Trump Should Freeze Settlement Expansion and Mamdani Should Pledge to Enforce FACE Act


3:10 PM Friday.

President Trump and Mayor-elect Mamdani are meeting in DC as I write. Here are two backgrounders:


And here is my latest question thread:

  • Tell me more about the protest in front of a NYC synagogue [Wednesday] - was it legal?
  • Had the protesters filed a permit or is that not required in NYC?
  • Can Mayor Mamdani and/or the NYC Council potentially ban all protests in front of NYC synagogues until further notice and have any Jewish leaders requested something along these lines?
  • Do we have any video recordings of the protest clearly showing that the NYPD failed to make appropriate arrests?
  • Has the NYC Police Commissioner addressed the situation?
  • Is DOJ investigating?
  • Has Trump met with Mamdani yet or does that happen at 3 PM Friday - is this issue likely to come up?
  • Is this "protest" the first clear violation of FACE at a synagogue in NYC since 10/7/2023?
  • This is taking place soon after a historic peace deal for Gaza was secured at the UN Security Council - why the escalation now - is it plausibly linked to Mamdani's election?
  • Has Mamdani implied that preaching support for Zionism and the right of aliyah in NYC synagogues is a violation of international law?
  • Is there any question that Jewish settlement in the OPT is illegal according to the ICJ?
  • Is there any credible evidence that this event in NYC was organized in part to facilitate illegal Jewish settlement in the OPT?
  • Has President Trump made any statements since beginning his second term about illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and what should be done about it?
  • Is the Trump administration open to land swaps with a future state of Palestine that could allow existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank to become part of Israel?
  • What does the possibility of land swaps mean as far as international law is concerned - does it create any wiggle room concerning the illegality of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, or are they strictly illegal until a final settlement is reached?
  • Is the current government of Israel committed to settlement expansion?
  • Can settlement expansion be used as evidence of genocidal intent in South Africa's case against Israel at the ICJ?
  • Could it credibly be argued that President Trump needs to put more pressure on Israel to halt settlement expansion in the OPT and that Mayor-elect Mamdani needs to strengthen implementation of FACE in NYC?
  • Can it be credibly argued that Israel's policy of illegal settlement expansion is a threat to the safety of Jews worldwide?
  • Are there any prominent Jewish Zionists in Israel who recognize this dynamic and speak out against illegal settlement expansion?
  • Are Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer united in their opposition to illegal Israeli settlement expansion?
  • Are there any Israeli security analysts who credibly argue that facts on ground support settlement expansion in the West Bank, not a freeze or a retreat?
  • Where does INSS stand on this issue?
  • The ICJ determined that Israel's partition wall was illegal, but hasn't subsequent data, including October 7, proved that the wall saved lives?

This is how Gemini answered these questions:


The statement from Mamdani's office was nuanced with respect to illegal settlement expansion but ultimately much too weak regarding Jewish safety. My conclusion after this review is that Mamdani needs to pledge stronger enforcement of the FACE Act in NYC and Trump needs to freeze Israeli settlement expansion. Settlement policy is a sovereign Israeli decision, of course, but if Trump says it's time to freeze the settlements because they are illegal according to the ICJ and contrary to Jewish security in America and worldwide according to top Israeli security experts, Prime Minister Netanyahu will need to listen carefully and think hard about his next steps. At a minimum, Netanyahu will need to provide the world community with strong evidence that settlement expansion is such a significant national security imperative it negates any contrary interpretation of international law - and any concerns about the safety of Jews in the Diaspora. 

From where I sit, pressuring Netanyahu and the Knesset to freeze settlement expansion is a good move for Trump and the Republican party domestically and globally, but Trump's best strategists are surely looking at a lot more data than I am.

Bonus round of questions:

  • How close is Saudi Arabia to normalizing with Israel and would a freeze in illegal Israeli settlement expansion significantly help with this process?
  • Where does the Israeli Supreme Court stand on Jewish settlement expansion in the OPT - is it legal under Israel's Basic Law?
  • What is the relationship between the Israeli Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice on this issue - does the Israeli Court have any responsibility or authority under Basic Law to implement the ICJ's rulings?
  • Does the Supreme Court of Israel view Israel's settlement policy as a sovereign Israeli decision, a bilateral decision to be made with a potential future state of Palestine, or an international legal decision to be made by the ICJ and UN Security Council?
  • How do international lawyers view this position - is the Israeli Supreme Court arguably right?
  • From an international law standpoint, is the Supreme Court of Israel obligated to implement the Geneva Conventions in its domestic rulings?
  • What about the argument that the ICJ advisory opinions are not binding international law and therefore the Supreme Court of Israel is not obligated to implement them - how do international law experts respond to this?
  • From an international legal perspective, is the problem more the Israeli Supreme Court's dualist philosophy, or the Knesset's settlement expansion policy?

Gemini's answers:


End 4:15 PM.

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