Michigan legislator apologizes for taking financed Israel junket

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Updated 11 August 2023
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Michigan legislator apologizes for taking financed Israel junket

Michigan legislator apologizes for taking financed Israel junket
  • State Senator Sylvia Santana did not disclose the trip to constituents
  • Trips ‘super-secret’ to conceal Israel’s political lobbying, says analyst on The Ray Hanania Radio Show

CHICAGO: Michigan State Senator Sylvia Santana was forced to apologize to her constituents this week after it was revealed she had taken a freebie junket to Israel that was partially funded by a pro-Israel group.

Santana’s D-2nd District is about 40 percent Arab and Muslim and the communities’ leaders criticized her publicly for not disclosing the trip before she left.

Pro-Tel Aviv organizations in America spend millions every year to take elected officials, at every level and from every state, on tours of Israel that critics charge are political and intended to undermine criticism of government policies.

The trips are estimated to cost as much as $10,000 per person often including airfare, hotel accommodation, food and tour guides provided by Israel’s government.

American legislators who go on these junkets are required to disclose the type and costs on their annual campaign financial-disclosure forms.

Critics charge that the junkets are intended to influence the political views of participating elected officials. When Santana’s participation became known, she was criticized harshly.

After returning from the 10-day trip, Santana acknowledged she “should have exercised better discretion” and engaged directly with her constituents before accepting it.

Santana posted her apology on her Facebook page.

“It has come to the attention of my constituents specifically those in the Arab/Muslim community that I recently visited Israel in my capacity as a State Senator. This is a trip offered to state lawmakers to learn more about Michigan’s relationship with Israel,” Santana said in a statement released Monday night.

“After speaking with friends and members of the community I recognize my presence on this trip has sparked anger and disappointment by many in the Arab/Muslim community. For this I truly apologize, seek your forgiveness and hope that you will understand that I had no malicious intent. There is no perfect combination of words that I can offer that truly reflects the feelings in my heart. My only goal was to learn about this region of our world and to improve my understanding of matters related to Michigan.”

Santana said she hopes the Arab and Muslim communities “will continue to support me.”

“I understand now more than before the level of pain, sensitivity and deep-rooted emotions that this trip has produced. This experience will always stay with me and will help guide my work in Lansing,” Santana said.

Kyle Melinn, editor of the online Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. — an organization that provides political analysis for subscribers in the state — said the backlash against Santana was significant and forced her to issue an apology to the Arab and Muslim community groups that protested.

“Yes she did get a lot of pushback from the Arab and Muslim community because Osama Siblani of The Arab American News was able to find out that she had gone on this trip to Israel that was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southeast Michigan. This is a trip that is available to legislators for many, many years. Legislators have to pay their own airfare to Israel but once they get there the federation takes care of the lodging and meals,” Melinn said during an appearance Wednesday on The Ray Hanania Radio Show.

“For that seven days what these legislators do, it is usually 10 to 15 (legislators), they learn about some of the culture, and kind of what the political environment is. They will also talk about some of the economic connections between Israel and Michigan and about some of the joint ventures (of) some of the companies that are in both Michigan and Israel. The geopolitical climate is big.”

Melinn said: “This is not a widely-publicized thing. You will only find out about it second- or third-hand. The Jewish federation doesn’t like to advertise it. The legislators don’t like to advertise it, especially these days when there is just a distaste among voters about legislators taking what they view as junkets. They don’t see these kinds of things as educational, or beneficial really in any way, (for) the voters. They just think this is a perk that legislators are getting a free trip and they go to these places and get wined and dined and schmoozed to really no benefit to (the voters). So, they keep these things super-secret.”

Congress has passed legislation to restrict foreign travel, basically allowing legislators to be reimbursed for official business trips related to their congressional offices and committees. However, the law requires public disclosure of travel funded by private organizations.

Although restrictions on members of Congress are far different than those on officeholders at state and municipal levels, donations of any kind to an elected official must be publicly disclosed regardless of government position — whether federal, state or local.

Last June in New York, several members of the New York City Council, who were hosted by pro-Israel groups on a propaganda trip to the country, failed to report the travel on their disclosure forms. The New York officials said they would amend their disclosure forms to reflect the trips.

The disclosures are often disguised behind the names of the donor organizations that often do not appear like they are involved in Israeli politics. Some legislators are asked to purchase their own tickets, but may receive campaign donations equivalent to the cost of the flights.

There is no system that clearly monitors these foreign-paid political junkets.

Last year, congressional records showed that more than $2.6 million was spent on “privately sponsored travel” to Israel for several Democrat and Republican members of the US Congress.

Democrats, who have been publicly advocating for peace in the Middle East and spoken out in favor of Arab and Muslim rights, have been the main beneficiaries, including the top-ranking member of the House Democrats, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who visited Israel twice last year.

During the 2021-2022 campaign year, pro-Tel Aviv PACs, or Political Action Committees, donated more than $5.4 million to members of the US House and Senate, including cash for campaigns and to cover the cost of trips to Israel.

But that total is misleading. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, donated more than $17 million in the 2021-2022 election season to support not only incumbents but also candidates for office.

The Ray Hanania Radio Show is broadcast every Wednesday on the US Arab Radio Network in Detroit on WNZK AM 690 Radio and in Washington D.C. on WDMV AM 700 Radio.

You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.


Italy to process asylum-seekers in Albanian facility

Italy to process asylum-seekers in Albanian facility
Updated 13 sec ago
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Italy to process asylum-seekers in Albanian facility

Italy to process asylum-seekers in Albanian facility
  • Migrants to be given right to legal aid via video call
  • More than 153,000 people traveled from North Africa to Italy this year

LONDON: Italy will offer legal aid via video call to migrants it detains at an overseas holding facility in Albania, The Times reported on Wednesday.

Italy’s government on Monday issued a parliamentary bill to put in motion plans to open a holding center in Albania by next spring.

The facility will house up to 3,000 migrants who are picked up by Italian ships operating in international waters.

They will be transported to Albania’s Shengjin port, identified and sent to the facility, with Italy proposing a 28-day asylum-processing period.

It follows the striking of a deal between the Italian and Albanian governments last month, with Rome planning to quickly repatriate migrants that disembark from “safe countries,” including Tunisia.

The Italian government bill guarantees migrants “the quick and full exercising of the right to defense,” and the right to “private discussions with a lawyer in Italy via video conference.”

Migrants will be able to take part in judicial hearings on their case using video calls if they choose to appeal against their repatriation.

The facility in Albania — which is expected to cost under $215 million per year to operate — will also contain a prison facility to incarcerate migrants who commit crimes while detained.

Albania will not be paid to host the center but accepted the deal as a “gesture of goodwill,” said its Prime Minister Edi Rama. But Rome will pay the salaries of the center’s guards and will oversee jurisdiction of the site.

Italy is battling a migration crisis, with about 153,000 migrants sailing into its territory from North Africa this year. The figure represents a surge over last year, when 95,000 people made the same journey.

However, the country’s latest plan has been labeled “unworkable” by migration experts over concerns that 28 days leaves too little time to resolve asylum disputes.

Italy also lacks sufficient bilateral deals with migrants’ countries of origin to expedite repatriations, they warned.


Indonesia looks into potential aviation, railway cooperation with Saudi Arabia

Indonesia looks into potential aviation, railway cooperation with Saudi Arabia
Updated 06 December 2023
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Indonesia looks into potential aviation, railway cooperation with Saudi Arabia

Indonesia looks into potential aviation, railway cooperation with Saudi Arabia
  • Indonesia, Saudi transport ministers held talks in Riyadh on Sunday
  • Jakarta also eyeing Saudi investment on Indonesian railways

JAKARTA: Indonesia was hoping for closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the aviation sector and to develop its urban transportation, the southeast Asian country’s Ministry of Transportation has revealed.

Indonesian Minister of Transport Budi Karya Sumadi held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser in Riyadh on Sunday, where they explored potential cooperation between the two nations.

In a statement issued by his ministry, Sumadi said: “This is a big momentum for our two countries to continue cooperation in transportation, which has been going really well.”

Sumadi was in the Saudi capital to attend the 15th International Civil Aviation Organization’s Air Services Negotiation event, partaking in a ministerial session alongside Al-Jasser and other transport officials.

His trip follows Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s state visit to the Kingdom in October, when officials discussed the formation of a negotiation team for the Indonesia-Saudi Arabia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

“There are plenty of other collaboration opportunities we can do, especially for Hajj flights and the development of urban transportation,” Sumadi added.

The Indonesian minister had highlighted recent urban transportation developments in Saudi cities during his meeting with Al-Jasser, projects happening at a time when Indonesian cities were also developing mass transport systems.

“There’s an opportunity for (Saudi Arabia) to invest in Indonesia’s railways, which has to be further discussed,” Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Adita Irawati told Arab News on Wednesday.

“Saudi Arabia’s experience in developing urban railways can also be a benchmark for Indonesia.”

Indonesia was looking into the possibility of establishing a joint venture for domestic flights with Saudi airlines, the ministry said, as the country also hoped to increase flights between the two nations to facilitate more Indonesian pilgrims.

“On aviation, the importance of cooperation is related to Umrah and Hajj flights as there is a large volume of Indonesian pilgrims,” Irawati added.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, sends the biggest Hajj contingent and hundreds of thousands of Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia every year.


Former UK leader Boris Johnson apologizes to COVID-19 victims families

Former UK leader Boris Johnson apologizes to COVID-19 victims families
Updated 06 December 2023
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Former UK leader Boris Johnson apologizes to COVID-19 victims families

Former UK leader Boris Johnson apologizes to COVID-19 victims families
  • Former PM begins giving evidence at a public inquiry into his government’s handling of the health crisis

LONDON: Boris Johnson on Wednesday apologized for “the pain and the loss and the suffering” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as he began giving evidence at a public inquiry into his government’s handling of the health crisis.
The former prime minister, who has faced a barrage of criticism from former aides for alleged indecisiveness and a lack of scientific understanding during the pandemic, is facing two days in the witness box.
Johnson, who was forced from office last year over lockdown-breaching parties held in Downing Street during the pandemic, accepted that “mistakes” had “unquestionably” been made.
“I understand the feeling of the victims and their families and I’m deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering to those victims and their families,” Johnson said.
Johnson, 59, was briefly interrupted as a protester was ordered from the inquiry room after refusing to sit down during the apology.
“Inevitably we got some things wrong,” Johnson continued, before adding “we did our level best” and that he took personal responsibility for decisions made.
The former premier had arrived around three hours early for the proceedings, with some suggesting he was eager to avoid relatives of the COVID-19 bereaved who gathered outside later in the morning.
Nearly 130,000 people died with COVID-19 in the UK by mid-July 2021, one of the worst official per capita tolls among Western nations.
Johnson will insist the decisions he took ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives, the Times newspaper reported, citing a lengthy written statement set to be published later Wednesday.
The Times said he would argue he had a “basic confidence that things would turn out alright” on the “fallacious logic” that previous health threats had not proven as catastrophic as feared.
But he is expected to say that overall, the government succeeded in its main goal of preventing the state-run health service from being overwhelmed by making the “right decisions at the right times.”
He will also say that while the country’s death toll was high, it defied most of the gloomiest predictions and “ended the pandemic well down the global league table of excess mortality.”
According to The Times, Johnson, who quit in part because of revelations about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, has reviewed 6,000 pages of evidence and spent hours in talks with lawyers.
He can expect to be questioned on whether he thought the government was initially complacent about the pandemic, despite evidence suggesting a more proactive approach was needed.
He will also need to justify his timing of the first UK lockdown on March 23, 2020, which some senior ministers, officials and scientific advisers now believe was too late.
Johnson, who was treated in hospital intensive care for COVID-19 early on in the pandemic, is expected to say that shutting down the country went against all his personal and political instincts.
But he had no choice because “ancient and hallowed freedoms were in conflict with the health of the community.”
Johnson’s understanding of specialist advice is likely to come under scrutiny after his former chief scientific officer, Patrick Vallance, said the former premier was frequently “bamboozled” by data.
Comments about lockdowns and the death toll, including a claim that Johnson suggested the elderly might be allowed to die because they had “had a good innings,” could also be raised.
Johnson has denied claims he said he would rather “let the bodies pile high” than impose another lockdown.
Johnson’s former top aide Dominic Cummings and communications chief Lee Cain both criticized their ex-boss when they gave evidence at the inquiry.
Cummings said a “low point” was when Johnson circulated a video to his scientific advisers of “a guy blowing a special hairdryer up his nose ‘to kill Covid’.”
Cain said COVID-19 was the “wrong crisis” for Johnson’s skill set, adding that he became “exhausted” by his alleged indecision and oscillation in dealing with the crisis.
“He’s somebody who would often delay making decisions, would often seek counsel from multiple sources and change his mind on issues,” Cain said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was Johnson’s finance minister during the pandemic, is due to be questioned at the inquiry in the coming weeks.


Death toll in Philippine ‘killer curve’ bus accident rises

Death toll in Philippine ‘killer curve’ bus accident rises
Updated 06 December 2023
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Death toll in Philippine ‘killer curve’ bus accident rises

Death toll in Philippine ‘killer curve’ bus accident rises
  • Bus carrying dozens of people when its brakes failed in the central province of Antique on Tuesday afternoon
  • The Philippines is notorious for its lax regulation on public transportation and poorly maintained roads

MANILA: A passenger severely injured when a bus plunged into a ravine in the central Philippines has died, taking the death toll from the accident to 17, authorities said on Wednesday.
The bus was carrying dozens of people when its brakes failed in the central province of Antique on Tuesday afternoon, the local governor, Rhodora Cadiao, told a press conference.
Seven people were in critical condition while four were stable and recovering, she said.
Local media had reported earlier than 28 died in the crash.
Cadiao said the bus was traveling to Culasi in Antique from the neighboring province of Iloilo when its brakes malfunctioned on a winding road and it plunged 30 meters (98.5 feet) into the ravine.
“We call that area the killer curve. It was already the second bus that fell off there,” Cadiao told DZRH radio station.
Rescue operations at the site have stopped after all visible bodies were retrieved, the Antique government said on Facebook.
“The engineering design of this road is very faulty,” Cadiao said. “I want to condemn that road already.”
The Philippines is notorious for its lax regulation on public transportation and poorly maintained roads.


US Navy patrol plane flies over sensitive Taiwan Strait

US Navy patrol plane flies over sensitive Taiwan Strait
Updated 06 December 2023
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US Navy patrol plane flies over sensitive Taiwan Strait

US Navy patrol plane flies over sensitive Taiwan Strait
  • China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the strait

BEIJING: A US Navy patrol aircraft flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the US military said, describing the mission as a demonstration of the country’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.
The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane, which is also used for anti-submarine missions, flew over the strait in international airspace.
“The aircraft’s transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows,” it said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from China.
The last time the US Navy announced a Poseidon had flown through the strait, in October, China said it had sent fighter jets to monitor and warn the aircraft.
Taiwan is gearing up for presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 13, which China has cast as a choice between war and peace.
China has stepped up its military activity around Taiwan in the past four years, including staging two rounds of major war games over the last year and a half.