In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Ali Awad, writer & activist from Tuba in Masafer Yatta, and Cassandra Dixon, a carpenter from Wisconsin. On March 7th, Cassandra was present on Ali’s grandfather’s land in Tuba when Israeli settlers attacked. One of them hit Cassandra with a stick and fractured her skull, giving her a concussion. In this podcast, Ali and Cassandra discuss the attack and its aftermath, including appeals to the Israeli authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable, and put this attack into the context of an overall escalation of state-backed settler violence in Masafer Yatta.

The Congressional Briefing Series is an educational program conducted annually by the Middle East Institute’s Palestinian Affairs Program and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) to brief members of Congress on the most pressing issues facing Israel and Palestine today. The 2023 series – recorded in February and March 2023 – features Palestinian and Israeli voices as well as expert analysis on topics of extremism, human rights, and Palestinian internal politics, among others. Sessions are co-moderated by MEI’s Khaled Elgindy and FMEP’s Lara Friedman.

Part 1 – Beyond Oslo, Featuring: Omar Dajani, Dr. Maha Nassar, & Dr. Shibley Telhami; Part 2: Extremism in Israel, Featuring: Amjad Iraqi (+972 Magazine), Natasha Roth-Rowland (+972 Magazine), and Shaul Magid (Dartmouth); Part 3: Human Rights & Accountability, Featuring: Francesca Albanese (UN Special Rapporteur), Rabea Eghbaria (Harvard Law School), Shawan Jabarin (Al-Haq); Part 4: Free Speech, Lawfare, & the Right to Protest, Featuring: Suhad Babaa (Just Vision), Yousef Munayyer (Arab Center Washington DC), &  Dylan Saba (Palestine Legal); Part 5: Internal Palestinian Politics, Featuring: Dr. Dana El Kurd (University of Richmond), Salem Barahmeh, and Khaled Hroub (Northwest University – Qatar); Part 6:  The Role of Congress – Help or Hindrance?, Featuring: Hassan El-Tayyab (FCNL), Rebecca Abou Chedid (Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP), and Josh Ruebner (IMEU)

1.Bills, Resolutions & Letters

2. Hearings
3. Media & Reports
4. Members on the Record (Palestine/Palestinians)
5. Members on the Record (Israel)
6. Members on the Record (Iran)
7. Members on the Record (other Mideast countries)

1. E-1 Final Hearing Postponed Until June 12
2. Disengagement Repeal Law Passes First Reading
3. Israel Delivers Demolition Order on Salem Family Home in Sheikh Jarrah, As International Community Calls on Israel to Stop Displacement
4. Bonus Reads

“Israel’s escalation in the West Bank has further undercut Abbas and the PA’s already precarious domestic standing. Indeed, according to a new poll, for the first time ever a majority of Palestinians now support the dissolution of the PA. The belief that the PA no longer serves the interests of the Palestinian people is directly related to its growing perception as Israel’s “security sub-contractor.” Following the Jan. 26 Israeli army raid on Jenin refugee camp that killed 10 people, therefore, Abbas had little choice but to publicly suspend security coordination with Israel, which while central to the PA’s own survival is intensely unpopular among Palestinians and widely seen as a form of collaboration with the occupation; even so, Abbas was quick to reassure U.S. officials that the PA would continue to thwart attacks on Israelis. Meanwhile, as Israeli violence and the Palestinian death toll continue to mount, the popularity of armed groups like the Lions’ Den and Jenin Brigades has surged, even as the PA’s own popularity continues to plummet. An increasingly insecure Abbas has responded to these challenges in the only ways he knows how — by seeking refuge from outside powers while cracking down on the growing dissent at home, neither of which is likely to offer much relief.” See also Amid Violence, Israeli and Palestinian Officials Meet to Promote Calm (NYT);US-Israeli citizen injured in West Bank as parties meet in Egypt to de-escalate (Al Monitor); The new Palestinian resistance groups in the occupied West Bank (Al Jazeera); New generation of Palestinians fighting Israeli raids | Close Up (Al Jazeera); 

“Facing increasing attacks from vigilante settlers, Palestinian families here say they have no one to protect them. In a conflict with the struggle over land at its heart, some are wrestling with agonizing decisions over whether to leave their homes, to areas farther away from settlements. “If the judge is your enemy, what’s he going to do for you?” said Ayman, the cousin of the man killed that night [of the pogrom]. An Israeli military vehicle was present when Sameh was shot, according to videos shown to The Washington Post by eyewitnesses. Ayman had expected Israeli police to arrive the next morning to take the security camera footage from his village. No one came. Over the next two weeks, Ayman and his relatives went to a police station and military office to push for a probe, but were turned away each time, they said.” See also I Witnessed a Shocking Attack on Palestinian Civilians. What I Saw May Be a Sign of What’s to Come (Rula Salameh//Time); Armed settlers break into Palestinian family home under cover of darkness (Yuval Abraham//+972); Israeli Far-right MK’s Spokesperson Shares Video on ‘Why We Need to Wipe Out Hawara’ (Haaretz)

“National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir signed an order on Monday prohibiting an East Jerusalem company from providing communications services for the Voice of Palestine TV station – an official channel of the Palestinian Authority which broadcasts from Ramallah – thus shutting the station’s operations in Israel. Following Ben-Gvir’s order, Jerusalem District Police personnel arrived at the offices of the Marcel company in the Beit Hanina neighborhood and summoned five Palestinian journalists who work for the station for investigation.” See also Israel shuts Palestine radio offices in East Jerusalem (MEMO); Editorial | Israel’s Insidious War on Palestinian Journalists (Haaretz)

“But in fact, the passage of the amendment reflects the rise of the monster against its creator. Israel is not just a state that builds settlements, but a settlement enterprise, a colonial project with a Knesset and a state. The current coup on Israel’s system of government is proceeding at lightning speed before our eyes, featuring the same methods that have enabled the settling process: planning in secret, lying without blinking, economic trickery, distorting facts, twisting laws, violating international law, tolerance by the police, military, prosecutors and courts towards settler violence and violation of the handful of rulings of the High Court of Justice concerning a tiny part of Palestinian lands that were stolen. And at the top of the list? A lack of consideration for the views and needs of the majority by excluding the Palestinians from every consideration. This is the pure racism we’ve grown used to, in the guise of fair statistical calculations…The problem is that the reservists who are announcing that they’ll refuse to serve and the high-tech workers who are protesting have for years upheld the policy of land theft, based on a distortion of law and justice. The great majority of academics, lawyers, educators, economists and journalists have not come out en masse against the dystopian regime that Israel has established beyond the Green Line, nor do they connect it with the impending coup against which they are protesting now. Moreover, senior opposition leaders in the Knesset have continued to support laws against Palestinians even as they vociferously oppose the current government.” See also In legal repeal, Israel to permit settlers’ return to north West Bank outposts (Al Monitor); Knesset votes to allow Israelis to resettle evacuated outposts (Al Jazeera); Israel Votes to Scrap Law Barring Settlers at Four Evacuated West Bank Sites (NYT)

“In 1999, images of Palestinian lives being upended generated enough pressure to enable families to return home. Now, they live in fear of the next expulsion.” See also Walking to School from Tuba to Tuwani (Photo essay by Emily Glick)

“With its activists now sitting in Israel’s government, the once-fringe movement has gained unprecedented influence over the fate of Jerusalem’s holiest site. The next weeks could herald even more danger.”

“The Biden administration summoned on Tuesday Israel’s ambassador Michael Herzog to express its displeasure over a law that would allow illegal settlement outposts in key areas of the occupied West Bank that were evacuated in 2005. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman conveyed to Herzog the administration’s concern regarding the newly adopted legislation. The State Department offered no other details on the conversation, but the Israeli press stressed that such a meeting is highly unusual between the two countries, reflecting a degradation of relations between the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government.” See also Netanyahu After U.S. Rebuke: Law Allowing Return to Evacuated Settlements ‘Ends Jewish Humiliation,’ but Israel Won’t Build There (Haaretz); Deputy Secretary Sherman’s Meeting with Israeli Ambassador to the United States Herzog (US State Department); US says it is ‘extremely troubled’ by new Israeli settlements law (Al Jazeera); After strong US rebuke, PM says no plan for ‘new’ settlements in northern West Bank (Times of Israel);

“President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Sunday that democratic values — including “genuine checks and balances” — had to remain a pillar of the U.S.-Israel relationship, a veiled warning to Netanyahu about his incendiary plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system. During the phone call between the two leaders, Biden expressed “concern” about Netanyahu’s plan in a “candid and constructive conversation” that lasted about 45 minutes, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a diplomatically sensitive conversation.” See also Biden expresses concern over Israel’s judicial overhaul in call with Bibi (Axios); Scoop: Biden tells Bibi he’s never seen such anxiety over Israel’s political situation (Axios)

“Tuesday marked a new nadir in relations between the Biden administration and Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government after a late-night Knesset vote to repeal Israel’s 2005 Disengagement Law. The State Department responded with unvarnished criticism, the likes of which we had not yet seen under the Biden administration. The language used in the rebuke was remarkable enough, going past the usual bromides and making abundantly clear how utterly displeased the U.S. was with Netanyahu’s coalition. The fact that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman then summoned Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog to the State Department only drove the point further home. It should not be lost how rare such a move is, nor how much the Biden administration was hoping to avoid reaching this point. The U.S. approach to Israel-Palestine over the past two years has been defined by desire for containment.” See also Former U.S. Ambassador Slams Netanyahu for ‘Reneging on Commitments’ (Haaretz);  Key Senator Wants Biden to Get Tough on Netanyahu, Floats Conditioning Israel Aid (Haaretz)

“A new kind of Israeli protest movement has arisen in response to a government plan to weaken the country’s judiciary. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis marching, rallying, and blocking highways, business leaders have threatened to pull their money out of the country if the overhaul occurs…The companies that are moving funds out of Israel could face blowback not only from the Israeli right, which is pushing the judicial plan, but also from officials enforcing US laws designed to quash support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which targets Israel over its human rights abuses against Palestinians…experts on anti-BDS laws say the statutes could eventually ensnare companies that pull out of Israel over the planned judicial overhaul, potentially preventing those firms from receiving certain investments or landing state contracts in the US. “They’re limiting economic relations with Israel, which is how the laws define a boycott,” said Brian Hauss, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of anti-BDS laws in Arkansas, Kansas, and Arizona. “It’s hard to understand how refusing to do business in Israel because you object to the evisceration of its judiciary is different from a legal point of view than refusing to do business in Israel because you object to its treatment of Palestinians.””

“It took only two months for Israelis to shatter one of their biggest political taboos in the fight against the far-right government. Riled by the coalition’s relentless power trip, Jewish opposition parties have pledged not to participate in the Knesset’s final votes on legislation aimed at overhauling the judiciary. Israeli diplomats and envoys are quitting their posts in protest. Army reservists are objecting to service en masse, affecting every unit from combat troops to the air force. Tech companies and venture capital firms are relocating abroad and transferring out hundreds of millions of dollars. Artists, writers, and intellectuals are calling on world leaders to shun meetings with senior Israeli officials, including the prime minister. None of these groups will admit it, but this is, by all accounts, one of the most impressive BDS campaigns ever witnessed…The cognitive dissonance of this moment is not lost on Palestinians…It is perfectly reasonable, it seems, to shun Israeli officials, cut off financial ties, and disrupt public spaces when mainstream Jews call for it. But when Palestinians living under Israeli oppression demand the same, their calls are to be scrutinized, rejected, even punished. It is also telling that BDS tactics are currently being legitimized in the name of helping Jewish Israelis protect a status quo ante in which racial supremacy and military occupation were the norm, albeit wrapped in more democratic clothing; using BDS in the name of equality, freedom, and justice for Palestinians, though, is an existential threat.”

“There’s no such thing as Palestinians because there’s no such thing as a Palestinian people,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared on Sunday at a memorial service for a late Likud activist in Paris…Speaking at a podium adorned with a map based on the crest of the Zionist Irgun militia, which shows Israel straddling the West Bank and Jordan, Smotrich said that the French and US governments needed to hear “this truth” about the Palestinians. “Do you know who are the Palestinians?” the head of the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party said. “I’m Palestinian.” Smotrich referred to his grandmother, who was born in the northern Israeli town of Metula over a century ago, and his late grandfather, who was a 13th-generation Jerusalemite.” See also Far-right Minister Smotrich: There’s No Such Thing as the Palestinians, White House Must Hear the Truth (Haaretz); Israeli minister condemned for claiming ‘no such thing’ as a Palestinian people (Guardian); Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Summoned After Top Minister Showcases Map of ‘Greater Israel’ (Haaretz); Jordan condemns far-right Israeli minister over “Greater Israel” map (Axios); Amman’s parliament displays Israel with Palestine-Jordan flag, calls to expel envoy (Times of Israel); France condemns extremist Israeli minister Smotrich over ‘no Palestinians exist’ comments (New Arab); Israel: Officials fear Smotrich’s statements ‘could harm ties with Jordan and Egypt’ (Middle East Eye)

“Smotrich was not the first top Israeli official to deny the existence of the Palestinian people. He was clearly echoing Golda Meir’s notorious dictum: “There was no such thing as Palestinians,” and the more recent remarks by Likud MP Anat Berko…In recent years, denying the national existence of Palestinians has become a popular bigoted trope among pro-Israel politicians in the West as well. Conservative U.S. politicians have repeatedly denied the existence of Palestinians for political gain. For Mike Huckabee: “There’s really no such thing as the Palestinians.” For former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: “There was no Palestine as a state, I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people.” Once again, Palestinians find themselves scrambling to defend their very existence as a people. Fortunately, the historical record is unambiguous, and it speaks for itself: Palestinians have been known as Palestinians since the 19th century…So why do racist propagandists like Smotrich constantly feel the urge to deny the existence of the Palestinians? Because the very notion of a Palestinian people is a constant reminder that the Zionist enterprise was founded on the erasure of the national identity of Palestinians. But history teaches us that the Palestinian people existed long before the creation of the State of Israel, and indeed, even before the modern Zionist movement.”

“Israel allegedly struck an airport in Syria for the second time this year early Wednesday morning. The attack comes as Israel steps up its military planning against Iran.” See also Palestinian militant group: commander assassinated in Syria (Washington Post)

“The UK government has agreed to oppose the use of “apartheid” to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as part of a new “strategic partnership” between the two countries. In an agreement signed in London on Tuesday, the UK government also pledged to confront “anti-Israel bias” in international institutions, including at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council…The agreement, titled “The 2030 Roadmap for UK-Israeli Bilateral Relations”, is primarily aimed at deepening “economic, security and technology ties” between the two countries and cooperating to tackle “the scourge of antisemitism” and geopolitical issues facing the region, including Iranian influence.” See also UK and Israel sign deal strengthening tech, trade and security ties (Guardian)

“The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC has been in possession of evidence relating to the unlawful transfer of Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank to prisons in Israel since 15 March 2015. These children are, similarly, protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. According to data published by the Israeli Prison Service, it is estimated that since June 1967, over 22,000 children and 625,000 adults have been unlawfully transferred – or up to 700 children each year.[ii] It should be noted that Israel’s Supreme Court has blocked any prospect of a domestic remedy in circumstances where there is no dispute of fact…Further, evidence collected by MCW indicates that many children who are transferred, are systematically subjected to solitary confinement as part of the interrogation process, in some cases potentially amounting to torture. This currently affects up to 420 children each year…If the Office of the Prosecutor is unable or unwilling to apply the law without fear or favour, the independence and legitimacy of the Court will be irreparably harmed.”

“Dire warnings against the judicial overhaul continued Tuesday from the business community, with a forum of bank chiefs and other industry leaders telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the legislative process will “turn Israel into a dictatorship.” The signatories on the letter to the premier from the Israel Business Forum included the heads of some of the country’s most successful businesses, as well as the top executives of five banks.” See also Top Israeli Minister Warns He Will Quit if No Compromise Reached on Judicial Coup, Likud Vote to Approve ‘Softer’ Version of Bill (Haaretz);IDF top brass said to warn reservist no-shows could impact readiness within a month (Times of Israel); Over 100 Israeli Air Force Reservists to Stop Reporting for Duty as Protest Movement Grows (Haaretz); Alarmed by their country’s political direction, more Israelis are seeking to move abroad (JTA); Asaf Zamir, Israel’s top diplomat in NY, summoned to Jerusalem after implicitly criticizing judicial overhaul (NY Jewish Week); Analysis | A Month From Today, We May Not Know Who Gives Orders to Israel’s Military (Haaretz); IDF fears more pilots will refuse to serve over judicial overhaul — report (Times of Israel)

“To any Palestinian, the upheaval within Israel and among Western commentators over threats to Israel’s democracy by its new governing coalition is surreal. Palestinians know that Israel has only ever been a democracy for its Jewish citizens, and never for us. What we are witnessing today is an internal Israeli Jewish struggle over who will administer an apartheid regime over the Palestinians, not a genuine fight for democracy for all…Israel and its supporters in the West have labored to construct the myth of a Jewish democracy. But “Jewish and democratic state” is a contradiction in terms, just as “Christian democracy” is in describing the United States. You simply cannot call a state “democratic” that legalizes privileges for Jews and denies equality and right to self-determination for the other half of the population under its control…Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews are destined to live together in the same land. Our shared future will become more just, secure, and peaceful when Palestinian rights and lives are valued as much as Jewish ones. Ending occupation is a start, but full democratization will end only when the structures of Jewish supremacy in Israel are also thoroughly dismantled. We are worthy to be counted as human beings entitled to full equality and democratic rights, not as colonized subjects.”

“For years, Kohelet quietly churned out position papers, trying to nudge government policy in a more libertarian direction. Then, starting in January, it became more widely known as one of the principal architects of the judicial overhaul proposal that has plunged Israel into a crisis over the future of its democracy. If the plan succeeds, it would be a stunning victory not only for the think tank, but also for the people behind it: two guys from Queens. The first is Moshe Koppel, a 66-year-old mathematics Ph.D. who grew up in New York City and moved to Israel in 1980. He founded Kohelet in 2012 and has been drafting laws and producing conservative and libertarian policy papers with a roster of full- and part-time scholars that now numbers 160…one source of money is a second New Yorker: Arthur Dantchik, a 65-year-old multibillionaire who has donated millions to Kohelet…Mr. Dantchik’s connection to Kohelet was first published in an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, based on reporting by the Democratic Bloc, a nonprofit in Israel that largely monitors right-wing groups…A financial disclosure report filed in Israel by the think tank in April of that year showed that more than 90 percent of its $7.2 million in income came from the Central Fund of Israel, a family-run nonprofit that gave $55 million to more than 500 Israel-related causes in 2021, according to its website.”

“While de facto annexation has been creeping for decades, the Netanyahu government’s transfer of responsibility for managing most aspects of civilian life in the occupied West Bank to an Israeli politician is a leap to extending Israeli sovereignty, de jure, into the West Bank…The extent of Smotrich’s massive new powers is not fully public, since the annex that details them (“Appendix B” to the Smotrich-Gallant agreement) has not been released. Here’s what we know from the agreement itself…Smotrich will have authority over virtually all aspects of civilian life in Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank. He will exercise this in his capacity as an additional minister in the Department of Defense…In addition, a new Settlement Administration will be established under his authority. Among its functions will be leading and implementing “equal citizenship” reform – which will speed the process through which Israeli laws are “pipelined” to apply to Israeli settlers, while military law continues to apply to their Palestinian neighbors…Reports specify additional broad powers allocated to Smotrich. These include: authority over the planning and construction bureaucracy that authorizes construction for settlements; land purchases, surveys, and registration of land as state land in Area C; declaration and development of nature reserves (which are often used as tools to expropriate Palestinian land); and enforcement against unauthorized construction in Area C…”