Thursday, May 07, 2026

05/06 Links Pt1: The ‘Palestinian Land’ Myth; Asymmetric warfare and the ayatollahs; Why Is the UAE ‘All-In’ on Its Relationship With Israel?

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The ‘Palestinian Land’ Myth
The idea behind this is as follows: Jews were massacred and their property stolen by Arabs, therefore Arab Palestinians have a right to it in perpetuity. They believe this is true of Jewish property in Jerusalem and Hebron as well, for example. This is a cornerstone of anti-Zionism, that Jews have no right to life or property.

Yet there’s another point to be made here besides the fact that the mayor of New York and a legion of progressive-aligned anti-Semites revealed their unique combination of ignorance and bad faith. There are a couple of problems with the whole concept of “Palestinian land.”

The first is that “Palestinian” here is used to mean “Arab.” The protest mob reportedly even chanted “From water to water, Palestine is Arab.” When they use the phrase “Palestinian land” they are declaring it Judenrein.

Second: If a Palestinian Arab personally owns a piece of land, that land is a Palestinian’s land, which is not the same thing as Palestinian national territory. From the perspective of national claims and sovereignty, it is, at most, disputed land. There have been two sovereign claimants to land on what is known as the West Bank: Israel and Jordan. Jordan relinquished its claims on the land decades ago. Israel has not annexed it. There is no Palestinian national claim to sovereignty, even if one believes that eventually turning it into Palestinian sovereign national territory is the only just resolution to the conflict.

Thus the Palestinian claim to disputed territory that was once occupied by the state of Jordan can best be described as “land the Palestinians want.” That’s fine! They are more than entitled to make demands in a negotiation process. And they should aspire to precisely the kind of statehood that Israelis—both Jews and Arabs—have built with its capital in Jerusalem. The state of Israel is a worthy model, and though successive Palestinian governments have rejected offers of statehood, perhaps they are reconsidering.

Israel did not invade a place called “Palestine” and take its land. It fought a defensive war against Jordan and won. “Palestinian land” is a concept of the future—if the Palestinians want it.
Trump and the Imaginary Iran Box By Abe Greenwald
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Critics of the war in Iran like to say that Donald Trump has “put himself in a box.” I doubt that’s true. But whether or not it is, Trump is acting as if his critics are correct.

The president’s frustrating unreadability served a tactical purpose at the start of the war. He didn’t want to telegraph any moves to the Iranians or indicate where his thinking was in terms of a timeline or endgame. But after more than two months, the endless vacillations and goalpost shifts, the stop-and-start rhythm of the U.S. operation, and its ever-changing characterization are starting to broadcast a sense of distress over the war.

It could very well be that Trump is still focused and resolute about Iran’s surrendering its fissile material. His decision yesterday to pause U.S. escorts through the Strait of Hormuz and work on a new peace proposal might be yet another expression of his noble but doomed hope that Iran will finally accede to American demands. He’s always been inclined to give peace a chance.

It could also be a head fake, allowing the U.S. to catch the regime off guard with some new kinetic initiative. That’s another Trump favorite.

Relatedly, this could all be an attempt to calm energy markets in advance of more fighting or an extension of the blockade.

But to Americans and Iranians alike, Trump is signaling U.S. weakness.

Not military weakness, there are no grounds for concern on that front. Perhaps, rather, a faltering of will. That’s been the undoing of American victory for decades.
Ruthie Blum: Asymmetric warfare and the ayatollahs
In an interview on May 3, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohabi pointed out something that the West has trouble grasping about asymmetric warfare. “In the unequal battle we are facing, Iran’s armed forces will be the final victors,” he told the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. “They fight with the culture of Ashura and consider surrender a disgrace for themselves.”

For Shi’ite Muslims, Ashura is a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Though he was killed during the Battle of Karbala in 680 C.E., Husayn is still held up as a hero who didn’t surrender to the massive army of the caliph, Yazid.

“Our model in today’s wars is [that] of Ashura—steadfastness in an unequal battle,” Mohabi said, describing Tehran’s current predicament.

Referring to the United State and Israel, he went on, “Our enemies are specifically one country and one regime with enormous equipment. America brought its latest defensive and offensive equipment to the battlefield. Our equipment and the number of our forces are very unequal compared to theirs.”

However, he said, “our spiritual power enabled us to stand against them.”

To clarify, he added, “In this arena, our fighter either wins or is martyred. Martyrdom is happiness for him. In such a situation, our forces do not falter.”

This wasn’t rhetorical bravado. It’s the essence of radical Islamism and the reason that the phenomenon has been nearly impossible to combat, let alone eradicate.

Mohabi admitted that Iran’s forces are outmatched in conventional terms, with fewer resources and an inferior arsenal. He didn’t mention his regime’s goal of obtaining nuclear weapons, of course. Not only has the Islamic Republic insisted that its nuclear program was always for “peaceful purposes,” but the enriched uranium in its possession was and is President Donald Trump’s casus belli.

So Mohabi steered away from that particular topic. He focused instead on the main weapon that compensates for the deficiencies he acknowledged: the willingness, even desire, to die as martyrs for the cause of regional and worldwide hegemony.

Herein lies the weakness of liberal democracies in the face of barbarism. Such societies sanctify life and human rights, and their militaries operate under legal, ethical and psychological restraints.

In the United States and Israel, for example, soldiers are trained to minimize civilian casualties and the governments that send them into battle and are held accountable by courts and public opinion. Jihadist states and organizations scoff at these practices, viewing them as the enemies’ Achilles’ heel.


Trump warns Iran: Agree to deal or face new heavier bombing
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned of a renewed and more intense bombing campaign should Iran not finalize an agreement to end the war.

“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran. If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president wrote on his Truth Social account.

His social media post followed an Axios report hours earlier that the the White House believes that the United States and Iran are nearing an agreement on a one-page, 14-point memorandum to end the war in the Middle East.

Israeli journalist Barak Ravid cited “two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue” in his reporting and that the sources said it was the closest the two sides have been to a deal since the war began on Feb. 28. A ceasefire took effect on April 8, which has since been extended. Pakistan has been mediating negotiations between Washington and Tehran, hosting direct talks last month.

A Pakistani source familiar with the talks confirmed the accuracy of the Axios report to Reuters. “We will close this very soon. We are getting close,” the Pakistani source said.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and several Iranian officials were directly and through mediators negotiating the agreement.

The report came hours after Trump announced a pause in Project Freedom, a U.S.-led initiative to escort commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz that began earlier this week.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the decision was made “based on the request of Pakistan and other countries” and cited “great progress” toward a potential agreement with Iranian representatives. He added that the U.S. naval blockade of Iran would remain in place.


Trump reportedly paused Hormuz naval escorts after Saudi Arabia denied use of its airspace
US President Donald Trump halted the naval operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Saudi Arabia told the United States it wouldn’t allow American aircraft taking part involved in the effort to take off from or fly through the Gulf kingdom’s skies, NBC News reports.

Citing US officials, the report says the Saudis and other Gulf states were surprised by Trump’s announcement of Project Freedom on Sunday, adding that the US president later spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the matter but was unable to reach a resolution.

Asked by the network if the operation caught Saudi leaders off guard, a source from the kingdom tells NBC that “the problem with that premise is that things are happening quickly in real time.” The source also says Saudi Arabia is “very supportive of the diplomatic efforts” by Pakistan to broker an agreement between the US and Iran.

A White House spokesperson says “regional allies were notified in advance,” though a Middle Eastern diplomat quoted by NBC says the US didn’t coordinate with Oman until after Trump’s announcement.

“The US made an announcement and then coordinated with us,” the diplomat says, adding, “we were not upset or angry.”
Why Is the UAE ‘All-In’ on Its Relationship With Israel?
When the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the ensuing weeks-long war unleashed a massive barrage of missiles and drones on the United Arab Emirates, sparking a security crisis for which the oil-rich Gulf country was unprepared.

Only Israel was hit harder than the UAE, but Israel has an extensive, well-established defense system that includes bomb shelters and the missile interceptor known as Iron Dome. The UAE had neither of these. It was seeing its position as a safe haven, a Singapore of the Middle East, threatened by a conflict that it had neither sought nor overtly supported.

And yet, according to seemingly counterintuitive observations delivered in a recent interview with UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash, Iran’s attack on the Gulf states will “actually strengthen the Israeli role in the Gulf, [and] not diminish it.”

A retired U.S. State Department official who specialized in Middle Eastern affairs offered a succinct explanation for the UAE’s position. The Emiratis, he said, have “a very old-fashioned mentality.” He continued: “When they are in trouble, they look very carefully at who shows up. They saw that Israel really showed up.”

According to an Axios report by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, Israel dispatched Iron Dome missile interceptors to the UAE, along with the military personnel to operate them. This was the first time Israel had sent the Iron Dome to another country. Haaretz journalist Gili Cohen added, during the newspaper’s May 4 Hebrew podcast episode, that Israel had also sent officers from the Home Front Command to help the UAE set up a warning system that would alert civilians of incoming rockets and direct them to the nearest possible shelter.

The point for the Emirati rulers was not that the reason their country needed Israel’s help was to protect itself from a war Israel had started, but rather that the Iranians, with whom they had diplomatic relations, unleashed a massive barrage of rockets, missiles and drones on their heads for no rational reason.
Netanyahu condemns Iranian attack on UAE in call with Sheikh bin Zayed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan condemned the “Iranian terrorist attacks targeting civilians” in the Emirates, Abu Dhabi said on Monday.

Tehran launched missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates on Monday for the first time since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect last month, moderately injuring three Indian nationals.

Sheikh bin Zayed in the wake of the attacks also spoke with several other leaders, including Jordanian King Abdullah II and Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, according to an official Emirates News Agency report on Wednesday.

Netanyahu, King Abdullah and Barzani “affirmed their countries’ solidarity with the UAE and their support for all measures it takes to safeguard its security and stability and ensure the safety of its citizens,” per Abu Dhabi’s readout of the calls.

The Islamic Republic has launched more than 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones at the UAE, more than at any other country, according to the UAE Defense Ministry.

Israel recently sent the UAE an Iron Dome system with attendant troops to help protect the country, marking the first time Jerusalem had sent an air defense battery to another country.


FDD: Oversights Mar Low-End Estimate of Tehran’s Nuclear Weapons Timeline
U.S. intelligence assessments have concluded that Iran is now 9 to 12 months away from being able to build a nuclear weapon, according to a Reuters report.

Taken at face value, the report would indicate that the U.S.-Israeli air campaign this year did not drastically increase the time Iran requires to build a bomb; prior to this conflict and the 12-Day War, U.S. intelligence reportedly placed Iran’s breakout time at three to six months.

The assessments, however, deserve context. A well-placed Middle Eastern source familiar with both U.S. and Israeli estimates told FDD that the latest figure represents a worst-case scenario unsupported by post-strike realities or Iran’s actual capabilities. The source said it does not reflect the majority view in the U.S. intelligence community or Israel’s assessments. In July 2025, the Pentagon estimated that the June strikes had pushed Iran back to roughly two years from building nuclear weapons, while CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated they set Iran back by “years.” Israeli estimates place the timeline at two to three years. Strikes this year likely extended the timeline even further.

The selective leak of this worst-case estimate appears politically motivated and timed to undermine support for the U.S. and Israeli military campaigns against Iran. Estimate of 9-12 Months Based on Improbable Assumptions

Both the pre- and post-June 2025 estimates likely refer to Iran’s timeline for assembling a crude nuclear device — a bomb built quickly, without rigorous testing or a sophisticated detonation system. This may assume the use of 60 percent highly enriched uranium (HEU) as fuel, or alternatively, time to produce 90 percent weapons-grade uranium (WGU) — the preferred purity for nuclear weapons — from the HEU and weaponize it. Before the June 2025 strikes, Iran could produce enough WGU for 11 nuclear weapons in one month, and enough WGU for another 11 weapons over the next four months.

The estimate likely assumes Iran can retrieve roughly five bombs’ worth of HEU — and possibly 20 percent enriched uranium stocks — still entombed in tunnels near Esfahan, and reconstitute uranium metal production, weaponization capabilities, and expertise. Yet conditions on the ground belie these assumptions. Strikes Have Created Barriers to Key Nuclear Activities

Although Iran may still technically access some HEU stocks, President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States and Israel maintain round-the-clock surveillance of the destroyed or damaged Natanz, Fordow, and Esfahan tunnel facilities and will strike anyone attempting excavation or entry. Tehran would confront major difficulties enriching HEU to WGU, since its four enrichment facilities were destroyed, heavily damaged, or rendered inaccessible. Iran would likely need to build a new covert plant or complete the possible enrichment facility at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz.

Producing new uranium from scratch would be arduous: Israel eliminated most of Iran’s centrifuge supply chain and destroyed the Ardakan uranium mining and milling facility, while the United States and Israel targeted Esfahan’s conversion capabilities. Jerusalem also targeted Iran’s plutonium route to nuclear weapons during both conflicts.


The Spanish threat to America and Israel: Remember the 'Maine'
The 1898 Spanish-American War was an inflection point in Europe’s fall grace: It ended Spain’s Colonial empire and Europe’s presence in the Western Hemisphere. More broadly, it marked a historic shift of power from Europe, which dominated the world for 2,000 years, to the US.

The war was prompted by the sinking of the USS Maine off the shores of Cuba. Pointing fingers at Spain, a populist slogan percolated that has renewed relevance today: Remember the Maine. Spain’s suicide

Spain’s stunning refusal to allow the US military to use its bases as it fights to stop a nuclear Iran came less than a year after Spain rewarded Iran’s proxy, Hamas, for the October 7 massacre, with a symbolic declaration of a Palestinian state.

That recognition had no effect in the Middle East, but helped fuel the nascent European Muslim national movement. It arguably even gave it a name and a flag.

While the Palestinization of Europe is mostly associated with France and the UK, where it is considered offensive by some to wave the flags of Great Britain and England, but socially acceptable to wave the flag of Palestine, the most dangerous aspect of the Palestinization of Europe might be in Spain.

This is due to the historical Muslim claim to Iberia (the south-west corner of Europe).

Spain was born from the displacement of a thriving Muslim civilization that existed there for 800 years – a process known in the Spanish narrative as the “reconquista.”

Over a decade ago, I was told that pro-Palestinians are seeking to designate the term "reconquista" as hate speech.

Per their narrative, if one gives legitimacy to the ethnic cleansing of Muslims from Iberia due to a historically dubious argument that 800 years prior, people somewhat similar to the invaders used to live there, then by definition, one gives legitimacy to Zionism and the reestablishment of the Jewish state, which is based on a much more historically sound narrative of a nation coming home. One can not be anti-Zionist and pro-Spanish at the same time.

Since then, as the Western pro-Palestinian movement got mainstreamed, it became more and more evident: Spain stands in the way of Palestine.
UN Security Council resolution, intended to free Hormuz strait, being revised
A United Nations Security Council draft resolution, which Washington and Gulf allies drafted, invokes U.N. authorization for use of force in defending freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The resolution has undergone a revision, according to a reliable diplomatic source. Council members are trying to agree on a version that Russia and China, Iranian allies who vetoed a resolution on the same topic weeks ago, would support.

The draft resolution requires Iran to cease attacking, mining and tolling in the Strait of Hormuz, a pivotal Gulf waterway, through which some 20% of the world’s oil travels to global markets.

Iran implemented a blockade of the strait on Feb. 28 at the outset of its war with the United States and Israel. Although the strait has technically been open for business, shippers have been loath to use it for fear of being struck and because insurers are reluctant to cover routes through the strait.

The United States and Bahrain wrote the resolution, with backing from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. It demands that the Iranian regime disclose how many mines it laid in the strait and where they are located, and it insists that the Islamic Republic help remove the mines and support a humanitarian corridor.

“Regardless of a conflict, or regardless of the parties of the conflict, or regardless of how they feel about it, a country cannot lay mines in international waterways and cannot use international waterways as a revenue source or attempt to charge international shipping tolling,” Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters on Monday.


US forces disable Iranian-bound oil tanker with cannon fire
U.S. forces fired cannon-gun rounds at the rudder of an oil tanker heading toward an Iranian port on Wednesday, disabling the vessel, as a U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz continues.

CENTCOM stated that the M/T Hasna was transiting international waters “en route to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”

“American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade,” CENTCOM stated. “After Hasna’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings, U.S. forces disabled the tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from the 20mm cannon gun of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet launched from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).”

The incident occurred one day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a White House press briefing that the blockade “is costing Iran as much as $500 million a day in lost revenue.”

He stated that “90% of total Iranian trade has been halted, causing permanent damage to Iran’s oil infrastructure as wells are forced to shut in.”


IDF strikes Hezbollah Radwan commander in Beirut
Originally, the Jerusalem Post reported that Azzam al-Haya, son of Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya, was killed in the strike in Lebanon. Our News Desk has since learned that he was killed in an attack in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday night said they had ordered the IDF to try to assassinate Hezbollah's Radwan special forces commander in Beirut.

This attack was the first in Lebanon's capital in weeks, following the ceasefires with Iran on April 7 and with Hezbollah on April 17.

Lebanese media first reported on the attack.

They added that no terrorist has immunity and that the "long arm of Israel would get to every enemy and murderer."

Further, they said they would keep the government's promise to restore security for Israel's northern residents.

A senior source told The Jerusalem Post that the deputy commander of the Radwan force as well as other senior officials were also at the compound targeted by the IDF.

A senior official told the Post that the IDF had attacked a Hezbollah headquarters that issued instructions for ceasefire violations and ordered attacks on northern Israeli communities.


BBC Complaints refuses to update ‘first responder’ claim
Previously we documented a BBC News website report which had not been updated to inform audiences that a person it described as one of the Gaza civil defence agency’s “first responders” was later shown to be a Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7th 2023 atrocities.

BBC NEWS PRESENTS HAMAS TERRORIST AS ‘FIRST RESPONDER’
CAMERA UK submitted a complaint to the BBC, providing links to the information showing that Hazem al-Aidi and the other two people in the targeted vehicle were all Hamas operatives. We requested that the BBC update its report accordingly in order to facilitate reader understanding of why “Israeli shellfire hit a car”, as well as to ensure the ability of BBC audiences to make up their own minds about the reliability of the Gaza civil defence agency, which is uncritically quoted in so many BBC reports.

With unusual alacrity, BBC Complaints responded the following day:
“You wrote to us about the above report about a fatal attack by Israeli forces in Gaza. You asked us to amend it by adding a claim from the IDF’s [sic] that of [sic] three people killed had been Hamas fighters.

The IDF issued its press release two days after the article was published. It is not our practice to go back and amend published reports two days after publication except when reporting a major new development warranting a new top line.

This was not the case in this instance.”

One might have expected that a media organisation which portrays itself as providing “news you can trust” would consider information explaining the context to a strike on a person it had twice described (without any independent verification) as a first responder to be “a major new development”.

The “top line” of that BBC report is “At least eight Palestinians, including three children, have been killed in two Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to medics and first responders”. The fact that at least three of those “eight Palestinians” were Hamas terrorists – and that the “first responders” quoted in the report’s headline and opening paragraph did not provide that information – clearly does not align with the BBC’s chosen narrative.


Progressive Dems accuse Israel of seizing flotilla illegally
Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), pressed the Trump administration on Tuesday to reverse its opposition to a Gaza-bound flotilla, urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to rescind calls for allies to deny the vessels port access and to pursue legal action against participants.

In a letter, Tlaib and 18 House Democrats objected to a U.S. State Department statement condemning the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” issued April 30, and criticized U.S. calls for partners to block the vessels. They also called for “an end to the blockade on Gaza” and the release of two flotilla participants detained in Israel.

A State Department spokesman told JNS that the department does not comment on congressional correspondence but reiterated Washington’s condemnation of the flotilla, citing the April statement.

In the letter, the Congress members accuse Israel of “illegally” intercepting vessels that were part of the Gaza-bound flotilla on April 29, framing Israeli action as an attack and accusing the Jewish state of “violently” abusing flotilla members and holding them in abusive and inhumane conditions.

“After all this, it is extremely alarming that U.S. participants in the flotilla may face additional unjust persecution upon their return home,” the letter stated.

It claimed that the flotilla was delivering humanitarian aid due to the “ongoing forced starvation of the Palestinian population in Gaza.”

Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (D-Ga.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Al Green (D-Texas), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) also signed the letter.


IDF soldier seen placing cigarette in Virgin Mary statue’s mouth in Lebanese village
An IDF soldier was seen placing a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary, in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, in a photo shared online on Wednesday.

After identifying the soldier, the Israel Defense Forces said he will be disciplined.

In response to a query, the IDF said that it “views the incident gravely and emphasizes that the soldier’s conduct completely deviates from the values expected of its troops.”

An initial inquiry conducted by the IDF found that the photo was taken in the village of Debel several weeks ago, although it was only shared online on Wednesday.

The incident joins several other occurrences in which footage has been published of Israeli soldiers — oftentimes by the troops themselves — destroying or looting property. Debel was the village where a soldier smashed a statue of Jesus last month, as well as where soldiers were seen in footage showing military excavators damaging solar panels.

The two soldiers involved in vandalizing the statue were taken off combat duty and punished, while the incident with the solar panels is under investigation.


Coleman Hughes: Christian Zionism, the ‘Israel Lobby’ Myth & the Psychology of Antisemitism | Walter Russell Mead
On one of the most polarizing questions in American foreign policy—U.S. support for Israel— historian and geopolitical expert Walter Russell Mead argues that nearly everyone has the story wrong.

The standard explanations focus on lobbying power, campaign donations, and media influence. But, as Mead explains, this ignores the fact that American interest in a Jewish return to the Holy Land far predates modern Zionism. It is rooted not in Jewish political organization but in Protestant theological traditions. By the 19th century, prominent Americans were advocating for a Jewish state well before it had widespread support among Jews themselves.

This overlooked history is the foundation of Mead’s book The Arc of a Covenant, and it sets up our conversation this week. We begin with the influential Israel Lobby thesis of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, which argues that domestic lobbying distorts American policy. Mead critiques that theory, both as history and as social science.

From there, the conversation turns to antisemitism: its origins, its persistence across centuries, and the way the same psychological pattern that produced European Jew hatred keeps getting replicated in different forms across different cultures.

I also ask Mead about the America First movement, what it gets right about the failures of liberal internationalism, and where its logic breaks down. Mead argues that foreign policy must serve American interests, but that disengagement carries costs its advocates don’t reckon with. I ask him what serious, clear-eyed American statecraft should actually look like in today’s world.


Commentary Podcast: Operation Epic Waffle
It's Wednesday and time to panic over the attack on Jewish students at George Washington University using an unknown substance, the supposed deal brewing with Iran despite the announcement of Operation Epic Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz. Plus, antiracism programs at Penn State Law School, and the death of Ted Turner.


Why Did California Award This Alleged Hamas Front $40 Million?
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presents itself as an innocuous Muslim civil rights group—a reputation it reinforces with litigation and claims of anti-Muslim bigotry. But the group finds itself under increasing scrutiny for alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Hamas. Last November, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated CAIR a terrorist organization. The following month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis followed suit, citing CAIR’s being listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terrorism financing case.

But as other states move to sideline CAIR, California is embracing this alleged terror front. CAIR-CA, the organization’s largest statewide affiliate, is flush with taxpayer cash. In the last five years, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has rubberstamped at least $41 million in funding to the group. The vast majority of that money, it turns out, comes from the federal government. These federal dollars are flowing into CAIR-CA’s coffers even after it was the target of a recent Department of Justice investigation.

This City Journal report—based on a trove of documents provided to us by the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN), a California-based nonprofit—reveals good reason for the DOJ to be digging into CAIR-CA. It also raises serious questions about why Gavin Newsom’s government is funding a chapter of an organization with alleged terrorist ties.


Catholic University doubles down on blocking antisemitism speakers
The Catholic University of America is pushing back on free-speech complaints after blocking a student group from hosting talks on antisemitism unless it presents “both sides.”

The private university informed the group Students Supporting Israel that Rep. Randy Fine, Florida Republican, could not speak this spring on “the documented rise of antisemitism across the United States” because the event lacked “speakers representing both sides of this issue.”

Administrators also blocked retired Israel Defense Forces Col. Dany Tirza, the architect of Israel’s security fence, from speaking on how and why it was built. They invited students to restructure the events, prompting public backlash from Mr. Fine and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free-speech watchdog.

The congressman, who is Jewish, described the policy as a free-speech infringement on April 29 during a hearing of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

“The university said ’no, you can only have him come speak on antisemitism if you’re willing to invite someone who will share the opposite perspective,’” Mr. Fine said. “I guess the ’we like antisemitism’ crowd.”

A university spokesperson insisted officials “never required SSI to invite an antisemitic voice.”

“The congressman is known for his defense of Israel, as well as controversial opinions regarding Muslims that have drawn rebukes from Jewish leaders, pro-Israel organizations, and members of Congress in both parties,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We made a decision to reach out to the student group to discuss how to structure this important conversation on antisemitism so that the topic itself would be the main focus of the event.”

The university “stands firmly against antisemitism,” the statement added. “As a private, faith-based institution, Catholic University reserves the right to shape events on our campus. Our offer stands to work with the student group to host a thoughtful, educational event on the alarming rise of antisemitism on college campuses.”

Emerson Sykes, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, told Mr. Fine during the hearing that Catholic University’s policy is legal because the school is not a public institution.

“Catholic University is not bound by the First Amendment,” Mr. Sykes said. “So they can create policies as they wish, in general.”

Mr. Fine rejected that argument, suggesting the university could lose federal student aid for “managing narratives” rather than “honoring the First Amendment.”

“There’s very few institutions in this country that could survive without money that comes from this building,” the congressman told Mr. Sykes. “They want to be private, they can do it on their own.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has insisted the “balanced presentation” requirement violates the university’s own free-speech policies and accreditation standards by selectively suppressing controversial views.
Rutgers disinvites graduation speaker who claimed Israel ‘trains dogs to sexually assault prisoners’
Administrators at Rutgers University have canceled a commencement speaker scheduled for next week, citing an “inflammatory claim” he tweeted about Israel.

Rami Elghandour, a Rutgers alumnus and a producer of an Oscar-nominated docudrama about a Palestinian girl who died in Gaza, was set to deliver the speech at the university’s School of Engineering on May 15. But the university, New Jersey’s public flagship, rescinded the invitation on Wednesday.

The Associated Press was the first to report that Elghandour’s invitation had been rescinded and that the university said social media posts about Israel were the cause.

To the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a university representative specifically cited an April 20 tweet by Elghandour that accuses Israel of genocide and says the Israelis are “running dungeons where they train dogs to sexually assault prisoners.”

The tweet was a response to a post from California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna advocating for cutting US aid to Israel, which was itself a response to a post by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby that has become a bogeyman in US politics. The unsubstantiated claim that Israel trains dogs to assault prisoners has circulated widely in recent weeks among some pro-Palestinian activists.

“The Rutgers School of Engineering was recently informed that some graduating students would not attend their graduation ceremony due to concerns about the invited speaker’s social media posts, including one that shared an inflammatory claim,” Dory Devlin, a representative for Rutgers University, told JTA in an email. “After discussing these concerns with the speaker, the School of Engineering has rescinded the convocation speaker invitation to Rami Elghandour.”

Elghandour, who owns a biotech company and was an executive producer for the award-winning documentary “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” declined through a spokesperson to respond to a JTA request for comment. The spokesperson pointed to his statement on social media, where he disparaged the school’s decision.
Georgetown Law replaces Jewish commencement speaker with critic of antisemitism hearings
After a Jewish university leader withdrew as Georgetown University Law Center’s commencement speaker following backlash from anti-Israel student activists, the school replaced him with a professor who criticized congressional hearings on campus antisemitism as a form of “McCarthyism” aimed at chilling free speech.

In an email to law school students on Wednesday, Joshua Teitelbaum, the interim dean of Georgetown Law, wrote that “in the past week, a number of law students raised concerns” about the speaker selection of Morton Schapiro, an economist and the former president of Northwestern University for over 10 years. Teitelbaum said those concerns were “due primarily to opinion essays [Schapiro] published on Israel and Palestine in the aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023.”

Teitelbaum said he “listened carefully” to students’ concerns but had determined that withdrawing Schapiro’s invitation would be “inconsistent with Georgetown’s commitment to free and open inquiry.” Schapiro then independently “decided to decline our invitation to speak” after learning of the students’ concerns, Teitelbaum said.

Schapiro has written extensively for the Jewish Journal in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, including criticizing university presidents for failing to protect Jewish students and suggesting that progressive organizations abandoned Israel and the Jewish community after the attacks. Schapiro could not be reached for comment.

Teitelbaum announced in the email that Georgetown Law professor David Cole would replace Schapiro as commencement speaker. Cole, the former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, last year spoke before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in defense of First Amendment speech that “many of us find wrongheaded or deeply offensive, including anti-Israel advocacy and even antisemitic advocacy.” He also condemned Republican-led congressional hearings into the rise of campus antisemitism.

“It is beyond antisemitic of the university to do this. It’s extremely heartbreaking and devastating to the Jewish students that [Georgetown Law] respectfully asked [Schapiro] to step down because of his belief in a Jewish homeland,” Julia Wax Vanderwiel, a third-year law school student and founder of Georgetown Law Zionists, told Jewish Insider.


US student groups fundraise to supplement PA funds to 'mothers of martyrs'
American student organizations are fundraising for the mothers of “martyrs” to supplement a Palestinian Authority payment program after the PA supposedly withheld financial support.

City College of New York (CCNY) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), John Jay College SJP, City University of New York (CUNY) for Palestine, and CUNY Stoop Sales for Gaza organized a bake sale on Sunday to raise funds for the "Mothers of martyrs in Jenin" in Washington Square Park.

"Jenin Camp has been under brutal siege by the occupation for over a year. All of its residents have been displaced and many of the families have members who have ascended to martyrdom," CCNY SJP explained in a Saturday Instagram post. "Recently, the treacherous Palestinian Authority has refused to provide the financial support that was previously allotted to families of martyrs."

The organizations did not detail exactly under which program the funds were being denied by the PA, but according to Reuters, last February PA President Mahmoud Abbas faced criticism over a decree to alter the program of payments to the families of Palestinians killed or jailed by Israeli forces. The financial support program has been described by critics as providing stipends to the families of terrorists, and dubbed by many "pay to slay."

"Mothers of Martyrs in Jenin" fundraiser raises $1,667
On April 1, CCNY SJP, CUNY for Palestine, and Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition began fundraising for that same cause. According to Columbia SJP, the fundraiser was part of a mutual aid week of action. The Mothers of Martyrs in Jenin fundraiser garnered $1,667, according to an April 4 Columbia SJP X/Twitter post. The post also noted that the total funds raised, which included funds for other causes in Lebanon and Gaza, were matched with $600 by faculty.

The payment accounts for the fundraiser are owned by a person bearing the same name as a John Jay alum who signed a 2021 CUNY pro-Palestinian solidarity letter.




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