Beyond clickbait: Mondoweiss delivers critical analysis from leading experts

Today, in A Thousand Voices for Truth, I want to highlight the ways Mondoweiss coverage of Palestine goes beyond the surface to provide analytical depth from leading experts. I’m proud that among the voices we have published regularly are researchers at the leading edge of scholarship. Their critical analyses help reveal the reality beyond the latest headlines, including, most recently, the appalling U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. And yes, I’m drawing your attention to these intellectuals because your respect for them matters to the future of Mondoweiss: if you value their work, we ask that you donate now to help us meet the $100,000 challenge.

One of the academics who has used Mondoweiss to educate a broader audience is Nada Elia, a professor of global and gender studies who has published articles and edited books on grassroots resistance, gender, and transnational solidarity. A scholar-activist, Nada is a member of the Organizing Committee of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and has spoken around the country about academic boycott as a means to achieve the currently non-existent academic freedom in the US, Israel, and Palestine.

Nada says:

Unlike mainstream media, which distract us with “white noise” (pun intended), small independent publishers offer us venues for responsible, committed journalism.  Organizers and activists rely on the news and analysis Mondoweiss provides, and in turn, Mondoweiss relies on us for financial support, to keep on speaking truth to oppressive power, be that Zionist supremacy or white nationalism.

Another scholarly Voice for Truth published by Mondoweiss is Princeton professor emeritus Richard Falk, who served six years as Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights for the United Nations. Richard says:

Mondoweiss has become for me and so many others the one indispensable source of “real news” about the Palestinian ordeal. All those with a concern for a just peace between these two peoples should make its support a high priority. It is a matter of urgency to have the information and analysis needed to offset the defamatory campaigns of ultra-Zionist activists and the Israeli Lobby.

The recent U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a very timely example of the scope of Mondoweiss’s journalism and analysis. Since the announcement two weeks ago, we have devoted extra resources to covering it, with a special focus highlighted on our homepage and archived here. Mondoweiss coverage has been a combination of:

• on-the-ground reporting from the West Bank and Gaza,
• analysis of the move focused on U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy,
• media criticism, and
• what the move means for the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

And, as Adam shared with you earlier this week, protesters around the world have used Mondoweiss cartoons by Carlos Latuff to illustrate their fury. Quite a testament to the reach and impact of our work!

Mondoweiss will continue to cover every aspect of this important shift in U.S. policy and its reverberations in the Palestinian human rights movement and around the world. I am proud that at moments like this, you and thousands of other readers benefit from Mondoweiss’s strengths: first-hand reporting from Palestine as well as canny, sophisticated analysis. Please invest in these strengths so we can continue delivering the information you value.

I’ll close by quoting yet another of the intellectual heavyweights we are honored to publish in Mondoweiss: Steven Salaita. Steven is the author of award-winning books and articles on Palestine, indigeneity and related subjects. Over the past four years, he has been hounded out of academia by the University of Illinois and the American University of Beirut, institutions that prioritized donors and image over academic freedom and scholarly excellence. Fortunately for all who read his work, Steven has redefined his career as a public intellectual and is continuing to publish insights on Palestine and colonialism via Mondoweiss and other outlets.

Steven says:

Day after day, year after year, Mondoweiss documents the facts and expresses our movement’s ideas. The site has hard-earned credibility and millions of views each year, so ideas published on Mondoweiss have a real impact.

Mondoweiss’s extensive coverage of the Jerusalem decision this month is just one more example of the thorough and creative journalism the site provides. Please join me in supporting Mondoweiss, a vital institution that amplifies voices for justice. We need Mondoweiss for arguments, facts and insights—to make the world understand.

As so often before, I am humbled by the faith in our work expressed by people whose judgment I respect. I hope that you too will find the words of Nada, Richard and Steven inspiring, and that you’ll give today to support Mondoweiss: A Thousand Voices for Truth.