DAWN

Saudi-Emirati Competition Leaves a Wake of Destruction and New Geopolitical Question for the Middle East “An Emirati is Saudi and a Saudi is Emirati” — a cheesy slogan once repeated by citizens of the former allied Gulf states — has now run its course. The rupture between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab...

As Saudi-Emirati competition heats up, the impact on and consideration of those communities caught between the geopolitical chaos are rarely considered amid severe human rights violations, writes DAWN fellow @miraalhussein.bsky.social.

The End of an Era? The Fate of the Middle East’s Longest-Serving Autocrat Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is the most enduring political leader in the Middle East today. Since assuming the position of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1989, he has entrenched h...

"Khamenei faces critical decisions: whom to trust, whether to relinquish power and, if so, how to choreograph a possible succession, including who, when and by what means," amid the greatest challenge to his regime, writes Mehrzad Boroujerdi.

DAWN Statement on Netanyahu’s Washington Visit, Israeli Attacks, Iran Talks, and the Obstruction of Peace (Washington, D.C., Feb, 11, 2026) - In response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington for his seventh meeting with President Trump since January 2025, amid ongoing Israeli...

As Prime Minister Netanyahu visits Washington amid ongoing Israeli attacks killing nearly 600 Palestinians since the ceasefire, systematic obstruction of Phase 2 of the U.S.-brokered peace plan, and Israel's approval of measures to annex the occupied West Bank, DAWN issues the following statement:

The Jordan Option: Israel’s Demographic Anxiety and the Future of Palestinian Identity Central to Israel’s approach toward Palestinians is a long-standing demographic concern, with Palestinian population growth framed as a threat to the state’s Jewish identity. Since the genocide on Gaz...

"Treating Jordan as Palestine does not resolve the conflict; it relocates it," writes Yara Bataineh.

"The consequences of that relocation are no longer hypothetical. They are unfolding in real time."

DAWN Statement on Israel's Cabinet Decisions to Effectively Annex the Occupied West Bank Washington, D.C., Feb, 9, 2026) — In response to the Israeli Security Cabinet's approval of sweeping measures that remove nearly all restraints and controls on illegal settlement expansion in the occu...

Read DAWN's full statement:

"This decision eviscerates any meaningful distinction between formal, de jure annexation, which President Trump said he would block, and Israel's decades' long process of de facto annexation," said DAWN's Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man.

"Israel is no longer pretending, it is moving full steam toward irreversibly annexing the West Bank while the Trump administration continues writing blank checks in weapons and diplomatic cover," said DAWN's Raed Jarrar. "The United States is not a bystander to this. It is the primary enabler."

DAWN Statement on Israel's Cabinet Decisions to Effectively Annex the Occupied West Bank Washington, D.C., Feb, 9, 2026) — In response to the Israeli Security Cabinet's approval of sweeping measures that remove nearly all restraints and controls on illegal settlement expansion in the occu...

(Washington, D.C., Feb, 9, 2026) — In response to the Israeli Security Cabinet's approval of sweeping measures that remove nearly all restraints and controls on illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, DAWN issues the following statement:

Why New York Should Rethink Its Investments in Israel Bonds New York State and City investments in so-called “Israel Bonds” are once again in the spotlight. Public officials, including candidates competing in the November election for State Comptroller, are de...

"Ending purchases of Israel Bonds is not anti-Israel — It is pro-accountability," writes @sarahleah1.bsky.social.

"New Yorkers deserve investments that are lawful, ethical and financially sound."

In a farewell message, Sarah Leah Whitson (@sarahleah1.bsky.social) has announced her departure from DAWN, where she served for nearly six years as Executive Director. She says that the Board has confirmed an extremely talented successor, to be announced next month. Read her message here:

In meetings with diplomats, I've "gotten a clear sense that people understand that the two-state process as it was articulated in Oslo is dead,” says Michael Omer-Man.

Watch Omer-Man and @sarahleah1.bsky.social explain their bold new plan to move from Apartheid to Democracy: youtu.be/NK6TGp2KA5g

The Jordan Option: Israel’s Demographic Anxiety and the Future of Palestinian Identity Central to Israel’s approach toward Palestinians is a long-standing demographic concern, with Palestinian population growth framed as a threat to the state’s Jewish identity. Since the genocide on Gaz...

The so-called "Jordan Option" has once again returned to Israeli political discourse concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict, writes Yara Bataineh.

"Treating Jordan as Palestine does not resolve the conflict; it relocates it."

DAWN Statement on the Killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (February 4, 2026: New York): In response to the reported killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and former head of the Gaddafi International Charity and D...

See DAWN's full statement:

"Saif al-Islam's legacy will be his support for the former Libyan regime's violent attacks against Libyans during the 2011 uprising, abandoning his prior promises to support democratic reforms in the country," @sarahleah1.bsky.social continued.

"The apparent murder of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has effectively deprived his victims of the truth and justice that they deserve, which should have been meted out by fair judicial process, not the hands of hidden assassins," said @sarahleah1.bsky.social, DAWN's Executive Director.

DAWN Statement on the Killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (February 4, 2026: New York): In response to the reported killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and former head of the Gaddafi International Charity and D...

(New York, N.Y., February 4, 2026) – In response to the reported killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and former head of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, DAWN issued the following statement:

Why New York Should Rethink Its Investments in Israel Bonds New York State and City investments in so-called “Israel Bonds” are once again in the spotlight. Public officials, including candidates competing in the November election for State Comptroller, are de...

New York State and City's purchase of Israel Bonds carries severe legal, financial and reputation risks, writes
@sarahleah1.bsky.social.

"It is time for New York to put its residents first," divesting from Israel Bonds once and for all.

Rights group threatens legal challenge to New York's purchase of Israel bonds Advocacy group's lobbying comes as New York City comptroller says he will restart purchases of the bonds

“Investments in Israeli state securities, including Israel Bonds, effectively allocate public funds to sustain criminal acts,” Alex Smith, a DAWN legal advisor, said. “New York officials ... may face personal civil and criminal liability for aiding and abetting those crimes."

Zohran Mamdani Wants NYC to Divest From Israel — But New Comptroller Pledges to Buy War Bonds New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani opposes the investments, but City Comptroller Mark Levine has pledged to invest in Israeli sovereign debt.

"In a letter to state and local officials, the human rights organization DAWN warned on Friday that any investment in Israeli sovereign debt by New York City would violate local and international law ... Israeli bonds have emerged as a crucial source of funding for the Israeli government."

My latest article @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social

Human rights group warns New York officials against investing public funds in Israeli bonds Group advised Kathy Hochul, Zohran Mamdani, and city and state comptrollers of ‘legal obligations’ not to abet crimes

"A human rights group [DAWN] has warned New York state and local officials that investment of public funds in bonds issued by Israel violates both international law and fiduciary duties and may expose officials and beneficiaries alike to 'substantial legal, ethical and financial risks.'"

Gaza's Shrinking Territory: Colonial Violence, Genocide and the Yellow Line As the ceasefire in Gaza stalls, Israel appears to be hardening its military occupation of the Strip’s territory through the Yellow Line separating its territorial control from that of Hamas.

The Yellow Line in Gaza is "a continuation of colonial precedent" that the international community and United Nations has failed to stop, writes @ramonawadi.bsky.social.

"As a result of this demarcation, Israel now controls 58% of Gaza with no clear end in sight."

DAWN just sent a cease and desist letter to New York State and New York City officials saying they should immediately cease unlawful and dangerous investments in Israel Bonds. Watch as DAWN's @sarahleah1.bsky.social explains why.

Read more: dawnmena.org/new-york-cit...

New York City and New York State: Cease Unlawful and Dangerous Investments in “Israel Bonds” New York State and New York City officials should immediately cease new purchases and divest any holdings of Israel Bonds because such investments breach their international and domestic legal obligat...

See DAWN's full statement:

DAWN sent its letter and memo to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Comptroller of the State of New York Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Comptroller of the City of New York Mark D Levine, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

"A politically motivated, high-risk, illiquid, sovereign instrument tied to an unlawful situation can't satisfy duties of loyalty and prudence," said Michael Omer-Man. "To restore public trust and uphold the integrity of their stewardship of public funds, NY officials must end these...investments."

Although former City Comptroller Brad Lander divested the city's holding in Israel Bonds in 2024, citing these legal and financial risks, City Comptroller Mark Levine has promised to reinvest in the bonds. The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the top U.S. investors in Israel Bonds.

"Our city and state public officials should ensure that there are no further investments in Israel Bonds because such investments breach their international legal obligations not to aid and abet Israeli crimes and their fiduciary duties to taxpayers," said DAWN's @sarahleah1.bsky.social.

New York City and New York State: Cease Unlawful and Dangerous Investments in “Israel Bonds” New York State and New York City officials should immediately cease new purchases and divest any holdings of Israel Bonds because such investments breach their international and domestic legal obligat...

New York State and NYC officials should immediately cease new purchases and divest any holdings of Israel Bonds because such investments breach their legal obligations and expose citizens to unnecessary legal, financial and reputational harms, DAWN said in a cease and desist letter to officials.

Gaza as a post-UN experiment: Inside Trump’s Board of Peace The Board of Peace for Gaza signals a shift away from multilateral institutions to personalised, transactional diplomacy driven by private business interests

“As welcome as international support for reconstruction is ... Israel bears legal responsibility for rebuilding Gaza ... To outsource these costs would be to reward Israel with impunity by avoiding the consequences of its crimes, both criminal and financial,” said DAWN's @sarahleah1.bsky.social.