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January 1st, 2021 
Awake Goy The top 10 Mondoweiss articles of 2020 ran the gamut. The stories that dominated the headlines around the globe from the coronavirus to Black Lives Matter protests, were also a focus for our work. In addition, the Trump administration’s shocking support for the Israeli occupation (which continued unabated by the pandemic), and the ongoing effort to conflate anti-Zionism and antisemitism were also major topics. But in the end it was a celebrity’s critique of Israel and the Jewish community on a podcast that was our most read story — 2020 never ran out of surprises.
Here’s the list:
10. Netanyahu says ‘all humanity is in same boat’ fighting virus – except Palestinians
Jonathan Ofir wrote that while Palestinians are on the front lines of Israel’s fight against coronavirus as doctors and nurses, Benjamin Netanyahu says they are still unfit to be part of an emergency government, as he continued his racist incitement against Palestinian politicians and the third-largest party in the country.
9. Israelizing the American police, Palestinianizing the American people
Following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, a lot of attention was directed at the “training” American police receive from Israel. The point, however, is not that Israel has made US police more violent. Rather, Jeff Halper argued, it was the example of the Israeli Security State, with ready-made doctrines, para-military structures, and weaponry, that has influenced the construction of a similar American Security State.
8. After AIPAC ad implying she’s worse than ISIS, Rep. Betty McCollum calls the pro-Israel org a “hate group”
In February, Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum put out a statement referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a “hate group.” McCollum’s comments came just days after AIPAC pulled and apologized for Facebook ads that targeted pro-Palestine lawmakers and implied they were worse than the terrorist group ISIS.
7. My life’s work as an anti-racist and anti-Zionist activist makes me an antisemite according to Labour
In a letter to the UK Labour Party, Haim Bresheeth referred himself to the party’s Compliance Unit for ‘antisemitism’ due to his lifetime of activism against Israeli human rights violations. “I trust that my request will be taken seriously and acted upon, with the same combination of dispatch, bigotry and prejudice showed towards other members already accused of this offence,” Bresheeth wrote.
6. George Floyd killing highlights issue of US police training in Israel
George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police on May 25 has caused many to liken American policing methods to Israeli occupation policing, and to point out that US police have gotten training from Israeli officials under the sponsorship of Israel lobby organizations. The ADL sponsors such trainings, even as it says George Floyd murder exposes “systemic” racism in the U.S.
5. UK Labour party teeters on brink of civil war over antisemitism
In 2020, Jeremy Corbyn, the former left-wing leader of Britain’s Labour party, was once again making headlines over an “antisemitism problem” he supposedly oversaw during his five years at the head of the party. In July, however, Jonathan Cook commented the assault on his reputation was being led not by the usual suspects – pro-Israel lobbyists and a billionaire-owned media – but by Keir Starmer, the man who succeeded him.
4. Under cover of US elections, Israel wipes entire Palestinian community off the map
As the world was engulfed in the unfolding US elections on November 3rd, Yumna Patel reported from the the northern Jordan Valley where Israel quietly demolished an entire Bedouin enclave, leaving more than 70 Palestinians homeless just as temperatures started to drop in the occupied West Bank.
3. The ‘Deal of the Century’ is Apartheid
President Trump’s plan was labeled the ‘Deal of the Century’ because it was supposed to bring peace and dignity to the people of the Middle East. Instead, Sheena Anne Arackal explained it did the exact opposite and resurrected apartheid, the racist political system that should have been left in the dustbins of history.
Arackal wrote:
The Trump peace plan cannot, and should not be implemented because it gives Israelis the illusion of security while in reality trapping them within an unstable regime based on racial oppression. The Trump peace plan cannot, and should not be implemented because it gravely violates the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people and very likely constitutes a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute (1998). The Trump peace plan cannot, and should not be implemented because once we look past all the streamers and confetti, it turns out ‘The Deal of the Century’ is nothing less than Apartheid.
2. Killing of unarmed, autistic Palestinian in Jerusalem sparks outrage
Eyad al-Halaq was on his way to a school for children and adults with disabilities where he was a student when Israeli police spotted a “suspicious object that looked like a pistol” and shot him. After killing him, officers found that al-Halaq was unarmed.
On top of the fact that al-Halaq was unarmed and was autistic, the arbitrary and conflicting reasoning given by the officers as to why they pursued and shot him sparked widespread outrage among Palestinians inside Israel and the occupied territories in May.
Al-Halaq’s untimely death has coincided with the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with many Palestinian activists and allies drawing parallels between Israel’s slaying of Palestinians and the rampant killings of unarmed black men in the U.S at the hands of the police.
1. Israel is ridiculous, antiquated and based on lies about other people’s land, Seth Rogen says, but he’s afraid to tell other Jews
Seth Rogen, take a bow. In July the writer/comedian went on the Marc Maron podcast to promote his movie “An American Pickle,” and he created a firestorm over Israel.
In discussing the film the conversation turned towards Israel with Maron and Rogen, who are both Jewish, sharing that neither would ever want to live in Israel:
Rogen: And I also think that as a Jewish person, like I was fed a huge amount of lies about Israel my entire life. You know, they never tell you, that oh by the way, there were people there. They make it seem like it was– just sitting there. Oh the fucking door’s open!
Maron: Ours for the taking.
Rogen: Yeah. Literally they forget to include the fact to every young Jewish person: Basically, oh by the way, there were people living there.
This conversation launched a thousand think pieces (our article in July that broke the story was viewed over 200,000 times). Some celebrated Rogen’s honesty, but others found the whole episode dispiriting. As Phil Weiss wrote on the site at the time:
it shows again that any discussion of the Israel question that limits itself to Jews, no matter how smart or funny or compassionate they are, is going to become a joke or a distraction or a charade in about ten minutes. The only real discussion of this question has to include Palestinian voices.
Thank you to all our readers from the Mondoweiss team! We hope you have a safe and healthy new year.
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