I see it now. He’s darth vader.

My intergenerational traumas are in retrograde this month

Trump’s threats to force universities to silence protests are a “twisted new form of transnational repression. Restricting free speech...by cutting state funds, or more accurately, creating a chilling effect by threatening to do so, is a hallmark of autocratic takeovers,” said @omerman.bsky.social.

So what are the chances that this grows into a benevolent dictatorship?

New president, new flag on the house

In case Trump doesn’t read Hebrew, here is Smotrich’s statement: “Netanyahu gave us assurances that Gaza will become uninhabitable…he agrees with and accepts our approach: The war will change and Israel will control Gaza”. Smotrich may be a theocratic-messianic fascist, but he’s no liar. Believe him

Three depressing predictions re Israel-Palestine: 🧵📜 1) The Israeli baby (Bibas family) who was taken on Oct 7 along with another sibling and their mother, is supposed to be returned in one of the early rounds of hostage releases. (1/8)

Parliamentary politics, amirite? Ben Gvir says his party will leave the government if it goes for the ceasefire, but it will rejoin the government if and when the war resumes.

I'm sorry but the Biden Admin's failure to achieve a ceasefire for 15 months was so much larger and more consequential than whoever managed to get it done today. Regardless of who is credited with a ceasefire, Netanyahu and Biden deserve full credit for genocide.

"Ending Israel's genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza is of course a long-overdue welcome development but without guarantees that Israel can never again carry out such atrocities, it is but a single gulp of fresh air," said DAWN's Israeli-Palestine research director @omerman.bsky.social.

"Israel Bonds are one of the most significant sources of financing for illicit Israeli activities in Palestine, from the violent expansion of West Bank settlements to offsetting the enormous costs of the genocidal campaign in Gaza," said DAWN's @omerman.bsky.social.

Hot take: Netanyahu will throw Ben Gvir under the bus for turning Israeli prisons into full-on torture camps, both to hold off int'l accountability (complementarity) and making himself seem like the responsible adult in the room to mainstream Israelis ("he's the sadist, not me").

Israeli bond profits “get handed out largely to [Israeli] government coalition agreements, which oftentimes are where budgets for settlements come from”, said DAWN's @omerman.bsky.social. For that reason, “Anybody investing in Israel bonds is risking violating the settler sanctions.”

The lawsuit, supported by DAWN, documents how the State Department has created unique, insurmountable processes to evade the Leahy Law requirement to sanction abusive Israeli units.

Palestinian Families Sue State Department To Suspend U.S. Military Assistance To Abusive Israeli Security Forces dawnmena.org/united-state...

Gaza vs Blinken Our latest at @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...

Imagine a time traveler going back to January 7th, 2021, and telling you that this would happen less than four years later.

A tale as old as time: Random woman becomes internet famous for describing sex act -> uses fame to execute seeming crypto scam -> Jews blamed

“We only publish opinions our billionaire owner likes, and only after making sure they don’t contain anything the regime-aligned plutocrats might find objectionable” sounds dystopian - only it’s not an imagined future or alternative reality, it’s where we are. Quite the “fourth estate” we have.

"At this point, nobody wants to hear what we have to say anymore. They simply refuse contact ... the momentum of academic boycotts is increasing." www.shomrim.news/eng/judicial...

This is how they cover up what abortion bans do — fire anyone who helps tell the stories of harm. Everyone who is or can be pregnant will pay the price. www.propublica.org/article/geor...

Fascinating that experts in extremism (which Marc is, btw) now see X as their core platform for research. (For over a decade, you had to delve into small telegram groups and other networks to track what extremists were saying.)

It's snowing!

"In light of the threats already made by president-elect Trump and existing US legislation known as the 'Hague Invasion Act,' the EU and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the ICC and its staff," said @omerman.bsky.social.

What if all ICC member states came out of the ASP with a unified declaration that alongside a commitment to arrest Netanyahu and Galant, they will grant asylum to Israelis fearing persecution for refusing illegal orders?

How long until the U.S. criminalizes any cooperation with the ICC?

Legal commentator on Israel tv right now: "At least they didn't charge them with genocide..."

It gives me the slightest bit of hope that at a moment when the international system is under the most serious stress test in (my) lifetime, the forces of justice and international law refuse to be cowed by threats and intimidation. The only question now is whether they can survive.

The Democratic Party establishment sold Biden as electable, neglected any real transition plan, and gaslit the public about his readiness—a far more sweeping failure than anything from progressive groups.

The past year in microcosm: Israel sends a letter to the Biden administration promising not to do things in Gaza which it is, in practice, already doing, and the administration will basically shrug and take those "assurances" at face value. www.axios.com/2024/11/20/i...

How gangsters took over Gaza's aid routes: "Senior UN officials argue that such brazen theft could not happen without the assent of Israeli forces. 'These guys are probably the only people in Gaza who can get 100 yards from an Israeli tank without being shot.'" www.ft.com/content/6a03...

Assad’s brutal war against the Syrian people was infamously one of the bloodiest campaigns of mass slaughter in recent memory. And yet.

Remember that time the ICC almost issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu?

I’m getting some strong Igby Goes Down vibes from this cauliflower

“Deterring settler violence would be much more effective if Biden finds a way to make these sanctions more durable than an executive order that Trump can revoke on day one." dawnmena.org/dawn-stateme...

The dangers of law enforcement access to location data presents are especially grave for those traveling to or from out-of-state reproductive health clinics, places of worship, and the border.

So apparently the Israeli president gifted Biden an archeological artifact taken from occupied East Jerusalem. What does diplomatic protocol say about receiving stolen property? www.christianpost.com/news/biden-g...