Thirty-nine newcomer Congresswomen and men, and 5 newcomer Senators are going to Capitol Hill in January! To give members of Congress and their constituents the opportunity to see for themselves, Rebuilding Alliance, is hosting a Congressional Leadership Learning Mission to Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, December 14-21st.  Constituents in their state or district have the most influence in convincing them to take this important trip — invite your’s today.

Haidar Eid writes from Gaza: “As we, Palestinians of Gaza, embark on our long walk to freedom, we have come to the conclusion that we can no longer rely on governments; instead, we request that the citizens of the world oppose these ongoing deadly crimes. In fact, we expect people of conscience and civil society organizations to put pressure on their governments until Israel is forced to abide by international law and international humanitarian law. It did work last century; without the intervention of the international community which was effective against apartheid in South Africa, Israel will continue its war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Saudi Arabia has barred some 1.5 million Palestinian citizens of Israel from entering the country on temporary Jordanian passports, and thus, from performing Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The decision is the latest in a series of measures taken by the Kingdom limiting Palestinian pilgrims’ access to Islam’s holiest site and comes against the backdrop of increasingly normalized relations between Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states.

The liberal pro-Israel group J Street endorsed more than half the members of the new Democratic majority in the House. It is taking on AIPAC in a battle for the Israel lobby, and argues that it represents US Jews, who support the two-state solution. So Trump has succeeded in politicizing Israel.

Robert Herbst writes, “If our new politicians can empathize not just with their own, but with all those who are marginalized because of their color, race, religion, national origin, gender and sexual orientation, here and abroad, the political gains in this election might indeed be good – for the Palestinians, for the Jews, and for all of us.”

Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour writes, “After three years of prison, detention and political prosecution to which I have been subjected, here I am sitting in my room, freely caress my cats, touch life again and discover everything about it all over again as if I am living in a beautiful dream after a long nightmare . . . I entered prison for one poem but I was released with 101 poems.”

Shoshana Austerliz goes on a tour of Tel Aviv’s paramilitary museums honoring Israel’s pre-state militias: “I want to get in there. I want to know what it’s all about. I’m not looking to be wowed by the official narrative but I wanna put myself in the middle of it, to  roll in it, to feel how my blood boils in response to it, to make myself a human test subject. Will the propaganda take?”

Last night’s midterm elections saw a historic opening for critics of Israel. Three women stars of the Democratic Party who have openly criticized Israel’s human rights record were elected to Congress. But the new Democratic faces include many big backers of US Israel special relationship: Max Rose in Staten Island, Mikie Sherrill in northern New Jersey, both in the Congress, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Jair Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil’s presidential election last week has won Israel a passionate new friend on the international stage. Benjamin Netanyahu immediately called to congratulate the former army officer who many describe as a neo-fascist. One might imagine that Netanyahu is simply being pragmatic in cosying up to Bolsonaro, given Brazil’s importance. But that would be to ignore an unmistakable trend: Israel has relished the recent emergence of far-right leaders across the Americas and Europe, often to the horror of local Jewish communities.

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, will renew its debate next week over a bill that would seek the death penalty for Palestinians accused of “terrorism,” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced their support to advance the bill earlier this week.