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Alona Ferber

@aloner.bsky.social
27K followers 3.5K following 3.2K posts

Senior editor, @prospectmagazine.co.uk | Co-host, The Prospect Podcast | Ex: NS, Haaretz, TBI | UK, Israel/Palestine, feminism, politics, Ursula K Le Guin | Sign up to my newsletter: thebacklash.substack.com |

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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 3h
This is the same minister who invited Tommy Robinson to Israel for an official visit last year
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 8h
The @prospectmagazine.co.uk paywall is still down (until 5th October!), so today why not read this fascinating feature on the sex surrogacy dilemma? www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/love...
prospectmagazine.co.uk
The sex surrogacy dilemma
Could an experimental form of therapy be the key to sexual autonomy for people with disabilities?
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 8h
ICYMI: This morning on Radio 4's Today programme, Andy Burnham confirmed joining the EU customs union, single market membership and full rejoining are all on the table, and said "we could go all the way" (after the next election)
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Emily✨ @emilyoram.bsky.social · 10h
Liquid Bluesky
National Trust• @nationaltrust.org.uk 
Nobody has ever regretted a scone after a long walk.

Except someone with ceoliac disease
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 19h
Members of fraternities are three times more likely to be rapists than male college students who aren’t members of fraternities
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J.P. Loo @jpl.ac · 29/09/2026
/Jewish News/’s Lee Harpin: ‘the UK has engaged in talks with foreign ministers about further coordinated action against Israel if it proceeds with shutting the consulate…[but is] “carefully considering” its response to avoid any “propaganda coup” for Netanyahu [before the elections]’.
jewishnews.co.uk
UK and allies could impose further sanctions if Israel shuts British consulate in Jerusalem - Jewish News
EXCLUSIVE: Central consideration for UK is to ensure any possible retaliatory action does not hand Netanyahu 'propaganda coup' weeks before Israeli elections on October 27
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
as a satire on so-called late stage capitalism how could one beat investors pouring a trillion into a company offering to wipe out humankind
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The kids are alright ! www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2658388...
oxfordmail.co.uk
Oxfordshire pupils launch petition to ban school uniforms in porn
The pupils from the Oxfordshire school have launched a petition calling on prime minister Andy Burnham to ban school uniforms in pornography.
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Netanyahu begged the Emirates' MBZ to deny Haaretz's report that the Emirati leader warned PM of an impending Hamas attack shortly before October 7, 2023, sources familiar with the matter tell Jack Khoury www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Netanyahu asked UAE leader to deny Haaretz Oct. 7 warning report in secret visit
The UAE's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on reports about the meeting. But it said it maintains 'open and direct lines of communication' with Israel and shares 'all relevant intelligence'
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Our paywall is down until October 5th! Plenty of time to read your fill of @prospectmagazine.co.uk So why not start with my deep dive on Israel's election, a central question being: how much will change, in Gaza, in the West Bank, if Netanyahu does lose? www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/israel...
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Inside the battle to oust Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel is more divided than ever, perpetually at war, a global pariah— and it’s going to the polls. The alternatives may not offer that much hope
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The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 28/09/2026
Well, well, well - if it isn’t the consequences of our own actions. It would appear that migrants are not, in fact, the fiscal drain we’ve been told they are by years if we go by the £4bn to £6.5bn shortfall that’s been caused by the precipitous drop in numbers under this government. Funny that.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
And we have another one. The WSJ reports that Egypt's intel chief, Abbas Kamel, called Netanyahu with a warning days before 7th October. The Atlantic has reported that Kamel visited Israel to warn that Gaza would "blow up in everyone's faces" www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Egypt warned Netanyahu of Hamas attack days before October 7, report says
Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot said the warnings left 'no room for doubt' that Netanyahu led Israel into the 'greatest disaster in its history.' The prime minister has blamed security chiefs for ...
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Co-signed, another dual national
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Interesting snippet here from End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, about the tech bro obsession with creating superintelligence
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Susanna Crossman @susannacrossman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Essay writers, creative nonfiction people, my @saloneurope.bsky.social 3-part course, The Personal Essay: From Pitch To Publication, is almost sold out. Perfect if you want to discover essays, try out a book idea, hone your practice. Last few places available but hurry, hurry! Can't wait to see you.
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Anna Clarke @annaclarke.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
We badly need a better system of social care. But how can Burnham possibly hope to build cross-party consensus if he's intending to put it on the ballot paper for the next election? www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cj...
bbc.co.uk
PM Andy Burnham proposes national care service to tackle "threadbare" social care system - watch live
The PM says the care service for England, which would be "free at the point of use", would be put on the ballot at the next general election.
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Shin Bet chief refusing to track domestic bot-powered election influence campaigns Zini reportedly insists handling interference by ‘domestic actors’ is outside the agency’s purview, prompting sources to accuse him of having ‘completely shirked responsibility’ www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-chi...
timesofisrael.com
Shin Bet chief said refusing to track domestic bot-powered election influence campaigns
Zini reportedly insists handling interference by 'domestic actors' is outside the agency's purview, prompting sources to accuse him of having 'completely shirked responsibility'
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“I do not object to Israelis looking at themselves through what they did to us. What I find difficult to accept is the idea that their way back to morality should be paved with our suffering” www.972mag.com/naza-israeli...
972mag.com
‘NAZA’ is forcing Israelis to reflect. But we Palestinians are not your mirror
Our suffering cannot be the backdrop for an internal Israeli morality tale: Confronting Israel’s crimes in Gaza means taking action to stop them.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"His message, according to one former Israeli official later briefed on the visit, was: If you don’t change course, Gaza is going to blow up in your faces" Yet another report indicating that Netanyahu ignored warnings before 7th October www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
theatlantic.com
Egypt’s Warning to Israel
Cairo’s intelligence chief visited Tel Aviv shortly before October 7 with a dire message about Gaza.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Our paywall is down until 5th October. Plenty of time to dig into our archive. Here are links to some faves from the recent past.....
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What gets you booted from Substack? Andrew Tate still seems to have a newsletter there while charged with: 10 counts of rape, 3 of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 3 of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, & making/distributing indecent images of a child. possessing extreme pornography.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Just the Israeli culture minister reposting Abraham’s statement on X and saying “don’t return to Israel, you aren’t wanted here. Traitor”
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AP Stylebook @apstylebook.com · 23/09/2026
Artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want or understand. Avoid language that gives them human characteristics.
apnews.com
https://apnews.com/article/openai-safety-ai-framework-089e75b95bc935af092da7b79d92706d
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here's Rupert Lowe MP's payments from X Corp over the past year. This man is making serious cash from Musk's platform. Payments surged over the summer, during UK 'unrest', and when Musk was frantically re-sharing Lowe's posts... Bleak, lucrative work if you can get it.
Line chart plotting 21 payments from X Corp to Rupert Lowe MP, as declared in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. The x-axis runs from 3 September 2025 to 16 September 2026; the y-axis shows the value of each fortnightly payment in pounds, from zero to £12,000.

Payments run between roughly £1,100 and £2,200 through late 2025, rise gradually through spring 2026 to around £3,000–£3,800, then jump sharply to £11,724.97 on 10 June 2026 and £10,265.50 in July. From there they fall in five consecutive steps — £4,412.76, £3,126.35, £2,885.36, £2,542.04 — to £2,413.89 on 16 September 2026, a fall of 79% from the June peak.

Two things worth carrying with the graphic whichever version you use.

The July point is marked with an asterisk because the register gives its received date as 7 August 2026 while recording it as registered on 15 July. Plotted it at the likelier 7 July.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
*shows!
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Israel’s Channel 14 quoted Boaz Yosef, director general of Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, as saying that the authority was examining the request” to revoke the citizenship of the directors of NAZA www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-ea...
aa.com.tr
Israel considers revoking citizenship of directors behind Gaza war documentary
Film features testimonies from Israeli soldiers about army crimes against civilians in Gaza | Anadolu
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J.P. Loo @jpl.ac · 23/09/2026
See also:
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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 23/09/2026
For the first time ever, a group of Senate Democrats will unveil a bill tomorrow that would impose sanctions on "foreign companies, individuals or other entities" which are involved in the E1 settlement project in the illegally-occupied West Bank. Its authors are Warren, Coons, Gallego and Wyden.
reuters.com
US Senate Democrats seek sanctions over Israeli settlements, bill says
A group of US Senate Democrats will introduce legislation on Wednesday to sanction individuals or ​groups that facilitate Israel's "E1 project," a widely condemned West Bank settlement plan cutting ac...
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J.P. Loo @jpl.ac · 23/09/2026
The CEC has now voted to disqualify Ra’am (18–5) and the chairman of Balad (30–4). The HCJ must allow or quash the bans; I predict it will allow the ban on Abu Shehadeh but not on Ra’am. I don’t think the CEC’s yet voted on the Joint List but imagine it’ll be banned by a margin between 18– and 30–5.
timesofisrael.com
Election committee bars Balad chief Abu Shehadeh over alleged support for terror
Sohlberg, attorney general, all opposition parties back disqualification of Joint List party's No. 3 in unusual consensus; panel also disqualifies Hadash MK Ofer Cassif
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“This is denial, and bullying as political discourse” - Me on the @lrb.co.uk blog about the frenzy of incitement in Israel over the documentary NAZA. The response has been truly undemocratic, a violent illiberalism, and the directors still don’t seem safe in Israel www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/se...
lrb.co.uk
Alona Ferber | Layers of Denial
The frenzy in Israel surrounding the documentary NAZA is fundamentally undemocratic. That is what happens after years of...
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Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
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Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“Any mention of civil rights, feminism or social reform [topics that are central to Woolf’s work] are usually classified as ‘social topics’ by [Facebook's] automatic system” and are filtered out." Meta bans ads for Virginia Woolf play in Spain www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Meta bans ads for Virginia Woolf play in Spain because they relate to feminism
Theatre told that Facebook and Instagram filter out ads mentioning ‘social topics’ such as civil rights or feminism
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🧵
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Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 19/09/2026
The Register of British Slave Traders. A huge research achievement. britishslavetraders.org I think I need to read the narrative book-form version to navigate it, though. www.penguin.co.uk/books/460026/brit…
britishslavetraders.org
The Register of British Slave-Traders
The Register of British Slave-traders compiles and presents information on all known slave-traders in Britain who invested in the trafficking of captive Africans from 1563 to 1807.
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Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
If you add in £130m losses on “Reform TV” (aka GB News) the effective subsidy of Farage’s party from just four men tops £200m. You just have to join the dots app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/75017/...
app.prospectmagazine.co.uk
Farage and the £130m even his detractors have missed
GB news has provided relentless positive PR for Nigel Farage while racking up tens of millions in financial losses. And now there is a new channel in the offing
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 19/09/2026
Pentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab, Iran
bloom.bg
Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School
Pentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab.
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 18/09/2026
It is incredibly important that political violence does not succeed. The far-right mob that shut down Portsmouth wanted this outcome. If the state wishes to avoid more of these actions, it needs to make sure this RNLI branch reopens *immediately*, or as close to that as humanly possible.
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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 18/09/2026
What on earth is happening?
  This had become the new normal. RNLI crew members had been forced to take their permits off their cars after their tyres have been repeatedly slashed. Most of them have been pilloried at the school gates or turned away from local pubs. One man who worked in search and rescue had been beaten unconscious and hospitalised, recognised for TV interviews he had done.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Originally, from the British Mandate! hamoked.org/timeline.php...
hamoked.org
המוקד להגנת הפרט
ציר זמן
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Maybe the most important political story of our time. People just want the bullshit to stop.
gizmodo.com
71% of Americans Say They're Completely Exhausted
A CDC report shows that people are not feeling relaxed and restful in the United States.
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Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“The institutional response to the film and the threats against its creators are characteristic of dictatorial regimes,” said the statement, signed by groups including Peace Now, Adalah, B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Breaking the Silence.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The response in Israel to Naza is beyond unhinged. Mobs have shown up at the house of co-director Rachel Szor's family. All over social media the directors are being branded traitors and "not Jews". There is a frenzy of incitement to violence against them online www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Netanyahu seeks to strip citizenship from Israelis as threats to NAZA film directors intensify
Israeli prime minister to pursue new laws as directors of Guardian-produced film face threats from far-right officials and activists
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Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A group of 14 international law scholars from various Israeli academic institutions, including experts in the laws of war, on Tuesday called for an independent probe into suspected violations of international law and war crimes during the Gaza war. www.haaretz.com/gaza/2026-09...
haaretz.com
Israeli law scholars call for probe into Gaza war crimes
The scholars addressed the IDF's dismissive response to the Gaza war documentary 'NAZA,' arguing that the allegations raised required an independent and effective investigation into Israel's conduct ...
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CNN @cnn.com · 16/09/2026
At least 20 people, including several children, have died after a war-damaged residential building in Gaza City collapsed early Wednesday morning, local authorities said, with dozens more feared trapped under layers of rubble. cnn.it/3VyA188
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Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
B'tselem report identifies 5 main areas through which it says the 'elimination' mechanism operates against Palestinians in West Bank: violence, restrictions on movement, economic strangulation, social and political destruction, ethnic cleansing & territorial takeover www.haaretz.com/west-bank/20...
haaretz.com
B'Tselem: Israel running 'elimination project' against West Bank Palestinians
The report identifies five main areas through which it says the 'elimination' mechanism operates: violence and intimidation, restrictions on movement, economic strangulation, social and political dest...
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Highly recommend this newsletter by @amikaufman.bsky.social who is doing heroic work giving non-Hebrew speakers a true sense of the extremely right-wing, violent, dehumanising political discourse that has become mainstream in Israel adraba.substack.com/p/all-the-ar...
adraba.substack.com
"All the Arabs need to die, they should all get cancer": a high schooler near Gaza, on camera
A TV host cursing documentary filmmakers. A podcaster asking who's lying. A general's word choice for 70,000 dead. And a teenager hoping he gets the chance to kill every Arab in the world.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is one of those excoriating reviews that comes along only every once in a while. Chotiner points out various serious errors and omissions in Moser’s book (and is far more appreciative of Bartov) www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Is Zionism’s Moral Crisis About Roads Not Taken—or Original Sin?
Where Benjamin Moser replaces one story of Jewish exceptionalism with another, Omer Bartov shows what’s lost when polemic takes the place of history.
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Straight from the Trump playbook. Corrupt state. Promised pardons. Invasion.
Rupert Lowe •

Restore Britain has announced today that those patriots peacefully protesting the migrant invasion who are wrongly criminalised by our corrupt state will have those convictions overturned and removed by a Restore Britain Government.

When we say we stand with the men and women peacefully resisting the invasion, we mean it.
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Over Mecca. Saudi Arabia issues emergency alerts over 'potential danger' in Mecca and the governorates of Jeddah and Taif, marking the first such alert for Mecca since the recent conflict with the Houthis began, www.turkiyetoday.com/region/saudi...
turkiyetoday.com
Saudi Arabia issues emergency alerts over 'potential danger' in Mecca - Türkiye Today
Saudi Arabia issues brief emergency alerts for Mecca, Jeddah, and Taif, first such warning for Mecca in recent conflict with Houthis
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