Baltimore Activist Alert -- July 29 - 30, 2026

21] Sign wave in Lauraville – July 29

22] Sign Wave in Baltimore – July 29

23] No military merger U.S. and Israel – July 29

24] Medicine for All visit – July 30

25] Eyewitness Palestine – July 30

26] Democracy’s Future – July 30

27] Energy affordability crisis – July 30

28] Hands off our vote – July 30

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21] – Join the Sign Wave with Northeast Neighbors (Lauraville) on Wed., July 29 from 4:30 to 5:30 PM at Harford Road & Parkside Drive, Baltimore 21214. This sign wave is anti-Trump & anti-Putin.  This event will be held in a drizzle but maybe not in a downpour or with thunder/lightning in the forecast. Contact Anne George, 443-831-7528, for more information on initiating a sign wave in your area. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/baltimoresignwaves/event/784682/

22] – Join Sign Waves with the Wednesday Movement from 4:30 to 5:30 PM on Wed., July 29 at Roland Avenue & West 40th St., Baltimore 21211. The Movement, a weekly Pro-Democracy, Anti-Trump, Anti-Putin vigil, gathers on a heavily trafficked Baltimore street corner.  This will continue through Nov. 4. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/baltimoresignwaves/event/763996/

23] – Audrey Bruner <info@adalahjusticeproject.org> on Wed., July 29 at 7 PM ET is inviting you to a Phone Bank to Stop the NDAA, a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and a permanent U.S.-Israel military merger.  Adalah Justice Project is co-hosting an emergency phone bank with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPRA) and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The current Pentagon spending bill includes a Deadly Merger provision that would permanently integrate U.S. and Israeli military tech and surveillance systems. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/block-the-bombs-phonebank-14?source=direct_link&referrer=group-adalah-justice-project

24] – The Progressive Maryland HCTF <info@progressivemaryland.org> on Thurs., July 30 at 10 AM at Congressperson Kweisi Mfume’s office, 1010 Park Avenue, Baltimore. Stand Up for Medicare for All. Deliver a letter to this member of Congress signed by 335 organizations. He will be thanked for signing the Medicare for All Act and be asked to be more vocal. Join a Day of Action event: https://act.medicare4all.org/event/doa/5354/signup/?akid=&source=&emci=5256f33a-c98a-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&emdi=78affdee-ca8a-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&ceid=136680

25] – The Fellowship of Reconciliation <for-forusa.org@shared1.ccsend.com> on Thurs., July 30 at 4 PM will host another installment of Gathering Voices with Eyewitness Palestine. It will feature Nancy Mansour, Executive Director of Eyewitness Palestine, and Joe Groves, coordinator of FOR's Interfaith Peace-Builders program from which Eyewitness Palestine evolved into its own independent organization. Also speaking is Georgia 42nd District Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, who recently participated in an Eyewitness Palestine delegation. RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XKuAJemMQnynKlbQdQKX0w#/registration

26] – RepresentUs <hq@represent.us> on Thurs., July 30 at 7 PM is inviting to a Q&A on Democracy's Future with Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno and Steven Levitsky. Professor Levitsky wrote the book on how democracies collapse — literally. How Democracies Die made him the leading voice on the warning signs. Watch a screening of Democracy Under Siege and participate in panel discussion.  RSVP at https://kinema.com/events/Democracy-Under-Siege-Represent.US-Special-Screening-j98txf

27] – Marylanders are feeling the squeeze as utility bills continue to rise, while corporate utility companies keep putting profits ahead of affordability and accountability. Join in on Thurs., July 30 at 7:30 PM for the Utility Justice Campaign Kickoff & Orientation to learn more about the energy affordability crisis and how to organize together to demand change. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/progressivemaryland/event/994324/?emci=cabfbaff-f989-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&emdi=22c1f8bd-078a-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&ceid=136680

28] – Join the Hands Off Our Vote kickoff call on Thurs., July 30 from 8 to 9 PM ET for a national launch of a campaign to protect every single vote from Trump’s election subversion. Join people across the country for the kickoff call for Indivisible’s national program to ensure all eligible voters get to cast their ballot, and that those ballots get counted. Sign up https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/986441/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter_20260727

To be continued

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph.: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

 

Baltimore Activist Alert -- July 28 - 29, 2026

 15] Sign wave in Towson – July 28

16] Protest Netanyahu – July 28 

17] Bike repairs – July 28 & July 30

18] Dump Trump for invading Venezuela – July 28

19] Climate hawks phone bank – July 28

20] Data centers update – July 29

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15] – Join a Sign Wave at Loch Raven Blvd. and Taylor Ave. on Tuesdays, including July 28, from 8 to 9 AM.  This is an Indivisible Baltimore County visibility event to let Trump know that the people are not backing down, hosted by Baltimore Sign Waves.  It will continue through Oct 20.  RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/baltimoresignwaves/event/778718/?share_medium=native_share&share_context=event_detail_page&force_banner=true

 

16] – Eli McCarthy <emccarthy@franciscanaction.org> on Tues., July 28 from 8:30 to 10 AM is calling for a Multi-Faith Witness at 17th & Pennsylvania Ave. to protest Netanyahu's visit to the White House. The back up location is at 17th and D Sts., which is a couple blocks south on 17th. Challenge the legitimacy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who will be meeting with President Trump Tuesday morning.

 

The Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinians in the West Bank. They have also killed Palestinians while the Israeli police and military enable and protect them. The annexation of Palestinian land is speeding up. Gaza continues to face massive humanitarian aid restrictions and regular killing. The war in Iran has been instigated and drawn-out in large part due to Netanyahu. The Israeli government has killed thousands in Lebanon.

 

17] – Bikemore [jed@bikemore.net] wants you to know that there will be a Mobile Bike Shop on Tues., July 28 from 4 to 7 PM at Lake Montebello, Whitman Dr., Baltimore 21218 and on Thurs., July 30 at Druid Hill Park, Baltimore 21217. Visit https://www.bikemore.net/calendar

 

18] – Join the Baltimore Nonviolence Center on Tues., July 28 from 4:30 to 5 PM ET at 33rd and N. Charles Sts. to challenge President Trump for a long list of illegal executive orders. And now he has invaded Venezuela. Without resistance Trump will undermine our flawed democracy.  Trump wants fascism as the order of the day. Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607.

 

19] – Climate Hawks Vote <info@climatehawksvote.com> on Tues., July 28 from 6 to 8 PM hope you will join a virtual phone bank. Early voting started this weekend in the closely watched Michigan primary election, which includes close races that could determine control of Congress – and whether the next Congress includes climate hawks. This is the last phone bank before election day. Early voting is open NOW and this is the most crucial time to get accurate, meaningful information to voters about how to vote, where to vote, and why to vote for climate hawks like Will Lawrence and Donavan McKinney. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/fwa/event/942420/?referring_vol=426637&rname=Drew&timeslot=5950617&referring_participation=51586052&referring_data_signature=v1-2e700eb0e3e1d0f1&share_medium=sms_copy_link&share_context=sms_registration

 

20] – The Maryland LCV Education Fund <edfundinfo@marylandconservation.org> on Wed., July 29 at noon is hosting a Conservation Conversations: a Data Centers Update. RSVP at https://www.marylandconservation.org/event/conservation-conversations-7-29-2026?contactdata=v51PYYbBHbgUQRHo0srYGdKmPZJAPDf9AO3XVQKROPHdqN7PEFH1oRmOhda1lKhR5jGE+F8J5D+PabznQ1+eLFKQHRpQj+WOiX9FQVoOi+cgLUjRy72AE8JfUy35XacWjJ19Wiae5SAH7RuIbBBBOvBfS6Oidodipnh9vJePsT5pbVGKlPOYD8fmY2atAMiISMlIhYK1VHcHC5vJUhDfurbd9Slcuiski8d3mddA310+6snSIEywxEMEZfdFS+Wybyyh7xZppl1dvUM+m8DiTA%3d%3d&emci=7a44175b-6787-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&emdi=bbc54875-c389-f111-b337-000d3a1558ce&ceid=578562

 

To be continued

 

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph.: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Deb

The Mythology of Israeli Democracy

 - CounterPunch.org - https://www.counterpunch.org -

The Mythology of Israeli Democracy

Melvin Goodman

 

July 21, 2026 

Photograph Source: צילום: איציק אדרי – CC BY 2.5

“Supporting the U.S.-Israeli relationship is quickly becoming a minority view among congressional Democrats, a shockingly seismic shift in a brief period of time.  You have Socialists running on an anti-American platform: ‘yes’ to Hamas and ‘no’ to supporting one of our closest democratic allies.”

– Representative Josh Gottheimer, Dem/NJ, The New York Times, July 16, 2026

There are numerous myths espoused by Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel that deny the violent displacement of Palestinians from Israel in 1948 as well as support for the belief that the June 1967 six-day war was preemptive.  The worst of the mythologies deal with whether Palestinians left their homeland “voluntarily” in 1967—there was nothing voluntary about it.  The myth heard most often, however, is cited by members of Congress—the contention that Israel is a democracy—indeed, the “only democracy in the Middle East.”

Israel was not a true democracy from the outset in 1948, since more than one-fifth of Israel’s citizens were subject to military rule based on Britain’s mandatory emergency regulations.  These regulations denied Palestinians basic human and civil rights.  Palestinians were subject to the rule of local Israeli military governors who were in a position to destroy their lives and their livelihood.  Some of this pressure was alleviated in the late 1950s, only to worsen in the wake of the Six-Day War in 1967.

Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza never received equal treatment from any Israeli government.  Israeli settlers in the West Bank who commit crimes are tried in Israeli courts, if they are tried at all, while Palestinians are tried in Israeli military courts.  Currently, there are seven million Jews living in Israel and Palestine, and an equal number of Palestinians in the same space.  The apartheid governments of Israel make it certain that there will not be equal rights, let alone true democracy, for both Jews and Palestinians.

Israel is a democracy for its Jewish citizens, but Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories is subject to the realities of a prolonged and punishing Israeli occupation.  The Nakba—the catastrophe—began in 1948 with the forced displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians in Israel’s war for independence.  Some of these Palestinians were forced into ghettoes inside Israel, but most were sent outside the country to Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon, losing their homes in the process. Many of the Palestinians remain in the same refugee camps that were established nearly 80 years ago.  Meanwhile, there are increased incidents of military terror and even military massacres, with Israeli Defense Forces rarely facing punishment for the crimes they commit.  The mainstream media in the United States pays little attention to these crimes.

In judging any democracy, two of the most important tests are the government’s willingness to protect the interests of its minorities and to maintain an independent judiciary.  The Netanyahu government is supporting a genocidal war against the Palestinians; the Trump administration is currently waging its own campaign against the interests of women and people of color.  Its immigration policy is outright racist.  Meanwhile, both Trump and Netanyahu are working to weaponize their attorneys general and to weaken the essential democratic element of judicial oversight.

Israeli historian Ilan Pappe has warned of the dangers of treating mythologies as truths, and this is particularly dispositive when judging the case for support of Israel.  The Israeli contention that Palestine was an empty land before 1948, for example, is particularly mythological.  Palestinian Arabs are in fact descendants of the indigenous people of Palestine, who lived under the vast Arab-Islamic empire that dominated the region beginning in the seventh century.  Very small indigenous Jewish communities remained as integral parts of the Palestinian community.

As Pappe has concluded: “Palestine was colonized, not ‘redeemed,’ and its people were dispossessed in1948, rather than leaving voluntarily.” The mainstream media ignores the fact that colonized people have the right to struggle for their liberation, even with the use of an army, although a resort to terrorism such as Hamas carried out in October 2023 is never justified.  International law recognizes the right of an occupied population to resist a foreign military occupation, including through use of arms against military targets.

The fact that over 100 Democratic congressmen voted last week against extending military aid to Israel is an indicator that some of the mythology regarding Israel is getting shopworn.

Article printed from CounterPunch.org: https://www.counterpunch.org

URL to article: https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/21/the-mythology-of-israeli-democracy/

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

Baltimore Activist Alert – July 26 – 28, 2026

 Baltimore Activist Alert – July 26 – 28, 2026

 

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center.  Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com. 

 

If you appreciate this information and would like to donate, send contributions to Max Obuszewski, BNC, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Max can be reached at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net.

 

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Contact the White House

3] Need help in archiving activist material

4] Get the book A Bag of Snakes

5] Get the book Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church: An Insider’s View by Roy Bourgeois

6] Labor History Project

7] Friends meeting – July 26

8] The habitat – July 26

9] Doctors against genocide – July 26

10] Join Indivisible Bowie on the bridge – July 26

11] Weekly PDA Town Hall – July 26

12] Vigil at the Pentagon – July 27

13] Mass in solidarity with the Haitian community – July 28

14] No to Nuclear – July 28

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1] – Buttons, bumper stickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-323-1607.

 

2] –The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

 

3] – Janice Sevre-Duszynska needs some assistance in archiving her activist material.  If you are interested in this project, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

 

4] – Barry Lee Burnside, a gaggle of great writers and copy editors are making available “A Bag of Snakes: Selected Writings on Prisons and the Death Penalty by Murphy Davis and Eduard Loring. Edited by Barry Lee Burnside.” Your donation will provide a needed financial boost for the printing costs. The suggested donation is $20 for one copy; and $30 for your copy and an additional copy for a prisoner or someone in need. Any donation is appreciated. More or less you will receive the book.  Barry and the team have spent over two years putting this book together. It begins with outlines and notes found in the boxes of materials Murphy left when she ascended. This is a work of love, and all involved are proud of the fruit borne by seeds nourished in good soil.

 

To order by postal mail, make your check to Open Door Community.  Send it to Open Door Community, PO Box 10980, Baltimore 21234.  For any questions, contact David Payne at 404-290-2047 or davidpayne@opendoorcommunity.org.

 

5] – Another book to consider purchasing is Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church: An Insider’s View by Roy Bourgeois. His new book is both memoir and position-paper, and it makes the case that the Roman Catholic Church is a corrupt system that spits out truth-tellers. He was excommunicated for attending the ordination ceremony of Janice Sevre-Duszynska in Lexington, Kentucky, in August 2008. The ordination was under the auspices of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.  The Vatican’s response has been to excommunicate any woman who has the audacity to see herself as a priest equal to a male priest. You can purchase a copy from Amazon or by Kindle.

 

Here are two quotes to contemplate: “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men. She is to keep silent.” – Timothy 1, 2:12-13.  “If the patriarchy that dominates the church is not dismantled and women are not treated as equals, the church will continue to diminish and, eventually, die.” – Roy Bourgeois.

 

6] – William Barry [billbarry21214@gmail.com] has a request. As the country begins to celebrate our 250th anniversary, our history is complicated, but one thing is certain--labor history is always deleted. So, he created the MD250 Labor History Project and hopes you will participate by sending in labor history materials, and by sharing it with your friends, as part of creating a union movement. Go to https://www.md250laborhistory.org/

 

"We are either part of the solution or part of the problem." "The only reason an organization has dead wood is that management either hired dead wood or it hired live wood and killed it."   - W. Edwards Deming

 

7] – Homewood Friends Meeting [homewoodfriends@gmail.com] gathers for worship on Sundays at 10:30 AM at 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218 and on Zoom.  A simple lunch will take place after the 10:30 AM worship. Call 410-235-4438. To join by Zoom, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/255867065?pwd=UDNxVnlVSkZQOHlXWlc3NHpHeHdhZz09#success

 

8] – The Baltimore Ethical Society Sunday meetings are held at 10:30 AM on Zoom every week and hybrid (Zoom and In-person) approximately twice a month at The Impact Hub, 10 E. North Ave., Baltimore. To receive a Zoom invitation, please email president@bmorethical.org. "Homegrown National Park" by Rosalie Donatelli - a BES Virtual Sunday Platform - will take place on July 26 at 10:30 AM.  What if the largest national park began right where we live? The future of biodiversity isn’t determined only in national parks and wilderness areas—also depends on the choices we make where we live. As natural habitats continue to disappear, the green spaces around us have become increasingly important in rebuilding the healthy ecosystems that sustain pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.

 

Drawing on the principles of Douglas Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park movement, Donatelli shares practical, science-based ideas for creating habitat and restoring biodiversity. Whether you have a large yard, a small garden, or just a few pots on a patio or balcony, discover how millions of small actions, taken together, can become one of the largest grassroots' conservation efforts in history. Donatelli has been a member of the Baltimore Ethical Society for about 15 years and has served as Treasurer for the past five years. A lifelong environmental and peace activist, she has been a Certified Master Gardener and volunteer educator for more than 20 years, first with Rutgers University Extension and now with the University of Maryland Extension, where she promotes native plants, organic gardening, and sustainable landscaping.

 

9] – Doctors against Genocide [leadership@doctorsagainstgenocide.org] will meet on Sun., July 26 at noon.  RSVP at https://doctorsagainstgenocide.org

 

10] – On Sundays, July 26 & Aug. 2, from 1 to 3 PM ET at 15202 Major Lansdale Blvd., Bowie 20716, join Indivisible Bowie for a Visibility Brigade sign wave on the pedestrian bridge over Route 50. If you can't do full time, no worries, come when you can! Help bring attention to important issues and let your neighbors and commuters know they are not alone in fighting back against authoritarianism.

 

Parking is behind the Hampton Inn in the old theatre lot, please look for the sign. Follow the paved path through the chain-link fence, then turn left onto the pedestrian trail to reach the bridge. Approximately a 4-minute walk. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/873914/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations

 

11] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Sun., July 26 at 4 PM will hold its weekly Town Hall and host Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate. Election Day in Michigan is August 4.  Of all the Democratic primaries between a progressive populist and establishment liberal this year, the Michigan Senate contest could be the most consequential in mapping the party's future. RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4?emci=d92fd342-d866-f111-8fcb-000d3a14b640&emdi=889b4b12-3067-f111-8fcb-000d3a14b640&ceid=2907617#/registration

 

12] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  However, the Pentagon police, presumably on the orders of President Trump, have made it impossible to protest on the reservation. Now it will take place on the corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr. in Arlington, VA.  The next vigil is July 27, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649. 

 

By car from D.C. area, take 395 South and get off at Exit 8A-Pentagon South Parking. Take slight right onto S. Rotary Rd. at end of ramp and right on S. Fern St. Then take left onto Army Navy Dr. You can "pay to park" on Army Navy Dr. or there is meter parking one block on right on Eads St. Payment for both of these spots begins at 8 AM.  No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. The restrooms are located inside Marriot Providence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr.

 

13] – All are welcome to join a Mass in solidarity with the Haitian community on Tues., July 28 at 6 PM at Our Lady of Sorrows church in Takoma Park, 1006 Larch Ave. The Haitian community has faced tremendous strains recently: According to the Quixote Center, approximately 350,000 Haitians currently living in the US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are under threat of seeing their status revoked and becoming deportable to a country that is unsafe. Haitian TPS holders have become integral and beloved members of communities across this country.

Principal celebrant for Tuesday evening's Mass will be Cardinal Chibly Langlois, the bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2014 by Pope Francis, and is the first Haitian named as a cardinal. Concelebrants will be Miami's Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Cincinnati's Archbishop Robert Casey, and Charleston's Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune. Email info@paxchristimdcb.org

 

14] – Hear Linda Pentz Gunter, founder of Beyond Nuclear, speak alongside Dr. Vincent Intondi about her new book, No to Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War on Tues., July 28 at 6 PM at the Ivy Bookshop, 5928 Falls Road, Baltimore. No To Nuclear blasts aside the industry's claims to be safe and green, demonstrating that nuclear power is too slow, too expensive, too dangerous and too integrally connected to the nuclear weapons complex, to serve as a rational energy choice. It considers the impact of nuclear power on the lives of Indigenous peoples and communities of color, and asks: is the way we devalue nature and the environment costing us the chance of a genuinely just energy transition?

 

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph.: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs