U.S. Orders Duke and U.N.C. to Recast Tone in Mideast Studies — The New York Times (9/19/19)

In a rare instance of federal intervention in college course content, the department asserted that the universities’ Middle East program violated the standards of a federal program that awards funding to international studies and foreign language programs. The inquiry was part of a far-reaching investigation into the program by the department, which under Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, has become increasingly aggressive in going after perceived anti-Israel bias in higher education. That focus appears to reflect the views of an agency leadership that includes a civil rights chief, Kenneth L. Marcus, who has made a career of pro-Israel advocacy and has waged a yearslong campaign to delegitimize and defund Middle East studies programs that he has criticized as rife with anti-Israel bias.

Women’s March cuts ties with another board member following ‘Islamophobic smear campaign’ — Mondoweiss (9/19/19)

Israeli court approves use of Palestinian bodies as bargaining chips — Electronic Intifada (9/19/19)

Public security minister Gilad Erdan, who oversees Israel’s police, said at the time of the law’s passing that “The government doesn’t want to hold on to these bodies. As far as we are concerned, the bodies of these cursed terrorists will rot. We have no need for them.” The Israeli high court’s ruling this month, however, shows that the state intends to use the bodies as bargaining chips to secure the remains of Israeli soldiers held by Palestinians. Human rights groups refute the high court’s claim that withholding Palestinian bodies is permissible under international humanitarian law, which governs armed conflict. Adalah, a group that advocates for the rights of Palestinians in Israel, said the ruling was among the “most extreme” ever made by the court, “as it undermines the most basic principles of universal humanity.” The rights group added that the court ruling is the first anywhere in the world permitting state authorities to hold bodies so that they may be used as bargaining chips. “The practice of withholding bodies amounts to a policy of collective punishment,” which is prohibited under international law, the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq stated. The withholding of bodies is also “contrary to the prohibition on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment,” Al-Haq added.

Where’s the Media Outrage Over Hateful Rhetoric Targeting Muslim Congresswomen? — WRMEA (10/1/19)

Palestinians are facing climate dystopia under Israeli apartheid — Mondoweiss (9/16/19)

Remembering the Sabra and Shatila massacre — Middle East Monitor (9/16/19)

In the 38 hours that the Israelis allowed the Phalange militia to enter the refugee camp unhindered, the Palestinians bunkered in their makeshift shelters suffered unspeakable horrors. Israel’s proxy militiamen raped, tortured, mutilated and killed more than 3,000 Palestinian and Lebanese residents of Sabra and Shatila. Assisted by bright flares fired into the night sky by Israeli troops based in the sports stadium overlooking the area, the killing went on without pause. Despite eyewitnesses reporting the horrors that were taking place, the Israeli military allowed reinforcements to enter Shatila and are even said to have provided the Phalangists with bulldozers to bury the corpses of dead Palestinians.