Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington

A prominent left-wing and nationalist political party in Ireland has confirmed that it will not attend St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washinton, DC next month due to “incompatible values” with US President Donald Trump following the announcement of his plan to “take over” Gaza and rebuild it into an economic hub.

Claire Hanna — leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the once dominant party of Irish nationalism in Northern Ireland — announced the decision as a stance against Trump’s proposal for the Palestinian enclave, where Israel and the terrorist group Hamas have been fighting for 16 months.

“The SDLP’s values are incompatible with what we are seeing and hearing, and we won’t be endorsing it on St Patrick’s Day,” Hanna, a member of the British parliament, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We understand the importance of the relationship between the US and this island [Ireland], but the politics of the current US administration mean it is essential that we stand up for what is right, and when it comes to Gaza, what is wrong.”

Last year, Hanna’s predecessor also refused to attend the White House festivities as a protest against US support for Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

At the time, then-party leader Colum Eastwood accused Washington of having an “atrocious” response to the Middle Eastern conflict — which began with Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — and refused to celebrate “while the civilian population in Gaza lives in constant fear of eradication.”

In line with her predecessor’s stance, Hanna justified this week’s decision by saying the SDLP “could not endorse the US government while it armed and supported the bombardment of Gaza.”

“We hope the fragile ceasefire will deliver a lasting peace and the return of hostages to their families, but the rhetoric of Donald Trump, around the displacement and ethnic cleansing of millions of people, is absolutely beyond the pale,” she said. “We can’t in good conscience attend parties hosted in that context.”

The SDLP also posted on social media announcing its decision, writing, “Ireland has a proud history of solidarity with Palestine.”

Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their Oct. 7 onslaught. After 16 months of fighting, both sides agreed to a ceasefire and hostage-release deal last month, with the first phase set to last six weeks.

Trump last week proposed resettling Gaza’s Palestinians in Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab countries while the US “takes over” the coastal enclave and builds it up into a “Riviera of the Middle East.” His comments have been met with immense backlash, with some observers accusing him of supporting an ethnic cleansing plan. However, proponents of the proposal argue that it could offer Palestinians a better future and would mitigate the threat posed by Hamas.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, and Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, have yet to announce whether they will attend St Patrick’s Day events in Washington next month.

Traditionally, political leaders from Ireland take part in celebrations at the White House each March, when the Irish premier usually presents a bowl of shamrock to the US President.

Even with its decision, Hanna said the SDLP will maintain relationships with US officials, “particularly with those trying to resist and combat the overreach of the current administration.”

Since the aftermath of the Oct. 7 atrocities, Ireland has been a fierce critic of the Jewish state.

Last month, Irish President Michael D. Higgins used his platform speaking at a Holocaust commemoration to launch a tirade against Israel’s military campaign targeting Hamas terrorists, seemingly drawing parallels between Israel’s war in Gaza and the Nazis’ genocide of Jews.

Amid a downward spiral in relations between the two countries, Ireland joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In December, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin, accusing the Irish government of undermining Israel at international forums and promoting “extreme anti-Israel policies.”

Irish leaders have previously called on the EU to “review its trade relations” with Israel after the Israeli parliament passed a law banning UNRWA activities in the country due to its ties to Hamas.

Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, claiming the move was accelerated by the Israel-Hamas war and would help foster a two-state solution, which Israeli officials described as a “reward for terrorism.”

The post Irish Leftist, Nationalist Party to Boycott St. Patrick’s Day Events at White House Over Trump’s Gaza Plan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Scarlett Johansson attends The American Museum of Natural History’s 2024 Museum Gala at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, December 5, 2024. Photo: Anthony Behar/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Actress Scarlett Johansson is protesting an unauthorized, AI-generated video that circulated on social media on Tuesday showing her and other Jewish celebrities opposing Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, for his recent antisemitic behavior.

The video begins with an AI version of Johansson, 40, wearing a white t-shirt that features on the front a hand with its middle finger extended. In the center of the hand is a Star of David and “Kanye” is written underneath the hand.

Other Jewish celebrities are featured in the AI-generated video wearing the same exact shirt, including David Schwimmer, Ben Stiller, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Spielberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Sacha Baron Cohen, Drake, Jack Black, Mila Kunis, and Lenny Kravitz. The Hebrew song “Hava Nagila” plays throughout the video. It concludes with an AI version of Adam Sandler flipping his finger at the camera, followed by the words “Enough is Enough” and “Join the Fight Against Antisemitism.” Others featured in the clip include Jake Gyllenhaal, Woody Allen, Adam Levine, Lisa Kudrow, and Natalie Portman.

In response to the video, Johansson condemned what she called “the misuse of AI, no matter what its messaging” in a statement to People magazine. The “Black Widow” star also called on US lawmakers to pass legislation that would limit the use of AI.

“It has been brought to my attention by family members and friends, that an AI-generated video featuring my likeness, in response to an antisemitic view, has been circulating online and gaining traction,” she told the magazine. “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”

In November 2023, Johansson threatened legal action against a company that used an AI image similar to her own, without her permission, for an advertisement. In May 2024, she accused OpenAI’s ChatGPT system, called Sky, of using a voice “eerily similar” to her own without her permission. The “Astroid City” star told People magazine in her statement that she has been “a very public victim” of AI, “but the truth is that the threat of AI affects each and every one of us.”

“There is a 1,000-foot wave coming regarding AI that several progressive countries, not including the United States, have responded to in a responsible manner. It is terrifying that the US government is paralyzed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI,” she noted. The actress said in conclusion: “I urge the US government to make the passing of legislation limiting AI use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”

The post Scarlett Johansson Criticizes AI Video of Her Condemning Kanye West’s Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A protester holding a flag with the words “Gaza” and “Sudan” as rapper Kendrick Lamar performed during the Super Bowl halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025. Photo: Screenshot

The dancer who unfurled a combined Sudanese and Palestinian flag during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance on Sunday night said he felt obligated to draw attention to the “suffering” of those in the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip and the civil war in Sudan.

“I felt like I didn’t have a choice,” Muslim protester Zül-Qarnain Nantambu, 41, told Al Jazeera. “When I saw what my position was, it was a great stage … I had an opportunity on a grand scale to bring awareness or to speak out against wrong of our Muslim brothers and sisters. I didn’t want to face my creator with a sign of weak faith when I knew I had an opportunity to show I didn’t have weak faith.”

“They are oppressed, and suffering, and treated with injustice, and it’s on a wide scale,” he added. “I wanted to show the solidarity for those afflicted by this, that they’re being remembered here in America … I thought that I could contribute to taking it to the next level with this activism and protest and enlightenment to make other people aware of what’s going on in other parts of the world.”

Nantambu was asked if he is worried about the repercussions of his actions and how it might affect his ability to find work in the future. The dancer, who dubs himself a “freedom fighter,” replied, “I trust in God. I fear God more than I fear man or the loss of wealth. I fear losing the pleasure of Allah.”

The Muslim dancer was part of a 400-member dance team that performed alongside Lamar at Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The show included cameos by Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, Serena Williams, and DJ Mustard.

Toward the end of Lamar’s performance, Nantambu climbed on top of a car used as a prop in the performance and raised a combined Sudanese-Palestinian flag. On the white sections of the flag, he had written “Sudan” with a heart drawn next to it and “Gaza” alongside an image of a solidarity fist. While still displaying the flag, Nantambu jumped off the car and continued to wave it while standing on the ground near other dancers, before security personnel tackled and escorted him out of the stadium. The New Orleans Police Department said no arrest or summons were issued, but the National Football League issued Nantambu a lifetime ban to all NFL stadiums and events.

The NFL added the Nantambu concealed the combined Sudanese-Palestinian flag and unveiled it during Lamar’s performance without prior knowledge by the show’s production team.

Nantambu told CNN he spent two weeks, eight hours a day, practicing with the other dancers to prepare for the Super Bowl halftime show. He did not tell anyone about his plan to unveil the flag during Lamar’s performance.

The post Super Bowl Protester Breaks Silence About Disrupting Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show With ‘Sudan, Gaza’ Flag first appeared on Algemeiner.com.