"The American Jewish Committee faults those who say Islam is not a religion":

• Islam and Religious Freedom (NY Times)

"The Prevention of Unconstitutional War With Iran Act of 2018 is sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), and Paul becomes the ninth senator — and the first Republican — to put his name on the bill":

• Rand Paul Joins Senate Effort to Block Funds for a War with Iran (Vox)

Not satisfied with merely "blocking resolutions critical of Israel," Haley "stood up for Israel at every opportunity, and, along with Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, she conspired to punish countries and UN agencies ... providing aid to Palestinian refugees" ...

• Nikki Haley Will Not Be Missed in Palestine (Al-Jazeera)

... but times are changing and Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) provoked an audible gasp followed by a standing ovation when she declared,  "The world has a name for the form of government that is codified in the Nation-State Law. It is called ‘apartheid" ...

• The Discourse on Palestine Is Shifting. Will Concrete Policy Changes Follow? (In These Times)

... while Jim Zogby declares, "[Y]ou can close the [PLO] office, and you can silence the voice, but the Palestinian people will not go away.... They remain on their land, they remain in their camps waiting to return, and we here as a community remain as their voice, the voice of the Palestinian people":

• Palestinians Decry US ‘Act of Censorship’ (Gulf News)

Friends and foes of the United States were already seeking paths away from the traditional, dollar-dominated financial system ...

• The EU Can’t Avoid U.S. Sanctions on Iran but Trump’s Policies Will Hurt U.S. Dominance in the Long Term (Foreign Policy)

... and just as "World War I ... made it hard ... to transact with British banks ... [and] combined with ... the Federal Reserve Act" to replace the pound sterling with the dollar at the center of world economy, so Trump's policies may combine with Sino-Euro-Iranian agreements to topple it:

• Opinion: Trump’s Iran Policy Threatens Dollar’s Hegemony (Caixan)

"[F]ollowing allegations that these centers had no legal basis, Chinese authorities have retroactively revised legislation to permit them":

• China Retroactively Legalizes Internment Camps Where up to 1 Million Muslim Citizens are Detained (Newsweek)

In talks that "covered everything from poetry and sabers to toxic masculinity and white supremacy to spirituality and mental health[,] the women were honest and articulate, pushing back against societal norms while expressing deep respect for their faith":

• At UAlbany, Muslim Olympian and Rapper Conquer Stereotypes, Share Stories (Times Union)

"[A]uthorities have not allowed the detained environmentalists access to lawyers of their choice or set a trial date" and have still produced criminal charges even after eight months  of detention:

• Iran: Environmentalists Languish in Jail (Human Rights Watch)

"Water shortages in Iraq have added to the public's dissatisfaction over economic issues such as high unemployment and lack of public services that has fueled mass protests in the south. It has also triggered Baghdad to ban rice planting, driving farmers to leave their land":

• Turkey Steps In as Iran Cuts off Water Supplies to Iraq (The National)

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