Portside

After Ayala Metzger's relatives were kidnapped from Nir Oz and abandoned by the government, she had no choice but to become an ‘anti-regime dissident’ — and insist on a shared Israeli-Palestinian future.

Israel has been rocked by an explosion of protests in recent weeks, with trade unions staging a general strike on September 2 and an estimated 750,000 Israelis taking to the streets on September 7 to demand a hostage deal with Hamas.

'We were standing, visible to the army, just standing around not doing anything. Nothing was happening. I heard two shots,' says a fellow protester who also attended the demonstration where Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed.

In addition to a press conference with foreign media, Netanyahu dispatched his confidant Ron Dermer to US media to address the hostage negotiations, as the PM is anxious about increasing U.S. media attention on the hostage families' criticism of him.

"This is the predictable culmination of the actions of an Israeli regime that has been fully empowered, armed, supported, and encouraged by the Biden-Harris administration in its genocidal war," Jeremy Scahill said.

Read what Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman hoped to tell Democrats. Romman has been a vocal and prominent activist for Uncommitted. Waleed Shahid, a strategist for the movement, said she was among a list of potential speakers given to the DNC.

What Israel could have achieved earlier with a hostage/cease-fire agreement has become impossible due to new conditions that Netanyahu introduced into the proposed deal. The paths chosen by Israel's leadership are leading down a slippery slope.

Past solidarity movements teach us that organization is just as important as mobilization. For Palestine solidarity activists it could be useful to look more deeply at the history of international solidarity, particularly in the last three decades.

Until last month, the internationally supported community of Umm al-Kheir widely avoided destruction. Since October 7, a new precedent has emerged of the U.S. government sanctioning violent settlers. More pressure is needed.

'Our enemies are your enemies,' the prime minister insisted, setting up confrontation with Iran. He didn’t present as someone on the verge of signing a ceasefire deal to end the war and free the Israeli and American hostages.