CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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.

Defector

Samer Kalaf

Palestinians walk through the destruction in Gaza.

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

Life's Rich Pageant

This Is The Logical Endpoint Of Zionism

Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL speaking at a dinner.

Politics

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>


Mohammed R. Mhawish

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

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.

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

Tom Ley

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

Journalismism

How To Be Sure You Are Reading Some Dumb Bullshit

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.

Soccer

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

Patrick Redford

The Truth Is An Inconvenience For Jake Tapper And Dana Bash

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,

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>


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.

The Great Outdoors

Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

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

Wings Week

Who’s Afraid Of A Palestinian Flag Pin?

A photo of the west side of the South Lawn in front of Columbia University's Butler Library at the Morningside campus. This picture, taken right before sunset, depicts an encampment set up by protestors on a lawn with turf and a big event tent. Students are scattered throughout, and there are multiple banners and signs depicting pro-Palestine statements.

Why Did I Sleep On The Turf?

Ruairí McCann

Still image from the movie The Canticle of the Stones.

Defector At The Movies

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

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


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

Arts And Culture

The Myth Of An Apolitical Eurovision

<div id="1695913206.579009" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913206.579009">
<div class="c-message_kit__background c-message_kit__background--hovered p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover c-message_kit__hover--hovered" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__indent">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text c-message_kit__blocks--inline">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text c-message__message_blocks--inline" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer p-block_kit_renderer--inline" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block p-rich_text_block--inline" dir="auto">
<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>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1695913224.677889" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913224.677889">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Tom Scocca

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

Margin Of Error

Going Off Script

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

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)

UCLA Chooses Violence Over Divestment

NYPD officers in riot gear enter Columbia University's encampment

The Outside Agitators On Campus Were The Police

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.

They Are Insecure For A Reason

The Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University.

The Crackdown Explains The Protest

Lauren Theisen

PEN America Chooses The Most Cowardly Words

A big outdoor sign reading USC University of Southern California, with a student riding a skateboard in the background.

The Speech-Free Campus

New York Times Managing Editor Joseph Kahn gives the keynote speech at the Andrew Olle lecture 2017 at ICC darling Harbour on October 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.

The New York Times Ignores Reality In Pursuit Of Objectivity

Palestinian children are standing next to a bombed-out WCK vehicle in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.