Historian Jerome Slater reinterprets the Cold War in the Middle East: “It’s an easy case to make that it was the United States, specifically Nixon and Kissinger… who sabotaged Soviet inititatives that I think were very fair for a two state settlement guaranteed by the super powers.” The Soviets wouldn’t have been in the Middle East if the U.S. hadn’t supported Israel so vigorously, which left Arab states no choice but to align with the Soviet pole. But the Soviets pushed peace in an effort to thwart a global conflict.

Last week an Israeli district court ruled against a Palestinian filmmaker and actor, Mohammad Bakri in a defamation and libel case, ordering him to pay hefty compensation to an officer in the Israeli military who was accused of carrying out war crimes in the 2002 documentary “Jenin, Jenin.” Ramzy Baroud says the verdict can be understood within two contexts: one, Israel’s regime of censorship aimed at silencing any criticism of the Israeli occupation and apartheid and, two, Israel’s fear of a truly independent Palestinian narrative.

Palestinians are expected to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccines as early as this weekend, albeit a much smaller shipment than first anticipated.

In an open letter to Antony Blinken, Mona AlMsaddar tells the incoming U.S. secretary of state that his family’s story of surviving World War II resonates with her own family’s history of the Nakba. She writes, “our Nakba was not limited to 1948. It continues each day that we are forced to live under these conditions. So, please, Mr. Blinken, when you deliberate on policy related to Israel and Palestinians in the coming months, remember my family.”

NY mayor candidate Andrew Yang’s statement that BDS is “rooted in antisemitic thought and history,” going back to Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses, was a highly intentional statement aimed at capturing the NY Jewish establishment, which has rewarded anti-BDS politicians.

The Biden administration may be looking to overturn many of the Trump administration’s policies — but not when it comes to Israel.

Ted Cruz: “Do you agree that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and do you commit that the United States will keep our the embassy there?”
Biden nominee for sec’y of state Tony Blinken: “Yes and Yes.”

While The Jewish Federations of North America claim apolitical status and operate tax-exempt charities, it is one of the most significant institutional purveyors of anti-Palestinian bias in Canada.

On Wednesday, Israel issued tenders for more than 2,500 new settlement housing units in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem a mere hours before US President Joe Biden was sworn into office. The Israeli government has now approved and promoted thousands of new settlement housing units in the first few weeks of 2021, while also continuing to deny Palestinians the right to build on their land in Area C — the more than 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli control.

In the latest Mondoweiss podcast, Michael Arria interviews DNC delegate Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison about the outcome of the recent U.S. elections, and what it means for Palestinian-Americans’ engagement with the U.S. political system.