NEW FROM FMEP
Meeting Gaza’s Needs for Food, Justice, & Accountability (Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Hani Almadhoun, Vice President of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA and co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, an initiative that Hani and his family in Gaza started to feed people in Gaza during the Israeli genocide. Hani and Ahmed speak about Hani’s family in Gaza and the work of the Gaza Soup Kitchen from its founding until today. They discuss the mission and work of UNRWA and the role that UNRWA USA plays in supporting it. And they talk about accountability, justice, and ways forward.
Israel, a Personal History (Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Swedish author Göran Rosenberg. They discuss messianism in Jewish history, the continuity from 1950s Tel Aviv to the settler movement Gush Emunim to the manifestation of the settlement movement today. They also look at questions of collective rights, framed in terms of ‘peoplehood,’ versus individual rights.
FMEP Legislative Round-Up August 7, 2026 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters & Reports; 3. Hearings & Markups; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: August 7, 2026 (Kristin McCarthy)
EAST JERUSALEM: E-1 Update; Settlers Take Over Old City Property; WEST BANK: Mass Demolitions Target Al-Walaja; Beit El School Opens to “Rehab” Hilltop Youth; STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM: Mass Attack on Tuba; Yinon Levy Indicted
GLOBAL/REGION
Israel moves to derail potential Gaza deal as attacks continue (New Arab 8/2/26)
“Israel will continue to attack Gaza despite Hamas agreeing to surrender its weapons, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Sunday. In an interview with Israel Army Radio, Cohen denied claims that Israel had agreed to end its assault and backed a full military takeover of Gaza. Exiled Palestinian official Mohammad Dahlan had earlier claimed that the US would ensure Israel ends its assault on Gaza following Hamas’s agreement to disarm. In a post on Saturday, the former Fatah official said he had received assurances from Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner that Israel would from Sunday observe the ceasefire and end its attacks…But he edited the post a few hours later, writing instead that Kushner “informed us that he is working with the Israeli side to halt the attacks on Gaza”. Hamas’s agreement to disarm has made little difference in stopping Israel’s assault, which has killed more than 1,230 Palestinians since October when the ceasefire was supposed to come into effect. In the latest bombardment, Israeli forces killed at least 15 people on Sunday – including two children – in what medics said was the biggest daily death toll in weeks.” See also Hamas says Israel must withdraw first after Trump announces Gaza deal (Al Monitor 7/31/26); Israel Bombards Gaza, Days After Trump Announced Deal to Advance Cease-Fire (NYT 8/1/26); As Israel sabotages Gaza talks, Hamas’ new ‘warrior leader’ faces his first challenge (Muhammed Shehada//+972 Magazine 8/6/26); As the Board of Peace Cosplays Diplomacy, Israel Once Again Ramps Up Killing in Gaza (Abdel Qader Sabbah and Sharif Abdel Kouddous//Drop Site 8/6/26); Netanyahu says Israel ‘didn’t agree’ to Board of Peace’s terms for disarming Hamas (TOI 8/5/26);
Israel Captured 230 Square Miles of Lebanon, Razed Villages and Built New Bases (Haaretz 8/5/26)
“The IDF is entrenching itself deep in south Lebanon, according to information obtained by Haaretz, tours on the ground and recent satellite images. During the war, the IDF captured an area of about 600 square kilometers (230 square miles) in Lebanon, which in some places extends up to 12 kilometers from Israel’s border. Within this area, it has established at least seven new bases and carved out dozens of kilometers of logistical roads. As in Gaza, the IDF is carrying out extensive infrastructure work in the territory it captured in Lebanon. Along the entire route from Israel’s border deep into south Lebanon, engineering vehicles, including excavators, road rollers and D9 armored bulldozers, are at work. Some are operated by civilian contractors.” See also UN: More Than 360,000 Lebanese Remain Displaced as Israel-Lebanon Talks Continue (Haaretz 8/5/26); Israel strikes south Lebanon after 2 soldiers killed (Al Monitor 8/6/26); Israel strikes southern Lebanon killing one and injuring 11 (Guardian 8/5/26); What to know about Lebanon-Israel 7th round of talks held in Rome (Al Monitor 8/4/26);
“For Your Eyes Only”: Israel’s Mole Inside the United Nations (Murtaza Hussain//Drop Site 8/4/26)
“Hacked emails show Yahav Lichner, a UN official, repeatedly supplied Israeli diplomats with confidential UN reports and private briefings. He now directs UNICEF’s Washington office…Over a two-year period between 2014 and 2015, emails show, Lichner repeatedly supplied Israeli officials with internal UN documents, private meeting accounts, pre-release material, and other political intelligence—including documentation marked as “strictly confidential”—which was later used by Israeli officials to help shape their own efforts to both proactively lobby the U.S. government and undercut UN initiatives they viewed as unfavorable to Israel…Prior to joining the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Lichner worked at Israel’s mission to the UN from 2011 to early 2014…That placement appeared to pay dividends as Lichner continually fed inside information from the UN to [then-Israeli Ambassador to the UN and current Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron] Prosor and other Israeli diplomats, including unissued draft documents authored by then–Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, private accounts of meetings by UN officials, and internal reports marked as confidential. Lichner also provided insight and guidance on internal UN processes and deliberations related to Israel, including informing them of scrutiny of its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. UN officials are subject to rules defining staff as international civil servants whose responsibilities are “not national but exclusively international.” The organization’s internal guidelines also strictly prohibit officials from communicating information to any “government, entity, person or any other source any information known to them by reason of their official position.” A former senior UN official confirmed that the behavior documented in the emails is expressly prohibited by UN guidelines.”
Jerusalem’s most important Muslim religious site facing ‘imminent’ threat of Israeli takeover, says Jordan (The Guardian 8/4/26)
“Jordan is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world over what it says is an “imminent” threat of an Israeli takeover of the most important Muslim site in Jerusalem, with the potential to “trigger a religious conflict”. The meeting on Wednesday – and the Jordanian warning – follow an escalating pattern of government-backed incursions by Jewish religious extremists on the compound around al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, in violation of a status quo treaty overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, by which only Muslims can pray at the site. On 23 July, more than 2,000 Israelis from the religious right – mostly settlers led by the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir – stormed the area, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. They prayed and performed rituals all around the compound in what Jordanian officials said was the worst violation in modern history.”
Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace issues first building contract – for a military base (The Guardian 8/6/26)
“Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which was set up in January to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, has finally issued its first construction contract in the devastated territory: a project to build a rudimentary 150-person military outpost to house Moroccan troops, a source familiar with the matter told the Guardian. The contract, which has not yet been finalised, was awarded to Arkel International, a Louisiana-based firm that has previously carried out work with the US government in countries such as Iraq.” See also Uganda authorises Gaza troop deployment under Board of Peace’s disarmament plan (New Arab 8/7/26);
After hours-long search, IDF says all settlers who entered Lebanon have returned (ToI 8/6/26)
“A day after some 15 settler activists illegally crossed the border into Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday that all had been returned to Israel following an hours-long search by troops. According to the military, the group — largely made up of young women, reportedly including teenagers — arrived at the border community of Ghajar on Wednesday, damaged the border fence, and entered Lebanese territory…The group belongs to the Uri Tzafon Movement, a Religious Zionist organization that calls for settlement in southern Lebanon, in areas it claims belong to the Jewish people. Members of Uri Tzafon have illegally crossed into Lebanon multiple times recently, including last month, while receiving support from some coalition lawmakers…Israeli authorities have rarely filed any charges against these settler activists, despite repeated illegal infiltrations into Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. There has been a particular increase in attempts to cross the border into Syria in recent weeks, most notably by the Bashan Pioneers settler activist group, named after the biblical region of Bashan, which includes part of modern-day Syria and neighboring Jordan.”
Seized on Their Way to Gaza, Activists Tell of Abuse in Israeli Custody (NYT 8/7/26)
“The stated goal of the activists, who sailed from Turkey on May 14, was to bring food and humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged enclave. In reality, many expected to be detained, like those who had participated in similar flotillas, before reaching the territory…After the detainees arrived in Turkey, the flotilla’s organizers soon announced that the detainees had made “numerous reports of physical abuse” as well as “deeply disturbing accounts of sexual humiliation and degrading treatment carried out by Israeli forces.”…In the months that followed, we separately interviewed 24 activists, all but one of whom spoke on the record. We also reviewed records provided by medical authorities in Australia, France, Italy and Turkey. All of the activists gave consistent accounts of a pattern of abuse, first aboard the Israeli vessels and then on Israeli soil…By their own accounts, the activists were treated less punitively than most detained Palestinians and for a much briefer time. Even so, international law experts said that the treatment that they described would constitute a breach of international law.” See also UK appeals court upholds anti-Zionist beliefs as protected under equality law (MEE 8/4/26); Life of Gaza hospital director Dr. Abu Safiya in ‘tangible and imminent danger’ (New Arab 8/6/26)
GAZA
Mass funeral held in Gaza for victims of 2023 Israeli strike (The Guardian 8/4/26)
“Mourners gathered in central Gaza on Tuesday for a mass funeral for 112 people, including 40 children, who were killed in 2023 in one of the deadliest Israeli strikes of the Gaza war. Their bodies could not be recovered until now because of Israel’s continuing strikes, which have slowed, though not halted, since the ceasefire in October. Hundreds of people gathered around more than 100 coffins wrapped in Palestinian flags and arranged in rows on the ground in Deir al-Balah. Mourners prayed for the victims before carrying the bodies through rubble-lined streets and past destroyed buildings for burial in a nearby cemetery. The victims had been among more than 300 people killed on 22 November 2023, when Israeli warplanes demolished a residential block in Gaza City. The bodies of only about 40 people could be recovered by people at the scene, who dug through smouldering rubble with their bare hands and basic tools. Last weekend, Gaza’s civil defence dug through the levelled apartment block and recovered the remains of a further 112 victims, including women and children. It said 157 people were still missing after the attack.” See also Gaza family buries 112 recovered from war rubble after Israeli strike (Al Monitor 8/4/26)
‘Lives cut short’: Gaza’s surging miscarriage crisis (Ruwaida Amer//+972 Magazine 8/3/26)
“Pregnancy losses more than tripled in the first half of this year, as conditions continue to deteriorate amid Israel’s bombardment and siege…Across Gaza, pregnancy has become increasingly perilous as women endure hunger, repeated displacement, bombardment, and the collapse of much of the healthcare system. Doctors say they are witnessing an alarming rise in miscarriages among women, especially those living in tents without reliable access to nutritious food, clean water, medication, or prenatal care.”
RIVER TO THE SEA
Israeli Forces Withdraw From Palestinian Refugee Camp After Two-day Operation; Reports Say Dozens Injured (Haaretz 8/7/26)
“Israeli security forces withdrew overnight Friday from the Qalandiyah refugee camp and the neighboring Kafr Aqab area, north of Jerusalem, ending a two-day military operation that Palestinian officials said left dozens of residents injured, more than 60 people arrested or detained, and caused extensive damage to private and public property…The governorate said Israeli forces carried out widespread searches and arrests throughout the operation. According to Palestinian officials, more than 60 people, including women and children, were arrested or detained for questioning over the two days, among them relatives of Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians who had been killed.”
‘Darkness, flames, screaming’: Palestinian village terrorized by Israeli settlers (Basel Adra//+972 Magazine 8/7/26)
“The WhatsApp message arrived at 9:50 p.m. on Wednesday. It was a desperate plea for help from Hamza Abu Jundiya, a 22-year-old from the village of Tuba in Masafer Yatta: “The settlers are setting the houses on fire.” At 10:11 p.m., another message: “Send ambulances and firefighters. There are injured children and houses are burning.” Those few words captured the terror unfolding that night in the small village, located along the southern edge of the occupied West Bank. It has been the target of arson attacks by Israeli settlers before, but this appeared to be on a different scale…As more residents from the village gathered and rushed toward the house to help defend it, the settlers eventually retreated toward the nearby Havat Ma’on outpost, located only a few minutes from Tuba. It is the same outpost from which dozens of settlers recently attacked my own village of At-Tuwani: setting fire to the mosque as well as houses and cars, smashing windows, and spray-painting “Revenge.”…If the police were genuinely interested in identifying those responsible, they would know exactly where to look. The settlers came from the nearby outpost and settlement — places equipped with some of the most advanced surveillance cameras in the area. But residents are not hopeful that their attackers will be brought to justice; instead, they are left to prepare for the next pogrom. On Friday afternoon, three settlers from Havat Ma’on were already back in the village harassing residents.” See also What an Israeli settler pogrom feels like (Mohammad Hesham Huraini//+972 Magazine 7/27/26)
How the West Bank pogroms fit into Israel’s annexation plan (Hani Al-Masri//New Arab 8/5/26)
“What is happening today is an extension of policies and attacks that began under the current Israeli government. From early on, their agenda called for the annexation of the West Bank. In practice, although not explicitly stated, the government also adopted what is known as the “Decisive Plan”, which is based on confiscating as much Palestinian land as possible, Judaising and settling it, and expelling as many Palestinian residents as possible. The Netanyahu government, which includes Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, saw an opportunity to expand their project of annexation following the 7 October 2023 attacks. Israeli leaders launched a war of genocide, displacement and occupation in the Gaza Strip while simultaneously continuing and intensifying their policy of de facto annexation in the West Bank. This has included gradual land seizure, systematic displacement of residents, and the imposition of facts on the ground, paving the way for the declaration of Israeli sovereignty…This year, the Israeli government approved the construction of 10,000 settlement units, increased the settlement budget several times, armed settlers with tens of thousands of weapons, and gave them free rein to attack Palestinians and open fire on them. Attacks by settlers and occupation soldiers have become a daily occurrence.” See also Restrictions on Palestinian movement in West Bank allegedly at levels not seen in decades (TOI 7/27/26); Palestinian who snatched settler’s weapon was killed while unarmed, videos show (+972 Magazine 7/28/26); Israel seizing West Bank heritage sites ‘piece by piece’ (Shatha Yaish//+972 Magazine 7/24/26);
Number of Palestinian minors in Israeli administrative detention rises sharply — data (ToI 8/7/26)
“The number of Palestinian minors held in administrative detention in Israel rose sharply within roughly a year, rising from 103 in January 2025 to 191 in March 2026, according to Israel Prison Service data obtained by the organization Parents Against Child Detention. Those under administrative detention can be held indefinitely without charge or trial. Under the controversial practice — which Israel says is needed to address urgent security threats — the detainee is not informed of the allegations against them, and any evidence is presented in court in classified proceedings. In addition, the number of minors held in administrative detention for more than a year rose more than eightfold, from six in March 2025 to 50 in March 2026. The figures also show that administrative detention has become an increasingly frequent form of incarceration for Palestinian minors. At the beginning of 2025, about a third of Palestinian minors held by Israel were in administrative detention. By March 2026, the proportion had risen to nearly half.” See also A Palestinian Doctor Held in an Israeli Prison Describes Medical Neglect, Beatings and Humiliation (Amira Hass//Haaretz 8/2/26)
Emigration of doctors, engineers, other highly educated Israelis hits record high (ToI 8/6/26)
“High-earning Israelis working in tech and healthcare are emigrating in sharply rising numbers, almost doubling over five years, a new study by the Israel Tax Authority has found. The research by the Israel Tax Authority’s Planning and Economics Division, which examined incomes of Israeli emigrants over the past decade, found the rate at which affluent Israelis left the country increased sharply in 2023 and 2024 to record highs, and was almost double what it was until 2019. The Israel Tax Authority analysis said that the brain drain disproportionately involves doctors, engineers and other highly educated, high-earning workers, who are in the primes of their careers.” See also Israel is revoking entry permits for U.S. activists involved in West Bank (The Forward 8/7/26)
Israel indicts settler over death of Palestinian activist who worked on No Other Land (Guardian 8/7/26)
“Prosecutors in Israel have indicted an extremist settler for shooting a Palestinian activist last July, the first attempt this decade to hold an Israeli responsible for killing a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank. Yinon Levy, who was under western sanctions, is charged with manslaughter over the death of Awdeh Hathaleen, an English teacher and peace activist. In his last moments, Hathaleen filmed the settler drawing his weapon and opening fire towards him. Hathaleen’s family said Levy should have been charged with first-degree murder over the well-documented attack in the village of Umm al-Khair…“This was not an accident,” said his cousin Tarek Hathaleen. “Yinon Levy must be held fully accountable for Awdeh’s killing.” The charges nevertheless represented a “significant development”, Hathaleen added, after years of near-total impunity for Israelis who attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.” See also A year after Awdah’s killing, Umm Al-Khair struggles for its own survival (Basel Adra//+972 Magazine 7/29/26); A Year After a Killing, the Siege Worsens in Umm al-Khair (Maya Rosen//Jewish Currents 7/30/26);
U.S. SCENE
Abdul El-Sayed Beats the Democratic Establishment and AIPAC in Michigan (Jonah Valdez//The Intercept 8/5/26)
“Despite record amounts of outside spending and attacks from the Democratic establishment, Abdul El-Sayed prevailed in a bitter primary race for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan. Voters in the key swing state chose El-Sayed over the establishment’s choice of Rep. Haley Stevens, whose campaign received about $60 million in support from pro-corporate and pro-Israel super PACs, making the race the most expensive Democratic primary ever…The victory of El-Sayed, a former public health official endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is the latest sign of the growing influence of the Democratic left. And it’s the most staggering illustration yet of the party establishment’s waning grip on power and the unpopularity of the pro-Israel lobby giant, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, amid shifting American sentiment on Israel and Palestine. Through its super PAC, the United Democracy Project, AIPAC broke its own single-race spending record by funding $30 million in attack ads against El-Sayed. Ads that dominated airwaves, flooded streaming services, and stuffed mailboxes in the final month of the race misrepresented El-Sayed’s previous comments about Michelle Obama and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to allege misogyny, and attempted to paint El-Sayed as a terrorist sympathizer.” See also Wesley Bell Again Defeats Cori Bush — With Plenty of Help From AIPAC (The Intercept 8/4/26); Author of DNC’s 2024 “autopsy” says he concluded Gaza war hurt Harris (Axios 8/6/26); The AIPAC Universe Comes Together for Sequel in California (The American Prospect//8/5/26); Aipac-linked Super Pacs spend millions in California to thwart progressive candidate (Guardian 8/6/26); AIPAC-Linked Super PACs, Pro-Israel Donors Flood Primary to Succeed Angie Craig With More Than $3 Million (Drop Site 8/7/26); Donavan McKinney, who pledged to end Israel aid, defeats pro-Israel incumbent in Michigan House race (JTA 8/5/26);
Abandoned by the US: Palestinian Americans trapped in a surge of Israeli settler violence (The Guardian 8/3/26)
“After visits by US ambassador Mike Huckabee to the nearby Israeli settlement of Shilo, Palestinian Americans in Turmus Ayya have witnessed a terrifying rise in attacks…On one side of that boulder are the white-stoned mansions where the Palestinian residents of Turmus Ayya live. About 80% of them are US citizens, members of the diaspora in New York, Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey, who return for the summers and bring their children here to experience Palestinian culture and learn Arabic. Many call themselves proud American patriots and fly the stars and stripes from their balconies. On the other side is an illegal Israeli outpost of corrugated metal trailers and shacks staffed by young men who claim all of the West Bank as Jewish land. The outposts radiate from Shilo, a hilltop settlement across the valley that has become a destination for Americans seeking Judaism’s first religious and spiritual capital before the first temple was built. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has visited Shilo, which the UN says is a violation of international law, twice in the last two years. The irony is not lost on people here that the US has backed settlers claiming the West Bank as theirs, and that US dollars – through Jewish charities and the US budget to support the Israeli military – have helped finance the Israeli land grab. Given Shilo’s close ties to the US, they muse that some of those attacking Turmus Ayya could be fellow Americans. “Only in Palestine will you find American citizens invading American citizens for land,” said Yaser Alkam, a semi-retired family law attorney from Turmus Ayya who for 35 years lived in Anaheim, California. He is now the head of this village’s council.” See also Pro-Israel Pressure Group Honest Reporting Received Grant from Knight Foundation (Drop Site 8/7/26)
Top Democrats accuse Trump officials over Israeli settlers’ ‘unbridled violence’ (Guardian 8/6/26)
“Senior Democrats have accused Donald Trump’s administration of giving a green light to violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, warning that its policies created “a climate of impunity and unbridled violence” that endangers both Palestinians and US citizens. In a letter seen by the Guardian, a group of 19 Democratic senators and representatives call for the restoration of sanctions against extremist settlers and demand independent US investigations into the deaths of nine US citizens killed in the West Bank since 2022.” See also Israel Has Imprisoned a 16-Year-Old Palestinian-American Boy for Two Weeks (Prem Thakker//Zeteo 8/4/26);
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
The Architecture of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza (Marc Lynch//Foreign Policy 8/4/26)
“A new book by the British Israeli architect and political activist Eyal Weizman tries to fill that void by telling the story of Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza street by street, farm by farm, and hospital by hospital. What sets Ungrounding: The Architecture of Genocide apart from this polarized discourse is its determined focus on the physical and its analytical tone. The evidence, collected by Weizman and his team from audios, videos, and interviews and subjected to rigorous analysis, is overwhelming. Their efforts produced the “Cartography of Genocide,” an interactive and constantly evolving digital map that details “an organized and designed campaign to destroy Palestinian life in Gaza.” By the end of the book, the question is less whether Israel’s actions should be regarded as genocide and more what to make of a genocidal process that seeks to not only remove a people but to fundamentally and permanently transform the land.”
Abdul El-Sayed offers a template for Democrats to defeat Trumpism (Peter Beinart//The Guardian 8/5/26)
“By casting the Michigan Senate primary as yet another battle between progressive insurgents and establishment centrists, media coverage of El-Sayed’s campaign has tended to overlook what is innovative about it. Like Zohran Mamdani and the democratic socialists who have won House races in New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado, El-Sayed wants to end unconditional US military support for Israel. But while Mamdani sometimes discusses Israel purely through the language of human rights and international law – as he did in his recent video arguing that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested as a war criminal – El-Sayed’s message is more nationalistic. He rarely discusses the Jewish state without linking it to Washington’s failure to address problems at home…In relentlessly linking US military aid to Israel to unmet needs in the United States, El-Sayed is crafting a progressive version of America First.” See also The Shame of the American Jewish Establishment (Peter Beinart//Jewish Currents 7/29/26)
Shifting US politics offers opportunity for Palestinian self-determination (George Zeidan//Al Jazeera 8/6/26)
“For the Palestinians, changing American politics alone will not automatically produce different outcomes. They need a coherent strategy for engaging the US —one built around clear, achievable policy objectives rather than broad aspirations. More progressives entering mainstream politics and elected bodies are forcing the Democratic Party establishment to rethink its policies. This political fluidity creates an opportunity to place recognition of a Palestinian state at the centre of Democratic campaigns. At the same time, Palestinians should advocate a broader and more coherent policy agenda: accountability under international law, restoration of humanitarian access through UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), enforcement of existing US laws, such as the Leahy Laws (which prohibit US assistance going to foreign military units suspected of human rights violations), reconstruction of Gaza, and ending policies that entrench permanent occupation. This requires recognising that alignment will never be 10 out of 10 on every issue. Building sustainable coalitions will require accepting partial agreement while remaining anchored in consistent principles.”
The Nova Exhibition aims to return the world to October 7 — and keep us there (Em Hilton//+972 Magazine 8/4/26)
“Borrowing heavily from Holocaust memorialization, the mobile exhibit wants visitors to identify with Israeli festivalgoers and forget everything else.”
‘Full cooperation’: How Tel Aviv University serves Israel’s security state (Meron Rapoport & Aharon Porath//+972 Magazine 7/30/26)
“From Shin Bet recruitment to military training programs, Israel’s defense establishment is becoming increasingly embedded in academic life…Interviews and documents point to a university that has, in recent years, increasingly made space for Israel’s military and security establishment in campus life — from partnerships with the army to efforts to recruit students into the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service…A 2025 report by the anti-militarist organization New Profile documented years of recruitment events involving the Shin Bet and Mossad at Israeli universities…Still, [Dr. Yonatan Mendel, head of the Department of Middle Eastern studies at Ben-Gurion University] added, “The entry of intelligence agencies and security considerations into academia is certainly not a new phenomenon. These are processes that predate the establishment of Israel and gained momentum in the 1960s and 1970s.” In the decades that followed, Mendel said, such relationships were largely maintained under a veil of secrecy. Since October 7, however, they have regained momentum and become increasingly explicit.”
Archiving as resistance: The battle to save Gaza’s cultural heritage (Samah Salaime//+972 Magazine 7/31/26)
“A new book documents efforts to preserve millennia of culture, refusing to surrender to the enclave’s destruction while laying foundations for its future…Sarhan’s story and photographs of the sculpture appear alongside dozens of accounts by Gazan artists, curators, and archaeologists in “Archiving Gaza in the Present: Memory, Culture, and Erasure.” Published late last year by Saqi Books, the volume presents archiving as an act of resistance to the destruction of Palestinian culture and memory — a response to what its editors, Dina Matar and Venetia Porter, describe as an ongoing “memoricide.”’
The pro-Israel lobby has swayed US presidents since Truman. It must end with Trump (Ian Lustick & Eli Clifton//The Guardian 8/2/26)
“The fact is that from Truman to Trump, most American presidents have caved to the demands of Israel and its advocates. Driven by the fear of domestic political defeats, presidents have regularly rejected or abandoned foreign policies that both they and their most senior advisers believed were in the best interests of the US and at the expense of making meaningful progress in bringing a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our new book, Israel’s Lobby, tracks the growth over decades of the most powerful foreign policy lobby in American history. Composed of a panoply of organizations, groups and individuals who advocate American policies that explicitly favor the interests of Israel, the lobby was nurtured – and has been encouraged and guided – by Israeli governments. Exploiting the fact that most voters were ignorant or uncaring on the issue, the lobby used enormous resources and concentrated attention to punish or reward politicians at every level depending on their willingness to follow lobby instructions.”