Notes from the Editors
Genocide in Gaza, by Avi Shlaim
As Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza with the full backing of the United States devastated Gaza, the urgency of clear, historically grounded analysis has never been greater. Genocide in Gaza intervenes at a moment when mass movements across the globe—from campus encampments to port blockades and street mobilizations—are refusing the narratives that have long insulated Israeli state violence from accountability. Avi Shlaim’s work provides essential intellectual ammunition for this struggle. Against decades of liberal obfuscation and media distortion, Shlaim situates Gaza not as an exceptional crisis but as the logical outcome of Zionist settler colonialism and its doctrine of permanent war against an Indigenous population. At a time when organizers are demanding an end to U.S. military aid, sanctions on Israel, and justice for Palestine, Genocide in Gaza connects scholarship to struggle. It speaks directly to activists, students, and readers seeking to understand how imperial power, racialized violence, and colonial logics converge in Gaza—and why solidarity with Palestine is inseparable from broader fights against empire, racism, and global apartheid.
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Community Organizer & Self-Identified Socialist Wins Seattle Mayoral Race
Katie Wilson has been elected mayor of Seattle, defeating incumbent Bruce Harrell. Wilson’s campaign focused on affordable housing, rental protection, transportation, a higher minimum wage, cost of living and fast-tracking shelter space. Harrell, an establishment Democrat, was perceived as the candidate of local teach executives. Wilson said, “I want a city where your health and longevity, and your children’s future, don’t depend on your zip code or your race.”
Only a few hours before giving her acceptance speech, Wilson was chanting with attendees at a Starbucks strike rally where she also gave a short speech. Wilson will be the first-ever, socialist-identified Mayor of Seattle.
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Ukrainian Draft Evasion
We know that Ukraine is running out of troops in a war of attrition and that Russia is making steady, inexorable advances on the battlefield. For weeks now, I’ve been paying close attention to the situation in Pokrovsk, a strategic city in Western Donetsk. Reports from both sides indicate that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Pokrovsk are surrounded by 150,000 Russian troops. The British Financial Times and Daily Telegraph are reporting that Pokrovsk is about to fall, and this could trigger a total collapse of Ukraine’s western Donetsk front line.
Given this reality, I was struck by the placement of a piece on Ukrainian draft dodgers on the front page of today’s New York Times. Is this above the fold article, with six photos, a tacit admission by the editors that the US proxy war in Ukraine has been lost?
Many men of draft age, 20 to 60, have either fled the country or are in hiding. The article confirms that “criminal networks smuggle people out the country illegally for a steep price,” even though the price is $15,000 and being caught means a nine-year prison sentence.
As for the army itself, prosecutors have opened 290,000 cases for desertion or being absent without leave. The article points out the in Vylkove, a small town in southern most Ukraine, half of the men of military age never leave their houses out fear of being caught by draft officers and pressed into service. Women have taken on most of the jobs.
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A Few Quotes About ICE
“Ice isn’t just about immigration. It’s about normalizing secret police in our society.” — Max Blumenthal
“No One’s Illegal On Stolen Land.” — Protest Sign
“ICE Melts Under Resistance.” — Protest Sign
“Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, you know, but we should have a secure border and it ain’t that hard to do. Biden didn’t do it.” — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tim Dillon Show, October 22, 2015.
“ICE Considering Paying Private Bounty Hunters to Track Immigrants.” — Newsweek, November 9, 2025.
“The US economy runs on the backs of illegal immigrants.” — Scott Ritter
“The Trump administration is replacing nearly half of the top ICE field officers with current or retired Border Patrol officers. The Border Patrol has a culture of cruelty, racism, and impunity for human rights violations.” — ACLU
Chicago Alderman Mike Rodriquez on the Border Patrol’s “reign of terror” in his neighborhood: “Left unchecked their mandate will grow; the boundaries of acceptable identity and speech will shrink.”
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I Bet You Didn’t Know
On December 5, the UN adopted (with only TWO countries opposing) a resolution proclaiming December 14th as the International Day against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations, to commemorate the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Do you really need to guess which two countries opposed? The Answer (for those whose heads are still in the sand): USA & Israel.
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Growing Global Inequality
A just-released report finds that the top 0.001% of the world’s population own 3 times as much wealth as the poorest 1/2 of the world’s population combined. The share of the latter in all wealth is barely 2%, while the top 10% control nearly 3/4 of global wealth.
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We haven’t arrived at what’s often called the “post-truth” condition with Trump and Trumpism only. For one, have you ever — and I mean given decades, not just the last few years — had any success convincing a pro-Israel person — be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or secular, politician or not — by recounting the undisputed facts on the ground in Palestine?
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We want to remind the nearly half of Israelis who said recently that they will not visit New York City if Zohran Mamdani wins, to stick to their promise. We remind them that compromise is not an option for them given their undying commitment to Zionism and genocide, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid in Palestine. So, stay the f* out of New York City.
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“On a Single Day in Monaco, 50% of the Bugattis and Ferraris Had Ukrainian Number Plates.”
After spending time in Monaco with his girlfriend, Donald Trump Jr. made this comment at the recent Doha conference.
Trump Jr. asked, “Do you think that was earned in Ukraine?” He continued by saying “The corrupt rich have all moved to Monaco, leaving the “peasants” to continue fighting the war.” Even leaving room for hyperbole, he’s not wrong. He also volunteered that the US is no longer going to be the “idiot with the checkbook.” In fact, the new Pentagon budget authorizes the “idiot” to give another $400 million to Ukraine.
As the collapse of the proxy war draws closer, the political class in Kiev — the criminal grifters — are stealing everything that’s not nailed down. A cynic would say that Zelensky needs to keep the money flowing to his supporters to remain in power and this will continue until Russia prevails and the ATM shuts down. At home, we know that the US could pull the plug on the war in a New York minute but the neocons, Deep State and the media remain adamantly opposed to any settlement. At least that’s our overall sense of things…
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We recently had an opportunity to read The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience, a recent book by 22-year-old Plestia Alaqad. Just before the genocide started, she was a recent graduate with a degree in journalism and looking to starting her career. When Israel launched its genocide in Gaza, she went from aspiring journalist to actual on-the-ground journalist. Most recent writing about Gaza is political or analytical, going into the gory details of Israel’s crimes or detailing how they relate to international law, the Genocide Convention, or recent decisions by the International Court of Justice. These are all extremely important, but this book is a diary of activities and reflections by the writer and is in some ways reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank.
“Imagine a street that you travel on every day, with buildings and stores
on the left and right, and neighbors that greet you as you pass by. Now I imagine walking down that same street, but all the buildings and stores are gone, and there are no neighbors left to greet you.”
Plestia left Gaza at the end of 2023 and accepted the Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Scholarship for a Master’s in media studies at American University of Beirut. In 2024, she was named One Young World’s Journalist of the Year and one of BBC’s 100 Women.
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