Hi there. This is a quick missive with a few updates.
If you’re located east of the Atlantic you might want to register for this webinar, early Tuesday morning, that Just World Ed is co-sponsoring:
The bottom line: It starts at 8:30 am London time, and the link to join is meet.google.com/ktw-zbjo-drj
I am very honored to be a part of this distinguished panel, of which the principal convenor is our colleagues from the Tehran-based Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV).
We’ll be discussing some very important topics! If you’re unable to “attend” it live, there will be a recording speedily available.
On August 2, my great JWE board colleague Rami G. Khuri was (as so frequently) featured on Al-Jazeera, talking about Gaza. One thing I love about Rami’s smart use of SubStack is that he often uses it to post not just the video of his media appearances but also the talking-points he has prepared beforehand (I’m guessing) for that appearance.
Go read the whole of what he wrote on his SubStack about that August 2 appearance. He prefaced it with this:
The 19 Palestinians Israel killed in Gaza Sunday are its message to Trump that it does not plan to adhere to the new agreement…
Remember, that was Rami’s judgment eight days ago… Since then, PM Netanyahu has been quite explicit in his rejection of Trump’s current plan for the “Board of Peace.”
(And any “consequences” from the U.S. government for the Israeli leader’s brutality and defiance? I am not holding my breath…)
Then on August 6, Rami was on TRT, talking about the latest round of (completely for-show) Israeli-Lebanese talks in Rome.
In his SubStack take on the matter, he noted the completely empty, “theatrical” nature of all these Israeli-Lebanese meetings the Trump administration has been organizing. And he made this observation:
if major western states, world and ME powers, Arabs, and the US combine to force Israel to negotiate honestly, seeking peace agreements like the Jordan and Egypt agreements with Israel that satisfied both sides’ rights and needs simultaneously, perhaps Israel would wake up one day and negotiate honestly and equitably.
Again, though,I’m not holding my breath…
I want to add— for friends in the U.K.— that I’m planning a trip to your shores for the end of September and the beginning of October, with stops in London, the West Country, Oxford, and possibly elsewhere. I’ve already told many of my U.K. friends that I’m coming, and I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with many old friends in person.
But if you didn’t get that email and would like to schedule a meetup, let me know!
Also, I realize this is pretty short notice, but if any of you would like to help organize a public event or discussion of the still super-helpful book that Rami and I co-authored in 2024, Understanding Hamas And Why That Matters, that could also be an interesting way to spend some of my time there. Let me know if you’d be interested in doing that, too.
Stirring times we live in.
If you want to help support Just World Ed and all the work we do— as so richly archived on our website, then you know the drill:
That’s it for now. You stay well—
~ Helena
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