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<title>11 April, 2024</title>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Unravelling the Brexit-COVID-19 Nexus: Assessing the Decline of EU Student Applications into UK Universities</strong> -
<div>
Whilst the numbers of international students attending UK universities has been increasing in recent years, the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years saw a decline in applications from EU domiciled students. This decline is hypothesised to represent a direct result of the end of free movement due to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), with varying impacts across institutions and study subjects. However, the extent of this decline remains to be estimated and disentangled from the impacts of the COVID-19. Using difference-in-differences in a hierarchical regression framework and Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) data, we aim to quantify the decline in the number of student applications post-Brexit. We find evidence of an overall decline of 65 per cent in the 2021 academic year in successful applications from EU students. We note that this decline is more severe for non-Russell Group institutions, and for Health and Life Sciences and Arts and Languages. Further, we explore the spatial heterogeneity of the impact of Brexit across EU countries of origin; seeing the greatest effects for Poland and Germany but that this varies depending on institution type and subject. We are also able to show that higher rates of COVID-19 stringency in the country of origin led to greater applications for UK HE. Our results hold importance for government and institutional policymakers seeking to understand where losses are occurring and how international students respond to external shocks and policy changes. By quantifying the distinct impacts of Brexit and COVID-19, our study offers valuable insights to guide strategic interventions aimed at sustaining the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for international students.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/8bcq5/" target="_blank">Unravelling the Brexit-COVID-19 Nexus: Assessing the Decline of EU Student Applications into UK Universities</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>An Outbreak of Selective Attribution: Partisanship and Blame in the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Crises and disasters give voters an opportunity to observe the incumbent’s response and reward or punish them for successes and failures. Yet even when voters perceive events similarly, they tend to attribute responsibility selectively, disproportionately crediting their party for positive developments and blaming opponents for negative developments. We examine selective attribution during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, reporting three key findings. First, selective attribution rapidly emerged during the first weeks of the pandemic, a time in which Democrats and Republicans were otherwise updating their perceptions and behavior in parallel. Second, selective attribution is caused by individual-level changes in perceptions of the pandemic. Third, existing research has been too quick to explain selective attribution in terms of partisan-motivated reasoning. We find stronger evidence for an explanation rooted in beliefs about presidential competence. This recasts selective attribution’s implications for democratic accountability.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/t8xar/" target="_blank">An Outbreak of Selective Attribution: Partisanship and Blame in the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Public Engagement with COVID-19 Preprints: Bridging the Gap Between Scientists and Society</strong> -
<div>
The surge in preprint server use, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, necessitates a reex-amination of their significance in the realm of science communication. This study rigorously investigates discussions surrounding preprints, framing them within the contexts of systems theory and boundary objects in scholarly communication. An analysis of a curated selection of COVID-19-related preprints from bioRxiv and medRxiv was conducted, emphasizing those that transitioned to journal publications, alongside the associated commentary and Twitter activity. The dataset was bifurcated into comments by biomedical experts versus those by non-experts, encompassing both academic and general public perspectives. Findings revealed that while peers dominated nearly half the preprint discussions, their presence in Twitter dia-logues was markedly diminished. Yet, intriguingly, the themes explored by these two groups diverged considerably. Preprints emerged as potent boundary objects, reinforcing, rather than obscuring, the delineation between scientific and non-scientific discourse. They serve as cru-cial conduits for knowledge dissemination and foster inter-disciplinary engagements. None-theless, the interplay between scientists and the wider public remains nuanced, necessitating strategies to incorporate these diverse discussions into the peer review continuum without compromising academic integrity and to cultivate sustained engagement from both experts and the broader community.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/75gs6/" target="_blank">Public Engagement with COVID-19 Preprints: Bridging the Gap Between Scientists and Society</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Psychological distance to science as a predictor of science skepticism across domains</strong> -
<div>
The current paper presents and tests psychological distance to science (PSYDISC) as a domain-general predictor of science skepticism. Drawing on the concept of psychological distance, PSYDISC reflects the extent to which individuals perceive science as a tangible undertaking conducted by people similar to oneself (social), with effects in the here (spatial) and now (temporal), and as useful and applicable in the real world (hypothetical distance). In six studies (2 preregistered; total N = 1,630) and two countries, we developed and established the factor structure and validity of a scale measuring PSYDISC. Crucially, higher PSYDISC predicted skepticism beyond established predictors, across science domains. A final study showed that PSYDISC shapes real-world behavior (COVID-19 vaccination uptake). The current work thus provides a novel tool to predict science skepticism, as well as a construct that can help to further develop a unifying framework to understand science skepticism across domains.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/avtgu/" target="_blank">Psychological distance to science as a predictor of science skepticism across domains</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>GotGlycans: Role of N343 Glycosylation on the SARS-CoV-2 S RBD Structure and Co-Receptor Binding Across Variants of Concern</strong> -
<div>
Glycosylation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein represents a key target for viral evolution because it affects both viral evasion and fitness. Successful variations in the glycan shield are difficult to achieve though, as protein glycosylation is also critical to folding and to structural stability. Within this framework, the identification of glycosylation sites that are structurally dispensable can provide insight into the evolutionary mechanisms of the shield and inform immune surveillance. In this work we show through over 45 s of cumulative sampling from conventional and enhanced molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, how the structure of the immunodominant S receptor binding domain (RBD) is regulated by N-glycosylation at N343 and how the structural role of this glycan changes from WHu-1, alpha (B.1.1.7), and beta (B.1.351), to the delta (B.1.617.2) and omicron (BA.1 and BA.2.86) variants. More specifically, we find that the amphipathic nature of the N-glycan is instrumental to preserve the structural integrity of the RBD hydrophobic core and that loss of glycosylation at N343 triggers a specific and consistent conformational change. We show how this change allosterically regulates the conformation of the receptor binding motif (RBM) in the WHu-1, alpha and beta RBDs, but not in the delta and omicron variants, due to mutations that reinforce the RBD architecture. In support of these findings, we show that the binding of the RBD to monosialylated ganglioside co-receptors is highly dependent on N343 glycosylation in the WHu-1, but not in the delta RBD, and that affinity changes significantly across VoCs. Ultimately, the molecular and functional insight we provide in this work reinforces our understanding of the role of glycosylation in protein structure and function and it also allows us to identify the structural constraints within which the glycosylation site at N343 can become a hotspot for mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 S glycan shield.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.05.570076v3" target="_blank">GotGlycans: Role of N343 Glycosylation on the SARS-CoV-2 S RBD Structure and Co-Receptor Binding Across Variants of Concern</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Rapid and specific detection of single nanoparticles and viruses in microfluidic laminar flow via confocal fluorescence microscopy</strong> -
<div>
Mainstream virus detection relies on the specific amplification of nucleic acids via polymerase chain reaction, a process that is slow and requires extensive laboratory expertise and equipment. Other modalities, such as antigen-based tests, allow much faster virus detection but have reduced sensitivity. In this study, we report the development of a flow virometer for the specific and rapid detection of single nanoparticles based on confocal microscopy. The combination of laminar flow and multiple dyes enable the detection of correlated fluorescence signals, providing information on nanoparticle volumes and specific chemical composition properties, such as viral envelope proteins. We evaluated and validated the assay using fluorescent beads and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, we demonstrate how hydrodynamic focusing enhances the assay sensitivity for detecting clinically-relevant virus loads. Based on our results, we envision the use of this technology for clinically relevant bio-nanoparticles, supported by the implementation of the assay in a portable and user-friendly setup.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.31.573251v3" target="_blank">Rapid and specific detection of single nanoparticles and viruses in microfluidic laminar flow via confocal fluorescence microscopy</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Bat RNA viruses employ viral RHIMs orchestrating species-specific cell death programs linked to Z-RNA sensing and ZBP1-RIPK3 signaling</strong> -
<div>
RHIM is a protein motif in cell death proteins that assembles higher-order signaling complexes and triggers regulated cell death, which in itself limits virus spread and additionally triggers inflammation for mounting immune responses. A few DNA viruses employ viral RHIMs mimicking host RHIMs. However, these viral RHIMs counteract host cell death by interacting with host RHIM proteins and blocking complex formation to alleviate antiviral defenses. Whether RNA viruses operate such viral RHIMs remains unknown. RHIM-protein signaling promotes lung damage and cytokine storm in respiratory RNA virus infections, arguing the presence of viral RHIMs. Here, we report the novel viral RHIMs in Nsp13 and Nsp14 of SARS-CoV-2 and other bat RNA viruses, providing the basis for bats as the hosts for their evolution. Nsp13 promoted cell death in bat and human cells, however, viral RHIM of Nsp13 is more critical for human cell death than bat cells, suggesting species-specific regulation. The conformation of RNA-binding channel in Nsp13 is critical for cell death in bat and human cells. Nsp13 showed RHIM-dependent interactions with ZBP1 and RIPK3 and promoted the formation of large insoluble complexes of ZBP1 and RIPK3. Also, Nsp13 promoted ZBP1-RIPK3 signaling-mediated cell death dependent on intracellular RNA ligands. Intriguingly, the SARS-CoV-2 genome consists of bona fide Z-RNA-forming segments. These SARS-CoV-2 Z-RNA segments promoted Nsp13-dependent cell death, further revealing Nsp13’s association with Z-RNA sensing and ZBP1-RIPK3 signaling. Our findings reveal the functional viral RHIMs of bat-originated RNA viruses regulating host cell death associated with Z-RNA sensing and ZBP1-RIPK3 signaling activation. These observations allow the understanding of mechanisms of cellular damage and cytokine storm in SARS-CoV-2 and other bat-originated RNA virus infections.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.23.554434v2" target="_blank">Bat RNA viruses employ viral RHIMs orchestrating species-specific cell death programs linked to Z-RNA sensing and ZBP1-RIPK3 signaling</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Turn `noise’ to signal: accurately rectify millions of erroneous short reads through graph learning on edit distances</strong> -
<div>
Although the per-base erring rate of NGS is very low at 0.1% to 0.5%, the percentage/probability of erroneous reads in a short-read sequencing dataset can be as high as 10% to 15% or in the number of millions. Correction of these wrongly sequenced reads to retrieve their huge missing value will improve many downstream applications. As current methods correct only some of the errors at the cost of introducing many new errors, we solve this problem by turning erroneous reads into their original states, without bringing up any non-existing reads to keep the data integrity. The novelty of our method is originated in a computable rule translated from PCR erring mechanism that: a rare read is erroneous if it has a neighbouring read of high abundance. With this principle, we construct a graph to link every pair of reads of tiny edit distances to detect a solid part of erroneous reads; then we consider them as training data to learn the erring mechanisms to identify possibly remaining hard-case errors between pairs of high-abundance reads. Compared with state-of-the-art methods on tens of datasets of UMI-based ground truth, our method has made a remarkably better performance under 19 metrics including two entropy metrics that measure noise levels in a dataset. Case studies found that our method can make substantial impact on genome abundance quantification, isoform identification, SNP profiling, and genome editing efficiency estimation. For example, the abundance level of the reference genome of SARS-CoV-2 can be increased by 12% and that of Monkeypox can be boosted by 52.12% after error correction. Moreover, the number of distinct isomiRs is decreased by 31.56%, unveiling there are so many previously identified isomiRs that are actually sequencing errors.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.05.588226v1" target="_blank">Turn `noise’ to signal: accurately rectify millions of erroneous short reads through graph learning on edit distances</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Pathway Circuit Mapping for Drug Repurposing: CoV-DrugX Tool Sheds Light on Therapeutic Opportunities</strong> -
<div>
The fight against new diseases like COVID-19 demands creative ways to find and reuse existing drugs. This article examines how scientists are rethinking drug use by focusing on cellular pathways as a guide to finding new treatments. A key part of this effort is the CoV-DrugX Pathway Circuit Tool, a new online program developed by Kamal Rawal’s team. This tool uses pathway information and links between genes and drugs to predict how drugs might interact with these pathways, helping researchers quickly find existing drugs that could be repurposed to treat COVID-19. By combining data from various sources, the CoV-DrugX Tool offers a systematic and affordable way to identify drugs that target important pathways involved in COVID-19. However, there are still challenges, such as limited data and the possibility of inaccurate predictions. Despite these limitations, the CoV-DrugX Pathway Circuit Tool is a major step forward in drug discovery. It gives researchers a powerful tool to speed up finding potential treatments during health crises. In the future, this tool could be adapted for other infectious diseases, using its focus on pathways to address urgent medical needs beyond COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/f74yg/" target="_blank">Pathway Circuit Mapping for Drug Repurposing: CoV-DrugX Tool Sheds Light on Therapeutic Opportunities</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Cheating in the wake of COVID-19: How dangerous is ad-hoc online testing for academic integrity?</strong> -
<div>
Worldwide, higher education institutions made quick and often unprepared shifts from on-site to online examination in 2020 due to the COVID-19 health crisis. This development sparked an ongoing debate on whether this development made it easier for students to cheat. We investigated whether students indeed cheated more often in online than in on-site exams and whether the use of online exams was also associated with higher rates of other behaviors deemed as academic dishonesty. To answer our research questions, we questioned 1,608 German students from a wide variety of higher education institutions about their behavior during the summer semester of 2020. The participating students reported that they cheated more frequently in online than in on-site exams. Effects on other measures of academic dishonesty were more negligible. These results speak for the notion that the swift application of ad-hoc online testing during 2020 has led to negative consequences for academic integrity.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/6xmzh/" target="_blank">Cheating in the wake of COVID-19: How dangerous is ad-hoc online testing for academic integrity?</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Post-16 students’ experience of practical science during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on students’ self-efficacy in practical work</strong> -
<div>
This paper presents the findings from a detailed study investigating UK undergraduate students’ experience of practical science in their post-16 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examines the perceived confidence and preparedness of the students in relation to areas of practical science skills at the start of their degree courses. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, with the findings from focus groups with students at the end of their post-16 studies used to support the development of a comprehensive skills audit and quantitative survey for incoming undergraduate students. Survey data were collected in September and October 2021 from 275 students commencing Biosciences, Chemistry, Physics and Natural Science degrees at two universities in England. The research is important because although almost all students had the opportunity to undertake practical work as part of their post-16 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable variation in students’ experiences. The data indicate that students’ self-efficacy in relation to practical science was impacted by the closures of post-16 education establishments, ongoing social distancing and the removal of the assessment criteria for students to have ‘routinely and consistently’ undertaken each of the practical assessment requirements. The research presents important considerations which are relevant for educators supporting students’ transition from post-16 to Higher Education.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/edarxiv/gx2jh/" target="_blank">Post-16 students’ experience of practical science during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on students’ self-efficacy in practical work</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Ipsilateral or contralateral boosting of mice with mRNA vaccines confers equivalent immunity and protection against a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain</strong> -
<div>
Boosting with mRNA vaccines encoding variant-matched spike proteins has been implemented to mitigate their reduced efficacy against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nonetheless, in humans, it remains unclear whether boosting in the ipsilateral or contralateral arm with respect to the priming doses impacts immunity and protection. Here, we boosted K18-hACE2 mice with either monovalent mRNA-1273 (Wuhan-1 spike) or bivalent mRNA-1273.214 (Wuhan-1 + BA.1 spike) vaccine in the ipsilateral or contralateral leg relative to a two-dose priming series with mRNA-1273. Boosting in the ipsilateral or contralateral leg elicited equivalent levels of serum IgG and neutralizing antibody responses against Wuhan-1 and BA.1. While contralateral boosting with mRNA vaccines resulted in expansion of spike-specific B and T cells beyond the ipsilateral draining lymph node (DLN) to the contralateral DLN, administration of a third mRNA vaccine dose at either site resulted in similar levels of antigen-specific germinal center B cells, plasmablasts/plasma cells, T follicular helper cells and CD8+ T cells in the DLNs and the spleen. Furthermore, ipsilateral and contralateral boosting with mRNA-1273 or mRNA-1273.214 vaccines conferred similar homologous or heterologous immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 virus challenge with equivalent reductions in viral RNA and infectious virus in the nasal turbinates and lungs. Collectively, our data show limited differences in B and T cell immune responses after ipsilateral and contralateral site boosting by mRNA vaccines that do not substantively impact protection against an Omicron strain.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.05.588051v1" target="_blank">Ipsilateral or contralateral boosting of mice with mRNA vaccines confers equivalent immunity and protection against a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Direct genome sequencing of respiratory viruses from low viral load clinical specimens using target capture sequencing technology</strong> -
<div>
The use of metagenomic next-generation sequencing technology to obtain complete viral genome sequences directly from clinical samples with low viral load remains challenging–especially in the case of respiratory viruses–due to the low copy number of viral versus host genomes. To overcome this limitation, target capture sequencing for the enrichment of specific genomes has been developed and applied for direct genome sequencing of viruses. However, as the efficiency of enrichment varies depending on the probes, the type of clinical sample, etc., validation is essential before target capture sequencing can be applied to clinical diagnostics. Here we evaluated the utility of target capture sequencing with a comprehensive viral probe panel for clinical respiratory specimens collected from patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 or influenza type A. We focused on clinical specimens containing low copy numbers of viral genomes. Target capture sequencing yielded approximately 180- and 2000-fold higher read counts of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus, respectively, than metagenomic sequencing when the RNA extracted from specimens contained 59.3 copies/L of SARS-CoV-2 or 544 copies/L of influenza A virus, respectively. In addition, the target capture sequencing identified sequence reads in all SARS-CoV-2- or influenza type A-positive specimens with &lt;26 RNA copies/L, some of which also yielded &gt;70% of the full-length genomes of SARS-CoV-2 or influenza A virus. Furthermore, the target capture sequencing using comprehensive probes identified co-infections with viruses other than SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that this approach will not only detect a wide range of viruses, but also contribute to epidemiological studies.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.05.588295v1" target="_blank">Direct genome sequencing of respiratory viruses from low viral load clinical specimens using target capture sequencing technology</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Epitope-anchored contrastive transfer learning for paired CD8+ T cell receptor-antigen recognition</strong> -
<div>
Understanding the mechanisms of T-cell antigen recognition that underpin adaptive immune responses is critical for the development of vaccines, immunotherapies, and treatments against autoimmune diseases. Despite extensive research efforts, the accurate identification of T cell receptor (TCR)-antigen binding pairs remains a significant challenge due to the vast diversity and cross-reactivity of TCRs. Here, we propose a deep-learning framework termed Epitope-anchored Contrastive Transfer Learning (EPACT) tailored to paired human CD8+ TCRs from single-cell sequencing data. Harnessing the pre-trained representations and the contrastive co-embedding space, EPACT demonstrates state-of-the-art model generalizability in predicting TCR binding specificity for unseen epitopes and distinct TCR repertoires, offering potential values for practical outcomes in real-world scenarios. The contrastive learning paradigm achieves highly precise predictions for immunodominant epitopes and facilitates interpretable analysis of epitope-specific T cells. The TCR binding strength predicted by EPACT aligns well with the surge in spike-specific immune responses targeting SARS-CoV-2 epitopes after vaccination. We further fine-tune EPACT on TCR-epitope structural data to decipher the residue-level interactions involved in T-cell antigen recognition. EPACT not only exhibits superior capabilities in quantifying inter-chain distance matrices and identifying contact residue pairs but also corroborates the presence of molecular mimicry across multiple tumor-associated antigens. Together, EPACT can serve as a useful AI approach with significant potential in practical applications and contribute toward the development of TCR-based diagnostics and immunotherapies.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.05.588255v1" target="_blank">Epitope-anchored contrastive transfer learning for paired CD8+ T cell receptor-antigen recognition</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Adaptive and Maladaptive Pathways of COVID-19 Worry on Well-Being: A Cross-National Study</strong> -
<div>
Objective: In a preregistered study, we examined whether worries about COVID-19 are simultaneously linked with enhanced well-being through social interaction and reduced well-being through depression symptoms. Method: In August 2020, census-matched participants from high and low prevalence regions in the United States and Italy (N = 857) completed assessments of COVID-19 worry, social interaction, depression symptoms, and well-being. Results: Worries about COVID-19 predicted both more social interaction and more depression (ps &lt; .001). In multiple mediational analyses, an adaptive pathway of COVID-19 worry through social interaction was associated with higher well-being, whereas a maladaptive pathway through depression symptoms was associated with lower well-being. Further, a comparison of high and low COVID-19 prevalence regions replicated the mediational findings for social interaction, providing evidence against reverse causation and common method variance. Conclusion: Findings suggest that normative worries about acute stressors may both benefit and undermine well-being, depending on their impact on social behavior or depression symptoms.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/h8y4c/" target="_blank">Adaptive and Maladaptive Pathways of COVID-19 Worry on Well-Being: A Cross-National Study</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Phase IV Vaccine Study Under the National Cohort Study of Effectiveness and Safety of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccines.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: SARS CoV 2 Infection <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Johnson &amp; Johnson <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Jens D Lundgren, MD; Ministry of the Interior and Health, Denmark <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Detoxification From the Lipid Tract</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Reaction <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: electroencephalogram biofeedback; Device: electrical brain stimulation; Device: ultra-low frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation; Drug: Sertraline Hydrochloride; Drug: Clonazepam; Drug: Alprazolam; Drug: Metoprolol; Drug: Olanzapine; Drug: Pravastatin Sodium 20 MG; Drug: Sacubitril Valsartan Sodium Hydrate <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Pachankis, Yang I., M.D.; First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study of the Efficacy of Troxerutin in Preventing Thrombotic Events in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID 19 Associated Coagulopathy <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Troxerutin; Drug: Placebo; Drug: placebo + low molecular weight heparin; Drug: troxerutin + low molecular weight heparin <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Westlake University; Shaoxing Central Hospital <br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Use of Isatidis Root and Forsythia Oral Liquid for the Treatment of Mild Cases of COVID-19: A Trial Clinical Study</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Treatment of Mild Cases of COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Langenlianqiao; Drug: LianhuaQingWen; Other: placebo control group <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Central South University <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Covid-19 and Influenza Oral Vaccine Study</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: covid19 Infection; Influenza, Human <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Covid-19 vaccine; Biological: Influenza vaccine <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Vaxine Pty Ltd; Australian Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Institute Ltd <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study of an Investigational mRNA-1273.815 COVID-19 Vaccine in Previously Vaccinated Adults</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: SARS-CoV-2 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Investigational mRNA-1273.815; Biological: Licensed Spikevax Vaccine <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: ModernaTX, Inc. <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Effect of Probiotic Strain Lactobacillus Paracasei PS23 on Brain Fog in People With Long COVID</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Brain Fog; Cognitive Change <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Dietary Supplement: Lactobacillus paracasei PS23; Dietary Supplement: microcrystalline cellulose <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Fascial Tissue Response To Manual Therapy: Implications In Long Covid Rehabilitation</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Guidebook; Other: Guidebook and Myofascial Reorganization® (RMF). <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of the State of Santa Catarina; Larissa Sinhorim <br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluation of the Impact of Rehabilitation Strategies and Early Discharge After Respiratory Failure</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Acute Respiratory Failure <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Standard of Care; Behavioral: Rehabilitation <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Computational identification and experimental verification of a novel signature based on SARS-CoV-2-related genes for predicting prognosis, immune microenvironment and therapeutic strategies in lung adenocarcinoma patients</strong> - CONCLUSION: Our research has pioneered the development of a consensus Cov-2S signature by employing an innovative approach with 10 machine learning algorithms for LUAD. Cov-2S reliably forecasts the prognosis, mirrors the tumor’s local immune condition, and supports clinical decision-making in tumor therapies.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The fatal contribution of serine protease-related genetic variants to COVID-19 outcomes</strong> - INTRODUCTION: Serine proteases play a critical role during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, polymorphisms of transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and serpine family E member 1 (SERPINE1) could help to elucidate the contribution of variability to COVID-19 outcomes.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Developing nucleoside tailoring strategies against SARS-CoV-2 via ribonuclease targeting chimera</strong> - In response to the urgent need for potent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) therapeutics, this study introduces an innovative nucleoside tailoring strategy leveraging ribonuclease targeting chimeras. By seamlessly integrating ribonuclease L recruiters into nucleosides, we address RNA recognition challenges and effectively inhibit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 replication in human cells. Notably, nucleosides tailored at the ribose 2’-position…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Interleukin-6 drives endothelial glycocalyx damage in COVID-19 and bacterial sepsis</strong> - Damage of the endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) plays a central role in the development of vascular hyperpermeability and organ damage during systemic inflammation. However, the specific signalling pathways for eGC damage remain poorly defined. Aim of this study was to combine sublingual video-microscopy, plasma proteomics and live cell imaging to uncover further pathways of eGC damage in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or bacterial sepsis. This secondary analysis of the prospective…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Laboratory approach for vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia diagnosis in the Netherlands</strong> - CONCLUSION: Our study shows that only a small proportion of clinically suspected VITT patients with thrombocytopenia and thrombosis have anti-PF4-inducing, FcɣRIIa-dependent platelet activation, suggesting an HIT-like pathophysiology. This leaves the possibility for the presence of another type of pathophysiology (‘non-HIT like’) leading to VITT. More research on pathophysiology is warranted to improve the diagnostic algorithm and to identify novel therapeutic and preventive strategies.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Human surfactant protein A inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and alleviates lung injury in a mouse infection model</strong> - INTRODUCTION: SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2)-expressing lung epithelial cells through its spike (S) protein. The S protein is highly glycosylated and could be a target for lectins. Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is a collagen-containing C-type lectin, expressed by mucosal epithelial cells and mediates its antiviral activities by binding to viral glycoproteins.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Elderberry interaction with pazopanib in a patient with soft‑tissue sarcoma: A case report and literature review</strong> - Elderberry flower extract is marketed as an herbal supplement with purported benefits in boosting the immune system. The use of elderberry increased during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the interaction of elderberry with cytotoxic medicines has remained elusive. Pazopanib is a multikinase inhibitor approved for patients diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma. The present study reported on the case of a middle-aged woman diagnosed with localized intermediate-grade sarcoma of the left sartorius…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of host cell serine protease inhibitor MM3122 against SARS-CoV-2 for treatment and prevention of COVID-19</strong> - We developed a novel class of peptidomimetic inhibitors targeting several host cell human serine proteases, including transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), matriptase, and hepsin. TMPRSS2 is a membrane-associated protease that is highly expressed in the upper and lower respiratory tracts and is utilized by SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses to proteolytically process their glycoproteins, enabling host cell entry, replication, and dissemination of new virus particles. We have previously shown that…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery of 2-Amide-3-methylester Thiophenes that Target SARS-CoV-2 Mac1 and Repress Coronavirus Replication, Validating Mac1 as an Antiviral Target</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus has made it clear that further development of antiviral therapies will be needed. Here, we describe small-molecule inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 Mac1, which counters ADP-ribosylation-mediated innate immune responses. Three high-throughput screening hits had the same 2-amide-3-methylester thiophene scaffold. We studied the compound binding mode using X-ray crystallography, allowing us to design…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery of Novel Natural Inhibitors Against SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease: A Rational Approach to Antiviral Therapeutics</strong> - CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the effectiveness of combining computational and experimental approaches to identify potential lead compounds for SARS-CoV-2, with C1-C5 emerging as promising candidates for further drug development against this virus.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluating mAbs binding abilities to Omicron subvariant RBDs: implications for selecting effective mAb therapies</strong> - The ongoing evolution of the Omicron lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has led to the emergence of subvariants that pose challenges to antibody neutralization. Understanding the binding dynamics between the receptor-binding domains (RBD) of these subvariants spike and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is pivotal for elucidating the mechanisms of immune escape and for advancing the development of therapeutic antibodies. This study focused on the RBD regions of Omicron subvariants BA.2, BA.5, BF.7, and XBB.1.5,…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery of components in honeysuckle for treating COVID-19 and diabetes based on molecular docking, network analysis and experimental validation</strong> - Molecular docking screening identified ochnaflavone, madreselvin B and hydnocarpin as key components for treating COVID-19 with diabetes in honeysuckle using 3 C-like protease (Mpro), angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) as molecular docking targets, ACE2, DPP4, IL2, NFKB1, PLG, TBK1, TLR4 and TNF were the core targets, and multiple antiviral and anti-inflammatory signalling pathways were involved. Further, the levels of IL-1β and DPP4 in cell supernatant…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus Nsp1 suppresses IFN-lambda1 production by degrading IRF1 via ubiquitin-proteasome pathway</strong> - Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) is a novel porcine enteric coronavirus that causes acute watery diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration in newborn piglets. The type III interferon (IFN-λ) response serves as the primary defense against viruses that replicate in intestinal epithelial cells. However, there is currently no information available on how SADS-CoV modulates the production of IFN-λ. In this study, we utilized IPI-FX cells (a cell line of porcine ileum epithelium) as an…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus nucleocapsid protein antagonizes the IFN response through inhibiting TRIM25 oligomerization and functional activation of RIG-I/TRIM25</strong> - Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), an emerging Alpha-coronavirus, brings huge economic loss in swine industry. Interferons (IFNs) participate in a frontline antiviral defense mechanism triggering the activation of numerous downstream antiviral genes. Here, we demonstrated that TRIM25 overexpression significantly inhibited SADS-CoV replication, whereas TRIM25 deficiency markedly increased viral yield. We found that SADS-CoV N protein suppressed interferon-beta (IFN-β)…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inhibition of influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 infection or co-infection by griffithsin and griffithsin-based bivalent entry inhibitor</strong> - Outbreaks of acute respiratory viral diseases, such as influenza and COVID-19 caused by influenza A virus (IAV) and SARS-CoV-2, pose a serious threat to global public health, economic security, and social stability. This calls for the development of broad-spectrum antivirals to prevent or treat infection or co-infection of IAV and SARS-CoV-2. Hemagglutinin (HA) on IAV and spike (S) protein on SARS-CoV-2, which contain various types of glycans, play crucial roles in mediating viral entry into…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Watching the Eclipse from the Highest Mountain in Vermont</strong> - People cracked cans of beer and smoked cannabis and popped mushroom gummies and ate smoked-meat sandwiches as totality approached at fifteen hundred miles per hour. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/watching-the-eclipse-from-the-highest-mountain-in-vermont">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Jessica Tisch, the Ex-N.Y.P.D. Official Trying to Tame New York’s Trash</strong> - The city has lived in filth for decades. Can Jessica Tisch, a scion of one of the country’s richest families, finally clean up the streets? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/04/15/the-ex-nypd-official-trying-to-tame-new-yorks-trash">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Maggie Rogers’s Journey from Viral Fame to Religious Studies</strong> - The singer-songwriter’s sudden celebrity made her a kind of minister without training. So she went and got some. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/04/15/maggie-rogers-profile">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Battling Under a Canopy of Russian and Ukrainian Drones</strong> - The commander of one of Ukraine’s most skilled units sent his men on a dangerous mission that required them to elude a swarm of aerial threats. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/04/15/battling-under-a-canopy-of-drones">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Park Chan-wook Gets the Picture He Wants</strong> - With “The Sympathizer,” the director of “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” comes to American television. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/04/15/park-chan-wook-profile">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Florida and Arizona show why abortion attacks are not slowing down</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="On the white, wide steps outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, protesters hold signs and yell chants. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9YXb-3yP-FQcm9JBzPkOar2eFlw=/277x0:4724x3335/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73271204/2110561352.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Demonstrators protest outside the US Supreme Court on March 26, 2024. | Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The judges aren’t done.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jo5I0H">
The attacks on legal <a href="https://www.vox.com/abortion">abortion</a> in the last two weeks alone have been staggering.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PuROLP">
Since the beginning of April, state Supreme Courts in Florida and Arizona have both issued rulings that will effectively ban abortion care in the third and 14th most populous states.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="orzvOR">
While both states already had curtailed abortion after the overturn of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/5/3/23055125/roe-v-wade-abortion-rights-supreme-court-dobbs-v-jackson"><em>Roe v. Wade</em></a>, now Florida’s Supreme Court <a href="https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/2285280/opinion/Opinion_SC2022-1050%20&amp;%20SC2022-1127.pdf">ruling</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/4/5/23668272/florida-abortion-six-week-ballot-measure">will trigger a six-week ban</a> (before many people know they’re pregnant) beginning on May 1. And Arizona’s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Supreme/2024/CV230005PR.pdf">revived</a> a near-total ban that will take effect in two weeks and carries with it a minimum two-year prison sentence for doctors who perform abortions that are not essential for saving their patient’s life.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b7Js2G">
It’s perhaps fitting that these extreme rulings would come down at the same time that former <a href="https://www.vox.com/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a> attempts to wipe his hands clean of abortion policy in his 2024 presidential campaign.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7ekBJ0">
Earlier this week Trump released a four-minute video <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-abortion-2024-election/">saying</a> he was “proudly the person responsible” for ending <em>Roe v. Wade</em>, but that he now supports states determining abortion policy “by vote or legislation or perhaps both.” Trump insisted that “at the end of the day it’s all about the will of the people.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A0iXiD">
Except that’s clearly not true.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3LFa67">
The American people <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/07/06/majority-of-public-disapproves-of-supreme-courts-decision-to-overturn-roe-v-wade/">never supported</a> overturning <em>Roe v. Wade</em>. Abortion policy in the US has been clearly out of step with the will of the people over the last two years, and the judicial system has helped keep it that way.
</p>
<h3 id="lZg50t">
This week’s abortion rulings were not unpredictable
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mP0wfs">
The new rulings in Florida and Arizona are only the latest examples of how access to reproductive freedom continues to be restricted by far-right judges appointed by Republicans.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kvnnDK">
In Florida, <a href="https://www.vox.com/ron-desantis">Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis</a> appointed <a href="https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/Justices">five out of seven justices</a> to the state’s Supreme Court (and <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Judges_appointed_by_Ron_DeSantis">115 judges in total</a>) while <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2024/04/10/look-supreme-court-justices-who-decided-arizonas-abortion-ban/">all seven justices in Arizona</a> were also appointed by Republican governors.
</p>
<aside id="vwYHzy">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gtu2RR">
Let’s not forget the Alabama state Supreme Court <a href="https://www.vox.com/24080428/alabama-ivf-embryo-abortion-women-fertility">decision in February</a> that invoked God to claim that frozen embryos count as “children” under state law. This <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/24090347/alabama-ivf-ruling-fetal-personhood-abortion-embryos">“fetal personhood” ideology</a> is being promoted by other judges too, like in Florida, where the state’s Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz <a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/09/08/fl-supreme-court-hears-arguments-over-the-future-of-abortion-in-this-state/">recently suggested</a> that abortion “take[s] a whole class of human beings and put[s] them outside the protection of the law.” Six of the seven Florida justices <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/4578252-florida-supreme-court-signals-readiness-to-rule-for-pre-born-personhood/">signaled</a> they’d be open to a future fetal personhood case there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CoV5NK">
(Republican politicians have sought recently to distance themselves from court attacks on IVF and abortion, but <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/431">over 120 House Republicans</a> are currently co-sponsoring federal legislation to give constitutional rights to embryos.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oIeFGY">
These are state-level decisions, the result of state GOP politicians’ appointments. But judges on the federal bench have also used their positions to restrict abortion rights. Trump’s appointment of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to a federal district court in Texas, for example,<strong> </strong>led to the brazen effort to restrict medication abortion nationwide. Two more Trump-appointed judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/13/appeals-court-keeps-mifepristone-on-the-market-but-sharply-limits-access-00091840">also ruled</a> in favor of restricting access to the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/4/10/23677220/texas-abortion-pills-usa-updates-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk">abortion pill</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KP648h">
As Slow Boring writer and Vox co-founder Matt Yglesias <a href="https://www.slowboring.com/p/the-new-politics-of-abortion-rights">recently wrote</a>, one of the biggest risks to abortion rights should Donald Trump win in November is that the judiciary will move even further to the right. Trump may say he’d let the states decide, but the judges he’d likely appoint wouldn’t — and there would be no recourse, as Yglesias wrote: “The whole point of the federal judiciary in the United States is that judges are insulated from electoral accountability and free to hand down whatever kind of nutty rulings they want.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rFbTmv">
Slate writers Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/04/arizona-abortion-ban-trump-wins-2024-comstock-lan.html?via=rss">made a similar point this week</a>, observing how anti-abortion lawyers plan to <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/23678636/supreme-court-anthony-comstock-abortion-mifepristone-matthew-kacsmaryk">use the Comstock Act</a>, an 1873 law that hasn’t been enforced in nearly a century, to ban medication abortion nationwide. Far-right judges, they note, can help make that possible by greenlighting legally absurd interpretations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aZimzO">
“[Anti-abortion lawyers] tell us that they <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/08/opinion/trump-abortion-states.html">intend to stay quiet</a> about this [Comstock] scheme until after the election,” Lithwick and Stern write. “The plot is similar to what just happened in Arizona: Republicans enacted a seemingly moderate 15-week ban, only to stand by and watch as their colleagues on a GOP-packed court resuscitated a total ban passed during the Civil War.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Abortion rights activists and protesters hold signs on a Fort Lauderdale city street corner, including “Keep your laws off my body” and “It’s my right to choose.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5r0buCimJVvx1dEarmonlbN1NiQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25384863/1408593932.jpg"/> <cite>John Parra/Getty Images for MoveOn</cite>
<figcaption>
Protesters support abortion rights in a July 2022 rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3 id="LMCVRN">
Voters have a chance to fight back — somewhat
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="erUQos">
Voters in Florida and Arizona both will likely have the chance to vote to protect abortion rights this fall.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o2gNLn">
Florida’s <a href="https://floridiansprotectingfreedom.com/">ballot measure</a>, which would require (a pretty formidable) 60 percent of voters to pass, would protect abortion access up to 24 weeks. Arizona’s <a href="https://arizonaforabortionaccess.org/">ballot measure</a>, which is not yet formally on the November ballot, would also protect abortion up to 24 weeks but would only require a simple majority to pass.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tzEIhQ">
These will be expensive, competitive fights — even as we know voters in these states support access to legal abortion. More <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2022/05/28/florida-poll-67-want-abortion-legal-in-most-or-all-cases-just-12-want-complete-ban/">than two-thirds of Floridians</a> say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and in Arizona, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/04/10/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-election/">59 percent of registered voters</a> say abortion should be mostly or always legal. This doesn’t mean all those people will turn out to vote, though.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h6KFSy">
Even if these ballot measures do pass, there is no guarantee the “will of the people” will be respected.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CAu73E">
In Ohio, for example, after 57 percent of voters cast ballots in 2023 to protect abortion rights, Republican lawmakers immediately <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/17/ohio-abortion-rights-republicans-overturn">started plotting ways</a> to undermine the results, including by threatening to place another referendum on the ballot in the future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7G82uu">
More broadly, though, state protections can only go so far.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V1wEzU">
Even if Florida voters were to protect abortion access, pregnant women in Texas would still have to fear dying of sepsis, or Alabama families might still have to pay much higher costs for fertility treatments. Americans want <a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/most-americans-support-legal-abortion-with-some-restrictions-ap-norc/">federal standards</a> for <a href="https://navigatorresearch.org/support-for-abortion-rights-has-grown-in-the-year-since-roe-was-overturned/">reproductive rights</a>, not a patchwork of state laws that leave people vulnerable.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HbERur">
<em>This story appeared originally in </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast"><em><strong>Today, Explained</strong></em></a><em>, Vox’s flagship daily newsletter. </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/pages/today-explained-newsletter-signup"><em><strong>Sign up here for future editions</strong></em></a><em>.</em>
</p></li>
<li><strong>How “industry plants” became the internet’s hottest conspiracy</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="The silhouette of a young woman on a black background has golden backlighting. 3D-rendered metallic star shapes surround her face." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZQb-p2LyFeYU6x9WxV6S9hDvBBk=/1187x0:8298x5333/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73271196/Vox_IndustryPlant_16_9.0.png"/>
<figcaption>
Paige Vickers/Vox; Getty Images
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</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
It seems like every musician is being labeled an “industry plant” — does it actually mean anything?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cHYbhK">
On <a href="https://www.vox.com/tiktok">TikTok</a>, a dispute is brewing over the bona fides of hip-hop’s latest viral sensation. Twenty-two-year-old singer 4Batz, whose real name is Neko Bennett, rose to prominence as an independent artist in 2023 with only two (now three) streamable songs to his name. One of them, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZAWGMPR1AA">Act II: Date @ 8</a>,” earned a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwb8oA6JBDc">feature from rap superstar Drake</a>, who <a href="https://www.billboard.com/business/business-news/4batz-deal-drake-ovo-record-label-ep-release-1235628417/">signed 4Batz to his record label OVO Sound</a> earlier this month. So far, he’s earned cosigns from <a href="https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/kanye-west-tiktok-4batz-new-favorite-artist-1234846807/">Kanye West</a> and <a href="https://hiphopdx.com/news/4batz-kanye-west-co-sign-drake-sza">SZA</a>; on <a href="https://www.vox.com/spotify">Spotify</a>, he’s accumulated an impressive 10 million monthly listeners.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LQHo8N">
4Batz’s blink-and-you-missed-it ascent immediately raised doubts about the legitimacy of his come-up. Did the baby-voiced crooner ever have a certifiable career as an independent artist, or was he plucked out of thin air by some crafty music executives with a preconceived plan to launch their next big star? In other words, is 4Batz an “industry plant?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZTpMyP">
A slew of commentators on TikTok seem to think so based on Drake’s quick cosign. One TikToker, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mediamayhem0/video/7343791219740314922?q=4batz%20industry%20plant&amp;t=1710943787802"><span class="citation" data-cites="MediaMayhem">@MediaMayhem</span></a>, argues that 4Batz has simply benefitted from “good marketing,” namely his presence on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLwgXAbjVUrHBw94kGMKAyR1QY09AT8ba">popular YouTube rap series <em>From the Block</em></a>. <a href="https://x.com/mrotss_/status/1764303468909490335">Others</a> point <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@joebudden/video/7349961097857813790?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=6972572832925500934">to</a> the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@eyeamjulian/video/7348322296437804331?q=industry%20plant%204batz&amp;t=1710947082855">quality</a> of his Spotify-core, trap sound as proof that his popularity must be largely manufactured. (On the flipside, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@leogjolaj659/video/7347414849338576170?q=4batz%20industry%20plant&amp;t=1710885838202">one TikToker</a> argued that he isn’t a “traditional” industry plant because his songs are actually good.) Writer Mankaprr Conteh also <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/who-is-4batz-drake-remix-industry-plant-1234982967/">questioned</a> whether the speediness of 4Batz’s rise even matters if his music is clearly resonating with listeners.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4bexsK">
4Batz is far from the first artist to have his pathway to fame questioned. <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@pablothedon/video/7331467566247841066">Multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste</a>’s recent entry into the awards space has raised eyebrows. <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/the-truth-about-music-industry-plants-b998831.html">Billie Eilish</a>, another awards magnet, has dealt with the same suspicions that her stardom is inorganic. In recent years, the pejorative “industry plant” has been employed with fervor among music fans much like the term “<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23327493/nepotism-baby-meaning-dakota-johnson-zoe-kravitz-maude-apatow">nepo baby</a>” has been in acting. (In the case of certain well-connected, blossoming stars like Maya Hawke, the singer-actor daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, these conversations have overlapped.) Unlike nepo baby discourse, though, there seems to be less of a unified understanding of what an industry plant actually is. As a result, it’s a term being thrown at every artist you can think of, even longtime industry mainstays like <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/imu25b/without_any_doubt_taylor_swift_is_a_carefully/">Taylor Swift</a> and<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/ia38bk/kanye_west_is_an_industry_plant_who_hurts_people/"> Kanye West</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="2j2jkB">
A brief history of the “industry plant”
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hyRiKo">
Music journalists <a href="https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/grant-rindner/what-is-industry-plant">began noticing</a> the term “industry plant” on hip-hop message boards in the early 2010s. In one thread on the forum KanyeToThe from 2012, users <a href="https://www.kanyetothe.com/threads/333600/">accused</a> a variety of rappers — including 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Trinidad James, Drake, and Meek Mill — of being industry plants based on their supposed connections and how they were discovered.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xluTqP">
Pitchfork<em> </em>writer Alphonse Pierre, who reviews rap music, says that this phenomenon occurs when artists seem to blow up suddenly. This conversation often crops up in the hip-hop scene, where someone’s authenticity and pre-fame hustle are an important part of a rapper’s identity.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
<div id="IhA5RR">
<blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@adamtheflop/video/6969705808930163974" class="tiktok-embed">
<section>
<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@adamtheflop?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="@adamtheflop"><span class="citation" data-cites="adamtheflop">@adamtheflop</span></a>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Reply to <span class="citation" data-cites="glitterspaceship">@glitterspaceship</span> here is an analysis and my thoughts on if she’s a plant. Lmk who I should do next :)
</p>
<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Violin-6732129806218954753?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="♬ Violin - Grooving Gecko">♬ Violin - Grooving Gecko</a>
</section>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gnsjeo">
“This happens a lot in rap these days where new artists show up overnight all the time and already famous artists are racing to be attached to the hype train,” he says. Interestingly, these are the circumstances surrounding the early and latter parts of <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23785854/drake-rap-21-savage-for-all-the-dogs-its-all-a-blur-tour-poetry">Drake’s career</a>. When he arrived on the rap scene in the mid-2000s, following his time as an actor on the Canadian teen drama <em>Degrassi</em>, he was labeled an industry plant by hip-hop fans. Now, in his late 30s, he’s attaching himself to newer artists — like 4Batz — helping them earn the pejorative title he once had.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UaHXGv">
More recently though, as social media and streaming have taken over, this label has been increasingly tacked onto artists occupying nearly every popular genre of music. From indie-rock acts like <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/iconic-band-phoebe-bridgers-called-industry-plant/">Phoebe Bridgers</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/09/1091730938/lets-talk-about-wet-leg">Wet Leg</a> to mainstream pop singers like <a href="https://www.justjared.com/2023/12/09/tate-mcrae-responds-to-industry-plant-accusations-says-shes-the-furthest-thing-from-that/">Tate McRae</a> — even unimpeachable A-listers like <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@annavgantt/video/7333359632162999598?q=industry%20plant%20taylor%20swift&amp;t=1711028254593">Taylor Swift</a> — everyone is seemingly a record label puppet that we’ve all been brainwashed into liking.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iurhFY">
Aside from the supposed speed of an artist’s rise, there are a couple of factors that seem to increase one’s likelihood of being called an “industry plant.” Nepotism is indeed one of them. Following the virality of her 2017 song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mngtcfcaVrI">Pretty Girl</a>,” singer-songwriter Clairo was quickly labeled an industry plant when a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/arts/music/clairo-pretty-girl-diary-001.html">New York Times profile</a> revealed that her father, Geoff Cottrill, was the former chief marketing officer at Converse and helped get her a recording contract through his business connections. Gracie Abrams, daughter of Hollywood filmmaker J.J. Abrams, was also hit with these <a href="https://atrl.net/forums/topic/408728-is-gracie-abrams-the-next-industry-plant/">accusations</a> when she was announced as one of the opening acts for Swift’s Eras Tour and, later, nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/grammy-awards">Grammys</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="10F6cz">
Another common signifier of “industry plant” is a perceived lack of talent. Before Lana Del Rey was lauded as a songwriting genius — this <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/10/30/20853231/lana-del-rey-authenticity-career-norman-fucking-rockwell">critical reappraisal</a> happened around 2019’s <em>Norman Fucking Rockwell</em> — her music wasn’t necessarily received <a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16223-lana-del-rey/">enthusiastically</a> <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/born-to-die-2-247383/">by</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120302111717/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-lana-del-rey-born-to-die-interscopepolydor-6295631.html">critics</a>. Her <a href="https://ew.com/article/2012/01/16/lana-del-rey-saturday-night-live/">heavily mocked</a> musical guest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I62I3r2f-8">appearance</a> on <em>Saturday Night Live </em>in 2012 highlighted what detractors felt was a lack of vocal ability and stage presence. Factor in her 1950s glamourpuss looks — a change from her previous era performing under the name Lizzy Grant — and her Cuban-inspired stage name, and naysayers <a href="https://observer.com/2012/01/lana-del-rey-removed-blog-post-01192011/">deemed </a>her the Tumblr-friendly product of some focus group test.
</p>
<div>
<aside id="J8ebdR">
<q>Record label executives are <em>supposed to</em> seek out unknown talent — be they well-connected or not — and develop them into profitable artists</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NPAUY2">
Still, these industry plant accusations ignore the reality of the function of the music industry. Record label executives are <em>supposed to</em> seek out unknown talent — be they well-connected or not — and develop them into profitable artists. It’s the crux of their work. As Tom Taylor <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/david-bowie-and-the-beatles-the-three-greatest-industry-plant-bands-in-history/">wrote</a> in an article for Far Out Magazine, it’s these companies’ MO to help artists “on their journey through advice, funding, marketing, and getting them on the biggest stages that they can.” These are the backstories of legendary Motown artists like the Supremes and Marvin Gaye, who were <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/10/15/234738593/remembering-the-woman-who-gave-motown-its-charm">sent to charm school</a> to adopt a more refined, elegant presence, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/disney">Disney</a>-bred child stars like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and the Jonas Brothers, who were seen as products <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2010/09/08/the-disney-star-machine/?sh=4c612b2561dd">to be built into</a> pop singers and were given in-house advertising through Radio Disney and the Disney Channel. Music fans have had a front-row seat to this sort of artistic development for several decades on music competition shows, like <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/melindanewman/2015/05/11/five-ways-american-idol-changed-the-musical-landscape-forever/"><em>American Idol</em></a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58024286"><em>The X-Factor</em></a>, which produced the careers of hitmakers like Kelly Clarkson and One Direction (and inadvertently then, Harry Styles) respectively. That same talent search and training is also employed by Korean entertainment agencies launching big K-pop groups, like BTS, Twice, and Blackpink.
</p>
<h3 id="qvks7y">
Today’s artists are getting attention in a new, sped-up way
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FnIu1F">
Despite these “industry plant” discussions often taking place online, there’s a lack of literacy regarding social media’s impact on the music business.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8PpjpU">
In the mid-2000s, Justin Bieber was one of the first viral internet stars to gain the attention of A-list singers and a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2014-10-23/how-scooter-braun-discovered-justin-bieber">talent manager</a> for his <a href="https://www.vox.com/youtube">YouTube</a> covers. When he released his first studio album <em>My World 2.0</em> in 2010, he became the youngest male singer to debut at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 in almost 50 years, demonstrating a DIY route for mega-pop stardom. Fellow Canadian <a href="https://variety.com/2018/music/news/shawn-mendes-fame-vine-music-1202916787/">Shawn Mendes</a> is another example of an artist whose popularity on the now-defunct app Vine launched him into a new stratosphere of fame. This shift in the way artists are discovered is even more visible in hip-hop, following the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2021/12/16/22838951/juice-wrld-soundcloud-rap-history-retrospective">invasion of SoundCloud rappers</a> in the 2010s. The free streaming platform allowed young rhymers like Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Pump, Post Malone, and the late Juice WRLD to bypass old methods of crafting mixtapes and selling CDs out of cars.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="BTS members Jungkook, V, Suga, Jin, RM, Jimin, and J-Hope on the red carpet, wearing blazers and trench coats." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tTw5Rpgxp7Cj-QhTBFpwi4V8GFI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25360102/GettyImages_1202223373.jpg"/> <cite>Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic</cite>
<figcaption>
Korean pop group BTS at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1F8TtB">
Streaming platforms, like Spotify and <a href="https://www.vox.com/apple">Apple</a> Music, have also changed the way artists are promoted by record labels and discovered by consumers. This has become a genuine gripe among people who make music and feel the industry is screwing them over. One major point of contention in this regard is Spotify’s “Discovery Mode” tool, which allows artists to increase their likelihood of exposure on the app while accepting lower royalties. In 2021, musicians and songwriters from the Artists Rights Alliance penned a <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/music-biz-commentary/spotify-payola-artist-rights-alliance-1170544/">Rolling Stone<em> </em>op-ed</a>, calling the “Discovery Mode” initiative a “pay-for-play scheme,” facilitating a “race to the bottom” for aspiring musicians.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BjGAAn">
These concerns are reminiscent of the complaints that led to the regulation of radio payola by the Federal Communications Commission in 1934.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PU1OMs">
“Conventional, or radio payola, refers to paying off a DJ to play a song during their set,” <a href="https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/kristelia-garcia/">Kristelia García</a>, a Georgetown University Law Center professor, tells Vox<em>.</em> This trend persisted long after <a href="https://www.vox.com/congress">Congress</a> got involved — the Communications Act didn’t ban payola but required that radio stations disclose their payments. For instance, <a href="https://scholarship.law.uci.edu/ucilr/vol12/iss3/6/">another payola scandal arose</a> in the 1980s when record labels found a loophole to this legislation and began utilizing independent promoters to “lavish extravagant gifts upon their DJ ‘friends’ with impunity.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RyGbTn">
“The idea was to get exposure for the song in hopes that the audience would hear it, like it, and then go out and buy the album, tickets to the show, a T-shirt, etc.,” Garcia explains.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left">
<aside id="3gNGGm">
<q>There’s a lack of literacy regarding social media’s impact on the music business</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n4NvVH">
In the streaming age, this exposure technique has evolved where artists can “pay off a playlister to slot a song in a playlist,” she explains, or pay for an advertisement through Spotify’s Ad studio.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TSUFsp">
“A-listers have marketing departments, and developing and indie musicians have streaming payola, among other options,” says García. Regardless, concerns about this marketing process and the inequalities that may arise don’t totally explain why everyone is concerned about “industry plants.”
</p>
<h3 id="sZ6PuQ">
Everyone is skeptical of <em>everything</em> right now
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UL2uEd">
The continued prevalence of the industry-plant conversation is a symptom of a larger trend online right now: compulsive skepticism. Post-pandemic, it’s hard not to notice users becoming more openly conspiracy-minded, questioning the legitimacy of everything from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/tech/maui-wildfire-cause-conspiracy-theory/index.html">natural disasters</a> to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tiktok-audio-gives-new-virality-misinformation-rcna1393">public health guidelines</a> to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/kylie-jenner-timothee-chalamet-golden-globes-kiss-photo-1858498">celebrity couplings</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uThcDa">
This problem is also represented in the overwhelming number of online sleuths attempting to uncover the “truth” behind major news stories, whether it be the <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/24087565/princess-kate-middleton-disappearance-rumors-explained-abdominal-surgery-kensington-palace">brief disappearance of a British royal from public life</a> or a <a href="https://www.vox.com/22684204/gabby-petito-missing-updates-internet-web-sleuthing">young woman’s murder</a>. In extreme cases, this rush to speculate can have troubling outcomes. In a 2023 New Statesman article, Sarah Manavis <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/social-media/2023/02/people-lying-disturbing-tiktok-social-media">described</a> the alarming rise of armchair detectives spreading false information about active missing persons cases.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wkLVvU">
<a href="https://louisville.edu/politicalscience/political-science-faculty/adam-m-enders-phd">Adam M. Enders</a>, an associate professor at the University of Louisville’s political science department, says the public’s embrace of conspiracy theories isn’t new, but it’s become a “more salient talking point” in <a href="https://www.vox.com/media">the media</a> recently.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wVjYAG">
“There is more discussion of conspiracy theories, but not necessarily more conspiracy theorizing,” he says. “They might<em> </em>be able to travel farther and faster than during the pre-internet days. However, there is no evidence that more people believe in conspiracy theories today than they did decades ago.”
</p>
<div>
<aside id="OMiyTi">
<q>The industry-plant conversation is a symptom of a larger trend online right now: compulsive skepticism</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VfqEnI">
Enders coauthored the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-021-09734-6">2023 study</a> “The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation,” which found that a person’s interest in conspiracy theories is based on a number of social factors and doesn’t exactly coincide with exposure alone.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vRuto2">
“Users selectively expose themselves to like-minded content online,” he says. “If one is interested in conspiratorial explanations for salient events, they’re likely to spend time online looking for material that supports that way of thinking.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EnJHQx">
This behavior has, not surprisingly, bled into <a href="https://www.vox.com/celebrities">celebrity culture</a>. Not only is this demonstrated in the undying industry-plant debate, but in the current response to Hollywood gossip. Vox’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23869957/joe-jonas-sophie-turner-divorce-pr-tabloid-spin-tiktok">Rebecca Jennings</a> wrote about the number of TikTokers dissecting and debunking reports surrounding the divorce of singer Joe Jonas and actor Sophia Turner last year. Through social media and <a href="https://www.vox.com/reality-tv">reality TV</a>, the celebrity PR machine has become noticeably more transparent, leading the average tabloid consumer to become more savvy. Still, as Jennings writes, this skepticism pervading the internet “extends far beyond critical thinking.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kmBx3n">
<a href="https://www.gu.se/en/about/find-staff/elenabroda2">Elena Broda</a>, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg and a researcher for the <a href="https://knowledge-resistance.com/">Knowledge Resistance Project</a>, notes that public figures play a key role in “ordinarily marginalized conspiracist worldviews” entering “mainstream” discourse.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5zYqRK">
“Conspiracy theories emerge as attempts to explain important sociopolitical events by alleging some sort of secret operation by powerful elites,” she says. “It is a means to understand and regain control over one’s environment. As such, celebrities may be perceived as part of ‘the elite,’ which makes them likely subjects for conspiracy theories.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8ysnZ5">
Enders, more or less, agrees, citing the conspiracies around the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-taylor-swift-became-the-latest-target-of-right-wing-conspiracy-theorists">NFL’s supposed involvement with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship</a> and <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-kate-middleton-conspiracies-spread-online/">Kate Middleton’s health</a>. “Whenever a salient event occurs, especially one involving visible political or cultural figures, conspiracy theories are likely to follow,” he says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w6J2bZ">
By all accounts, it seems like speculating about people and things in pop culture has become the internet’s most popular sport — but to what end? In most cases, though, users simply don’t agree with an artist’s popularity in relation to what they believe to be lacking talent or skill. When it comes to so-called industry plants, particularly singers who benefit from nepotism, it seems like many users are hinting at a larger conversation about privilege, and how it can propel a career into motion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yHUrip">
Still, these industry plant arguments rarely produce any real conclusions or judgments about the music industry, but more often than not, the debate about industry plants serves as a reminder that the music industry is just that — an industry. In an attempt to contend with the feeling of being sold to, listeners retaliate in the ways they can. As Alphonso Pierre puts it, it might just be a new method of hating.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DgDvrM">
“It’s a pretty good and lasting way to shit on an artist you don’t like without having to actually explain anything,” he says. “That’s what the internet is all about.”
</p></li>
<li><strong>The untold story of Arab Jews — and their solidarity with Palestinians</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A collection of photos of Arab Jews through history are scattered atop illuminated plaques with liturgical poems in Hebrew." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2LSUEdSbI_tUzdZFHz6aU3Vj4uA=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73271084/Sigal_Vox_LedeArt.0.png"/>
<figcaption>
Paige Vickers/Vox; Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Jews from the Arab and Muslim world had a radical vision for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4dIWmn">
“This is a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle,” Israeli Prime Minister <a href="https://www.vox.com/23910085/netanyahu-israel-right-hamas-gaza-war-history">Benjamin Netanyahu</a> said in a <a href="https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/excerpt-from-pm-netanyahu-s-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-knesset-s-winter-assembly-16-oct-2023#:~:text=This%20is%20a%20struggle%20between,a%20festival%20in%20Re'im.">speech</a> last October, days into the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/10/7/23907683/israel-hamas-war-news-updates-october-2023">Israel-Hamas war</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z6WaSA">
Netanyahu has voiced that idea repeatedly, both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/10/netanyahu-plans-fence-around-israel-to-protect-it-from-wild-beasts">before</a> and <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-30/ty-article/.premium/must-defeat-these-monsters-netanyahu-says-gaza-war-also-battle-for-west-evades-blame/0000018d-5a5f-d997-adff-df7f80000000">after</a> the <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/10/10/23911661/hamas-israel-war-gaza-palestine-explainer">Hamas</a> attack on October 7 — the idea that Israel is a bastion of Western civilization in an uncivilized, backward, and barbarous region.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I2TJxC">
His mention of “the jungle” recalls a popular Israeli expression, attributed to former Prime Minister Ehud Barak three decades ago, that Israel is “a villa in the jungle.” The jungle, in this case, is the Arab world, and the Palestinians in it are the “<a href="https://www.972mag.com/what-about-us-beasts-living-inside-the-villa-in-the-jungle/">beasts</a>” par excellence.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RBiJEi">
But the idea goes back even further, to the early Zionist thinkers. Theodor Herzl, the Austro-Hungarian father of modern Zionism, wanted to establish a state where Jews could be safe from the violent antisemitism they’d long faced in Europe. He painted a vision of a Jewish state in Palestine that would grant civil rights to the Arabs who remained there (in his diary, he toyed with the idea of transferring some outside the borders). He <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004431973/BP000014.xml">argued</a> that by bringing Western civilization to the region, Jews would be <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/shlaim-wall.html">benefiting the local Arabs</a> economically and culturally — and that the Jewish state would “constitute part of the wall of defense against Asia; we would serve as an outpost of civilization against barbarism.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l5uMBm">
This “outpost of civilization” ideology is key to understanding how Israel justified <a href="https://www.vox.com/world-politics/23933707/israel-palestine-hamas-gaza-nakba-displacement-refugees-history">Palestinian dispossession</a> to Israelis and to the world as Jews seeking refuge from persecution settled in Palestine in the 19th and 20th centuries. When Israel was founded in 1948, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080030/israel-palestine-nakba-history">more than 700,000 Palestinians</a> were expelled or forced to flee their homes in what is now the Jewish state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9hh64M">
But from the early days of the state, there was a group that didn’t buy the justification: Jews with roots in the Arab and Muslim world.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m9pQrV">
Called Mizrahim in Israel, these Jews today make up the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/03/08/identity/#:~:text=or%20Sephardi%3F%20Jewish-,ethnic,-identity%20in%20Israel">largest ethnic group</a> in the country. They mostly immigrated to Israel after 1948, and for much of the country’s history, they’ve been victims of the same kind of anti-Arab ideology that is wielded against the Palestinians.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oNXpAE">
For centuries, Mizrahi Jews had enjoyed high status in their countries of origin in the Middle East and North Africa, which ranged from Iraq to Egypt to Morocco. But when they landed in Israel, they found that the new state was ruled by European Jews, called Ashkenazim, who overwhelmingly<strong> </strong>viewed them as primitive and culturally backward.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X9A2jH">
Mizrahi intellectuals at the time were quick to link the discrimination against them to the discrimination against Palestinians. Orientalism — Palestinian scholar Edward Said’s <a href="https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2014/12/Said_full.pdf">term</a> for a European tendency to portray “the East” as exotic, irrational, and uncivilized — was being used to cast both groups as inferior and deny them equal rights. Their struggle was one and the same. And so, starting in the 1950s, Mizrahim and Palestinians formed a solidarity movement, producing everything from joint magazines to joint street protests.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e0bFlg">
This movement offers a counterpoint to the “villa in the jungle” view of Israel — an alternative vision for how Jews and Palestinians can live together on the land. It also offers a more nuanced way to think about contemporary debates on the meaning of indigeneity, nationhood, and colonialism in Israel-Palestine.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dTRmve">
The vision of Mizrahi-Palestinian solidarity seems even more important in light of what has actually happened in more recent decades: Mizrahim drastically <a href="https://www.972mag.com/mizrahim-right-wing-ashkenazi-supremacy/">moved to the political right</a>, and solidarity with Palestinians became Israel’s road not taken. Understanding that swerve is key to understanding what went wrong in Israel’s history that made it unable to imagine coexistence with an Arab people. And it may be key to building a better future for all.
</p>
<h3 id="EYvvcH">
Who are Mizrahi Jews?<strong> </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PQpj4z">
Mizrahi Jews came to Israel from the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, often from Arab countries. (Although they’re sometimes <a href="https://katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/blog/what-do-you-know-sephardi-vs-mizrahi">lumped together with Sephardic Jews</a>, with whom they share some religious customs, the term “Sephardic” technically refers to Jews from Spain and Portugal.) But before emigrating to Israel, they would not have thought of themselves as Mizrahi; that term, meaning “Eastern” or “Oriental” in Hebrew, was coined in 20th-century Israel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nRiiAD">
Most would have simply thought of themselves as “Jewish Iraqis,” say, or “Moroccan Jews,” depending on their country of origin. But some described themselves as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470275?read-now=1&amp;seq=10#page_scan_tab_contents">“al-yahud al-arab,” or “Arab Jews”</a> — and their Muslim neighbors occasionally used that term to describe them, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZzSHWC">
Nowadays, it’s so common to hear about animosity between Jews and Arabs that many people may think the relationship was always a hostile one, and the term “Arab Jew” sounds almost like an oxymoron. But for centuries, Jews were deeply integrated into Arab society, serving as musicians, merchants, and even government ministers. They consumed and produced culture in Arabic. Their philosophy and theology was profoundly influenced by Islamic thought and vice versa. There were Arab Jews as surely as there are Arab Christians.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bdbNbz">
That said, “Arab Jew” is a contested identity today. Many Jews with roots in the Arab and Muslim world, disillusioned by how that world treated Jews — particularly after Israel’s founding — prefer terms like “Mizrahi.” Still, some scholars refer to them as Arab Jews to emphasize how much they identified with Arab culture before the creation of Israel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1w7qNa">
Take my family, for example. My father’s side is from Baghdad, Iraq. A century ago, Jews like us made up one-third of Baghdad’s population. They were prominent in the Iraqi parliament and in the judicial system. They were all the rage in the music scene. In the 1920s, King Faisal I of Iraq affirmed their integral role, <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/reclaiming-iraqs-jewish-heritage#:~:text=In%20his%20first%20speech%2C%20King,Iraq%20and%20all%20are%20Iraqis.%E2%80%9D">declaring</a>, “There is no meaning for words like Jews, Muslims, and Christians within the concept of nationalism. This is simply a country called Iraq and all are Iraqis.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vfmRXM">
The story is similar in Morocco, where my mother’s side is from. During World War II, when the French Vichy regime tried to impose Nazi persecution in Morocco, King Mohammed V <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-morocco">refused</a>: “There are no Jews in Morocco,” he said. “There are only Moroccans.” There, too, Jews held top positions in government. They cultivated deep friendships with their Muslim neighbors — so deep that, when I visited Morocco and found a 90-year-old man who’d known my family 70 years ago, he got so excited that he shouted my grandfather’s name over and over with glee.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2mPFFo">
The point is not that Jews were always<em> </em>safe under Arab or Muslim rule — they weren’t. It depended on the time, on the place, and on which empire was in power. For example, Jews experienced persecution in medieval Yemen, and in 1656 they were <a href="https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/9793">expelled</a> from Isfahan, Iran.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dzw8rB">
But if you were a Jew living in the vast and long-lasting Ottoman Empire, you had it relatively good. Muslim rulers viewed Jews as <a href="https://katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/blog/what-do-you-know-dhimmi-jewish-legal-status-under-muslim-rule">“People of the Book”</a> — fellow monotheists who, though they ranked below Muslims, nevertheless were entitled to respect and protection so long as they paid a special tax.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n30B99">
It was very unlike what was happening in Christian Europe, where Jews were blamed for everything from the <a href="https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/anti-semitism/medieval-antisemitism/">death of Jesus</a> to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11625662/">the bubonic plague</a>. On the whole, in the Muslim world, Jews coexisted with their neighbors to a remarkable degree for two millennia.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FN6WbH">
“It was a comfortable age in comparison to life in Europe,” said <a href="https://nelc.uchicago.edu/faculty/bashkin">Orit Bashkin</a>, a professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Although there were ups and downs, “in general, the Jews in Muslim lands thrived.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A0UAoz">
Yet today, the remaining Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa are vanishingly small.
</p>
<h3 id="obUVjl">
Why did Mizrahi Jews leave Arab countries?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ElWl77">
While Middle Eastern Jewish communities survived — and often thrived — under Arab or Muslim rule for over 2,000 years, they ultimately could not survive the founding of the state of Israel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lJvgE3">
During and after World War II, hundreds of thousands of Jews fleeing genocide in Europe settled in Palestine. By 1947, amid calls for a state that would serve as a safe haven for Jews after the Holocaust, the United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/history/">partitioned</a> Palestine, which at the time was controlled by the British Empire, into an Arab state and a Jewish state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tp867t">
But Egypt’s delegate to the UN <a href="https://www.amazon.com/1948-History-First-Arab-Israeli-War/dp/0300151128">warned</a> at the time, “The lives of one million Jews in Muslim countries will be jeopardized by the establishment of a Jewish state.” The fear was that in the Arab world, all Jews would be seen as supporters of Zionism, and that Arab countries would turn on Jews within their borders as a result.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nGE1np">
Sadly, that’s exactly what happened.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RHPOca">
To understand why this was such a seismic moment, we have to remember that this was also a time in world history when the great world empires were being shaken up amid efforts to decolonize. Tectonic shifts were happening in political ideology — including in the Arab world, where the forces of Arab nationalism had been brewing for years.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rKmVkP">
In the 1930s and 1940s, Arab countries like Iraq and Transjordan had gained independence from European powers, most notably the British. Arab nationalists in these countries pictured the whole Arab world as a single unified nation. It was a pan-Arab vision that stretched to include Palestine — where tensions were rising between Palestinians and Jews as European Jews began immigrating there in greater numbers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZIhhnm">
Even before the state of Israel was founded, this put Jews in the Arab world in a confusing position. Would Arab Jews see themselves as part of the Arab nationalist movement? Would other Arabs perceive them that way? The answer varied. Some Jews felt so much a part of Arab culture that they <a href="https://oxfordre.com/literature/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-1305?d=%2F10.1093%2Facrefore%2F9780190201098.001.0001%2Facrefore-9780190201098-e-1305&amp;p=emailASusPWs.VgKRk">supported Arab nationalism</a> — <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470275?read-now=1&amp;seq=10#page_scan_tab_contents">including in Palestine</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pE7Lwr">
“We are Arabs before we are Jews,” wrote the Iraqi Jewish educator Ezra Haddad in 1936. In 1938, a group of Iraqi Jewish professionals told the press they were “young Arab Jews” who supported an Arab Palestine.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A sepia-toned Mizrahi family portrait showing what appears to be a father, mother, and six children." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6Qg3ErpRBUY4Rs3DvsVjCsjdZmc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25375753/Screenshot_2024_04_05_at_6.31.44_PM.png"/> <cite>Heritage Images/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A Jewish family in Baghdad in 1912.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FIT0MV">
But many of their non-Jewish neighbors perceived the Jews as supporting the British instead of supporting the Arab countries’ efforts to get out from under colonialism. A rift had opened.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NJmIEY">
Then, the state of Israel was founded, and the rift turned into a gaping chasm. Now Jews in Arab countries were also suspected of supporting the removal of Palestinian Arabs from their land to make way for a Jewish state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lgIUuS">
Across the Arab world, Jews became targets of suspicion, viewed as possible spies for Israel. They were sacked from government positions, arrested, and even executed on the accusation of collaborating with Zionist activities. Anti-Jewish riots <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43922001">erupted</a>. Jews’ property was confiscated, their assets frozen. In many cases, conditions became so hostile that they were effectively forced out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1WC9ZL">
In other cases, Jews left the Arab world because they wanted to. Some felt a deep religious yearning to return to the Holy Land. Besides, Zionist emissaries had been active in these countries since the early 1940s, trying to inspire Jews to immigrate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BqNzGC">
In other words, there was both a push and a pull. The net result was an exodus of Middle Eastern and North African Jews to the fledgling state of Israel.
</p>
<h3 id="gkz0QP">
What was life like for Mizrahi Jews in Israel?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hh5FPE">
Although Zionist envoys had promised Mizrahim they’d find a better life in Israel, in reality, these Jews were in for a massive disappointment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LAfvHA">
It started as soon as they got off the planes. First, they were sprayed with the insecticide DDT to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2538006">“disinfect” and “delouse” them</a>. Then they were sent to live in transit camps known as ma’abarot — tent cities with no electricity, running water, or basic sanitation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4jrXUr">
Later, they were moved to poor towns known as development towns, which offered permanent housing but little infrastructure or economic opportunity. Through the 1950s, Israel struggled to build enough housing for the immigrants flooding in from both the Arab world and Europe, but European Jews were given better housing in more desirable cities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZKXhBA">
That’s because, in the eyes of the ruling Ashkenazi elite, their fellow European Jews were already civilized, while Mizrahi Jews were primitives — or, as the Mizrahi intellectual Eliyahu Eliachar put it, the “white man’s burden.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="26RD74">
For a painful example of this attitude in action, consider what came to be known as the “<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2016-07-31/ty-article/hundreds-of-yemenite-kids-were-abducted/0000017f-f067-dc28-a17f-fc773c230000">Yemenite Children Affair</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dHf7dY">
Between 1948 and 1954, somewhere between <a href="https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/israel-hebrew/israel-kidnapped-children-activism-yemenite-babies-affair/">1,500 and 5,000</a> Mizrahi children — mostly Yemenite children — were disappeared from Israeli hospitals, either immediately after birth or when they were taken to see a doctor for some medical problem. The parents were told that the children had died, but no proof was given. Some Mizrahi Jews believed that the babies were given to childless Ashkenazi couples.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aZyMoe">
In recent years, these <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/world/middleeast/israel-yemenite-children-affair.html">claims have been substantiated</a> with the help of DNA testing. The Israeli government minister charged with investigating the affair <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2016-07-31/ty-article/hundreds-of-yemenite-kids-were-abducted/0000017f-f067-dc28-a17f-fc773c230000">publicly acknowledged</a> a few years ago that the abductions did take place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WUKIsb">
Testimonials <a href="https://forward.com/opinion/344683/its-time-israel-believed-the-victims-in-the-yemenite-babies-affair/">show that</a> hospital staff kidnapped the children because of a belief that Mizrahi Jews were unfit parents with too many babies. Giving the kids to Ashkenazi couples would be doing everybody a favor, in their view — including the young state of Israel, which would get a new generation of citizens shorn of the “backward” Mizrahi influence.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An elderly woman next to a wall full of family photos holds up a portrait of her husband and herself when they were young." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/POF7j_xILxg-tWOZj7iaubg1P0Q=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25375757/yemenite_GettyImages_577713182__1_.jpg"/> <cite>AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Yona Musa, 76, of Yemeni descent, poses with a portrait of her and her husband at her home in Israel in 2016. Musa is one of thousands of Israelis who say their babies were abducted.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tm9a9O">
It wasn’t just the old European Orientalist ideology that demanded Mizrahi Jews be “civilized” and shed their cultures. It was also a political fact that was distinctly Israeli. In the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel — which Israelis know as the War of Independence but which Palestinians know as the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080030/israel-palestine-nakba-history">Nakba</a>, Arabic for “catastrophe” — neighboring Arab countries had attacked Israel. “Arab” became synonymous with “enemy,” and anything that threatened to blur the boundary between Jews and Arabs had to be excised.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q75ND9">
In the quest to de-Arabize the Arab Jews, Israel invented “Mizrahi” as a social category. Now these Jews would have no use for unacceptable identifiers like “Arab” or “Lebanese” or “Syrian” — they would all just be Mizrahi. (Persians, Turks, and Indians who were not Arab were also included in the umbrella category of Mizrahim because they were perceived as “Oriental” or “Eastern.”)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6E8QjR">
The repulsion for all things Arab also meant that Mizrahim had to give up their mother tongue, Arabic, which had previously united them with neighbors in their countries of origin and which Israel now viewed as the language of the enemy. It was a painful rupture perhaps best captured in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Falafel-King-Dead-Sara-Shilo/dp/184627222X">words</a> of Moroccan-Israeli author Sara Shilo: “Along came the knife of Hebrew and cut us in two.”
</p>
<h3 id="bIu6uZ">
The fascinating, little-known history of Mizrahi-Palestinian solidarity
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r3f9XT">
Mizrahim faced such intense discrimination that some came to see themselves as victims of Zionism and warned remaining family members back home not to emigrate to Israel. In fact, thousands of Jews from North Africa and Asia actually <a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Mizrahi-Era-Rebellion-Contemporary/dp/0815634110">left Israel</a> and returned to their former countries.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n63zvp">
In one memorable protest in 1951, Indian Jews announced a hunger strike to the death and <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mizrahi_Era_of_Rebellion/I1ERDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22You+brought+us+here+%E2%80%94+we+want+you+to+send+us+back%22&amp;pg=PA117&amp;printsec=frontcover">made</a> a single demand of Israel: “You brought us here — we want you to send us back.” Israel ended up flying them back to Bombay.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LJmnvb">
Most Mizrahi Jews, however, stayed put in Israel. They did what immigrants do: They tried to assimilate. If that meant shedding their Arabness to buy social capital, so be it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yXL1X0">
But there were resisters, too. Mizrahi intellectuals analyzed Zionist ideology and argued that it grew out of 19th-century European nationalist thinking, where colonialism was seen as noble and Orientalism was de rigueur.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BIU5JB">
After all, in the early 1900s, Herzl had turned to the British for support in creating a Jewish state because, as he <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1878229">said</a>, “the Zionist idea, which is a colonial idea, must be understood in England easily and quickly” given that England was “the first to recognize the necessity of colonial expansion in the modern world.” Colonialism was portrayed as a way to “civilize” the world. Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, unabashedly <a href="https://palestinecollective.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/sephardim-in-israel_-zionism-from-the-standpoint-of-its-jewish-victims.pdf">said</a>, “We do not want Israelis to become Arabs. We are in duty bound to fight against the spirit of the Levant, which corrupts individuals and societies.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1A2aip">
Given this ideology, it was no surprise that Zionism would cast Arabs as uncivilized brutes — whether they were Jewish or Palestinian. The very same ideology was oppressing both groups, Mizrahi intellectuals realized. And so they formed a solidarity movement.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XrANtX">
In 1953, Arabic-speaking intellectuals <a href="https://merip.org/2019/09/an-archive-of-literary-reconstruction-after-the-palestinian-nakba/">created</a> a magazine called<em> </em>al-Jadid, which published poetry and fiction written by Mizrahi Jews and Palestinians. The editors said they wanted to shine a light on anti-Mizrahi and anti-Arab discrimination “out of the spirit of [establishing] Arab-Jewish solidarity,” according to Bryan K. Roby’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Mizrahi-Era-Rebellion-Contemporary/dp/0815634110"><em>The Mizrahi Era of Rebellion</em></a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9gBjJ9">
This solidarity extended into the streets. When Mizrahim and Palestinians joined together in grassroots protests, carrying signs that stated “Bread — Work — Peace” and “For a united and persistent struggle,” the Israeli police responded with heavy force.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I9qwF9">
Even just talking to each other was risky business. As Roby documents, one officer told a Bedouin Arab who had been speaking to Mizrahim in the southern city of Beersheba, “For you it is permitted to visit the city, but it is not right for you to talk to the population.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1VyKFY">
Despite what Roby describes as “the government’s divide-and-conquer efforts to plant the seeds of mutual hatred between Palestinian and Mizrahi citizens,” Mizrahim like the Iraqi-born writer Latif Dori urged the creation of a joint socialist youth movement for Mizrahi and Palestinian teens to cement “a bridge of understanding” between the Jewish and Arab peoples. Dori wrote that “our common struggle” is the only way to create a positive future for “the two brotherly peoples” standing “hand in hand in front of the nationalist waves.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z6nWsV">
“The real original sin of the Zionist movement was the fact that, in returning to our Homeland, which is part and parcel of the Orient, we did everything we could to estrange ourselves from the Middle East in which we wanted to live,” Mizrahi intellectual Eliyahu Eliachar <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/2535695">said</a> in an interview in 1975. Elsewhere, he wrote, “Ultimately, the [Mizrahi] problem is closely bound up with the Arab problem: for it is only when Israel is able to acknowledge to itself that it is, among other things, an Oriental country, that Israelis will be able to prepare themselves for a constructive encounter with the Arabs.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Two middle-aged men embrace in a crowd of others." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/K3wmvNGNn3Rn2zYS9CLZLj7Dvl8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25375736/biton_dori_GettyImages_1987978133.jpg"/> <cite>AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Charlie Biton (left), head of the Israeli delegation for peace talks with senior Palestine Liberation Organization officials in Budapest, receives a hug from Latif Dori on June 14, 1987, upon his arrival in Tel Aviv.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vBBxRe">
Mizrahim in those days also felt an affinity with another oppressed group: African Americans. The Ashkenazim for whom they did menial labor often derogatorily referred to Mizrahim as “shvartse khaye,” or black animals. So they reclaimed their “blackness” and found inspiration in the US civil rights struggle.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H3rJaZ">
So much so that by the 1970s, Mizrahim had formed <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520294318/israels-black-panthers">the Israeli Black Panther movement</a> to fight for social justice. Despite then-Prime Minister Golda Meir famously complaining that “they are not nice people,” the Panthers got the government to shift resources toward Mizrahi communities to fight poverty and inadequate housing, at least for a time. Panther leader Charlie Biton — who named his daughter Angela after political activist Angela Davis — <a href="https://www.972mag.com/black-panthers-book-reuven-abergel/">met with members</a> of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to rally together those victimized by Israeli policies.
</p>
<h3 id="Th36zv">
Colonialism, indigeneity, and nationhood — from a Mizrahi perspective
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QCx8bW">
Yet for many Mizrahim, the goal was not to fight the idea of a Jewish homeland per se but to fight Ashkenazi Zionism, which they saw as intrinsically colonial and racist. They recognized that there’s a difference between migrating and colonizing, and they had no problem with Jews returning to live on their ancestral land so long as they did not dispossess or exploit the Palestinians who already lived there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MfJuuT">
This view stood in stark contrast to an <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-204960/">early Zionist slogan</a> that described Palestine before Jewish settlement as “a land without a people for a people without a land.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hUh8k5">
It’s worth taking a moment to understand what that slogan really means. It’s not that early Zionists literally thought Palestine was an uninhabited desert — when Herzl visited, he saw the local Arabs with his own eyes and called them “the indigenous population.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b9p4Al">
In fact, European Jews who settled in the land in the early 1900s romanticized the locals as emblems of native authenticity, to the point that it was trendy for young Zionists to dress in Bedouin shepherd garb and sprinkle their Hebrew with Arabic phrases. As one later <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691162485/poetic-trespass">wrote</a>, “we were dying to be like them … to talk like them, to walk like them, we imitated them in everything … We regarded them as the model of the native.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IWaJir">
Clearly, there were already people on this land. But in the view of many early Zionists, there wasn’t <em>a people.</em> <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520204195/comrades-and-enemies">Herzl called them</a> “a mixed multitude,” a hodgepodge of different populations rather than one coherent ethnic group. According to the 19th-century European logic of nation-state building, only a unified nation could stake a nationalist claim, so the local Arabs’ heterogeneity invalidated any rights to the land that they might have on the basis of their indigeneity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tR6ZM6">
Ashkenazi Zionists were happy to view Arabs as romantic ideals while they lacked power but would reconstruct them as the “other” when they became too much of a threat by opposing Jewish statehood in Palestine. So it was that Zionists went from cosplaying as Arabs before the founding of Israel to discriminating against them afterwards.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Sepia-toned photo of a guard on horseback, appearing to wear traditional Bedouin clothing" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/V5ECSzsNUdYfNuRGToszzTtNFOU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25375780/shomer_GettyImages_973199642.jpg"/> <cite>Universal Images Group via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A Zionist guard in Bedouin shepherd garb protecting a small settlement in Palestine in the early 1900s.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8cFkSW">
Meanwhile, the Ashkenazi Zionist movement was trying to produce a unified Jewish people in order to stake a nationalist claim. To achieve that, it had to strip Mizrahim of any markers of Arab identity, which challenged the picture of unity. Yet this paradoxically showed that peoplehood was not a fixed essence but a manufactured construct, with pieces that could be removed at will. Indigeneity and nationhood were <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/its-time-to-rethink-the-idea-of-the-indigenous">socially constructed categories</a>, constantly shifting depending on the political needs of the day.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QCkemv">
Mizrahi intellectuals refused to lift up Jewishness while denigrating Arabness. Instead of agreeing to a form of Zionism that would build a nation-state with one nation at the top, they pushed for a reformulation that would grant equal rights to all inhabitants of the land. The only route to that kind of a universalist vision would be to give up Herzl’s idea that Jews were there to be “an outpost of civilization against barbarism.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sOvloi">
But by the 1970s, historical events had narrowed the space for imagining a version of Israel that could offer everyone equal rights. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel captured the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080034/west-bank-israel-palestinians">West Bank</a> from Jordan, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080046/gaza-palestine-israel">Gaza</a> and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria, massively expanding the territory under its control. Roughly 300,000 Palestinians were displaced from the newly occupied territories, and millions came under Israeli military <a href="https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/10/24/23930269/israel-hamas-gaza-palestine-occupation-zionism-displacement">occupation</a>. Though Israel later gave back Sinai, it maintained <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/who-governs-palestinians#:~:text=West%20Bank.,extend%20to%20all%20three%20areas.">varying degrees</a> of power over the other areas.
</p>
<h3 id="ZMQ1cE">
Can Jewish-Palestinian solidarity be more than a romantic vision today?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gMMPZD">
You might expect, based on their history, that Mizrahi Jews would be associated with the Israeli left today. Yet that’s not the case: Many Mizrahim are now <a href="https://www.972mag.com/mizrahim-right-wing-ashkenazi-supremacy/">right-wing</a>. In fact, it’s impossible to understand Israel’s lurch to the right and the rise of the hawkish Likud party without understanding the trajectory of the Mizrahim. So, what happened?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oZPHCb">
For starters, the experience of being kicked out of Arab countries post-1948 naturally soured many Jews’ feelings toward the Arab world. Plus, from the moment they arrived in Israel, the experience of discrimination taught Mizrahim that gaining social status was contingent on rejecting Arabness.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ao2KZ3">
And what better way to reject it than to become the most nationalist and the most anti-Arab of all?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ah7or">
As <a href="https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/people/smadarlavie">Smadar Lavie</a>, a Mizrahi anthropologist and author of <a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496205544/"><em>Wrapped in the Flag of Israel</em></a>, put it to me, “If your only choice is to wag your racial purity — you need to prove that you’re a good Jew, which means you’re a nationalist Jew — then that’s what you’ll do.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="51DyKk">
But there was another factor at play. For the first three decades of Israel’s existence, it was ruled by the Labor Party, which was rooted in both socialism and Ashkenazi Zionism. In practice, that meant building up leftist institutions like the kibbutz — a kind of utopian agricultural commune that stretches back to Zionism’s early days — even while pushing Palestinians off their land and discriminating against Mizrahim (who were more likely to be hired as cheap laborers on a kibbutz than to gain membership in it).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0nRVTY">
This was the version of “leftism” that Mizrahim encountered. For many, continuing to support the Labor Party when it represented the Ashkenazi Zionists who oppressed them was an extremely unappealing prospect.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ulv5CX">
Meanwhile, the Israeli right, which favored an even more hardline approach toward the Palestinians, strategically used the left’s discrimination against Mizrahim to its own advantage. From the 1950s to the 1970s, it invested in courting Mizrahim by promising them concrete benefits and upward mobility.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="97c82c">
This culminated in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/19/archives/upset-stuns-israelis-speculation-intense-on-coalition-cabinet.html">historic election upset</a> in 1977, when Mizrahim helped unseat the governing Labor Party by voting for the right-wing Likud Party led by Menachem Begin. As Mizrahim formed an attachment to Likud, they adopted some of its political views.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GmVnAz">
Today, Netanyahu, who opposes the idea of a Palestinian state and has presided over the mushrooming of Israeli <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080052/israel-settlements-west-bank">settlements</a> that undercut the viability of creating one, leads Likud. Mizrahim — who remain economically disadvantaged compared to Ashkenazim — are a <a href="https://www.972mag.com/mizrahim-right-wing-ashkenazi-supremacy/">crucial part of his base</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AWyHR7">
Of course, there are some left-wing Mizrahim. They’ve tried to join forces with the Israeli left, which is today Ashkenazi-dominated. But many told me that they’ve come away alienated, feeling Ashkenazim ignore the issues that matter to them — like poverty and housing inequality, which are the legacy of racial discrimination within Israel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AhR6F7">
“I really wanted to be part of the peace movement. But I’m not sure the peace movement wanted me,” said Sapir Sluzker-Amran, one of several Mizrahi activists I spoke to who said they’ve felt marginalized, patronized, or tokenized by the left.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EuNBV7">
These Mizrahim have periodically tried to reboot the old vision of solidarity with Palestinians by founding their own groups, like the <a href="http://www.ha-keshet.org.il/en/">Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition</a> in the 1990s, <a href="https://shovrot.org.il/en/">Breaking Walls</a> in 2019, and the <a href="https://mizrahinationlaw.com/">Mizrahi Civic Collective</a> in 2023.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kMHcDL">
Netta Amar-Shiff, a Mizrahi human rights lawyer who helps lead that last group, insists that Israelis’ future is bound up with Palestinians’ future, as the prolonged conflict puts both populations in danger. “I know that if Palestinians are not safe, I won’t be safe. It’s either mutually assured destruction or mutually assured salvation,” she said, sounding a lot like the intellectuals of the 1950s.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lDBI6O">
Yet now, as then, these Mizrahi bridge-building groups are starved for resources. “There is always a minority that keeps the solidarity alive,” Orit Bashkin told me. “But right now, with very minor exceptions, this solidarity is more or less dead.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="94Xkk1">
Since Mizrahim make up the largest share of Jews in Israel, that bodes poorly for Israel’s prospects for peace. And it’s not just Mizrahim — over the years, the Israeli public as a whole has been <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-jewish-voters-moved-significantly-rightward-in-recent-years-data-shows/">moving to the right</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ImuYPc">
A few years ago, Sluzker-Amran created <a href="https://www.972mag.com/civic-archive-sapir-sluzker-amran/">a public archive</a> that houses materials related to Mizrahi history, from protest flyers to the writings of bygone intellectuals. She wants people to have a true reckoning with the Mizrahi experience. That experience reveals the particular aspects of Ashkenazi Zionist ideology that made Israel unable to imagine coexistence with an Arab people.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6EvWFn">
Like a three-sided prism that refracts the light anew, looking at Israel through the triangulated history of Palestinians, Ashkenazim, and Mizrahim allows us to see the problem properly illuminated so we can grope our way toward a solution.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZEfpvT">
“We always wanted to have the chance to build a movement that pursues justice for all communities — the Palestinians would be a big part of that,” Sluzker-Amran said. “But we’ve never had a chance to really do that experiment. I feel like we’re always sitting in the archive.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z5Cmlc">
She hopes more people come to see the Mizrahi vision of solidarity like she does: as a grand experiment just waiting to be tried.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Badminton Asia Championship | Sindhu goes down fighting in pre-quarterfinals</strong> - Sindhu, who is desperately seeking to rediscover her form ahead of the Paris Olympics, fought hard for an hour and nine minutes before losing 18-21 21-13 17-21 against Yue</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mumbai Indians sign Harvik Desai as replacement for injured Vishnu Vinod</strong> - This will be 24-year-old Saurashtra wicket-keeper batter’s first stint in the IPL</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ready for Olympic defence, Neeraj Chopra aware, not worried of competition</strong> - ‘The biggest growth since Tokyo has been in experience, self-confidence and mental strength’</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hardik Pandya’s stepbrother held for cheating cricketer of over ₹4 crore in business</strong> - Hardik, Krunal and Vaibhav Pandya co-own a polymer business in Mumbai, through which Vaibhav cheated the cricketers of profits</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Champions League | Barcelona beats PSG 3-2 in quarterfinal 1st leg; Raphinha scores brace</strong> - Raphinha’s lively performance and finishing contrasted with a lackluster performance from Kylian Mbappé</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Party’s ideology similar to Jyotirao Phule’s principles, say TDP leaders</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>YSRCP government has withdrawn all benefits to Muslims, alleges Srikakulam MP</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Infrastructure shortcomings dominate election campaign in Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency</strong> - The integrated bus stand is the only major infrastructure project that has taken off in recent years; the semi-ring road project and airport runway expansion have made very little progress</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple changes ‘state-backed’ hacking language months after India ‘pressure’</strong> - The company now calls the advanced hacking attempts of which it alerts targets of government hacking “mercenary attacks”</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Haryana government orders probe into Mahendragarh school bus accident</strong> - A show-cause notice has been issued to the school and some other schools that remained open on April 11 despite a public holiday on account of Eid.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Avalanche leaves two dead in Austrian Alps</strong> - A major rescue operation is under way after the avalanche in western Austria.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>French mayor detained after cannabis haul found in home</strong> - Police say they discovered 1kg of cocaine and gold bars at the property in central-eastern France too.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dazzling artwork found at ancient city of Pompeii</strong> - Archaeologists unearth significant new paintings in the ancient Roman town buried by a volcano in AD79.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Indian men traumatised by fighting for Russia</strong> - Two men who were duped by agents into joining the war against Ukraine speak about their experiences.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russian strikes hit Odesa on city’s liberation day</strong> - Four people were killed in the city on the 80th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazis.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How to cheat at Super Mario Maker and get away with it for years</strong> - Creator says he “was just at the right place at the right time” to abuse TAS techniques. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2015151">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Slay the Spire 2, Vampire Survivors meets Contra, and other “Triple-i” games</strong> - More than 30 games in 45 minutes, and a lot of them look wishlist-able. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2016286">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AT&amp;T: Data breach affects 73 million or 51 million customers. No, we won’t explain.</strong> - When the data was published in 2021, the company said it didn’t belong to its customers. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2016342">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Computer scientist wins Turing Award for seminal work on randomness</strong> - Avi Wigderson helped prove that randomness is not required for efficient computation. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2015930">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New AI music generator Udio synthesizes realistic music on demand</strong> - But it still needs trial and error to generate high-quality results. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2016112">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A hiker, clearly shaken, enters a remote English village pub, his clothes all torn and he’s full of scratches.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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“You won’t believe this,” he says to the bartender. “I was attacked by a leopard!”
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“Really?”
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“Yes! A leopard! In England!” The hiker sits down and orders the strongest liquor they’ve got. “I tried to run, but it was if course much faster than me.”
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The hiker gets his glass, empties it, and asks for another. “It sent me to the ground with a mighty push from its paws, but weirdly enough it then just gave me a really sad look and left.”
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“Ah, you met Father Andrews,” the bartender says, matter-of-factly.
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“What do you mean?” asks the tourist, confused.
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“Father Andrews was our priest. A truly kind-hearted man, loved by all. His only goal in life was to serve his congregation as well as he could. So when he one day found a lamp with a genie, his very first wish was to be a loving shepherd to the community.”
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“That’s nice”
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“Absolutely, if only he hadn’t been so prone to spoonerisms.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/OskarTheRed"> /u/OskarTheRed </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c1cfcu/a_hiker_clearly_shaken_enters_a_remote_english/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c1cfcu/a_hiker_clearly_shaken_enters_a_remote_english/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A German is on holiday in America</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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While driving he accidentally crashes into the car of an American. The American gets out, walks to the German and yells:
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„Are you blind or something? Can‘t you see where you‘re going?“
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The Germans replies:
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„Calm down my friend. Let‘s have a quick drink to calm the nerves“
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He grabs a bottle of schnapps and hands it to the American. The American takes a sip and hands it back. The German then puts the bottle back in his car.
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„Aren’t you gonna drink?“ asks the American.
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„No“ said the German. „I‘m waiting for the police to arrive“
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/NotabadHero"> /u/NotabadHero </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c19uvv/a_german_is_on_holiday_in_america/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c19uvv/a_german_is_on_holiday_in_america/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two hard-working Pennsylvania coal miners were looking for some fun, so they went to the local college bar and met three hot Penn State sorority girls who were ready to party…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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…but I can’t finish the joke here. Reddit <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes">r/Jokes</a> Rule #3: No sexualization of miners.
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/WarrenCorpus"> /u/WarrenCorpus </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c0r4cy/two_hardworking_pennsylvania_coal_miners_were/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c0r4cy/two_hardworking_pennsylvania_coal_miners_were/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What’s the difference between a crow and a raven?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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Well the long straight feathers on the birds tail are called pinions. A crow has 12, a raven 13.
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So the difference between a row and a raven is a matter of a pinion.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/KarmicComic12334"> /u/KarmicComic12334 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c0zgks/whats_the_difference_between_a_crow_and_a_raven/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c0zgks/whats_the_difference_between_a_crow_and_a_raven/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Doctor, help! I took Viagra and my erection is longer than 4 inches.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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Man: Doctor, help! I took Viagra and my erection is longer than 4 inches.
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Doctor: You mean hours?
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Man: No, it’s mine.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Titanic609"> /u/Titanic609 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c0y5d1/doctor_help_i_took_viagra_and_my_erection_is/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1c0y5d1/doctor_help_i_took_viagra_and_my_erection_is/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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