PLAYLINK @PLAYLINKuk

This headline is hard to grasp. Read it again. This is what Israel stands for.

PRESS RELEASE BELOW London, 16 May 2025 — Arsenal Football Club faces legal action after dismissing long-serving kitman Mark Bonnick for expressing solidarity with Palestine on social media. With legal representation from the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), 61-year-old Bonnick has filed a legal claim for unfair dismissal. A lifelong Arsenal supporter, Mark worked officially at the club for 12 years and was self-employed for 10 years prior, serving the club for over two decades before being fired abruptly on Christmas Eve 2024. His dismissal followed a coordinated online smear campaign by pro-Israel Twitter accounts falsely accusing him of antisemitism for posts opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza. In the appeal decision dated 14 February 2025, Arsenal conceded: “The club has never said that your posts were antisemitic. [The dismissal decision-maker] made no finding on that and nor do I.” Despite this, the club upheld the decision to dismiss him on the grounds that he brought the club “into disrepute.” Bonnick’s legal team argues that Arsenal uncritically accepted the prejudiced, Zionist, and racist views of those who targeted him online, prioritising perceived PR risk over the right to political expression. This, they argue, sets a dangerous precedent — punishing workers for voicing support for Palestinian rights. As the UK continues to supply arms to Israel and FIFA refuses to sanction Israel despite widespread calls, workers like Mark are being punished for speaking out. Palestinian athletes are being bombed, stadiums are being destroyed, and entire teams are being lost. Meanwhile, English clubs like Arsenal silence their staff. This case joins a growing list of football-related crackdowns, from Anwar El Ghazi in Germany to Salma Mashhour at Dagenham & Redbridge. Support for Mark is growing rapidly from Arsenal fan groups, campaigners, and human rights organisations. They are calling for: •A public apology from Arsenal •Bonnick’s reinstatement •An end to Arsenal’s complicity in censorship of Palestine solidarity •Anti-racism training for all club staff  Comments  Tasnima Uddin, Advocacy Officer at the ELSC, said: “Arsenal didn’t sack Mark for misconduct or antisemitism — they sacked him for standing with Palestine. This is political censorship. As Palestinian athletes are killed and stadiums destroyed, Arsenal punishes staff for opposing apartheid. You can’t claim neutrality while silencing dissent.” Mark Bonnick said: “Israel is an apartheid state. I was sacked not for misconduct, but for expressing grief and outrage over genocide. Despite being this close to retirement, I have no regrets. Arsenal must apologise, reinstate me, and take a stand against anti-Palestinian racism.” Franck Magennis, Garden Court Barrister representing Bonnick, said: “It’s an honour to represent Mark. His dismissal sends a chilling message to those who speak out against apartheid and genocide. Arsenal must be held accountable.” ENDS

Is this OK?

Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish

a year ago

Video shows Israeli settlers assaulting a Palestinian woman who had reportedly been trying to stop a group from trespassing on her family’s land near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

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My entire life, I wondered how the world stood by as the Jews were shipped off to the gas chambers during the Holocaust. Over the past year, I've stopped wondering. The entire Western political & media class has taught us exactly how genocides happen: 1) Dehumanize the victims 2) Manufacture atrocity propaganda 3) Ignore historical context 4) Obsess over one's own history of victimhood 5) Manufacture false claims of antisemitism What's most shocking is just how easy it has been to compel an entire generation of media & political elites to support genocide.

A thread on the English #RaceRiots. In assessing the aftermath and wrecked lives and smouldering Mosques left behind after the worst English race riots since Nottingham in 1958, it's time to speak some unpalatable and maybe unpopular truths.

All the shit they told us about the West, the philosophy, the music, the architecture, the science, it is all meaningless shit. All fake. It is nothing but the intentional mass murder of children, and the telling of the most despicable and absurd lies about it with a straight face. I don't want to hear or study any Western idea anymore, or even watch a Western movie. I am so disgusted, I feel so deceived. I want to throw up anything Western that I ever took in

We are at a dangerous, pivotal moment for the post-WW2 order. International law has finally coming knocking at the door of a key Washington-aligned state. That means one of two things: Either the US offers up Netanyahu as a sacrificial victim – and the decades-old oppression of the Palestinians continues, as does Washington's long track record of global law-breaking. Or, more likely, the US and its European allies set to work dismantling the edifice of international law, now that it has become an obstacle to continued western lawbreaking. Signs so far are that the US and Europe are already committing to the second course.

@Byoussef

Don't deny the Holocaust unless you want to help delegitimize the pro-Palestine movement. Don't try to make Israeli atrocities about Judaism or Jewishness unless you want to help delegitimize the pro-Palestine movement. Don't conflate Jews as a global collective with a murderous apartheid state unless you want to help delegitimize the pro-Palestine movement. It's not hard to make these distinctions, and the overwhelming majority of pro-Palestine voices have no difficulty doing so. It's also not hard to see what messages Israel apologists will forcefully amplify as evidence that the entire pro-Palestine movement is antisemitic and that everyone needs to shift the focus from stopping an active genocide to fighting an imaginary antisemitism crisis. This isn't about Jews, it's about settler-colonialism and the geostrategic objectives of the western empire — both of which we've seen manifest in countless examples that have nothing to do with Jewish people. Zionism is just one belief system the empire managers will utilize to advance their agendas of planetary hegemony, just as they do with Christian fundamentalism, Islamophobia, humanitarianism, conservatism, progressivism, and any other worldview that can be exploited to their advantage. In short, don't let your opposition to Israeli atrocities turn you into a moron. Don't let your support for the Palestinians turn you into a tool of the empire. Stay on top of that shit. Please and thank you.

The images from Rafah are unbearable. What is there left to say? Do our political leaders not see what we see? Is there really no limit to what Palestinians must endure? Enough! Stop equivocating. Stop stalling. Stop hiding — and call for an immediate ceasefire, now.

Powerful words by 102 years old philosopher Edgar Morin, one of France's most revered intellectual figures, as well as a Jewish WW2 resistant who fought as a lieutenant in De Gaulle's France combattante. x.com/bob30031583/st… Here are his words on Gaza: "I am both astonished and outraged by the fact that those who represent the descendants of a people who were persecuted for centuries for religious or racial reasons... That the descendants of this people who are today the decision-makers of the State of Israel, that they could not only colonize an entire people, partly drive them out of their land and seek to expel them for good... But also, after the massacre of October 7, engaged in a real massive slaughter on the populations of Gaza and continue, incessantly, hitting civilians, women, and children. And to see the silence of the world, the silence of the United States, protectors of Israel, the silence of the Arab states, the silence of the European states who claim to be defenders of culture, humanity, human rights. I think we are living through a horrible tragedy because we are also powerless in the face of this thing that is unleashing. At least, I say: bear witness! The only thing that remains if we cannot resist concretely is to testify. Let's resist in our minds, let's not be fooled, let's not forget, let's have the courage to face things head-on."

Must listen

Mohammed El-Kurd @m7mdkurd

3 years ago

I’m constantly in awe of more and more Palestinians refusing misleading framings from mainstream media. This @yaraeid_ interview on Sky News is an absolute must-see.

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@ShaykhSulaiman @MukhtarAliAden

Explosions are heard in the background as Refaat Alareer gives his testimony of living under Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. "The whole room is filled with gunpowder," @itranslate123 says. "We don't deserve this. We're not animals like the Israelis think. Our kids deserve better."

Did you know that the phrase 'A land without a people for a people without a land', has been used to justify colonisation of Palestine? Watch this video and get the facts! #freepalestine #palestinecolonisation #isrealiterrorism youtu.be/2ZwbD_x0thA

Such sad news. The play world has lost a true giant.

Mohammed El-Kurd @m7mdkurd

3 years ago

I’m constantly in awe of more and more Palestinians refusing misleading framings from mainstream media. This @yaraeid_ interview on Sky News is an absolute must-see.

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The Unchilding of Palestinian children: Bernardspiegal.com

This great thread 👇fits with my vexperience of cycling in Dutch cities. Even Rotterdam - historically the most car-dominated and US-style city.

Mohammed El-Kurd @m7mdkurd

3 years ago

I’m constantly in awe of more and more Palestinians refusing misleading framings from mainstream media. This @yaraeid_ interview on Sky News is an absolute must-see.

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‘Children and young people being seen and heard in a shared public realm are one of the hallmarks of a society at ease with itself.’ PLAYLINK baseline play policy

The 'critical friend' role is designed to assist developers, councils, landscape architects and others committed to creating a green, inclusive, playable, shared public realm.

PLAYLINK Design Principles are now at: playlink.org/design/design-…