It's Mueller Time: April 10-28 2019

Hello, Teen Resisters! There has been a lot going on. Let's all take a deep breath and try to cover it all.
It's unfortunately been a week plagued with violence and hatred. We're taking a moment to remember the 253 people who were killed in Sri Lanka in the terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday. The attacks were carried out in churches and hotels across the country. Hate-based terrorism is a gut-punch to everything we believe in, and we wanted to acknowledge the attacks before launching into our more US-based coverage.

What Went Down:

The Release of the Mueller Report: On Thursday April 18th, the Justice Department released a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2 year, 400-page long report investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as the Trump campaign's involvement in such interference and obstruction of justice in relation to the Special Counsel's investigation. Three weeks prior, Attorney General William Barr released a 4 page summary stating that “the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct.” But as many predicted, Mueller’s findings on obstruction of justice are more nuanced than Barr said. In the end, Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether or not criminal acts. He writes that Trump’s behavior “presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred.” Of these “difficult issues” investigated in the report are Trump's repeated attempts to commit possible obstruction of justice but failing to do so because the people in office around him would not carry out the orders. The report concluded that the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia during the election, but stops short of exonerating the administration completely because of Trump's disdain for the investigation ["When he learned of Mr. Mueller’s appointment, he slumped in his chair and said, 'Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m fucked.'" (NY Times)]. Although Mueller found no concrete evidence of the Trump campaign participating in coordination with the Russian government, the report reveals many instances where suspicious actions occurred and valid reasons to investigate. Since the report has come out, people have been taking it in different ways.  We at Teens Resist are glad to hear that the campaign did not (by Mueller's account) collude with Russia during the elections. We are also deeply concerned by the behavior displayed by the administration over the course of this investigation, and regardless of their actions' criminality, we find the corruption and shadiness displayed to be disgraceful. The best thing to do now? Stay informed.

Actions and further reading:

• If you’re interested, you can read the full report here. For a slightly shorter read, the New York Times compiled a list of key annotated excerpts here. For an even shorter overview, here’s a list of seven key points from the report.
• Stay tuned for the 14 spinoff cases that Mueller mentioned in his report. 

More reactions and responses to the report are constantly coming out. You can read more about a recent development here.

The Burning of Black Churches in Louisiana: Three historically Black churches have burned less than two weeks apart in late March/early April in the St. Landry Parish of Louisiana. The three churches in the heart of Cajun and Creole country have been spiritual homes for generations of Black families that have existed for more than a century. The churches were fortunately empty when the fires occurred. A suspect was charged and arrested for hate crimes and arson but pleaded not guilty despite cellphone records and photographic evidence. New developments have suggested that he has ties to neo-Nazi groups.
Historically, Southern Black churches have been the targets of numerous racist attacks of arson, bombing and armed assault. In 2006, there was a string of arson at various Alabama churches. In 2015 in South Carolina, a white nationalist shot and killed nine people at a Bible study.

What you Can Do:

• Go Fund Me (no longer accepting donations, as it far surpassed its goal):

https://www.gofundme.com/f/church-fires-st-landry-parishmacedonia-ministry

For those still wishing to donate, mail here:
Seventh District Baptist Association
c/o Ruth Jack, Finance Secretary
P O Box 3921
Lafayette, LA 70502

• Speak out against the deep-seeded hatreds that have been so dangerously and violently rising. The Trump admin is certainly not helping defeat the scourge of hatred, and has done nothing concrete to stop it. We'll update you as soon as there is something to push for. Notably, a few weeks ago, there was a hearing on the rise of white nationalism that quickly dissolved into partisan agument. Learn about it here.

Antisemitic Shooting in California: On Saturday, April 27th, a young white nationalist terrorist entered the Shabbat morning services of a synagogue in Poway, California and fired shots, killing one woman, Lori Kaye, and leaving three people wounded. The shooter had previously published an antisemitic manifesto echoing classic anti-Semitic white nationalist ideology. The service being held was for the last day of Passover, one of the most important holidays in a Jewish year. In a disturbing twist, the attack took place exactly six months after eleven Jews were murdered in Pittsburgh during Shabbat. The Rabbi continued his sermon and called for unity and peace even after being shot. The attack follows a dangerous pattern of rising antisemitism. 

What You Can Do:

• Many who have studied antisemitism and its history are not surprised that it is rising in this moment. Throughout history, in moments of social and political turmoil, Jews have come under attack. It's important to understand how antisemitism functions, especially within the context of modern white nationalism, in order to defeat it and ensure it takes no more lives than it already has.
  Here are some must-reads for understanding antisemitism:
  - Eric Ward's "Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism Animates White Nationalism" is an absolutely mandatory read for anyone looking to understand the threat of the white nationalist movement.
  - Yotam Marom's "Toward the Next Jewish Rebellion" is an article that discusses the role of Jews and antisemitism in our own movements. While it is an opinion piece, and we don't take position on everything he writes about, it is a valuable tool for understanding antisemitism.
• As we know, the rampancy of hateful gun violence in this country is proof that guns weaponize deep hatred. We must disarm hate. Go to our Index by Issues page to see all our coverage of gun reform.

Fires at Notre Dame and Al-Aqsa Mosque: Last week, two historic and significant monuments, the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, were ravaged by fires that damaged relatively consequential portions of both landmarks. While the causes of both fires are still under speculation, authorities believe that each case involved negligence from the staff posted in the sites. The main cause of the blaze in Notre Dame is believed to be an electrical short circuit in tandem with the cathedral's lack of fire-prevention provisions, while officials believe the Al-Aqsa fire was caused by children tampering in the area. While Notre Dame suffered extensive damage to its central spire and roof, the structure itself was saved by the consistent efforts of French firefighters to maintain the Medieval staple. Al-Aqsa was thankfully left largely untouched with the flames only really effecting a guard booth. Both of these buildings hold enormous historical significance, with Al-Aqsa being the third holiest site in Islam and Notre Dame being a structure erected more than 800 years ago that has survived two world wars and the French Revolution.

What You Can Do:
-Spread awareness!! While the Notre Dame fire has been chronicled by many sources of mainstream media, what happened at Al-Aqsa has gotten less coverage in the international community. 
-Donate to https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/friends/donate/ (Notre Dame) and https://muslimhands.org.uk/appeals/masjid-al-aqsa (Al-Aqsa)​

All right, everyone. This has been a heavy, heavy list. It's not the best news and we know the action items have been more help-oriented than advocacy. Just know we're here with you and sending you love and support. xoxo.

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