Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington to speak at the United States Congress this week in a context of tense relations between the two countries over the Gaza war His visit comes just after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. US officials have criticised the toll that Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza has had on Palestinian civilians. But experts interviewed by AFP said American support for Israel remains steadfast, as suggested by words of the US invitation for Netanyahu to "highlight America's solidarity with Israel".
Invited despite the war? Across United States campuses and on the Democrats' left wing, calls to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza have reached unprecedented levels. Such appeals have not, however, convinced establishment Democrats to apply significant pressure to bring the war to an end, the analysts told AFP. Netanyahu was invited by both Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.
Chuck Freilich, a former Israeli national security adviser, told AFP that the idea came from Republicans, and "Biden and the Democrats had to go along with it". Michael Horowitz, a geopolitical analyst for Le Beck International, a Middle East-based security consultancy, said the visit will force Democrats "to find a complicated balance" between opposition to war casualties and historic support for Israel. Mairav Zonzsein, an International Crisis Group analyst, said Netanyahu's invitation despite popular protests "shows that there's a lot of gaps and contradictions in the American positioning on the war in Gaza right now.
" How are US-Israel relations now? "There's a lot of rhetoric, there's been a lot of pushback throughout this war on the humanitarian issue," said Zonzsein, citing the stalling of arms shipments and sanctions on Israeli settlers, which the academic says are unprecedented. But, she added, it would take more to change the diplomatic status quo between the two countries. "I don't think you can say there's a crisis in the US-Israeli relationship because that's something that is so ingrained in both American and Israeli politics".
Freilich had a similar view. "I wouldn't say at the moment there's a crisis, but there's a lot of tension there, and the next few months will have an important impact on where it goes." What about weapons to Israel? After initial delay the US eventually approved a 500-pound bomb shipment to Israel, but the Biden government is still withholding a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, over concerns for civilian casualties.
The mere mention of arms supply restrictions is unprecedented. "In the past, no one ever raised the issue of arms supply. It was self-evident, the arms relationship, and almost sacred, so to speak," said Freilich.
He said though the embargo on 2,000-pound bombs could have been lifted during Netanyahu's visit, "it's harder for the US now after the attack on (Mohammed) Deif, where I think it was four 2,000-pound bombs used". On July 13, an Israeli bombing operation in Gaza aimed at Deif, the Hamas military commander, in the southern area of Al-Mawasi killed more than 90 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. "I don't think the Biden administration will change its mind during Netanyahu's visit", said Horowitz of the 2,000 pound bombs.
What effect of Biden's withdrawal? Biden's announcement Sunday that he would not seek re-election in November and his support for his Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee changes the terms of Netanyahu's visit, but not of the fundamental relationship, analysts said. "He's in an even more difficult position now to appease the Democrats", said Freilich, making the visit "even more unnecessary" in his view. Zonszein concurred, arguing that Biden's withdrawal ahead of the meeting showed that "this trip was in many ways quite meaningless, both for the Israeli public and for the American public.
" She added that Biden's withdrawal makes Netanyahu's incentive to meet Donald Trump all the more urgent. Though the experts AFP spoke with agreed on this, none could tell whether Netanyahu would manage to meet the former Republican president. WASHINGTON – Accused of sexual misconduct and affairs spanning decades, blamed for strict abortion curbs and criticized for sexism, Donald Trump has a women problem -- and Democrats are gambling that Kamala Harris can use it as a cudgel.
Trump was accused of misogyny by his Democratic 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton -- the only woman ever nominated for a White House run by a major party -- and is facing similar attacks from a vice president looking increasingly likely to be the second. Broadening Trump's appeal to women is seen as key to the Republican's electoral success in November, after he won just 42 percent of the female vote on his way to defeat in 2020, against Joe Biden's 57 percent.There was an coordinated push at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week to soften the 78-year-old billionaire's rougher edges, with former and current associates effusive in their praise.
Several female family members also weighed in, with Kai Trump, his oldest grandchild, sharing stories of "a normal grandpa" who "gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking." The praise was at odds with his public persona as an adjudicated sexual predator who has bragged about groping women and has a reputation for being unfaithful, allegedly cheating on third wife Melania Trump with a Playboy model and a porn star. 'Fat pigs, dogs, slobs' Trump was found liable last year for a mid-1990s sex attack on writer E.
Jean Carroll -- the judge called it "rape" -- and ordered to pay $88 million in damages for the assault itself and for defaming her. During his first primary campaign, he criticized the looks of his only female Republican rival and implied that the wife of another opponent-- Senator Ted Cruz of Texas -- was ugly. Then the "Access Hollywood" footage of him boasting about being able to grab women by their genitals almost brought a swift end to his campaign.
Years earlier he had boasted on Howard Stern's show about entering beauty pageant changing rooms with "incredible-looking women" in various states of undress. Voters were reminded of Trump's controversial statements during one of the primary debates in 2015, when moderator Megyn Kelly brought up his descriptions of women as "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals." He later criticized the questioning, saying Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever.
" Clinton accused Trump of "stalking" her during their debate in October 2016, after a bizarre performance during which he often stood closely behind her glowering. After he won that election, more than 500 Women's March protests were held in America and scores of foreign cities. Trump has denied more than a dozen sexual misconduct allegations, from groping and harassment to rape.
The official Trump White House position in 2017 was that the women were all lying. 'Formidable female contender' He avoided jail in the Carroll case because it was a civil trial, but incarceration has not been ruled out in his September sentencing for falsifying business records to cover up an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP the media's portrayal of his treatment of women was "entirely false," pointing to his efforts to expand access to paid family leave and child care in his first term.
Meanwhile, reproductive rights have become a hot-button 2024 election issue after Trump's appointment of three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn federal abortion protections. Harris, as well as being a former prosecutor who used to put men away for fraud and rape, is a leading proponent of abortion access. A coalition of 22 progressive and women's groups released a statement calling Harris "the leading voice in the Biden administration to restore abortion rights -- the issue galvanizing voters in red states and blue.
" Political strategist Sergio Jose Gutierrez says that while Harris might struggle with moderate and older women, the 2020 Democratic coalition of suburban women and working moms could help her across the line. "Trump's stronghold remains among small-town voters, seniors, and economic conservatives," said Gutierrez, the CEO of consultancy Espora. "But he must adapt to the dynamics of running against a formidable female contender.
" CONTINUE READING Show less Washington (AFP) – Last-minute US presidential candidate Kamala Harris is racing to craft her image -- and social media users are moving even more swiftly to signal support, flooding the internet with jokes about coconuts and "brat summers." Harris memes have been surging for weeks as the so-called "KHive" -- her online fandom -- pushed her as an alternative to her boss, President Joe Biden, to face Donald Trump at the polls in November. And with Biden's momentous decision Sunday to step aside and throw his support behind her, many have rallied to the vice president with a tsunami of jokes and unburdened enthusiasm.
It began, as most good summer things do, with coconuts. Last year Harris was speaking at the White House on education when she quoted a comment her mother often made during her childhood. "She would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us: 'I don't know what's wrong with you young people.
You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,'" Harris said. The oddball quote, along with clips of her dancing, her at-times awkward laughter, and some of her other slightly baffling anecdotes, became an instant data point in the -- at best, bemused -- way the internet understood Harris. But after Biden's disastrous debate against Trump on June 27 inflamed fears about his age, prompting calls for him to step aside, the KHive asserted itself, with social media users admitting they were "coconut-pilled.
" Content creators made "fancam" edits of her speeches and dancing on TikTok, and palm tree emojis were suddenly everywhere. Bars in Washington -- always quick to capitalize on political moments -- began offering coconut-themed drinks, with pina coladas threatening a comeback. Another of Harris's offbeat but philosophically inclined sayings -- talking about "what can be, unburdened by what has been" -- also went stratospheric as Americans, weary of the long slog between Trump and Biden, began to hope a change might really come.
By the time Biden announced he was dropping out and endorsing Harris, the memes were no longer ironic. "Madam Vice President, we are ready to help," posted Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz above a photo of a man climbing a coconut palm, as top Democrats swiftly lined up behind Harris. "You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?" posted Illinois Governor JB Pritzker shortly after ruling himself out as a Harris rival and endorsing her.
'kamala IS brat' The Harris meme fever riffs on what Biden's campaign attempted to do with "Dark Brandon" -- take something that had been derogatory (Republican jokes about Biden) and flip the script. But Biden had long struggled to win over younger voters, and some Americans saw the Dark Brandon posts as a forced, cringeworthy attempt to connect with Generation Z. "Harris's efforts are likely to appear more authentic, maybe even fun," wrote Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic.
Still, the internet is fickle, and the Harris campaign will walk a thin line as it attempts to lock down the youth vote. Its first deliberate attempt to do so appears to have been a success: her campaign's account rebranded itself on X with a lime green logo inspired by the album cover from singer Charli XCX's "Brat." The album, released in June, has been a hit, with "brat" -- defined by Charli XCX as "that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe say some dumb things sometimes" -- inspiring fans to declare a "brat summer.
" Encapsulating Harris's memeability, Charli XCX posted "kamala IS brat" in the hours after Biden's announcement. "This tweet will reach more young people than a million dollar cable ad," posted one user on X. "Brat vote secured," agreed Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost, 27.
The election remains in uncharted waters, but it all signals a broader generational shift as Biden passes the torch -- and Trump, 78, becomes the oldest presidential nominee in US history. As Slate writer Mark Stern put it on X, "Republicans who gleefully watched Biden get destroyed on TikTok for the past year are now realizing with horror that they can't stop the Zoomer meme machine from turning Kamala into a brat summer icon. CONTINUE READING Show less Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Several western US states including California and Utah were battling wildfires on Monday as millions of Americans in the region were once again under heat alerts.
Across California, firefighters were battling 21 blazes of various sizes on Monday, according to government agency Cal Fire. Their efforts were complicated by baking temperatures that hit the western United States over the weekend, with more than 30 million people affected by heat warnings in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. California Governor Gavin Newsom warned earlier in July of a "very active" wildfire season, following two years of respite thanks to rainy winters.
Repeated heat waves since the beginning of June have dried out much of the state's vegetation, making it easier for fires to spread. Newsom said that, since January, forest fires have ravaged some 207,415 acres in California -- well above the 10,080 acres recorded during the same period last year, and exceeding the five-year average of 38,593 acres burned. California last week sent its firefighters to neighboring Oregon, where Governor Tina Kotek said the wildfire season had a "very aggressive start.
" Around 20 fires are being battled in the northwestern state. One of them, the Cow Valley Fire, obtained so-called "megafire" status last week after it tore through more than 100,000 acres in a rural, largely unpopulated area. Authorities say it is now 80 percent contained.
Utah was also hit by a blaze on Saturday that broke out near state capital Salt Lake City. It prompted evacuation orders for around 40 homes in the hills north of the city, and spread panic among some who saw the flames up close. "I ran out of the house and thought, 'That's my backyard,'" Utah resident Roger Hobbs told local channel KSL TV, adding: "It's scary to death up here.
" Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common as our planet warms, largely due to human reliance on fossil fuels, according to scientists. Last month saw the hottest June on record across the globe, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, capping half a year of wild and destructive weather, including floods and heat waves. CONTINUE READING Show less.
