Gaza Ceasefire at Last: How Israel's 'First Defeat' Will Shape the Country's Future

The headline in the Times of Israel says it all: "For the First Time, Israel Just Lost a War."

 Regardless of the reasoning behind this statement, which the article divides into fourteen points, it suggests a shattering and unprecedented event in the 76-year history of the State of Israel. The consequences of this realization will have far-reaching effects on Israelis, impacting both this generation and the next. These repercussions will penetrate all sectors of Israeli society, from the political elite to the collective identity of ordinary Israelis.

 Interestingly, and tellingly, the article attributes Israel’s defeat solely to the outcome of the Gaza war, confined to the geographical area of the Gaza Strip. Not a single point addresses the ongoing crisis within Israel itself. Nor does it explore the psychological impact of what is being labeled as Israel’s first-ever defeat.

Five popular checks on Trump's agenda

On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel as President Trump retakes office: rough.

Trump and his allies in Congress are already rolling out plans to cut taxes for billionaires, slash services for the rest of us, pollute the planet, and deport people who’ve lived here their whole lives.

But if you look closely, you’ll see signs people aren’t just going to accept all this. Here are five that caught my eye from this past election year.

1. Populist anger is boiling over. 

Americans have had it with economic elites. Union activity has been on an upswing for a few years running now, with union petition filings in 2024 significantly up over 2023.

Cirino's SB 1 announcement disrupted by student protest

Students with protest signs sitting in a hall

On January 22, the Ohio Student Association disrupted Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino’s press conference announcing SB 1, a regurgitated version of the widely unpopular SB 83. OSA members showed up loud and proud on day one at the Ohio Statehouse to defy this attempt to dismantle Ohio’s higher education system. The re-introduced bill aims to centralize control over Ohio’s public higher education system, threatens academic free speech, and the state’s ability to attract and retain top students and educators.

Students gathered in the atrium holding signs and graduation caps reading “Listen to Students” and “R.I.P. my degree” before marching to the hallway outside the Harding Press Room. Students chanted as incoming Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Kristina Roegner, took the stage, her speech overshadowed by the booming chanting of college students: “Higher ed will be dead”. 

'All They Will Call You Will Be Deportees'

And now Trump consciousness purports to claim – or reclaim – control over America: the land of white Christian nationalists and no one else, damnit!

But of course that level of selfishness – mine, mine, mine! – is only possible to maintain with a huge helping of fear alongside it: fear of the enemy. Fear of “them.”

Thus Alexandra Villarreal, writing in the Guardian about Trump 2.0’s first day in office (on Martin Luther King Day), noted: “He immediately involved the military, ordering the armed forces to ‘seal’ the US’s borders ‘by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration.’

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Pardoning Terrorists

Warning America about Ohio’s newly appointed Senator Jon Husted

White man

Governor Mike DeWine recently appointed his Lt. Governor Jon Husted to fill J.D. Vance’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Innovation Ohio states: “This decision underscores a continued alignment with corporate price-gougers and further political divisions that threaten the well-being of Ohioans. The appointment raises significant concerns about the direction Senator Husted would take Ohio and our nation.”

“For Americans who may not know Jon Husted, allow an Ohioan to tell you all about him,” said Nick Tuell, Senior Communication Director at Innovation Ohio. “Husted is backed by big businesses that price-gouge us at the supermarket and at the gas pump, while they post record profits. As Ohio House Speaker, Husted eliminated taxes for big corporations at the expense of higher sales taxes on our everyday goods. Jon Husted is a career politician who always backs his big business pals over Ohio working families. He doesn’t care about us, he is only looking out for himself,” wrote an Innovation Ohio press statement.

Community Conversation #6: What is the Nature of Community? What is the Community of Nature? 

Details about event

Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 6:00 PM
OHCRN - the Ohio Community Rights Network invites you for a conversation with Susan VonderHaar and Jim Shenk of Cincinnati about creating intentional community. Susan is the Director of the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute and will introduce the practice of Permaculture and present how the ethics and principles of the natural world should inform us how we create human-built systems. Jim is author of "Creating an Urban Ecovillage; a Model for Revitalizing our Cities." He will discuss the interconnectedness of Ecology and Community in their EcoVillage experience.  

Elon's Salute

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