Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: February 19, 2019

What We’re Reading

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

This Is What the Beginning of a Real Israel Debate Looks Like,

More than any other policy matter, BDS has highlighted both the power that pro-Israel lobbies continue to exert over American politics and their panic at losing it.

A Democratic Civil War Will Hurt Both Palestinians and Israelis,

The Democrats need an open discussion about Israel and Palestine. If it’s going to be a debate and not a civil war, it should be empathetic and critical toward both sides. It should be aimed at best defining the pragmatic progressive policy aimed at a just resolution of the conflict—a more active, less hesitant policy than previous Democratic administrations have taken.

How To Speak About The Israel Lobby In A Non-Anti-Semitic Way,

Here are a few tips for avoiding anti-Semitic language while discussing the “Israel Lobby.”

Israeli politics

Likud's mainstreaming of West Bank annexation,

Annexing West Bank territory to Israel was once considered a far-fetched and even crazy idea in the Likud, but the idea is now being publicly advocated by party members.

Occupation/Human rights

Palestinian family evicted from Jerusalem home to make room for settlers,

The Abu Assab family home, located in Jerusalem’s Old City, is expected to be occupied by right-wing Jewish Israeli settlers. Nearly 200 Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are under threat of eviction by settler organizations.

Jordan Expands Managing Body of Temple Mount to Stop Israel From Changing Status Quo,

Among the new members appointed to the council are top PLO and PA officials including Adnan al-Husayni and Khatem Abdel Kader; Sheikh Ekrima Sabri; Mohammed Hussein, mufti of Jerusalem; and the president of Al-Quds University, Dr. Imad Abu Kishek.

The Palestinian activists protecting Hebron from settler violence,

After Israel boots the only internationally mandated human rights observer group in Hebron, Palestinian volunteers step up to monitor settler attacks amid a sense of heightened hostility.

What We're Watching

FMEP Resources