RIGHTS ARE WHAT WE MAKE AND WHAT WE TAKE: UNTIL ALL OF US ARE FREE! Happy Juneteenth! Special Juneteenth Black-Palestinian solidarity edition of the New York War Crimes hitting the streets today!

I wrote about a remarkable novel, The Gadfly, from 1897 by Ethel Lillian Voynich that meant a lot to me as a kid in postrevolutionary #Iran. It turns out it meant a lot to many other people in unexpected ways. Read more in my newsletter (link in bio above).

Institutions are immovable, until they are not. Divestment is impossible, until it is not. University of Toronto will divest. It is not a question of if, but when 🇵🇸❤️

The Lancet, arguably the most widely-respected medical journal in the world—an institution that is usually holy to the The New York Times—recently estimated that the death toll in Gaza is, at a minimum, 186,000 Palestinians. Four days on, the The New York Times has yet to cover the report.

Short, to the point, and insightful. I'm usually just one (maybe 2) out of 3 of these but Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi 's essay on the recent elections in Iran manages to be all three!

I will share this in case you are looking for something unrelated to the US elections. Thanks to Ahmed for reading my book and inviting me to join his excellent podcast series.

A few of us collaborated on this 2 part piece for Hammer & Hope on the counterrevolutionary war in Sudan for which we interviewed 4 Sudanese and South Sudanese activists. Below is Part I with our intro. and the first interview with (1/3). hammerandhope.org/article/sudan-…

Glad to have been the lead researcher on this exhibit. Take a moment to learn more about slavery and freedom in colonial Ontario.

Short list of insightful pieces on protests & upheaval in Bangladesh from the last few weeks: Nafis Hasan: jamhoor.org/read/the-spect… Naveeda Khan: naveedakhan.org/post/a-mockery… Naomi Hossain: newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/… Faisal Mahmud and Mehedi Hassan Marof: scroll.in/article/107160…

For Sidecar, Ussama Makdisi (Ussama Makdisi) on 'the Palestine exception': 'Unlike every other case of Western settler-colonization, the oppression of Palestinians has outlasted the mainstreaming of concepts like "human rights" and "racial equality".' newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/…

Fantastic thread.

In the aftermath of Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, June Jordan and Audre Lorde had a falling out over the issue of Zionism. I've traced it across three archives, and it may be the most important story I've ever told. Read it, but more importantly, read June Jordan.

+++++++++++++++++ 📽 DIFFUSION Festival 08 - 11 August 📷 Short + feature films of non-fiction artistic varieties 📷 401 Richmond- Courtyard + Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space all wheelchair accessible 📷 donation @ door 📷reassemblage.ca +++++++++++++++++++++

Israel-based NGO B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم has released a report on Israel's torture camps. Detainee testimonies reveal a "systematic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners." This is further evidence of genocide. 🧵 btselem.org/publications/2…

On the occasion of Minouche Shafik stepping down as president of Columbia University, it’s good to remember she was the Director of LSE when several sexual misconduct and bullying cases against a faculty was mishandled. thebeaverlse.co.uk/sexual-miscond…

Ta-Nehisi Coates on how the DNC, preventing Palestinians from speaking for themselves, even as it touts diversity in Chicago, home to one of the highest concentrations of Palestinians in the U.S. #Gaza #Genocide #Nakba #DNC vanityfair.com/news/story/dnc…

In American Historical Review, @leila_pee's examination of archival records from the Iranian royal family during the 19th century provides insight into the history of modern slavery in Iran. academic.oup.com/ahr/article/12…

In 2023, Wanda Nanibush, a curator at Art Gallery of Ontario, vanished from public view, with her name wiped from the site and her planned exhibits cancelled. Jason McBride suggests this wasn’t a coincidence—her stand on Palestinian justice likely played a role. thewalrus.ca/why-did-canada…

Teen romance. Middle-aged divorce. A Dispute over parking. Shahab Fotouhi takes a fresh and leisurely look at a changing Tehran in "Boomerang," or "Men would rather walk into a sea of quince jam than go to therapy" #Venezia81 variety.com/2024/film/revi…

As the fall semester begins, we take a look at the state of academic dissent on U.S. college campuses. Over the summer, universities have begun to align "with the right-wing agenda of Congress," explains Natasha Lennard, who has written extensively about "the new McCarthyism."