Washington Watch Articles From 2025
Nations Must Take Direct Action to End Israel’s Assault on Palestinians
We’ve reached a sort of tipping point in the way political leaders in the West are reacting to Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians in Gaza. It’s maddening for two reasons: that it took this long to get an official response from Western capitals; and that, once the magnitude of the tragedy became clear, the responses have been so decidedly ineffectual.
US Leaders and Media Must Move Beyond the Israeli-Imposed Narrative
Our understanding of an historical event’s meaning is a function of two factors. The first is what we choose to identify as the starting point leading up to the event. The second is the lens through which we view it.
Netanyahu Sacrificed the Ceasefire to Save His Own Neck
When the Israeli Knesset passed its 2025 budget this past week, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu breathed a sigh of relief. Had the budget not been approved by March 31, the Knesset would have been automatically disbanded, and new elections would have been called. Polls indicate that Netanyahu and his coalition would have decisively lost.
Three Decades Ago: What Gaza Might Have Been
When I first heard President Donald Trump’s “Gaza Riviera” scheme, it brought back memories of the hopes Palestinians had three decades ago during the heyday of the Oslo Accords. Back then, I was serving as co-chair of “Builders for Peace,” a project launched by Vice President Al Gore to encourage American businesses to invest in the Palestinian economy to support the fledgling peace process.
US Blank-Check Support for Israel Not Only Enabled Genocide
A combination of pro-Israel advocacy groups and political action committees, including right-wing Christian fundamentalists, neoconservative hawks, and weak-kneed liberals, have not only enabled Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians—they’ve done so much more.
What Trump’s Threat to Clean Out Gaza Means
President Donald Trump’s “shock and awe” assault on virtually every major institution in Washington has been, to a degree, successful. There’s a perverse logic behind his radical cabinet appointments, widespread firings and threats to the federal workforce, and his seemingly scattershot Executive Orders that upset apple-carts up and down the street.
Can This Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire Bring Peace?
There are two realities that must be confronted in any consideration of “What’s next for Gaza?” The first is that it would be naïve and risky to put too much faith in this current ceasefire.
Foreign Manipulation of the Arab East Must End
There’s no two ways about it, the Arab East is a mess. It is weak, divided, directionless, locked in multiple conflicts, and not in control of its own destiny. This isn’t new. It’s been this way for a century, with non-Arab powers preying off the region in pursuit of their own aspirations.