The DHS/State lawyers' case was so incoherent. Argued that writing an op-ed was action not speech. Claimed that "preventing a hostile campus environment for Jewish students" (by repressing protected speech) was vital to US *foreign* policy. Glad Judge Young wasn't having it.

However, cozying up to right-wing antisemites invites some unpleasant surprises. aje.io/s4bccs

If you or your kids have been ostracized, bullied, censored, discriminated against, excluded from campus Jewish life, or fired for Israel-critical views: let the Special Commission on Antisemitism hear it. They claim that victims will be believed, not gaslit.

Surely Massachusetts lawmakers must be starting to realize that this Special Commission is a political liability.

State Sen. Pat Jehlen testified! Then Alain Jehlen: “Your proposal would punish comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, but Israel's actions have much in common with the Nazis. … The Nazis killed my uncles, my aunts and my grandmother. My father escaped from a concentration camp."

"Unless state lawmakers step in with some oversight, this antisemitism commission will actually make Jews less safe." Why @concernedjfaculty.bsky.social is calling for a course correction on the Mass Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism.

"Massachusetts Democrats have a choice. They can resist Trump, or they can help the ADL. They cannot do both."

Thanks, Akhbar al-Adab, for republishing my 2022 conversation with Tugrul Mende about the great but humble Sonallah Ibrahim (RIP), whose novels add up to an alternative global history of postcolonial Egypt. شكراً لتغرل مندي وللأصدقاء في جريدة أخبار الأدب. في ذكرى صنع الله ابراهيم، رحمه الله

My little contribution @arablit.bsky.social with translators on Sonallah Ibrahim

NYT reads and remembers Sonallah Ibrahim:

RIP Sonallah Ibrahim, one of the most unpretentious people I have met. Luminous personality, sparkly dry wit. His novels are a people's history of post-1952 Egypt. Super gracious to translate. If you don't know where to start: Zaat; That Smell and Notes from Prison; Stealth; The Committee. Small🧵.

National context for what's happening on pretextual #antisemitism at the Massachusetts State House, and soon our Dept of Elementary and Secondary Ed.

This has nothing to do with combatting campus antisemitism. This is a shakedown and an effort to bring the best public university system in the country to its knees: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/u...

Even the Boston Herald sees the irony.

Over 2100. The Commission continues to ignore broad public input. Hope the state legislature will do better.

Coming this fall! I'm so proud of this co-translation. Najati Sidqi is a fun writer, curious about everything. Plus, brave at a terrible time. Participated in the Spanish Civil War; booted from the Communist Party in 1940 for writing against fascism during the Hitler-Stalin nonaggression pact.

As the Ivies scramble to (re)cover their asse(t)s, they are handing the mafia state all the keys. Under the "agreement" Brown signed this week, even anonymous student course evaluations will now be combed for “reports of antisemitism.” What could possibly go wrong? www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...