Mondoweiss

On November 8, 2020, the Mondoweiss website said it was: “[f]ounded in 2006 as a personal blog of journalist Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss grew inside the progressive Jewish community and has become a critical resource for the movement for justice for Palestinians.”

The site also claimed: “We recognize that Jewish voices are often prioritized in discussions of Israel and seek to challenge that dynamic by bringing a universalist focus to an issue that is commonly dominated by narrow points of view.”

On May 4, 2015, the Washington Post published a column that said: “Anything bad that goes on in Israel will be publicized and exaggerated at Mondoweiss. If you want to know the far-left anti-Israel party line on any recent event, Mondoweiss is the place to go.”

Mondoweiss is part of the Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Chicago. CERSC hosts The Socialism Conference annually and also runs Haymarket Books, which was founded in 2001.

Mondoweiss maintains a P.O. Box address in Detroit, where donations by check can be sent.

According to CERSC’s 2018 form 990 filed with the IRS, CERSC receives substantial funding from both anti-Israel and anti-American sources, including: $475,000 from Wallace Global Fund, with a reported history of anti-Israel bias, $450,000 from the Tides Foundation, $290,000 from the Lannan Foundation, $392,000 from activist Mark Dickman, $25,375 from the Hasib J. Sabbagh Foundation and $20,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Mondoweiss founder Philip Weiss has used the site to promote hatred of Israel and spread anti-Semitism since 2006.

As of February 2021, the site’s contributing writers had included Mondoweiss executive editor Adam Horowitz, who joined in 2009. Other contributors include a host of anti-Israel activists such as Nada Elia, Dareen Tatour and Steven Salaita.

Elia, a supporter of violence against Israel, wrote an article in the fall of 2015 — during the Knife Intifada — titled “Why Be Afraid of an Intifada?” In that article, Elia stated: “Intifadas are good.”

In October 2015, Tatour was placed under house arrest for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization on social media.

Tatour had supported the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and posted to her 4,800 + Facebook friends, “I am the next shahid [martyr]” on Facebook under a picture of attempted-murderer Asraa Zidan Tawfik Abed. Tatour also posted a YouTube video of a woman reading a poem that glorified violence and rejected peace.

In 2014, the University of Illinois (U of I) withdrew an offer of employment to Steven Salaita after becoming aware of his anti-Semitic tweets. One tweet, posted shortly after Hamas kidnapped three teenage Israeli high school students, read: "You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the f**king West Bank settlers would go missing.

A month later, Salaita tweeted: "Zionists: transforming ‘antisemitism’ from something horrible into something honorable since 1948." On July 8, 2014, he tweeted: "There's something profoundly sexual to the Zionist pleasure w/#Israel's aggression. Sublimation through bloodletting, a common perversion."

On October 27, 2020, Mondoweiss published a story by “The Palestinian Feminist Working Group” that honored Leila Khaled as a “Palestinian freedom fighter” and praised her for being part of the “Palestinian liberation struggle.”

Khaled was a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

Also on October 27, 2020, Mondoweiss tweeted the above story honoring Khaled, including a photo of Khaled wearing a PFLP scarf.

The PFLP is a designated terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Canada and Israel.

On December 15, 2017, Mondoweiss published a story titled: “Cuba welcomes 50th anniversary of the PFLP leftist movement,” about a PFLP-hosted event in Havana. One photo showed a person wearing a shirt honoring PFLP founder, George Habash.

On May 31, 2017, Mondoweiss published an article titled: “In first statement since end of hunger strike, Marwan Barghouti celebrates ‘the victory of the strike of freedom and dignity.’” The statement began: “In the name of God, the merciful, To our great people, the people of struggle and sacrifice, To our people of revolution and intifada …”

Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada” has carried the connotation of violence.

Marwan Barghouti initiated the 2017 hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners known as the “Dignity Strike.” He headed the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. His organizations carried out many deadly attacks against Israeli civilians.

Barghouti financed the bomb used in the Sbarro Cafe bombing and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in an Israeli civilian court for some of his crimes. Many of the over 1,500 prisoners who participated in the strike had also carried out terror attacks, including Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Secretary General Ahmad Sa’adat.

On June 25, 2014, Mondoweiss posted to Facebook an image that said: “Hungry Until Freedom #PalHunger.” The image promoted a hunger strike that included Barghouti.

On November 10, 2014, Mondoweiss published a story titled: “In travesty of justice, Rasmea Odeh found guilty despite history of Israeli torture.”

Odeh was a key military operative [00:02:08]with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. In 1969, she masterminded a PFLP supermarket bombing that killed two college students. She also attempted to bomb the British consulate in Jerusalem. Odeh later moved to the United States but was deported to Jordan in 2017 for immigration fraud.

Odeh confessed, in a highly detailed account, the day following her arrest. In a 2004 documentary, one of Odeh’s co-conspirators directly implicated [00:10:53] Odeh as the mastermind.

On April 7, 2014, Mondoweiss published a story titled: “‘For me, Palestine is paradise’: An interview with Leila Khaled.” In the interview, Khaled praised the PFLP and other armed groups who “helped the armed struggle, that helped defend the revolution.”

On December 23, 2013, Mondoweiss published an article titled: “Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi who went on hunger strike for 266 days is freed.”

Samer Issawi received a twenty-six-year prison sentence in 2002 for manufacturing and distributing pipe bombs and shooting at Israeli civilians and police during the second intifada. He is a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

On February 18, 2012, Mondoweiss tweeted: “Khader Adnan’s dignity #HungerStrike63Days.” The tweet linked to a story in support of Adnan, who was then on hunger strike.

Khader Adnan is a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization. A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?”

On February 19, 2019, Philip Weiss wrote a Mondoweiss article titled: “The Israel lobby is built on the biggest guilt trip in the world.” Weiss claimed that American Jews harbor guilt that “they are not on the front lines” which leads them to “raise money for Israel, buy off politicians, make sure that the U.S. government sticks by Israel through thick and thin and every massacre too.”

On July 1, 2016, Philip Weiss wrote a Mondoweiss article titled: “‘NY Jewish Week’ speaks bluntly of ‘Israel firsters’ in US politics.” Weiss claimed that “the issue of dual loyalty is inherent in Zionism, especially as Israel has evolved, to be totally dependent on the United States and on Jews inside the United States to compel American politicians to support Israel.”

On April 27, 2015, Philip Weiss wrote a Mondoweiss article titled: “Forgiving the anti-Semites.”

Weiss said he was once asked “to explain the Israel lobby.” He answered: “I said that it reflected a contract the American establishment had made with Jews to drive the economy in the 1970s. We were really good at the four horses of the global economy (finance, software, education, and media), and people thought we were smarter, and maybe we were smarter; Yuri Slezkine says we are the magicians and the priests of modernity; and in exchange for that leading role, the government would support Israel.”

The same article quoted another person who said: “The Israelis have never felt a sense of forgiveness about what was done to them by the Nazis. Till they get there they will recreate that experience endlessly. They are in their own prison..”

On July 21, 2014, Mondoweiss published an article during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas, which was titled: “Renouncing my Israeli citizenship.” The article said: “As a serious student of the Nazi Holocaust, I can only be horrified at the disgrace that the State of Israel and its Jewish supporters continue to bring upon the memory of Jewish Holocaust victims. It’s a moral abomination to emulate Nazi tactics in the name of the Jewish people and their alleged security…”

Israel commenced OPEin July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

On July 27, 2011, Philip Weiss wrote a Mondoweiss article about former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who is Jewish, which was titled: “‘NYT’ spots Ed Koch standing by Israeli flag (in story hinting at Planet Zio).”

The term "Zio" is a commonly used derogatory reference to Zionists and an often-used anti-Semitic slur.

On April 18, 2018, Mondoweiss published an article titled: “The ‘Jewish nation’ is the central myth of Zionism. It needs to be dismantled.” The article suggested that Judaism should “become a mere religion or societal tradition within modern constructs of ‘nations,’” and abandon the “archaic concept of a religious-conditioned ‘nation.’”

On December 19, 2016, Mondoweiss published an article titled: “Historical evidence does not support Zionist claims re the Western Wall.”

The Western Wall refers to a part of the retaining wall of the complex that housed the Second Jewish Temple, approximately 2,000 years ago, in Jerusalem.

One way anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is by denying [00:17:45] Jewish history, in order to delegitimize restored Jewish sovereignty, attack Israel’s legitimacy and portray Jews as foreign to the Land of Israel.

On February 18, 2021, Philip Weiss published a Mondoweiss article titled: “Condemning BDS and promising to visit Israel are price of entry in Democratic race for NY mayor.”

On August 12, 2020, Mondoweiss tweeted: “The foundations of the Israel lobby’s hold on the Democratic Party is quite evidently crumbling.” The text was from an article by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)’s managing director, Josh Ruebner, published in Mondoweiss titled: “The Democratic Party’s pyramid of support for Israel is crumbling.”

On November 26, 2019, Philip Weiss wrote a Mondoweiss article titled: “The root cause of the conflict is the Israel lobby.” The article began: “The good thing about [U.S.] Secretary of State Pompeo’s declaration that the U.S. does not regard settlements as illegal is that it is a naked expression of the power of the Israel lobby in U.S. policy making.”

On December 11, 2018, Mondoweiss tweeted: “Apartheid, military occupation, and even ethnic cleansing are effectively part of a structure that is rarely verbalized: Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian population.” The text was from a story titled: “Palestinicide(s),” which was linked to in the tweet.

On October 20, 2017, Adam Horowitz and Carlos Latuff co-wrote an article titled: “Contest! Design a logo to celebrate the IDF’s 70th birthday,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The article featured a cartoon that equated IDF soldiers with Nazi German soldiers.

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian political cartoonist who has equated Israel and America with Nazi Germany and promoted violence. In 2006, he won second prize at Iran’s “International Holocaust Cartoon Competition” for a cartoon that compared Israel’s security barrier to Nazi concentration camps.

On July 30, 2014, Philip Weiss published a Mondoweiss story during OPE, which was titled: “More voices describe Gaza slaughter as a ‘genocide.’”

On February 7, 2019, Mondoweiss published a story titled: “Intersectionality and Israel’s transnational violence.” The story claimed that Zionism is “a transnational imperialist-colonialist force” and said: “In fact, while Palestinians are suffering genocide at the hands of Zionism, they are not Israel’s only victims. Zionism has traditionally enabled the oppression of diverse population groups globally.”

The story went on to allege “Zionism’s structural targeting of people of color” and claimed: “Zionism has traditionally enabled the oppression of diverse population groups globally.”

On August 7, 2017, Mondoweiss tweeted: “The gravest crimes against humanity are apartheid & genocide. They are both being committed in the name of Zionism.” The text was the last line in a story titled: “Zionism is apartheid, and worse.”

On November 7, 2013, Mondoweiss tweeted: “Iran deal is crisis 4 the lobby & 4 Zionist construction of Jewish identity,whch entails some measure of dual loyalty.”

As of November 9, 2020, Mondoweiss had published 21 stories by BDS movement founder Omar Barghouti and another 47 stories by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.

As of the same date, Mondoweiss had also published six stories by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a component of the BDS movement.

Omar Barghouti co-founded the BDS movement in July 2005 and co-founded the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions National Committee (BNC) in November 2007.

Barghouti has expressed support for terrorism, promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and regularly demonizes Israel. He opposes the Jewish right to self-determination and Israel’s existence, openly calling for its destruction as a Jewish state.

On May 29, 2020, PACBI published an article in Mondoweiss promoting a BDS campaign to remove the Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF) from the We Are One global film festival. The article said JFF should be boycotted because it is “sponsored by the extremist Israeli government,” including multiple Israeli ministries.

On December 12, 2019, Omar Barghouti wrote in a Mondoweiss article: “I rely on Mondoweiss and similar movement media to enlighten me about the extremely important US context of our struggle and beyond.” Barghouti also urged readers to donate to Mondoweiss.

On March 21, 2019, Mondoweiss published a Palestinian BDS National Committee article titled: “Israeli Apartheid Week opens worldwide, as Netanyahu confirms discriminatory regime.”

Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) is presented as “an international series of events that seek to raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people” and build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. IAW has been re-named Palestine Awareness Week.

On July 18, 2018, Mondoweiss posted to Facebook an image promoting the BDS movement and protesting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.