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Brian Whitaker

@brianwhitaker.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.2K following 131 posts

Journalist, former Middle East editor of the Guardian newspaper. Author of 'Arabs Without God: Atheism and Freedom of Belief in the Middle East', plus several other books about the region. Website: al-bab.com

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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Deniers of chemical attacks in Syria claim employment tribunal’s ruling proves them right al-bab.com/blog/2026/05...
al-bab.com
Deniers of chemical attacks in Syria claim employment tribunal’s ruling proves them right
One of the gas cylinders implicated in the Douma chemical attack
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Satellite Imagery Reveals Strikes on Iranian Police Stations www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-...
bellingcat.com
Satellite Imagery Reveals Strikes on Iranian Police Stations - bellingcat
The US has released a list of military targets in Iran, including IRGC headquarters and missile systems. But Bellingcat has reviewed strikes against another type of target inside the Islamic Republic ...
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Dan Kaszeta FRHistS @dankaszeta.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
OK. Green smoke. Coloured smoke grenades have existed for decades. They are for signalling purposes. They are not meant for riot control purposes. As with any smoke, they are irritating, but they are not meant for that purpose, so use as "riot control" agents is an off-label usage.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Grok also suggests Hebrew has unique characteristics that make Hebrew posts on X appear more inflammatory than they really are when auto-translated.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Grok has a particular objection to translating figurative language, e.g. "iron fist" (in Hebrew) should not be translated into English as "iron fist".
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Anyone who does translation work should take a look at Grok's posts about Hebrew (x.com/search?q=gro...). Grok (Elon?) has ideas about good/bad translation that strike me as pretty weird.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
3/3 The chatbot, Grok, has been busy on X trying to persuade sceptical X users that this was a brilliant idea, but it now seems to have been abandoned.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
2/3 This wasn’t due to a bug in the system but the result of a policy decision not to translate Hebrew-language posts that artificial intelligence had classified as “inflammatory”. Meanwhile, Hebrew posts deemed to be “neutral” were unaffected.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
1/3 In the last few days something odd has been happening with posts on X in Hebrew. Non-Hebrew speakers would click “translate” and, for some posts, would get a translation. Other posts, though, would trigger a message saying “Hebrew is not currently supported for translation”.
medium.com
How X got into a muddle over ‘inflammatory’ posts in Hebrew
Over the last few days something odd has been happening with posts on X in Hebrew. Non-Hebrew speakers wishing to know what they were…
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
6/6 Among other things, UKLFI claims Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is lawful and that Jewish settlements there are legitimate. It objects to talk of apartheid as strongly as it objects to talk of genocide.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
5/6 UKLFI insists there is no evidence of genocide and portrays the allegations as a backdoor way of stirring up antisemitism. It describes them as an example of “Holocaust Inversion”.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
4/6 One of its targets is a series of posters by Médecins Sans Frontières which mention genocide. UKLFI claims they are "insulting" and illegal under two sections of the Public Order Act.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
3/6 Since the beginning of July it has taken up at least ten separate cases of distress  among Israel's supporters – some of them upset by seeing the word “genocide”, others by the sight of Palestinian flags.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
2/6 UKLFI is providing legal support for people claiming to be distressed  –  not by the terrible situation in Gaza but by public condemnations of it. al-bab.com/blog/2025/08...
al-bab.com
UKLFI complains that talk of genocide is distressing for Israel’s supporters
A pro-Israel organisation whose chief executive claimed the Gaza war could increase the life expectancy of Palestinians by reducing obesity rates has come up with another grotesque idea. It is providi...
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
6/6 Among other things, UKLFI claims Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is lawful and that Jewish settlements there are legitimate. It objects to talk of apartheid as strongly as it objects to talk of genocide.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
5/6 UKLFI insists there is no evidence of genocide and portrays the allegations as a backdoor way of stirring up antisemitism. It describes them as an example of “Holocaust Inversion”.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
4/6 One of its targets is a series of posters by Médecins Sans Frontières which mention genocide. UKLFI claims they are "insulting" and illegal under two sections of the Public Order Act.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
3/6 Since the beginning of July it has taken up at least ten separate cases of distress  among Israel's supporters – some of them upset by seeing the word “genocide”, others by the sight of Palestinian flags.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
🧵1/6 UKLFI, the pro-Israel organisation whose chief executive claimed the Gaza war could increase the life expectancy of Palestinians by reducing obesity rates, has come up with another grotesque idea ...
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Re Zelenskyy's attire: In WW2 Winston Churchill wore a one-piece "siren suit" for meetings with Roosevelt (at the White House), Eisenhower and Stalin.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
At least 365 people have been arrested at a demonstration in London in support of proscribed group Palestine Action, police say. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Palestine Action protesters arrested by police at London demo
Protesters simultaneously unveiled signs with the same message
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Liverpool People's History @liverpoolph.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
1/4 Activists campaigning against Britain’s military presence in Northern Ireland faced surveillance and prosecution during the 1970s. liverpoolpeopleshistory.org/2025/01/07/s...
liverpoolpeopleshistory.org
‘Seducing’ soldiers | Liverpool People's History
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
It seems very likely Bob Vylan will be prosecuted, if only to make an example of them. Worth noting, though, that it's the sort of case where juries sometimes turn bolshie and deliver the "wrong" verdict.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
@liverpoolph.bsky.social
bsky.app
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
@liverpoolph.bsky.social
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Shush! Don't mention genocide! (1 February 2025) al-bab.com/blog/2025/02...
al-bab.com
Shush! Don't mention genocide!
An advertisement containing the word "genocide" has been removed from a billboard in London after pro-Israel lawyers claimed it posed a threat to public order.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Pro-Israel lawyers target climate activists over Gaza (10 January 2025) al-bab.com/blog/2025/01...
al-bab.com
Pro-Israel lawyers target climate activists over Gaza
Activists say the Gaza war is "inextricably linked" to the climate crisis. Undated photo by CJC
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Harassment claim by pro-Israel lawfare group ‘wholly without merit’ (5 December 2024) al-bab.com/blog/2024/12...
al-bab.com
Harassment claim by pro-Israel lawfare group ‘wholly without merit’
A youth theatre in Brighton is the latest victim of bullying by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a lawfare organisation that tries to stifle support for the rights of Palestinians by threatening legal a...
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Pro-Israel campaigners get references to genocide removed from art exhibition (19 September 2024) al-bab.com/blog/2024/09...
al-bab.com
Pro-Israel campaigners get references to genocide removed from art exhibition
One of the exhibits in the "Unbroken Threads" exhibition
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Cultural genocide: the battle to suppress Palestinian voices (17 September 2024) al-bab.com/blog/2024/09...
al-bab.com
Cultural genocide: the battle to suppress Palestinian voices
By Brian Whitaker  Published 17 September 2024   The Gaza war has long tentacles. In Britain, art galleries and concert halls are becoming part of the battleground. Cultural events that give voice to Palestinians or support their right to nationhood are under attack from pro-Israel campaigners seeking to suppress them.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Prominent Jewish peer resigns from pro-Israel activist group (10 September 2024) al-bab.com/blog/2024/09...
al-bab.com
Prominent Jewish peer resigns from pro-Israel activist group
Lord Carlile, a prominent Jewish member of the House of Lords, has resigned as a patron of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a controversial activist group which uses its members’ legal skills to combat ...
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Pro-Israel lawyers target London arts venue in move to silence Palestinian voices (31 August 2024) al-bab.com/blog/2024/08...
al-bab.com
Pro-Israel lawyers target London arts venue in move to silence Palestinian voices
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
From warfare to lawfare: Israel's other battleground (2 August 2024) al-bab.com/blog/2024/08...
al-bab.com
From warfare to lawfare: Israel's other battleground
Far away from the carnage in Gaza there’s a small army of lawyers in Britain battling against critics of Israel. UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) uses its members’ legal skills to combat “attempts to und...
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
🧵UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) is getting a lot of attention following disgusting remarks by its chief executive, Jonathan Turner. For anyone not aware of the group's activities, here's some background ...
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
(5/5) The conclusion to be drawn, apparently, is that Gazans who survive the war will emerge leaner and fitter, thanks to the Israeli blockade on food and other essentials preventing them from over-eating.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
(4/5) His letter cited two pre-war studies of overweight and obesity in Gaza – one relating to women and children, the other to the weight of health workers.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
(3/5) The estimate, Turner wrote, "ignores factors that may increase life expectancy, bearing in mind that obesity was one of the biggest health issues in Gaza prior to the current war". www.uklfi.com/wp-content/u...
uklfi.com
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
(2/5) Chief executive Jonathan Turner made his extraordinary claim last week in a letter disputing casualty statistics – among them an estimate of "indirect" casualties such as people dying from untreated illnesses because of the destruction of health facilities.
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Brian Whitaker @brianwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
🧵(1/5) The war in Gaza may be improving the health of Palestinians and increasing life expectancy, according to the head of UKLFI, a British organisation that works to stifle criticism of Israel.
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Maryam Aldossari @maryamaldossari.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
Amnesty International has documented the Saudi authorities’ increasing crackdown on freedom of expression, targeting citizens and foreign nationals, many sentenced to lengthy prison terms solely for peacefully exercising their right to free expression. www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actio...
amnesty.org.uk
Saudi Arabia: Upcoming Hearing For Detained British National
We are Amnesty International UK. We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.
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Reposted by Brian Whitaker
Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
‘Kennedy told reporters that there were "many, many good ways to treat measles and doctors need to know that and to know those methods.’ One problem; there is no treatment for measles. Signed, a doctor who’s been forced to deal with measles because of this stupid fraud.
cbsnews.com
RFK Jr. asks CDC for new measles treatment guidance amid his unfounded claims
Kennedy claimed that drugs like budesonide and clarithromycin "have been shown very effective" for measles, but doctors say they don't fight the infection itself.
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Reposted by Brian Whitaker
Liverpool People's History @liverpoolph.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
The Fisher Bendix factory in Kirkby had been built with government help to ease unemployment in the area but it wasn’t a success. In 1972 when the owners tried to shut it down workers occupied the factory and later began running it themselves. liverpoolpeopleshistory.org/2025/01/07/b...
liverpoolpeopleshistory.org
Under new management: the Fisher Bendix story | Liverpool People's History
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Liverpool People's History @liverpoolph.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
The International Garden Festival in 1984 attracted more than three million visitors and helped to regenerate Liverpool. But what benefit did the visitors get from it? liverpoolpeopleshistory.org/2025/04/13/i...
liverpoolpeopleshistory.org
The International Garden Festival: a treat for ʽcomfortable Britain’ | Liverpool People's History
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Liverpool People's History @liverpoolph.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
In 1971 there were two notable court cases in Liverpool where black men accused of possessing cannabis were acquitted after claiming police had planted it – a practice known in the force as "agriculture". liverpoolpeopleshistory.org/2025/01/07/p...
liverpoolpeopleshistory.org
Police, drugs and ‘agriculture’ in Toxteth | Liverpool People's History
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Liverpool People's History @liverpoolph.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Litttlewoods football pools once provided jobs for thousands of Liverpool women. Former employees describe what it was like to work there. liverpoolpeopleshistory.org/2025/03/13/l...
liverpoolpeopleshistory.org
Littlewoods Pools: where women ‘never had time to get bored’ | Liverpool People's History
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Liverpool People's History @liverpoolph.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Liverpool People’s History is intended as a collaborative project and public participation is strongly encouraged. liverpoolpeopleshistory.org/about-liverp...
liverpoolpeopleshistory.org
About the People’s History website | Liverpool People's History
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Alison Killing @alisonkilling.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
Same story, posted same time: Bluesky - 393 reposts, 551 likes Twitter/X - 3 retweets, 7 likes
Screenshot of Bluesky skeet about FT story where Venezuelan migrants who had signed papers to go back to Venezuela were instead sent to a prison in El Salvador. It has been reposted 393 times and liked 551 times. Screenshot of tweet (on Twitter/X) about FT story where Venezuelan migrants who had signed papers to go back to Venezuela were instead sent to a prison in El Salvador. It has been viewed 357  times, retweeted 3 times and liked 7 times.
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
This is unbelievable in that way that only Trump stories can be. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n...
nytimes.com
Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million. Note That Number. (Gift Article)
A quarter century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.
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