Weekly Briefing: Stay focused on Gaza

The week’s news surrounding the incoming Trump administration continues to be deeply concerning. The indications from his cabinet picks and rhetoric are clear: civil rights, human rights, and international law are at risk. Trump’s alignment with far-right nationalism and unwavering support for Israel’s actions in Palestine foreshadow a dangerous period ahead. These developments demand vigilance and robust, independent journalism to expose the consequences of such policies. As I noted in my last briefing, we can’t count on Democrats to protect us right now.

Meanwhile, Gaza remains under brutal siege, with the world standing aside or actively participating in the continuing atrocities. Israel is expanding the violence of its attacks on Gaza into the West Bank, where escalations in raids, arrests, and settler violence have intensified over the last several weeks. The same forces driving the destruction in Gaza—colonialism, impunity, and the dehumanization of Palestinians—now threaten to engulf the West Bank. This widening scope of aggression underscores the urgency of holding Israel accountable for its actions before it commits further atrocities.

Mainstream media often avoid naming Israeli apartheid and genocide, but Mondoweiss exists to confront that silence. Our mission is to shine a light on the systemic violence there, amplify the voices of the oppressed, and challenge the narratives that normalize their suffering.

Thanks for reading,
– Dave Reed, Publisher

Must read: Inside Project Esther, the right-wing action plan to take down the Palestine movement

Mitchell Plitnick: The Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” claims to combat antisemitism but in fact, aims to destroy the Palestine solidarity movement as a first step in a crusade against all domestic dissent in the U.S.

Catch-up

🧑‍⚖️ Craig Mokhiber: The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes committed in Gaza. As a result, the two will be unable to travel to at least 124 countries.

📖 Guy Mannes-Abbot: What comes after the supremacism and apartheid of Zionism? Ariella Aïsha Azoulay’s substantial new work, The Jewellers of the Ummah: A Potential History of the Jewish Muslim World, looks to dormant histories for visions of justice and repair.

⛺ Tareq Hajjaj: Between November 9 and 20, Israel carried out at least six airstrikes targeting tents housing displaced Gazans in so-called ‘safe zones.’ According to locals, most of the casualties were women and children.

🙏 Ahmed Mohammed Jnena: “When the Gaza genocide began, I put my trust in God and dismissed fear altogether. But then, trapped under the rubble of my destroyed home, I felt true fear. And it hasn’t left me since.”

🇿🇦 Robert Ross: The South African anti-apartheid movement in the U.S. made its most significant gains during Ronald Reagan’s second term in office. There are lessons for the Palestine movement as Donald Trump returns to the White House.

🇵🇸 Qassam Muaddi: Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in a two-day military raid on the West Bank city of Jenin. The raid completely destroyed areas of the city as Israel detained an unspecified number of Palestinians.

🇺🇸 Nicolas Davies & Medea Benjamin: Marco Rubio is a perfect reflection of the neoconservative foreign policy establishment in Washington. For that reason, he poses a serious threat to Palestine as Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State.

🇮🇷 Nargol Aran: On the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh as Iran inaugurated a new president and the ways the Martyr may enable us to see a path forward to break a siege that stretches from Tehran to Gaza.

🏛️ Michael Arria: The House has passed H.R. 9495, a bill that would allow the Treasury Secretary to strip tax-exempt status from nonprofits. Many view the draconian legislation as an attempt to crack down on the Palestine movement; 18 lawmakers voted for Bernie Sanders’ effort to block arms sales to Israel, but the vast majority of the Senate voted against the measure.

✊ Darryl Li: Regarding a separate bill in Congress, if passed, the anti-charities bill would be the most dangerous piece of domestic antiterrorism legislation since the PATRIOT Act and it would take direct aim at the Palestine movement.

✝️ Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler: As U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee will likely go further in advocating for the destruction of Palestine, stepping up the holocaust in Gaza, and pushing for the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank.