NEW FROM FMEP
Ceasefire Possibilities, Political Dynamics, Regional Aspirations, and the Trump Administration (New Occupied Thoughts Episode)
FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with analyst Mouin Rabbani about the current state of affairs, including: the potential for Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Palestinian political dynamics and possibilities, Israeli aspirations and actions in Syria and the Syrian regime’s response, and the Trump administration’s “unpredictable and erratic” policymaking.
Harvard Professors on Censorship, Repression, and Opportunities for Speaking Up on Palestine (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
“FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart talks with two Harvard professors – Dr. Eman Ansari & Dr. Aaron Shakow – about censorship on college/university campuses and how scholars can respond.”
Who Are ‘JINO Jews’ and Why Do Conservatives Hate Them? (Zeteo 3/6/25)
“Mehdi talks to [FMEP President Lara Friedman], a leading expert on antisemitism about the demonization of liberal Jews, the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, and the crackdown on free speech when it comes to Israel.”
FMEP Legislative Round-Up March 7, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements See also FMEP Legislative Round-Up February 28, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
Settlement & Annexation Report: February 28, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
De Jure Annexation Proceeds, Govt Set to OK Jerusalem-Area Annexation Bill; Reestablishing Gaza Settlements; The Ongoing “Gazafication” of the West Bank; More Settlement News & Analysis; The Trump-Netanyahu Mind Meld & U.S. Politics; Eliminating Civil Society Space in Israel
GAZA
Exclusive: U.S. holding secret talks with Hamas (Axios 3/5/25)
“The Trump administration has been holding direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios. Why it matters: The talks — held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler — are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997…The talks have focused in part on the release of U.S. hostages, which is within Boehler’s remit as hostage envoy.” See also Scoop: Israel objected to secret U.S.-Hamas talks in tense call (Axios 3/7/25); U.S. proposes ceasefire extension in exchange for hostages (WaPo 3/6/25)
White House rejects Arab plan for postwar Gaza, insists on Trump’s (Al Monitor 3/5/25)
“The White House publicly rejected a joint plan put forth by Arab states to establish security in postwar Gaza. “The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance,” Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, said in a statement late on Tuesday. “President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas. We look forward to further talks to bring peace and prosperity to the region,” the statement read. The rejection came within hours after Arab officials gathered in Cairo adopted Egypt’s $53 billion counter proposal for postwar Gaza, designed to enable the territory’s population of 2.2 million people to remain within the ravaged enclave as Gulf states provide funding for recovery and reconstruction. Egypt’s plan would have Hamas cede its claim to governance over the enclave and make way for a body of technocrats to run Gaza before a reformed Palestinian Authority takes power there. Elections would be held within one year under the proposal.” See also Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza (AP 3/6/25); Trump posts ‘Shalom Hamas’ and says Gazans will be ‘DEAD’ if they keep holding hostages (JTA 3/5/24); Israel prepares Gaza ‘hell plan’ to pile pressure on Hamas – reports (Guardian 3/3/25); ‘We have nothing left to lose’: Gazans respond to Trump’s warnings (Al Jazeera 3/7/25); Trump Shares His AI Vision of Gaza’s Future, With Belly Dancers, Cocktails and Elon Musk (Haaretz 2/26/25)
Arab leaders endorse $53bn plan to rebuild Gaza as alternative to Trump idea (Guardian 3/4/25)
“Arab leaders have endorsed a $53bn (£42bn) plan to rebuild Gaza under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in a rushed attempt to present an alternative to Donald Trump’s idea for a property development-style plan. Trump’s suggestion involved a relocation of the Palestinian population that has been widely criticised as effectively endorsing ethnic cleansing…The new proposal, presented at an Arab League summit in Cairo, focused on emergency relief, rebuilding shattered infrastructure and long-term economic development.” See also Gaza ceasefire talks stall, as Egypt proposes long-term reconstruction plan (Guardian 3/1/25); What’s behind Abbas’ amnesty gesture as Dahlan, others eye role in postwar Gaza? (Al Monitor 3/5/25); Arab summit adopts Egypt’s alternative plan to Trump’s Gaza takeover: What to know (Al Monitor 3/4/25)
Israel cuts off humanitarian supplies to Gaza as it seeks to change ceasefire deal (Guardian 2/2/25)
“Israel has cut off humanitarian supplies to Gaza in an effort to pressure Hamas into accepting a change in the ceasefire agreement to allow for the release of hostages without an Israeli troop withdrawal…Aid officials said that even with the restoration of food deliveries, the lack of drinkable water, the near-complete destruction of Gaza’s hospitals and clinics, the lack of shelter in the midst of winter, and the buildup of untreated sewage among the rubble could all be lethal to the surviving population of 2.2 million people. Netanyahu made his announcement, which his office claimed had US backing, after the breakdown of talks in Cairo aimed at maintaining the ceasefire as it approached the end of its first six-week phase, over whether the truce should advance to a second phase.” See also Gaza aid ops in peril as millions of promised USAID dollars frozen under Trump’s cuts (TOI 3/7/25) Israel outlines plan to control all aid entering Gaza (WaPo 3/5/25); Israeli block on aid raises health fears for Gaza’s undernourished population (Guardian 3/2/25); ‘If UNRWA implodes tomorrow, there’d be no alternative’ (Ghousoon Bisharat & Meron Rapoport//+972 Magazine 2/27/25); Israel halts aid shipments to Gaza after ceasefire expires (Axios 3/2/25)
Weeks after Israeli withdrawal, Gazans still search for the missing in Netzarim (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972 Magazine 3/4/25)
“Thousands of Palestinians have made the arduous journey across Gaza’s central corridor, as Civil Defense workers slowly uncover human remains.”
Israel’s War Decimated Gaza’s Farmlands and Killed Most of its Livestock (Rasha Abu Jamal//Drop Site 3/6/25)
“The bombing has destroyed agricultural land and poisoned the soil, while Israel’s sweeping blockade has made water scarce for farmers who once provided a third of Gaza’s food needs.”
Rights group says Israel has systematically abused Palestinian health workers for their profession (CNN 2/27/25)
“Israel has systematically targeted Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza, arbitrarily detaining them without charge or access to legal counsel, and submitting them to torture and abuse, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). Between July and December, lawyers working with the Israeli nonprofit group said they visited over two dozen Palestinian medical workers, including physicians, nurses and paramedics, aged between at least 21 and 69, who had spent more than six months in isolation after having been seized by Israeli forces. In the 21-page report released Wednesday, PHRI said that the testimonies from healthcare personnel indicate that their arrests were primarily used by Israel to gather intelligence rather than investigate their alleged involvement in armed conflict or link them to criminal activity. “This suggests a systemic policy that violates human rights and, more broadly, indicates that such arrests are arbitrary and unlawful under international legal standards,” PHRI said.” See also More than 160 Gazan medics held in Israeli prisons amid reports of torture (Guardian 2/25/25)
Hamas Official Expresses Reservations About Oct. 7 Attack on Israel (NYT 2/24/25)
“Mousa Abu Marzouk, the Qatar-based head of Hamas’s foreign relations office, said in an interview with The New York Times that he would not have supported the attack if he had known of the havoc it would wreak on Gaza. Knowing of the consequences, he said, would have made it “impossible” for him to back the assault…Mr. Abu Marzouk has said that he was not informed about the specific plans for the Oct. 7 attack, in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage, but that he and other Hamas political leaders had endorsed its overall strategy of attacking Israel militarily. “If it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been Oct. 7,” as far as he was concerned, he said. He also suggested that there was some willingness within Hamas to negotiate the future of the group’s weapons in Gaza — which has been a sticking point in negotiations with Israel — taking a position that other Hamas officials have rejected. A compromise might help Hamas and Israel avoid a renewal of the war, analysts say. Israel has said that it wants Hamas to dismantle its military capabilities.”
REGION/GLOBAL
Why We Asked the ICC to Investigate Biden for Aiding and Abetting Genocide (Sarah Leah Whitson//The Nation 3/3/25)
“In late January, our organization, which works to reform US foreign policy in the Middle East, filed a 172-page legal brief to the International Criminal Court urging it to investigate former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for aiding and abetting war crimes, crimes against humanity, starvation, and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The court has already charged the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for committing these same crimes. Seeking the prosecution of US officials in the only global criminal court was not a decision we took lightly, particularly as the court faces threats from the United States itself. But the evidence against Biden, Blinken, and Austin is so overwhelming and the devastation to Palestinians so horrific that we felt it was our duty as a US-based organization to demand accountability for their crimes. Article 25 of the Rome Statute, which governs the ICC, defines accessorial support for a crime as a crime itself. To be held liable for aiding and abetting an international crime under the Rome Statute, there must be evidence that a person has not only substantially contributed to crimes but knew such contribution would facilitate the commission of crimes. It was not difficult to document such evidence.” See also BREAKING: ICC Asked to Investigate Biden and Blinken Over War Crimes Allegations (Zeteo 2/24/25); ICC urged to investigate Biden for ‘aiding and abetting’ Gaza war crimes (Guardian 2/24/25)
Israeli army escorts ultra-Orthodox Jews to religious site in south Lebanon: What to know (Al Monitor 3/7/25)
“A group of Israeli civilians escorted by the military entered southern Lebanon on Friday to visit a religious site in what Lebanon’s army called a violation of international law and the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement that came into effect in November. The group of roughly 250 ultra-Orthodox Israelis entered the tomb where they believe Babylonian Jewish scholar Rabbi Ashi was buried. The tomb is located on the outskirts of Houla in southern Lebanon and lies on the Blue Line — a demarcation line established by the UN in 2000 between Israel and Lebanon.” See also World Bank estimates $11B reconstruction bill for Lebanon after Israeli war (Al Monitor 3/7/25); Israel Launches Major Air Assault on Damascus (Drop Site 2/25/25); US designates Yemen’s Houthi group as foreign terrorist organization once again (Guardian 3/4/25)
Make no mistake: ‘No Other Land’ is a victory for the Palestinian struggle (Samah Salaime//+972 Magazine 3/7/25)
“No sooner had directors Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor accepted the Academy Award for best documentary for their film “No Other Land” — which tells the story of Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Masafer Yatta region in the occupied West Bank, including Basel and Hamdan’s own communities — than the attacks began. Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar accused the film of “defamation” and “distort[ing] Israel’s image,” urging movie theaters in Israel to refrain from screening it. Many in the Israeli media rushed to denounce it as “propaganda” or “worse than a lie,” while the directors received a barrage of venomous hatred on social media. We have grown accustomed to this level of Zionist blindness from Israeli politicians, journalists, and citizens, especially after Yuval and Basel faced similar vilification in the wake of their acceptance speeches at the 2024 Berlinale. What many of us didn’t anticipate, however, was how severe the backlash would be from some pro-Palestinian activists, organizations, and influencers…Then came the official statement from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), an arm of the BDS movement, which declared that the film “certainly violates” its guidelines on anti-normalization…To cut through the noise of this messy and toxic debate, I decided to see what those actually living in Masafer Yatta — whose villages are raided daily by Israeli settlers, soldiers, and bulldozers — had to say about the film and the controversy it has engendered…“I don’t know what the BDS people are talking about,” Jihad Al-Nawaja, head of the village council in Susiya, told +972. “What do they want from us? I want you to quote me word-for-word: I swear to you, after many years of struggle, confrontations, arrests, beatings, and demolitions, I know — not think, know — that without people like Yuval and Jewish activists from Israel and around the world, half of Masafer Yatta’s lands would have been confiscated and razed by now. Our steadfastness here is thanks to their help…Tariq Hathaleen, an activist from the village of Umm Al-Khair, explained: “Everything we stand for here is in real danger. We have been under daily attacks from settlers. On the same evening that the whole world was talking about [“No Other Land”] winning the Oscar, the settlers organized themselves and came to take revenge. To all those scrutinizing the legitimacy of our struggle, I say: take your statements, turn them into juice, drink it, and calm down.” See also No Other Land directors criticise US as they accept documentary Oscar: ‘US foreign policy is helping block the path’ to peace (Guardian 3/2/25); “Stop the Ethnic Cleansing”: Watch Oscar Speech of Palestinian & Israeli Directors of “No Other Land (Democracy Now 3/3/25)
RIVER TO THE SEA
Israel developing ChatGPT-like tool that weaponizes surveillance of Palestinians (Yuval Abraham//+972 Magazine 3/6/25)
“The Israeli army is developing a new, ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence tool and training it on millions of Arabic conversations obtained through the surveillance of Palestinians in the occupied territories, an investigation by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and the Guardian can reveal. The AI tool — which is being built under the auspices of Unit 8200, an elite cyber warfare squad within Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate — is what’s known as a Large Language Model (LLM): a machine-learning program capable of analyzing information and generating, translating, predicting, and summarizing text. Whereas LLMs available to the public, like the engine behind ChatGPT, are trained on information scraped from the internet, the new model under development by the Israeli army is being fed vast amounts of intelligence collected on the everyday lives of Palestinians living under occupation…“AI amplifies power,” an intelligence source who has closely followed the Israeli army’s development of language models in recent years explained. “It allows operations [utilizing] the data of far more people, enabling population control. This is not just about preventing shooting attacks. I can track human rights activists. I can monitor Palestinian construction in Area C [of the West Bank]. I have more tools to know what every person in the West Bank is doing. When you hold so much data, you can direct it toward any purpose you choose.”…Nadim Nashif, director and founder of the Palestinian digital rights and advocacy group 7amleh, echoed these concerns. “Palestinians have become subjects in Israel’s laboratory to develop these techniques and weaponize AI, all for the purpose of maintaining [an] apartheid and occupation regime where these technologies are being used to dominate a people, to control their lives. This is a grave and continuous violation of Palestinian digital rights, which are human rights.”’ See also Revealed: Israeli military creating ChatGPT-like tool using vast collection of Palestinian surveillance data (Guardian 3/6/25); Microsoft workers protest sale of AI and cloud services to Israeli military (AP 2/25/25)
State of Siege: Israel is conducting its largest mass expulsion campaign in the West Bank since 1967 (Mariam Barghouti//Drop Site 3/6/25)
“Qassas’s killing is part of a sweeping Israeli military assault, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” that has largely emptied four refugee camps in the northern West Bank—Jenin, Tulkarem, Faraa, and Nur Shams—forcing over 40,000 Palestinians to flee their homes in the largest forced displacement in the territory since the 1967 war. Israeli troops have bulldozed roads and destroyed homes, buildings, water and electricity lines, and other civilian infrastructure. On February 23, Israel’s Defense Minister said Israeli troops would remain in some of the refugee camps for the coming year and that displaced residents would not be allowed to return. Israel launched Operation Iron Wall on January 21, two days after the Gaza “ceasefire” went into effect. More than 60 Palestinians, including 11 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and state-backed settlers in the West Bank since then. With the Gaza ceasefire deal in peril as a result of Netanyahu’s sabotage and Israel—even further emboldened by the re-election of Donald Trump—on an aggressive and violent rampage in the region, tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank face one of the most dire realities imposed on them by Israel in decades.” See also West Bank residents cannot return to cleared camps, says Israeli defence minister (FT 2/23/25); As Israel widens war in West Bank, settlers see their influence pay off (WaPo 3/6/25); IDF Decides Not to Investigate Illegal Expulsion of Palestinian Families by Soldiers in West Bank (Hagar Shezaf//Haaretz 3/4/25)
The Gazafication of the West Bank: ‘Is This Really Happening Again?’ (Diana Buttu//Zeteo 3/2/25)
“Netanyahu is doing what his government promised all along: level the West Bank just as it did Gaza.” See also How a 12-year-old boy was killed in the West Bank – video analysis (Guardian 3/1/25);
Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem hit new record (Georgia Gee and Dikla Taylor-Sheinman//+972 3/6/25)
“According to data collected by Ir Amim, an Israeli non-profit tracking demolitions, 2024 saw a record number of Palestinian home demolitions in East Jerusalem. Most of the 255 structures — 181 of them homes — were destroyed for being built without a permit, which is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. To avoid severe penalties, including heavy fines and even imprisonment, residents had no choice but to carry out 108 of these demolitions themselves. 2025 began much the same, with 46 demolitions and counting.” See also 90,000 Muslim worshipers pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa on first Friday of Ramadan (TOI 3/7/25)
Israel’s Shin Bet says Netanyahu policies helped pave way for 7 October (Guardian 3/5/25)
“Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, has said Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies were among the underlying causes of the 7 October 2023 attack in which Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 Israelis. In its report on the 7 October attack, Shin Bet acknowledged its own responsibility, admitting it was aware of warning signs that Hamas was planning an operation, but the agency, also known as the General Security Service (GSS), did not grasp the scale, timing and location of the planned attack. However, the report also argued that a string of Israeli government policies helped pave the way for the Hamas assault. Among the main reasons for a Hamas military build-up before the attacks, an eight-page public summary of the report listed an Israeli “policy of quiet” towards the group, apparently referring to a policy of restraint in the use of force to keep Hamas’s military capability in check. It also listed Netanyahu’s acquiescence in the flow of funds from Qatar to Gaza, a policy designed to divide Palestinians by boosting Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian state. The Shin Bet report also pointed to the daily Jewish prayers that have been taking place in recent years in the compound around Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. The prayers violate a 58-year-old understanding with Jordan that only Muslims should be allowed to pray at the al-Aqsa and the esplanade around it, but they were championed by the governing coalition’s former national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. “The cumulative weight of violations on the Temple Mount, the treatment of [Palestinian] prisoners and the perception that Israeli society had been weakened because of the damage to social cohesion” were all contributory factors to Israel’s vulnerability to attack, the report said.” See also IDF spokesman Hagari to retire from military, in move widely seen as dismissal (TOI 3/7/25); Netanyahu said to have promoted ‘civilian arrangement’ with Hamas days before Oct. 7 (TOI 3/7/25)
Seized, settled, let: how Airbnb and Booking.com help Israelis make money from stolen Palestinian land (Guardian 2/27/25)
“Exclusive analysis carried out by the Guardian found 760 rooms being advertised in hotels, apartments and other holiday rentals in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, on two of the world’s most popular tourism websites. Taken together, the listings that appear on either Airbnb or Booking.com could host more than 2,000 people as of August 2024.”
U.S. SCENE
Rubio Bypasses Congress to Send Israel $4 Billion in Arms (NYT 3/4/25)
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked “emergency authorities” to bypass Congress and send $4 billion in weapons to Israel, the second time in a month that the Trump administration has skirted the process of congressional approval for sending arms to the country…The Pentagon announced details of that sale to Israel on Friday. The announcement lists several possible mixes of bombs that would be delivered, including more than 35,000 2,000-pound bombs. Israel has been dropping 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza, a densely populated strip of 2 million people that is about the size of Las Vegas. U.S. military officers have said the bombs are unsuitable for urban combat.” See also Far-Right Israeli Minister Visits Washington After Years of Being Shunned (NYT 3/5/25); Israel’s Smotrich gets warm embrace in Washington, first visit under Trump (Al Monitor 3/5/25); Exclusive: GOP staffers told to call occupied West Bank Judea and Samaria (Axios 2/26/25); Trump repeals Biden directive linking U.S. arms to human rights (WaPo 2/24/25)
Scoop: State Dept. to use AI to revoke visas of foreign students who appear “pro-Hamas” (Axios 3/6/25)
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios. Why it matters: The effort — which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts — marks a dramatic escalation in the U.S. government’s policing of foreign nationals’ conduct and speech. The reviews of social media accounts are particularly looking for evidence of alleged terrorist sympathies expressed after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, officials say…”This should concern all Americans. This is a First Amendment and freedom of speech issue and the administration will overplay its hand,” said Abed Ayoub, head of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee…Ayoub said “the blueprint” for the new program can be found in Operation Boulder of 1972, when the Nixon administration infiltrated and surveilled pro-Palestinian groups, which he said infringed on the rights of U.S. citizens as well as foreign nationals. “With the advent of AI, it’s even scarier because they’re policing speech and using faulty technology,” Ayoub said.” See also US to revoke student visas over ‘pro-Hamas’ social media posts flagged by AI – report (Guardian 3/6/25); Columbia University’s Secret Disciplinary Process for Students Critical of Israel (Murtaza Hussain//Drop Site 3/4/25); State Department revokes first visa of foreign student linked to ‘Hamas-supporting disruptions’ (Fox News 3/6/25); Trump’s threat to punish universities that allow ‘illegal protests’ draws tentative support from Jewish leaders (Jewish Insider 3/5/25); Head of DOJ antisemitism task force: We’ll put Hamas supporters in jail ‘for years’ (JNS 2/26/25)
Trump Administration Live Updates: Columbia University Loses $400 Million in Federal Grants and Contracts (NYT 3/7/25)
“The Trump administration announced on Friday that it had canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University because of what it described as the school’s failure to protect Jewish students from harassment. The announcement escalated the administration’s targeting of Columbia, where protests last year over the war in Gaza set off a nationwide debate over free speech, campus policing and antisemitism, and led to similar demonstrations at schools nationwide…The statement said that the cancellations represented the “first round of action” and that additional cancellations were expected to follow. Columbia currently holds more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments, the statement said. The school also faces three federal investigations into allegations of antisemitism on campus that have been announced over the past several weeks.” See also Columbia Expelled Student Protesters For the First Time in Over 50 Years. But Activists Won’t Back Down. (The Nation 3/7/25);
Why the ADL is encouraging Jews to invest in Tesla (Arno Rosenberg//The Forward 2/27/25)
“The Anti-Defamation League wants you to help them combat antisemitism by purchasing shares in a new stock market fund — ticker symbol “TOV,” which means “good” in Hebrew — that invests in companies the advocacy group says it has vetted with “rigorous Jewish values-inspired research.” But the ADL isn’t sharing its precise methodology for selecting companies, and some of the fund’s largest initial holdings are in companies with a checkered record on what the group says are its top priorities for the fund, including antisemitism and green energy…Among the top 10 holdings of TOV are Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Amazon and Tesla. Roughly 2% of the fund is invested in Tesla, the primary source of wealth for Elon Musk, who is currently leading the Trump administration’s efforts to slash federal spending and workers — and who has for years been embroiled in antisemitism scandals as well as tussles with the ADL itself.” See also JLens launches pro-Israel fund on New York Stock Exchange (JI 2/27/25)
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Joel Beinin and Lisa Hajjar//MERIP 2025)
“This primer provides an overview of key actors, organizations, historic events, political developments and diplomatic initiatives that have shaped the status and fate of Palestinians and the State of Israel from the late nineteenth century to the present.”
Archiving Gaza: The Race to Save Evidence of War Crimes and Mass Destruction (Lila Hassan//Drop Site 3/4/25)
“In addition to what Palestinian journalists have published in the international press, photos and videos posted on social media have comprised nearly all of the war-time evidence to emerge from inside Gaza. People and organizations across the world have stepped in to help preserve this genocide’s history. They have been scraping, verifying, and storing information from social media before it can be removed; working on technological solutions for long-term search and storage; collecting witness testimony and other information from inside Gaza for submission to international courts; creating open-source tools to document civilian casualties by Israeli airstrikes; and compiling potentially incriminating statements made by Israeli political and military officials. Their efforts are loosely organized, under-resourced, and often not connected with one another.”
How Palestine Became the Testing Ground for Israeli Military Exports (Antony Lowenstein//Zeteo 3/5/25)
“The Israeli defense industry is making record profit by selling weapons it used on Palestinians.”
How an Anguished Mother Became Netanyahu’s Fiercest Foe (Ruth Margalit//NYT 3/3/25)
“The gaze of Einav Zangauker — whose son, Matan, was captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and remains a hostage in Gaza — is one that has seen the other side. It’s a gaze of anguish. Of torture, rage, sleeplessness and steel. It’s a gaze that the entire Israeli public has come to recognize, because Einav — she is now known by her first name only — is the country’s most visible representative of the hostage crisis and its fiercest opponent of the war…Einav, a former house cleaner from the hardscrabble southern town Ofakim, voted for Netanyahu and his Likud party in every election in which he ran. But she is convinced that he has torpedoed past deals to free the hostages and may blow up the current cease-fire before all the captives are released.”
A Progressive Education Nonprofit’s Silence on Gaza (Alex Kane//Jewish Currents 2/25/25)
“Facing History & Ourselves, which is known for its model lessons on genocide, has angered staff and disappointed teachers with its refusal to provide resources about Gaza.”