عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Human Rights Advocates Slam Trump for 'Palestinian' Insult in Debate with Biden

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT
TT

Human Rights Advocates Slam Trump for 'Palestinian' Insult in Debate with Biden

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, US, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Human rights advocates on Friday condemned former President Donald Trump's references to Palestinians, and immigrants allegedly taking Black American jobs, during Thursday's debate with President Joe Biden, calling the remarks racist or insulting.

Biden and Trump had a brief exchange on the war in Gaza but did not have a substantive discussion on how to end the conflict which has killed 38,000 in the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry, and caused a massive humanitarian crisis with widespread hunger.

"The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas," Biden said. Trump responded by saying Biden has "become like a Palestinian," which rights advocates said came across as a slur.

"Actually, Israel is the one (that wants to keep going), and you should let them go and let them finish the job. He (Biden) doesn’t want to do it. He's become like a Palestinian but they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one," Trump said, Reuters reported.

On Friday, Trump again used the term 'Palestinian' in a similar way, this time saying in a rally that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, was Palestinian. "He's become a Palestinian because they have a couple more votes or something," he added.

The Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group said Biden was wrong to claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the war to end, while adding it viewed Trump's Palestinian comment in the debate as a racist insult.

"Former President Trump's use of 'Palestinian' as an insult was racist. President Biden's touting of his military support for the Israeli government's genocide in Gaza was callous," Corey Saylor, research and advocacy director at CAIR, said in a statement. Israel denies allegations of genocide.

"To insinuate that being Palestinian is somehow a bad thing, as former President Trump did when he called President Biden Palestinian, reeks of racism and anti-Arab hatred," Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, told Reuters.

Human rights advocates have reported a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism in the US since the latest eruption of conflict in the Middle East. The war in Gaza and Washington's support for Israel has also led to months of protests across the United States calling for an end to the conflict.

Trump also faced criticism for using the term "Black jobs" and "Hispanic jobs" while claiming immigrants who were coming into the United States from its border with Mexico were taking away those employment opportunities.

The Trump campaign did not have an immediate comment to the criticism.

Immigration is a key election issue and Trump has claimed Biden has failed to secure the southern US border, ushering in scores of criminals. Studies show immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.

"The fact is that his (Biden's) big kill on the Black people is the millions of people that he's allowed to come in through the border," Trump said during the debate. "They're taking Black jobs, and they're taking Hispanic jobs."

Civil rights organization NAACP wrote on X: "What exactly are Black and Hispanic Jobs!?!". It added: "There is no such thing as a Black Job."

Amnesty International's O'Brien told Reuters that Trump's comments on immigration were grounded in white supremacy.

"It is disheartening that false narratives grounded in white supremacy and racism about people seeking asylum at the border and immigrant communities in the United States continue to permeate our national discourse," he added.

Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, an organization that works to mobilize Black voters, said Trump's remarks were not true and that Biden should have pushed back harder on such false claims.

"That there are specific Black jobs for Black people that immigrants are coming to take. Utter nonsense," Shropshire said.

Trump's campaign has made an effort to court Black voters, with the former president visiting Detroit and Philadelphia in recent weeks. Some polls have shown a downtick in support for Biden among Black voters, who historically have been among the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting blocs.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Turkish-Owned Ship Allowed to Pass Through Strait of Hormuz, Minister Says

A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)
A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Turkish-Owned Ship Allowed to Pass Through Strait of Hormuz, Minister Says

A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)
A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP)

A Turkish-owned ship that had been waiting near Iran was allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after authorities received permission from Tehran, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir ‌Uraloglu was reported ‌as saying by ‌local ⁠media.

Ankara was continuing ⁠contacts with Iranian officials regarding the situation of the remaining 14 Turkish-owned vessels there, Uraloglu told reporters ⁠late on Thursday, ‌news website ‌Haberturk said.

"Fifteen ships (with Turkish ‌owners) were there; we ‌obtained permission from the Iranian authorities for one of them, which had used ‌an Iranian port, and it passed," Uraloglu ⁠was ⁠quoted as saying.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, leaving tankers and other ships stranded, which has stoked concerns about global energy supply.

World

US Wants to 'Divide Europe', EU's Kallas Tells FT

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
TT
TT

US Wants to 'Divide Europe', EU's Kallas Tells FT

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the US wants to "divide Europe" and doesn't "like the European Union" in an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday, after more than a year of turmoil in transatlantic relations.

"What I think is actually important for everybody to understand is that the US has been very clear that they ‌want to divide ‌Europe. They don't like the ‌European ⁠Union," Kallas told the ⁠FT.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted the European Union in his second term, imposing tariffs on member countries and others and talking about annexing Greenland - a move that could effectively end the NATO alliance.

This week, Trump's administration ⁠launched trade investigations into the EU and ‌other countries, including ‌China, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, over what ‌it said were unfair trade practices. Under the ‌investigation, the countries could face new tariffs by this summer, after the US Supreme Court tore down much of Trump's tariff program last month.

Kallas said ‌the United States' approach to the EU echoed tactics used by the bloc's ⁠adversaries, ⁠according to the FT.

EU countries should not be looking to deal with Trump bilaterally, she said, and instead should deal with him together, "because we are equal powers when we are together," the FT reported.

On defense, however, Kallas said the bloc needed "to buy from America because we don't have the assets or the possibilities or the capabilities that we need," adding that Europe needed to invest in its own defense industry.

World

Israelis Demand Netanyahu Clarify War’s Exit Strategy

Israelis take shelter in a subway station as sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on March 7 (AP)
Israelis take shelter in a subway station as sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on March 7 (AP)
TT
TT

Israelis Demand Netanyahu Clarify War’s Exit Strategy

Israelis take shelter in a subway station as sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on March 7 (AP)
Israelis take shelter in a subway station as sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on March 7 (AP)

Growing public unease in Israel over the war with Iran has prompted mounting calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to clarify the conflict’s objectives and trajectory.

The demands follow conflicting statements about when the war might end, coupled with Netanyahu’s continued refusal to answer questions from the press. Instead, the prime minister has released daily video statements as the conflict entered its 13th day. Government ministers have also reportedly been instructed not to speak with journalists.

Media outlets sharply criticized the government on Thursday, arguing that the public is being left in the dark about the war’s goals or its possible duration.

Some commentators say both Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump entered the conflict without a clear exit strategy. Trump has suggested that the war’s objectives have largely been achieved, while Netanyahu has said the fighting will continue “as long as necessary,” without specifying a timeline.

Tensions ran high overnight Wednesday after rumors spread of a major coordinated missile attack by Iran and Hezbollah. Israeli journalists who investigated the reports found that the information appeared credible. However, attempts to publish the story were blocked by Israel’s military censor.

Reporters initially assumed the censorship was intended to protect intelligence sources. But within an hour, the same information appeared on the American network CNN, citing security sources in Tel Aviv, prompting anger among Israeli journalists.

As rumors circulated, fear among residents quickly escalated into panic, with some people rushing to shelters even though no air-raid sirens had sounded.

The incident triggered sharp criticism of the military censor in Israeli media. Journalists and analysts accused authorities of withholding critical information from the public.

Nitzan Shapira, a correspondent for Channel 12 whose report was blocked, said the decision deprived citizens of the opportunity to prepare calmly for incoming missiles.

“Instead of Israeli citizens receiving timely information that would allow them to move to shelters in an orderly way, the censor intervened and withheld the information until people heard it from foreign sources,” he said. “This is an absurd situation.”

A military commentator on the right-leaning Channel 14 went further, accusing the army of weakness. He argued that intelligence warnings about a potential wave of Hezbollah rocket fire should have prompted stronger military action, including strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut.

Meanwhile, Israeli social media circulated statements attributed to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming Tehran could launch large-scale attacks using Kheibar, Qader, and Khorramshahr missiles capable of striking wide-ranging areas for hours.

Israeli military officials said they had no evidence that simultaneous activity from Iran and Lebanon was part of a coordinated campaign. Still, the possibility of attacks on two fronts heightened public concern.

Local leaders in Israel’s northern Galilee region, returning from a meeting with Home Front Command, urged residents to remain close to shelters and maintain heightened readiness.

There has also been growing unease along Israel’s northern border. Since Hezbollah joined the conflict, it has carried out repeated rocket attacks. Although fewer in number than earlier barrages before the last ceasefire, some reportedly included precision missiles with ranges of up to 165 kilometers.

Yet, Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin sought to calm the public, saying the military was aware of concerns about a possible escalation.

“There is no change in the protective guidelines issued by the Home Front Command,” Defrin said, urging Israelis to follow civil defense instructions.

In Israeli media, Defrin has become the main official voice addressing the public, while many journalists say they remain constrained by censorship.

Some now openly question whether such restrictions are appropriate for what they describe as a Western democracy in 2026.