt military aid.”
Apr 13 8 tweets 2 min read
Pentagon has now confirmed that Iran has commenced an attack on Israel responding to Israel's attack on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus; the Biden admin should exercise utmost restraint and avoid entangling us in this conflict -- which of course has been Israel's goal all along... nytimes.com/live/2024/04/1… Jordan and Iraq have now both closed their airspaces
Jan 2 7 tweets 2 min read
We’re shocked, shocked we tell you, that Israel is openly talking about resettling Palestinians outside of Gaza. Sure, they’ve said it in their plans, destroyed all the housing, shoved all Gazans to the border, but still we are shocked! state.gov/rejection-of-i… We’re about to enter the Grand Middle East Bazaar, as governments start the horse-trading to see what they can get (from the US of course, not Israel) to acquiesce to the resettlement plan.
Dec 21, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
NAMES: "These 40 IDF commanders who have been responsible for planning, ordering, & executing Israel's indiscriminate bombardment, wanton destruction, & mass killing of civilians in Gaza should be prime suspects in any ICC investigation” dawnmena.org/international-… "Israeli criminal law does not establish any type of 'command responsibility' for war crimes, which means Israeli courts never hold senior officers accountable — while it almost always absolves their subordinates of committing serious war crimes,"
Dec 10, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
Subterfuge: Forcing resignation of university president for failing to condemn non-existent “calls for genocide” of Jews - all while an actual US-supported genocide of Palestinians underway - is ALL about silencing criticism of Israel, and we ALL know it. nydailynews.com/2023/12/09/upe… We have seen an unprecedented wave of student protest in support of Palestinian rights, matched only by previous campaigns against apartheid South Africa, and THIS is what really has pro Israel donors in an absolute panic. They want to force admins to shut up students or face sanction themselves.
Nov 8, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
Really don’t understand how this replay of unsubstantiated, super-biased claims passes as journalism. To wit: via @politicopoliti.co/471HVYN No evidence, no sourcing, just presented as known “fact” albeit actually false:

“Hamas is a proxy of Iran, a major U.S. adversary, so dismantling it undercuts Tehran. Hamas is a destabilizing force in a region that remains critical to U.S. economic and security interests.”
Oct 30, 2023 5 tweets 1 min read
"Gaslighting Americans into facilitating long-held Israeli plans to depopulate Gaza under the cover of 'humanitarian aid' is a cruel and grotesque hoax."

dawnmena.org/us-congress-re… On October 20, the White House sent a request to Congress for supplemental funding, which, among other things, includes logistical, infrastructure, and other material support to make possible

*housing

*displaced Palestinians from Gaza*

*to neighboring countries*.
Oct 18, 2023 7 tweets 2 min read
What's important here is not just that Biden is claiming Hamas bombed the Ahli hospital but that he wants the world to know that the US is on Israel's side. The timing and tone of this message will cost the US far more than it will help Biden in elections:

While the Biden admin has been posturing its visit as a "bear hug" to temper worst of Israeli excesses, Blinken's all day pow-wow w Israeli war cabinet followed by Biden's today will eviscerate any remaining doubt that the US is actively taking part in Israel's assault on Gaza.
May 4, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
Our letter to Biden admin re #Tunisia: "Lending our taxpayer dollars & legitimacy to Saied will only encourage other leaders to believe that they too can get away w dismantling democratic institutions. If the US is truly serious about shoring up democracies worldwide, it must… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Specifically:
1) The US should immediately suspend all assistance to the Tunisian government, as it is legally bound to do after military coups or civilian coups in which military plays decisive role. This has happened in Tunisia when army shuttered elected parliament.
Jan 31, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
U.S.: Destruction of Khan al-Ahmar Should be Tipping Point for 'Special Relationship' with #Israel dawnmena.org/u-s-destructio… "Israel is determined to maintain its occupation and apartheid rule over Palestinians permanently, and the Biden Administration needs to understand it cannot reconcile that with the 'shared democratic values' it says are the foundation of the U.S.-Israel relationship."
Jan 30, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
How the war in #Ukraine turns out is yet to be determined, but what's certain is the warp speed emergence of an alternative economic infrastructure that will be immune to sanctions and control from the West. This is not just about oil, either. economist.com/finance-and-ec… This "liberation" from Western economic & media control, beyond the perceived military control, is exactly what Putin said he wanted. But it's not just Putin: global autocrats are taking notes on how West can rapidly turn to punishing them, & determining how to shield themselves
Jan 24, 2023 8 tweets 3 min read
@MikePompeo’s crass & craven comments appearing to justify Khashoggi’s murder by disparaging his political views and falsely associating them w terrorism mirror the justifications MBS & other tyrants use to excuse their crimes." dawnmena.org/response-to-co… "It is despicable that a senior American official is suggesting that it's ok to kill a journalist if his political views are ones he doesn't like."
Jan 16, 2023 9 tweets 3 min read
BREAKING: Multimillion dollar payments from ⁦⁦@LIVGolfInv⁩ , Reportedly 93% owned by MBS-Controlled Fund, to Trump Golf Resorts Raise Serious Questions about Conflict of Interest, Threats to National Security
dawnmena.org/u-s-investigat… “The revelation that a fund controlled by Crown Prince MBS actually owns almost all of LIV Golf means that MBS has been paying Donald Trump unknown millions for the past two years, via their mutual corporate covers”
Jan 14, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Revelations @LIVGolfInv owned almost entirely by MBS-controlled Saudi public investment fund suggests a direct trail of $$ from MBS to Trump (on top of $2b to his son-in-law @jaredkushner)

URGENTLY requires congressional investigation @SenWarren @ChrisMurphyCT @RepAdamSchiff “According to longtime golf writer Alan Shipnuck, the numbers are a bit murky when it comes to just how much Trump was paid to host this past weekend's event. "Trump Bedminster was paid $2.8 million (according to the Trump Organization) or $4.5 million (according to club members
Jan 13, 2023 5 tweets 6 min read
Interview with @KenRoth for @DAWN_Journal here, first major interview since the @Kennedy_School dean's debacle... Read here!

@KenRoth speaks to @Omid_M in @DAWN_Journal dawnmena.org/kenneth-roth-o… @KenRoth @DAWN_Journal @Kennedy_School @Omid_M "I worry about younger academics who will take the message that if they criticize Israel, they jeopardize their career. That is a terrible lesson for Harvard to be teaching." @KenRoth speaks to @Omid_M in @DAWN_Journal
Apr 27, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
On #Israel #Palestine- important updates:
1) 6 months on, @StateDept is still "reviewing" non-existent "evidence" Israel provided re designation of 6 Palestinian civil society orgs as "terrorist" - but US has not agreed to so designate
state.gov/briefings/depa… 2) Israel is now implementing new regulations requiring foreigners to get *military* approval to travel to the West Bank -- this is the Gazaification of the West Bank, designed to cut Palestinians off from the world, banning Palestinians from leaving and foreigners from coming in
Mar 1, 2022 4 tweets 1 min read
Lightning fast decision of the ICC to open an investigation into Ukraine. Cites earlier grants of authority circa 2014 by Ukraine government Prosecutor must seek approval from the Pre trial chamber to proceed but seems to urgent ICC State Parties to do so as a faster route.
Jan 7, 2022 7 tweets 3 min read
U.S.: Sanction #Egypt Officials Implicated in Spying on U.S.-based Critics of Egyptian Government dawnmena.org/u-s-sanction-e… "In the wake of the #Saudi murder of Jamal Khashoggi and other attacks on U.S. based critics of Middle Eastern governments, we need to recognize that #Egypt's targeted spying on critics here in the U.S. puts them in grave danger of violence and harm
Jan 6, 2022 4 tweets 3 min read
“The @PGA stars who assemble in #Saudi Arabia —currently includes ⁦@PhilMickelson⁩ ⁦@DJohnsonPGA⁩ , ⁦@b_dechambeau⁩ & ⁦@TheSergioGarcia⁩ García — are doing so for the paychecks. There’s no disguising the fact that it’s blood money. washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01… “The notion that the PIF is some independent financial authority that isn’t used to carry out murders & assassinations at the beck & call of MBS is just patently untrue.He does &has been using the PIF as a fig leaf between his face on things and Saudi Arabia’s face on things.”