Sarah Kay (she/her)

and short term memory

I will likely dissect the entire decision before the end of the week but one thing is very well highlighted here: the judges, while rejecting all - all! - of Al-Haq’s arguments, chose not scrutinise the UKG’s genocide risk assessment, and this merits criticism.

UK court rules supply of fighter jet parts to Israel is lawful The judges, while accepting that they could be used to breach international humanitarian law, ruled that the ‘acutely sensitive and political issue’ is ‘a matter for the executive, which is democratically accountable to parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not the courts.’

✈️ The UK High Court has ruled the government acted lawfully in continuing F-35 parts supply to Israel—despite concerns over breaches of international law. Critics say the judgement exposes a troubling accountability gap in arms trade oversight.
www.ibanet.org/uk-court-rul...

Athens mayor rejects Israeli envoy’s criticism over antisemitic graffiti | eKathimerini.com Athens Mayor Haris Doukas has rejected criticism from Israeli Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz, who accused municipal authorities of failing to address antisemitic graffiti in the city.

Israel reached out to the Mayor of Athens regarding the proliferation of graffiti - most opposing genocide and calling for solidarity. The reply: “We do not accept lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians and children waiting in line for food aid” www.ekathimerini.com/politics/for...

Would the Convention protect those under right to assembly or would it acknowledge that they pose a threat and are inciting? Is anyone willing to test? Or do we have to wait for an article 2 violation (which seems to be everyone’s bar despite a huge IHRL emphasis on prevention)

Agreed. There is so much available literature on the subject, whether critical analysis or in-depth journalism on extremism and GBV. So much to read about, so much to engage with that already exists and is comprehensive.

And then there’s this.

Truly didn’t realise the MAGA types wanted to be Russia *that* bad

The reason you don't give ground on trans rights - beyond the simple morality of it being wrong to do so - is because you don't give ground on rights period, and if you're willing to let it slide for one marginalized group it means everyone else is just a matter of price

Recognising Palestinian state would destabilise international law, Starmer told Sir Keir’s plan to recognise Palestinian statehood may have ‘unintended consequences’, leading lawyer warns

"Leading lawyer" = the lawyer representing Israel v South Africa at the ICJ ...

Hamas’ video shouldn’t surprise anyone let alone continue to justify a genocide: hostages were lost in indiscriminate bombing, which had been predicted by everybody, and are now also victims of the starvation, which would be obvious. Netanyahu’s rage is jeopardising their survival, and knowingly so

Israel closes 88% of cases of alleged war crimes or abuse without charges – report Conflict monitoring group Action on Armed Violence says Israel is seeking to create a ‘pattern of impunity’

It has always been regularly reported but it bears repeating at every stage since denial still exists: there is very little to no prospect of accountability in Israeli courts if the victim(s) are non-Israeli. A feature of an apartheid regime www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Inside the Crisis at the Anti-Defamation League The group used to believe the rights of Jews were inextricable from the rights of everyone else. Its war against anti-Zionism has changed everything.

How the ADL betrayed its civil rights roots to become a weaponised tool on behalf of Zionism, by @noahshachtman.bsky.social -including quotes from former ADL staffers speaking about changes under Jonathan Greenblatt

Attacks on Larne properties being treated as racially-motivated hate crimes Attacks on two properties in Co Antrim are being treated as racially-motivated hate crimes, police have said.

PSNI think 'hate crime' means they can turn a blind eye to paramilitary terror.

UDA South East Antrim, as a UDA mural clearly states - same brigade covers Rathcoole, Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley, Whitewell, Carrick, Shore Road, Greenisland, Ballymena, Whitehead, Antrim & Larne.

Join the dots.

I don’t wanna say too much, but Aseel’s not doing okay.
If you could write her something nice, it’d really mean a lot.
Molly talked about her and shared her photos.
You can find the post on my page — I reposted it.
Thanks 🥺

“We watched as the devil took over paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect.”

Because witnessing what’s happening to and in Gaza feels unbearable, I did the only thing a true masochist would do, which was pick up Shake Hands With The Devil. After citing it for 20 years, now is the time to actually read it in full.

I wasn’t ready. But in many ways, I was.

Trump Is Gutting The State Department And Dragging Diplomats ‘Through The Mud’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio "succeeded [in creating] an environment where people wake up and don’t want to come in to work," a still-serving State Department official told HuffPost.

Trump is predictability dismantling the State Department, and for those still working, the morale is extremely low and are unsure of the future. Those working on Gaza and the OPTs have gone. The building is a ghost town. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

‘Really cautious’: why the ICJ is delaying a Gaza genocide verdict While civilians starve and global opinion hardens, judgment from international court may not come until 2027 – or later

I actually do agree that Israel will need more time, but it’s about whether South Africa can make the argument on the scope of the temporal jurisdiction that seems to be the one at play here. 6 months, however, is a long time. Featuring @drnajimagi.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jul...

I don’t know how to stress how important the last line is

We are seven months in, and the speed with which vital civic institutions are capitulating to authoritarian demands we once would have regarded as inconceivable in an established liberal democracy is jawdropping. I hadn't thought I was polyannaish about America, but it's really stunning.

JUST IN: Former Jan. 6 prosecutor Michael Gordon (prosecuted Riley Williams, Ray Epps, Bigo Barnett, among others) and press aide Patty Hartman have sued Pam Bondi over their terminations from DOJ.

Their lawyer: Abbe Lowell

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Proscription Of Palestine Action: Double Standards Laid Bare. On July 1, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper submitted a bill to Parliament that proposed the proscription of direct action group Palestine Action. This decision came on the heels of Palestine Action me…

I wrote for @enddbelfast.bsky.social on the proscription of Palestine Action and its enforcement, when proscribed groups in NI are rarely policed especially when it comes to emblems or material support enddeportationsbelfast.wordpress.com/2025/07/24/t...

Exclusive: USAID analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid The internal U.S. government analysis challenges the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.

“An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.”

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

The flip side is that even the starkest of judicial mechanisms wouldn’t have swayed Trump’s bloodthirst and his voter base’s, foaming at the idea of discriminating to the point of disappearance. And yet we are still told we should forgive, we should build bridges. The CAT tells us otherwise.

No One Was Supposed to Leave Alive Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration say they were tortured during their four months in CECOT.

When we state accountability is a guarantee of non-recurrence, those are images and stories that haunt us. “we tortured some folks” has helped cement dehumanisation as an acceptable method of policing: policing identities, policing migration, policing solidarity www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

France to recognize Palestine as a state, says Macron; US recalls Gaza ceasefire team – Middle East crisis live French president says ‘no alternative’ amid ‘urgent need to end the war in Gaza’; US claims Hamas ‘lacks desire’ for deal

Macron announces France will recognise Palestine as a state following the UNGA vote, saying “there’s no other alternative.” The formal declaration will be made at the UNGA in September. He is also calling for a ceasefire, which is the bare minimum www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

Attending Pride “in spite of” the ban isn’t showing solidarity, or allyship. It is denying the wishes of the LGBTQIA community of Belfast standing in support of their trans siblings. Forcing one’s way into the parade doesn’t give the finger to executive parties - but to the rest of us

Revealed: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication As Harvard’s feud with Trump escalated, so did tensions over an ‘education and Palestine’ issue of a prestigious journal. Scholars blame the ‘Palestine exception’ to academic freedom

Exclusive: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication.

My latest.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...

I have to say amidst violent repression of Palestine solidarity and constant talk of deportations, I have, for the first time, laughed heartily.

No you can’t retroactively make international treaties fit your current political fixation

As entertaining it is to see current or former Whitehall figures throw unadulterated shit on a wall about ways to get around the Northern Ireland shaped problem to their imagined utopia, the arrogance of each and every attempt is truly vile.