Utter lawlessness and contempt for rule of law. We will never recover from this. Thanks John Roberts.

Who could ever have predicted that Gaza is heading to protracted conflict with maximal Palestinian suffering and not peace www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/gazas...

The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

The smear campaign against Mustapha Kharbouch -- falsely accused of the Brown shooting and MIT murder by powerful politicians, pundits and plutocrats -- is a prime example of how pervasive racism has become. It's also a story largely ignored by the mainstream media www.thenation.com/article/poli...

My latest In Gaza, another winter of despair www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Over 70% of Israeli Jews oppose including Arab parties in the government according to new survey (Haaretz) www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Doctors Without Borders urges Israel to let critical aid into Gaza as children freeze to death. "At least 13 people, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather and a lack of adequate shelter and aid – blocked by Israel" www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12...

“I carried him on my back. It took seven days.” A camp in eastern Chad is now home to more than 100,000 refugees of Sudan’s civil war, and is a key destination for those fleeing El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. Resources are strained as the number of newly displaced people increases.

Users need to revolt against what will very likely be an even more widespread effort to censor voices critical of Israel.

“There is desperation among Palestinian villagers and farmers as they watch the takeover of their lands at a pace never seen before… The Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank.” www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Israel’s land seizures in the West Bank aren’t raising questions about the possibility of a two state solution, those questions were answered a long time ago. This is about what kind of one state reality there will be, and the answer to that is also pretty clear. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Great in-depth Article in NY Times today about Netanyahu regime backing Israeli settlers who are driving Christian and Muslim Palestinians from their land to create Jewish only settlements. Ethnic cleansing in real time: Here is gift link to read: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The question is misplaced. This campaign is designed to threaten and harass — and then fire — professors who explore subjects the fascists don’t like such as science.

The United States and Russia continue to sanction and threaten ICC judges. Just disgraceful.

This is horrific. RFK Jr’s CDC is funding a study in Guinea-Bissau which would involve deliberately withholding the hepatitis B vaccine from hundreds of newborn infants, putting them at great risk of death. They want to repeat Tuskegee.

The US government has imposed sanctions on two additional ICC judges in order to shield Israeli officials from charges of grave international crimes. These sanctions are the latest attempt by the Trump administration to blatantly interfere with independent justice.

Our new golden age of free speech, where opposition to immigration enforcement can trigger a federal investigation

Sad that she had to inflict so much damage on higher education on her path to enlightenment

Great piece from Paul Musgrave on how Trump is, in essence, taking America private:

Looks like the consultants from The Line have more free time these days. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

"I miss the craftsmanship of the Bush years, you know? George W. Bush and his team didn’t just point to Iraq and go 'I wanna!' like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. They WORKED to get all those soldiers and civilians killed."

The advocacy group founded by the late Jamal Khashoggi, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), has published a report which unveils the senior leadership of AIPAC— most of whom have not been previously disclosed.

Ungated version www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Why is it so impossible to write on Facebook now? The predictive AI is so intrusive and bad that I can’t complete simple words much less complete sentences. No lectures on how Meta is evil, I know- asking if there’s a specific tech thing that makes that so terrible now and worse than other apps

As long as no one objected to the genocide in Gaza, it’s all good

Israel launches new raids in Syria’s Quneitra, establishes checkpoints https://aje.io/hquvgy

New Analysis on my Substack: I Detected Over 5,000 Bot-Like Accounts Amplifying UAE-Aligned STC Narratives in Southern Yemen open.substack.com/pub/marcowen...

It’s time for Abu Aardvark’s Best of 2025! Find out my top five Middle East political science books, my top ten albums, and my favorite question in Denmark. abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/best-of-2025/

NEW: The FBI has launched "domestic terrorism" investigations into anti-ICE activity across the US. Some cases are under Trump's NSPM-7 order to crackdown on "anti-fascism" and "anti-Americanism." Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org + shared w/ Guardian include FBI map of cases in 30+ states:

Random reminder both of the top opposition leaders in Turkey are now in prison

WTAF

“assassination campaign against nuclear scientists”

Must read Frontline and WashPo report: “Israel had decided to strike, as the U.S. well knew. The planned diplomacy was a ruse, and officials from both countries encouraged media reports of a U.S.-Israeli rift”. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Daniel Shapiro, who served as US Ambassador to Israel under Obama's presidency from 2011 to 2017 and as a Defense Department liaison to Israel under Biden, has written a meandering diatribe in the Atlantic about how his fellow Democrats are now too anti-Israel.

Tell me more about this “moral leadership” and what other power might possess such a thing

The Palestine Action ban is an incredible story of the criminalization of political speech, but also of solidarity in defense of that speech. As the thread points out, most of those arrested have been older and women. As John Boyce explained here, the ban is part of a broader trend across Europe.

Gas deal with Israel while Gaza still smoldering will be popular in Egypt.

"Turning vast geographies such as the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea into death zones is not enough for those who see their fight as a civilisational one, steeped in racial mythology and 'remigration' fantasies that will ultimately also turn against Europe’s minority citizens." Great piece.

Finishing up a few days of workshops and book talks in Denmark and Norway (thanks @mortenvalbjorn.bsky.social @erikskare.no) and people don’t seem at all amused by or ready to wave off Trump’s NSS, Greenland ravings, schemes to break up the EU, or declarations of civilizational war.

This is why IRB was created. Anyone who does an experiment like this should suffer extreme professional sanctions.

All the centers they’re cutting add up to less than $7 million in spending. UNC athletics budget is $185.4 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has approved a $35 billion deal to export natural gas to neighboring Egypt over the next 15 years.

Area Studies Centers at UNC shuttered due to insufficient "return on investment," unclear "metrics of success," and non-alignment with the chancellor's "priorities." One day (soon), we will look back on the miracle of the public research university and will scarcely believe that it ever existed.

Thanks to the University of Copenhagen for hosting me today for a talk on my new book America’s Middle East - great turnout during final exams, great questions, provocative discussions. Plus the city dresses up beautifully for Christmas. www.amazon.com/Americas-Mid...

Pleased to contribute to this free collection of modern MENA primary sources humanities-collections.exeter.ac.uk/dame/s/en/it...

‘We’re living in terror’: fears in southern Syria over Israel’s growing occupation Residents say incursions and raids have increased since forces first entered country a year ago after fall of Assad www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Over 1 million Gazans lack adequate shelter as winter storms flood makeshift camps. UN satellite data shows 81% of structures destroyed or damaged—123,000 buildings razed, 75,000 damaged. Raw sewage overflows whilst aid remains restricted. 🎁

Cease-fire lol

For at least the next three years nothing released by the US government should be treated as true, reliable or authoritative. Reviewers take note - reliance on “official” sources should be grounds for desk rejection.