After Jewish leader Ron Lauder wrote an op-ed in the New York Times saying Israeli settlement policy and “semi-theocratic” leadership are delegitimizing the country and fostering the assimilation of young American Jews, he was confronted in Jerusalem by rightwing minister Naftali Bennett. “What are you doing? What are you doing, Man?” the 45-year-old said condescendingly to the 74-year-old.

Recent criticism of Women’s March activists Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory over accusations of antisemitism have caused a new round of moral manic about left-wing antisemitism. Eric Morgenson recounts a similar episode from the 1980s when Jesse Jackson faced criticism over Israel and his association with Louis Farrakhan: “If the Jewish community’s experiences with Jesse Jackson in the 1980s teaches progressives anything, it should be that accusations of antisemitism can be weaponized to de-legitimize those on the left, especially people of color.”

James North writes a memo to New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief David Halbfinger on the paper’s coverage of Ahed Tamimi: “Enough of the ‘dueling narratives.’ Go to her village in Occupied Palestine, Nabi Saleh, and report some facts.”

Ahed Tamimi, the 17-year-old Palestinian who was imprisoned in December for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier, has reportedly reached a plea bargain to serve eight months in prison including time served. She would be released in July along with her mother, who video’d the incident, according to preliminary reports.

Two activists from the International Solidarity Movement, Rana Nazzal and Joe Catron, describe their work in Palestine on a North American tour that continues to many other venues in Canada and the States. Anyone who wishes to understand the depth of the conflict, and the trauma visited on Palestinian children, should catch one of these appearances. 

Apologists for Israel continue to slander Ahed Tamimi, the 17-year-old Palestinian imprisoned for three months and counting for slapping an Israeli soldier, but Ben Ehrenreich’s superb book, The Way to the Spring, published in 2016, gave Americans a compelling profile of the stoical girl and her remarkable family.

Israeli justice is defined by two events on Monday: the military parole board further reduced Elor Azarya’s prison sentence for killing an incapacitated Palestininian suspect, and a military appeals court rejected Ahed Tamimi’s appeal for an open trial on charges of slapping an Israeli soldier occupying her home.

Nada Elia reviews ‘Why Palestine Matters: The Struggle to End Colonialism,’ a new book by the Presbyterian Church Israel Palestine Mission Network: “With Why Palestine Matters, the Israel Palestine Mission network of the Presbyterian Church is once again proving that it is serious in enacting solidarity, with a highly-readable book providing accessible analysis, online resources, discussion guidelines, and concrete action steps towards a solution.”

Bay Area activist Alice Diane Kisch pans Senator Kamala Harris over her AIPAC speech: “Your support for Israel is the diametric opposite of a path to peace in the Middle East.  I am so sorry that you are not the politician that I was hoping you’d be.”

Gaza resident Ahmed Alanouq responds to an Israeli who writes to him: “You say that your ‘dream is to advance the cause of Palestinian human rights and to expose the ‘human face’ of the Israeli occupation.’ But the Israeli occupation is humane. It is much more humane than your own regime and your people, the Arabs. The occupation supplies you with everything you need.”