MADRID: Madrid’s Reina Sofia museum said Thursday it had changed the name of a pro-Palestinian program that the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community said furthered a narrative calling for Israel’s extermination.
The museum, one of Spain’s most visited which is home to Pablo Picasso’s historic Guernica painting about the horrors of war, had controversially called the program “From The River To the Sea” — a rallying cry among Palestinians.
The term refers to the borders of the British Palestine mandate between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea before Israel’s establishment in 1948. Some Jewish groups see it as calling for the destruction of Israel.
In a statement, the museum said it had renamed the program “Critical Thinking Gatherings, International Solidarity With Palestine” since the original name was considered “offensive to certain communities.”
The program includes lectures, conversations and meetings with Palestinian artists as well as two art installations, all aimed at demanding “an end of the war and genocide,” according to the museum’s website.
Spain’s FCJE, an umbrella body representing the Jewish community, had denounced the original title of the program.
“This slogan, considered anti-Semitic by the US House of Representatives, implies the elimination of Israel and its inhabitants... it also appears on maps at various rallies where Israel is erased,” it said in a statement.
Spain has been one of Europe’s most critical voices about Israel’s Gaza offensive and is working to rally other European capitals behind the idea of recognizing a Palestinian state.
The Gaza war began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed across the border into southern Israel.
The unprecedented attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, 128 of whom Israel estimates remain in Gaza, including 36 the military says are dead.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a blistering retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 35,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
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After criticism, Spain museum alters name of Palestinian program
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After criticism, Spain museum alters name of Palestinian program
- The museum had controversially called the program “From The River To the Sea”
- Spain’s FCJE, an umbrella body representing the Jewish community, had denounced the original title of the program
Tens of thousands in Washington could face evacuations as rain continues to pound the region
- Tens of thousands of residents in western Washington are facing potential evacuation orders as another round of heavy rain drops on the region
- The rain is threatening to bring catastrophic flooding as rivers near historic levels. Days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain have already triggered rescues and road closures
MOUNT VERNON: Tens of thousands of residents in western Washington could face evacuation orders when another round of heavy rain drops on the region Thursday, threatening to bring catastrophic flooding as rivers near historic levels.
Days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain had already triggered rescues and road closures, and by Wednesday, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency, warning that “lives will be at stake in the coming days.” Some residents have already been ordered to higher ground, with Skagit County, a major agricultural region north of Seattle, ordering those within the Skagit River’s floodplain to evacuate.
“Catastrophic flooding is likely” in many areas and the state is requesting water rescue teams and boats, Ferguson said on the social media platform X on Wednesday night
Hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities, said Gent Welsh, adjutant general of the Washington National Guard.
In a valley leading out to the foothills of Mount Rainier southeast of Seattle, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday rescued people at an RV park in Orting, including helping one man in a Santa hat wade through waist-deep water. Part of the town was ordered to evacuate over concerns about the Puyallup River’s extremely high levels and upstream levees.
A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos from Eastside Fire & Rescue showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks, branches, mud and standing water. Officials also closed a mountainous section of US 2 due to rocks, trees and mud.
More than 17,000 customers in Washington had lost electricity by Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.us.
As of Wednesday night, 4 to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 centimeters) of rain had fallen around the Cascade Mountains in 24 hours, while the Olympic Mountains saw almost 7 inches (17.8 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service.
Flooding rivers could break records
The Skagit River is expected to crest at roughly 47 feet (14.3 meters) in the mountain town of Concrete early Thursday, and roughly 41 feet (12 meters) in Mount Vernon early Friday.
“We feel very confident that we can handle a ‘normal flood,’ but no one really knows what a 41, 42 foot river looks like south of Mount Vernon,” Darrin Morrison, a commissioner for Dike District 3 in Skagit County, said during a public meeting Wednesday night.
The county was closing non-essential government services on Thursday, including all district and superior court services.
Flooding from the river has long plagued Mount Vernon, the largest city in the county with some 35,000 residents. Flooding in 2003 displaced hundreds of people.
The city completed a floodwall in 2018 that helps protect the downtown. It passed a major test in 2021, when the river crested near record levels.
But the city is on high alert. The historic river levels expected Friday could top the wall, and some are worried that older levees could fail.
“It could potentially be catastrophic,” said Ellen Gamson, executive director of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association.
Jake Lambly added sandbags, tested water pumps and moved valuables to the top floor of the home he shares with his 19-year-old son.
“This is my only asset,” he said Wednesday from his front porch. “I got nothing else.”
Cities respond to flooding
Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the weather service in Seattle, described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” stretching across the Pacific Ocean “with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington.”
In Sumas, a small city along the US-Canada border, a flood siren rang out at city hall and residents were told to leave. The border crossing was also closed to southbound commercial vehicles to leave more room for evacuations, according to the Abbotsford Police Department.
Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific study they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but in general it’s responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.
Another storm system is expected to bring more rain starting Sunday.
“The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays,” Rademacher said.
Days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain had already triggered rescues and road closures, and by Wednesday, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency, warning that “lives will be at stake in the coming days.” Some residents have already been ordered to higher ground, with Skagit County, a major agricultural region north of Seattle, ordering those within the Skagit River’s floodplain to evacuate.
“Catastrophic flooding is likely” in many areas and the state is requesting water rescue teams and boats, Ferguson said on the social media platform X on Wednesday night
Hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities, said Gent Welsh, adjutant general of the Washington National Guard.
In a valley leading out to the foothills of Mount Rainier southeast of Seattle, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday rescued people at an RV park in Orting, including helping one man in a Santa hat wade through waist-deep water. Part of the town was ordered to evacuate over concerns about the Puyallup River’s extremely high levels and upstream levees.
A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos from Eastside Fire & Rescue showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks, branches, mud and standing water. Officials also closed a mountainous section of US 2 due to rocks, trees and mud.
More than 17,000 customers in Washington had lost electricity by Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.us.
As of Wednesday night, 4 to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 centimeters) of rain had fallen around the Cascade Mountains in 24 hours, while the Olympic Mountains saw almost 7 inches (17.8 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service.
Flooding rivers could break records
The Skagit River is expected to crest at roughly 47 feet (14.3 meters) in the mountain town of Concrete early Thursday, and roughly 41 feet (12 meters) in Mount Vernon early Friday.
“We feel very confident that we can handle a ‘normal flood,’ but no one really knows what a 41, 42 foot river looks like south of Mount Vernon,” Darrin Morrison, a commissioner for Dike District 3 in Skagit County, said during a public meeting Wednesday night.
The county was closing non-essential government services on Thursday, including all district and superior court services.
Flooding from the river has long plagued Mount Vernon, the largest city in the county with some 35,000 residents. Flooding in 2003 displaced hundreds of people.
The city completed a floodwall in 2018 that helps protect the downtown. It passed a major test in 2021, when the river crested near record levels.
But the city is on high alert. The historic river levels expected Friday could top the wall, and some are worried that older levees could fail.
“It could potentially be catastrophic,” said Ellen Gamson, executive director of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association.
Jake Lambly added sandbags, tested water pumps and moved valuables to the top floor of the home he shares with his 19-year-old son.
“This is my only asset,” he said Wednesday from his front porch. “I got nothing else.”
Cities respond to flooding
Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the weather service in Seattle, described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” stretching across the Pacific Ocean “with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington.”
In Sumas, a small city along the US-Canada border, a flood siren rang out at city hall and residents were told to leave. The border crossing was also closed to southbound commercial vehicles to leave more room for evacuations, according to the Abbotsford Police Department.
Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific study they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but in general it’s responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.
Another storm system is expected to bring more rain starting Sunday.
“The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays,” Rademacher said.
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