On February 22, Israeli forces invaded Nablus, killing 11 Palestinians, and wounding more than 100 more. The Biden administration responded by calling for “both sides” to “de-escalate tensions.”

The State Department was asked multiple times whether or not the Biden administration was prepared to do anything to impede Israel’s new West Bank settlement plans– legalizing Jewish outposts– beyond the customary condemnations. Ned Price’s answer was “No,” but he used many words to get there.

Pro-Israel activists and lawmakers are up in arms about questions on the NY State Regents exam which discuss the creation of the state of Israel, and acknowledge that the Golan Heights were illegally annexed.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel and things went exactly as one might expect. There were the usual public comments about the Biden administration’s ironclad support for the country, the standard denunciations of Palestine violence paired with tepid criticisms of Israeli state violence, and (of course) some references to the two-state solution. However, the context of the trip makes the same old song and dance seem a bit more ridiculous.

Billboards in Berkeley, CA attacking anti-Zionist students were defaced with the message, “Free Palestine.” Police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.

A group called “JewBelong” just launched eight billboards across Berkeley. “You don’t need to go to law school to know anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” they declare, an obvious reference to Berkeley Law School where Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine developed a bylaw calling on other campus groups to to refrain from inviting Zionists speakers. Meanwhile, some of the Berkeley Law students who belong to groups that endorsed the bylaw are now being harassed by another pro-Israel group who sent mobile billboards to be parked outside their homes calling them antisemitic.

The Harvard Kennedy School’s brazen move to rescind a fellowship to Kenneth Roth over criticism of Israel is becoming a massive own goal for the institution. Organizations are calling for Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf’s resignation, Roth hitting the interview circuit, and a fresh round of people checking out Human Right Watch’s apartheid report.

Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that the Biden administration would judge incoming Israeli leaders on their actions. So far it has remained silent as the new Israeli leaders have taken proactive actions in Jerusalem, and Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians in the first week of 2023.

Ben & Jerry’s is a company that made progressive politics part of its global brand from the very beginning. It’s openly embraced environmentalism, voting rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other causes. Palestine has long been viewed as a third rail issue, even among liberals, but not in this case. The political attacks and economic threats didn’t stop the company’s board from suing its parent company or deter it from adding the disclaimer and updated map to its website. If Ben & Jerry’s can show other companies that they can divest from apartheid and survive, that’s a positive.

This week the White House announced that it was beginning to develop a national strategy to combat antisemitism. It’s too soon to know what this effort will look like, but there are concerns it will include the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which has been used to target critics of Israel.