NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up August 15, 2024 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: August 16, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)
- New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz; 2. New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land; 3. Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction; 4. Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited; 5. Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem; 6. Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit; 7. Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement; 8. IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost; 9. Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary; 10. Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions; 11. Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption; 12. Bonus Reads
GAZA
Gaza cease-fire talks conclude in Qatar with ‘bridging proposal’ (Al Monitor 8/16/24)
“Two days of talks over a cease-fire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip wrapped in Doha Friday after negotiators presented Israel and Hamas with a so-called bridging proposal to resolve their remaining differences. A joint statement from the United States and mediators Qatar and Egypt described the new proposal as one that “builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal.” Leading the negotiations in the Qatari capital were CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Director David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Abbas Kamel, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service. Hamas refused to attend the talks.” See also U.S. puts new proposal on table to try to close Gaza deal gaps (Axios 8/16/24); U.S. proposes final Gaza cease-fire plan, seeking agreement by next week (WaPo 8/16/24); More than 40,000 killed in Israel’s war in Gaza, Health Ministry says (WaPo 8/15/24); New round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations begins without Hamas (Guardian 8/15/24)
Israel Was Less Flexible in Recent Gaza Cease-Fire Talks, Documents Show (NYT 8/13/24)
“For weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has denied that he is trying to block a cease-fire deal in Gaza by hardening Israel’s negotiating position. Mr. Netanyahu has consistently placed all blame for the deadlocked negotiations on Hamas, even as senior members of the Israeli security establishment accused him of slowing the process himself. But in private, Mr. Netanyahu has, in fact, added new conditions to Israel’s demands, additions that his own negotiators fear have created extra obstacles to a deal. According to unpublished documents reviewed by The New York Times that detail Israel’s negotiating positions, Israel relayed a list of new stipulations in late July to American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators that added less flexible conditions to a set of principles it had made in late May…the documents reviewed by The Times make clear that the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Netanyahu government has been extensive — and suggest that agreement may be elusive at the talks set to begin this week…While Hamas has also proved intransigent, Mr. Netanyahu’s Israeli critics partly blame the prime minister for the deadlock because his new conditions risk derailing the talks at a time when a deal appears within reach. Some have argued that he is prioritizing the stability of his coalition government above the freedom of the hostages…” See also Netanyahu’s office denies call with Trump about the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal (Axios 8/15/24)
Israeli strike on Gaza school kills more than 100 people (Al Jazeera 8/10/24)
“More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to officials in the enclave. Three Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school, located in the Daraj district, Gaza’s civil defence agency said of the attack on Saturday, which it described as a “horrific massacre”. Women, children and the elderly are reported to be among the dead and the toll was expected to rise.” See also Israel Strikes School Complex Turned Shelter in Gaza, Killing Dozens, Local Health Officials Say (NYT 8/10/24); Israel expands evacuation order in Gaza’s Khan Younis, more than 75,000 flee (Al Monitor 8/11/24)
Gaza rubble likely to conceal untold horrors to swell 40,000 death toll (Guardian 8/15/24)
“Ten months into Israel’s war on Gaza, the death toll has passed 40,000, according to health authorities there. Most of the dead are civilians and the total represents nearly 2% of Gaza’s prewar population, or one in every 50 residents. But even that figure does not tell the full story of Palestinian losses. “This number, 40,000, includes only bodies that were received and buried,” said Dr Marwan al-Hams, the director of field hospitals at the Palestinian ministry of health. “New procedures are being tested to include those who are missing or known to be under the rubble on the list of the dead, but they have not yet been approved.” About 10,000 airstrike victims were thought to remain entombed in collapsed buildings, Hams said, because there was little heavy equipment or fuel to dig through steel and concrete ruins looking for them.” See also The bloodiest face of its genocide: Israel has killed 2,100 Palestinian infants and toddlers in Gaza (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor 8/14/24); Israeli strike kills newborn twins as father collected birth certificates (Al Jazeera 8/13/24); The daily battles to survive the Gaza genocide (Yousef Aljamal//+972)
Israeli Army Uses Palestinian Civilians to Inspect Potentially Booby-trapped Tunnels in Gaza (Haaretz)
“Random Palestinians have been used by Israeli army units in the Gaza Strip for one purpose: to serve as human shields for soldiers during operations…In recent months, Israeli soldiers have used human shields in this way all over Gaza; even the chief of staff’s office knows…The incidents described to Haaretz occurred in different parts of Gaza, but they are all very similar…For its part, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said: “IDF instructions and orders prohibit the use of Gazan civilians caught in the field for military missions that pose a deliberate risk to their lives.”…One soldier said that when soldiers there expressed concerns, they were told that “the idea in general was that if the house was booby-trapped, or if there was an ambush or terrorists were in the area, they would kill [the Palestinian who was sent in] and not the soldiers.” See also Israeli forces in Gaza ‘use civilians as human shields’ against possible booby-traps (Guardian)
Hamas says one Israeli hostage killed and two more injured in Gaza (Guardian 8/12/24)
“The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas has said its militants shot and killed an Israeli hostage and wounded two others, both women, “in two separate incidents” in Gaza…Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement: “In two separate incidents, two [Hamas] soldiers assigned to guard enemy prisoners fired at a Zionist prisoner, killing him immediately, and also injured two female prisoners critically.”…Abu Obeida said Hamas had formed a committee to investigate the shootings.”
How an Israeli hostage rescue that left scores of Palestinians dead unfolded (WaPo)
“On the morning of June 8, Israeli commandos launched a raid that rescued four hostages who had been taken during Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 and held inside Gaza for eight months. Before the operation, Israel had freed only three hostages by force. The successful rescue prompted celebrations inside Israel, but for Palestinians, it was one of the deadliest days of the war. The Gaza Health Ministry said that 274 Palestinians were killed during the operation. The Israeli military said that there were fewer than 100 casualties. Neither entity differentiated between civilians and combatants. This Washington Post video investigation reconstructs the raid in which Israel sought to free hostages that Hamas had hidden in a crowded residential area. It shows how the Israeli military employed heavy airstrikes for nearly four hours, leaving women and children among the casualties. The Post identified at least 13 airstrikes across Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza, and at least 17 destroyed structures in the vicinity of the raid.”
REGION/GLOBAL
In warning to Israel, Hezbollah shows off massive underground tunnel network (Al Monitor 8/16/24)
“Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement released a video Friday showing a massive underground facility used by the group to store and launch missiles amid heightened fears of an all-out war between the Iran-backed group and Israel. The well-produced, four-and-a-half minute video, published on Hezbollah’s Military Media website, is titled “Our mountains are our storehouses.” It showcases a well-lit maze of large, complex tunnels where Hezbollah operatives in full military gear are seen moving around…Motorbikes and a convoy of large trucks that appear to be carrying missiles are seen driving around the tunnels. Large missile launchers are also seen emerging above ground ready for use. The voice of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is heard throughout the video. In his recorded message — an excerpt of one of his previous speeches — Nasrallah boasts about Hezbollah’s possession of “precision and non-precision missiles along with weapons capabilities so that if Israel imposes a war on Lebanon, Israel will face a destiny and reality it didn’t expect any day.” See also What to know about Hezbollah weapons as Israel awaits retaliatory strikes (WaPo); ‘We can’t handle a war’: poor and broken, Beirut’s residents dread the arrival of fresh conflict (Guardian 8/14/24)
Iran Expected to Delay Retaliation Over Killing of Hamas Leader, Officials Say (NYT 8/16/24)
“Iran is expected to delay planned reprisals against Israel for the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran to allow mediators time to make a high-stakes push for a cease-fire to end the war in Gaza, U.S., Iranian and Israeli officials said on Friday.”
Israel anticipates direct attack from Iran; U.S. deploys more vessels to region (WaPo 8/12/24)
“The United States has deployed more vessels to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, including a submarine and several destroyers, as concerns grow in the region about a potential Iranian attack on Israel…
The U.S. deployment was announced by the Defense Department after talks between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The pair discussed efforts to “deter aggression” by Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, according to a readout of the call.” See also U.S. Moves a Guided-Missile Submarine to the Middle East Amid Fears of Escalation (NYT); Israel expects UK, France to help hit Iran if Tehran attacks, [Israeli Foreign Minister] Katz tells counterparts (Times of Israel 8/16/24)
U.S. plans to sell $20 billion in weapons to Israel over several years (WaPo 8/13/24)
“The Biden administration has approved about $20 billion in new weapons sales to Israel over the next several years, amid fading hopes that a negotiating session scheduled for Thursday would lead to a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release. Notification of the pending sale was sent to Congress on Tuesday. It includes F-15 fighter jets, 120mm tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, AMRAAM antiaircraft missiles and high-explosive mortars. The tactical vehicles and about 50,000 mortar cartridges are expected to be delivered starting in 2026. The following year, more than 32,000 120mm tank-ammunition cartridges are estimated to arrive in Israel. Roughly 50 F-15 fighter jets, along with supplies to modify Israel’s own fighter jets, are expected to start arriving in 2029 — supplies that will cost about $18.82 billion.” See also In Gaza, Israel’s Military Has Reached the End of the Line, U.S. Officials Say (NYT 8/14/24); Biden Administration Sending 6,500 Munitions to Israel, Despite Ongoing Killing Of Civilians in Gaza (Prem Thakker//Zeteo 8/9/24)
Palestinian leader Abbas tells Turkish parliament he will go to Gaza (Al Jazeera 8/15/24)
“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to go to the besieged Gaza Strip, saying he will stand by the Palestinian people even if it costs him his life. Speaking to Turkey’s Grand National Assembly on Thursday as the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli war on Gaza surpassed 40,000, Abbas decried the “silence of the international community” in the face of atrocities committed by Israel…It was not clear when or how Abbas would head to Gaza.” See also Putin hosts Abbas as Russia looks for role in ending Gaza war (Al Monitor 8/13/24); The veteran Palestinian leader Abbas says he will visit Gaza and calls on Muslim leaders to join him (AP 8/15/24)
How Coca-Cola tried and failed to suppress a boycott over Gaza (WaPo 8/12/24)
“U.S. megabrands such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Starbucks and KFC all have experienced a decline in sales in regions that have had Gaza-related boycotts…The boycott against Coca-Cola derives from the decision of its franchisee the Central Bottling Company to operate out of the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory, said Omar Barghouti, co-founder of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a nonviolent activist movement opposed to Israel’s occupation…McDonald’s was targeted after its franchise in Israel sponsored a giveaway of thousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers. Starbucks came under fire after the coffee giant sued its own union, Starbucks Workers United, after the workers posted a message of solidarity with Palestinians under an account on X that uses the Starbucks logo…In response to the boycotts, the companies have all stressed that they take no side in the fraught conflict.”
Canada Revokes JNF’s Tax-exempt Status Amid Complaints About Its West Bank Activities (Haaretz)
“The Canadian government announced on Monday that it had revoked the tax-exempt status of two major Jewish organizations: Jewish National Fund Canada and the Ne’eman Foundation. While the government did not publicly provide a reason for the revocations, pro-Palestinian groups claim it is due to complaints they filed with the tax authorities, alleging that the nonprofits work to advance Jewish settlements in the West Bank…JNF Canada plans to appeal against the decision, accusing the government of acting on antisemitic motives. Earlier in June, Canada also imposed sanctions on Amana, a leading settlement organization, and Daniella Weiss, a prominent West Bank settler activist.” See also JNF Canada to mount legal challenge after it was ‘blindsided’ by revocation of its charitable status (eJewishPhil)
RIVER TO THE SEA
Palestinian killed as settlers torch homes and cars in West Bank village (Times of Israel 8/16/24)
“Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers, many of them masked, rampaged in the West Bank Palestinian village of Jit on Thursday night, setting fire to homes and vehicles. A Palestinian man was also reported killed amid the attack. The settlers hurled stones and Molotov cocktails, torching at least four homes and six vehicles in the village, located just west of Nablus. More than 100 assailants were involved, according to an Israeli security official. The Palestinian Authority health ministry said a 23-year-old Palestinian, named Rasheed Seda, was killed and another Palestinian civilian was critically wounded by the “settlers’ bullets.”’ See also Report: Initial probe of settler rampage reveals soldiers stood by and didn’t act (Times of Israel 8/16/24); Palestinian killed in attacks by Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank (Al Jazeera 8/16/24);
Israel’s Netanyahu shakes off credit downgrade as deficit grows (Al Monitor 8/13/24)
“The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopted a defensive posture Tuesday after US credit agency Fitch downgraded the country’s credit rating amid heightened tensions in the region, including the war in Gaza and a potential confrontation with Iran. Netanyahu’s statement came after Fitch cut Israel’s credit rating late Monday to A from A+, citing the conflict in Gaza, “which could last well into 2025.” The ratings agency added that there are risks the conflict could broaden to other fronts as fear of a war with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon looms.” See also Hundreds of Israelis Gather at Prayer Rally by Gaza Border, Demanding Re-settlement of Strip (Haaretz)
Israel is redrawing the West Bank, cutting into a prospective Palestinian state (WaPo)
“During more than 19 months in power, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government has dramatically expanded Israel’s footprint in the occupied West Bank — accelerating a long-term campaign by the country’s settler movement to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state. The government has approved strategic land seizures — almost 6,000 acres this year alone — and major settlement construction, escalated demolition of Palestinian property and increased state support for illegally built settler outposts. Together, they mark the most significant territorial changes in the West Bank in decades. While the Biden administration insists that any diplomatic solution to the war in Gaza include a path to an independent Palestinian state, radical Jewish settlers and their far-right political backers, who have ascended to the highest levels of Israel’s government, are redrawing the map in real time — making the two-state solution envisaged in past peace accords effectively impossible. In interviews across six Palestinian communities, residents described paralyzing constraints on daily life as settlements creep closer, limiting their ability to move freely and to access the farmlands that long sustained them. Settler violence has erased some villages.” See also The wild West Bank: The lawless settlers terrorising Palestinian farmers (Al Jazeera); ‘The demolitions are equal to death’: the Palestinian families whose West Bank homes have been bulldozed (Guardian)
Israel approves new illegal settlement on UNESCO site near Bethlehem (Al Jazeera)
“The new 60-hectare (148-acre) settlement, which received preliminary approval along with four others in June, lies between Gush Etzion and Bethlehem. The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said it will flank houses in the Palestinian village of Battir, a World Heritage Site known for its stepped agricultural terraces, vineyards and olive groves. The group denounced the plan, calling it a “wholesale attack” on an area “renowned for its ancient terraces and sophisticated irrigation systems, evidence of thousands of years of human activity”. Israel’s actions posed “an imminent threat to an area considered to be of the highest cultural value to humanity”, the organisation said in a statement.”
The taps have run dry in Jerusalem’s largest Palestinian neighborhood (Noa Pinto//+972)
“In the searing heat of summer, Jerusalem’s largest Palestinian neighborhood is facing a major water crisis. Since June, residents of Kufr ‘Aqab have been receiving just 2 to 12 hours of water per week…Located within Jerusalem’s northeastern municipal boundary but severed from the rest of the city by the separation wall, Kufr ‘Aqab’s residents have grown accustomed to the systematic neglect they face from the Israeli authorities…Despite the fact that the majority of the neighborhood is officially part of Jerusalem, Kufr ‘Aqab doesn’t receive water from the municipal water supplier, Hagihon. Instead, like Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank, water is provided by the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) — an arm of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) — which purchases it from the Israeli national water company, Mekorot. This is symptomatic of Israel’s system of water apartheid in the occupied territories: Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are denied control of the aquifers under their feet, and must instead buy the water back in limited quantities from Israel. While Israelis have access to an average of 300 liters of water per day, Palestinians in the West Bank enjoy only 80 liters — 20 liters less than the World Health Organization’s recommended daily quantity.” See also Ben-Gvir During Inflammatory Temple Mount Visit: Our Goal Is to Permit Jewish Prayer (Haaretz)
In Jenin and Tulkarem, Israel’s war on Palestinian armed resistance is failing (Fatima AbdulKarim//+972)
“Nearly 20 years after the Second Intifada ended, the Israeli military has fully resumed its use of air power in the West Bank, particularly in the northern part of the occupied territory. Since October 7, it has launched more than 46 drone attacks and airstrikes in the area — the latter of which killed 77 Palestinians, including 14 children, by the end of June. This has created a situation that, to many Palestinians, resembles a “mini-Gaza” — a condition in which Israel is repressing the people from the skies, but also an example of a counterinsurgency campaign that is doomed to fail. Jenin has been a particular target of this campaign. Despite scores of military incursions, a dozen airstrikes, and extensive operations since October 7, Israel has been unable to quell Palestinian armed resistance in the city and its refugee camp — primarily led by the Jenin Brigade, an umbrella group made up of various factional militias…At the same time, the continuous violence and destruction has created a humanitarian crisis. The camp suffers from frequent power blackouts, shortages of essential supplies, and breakdown of public infrastructure. And with each army incursion deepening the resentment among the local population, Israel is not only failing to weaken the militant groups, but serving to drive recruitment for armed resistance.”
Gallant: ‘Absolute victory’ slogan ‘gibberish’; Netanyahu slams his ‘anti-Israel narrative’ (Times of Israel 8/12/24)
“Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday reportedly called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promises of “absolute victory” in the ongoing war “gibberish” and questioning the premier’s courage to make tough decisions to achieve that aim. Gallant’s comments were leaked to Hebrew media from a closed-door briefing of members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Netanyahu later clapped back at Gallant’s comments, declaring that the defense minister was bound by the promise of “absolute victory,” and charging that his remarks were “anti-Israel” and obstructed talks for a hostage deal.”
U.S. SCENE
New Poll Suggests Gaza Ceasefire and Arms Embargo Would Help Dems with Swing State Voters (Prem Thakker//Zeteo)
“A significant share of Democrats and independent voters in pivotal swing states Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona are more likely to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee (presumptively Kamala Harris) if said nominee pledges support for an arms embargo to Israel, and if President Joe Biden secures a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The findings come in new polling commissioned by the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding Policy Project and conducted by polling firm YouGov…Overall, Democrats and independents in all three states examined in the exhibited YouGov/IMEU poll have strong support for a permanent ceasefire and disapproval of unconditional aid to Israel. At least 80% of respondents in each state supported a ceasefire, while more than 60% disapproved of unconditional military aid to Israel. Roughly a quarter of respondents in all states said the violence in Gaza — and candidates’ positions on it — is important to them and will likely sway how they vote.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters vow massive showing at Democratic convention (WaPo)
“Organizers say tens of thousands will show up, creating scenes of fury and dissent at a moment when Democrats will be working to project unity. Democratic leaders hoped that Vice President Kamala Harris’s ascent to the top of the ticket would shrink the protests, since she was not the architect of President Joe Biden’s Gaza policies and has been more vocal in challenging Israel and voicing empathy for Palestinians. But to many activists, Harris has not done nearly enough…Little Palestine is about 15 miles from the United Center, where the Democratic convention will be held. Many of its residents immigrated to the United States after Israel’s founding in 1948, and another wave came in the 1960s and 1970s. Overall, the Chicagoland area has the highest number of Palestinian Americans in the United States.” See also Pro-Palestine activists who heckled Kamala Harris in Detroit call for nationwide disruptions (Middle East Eye); Harris campaign taps Israeli-born former peace negotiator Ilan Goldenberg as liaison to Jewish community (JTA)
U.S. will fund Israeli unit accused of gross human rights abuses (WaPo)
“An Israeli security unit found by the United States to have committed gross violations of human rights will continue to receive U.S. funding because its actions have been “effectively remediated,” the Biden administration said Friday. The announcement concludes a months-long investigation that coincided with an intense lobbying campaign by the Israeli government to oppose funding restrictions for the Netzah Yehuda battalion, an ultra-Orthodox unit accused of wrongdoing in the death in 2022 of an elderly Palestinian American man. The finding amounts to a victory for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a stinging defeat for human rights experts inside the State Department and Pentagon who built a case over years that certain Israeli units should be barred from U.S. assistance under legislation known as the Leahy Laws.”
Ilhan Omar’s Very Big, Very Important Win (John Nichols//The Nation)
“Isn’t it a major political development that Omar—who, because of her close 2022 primary, came into the 2024 election as potentially one of the most vulnerable of the pro-ceasefire incumbents—proved to be unbeatable? Shouldn’t it be noted that Omar articulated her position so ably—expressing horror at the October 7 Hamas attack that targeted Israeli kibbutzim and a music festival, while at the same time condemning the targeting of Palestinian civilians and infrastructure in Gaza by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—that she drew endorsements from Muslims, Christians, and Jews for her reelection bid? Isn’t it consequential that Omar did such a good job of organizing her supporters, and winning the endorsement of the DFL, that AIPAC recognized that she couldn’t be defeated? And that she ultimately won her primary by more than 16,000 votes? Isn’t it newsworthy that Omar was not alone in victory? That the four original members of “the Squad”—New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib, Massachusetts’s Ayanna Pressley, and Omar—all have, as ardent ceasefire backers, either won primaries or positioned themselves to be renominated without serious opposition? Isn’t it equally newsworthy that the vast majority of pro-ceasefire House members who have sought reelection this year—from Greg Casar in Texas to Delia Ramirez in Chicago to Summer Lee in Pennsylvania to Mark Pocan in Wisconsin—have been renominated with wide support?” See also Ilhan Omar defeats challenger in Minnesota House primary (WaPo)
U.S. restarts offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia after lengthy ban (WaPo)
“The Biden administration is lifting its years-long suspension of offensive arms shipments to Saudi Arabia, authorizing an initial shipment of air-to-ground munitions and saying it would consider additional new transfers “on a typical case-by-case basis,” according to senior administration officials.”
More Than 100 Journalists Come Together With Their Fellow Journalists in Palestine and Against US Complicity in Their Killing (The Nation 8/16/24)
“By arming Israel, the State Department bears responsibility for its killing of journalists. That is why we, as leaders of organizations dedicated to defending press freedom and free expression, have organized a coalition of journalists and journalism advocates to coauthor a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on the United States to impose an arms embargo on Israel immediately. More than 100 journalists, including four Pulitzer Prize winners, along with 18 news outlets and seven press freedom organizations, most of them American, have come together to take a stand in solidarity with their fellow journalists in Palestine and against US complicity in their intentional killing.” See also The Rotten Partnership Between the US Media and the Israeli Military; An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered. (Murtaza Hussain//Drop Site)
LAWFARE
Columbia’s President, Whose Response to Protests Ignited Encampments Nationwide, Resigns Suddenly (Chronicle of Higher Education)
“Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, whose embattled presidency of Columbia University came to encapsulate a period of historic tumult in American higher education, resigned suddenly on Wednesday…Shafik was one of several Ivy League presidents who were grilled last academic year by congressional lawmakers about colleges’ handling of antisemitism following Hamas’s attack on Israel and the ensuing war. In a notorious hearing that preceded Shafik’s by several months, Claudine Gay, of Harvard University, and Liz Magill, of the University of Pennsylvania, appeared wooden and bureaucratic in responding to the lawmakers’ questions. Both lost their jobs. Facing similar questions in April, Shafik took a different tack, pledging to act with more force against hateful rhetoric. The next day, on April 18, she ordered the New York Police Department to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment that had cropped up on the Manhattan campus, resulting in over 100 arrests. On April 30, she called in New York police again to forcibly evacuate an academic building that had been occupied by protesters — resulting in jarring images of officers in riot gear storming the campus…The immediate reason for Shafik’s departure was unclear…Whatever the reason, the political significance of Shafik’s departure was already being felt Wednesday night. Elise Stefanik, the Republican congresswoman who publicly pushed for the resignations of Gay, Magill, and Shafik, declared on X: “THREE DOWN, so many to go.”’ See also I reported from the Columbia Gaza encampment. Then I was investigated (Lara Nour-Walton//New Arab); Columbia President Resigns After Months of Turmoil (NYT 8/14/24); A Year Ago, Women Were the Majority Among Ivy League Presidents. Now Most of Them Have Quit. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Judge orders UCLA to ensure equal campus access to Jewish students after pro-Palestinian protests (LA Times)
“A federal judge on Tuesday admonished UCLA for its handling of pro-Palestinian encampments and ordered the university to ensure equal access to Jewish students, three of whom alleged in a lawsuit that the university enabled protesters to block Jews from parts of campus because of their faith. In issuing his preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi sided with the students, whose June suit said the university helped to enforce a “Jew Exclusion Zone” on campus during pro-Palestinian protests when UCLA erected bike rack barriers around an encampment. Also, the suit alleged that UCLA hired security guards who allowed protesters to cross into the encampment, but not Jewish students…The case centers on a pro-Palestinian encampment on Royce Quad that went up April 25. It was one of the largest and most controversial of those built on college campuses across the U.S. to demand that universities divest from financial ties to Israel. When a mob attacked the camp on April 30, law enforcement response was delayed by hours. Police broke apart the encampment on May 1 and arrested more than 200 people. UCLA had opposed the lawsuit, saying its actions related to the encampment were about ensuring safety and deescalating tensions, not discriminating against Jews…On the question of whether the encampment discriminated against Jews, there has also been significant debate. Pro-Palestinian students and faculty activists at UCLA, including a Faculty for Justice in Palestine group that filed an amicus brief, have drawn a distinction. They say protests were anti-Zionist but not anti-Jewish and that many protesters were Jewish.”
Microsoft Encourages Employee Donations to Illegal West Bank Settlements, While Barring UNRWA (Murtaza Hussain//Drop Site)
“Microsoft includes a number organizations based in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including at least one that fundraises to support the Israeli military, in its employee charitable giving platform. Yet the company has delisted the UN agency providing relief in Gaza, according to Microsoft employees petitioning the company internally to change its policy. The listing of the charities on the expansive platform means Microsoft will automatically match contributions.”
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
As a former IDF soldier and historian of genocide, I was deeply disturbed by my recent visit to Israel (Omer Bartov//Guardian)
“This is the logic of endless violence, a logic that allows one to destroy entire populations and to feel totally justified in doing so. It is a logic of victimhood – we must kill them before they kill us, as they did before – and nothing empowers violence more than a righteous sense of victimhood. Look at what happened to us in 1918, German soldiers said in 1942, recalling the propagandistic “stab-in-the-back” myth, which attributed Germany’s catastrophic defeat in the first world war to Jewish and communist treason. Look at what happened to us in the Holocaust, when we trusted that others would come to our rescue, IDF troops say in 2024, thereby giving themselves licence for indiscriminate destruction based on a false analogy between Hamas and the Nazis.”
Why should US troops pay the price for Biden’s failure to rein in Netanyahu? (Harrison Mann//Guardian)
“As the close calls and injuries mounted, we came to a stunning realisation: there was no real plan to protect US troops beyond leaving them in their small, isolated bases while local militants, emboldened and agitated by US support for Israel’s brutal war in Gaza, used them for target practice…It is clear there is no real plan underpinning the Biden administration’s decision to accelerate deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East. It’s simply more of the reflexive and unconditional support for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu that has only encouraged reckless escalation towards a wider war. Netanyahu would not have killed senior Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Beirut and Tehran last week – leading to the wounding of US troops in a reprisal attack – if he wasn’t confident that the US navy would be dispatched immediately after to protect him from the consequences of his actions. Ten months into this war, it’s time to think harder about why we’re putting troops in harm’s way….As Iran and Hezbollah prepare to retaliate, the Biden administration cannot articulate an escalation management strategy beyond leaking stern words and hoping that nobody gets another lucky shot in. The endless rolls of the dice all but guarantee that sooner or later a Hezbollah rocket will fall short on an Israeli school, or any other number of casus belli will occur that allow Netanyahu to launch a new war in his desperate attempt to cling to power.”
Without our libraries and universities, how will we tell the story of Gaza? (Mezna Qato//New Statesman)
“Since Operation Swords of Iron was launched in October 2023, nearly every library, archive, and cultural centre or institution in Gaza has been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli bombardment, firebombing and looting…We’ve been here before. The Nakba in 1948 was a loss of life and land, and the materials of social worlds crafted by communities over generations. Then, as now, the losses remain difficult to quantify and a challenge to trace. Much of these looted collections are in the Israeli state holdings, such as the Israeli State Archive and the National Library, as well as in the collections of Israeli universities, and in the hands of private collectors and former soldiers. The catalogues are kept under tight control. To tell a history of Palestine now often requires seeking access through Israeli state gatekeepers. So how will be tell the stories and histories of Gaza? New archives – digital and diffuse – are already being formed by the Palestinians of Gaza themselves. They are the first archivists of both the atrocities of the last ten months but of Gaza’s histories and worlds too…The only way to lose Gaza is to stop listening to the Palestinians of Gaza.”
State Secrets and Crimes—Rape at Israel’s Sde Teiman Prison (Lisa Hajjar, Basil Farraj//MERIP)
“Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is an evolving story, but one never free of dehumanization and discrimination. Endemic torture and abuse of prisoners is only one dimension of the violent and degrading practices present in all spheres of Israeli control that affect Palestinians. Israel’s carceral project has been designed and developed to eliminate Palestinians’ national-collective existence, to re-engineer the population through fragmentation and repression and to deter people from engaging in resistance or even aspiring to liberation. Indeed, as Walid Daqqa—a long-serving prisoner who died in Israeli custody in April—explained, there are the “small prisons,” where at least 800,000 Palestinians have been incarcerated over the decades, and the “large prison” of Palestinian society which, despite geographic and political fragmentation, remains unified by experiences of occupation and apartheid.” See also Released Palestinians describe worsening abuses in Israeli prisons (AP 8/12/24)
The Man Using Sports to Fight Israeli War Crimes (Dave Zirin & Jules Boykoff//The Nation)
“Jibril Rajoub, the 71-year-old head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, has been fighting the Israeli Occupation for almost 60 years…”Sport today is a global language,” he told us. “I have spent 17 years in Israeli jails, which was worse than the Bastille. But in spite of that, I don’t want to cause suffering to anyone, no matter who he is and where he is coming from. I do believe that using sport, using athletes as an asset in our resistance and in our struggle, is very effective. And even here in France, the way that we were received, and all over the world, is encouraging me and motivating me to continue this path. A peaceful, nonviolent tool: sport.”’
Democrats Need to Stop Trashing Palestinian Voters if They Want to Win (Layla Saliba//The Nation)
“I voted for Joe Biden in 2020. Last October, he authorized the weapons transfers necessary to bomb my family members, some of the last Palestinian Christians in Gaza, and then cast doubt on the death toll that same week. But Palestinian Americans like me are discovering something this year: the Democratic Party will bomb your homeland, kill your family, use your own money to do it, and still expect your vote. More than that, Democrats will curse you and shame you if you push back.” See also I Left Biden’s Campaign Over Gaza. Here’s How Harris Can Earn My Trust Again. (Amed Khan//The Nation)
Kamala Harris Is Speaking. Is She Listening? (M. Gessen//NYT)
“These voters are not choosing between Harris and Trump. They are choosing between their sense of themselves as moral beings if they vote for Harris and their sense of themselves if they vote for a third-party candidate or for no one at all…If they vote for Harris in November, what will that say to the people of Gaza — that they’d held their noses while people died? What will they tell their children — that politics is the game of the possible, and sometimes it’s just not possible to stop a genocide? What will they tell themselves to be able to sleep at night? For these voters, the psychic price of voting for Harris — of voting at all — is extremely high. It is possible that they could be convinced to pay this price, because, of course, they know, just as I do, that a Harris Middle East policy would be infinitely preferable to a Trump one. But they have to be convinced, not dismissed.”
Threatened by a moderate Iranian president, Israel is pulling him into a fight (Lior Sternfeld//+972)
“Unlike the picture that Israel and its allies paint, Iran is a rational actor. It is a country with domestic and international interests, and it employs many tools to achieve them: internal repression, ties with militias and non-state actors throughout the region, and various aid and support enterprises. When one strategy fails, Iran shifts to another. Iran can survive and enjoy profitable cooperation with Russia and China. But its preferred way of rehabilitating its regional and international standing is through reestablishing relations with the West. Whenever it has had to choose between developing relations with Russia and China or an agreement with the United States and the West, Iran chose the latter. Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran was intended to urge Iran to respond, and perhaps escalate hostilities, thus finally bringing about the full-blown regional war that Israel craves…Days after the assassination, multiple officials from Pezeshkian’s administration affirmed that the current president’s priorities remain focused on domestic issues, especially Iran’s economy. Iran’s Foreign Minister even went on record to say that the Islamic Republic would withhold its response if Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza — a message reiterated by Iran’s UN delegation in recent days. The Iranian government thus remains reluctant to go to war, in part because it recognizes its domestic risks: war would likely strengthen the ultra-conservative opposition to Pezeshkian, and justify further escalation of oppressive measures at home and abroad.”