Patti Mohr

Israel Spending Millions on U.S. Influence Campaign Targeting Christians

15Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Middle East, Types of News: Analysis, United States

Israel Spending Millions on U.S. Influence Campaign Targeting Christians

PR Campaign Plans to Bring the 10/7 Experience to Mega Churches and College Campuses October 15, 2025—The Israeli government is investing millions of dollars in an influence campaign targeting American Christians. The purpose, according to new filing reports in the Justice Department’s FARA system, is to encourage Christians in the United States to have a favorable view of the Israeli nation-state, question the longstanding U.S. policy of a two-state solution, and associate Palestinians with Hamas and extremism. The story is part of a larger PR blitz by the Israeli Foreign Ministry with an annual budget of $150 million, the Times of Israel reported. It is separate than a $1.5 million a month campaign called the Esther Project run by former Trump campaign strategist Brad Parscale thro...

Netanyahu Ally Aims to Delay Corruption Trial Due to ‘War’

15Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Domestic Politics, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Netanyahu Ally Aims to Delay Corruption Trial Due to ‘War’

Proposal Creates Perverse Incentive to Restart Gaza War October 15, 2025—As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified today in court over longstanding corruption charges, a key political ally advanced plans to tie an exemption from that trial to wartime. It comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war signified a “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” Netanyahu Ally: No Trial During War Yariv Levin is not just the Justice Minister, he is also the deputy prime minister, minister of the Interior, and minister of Religious Services. He’s also a key Netanyahu ally who, in January 2023, led the judicial overhaul plan to restrict the authority of the Supreme Court. It was a highly controversial reform that cri...

17Sep

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Human rights, Types of News: Brief

Ben & Jerry’s Cofounder Quits, Citing Lack of Freedom to Stand for Values

Censorship on Israel-Palestine Is At Center of Dispute with Corporate Owners September 17, 2025—In a blow to the concept of conscience capitalism, Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, resigned today, citing a sudden lack of freedom to pursue values of peace, justice, and human rights for which the company is known. A longstanding dispute with corporate owners, first Unilever and now Magnum, accelerated in 2024 when Ben & Jerry’s board called for a ceasefire in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. It was one of the few companies that took a stand in the Israel-Hamas war and ensuing genocide. Unique Merger Granting Freedom When Greenfield and co-founder Ben Cohen sold their Vermont-based company to Unilever for $326 million in 2000, they negotiated a ...

Judge Orders ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to Close on Environmental Concerns

29Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Democracy, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Analysis, United States

Judge Orders ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to Close on Environmental Concerns

Florida Spent $245 Million on the Now-Closed Facility August 29, 2025—One of the most notorious migrant detention centers in the United States, located in the Florida Everglades, is closing over environmental concerns. The mass detention center, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," is the center of multiple lawsuits and widespread controversy due to its inhumane conditions and location. The roughly 336 detainees who had been held there have reportedly been moved. In June, President Donald Trump dubbed the massive facility “Alligator Alcatraz” because the surrounding swamp is “not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon.” “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” Trump said in June at the announced opening. Deplorable Cond...

Top Ten Deadliest Places for Humanitarian Aid Workers

21Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Infographic

Top Ten Deadliest Places for Humanitarian Aid Workers

520 Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Since October 2023 August 21, 2025—On Worldwide Humanitarian Day, diplomats and humanitarians in Geneva marked the rise of incidents against aid workers. The community saw another rise in violence this year, with 265 aid workers killed so far this year. That follows a spike in 2024 of 383 humanitarians killed. Aid workers are protected by International Humanitarian Law. The rise in violence against aid workers undermines that law. ‘Normalization of Violence’ Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, condemned “the normalization of violence against this community.” The worst place for humanitarian workers is the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza, where 520 aid workers have been killed since October 20...

Nonprofits File ICC Complaint Against Israeli Officers for Killing Journalists

14Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Human rights, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Middle East, Types of News: Analysis

Nonprofits File ICC Complaint Against Israeli Officers for Killing Journalists

Israeli Precision-Drone Strike Assassinated 7, Including 6 Journalists August 14, 2024—Following the weekend precision-targeted strike on a tent housing an Al Jazeera crew, the Israeli military came under condemnation and scrutiny by multiple nonprofits, lawmakers, UN officials, and news organizations. Two organizations went further. They assigned criminal culpability to the Israeli officers who reportedly ordered the attack. The Hind Rajab Foundation and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against seven Israeli Defense Force officers, including Major Gen. Tomer Bar. Lieutenant Gen. Eyal Zamir, Major Gen. Yaniv Asor, Gen. “A” (Unit 8200), Palmachim Airbase Commander, “Black Snake” Sq Commander, and Colonel Avichay Adraee, ac...

Trump Deploys National Guard Soldiers to DC Against Homeless, Civilians

11Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Democracy, Human rights, Types of News: Brief, United States

Trump Deploys National Guard Soldiers to DC Against Homeless, Civilians

August 11, 2025—In the latest display of executive power, President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., taking over the nation’s capital with military force. “This is liberation day in D.C., and we’re going to take our Capitol back. We’re taking it back…. I’m officially invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. You know what that is? And placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control,” Trump said. “In addition, I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order, and public safety.” The White House declared a "crime emergency" and placed the District under the control of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The plan involves 800 National Guard troops charged with removing homel...

The Netherlands Names the United States in Threat Assessment

6Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Human rights, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Types of News: Analysis

The Netherlands Names the United States in Threat Assessment

U.S. Sanctions as State Threat Against International Courts of Justice August 6, 2025—The Netherlands is a significant player in Europe with close ties to the United States. It’s a founding member of both the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance and the European Union. So when the Dutch government conducts a threat assessment and names the United States, an ally, as a peril to its interests, it’s significant. Let’s step back. In July, the Netherlands published its annual “The State Actors Threat Assessment.” The areas of Dutch concerns are many: Russia’s military operations and threat to NATO, the geopolitical rise of China and BRICS, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the changing world order. What’s interesting is that this year, the United States is included among the top threats. So too...

Extreme Famine Reaches Gaza Due to Israel’s Draconian Aid Restrictions

30Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Extreme Famine Reaches Gaza Due to Israel’s Draconian Aid Restrictions

Gaza Population Tips From Mass Starvation to Mass Death, Crisis Group Reports July 30, 2025--Stage 4 and 5 famine has reached the Gaza Strip, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform, the world's monitor on famine. The entire population faces acute food insecurity while a half a million people face starvation. "Nineteen months into the conflict, the Gaza Strip is still confronted with a critical risk of Famine. Over 60 days have passed since all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies were blocked from entering the territory. Goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks," the IPC warning said. Defying international law against using starvation as a weapon of war, Israeli has repeate...

U.S. Ships Noncitizen Inmates to Third Countries

20Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Types of News: Analysis, United States

U.S. Ships Noncitizen Inmates to Third Countries

Eswatini Joins El Salvador and South Sudan for Importing Detainees U.S. ships noncitizens abroad, including convicted criminals July 20, 2025—In undisclosed deals with third countries, the U.S. government is shipping noncitizens abroad to be locked up in detention centers. The latest shipment to the Kingdom of Eswatini included five people who had been previously convicted in U.S. courts of murder, child rape, robbery, and homicide, according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS released photos of the detainees, along with their convictions, but not their names. DHS says the home countries of Vietnam, Laos, Jamaica, Cuba, and Yemen “refused to take them back.” Notably, neither country disclosed details of the deal or revealed information about the financial agreement. The s...