Why So Much Fuss about a Conference in North Carolina?

by Lara Friedman The ongoing hullabaloo over an academic conference organized by the University of North Carolina and Duke University—involving allegations that the event featured “severe anti-Israeli bias and explicit anti-Semitism”—highlights escalating efforts to delegitimize airing of facts that are… Continue Reading

Erasing Occupation: The Pernicious Role of Congress

by Lara Friedman The past two years have seen a wholesale shift in U.S. policy aimed at erasing the foundations on which the peace process was built—mutual recognition, agreement to resolve core issues only through negotiations, acceptance of Israel’s right… Continue Reading

Not Breaking News: Trump Administration Does Not Believe in Occupation

by Lara Friedman Starting from virtually the moment President Trump took office in January 2017, he and his Middle East team began implementing a far-reaching transformation of U.S. policy vis-à-vis Israel and the Palestinians. Their intention: to erase the very… Continue Reading

Ilhan Omar: Anatomy of a Smear

by Mitchell Plitnick Attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) are escalating. The big splash over the weekend came when a poster appeared in a display case at the West Virginia state capitol during Republican Party Day. It was an image… Continue Reading

Ilhan Omar, AIPAC, and Denial

by Mitchell Plitnick Discussing the role of the pro-Israel lobby in forming US Middle East policy is perilous. I’ve heard hundreds of stories from fellow advocates, colleagues on Capitol Hill, and journalists who have learned that lesson the hard way.… Continue Reading