This week, the Trump administration’s attacks on free speech, especially for those advocating for Palestinian freedom, continued to escalate. We have seen an increasingly aggressive effort to silence dissenting voices, from pro-Palestinian students to organizations working to end the occupation and the apartheid regime that the Israeli government maintains. Michael Arria spoke to Laurie Brand, of the Middle East Studies Association, about the history of attacks on the field of Middle East Studies, the current designs of the Trump administration, and the capitulation of universities. There is resistance, of course. Students are far ahead of their institutions, and certainly of the politicians who are just clutching their pearls. The kids are alright, as they say, and continue to lead the struggle to protect all of our civil liberties and civil rights. They need our support.
This repression is not limited to the United States. Jodie Jones writes that an unprecedented wave of deportations targeting activists and their supporters is underway in Europe as well. Anti-genocide activists in countries like Germany and Greece are being pushed to the brink, as governments respond with draconian measures to disrupt popular support for Palestine.
As the U.S. withdraws from its previous international commitments, Israel has seized the opportunity to escalate its campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The Israeli government has used the political chaos generated by the Trump administration to further its genocidal agenda. It has destroyed the southern Gaza city of Rafah, turning it into a massive buffer zone along the Egyptian border. Tareq Hajjaj has a powerful article on the situation in Rafah, as Israel moves on its long-term plan to erase Palestinian life from the territory.
The situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic proportions, with more than 60,000 Palestinians dead, and the death toll rising each day. Yet, this ongoing genocide remains tragically overlooked by much of the international community. The deadly realities of Gaza are being livestreamed into the hands of Americans, but as Asmer Asrar Safi highlights, many are more inclined to mourn the death of abstract ideals than to confront the devastating loss of human life that is unfolding before their eyes.
We have a couple of items on the passing of Pope Francis, a moral giant whose unwavering advocacy for the Palestinian people provided a vital counterpoint to the apathy and complicity that often define international responses to Israel’s crimes. His death is not only the loss of a religious leader, but the loss of an important ally for Gaza’s Christian community. Pope Francis’ relationship with the Catholic Church in Gaza was a beacon of hope in the darkest of times. This is a personal loss for many in Gaza, whose connection to the Pope was not merely symbolic but profoundly human. Pope Francis’ advocacy was more than just a moral stand—it was a call to the global community to recognize the injustice of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
Stay safe,
– Dave Reed, Publisher
Must read: Exclusive: $100 million is missing from the Jewish National Fund Canada’s tax returns. Where did the money go?
Miles Howe: A review of JNF Canada’s tax filings confirms the organization failed to report over $100,000,000 CDN in donations since 2003. The finding raises serious questions regarding JNF activities and the preferential treatment given to Zionist charities.
Catch-up
🇺🇸 Michael Arria: Mondoweiss spoke with political consultant Peter Feld about the declining support for Israel across the political spectrum and age groups, and the far-reaching effects it’s having on U.S. politics, from local mayoral races all the way up to Trump.
⛪ Qassam Muaddi: As both Eastern and Western Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, the divide between Palestinian Christians and those in the West has never been larger. The core of this divide is the racist theology of Christian Zionism.
🇮🇷 Mitchell Plitnick: U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program continue to show signs of success. But Merav Ceren’s appointment to the National Security Council shows the institutional power pro-Israel forces will have to sink a deal.
🇵🇸 Tareq Hajjaj: Israel has completely wiped out Rafah, turning a fifth of Gaza’s territory into a giant buffer zone. This is part of Israel’s plan to permanently remain in Gaza and ethnically cleanse its people.
🚨 Abnaa el-Balad: The Left Palestinian movement Abnaa el-Balad is calling for international solidarity for the release of Raja Eghbarieh, an elder movement leader currently being held in administrative detention for his political activity to end the Gaza genocide.
🇭🇹 Simón Rodríguez: On March 30, a lynch mob led by neo-Nazi paramilitaries flew the Israel flag as it demanded Haitian workers be expelled from the Dominican Republic. The episode reveals the disturbing connections between the Dominican right-wing and Israel.
🇻🇦 Tareq Hajjaj: Palestinian Christians in Gaza remember Pope Francis and his daily calls to the Catholic church there. “Gaza was among his last words,” one member of the parish told Mondoweiss. “His voice made us forget the sound of the planes and the bombs.” James North reports on mainstream news coverage overlooking Pope Francis’ ongoing relationship with Gazan Christians.
🇪🇺 Jodie Jones: It is not just pro-Palestinian students in the U.S. who are facing the threat of deportation. Anti-genocide activists in Germany and Greece are also currently under threat of deportation, an unprecedented move to quash popular support for Palestine.
🇺🇸 Asmer Asrar Safi: Americans have always been ignorant of the deadly realities of their empire. Now that genocide is being live-streamed to their phones, they have no excuse. Still, many would rather mourn the death of ideals than those being killed in their name.
🏛️ Khadeejah Khan: As students protesting the Gaza genocide encounter violent repression, the push to integrate Arab American Studies and Palestine into Ethnic Studies faces censorship and political attacks as well.
🇮🇱 Jessica Buxbaum: Israeli settlers are taking over Palestinian land by creating “farming outposts” with the goal of ethnically cleansing Palestinians. This strategy complements the Israeli state’s broader plans for annexing the West Bank.
Thank you Dave Reed, you write:
“..This is a personal loss for many in Gaza, whose connection to the Pope was not merely symbolic but profoundly human. Pope Francis’ advocacy was more than just a moral stand—it was a call to the global community to recognize the injustice of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
Stay safe…”
– Dave Reed, Publisher
Grayzone reveals how Trump has “flipped-the-script” on DEI and going forward, any US/gov’t scientist applying for NIH grant and is anti-Genocide-BDS-Israel will be denied. Trump assaults DEI only to install Israel’s “Bacchanalia of Genocide version” of DEI = Jewish Supremacy Forever! Max Blumenthal said censorship in US is off the charts.
Thank you again Mondoweiss and Miles Howe for your excellent report on JNF-Canada fraud and the missing $100 million. Can you imagine an audit on JNF-USA? Ben Givr was in New York to thank his Jewish Billionaire class for supporting his Terrorist Settlers and their “Bacchanalia of Genocide Starvation plan”.
Ben Gvir never served in the IDF due to extremism, “a convicted felon”:
The lack of discussion, as to what a workable future could look like, creates chaos. That chaos is exploited by Netanyahu and his zealots to ethnically cleanse.