Alice Speri

The University of Minnesota withdrew its offer to Israeli historian Raz Segal to direct its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies days after hiring him, following criticism of his description of Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide. Emails obtained through public records requests indicate that donors, legislators and pro-Israel activists organized pressure on university leaders, who initially defended the hiring before reversing course. Segal, represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights, argued that the decision retaliated against constitutionally protected speech. The university has now agreed to pay him $250,000 without admitting wrongdoing; the position remains unfilled, and the dispute has intensified concerns about academic freedom and political influence in US universities.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to redetain Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown postdoctoral fellow arrested by ICE in 2025 after expressing pro-Palestinian views. The 2-1 ruling upheld his release on bail and affirmed that detained immigrants can challenge their custody in federal court through habeas corpus, rejecting conflicting rulings in comparable cases involving Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi. The split among appeals courts increases the likelihood of Supreme Court review, with significant implications for immigration detainees seeking judicial intervention and for claims that immigration enforcement is being used to suppress political speech.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city lacks independent legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he attends the United Nations General Assembly in September. He urged the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and enforce its arrest warrant against Netanyahu, while acknowledging that President Donald Trump has rejected the possibility and supports Netanyahu. Mamdani’s remarks followed his description of Netanyahu as a war criminal who is not welcome in New York. The position has drawn condemnation from pro-Israel officials, while Palestinian-rights supporters have offered mixed reactions, praising his criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza but faulting him for abandoning his earlier pledge to seek Netanyahu’s arrest.

Donald Trump announced that imported generic drugs will remain tariff-free until August 2028, after which they would face a 100% tariff for one year and a 200% tariff thereafter, in an effort to pressure manufacturers to build plants in the United States. The live coverage also reported that the US-Iran war had cost the Pentagon $37.5 billion, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking an additional $67 billion and defending the administration's military strategy. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city could not enforce the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu but urged the federal government to do so. Democrats promised to repeal Trump's tariffs, while the administration paused more than $1 billion in Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota and promoted legislation requiring proof of citizenship and photo identification for voting. The Senate intelligence committee advanced Jay Clayton's nomination to become director of national intelligence despite Democratic objections, and reports indicated that Trump had approved a Saudi civilian nuclear deal potentially involving uranium enrichment without safeguards against weapons use.

Salah Sarsour, a Wisconsin mosque president and US green card holder, describes more than 80 days in ICE detention as dehumanizing and reminiscent of his imprisonment by Israeli authorities during the first intifada. He says he lost over 30 pounds, received inadequate medical care and food, and was prevented from gathering for Muslim prayers and Eid. A federal judge found it likely that his detention was retaliatory for his Palestinian-rights advocacy, potentially making it unlawful, but the Trump administration is still pursuing his deportation. DHS alleges that Sarsour funded terrorist organizations, lied on immigration forms and had decades-old Israeli military convictions; he denies the claims and says he was tortured into signing documents. His immigration case and a separate challenge to his detention are continuing, with civil-rights attorneys arguing that the government is using immigration proceedings to punish political activism.

Two high-profile confrontations involving Scott Wiener in San Francisco and Dan Goldman in New York intensified debate over Israel-Gaza positions within the Democratic Party. Wiener was aggressively confronted by protesters at a trans pride march, prompting condemnation from elected officials and criticism from activists who argued the reaction distracted from attention on Gaza. Goldman faced backlash after a Brooklyn café said it would have refused him service, leading to a civil rights investigation and contributing to his primary loss to Brad Lander, whose more critical stance on Israel resonated with voters. The incidents highlight Israel-Gaza as a defining issue in Democratic politics, with activists viewing it as a litmus test while critics warn that aggressive protest tactics may backfire. Jewish, trans, and pro-Palestinian groups issued competing statements, and commentators noted that the controversy overshadowed broader concerns about the humanitarian toll in Gaza.

The Democratic Socialists of America is experiencing rapid membership growth and a string of primary victories, including candidates in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Colorado. Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor has become a model and test for whether the movement can govern effectively rather than remain in opposition. DSA leaders credit grassroots organizing, working-class issues and pro-Palestinian activism for expanding its appeal, while Democratic Party establishment figures have responded with hostility. Upcoming contests in Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin, along with discussion of a possible 2028 presidential bid, will test how far the movement’s momentum can extend.

A tenured justice studies professor at San José State University was reinstated after an arbitrator ruled that the California State University system unlawfully terminated her following pro‑Palestinian campus activism. The decision reduced her dismissal to a one‑month suspension and ordered backpay. She plans to continue suing the university for alleged retaliation and free speech violations, arguing her participation in protests and a student encampment fell within protected expression. Her attorneys characterized the termination as an extreme example of repression of pro‑Palestinian speech. Internal reviews and the arbitrator concluded that her actions did not warrant dismissal.

A rapidly expanding US campus civility industry, estimated by some researchers to be worth $200m annually, promotes civic discourse, dialogue across differences and viewpoint diversity as solutions to polarization and recurring university controversies. Critics argue that conservative donors—including Koch-linked foundations and funders connected to rightwing and pro-Israel organizations—are using these ostensibly neutral programs to suppress protest and shift universities to the right. Research by Uncivil found extensive overlap between funders of dialogue initiatives and conservative policy networks, while 70% of more than 100 mapped campus programs had been accused of suppressing pro-Palestinian activism. Universities and practitioners defend dialogue as a way to develop intellectual humility and meaningful engagement, but students and faculty question its usefulness when protests are being repressed, arguing that it can become an administrative box-ticking exercise that avoids urgent political conflicts.

Donald Trump canceled the signing of a bipartisan housing bill to pressure Republicans to support the restrictive Save America voting bill, despite its lack of a clear path through the Senate. At a Republican Senate lunch, Senator Bill Cassidy confronted Trump over the Iran war and demanded greater information about a conflict that has lasted longer than promised; the exchange escalated into a shouting match. Trump also defended his Iran policy, repeated unsupported claims that vandals damaged the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, and said he had not seen the Pentagon’s findings on a deadly strike against a girls’ school in Minab. Wider developments included NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praising Trump, Israel’s refusal to withdraw from southern Lebanon complicating US-Iran peace talks, Democratic concerns over proposed federal control of mail-ballot eligibility, calls for a moratorium on AI data centers, and major victories for Zohran Mamdani-backed candidates in New York primaries.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old Afro-Latina Dominican doctoral student and community organizer, defeated five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District Democratic primary with more than 49% of the vote. Backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats, she campaigned on universal healthcare, renter protections, abolishing ICE, limiting big-money political action committees and shifting public spending toward social programs. Her victory followed millions of dollars in opposition advertising, attacks over her pro-Palestinian views and participation in a 2023 protest, and racist and Islamophobic misinformation about her identity. If she wins the November general election, she would become the first Dominican woman elected to Congress, while the result would further strengthen New York’s progressive movement.

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is using his popularity to endorse democratic-socialist candidates in congressional and state races, including Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier. The strategy aims to build a broader progressive bench and reassure young, socialist and pro-Palestinian supporters, but it has angered establishment Democrats and some members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Mamdani has taken greater risks in congressional races while adopting a more cautious approach toward state legislators he may need to work with. His endorsements could expand his influence beyond New York, though their electoral impact and the risks to his relationships with fellow Democrats remain uncertain.

Sama Safi, a 20-year-old Palestinian American psychology student at Birzeit University, has been held by the Israeli military for nearly two weeks without being charged after a raid on her family home. Israel alleges that she promoted hostile terrorist activity linked to the student group Qutub, which it says is affiliated with the PFLP; Safi’s lawyer denies her involvement and alleges that evidence was extracted by force. Safi is being held in a Jerusalem detention facility alongside other students, including members of the Palestinian women’s national soccer team, and her family says she is not receiving appropriate treatment for a chronic autoinflammatory disease. US lawmakers and the US embassy have pressed for her release, consular access and adequate medical care, while human rights groups have documented broader abuses and increasing harshness in Israeli detention since October 2023.

Savneet Talwar, a tenured art therapy professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, was suspended and placed under investigation after assigning a case study about a queer Muslim woman that briefly mentioned sympathy for Palestinians and violence against Palestinian civilians. The school said the assignment could constitute discrimination, harassment or retaliation, citing prior complaints involving the same student and alleged antisemitic or anti-Israeli conduct in the department. Talwar rejected the allegations, arguing that the suspension was triggered by the mere mention of Palestine and reflected growing political pressure on US campuses. Her attorney accused the school of lacking a clear theory of discrimination, and Talwar plans to file an employment discrimination complaint.

Jewish faculty members at Columbia University who supported Palestinian rights and student protests have filed claims against a $21 million fund established through the university’s settlement with the Trump administration. They say they experienced doxing, threats, verbal abuse, investigations and disciplinary action because Columbia and pro-Israel colleagues treated dissenting Jewish views as antisemitic. The claimants acknowledge that genuine antisemitism occurred during the protests but reject the administration’s broader characterization of the demonstrations as inherently antisemitic. They argue that Columbia’s policies and an allegedly inaccurate antisemitism taskforce report helped fuel harassment, while expressing doubts that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will recognize their account.

As graduation season unfolds in the United States, some universities are withdrawing invitations from commencement speakers over opinions they have expressed. Kristen Shahverdian, PEN America’s director of campus free speech, warns that the cancellations send a troubling message about freedom of expression on campus.

Members of Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop voted by 67% to boycott about a dozen products from Israel and Israeli settlements, including some tahini, peppers and persimmons. The decision followed years of debate and months of sharply divided campaigning, with supporters citing the co-op’s history of boycotts and opposition arguing that the measure imported a polarizing geopolitical conflict into the institution. A second ballot measure eliminating the 75% supermajority requirement for boycotts also passed. The dispute has produced verbal abuse, alleged antisemitic and anti-Arab comments, confrontations and threats, prompting co-op leadership to increase security.

A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that could allow the Trump administration to detain and deport Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student and permanent US resident who became prominent during the administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism. Khalil’s attorneys plan to ask the US Supreme Court to pause the decision and review whether immigration detainees can challenge detention on First Amendment grounds in federal court. His separate deportation case continues in the immigration court system, which his lawyers allege was improperly fast-tracked. The ruling is a significant setback for Khalil and, according to his attorneys and dissenting judges, could weaken judicial oversight and create a precedent allowing prolonged detention based on alleged political dissent.

Sally Rooney will release a Hebrew translation of her 2024 novel Intermezzo through November Books, an independent Israeli publisher that supports Palestinian rights and meets the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’s exemption conditions. Rooney previously rejected Modan’s offer to translate Beautiful World, Where Are You after concluding that the publisher had ties to the Israeli military. She says her boycott targets Israeli cultural institutions’ alleged complicity in apartheid and the Gaza war, not Hebrew speakers or Israeli readers. The decision has drawn criticism from Israeli officials and others, while supporters argue that cultural boycotts target institutional complicity rather than identity. Rooney has also faced controversy over her support for Palestine Action, whose UK ban was ruled unlawful by the High Court pending appeal.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar have threatened to sue The New York Times over Nicholas Kristof’s essay documenting allegations of rape and sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli guards, soldiers, settlers and interrogators. The Times says the interviews were extensively fact-checked and corroborated, while Israeli officials call the article defamatory and deny the allegations. Media-law experts say a government-initiated defamation case would face severe jurisdictional and constitutional obstacles, particularly in the United States. The threat follows earlier Israeli criticism of Times reporting on Gaza and has not previously resulted in litigation.

The Trump administration’s 16-page counter-terrorism strategy, authored by counter-terrorism director Sebastian Gorka, prioritizes narcoterrorists and gangs, Islamist groups, and alleged violent left-wing extremists while omitting far-right and white-supremacist violence. Critics say the document is vague on operational substance but highly charged in its attacks on the Biden administration, migrants, transgender people, Muslim communities and the political left. Rights advocates warn that it normalizes surveillance, immigration enforcement, military action and other extraordinary measures that could criminalize dissent and violate constitutional and international law. Analysts also argue that although Trump’s rhetoric is unusually aggressive, the strategy builds on counterterrorism powers developed by previous administrations.