NEW FROM FMEP
After Nonviolence and What Comes Next in Palestine (Occupied Thoughts episode)
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor and author Ben Ehrenreich cover a range topics reflecting Ben’s reporting and analysis on Israel/Palestine and U.S. policy, including West Bank Palestinians’ relationships to affecting change through nonviolent action, the Biden Administration and Democratic Party’s approaches to Palestine and Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, Zionism, and media complicity in genocide. They draw from Ben’s recent essays “After Nonviolence” (Harper’s, May 2025); “You Don’t Get Trump Without Gaza” (The Nation, April 2025); and his 2009 op-ed, Zionism is the Problem (LA Times).
FMEP Legislative Round-Up May 2, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements. See also How Pro-Israel Policy is Impacting Free Expression in the US (Lara Friedman interviewed by Lee Fang for System Update)
GAZA
Israel redraws Gaza map, limiting Palestinians to a third of the enclave (WaPo 5/1/25)
“In the six weeks since Israel resumed its war in Gaza, Israeli forces have dramatically altered its map, declaring about 70 percent of the enclave either a military “red zone” or under evacuation, according to the United Nations, and pushing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into ever-shrinking pockets.” See also Smotrich: Fighting won’t end until hundreds of thousands of Gazans leave, Syria partitioned (TOI 4/29/25); Israel Is Using Suicide Drones to Target Displaced Palestinian Families Sheltering in Tents (Sharif Abdel Kouddous & Hamza M. Salha//Drop Site 4/24/25)
“Deprivation by Design”: Israel Intensifies Mass Killing Campaign in Gaza With Starvation and Daily Strikes (Rasha Abou jalal and Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 4/30/25)
“Since Israel resumed its scorched earth bombing campaign on March 18, Gaza has been transformed into a desert of death, in which rubble and ruin form the backdrop for an unceasing campaign of mass killing. The Israeli military has carried out multiple airstrikes and shelling across the enclave on a daily basis, pounding homes, displacement camps, cafes, hospitals, charity kitchens, so-called “humanitarian zones,” and other civilian sites. The scale of the attacks is almost impossible to track.” See also ‘We are breaking the bodies and minds of children of Gaza’, says WHO Executive Director (Reuters 5/1/25); 15 Family Members Killed in Israeli Strike on Gaza; Only Seven-year-old, His Mother Survived (Haaretz 5/2/25); With USAID shuttered, Palestine’s most vulnerable lose a lifeline (+972 Magazine 4/30/25);
Gaza on brink of catastrophe as aid runs out and prices soar, groups warn (The Guardian 4/27/25)
“Soaring prices of basic foodstuffs, diminishing stocks of medical supplies and sharp cuts to aid distribution threaten newly catastrophic conditions across Gaza, Palestinians and international aid officials in the battered territory are warning. Humanitarian organisations including the World Food Programme and Unwra, which supplies food and services to more than 2 million Palestinians across Gaza, have now distributed the last of their stocks of flour and other foodstuffs to the dozens of community kitchens in the territory that serve basic meals to those with no other option. Aid groups’ warehouses were filled during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect in mid-January and ended in early March. They are now empty.” See also Palestinian children face starvation under Israel’s total Gaza blockade (Al Jazeera 5/2/25); Unrwa says Israel has abused detained staff and used some as human shields (The Guardian 4/29/25); Gazans are again going hungry as Israel’s total siege nears two months (WaPo 4/30/25); World court opens hearings on Israel’s aid obligations to Palestinians (WaPo 4/28/25);
Six Deadly Minutes: How Israeli Soldiers Killed 15 Rescue Workers in Gaza (NYT 5/2/25)
“Israel’s military said it was reacting to an immediate threat when it killed 15 medics and first responders in Gaza in March. But eyewitness accounts and an analysis of videos, audio and autopsy reports show that multiple soldiers fired over the course of six minutes at unarmed emergency workers who never posed a threat.”
REGION/GLOBAL
Syria calls Israeli air strikes on Damascus a ‘dangerous escalation’ (The Guardian 5/2/25)
“Syria’s new rulers have angrily denounced raids launched by Israel’s air force against unidentified targets near the presidential palace in Damascus, warning of a “dangerous escalation”. Israeli officials said the attacks were intended to send a message to the Syrian government after days of bloody clashes near Damascus between pro-government militia forces and fighters from the Druze minority sect. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and the defence minister, Israel Katz, said in a joint statement that the attack early on Friday, the second this week in Syria, was intended to deter the country’s new leadership from any hostile move against the Druze.” See also Israel says it carried out a warning strike in defense of Syria’s Druze community (Reuters 4/30/25); ‘We can reach him’: Israel strikes Damascus in warning to Sharaa over Druze attacks (Al Monitor 5/2/25); Syria Druze leader decries ‘genocidal attack’ as clashes leave 101 dead (Al Monitor 5/1/25); Israeli airstrike hits Beirut suburb despite ceasefire with Hezbollah (Guardian 4/27/25);
Gaza humanitarian aid ship ‘bombed by drones’ in waters off Malta (The Guardian 5/2/25)
“A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists to Gaza has been bombed by drones and disabled while in international waters off Malta as it headed towards the Palestinian territory, its organisers have said. “At 00:23 Maltese time, the Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship came under direct attack in international waters,” the group said in a statement. “Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull,” it added, blaming Israel.” See also Activist aid ship hit by drones on way to Gaza, NGO says (Reuters 5/2/25); Freedom Flotilla accuses Israel of alleged drone attack on Gaza aid ship (Al Jazeera 5/2/25)
At a Dubai Conference, Trump’s Conflicts Take Center Stage (NYT 5/1/25)
“A deal for a state-backed Emirati firm to use a Trump-affiliated digital coin was announced in a panel that included the president’s son and his business partner, who promised, “This is only the beginning.”’ See also New Mideast Project Is Latest Trump Company Deal Tied to a Foreign Government (NYT 4/30/25)
U.S. Military Says Its Air Campaign Has Hit More Than 800 Targets in Yemen (NYT 4/27/25)
“President Trump ordered a start to the strikes against the Houthis on March 15. Congressional officials say the campaign has cost well over $1 billion.” See also Britain Joins U.S. in Strike Against Houthis in Yemen (NYT 4/30/25); Missile Fired From Yemen Triggers Sirens Across Northern Israel (Haaretz 5/2/25); US Navy loses $60 million jet at sea after it fell overboard from aircraft carrier (CNN 4/29/25);
U.S. strike killed scores of African migrants in Yemen, Houthis say (WaPo 4/28/25)
“Yemen’s Houthis said a U.S. missile strike hit a migrant detention center overnight, killing at least 68 African migrants and injuring dozens more…U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it was aware of the claims of civilian casualties. “We are currently conducting our battle-damage assessment and inquiry into those claims,” the statement said.” See also U.S.-Made Bomb Fragments Identified at Strike on a Migrant Facility in Yemen That Killed Nearly 70 (Drop Site 5/1/25); The Trump Administration Is Hiding American Casualties of War (The Intercept 5/2/25);
RIVER TO THE SEA
Hussein al-Sheikh, Abbas protege named Palestinian VP, draws mixed reactions (Al Monitor 5/1/25)
“The future of Hussein Sheikh, the newly elected vice-chair of the PLO’s Executive Committee and vice president of the State of Palestine, remains uncertain. These roles effectively position him as a likely successor to Mahmoud Abbas, placing him in the line of leadership even as questions loom over whether Sheikh — a figure entangled in controversies and generally viewed with skepticism by large swaths of the Palestinian population — can succeed in leading the Palestinian cause in the long shadows of former President Yasser Arafat and, to a lesser extent, Abbas. Unlike many prominent figures in the Palestinian leadership, Sheikh, a native of the occupied territories and a former prisoner in Israeli jails, is not a typical homegrown leader and may represent a new generation following Arafat and Abbas, both of whom grew up outside the occupied territories. Sheikh spent roughly ten years, from 1978 to 1988, in an Israeli prison as a young man — an experience that shaped both his political worldview and his reputation among Palestinians. It is unclear why he was imprisoned or whether he was charged with any crime…In political terms, Sheikh embodies many of the positions associated with Abbas: moderation, a rejection of armed struggle and a heavy reliance on negotiations. His relative youth — he’s 64, while Abbas will turn 90 this November — fluency in Hebrew and understanding of Israeli political dynamics may give him an edge over previous leaders. However, despite these attributes, Sheikh does not seem to fit the mold of the local leadership many Palestinians hope for. He is not a figure like Marwan Barghouti — a Palestinian leader currently serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison — or even Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of Fatah’s Central Committee. Sheikh’s tenure as head of the Civil Affairs Ministry, which saw him manage crucial coordination with Israeli authorities, led to perceptions that he was too closely aligned with Israel, and allegations of corruption during his time in office have tainted his reputation.” See also Palestinian president names Hussein al-Sheikh vice-president of PLO and his likely successor (Guardian 4/26/25); For Israel, al-Sheikh appointment as Palestinian VP signals continuity, pragmatism (Al Monitor 5/1/25)
Breaking new records, Israel sees unprecedented spike in media censorship (Haggai Matar//+972 Magazine 5/2/25)
“In 2024, military censorship in Israel reached the most extreme levels since +972 Magazine began collecting data in 2011. Over the course of the year, the censor completely banned the publication of 1,635 articles and partially censored another 6,265. On average, the censor intervened in about 21 news reports per day last year — more than double the previous peak of about 10 daily interventions recorded during the last war in Gaza in 2014 (Operation Protective Edge), and over three times the non-war-time average of 6.2 per day. These figures were provided by the military censor in response to a joint request from +972 Magazine and the Movement for the Freedom of Information in Israel, ahead of World Press Freedom Day. While the military censor does not disclose the reasons behind each intervention, Israel’s ongoing war of destruction in Gaza, as well as its conflicts in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran, is likely the main reason behind this record surge in censorship…When the censor intervenes, media outlets are forbidden from indicating that censorship has taken place, meaning most of its activity remains hidden from the public. No other self-described “Western democracy” has a comparable institution.”
Israel’s Shin Bet security chief says he will resign after Netanyahu row (The Guardian 4/28/25)
“Ronen Bar, the director of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service, has said he will resign in less than two months, after weeks of tension with Benjamin Netanyahu, who has tried to fire him, bringing Israel to the brink of a constitutional crisis…Last week, in a 31-page affidavit to the supreme court, Bar, 59, alleged that Netanyahu had tried to fire him for refusing to pledge his loyalty to the prime minister over the courts and tried to use the agency to spy on anti-government protesters. Netanyahu filed his response with the court on Sunday, rejecting Bar’s accusations. He has repeatedly referred to a “deep state” in Israel that he alleges seeks to thwart democratically elected leaders and undermine elected governments.”
The Jerusalem Wildfires Are No Surprise, but Israel Ignored All Warnings (Nir Hasson//Haaretz 5/1/25)
“There was nothing particularly surprising about the wave of wildfires that raged on Wednesday in the Jerusalem area. Israel’s Meteorological Service had been warning for several days that Wednesday would be a day of wildfires…As usual, the politicians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, right-wing Channel 14 and online discourse all focus on the question of arson, and as always – this is not the right question…The fire and rescue service, perhaps the only government authority that takes climate change seriously, prepared and deployed forces, and published an order that bans lighting fires in open areas. But other relevant bodies – police, army, emergency services, the Foreign Ministry – did not take any special precautions in case of fires.” See also Jerusalem hills wildfires under control after nearly 30 hours; no major injuries (TOI 5/1/25); Appoint Clowns, Expect a Circus: Jerusalem Fire Exposes Core Flaws in Netanyahu’s Government (Haaretz 5/2/25);
Residents of This Palestinian Hamlet Look Around, and See No Way Out (Haaretz 4/26/25)
“The face of the land tells the story. A tiny shepherd community, its homes and tents touchingly well tended, is fenced in from all sides. The wire was put up by settlers, some of whose homes abut the hamlet, even as they choke it, in order to mark the living space which for this pastoralist community is the dying space. The fences mark the “blue line” that demarcates “state lands.” For the occupation authorities and the settlers, who are interchangeable in this part of the country – the South Hebron Hills, in the cluster of hamlets known collectively as Masafer Yatta – everything that is considered state land is the private preserve of the settlers, where they can do as they please, including attacking anyone who dares venture onto it. It’s heart-wrenching to see the hamlet being suffocated by wire on the threshold of its homes…This week we returned to Umm al-Kheir to see what the distant war in Gaza had wrought even in this small community of shepherds amid the battered landscape, which gained world fame when the documentary film “No Other Land” won an Oscar last month…The next expulsion is on the way.” See also Settlers and Soldiers Unite to Deny Palestinians Water in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley (Haaretz 4/28/25); PHOTOS: Besieged by settlers, Palestinians race to harvest wheat early (+972 Magazine 4/28/25)
Arabs in Israel Face a Stark Choice: Arm Themselves or Pay Protection Money to Criminal gangs (Haaretz 4/28/25)
“Crime and homicide rates continue to soar in Israel’s Palestinian communities, with trust in the police at an all-time low. ‘People feel like there’s no one to turn to – and worse, that the very institution meant to protect them is a source of fear,’ says one activist.” See also Nakba Day March in Northern Israel Canceled After Police Ban Palestinian Flags (Haaretz 4/29/25); Border cop convicted of assaulting Palestinian woman gets police certificate of merit (TOI 4/29/25)
Far-right Mob Storms Reform Synagogue in Ra’anana Screening Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony (Haaretz 4/29/25)
“Dozens of right-wing activists protested outside a screening of the joint Israeli-Palestinian ceremony marking Israel’s Memorial Day at the Beit Samueli synagogue, which houses a Reform congregation in the city of Ra’anana, on Tuesday. Some of the protesters broke into the synagogue, and eyewitnesses reported they hurled stones, threw objects and set off fireworks near the synagogue…The activists reportedly chased viewers of the screening, shouting “May your village burn” and “Go to Gaza.”…In video footage, the mob can be seen yelling chants like “Death to terrorists,” “Not in our country” and “All Arabs are whores.”’ See also Ra’anana Rabbi Says People ‘Feared for Their Lives’ as Far-right Mob Stormed Reform Synagogue (Haaretz 4/30/25); Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony Dares to Defy the Cycle of a Bloody Reality (Haaretz 4/29/25); Against all odds, Israelis and Palestinians mark 20th joint Memorial Day ceremony (+972 Magazine 4/29/25);
‘We’ve killed so many children — it’s hard to argue with that’ (Oren Ziv//+972 Magazine 5/1/25)
“On Saturday, April 26, hundreds of demonstrators in downtown Tel Aviv stood together in complete silence, holding portraits of Gazan children who have been killed since Israel shattered the ceasefire on March 18. The vigil coincided with the weekly anti-government protests, and as thousands made their way to the scheduled rallies at Hostages Square and Begin Bridge, they passed by the quiet display…At first glance, the silent display of photos — a simple act to make space to mourn Gazan children — would seem unremarkable. But in light of the Israeli public’s general indifference to the destruction of Gaza, these vigils, which have been held since March 22, have managed to begin to crack the wall of apathy. They also stand out against the backdrop of a near total absence of images from Gaza in Israeli media and the public space over the past year and a half.” See also Israelis protest against Gaza war with rare outcry over Palestinian casualties (The Guardian 4/25/25); Israel’s anti-war protests avoid Gaza. These women are changing that. (WaPo 4/21/25); I Was a West Bank Settler. This Is Why I Refused to Serve in the IDF (Aharon Dardik//Haaretz 4/28/25)
U.S. SCENE
Antisemitism Awareness Act’s future in question after committee postpones vote (JI 4/30/25)
“Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee postponed a final vote on advancing the Antisemitism Awareness Act after approving four amendments that could jeopardize GOP support for the bill and leave its future passage once again in question…Sanders told reporters after the meeting that opposition to the legislation reflected “opposition and concern about this country moving toward an authoritarian society. You are seeing an understanding that speaking out and opposing [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s horrific war in Gaza, which has killed over 50,000 people, is not antisemitic, and that there is growing concern about what the Trump administration is doing in attacking our constitutional due process.” He said that the Trump administration’s actions, including detentions of college students with student visas, had helped build opposition to the bill. The meeting also featured a series of speeches from Paul as he made the case that the IHRA definition’s contemporary examples would violate free speech. He argued, at various points, that it is racist to describe Israel as a Jewish state, that Jewish comedians routinely employ stereotypes about Jewish people, that comparisons between modern political figures or governments and the Nazis are mundane and not problematic, that the Department of Education would send armed police to college campuses to suppress speech and that some, if not all, Jews held responsibility for the death of Jesus.” See also Progressive Jewish groups oppose Antisemitism Awareness Act ahead of Senate vote (JTA 4/30/25); Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements (The Forward 4/29/25); Senate committee approves amendment to Antisemitism Awareness Act stating criticism of Israeli government isn’t antisemitic (JTA 4/30/25)
At Harvard, reports on antisemitism and anti-Palestinian bias reflect campus conflict over Israel (Arno Rosenfeld//The Forward 4/29/25)
“Harvard released two reports Tuesday that describe widely divergent views of campus life over the past two years, with students on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict describing incidents of discrimination and alienation at the nation’s most prestigious university. The highly anticipated report with findings from the school’s task force on combating antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias was released alongside a similar document on anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias. Both reports described a polarized campus where students and faculty were afraid to voice their views about Israel and the war in Gaza, and faced retaliation when they did so. But the culprits differed: The antisemitism task force blamed the student body’s increasingly hostile views toward Israel, and an embrace of more strident and disruptive forms of activism, for the painful sense of social isolation many Jewish students described…In contrast, the anti-Palestinian bias task force reported that many Arab and Muslim students and staff felt that school administrators and official policies were deeply biased against them. “Ultimately, many feel that no one in leadership cares about them — that they have been abandoned,” the report stated.” See also 8 Takeaways From Harvard’s Task Force Reports (The Crimson 4/30/25)
Orders to Investigate Columbia Protesters Raised Alarms in Justice Dept. (NYT 5/1/25)
“A top Trump appointee in the Justice Department ordered an aggressive investigation in the last several months of student protesters at Columbia University, raising anger and alarm among career prosecutors and investigators who saw the demand as politically motivated and lacking legal merit, people familiar with the episode said. The demand for the inquiry into students who protested Israel’s conduct of the conflict in Gaza also prompted pushback from a federal magistrate judge, who believed some of the steps being sought by the official, Emil Bove III, were unjustified and might violate the First Amendment, the people said. The breadth of the investigation, conducted by the Justice Department’s civil rights division, has not been previously reported. The ensuing clash highlights the tensions roiling the department as administration officials seek to enact President Trump’s agenda. That bid includes redirecting the civil rights division away from its traditional approach of protecting the rights of minority groups to a new mission of fulfilling a campaign promise to crack down on student protesters amid accusations of rampant antisemitism on college campuses.” See also Anti-Defamation League says anger at Israel is now the driving force behind antisemitism in the US (AP 4/22/25)
ICE Expands Student Deportation Powers (Inside Higher Ed 5/2/25)
“The Trump administration issued plans earlier this week for a new policy that vastly expands federal officials’ authority to terminate students’ legal residency status, according to newly released court documents. The policy detailed in the filings asserts that immigration officials have the “inherent authority” to terminate students’ legal residency status in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System “as needed.”…mmigration attorneys told Inside Higher Ed that if implemented, the new policy would enshrine broad permission for ICE to begin deporting students practically at will…The plan comes less than a week after the administration began restoring thousands of foreign students’ SEVIS statuses after a series of court decisions overturned hundreds of status terminations. [Immigration attorney Charles] Kuck said the plan seemed to be a way for ICE to get around those rulings.” See also Trump nominates Mike Waltz as U.N. ambassador (JI 5/2/25); On the Day He Was Fired as National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz Used an Israeli App to Archive Signal Messages (Drop Site 5/2/25); Far-right Israeli minister scores first meetings on Capitol Hill, none with Trump administration (JI 4/28/25)
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
What is the role of Israelis in the Palestinian liberation movement? (Fadi Shabita//+972 Magazine 4/25/25)
“Like many popular struggles for liberation throughout history, the Palestinian fight against Israeli apartheid is defined by a confrontation between two distinct sides: oppressor and oppressed. Yet, like in almost every other instance — from the South African anti-apartheid movement to Algerian resistance to French colonialism — some individuals from within the ruling side have blurred this divide, choosing to oppose the mechanisms of domination and disassociate themselves from the actions of their own society. This recurring phenomenon has consistently forced liberation movements to address difficult questions: Should they embrace dissenting voices from the oppressor’s camp or regard them with suspicion? Does active solidarity from the other side strengthen their movement or risk undermining it?…The crucial question is not whether there is room for joint struggle with Israelis, but what conditions must exist to ensure that such cooperation truly promotes liberation and equality.”
Israel’s False Paramedics Story Exemplifies Its Information War Against Palestinians (Yara Asi//Arab Center DC 5/1/25)
“Once the indefensible reality of the story became public, the Israeli narrative quickly changed. While admitting to making “mistakes,” the Israeli military pivoted to accusing six of the paramedics of being “linked to Hamas,” with no evidence. The mass grave? Simply to protect the bodies from wild animals. Nothing to see here! While it is impossible to quantify how often this type of incident occurs—the Israeli military killing Palestinians and then lying about the circumstances to justify the actions—many such event have come to light in just the past few years. It then becomes vital to interrogate how these narratives have been used to both obscure the (well documented) reality as well as to minimize outrage over harms against Palestinians.
I Can’t Believe Anyone Thinks Trump Actually Cares About Antisemitism (Michelle Goldberg//NYT 4/28/25)
“Trump’s treatment of L.G.B.T.Q. people should have been a lesson to anyone tempted to take his campaign against antisemitism seriously, when it is screamingly obvious that it’s just a pretext to attack liberal institutions. Trump and his allies, after all, have mainstreamed antisemitism to an astonishing degree. Elon Musk, to whom Trump has outsourced the remaking of the federal government, is perhaps the world’s largest purveyor of antisemitic propaganda, thanks to his platform X…Yet I’ve been astonished to learn that some people believe that when the administration attacks academia for its purported antisemitism, it’s acting in good faith…It seems to me that there’s another sort of derangement at play here, rooted in the way Israel’s defenders conflate all but the mildest criticism of Israel with antisemitism. There have certainly been incidents of crude anti-Jewish bigotry in the protests that followed Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But too many backers of Israel can’t seem to imagine a reason besides antisemitic animus for impassioned opposition to Israel’s merciless war on Gaza. This leads them to vastly overstate the scale of antisemitism on the left and, in turn, to rationalize away Trump’s authoritarianism as he attempts to crush progressive redoubts.” See also Trump Doesn’t Want to Protect All Jewish Students — Just Those on His Team (Peter Beinart//NYT 4/28/25);
NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up April 25, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
GAZA
The Situation in Gaza Is No Longer a War, but an Unrestrained Assault on Civilians (Jack Khoury//Haaretz 4/18/25)
“In the absence of any real military targets, Israel is waging a reckless offensive against those who are in no way involved in the fighting against it. Gazans are forced to choose between death and displacement to ‘safe zones’ that are far from safe.” See also At least 59 Palestinians killed as Israel escalates Gaza bombardment (Al Jazeera 4/24/25); Children in school shelter among 25 killed in wave of Israeli strikes on Gaza (The Guardian 4/23/25); Israeli bombardment of Gaza kills 92 in two days: Health Ministry (Al Jazeera 4/19/25);
‘We’ll Die Whether From Hunger or the Bombing’: Gaza Faces Critical Food Shortage (Sheren Falah Saab//Haaretz 4/25/25)
“”It’s very hard – so hard that I can’t concentrate,” says H., a journalist from the Gaza Strip describing his efforts to cope with the shortage of food and clean water. He sounds exhausted. “I feel weak,” he says. “I eat one date at 1 P.M. and another at 6. It’s been like that for three weeks now. The rice at home is almost gone, and there’s no flour. The only thing I’m thinking about is how to feed my kids in the next few days.”…The food shortage is the biggest challenge for most Gazans now. Eight weeks have passed since Israel stopped allowing aid into the Strip, and experts are warning of a sudden and rapid decline in health due to the shortages of food, clean water and medicine. This situation isn’t new for Gazans. In the past year they have learned to adapt to extreme conditions, including hunger. But now they are very worn out, both emotionally and physically, and with each day their ability to survive erodes further.” See also Israel ends mention of humanitarian zones as Gaza war grinds on (Guardian 4/24/25); Despair in Gaza as Israeli aid blockade creates crisis ‘unmatched in severity’ (Guardian 4/19/25); World Food Program says it has run out of food stocks in Gaza due to closing of crossings (Haaretz 4/25/25)
Bombing plants, severing pipelines: Israel pushes Gaza water crisis to the brink (Ibtisam Mahdi//+972 Magazine 4/23/25)
“Since March, the army’s intensified targeting of water infrastructure has left Gazans no choice but to drink seawater and ration contaminated supplies…This crisis is not a side effect of Israel’s onslaught, but rather a deliberate aspect of it. According to data from Gaza’s Government Media Office, the Israeli army has destroyed 719 water wells since October 7. On March 10, Israel cut off the remaining electricity supply to Gaza, forcing the Strip’s largest desalination plant to scale down its operations. A few days later, the second largest plant went out of service due to fuel shortages resulting from Israel’s total blockade on the enclave. Another, the Ghabayen plant in Gaza City, was bombed in early April. And on April 5, Israel halted the water supply to Gaza from the Israeli company Mekorot, which provided nearly 70 percent of the Strip’s drinking water.” See also ‘No mercy’: Israel keeps blocking aid amid systematic destruction of Gaza (Al Jazeera 4/24/25)
Reoccupying Gaza (Joshua Leifer//NYRB 4/23/25)
“After Israel blocked the entry of all goods and humanitarian aid early last month, conditions in the territory have again become dire…The next stage in Israel’s destruction of the territory appears to be what many on the country’s hardline right have long urged: a reversion to the pre-disengagement paradigm of direct occupation and siege…Top Israeli officials, Netanyahu among them, have simultaneously committed to another goal: the mass expulsion of Gaza’s inhabitants.” See also Eyeing a new opportunity, Jewish settlers are positioning themselves on the Gaza border (JTA 4/18/25)
Israel’s A.I. Experiments in Gaza War Raise Ethical Concerns (NYT 4/25/25)
“In the past 18 months, Israel has also combined A.I. with facial recognition software to match partly obscured or injured faces to real identities, turned to A.I. to compile potential airstrike targets, and created an Arabic-language A.I. model to power a chatbot that could scan and analyze text messages, social media posts and other Arabic-language data, two people with knowledge of the programs said. Many of these efforts were a partnership between enlisted soldiers in Unit 8200 and reserve soldiers who work at tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and Meta, three people with knowledge of the technologies said. Unit 8200 set up what became known as “The Studio,” an innovation hub and place to match experts with A.I. projects, the people said…No other nation has been as active as Israel in experimenting with A.I. tools in real-time battles, European and American defense officials said, giving a preview of how such technologies may be used in future wars — and how they might also go awry.” See also Spain halts controversial $7.5m deal to buy ammunition from Israeli company (Al Jazeera 4/24/25); Israel Is Using Suicide Drones to Target Displaced Palestinian Families Sheltering in Tents (Drop Site 4/24/25)
Israel acknowledges killing aid worker in strike after initially accusing UN of ‘baseless slander’ (CNN 4/24/25)
“The Israeli military acknowledged on Thursday that it was responsible for killing a United Nations aid worker in a strike on a UN guesthouse in Gaza last month, backtracking on its previous denials in the face of mounting public evidence of Israeli responsibility…The Israeli military initially denied any role in the strike on the UN guesthouse and Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the United Nations of “baseless slander” for saying Israeli tank fire was the source of the attack.” See also Israel Acknowledges Second Deadly Attack on Aid Workers in Gaza (NYT 4/24/25)
Killing of Gaza Aid Workers: IDF Troops Fired Indiscriminately for Over Three Minutes, Some at Point-blank Range (Haaretz 4/23/25)
“The soldiers fired at the vehicles continuously for three and a half minutes – even from point-blank range – reloading their ammunition multiple times, despite attempts by the aid workers to identify themselves.” See also New details on killing of paramedics in Gaza appear to contradict IDF’s account (Guardian 4/24/25); Humanitarian agencies reject IDF claim Gaza medic killings caused by ‘professional failures’ (Guardian 4/21/25)
REGION/GLOBAL
Trump willing to meet Iran’s Khamenei but ‘will be leading’ war pack if no deal (Al Monitor 4/25/25)
“President Donald Trump said he is optimistic that a deal can be reached with Iran on its nuclear program and is willing to meet with Iran’s president or supreme leader…Asked about his concerns that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would drag him into military conflict with Iran, Trump emphatically said, “No,” explaining, “He may go into a war. But we’re not getting dragged in,” and adding that the United States “may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.”’ See also Amid differences, Trump and Netanyahu hold call, discuss Iran nuclear talks (Al Monitor 4/22/25); Trump’s NSC Director for Israel and Iran Previously Worked for Israeli Ministry of Defense (Drop Site 4/21/25); U.S. negotiating position on Iran in flux as talks continue (WaPo 4/24/25);
US to offer Saudi Arabia $100bn weapons deal as Trump visit planned: Report (Al Jazeera 4/25/25)
“The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100bn, the Reuters news agency reports, citing six sources familiar with the matter. The deal is reportedly in the works in advance of a planned trip by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next month, Reuters reported on Thursday.” See also How Gaza’s horrors turned Israeli normalization into a Saudi domestic crisis (Hind Al Ansari//+972 4/25/25); US attacks Yemen again after at least 80 people killed in Hodeidah (Al Jazeera 4/19/25); Yemen’s Houthi fighters down $200m worth of US drones in under six weeks (Al Jazeera 4/25/25); U.S. Airstrike Hits Yemeni Capital, Killing 12, Local Health Officials Say (NYT 4/21/25);
Gaza’s Christians ‘heartbroken’ for pope who phoned them nightly (Reuters 4/21/25)
“Members of Gaza’s tiny Christian community said they were “heartbroken” on Monday at the death of Pope Francis, who campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave and spoke to them on the phone every evening throughout the war…Francis called the [Holy Family Church] hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, [George] Antone [head of the church’s emergency committee] said, the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war. He would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room, Antone said. “We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name – every single one of us,” Antone said, referring to the Christians of Gaza who number in the hundreds.” See also Pope Francis’ final speech called for ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza war (The Forward 4/21/25);
Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood: Here’s what to know about the group (Al Monitor 4/23/25)
“Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday, throwing the future of the largest opposition bloc in the Hashemite Kingdom into question and joining a host of Arab countries that have outlawed the Islamist group. Interior Minister Mazin Al-Farrayeh announced a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities, adding that membership in the organization and promoting its ideas are likewise prohibited. Jordanian police raided premises used by the Brotherhood on Wednesday in accordance with the ruling, state media reported. The decision followed Jordanian authorities announcing a foiled plot last week allegedly linked to the group. Jordanian intelligence said they arrested 16 people over a plan “targeting national security, sowing chaos and sabotage within Jordan.” The government said the alleged perpetrators belonged to an unspecified “dissolved group,” and some of the accused said in confessions aired on state television that they were recruited by the Muslim Brotherhood. The plan included efforts to manufacture weapons and drones, per the authorities.” See also Jordan outlaws Muslim Brotherhood group, confiscates assets (Al Jazeera 4/23/25)
RIVER TO THE SEA
My Oscar for ‘No Other Land’ Didn’t Protect Me From Violence (Hamdan Ballal//NYT 4/25/25)
“On March 2, I won an Academy Award for best documentary for a film I co-directed, “No Other Land.” It’s hard to put into words how that moment felt. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life. Three weeks later, I was brutally attacked in my home and arrested. In an instant, it was as if the Oscars had never happened, as if the award didn’t mean anything…The press attention that the attack in Susiya received because of our Oscar victory was unlike anything we experienced before. The messages and voices of support around the world have been overwhelming. I know that there are thousands and thousands of people who now know my name and my story, who know my community’s name and our story and who stand with us and support us. Don’t turn away now.” See also ‘No Other Land’ Made Available for Download in North America Amid Distribution Challenges (Haaretz 4/21/25); See No Other Land here.
A settler shot a Palestinian father in the leg. Soldiers arrived to detain his son (Basel Adra//+972 Magazine 4/22/25)
“After the attack in the West Bank village of Al-Rakeez, Sheikh Saeed Rabaa was forced to undergo amputation, as his son Ilyas remained in Ofer Prison.” See also Israeli Settlers Torched Homes, Goat Pen, Shot at Palestinian Residents in West Bank (Haaretz 4/24/25);
Half of Jewish Israeli Teens Hate Arabs, but Hope for Change Remains, Study Shows (Haaretz 4/18/25)
“In the latest aChord report, “Losing True North: Commitment to Democracy among Israeli Youth,” 51 percent of Jewish respondents reported high levels of hatred toward Arabs versus 33 percent of Arab respondents toward Jews. A quarter of Jewish Israeli teenagers think Jews and Arabs should be separated in public spaces…Only a few studies have been done on young people’s attitudes toward Israel’s various population groups, [aChord CEO Ron] Gerlitz says. He believes that these efforts will help “reduce tensions between the groups and promote an emotional, behavioral and educational infrastructure among the education system’s future graduates.” His aChord Center is part of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and promotes egalitarian, tolerant and respectful relations among Israel’s social groups – and between Israel and its neighbors.”
Israeli Minister Says Freeing Hostages Not ‘Most Important’ Aim of the War (NYT 4/21/25)
“A far-right Israeli politician said on Monday that saving the hostages in Gaza was not Israel’s “most important goal” in its war with Hamas, further stoking the debate in Israel over its objectives for the war. Bezalel Smotrich, the country’s powerful finance minister, suggested in a radio interview that ensuring that Hamas no longer ruled the Gaza Strip after its deadly 2023 attack in southern Israel was a higher priority.”
U.S. SCENE
In a Normal World, Harvard’s Lawsuit Against Trump Would Be a Slam Dunk (Elie Mystal//The Nation 4/24/25)
“In a world where laws, constitutional principles, and even court rulings still mattered, Harvard’s lawsuit would be a slam dunk against the Trump administration. The government ordered Harvard to promote speech the government finds valuable. It literally told Harvard to hire certain kinds of professors, admit certain kinds of students, and deny admission to other kinds of students, based solely on what those professors and students say and how they think. When Harvard refused, the government punished the university, in an attempt to coerce it into saying and doing what the government wanted it to say and do. The government’s coercion and attempted compulsion of the university’s speech is a clear violation of the First Amendment. Harvard should win this case, easily, and only the most unprincipled judicial avatars of the Trump movement (like, perhaps, Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito) will even try to argue otherwise. What’s critical to understand here is that Harvard violated no laws, and the Trump administration does not even allege that Harvard violated any laws. What the Trump people want you to forget is that we already have a law (a very famous law) that prohibits universities from engaging in discrimination, including antisemitism, when it comes to hiring professors or admitting students. It’s called the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If the Trump administration, or literally anyone else, thought that Harvard was discriminating against Jewish students, prospective students, or faculty, they could sue Harvard.” See also By Weaponizing Arrest Records and Suspending Due Process, the Trump Administration Has Targeted Over 1,000 Foreign Students (Drop Site 4/19/25); What Jewish university presidents say: Trump is exploiting campus antisemitism, not fighting it (Forward 4/16/25); Jewish Senate Dems accuse Trump of weaponizing antisemitism to attack universities (Jewish Insider 4/25/25)
Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish (Akela Lacy//The Intercept 4/23/25);
“Most professors at Barnard College received text messages on Monday notifying them that a federal agency was reviewing the college’s employment practices, according to copies of the messages reviewed by The Intercept. The messages, sent to most Barnard professors’ personal cellphones, asked them to complete a voluntary survey about their employment. “Please select all that apply,” said the second question in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, survey. The choices followed: “I am Jewish”; “I am Israeli”; “I have shared Jewish/Israeli ancestry”; “I practice Judaism”; and “Other.” Other questions asked respondents whether they had been subjected to antisemitism, as well as whether they were subject to “unwelcome discussions,” graffiti or signs depicting antisemitic messages or images, antisemitic or anti-Israeli protests, “unwelcome comments, jokes or discussions,” or “pressure to abandon, change or adopt a practice or religious belief.” “The federal government reaching out to our personal cellphones to identify who is Jewish is incredibly sinister,” said Barnard associate professor Debbie Becher, who is Jewish and received the text. “They are clearly targeting what most of the United States, I hope and I think, defines as freedom of speech, but only in the case of anti-Israeli speech.”’ See also U.S. Federal Gov’t Texted Barnard Staff to Ask if They’re Jewish or Israeli, Faced Antisemitism (Haaretz 4/24/25); US philanthropists warn against capitulating to Trump: ‘We need to step up’ (The Guardian 4/19/25); Philanthropies fear Trump will target their tax-exempt status (DevEx 4/18/25); The Trump Takeover of the US Institute of Peace—What Nonprofits Need to Know and How to Prepare (Nonprofit Quarterly 4/17/25);
‘Pro-Palestinian Protesters Backing the Nazis in Gaza’ | Far-right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Taunts Yale Protesters as Water Bottles Thrown at Him (Haaretz 4/24/25)
“Pro-Palestinian protests and projectiles were aimed at Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after he addressed a Jewish society for Yale students in New Haven on Wednesday…According to the attendee, Ben-Gvir said Israel should bomb food storage facilities in Gaza and ethnically cleanse Palestinians, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate them to other countries.” See also Ben-Gvir: US Republicans support bombing Gaza ‘food and aid depots’ (Al Jazeera 4/23/25);
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
‘Infinite License’ (Omer Bartov//NYRB 4/24/25)
“The Israelis are perpetrating a genocide in Gaza because they perceive Palestinians as savages, but they have justified it as a response to another potential genocide that would be akin to the Holocaust, carried out by Hamas militants who were rehearsing for another Final Solution…And when “never again” becomes not just a slogan but part of a state ideology, when it becomes the prism transforming every threat, every security issue, every challenge to the state’s legitimacy or righteousness into an existential peril, then no holds must be barred to defend those who have already faced annihilation. It is a worldview, [Peter] Beinart writes, that “offers infinite license to fallible human beings.” Once Hamas militants are seen as modern-day Nazis, Israel can be imagined as an avenging angel, uprooting its enemies with fire and sword…How was it possible, well into the twenty-first century, eighty years after the end of the Holocaust and the creation of an international legal regime meant to prevent such crimes from ever happening again, that the state of Israel—seen and self-described as the answer to the genocide of the Jews—could have carried out a genocide of Palestinians with near-total impunity? How do we face up to the fact that Israel has invoked the Holocaust to shatter the legal order put into place to prevent a repetition of this “crime of crimes”?’
The Cowardice of Elites (Nathan Robinson//Current Affairs 4/16/25)
“ In fact, Harvard didn’t want to fight Trump. The New York Times notes that until recently Harvard “had adopted a conspicuously low and accommodating profile — so much so that many on campus had openly fretted that the university was pursuing a Columbia-style path of appeasement.” It was only when the Trump administration (apparently accidentally) sent Harvard an impossibly extreme list of demands that the university was forced into the position of fighting Trump. In its lawsuit against the administration, Harvard takes great pains to show how much it has done to crack down on protests and boasts that it has distinguished itself from other universities by adopting the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism…The Trump administration will escalate its efforts to quell dissent. Trump is carrying through his vow to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests and conduct mass deportations.”
‘My work is a scream for help’: Gaza’s artists document life under fire (Guardian 4/21/25)
“Work illustrating the war’s brutality but also the resilience of four Palestinian artists, is being exhibited at the Darat al Funan in Jordan”
Remembering an artist who gave life to the children of Gaza (Loaay Wattad//+972 4/18/25)
“Dorgham Qreaiqea led film, theater, and painting projects with an unshakeable belief in the power of art to transcend the war. An Israeli airstrike killed him.”
NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up April 18, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/StatementsSee also FMEP President Lara Friedman and Carnegie Fellow Zaha Hassan, in conversation with Erik Fleming on the podcast, A Moment with Erik Fleming, in an episode entitled, Volatile Times (4/14/25) and The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism and the Threat to Free Speech – FMEP President Lara Friedman featured on the “Understanding Israel Palestine” radio show/podcast, with Margot Patterson (4/11/25).
GAZA
Hamas rejects Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal over ‘impossible conditions’ (The Guardian 4/18/25)
“Hamas has formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal, saying it will not accept a “partial” deal that does not guarantee an end to the war or a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza…In Israel’s most recent offer to Hamas, they had proposed the initial release of 10 hostages in return for a 45-day ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners, with the promise of further discussion of ending the war and restoring aid to Gaza. For the first time, Israel had demanded the complete disarmament of Hamas as part of the deal – which the militant group has said is a red line. Hayya said it was their “natural right” to possess weapons…He said that Hamas was ready to agree to a “comprehensive package” that ensured the release of all the hostages, in return for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. A key condition, he added, was that Israel “must completely end the war against our people and fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip”. This week, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, had made it clear that Israeli troops intended to remain in “security buffer zones” it had established in Gaza since the ceasefire with Hamas collapsed in March.” See also Wave of Israeli airstrikes kill at least 40 across Gaza, says civil defence agency (Guardian 4/17/25); 47 Palestinians, including women and children, killed in IDF strikes on Gaza so far on Friday, reports say (Haaretz 4/18/25); Israel says it has completely encircled Rafah (WaPo 4/12/25)
No plans to allow any aid into Gaza, says Israeli minister (The Guardian 4/16/25)
“Israel has said it will keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, as it vowed to force Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages from the 7 October attacks. Aid supplies including food, fuel, water and medicine have been blocked by Israel from entering Gaza since 2 March, more than two weeks before the collapse of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group with a return to air and ground attacks on the territory. The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said on Wednesday that Gaza was becoming a “mass grave for Palestinians”.” See also Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis at Its Worst Since War Began, With Thousands of Children Severely Malnourished, UN Says (Haaretz 4/17/25); PHOTOS: A ruined university in northern Gaza becomes a refuge (Ruwaida Amer//+972 Magazine 4/15/25); Israeli strike damages last fully functional hospital in Gaza City (WaPo 4/13/25)
Fed Up With Israeli Displacement Orders, Palestinians in Gaza City Refuse to Leave (Rasha Abou Jalal//Drop Site 4/15/25)
“As it stands, over two thirds of Gaza is either under active displacement orders or within a no-go zone—sometimes referred to as a kill zone. Yet, in some neighborhoods under displacement orders, some residents are refusing to leave, opting to remain in their homes and face the assault instead of being displaced again to areas that lack shelter and which nonetheless continue to be targeted by the Israeli military.” See also Airstrike destroys parts of Gaza City hospital as Israel intensifies offensive (Guardian 4/14/25); Israel Strikes Area With Tent Camps for Displaced Gazans (NYT 4/17/25); Gazans survive among unexploded bombs (Reuters 4/16/25); Beneath Gaza’s ‘Uninhabitable’ Ruins Lies a Ticking Time Bomb of Unexploded Munitions (Haaretz 4/17/25)
‘If I die, I want a loud death’: Gaza photojournalist killed by Israeli airstrike (The Guardian//4/18/25)
“Fatima Hassouna, who had been documenting war in Gaza for 18 months and was subject of new documentary, killed along with 10 members of her family.” See also Remembering an artist who gave life to the children of Gaza (Loaay Wattad//+972 Magazine 4/18/25); Photos point to Israeli tank fire in deadly strike on U.N. guest house (WaPo 4/13/25)
The Gaza paramedic killings: a visual timeline (The Guardian 4/15/25)
“On 23 March, contact was lost with a team of Palestinian rescue workers and medics in southern Gaza. A week later, their bodies were recovered from a mass grave…Footage emerges that contradicts the official Israeli version of events. Found on the phone of one of the victims, which had been buried with his body, and first published by the New York Times, it shows a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck driving along a dirt road, clearly marked with official insignia and with their red and blue emergency vehicle lights flashing…The Red Crescent says autopsies conducted on those killed on 23 March show they were shot in the upper body with “intent to kill”.” See also ‘Dad, help me… we were targeted by the Israelis’: Audio and video capture last moments of aid workers killed in Gaza (CNN 4/7/25); IDF unit involved in Gaza paramedics’ killing was under command of brigade led by notorious Israeli general (Guardian 4/12/25);
Hamas seeks to silence Gazans who criticize it over war with Israel (WaPo 4/16/25)
“The move by Hamas in recent weeks to try to stop a wave of protests against it in Gaza reflects the group’s determination to continue silencing dissent even as the war with Israel has left the militants badly weakened. The demonstrations, which broke out in late March, represented the boldest challenge to Hamas in years and underscored the desperation among Palestinians in Gaza to end the war. The protests have now largely petered out, with Gazans attributing the decline to Hamas pressure and the preoccupation of the enclave’s besieged residents with searching for food and fleeing Israeli strikes and evacuation orders.”
The first livestreamed genocide (Al Jazeera 4/16/25)
“Eighteen months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, more than 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been confirmed killed. At least 10,000 more are missing, buried under the rubble and presumed dead. The Al Jazeera Investigative Unit’s feature documentary GAZA exposes Israeli war crimes through the use of videos and photographs posted online by Israeli soldiers themselves. Here we present the database that lies behind that film, described by international law expert Rodney Dixon as “a treasure trove you very seldom come across, … something which I think prosecutors will be licking their lips at.”’
‘Now You’re Dead’: Freed Hostage Recounts Captivity in Gaza (NYT 4/16/25)
“Keith Siegel, who spent 484 days as a hostage, described the physical and psychological distress he endured, in an interview with The New York Times.”
‘How do I live like this?’ asks Gaza boy who lost arms in Israeli attack (Al Jazeera 4/18/25)
“A Palestinian child who was severely wounded in an Israeli drone attack on Gaza last year, and who was pictured in an image that won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year award, says he has been struggling to adapt to life since losing both his arms in the explosion. Speaking to Al Jazeera from Doha, Qatar, where he has been receiving treatment, nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour recalled the moment the bomb exploded, targeting his home in March 2024…His mental health deteriorated further when he, like many others in Gaza, had to undergo surgery without anaesthetics due to a severe lack of medical supplies…“They performed surgery on me while I was awake,” Ajjour said, the shock still evident in his voice.” See also Portrait of amputee Palestinian boy from Gaza wins World Press Photo award (Al Jazeera 4/17/25)
REGION/GLOBAL
Trump Waved Off Israeli Strike After Divisions Emerged in His Administration (NYT 4/16/25)
“Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month but was waved off by President Trump in recent weeks in favor of negotiating a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program, according to administration officials and others briefed on the discussions. Mr. Trump made his decision after months of internal debate over whether to pursue diplomacy or support Israel in seeking to set back Iran’s ability to build a bomb, at a time when Iran has been weakened militarily and economically. The debate highlighted fault lines between historically hawkish American cabinet officials and other aides more skeptical that a military assault on Iran could destroy the country’s nuclear ambitions and avoid a larger war. It resulted in a rough consensus, for now, against military action, with Iran signaling a willingness to negotiate…Almost all of the plans would have required U.S. help not just to defend Israel from Iranian retaliation, but also to ensure that an Israeli attack was successful, making the United States a central part of the attack itself.” See also Trump rejected Israeli plan for striking Iranian nuclear program: report (JI 4/16/25); Leak to NYT of ‘core’ plans to strike Iran’s nuclear sites likely to harm US-Israel ties, security officials say (TOI 4/17/25); As Witkoff hints US won’t dismantle Iran nuclear program, Israel fears Trump may settle for ‘bad deal’ (Al Monitor 4/15/25); US-Iran gaps seen as bridgeable as Israeli strike leak undermines Netanyahu (Al Monitor 4/17/25);
As Iran talks resume, White House fends off bombing hawks (WaPo 4/18/25)
“A battle within President Donald Trump’s inner circle over what to do about Iran has been resolved for the moment by Trump’s decision to pursue diplomacy with Tehran. But as U.S. and Iranian negotiators head toward a second round of talks Saturday in Rome, it remains unclear what outcome Trump is seeking and how long he is prepared to wait for it. And in both Tehran and Jerusalem, as in Washington, divisions remain over the wisdom of talking versus fighting. Depending on the day and the speaker, the Trump administration is threatening military strikes unless Iran eradicates its nuclear program and attendant technology, or is seeking Iran’s agreement to shrink the program and submit to strict outside verification.” See also Houthis say toll from deadly US attack in Yemen rises to 80, with 150 wounded (TOI 4/18/25); US airstrikes on Houthi oil port in Yemen reportedly kill dozens (Guardian 4/17/25)
Lebanon’s army expands presence, dismantles 500 Hezbollah sites: What to know (Al Monitor 4/17/25)
“Lebanon’s army has expanded its presence in the south of the country, dismantling hundreds of Hezbollah military installations and confiscating weapons in accordance with a ceasefire that ended a 13-month war with Israel last November, as the government works to establish a monopoly on arms across the country, Lebanese officials revealed on Thursday.” See also Lebanese army making progress in displacing Hezbollah near Israeli border (WaPo 4/17/25); At least two killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon (Al Jazeera 4/18/25)
RIVER TO THE SEA
Israel’s designs for Jenin refugee camp are about more than just destruction (Majd Jawad//+972 Magazine 4/16/25)
“After being expelled from their homes, residents watch from afar as the army re-engineers the camp to inhibit resistance and undermine the right of return.”
Israeli Policies and Settler Violence Are Driving Palestinians from the Jordan Valley (Issam Ahmad//Drop Site 4/14/25)
“Through a combination of tactics deployed across the occupied West Bank—including bureaucratic restrictions, denial of access to resources, and settlement expansion—Israel has worked to redraw the geographic and demographic makeup of the Jordan Valley by making living conditions nearly impossible for Palestinian residents. Since October 7, 2023, these policies have all ramped up. While the world’s attention has focused on Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and, to a lesser extent, on the military campaign in West Bank towns like Jenin and Tulkarem—where entire refugee camps have been destroyed and tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced—the increasingly harsh plight of communities in the Jordan Valley has largely gone unnoticed.”
Doctors forced to amputate leg of Palestinian shot by invading settler, locals say (TOI 4/18/25)
“Doctors at Israel’s Soroka Medical Center were forced to amputate the leg of a Palestinian who was shot yesterday by settlers who invaded Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley, residents say. While the residents of Khirbet al-Rakiz say they’ve spotted the settler behind the shooting continuing to roam free since the shooting. The Beyond the Herd solidarity group of Israeli activists identified him as Benjamin Bodenheimer, the security coordinator of the nearby Avigayil outpost. Meanwhile, the victim, Sa’eed al-Amour, has been placed under arrest in his hospital room, which is being guarded by police. Amour’s 15-year-old son Elias was detained yesterday at the scene but has not been released. The IDF has yet to respond to a request for comment on the incident, which took place in Masafer Yatta…Residents say the shooting took place after settlers began work to put up a fence on land owned by Amour.”
Where’s the outrage over ‘systematic’ sexual violence against Palestinians? (Samah Salaime//+972 Magazine 4/17/25)
“Last month, a report for the UN Human Rights Council affirmed — as Palestinians have long asserted — that Israel has systematically employed sexual violence and gender-based crimes against Palestinian women, men, and children since October 7. The investigation, released alongside harrowing testimonies from survivors and witnesses, civil society representatives, academics, lawyers, and medical experts during a two-day hearing in Geneva, reached several key conclusions that, in my view, demand immediate global attention and action. First, Israeli forces’ use of gender-based violence has escalated dramatically in both scale and intensity since October 7, becoming “systematic.”…Second, Israeli military detention facilities have become the epicenters of the most egregious kinds of gender-based violence.”
Israelis Want the War to Stop, but Only Until the Hostages Are Released (Dahlia Scheindin//Haaretz 4/16/25)
“Air force pilots, commandos, police officers, military medical personnel: thousands of Israelis have signed public calls to end the Gaza war. They all share a troubling element – blindness to the suffering of Gazans, or any aspect of the war besides the hostages.” See also ‘We’re Champions at Repression’: Israel Air Force Pilots Open Up About the Moral Dilemmas of the Gaza War (Haaretz 4/17/25); Hundreds of former Mossad operatives criticise Israel’s return to war in Gaza (Guardian 4/14/25); Thousands of Israeli reservists condemn leadership for return to war (WaPo 4/14/25); Israelis can no longer enter the Maldives after Palestinian-solidarity ban goes into effect (JTA 4/15/25)
U.S. SCENE
Mahmoud Khalil: What does my detention by ICE say about America? (WaPo 4/17/25)
“Why should protesting Israel’s indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocent Palestinians result in the erosion of my constitutional rights?…I write this letter as the sun rises, hoping that the suspension of my rights will raise alarm bells that yours are already in jeopardy. I hope it will inspire your outrage that the most basic human instinct, to protest shameless massacre, is being repressed by obscure laws, racist propaganda and a state terrified of an awakened public. I hope this writing will startle you into understanding that a democracy for some — a democracy of convenience — is no democracy at all. I hope it will shake you into acting before it is too late.” See also Government’s case against Mahmoud Khalil is reliant on tabloid accounts, review of evidence shows (NBC News 4/14/25)
Trump’s Claims of Antisemitism Are About Bringing Universities to Their Knees (Sandy Tolan//Rolling Stone 4/16/25)
“A Tufts University student in a hijab, plucked off the street by masked agents. A greencard holder and former Columbia University protest organizer, arrested in front of his pregnant wife, awaiting possible deportation in an ICE detention in Louisiana. A 10-year resident of the U.S., on his way to a citizenship interview, seized by federal agents and placed into deportation proceedings. A State Department AI surveillance scheme, “Catch and Revoke,” scouring thousands of academic visa holders’ social media accounts for signs of dissent. Billions of dollars in federal funding suddenly frozen for universities that refuse to comply with demands for academic capitulation. Naked threats to bring “existential terror” to American colleges. Amid this firehose blast of threats, directives, laws, and executive orders flows one common charge: antisemitism. Throughout history, authoritarian regimes have scapegoated Jews in order to impose tyrannical rule. Now the Trump administration is implementing an authoritarian plan to squash dissent, force conformity, and bring universities to their knees — in the name of protecting American Jews. “We are being set up by the Trump regime,” Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy at Yale, said on MSNBC. “We are being used to destroy democracy… as a sledgehammer for fascism.”’ See also What Jewish university presidents say: Trump is exploiting campus antisemitism, not fighting it (The Forward 4/16/25);
Trump’s War on the Palestine Movement Is Something Entirely New (Saree Makdisi//The Nation 4/17/25)
“The campaign of brute intimidation ravaging campuses across the country is not being framed as a way of safeguarding the American government or political system; it is, rather, intended to protect a distant foreign regime and to shield it from criticism in the country whose taxpayers are increasingly unwilling to finance its system of apartheid and its program of genocidal violence…Even now, in this gathering darkness, you can stand with a bullhorn in the middle of any American college campus, say what you want about Donald Trump or the American government, and not fear that you will be kidnapped by the state. Instead, what Trump’s targets are alleged to share is their criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and their advocacy of universally acknowledged Palestinian rights…What we are witnessing is thus not the return of McCarthyism but rather something entirely new. Plenty of governments have repressed free speech or academic freedom to protect themselves from criticism and dissent. But never before has a government repressed its citizens’ free speech and academic freedom in order to protect an entirely different country; never before have the rights of the citizens of a major metropolitan power been abrogated, or its leading institutions thrown into disorder, in order to safeguard the illegitimate and criminal policies of an insignificant client state thousands of miles away.” See also Jewish people fear scapegoating as Trump invokes antisemitism to justify crackdowns (Axios 4/14/25);
Why Harvard Decided to Fight Trump (NYT 4/15/25)
“The Trump administration will freeze over $2 billion in federal funds because Harvard refused to comply with a list of demands. Harvard leaders believed saying no was worth the risk.” See also Trump Administration Will Freeze $2 Billion After Harvard Refuses Demands (NYT 4/15/25); Trump administration takes aim at Harvard’s international students and tax-exempt status (AP 4/17/25); Harvard is defying the Trump administration — after its own crackdown on academic freedom (The Forward 4/15/25); Read the Trump Administration’s Letter to Harvard (NYT 4/14/25); IRS making plans to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status (CNN 4/16/25); Harvard’s Strength and How Far We’ve Fallen So Quickly (NYT 4/15/25);
“How Can I Take Anyone Seriously Talking About Mohsen Being Antisemitic?” (Akela Lacy//The Intercept 4/15/25)
“An Israeli associate of Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student detained Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said his targeting is a clear sign that no kind of activism in support of Palestine — even efforts to build peace with Israelis — is the right kind of activism for the Israeli and American right. Mahdawi’s green card was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio under an obscure provision of immigration law that allows the deportation of people deemed to be a threat to U.S. foreign policy. In Mahdawi’s case, according to the New York Times, Rubio said, without any evidence, that the student’s activism stoked antisemitism that undermined the peace process to end Israel’s war in Gaza…Battling often baseless allegations that pro-Palestine campus movements were suffused with support for terror and antisemitism, Mahdawi seemed to be the epitome of what the movement’s biggest critics said they wanted to see. He became an outspoken supporter of peaceful opposition to the war and, speaking in December 2023 on “60 Minutes,” the most watched news broadcast in the country, denounced antisemitism.” See also U.S. Cites Mideast Peace Process to Justify Move to Deport Student (NYT 4/15/25); The State Department Relied on Columbia University’s Mischaracterization of Protests to Arrest Mohsen Mahdawi (Drop Site 4/17/25); A Palestinian activist expecting a US citizenship interview is arrested instead by ICE in Vermont (AP 4/14/25);Emails Show Mohsen Mahdawi Pleaded with Columbia for Protection for Months Before ICE Detained Him (Zeteo 4/18/25)
Project Esther: Suppressing Palestinian Solidarity in the US (Tariq Kenney Shawa//Al Shabaka 4/15/25)
“ Framed as an initiative to combat antisemitism, Project Esther exclusively targets voices and groups critical of the Israeli regime…While efforts to silence pro-Palestine activism are not new, they have escalated significantly under President Donald Trump…In this context, Project Esther is more than just a desperate attempt to salvage a crumbling Zionist narrative—it is part of a broader authoritarian shift in US politics. Across the country, attacks on dissent, free speech, and marginalized communities are redefining the relationship between the state and civil society. Palestinian solidarity has become an epicenter in a broader effort to erode democratic values, exposing the fragility of rights many Americans have long taken for granted. This policy brief situates Project Esther within the broader bipartisan crackdown on Palestine advocacy—a consequence of the Zionist movement’s failure to win the argument in the public sphere. It argues that this repression is not just an attack on Palestinians and the solidarity movement but a litmus test for US democracy. It also provides a roadmap for resisting this authoritarian turn, ensuring that the fight for Palestinian liberation remains central to the broader struggle for justice and equality.”
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
The rise of end times fascism (Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor//The Guardian 4/13/25)
“The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them.”
Gaza’s Unspoken Reality: The Tremendous Need for Prioritizing Mental Healthcare (Yasser Abu Jamei//This Week in Palestine April 2025)
“There is no doubt that these three factors have severely impacted the mental health of the people in the Gaza Strip…The mental health crisis in Gaza is particularly acute among children, who make up nearly half of the population. Exposure to violence, displacement, and the loss of family members has left many children deeply traumatized. Children across the whole area have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression…Adults in Gaza are also grappling with profound mental health challenges. The destruction of homes and livelihoods has left many feeling hopeless and powerless, with high rates of depression and anxiety reported among the adult population…In our two reports,7 the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) found that survivors of loss, displacement, and bombardment, both men and women, experienced similar symptoms, with women showing more intense symptoms.”
NEW FROM FMEP
Memory Culture, Israel and Genocide: Criminalizing Speech in Germany (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with German journalist Hanno Hauenstein about Germany’s memory culture and the treatment of the Holocaust as a unique historical event, as compared to the genocide of the Herero and Nama people and others. They discuss the idea of Germany’s Staatrason – or reason for being – which has been characterized as protecting Israel, right or wrong, as well as Hanno’s work in the Guardian, which highlights the criminalization of Palestine-related speech and the unprecedented effort to deport EU citizens for their Palestine advocacy.
“One hour after an attack, we prepare to be attacked again”: Survival in Masafer Yatta (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with writer and activist Ali Awad about life in Masafer Yatta, the part of the West Bank where he lives, which is subject to ongoing and escalating state-backed Israeli settler attacks. Ali describes life in his rural village, Tuba, on “a good day,” a day without settler attacks, and also looks at the history of Masafer Yatta under Israeli occupation, including decades of being unsettled and facing forcible transfer and the threat of continued expulsion. Ali describes the escalations in attacks and threats against these communities since October 7th, 2023, including recent attacks targeting his village and family. Looking at the multi-pronged Israeli efforts to force Palestinians out of Masafer Yatta, Ali talks about the loss of any sense of security, hope, or the possibility of a future on the land he and his families have inhabited for many generations. And he speaks about efforts to support children traumatized by settler/soldier violence, to connect with human rights activists fighting these injustices, and to achieve the security and freedom needed for more “good days” in Masafer Yatta.
FMEP Legislative Round-Up April 4, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: April 11, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
West Bank Settlement & Annexation News; East Jerusalem News; Gaza Annexation & “Resettlement”; Israeli Politics; U.S. Politics; World News
GAZA
With Bakeries and Kitchens All But Shut Down, Desperate Hunger Engulfs Gaza (Hamza M.Salha//Drop Site 4/9/25)
“For more than a month, Israel has cut off all food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies to Gaza—the longest closure during the 18-month siege. Along with everything else, food is quite simply running out. On April 1, due to a lack of flour and cooking gas, the World Food Program (WFP) announced that it was shutting down all of its bakeries, cutting off one of the main sources of bread for hundreds of thousands of people. At the same time, the Head of the Bakery Owners Association in Gaza, Abdel Nasser Al-Ajrami, announced that all bakeries in Gaza had shut down—also due to shortages of flour and diesel fuel. More recently, the WFP warned its kitchens might have to shut down by next week as supplies have depleted, having already stopped distributing boxes of staple foods to families last week.” See also U.N. says Israel’s aid blockade has opened ‘floodgates of horror’ in Gaza (WaPo 4/9/25); ‘The Gates of Hell Are Open Night and Day’: Malnutrition, Illness and Lack of Drinking Water Plague Gaza (Nir Hasson//Haaretz 4/9/25); Israeli minister openly admits to using starvation against Gaza (Middle East Eye 4/7/25); Stay or Go? Israel’s Evacuation Orders Leave Gazans Facing an Excruciating Choice. (NYT 4/11/25); Gaza ‘hell on earth’ as hospital supplies running out, warns head of Red Cross (TOI 4/11/25)
‘They’ll kill us all’: Gazans plead for intervention as Israeli attacks intensify (Ruwaida Amer & Ahmed Ahmed//+972 Magazine 4/7/25)
“Since Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza last month, Palestinians have been facing horrors reminiscent of the first days of Israel’s genocidal onslaught. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Israeli military has killed over 1,300 people and wounded more than 3,000 in the past three weeks, in which time the overall death toll in the enclave has surpassed 50,000. Over 280,000 people have been displaced as Israel corrals Gaza’s population into ever-shrinking “humanitarian zones” which it continues to bomb. Nearly two-thirds of the entire territory of the Strip is now either under active displacement orders or defined by the military as a “no-go” area, with the army’s current operations focusing in particular on Gaza City in the north and Rafah in the south. Israel’s total blockade on humanitarian aid has entered its sixth week, with starvation and malnutrition threatening to engulf Gaza’s whole population. And while Israeli forces continue to level entire residential blocks with bulldozers and explosive robots, they are executing journalists and medics in cold blood.” See also ‘War without limits’: Aid agencies sound the alarm as Israel’s Gaza blockade enters a second month (CNN 4/7/25); School strike kills dozens, officials say, as Israel expands north Gaza operation (WaPo 4/4/25); Gaza faces ‘largest orphan crisis’ in modern history, report says (Al Jazeera 4/3/25)
Israel now controls 50 percent of Gaza (PBS News Hour 4/7/25)
“Israel has dramatically expanded its footprint in the Gaza Strip since relaunching its war against Hamas last month. It now controls more than 50 percent of the territory and is squeezing Palestinians into shrinking wedges of land. The largest contiguous area the army controls is around the Gaza border, where the military has razed Palestinian homes, farmland and infrastructure to the point of uninhabitability, according to Israeli soldiers and rights groups. This military buffer zone has doubled in size in recent weeks.” See also Meeting with Netanyahu, Trump again floats proposal for US to take over Gaza (JTA 4/7/25); No longer shunned, far-right Ben Gvir to visit US, eyeing official meetings (TOI 4/8/25); Netanyahu visits Trump amid brutal campaign in Gaza (WaPo 4/6/25);
Israel military razed Gaza perimeter land to create ‘kill zone’, soldiers say (Guardian 4/7/25)
“Israel’s military razed huge swathes of land inside the perimeter of Gaza and ordered troops to turn the area into a “kill zone” where anybody who entered was a target, according to testimony by soldiers who carried out the plan. Israeli combatants said they were ordered to destroy homes, factories and farmland roughly 1km (0.6 miles) inside the perimeter of Gaza to make a “buffer zone”, with one describing the area as looking like Hiroshima. The testimonies are some of the first accounts by Israeli soldiers to be published since the latest war started in October 2023 after Hamas’s attack on Israel. They were collected by Breaking the Silence, a group founded in 2004 by Israeli veterans who aim to expose the reality of the military’s grip over Palestinians…Titled “The Perimeter” and published on Monday, the report said the stated purpose of the plan was to create a thick strip of land that provided a clear line of sight for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to identify and kill militants. “This space was to have no crops, structures, or people. Almost every object, infrastructure installation, and structure within the perimeter was demolished,” it said.” See also IDF systematically destroyed homes and fields on Gaza border, report finds (WaPo 4/7/25)
How Palestinian first responders ended up in a mass grave in Gaza (WaPo 4/10/25)
“The 14 Palestinian emergency workers had been missing for a week when U.N. and civil defense personnel found them late last month in a mass grave of sand. Israeli soldiers had buried them, as well as the wreckage of their ambulances, videos showed. Their resting place, outside the southern Gaza city of Rafah, was marked with one of their red emergency lights…A Washington Post analysis of the events of that predawn morning, based on dispatcher records, witness testimony, video footage, satellite imagery and photographs of the dead, contradicts the official Israeli narrative in key regards. While the Israeli military said the soldiers shot from afar, gunfire was initially 150 feet away or less when they opened fire on the convoy of emergency vehicles and later was within about 50 feet, according to the estimates of two audio forensics experts who analyzed audio of the events at The Post’s request. While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the initial vehicle their soldiers fired on was a “Hamas police” car carrying terrorists, dispatcher records secured by The Post and interviews indicate that it was an ambulance that had been dispatched shortly before by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on an emergency call and carried a team of three paramedics who had 55 years of employment with the PRCS between them…The paramedics who fled from their vehicles were mostly wearing fluorescent clothes marking them as emergency workers, video shows. While the Israeli military initially told reporters that the soldiers fired on the vehicles because they did not have their emergency flashing red lights on, video shows that they did.” See also Video Shows Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Under Gunfire Barrage, With Ambulance Lights On (NYT 4/4/25); Eyewitnesses Recount Deadly Israeli Attack on Medics in Gaza (NYT 4/6/25); In a break from U.S., British PM calls for probe into Israel’s killing of emergency workers in Gaza (NBC News 4/9/25); Hundreds of Israeli Medics Demand to Prosecute IDF Soldiers Who Killed 15 Aid Workers in Gaza (Nir Hasson//Haaretz 4/9/25); Israeli military changes account of Gaza paramedics’ killing after video of attack (Guardian 4/6/25)
The Israeli army is facing its biggest refusal crisis in decades (Meron Rapoport//+972 Magazine 4/11/25)
“Over 100,000 Israelis have reportedly stopped showing up for reserve duty. While their reasons differ, the scale demonstrates the war’s waning legitimacy.” See also Hundreds of Israeli Air Force Reservists Call for Halt to Gaza War (NYT 4/10/25); Israeli reservists are discharged after hundreds call for release of hostages and end of war (JTA 4/10/25)
REGION/GLOBAL
Turkey and Israel are becoming deadly rivals in Syria (The Economist 4/7/25)
“Israel worries about Turkey’s involvement in Syria, including its plans to set up military bases and equip the new army. Turkey fears that Israel wants Syria to implode, or break apart. Each accuses the other of preparing to wage war by proxy.” See also In southern Syria, a violent new Israeli occupation emerges (Tareq al-Salameh//+972 Magazine 4/11/25); Israeli military organises tourist tours of newly occupied Syrian territory (The Guardian 4/11/25)
Hamas Launches Unprecedented Legal Case in Britain, Demanding the Government Remove its Terror Designation (Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site 4/9/25)
“In an extraordinary legal filing submitted Wednesday in London, Hamas argued that the British government should remove its designation of the movement as a proscribed terror group and recognize its legitimate role as a Palestinian resistance movement engaged in a struggle for self-determination and liberation. A top political leader of Hamas rejected allegations that the movement is an anti-semitic terror organization, asserted that Hamas poses no threat to Western nations, and argues that the political organization has never engaged in an armed operation outside the boundaries of historic Palestine. “Hamas is not a terrorist group. It is a Palestinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project,” wrote Mousa Abu Marzouk—head of international relations for Hamas, and the applicant for the claim to the U.K. home secretary—in a signed and submitted witness statement provided to Drop Site.”
Germany is now deporting pro-Palestine EU citizens. This is a chilling new step (Hanno Hauenstein//The Guardian 4/3/25)
“A crackdown on political dissent is well under way in Germany. Over the past two years, institutions and authorities have cancelled events, exhibitions and awards over statements about Palestine or Israel. There are many examples: the Frankfurt book fair indefinitely postponing an award ceremony for Adania Shibli; the Heinrich Böll Foundation withdrawing the Hannah Arendt prize from Masha Gessen; the University of Cologne rescinding a professorship for Nancy Fraser; the No Other Land directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham being defamed by German ministers. And, most recently, the philosopher Omri Boehm being disinvited from speaking at this month’s anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald. In nearly all of these cases, accusations of antisemitism loom large – even though Jews are often among those being targeted. More often than not, it is liberals driving or tacitly accepting these cancellations, while conservatives and the far right lean back and cheer them on. While vigilance against rising antisemitism is no doubt warranted – especially in Germany – that concern is increasingly weaponised as a political tool to silence the left.” See also France will move to recognize a Palestinian state this year, Macron says (JTA 4/9/25)
Why Trump’s Iran Diplomacy May Work (Trita Parsi//Time 4/11/25)
“Yet Trump’s all-purpose envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to be joined by Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, to explore the parameters of a potential negotiation. Whether the talks are indirect, as the Iranians insist, or direct, as Trump claims, is beside the point. What matters is that they’re talking. Several factors suggest Trump’s diplomatic push could succeed.” See also Top Houthi Official Tells Drop Site Yemen Will Cease Attacks on U.S. Ships if Trump Halts Bombing (Shuaib Almosawa & Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site 4/10/25); Trump says U.S. will have ‘direct’ talks with Iran over nuclear program (WaPo 4/7/25)
Leaked Data Reveals Massive Israeli Campaign to Remove Pro-Palestine Posts on Facebook and Instagram (Drop Site 4/11/25)
“A sweeping crackdown on posts on Instagram and Facebook that are critical of Israel—or even vaguely supportive of Palestinians—was directly orchestrated by the government of Israel, according to internal Meta data obtained by Drop Site News. The data show that Meta has complied with 94% of takedown requests issued by Israel since October 7, 2023. Israel is the biggest originator of takedown requests globally by far, and Meta has followed suit—widening the net of posts it automatically removes, and creating what can be called the largest mass censorship operation in modern history.
RIVER TO THE SEA
Palestinian American teen shot dead by Israeli settler, officials say (Guardian 4/6/25)
“A Palestinian teenager with US citizenship was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, Palestinian officials said on Sunday, with the Israeli military saying it shot a “terrorist” who was allegedly endangering civilians by hurling rocks. The incident is the latest in a surge of violence and near-daily confrontations in the volatile West Bank, where settler violence and clashes between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians have kept it on edge. The mayor of Turmus Ayya, Adeeb Lafi, told Reuters earlier in the day that Omar Mohammad Rabea, 14, was shot along with two other teenagers by an Israeli settler at the entrance to Turmus Ayya and that the Israeli army pronounced him dead after detaining him.”
New Israeli Guidelines Threaten to Eliminate Humanitarian Action in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Almost Entirely (Eitan Diamond//Just Security 4/8/25)
“Since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli military campaign in Gaza, Israel has systematically denied work visas and permits for staff of humanitarian organizations. My Palestinian and expatriate colleagues in our international organization are thus effectively barred from entering Israel and accessing occupied East Jerusalem, where our office is located.”
In Masafer Yatta, every last joy is being stolen from us (Humans of Masafer Yatta 4/10/25)
“Today is my birthday, a day I usually look forward to with happiness and hope. But this year, the joy I once associated with this date has been replaced by sadness and exhaustion. Just two days ago, settlers attacked our village, leaving destruction and fear behind. My wife was injured during the attack, suffering a broken hand, and since then, nothing has felt the same…Today and yesterday, I spent long hours in front of the police station, searching for truth, justice, and simply being heard. But no one opened the door for me, and no one listened to what happened. It was as if the pain we carry wasn’t worth acknowledging. In an instant, I felt as though not only my birthday had been stolen, but my dignity as well. Yet, I will continue to hold on to hope that another birthday will come that brings with it what we were deprived of this year: safety, justice, and joy.” See also Settlers said to burn down wedding hall, paint ‘Death to Arabs’ in West Bank village (TOI 4/8/25)
In Masafer Yatta, we need more than awards — we need protection (Ahmad Nawajah//+972 Magazine 4/8/25)
“Never in my life have I felt the hunger of the government and settlers to expel us more intensely than these past few weeks. Since Hamdan and my father returned from the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles in early March, Susiya has endured relentless attacks, each day more brutal than the last.” See also Israeli University Cancels Screening of Oscar-winning Documentary ‘No Other Land’ Under Right-wing Pressure (Haaretz 4/6/25);
U.S. SCENE
Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs (AP 4/10/25)
“Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza. Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs. He said that while Khalil’s activities were “otherwise lawful,” letting him remain in the country would undermine “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”’ See also Mahmoud Khalil can be expelled for his beliefs alone, US government argues (The Guardian 4/10/25); A Letter to Columbia (Mahmoud Khalil//Columbia Spectator 4/4/25)
Immigration Judge Rules Khalil Can Be Deported, but Legal Hurdles Remain (NYT 4/11/25)
“An immigration judge in Louisiana found on Friday that the Trump administration could deport Mahmoud Khalil, granting the government an early victory in its efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses. The ruling is far from the final word on whether Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident, will be deported. His lawyers will continue their fight in Louisiana and New Jersey, arguing that he has been targeted for constitutionally protected speech…At the end of the hearing, Mr. Khalil, who was otherwise silent, criticized the judge harshly. “I would like to quote what you said last time that there’s nothing that’s more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness,” he said. “Clearly, what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process. This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family.”’
U.S. says it is now monitoring immigrants’ social media for antisemitism (NPR 4/9/25)
“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced it will begin screening immigrants’ social media for evidence of antisemitic activity as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. The screenings will affect people applying for permanent residence status as well as foreigners affiliated with educational institutions. The policy will go into effect immediately. In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said it will “protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or [the Houthis].”…The announcement comes following the highly publicized arrests and detentions of pro-Palestinian student activists such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, who the government alleges engaged in antisemitic activities. Their lawyers deny the allegations.” See also Trump wants to fight antisemitism. So why did he kill funding for my Holocaust translation project? (Sasha Senderovich//The Forward 4/11/25)
Fear spreads as Trump targets lawyers and non-profits in ‘authoritarian’ takedown (The Guardian 4/10/25)
“As Donald Trump dismantles federal agencies, his administration is also creating a chill among non-governmental groups, cowing non-profits, intimidating universities and extracting commitments from law firms to support his aims. Officials have launched investigations into progressive and climate organizations, colleges and recipients of government grants. Experts worry that if nongovernmental groups are frightened into silence, US democracy may not weather the strain.” See also Cornell and Northwestern to see nearly $2B frozen in Trump’s antisemitism crackdown (JTA 4/9/25); This College Staffer Lost Her Job After Showing a Film Critical of Israel. Now She’s Suing Over Free Speech. (Natasha Lennard//The Intercept 4/3/25)
GOP Rep. Randy Fine, the newest Jewish congressman, calls Rashida Tlaib a ‘terrorist’ (JTA 4/9/25)
“Only a week after being sworn into Congress, Jewish Rep. Randy Fine directed his latest inflammatory statement at a Muslim colleague…“I think some of these people should not be in Congress. I think they’re a disgrace. I think some of them shouldn’t be Americans. I don’t think they love our country. And I’m not gonna be afraid to call them out and go right at them because I think they’re bad people,” Fine told podcast host Gabe Groisman, a former mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida, and board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Fine continued, “And particularly people like Rashida Tlaib. She’s just a bad person. She’s not a terrorist sympathizer, she’s a terrorist. And I don’t mind saying it because it’s true.” He did not elaborate.” See also Senate confirms Mike Huckabee as Israel ambassador (JTA 4/9/25); AIPAC launches ad blitz against senators who voted to block arms sales to Israel (Jewish Insider 4/9/25); Trump Appoints Yehuda Kaploun, Chabad Rabbi and Miriam Adelson Ally, as U.S. Antisemitism Envoy (Haaretz 4/11/25)
How Americans view Israel and the Israel-Hamas war at the start of Trump’s second term (Pew Research 4/9/25)
“A slight majority of Americans (53%) now express a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of Israel. This marks an 11-point increase in unfavorable views since March 2022, when we last asked this question. The share of U.S. adults who voice very unfavorable views of Israel has roughly doubled over this period, from 10% in 2022 to 19% in 2025. Democrats are much more likely to express unfavorable opinions of Israel than Republicans (69% vs. 37%). In 2022, 53% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans had negative views of Israel.” See also Most Americans don’t want the US to conquer Gaza, Pew survey finds (JTA 4/9/25)
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
Under Primacy, Weapons Sales Will Always Supersede Human Rights (Annelle Sheline//Quincy Institute 4/9/25)
“The U.S. government’s expressed commitment to human rights is routinely undermined by its actual commitment to maintaining America’s global military primacy. Since the 1970s, Washington has cast itself as a defender of global human rights, when Congress passed laws to bar the U.S. from providing security assistance to human rights violators. Yet America’s interest in human rights has long been sublimated to the logic of hegemony, from Cold War containment to the Global War on Terror and beyond. Congress has still never successfully voted to block a weapons sale. Today, the myth that American power upholds human rights lies buried beneath the rubble of Gaza. This research brief traces the emergence of human rights within U.S. foreign policymaking in the waning decades of the Cold War — alongside Washington’s rise to the top of the global arms trade — and surveys the various U.S. government efforts to codify human rights considerations in the practice of U.S. foreign policy, particularly arms sales, through the Biden administration. This history reveals how American leaders, regardless of political party, have consistently instrumentalized human rights concerns to target perceived adversaries, while tossing aside such concerns when they apply to U.S. partners.”
Why Palestinian Christians Feel Betrayed by American Christians (Nicholas Kristof//NYT 4/9/25)
“In the face of this American Christian enthusiasm for crushing Palestinians while saying it is God’s will, I wondered what Palestinian Christians thought. So I visited Bethlehem and asked them. “Do we feel betrayed?” mused Mitri Raheb, a Lutheran Palestinian pastor who is president of Dar Al-Kalima University and, like many Palestinian Christians, against annexation. “Yes, to some extent. Unfortunately, this is not new for us.”’
The war on student activists and the disappearance of academic freedom in the US (Barry Trachtenberg//AA 4/9/25)
“By focusing on suppressing pro-Palestinian activism rather than addressing actual antisemitic threats, Project Esther leaves Jewish communities more vulnerable while simultaneously eroding civil liberties and academic freedom“
I’m Not Asking for Much From Netanyahu’s Government – Just for My Son (Einav Zangauker//Haaretz 4/10/25)
“During sleepless nights and restless days I always ask myself, how did this happen to us? How is my son, an Israeli citizen, still being held captive and subjected to this holocaust day by day, minute by minute? How did I believe the prime minister for so many years? And his hollow slogans?…Throughout the months of struggle I’ve discovered just how much the government and its agencies are working against us. Hostages’ families told me that senior government officials advised them to keep silent if they wanted their loved ones back. They incited their supporters against us, attacked us on the streets, turned us into their punching bag. They are working to tear apart hostage families and bereaved families, to break up their struggle. We’ve always been told we’re surrounded by enemies, but when in our own state, in our own home, they’re activating a poison machine against hostages’ families, leaking classified documents and endangering the state’s security, funding terror organizations that slaughter us, when all this is happening, we can only wonder where the real enemy is.” See also Freed hostage Liri Albag responds to backlash over Netanyahu criticism: ‘I fear what we have become’ (JTA 4/9/25)
‘I operated on more children in Gaza in one night than I do in the U.S. in a year’ (Michal Feldon//+972 Magazine 4/9/25)
“American surgeon Feroze Sidhwa has volunteered in war zones around the world. But nothing prepared him for Israel bombing his hospital in Gaza.” See also ‘Dead Children’s Area’: American Surgeons Return From Gaza and Can’t Forget the Nightmare (Haaretz 4/11/25)
Our Name Liberal Jews say antisemitism is being misused. The truth is more complicated. (Sam Adler-Bell//New Yorker Magazine 4/5/2025)
“The plain fact is that our discourse about antisemitism is broken, divorced from reality, at once pedantic and illogical, a vehicle for smallness, moral narcissism, and confusion. Or else, perhaps, it is working exactly as designed. The concept of antisemitism in American political life now exists to demonize critics of Israel; it is what it does. And what it is doing is fueling authoritarianism.”
My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to? (Emily Kaiman//The Forward 4/9/25)
“Jewish identity must not be subject to loyalty tests. It’s a sacred inheritance, shaped by centuries of debate, resilience and moral wrestling. If we narrow our tent to extend only over those who say what we want to hear — if we exile one another over differences — we will lose more than just membership in Facebook groups. We will lose the very heart of our community.”
Against Zionist Realism (Jon Danforth-Appel//Jewish Currents 4/9/25)
“Is “Not In Our Name” Jewish organizing around Palestine inflating our culpability as Jews—and downplaying our complicity as Americans?” See also I’m a Jewish Israeli in the US standing up for Palestine. By Trump’s logic, I’m a terror supporter (Eran Zelnick//The Guardian 4/10/25); Looking Back, Israeli Historian Tom Segev Thinks Zionism Was a Mistake (Haaretz 4/4/25)
NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up April 4, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearingsl; 4. Selected Members on the Recordl 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: April 4, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
East Jerusalem Settlement News; West Bank Settlement News; Gaza “Resettlement” News; Israeli Politics; New Reports
Why are there so many child amputees in Gaza? (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor about child amputees in Gaza, now estimated to number 3,000-4,000, the highest number of child amputees per inhabitant in the world. They discuss how Israel’s denial of medical supplies leads to amputation and what it’s like to be a doctor in Gaza, and they analyze the effect these devastating injuries will have on Palestinian society.
Protect Students, Don’t Repress Them: The Hostile Environment for Human Rights on College Campuses (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with Gina Romero, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, about the many human rights – including freedom of expression, assembly, association, and the right to education – that have been both invoked and repressed as part of the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on college campuses in many countries and the reactions to them. Gina Romero authored a comprehensive report that covers these protests, human rights, and campus repression, and includes recommendations for the protection of students, rights, and democracy itself.
Analyzing & Shifting U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Josh Paul, former State Department official who resigned in October 2023 in protest against the Biden Administration’s military support for Israel. They discuss Josh’s decision to resign as well as how defense and foreign lobbying work in the United States. They also speak about US and European policy towards Palestine and what it will take to create shifts towards Palestinian self-determination.
GAZA
Israel expands military operations to ‘seize large areas’ of Gaza (WaPo 4/2/25)
“Israel will “seize large areas” of the Gaza Strip in a major expansion of military operations, the defense minister said Wednesday, as airstrikes continued to pound the blockaded territory where supplies are quickly dwindling…Katz did not specify which areas Israeli forces intend to take or how much of the territory, but his statement came after the Israeli military on Monday ordered the full evacuation of the southern city of Rafah and some surrounding areas.” See also Israel is ‘seizing territory’ and will ‘divide up’ Gaza, Netanyahu says (Guardian 4/2/25); Scoop: Israeli Mossad asks African countries to take Palestinians from Gaza (Axios 3/28/25); Israeli military orders the evacuation of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah (AP 3/31/25); 35 Killed in Israeli Strikes in Gaza Friday, 16 From One Family, Gaza Health Ministry Says (Haaretz 4/4/25)
Why I and thousands of my fellow Gazans say Hamas’s tyranny must end (Moumen Al-Natour//WaPo 3/30/25)
“The resumption of hostilities is a crushing blow to everyone in Gaza — except for Hamas, which cynically sees it as an opportunity to further entrench itself and resist being removed from control. With nothing left to lose, many of us Gazans in the past week have taken what little power we have to protest in the streets against the group that has dictated every aspect of our lives for 18 years. The message of our movement is clear: The people of Gaza want to live, so Hamas must go, the hostages taken from Israel must be released, and this war must then finally come to an end. Thousands of Gazans have joined the protests so far, and I believe we represent the sentiment of a large majority of people who have long been too afraid to stand openly against Hamas. I know that Hamas will probably come for us, and there is much danger ahead. But should we succeed, then Israel must recognize our existence and our rights as Palestinians, allowing us to live like other people around the world.” See also Gazan man murdered by Hamas after joining protests against terror group, family says (Times of Israel 3/30/25)
Israel killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers one by one, says UN (The Guardian 3/31/25)
“Fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, were killed by Israeli forces “one by one” and buried in a mass grave eight days ago in southern Gaza, the UN has said. According to the UN humanitarian affairs office (Ocha), the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) and civil defence workers were on a mission to rescue colleagues who had been shot at earlier in the day, when their clearly marked vehicles came under heavy Israeli fire in Rafah city’s Tel al-Sultan district. A Red Crescent official in Gaza said that there was evidence of at least one person being detained and killed, as the body of one of the dead had been found with his hands tied…“We’re digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave,” [Head of the UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) in Palestine, Jonathan] Whittall said. “These ambulances have been buried in the sand. There’s a UN vehicle here, buried in the sand. A bulldozer – Israeli forces bulldozer – has buried them.” See also Palestinian paramedics shot by Israeli forces had hands tied, witnesses say (Guardian 4/1/25); Red Crescent Worker Who Survived Israeli Massacre Recounts Horror (Kavitha Chekuri//Drop Site 4/4/25); UN Recovers 15 Aid Workers’ Bodies in Gaza, Say Some Found Bound and Shot (Haaretz 4/1/25)
Israel’s latest vision for Gaza has a name: Concentration camp (Meron Rapoport//+972 Magazine 4/1/25)
“Connecting all these dots leads to a fairly clear conclusion: Israel is preparing to forcibly displace the entire population of Gaza — through a combination of evacuation orders and intense bombardment — into an enclosed and possibly fenced-off area. Anyone caught outside its boundaries would be killed, and buildings throughout the rest of the enclave would likely be razed to the ground. Without mincing words, this “humanitarian zone,” as Magal so kindly put it, in which the army intends to corral Gaza’s 2 million residents, can be summed up in just two words: concentration camp. This is not hyperbole; it is simply the most precise definition to help us better understand what we are facing.” See also Israel to reoccupy 25% of Gaza to press Hamas to release hostages, official says (Axios 3/31/25); Israel flouting international law with forced evacuations in Gaza, UN says (Reuters 3/28/25); Netanyahu Promises the “Final Stage” of Gaza Genocide Will Lead to Implementation of “Trump’s Plan” (Jeremy Scahill 3/31/25)
In Gaza, Almost Every IDF Platoon Keeps a Human Shield, a Sub-army of Palestinian Slaves (Haaretz 3/30/25)
“In Gaza, human shields are used by Israeli soldiers at least six times a day…Today, almost every platoon keeps a “shawish,” [human shield], and no infantry force enters a house before a “shawish” clears it. This means there are four “shawishes” in a company, twelve in a battalion, and at least 36 in a brigade. We operate a sub-army of slaves. The procedure is simple. Innocent Palestinians are forced to enter houses in Gaza and “clear” them, to make sure there are no terrorists or explosives.” See also School strike kills dozens, officials say, as Israel expands north Gaza operation (WaPo 4/4/25); As Israel Resumes Its War on Hamas, Gazan Civilians Find They Have Nowhere to Run (Nagham Zbeedat & Rawan Suleiman//Haaretz 3/30/25); Israel restarts ground operations in northern Gaza Strip in renewed campaign (Guardian 4/4/25); At least 27 killed in Israeli bombing of shelter in Gaza City, rescuers say (Guardian 4/3/25);
Marked for Assassination: Gaza Journalists on Israeli Hit List Refuse to Stop Reporting (Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 3/31/25)
“The day after the assassination of Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat, the Israeli military openly celebrated his killing. A correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher and a contributor to Drop Site News, Shabat was killed on March 24 when the Israeli military targeted him as he was driving in his car in Beit Lahia. He was 23 years old. Earlier that day, journalist Mohamed Mansour of Palestine Today was killed, along with his wife and son, in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Khan Younis. On its official X account the following day, the Israeli military confirmed it had “eliminated” Shabat, claiming they had “exposed” his role within Hamas six months earlier, and the statement concluded with the haunting words: “Don’t let the press vest confuse you, Hossam was a terrorist.” Shabat’s killing entails a troubling new development to Israel’s approach: they preemptively accused him and five other journalists of being terrorists prior to attacking them, effectively putting them on a hit list. Drop Site News reached out to four of the five surviving journalists on the list to ask them how Shabat’s murder affected them, and how they continue to report from Gaza under explicit threats by the Israeli military.”
50,000 Palestinians Have Been Killed in Gaza.This Is How It Happened, Day by Day (Sheren Falah Saab and Rawan Suleiman//Haaretz)
‘”There isn’t anyone in Gaza who hasn’t lost someone close to them: a child, a sister, a partner, a parent, a friend. Death touches everybody. Those who went back to their homes sometimes find bones there; you don’t always know whose they are.” This is how Asma, 42, a resident of Khan Yunis, described the reality of life in Gaza, after 17 months of war. The numbers are almost inconceivable. As the fighting resumed after a two-month cease-fire collapsed, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry reported on Sunday that, since October 7, 2023, the death toll passed 50,000 deaths – an almost unprecedented figure considering the war’s duration and the enclave’s population size. Though a significant proportion of those killed were terrorists, the majority were not, including many women and children, whose deaths Israel terms “collateral damage.”…This is the death trap in which Gazans found themselves since the war broke out. This has been their daily reality – day by day, report by report.” See also Netanyahu could visit the U.S. soon, Trump says as dozens killed by strike on school in Gaza (NBC 4/4/25); In Gaza’s devastated hospitals, treatable patients face ‘slow, quiet death’ (Mahmoud Mushtaha//+972 Magazine 4/3/25); ‘I’m Here! Can You Hear Me?’: One Family’s Story of Death in Gaza (NYT 4/2/25)
REGION/GLOBAL
Germany moves to deport four foreign residents for pro-Palestine activism (Hanno Hauenstein//+972 Magazine 4/1/25)
“Berlin’s immigration authorities are moving to deport four young foreign residents on allegations related to participation in protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, an unprecedented move that raises serious concerns over civil liberties in Germany. The deportation orders, issued under German migration law, were made amid political pressure and over internal objections from the head of the state of Berlin’s immigration agency. The internal strife arose because three of those targeted for deportation are citizens of European Union member states who normally enjoy freedom of movement between E.U. countries…In an unprecedented move, said Gorski, three of the four deportation orders cite Germany’s national pledge to defend Israel – the country’s Staatsräson, German for reason of state – as justification. Oberhäuser, of the Bar Association’s immigration committee, said Staatsräson is a principle rather than a meaningful legal category. And a parliamentary body recently argued that there are no legally binding effects of the provision. The distinction, said Oberhäuser, makes the use of Staatsräson in deportation proceedings legally dubious: “That’s impermissible under constitutional law.”’
Hungary to pull out of ‘political’ ICC as Netanyahu visits Budapest (Guardian 4/3/25)
“Hungary will leave the international criminal court because it has become “political”, the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanhayu – the subject of an ICC arrest warrant – to Budapest for an official visit…Netanyahu hailed “a bold and principled” decision. “I thank you, Viktor … It’s important for all democracies,” the Israeli prime minister said. “It’s important to stand up to this corrupt organisation.” Netanyahu has been under an international arrest warrant since November over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.” See also Israel’s Netanyahu to visit Hungary, defying ICC arrest warrant (Reuters 3/30/25);
RIVER TO THE SEA
Israeli settlers attacked this Palestinian village — then came back in army uniform (Oren Ziv//+972 Magazine 4/2/25)
“On March 28, Israeli settlers carried out a pogrom in the Palestinian village of Jinba, with the full backing — and later, participation — of the Israeli army…[She] described the army’s nighttime raid: “There were 18 women in the house because the men had been arrested,” she recounted. “We opened the door and saw [soldiers]. I told them the little children were sleeping, but they forced us out of the house at gunpoint. We recognized them: in the morning, they had come in civilian clothes, and in the evening, they came in military uniforms. They were the same people. “They didn’t just search; they destroyed,” she continued. “They entered our room, threw around the furniture, the mattresses, everything. They smashed the windows and tore down part of the roof. Then they locked us in a room, left one soldier to guard the door, and moved on to the other rooms. We have a cave where we store food, and they dumped it all — the ghee, the cheese, everything — onto the ground.” See also ‘There’s no justice’: Palestinian villagers reel after brutal settler, IDF rampage (TOI 4/1/25); Pogromists Rule the West Bank (Haaretz 4/3/25); This Is What Violent Israeli Settlers Really Want to Do to West Bank Palestinians (Haaretz 4/3/25); Following violent raid of West Bank village, IDF reprimands brigade commander, jails two soldiers (Haaretz 3/31/25); Israeli settlers seen on camera assaulting a Palestinian village. Police arrest only Palestinians (AP 3/28/25)
Autopsy on Palestinian who collapsed and died in Israeli prison last week said to reveal signs of starvation (TOI 4/4/25)
“The autopsy of a Palestinian minor who collapsed and died last week in Israel’s Megiddo Prison reportedly revealed signs of starvation and medical neglect. The family of Waleed Ahmad tells the Haaretz daily that the 17-year-old was healthy, athletic and had no pre-existing conditions…The Palestinian Authority says Ahmad is the first Palestinian under 18 to die in Israeli detention — and the 63rd Palestinian from the West Bank or Gaza since the start of the war.” See also Autopsy of Palestinian Minor Detainee Raises Suspicion of Starvation, Severe Medical Neglect (Haaretz 4/3/25)
What Is ‘Qatargate,’ the Latest Furor Embroiling Israel? (NYT 4/3/25)
“Known as “Qatargate,” the case hinges on the claim that Mr. Netanyahu’s media advisers were paid by a representative of Qatar to promote Qatari interests in the Israeli news media. That claim has angered many Israelis because it created the perception of a conflict of interest; for years, Qatar has hosted leaders of Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu’s recent efforts to fire the head of the Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security agency, has compounded the furor. It was the Shin Bet that first instigated the investigations into Mr. Netanyahu’s aides.” See also Billionaire Netanyahu Confidant Expedited Qatari Cash Deliveries to Gaza, at Hamas’ Request (Haaretz 3/29/25); Why Netanyahu’s Aides Became Suspects, Potential Charges, and Their Qatar Connection (Haaretz 4/2/25); Netanyahu is rocked by a new scandal linking his close advisers to Qatar (AP 4/2/25)
Aid groups struggle to provide for thousands displaced in West Bank (WaPo 3/30/25)
“The [months-long Israeli military operation in the West Bank] operation has resulted in the forced displacement of more than 40,000 people from the refugee camps and surrounding communities in Jenin and Tulkarm, according to the United Nations…The scale of the displacement now is unprecedented since the start of Israel’s occupation in 1967, according to Roland Friedrich, the West Bank director of UNRWA, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. About a third of Palestinians living in the West Bank — or roughly 900,000 people — are formally registered as refugees, after their families fled or were pushed from their homes during the 1948 war that established the state of Israel. Local authorities have put thousands of the most vulnerable residents up in temporary shelters and, along with donors and international organizations, have provided emergency assistance. But Israeli restrictions, insecurity and funding shortfalls are hampering their ability to provide relief to the newly homeless — and funding for shelters may soon run out.” See also IDF Soldiers Vandalize Property in West Bank Refugee Camp, Settlers Set Israeli Police Car on Fire (Haaretz 4/4/25); Mapping how Israel’s land grabs are reshaping the occupied West Bank (Al Jazeera 3/31/25)
U.S. SCENE
15 Senate Dems vote to cancel billions in Israeli military aid (Axios 4/3/25)
“Fifteen Senate Democrats backed a pair of resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to withhold billions of dollars in offensive weapons sales and other military aid to Israel…The votes split the party, revealing continued internal divisions over Democrats’ views on the war in Gaza and support for the Israeli government. The measures failed 15-82 and 15-83. Sanders wants to cancel the Trump administration’s proposed sales of $8.8 billion in bombs and other munitions to Israel. In addition to Sanders, Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin (Ill.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), Tim Kaine (Va.), and Andy Kim (N.J.) voted in favor. So did Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Tina Smith (Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Peter Welch (Vt.). No Republicans supported the measures.” See also Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending (The Intercept 4/3/25)
The New Face of Christian Zionism (Frederick Clarkson & Ben Lorber//In These Times 3/31/25)
“A rapidly growing Christian Right movement has become a driving force behind unqualified U.S.—and global—support for Israel.”
Trump’s Fight Against Antisemitism Has Become Fraught for Many Jews (NYT 4/2/25)
“Rabbi Sharon Brous was growing increasingly alarmed at the Trump administration’s strong-arm tactics, like its attacks on higher-education funding and bullying of law firms, all in the name of protecting Jews. So early last month, she delivered an impassioned sermon titled “I Am Not Your Pawn” to her Los Angeles congregation. Hours later, the next shoe dropped. Immigration agents began detaining activists and foreign students who had been involved in pro-Palestinian protests. “This is not going to protect Jews,” Rabbi Brous said in an interview. “We’re being used.” Across the country, American Jews have watched with alarm or enthusiasm as an effort to address campus unrest over the war in Gaza has transformed into a campaign to deny elite universities billions of dollars in funding, to press major law firms into pro bono work on “antisemitism” and to deport foreign students even tangentially involved in the protests last spring.” See also ‘Gone Off the Rails’: U.S. Orthodox Jews Take a Stand Against Occupation and War in Gaza (Haaretz 3/31/25); Antisemitism watchdog offers alternative to Trump’s campus crackdown (Axios 3/31/25); Canary Mission’s Newest Funders (Alex Kane//Jewish Currents 4/4/25); We must fight for Jewish students — and our values (ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt//eJewishPhil 4/3/25)
The Deportation Dragnet (Tanvi Misra//Jewish Currents 4/2/25)
“With universities’ collaboration, the Trump administration is targeting noncitizens on campus—and paving the way for an expansive immigration crackdown.” See also Families of October 7 victims claim Columbia student organizations are ‘Hamas’ propaganda arm’ in lawsuit (Columbia Spectator 4/1/25); In Trump’s America, You Can Be Disappeared for Writing an Op-Ed (The Intercept 3/30/25)
Trump Administration Conditions Harvard’s Funding on Eliminating DEI, Restricting Protests (The Crimson 4/3/25)
“In the last week, Harvard has ousted personnel at its Center for Middle Eastern Studies, suspended programming focused on Israel and Palestine at the Harvard Divinity School, and terminated its partnership with the oldest university in the West Bank.” See also If Powerful Places Like Harvard Don’t Stand Up to Trump, Who Can? (Lawrence Summers//NYT 4/3/25)
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
Parsing Anti-Hamas Protests and Pro-Israel PR (Mari Cohen interviews Muhammad Shehada//Jewish Currents 4/1/25)
“MS: What Israel is doing is setting up Gazans to fail by giving them an impossible task. Israel has failed to topple Hamas over 17 months of unprecedented warfare—Gaza has been bombed significantly more than Dresden, Berlin, or London [during World War II], and even more than Mosul—and now it expects Gazans to do that for them by taking to the streets. Usually demonstrations achieve their goals by disrupting the normalcy of life: shutting down the economy, shutting down government functions, making it impossible for government leaders and politicians to leave their homes. But Israel has already done all of this in Gaza. There is no life to disrupt in the first place—there’s no economy, there’s no government. The demonstrations’ potential to topple Hamas is negligible, and Israel knows this. Israel plans to blame them for that failure, by insisting that the war will continue until Gazans topple Hamas.”
Fighting Side by Side in Israel-Palestine (Leena Dallasheh & Nimrod Ben Zeev//Jacobin 4/1/25)
“Rather than relitigating the definition of normalization or summarizing the debate, we focus here on the practice of co-resistance, its viability, and historic meanings in Israel-Palestine by examining several key historical examples of Jewish-Palestinian co-resistance from the period of British rule until the early 2000s. This is by no means an exhaustive list of such struggles. But it illuminates the historical dynamics, challenges, and limitations of co-resistance. These examples show that co-resistance was historically practiced in a wide range of ways in the region, from political parties to direct action, depending on the particular circumstances. What unites these instances is the principle of shared and active opposition to the colonial order, first under the British and subsequently under Israeli rule. Co-resistance focuses on protecting Palestinian existence on the land, exposing Israeli colonial crimes, and making inroads within the Jewish community to oppose Israeli repressive mechanisms, pushing Jewish activists to use their structurally privileged position in the region to aid Palestinian rights and liberation. It is of particular value in the context of Palestine/Israel because of the settler colonial context in the land.”
You Don’t Get Trump Without Gaza (Ben Ehrenreich//The Nation 4/3/25)
“Like the devil, vampires, and the more timid varieties of ghost, fascism must be invited in. The Trump administration’s first political persecutions have all targeted individuals who were bold enough to believe that constitutional guarantees of free expression extended to solidarity with Palestine. This was hardly an accident. In the time-honored practice of predatory bullies everywhere, Trump’s minions went after the defenseless first, and specifically those made vulnerable not only by their immigration status but by a 15-month-and-running bipartisan campaign to repress opposition to the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, an effort in which nearly every political, educational, and cultural institution in American society has taken part.”
A Palestinian Oscar-winner’s arrest shocked the world. For these Jewish activists, it was terrifyingly normal (The Forward 3/28/25)
“Raviv Rose was sitting down to the iftar meal on Monday with their hosts in Umm al Kheir, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, when they got a call that the village of Susya, home of Hamdan Ballal, one of the Oscar-winning directors of the documentary No Other Land, was being attacked by settlers. Rose and their fellow Jewish solidarity activists received at least three such calls per day, about settlers menacing shepherds and their flock, vandalizing schools, slashing tires and attacking people. Their job when those calls come: Peacefully advocate for Palestinians, and document any violence that ensues.
So Rose and three other Center for Jewish Nonviolence activists rushed to their car and drove to the scene…Jewish activists like Rose and Lippman have long taken the role of nonviolent observers and witnesses in these altercations, documenting and alerting the world of the state and settler violence Palestinians experience on a daily basis. Here is their account of what happened that now-infamous night, and the challenges and rewards of their work in the West Bank.” See also Academy apologizes for muted response to Palestinian director’s assault (WaPo 3/29/25)
If the ADL thinks Trump’s thuggery is protecting Jews, it’s wrong (Matt Bai//WaPo 4/1/25)
“You can’t call yourself a civil rights organization in the United States right now — let alone a civil rights organization for a minority that has been brutally evicted all over the world — and not loudly oppose the cruel and unlawful removal of foreigners whose views happen to be out of fashion. Or rather, you can, but no one should take you seriously when you then complain about threats to free speech.”
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with Gina Romero, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, about the many human rights – including freedom of expression, assembly, association, and the right to education – that have been both invoked and repressed as part of the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on college campuses in many countries and the reactions to them. Gina Romero authored a comprehensive report that covers these protests, human rights, and campus repression, and includes recommendations for the protection of students, rights, and democracy itself. The report is entitled:”Recommendations for universities worldwide for the second semester of 2024: Safeguarding the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association on campuses in the context of international solidarity with the Palestinian people and victims.”
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Recorded on April 1, 2025
NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up March 21, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
GAZA
Netanyahu repeats threat to seize territory in Gaza as anti-Hamas protests continue (Guardian 3/26/25)
Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated Israeli threats to seize territory in Gaza if Hamas refuses to release the remaining Israeli hostages, as, for the second consecutive day, hundreds of Palestinians joined protests against the militant group and demanding the end of the war…In a separate development on Wednesday, at least nine Palestinians were killed by two separate Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza, medics said…The resumption of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip had displaced 142,000 people in seven days, the UN said on Wednesday, warning of dwindling stocks of humanitarian aid…There has been no sign that Israel will open entry points to allow essential aid to flow or ease its new offensive. The Gaza health ministry said more than 50,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza and another 113,408 wounded since the beginning of the war.” See also Israeli airstrikes kill at least 65 people in Gaza in 24 hours, says health authority (The Guardian 3/24/25); Israeli evacuation orders and attacks on Gaza displace more Palestinians (WaPo 3/25/25);
‘We want to live’: Rage at Israel fuses with ire at Hamas as protests rock Gaza (Ruwaida Amer//+972 Magazine 3/27/25)
“For the past two days, Palestinians across the Gaza Strip have taken to the streets to demand an end to Israel’s genocidal onslaught and to Hamas’ rule of the territory. Beginning in the northern city of Beit Lahiya, demonstrations quickly spread to other parts of the enclave including Shuja’iyya in the north, Nuseirat and Deir Al-Balah in the center, and Khan Younis in the south. The protests are the largest since the war began, and the most significant public display of dissent against Hamas in Gaza in years…While holding Israel responsible for the slaughter of more than 50,000 people over the past year and a half, and for subjecting the Strip to a longstanding blockade that has further intensified during the war, the protesters are also directing their ire at Hamas: they are calling on the group to do everything in its power to stop the bombing before stepping aside to allow for free elections.” See also Amid rubble of Gaza, protesters decry Hamas (WaPo 3/26/25); Palestinians protest Hamas in a rare public show of dissent in Gaza (AP 3/26/25); Rare protests against Hamas erupt in Gaza: What to know (Al Monitor 3/26/25)
Weaponizing starvation, Israel seeks full control over Gaza aid distribution (Lee Mordechai and Liat Kozma//+972 Magazine 3/26/25)
“For almost a month, not a single drop of humanitarian aid has entered Gaza. Since March 2 — when the second phase of the ceasefire was due to commence, only for Israel to renege on its commitment to the deal — Israel has blocked the entry of all food into the Strip, along with fuel, medical equipment, and other essential supplies. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned that Gaza’s flour stores will likely run out completely before the end of this week. While the current policy is more extreme than anything we’ve seen since October 7, Israel has nonetheless imposed restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza throughout its onslaught. Already in December 2023, Human Rights Watch declared that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war. Almost a year later, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in part on the grounds that they had “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food.” The surge of humanitarian aid that Israel allowed to enter Gaza during the recent two-month ceasefire only served to underscore the cruel intentionality of the starvation policy. Israel argued for months — including in a year-long case at the High Court of Justice, in response to a petition by five Israeli human rights organizations — that any obstacles to the entry of aid were not its fault, attributing them instead to the inefficiencies of humanitarian agencies or looting by gangs. Yet the data paint a clear picture to the contrary.” See also Israel’s Systematic Destruction of Life Essentials in Gaza Has Forced Palestinians into a Hunt for Survival (Rasha Abou Jalal//Drop Site 3/27/25); Gaza medics issue malnutrition alert as total Israeli blockade enters fourth week (The Guardian 3/23/25); Food is running out in Gaza nearly a month into Israeli blockade (NPR 3/27/25)
Hossam Shabat’s Last Article (Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 3/24/25)
“Hossam Shabat is dead. I am beyond rage and despair as I write these words. The Israeli military bombed his car this morning as he was traveling in Beit Lahia. Videos fill my screen of his body lying on the street, carried to the hospital, grieved by his colleagues and loved ones. These are the kinds of tragic scenes Hossam himself would so often document for the world. He was an exemplary journalist: brave, tireless, and dedicated to telling the story of Palestinians in Gaza. Hossam was one of a handful of reporters who remained in northern Gaza through Israel’s genocidal war. His ability to cover one of the most brutal military campaigns in recent history was almost beyond comprehension. He bore witness to untold death and suffering on an almost daily basis for seventeen months. He was displaced over twenty times. He was often hungry. He buried many of his journalist colleagues. In November, he was wounded in an Israeli airstrike. I still can’t believe I am referring to him in the past tense. Israel obliterates the present.” See also Statement from Drop Site News on Israel’s Murder of Our Colleague Hossam Shabat: We Hold Both Israel and the U.S. Government Responsible (3/24/25); Israeli strikes kill two Gaza journalists, including Al Jazeera reporter (WaPo 3/25/25); Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza: What to know (Al Monitor 3/24/25); How operating drones became a death sentence for Gaza’s journalists (Youssr Youssef & Magdalena Hervada//+972 Magazine 3/27/25)
Gaza’s children: what can the future possibly hold for them? (Ahmed Moor//The Guardian 3/27/25)
“Meanwhile, the UN reports that at least 14,500 children have been killed – also probably a dramatic undercount. The real mortality figure is probably unknowable, not least because so many families have been killed at once, leaving no one to account for some babies or toddlers ever having existed. Beyond the mass death, international agencies suggest that at least 110,000 people in Gaza have been injured, including at least 25,000 children. And Unicef estimates that between 3,000 and 4,000 children in Gaza have had one or more limbs amputated. That small tract of earth is now home to more child amputees per inhabitant than anywhere else in the world. Much of what these kids are experiencing is hidden from the world – journalists still cannot enter Gaza, and many of those who called the place home have been killed. Yet, a handful of children have made it out for treatment, in the US and elsewhere…The many thousands of injured children are important. Yet together, their bodies tell a story, one that has been embossed for all time on the terrain of the 21st century. They act as the prism through which questions of international law and the protection of the vulnerable will be mediated. But if the loss these children have endured is a judgment, it is also prologue. Because their needs, their capacities and limitations, will define the contours of Palestinian society and memory forever.” See also “The Target is Unmistakable”: The Shooting of Gaza’s Children (Amel Guettafti//Drop Site 3/27/25)
Announcement That Death Toll Surpassed 50,000 Didn’t Faze Anyone, Not Even in Gaza (Jack Khoury//Haaretz 3/24/25)
“On Sunday, the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry announced that the number of Gazans killed since the war began had surpassed 50,000. But for the international media, this was just another press statement, even though in the past, such numbers would have caused shock. And for Gazans, this milestone changed nothing….In the Israeli narrative, most of the dead are “terrorists” who deserve to die. And if some women and children and elderly people are killed in the process, that’s just collateral damage. This is dehumanization of the Palestinians at its finest. Even Gazans aren’t preoccupied by the number of dead these days. They’re busy with questions of day-to-day survival: Will Israeli attacks become as widespread as they were before the cease-fire? Will all of Gaza be reoccupied? And who will die today or tomorrow?” See also Israeli soldier tells CBS News he was ordered to use Palestinians as human shields in Gaza (CBS 3/26/25); 100 Gazans set to move to Indonesia as part of pilot work program — report (TOI 3/26/25); U.S. gave Hamas new Gaza ceasefire and hostage -release proposal (Axios 3/27/25)
REGION/GLOBAL
Israel hits Beirut after rockets fired from south Lebanon (Al Monitor 3/28/25)
“Israel made good on its threat Friday to strike Beirut after rockets were fired towards its territory, rattling an already fragile truce in Lebanon that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. It was the second time rockets had been launched at Israel from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement. After the attack, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either.”’ See also Mass evacuations as Israel strikes Beirut suburb (WaPo 3/28/25); IDF strikes Beirut, southern Lebanon after 2 rockets fired at northern Israel (TOI 3/28/25); IDF strikes Lebanon after rocket fire in biggest exchange of ceasefire (WaPo 3/22/25)
I Am the Turkish President’s Main Challenger. I Was Arrested. (Istanbul Mayor Ekram Imamoglu, now imprisoned//NYT 3/28/25)
“For years, Mr. Erdogan’s regime has gnawed away at democratic checks and balances — silencing the media, replacing elected mayors with bureaucrats, sidelining the legislature, controlling the judiciary and manipulating elections. The large-scale arrests of protesters and journalists in recent months have sent a chilling message: No one is safe. Votes can be nullified and freedoms can be stripped away in an instant. Under Mr. Erdogan, the republic has been transformed into a republic of fear. This is more than the slow erosion of democracy. It is the deliberate dismantling of our republic’s institutional foundations. My detention marked a new phase in Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism and the use of arbitrary power. A country with a long democratic tradition now faces the serious risk of passing the point of no return.” See also Turkey’s opposition elects acting mayor as Imamoglu remains detained, protests persist (Al Monitor 3/26/25)
Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal (Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris//The Atlantic 3/26/25)
“The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.” See also The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans (Jeffrey Goldberg//The Atlantic 3/24/25); Judge orders Trump administration to preserve Signal chat about Yemen military operation (WaPo 3/27/25);
RIVER TO THE SEA
‘I felt they wanted to kill me’: Hamdan Ballal recounts settler-soldier assault (Oren Ziv//+972 Magazine 3/26/25)
“Ballal, the Oscar-winning co-director of “No Other Land” (which he wrote about last year for +972), was attacked on his doorstep by settlers and Israeli soldiers while trying to protect his family. After an ambulance arrived to provide medical treatment, he was then arrested by soldiers and detained overnight on the grounds that he had thrown stones at the settlers (eyewitnesses told +972 that, contrary to the claims of Israel’s army and police, the settlers’ raid was entirely unprovoked)…When the soldiers realized — perhaps from reading the mounting media reports — that Ballal is an Oscar-winning director, things only got worse. “I heard the voices of the soldiers changing,” he recalled. “They always spoke in Hebrew but a few times they mentioned ‘Hamdan that got the Oscar.’ They kept making fun of me, hitting me and laughing and putting objects on my head.”…“This is the first time I’ve been subjected to such a severe attack,” he said, adding that he felt the aim was to kill him. “I really now think there is a serious threat to our lives after the success of the movie and the Oscar.”’ See also ‘It was revenge for our movie’: Oscar winner says soldiers helped settlers attack him in West Bank (The Guardian 3/26/25)
Oscar-winning Palestinian director attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested (Guardian 3/24/25)
“A Palestinian director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land has been arrested by the Israeli army after masked settlers attacked his house…Basel Adra, another of No Other Land’s four directors, who are all from Israel and Palestine, told the Guardian he thought the escalating settler violence might be a response to the international recognition won by the documentary. “Palestinians in the village have been under physical attack by settlers almost daily. The settlers’ violence is increasing here. Maybe it’s a revenge for the movie and the Oscar,” he said. Adra, who witnessed the attack in Susya described the violence as “horrific”. “There were dozens of settlers together with the Israeli soldiers and they were threatening us with weapons,” he said. “The police were there from the beginning and did not intervene. While the soldiers were pointing their weapons at us, the settlers started attacking the houses of the Palestinians.” See also Hamdan Ballal: Oscar-winning Palestinian director released from Israeli detention (The Guardian 3/25/25); ‘Like a punishment’: witnesses describe Israeli settler attack on No Other Land director (The Guardian 3/25/25); Oscars Doc Branch Members Slam “Heinous” Film Academy Statement on ‘No Other Land’ Co-Director Attack (Hollywood Reporter 3/27/25); It took an Oscar winner’s ordeal for the world to see the truth of settler violence. This is how to stop it (Ofer Cassif//The Guardian 3/27/25)
Palestinian Family Goes Out for Dinner, Returns to Find Israeli Settlers Took Over Their Home (Nir Hasson//Haaretz 3/24/25)
“Hebron returned home on Sunday to find that Jewish settlers had taken over their house. The Abd al-Basit family discovered the settlers – who claimed they had legally purchased the house – when they came back from an iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Upon arrival, the Israeli army prevented the family from entering their house as settlers emptied it of their belongings…Members of the Abd al-Basit family, who have owned the house for about 50 years, insisted they had not sold it and were in fact in the process of expanding it.”
‘When our grandchildren ask what we did during the genocide, I’ll say I refused’ (Oren Ziv 3/24/25)
“Ella Keidar Greenberg, a transgender refusenik, explains why prison is a small price to pay in the struggle against Israeli occupation and patriarchy.” See also I would prefer this over killing children:’ Why some Israeli teens are choosing jail over the army (CNN 3/27/25)
IDF Warns of Crisis: Many Reserve Soldiers Won’t Report Due to Recent Decisions by Israel’s Government (Haaretz 3/27/25)
“Several senior reservists warned of a 50 percent fall in the rate of reporting for duty. One senior reservist said that brigade and battalion commanders are dealing with scores of cases in which reservists have announced they will not report for duty, in most cases due to the violation of the hostage deal.” See also As war in Gaza continues, Israeli reservists weigh their return to battle (WaPo 3/26/25); Israeli Troops Blew Up a Palestinian Home’s Door. A Young Woman Paid With Her Life (Haaretz 3/22/25); Israeli Police Officer Shoots Teenage Girl Playing on Her Home’s Rooftop in East Jerusalem (Haaretz 3/28/25)
Why Israel’s having some of its biggest protests since the war in Gaza began (NPR 3/25/25)
“Israelis have taken to the streets across the country in recent days in some of the largest protests since the war in Gaza began in 2023. They’re demanding a deal between Israel and Hamas to release all remaining hostages, and also demonstrating against government attempts to weaken the judiciary. On Saturday, more than 100,000 people turned out at protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, according to organizers. For several days in a row, thousands marched toward and surrounded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem, waving Israeli flags or carrying signs calling for new elections and accusing the Israeli government of working against its people…Polls show a majority of Israelis are against the end of the ceasefire and want negotiations to continue. Many feel this return to war is a betrayal and that Netanyahu and his government are forsaking the remaining hostages, leaving them to die in Gaza. Israelis are also protesting what they say is a threat to their democracy, as Netanyahu has renewed his push for overhauling the country’s judicial system.” See also Netanyahu Knew Hamas Diverted $4 Million in Qatari Funds to Its Military Wing, His Office Says (Haaretz 3/26/25); Israel parliament defies protests to pass law tightening grip over judges (Guardian 3/27/25); Avatars, Tweets, Cover-ups: How the pro-Qatar PR Campaign Orchestrated by Netanyahu’s Aides Worked (Haaretz 3/23/25); Ignoring Massacres in Gaza City While Protesting for Democracy in Tel Aviv (Hanin Majadli//Haaretz 3/21/25)
Netanyahu’s ‘Antisemitism Conference’ Exposes a Grim Kinship Between the Far Right in Israel and Europe (Em Hilton//Haaretz 3/27/25)
“An antisemitism conference featuring Europe’s far-right politicians may seem like an oxymoron, and yet this is what is taking place in Jerusalem. The conference was organized by the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs, whose minister, Amichai Chikli, has been widely criticized for engaging far-right political figures accused of antisemitism. There is something particularly dystopian about the nature and timing of this conference: it serves as a microcosm of our current political crisis. There is a clear method to this madness: far-right politicians have meetings and photo-ops with Israeli politicians to distract or absolve their historic antisemitism and recast themselves as the protectors of Jews against the “real” threat facing Jews and wider Europe: namely Muslim communities and migrants from the Middle East. Israel, in the meantime, is happy to create alliances with whomever will allow them to continue their expansionist and oppressive policies in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in East Jerusalem…There is a second uncomfortable truth here. The far right’s affinity for Israel is also due to the fact that its government’s vision and its current policies provide a blueprint for an ethnostate that proudly discriminates against its minority; that uplifts military might above diplomacy; and that flouts international law so brazenly it beggars belief. Europe’s far-right politicians see Israel’s far-right government as an aspirational ally in the broader political realignment that they would like to see taking place across the world, especially the decline of liberal and social democracy and rise of authoritarianism.” See also European Far-right Politicians Dominate Israel’s Vexed Antisemitism Confab (Haaretz 3/28/25); Diaspora Minister Chikli kicks off antisemitism confab, calls Haaretz ‘beacon of lies and anti-Zionism’ (Haaretz 3/27/25); Former Paraguayan President Cartes, Accused of Hezbollah Ties, Attends Antisemitism Confab at Netanyahu’s Invitation, Source Says (Haaretz 3/27/25); The conference of shame (Michael Brenner//K 3/27/25)
U.S. SCENE
Tufts student from Turkey detained by masked officers, video shows (WaPo 3/27/25)
“As Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk made her way to an interfaith center to break the Ramadan fast Tuesday, plainclothes officers, some masked, descended on her. She screamed as an unmasked officer in a hooded sweatshirt grabbed her, security video shows. Within about a minute, the officers whisked her away in handcuffs. The widely circulated video of the immigration enforcement officers — who Ozturk’s lawyer said were from the Department of Homeland Security — sent shock waves through the university community in Somerville, Massachusetts, with thousands turning out Wednesday in the Boston suburb to demand her release…Ozturk, a 30-year-old from Turkey, is a Fulbright scholar working on a PhD in child study and human development on an F-1 student visa, her lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in an email. “We should all be horrified at the way DHS spirited away Rumeysa in broad daylight,” she wrote, adding that Ozturk has not been accused of any crime…“DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas,” DHS said in an emailed statement, without sharing evidence for the claim or responding to questions about the video. It added that “supporting terrorists” is grounds for visa termination.” See also “First, They Came for Mahmoud Khalil” (Drop Site 3/23/25); Columbia Expelled Me for My Palestine Activism, but I Won’t Be Silenced (Grant Miner//The Nation 3/26/25); The Insidious Doctrine Fueling the Case Against Mahmoud Khalil (Debbie Nathan//Boston Review 3/21/25); Pro-Israel watchdog takes credit after Cornell pro-Palestinian activist is told to surrender to ICE (JTA 3/21/25); Citing Jewish group’s targeting, Cornell grad student files suit against deportations of pro-Palestinian activists (The Forward 3/18/25); Columbia Student Hunted by ICE Sues to Prevent Deportation (NYT 3/24/25)
What We Know About the Detentions of Student Protesters (NYT 3/27/25)
“The Trump administration is trying to deport pro-Palestinian students and academics who are legally in the United States, a new front in its clash with elite schools over what it says is their failure to combat antisemitism. The White House asserts that these moves — many of which involve immigrants with visas and green cards — are necessary because those taken into custody threaten national security…The nine people who have been pursued and, in some cases, detained by federal officials include current and former students and professors. Most of them have publicly expressed pro-Palestinian views. Some have green cards, making them lawful permanent residents. Others have student visas, which allows foreign nationals to enter the United States for full-time study. The extent of their involvement in pro-Palestinian advocacy varies.” See also Rubio boasts of canceling more than 300 visas over pro-Palestine protests (Guardian 3/27/25)
How “Project Esther” forecast Trump’s plan to silence protests, boost deportations (Axios 3/25/25)
“The Trump administration’s push to cast pro-Palestinian protesters as Hamas supporters — and then use anti-terror and immigration laws to quiet campus demonstrations — was forecast in a little-known plan last year from the creators of Project 2025…That plan — dubbed “Project Esther” and based on months of chatter among some GOP leaders — was reflected in the White House’s moves to arrest Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil and pull universities’ funding over antisemitism allegations…Like Project 2025, Esther envisions expanding executive power and reshaping American life with a conservative agenda — this time focusing on colleges and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And like Project 2025, Esther and the Trump administration’s moves that mirror much of it are sounding alarms among progressives who say the effort promotes censorship, unfairly labels protesters as terror supporters and is a tool of Christian nationalism.”
White House withdraws Stefanik’s nomination for U.N. ambassador (JI 3/27/25)
“Trump said on his Truth Social website that he had asked Stefanik to remain in Congress to help pass key legislation. “With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat,” Trump said. “There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations.”’ See also Mike Huckabee’s extremist agenda will bring only destruction to the Middle East (Lily Greenberg Call//The Hill 3/26/25)
ADL Shutters Flagship Anti-Bias Program (Alex Kane//Jewish Currents 3/27/25)
“Former employees say the organization is shifting away from educational content on racism and the LGBTQ experience and focusing more exclusively on antisemitism.”
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
The new definition of antisemitism is transforming America – and serving a Christian nationalist plan (Itamar Mann and Lihi Yona//The Guardian 3/23/25)
“Something unprecedented – and deeply unsettling – is unfolding: under the guise of a legal redefinition of antisemitism, the basic architecture of American public life is being radically transformed. What appears, at first glance, to be a technical change in terminology has become a powerful instrument for political control, solidifying executive power to enforce a narrow, state-sanctioned definition of Judaism. In the name of combating antisemitism, this effort threatens to reshape American public life – and with it, the pillars of American liberalism. But despite what some will have you believe, two things are clear: first, this campaign does not protect Jews – it endangers them; and second, this redefinition plays into a larger Christian nationalist project.” See also What Are We Allowed to Say? How Trump’s Department of Education has made it harder for me to teach Jewish Studies. (Joel Swanson//Slate 3/18/25)
The US is poised to use terror laws against students. This could be worse than McCarthyism (Thomas Anthony Durkin and Bernard Harcourt//The Guardian 3/21/25)
“On Monday, the Department of Justice announced the launch of “Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7)”. In an accompanying press release, the DoJ said it would bring to justice Hamas leaders who murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians in the deadly attack on Israel of 7 October 2023. Few would quarrel with this ambition. In the same breath, however, the press release claimed that the taskforce would also “investigate acts of terrorism and civil rights violations by individuals and entities providing support and financing to Hamas, related Iran proxies, and their affiliates, as well as acts of antisemitism by these groups”. In plain English, this means the student protesters. It could also include universities and colleges that have entered the government’s crosshairs. The legal risks are real. They are perilous, and they are alarming. Where a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) – such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or related organizations such as the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network – is concerned, the line separating political advocacy from material support to terrorism can be razor thin, and any doubt tends to be resolved against those engaged in the political advocacy.”
Trump has turbocharged the attacks on free speech at US universities. I have seen it first-hand (Sandy Tolan 3/20/25)
“The enraged response to those of us who insist on bearing witness to this reality is a byproduct of the near-complete erasure of the Palestinian narrative. In the US media framing, with few exceptions, Palestinians are terrorists or victims, never fully human…Universities must resist our authoritarian leader’s dictates while there is still time. But the long erasure and dehumanisation of Palestinians is working against our urgent task. And robotic acceptance of bogus charges of antisemitism has only made the job of resistance that much more difficult…Billions of dollars in cuts are precisely what may compel universities, even private ones such as USC and Columbia, to comply with Trump dictates on student protesters and university diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programmes. This is how last year’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters was a kind of test case. This is why acquiescence to this suppression, lazy acceptance of false charges of antisemitism, and passive erasure of Palestinians, have been so dangerous and consequential. They have led us to the present moment.”
Does Columbia still merit the name of a university? (Rashid Khalidi//The Guardian 3/25/25)
“It was never about eliminating antisemitism. It was always about silencing Palestine. That is what the gagging of protesting students, and now the gagging of faculty, was always meant to lead to…This was always about protecting the monstrous, transparent lies that a genocidal 17-month Israeli-American war on the entire Palestinian people was just a war on Hamas, or that anything done on 7 October 2023 justifies the serial massacres of at least 50,000 people in Gaza, most of them women, children and old people, and the ethnic cleansing of the people of Palestine from their homeland. These lies, generated by Israel and its enablers, which permeate our political system and our moneyed elites, were repeated ceaselessly by the Biden and Trump administrations, by the New York Times and Fox News, and have now been officially sanctioned by a once great university…After Friday’s capitulation, Columbia barely merits the name of a university, since its teaching and scholarship on the Middle East, and soon much else, will soon be vetted by a “senior vice provost for inclusive pedagogy”, in reality a senior vice provost for Israeli propaganda. Partisans of Israel, infuriated that scholarship on Palestine had found a place at Columbia, once named it “Bir Zeit on the Hudson”. But if it any longer merits the name of a university, it should be called Vichy on the Hudson.” See also Breaking: UCLA is silencing Jewish critics of Israel, Israeli-American student says (Akiva Colin Haskins//New Voices 3/23/25)
Scholasticide in Gaza (Avi Shlaim//Journal of the British Academy 3/10/25)
“This article examines the concept of ‘scholasticide’, the deliberate destruction of an educational system and its institutions, in the context of Gaza. Tracing its historical roots to the Nakba of 1948, the article situates scholasticide within the broader context of Zionist settler-colonialism and its policies of de-development, collective punishment, and ethnic cleansing. The analysis pays special attention to the annihilation of Gaza’s schools, universities, and academic infrastructure throughout the most recent war in Gaza, whilst exploring the intertwined phenomena of cultural genocide, domicide, and ecocide. Contrary to prevailing beliefs about the nature and legitimacy of Israeli attacks on Gaza’s educational system and broader infrastructure, the article invokes international law to argue that Israeli actions were disproportionate, unjustified, and importantly, unlawful.”
NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up March 21, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: March 21, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
West Bank Settlement News; East Jerusalem Settlement News; Gaza Annexation & “Resettlement” News; Israeli Government News; U.S. Government News
Israeli Detention and Torture of Palestinian Medical Workers: Testimonies, Patterns, and Analysis (new Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Naji Abbas, Director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department for Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), about Israel targeting medical workers in Gaza for arrest and detention inside of Israel, an effort that is part of the overall destruction of the infrastructure for community and life in Gaza. In Israeli detention, health care workers have been subjected to multiple methods of torture, including beatings, sexual abuse, the withholding of medical care and insufficient nutrition. Drawing on direct testimonies from detained medical workers, PHRI details this cruel and illegal treatment in their new report: Torture of Medical Workers in Israel – A Call for Urgent Action.
Palestinian Politics Under Israeli Occupation (new Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Tahani Mustafa, Senior Palestine Analyst for the International Crisis Group, about Palestinian politics and the challenging predicament of cooperation or confrontation with Israel. The two discuss the evolution of the Palestinian Authority and its legitimacy today, including the role of Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the growth of militancy in the face of expanded Israeli military activity in the West Bank. They draw from Tahani’s recent policy brief, “Israel’s West Bank Incursions Highlight the Dilemmas of Palestinian Politics.”
GAZA
Arab mediators rush to salvage Gaza ceasefire as Israel restarts war (WaPo 3/21/25)
“The shattering of a hard-fought ceasefire in the Gaza Strip this week sent regional officials scrambling to get Israel and Hamas back to the negotiating table, in a last-ditch effort to salvage months of painstaking diplomacy as the Palestinian death toll from renewed Israeli strikes soared past 500. Egypt and Qatar, in particular, are pushing the two sides to agree to an emergency truce and Egyptian mediators have already presented a new proposal to Hamas, according to a former Egyptian official briefed on the diplomacy who, like others in this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. The details of the proposal were unclear, but efforts to get the Trump administration — which helped broker the original agreement — to break the deadlock have so far yielded little, the official said, adding that Egypt contacted Washington as soon as Israel resumed strikes in Gaza on Tuesday but had not heard back as of Thursday afternoon. In the meantime, Trump officials have expressed ironclad support for Israel’s decision to restart the conflict, a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he made in part to pressure Hamas to release more Israeli hostages…Netanyahu this week said that negotiations with Hamas would take place “only under fire,” and Israeli troops on Thursday were already operating on the ground in northern, southern and central Gaza, the military said. “This is just the beginning,” Netanyahu added.” See also Israel resumes war in Gaza with a series of massive airstrikes against Hamas (Axios 3/18/25); “I couldn’t tell whether we were alive or dead and buried under the rubble” (Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 3/18/25); What Ceasefire? Trump Helps Netanyahu Kill Over 400 Palestinians in Gaza (Zeteo 3/18/25); Israeli troops enter northern Gaza; Hamas responds with rocket fire (WaPo 3/20/25); Hamas fires first rockets since Israel broke recent ceasefire (NPR 3/20/25)
Scenes from a Ramadan massacre (Ahmed Ahmed//+972 Magazine 3/20/25)
“Palestinians in Gaza City describe collecting body parts from the street and fending off stray dogs as they awaited ambulances amid Israel’s attacks.” See also Israeli strikes on Gaza add to soaring child death toll (Guardian 3/20/25); Massacre at 2 A.M.: Israel Resumes Indiscriminate Attacks Against Gaza, Killing Over 400 People (Abubaker Abed & Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site 3/18/25);
‘We just want it all to stop’: Palestinians across Gaza awake to new Israeli massacre (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972 Magazine 3/18/25)
“After recovering a semblance of safety during the ceasefire, Gazans are forced again to decide whether or not to flee their homes as Israel resumes its assault.” See also ‘My Son Cries All Night From Hunger, and I Have Nothing to Give Him’: Gazans Faced Food Shortage Even Before Israel Resumed Bombing (Haaretz 3/19/25);
Israel launches ground operation in Gaza as ceasefire collapses: What we know (Al Monitor 3/19/25)
“The Israeli military announced Wednesday that it had resumed ground operations in central Gaza, a day after airstrikes killed more than 400 Palestinians, breaking the fragile ceasefire reached in January. The military said it had retaken parts of the Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza from east to west, and the operations were aimed at expanding the buffer zone…In a speech on Wednesday directed at residents of Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz demanded all of the remaining hostages be released, saying the recent actions were a “last warning” and threatening further attacks. “The air force attack against Hamas terrorists was just the first step. The continuation would be much harsher, and you will pay the price,” he said. Katz added that Israel will soon start calling on Gaza populations to evacuate certain areas. “If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not expelled from Gaza — Israel will act with forces you have never known before,” he said, adding that “the alternative (to not releasing the hostages) is complete destruction and devastation.”’ See also Israel is Denying Doctors and International Aid Workers Entry to Gaza at Unprecedented Rates (Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 3/15/25); Israeli strikes kill eight aid workers in Gaza, British charity says (WaPo 3/15/25); Aid workers killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza, charity tells BBC (BBC 3/15/25); Israeli military blows up Gaza’s Turkish hospital and medical school (Al Jazeera 3/21/25); Turkey condemns ‘deliberate Israeli strike’ on Gaza hospital (TOI 3/21/25);
Israel threatens annexation after expanding ground offensive in Gaza (Al Jazeera 3/21/25)
“Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that Israeli forces would “intensify” the military campaign against Hamas and use “all military and civilian pressure, including evacuation of the Gaza population south and implementing United States President Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents”. Katz instructed the army “to seize additional areas in Gaza, evacuate the population, and expand security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and [Israeli army] soldiers,” local media quoted him as saying. He also warned that Israel would seize Gaza land until the Palestinian armed group agrees to release all captives still held in the Strip. “The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel,” Katz was quoted by The Jerusalem Post newspaper as saying.” See also Katz threatens to annex part of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas releases hostages (Times of Israel 3/21/25); Israel’s return to war is a prelude to mass expulsion (Ben Reiff//+972 Magazine 3/18/25)
Netanyahu returns to war amid mounting political pressure at home (WaPo 3/20/25)
“In recent days, the Israeli prime minister has publicly feuded with officials from the country’s security establishment, including many who favor reaching a deal with Hamas to recover all the hostages left in Gaza. He has announced his intent to fire his internal intelligence chief, prompting calls for mass street protests. And most pressing, Netanyahu is facing a March 31 deadline to corral enough votes in the Knesset to pass a national budget — or otherwise see his government forced to dissolve under Israeli law. In resuming war, the Israeli leader not only sought to redirect the country’s attention, political observers say, but also cemented a governing coalition that can help him get past his most immediate political hurdles.” See also Netanyahu says Israeli strikes that killed hundreds in Gaza are ‘just the beginning’ (WaPo 3/17/25); Families of hostages in Gaza are terrified they won’t return after Israel resumes fighting (AP 3/19/25); Former hostages decry return to war as Netanyahu says further talks will happen only ‘under fire’ (JTA 3/19/25); As Israel resumes war in Gaza, families of hostages fear the worst (WaPo 3/20/25); Hostages’ Families Say Israeli Gov’t ‘Gave Up on Hostages’ by Resuming Gaza Fighting (Haaretz 3/18/25); Israelis Protest Against Netanyahu as Strikes on Gaza Continue (NYT 3/19/25); Israeli protesters say airstrikes are ‘cover’ for Benjamin Netanyahu to keep power (Guardian 3/18/25)
Why Don’t Gazans Rise Up and Oust Hamas? Dismantling a Deeply Dishonest Claim (Dahlia Scheindlin//Haaretz 3/20/25)
“Until October 7, Netanyahu didn’t want to topple Hamas. For the last 17 months, Israel – backed by billions in foreign aid – has been unsuccessful in doing so. But somehow, Israelis see every Gazan who hasn’t risked their life to rise up against Hamas as a terrorist with a target on their back”
REGION/GLOBAL
Israel to push Trump on Iran attack plan on high-stakes Washington visit (Al Monitor 3/21/25)
“Israeli officials hope to convince the Trump administration to reject Iranian attempts to buy more time for its nuclear program, with the goal of ultimately reaching an understanding on attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Top Israeli national security officials will meet with their US counterparts next week in Washington to discuss a blueprint for a potential attack on Iran. The talks will take place within the framework of the first US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group (SCG) meeting since President Donald Trump took office.” See also U.S. and Israel to hold high-level Iran consultations next week (Axios 3/20/25); With Massive Airstrikes on Yemen, Trump Intensifies Undeclared War Against the Poorest Country in the Arab World (Drop Site 3/16/25); Trump Says Houthis in Yemen Will Be ‘Annihilated,’ as U.S. Keeps Up Strikes (NYT 3/19/25); U.S. defense secretary beefs up warship presence in the Middle East, sends two aircraft carriers (Haaretz 3/21/25); University of Amsterdam ends student exchange with Hebrew U, saying it’s complicit with Israeli military (JTA 3/18/25)
RIVER TO THE SEA
Netanyahu ousts intelligence chief as Israeli troops expand Gaza operations (WaPo 3/21/25)
“As Israeli troops moved Friday to seize additional areas of Gaza in a renewed offensive, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed forward on the home front to oust two senior officials in a move that roiled Israeli politics. In a late-night Thursday cabinet session, Netanyahu’s ministers voted unanimously to dismiss Ronen Bar, the director of the Shin Bet intelligence service. Hours later, on Friday morning, the government scheduled another discussion for Sunday over firing another Netanyahu critic, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The moves to dismiss two of Netanyahu’s most prominent and powerful critics in the government set off calls for further protests in a week that already saw mass demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.” See also ‘War of survival’: Thousands rally in rain as cabinet meets to oust Shin Bet head (TOI 3/20/25); Israeli Cabinet Approves Ouster of Shin Bet Chief, Who Calls the Move Illegal (NYT 3/20/25); There Is No Justification at All for Israel to Resume the War in Gaza (Yossi Melman//Haaretz 3/19/25); ‘This May Be Our Last Protest in a Democracy’: Thousands Rally Against Shin Bet Chief Ouster in Jerusalem (Haaretz 3/20/25); Netanyahu disputes court order freezing decision to fire Shin Bet chief (Guardian 3/21/25); Netanyahu gifts Fetterman silver pager in Jerusalem meeting (JI 3/20/25); Israeli businessman says he moved cash from Qatari lobbyist to PM’s aide Feldstein (TOI 3/19/25)
Israeli outposts have proliferated in the West Bank since Oct. 7, analysis shows. Palestinians fear annexation could be next. (CNN 3/20/25)
“The settlers brought another settler here and placed him in our area. The Israelis built a road that separates us from grazing and agricultural areas, and the settlers don’t allow us to farm on them,” [Palestinian farmer Jihad Suleiman Al-Sawafta] told CNN. “They crowded the area. They took thousands of dunams (1,000 square meters) from Bardala and its grazing lands,” he said, referring to his Palestinian town in the northern part of the West Bank. He added that the Jordan Valley, a fertile strip of land long considered the West Bank’s breadbasket, had been “largely emptied”of its Palestinian residents…Herding outposts like the one set up on Al-Sawafta’s land are often established by Israeli settlers on hilltops with a few caravans and sometimes livestock to mark their claim. Monitoring groups say they are notorious for swallowing up vast swathes of land and prohibiting Palestinian residents from moving freely…The number of Israeli herding outposts has dramatically increased since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition took power in 2022 on a platform of settlement expansion. The government includes ministers who are themselves settlers and want to annex the occupied territory to Israel. In the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel’s invasion of Gaza, settlers have accelerated land grabs with support from the state…Israeli herding outposts have ballooned by nearly 50% since the war broke out, according to a joint report shared exclusively with CNN by Peace Now and Kerem Navot, two Israeli advocacy groups that oppose settlements and track their development, covering data up to the end of December 2024.” See also Israeli settler violence is rapidly emptying Jordan Valley of Palestinians (Dikla Taylor-Sheinman and Georgia Gee//+972 Magazine 3/19/25)
‘They lock us in like sheep’: new Israeli checkpoints and barriers raise fears in the West Bank (The Guardian 3/15/25)
“Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza in January, life for the 2.9 million Palestinians in the West Bank has not become easier. Israel immediately launched a bloody major offensive in the north that has so far forced at least 40,000 people from their homes, the largest displacement since Israel’s occupation began in 1967, and killed dozens, including children. At the same time, Israeli authorities have been constructing new checkpoints and barriers. According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 119 “iron gates” have been set up since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, including many since January. These block access to villages and towns, cutting off entire communities from major transport routes. There are now close to 900 barriers in the West Bank, the PA said. The UN has recorded more than 800, a steep increase on the 645 in 2023. Palestinian officials say this “localised system” of roadblocks is a change from a strategy merely to cut the West Bank into north, south and central sections. “It no longer controls movement alone, but also … access to agricultural land, social and livelihood opportunities, health, education and the economy, among other things,” Amir Daoud, of the Authority’s Colonisation and Wall Resistance Committee, told the Observer. A survey last month of NGOs working in the West Bank found that 93% said roadblocks, permit denials and checkpoint delays hindered aid delivery.” See also Israeli Army to Demolish 180 Homes in West Bank Palestinian Refugee Camps (Haaretz 3/21/25)
He led the fight to save Sheikh Jarrah for 15 years. Now he faces his own eviction (Oren Ziv//+972 Magazine 3/14/25)
“After more than a decade of legal battles, an Israeli court ruled that settlers can take over Salah Diab’s lifelong home. But he refuses to give up fighting.”
Well-known Palestinian journalist detained by Israeli police over alleged ‘incitement’ (CNN 3/17/25)
“Israeli police are seeking to keep a well-known Palestinian journalist in detention in Jerusalem on charges related to “incitement” and “support of terrorism,” despite an Israeli judge ordering her release on Monday.
Latifeh Abdellatif is a freelance photojournalist whose work has appeared in Reuters, ABC News, BBC, Al Jazeera and TRT, according to her Instagram account biography. Israeli police said that she was apprehended at her home in the Old City on Sunday by Jerusalem District Police officers “on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism.”…Abdellatif denies the charges…Odeh told CNN that Abdellatif had been interrogated for three hours on Sunday “about social media posts that are part of her professional work as a journalist.”’
Ben Gvir reappointed police minister as Knesset okays his party’s return to government (TOI 3/20/25)
“I am returning tonight to manage the National Security Ministry,” Ben Gvir said, boasting of having worsened conditions for security prisoners and expanded gun ownership during his previous stint in the cabinet.” See also Man Shot Dead in Northern Israel, Marking 50th Homicide in Arab Community This Year (Haaretz 3/15/25); After welcoming far-right politicians, Israel’s antisemitism conference is hemorrhaging speakers (The Forward 3/17/25); ADL chief drops out of Israel’s antisemitism conference over inclusion of European far right (eJPhil 3/18/25)
U.S. SCENE
‘I am a political prisoner’: Mahmoud Khalil says he’s being targeted for political beliefs (The Guardian 3/18/25)
“In his first public remarks since being detained by federal immigration authorities, Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate, Mahmoud Khalil, spoke out against the conditions facing immigrants in US detention and said he was being targeted by the Trump administration for his political beliefs…The Trump administration, he said, “is targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent”, warning that “visa-holders, green-card carriers and citizens alike will all be targeted for their political beliefs.” The statement, which Khalil dictated to his friends and family over the phone from an Ice detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, railed against the US’s treatment of immigrants in its custody, Israel’s renewed bombardment of the Gaza Strip, US foreign policy, and what he described as Columbia University’s surrender to federal pressure to punish students. “My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night,” the statement said. “With January’s ceasefire now broken, parents in Gaza are once again cradling too-small shrouds, and families are forced to weigh starvation and displacement against bombs. It is our moral imperative to persist in the struggle for their complete freedom.”’ See also the full text of his statement: My Name is Mahmoud Khalil and I Am a Political Prisoner (In These Times 3/18/25)
Je suis Khalil (Financial Times 3/14/25)
“Every American should worry about Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University graduate who was detained last week by US immigration authorities, though “abducted” would be a better description. It is no exaggeration to say Khalil’s fate is a test of how easily President Donald Trump can slide into lawlessness…Should Trump get his way, his licence to punish any speech that he deems pro-terrorist or against the US national interest would make him judge and jury on first amendment rights. It would put every US citizen — not just permanent residents — at risk. To take one example: Trump said that attacks on Tesla showrooms qualify as domestic terrorism. But you can fill in any number of blanks. Trump depicts his adversaries as the enemy within. Isn’t criticising America’s president anti-national?” See also Protests sweep US as calls grow for Mahmoud Khalil’s release (New Arab 3/16/25); ‘Mahmoud Is Not Safe’ (Nadia Abu El-Haj//NYRB 3/15/25);
Columbia Is Now The Front Line in Trump’s Unconstitutional Assault on Higher Ed (Joseph Pace//Common Dreams 3/18/25)
“There’s a malign genius to the administration’s approach. Trump and his enablers know they can’t directly muzzle students or faculty without facing First Amendment lawsuits…As a private institution, however, Columbia is unconstrained by the First Amendment. There’s no redress in the courts if Columbia starts expelling students for criticizing Israel. So the trick is to find a way of outsourcing the censorship to university administrators. And that’s where the funding cuts come in. As explained by one of the strategy’s architects, the threat of defunding is designed to create an “existential terror” that will “discipline [universities] in a way that you could not get through administrative oversight with 150 extra Department of Ed bureaucrats.” To be clear, this tactic is also blatantly illegal…The question is whether Columbia will fight or whether it will sacrifice the free speech rights of its faculty and students to appease the Trump administration. The Trump Administration is clearly counting on the latter, and not without cause. Columbia has been a case study in preemptive acquiescence…This is not going to end with Columbia: the Department of Education has sent similar letters to 60 other universities. And the assault on academic freedom is not going to be limited to discourse about Israel. This battle is, in a real sense, the front lines.” See also Georgetown Postdoc the Latest to Be Detained by ICE as Crackdown on Campus Speech Widens (Drop Site 3/19/25); Weaponizing antisemitism makes students ‘less safe,’ says drafter of definition (NPR 3/20/25); Brown University professor deported despite judge’s order, defying US court (Guardian 3/17/25); Judge bars deportation of pro-Palestinian Georgetown University student (Reuters 3/20/25)
Why Trump’s Ultimatum to Columbia Could Upend Higher Education (NYT 3/20/25)
“With $400 million in canceled government grants and contracts on the line, federal officials ordered Columbia’s administration to place the university’s Middle Eastern studies department under academic receivership for at least five years…Several historians and veteran professors said that the move by the federal government to intervene in an academic department at a private university would be unparalleled in the modern history of U.S. higher education.” See also Trump’s war on Columbia comes for Middle East studies (JI 3/20/25); Columbia Is Nearing Agreement to Give Trump What He Wants (WSJ 3/19/25)
The Last Time Pro-Palestinian Activists Faced Deportation (David Cole//New Yorker 3/18/25)
“Nearly forty years ago, immigration officials in Los Angeles arrested eight young immigrants—seven Palestinian men and the wife of one of them, a Kenyan. The immigrants were mostly students. Two were permanent residents; the others were on student visas. They had been involved in pro-Palestinian activism. The government charged them all with being associated with a group that advocated the doctrines of world Communism, a justification for deportation dating back to the McCarran-Walter Act, of 1952, a Cold War relic…While the case was pending, the L.A. Eight grew older, some married and had children, and some became citizens…They had to spend more than two decades defending their right to remain here simply because they advocated for Palestinian self-determination. But since their case, immigration authorities have not sought to deport anyone for mere speech. Until now.” See also When They Came for Columbia University (David Klion//The Nation 3/19/25);
Victims of UCLA Mob Attack Sue to “Hold the Aggressors Accountable” (The Intercept 3/20/25)
“In late April 2024, a mob attacked a pro-Palestinian student encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles. Police and campus security stood by and watched the assault for nearly five hours before intervening. Pleas to university officials went nowhere. And the next day police returned, only to violently and unlawfully clear the encampment and arrest protesters. These are the allegations of a group of students and faculty who are suing the people they blame for the attack, law enforcement agencies, and university officials for violating their civil rights. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, comes as the federal government deploys all of its might to restrict speech on Palestine in the name of eradicating antisemitism on college campuses…The sprawling 96-page complaint, which identifies 20 alleged members of the mob by name, accuses university officials and police of violating their civil rights, carrying out unlawful arrests, firing less lethal munitions at protesters at close range without just cause, as well as negligence for failing to protect students and faculty from violence in late April. Plaintiffs said the mob incident followed a series of “physical attacks, threats of violence, and harassment” against Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students on or near campus throughout the school year.” See also Pro-Palestinian Activists Sue U.C.L.A. Over Encampment Attack (NYT 3/20/25); LAPD Surveilled Gaza Protests Using This Social Media Tool (The Intercept 3/17/25)
Justice Department, FBI launch task force to investigate Oct. 7 attack on Israel (Axios 3/18/25)
“The Justice Department and FBI on Monday launched a task force to investigate Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, as well as civil rights violations and antisemitism by anyone who supported the group…The task force will focus on charging and prosecuting perpetrators in the attack, taking over charges brought during the Biden administration against Hamas leadership…The task force will investigate civil rights violations and antisemitism, including funding and financing Hamas and proxies in Iran.” See also The Trump right’s pro-Israel antisemitism (Zach Beauchamp//Vox 3/19/25); Trump’s antisemitism chief shares ‘Jew card’ post from white supremacist (The Forward 3/17/25); Doge occupies US Institute of Peace headquarters after White House guts its board (The Guardian 3/17/25)
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
I Negotiated for Israeli Prime Ministers. Netanyahu Is Lying (Daniel Levy//Zeteo 3/20/25)
“It has taken less than two months for normal service to be resumed – a White House that is the plaything of the prime minister of a client state, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. Having briefly flirted with leading the ‘ceasefire over war’ camp, the US is back to bombing Yemen, threatening Iran with military action, and undermining its own negotiations in the service of greenlighting Israel’s resumed bombing of Gaza. Trump has apparently been reminded who is the superpower here. The peace president? Not if Israel says otherwise. It is hard to say that Trump 47 has exactly been duped, he of the ethnically-cleansed Gaza Riviera plan. Alignment with Israel’s genocidal orientation would seem to come naturally.”
‘No Other Land’ Won an Oscar. Many People Hope You Don’t See It. (Rania Batrice & Libby Lenkinski//NYT 3/16/25)
“As cultural organizers, we both know that art, and film in particular, can serve a critical role in not only educating audiences, but also in helping to bring about change. “No Other Land” has given a glimpse into the decades-long Palestinian experience and the realities on the ground. For those of us who have been inhabiting this reality our entire lives, we know it is only getting worse and increasingly dire. All of that makes support for this film and the people behind it that much more important.” See also Florida Mayor Drops Threat to Evict Cinema Over Israeli-Palestinian Film (NYT 3/19/25)
How a Billionaire Netanyahu Associate Sought to Buy Quiet in Gaza, With Qatari Money (Haaretz 3/14/25)
“Billionaire Shlomi Fogel, who’s close to Netanyahu, did business with the Qatari government, supported its financing of Gaza and called for isolating the Palestinian Authority. For a decade, promoted a series of infrastructure-related projects in Hamas-led Gaza. Then came October 7”
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Tahani Mustafa, Senior Palestine Analyst for the International Crisis Group, about Palestinian politics and the challenging predicament of cooperation or confrontation with Israel. The two discuss the evolution of the Palestinian Authority and its legitimacy today, including the role of Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the growth of militancy in the face of expanded Israeli military activity in the West Bank. They draw from Tahani’s recent policy brief, “Israel’s West Bank Incursions Highlight the Dilemmas of Palestinian Politics.”
Subscribe to “Occupied Thoughts” on iTunes | Soundcloud |Spotify
Recorded on March 17, 2025
Tahani Mustafa is the International Crisis Group’s Senior Palestine Analyst, where she works on issues including security and socio-political and legal governance in the West bank. She has a background in development and security governance in the Middle East, and has worked in academia and policy advocacy. Based between the UK, Jordan and Israel/Palestine, she holds a Ph.D in Politics and International Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a 2025 Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University.
NEW FROM FMEP
Gaza Genocide, Disinformation, and the Death of Truth (New podcast episode)
FMEP President Lara Friedman speaks with Dr. Assal Rad and Professor Marc Owen Jones — two of the most prominent voices and most astute analysts of the role that media and disinformation have played post Oct 7, 2023 — and continue to play through the present day, in manufacturing consent for Israel’s war on Gaza as well as its wider military campaigns and territorial expansion in Lebanon and Syria. The conversation centered on Dr. Rad’s article, How Western Media Has Manufactured Consent for Atrocities, From Iraq to Gaza ( published 3/4/25); and Professor Jones’s peer-reviewed analysis in Third World Quarterly, Evidencing alethocide: Israel’s war on truth in Gaza (published 3/1/25). See also FMEP’s Lara Friedman on Owen Jones (UK) YouTube series: Trump LIES His Crackdown Is About Protecting Jewish Americans – Lara Friedman Exposes TRUTH
Staying Home or Having “Gaza on their mind in the ballot box”: Revisiting the 2024 Elections (New podcast episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with political strategist and former FMEP Fellow Rania Batrice together with Maya Berry, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute, and Margaret Zaknoen DeReus, Executive Director of the IMEU Policy Project. They discuss the role of Israel’s genocide in Gaza – and the U.S.’s facilitation of it through weapons and political support – in the 2024 elections, drawing from newly available data, including the IMEU Policy Project’s January 2025 poll, which shows that “Gaza was a top issue for Biden 2020 Voters Who Cast A Ballot For Someone Besides Harris.” They look at voter behavior among Arab Americans and in many other communities, at relationships between the Democratic Party and grassroots activists, and at the ways in which Arab Americans have been blamed for the Democratic loss.
FMEP Legislative Round-Up March 14, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Round-up: March 14, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
West Bank Settlement & Outpost News; East Jerusalem Settlement News; Gazafication of the West Bank; State & Setter Terrorism; The U.S. Scene
GAZA
Starvation Is Not a Negotiating Tactic (Megan Stack//NYT 3/13/25)
“Israel has clamped Gaza back under near-total siege, barring desperately needed humanitarian aid and other goods from entering the hungry and bomb-decimated enclave. Food, medicine, tents, fuel — for the past week and a half, supplies have not been permitted into Gaza, where some two million Palestinians are trying to survive in the wreckage. And Mr. Netanyahu keeps tightening the screws: On Sunday, Israel cut off the last trickle of electricity into Gaza, forcing a key desalination plant that provides drinking water to slow operations. With hunger setting in, people reduced to living in tents or in the precarious shelter of half-crushed buildings, and clean water and fuel in vanishing supply, it feels too generous to say that Gaza is on the brink of collapse; in many respects, Gaza has already collapsed. Israeli officials are essentially starving Gaza as a negotiation tactic. Rather than proceed on the agreed-upon schedule to the second phase of the cease-fire, Mr. Netanyahu is now demanding a seven-week extension of the preliminary stage.” See also Israel cuts off electricity supply to Gaza, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water (AP 3/9/25); Israel outlines plan to control all aid entering Gaza (WaPo 3/5/25); Rights groups call on Israel to restore Gaza electricity (WaPo 3/10/25)
U.S. gives Israel and Hamas new proposal to extend Gaza ceasefire (Axios 3/13/25)
“White House envoy Steve Witkoff presented an updated U.S. proposal for extending the Gaza ceasefire deal by several weeks in return for additional hostage releases by Hamas and the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, four sources with direct knowledge tell Axios. The proposal is an effort by the Trump administration to buy more time for negotiations and prevent the resumption of the war during the holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, two sources said.” See also Israel-Hamas Talks Deadlocked as Trump Envoy Turns to Ukraine (NYT 3/13/25); Israel, US at odds over Trump envoy’s ‘one-off’ talks with Hamas (Al Monitor 3/10/25); US slams Hamas offer to release American Edan Alexander (Al Monitor 3/14/25); Gaza ceasefire in doubt as Israel tightens grip on aid (Al Monitor 3/12/25)
Hamas ‘ready’ to hand over Israeli captive and four bodies held in Gaza (Al Jazeera 3/14/25)
“The Palestinian group Hamas has announced it is ready to free Israeli American captive Edan Alexander and hand over the remains of four other dual nationals, after holding indirect talks with Israel. Hamas said in a statement on Friday that its delegation received a proposal from mediators on Thursday to resume ceasefire negotiations, and the group’s reply “included its agreement to release the Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who holds American citizenship, along with the remains of four others holding dual citizenship”. See also US slams Hamas offer to release American Edan Alexander (Al Monitor 3/14/25); ‘Absolute fear’: Israeli hostage describes abuse during 505-day Hamas captivity (The Guardian 3/12/25); Israel slams Hamas ‘manipulation’ after it says it will free 1 living, 4 slain hostages (Times of Israel 3/14/25)
Dread haunts Gaza as airstrikes dent hopes of renewed ceasefire (The Guardian 3/8/25)
“Fears of a return to war in Gaza are intensifying this weekend, with faltering diplomatic efforts and almost daily airstrikes by Israeli forces in the devastated territory. There has been relative calm in Gaza since a ceasefire for prisoners deal between Hamas and Israel came into effect in January, pausing 15 months of conflict. However, the first phase of that agreement expired more than a week ago and a second phase has stalled, leaving Gaza plunged into a “grey zone” of uncertainty…So far, the IDF has limited itself to a series of airstrikes across Gaza, though these appear to be increasingly frequent.” See also Four killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, medical sources say (Haaretz 3/14/25)
Israeli attacks on Gaza maternity wards and IVF clinic ‘genocidal acts’, says UN (The Guardian 3/13/25)
“Israel’s systemic attacks on women’s healthcare in Gaza amount to “genocidal acts”, and Israeli security forces have used sexual violence as a weapon of war to “dominate and destroy the Palestinian people”, a UN report states. The 49-page report on sexual and gender-based violence was drawn up by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and presented to the UN human rights council. It details attacks on maternity wards and other healthcare facilities for women, the destruction of an IVF clinic and controls on the entry of food and medical supplies into Gaza that together “destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group”. Israel’s actions amounted to “two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome statute and the genocide convention, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians and imposing measures intended to prevent births”, the human rights council said. The report found that Israel’s security forces had made certain forms of sexual and gender-based violence part of “standard operating procedures”, including forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, and sexual assault. The “pattern of sexual violence” that Israeli forces used, including cases of rape and sexualised torture, constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity, the UN said.” See also ‘No rules’: Gaza’s doctors say they were tortured, beaten and humiliated in Israeli detention (The Guardian 2/25/25); On the frontlines of hell: Testimonies from Gaza’s doctors (New Arab 3/10/25); U.N. report accuses Israel of sexual violence, ‘genocidal acts’ in Gaza (WaPo 3/14/25);
Israel’s far right says new office to oversee mass transfer of Gazans (WaPo 3/9/25)
“Israel will open an office under its Defense Ministry to manage the mass displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to other countries, far-right lawmakers said Sunday, as they pitched their mounting effort to depopulate the territory as being closely aligned with President Donald Trump’s own vision to “clean out” and redevelop the enclave…“Various officials in the [Trump] administration told me again and again, ‘We will not allow 2 million Nazis to live just beyond the fence,’” he said, referring to Palestinians. “Not too long ago, it was taboo to speak about people leaving Gaza, but now the people who were crazy are the most realistic,” Smotrich added. “Not only is it realistic, but it’s the only plan that’s realistic.”’
Gaza War Led to Deaths of More Than 3 Dozen Hostages, Officials Say (NYT 3/8/25)
“They are among the 41 hostages killed since being taken captive by Hamas and its allies during their Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to an analysis by The New York Times of forensic reports and military investigations into their deaths, as well as interviews with more than a dozen Israeli soldiers and officials, a senior regional official and seven relatives of hostages. Some were killed by Hamas, some by Israeli fire, some their cause of death unknown. The losses — and most acutely, the scale of them — are now at the heart of an anguished debate within Israeli society about whether more people could have been brought back alive if a truce had been reached sooner.”
REGION/GLOBAL
US, Israel looking to resettle Gaza’s Palestinians in Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan: Report (Al Monitor 3/14/25)
“Following President Donald Trump’s February proposal to relocate Gaza’s residents elsewhere for an unspecified period, US and Israeli officials have reportedly approached Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland to explore the possibility of resettling displaced Palestinians in Gaza. What happened: On Friday, the Associated Press cited US and Israeli officials as confirming that such requests had been made to the three African nations. According to US officials, it remains unclear how far these discussions have progressed, and they noted that Israel has been leading the talks. The report also cited sources in Sudan who stated they had declined such offers, while sources in Somalia and Somaliland said they were unaware of any such discussions.” See also Sudan rejects US request to discuss taking in Palestinians under Trump’s Gaza plan (The Guardian 3/14/25)
Israel’s two-pronged Lebanon strategy: Pursue border deal, strike Hezbollah (Al Monitor 3/14/25)
“Israel this week confirmed its engagement in US-mediated talks with Lebanon to settle their territorial disputes, but at the same time it continued to launch aerial strikes at targets in Lebanon. This policy of trying to “hold both ends of the stick” reflects surprising pragmatism by the Israeli government toward decades-old border disputes with Lebanon, while also signaling its desire for strict enforcement of the Nov. 27 ceasefire, which Israel accuses Hezbollah of constantly violating.” See also Katz: IDF will stay at 5 points in southern Lebanon regardless of border dispute talks (TOI 3/14/25); Yemen’s Houthis Renew Blockade on Israeli Ships as Deadline Expires for Gaza Aid (Drop Site 3/12/25)
Israel confirms strikes in Syria’s capital, says targeted Islamic Jihad: What we know (Al Monitor 3/13/25)
“The Israeli military stated that it struck a center in Damascus on Thursday that it said was used by the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad. The Syrian government said three civilians were wounded in the strike, while Islamic Jihad denied they were targeted.” See also Israel to occupy Syrian southern territory for ‘unlimited time’, says minister (The Guardian 3/12/25); Hundreds reported killed in sectarian violence in Syria’s Alawite heartland (WaPo 3/9/25); Days of Massacres Ravage Syrian Coastal Areas (Drop Site 3/14/25)
Germany’s Antisemitism Czar Cancels Participation in Israel’s ‘Combating Antisemitism’ Conference Due to European Far-right Invitees (Haaretz 3/14/25)
“Germany’s antisemitism czar has canceled his participation in the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in March, organized by Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry, after it was revealed that representatives of several European far-right parties were invited…French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, who was set to deliver the keynote speech at the conference’s opening dinner, has also withdrawn from the event upon learning that France’s far-right National Rally party leader, Jordan Bardella, would be attending, Le Monde reported…Far-right leaders invited to the conference, to be held in Jerusalem, include, alongside Bardella, member of the European Parliament Hermann Tertsch of Spain’s far-right Vox party; MEP Charlie Weimers of the far-right Sweden Democrats party; MEP Marion Maréchal, granddaughter of National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen; and MEP Kinga Gál, of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party.” See also National Rally Leader Heads to Israel, a First for French Far-Right Party (NYT 3/13/25); French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy also withdraws from Israeli government-organized conference over far-right attendees (Haaretz 3/14/25);
RIVER TO THE SEA
Child deaths surge amid ‘Gazafication’ of West Bank, report says (The Guardian 3/10/25)
“Israel has brought the military tactics of its war in Gaza to the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians face mass forced displacements, a surge in airstrikes and a sharp rise in attacks on children and other civilians, a Palestinian-Israeli rights group has said. B’tselem has detailed the impact of Israel’s most intense operations in the area for at least two decades in a report that describes what it calls the “Gazafication” of Israel’s occupation there. Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank since 7 October 2023, the beginning of the Gaza war triggered by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, have killed more Palestinians than during the violence of the second intifada of the 2000s, with children killed at a rate unprecedented during the territory’s occupation, according to data collected by B’tselem over more than two decades.” See also Despair Haunts Ramadan for Palestinians Displaced in West Bank (NYT 3/11/25)
Israeli police raid Palestinian bookshop in East Jerusalem twice in a month (The Guardian 3/11/25)
“Israeli police have raided the leading Palestinian bookshop in East Jerusalem for the second time in a month, detaining one of its owners for several hours and seizing some of its stock…The confiscated books included titles on the work of British artist Banksy, and others by the Israeli historian Ilan Pappé and the US academic Noam Chomsky…In February, Imad’s son Ahmed Muna, 33, and another brother, Mahmoud Muna, 41, were detained for two days, then held under house arrest for five days, but have not been charged. Police cited a children’s colouring book as evidence of incitement to terrorism in the shop.”
The Forces That Didn’t Come, the Command That Collapsed | IDF Investigation Into Nir Oz Reveals an Exceptional Failure – Even Compared to Oct. 7 (Haaretz 3/14/25)
“The head of the investigation team, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eran Niv, concluded that “the IDF’s failure to protect Nir Oz is particularly severe, partly because IDF forces only managed to reach the community after the last terrorist had already left.” Niv added, “No other community faced such a deadly combination of a severe situation on one hand and a complete absence of military forces on the other.” In the massacre, 41 Nir Oz residents were killed, along with six others who had fled to the kibbutz from a nearby party. Seventy-six residents were kidnapped to Gaza, including nine bodies. Thirteen hostages were murdered while in captivity, and today, five Nir Oz residents remain alive in Gaza alongside the bodies of nine others.” See also 72.5% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should take responsibility for Oct. 7 and resign (TOI 3/9/25)
U.S. SCENE
Nearly 100 Protesters Backing Khalil Are Arrested Inside Trump Tower (NYT 3/13/25)
“About 150 demonstrators affiliated with a progressive Jewish activist group packed into the lower level of Trump Tower Thursday to protest the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student…The protesters held aloft cloth banners printed in red and black lettering. One read: “Free Mahmoud, Free Palestine.” They chanted, their words reverberating against the coral marble tiling. “Fight Nazis, not students,” they repeated. Ninety-eight of the protesters were later arrested, according to John Chell, the Police Department’s chief of department…Plans for the event came together in 36 hours, said Sonya Meyerson-Knox, a spokeswoman for Jewish Voice for Peace. “As Jews, we know our history,” she said. “We know what happens when authoritarian regimes start scapegoating people and start taking away rights; we know exactly where that leads.”’
Mahmoud Khalil Speaks With Attorneys for First Time Since Detention (Drop Site 3/12/25)
“Mahmoud Khalil was finally able to speak with his legal team after a judge in the Southern District of New York ordered the Department of Homeland Security to allow a call of at least an hour. Prior to that, the Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestine organizer had no meaningful contact with his lawyers since Department of Homeland Security agents detained him and told him his green card had been revoked on Saturday night. Attorneys representing Khalil declined to give details of Wednesday night’s call, with another planned for Thursday. Following his detention on Saturday, Khalil—who was a lead negotiator on behalf of the April 2024 Gaza encampments at Columbia University—was handcuffed and forced into an unmarked vehicle. After being initially taken to the ICE’s New York City Field Office, he was taken to an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was then taken to the facility where he remains today—the Central Louisiana Detention Facility. Prior to tonight’s phone call, Khalil was unable to call his lawyers except for a brief interrupted call on March 10, when he called his lawyer and confirmed he was in Louisiana…Access to Khalil was limited, his legal team argued, in part because of the decision to move him from a New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to a notorious detention center in Louisiana. According to DHS’s “Notice to Appear,” which is dated March 9, the day after his detention, he was to be deported based on a rarely used provision of federal immigration law allowing the Secretary of State to remove individuals whose presence it believes “have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Following the outcry over his detention—which is broadly seen as an attack on First Amendment rights and on the rights of legal permanent residents—Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Trump administration planned to revoke green cards, not only visas, of so-called “Hamas supporters” “so they can be deported.” A DHS spokesperson added that Khalil had been detained with an administrative warrant for alleged “activities aligned to Hamas.”’ See also Judge halts deportation of Palestinian activist whose arrest was celebrated by Trump (Politico 3/10/25); Trump calls arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil ‘first of many to come’ (The Guardian 3/10/25)
Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio determination (WaPo 3/12/25)
“As the Trump administration moves to deport Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, the government has so far provided just one reason for doing so: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has determined Khalil’s presence in the United States could have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” See also Marco Rubio Personally Signed Off to Detain Mahmoud Khalil on ‘Foreign Policy Grounds,’ Sources Confirm (Zeteo 3/11/25)
If Trump Can Deport Mahmoud Khalil, Freedom of Speech Is Dead (Natasha Lennard//The Intercept 3/10/25)
“There is no going back from this point: President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to deport a man solely for his First Amendment-protected activity, without due process. By all existing legal standards, this is illegal and unconstitutional: a violation of First Amendment protections, and the Fifth Amendment-protected right to due process. If Khalil’s green card is revoked and he is deported, no one can have any confidence in legal and constitutional protections as a line of defense against arbitrary state violence and punishment. Khalil’s arrest marks an extraordinary fascist escalation.” See also Columbia Bent Over Backward to Appease Right-Wing, Pro-Israel Attacks — And Trump Still Cut Federal Funding (Natasha Lennard//The Intercept 3/8/25)
Mahmoud Khalil’s Detention Is A War on Terror Milestone (Spencer Ackerman//Forever Wars 3/10/25)
“On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration will revoke “visas and/or green cards” of what he called “Hamas supporters” to expedite their deportation. ICE’s bureaucratic parent, the preeminent post-9/11 creation called the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said that Khalil was in fact “arrested” for leading “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” “Activities aligned to… a designated terrorist organization” is a construction previously unheard of in the generation-long history of tortured official circumlocutions designed to obscure lawlessness in the guise of counterterrorism. When Israel’s genocide in Gaza began and accordingly provoked campus protests against it last fall, the Anti-Defamation League urged administrators to investigate protesters for the absurd claim of providing material support to terrorism. Thinking about this for 10 seconds unravels it: what material thing is a broke college student demanding their university divest from Israel supposed to be providing Hamas, whose funding Israel itself facilitated? But what DHS said Sunday night goes far, far further. Now the detainable/arrestable offense is anything “aligned” to the presumed prerogatives of a designated terrorist organization. In this case, that’s a series of protests on behalf of the position that Palestinians have the right to stay alive. And advocacy for Palestinians here is deliberately indistinguishable from “activities aligned to” Hamas.” See also Khalil Sues Columbia and Lawmakers to Keep Activists’ Names Secret (NYT 3/13/25); Trump to label violence against Tesla dealerships ‘domestic terrorism’ in show of support to Musk (New Arab 3/12/25)
‘Nobody can protect you,’ Columbia dean warns foreign students after Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest (The Forward 3/13/25)
“Amid the fallout at Columbia University over the Department of Homeland Security’s arrest of recent graduate Mahmoud Khalil, one comment stood out: “Nobody can protect you.” The remark came from Jelani Cobb, dean of Columbia’s prestigious journalism school, and was directed to a group of international students on visas who are a few months away from graduation. Cobb and Stuart Karle, a First Amendment lawyer and adjunct professor at Columbia, cautioned the graduate students against posting commentary about the Middle East on social media or reporting on Gaza, Ukraine or the protests against Khalil’s arrest, the first in what President Donald Trump has pledged will be many more detentions and possible deportations of non-citizens who participated in campus demonstrations against Israel even when they did not violate any laws.” See also Columbia suspends and expels pro-Palestinian students who occupied building (BBC 3/14/25); SCOOP: Emails Show Mahmoud Khalil Asked Columbia for Protection a Day Before He Was Detained (Zeteo 3/10/25); Columbia University expels, suspends and revokes degrees of 22 students (Middle East Eye 3/14/25)
Scoop: State Dept. to use AI to revoke visas of foreign students who appear “pro-Hamas” (Axios 3/6/25)
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios…The effort — which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts — marks a dramatic escalation in the U.S. government’s policing of foreign nationals’ conduct and speech. The reviews of social media accounts are particularly looking for evidence of alleged terrorist sympathies expressed after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, officials say.” See also Yale Suspends Scholar After A.I.-Powered News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link (NYT 3/12/25); At Harvard Talk, Former Israeli PM Joked He Would Give Exploding Pagers to Protesters (Harvard Crimson 3/10/25)
U.S. Arrests 2nd Person Tied to Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia (NYT 3/14/25)
“A second person who took part in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University has been arrested by U.S. immigration agents after overstaying a student visa, federal officials said on Friday, the latest turn in the crisis engulfing the Ivy League institution. The person, identified by the authorities as Leqaa Kordia, is Palestinian and from the West Bank. She was arrested in Newark on Thursday, officials said. Her student visa was terminated in January 2022, and she was arrested by the New York City police last April for her role in a campus demonstration, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement. The agency also released a video on Friday that it said showed a Columbia student, identified as Ranjani Srinivasan, preparing to enter Canada after her student visa was revoked.” See also Pro-Israel group says it has ‘deportation list’ and has sent ‘thousands’ of names to Trump officials (The Guardian 3/14/25)
Mahmoud Khalil’s abduction is a fascist move — and universities must respond (Dima Khalidi//+972 Magazine 3/11/25)
“As Trump implements ever-harsher crackdowns on Palestine advocates and on higher education as we know it in the United States, universities must see that capitulating to his threats will not release them from the administration’s crosshairs. (Columbia has learned that lesson 400 million times over.) Rather, they are surrendering a primary arena for critical inquiry, debate, and resistance to those whose primary agenda is to crush it. The question is: will they reverse course and fight for the rights and freedoms of the students and faculty who make them vibrant, diverse places to imagine and build a just and viable future? To do the latter, universities must make some fundamental shifts…As in past eras of domestic and global upheaval, students are the bellwether of undeniable political shifts. Universities should embrace their role as facilitators of those shifts rather than being the authors of their own ruin by serving as handmaidens of a Trumpian agenda. If they don’t, we will only have them to blame for their complicity in the political persecution of Mahmoud Khalil and the many others being targeted for their political dissent.” See also Mahmoud Khalil’s Abduction Is a Red Alert for Universities (Dima Khalidi//The Nation 3/11/25);
Among American Jews, a Schism Over ICE Arrest of Columbia Activist (NYT 3/11/25)
“A few hours after news broke on Sunday of the arrest of Mr. Khalil, who has not been accused of having contact with Hamas, the Anti-Defamation League, a century-old organization committed to fighting antisemitism, released a statement applauding the “swift and severe consequences for those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.” See also ‘Shalom’ becomes new ‘You’re fired’ as Trump takes drastic action at Columbia (The Forward 3/10/25); ‘Smokescreen Antisemitism’: How the Trump-fueled Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil Endangers Jews (Jamie Beran//Haaretz 3/12/25); I grew up under a terrifying authoritarian regime. Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest is right out of their playbook (Columbia Professor Marianne Hirsch//The Forward 3/12/25)
Florida mayor seeks to evict cinema for showing Oscar-winning No Other Land (The Guardian 3/13/25)
“The mayor of Miami Beach is attempting to evict an independent cinema from city-owned property after it screened No Other Land, the film about Palestinian displacement in the West Bank that just won the Oscar for best documentary.” See also Miami theater will fight mayor’s proposed eviction over “No Other Land” screening (Axios 3/13/25)
Christians Are Pressing Trump to Clear a Path for Israel to Annex the West Bank (NYT 3/8/25)
“Evangelical Christian leaders who delivered votes to President Trump are now pressing him to declare that Israel can claim ownership of the West Bank, based on a promise God made to the Jews in the Bible. They are seeking a way to pave a path toward annexation of territory that is widely viewed internationally as intended for a future Palestinian state…Prominent evangelical supporters of Mr. Trump are mounting a multipronged approach to pressure the president — making appearances in Israel, petitioning the White House, pushing their ideas at a key evangelical conference and building congressional backing.”
Illinois landlord found guilty in 2023 murder of six-year-old Palestinian boy (Guardian 2/28/25)
“A jury found an Illinois landlord guilty of murder and hate-crime charges on Friday for a brutal 2023 attack on a Palestinian American family that killed a six-year-old. Joseph Czuba, 73, was charged in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen, on 14 October 2023 in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64km) from Chicago. Authorities alleged that Czuba had targeted the family – who had been renting rooms in his house – because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on 7 October 2023.”
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
Killed, Unidentified, Handed to Israel: The Heartbreaking Case of One Anonymous Gazan Woman (Sheren Falah Saab//Haaretz 3/6/25)
“This is a short saga of the body of a Gazan woman that was brought to Israel two weeks ago, as part of the exchange of hostages, both living and deceased, for Palestinian prisoners. It was thought to be the body of Shiri Bibas, but forensic analysis conducted in Israel discovered that the woman’s body sent by Hamas was not Bibas – and there was no match with any other hostage…The saga of the unidentified woman reflects a dark, bottomless abyss. To die. To be buried. To be handed over as a corpse. But no one knows who she is, what her world was like, or her name…The body of the Gazan woman was returned to Gaza on Thursday. This happened quietly, far from TV screens and curious eyes, with no ceremony and with no audience to watch it being delivered. “Nobody was waiting there, except for two Red Crescent workers who received the body from the Red Cross. There were no relatives or other people there. The body was wrapped in a white bag, and was taken for burial – with no details given about where in Gaza the burial took place,” said a source in Gaza.”
The ADL and the Heritage Foundation are helping to silence dissent in America (Ahmed Moor//The Guardian 3/13/25)
“The tax code ensures that we subsidize special interest groups, such as the Israel lobby, even as it skirts the ordinary mechanisms of democratic policymaking and accountability. Today, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a rightwing Israel advocacy group, has taken the lead in seeking to undermine bedrock American freedoms in support of Israel. The Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther roadmap explicitly describes its goal of having “foreign [‘Hamas Support Network’] leaders and members deported from the US”…Khalil’s detention – a shocking assault by the Israel lobby on American freedom – is not the first time that constitutional rights in this country have been assailed by a president. Abraham Lincoln famously suspended habeas corpus during the civil war, this country’s first major constitutional crisis. But this may be the first time that a dramatic erosion in Americans’ constitutional liberties has been engineered by policymaking organizations that are subsidized by the public but are accountable to no one at all.”
Trump wants campuses to fight antisemitism. Here’s how they should actually do it (UCLA Professor David Myers//The Forward 3/13/25)
“…an effective initiative to combat hate on campus, with antisemitism as a focal point, must also acknowledge that anti-Palestinian discrimination is a key, but often-obscured, part of the equation. One is hard pressed to think of any formulations of support for Palestinian freedom that do not trigger an accusation of antisemitism — not to mention, under Trump, the risk of expulsion, arrest or deportation. It’s absolutely essential that any initiative to combat hate on campus, in today’s world, focus not only on antisemitism, but anti-Palestinian discrimination as well. In this regard, we must push back against Khalil’s detention and forcefully resist any efforts by the federal government — and our own institutions — to arrest or deport students because they engaged in unpopular political speech.” See also Trump’s Columbia attacks won’t stop antisemitism. So why are Jewish leaders applauding? (Rabbi Jill Jacobs//The Forward 3/10/25); The Trump administration is gutting colleges’ best tools to fight antisemitism (Lila Corwin Berman//MSNBC 3/9/25); Why Did Trump Just Tell Reporters that Chuck Schumer ‘Is Not Jewish Anymore,’ That He ‘Has Become a Palestinian’? (Ben Lorber//Religion Dispatches 3/12/25); Education Dept. layoffs cut half the staff investigating campus antisemitism (JI 3/13/25)
This Is the Greatest Threat to Free Speech Since the Red Scare (Michelle Goldberg//NYT 3/10/25)
“But the fact that it was easy to see this ideological crackdown coming shouldn’t obscure how serious Khalil’s detention is. If someone legally in the United States can be grabbed from his home for engaging in constitutionally protected political activity, we are in a drastically different country from the one we inhabited before Trump’s inauguration.”
Palestine and an Expanding BRICS: Swaying the Global Order (Ahmad Alqarout//Al Shabaka 3/11/25)
“BRICS, a bloc of emerging and fast-growing non-Western economies named after its core members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), has recently extended its reach to the MENA region in pursuit of a multipolar world. Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the bloc in 2023, while Saudi Arabia has maintained an active role as an invited nation. In August 2024, BRICS invited the State of Palestine to apply for membership—an unusual move considering Palestine is not an emerging economic powerhouse like existing members. This commentary examines the evolving ties between MENA countries and BRICS, focusing on the prospective Palestinian membership in the bloc and the group’s rationale for extending the invitation. It argues that BRICS membership can reconfigure the discussion around Palestinian sovereignty beyond the bounds of US alignment with Israeli policies. As the commentary details, BRICS membership could also greatly benefit the Palestinian economy by bolstering cooperation among members in areas driving economic development, including the energy and logistics sectors and artificial intelligence (AI).”
Settlers Took Over an East Jerusalem Home. They Didn’t Know Who They Were Messing With (Nir Hasson//Haaretz 3/6/25)
“Imagine that a right-wing group that aims to Judaize the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah takes over your grandfather’s house, pockets the tenants’ rent money and tries to evict them. But this time the group provoked Michael Ben-Yair, a former attorney general.”
Thanks to Its Regime, Israel Is Losing the Justification For its existence (Michael Sfard//Haaretz 2/18/25)
“Any flirtation with the concept of the state as an end in itself – as an entity with its own purpose rather than as a means – is a dangerous flirtation with fascism. It may seem innocent at first, but it ultimately leads to gulags where regime opponents are imprisoned…The Israeli regime of 2025 suppresses criticism. When my parents shared with me their experiences in communist Poland, where the regime canceled theater performances, censored books and imprisoned those who dared criticize it, I counted myself fortunate to have been born in a country where none of this occurred. Well, it’s happening now. It has always happened to Palestinians, on both sides of the so-called Green Line. Now, it’s happening to everyone and it’s happening big-time…Israel is a racist state, it supports ethnic cleansing, devours its critics, harbors contempt for its non-Jewish citizens and shows no compassion for its innocent civilians who have been taken hostage. It’s like a bank that robs its clients and then incites against them. What justification remains for its existence?”