A Tree grows in Cleveland

🔥 Jarvis Landry & Leonard Fournette. Torch Stefanski 😂 “I would never ever want to play for him. The spark connection between players and coaches started to dim out"

New York is cooked

‼️Texas Prosecutors Seek 10-Year Sentence for “Fuck Israel” Graffiti The first of the “Tarrant 3” is on trial in Fort Worth, Texas in a case that civil liberties advocates warn could set a dangerous precedent for criminalizing Palestine solidarity. Raunaq Alam, 32, is charged with spray-painting “Fuck Israel 🔻🔻🔻” and placing pro-Palestine stickers on the wall of Uncommon Church in Euless, Texas, in March 2024. But a Class B misdemeanor graffiti charge for $196 in damage was escalated by the Tarrant County District Attorney to a third-degree felony with a hate-crime enhancement. The state alleges the act was motivated by “bias against Israel or the Jewish faith,” exposing Alam to up to 10 years in prison. The prosecution’s case rests on the unprecedented claim that Israel – a foreign state – can be named as the victim in a Texas hate-crime prosecution, a theory defense attorneys argue stretches the statute beyond its constitutional limits. Alam’s attorneys have sought to suppress certain evidence, arguing that police illegally searched and seized his car – opening the trunk and photographing items – two days before obtaining a warrant. FBI agents later assisted in executing the arrest. On Wednesday, the defense called two prominent Jewish scholars to rebut the prosecution’s claim that anti-Zionism is equivalent to antisemitism. Prof. Debra Armintor, a founding member of Jewish Voice for Peace’s Dallas–Fort Worth chapter, told jurors that ‘Fuck Israel’ is a political statement, no different from saying ‘Fuck Russia,’ and argued that comparing Israeli policies to genocide is historical analysis, not Holocaust denial. Holocaust historian Barry Trachtenberg, who holds the Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History at Wake Forest University, likewise testified that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and emphasized that hate-crime laws cannot shield a government from criticism: ‘A state is not a person. It is a political entity subject to critique.’ Their testimony directly challenged the state’s effort to portray criticism of Israel as hatred of Jews. Activists have rallied outside the courthouse all week. Organizer Stacey Monroe has called the case a dangerous and legally flawed attempt to silence dissent, accusing the Tarrant County D.A. of trying to criminalize opposition to Israel’s siege, blockade, and genocide. She described it as a clear case of Islamophobia and racism being weaponized to intimidate and said supporters will not be bullied. Jury deliberations are expected to begin Friday. Trials for the two co-defendants are set for September 30.