Washington Watch Articles From 2025
Democratic Party Leaders Need to Recognize Reality on Palestine
Even though the bottom has fallen out of Democrats’ support for Israel, some in the party still can’t bring themselves to recognize this reality.
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.
American Politics Are in Trouble
American political parties are in disarray. Instead of being the engines that organize and drive our politics, their roles have been supplanted by partisan social media influencers, non-profit political groups, super PACs, and the billionaires who fund them and consultant groups they hire.
The Need For a Vision to Inspire Arabs of the Mashreq
Any way you look at it, the northern rim of the Arab World is a mess. US politicians, echoing Israel’s position, speak glibly (and dishonestly) of a transformed or new regional order. In reality, the situation has worsened. Israel has accelerated its genocidal war on Gaza, land-grabbing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and occupations and deadly bombings of Lebanon and Syria.
Trump and Netanyahu: Masters of Duplicity
Meetings between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are more akin to a master class in posturing and duplicity than in diplomacy. Last week’s meetings were no exception.
Israel’s Impact on Palestinians Must Be Addressed
Last week, the UN was scheduled to convene a special session promoting a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Israel’s attack on Iran and the deadly exchanges that followed resulted in a postponement.
Why Mamdani Won
It was 2006 and Tim Kaine had recently won the Virginia gubernatorial election. I was at a meeting at Democratic Party headquarters with a group of party officials. One opined, “I believe that one of the lessons we should learn from Tim Kaine’s victory was that we need to talk more about our religion. Kaine did and he won. We should do it too.”
New York City’s Fascinating Mayoral Race
This week, all eyes will be on the fascinating race for mayor of New York City. One reason it’s so interesting is because New York plays such an outsized role in American life.
What Democrats Must Do
A few months after the Democrats’ bitter defeat in the 2024 elections, the party convened an Executive Committee meeting. Instead of taking a long hard look at the reasons for their poor performance, the meeting devolved into an orgy of self-congratulations.
At the UN: Netanyahu vs the World
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is setting the stage for the upcoming United Nations’ International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
Reactions to the Shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum
The murders of two young Israeli Embassy staff members, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, shook Washington and provoked conflicting reactions. What follows are some observations on the murders and the disturbing way they were viewed and used by pro-Israel organizations and a few pro-Palestinian advocates.
Attention Must Be Given to Healing the Psychological Wounds of the War on Gaza
One thing of which we can be certain is that there will be consequences to the genocide in Gaza.
The Importance of Connecting Means and Ends
Followers of policy and political developments in Israel/Palestine must be struck by the degree to which the tactics employed are disconnected from desired ends and by how some leaders’ and movements’ obsession with their mistaken path distracts them while they dangerously march themselves and their followers off a cliff.
If You Want Others to Hear You, Listen to Them First
A year ago, at the peak of the campus unrest over the war in Gaza, I was asked to address a conference on the topic “How to Conduct Civil Discourse.” I relished the opportunity to do this because the issue of how we engage in civil discourse was (and remains) both timely and necessary.
New Poll: Republican Voters Want Trump to Press Israel to End War and Occupation
American voters want an end to the war in Gaza and for President Trump to withhold US aid, if necessary, to pressure Israel to end it.
What Did Pope Francis Do for American Catholics?
For American Catholics, Pope Francis was elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church at a time of crisis for both the institution and the faithful. The church in the United States was reeling from the aftershocks of continuing exposés of widespread sexual abuse by priests and the growing rift separating the church’s leadership from significant portions of younger Catholics.
Arabs: The Weak Link in the US Civil Liberties Chain
For decades now, Arabs, in particular Palestinians, and supporters of Palestinian rights have been the weak link in the civil liberties chain. During this period, when a US president or Congress has sought to take measures curtailing a range of civil liberties, they would exploit the perception of the danger posed by Arabs to justify their actions.
The Israel/Palestine Exception
From 2013 to 2017, I served as a White House appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Annually we would review the practices of countries around the world as they impacted the ability of their citizens and residents to freely practice their faiths. We would then issue reports that would identify countries (about two dozen) that violated religious freedom, together with our recommendations for actions the US government could take to bring these countries into compliance.
Behind the Rashomon-like Views of Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza
During the past week, there were reports of Palestinians in Gaza engaged in public protests against Hamas. These demonstrations took place in at least three main locations involving hundreds and possibly thousands of Palestinians overall. The signs carried by protesters and the slogans they’ve used make clear their anti-Hamas intent: “Hamas must go” and “We want to live.”