This week Donald Trump launched his “Board of Peace.” This absurd exercise is a blatant attempt to further undermine the prevailing international system and, at the same time, lay the foundation to capture massive amounts of money that will have to be spent to rebuild Gaza. It’s pure corruption; so bad that many nations and international figures kept their distance. We have several items about it below. The other major story is the military build-up Trump has committed in the Middle East aimed at Iran. Are we going to attack Iran? Who knows. Constant uncertainty is the rule of the day. We also lost Jesse Jackson this week. Michael Arria spoke to James Zogby about his legacy.
🇮🇱 Israel makes Palestinian life unlivable
In Gaza, Noor Alyacoubi brings us the heartbreaking story of a young women whose rare skin disease requires a strict daily routine of constant moisturization, careful hygiene, and a humid, climate-controlled environment. The genocide in Gaza has made this impossible. Qassam Muaddi reports on the Israeli plans to displace tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Qalandia refugee camp and Kufr Aqab.
READ MORE → The Palestinians stuck in the no-man’s-land of Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement plan to expel them
☮️ Bored of Peace
Donald Trump convened the first meeting of his so-called “Board of Peace” this week. Despite much fanfare, key nations refused to join, the Pope turned him down, and he struggled to even stay awake during the plodding and absurd speeches. Our writers covered it extensively.
READ MORE → Palestinian resistance and the trap of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ – Abdaljawad Omar
READ MORE → Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ aims to turn Gaza into a playground for investors – Qassam Muaddi
READ MORE → Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ reveals grim future the U.S. and Israel have planned for Gaza – Mitchell Plitnick
READ MORE → Pope Leo rejects Trump invitation to join Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ – Jeff Wright
✊ Communities take action
People continue to fight back against the Israeli occupation. This week the new comptroller in New York City announced he would resume investments in Israel Bonds, and people are organizing to stop it. Activists successfully pressured the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation to end the lease of a company that supplied drone weaponry to Israel. and in Missouri, a bill there to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism would limit first amendment speech in schools.
READ MORE → Can activists stop NYC from reinvesting in Israel Bonds? – Michael Arria
READ MORE → Power & Pushback: Brooklyn Navy Yard evicts drone maker amid pressure campaign – Michael Arria
READ MORE → Organizers fight back as Missouri moves to crack down on Israel-related speech in schools – Marianne Dhenin
🇮🇷 We’re being dragged into war with Iran
Chicken hawks in the United States are once again driving us toward war in the Middle East. The long-dreamed about war with Iran may be launched soon, as the Trump administration has moved the largest build-up of troops to the region since the war on Iraq. We spoke to Sina Toossi about the state of things, looked at the coverage from quisling media outlets, and heard about the wave of protests in Iran from someone who witnessed them.
READ MORE → Trump appears to be gearing up to attack Iran. How close are we to war? – Michael Arria interviews Sina Toossi
READ MORE → Netanyahu and Israel are provoking the U.S. into attacking Iran — and the media continues to ignore it – James North
READ MORE → The night the protests in Iran were co-opted by outside forces – Nargol Aran
🙏 Jesse Jackson, ¡Presente!
We lost Jesse Jackson this week. Friend-of-the-site James Zogby spoke to Michael Arria about the legacy Jackson left with the Arab-American community.
READ MORE → How Jesse Jackson helped bring Arab-Americans into the political process – Michael Arria
And, I would like to add: the future of Judaism without Zionism:
I have always maintained that Israel has nothing to do with Judaism and the marriage of religion and nationalism is always a disaster wherever it occurs, but until recently this was a fringe position. IMO it is no longer fringe: the third annual Conference on the Jewish Left at Boston University just ended:
In Boston, US Jews envision a Judaism beyond Zionism…..Hersh’s new synagogue was among 30 mostly new Jewish organizations whose representatives came together to imagine a new Jewish future less defined by Zionism, if not entirely anti-Zionist, at the third annual Conference on the Jewish Left at Boston University last week (Feb. 12). Hosted by the university’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, the conference drew nearly 1,000 people — 480 in person and the rest online….participants milled about the conference wearing kippahs, or head coverings, featuring watermelons, the symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. Each of the main speakers in the big lecture hall offered a stinging rebuke of what they considered the American Jewish establishment’s unquestioning support for Israel and near complete disregard for Palestinian suffering…. if the conference had a main theme, it was building new institutional containers for what they say is a more ethically grounded American Judaism…. The war has also ruptured a Zionist consensus among the majority of U.S. Jews. While most U.S. Jews increasingly supported Israel and the Zionist cause of building a Jewish state, especially after its decisive victory in the Six Day War in the late 1960s, a growing segment no longer does. A February survey by the Jewish Federations of North America found that only one-third of American Jews identify as Zionist…Across the U.S., and especially in Boston, new institutions are slowly coming into being that reflect this change. They include dozens of budding congregations like V’ahavtah, consisting of Jews who no longer want to pray in synagogues that hoist the Israeli flag in their sanctuaries or recite the “Prayer for the State of Israel” during Shabbat services….
In Boston, US Jews envision a Judaism beyond Zionism
More Judaism without the nationalism:
WE ARE A NATIONAL NETWORK of multiracial synagogues grounded in Jewish spiritual practice, ancestral wisdom, community care, and movements for justice….The inherent kedusha / sacredness of all life is the foundation of our commitments to antiracism, disability justice, trans and gender justice, Indigenous solidarity, Palestinian liberation, and combatting antisemitism. Our synagogues strive to support one another and leverage our collective voice for justice.
Synagogues Rising – A NATIONAL NETWORK of multiracial synagogues grounded in Jewish spiritual practice, ancestral wisdom, community care, and movements for justice.
About a dozen synagogues and other Jewish groups have signed on ,for example Kol Tzedek – Home and Hinenu Baltimore
Re the President’s “Institute of Peace”. Why not challenge it to measure up rather than condemn it as an “absurd exercise”.