Center for Freedom and Justice – Colorado Presents: A Tale of two COVID-19 Responses: Israel and Palestine. Thursday, May 13, 2021 @ 6-7:15 Mountain States Time. An interview with Professor Yara M. Asi, a Post-Doctoral Scholar at the University of Central Florida specializing in health in fragile and conflict-affected states. Live on YouTube and Facebook.

Center for Freedom and Justice – Colorado Interviews Yara M. Asi, Non-resident Fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC, a Policy Member of Al-Shabaka, and a Post-Doctoral Scholar at the University of Central Florida specializing in health in fragile and conflict-affected states. Live on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OozxoZQv3kohursday, May 13, 2021 from 6 -7:15 pm MST.

Live Facebook link to follow in a few datys.

Dr. Asi will be talking about the discrepancy between how Israel dealt swiftly and effectively with the COVID-19 pandemic within Israel’s borders but has largely failed to do likewise among Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories (West Bank and Gaza).

“Perhaps more urgently, the entanglement of Palestinians and Israelis – with Israeli settlers and soldiers on Palestinian lands and Palestinian workers entering Israel daily – should have made a clear and obvious health case to Israeli authorities. Even Israeli public health experts called for Israel to vaccinate the entire Palestinian population. But instead of implementing a comprehensive vaccination plan for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian population, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to send thousands of doses around the world as rewards to countries that agreed to move embassies to Jerusalem and for other political considerations. This cynical vaccine diplomacy plan was frozen almost immediately due to legal challenges and significant global criticism. Israel faced further criticism when Israeli politicians delayed, and debated blocking completely, a small shipment of vaccines from Palestinians in the West Bank to Gaza, citing a desire to extract political concessions in exchange.”

For more information: cfjcolorado@gmail.com