1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region/Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism/Repression 

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

FMEP Legislative Round-Up January 10, 2025 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

Settlement & Annexation Report: January 10, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)

Six Consecutive Weeks of Settlement Advancements; 2. Israel Expands Jurisdiction of Adam Settlement to “Legalize” Nearby Outpost, Formalize Violent Dispossession of Palestinians; 3. Israel Renews Plan for Yeshiva in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem; 4. Smotrich Increases Subsidy Program for Illegal Farming Outposts; 5. Court Tells IDF To Publish More Land Allocations in Advance; 6. Rapid Outpost Growth Caps 2024; 7. Bonus Reads

Phoenix of Gaza: a 360° view of Palestinian agency and life (Occupied Thoughts podcast)

FMEP Fellow Nour Joudah speaks with Cal State University-San Bernadino Professor Ahlam Muhtaseb. Dr. Muhtaseb is co-founder of the Phoenix of Gaza XR, an interactive virtual reality experience that captures the untold stories of Gaza’s people and its transformation and provides a deep dive into the lives of those who endure and rebuild. The project itself started well before the current genocide, but as a result has taken on a new form and meaning. Professors Joudah and Muhtaseb discuss the Phoenix of Gaza XR as a project and how audiences are responding to it, as well as the relationship between technology and social justice and the challenges and changes they’ve seen over many years of teaching on Palestine in the U.S.

Why Some Israelis Refuse to Serve in the IDF (Occupied Thoughts podcast)

FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Atalya Ben Abba and Mattan Helman of the Israeli Refuser Solidarity Network. They discuss what makes a person refuse to serve in the Israeli military, how the Israeli military treats refusers, and the surprising solidarity inside military prisons.

GAZA

Gaza war death toll could be 40% higher, says study (Reuters 1/10/25)

“An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Israel-Hamas war likely undercounted the number of casualties by around 40% in the first nine months of the war as the Gaza Strip’s healthcare infrastructure unravelled, according to a study published on Thursday. The peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal was conducted by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University and other institutions. Using a statistical method called capture-recapture analysis, the researchers sought to assess the death toll from Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza between October 2023 and the end of June 2024. They estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period, about 41% higher than the official Palestinian Health Ministry count. The study said 59.1% were women, children and people over the age of 65. It did not provide an estimate of Palestinian combatants among the dead.” See also Traumatic injury mortality in the Gaza Strip from Oct 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024: a capture–recapture analysis (The Lancet 1/9/25); Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza amid stepped up ceasefire push (Reuters 1/8/25); Israel launches strikes on Gaza at turn of year (WaPo 1/1/25); Five Journalists Killed in Gaza Strike, Palestinian Officials Say (NYT 12/26/24); About 30 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza as truce talks set to resume (Guardian 1/3/25); Israeli strikes kill 17 people in Gaza, nearly all of them women or kids (AP 1/7/25); More than 40 dead in strikes on Gaza City, civil defense says (WaPo 1/2/25)

Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians (NYT 12/26/24)

“An investigation by The New York Times found that Israel severely weakened its system of safeguards meant to protect civilians; adopted flawed methods to find targets and assess the risk of civilian casualties; routinely failed to conduct post-strike reviews of civilian harm or punish officers for wrongdoing; and ignored warnings from within its own ranks and from senior U.S. military officials about these failings. The Times reviewed dozens of military records and interviewed more than 100 soldiers and officials, including more than 25 people who helped vet, approve or strike targets. Collectively, their accounts provide an unparalleled understanding of how Israel mounted one of the deadliest air wars of this century. Most of the soldiers and officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were barred from speaking publicly on a subject of such sensitivity. The Times verified the military orders with officers familiar with their content. In its investigation, The Times found that: Israel vastly expanded the set of military targets it sought to hit in pre-emptive airstrikes, while simultaneously increasing the number of civilians that officers could endanger in each attack. That led Israel to fire nearly 30,000 munitions into Gaza in the war’s first seven weeks, more than in the next eight months combined. In addition, the military leadership removed a limit on the cumulative number of civilians that its strikes could endanger each day. On a few occasions, senior commanders approved strikes on Hamas leaders that they knew would each endanger more than 100 noncombatants — crossing an extraordinary threshold for a contemporary Western military. The military struck at a pace that made it harder to confirm it was hitting legitimate targets. It burned through much of a prewar database of vetted targets within days and adopted an unproven system for finding new targets that used artificial intelligence at a vast scale.” See also How Israel Weakened Civilian Protections When Bombing Hamas Fighters (NYT 12/26/24);

Reports of optimism about Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal (Guardian 1/6/25)

“Israel and Hamas appear to be edging closer towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal that could bring the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip to an end amid reports of optimism among decision makers. The latest round of negotiations intended to broker a lasting truce in the 15-month-old conflict resumed in Qatar on Sunday. Hamas said on Monday that it had given mediators a list of 34 Israeli captives seized during the group’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war, who could be freed as part of the “first phase of a prisoner exchange deal”…Despite the latest talks, Israel has stepped up airstrikes on the Palestinian territory that killed at least 100 people over the weekend, local health officials said…The same list of 34 hostages was first put forward in July 2024, according to the office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli and western intelligence services estimate that at least one-third of the remaining 95 or so Israeli captives in Gaza have been killed.” See also Trump envoy says president-elect is ‘driving’ Gaza hostage talks (WaPo 1/7/25); Exclusive: UAE discusses post-war Gaza government with US and Israel (Reuters 1/7/25)

Fate of U.N. Palestinian refugee agency in limbo as Israel readies ban (WaPo 1/7/25)

“The U.N. agency that provides aid and services to millions of Palestinians across the Middle East may soon be forced to end its operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as Israel prepares to enact twin laws banning the organization’s work in Israeli territory and prohibiting contact between its staff and government officials. The legislation, passed with near-unanimity by Israel’s Knesset in October, is set to go into effect later this month. It could compel the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to dismantle what is essentially a quasi-state in the Palestinian territories, built over generations to serve a growing population of refugees and their descendants. Israel has already taken significant steps to handicap UNRWA’s operations in Gaza, where it alleged last year that 19 of the agency’s 13,000 workers participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. An internal U.N. investigation found in August that nine of the accused “may have been involved” and that Israel provided insufficient or no evidence for the other cases. Still, Israel has restricted aid deliveries and damaged or destroyed hundreds of the agency’s buildings in strikes the military says targeted Hamas. Now, there are fears that the agency could be crippled by a similar crackdown in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where together it provides employment, education, health care and sanitation services to more than 900,000 registered refugees. Entire communities have relied on UNRWA for generations, and Palestinian officials say that even if they could fill the gaps left by the agency, doing so could strip the refugees of their legal status, which includes the right to return to their homes in what is now Israel.” See also UNRWA said preparing to shutter Gaza, West Bank offices after Israel votes to limit its operations (Times of Israel 1/3/25); Finance Minister Smotrich Says Gaza Aid Will Be Reduced to Minimum Required by Int’l Law After Trump Sworn In (Haaretz 1/9/25); Israeli Lawmakers Call on Military to Destroy Food, Water and Power Sources in Gaza (Haaretz 1/3/25); ‘Flatten’ Gaza, Halt Aid: The Israeli Division Commander Overseeing Gaza’s Brutal Netzarim Corridor (Haaretz 1/1/25)

Social order in Gaza will collapse if Israel ends cooperation with UN aid agency, official says (Guardian 1/5/25)

“Social order in Gaza is likely to collapse further if Israel goes ahead with its threat this month to end all cooperation with the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, Louise Wateridge, its senior emergency officer, has warned…“If we’re no longer able to communicate to the Israeli authorities, we no longer have a deconfliction process in place, so none of our buildings will be de-conflicted or protected any more, and we simply won’t be able to be there,” she said. She said the levels of lawlessness already occurring in the Kerem Shalom crossing had so far not spread across Gaza due to the societal ties Palestinians have with each other and their relationship with Unrwa…Northern Gaza remains off-limits to the agency, she said. In its latest update, Unrwa said that between 6 October and 30 December 2024, the UN attempted to reach besieged areas in the north 164 times; of these, 148 attempts were denied by the Israeli authorities and 16 were impeded. Wateridge said many Palestinians displaced from the north arrived without any male members of the family, with the women saying they had either been arrested or shot.” See also Three Gaza hospitals face imminent closure as latest Israeli raids kill 50 (Al Jazeera 1/9/25)

Monitoring the status of hostages still in Gaza after Hamas’s attack (WaPo 1/9/25)

“A total of 251 people were taken in the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. We’re tracking what happened to each of them. 61 remain hostage in Gaza…They have been in captivity for 460 days…117 have been freed or rescued…73 have been confirmed killed.” See also IDF confirms death of hostage Hamza Ziyadne, day after father Youssef laid to rest (TOI 1/10/25)

Israel faces mounting pressure over detention of Gaza hospital chief (NBC 1/4/25)

“Israel faced mounting pressure Saturday over its detention of a Gaza hospital chief during a raid on one of the last functioning medical facilities in the battered north of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has confirmed in recent days it is holding Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and defended its assault that shut down Kamal Adwan Hospital, saying that the prominent pediatrician was suspected of “involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank” in Hamas, which it said had made the site a stronghold along with another militant group. But rights groups and United Nations officials have questioned those claims, which Israel made without providing evidence, urging the U.S. ally to release Abu Safiya or at least disclose his whereabouts as fears grow for his safety. Concerns for the hospital director’s well-being come as Israel faces growing scrutiny over a military offensive that the U.N. Human Rights Office said this week had pushed Gaza’s health care system to “the brink of total collapse.” Israeli airstrikes killed at least 170 people, including several children, in Gaza over the past week and hit an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone, local officials said, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the enclave as it grapples with the effects of a winter under siege.” See also ‘We’re Still Breathing, and We Don’t Want to Die’: Testimonies From the Inferno in Northern Gaza (Haaretz 1/2/25); Israel storms northern Gaza’s last hospital as remaining residents forced south (Ahmed Ahmed// +972 Magazine 12/27/25); Israeli Army Arrests 240 in Raid of One of North Gaza’s Last Hospitals, Including Its Director (Haaretz 12/29/24);

‘Every moment I fear losing another child’: Newborns freeze to death in Gaza tents (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972 Mag 1/9/25)

“As Israel continues its campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, 2.3 million Palestinians concentrated in the center and southern parts of the Strip are desperately trying to survive the harsh winter in makeshift shelters and tents. In December and January, average low temperatures in Gaza can drop to as low as 9 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit), accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains. In these conditions, Palestinian parents are in a constant state of anxiety about losing their children to winter illnesses and hypothermia.” See also Gaza didn’t get enough winter shelters. Now babies are dying in the cold. (WaPo 1/6/24); What It’s Truly Like to Sleep in a Damp, Frigid Tent: A Report From Gaza (Drop Site 1/1/25); The Children Who Left Gaza (NYT 12/27/25)

Gazans Disappear in Israeli Military Custody. The Army Claims It Doesn’t Know Where They Are (Hagar Shezaf//Haaretz 12/31/24)

“Since the outbreak of the war, the fate of many Gazans who were last seen in the custody of Israeli military (IDF) remains unknown. The army claims it has “no information” about them being detained or arrested. However, the last time they were seen, they were being detained or arrested by Israeli troops…Since the start of the war, many Gazans detained by the military were brought to detention facilities in Israel, while others have been held within Gaza…For many months, the state refused to provide any information on the detainees to their families and also denied Red Cross representatives to visit the detention facilities in Israel.”

We Can’t Afford to Ignore This Threat to the People of Gaza (Abdullah Shihipar//The Nation 1/9/25)

“Gaza is no longer recognizable. Since Israel’s genocide began last year, more than 60% of its buildings have been destroyed or damaged – leading to more than 42 million tons of rubble. Satellite images taken before and after October 2023 show the impressions of buildings and homes in one image and a landscape awash in brown dust in the other. The sheer amount of dust is the most defining feature of these pictures – they are notably more sepia tone in color. What was once part of a free-standing structure became pulverized, aerosolized, and inhaled before settling on the ground. The genocide has caused countless threats to the health of people in Gaza. But this dust—the particles emanating from the rubble that now blankets every part of the region—is a threat we don’t talk about that much. We should start talking about it more because it will imperil public health in Gaza for many years to come.”

 

REGION/GLOBAL

Israel Blocks UN Probe Into Hamas Sexual Crimes From October 7 to Avoid Inquiry Into Abuse of Palestinians (Haaretz 1/8/25)

“Israel is blocking the United Nations from investigating sexual crimes committed by Hamas during its October 7 attack, fearing it would require granting access to probe allegations of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli detention. A thorough investigation could have led to Hamas being added to the UN’s blacklist of entities suspected of sexual violence in conflicts. Pramila Patten, the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, has requested permission to investigate Hamas’ alleged crimes. However, she stipulated that her team must also be allowed to access Israeli detention facilities to examine claims of sexual violence by Israeli soldiers. Israel has refused the request.” See also Ireland Joins South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel (NYT 1/7/25)

Israel’s covert Syria operation signals planning for potential Iran strike (Al Monitor 1/3/25)

“Israel’s military command on Thursday revealed details of a clandestine operation carried out in Syria four months ago to destroy an Iranian-built missile production facility…The Israeli military censors division decided to share details of the raid, which was reported in foreign media in mid-September, comes as Israel is working to convince the incoming Trump administration about the need to strike Iran sometime this year. The increasing talk in Israel about a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities comes as Tehran recalibrates its own strategy on the eve of Donald Trump’s presidency. The regime in Tehran is limping after Israel’s severe blows to Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon, and after an Oct. 26 aerial raid that damaged Iran’s aerial defenses and the collapse of the Syrian regime that had provided it a foothold in the region. Many researchers concur that Tehran is deciding whether to start rehabilitating its proxies, air defense systems and missile production capabilities or to charge ahead toward production of a nuclear bomb.” See also Israel launches air raids on power station, ports in Yemen (Al Jazeera 1/10/25); 20 Israeli jets attack two ports and a power plant used by Houthis in Yemen (TOI 1/10/25); Joseph Aoun elected president of Lebanon, ending two-year void (Al Monitor 1/9/25); Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief turned president? (Middle East Eye 1/9/25)

Some Israeli soldiers traveling abroad are facing war crimes inquiries over their Gaza service (JTA 1/6/24)

“Israeli soldiers who have posted on social media about their service in Gaza are increasingly facing scrutiny abroad — sometimes prompting their swift evacuation from countries where they are vacationing…Israeli officials have identified more than a dozen instances where soldiers traveling abroad have faced war crimes complaints, they disclosed in a Knesset meeting on Monday, according to Israeli media reports. No soldier has yet faced any formal charges abroad…An organization formed in Belgium during the war, the Hind Rajab Foundation, has taken the lead on identifying and applying legal pressure against Israeli soldiers who have posted potential evidence of war crimes on social media…In one widely publicized instance, a soldier traveling in Sri Lanka fled abruptly on Israeli officials’ advice last month. The soldier had posted a video of what he said was a dead civilian as fellow soldiers jokingly called him “The Terminator,” according to the Hind Rajab Foundation. Israeli authorities also reportedly advised a reserve officer to leave Cyprus in November. He had reportedly posted from Gaza, “We’re here in Rafah — we won’t stop until we burn all of Gaza.”’ See also IDF restricts media coverage of soldiers to protect them from risk of legal action (Guardian 1/8/25)

Bild published pro-Netanyahu disinformation. Where is the outcry? (Hanno Hauenstein//+972 Magazine 1/7/25)

“The so-called “Bibileaks” scandal has caused a firestorm in Israel in recent months. After it emerged that classified material was leaked from the Israeli military to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then manipulated and passed to foreign media outlets — in an apparent attempt to influence the Israeli public’s perception of the ceasefire negotiations, while bypassing the military censor — the spokesperson and a military reservist were arrested in November and face charges that could carry significant prison sentences. In the UK, meanwhile, there has been a major public outcry against the Jewish Chronicle after it was revealed — in part through reporting by +972 Magazine — that the newspaper had published entirely false material via this pipeline, causing several of its leading writers to quit in protest. Yet in Germany, where the country’s biggest newspaper, Bild, similarly published misinformation fed to it by the Netanyahu aide, there has been very little inquest at all.”

U.S., European Countries Join Effort to Release Israeli Held by Iranian-backed Militia in Iraq (Haaretz 1/10/25)

“Israel is ramping up diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, who has been held captive in Iraq for almost two years. Israel’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, Gal Hirsch, met on Wednesday with Tsurkov’s family in Israel, along with Hirsch’s counterparts from Austria, Britain, Canada, Germany and the United States. Communications on the matter are taking place under the media’s radar.” See also these FMEP podcasts with Elizabeth Tsurkov: Israeli & Palestinian Response(s) to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, March 2022; The Extremist Through-Line in Israel’s Domestic & Regional Policies, January 2021; Israeli & Palestinian Expert Perspectives, September 2020;

RIVER TO THE SEA

‘To Be or Not to Be’: Jenin Operation Could Seal the Palestinian Authority’s Fate (Jack Khoury//Haaretz 1/7/25)

“Palestinian Authority security forces have been operating in the Jenin refugee camp for nearly a month as tensions amid a rise in armed conflict with Palestinian militias in the West Bank. As of Sunday, 11 people have been killed, six of them police and five of them civilians, including a journalist and a father and son killed over the past weekend. Witnesses say that among the civilians killed, only one was a militant, and that the rest were bystanders. The operation has also left many wounded…The Jenin Brigades assert that the PA is cracking down on them to show Israel that it is in control of the areas it governs in the West Bank. A source close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas say the operation is also related to discussions of its role in the Gaza Strip after the war. “If [Abbas] and the [Palestinian] Authority are unable to enforce order in a city like Jenin, how can you expect [them] to enforce order in the Gaza Strip and around the West Bank?” the source said…Opponents of the Jenin operation claim that the PA is losing the last of its legitimacy and that internal Palestinian squabbling will lead to nothing but its collapse. But with the backing of the business community, the PA may be able to leverage its operation in Jenin into securing control of the West Bank and as a segue to regaining control of the Gaza Strip.” See also The power struggle taking place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (NPR 1/8/25); ‘This is basically a civil war’: West Bank in fear as Palestinian Authority battles militant groups (Guardian 1/6/25); What’s behind Palestinian Authority closure of Al Jazeera TV, websites (Al Monitor 1/6/25)

Strikes, raids in West Bank follow Hamas killing of three Israeli settlers (WaPo 1/8/25)

“Three Palestinians were killed, including two children, in an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said, as arrests, raids and strikes continued across the occupied territory in the wake of an attack that killed three Israelis on Monday. Late Wednesday, the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, claimed responsibility for the Monday attack in a statement on Telegram.” See also Israeli leaders threaten ‘war’ in the West Bank after terror attack (JTA 1/7/25); West Bank Settlers Hope Trump Will Back Annexation Dreams (NYT 1/6/25); Israel Wants to Turn the West Bank Into Rubble, Just Like Gaza (Haaretz Editorial 1/8/25); Israeli Troops Arrested and Abused a Palestinian Human Rights Activist. The Pretext? A Video Found on Her Phone (Haaretz 1/10/25)

Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian property across West Bank: What we know (Al Monitor 1/7/25)

“Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian property throughout the West Bank on Monday night, Palestinian media and an Israeli rights group said, as the security situation in the occupied territory worsens.” See also Settlers said to rampage through Palestinian villages after deadly terror shooting (Times of Israel 1/7/25); Settlers riot in West Bank village for 3rd time in days after terror shooting (TOI 1/10/25)

Israel to locally produce heavy bombs, reducing reliance on US after shipment holdup (Times of Israel 1/7/25)

“Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir said the deals were “laying the foundations for expanding manufacturing independence in two critical areas for the IDF’s operational sustainability: domestic production of heavy air munitions and establishing a national raw materials plant.” “Both agreements will ensure sovereign capability in producing bombs and munitions of all types,” he said in remarks provided by the ministry…The Defense Ministry said in August that the US has sent over 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since the war began.” See also Israel signs deals to produce its own heavy bombs (WaPo 1/7/25)

Israel’s Exploitation of Palestinian Labor: A Strategy of Erasure (Ihab Maharmeh//Al Shabaka 1/5/25)

“Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, Palestinian laborers working in the Israeli market have become a top target for Israel’s Civil and Economic Affairs Cabinet and the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Among a series of decisions taken by the Israeli government following October 7, 2023, was the cancellation of work permits for more than 140,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank and Gaza. Additionally, thousands of these workers were illegally detained and transferred to detention centers. At the same time, the Israeli government began formal discussions with various Asian governments to recruit thousands of foreign workers to replace the Palestinian labor force. This policy brief situates the Israeli government’s current actions against Palestinian workers within the broader historical context of the Zionist settler-colonial project’s relationship with Palestinian labor. It reveals a recurring pattern in which Israel summons, exploits, expels, or replaces the Palestinian workforce based on its needs. This calculated approach, as the brief argues, is designed to systematically dismantle Palestinian political, economic, and social structures, ultimately advancing the goal of Palestinian erasure.”

With Gaza war and Trump’s return, Silicon Valley embraces a military renaissance (Sophia Goodfriend//+972 Magazine 12/31/25)

“At Israel’s first DefenseTech Summit, corporate leaders and army officials openly touted their partnership in AI-driven warfare and surveillance.”

U.S. SCENE

Scoop: Biden notifies Congress of $8 billion arms sale to Israel (Axios 1/3/25)

“The State Department has notified Congress “informally” of an $8 billion proposed arms deal with Israel that will include munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, two sources with direct knowledge tell Axios…This will likely be the last weapons sale to Israel the Biden administration approves. It comes amid claims from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters in recent months that Biden had imposed a silent “arms embargo” on Israel. Some Democrats pushed the administration to condition arms sales to Israel based on Israel’s handling of the war effort and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but Biden declined to do so. This is a long-term agreement, according to the sources. Some production and delivery of the munitions can be fulfilled through current U.S. stocks, but the majority will take one or more years to deliver.” See also Biden’s Last Multi-billion Arms Sale to Israel Leaves an Explosive Legacy (Ben Samuels//Haaretz 1/6/24); The Interview: Antony Blinken Insists He and Biden Made the Right Calls (NYT 1/4/25)

US House votes to sanction International Criminal Court over Israel (Reuters 1/10/25)

“The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel’s campaign in Gaza. The vote was 243 to 140 in favor of the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court…The Senate’s newly appointed Republican majority leader, John Thune, has promised swift consideration of the sanctions act in his chamber so that Trump can sign it into law shortly after taking office.” See also Poland says it will not arrest Netanyahu for ICC should he attend Auschwitz memorial (Times of Israel 1/9/25)

The 119th Congress, Brought to You by Record Spending From the Israel Lobby (Jezebel 1/8/25)

“Earlier this week, Congress said goodbye to two key progressive voices: former Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York. Both members lost their highly competitive primary races last summer, after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliated super PACs poured about $20 million into the campaigns of their opponents, Wesley Bell and George Latimer, respectively. Bush and Bowman were specifically targeted by AIPAC because they were two of the first voices to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. But it wasn’t just Bell and Latimer. AIPAC poured record-shattering amounts of money into campaigns for the 119th Congress. According to a new report in Sludge, AIPAC contributed at least $45.2 million members of Congress who won in 2024. During the 2022 cycle, AIPAC gave a total of $13 million in campaign contributions to members of the 118th Congress, per Open Secrets. “No single organization has ever contributed as much money to congressional candidates’ campaigns as AIPAC did during the 2023-24 election cycle,” Sludge’s report states. Of the 535 members, 349 House members and senators—or 65% of Congress—received funding from AIPAC.”

Jimmy Carter’s Post-Presidential Human Rights Legacy (Human Rights Watch 1/8/25)

“The late US President Jimmy Carter’s human rights legacy includes his role long after leaving office in 1981. His partnership with Human Rights Watch and many other nongovernmental organizations helped achieve important advances in international law, including treaties to hold war criminals to account, to prohibit landmines and cluster munitions, and to ban the use of children as soldiers…Carter and the Carter Center, which he and his late wife, Rosalynn, founded in 1982, also supported the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. During the 1998 UN diplomatic conference held in Rome, the Carter Center worked together with civil society from around the globe to build support for the treaty that – once it entered into force –established the International Criminal Court (ICC). After the UN conference, Carter reached out personally to dozens of world leaders urging them to ratify the treaty, called the Rome Statute.”

ACTIVISM/REPRESSION

 

Investing firm to stop assessing human rights risk in ‘contiguous territorial disputes’ after scrutiny from pro-Israel groups (Asaf Elia-Shalev//JTA 1/7/25)

“When investors need help navigating business decisions in conflict zones they turn to specialized firms that are supposed to help them keep clear of human rights abuses. But one of the biggest firms offering advice on environmental, social, and governance issues recently announced that when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it will no longer have anything to say. The conflict is just too complicated to weigh in on, Morningstar announced last month, following years of pressure by pro-Israel groups who charged that the ESG field effectively fuels Israel boycotts. The company said it devised a new policy that ends coverage of human rights issues connected to “disputes concerning contiguous territories” after an investigation of alleged anti-Israel bias in the company’s research and analysis…The policy change caps off a series of reforms implemented by Morningstar in response to scrutiny by a coalition of pro-Israel groups, including the Jewish Federations of North America, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League.” See also Morningstar, subsidiary Sustainalytics remove anti-Israel investment ratings (JNS 1/3/25); After fighting anti-Israel bias at Morningstar, Jewish groups focus on MSCI (JNS 1/9/25)

In the Knesset, ADL chief admits failure to extinguish the post-Oct. 7 ‘inferno of antisemitism,’ calls for new strategies (Jewish Insider 1/7/25)

“[ADL CEO Jonathan] Greenblatt did not offer concrete recommendations to innovate the field of combating antisemitism, but said that fresh thinking was sorely needed…“We need the kind of genius that manufactured Apollo Gold Pagers and infiltrated Hezbollah for over a decade to prepare for this battle. We need the kind of courage that executed Operation Deep Layer inside Syria and destroyed Iranian missile manufacturing capabilities to undertake this mission…” Greenblatt pushed for the State of Israel to consider the fight against antisemitism online and around the world to be another front (alongside Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran) that the country must contend with. “Capturing TikTok might seem less meaningful than holding on to Mount Hermon. Libelous tweets certainly might seem less deadly than missiles from Yemen. But this is urgent because the next war will be decided based on how Israel and its allies perform online as much as offline. Make no mistake, it’s real,” he said.” See also Israel’s foreign minister is looking for a way to spend $150 million on public diplomacy (Jewish Insider 12/26/24); Israel has spent millions trying win hearts and minds abroad. It’s about to spend 20 times more. (JTA 12/27/24)

How Trump and the GOP Plan to Dismantle the U.S. pro-Palestinian Movement (Ben Samuels//Haaretz 12/23/24)

“Aggressively anti-Palestinian appointees, who tend to describe all campus protesters as Hamas supporters, will soon steer both foreign and domestic policy, creating a Trump administration united in seeking a crackdown on the pro-Palestinian movement in the U.S. despite any other differences.” See also Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors (Arno Rosenfeld//The Forward 1/7/25)

Quaker group pulls NYT ad over paper’s refusal to let it call Israel’s Gaza bombing ‘genocide’ (Guardian 1/8/25)

“The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization that advocates for peace, said on Monday the group cancelled a planned advertisement in the New York Times in response to the paper refusing to allow it to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide…The group claimed a representative with the advertising team at the New York Times suggested they use the word “war” instead of “genocide”.” See also Historians Condemn ‘Scholasticide’ in Gaza at Conference (Inside Higher Ed 1/5/25)

 

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

The Case for Hope for Palestinians (Khaled Elgindy//NYT 1/3/25)

“The current reality for Palestinians is nothing short of cataclysmic…But there are also powerful forces working in Palestinians’ favor that cannot be overlooked. The rapidly growing international solidarity movement, the historic prospect of the international community holding Israel to account and the Palestinians’ own extensive reservoir of talent and resilience hold out the promise that there is, despite the depth of the current crisis, a better future ahead. Like other cataclysmic moments in Palestinian history, the continuing Gaza catastrophe will leave an indelible imprint on Palestinians’ national consciousness. A war that has killed more than 17,000 children and unleashed widespread starvation and disease could do nothing less. Left to fester, the human suffering and collective trauma, combined with a breakdown in social order in Gaza and a growing sense of despair, are precisely the conditions that could lead to generations of instability and violence. In the near term, Palestinians will also face a new challenge: the incoming Trump administration…But there is an opportunity for a different future. Such attempts to silence Palestinian voices are themselves a response to one of the Palestinians’ most powerful tools: the global recognition of the justice of their cause…The persistence of protests on university campuses across North America and Europe in particular, despite the repression and smears often wielded against them, highlight the profound generational change in how many in the West view the issue, from a dominantly pro-Israel narrative to one more focused on Palestinian rights and humanity. While the campus protests might be dismissed as politically insignificant, they point to a deeper shift in public opinion that could eventually produce a change in policy.”

Will Israeli apartheid live longer than president Carter? (Sami Abu Shehadeh//New Arab 12/31/24)

“So, how would president Carter have addressed a genocide? Firstly, to end this atrocity, we need to accept the facts – something the current US administration has systematically refused to do. How would he have dealt with students demonstrating against the complicity of their institutions with war crimes? How would he have dealt with racist and discriminatory institutions fundraising in the US to support illegal colonial-settlements? He would have likely recognised the responsibility his country bears and would have at least raised awareness about activities that violate the basic principles enshrined in the constitution. To achieve a long-lasting peace and to resolve the situation in Palestine – the way president Carter wanted – there must be a shift. We can no longer treat the resolution of the “Jewish question” or the “Palestinian question” in isolation. Anyone who seeks a historical compromise, must establish a solution based on the values of justice, freedom and equality for all, for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Can Genocide Studies Survive a Genocide in Gaza? (Mari Cohen//Jewish Currents 12/19/24)

“Now these simmering tensions in the field—crystallized within competing academic associations and journals—have burst into public view in disparate responses to the aftermath of October 7th. “Conservative Holocaust scholars tend to argue that Hamas demonstrates antisemitism reminiscient of that of the Nazis, while many genocide scholars see Israel as perpetrating a genocide, the crime of crimes associated in everyone’s mind with the Nazis,” said Amos Goldberg, a historian of the Holocaust at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The former camp has more support from donors, administrators, local politicians, and the Jewish organizations that have played a significant role in building the field; as a result, academics like Segal who apply their analysis of genocide to Israel’s actions have sometimes found themselves marginalized or embattled at institutions with ostensible commitments to genocide prevention…Indeed, some fear that the field’s tendency to exceptionalize Israel will render it impotent—or worse. “What’s the point of this field?” said A. Dirk Moses, a historian who serves as senior editor at the Journal of Genocide Resesarch. “Is it, in fact, enabling the mass killing of Palestinians in the name of self-defense and genocide prevention? If that’s the case, then the field is dead—not only incoherent, but complicit in mass killing.”’

The term ‘antisemitism’ is being weaponised and stripped of meaning – and that’s incredibly dangerous (Rachel Shabi//Guardian 12/31/24)

“Over a year into Israel’s assault on Gaza, which some experts have described as a genocide, accusations of antisemitism raised to counter criticism of Israel have gone into overdrive. Such claims have been made against protesters crying out for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza and against the UN and aid agencies warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. They have been levelled at global news channels and the international court of justice; against actors, artists, pop stars and even British-Jewish film-makers. So sweepingly and speech-chillingly are such claims made by Israel’s diehard defenders that the very term “antisemitism” is losing its meaning. It is exactly as the British-Jewish philosopher Brian Klug warned 20 years ago: “When antisemitism is everywhere, it is nowhere.” Blanket misuse has, troublingly, turned the term into a feature on an Israeli politician’s lingo-bingo scorecard. And all this is happening precisely at a time when antisemitism is increasing globally. When Britain’s Jewish community has experienced verbal and physical attacks. When Jewish schools and synagogues have been dealing with death threats and desecrations. In the past 18 months, a Jewish woman was stabbed in her home in France, there have been shootings at schools in Canada and we saw a full-blown antisemitic riot in Dagestan in Russia…A true understanding of what has gone so wrong with our discussion of antisemitism – and how to put it right – will not just fortify the left in this urgent political moment. It will also consolidate our antiracist endeavours. It will yield inclusiveness, moral clarity and cohesion. And most of all, it will help us to make sense of the alarming, divisive and destructive rightwards shift of the world – because only then do we stand a chance of changing it.”

What is the duty of the Israeli left in a time of genocide? (Hadas Binyamini//+972 1/3/25)

“Israeli leftists have been more divided and marginalized than ever since the October 7 assault, with joint Palestinian-Jewish struggle at a breaking point. Yet their sights remain set on long-term political change.“

Democrats have become the party of war. Americans are tired of it (Matt Duss//The Guardian 1/9/25)

“Like Clinton, Harris this year seemed far more interested in boasting about the US’s “lethal” military and campaigning alongside the torture advocate Liz Cheney (while also touting the endorsement of her father, the “war on terror” architect Dick Cheney) than in articulating a vision of peace and stability. Meanwhile, in the last few weeks before the election, the Trump campaign noticeably leaned into an anti-war message, with JD Vance making the rounds hailing the now president-elect as a “candidate of peace”. A brief review of Trump’s first administration should make clear how ridiculous such a claim was…But it was even more baffling that Democrats had left the anti-war lane wide open for him by leaning into a tired, curdled militarism as a substitute for an actual foreign policy vision. In foreign policy as elsewhere, Democrats positioned themselves as defenders of a set of ideas and assumptions that most Americans no longer trust. As Trump takes office and Democrats prepare to enter the political wilderness, we need to reckon with how they got this so wrong. When Joe Biden took office in 2021, I never imagined I would write this, but by the end of his presidency he will have done more damage to the so-called “rules-based order” than Trump did. Fifteen months and counting of support for Israel’s horrific assault on Gaza has violated virtually every international norm on the protections of civilians in war and left America’s moral credibility in tatters. Biden showed that international law is little more than a cudgel to be used against our enemies while being treated as optional for our friends.”