Global

Few Americans know the history of how Israel’s “wag the dog” relationship with the United States developed. Israel’s 1967 successful war against its neighbors demonstrated to military planners in Washington how a qualitative edge in weapons could enable a small country to resist much larger and seemingly more powerful adversaries. Israel was largely supplied with French weapons at the time that reportedly out-performed the Russian equipment in the hands of Syria and Egypt. As a consequence, in 1968, with strong support from a heavily lobbied Congress, Zionist influenced US President Lyndon B Johnson approved the hitherto blocked sale of F-4 Phantom fighters to Israel, establishing the precedent for continuing US support of Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge, generally referred to by the acronym QME, over its Arab and Christian neighbors. Five years later, in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the United States and Israel came to an understanding whereby they tacitly adopted the doctrine of active US maintenance of Israel’s QME.

One of the curious ironies of our time is that, although many politicians spout heated nationalist rhetoric, rail against foreign nations, and belittle international cooperation, this approach to international affairs is not at all what most people want.

The climate of aggressive nationalism is clear enough. In nations around the globe, demagogues (usually of a rightwing variety) whip up xenophobia, preach superpatriotism, demand vast military buildups, and―if holding public office―often launch invasions of other nations under the banner of restoring an allegedly glorious national past.

U.S. District Court Judge André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California has issued a major victory for immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence. While litigation is ongoing, this ruling preserves the intent and impact of critical legal protections for many survivors.

In an order issued on May 20, 2026, in ICWC v. Noem (2:25-cv-09848), the court preliminarily certified three nationwide classes of immigrant survivors of violence and granted significant portions of the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against policies implemented by DHS, ICE, and USCIS.

When the Reverend Jesse Jackson died on February 17, it was very nearly the end of an era. Watching his funeral was surreal. Now only the Reverend Andrew Young remains from that group of African American preachers who fought so doggedly for civil rights in the 1960s. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Jackson when he was running for president in 1988. I was the secretary to the director of Traffic and Parking at The Ohio State University and he was going to speak on campus at Mershon Auditorium. There was some coordination about parking and safety issues for his campaign. I cannot remember how I ended up backstage before he went on, but a group of us were introduced to him. I told him I was very proud of him and he hugged me and said–in that great southern drawl–”Aw, thank you darlin’.” I felt like a groupie and I have never forgotten it. 

Maybe, just maybe, there are limits to the fawning by the Republican US Congress and the level of corruption and grift that Trump and his family are allowed. I hesitate to generalize because with this crew, it’s whack-a-mole with more that crops up even as restrictions are imposed elsewhere. Regardless, it’s worth celebrating the wins when we have them, even if temporary, and less than we need.

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A food co-op in Brooklyn votes bigly to boycott Big Genocide. Next, a handy list of all the bad things Trump does—especially hydrofluorocarbons. Big demos at an immigrant concentration camp and a port shipping death to Palestine—all this in New Jersey. Basque police follow their Israeli trainers’ orders, or ethics, and beat returning flotillistas. In the Kilmar case, a judge rules that vengeance is not a sufficient reason to deport. And Mayor Mamdani continues to antagonize pro-genocide Jewish misleaders by noting the Nakba. 

Israel has carried out a targeted strike in Choueifat, which borders Beirut’s southern suburbs, hitting yet another high‑value target. This time, Israel wiped out a Lebanese mother, Fatima Wehbi, and her three‑month‑old daughter, Zahraa, who was born during the ongoing Israeli assault on Lebanon. Mother and child were killed instantly by a single U.S.-made bomb.

Muslim News also reported from London that at least 19 civilians have been killed and 58 wounded in Israeli attacks across Lebanon, according to Lebanese health authorities and the Lebanese Red Cross, as Israel intensifies its assault in the south and issues mass displacement orders throughout the region.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said last Thursday that an Israeli airstrike south of Beirut killed Fatima Wehbi and her infant daughter, Zahraa. The strike hit as the mother was reportedly holding her child. The infant was later seen wrapped in pink blankets after Israel’s military claimed it had “precisely struck” the area—without identifying the target. It marked the first strike on the Lebanese capital in three weeks.