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)