Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Barbara Lee announced that they are introducing a War Powers Resolution in the House. The legislation would remove U.S. forces from any conflict with Iran that hasn’t been granted congressional approval.
After the Trump administration killed Democratic Iran’s top general Qassem Suleimani in a targeted drone strike, the Democratic presidential candidates rushed to condemn the action. However, nearly every statement reiterated Trump’s justification for the strike: that Suleimani was an evil terrorist and murderer.
Shortly after returning from a trip to Israel, Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton shared a strange, meandering post on his website titled “We Were Here First.” In the post, Stapleton compares the Little Shell tribe of Chippewa in Montana to the Palestinians and draws a parallel between Israeli policies and those of Montana’s government.
US Correspondent Michael Arria writes about the ChangeMakers who have inspired him: “The battle for justice isn’t just happening in Palestine or Israel or Washington– it’s happening in your community. Just ask Bahia Amawi. By making a contribution to Mondoweiss today, you can join the fight for justice and help us spread the truth about Palestine and the movement for its liberation.”
Jennifer Bing has been involved in Palestine solidarity activism since the early 1980s and has been one of the driving forces behind the No Way to Treat a Child campaign that led to Rep. Betty McCollum’s historic bill to the stop the detention of Palestinian children. Bing spoke with Mondoweiss’ Michael Arria about how her feelings on pushing lawmakers has changed, how McCollum became an unlikely advocate for the cause, and what comes next.
Although a new bill in the Massachusetts State House didn’t mention the BDS movement, its sponsors left no doubts about its intentions. “This is a proud moment where the legislature can stand together in support of Israel” said State Representatives Steve Howitt after introducing it, “This bill clarifies to businesses that either support BDS or who boycott Israeli-owned businesses and products that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will not engage in commerce with them. I look forward to its quick passage.”
On December 11, President Trump signed an executive order that effectively weaponizes antisemitism as a cudgel to beat back BDS activities on college campuses. The order threatens to withhold federal funding from universities if the government determines that they’ve failed to prohibit discrimination. Trump’s move was barely announced before a member of congress attempted to use the new playbook. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) has sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos asking for Georgetown University to be investigated over its alleged anti-Israel bias.
Freedom Is the Future is a joint project recently launched by US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Adalah Justice Project to establish Palestine’s place in the broader progressive movement by promoting a rights-based framework. “This came about in part because there was a recognition that there was an absence of a framework and reference points within progressive organizing here in the United States that was Palestinian-authored and Palestinian-centered,” Yousef Munayyer explains.
President Trump is on the verge of signing an executive order aimed at cracking down on the campus Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The order recognizes Judaism as a nationality and uses a civil rights loophole that will allow the government to withhold funding from schools that failed to effectively crack down on discrimination, which in this case might mean criticism of Israel. “This is a baldfaced attempt to silence the movement for Palestinian rights on college campuses – something that has been at the top of the Trump administration’s agenda,” said Palestine Legal director Dima Khalidi says.
“In terms of Bernie and others who talk about dealing with Zionism, I strongly support Israel as an independent Jewish state,” said Biden, “The idea that I’d withdraw military aid, as others have suggested, from Israel, is bizarre. I would not do that. It’s like saying to France, ’Because you don’t agree with us, we’re going to kick you out of NATO.”