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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

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Defector

NYC: Come To Our WNBA Comedy Show On May 16

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Live Event

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Brandy Jensen

LouisTheroux

Arts And Culture

‘The Settlers’ Makes Louis Theroux Say What He Thinks

<p>Jake Romm is a New York City-based writer and the Associate Editor of Protean Magazine.</p>


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Jake Romm

October8

Politics

The Paranoid Fantasies Of ‘October 8’

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Samer Kalaf

Ms. Rachel attends the Sesame Workshop 2024 Benefit Gala

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Ms. Rachel Is Hamas Now

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Tom Ley

A person holds a sign calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil as pro-Palestine demonstrators rally for Gaza in Times Square on March 18, 2025 in New York City. Israeli forces carried out renewed airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing over 400 people, according to Gaza officials. The attacks broke a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, heightening fears of a return to full-scale conflict.

Demonstrators Rally For Gaza In New York Times Square In Wake Of Recent Israeli Bombings

Read Mahmoud Khalil’s Letter From An ICE Detention Facility

A protestor with a sign that reads "Release Mahmoud Khalil."

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Mahmoud Khalil Is The Target Of A Desperate Agenda

Palestinians walk through the destruction in Gaza.

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Interviews

Pankaj Mishra On Gaza, The Memory Of The Holocaust, And The “Very Dark World” To Come

A news chyron that reads: Man arrested for shooting two people in Miami Beach

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Life's Rich Pageant

This Is The Logical Endpoint Of Zionism

Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL speaking at a dinner.

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The ADL Was A Farce Long Before It Made Excuses For Elon Musk

<p>Mohammed Mhawish is a Palestinian journalist and writer from Gaza. He is currently a contributing writer for <em>The Nation</em>. Mohammed, a contributor to the book <em>A Land With a People</em>, has reported for Al Jazeera, <em>The Economist</em>, MSNBC, +972 Magazine, and more. Subscribe to his newsletter <a href="https://www.mohammedmhawish.com/">here</a>.</p>


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Mohammed R. Mhawish

The rubble of the author's house in Gaza. A child's toy is visible.

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Stories

One Year Ago, Israel Buried Me Alive. I’m Still Clawing My Way Out.

Joe Biden holds a copy of The Hundred Years' War On Palestine by Rashid Khalidi.

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The Next History Book On Palestine Will Have Joe Biden In It

1940s YOUNG BOY STUDYING IN ROOM WITH ARMY NAVY PENNANTS ON WALL

1940s YOUNG BOY STUDYING…

Journalismism

How To Be Sure You Are Reading Some Dumb Bullshit

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Billy Haisley

Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv stage a pro-Israel demonstration at the Dam Square, lighting up flares and chanting slogans ahead of the UEFA Europa League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax in Amsterdam, Netherlands on November 07, 2024. Maccabi fans clashed with pro-Palestinian citizens and ripped off Palestinian flags hung on the streets. In the lead-up to the Ajax vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match, several areas of Amsterdam have been designated as security risk zones.

Pro-Israel Maccabi fans stage demonstration in Amsterdam, at least ten arrests

Soccer

The Media Can’t Figure Out Why Some Racist Israeli Soccer Hooligans Were Beaten Up

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Patrick Redford

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The Truth Is An Inconvenience For Jake Tapper And Dana Bash

A picture taken on September 24, 2024, shows the debris and destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a neighbourhood in the Lebanese city of Baalbeck

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Israel Uses The Same Pretense For New Bloodshed

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Patrick Beverley Reveals More Than He Intended About Life In Israel

Attendees calling for a ceasefire in Gaza demonstrate as President Joe Biden deliver the keynote speech during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024,

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Everyone At The DNC Speaks For Palestine, Except For Palestinians

<p>Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the <em>Columbia Daily Spectator</em>. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.</p>


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Heather Wei-Xi Chen

A surfer in a blue wetsuit carries a light blue surfboard with him as he walks into the ocean. He is holding a Palestinian flag in his right hand and wearing a keffiyeh around his head.

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The Great Outdoors

Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

Delta Airlines planes sit parked at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

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Wings Week

Who’s Afraid Of A Palestinian Flag Pin?

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Ruairí McCann

Still image from the movie The Canticle of the Stones.

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Defector At The Movies

‘Canticle Of The Stones’ Grapples With The Difficulty Of Artistic Representation Inside Occupied Palestine


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


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Sabrina Imbler

Pro-Palestinian protesters opposing Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) demonstrate in Malmo, Sweden, on May 11, 2024, with a poster saying : NEJ TILL FOLKMORD, Welcome to the Genocide Song Contest

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The Myth Of An Apolitical Eurovision

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

An NYPD officer in riot gear looms over a student protestor on the ground and appears to be gripping her arm.

Columbia encampment

Margin Of Error

Going Off Script

A line of police at City College during pro-Gaza demonstrations

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A City College Student Journalist Shares What He Saw During The NYPD Crackdown

Counter protesters attack pro-Palestinian protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. Clashes broke out on May 1, 2024 around pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of California, Los Angeles, as universities around the United States struggle to contain similar protests on dozens of campuses. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP)

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UCLA Chooses Violence Over Divestment

NYPD officers in riot gear enter Columbia University's encampment

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The Outside Agitators On Campus Were The Police

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David Roth

A group of Columbia University students, advocating for Palestinians, access the iconic Hamilton Hall building as they gather to stage a demonstration at the campus in New York, United States on April 30, 2024. Protests are sweeping college campuses across the US following a police attempt to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, resulting in the arrest of over 100 students. Columbia University asked students on Monday to 'voluntarily disperse' amid stalled talks, threatening the students with suspension.

Columbia University students gather for Palestinians and enter iconic Hamilton Hall

They Are Insecure For A Reason

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