NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up October 24, 2025 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings & Markups; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: October 24, 2025 (Kristin McCarthy)
- Knesset Votes to Advance Two West Bank Annexation Bill; 2. Israel Advances 248 New Settlement Units; 3. Settlers Take Over Cave in South Hebron Hills & Are Building New Outpost; 4. Settler Terrorism Targets the Olive Harvest; 5. Bonus Reads
Attacks on the First Amendment Continue (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Jenin Younes, National Legal Director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). They focus on Freedom of Speech in the United States, looking at the Covid pandemic and speech restrictions at that time and the acceleration of the assault on speech by Israel advocates. They discuss the contours of a principled speech position in the United States today.
Media, BDS, and Lessons from 25 Years of Solidarity Work (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Mondoweiss editor Adam Horowitz about the role that Mondoweiss, an independent news organization, has played in the struggle for Palestinian rights over the past 25 years. They also discuss the moral case for the cultural boycott of Israel and what constitutes justice after genocide.
Gaza Ceasefire – Will it Last? (The Quincy Institute 10/22/25)
FMEP’s Lara Friedman interviewed by Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan on The Quincy Institute’s Always at War Podcast
GAZA
What Comes After Starvation in Gaza? (Clayton Dalton//New Yorker 10/18/24)
“For the severely malnourished, simply starting to eat normal meals again can cause sickness—even death. And survivors of starvation are at risk of chronic diseases and mental-health conditions for decades after they regain access to food. “You’ve stunted a generation,” Nathaniel Raymond, the director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale, told me. Ruth Gibson, a scholar at Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health, spoke in even starker terms. “Can this be reversed?” she said. “The answer is, it can’t be.”’
‘It’s like a nuclear bomb has hit’: shocked Palestinians return home to desolation (The Guardian 10/18/25)
“When the Gaza ceasefire took effect a week ago, tens of thousands of Palestinians began to move from the sprawling camps in the south back to their homes in Gaza City and the surrounding area…What the returnees found on arrival was complete desolation. Large swaths of the north had simply been flattened. Their homes and neighbourhoods were no longer recognisable. Their communities had been erased. The sheer scale of demolition left families with an awful dilemma: stay and seek shelter in the shattered stumps of their former homes, or return to the tented camps in the south where they had a better chance of finding food and water. And looming over that decision was the great unknown of how long the truce would last, and whether it would ever take hold as a lasting peace.”
The Genocide in Gaza (Drop Site 10/22/25)
“Since October 11, the first full day of the ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 88 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 315, while 436 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Ministry of Health. The Ministry also confirmed it received an additional 30 bodies of dead Palestinians handed over by Israel on Wednesday, bringing the total number of bodies received since the ceasefire went into effect earlier this month to 195. Some of the bodies show signs of abuse, beatings, handcuffing, and blindfolding…The World Food Programme reported that only 520 trucks carrying 6,700 tonnes of food have entered Gaza in the 11 days since the ceasefire began on October 10…far short of needs…Hamas has begun a large-scale internal crackdown on armed groups accused of looting aid and collaborating with Israeli forces during the two-year war in Gaza.” See also At a Mass Burial in Gaza, Palestinians Mourn the Unknown Dead (NYT 10/22/25);
Rubble, gangs, and airstrikes: What was waiting for me back in Gaza City (Ahmed Ahmed//+972 Magazine 10/23/25)
“When I arrived in Gaza City, I barely recognized it. The streets were filled with twisted metal, shattered glass, and debris from houses and towers flattened by Israel’s methodical bombing of high-rise buildings and use of explosive-laden robots. Many roads were completely blocked…After I got back home, relatives who had remained in the city warned me about dangerous groups in our neighborhood that had collaborated with Israeli troops during the last days of their operation. They have been seen looting houses and threatening to kill displaced families as they returned, as well as fighting with Hamas forces. It is unclear whether these groups had decided to remain in the area or were “abandoned” by Israeli forces during the withdrawal…Clashes between Hamas and the militias continued for three days near my house…Israeli forces continued to bomb several areas after the ceasefire came into effect, including an airstrike on Oct. 19 that killed 11 members of the Abu Shaban family as they returned to their home in eastern Gaza City.” See also Scramble to shore up ceasefire as Israel hits Gaza with deadly raids (The Guardian 10/19/25); Palestinians in Gaza fear ceasefire ‘could collapse at any moment’ (The Guardian 10/19/25); ‘We expected to die’: Freed Gazan detainees recount Israeli torture (Ibtisam Mahdi//+972 Magazine 10/17/25); At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials (The Guardian 10/20/25)
Palestinians in Gaza Struggle to Retrieve Their Dead With Little More Than Hammers (Abdel Qader Sabbah//Drop Site 10/21/25)
“An estimated 10,000 Palestinians killed by Israel remain buried under the rubble, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, with Israel preventing the resources and equipment required to retrieve them. Among those bodies are a handful of Israeli captives killed in the war that have been the focus of the international media and U.S. and Israeli officials as part of the ceasefire agreement.” See also Israel IDs more hostages’ bodies as Hamas says return of others will be hard (WaPo 10/22/25); Israel identifies body of 10th hostage recovered from Gaza (The Guardian 10/18/25); ‘We feel betrayed’: Israeli families still seeking return of deceased hostages (The Guardian 10/17/25);
“We Estimate That Nearly One Million of Gaza’s 1.1 Million Olive Trees Have Been Destroyed” (Drop Site 10/20/25)
“Gaza’s olive groves have been bulldozed by the Israeli military, dried up from lack of water, or remain inaccessible, leaving Palestinian farmers with little to harvest.”
Gaza Operations of Much-Criticized U.S. Aid Group Unravel (NYT 10/20/25)
“The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, once pushed by Israel as an alternative to the U.N.-led aid system in the enclave, is running out of money and faces serious logistical obstacles to resuming its work. The organization, known as the G.H.F., came under heavy scrutiny from international aid organizations over the past six months, accused of running a system that endangered the lives of desperate Palestinians who came to collect aid.” See also Gaza aid still critically scarce, say agencies, as Israel delays convoys (The Guardian 10/17/25); Rafah border crossing to stay closed ‘until further notice’, says Israel (The Guardian 10/18/25);
REGION//GLOBAL
Frustrations boil over as Vance delivers ‘firm’ message to Netanyahu (Politico 10/23/25)
“The White House is growing increasingly frustrated with Israel just two weeks after President Donald Trump triumphantly announced a deal to end the war in Gaza and bring peace to the Middle East. The mounting frustrations come as a succession of senior officials are passing through Israel this week looking to keep a fragile ceasefire in place…After assuring the U.S. that its response to a Hamas attack on two Israeli soldiers would be careful and limited, the counter-attack on Sunday left more than 40 civilians dead. Senior U.S. officials expressed their frustration about the severity of the attack, telling one Arab ally that Israel was “out of control,” one of the two people familiar with the conversation said. The administration’s private exasperation has begun to emerge in public view. Trump, in an interview published on Thursday, suggested Israel could lose all U.S. support if it annexed the West Bank, which followed condemnations from Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. That so many administration officials criticized Israel so unequivocally less than two weeks after Trump landed to a hero’s welcome and promised eternal friendship and peace underscores how frustrated the White House is with the Netanyahu government.” See also Israel Strikes Gaza and Temporarily Halts Aid, Saying Hamas Broke Truce (NYT 10/19/25); Trump says ‘rebels’ staged deadly attack on IDF troops in Gaza, echoing Hamas claim (TOI 10/20/25); ‘Out of Control’: White House Reportedly Frustrated With Israel Over Gaza Strikes, West Bank Annexation Vote (Haaretz 10/24/25);
Vance Says He’s Not in Israel to Babysit Gaza Truce and Emphasizes Partnership (NYT 10/22/25)
“Vice President JD Vance said recent visits by top American officials were to monitor the cease-fire, but not “in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler.”’ See also Vance says Knesset votes on annexing West Bank are an ‘insult’ as Netanyahu halts progress (The Guardian 10/23/25); Israel would lose ‘all support’ from the US if it annexes West Bank, Trump warns (TOI 10/23/25); ‘A real collision course’: Israel fumes at US takeover of policy on Gaza, West Bank (Al Monitor 10/24/25); Vance arrives in Israel to bolster fragile Gaza ceasefire (Al Monitor 10/21/25); Trump Says Israeli Annexation of West Bank Land ‘Won’t Happen’ (NYT 10/23/25);
Rubio seeks quick deployment of international Gaza force (Al Monitor 10/24/25)
“US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday he hopes to soon assemble an international force to police the Gaza ceasefire, adding that Israel — which objects to Turkey’s involvement — would have the power to veto potential participants. The international security force called for by the Gaza ceasefire agreement must consist of countries that Israel is “comfortable with,” Rubio said on Friday during a visit to Israel. Rubio added that the future of governance in Gaza still needs to be worked out among Israel and partner nations but cannot include Hamas, adding that any potential role for the Palestinian Authority has yet to be determined.” See also US military to start Gaza ceasefire monitoring as international force plans stall (Al Monitor 10/21/25); Rubio stresses there is ‘no plan B’ amid questions over Trump’s Gaza deal (WaPo 10/24/25); Gaza ceasefire burnishes Qatari image as global mediator (WaPo 10/20/25); U.S. Flies Drones Over Gaza to Monitor Cease-Fire, Officials Say (NYT 10/24/25); U.S. Diplomats Will Work With Troops to Maintain Gaza Cease-Fire, Rubio Says (NYT 10/24/25);
Palestinian factions say they agree to let independent technocrat committee run Gaza (The Guardian 10/24/25)
“The main Palestinian factions have said they have agreed that an independent committee of technocrats would take over the running of Gaza after Hamas said it had received “clear guarantees” from mediators that “the war has effectively ended”. A joint statement published on the Hamas website said the groups had agreed in a meeting in Cairo to hand “over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a temporary Palestinian committee composed of independent ‘technocrats’, which will manage the affairs of life and basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions”. See also Israel will disarm Hamas and demilitarise Gaza, says Netanyahu (The Guardian 10/20/25); Trump: Hamas must ‘behave and be nice – If not, we’re going to eradicate them‘ (Haaretz 10/20/25);
Ceasefire Updates (Drop Site 10/22/25)
“Jared Kushner said reconstruction in Gaza will start only in areas under Israeli control, with no funds directed to regions still administered by Hamas. He outlined plans for a “new Gaza” to be built and secured by an international force, offering Palestinians housing and employment opportunities. Kushner added that all projects will require approval from President Trump and the newly formed “Board of Peace.”’
Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti appeals to Trump for his release (Al Monitor 10/24/25)
“The wife of imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti has appealed to US President Donald Trump to help secure the release of her husband, who is widely regarded as a unifying figure among Palestinians. “Mr. President, a genuine partner awaits you — one who can help fulfill the dream we share of just and lasting peace in the region. For the sake of freedom for the Palestinian people and peace for all future generations, help release Marwan Barghouti,” Fadwa Barghouti said in a statement to Time magazine.”
ICJ orders Israel to allow aid into Gaza and says restrictions breached international obligations (The Guardian 10/22/25)
“Israel must allow aid into Gaza, and its restrictions on doing so over the past two years have put it in breach of its obligations, the UN’s top court has found. The stinging advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague also found that Israel had a duty not to impede the supply of aid by UN organisations including the beleaguered UN Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, which has been in effect banned from the territory since January. The court found Israel had not produced adequate evidence to justify ending cooperation with Unrwa on the basis it was not a neutral organisation under the Geneva conventions. The court instead found the organisation was the backbone of all humanitarian assistance in the area, requiring Israel to cooperate with the organisation in good faith.” See also ICJ says Israel obligated to work with UNRWA; Jerusalem ‘categorically rejects’ notion (TOI 10/22/25); Carney says Canada will arrest Netanyahu if he visits, in keeping with ICC warrant (TOI 10/20/25);
Jewish figures across the globe call on UN and world leaders to sanction Israel (The Guardian 10/22/25)
“Prominent Jewish figures around the world are calling on the United Nations and world leaders to impose sanctions on Israel over what they describe as “unconscionable” actions amounting to genocide in Gaza. Over 450 signatories, including former Israeli officials, Oscar winners, authors and intellectuals have signed an open letter demanding accountability over Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem…The signatories urge world leaders to uphold international court of justice (ICJ) and international criminal court rulings, avoid complicity in international law violations by halting arms transfers and imposing targeted sanctions, ensure adequate humanitarian aid to Gaza, and reject false claims of antisemitism against those advocating for peace and justice…The appeal follows a sharp shift in public opinion for US Jews and the wider electorate over the last few years. A Washington Post poll found that 61% of US Jews believe Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, and 39% say it is committing genocide.” See also Far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson visits Israel on invite of Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli (The Forward 10/19/25); EU criticised for pausing sanctions on Israel in response to Trump Gaza efforts (The Guardian 10/21/25);
RIVER TO THE SEA
Settler terror devastates West Bank olive harvest (Oren Ziv & Basel Adra//+972 Magazine 10/24/25)
“Israeli military restrictions and over 150 settler attacks in the past two weeks have prevented many Palestinians from harvesting this year’s crop.” See also As the Olive Harvest Begins in the West Bank, Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians While the IDF Watches (Haaretz 10/22/25); The IDF Can’t ‘Protect’ Palestinians From Settler Attacks. Settlers Are IDF Auxillaries (Hanin Majadli//Haaretz 10/23/25);
Erased: Israeli Settlers’ Brutal War on Palestinian Communities in the West Bank (Hagar Shezaf//Haaretz)
“These images appear again and again – from the ground, from the air, and on maps: dozens of Palestinian communities wiped off the landscape, while illegal Israeli settler outposts continue to spread across the West Bank. Since October 7, 2023, this phenomenon has intensified significantly. Unlike the war in Gaza, there is no discussion in Israel about ending this parallel campaign of dispossession. Quite the opposite: Large quantities of weapons have been distributed to settlers, who have since carried out raids on Palestinian communities while Israeli authorities stand by. Jewish settler violence goes unchecked. So does the illegal construction of new outposts. The Judea and Samaria District Police have been reduced to irrelevance. This state of affairs has allowed for a dramatic transformation on the ground.”
Construction in the E1 Area: Preventing Palestinian Geographical Contiguity (Mtanes Shihadeh, Ikram Mohammed//Arab Center DC 10/22/25)
“The Israeli government continues to exploit the post-October 7, 2023, situation to impose a new geopolitical and demographic reality in the occupied West Bank, alongside the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, Israel has increased the frequency of military incursions into towns and camps in the West Bank. It has destroyed entire sections of these camps, expanded settlements, and disconnected the territory. Perhaps the most dangerous Israeli government decision came at the end of August 2025 when it approved plans for construction in the so-called E1 area, on the pretext of retaliating against European countries’ plans to recognize a Palestinian state…The paper argues that this decision is one of Israel’s far-right government’s most dangerous since October 7, because construction in this area will divide the West Bank, prevent the geographical contiguity between its south and north, and turn densely populated Palestinian areas into Bantustans surrounded by Israeli settlements.”
One target at a time: The logic that helped Israeli liberals commit genocide (Yuval Abraham 10/20/25)
“Over the past two years, I have published numerous investigations exposing details of Israel’s open-fire policy in Gaza, several of which have helped substantiate legal claims of genocide. When South Africa filed its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2024, it relied in part on our November 2023 exposé that revealed Israel’s AI-driven mass assassination campaign targeting the family homes of alleged militants. When a UN committee similarly reached the conclusion last month that Israel has committed genocide, it relied in part on another of our investigations showing that more than 80 percent of Gaza’s dead were civilians according to an internal Israeli intelligence database. Yet few of the dozens of soldiers and officers I spoke to over the course of these investigations, many of whom served willingly as whistleblowers, saw themselves as participants in genocide. When intelligence officers and commanders described bombing family homes in Gaza, they often echoed the university lecturer’s logic: Sure, we may have committed crimes, but we were not murderers because every act had a specific military objective…This mission-oriented framing played a crucial role in enabling ordinary Israelis to participate in genocide — perhaps more than obedience alone, which is usually assumed to be the primary motivator in such contexts. By understanding each act of violence as a discrete task, from targeting a Hamas operative to securing a perimeter, soldiers could avoid confronting their role in the mass slaughter of civilians.” See also Hidden cost of war: 125,000 Israelis emigrated between 2022 and 2024 (TOI 10/20/25)
U.S. SCENE
Suddenly, Democratic Politicians Are Running Away From AIPAC (TNR 10/21/25)
“When he launched his campaign last week for a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat, Representative Seth Moulton made sure that one of his first moves was to announce that he is returning campaign donations that he received from individuals affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and would no longer accept campaign support from the group. Also last week, popular podcast hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan pressed Senator Cory Booker to answer whether he considered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal; The Ringer’s Van Lathan told Governor Gavin Newsom that Lathan would not support a 2028 candidate who took money from AIPAC…radio host Charlamagne tha God asked Governor Josh Shapiro if AIPAC donations improperly influence U.S. decisions on Israeli-Palestinian issues; and MSNBC’s Eugene Daniels asked Kamala Harris if Israel’s actions over the last two years constitute genocide. Those are the latest examples of a seismic new development in Democratic politics. For decades, Democratic politicians, particularly those running for Senate or president, have emphasized their support of Israel and commitment to maintaining strong U.S.-Israel ties, in part to woo pro-Israel center-left donors and activists. Now, we are seeing a new litmus test on Israeli-Palestinian issues: Many Democratic pundits and activists, particularly progressives, are demanding politicians rebuke Israel’s actions over the last two years and adopt a more even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These progressives say they don’t want to support candidates unless those politicians declare that Israel’s recent actions are a genocide, disavow AIPAC, and pledge to condition U.S. military and diplomatic support on the Israelis treating the Palestinians better.”
Democrats call on Rubio to help secure release of Palestinian-American teen held in Israeli prison (The Guardian 10/22/25)
“More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the US ambassador to Israel urging them to help secure the release of Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American citizen who has been held in Israeli military detention for nearly eight months. Ibrahim, a dual Palestinian-American teenager from Florida, was arrested in a raid on his family’s West Bank home in February when he was 15 years old. Israeli forces allegedly blindfolded and handcuffed the boy at 3am, according to the letter led by senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley and representatives Kathy Castor and Maxwell Frost…The letter follows the Guardian’s initial reporting on Ibrahim’s detention in July, which noted that he lost a significant amount of weight and contracted scabies, according to state department correspondences obtained by the Guardian…The lawmakers also point to the March death of Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old Palestinian who collapsed and died in Megiddo prison after six months of detention for allegedly throwing rocks. His autopsy showed he died from extreme malnutrition, torture, scabies and denial of medical care. Lawmakers warned that “it is the responsibility of the US government to ensure that this recent tragedy does not repeat itself with Mohammed.”’ See also Pressure mounts for Trump to secure release of U.S. teen held by Israel (WaPo 10/23/25);
The Meaning of Trump’s $10 Million Grant to a Jewish Nonprofit (Suzanne Schneider//Jewish Currents 10/23/25)
“When the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced on September 15th it was awarding the Tikvah Fund a sum of $10.4 million, the largest grant in the agency’s history, to “combat the recrudescence and normalization of anti-Semitism in American society,” there was an audible groan from many Jewish studies scholars. Coming on the heels of the NEH’s decision last April to cancel over 1,000 grant projects—including, as The Forward reported last spring, multiple awards to Jewish studies scholars and Jewish institutions, with resources for Yiddish language and culture taking a particularly hard hit—the award to Tikvah is particularly notable…It’s not surprising that Trump’s NEH would turn away from the breadth of contemporary Jewish studies scholarship and toward the ideologically aligned Tikvah Fund. Founded in 1992 by the financier Zalman Bernstein to support educational projects that comport with its conservative Zionist worldview, the Tikvah Fund is rooted in a belief in the inseparability of American and Israeli interests, the righteous necessity of imperial power, and American exceptionalism, which it traces at least in part to the centrality of Jews to the American story…Tikvah’s commitment to Western civilization and American exceptionalism mirrors the NEH’s new statement of priorities.”
Suddenly, Democratic Politicians Are Running Away From AIPAC (TNR 10/21/25)
“When he launched his campaign last week for a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat, Representative Seth Moulton made sure that one of his first moves was to announce that he is returning campaign donations that he received from individuals affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and would no longer accept campaign support from the group. Also last week, popular podcast hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan pressed Senator Cory Booker to answer whether he considered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal; The Ringer’s Van Lathan told Governor Gavin Newsom that Lathan would not support a 2028 candidate who took money from AIPAC…radio host Charlamagne tha God asked Governor Josh Shapiro if AIPAC donations improperly influence U.S. decisions on Israeli-Palestinian issues; and MSNBC’s Eugene Daniels asked Kamala Harris if Israel’s actions over the last two years constitute genocide. Those are the latest examples of a seismic new development in Democratic politics…Many Democratic pundits and activists, particularly progressives, are demanding politicians rebuke Israel’s actions over the last two years and adopt a more even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These progressives say they don’t want to support candidates unless those politicians declare that Israel’s recent actions are a genocide, disavow AIPAC, and pledge to condition U.S. military and diplomatic support on the Israelis treating the Palestinians better.”
Key takeaways from Kushner’s and Witkoff’s “60 Minutes” interview (Axios 10/20/25)
“On visiting Gaza once the ceasefire came into effect, Kushner said the area he visited “looked almost like a nuclear bomb had been set off.”…On conflicts of interest claims, Stahl noted lines appeared to be blurred on their business dealings with Gulf states and what they’re doing “in terms of foreign policy and benefiting financially” from the Middle East…After Stahl pressed that the matter had become an issue, Kushner said: “What people call conflicts of interests, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world. “If Steve and I didn’t have these deep relationships, the deal that we were able to help get done, that freed these hostages, would not have occurred.”’ See also Kushner: Israel must improve Palestinians’ lives if it wants ‘integration’ into region (TOI 10/20/25)
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
My last words to Gaza (Abdallah Aljazzar//+972 Magazine 10/21/25)
“I didn’t turn back to see my family again after saying goodbye. I felt too ashamed. I was leaving for peace, and all they had was famine and war.”
The Making of a Coal Boycott (Andreas Malm & Maxy Guedes//Jewish Currents 10/20/25) and Maxy Guedes
“Inside the campaign to break the toxic relationship between Colombian mining and Israeli militarism”
Everyone in Israel Knows Who Einav Zangauker Is. Few Know What She Really Did for Her Hostage Son (Haaretz 10/20/25)
“It’s hard to imagine there’s anyone in Israel today who doesn’t know Einav Zangauker. For two years, she led a relentless and uncompromising public campaign to bring her son home from Hamas captivity…But it wasn’t just speeches and roadblocks. Behind the scenes, Zangauker used every scrap of information – whether intelligence or personal – to achieve her goal. She even sent direct messages to Matan’s captors, including a filmed plea delivered in Arabic…But all that is behind her now. From the moment the news of the deal broke, only joy has kept her awake. Until his release from Ichilov Hospital Sunday, she spent all her time with Matan and her daughters, slowly learning everything. How his command of Arabic, which he spoke even before captivity, helped him – as confirmed by other freed hostages; how he had access to television and every Saturday night watched her speaking at the rally on Begin Road (her statements weren’t just for the media, but direct messages to him). And he knew she would never give up on him.”
Protective presence doesn’t work anymore (Andrey X//Vashti 10/19/25)
“Protective presence has been practised in the West Bank for decades…The idea is to leverage the privilege of an international or Israeli passport against settlers and soldiers by placing ourselves between them and the Palestinians they attack and harass…I was once asked why there is no accountability for the settler attacks. How is Yinon Levy walking free after killing a man in front of a dozen cameras? How are the settlers able to commit daily terror attacks and not even be detained for it? Because accountability is reserved for crimes. And what counts as a crime is defined by the ruling order of the land. The ruling order in Palestine doesn’t see settler terror as a crime — settler terror is an essential part of the state project. The Hilltop Youth are the frontline soldiers of the Israeli occupation, doing their part in fulfilling the near century-long state project of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine…The question we ask ourselves over and over is what can we do in this new reality? What can we do when settlers attack us, grab our phones, push us to the ground, and drag us over rocks with an ATV, as happened to a friend of mine in late August? What about when the same settlers then assault and even choke us as the cameras roll, while the police and army both decline to intervene, as happened to another? What difference can we make when we’re no longer recognised as a barrier to violence, but just another target?”
The Gaza War Opened a Moral Chasm Between American Jews and Israel (Daniel Sokatch//Haaretz 10/23/25)
“For millions [of American Jews] For millions, Israel has long been central to identity – but so has liberalism. And as liberals, American Jews have been horrified by Israel’s extremist, ultra-nationalist turn. A Washington Post poll shows that 61 percent of American Jews say Israel has committed war crimes. A shocking 4 in 10 say Israel is guilty of genocide against Palestinians. But perhaps more to the point: liberal American Jews are stunned that so many Israelis, and too many of their own institutions, are willing to justify the catastrophic destruction of Gaza and mass killing that took place there. According to polling by the aChord Center at Hebrew University, two-thirds of Israelis (64 percent) believe there are no innocents in Gaza. That is more than a political divide; it’s a moral chasm.”
How Israeli strikes that killed 5 journalists at a Gaza hospital unfolded (WaPo 10/21/25)
“With a ceasefire in place, rights groups and press freedom advocates say they plan to redouble their calls for accountability, including by appealing to the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor said crimes against journalists were being examined as part of its investigation into the conflict. “Our experience over decades is that Israeli-led investigations into killings are neither transparent, nor independent,” Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement. “And in not a single case over the past 24 years has anyone in Israel ever been held accountable for the killing of a journalist.”
‘The loss of education is the loss of the future itself’: Gaza’s children and teachers on two years without school (The Guardian 10/19/25)
“With 97% of schools destroyed or damaged, 600,000 children have just begun their third year out of formal education. Three students and a teacher share their stories – and their hopes”