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For National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman, growing women’s soccer starts with Jewish values
(JTA) — Some sports fans collect trading cards. Others collect autographs. You could say Jessica Berman collects sports leagues.
Berman, a Jewish day school alum with deep roots in New York’s Jewish community, took the reins of the National Women’s Soccer League in April 2022. It was the latest stop in a decorated and pioneering front-office career that has included prominent positions with the National Lacrosse League and the National Hockey League — as well as a portfolio as a labor lawyer that included work with the NBA, NFL and MLB.
The National Women’s Soccer League, which held its inaugural season in 2013, currently has 12 teams and a regular season that runs from March through October. Berman stepped in at a crucial time for the league, which was navigating the a major sex abuse scandal in 2021 that led to lifetime bans for four coaches and the resignation of one of Berman’s predecessors.
In addition to managing the fallout from that scandal, Berman is charged with presiding over the league’s continued growth. The NWSL added two teams in 2022 and plans to expand to 16 teams by 2026. This comes at a time when the FIFA Women’s World Cup has also experienced an uptick in popularity and grew to 32 countries this year. This summer, 61 NWSL players appeared on World Cup rosters in the tournament.
“Hopefully that inspires people to recognize that when we invest resources in girls and women, that great things will happen and that they’re incredible, their athleticism is incredible and incredibly entertaining,” Berman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
One of her goals, she said, is to “have people here in this country recognize that if you loved watching the World Cup, you don’t have to wait every four years to get excited.”
Berman’s love of sports began during her childhood in Brooklyn, where she grew up in a Conservative Jewish household and attended Jewish day school from first through eighth grade at the East Midwood Jewish Center. She said she regularly celebrated Shabbat with her family and spent Jewish holidays with her extended family, who were Orthodox. She said she was “definitely raised with a very strong sense of being Jewish in my community.”
Berman, who is in her mid-40s, said she didn’t play traditional team sports growing up, in part because of a lack of access. Title IX, the federal statute guaranteeing equal access to sports for boys and girls, had been enacted in 1972 but had not yet changed the sports landscape everywhere.
“Looking back on it, having grown up in a very urban environment where Title IX I don’t think permeated the urban centers as quickly as it did suburbs, there really weren’t sports for girls in my childhood,” she said. “And even in my community, it was definitely not something that girls did.”
Instead, Berman’s sports involvement was focused on dance, and she took classes from age 6 through college. Her interest in sports management as a career emerged in high school.
“Having grown up in Brooklyn, I decided that sport was one of the few things in our social fabric that had the power to unite communities,” Berman said. “I was really obsessed with diversity and inclusion and how we could bring people together who had different backgrounds, and decided I wanted to work in an industry that had that kind of power.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree in sports management from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Fordham University, Berman launched her career in sports.
She first worked at the Los Angeles-based law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, which specializes in issues surrounding collective bargaining in professional sports. From there, Berman joined the NHL, where over the course of 13 years she would serve as senior counsel and a vice president overseeing numerous aspects of the league, from legal to corporate social responsibility to the NHL Foundation, the league’s philanthropic arm.
In 2019, Berman became the deputy commissioner of the National Lacrosse League, making her the first woman to hold that title in a men’s professional sports league.
When the opportunity first presented itself, Berman told USA Today, she was hesitant about the demands of the role and what it would mean for her family. But she recalled her son saying, “Are you kidding, Mom? This is going to make you a pioneer.” She spent two and a half years at the NLL before accepting the top job at the NWSL.
Berman said that while each sport has its own unique traditions and cultures, by and large they are more similar than they are different. The biggest change with her job at the NWSL is navigating the gender divide that exists in professional sports — from the fight for equal pay to challenges stemming from sexism, financial constraints and media coverage. Last year, U.S. Soccer became the sport’s first national governing body to promise equal pay for its men’s and women’s national teams, a milestone victory in the fight for pay equity in sports following a long and high-profile fight by members of the women’s team.
“Women’s sports has just historically been under-resourced, undervalued and measured based on past performance, not future potential,” Berman said. “And it has unfortunately created what has become historically, I think, a self-fulfilling cycle of not being in a position to reach its full potential.”
As women’s soccer is on the rise in the U.S. and around the world, another demographic is particularly underrepresented: Jewish women. There were no known Jewish players in the World Cup, though there have been in the past, and few, if any, in the NWSL.
“I can’t think of a cultural barrier or a reason why that would be true,” Berman said. “Particularly when you think about the hotbeds of soccer and girls soccer in our country, they’re certainly places where there are plenty of Jews in those communities. So I have no idea why that would be the case.”
While Jewish representation is lacking on the pitch, Berman is not the only Jewish woman in a prominent position in the NWSL. Two former players, Yael Averbuch West and Cami Levin Ashton, are now general managers in the league.
Averbuch West said Berman is dedicated to helping the league and its clubs continue to grow and frequently checks in to offer support — including by attending games in person.
While the two haven’t explicitly discussed their Jewishness, Averbuch West said Berman “feels familiar” because of their shared background. “Especially Jewish women in sports, there’s not many of us,” she added.
Averbuch West, who last played in 2018, said she still hears from fans who say she is their favorite player because she is one of the rare Jewish players.
“I think for young soccer fans and players, to see a Jewish woman involved in the game and running one of the best leagues in the world is hugely important,” Averbuch West said.
Does Berman feel her Jewish values overlap with her job? “Oh my God, yes,” she said. “In this role in particular, I’ve never felt more aligned with the values that were instilled in me as a child, which include empowering others and ensuring that there is an equal playing field, that marginalized and underrepresented groups have to support each other and work together.”
Berman said a central part of her Jewish education was focused on the history of oppression shared by the Jewish and Black communities.
“The values I was raised with was to say, like, we are less than 1% of the population,” she said. “That doesn’t only mean that we have to support and invest in our own people and communities, but also look out for other marginalized groups and recognize that there’s a shared experience in not being offered the opportunity to be taken seriously and treated fairly.”
Berman, who now lives in Westchester County and belongs to Westchester Jewish Center, a Conservative congregation, said Judaism is still part of her family life. Her older son was supposed to celebrate his bar mitzvah in Israel, but that was derailed by the pandemic. Her younger son is preparing for his bar mitzvah in December, and Berman said she plans to take her kids to Israel next summer.
In May, Berman was honored by UJA-Federation of New York, where she was presented with the David J. Stern Leadership Award, named for the longtime Jewish NBA commissioner who died in 2020.
National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman holds the David J. Stern Leadership Award with her children, Noah, left, and Andrew, right. (Michael Priest Photography)
One of the speakers at Berman’s honorary luncheon was Mark Wilf, a Jewish businessman and philanthropist who owns the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as well as the professional men’s and women’s soccer clubs in Orlando. Wilf has also led the boards of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Agency for Israel, as well as 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company, and is active in Holocaust awareness efforts.
Wilf, as a team owner, first met Berman during her interview process for the job. He said he was “immediately impressed.” He also serves on the league’s executive committee, and said Berman has succeeded in “getting the league to grow in a variety of ways” — including through expanding the league office and number of teams, and in engaging with teams, players and the players union.
“I think given the role of the growth of women’s sports — you have the Women’s World Cup just recently, and you’ve seen all the growth in terms of the interest in the game, purchasing of franchises, the expansion process — I think that’s in large part [due] to her professionalism that’s helped build the league to where we are now,” Wilf said.
Throughout her career, Berman has worked closely with a number of other Jewish industry leaders, including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who Berman said is “unapologetic about his Jewish heritage,” and NBA commissioner Adam Silver, from whom she said she has learned best practices as a league commissioner.
As the NWSL approaches the end of its regular season and looks toward the playoffs and beyond, Berman is grateful for the opportunity she has to “do what I think sports do best, which is use our power to change the world,” she said.
“My job is to inspire the next generation to think differently about opportunity, and in particular, women and girls,” she added. “I can’t imagine my purpose being more manifested than it is in this role right now.”
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Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Deal ‘Tantamount to a Hezbollah Defeat,’ Says Leading War Studies Think Tank
Israeli tanks are being moved, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in the Golan Heights, Sept. 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
The terms of the newly minted ceasefire agreement to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah amounts to a defeat for the Lebanese terrorist group, although the deal may be difficult to implement, according to two leading US think tanks.
The deal requires Israeli forces to gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon, where they have been operating since early October, over the next 60 days. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army will enter these areas and ensure that Hezbollah retreats north of the Litani River, located some 18 miles north of the border with Israel. The United States and France, who brokered the agreement, will oversee compliance with its terms.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in conjunction with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project (CTP), explained the implications of the deal on Tuesday in their daily Iran Update, “which provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests.” Hezbollah, which wields significant political and military influence across Lebanon, is the chief proxy force of the Iranian regime.
In its analysis, ISW and CTP explained that the deal amounts to a Hezbollah defeat for two main reasons.
First, “Hezbollah has abandoned several previously-held ceasefire negotiation positions, reflecting the degree to which IDF [Israel Defense Forces] military operations have forced Hezbollah to abandon its war aims.”
Specifically, Hezbollah agreeing to a deal was previously contingent on a ceasefire in Gaza, but that changed after the past two months of Israeli military operations, during which the IDF has decimated much of Hezbollah’s leadership and weapons stockpiles through airstrikes while attempting to push the terrorist army away from its border with a ground offensive.
Additionally, the think tanks noted, “current Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem has also previously expressed opposition to any stipulations giving Israel freedom of action inside Lebanon,” but the deal reportedly allows Israel an ability to respond to Hezbollah if it violates the deal.
Second, the think tanks argued that the agreement was a defeat for Hezbollah because it allowed Israel to achieve its war aim of making it safe for its citizens to return to their homes in northern Israel.
“IDF operations in Lebanese border towns have eliminated the threat of an Oct. 7-style offensive attack by Hezbollah into northern Israel, and the Israeli air campaign has killed many commanders and destroyed much of Hezbollah’s munition stockpiles,” according to ISW and CTP.
Some 70,000 Israelis living in northern Israel have been forced to flee their homes over the past 14 months, amid unrelenting barrages of rockets, missiles, and drones fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah began its attacks last Oct. 8, one day after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. The Jewish state had been exchanging fire with Hezbollah but intensified its military response over the past two months.
Northern Israelis told The Algemeiner this week that they were concerned the new ceasefire deal could open the door to future Hezbollah attacks, but at the same time the ceasefire will allow many of them the first opportunity to return home in a year.
ISW and CTP also noted in their analysis that Israel’s military operations have devastated Hezbollah’s leadership and infrastructure. According to estimates, at least 1,730 Hezbollah terrorists and upwards of 4,000 have been killed over the past year of fighting.
While the deal suggested a defeat of sorts for Hezbollah and the effectiveness of Israel’s military operations, ISW and CTP also argued that several aspects of the ceasefire will be difficult to implement.
“The decision to rely on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and UN observers in Lebanon to respectively secure southern Lebanon and monitor compliance with the ceasefire agreement makes no serious changes to the same system outlined by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war,” they wrote.
Resolution 1701 called for the complete demilitarization of Hezbollah south of the Litani River and prohibited the presence of armed groups in Lebanon except for the official Lebanese army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
This may be an issue because “neither the LAF nor the UN proved willing or able to prevent Hezbollah from reoccupying southern Lebanon and building new infrastructure. Some LAF sources, for example, have expressed a lack of will to enforce this ceasefire because they believe that any fighting with Hezbollah would risk triggering ‘civil war,’” the think tanks assessed.
Nevertheless, the LAF is going to deploy 5,000 troops to the country’s south in order to assume control of their own territory from Hezbollah.
However, the think tanks added, “LAF units have been in southern Lebanon since 2006, but have failed to prevent Hezbollah from using the area to attack Israel.”
The post Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Deal ‘Tantamount to a Hezbollah Defeat,’ Says Leading War Studies Think Tank first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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What Nutmeg and the Torah Teach Us About Securing a Long-Term Future
A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.
Here’s a fact from history you may not know. In 1667, the Dutch and the British struck a trade deal that, in retrospect, seems so bizarre that it defies belief.
As part of the Treaty of Breda — a pact that ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War and aimed to solidify territorial claims between the two powers — the Dutch ceded control of Manhattan to the British.
Yes, that Manhattan — the self-proclaimed center of the universe (at least according to New Yorkers), home to Wall Street, Times Square, and those famously overpriced bagels.
And what did the Dutch get in return? Another island — tiny Run, part of the Banda Islands in Indonesia.
To put things in perspective, Run is minuscule compared to Manhattan — barely 3 square kilometers, or roughly half the size of Central Park. Today, it’s a forgotten dot on the map, with a population of less than 2,000 people and no significant industry beyond subsistence farming. But in the 17th century, Run was a prized gem worth its weight in gold — or rather, nutmeg gold.
Nutmeg was the Bitcoin of its day, an exotic spice that Europeans coveted so desperately they were willing to risk life and limb. Just by way of example, during the early spice wars, the Dutch massacred and enslaved the native Bandanese people to seize control of the lucrative nutmeg trade.
From our modern perspective, the deal seems ridiculous — Manhattan for a pinch of nutmeg? But in the context of the 17th century, it made perfect sense. Nutmeg was the crown jewel of global trade, and controlling its supply meant immense wealth and influence. For the Dutch, securing Run was a strategic move, giving them dominance in the spice trade, and, let’s be honest, plenty of bragging rights at fancy Dutch banquets.
But history has a funny way of reshaping perspectives. What seemed like a brilliant play in its time now looks like a colossal miscalculation — and the annals of history are filled with similar trades that, in hindsight, make us scratch our heads and wonder, what were they thinking?
Another contender for history’s Hall of Fame in ludicrous trades is the Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte, who was strapped for cash and eager to fund his military campaigns, sold a vast swath of North America to the nascent United States for a mere $15 million. The sale included 828,000 square miles — that’s about four cents an acre — that would become 15 states, including the fertile Midwest and the resource-rich Rocky Mountains.
But to Napoleon, this was a strategic no-brainer. He even called the sale “a magnificent bargain,” boasting that it would “forever disarm” Britain by strengthening its rival across the Atlantic. At the time, the Louisiana Territory was seen as a vast, undeveloped expanse that was difficult to govern and defend. Napoleon viewed it as a logistical burden, especially with the looming threat of British naval power. By selling the territory, he aimed to bolster France’s finances and focus on European conflicts.
Napoleon wasn’t shy about mocking his enemies for their mistakes, once quipping, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” But in this case, it’s tempting to imagine him swallowing those words as the United States grew into a global superpower thanks, in no small part, to his so-called bargain.
While he may have considered Louisiana to be a logistical headache — too far away and too vulnerable to British attacks — the long-term implications of the deal were staggering. What Napoleon dismissed as a far-off backwater turned out to be the world’s breadbasket, not to mention the backbone of America’s westward expansion.
Like the Dutch and their nutmeg gamble, Napoleon made a trade that no doubt seemed brilliant at the time — but, with hindsight, turned into a world-class blunder. It’s the kind of decision that reminds us just how hard it is to see past the urgency of the moment and anticipate the full scope of consequences.
Which brings me to Esav. You’d think Esav, the firstborn son of Yitzchak and Rivka, would have his priorities straight. He was the guy — heir to a distinguished dynasty that stretched back to his grandfather Abraham, who single-handedly changed the course of human history.
But one fateful day, as recalled at the beginning of Parshat Toldot, Esav stumbles home from a hunting trip, exhausted and ravenous. The aroma of Yaakov’s lentil stew hits him like a truck. “Pour me some of that red stuff!” he demands, as if he’s never seen food before.
Yaakov, never one to pass up an opportunity, doesn’t miss a beat.
“Sure, but only in exchange for your birthright,” he counters casually, as if such transactions are as common as trading baseball cards. And just like that, Esav trades his birthright for a bowl of soup. No lawyers, no witnesses, not even a handshake — just an impulsive decision fueled by hunger and a staggering lack of foresight.
The Torah captures the absurdity of the moment: Esav claims to be “on the verge of death” and dismisses the birthright as worthless. Any future value — material or spiritual — is meaningless to him in that moment. All that matters is satisfying his immediate needs.
So, was it really such a terrible deal? Psychologists have a term for Esav’s behavior: hyperbolic discounting — a fancy term for our tendency to prioritize immediate rewards over bigger, long-term benefits.
It’s the same mental quirk that makes splurging on a gadget feel better than saving for retirement, or binge-watching a series more appealing than preparing for an exam. For Esav, the stew wasn’t just a meal — it was the instant solution to his discomfort, a quick fix that blinded him to the larger, long-term value of his birthright.
It’s the classic trade-off between now and later: the craving for immediate gratification often comes at the expense of something far more significant. Esav’s impulsive decision wasn’t just about hunger — it was about losing sight of the future in the heat of the moment.
Truthfully, it’s easy to criticize Esav for his shortsightedness, but how often do we fall into the same trap? We skip meaningful opportunities because they feel inconvenient or uncomfortable in the moment, opting for the metaphorical lentil stew instead of holding out for the birthright.
But the Torah doesn’t include this story just to make Esav look bad. It’s there to highlight the contrast between Esav and Yaakov — the choices that define them and, by extension, us.
Esav represents the immediate, the expedient, the here-and-now. Yaakov, our spiritual forebear, is the embodiment of foresight and patience. He sees the long game and keeps his eye on what truly matters: Abraham and Yitzchak’s legacy and the Jewish people’s spiritual destiny.
The message of Toldot is clear: the choices we make in moments of weakness have the power to shape our future — and the future of all who come after us. Esav’s impulsiveness relegated him to a footnote in history, like the nutmeg island of Run or France’s control over a vast portion of North America.
Meanwhile, Yaakov’s ability to think beyond the moment secured him a legacy that continues to inspire and guide us to this day — a timeless reminder that true greatness is not built in a moment of indulgence, but in the patience to see beyond it.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post What Nutmeg and the Torah Teach Us About Securing a Long-Term Future first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Violating US Law, Palestinian Authority Brags That It’s Responsible for ICC Arrest Warrants
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
US law prohibits the Palestinian Authority (PA) from receiving aid from the Economic Support Fund if it works with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israel.
Nevertheless, the PA, which has been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid in recent years through multiple channels, played a leading role in the ICC’s case against Israel, and is now bragging about it:
International law researcher Jihad Al-Harazin: “We are beginning to see the fruits of the political, legal, and diplomatic efforts that the Palestinian leadership has undertaken over many years.
Since Palestine joined the ICC, it has been submitting daily requests to the ICC Prosecutor … about everything happening on Palestinian soil … We had to join this court, and our membership did not come out of a vacuum rather from extensive diplomatic efforts, led particularly by President Mahmoud Abbas …
From this, a brilliant political vision emerged that would force the occupation’s leaders to be brought before the most important international body for justice, the ICC, so they would be held accountable for their crimes. This leads us to appreciate the foresight and wisdom of President Mahmoud Abbas’ vision when he decided to join the ICC. [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, From the Capitals, November 25, 2024]
Al-Harazin’s lauding of Mahmoud Abbas’ wisdom follows a PA official announcement that it welcomes the ICC decision, and will continue to work to help the ICC in the case:
The State of Palestine Thursday welcomed the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former ‘Defense’ Minister Yoav Gallant …
It affirmed that it would continue to engage with international justice institutions and courts until all criminals who committed and are still committing crimes against the Palestinian people are held accountable to ensure justice and fairness to Palestinians. [emphasis added]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, Nov. 21, 2024]
Both the official statement and Al-Harazin’s bragging follow an admission by another official that the PA is actively participating in the ICC case against Israel:
Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadura Fares: “We in the [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ [Affairs] and the [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club, are documenting all the crimes.
We are cooperating with the committee that was established by decision of [PA] President [Abbas], a professional committee led by [PA] Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib. It is documenting the appropriate testimonies according to the required criteria so that these testimonies will be accepted before the ICC … [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Nov. 14, 2024]
American law is very clear about prohibiting the PA from receiving anything from the Economic Support Fund if it helps the ICC.
The 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act states:
None of the funds appropriated under the heading “Economic Support Fund” in this Act may be made available for assistance for the Palestinian Authority, if after the date of enactment of this Act … the Palestinians initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, or actively support such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.”
Palestinian Media Watch already exposed in May 2021 how Jamil Sajadiyeh, the director of the PA Attorney’s Office for International Legal Cooperation, described the intensive PA-ICC cooperation:
Head of the PA Attorney’s Office for International Legal Cooperation Jamil Sajadiyeh: “There are efforts that have been made with or planned through joint meetings with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Around 80 meetings have been held between Palestine and the ICC, of course with the office of ICC General Prosecutor [Fatou Bensouda]. There are nearly 60 cases and letters that have been submitted, all of them telling about the Israeli violations. Monthly reports are being submitted to the ICC via the general prosecutor through the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs. .. Palestine has submitted all it can in order to carry out these investigations … according to the instructions of His Honor President [Abbas] and all the relevant parties.” [emphasis added]
[Official Palestinian Authority TV, May 25, 2021]
The PA has been gloating over its achievements at the ICC and taking credit throughout the process. In May, when the ICC prosecutor submitted the requests for the arrest warrants, a Fatah official declared:
Fatah Jenin Branch member Nasri Hamamreh: “The political and diplomatic efforts … reached their height upon the achievement of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision. We as the Palestinian people view this as an achievement that can be added to a series of accumulated achievements
… It is an achievement for the wise leader of the Palestinian people [Mahmoud Abbas] who thinks of every way possible to bolster the Palestinian people’s resilience and to push the Israeli occupation into a corner, and to expose it, to expose its true ugly face to all the nations of the world.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, May 21, 2024]
Tayseer Nasrallah, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council who also said earlier this year that the ICC decision was a fruit of PA labor, now exclaimed that Palestinians were “living in a state of euphoria and joy” over the decision:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Tayseer Nasrallah: “A courageous decision was made by the International Criminal Court, and we welcome their taking this position. We also welcome the countries that immediately acceded [to the warrant], especially the member states of the International Criminal Court.
Indeed, we are now living in a state of euphoria and joy that the world has begun to see this entity as a terrorist, criminal, and spurned entity that is in a state of isolation, with everyone acting against it. Netanyahu, Gallant, and the entire criminal gang who are still committing genocide and starvation against our people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon cannot leave [the country].”
[Official PA TV, November 24, 2024]
The PA is in good company, as Hamas also welcomed the decision:
Hamas Movement Political Bureau member Izzat Al-Rishq said that regardless of whether there is a possibility of implementing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision, the truth that was revealed is that international justice is on our side and is against the Zionist entity. In a press release, Al-Rishq said: ‘This growing awareness and the exposure of the true terrorist face of the occupying entity (i.e., Israel) serves the Palestinian interest, the future of our cause, and our goal – liberation that will necessarily come, Allah willing.’ [emphasis added]
[Palestinian Information Center website (Hamas), Nov. 21, 2024]
Since the PA has indeed been actively and vigorously supporting the ICC’s case against Israel, it has been making a mockery of American wishes and legislation. It will only have itself to blame if and when the US government abides by the letter and intent of American law, and cuts off funding.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article was originally published by PMW.
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