NEW FROM FMEP
Palestinian Citizens of Israel, the Future, and Inconsequential Palestinian State Recognition (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and analyst Diana Buttu. They discuss Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have long navigated Israeli racism and have faced accelerated repression over the last 22 months that has included arrests, threats, and efforts to impeach Palestinian Knesset Member Ayman Odeh and undermine Palestinian political participation inside of Israel. They talk about responses to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, including recent protests and hunger strikes led by Palestinian citizens of Israel as well as growing numbers of Jewish Israelis who are naming Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. They also look at the new diplomatic wave led by many Western states promising to recognize a Palestinian state and, specifically, how that state recognition is juxtaposed against the International Court of Justice’s rulings on Israeli occupation. Finally, Diana reflects on the legacy of the Oslo Accords and the reckoning on those agreements that has never occurred.
“No Way But Forward”: Life in the Gaza Strip (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
Former FMEP President Matt Duss speaks with professor & author Brian Barber, who recently published No Way But Forward: Life Stories of Three Families in the Gaza Strip. The book tells the stories of day-t0-day life under decades of military occupation, building on the close relationships Brian built there through many years of academic research. Brian maintains close contact with the families and finishes the book with a section on each family’s harrowing efforts to survive the current genocide in Gaza. Brian and Matt discuss the book — how Brian came to write it, the contents of it, and the challenge of publishing it — as well as Brian’s experience of encountering Palestinian communities, overcoming unconscious biases, and withstanding direct challenges to the legitimacy of Palestinian voices in order to fulfill a promise and share Palestinian stories.
FMEP Legislative Round-Up August 15, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Recess Travel to Israel & West Bank (to show support for/solidarity with Israel & Greater Israel); 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: August 14, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
- Israel to Approve E-1 Settlement Next Week; 2. Israel Published Tenders for Huge Expansion of Ma’ale Adumim Settlement; 3. Israel Publishes Tenders for Construction of a New Settlement, Ariel West; 4. Plan for Yeshiva in Sheikh Jarrah Advances Again As Israel Seeks New Ways to Expel Palestinian Residents; 5. Israel Advances Plan for New Settlement “Nofey Rachel” in East Jerusalem; 6. Another West Bank Communities Have Been Expelled By Settler Terrorism; 7. Bonus Reads
GAZA
With chaotic airdrops, Israel’s engineered starvation of Gaza enters new phase (Ahmed Ahmed & Ibtisam Mahdi//+972 Magazine 8/15/25)
“Israel has only allowed a trickle of aid to enter the enclave, as Gazans describe risking their lives for a sack of flour or moldy bread…On Aug. 10, Gaza’s Government Media Office announced that just 1,210 aid trucks had entered the Strip over the past two weeks, 14 percent of the 8,400 trucks required to meet the basic needs of the population. Over that same period, Israel and several Arab and Western nations have airdropped an even smaller amount of food and supplies into Gaza — what aid groups have criticized as an inadequate and unnecessarily expensive distribution method, meant to distract from Israel’s starvation campaign. In some cases, the falling aid has crushed and killed Palestinians on the ground, including a 14-year-old boy and a 32-year-old medic. Meanwhile, in early August, the UN estimated that since the establishment of GHF sites in May, 1400 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4000 injured while seeking food across the Strip. Alongside the danger of direct fire by Israeli troops, there is also the risk of being attacked by others desperate for food. In the absence of any functioning government, gangs and individuals have begun targeting people leaving aid areas, seizing their food to eat or sell at exorbitant prices. Many in Gaza see this as part of Israel’s engineered starvation strategy: allowing in only a trickle of trucks each day, while targeting the security personnel meant to protect distribution.” See also Gaza Health Ministry Says 51 Palestinians Killed by IDF in Past Day, Including 17 Waiting for Aid (Haaretz 8/15/25); ‘A deadly scheme’: Palestinians face indiscriminate gunfire at food sites (The Guardian 8/9/25); Israel must give U.N. full access to Gaza to halt starvation, allies say (WaPo 8/12/25); Doctors detail the daily deluge of Gazans shot while seeking food (WaPo 8/10/25); Heat and thirst drive families in Gaza to drink water that makes them sick (AP 8/15/25)
The Genocide in Gaza (Drop Site 8/15/25)
“Over the past 24 hours, at least 51 Palestinians were confirmed killed, with four recovered from the rubble, while 369 injured arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The toll includes 17 people seeking humanitarian aid. The Ministry has reported one child who died due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll due to famine to 240, including 107 children.” See also The Genocide in Gaza (Drop Site 8/14/25): “Over the past 24 hours, at least 54 Palestinians were confirmed killed, with four recovered from the rubble, while 831 injured arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The toll includes 22 people seeking humanitarian aid. The Ministry has reported four people who died due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total death toll due to famine to 239, including 106 children.” And The Genocide in Gaza (Drop Site 8/13/25): “Over the past 24 hours, at least 123 Palestinians were confirmed killed and 437 injured by the Israeli military, according to the ministry of health in Gaza. Eight Palestinians, including three children, died of famine and malnutrition. 21 of these were killed and 185 of these were injured while seeking aid, bringing the aid-site death toll to 1,838 killed and 13,409+ injured since Oct. 7. The total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 235, including 106 children…On Sunday, seven young children—most appearing to be toddlers—were killed in an Israeli strike on a building in Gaza City’s al-Zeitoun neighborhood. The attack was overlooked by nearly every major media outlet.” See also Israel intensifies bombing of Gaza, killing 89 Palestinians in 24 hours (The Guardian 8/12/25); Israeli gunfire kills at least 25 in Gaza as Netanyahu says he will allow Palestinians to leave (AP 8/13/25); Israel steps up Gaza City bombing after Netanyahu vow to expand offensive (Reuters 8/11/25); The Trauma of Childhood in Gaza (NYT 8/15/25);
The Israeli Assassination of Journalist Anas al-Sharif and Five Colleagues in Gaza City (Abdel Qader Sabbah and Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 8/11/25)
“The prominent Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif was buried in Gaza City on Monday, a broken slab of rock used as a headstone, one day after his assassination by the Israeli military. Five other journalists —four from Al Jazeera, Mohammed Qraiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Noufal, and one from media outlet Sahat, Mohammed Al-Khalidi—were killed alongside him and also laid to rest. All six were killed on Sunday night in an Israeli airstrike on their media tent outside Al-Shifa hospital in what the Israeli military proudly proclaimed was an assassination targeting al-Sharif. Israel has now killed 238 journalists in Gaza, according to the Government Media Office. At just 28 years old, Anas had emerged as the most recognized Palestinian journalist still alive and reporting from Gaza…Israel’s murder of the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City is seen by Palestinian journalists as an opening salvo in the coming invasion and a warning to the remaining journalists in the city—signaling that Israel can and will eliminate the most prominent journalistic voices on the ground…Facing no consequences for its actions—other than occasional words of condemnation from foreign governments and human rights organizations—the Israeli military has acted with increasing levels of brazenness in its killing of journalists in Gaza over the past 22 months.” See also The Guardian view on Anas al-Sharif and Gaza’s journalists: Israel is wiping out the witnesses (The Guardian 8/12/25); Israel’s Targeting of Palestinian Reporters in Gaza Isn’t Collateral Damage. It’s Strategy (Member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi//Haaretz 8/12/25)
‘Legitimization Cell’: Israeli unit tasked with linking Gaza journalists to Hamas (Yuval Abraham//+972 Magazine 8/14/25)
“The Israeli military has operated a special unit called the “Legitimization Cell,” tasked with gathering intelligence from Gaza that can bolster Israel’s image in the international media, according to three intelligence sources who spoke to +972 Magazine and Local Call and confirmed the unit’s existence. Established after October 7, the unit sought information on Hamas’ use of schools and hospitals for military purposes, and on failed rocket launches by armed Palestinian groups that harmed civilians in the enclave. It has also been assigned to identify Gaza-based journalists it could portray as undercover Hamas operatives, in an effort to blunt growing global outrage over Israel’s killing of reporters — the latest of whom was Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif, killed in an Israeli airstrike this past week. According to the sources, the Legitimization Cell’s motivation was not security, but public relations.”
Israel said in talks with Indonesia, Libya, 3 more countries about taking in Gazans (TOI 8/13/25)
“Israel is in talks with five countries or territories — Indonesia, Somaliland, Uganda, South Sudan and Libya — about potentially accepting resettled Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Channel 12 reported Wednesday. “Some of the countries are showing greater openness than before to accepting voluntary immigration from the Gaza Strip,” a diplomatic source told the outlet, naming Indonesia and Somaliland as particularly open to the idea. However, no concrete decisions have reportedly been made. Somaliland is a breakaway region of Somalia that is reportedly hoping to secure international recognition through the deal.” See also Netanyahu vows to take Gaza City ‘quickly’ (WaPo 8/10/25); Clash over Gaza plan exposed rift between Netanyahu and military brass (WaPo 8/11/25); As Trump tacitly backs Gaza City offensive, Netanyahu–army rift widens (Al Monitor 8/12/25); Israeli spy chief visits Doha for Gaza talks (Axios 8/14/25); South Sudan says no talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza (Reuters 8/13/25); Trump to Axios on Israel’s offensive: Hamas “can’t stay” in Gaza (Axios 8/11/25); Senior Israeli Commanders Openly Contradict Netanyahu Claim On Gaza Destruction (Younis Tirawi//Drop Site 8/10/25)
A wasteland of rubble, dust and graves: how Gaza looks from the sky (The “Guardian 8/5/25)
“Seen from the air, Gaza looks like the ruins of an ancient civilisation, brought to light after centuries of darkness. A patchwork of concrete shapes and shattered walls, neighbourhoods scattered with craters, rubble and roads that lead nowhere. The remnants of cities wiped out. But here, there has been no natural disaster and no slow passage of time. Gaza was a bustling, living place until less than two years ago, for all the challenges its residents endured even then. Its markets were crowded, its streets were full of children. That Gaza is gone – not buried under volcanic ash, not erased by history, but razed by an Israeli military campaign that has left behind a place that looks like the aftermath of an apocalypse.” See also Only 1.5% of Gaza cropland left for starving Palestinians due to Israel’s war, UN says (The Guardian 8/6/25); Trump: Journalists should be allowed into Gaza (Reuters 8/14/25);
Aid groups say Israel’s new registration rules are ‘weaponising aid’ (The Guardian 8/14/25)
“More than 100 aid organisations working in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have accused Israel of dangerously “weaponising aid” in its application of new rules for registering groups involved in delivering humanitarian assistance. The letter represents the latest broadside from the international aid community against Israel after the EU, Britain and Japan on Tuesday called for urgent action to stop “famine” spreading in the Gaza Strip…The letter, signed by organisations including Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières and Care, was written in response to registration rules announced by Israel in March that require organisations to hand over lists of their donors and Palestinian staff for vetting.” See also New Israeli rules stopping critical aid getting into Gaza, charities say (BBC 8/14/25); 100+ Doctors Who Worked in Gaza Demand Global Action as ‘Colleagues Are Starved and Shot by Israel (Zeteo 8/13/25); Israel’s Diaspora Ministry Says It Revoked Permits From 10 Humanitarian NGOs Aiding Palestinians (Haaretz 8/13/25);
REGION//GLOBAL
Australia to recognize a Palestinian state, joining France, Canada and U.K. (WaPo 8/11/25)
“Australia became the latest U.S. ally Monday to announce plans to recognize a Palestinian state in response to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, following the recent moves by Canada, France and Britain…A key commitment sought by Australia, Albanese said, is that Hamas will play no role in a future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority also agreed that state would be demilitarized and hold general elections, and undertake governance reforms including financial transparency and international oversight to guard against incitement to violence and hatred, he added.”
EU staff revolt over Gaza stance (Politico 8/12/25)
“A growing number of staff argue that the bloc’s failure to exert pressure on Israel while it’s accused of committing war crimes in Gaza makes it impossible for them to perform their duties without breaching EU and international law.” See also Middle East crisis: 25 foreign ministers issue joint call for ‘flood’ of aid into Gaza (The Guardian 8/12/25); Norway sovereign fund expects to sell more Israeli stocks over Gaza, West Bank (Reuters 8/12/25); At least 450 protesters arrested in London for backing banned Palestine Action group (The Guardian 8/9/25); Oct. 7 documentary is reinstated at Toronto film festival after cancelation brouhaha (JTA 8/15/25)
UN Blacklists Hamas for Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 and Against Hostages, Warns Israel May Be Next (Haaretz 8/13/25)
“Hamas has been placed on a blacklist of groups suspected of committing patterned rape or other forms of sexual violence in armed conflicts, according to an advanced draft of a UN report obtained by Haaretz. The report, scheduled to be presented by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the Security Council on Thursday, also warns that Israel could be placed on the blacklist in the next report, set for release in 2026, if it does not implement a series of measures. In the report, Guterres calls on Israel to apply accountability to those responsible for alleged sexual crimes committed by its security forces, particularly against Palestinians in detention facilities. He adds that the Israeli government must allow relevant UN bodies to carry out “fully fledged and independent investigations,” including on claims that Hamas committed similar crimes. The document marks the first time Hamas has been included on the UN’s formal annex that lists parties credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict on the agenda of the Security Council, even though the previous annual report presented by Guterres also mentioned sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023. In the draft report, the secretary-general also addresses sexual violence against Israeli hostages held in Gaza, noting that the UN independent investigative commission operating in Israel and the West Bank since 2021 has received credible information indicating that some hostages were subjected to sexual violence, including sexualized torture, while in captivity.”
Microsoft launches inquiry into claims Israel used its tech for mass surveillance of Palestinians (The Guardian 8/15/25)
“Microsoft has launched an “urgent” external inquiry into allegations Israel’s military surveillance agency has used the company’s technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians. The company said on Friday the formal review was in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how the Unit 8200 spy agency has relied on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found Unit 8200 made use of a customised and segregated area within Azure to store recordings of millions of calls made daily in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement, Microsoft said “using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank” would be prohibited by its terms of service.” See also Hundreds of Former Israeli Spies Are Working in Big Tech, Database Shows (Murtaza Hussain//Drop Site 8/13/25)
RIVER TO THE SEA
Palestinian activist killed by settler filmed his shooting, footage shows (The Guardian 8/11/25)
“Awdah Hathaleen, the prominent Palestinian activist who was killed late last month by an extremist Jewish settler in the West Bank, filmed the moment he was shot, newly released video footage reveals. Hathaleen, who worked on the filming of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, which examined settler violence against the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta, was killed by Yinon Levi, a settler who was already under sanctions in the UK and EU for violent acts against Palestinians. The footage – released by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem – appears to offer clear evidence of Levi’s direct involvement in the killing of Hathaleen, an English teacher and activist resident in Umm al-Khair in the south Hebron hills, on 28 July, in an incident that sparked international outrage. Levi was arrested over the killing but quickly released by a court after a ruling that the evidence he had fired at Hathaleen had “weakened”. Levi has denied he fired the shot that killed Hathaleen. However, the footage filmed by Hathaleen himself shows Levi draw his weapon and fire in Hathaleen’s direction.”
Israel’s Emerging Occupation Consensus (Dahlia Scheindlin//Foreign Affairs 8/13/25)
“In direct contrast to the government’s determination to prolong and expand operations, a consistent and growing majority—more than 70 percent in some recent surveys—supports a hostage deal and an end to the war as soon as possible…Since the new Gaza plan was announced, demonstrations have swelled, and the hostage families have called for a general strike. All of which has contributed to the perception that the country has been hijacked by a fanatical religious far-right minority—one that has gained extraordinary leverage and influence by helping Netanyahu cling to power despite his legal predicaments. Seemingly bearing out the image that the country has been captured by extremists, polls have consistently found that, if new elections were held today, Israelis would oust the current leadership. In other words, if only the government were more aligned with public opinion, the country would be taken in a decidedly different direction. But the assumption that a post-Netanyahu Israel can chart a new course misses the extent to which Israelis concur with the government on many deeper, longer-term issues. Based on a number of surveys over the years and throughout the current war, both the anti-Netanyahu public and the main opposition parties differ little from the current leadership on the future status of Palestinians, the inevitability of ongoing Israeli occupation in general, and the acceptability of denying self-determination, or alternately, democracy and civil rights to Palestinians in the territories, among other issues. Polls show that, like their current leaders, the large majority of Israeli Jews do not empathize with the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, which Israeli television and mainstream newspapers barely cover. Many believe civilian deaths and harms are the fault of Hamas and are exaggerated or even fabricated, as government and Israeli commentators constantly claim. This underlying reality points to some hard truths. Removing Netanyahu from power might well help bring an end to the unfolding disaster in Gaza and could even cause the religious right to relinquish its grip on Israeli politics. But it is unlikely to fundamentally reorient Israeli policies toward the Palestinians or to present a true alternative to the decades-old policies of expanding Israeli control and suppressing Palestinian self-determination…No matter how much politicians and commentators in the United States—or the Israeli opposition for that matter—focus on Netanyahu, the fact is that when it comes to Israeli intransigence regarding Palestinians, the prime minister alone is not the problem. The problem is Israeli society, politics, and culture as it has evolved over decades.” See also Don’t Be Fooled Again: Netanyahu Is Planning a Full-blown Occupation of Gaza (Dahlia Scheindlin//Haaretz 8/12/25); Thousands of Israelis Marched to Gaza – Not to Free It, but Rather to Call for Renewed Jewish Settlement (Haaretz 8/4/25)
With Arson and Land Grabs, Israeli Settler Attacks in West Bank Hit Record High (NYT 8/14/25)
“With the world’s attention on Gaza, extremist settlers in the West Bank are carrying out one of the most violent and effective campaigns of intimidation and land grabbing since Israel occupied the territory during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. Settlers carried out more than 750 attacks on Palestinians and their property during the first half of this year, an average of nearly 130 assaults a month, according to records compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. That is the highest monthly average since the U.N. started compiling such records in 2006.” See also Settlers said to injure several Palestinians, torch property in overnight attacks (TOI 8/15/25); Two Palestinians Reportedly Attacked by Israeli Settlers in Southern West Bank (Haaretz 8/15/25);
Israel announces a settlement that critics say will effectively sever the West Bank in two (AP 8/14/25)
“Israel’s far-right finance minister announced approval Thursday of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a Palestinian state by effectively cutting the territory into two parts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction, which is expected to receive final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans…The construction on a tract of land east of Jerusalem named E1 has been has been under consideration for more than two decades, and is especially controversial because it is one of the last geographic links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem…“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,” Smotrich said during a ceremony on Thursday. “Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state — will receive an answer from us on the ground,” he said.” See also Israel appears set to approve highly controversial 3,400-home West Bank settlement (The Guardian 8/14/25); Israel’s Smotrich to approve E1 settlement plan that ‘buries idea of Palestinian state’ (Al Monitor 8/14/25); UN human rights office: E1 plan is illegal, settling occupied land is a war crime (TOI 8/15/25);
Meanwhile in the West Bank, Every Israeli Soldier ‘Does Whatever He Wants’ (Amira Hass//Haaretz 8/14/25)
“In July alone, the Israeli army conducted over 1,300 raids on Palestinian neighborhoods. Residents endure constant harassments, knowing every soldier acts with impunity, and no one will intervene. ‘We see that every soldier behaves like a commander, doing whatever he wants, with no fear of higher rank’” See also From Children’s Piggy Banks to Heirloom Gold: Reports of Israeli Soldiers Looting Surge in the West Bank (Amira Hass//Haaretz 8/7/25); With IDF Soldiers and Settlers Expelling Palestinians, the West Bank Is Seeing a Creeping Nakba (Haaretz 8/13/25); Off-duty IDF Soldier Shoots Palestinian Man Dead in West Bank Amid Clashes With Settlers (Haaretz 8/13/25); Resident of Israeli-Arab City of Nazareth Shot Dead by IDF During West Bank Vacation (Haaretz 8/10/25);
Thousands in Tel Aviv protest against Netanyahu’s plan to escalate Gaza war (The Guardian 8/10/25)
“Saturday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv attracted more than 100,000 protesters, according to organisers. Attenders demanded an immediate end to the military campaign and for the release of hostages…Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza.” See also Israelis Protest Nationwide for Hostage Deal, End of Gaza War (Haaretz 8/13/25); Israeli Hostage Families Call for Nationwide Walkout (NYT 8/12/25); Hundreds of retired air force officers protest Israel’s war in Gaza (NPR 8/14/25); Israeli Activists Disrupt Live Big Brother TV Broadcast to Demand Gaza Cease-fire (Haaretz 8/10/25); ‘Jews, Rebel!’: Ex-Knesset Speaker Calls on World Jews to Take Israel to ICJ Over Gaza War Crimes (Haaretz 8/10/25); Israeli universities, tech firms, cities to join strike over Netanyahu’s Gaza takeover plan (Al Monitor 8/12/25); Hostage families call for nationwide strike as Israel prepares to escalate war (CNN 8/10/25);
Far-right Israeli minister taunts jailed Palestinian leader in prison visit (The Guardian 8/15/25)
“Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has posted video footage in which he is seen taunting the imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in jail, prompting strong condemnation from Barghouti’s family and Palestinian leaders. The 13-second clip shows Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician on whom the UK and several other countries imposed sanctions this year for incitement to violence against Palestinians, making threatening remarks to Barghouti while Israel’s prisons minister, Kobi Yaakobi, an ally of Ben-Gvir stands nearby. Barghouti, 66, who was jailed by an Israeli court in 2002 for his role in planning several killings during the second Intifada, appears gaunt after being held in solitary confinement for years. He is detained in Ganot prison, in central Israel, and is almost unrecognisable.” See also Israel Hasn’t Prosecuted a Single Suspect for the Oct. 7 Attack (NYT 8/13/25);
U.S. SCENE
She’s a Democratic Bellwether, and She’s Changing Her Position on Israel (Lydia Polgreen//NYT 8/8/25)
“Amy Klobuchar, the senior senator from Minnesota, appeared last month in a photograph with Benjamin Netanyahu…The picture, snapped as alarm was growing over looming famine in Gaza and Israel pursued its pitiless military assault on the enclave, struck me as a maddening but apt illustration of the yawning gulf between the steadfast pro-Israel stance of leading Democratic politicians and their voters. It was, sadly, par for the grisly course. Then last week Klobuchar did something that genuinely surprised me: She voted in favor of a pair of resolutions put forward by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leading critic of Israel’s prosecution of the war, that would block the transfer of key offensive weapons to Israel, including 1,000-pound bombs and automatic assault rifles. She was joined in one of the votes by 24 other Democrats and two independents, a majority of the Democratic caucus. Many were seeking to block weapons for Israel for the first time. And not just any Democrats. The ranking members of crucial committees — Foreign Relations, Appropriations and Armed Services — voted to block the transfers as well. A number of notable moderates joined the vote, including one of the most vulnerable in the 2026 midterms, Georgia’s Jon Ossoff…Klobuchar’s vote in particular seemed a meaningful change from a powerful and canny operator who is among the most ambitious of her generation of Democratic politicians. It was a signal, belated but significant, that the Democrats are finally shifting their position on Israel.” See also Growing number of pro-Israel Democrats voice opposition to Israel’s Gaza City plan (JI 8/9/25); Two AIPAC-backed Dems announce support for ban on offensive weapons for Israel (JI 8/11/25); Progressive U.S. Jewish orgs: military takeover of Gaza ‘morally indefensible’ (Haaretz 8/14/25); Buttigieg’s about-face on Israel signals possible shift in Democratic politics (JI 8/15/25); Buttigieg discovers Dems’ 2028 litmus test: Israel (Politico 8/14/25); Israel courts MAGA influencers amid Gaza backlash (Axios 8/14/25);
The Incredible Disappearing Human Rights Reports (Nick Turse//The Intercept 8/14/25)
“The State Department released its annual reports on human rights around the world on Tuesday, and revealed an administration set on whitewashing the records of some of the world’s worst violators of human rights. The hollowed-out reports on roughly 200 countries and territories omit references to LGBTQ+ discrimination and curtail information on government abuses, including gender-based violence and government corruption. They no longer include sections focused on systemic racial or ethnic discrimination and violence, child abuse, or child sexual exploitation. The congressionally mandated human rights reports, which are used to guide U.S. decisions on diplomacy and aid, have been turned into wholly political documents that target countries with whom the Trump administration has clashed and soft-pedal abuses by the administration’s allies. Israel, and countries like El Salvador, South Sudan, and Eswatini, which have agreed to accept and in some cases imprison U.S. deportees as part of Trump’s growing global gulag, got a soft touch. South Africa, which has led the war crimes case against Israel at The Hague, received a more pointed report.”
Mount Sinai Hospital Fired Social Worker Over “Gaza Must Live” Postcard (Alex Kane//Jewish Currents 8/13/25)
“Mount Sinai employees say that other hospital workers routinely wear symbols or post signs that advance political positions, such as the transgender pride flag or yellow ribbons showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza. “There’s never any repercussions for that,” said a second Mount Sinai employee…Raizen’s firing is one of the latest examples of how workplaces around the country have repressed activism and speech in solidarity with Gaza, even as experts and human rights organizations have increasingly warned that Israel is perpetuating a genocide… Nurses, museum workers, tech employees, and professors, among others, have been fired for opposing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza at their jobs. Since 2023, the civil and constitutional rights group Palestine Legal received 286 reports of workers being fired in retaliation for pro-Palestine advocacy.”
After crushing dissent, U.S. universities are deepening ties with Israeli academia ( Dikla Taylor-Sheinman and Georgia Gee//+972 Magazine 8/11/25)
“On July 28, Harvard announced two new initiatives with Israeli institutions: a study abroad program with Ben-Gurion University in the Negev and a postdoctoral fellowship for Israeli scientists at Harvard Medical School. The move comes amid a wave of U.S. universities launching or expanding partnerships with their Israeli counterparts in recent months. In December, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched a program that will allow scholars at Israel’s nine public, state-accredited universities to come to MIT for collaboration and training. In March, Clemson College in South Carolina announced a partnership with Hebrew University and Sapir College to bring new agricultural technologies to Israel’s western Negev region, and Columbia University committed to expanding its academic initiatives with Tel Aviv University. And in May, the University of Utah signed an “academic cooperation” deal with Ariel University — an Israeli institution located in an illegal West Bank settlement…As U.S. universities deepen ties with Israeli institutions, a new comprehensive Hebrew-language report by New Profile, an Israeli anti-militarization movement, sheds light on the extent to which those institutions are embedded in the country’s military apparatus — with Israel expanding its assault on Gaza and spiraling settler and army violence throughout the West Bank.” See also ‘Censorship’: over 115 scholars condemn cancellation of Harvard journal issue on Palestine (The Guardian 8/14/25); Trump administration seeks $1 billion settlement from UCLA, a White House official says (Ap 8/8/25);
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
Palestinians don’t need a state. We need justice (Ahmed Moor//The Guardian 8/11/25)
“Now, in the midst of a genocide, the Palestinians are best served by abandoning any effort to attain self-rule in the Occupied Territories. A reorientation towards basic rights is overdue, along with recognition the Palestinian struggle was never really about a seat at the United Nations, representation in Unesco, or Fifa. The force of the Palestinian cause rests in one principle: justice. Two years ago I thought justice meant a single state with equal rights between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. But now, the Palestinians are confronted by a difficulty: no one is able to articulate what justice means in the wake of so much slaughter, of so many dead men, women and children, dead babies. The genocide has changed my perspective on the majority of Jewish Israelis, and once they retire their guns and mortars – as one day they surely will – we will have to reckon with the moral, and actual, wreckage of their century-long Sturm und Drang, their violent ejaculations, in Palestine.”
Statehood Without Liberation: Europe’s Response to Genocide (Inès Abdel Razek, Yara Hawari, Diana Buttu//Al Shabaka 8/14/25)
“In response to this Israeli-manufactured catastrophe, several European states have begun recognizing or signaling their intent to recognize the State of Palestine…The recent wave of symbolic recognitions that began in 2024 now appears to be the only step many European powers are willing to take in the face of genocide, following nearly two years of moral, material, and diplomatic support for the Israeli regime as well as near-total impunity. This roundtable conversation with Al Shabaka policy analysts Diana Buttu, Inès Abdel Razek, and Al Shabaka’s co-director, Yara Hawari, asks: Why now? What political or strategic interests are driving this wave of recognition? And what does it mean to recognize a Palestinian state, on paper, while leaving intact the structures of occupation, apartheid, and the genocidal regime that sustains them?”
The Betrayal of Light (Abdullah Hany Daher//Jewish Currents 8/12/25)
“I used to wake up to sunlight shining through the window. Now a missile striking two blocks away wakes me. There is no morning anymore—no work, no school, no mealtime. There is only the next instant, and the fear we won’t survive it…I am afraid of light. I am afraid of darkness. I am afraid of stillness. I fear noise. When the blasts stop, I grow more afraid. The silence is only a prelude. Every second feels like waiting. What are we waiting for? We do not know. At the precipice of each instant, two voices speak to me. One says, “You survived.” The other, “It will begin again…I wonder who I’ll be if this ends. If I will ever again sit near a lamp without flinching. If my children’s children will ever trust the light. There are no metaphors in Gaza. There is only what is gone and what remains—this life between shadows, and the memory of another light.”
Israel’s War on Journalists (Jennifer Zacharia//Boston Review 8/11/25)
“To nearly all who watched him, al-Sharif’s reporting has been nothing short of heroic and awe-inspiring. But to the Israeli government, he is culpable for having the audacity to document the starvation campaign it has engineered and imposed by brute force. It is not enough to enjoy the impunity afforded by U.S. and European cover: there should be no bad optics, either. Given the history of Israel’s smearing of journalists in Gaza as a precursor to assassinating them, the Committee to Protect Journalists publicly called for al-Sharif’s protection. But on August 10, an Israeli airstrike assassinated him and four other Al Jazeera journalists in a targeted attack on a tent outside al-Shifa Hospital…What is the role of intellectuals when the erasure of words is matched by the erasure of bodies? During a genocide, everything takes on new significance. Palestinian writers, journalists, and poets have demonstrated the urgency of creating meaning while faced with existential precarity. Palestinian educators, and artists also do this work, as do the health care providers, rescue workers, and civil defenders who hold press conferences, conduct interviews, and insist on remaining in besieged hospitals despite the risk, their very presence a testament to the ongoing horrors. Palestinians facing extermination navigate language and insist on survival and representation.”
The Israeli Left Is Not Going To Save Gaza (Ori Goldberg//New Lines Magazine 8/6/25)
“Why a recent call for a ceasefire by 600 retired military and intelligence officials will have no impact on the Netanyahu government’s policy”
The Reasons Israelis Have Closed Their Eyes to Gaza (Shira Efron//NYT 8/12/25)
“Worse than showing indifference, many Israelis deny the clear realities: that Gaza is in chaos and teetering on the edge of widespread starvation, and that Israel has played a major role in bringing about this terrible state. The attitude is projected from the top. “There is no starvation in Gaza,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has declared. In a news conference on Sunday he blamed Hamas and the international media for perpetuating a “global campaign of lies.” He added that “the only ones being deliberately starved” are the Israeli hostages in Gaza. This sentiment is widely shared in Israel. A poll in late July found that almost 80 percent of Jewish Israelis believe that Israel is making an effort to avoid causing suffering to Gazans. The same percentage — though primarily on the right and center — said they are not troubled by reports of famine…When it comes to Gaza, Israelis live in an echo chamber, relying largely on local media, which often enacts self-censorship regarding Israeli wrongdoing and Palestinian suffering in Gaza. But it is also important to understand the powerful underlying emotions that have led many Israelis to close their eyes and ears to the suffering of Gazans and accept a different version of reality.”
Our Marriage Includes an Emergency Backpack (Sari Bashi//NYT 8/15/25)
“As an Israeli-Palestinian couple in the West Bank with family in Gaza, we have learned that love isn’t enough to save us, or anyone.”
The Interview: The Head of the A.D.L. on Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism and Free Speech (NYT 8/9/25)
Jonathan Greenblatt: “Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. If you’re looking for an organization that criticizes the Israeli government, Israeli politicians, Israeli policies, I’d point you to ADL.org, because we do it…So Zionism is, simply put, the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancient homeland. That’s what it is. Zionism is essential to the Jewish tradition. The idea of Jews returning to Israel, we’ve been talking about it since Moses, literally. Political Zionism is newer, 125 years, but that notion of self-determination in the homeland doesn’t exclude Palestinians, doesn’t exclude any other group. It’s saying Jews have the right, this sort of liberation movement, to go back to where they’re from. Anti-Zionism is the belief that Jews do not have that right. It is an ideology which is committed to saying we will do what we can to prevent Jewish self-determination in their homeland. Anti-Zionism is an ideology of nihilism, Lulu, which would literally seek to not just delegitimize but eliminate the Jewish state…But let me tell you what anti-Zionism doesn’t mean to me but what it results in: It’s a lunatic trying to burn down the governor’s mansion with his family sleeping in it because of his, quote, position on Palestine. It is, again, firebombing elderly people because you want to “end all Zionists.”’
California Democrats Are Fighting Trump’s Battle for Him (Lily Greenberg Call//NYT 8/15/25)
“But in my home state of California, Democratic leaders are pushing a bill that would make dissent harder, riskier and in some cases punishable. Assembly Bill 715 is framed as a measure to combat an “antisemitic learning environment.” In reality, it imports one of the most troubling censorship tactics from the Trump era into a deep-blue state. Democrats are the ones leading the charge. What constitutes antisemitism? A.B. 715 would require California’s K-12 public schools to adopt a definition that largely falls in line with the one developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. On its face, this might seem like a common sense measure to fight prejudice. But the alliance’s definition goes far beyond identifying antisemitic tropes or hate crimes. It includes political speech critical of Israel — such as calling it an apartheid state or advocating Palestinian rights — as potential examples of antisemitism, too. By writing a version of that definition into law, California would blur the line between hate speech and political speech, empowering institutions to investigate, punish or even ban expression that is supposed to be constitutionally protected. That could silence not only the many who oppose Israel’s government policies but also people like me — in particular Jewish people like me — who see criticism of state power as a moral obligation.”
Israel Is Fighting a War It Cannot Win (Ami Ayalon//Foreign Affairs 8/5/25)
“The absence of any long-term Israeli vision has left Israel, Gaza, and the broader region in a protracted state of chaos. Wars without a clear political goal cannot be won. They cannot be ended. The longer the vacuum in Israel’s planning persists, the more international actors will have to come together to prevent an even worse catastrophe than the one currently unfolding. They must do so not only for the sake of Israelis and Palestinians but for the region’s stability and their own interests. The war that followed Hamas’s October 7 slaughter was just. Today it is becoming unjust, immoral, and counterproductive, shifting responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza from Hamas to Israel.”
How Liverpool’s Salah spotlighted the killing of the ‘Palestinian Pelé’ (WaPo 8/14/25)
“Suleiman al-Obeid was among the most recognizable and beloved figures in Palestinian soccer. The scissors kick he scored against Yemen in the 2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship became a career-defining moment, while former opponents and soccer officials say he was an inspirational figure in Gaza, where the sport commands a devoted following. Last week, the 41-year-old father of five was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell while seeking aid in Khan Younis, according to his family — and the fate of the “Palestinian Pelé” drew global attention after a pointed social media post by Liverpool’s star forward Mohamed Salah. When UEFA — European soccer’s governing body — tweeted a farewell to Obeid on Aug. 8 without mentioning the circumstances of his death, Salah wrote a day later: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”…“To see athletes like Mo Salah, with a huge influence, talk about Palestinian athletes creates pressure for UEFA, FIFA to take actions against the killing of Palestinian athletes,” [Dima Said, a spokeswoman for the Palestine Football Association (PFA)] said.”
What Is Benjamin Netanyahu Really After? (Isaac Chotiner interviews Israeli defense analyst Amos Harel//New Yorker 8/10/25)
“The main difference between [Israel invading Rafah] and now is that Hamas is no longer a military organization. It used to be that there was a hierarchy. There were tight command-and-control networks. There were people in charge who made the decisions and so on. This is no longer the case. What you have now is a terrorist organization using guerrilla methods. Most of its leaders were killed. Most of its fighters are either injured or dead. They now have replacements who are younger, sometimes kids who get basic training and are sent to the front. How do you defeat such an organization? There’s no Iwo Jima moment. My suspicion is that he’s not really after that. What he is interested in, for his political survival, is prolonging the war. It’s the best excuse for not doing anything else domestically, including not launching an independent investigation of October 7th. His corruption trial would probably be delayed if there’s hectic fighting going on. And the extreme, messianic right-wing parties would be happy with a new attempt to occupy the Strip.”