Forbes Honors Trebuchet’s Director Jennifer Selendy Among America’s Top Lawyers 2025
Forbes has named Jennifer Selendy, founding partner of Selendy Gay PLLC and one of Trebuchet’s two directors, to its prestigious list of America’s Top Lawyers for 2025. This recognition celebrates attorneys with exceptional legal records, reputations for excellence, and leadership in shaping the legal landscape.
Selendy was recognized for her role in high-stakes litigation. She currently represents Albertsons in a $6 billion merger dispute with Kroger and, in 2024, secured a $1.1 billion trial victory for Fortis Advisors in a landmark earnout case against Johnson & Johnson—the largest such damages award in Delaware history.
Beyond her courtroom achievements, Forbes also highlighted Selendy’s humanitarian leadership as co-founder of the 30 Birds Foundation, which has successfully relocated more than 500 Afghan girls and their families to safety in Canada.
Earlier in 2025, Forbes also recognized both Jennifer Selendy and founding partner Faith Gay among America’s Best-in-State Lawyers for their influence in the New York legal market.
Read more from Selendy Gay: Forbes Names Jennifer Selendy to 2025 List of America’s Top Lawyers
Full list on Forbes: America’s Top Lawyers 2025
AI Resistance Art & Symbols of Resistance: A Visual Archive
Boston Plaza Demonstration
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A Graphic composed by Mentor Ehren Brav
Leveraging the power of AI image generation... Feel free to distribute - I certainly will be.
Christina Goldbaum's latest: Syria, Lebanon, and more
Recent articles, videos and podcasts from on the ground in some of the most fragile places in the world by wonderful alum and Convisero mentor Christina Goldbaum, winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for the New York Times.
To access the latest news from her: https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-goldbaum#latest
Christina Goldbaum Wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting
Christina Goldbaum, a young journalist at The New York Times and member of Convisero, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting, alongside colleagues Azam Ahmed and Matthieu Aikins. The prize honors their remarkable work in the New York Times series titled “How the U.S. Lost Afghanistan.”
The award-winning reporting reveals how the United States, years before the fall of Kabul, laid the groundwork for the unraveling of its two-decade war in Afghanistan. Through in-depth investigations and frontline accounts, the series demonstrates the consequences of misaligned strategy, internal dysfunction, and long-ignored warnings.
Explore the full Pulitzer-winning series here:
How the U.S. Lost Afghanistan
Courtesy of The New York Times
In one of the centerpiece reports, Goldbaum and colleagues gained rare access to Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the most powerful and controversial figures within the Taliban, offering a close view into the inner workings of the regime now governing Afghanistan.
Read the story: Sirajuddin Haqqani Is a Taliban Hard-Liner and Power Broker
A Voice for Critical Truths
Goldbaum’s recognition marks a significant moment not only for foreign reporting but for a new generation of journalists pushing boundaries in international investigative work. Her reporting has consistently centered the lived realities of those caught in conflict, while critically examining U.S. policy decisions with rigor and clarity.
Goldbaum has become known for her fieldwork in difficult and often dangerous conditions. Her work in Afghanistan stands as a testament to the power of explanatory journalism to illuminate complex geopolitical failures with humanity and urgency.
For more on Pulitzer Prize winners and featured stories, visit: Pulitzer.org
To explore more of Goldbaum’s international reporting, follow her work at The New York Times
Meet Graham Platner with Bob Massie & Anne Tate
Democratic State Committee member and former gubernatorial candidate Bob Massie and his wife Anne Tate are opening their home for a special evening to introduce Graham Platner, the extraordinary new Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in Maine.
Date: Monday, September 29, 2025
Time: 4:30 – 6:30 PM
Location: 140 Sycamore Street, Somerville, Massachusetts 02145
This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from Graham about his campaign, his vision for Maine, and his priorities for the Senate.
Why Attend?
Meet Graham Platner in person and learn about his values, leadership, and ideas.
Connect with fellow community members passionate about progressive change.
Engage in conversation in the welcoming home of Bob Massie and Anne Tate, both longtime advocates for social and political justice.
If you’re not yet familiar with Graham, you can watch his powerful announcement video.
Please RSVP to let us know if you’ll be joining us.
Questions? Contact Bob Massie at rkmassie3@gmail.com.
In Modi’s India, Journalists Face Jail or Silence
A new episode of Making Peace Visible highlights the erosion of democratic freedoms in India and the dangerous reality for independent journalists under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Press Under Pressure
According to reporting by Suchitra Vijayan, more than 75% of India’s news organizations are now owned by just four or five corporations, all led by allies of Modi. This concentration of ownership has reshaped the media landscape into one that largely aligns with the government’s agenda. Journalists who dare to criticize the government face harassment, detention, imprisonment, or even assassination.
About the Speaker
Suchitra Vijayan is a journalist, attorney, and author of How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners (co-authored with Francesca Recchia) and Midnight’s Borders. She is the founder and executive director of The Polis Project, an independent journalism and research organization documenting authoritarianism and state oppression. Raised in Chennai, India, Vijayan now lives in New York City.
Her reporting draws attention to regions like Kashmir, where the government has systematically targeted the free press.
Listen and Learn More
This episode, first published in November 2023, offers a stark warning about the fragility of press freedom, not just in India but globally.
Listen to the episode and explore further here: Making Peace Visible – Suchitra Vijayan
Bearing Witness: Physicians for Human Rights Israel Amid War and Atonement
As the Jewish calendar turns to a season of forgiveness and atonement, the stark reality in Gaza tells another story — one of destruction, displacement, and famine. Against this backdrop, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) continues its urgent work documenting violations, supporting vulnerable communities, and advocating for systemic change.
Testimonies from Gaza
PHRI has been gathering and analyzing testimonies from displaced women in Gaza who experienced pregnancy and childbirth under conditions of starvation, destroyed infrastructure, and lack of access to healthcare. These accounts reveal unimaginable suffering, raising questions of survival that resonate deeply with families everywhere. Documenting and sharing these stories remains critical in exposing the human cost of war.
Deaths in Custody
In parallel, PHRI is documenting the alarming number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli custody since October 7 — now approaching 100 cases. The causes range from violent injuries and medical neglect to harsh detention conditions. In many cases, families may never learn how their loved ones were taken from them.
Support for Status-less Women
PHRI’s Open Clinic continues to serve women without residency or citizenship in Israel, including those seeking pregnancy terminations. A forthcoming position paper will call for systemic reforms to ensure that the public healthcare system provides these essential services. For many of these women, who face daily survival struggles and past traumas, access to such care is a matter of dignity and justice.
A Call for Solidarity
PHRI emphasizes the urgent need for international attention, support, and advocacy. As Deputy Director Lee Caspi wrote: “We need you at our side in this new year, as darkness continues to close in on us, so we can continue bringing forward the victims’ voices and demand justice, care, and compassion.”
Support their work: Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)
Special Report: Linking Education and Public Safety in Chicago
Chicago street rivals become graduates and mentors through College Unbound program. Source: Fox32 Chicago.
A recent Fox News Chicago special report has spotlighted an innovative partnership between the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago and College Unbound, showing how higher education can play a vital role in reducing crime.
Chicago’s Equity Dashboard reveals significant disparities in degree attainment: Black and Latino residents hold fewer college degrees compared to their white counterparts. In neighborhoods such as Austin, West Garfield Park, and Back of the Yards—areas long affected by disinvestment—those rates are even lower.
Research demonstrates a clear connection between education and safety: individuals with a Bachelor’s degree are five times less likely to be incarcerated. Recognizing this, the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago has partnered with College Unbound to ensure its community violence intervention (CVI) team members can pursue degrees while continuing their full-time work.
Currently, over 20 staff members are enrolled in the program, turning their lived experience into academic credentials and applying that knowledge to frontline work in combating gun violence. As CEO Teny Gross noted, “We’re investing in our staff to make Chicago safer for everyone.”
Watch the full report here: Fox News Chicago Coverage
Anjan Sundaram
Anjan Sundaram is an award-winning journalist and author of the memoirs Stringer, Bad News, and Breakup. Described by BBC’s Fergal Keane as “one of the great reporters of our age,” his work has been featured by Christiane Amanpour, Fareed Zakaria, and Jon Stewart. He writes regularly for The New York Review of Books and Granta, and his reporting has illuminated untold stories from war zones and fragile communities worldwide.
A Yale mathematics graduate with a PhD in journalism from the University of East Anglia, Sundaram’s reporting has consistently highlighted the intersection of conflict, humanity, and truth. His 2024 MainStage TED Talk, Meet Our Planet’s Hidden Defenders, showcased indigenous communities safeguarding the world’s last ecosystems, sparking the vision for The Stringer Foundation (TSF).
The Stringer Foundation (TSF)
Founded in 2024, TSF is the first global journalism initiative dedicated to building a sustainable livelihood and community for courageous freelance reporters. Its mission is to:
Stabilize journalists through financial support, fellowships, shelter, and resources.
Amplify stories via a media aggregation platform and legacy partnerships.
Drive solutions by linking journalism to NGOs and institutions that can act on crises exposed in the field.
TSF envisions creating a Nobel Prize–style journalism award, scalable fellowships, and a global support ecosystem. Its model is designed to counter the decline of independent reporting in an era of authoritarianism, disinformation, and organized crime.
Advisory Network
Sundaram is joined by advisors including Kristine Tompkins (Patagonia), A.G. Sulzberger (The New York Times), Tina Brown, Oleksandra Matviichuk (Nobel Peace Prize laureate), and other global leaders across journalism, philanthropy, and human rights.
Watch his TED Talk: Meet Our Planet’s Hidden Defenders
Prince Raj
Prince Raj is an undergraduate law student at Sai University, Chennai. He recently completed his summer internship in the Office of the Solicitor General of India at the Supreme Court of India. He completed his schooling at Sainik School Tilaiya, a premier institution under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Inspired by his early experiences with communities affected by mineral extraction and poverty, Prince chose to pursue law with a focus on advancing social justice.
His academic interests lie at the intersection of energy law and human rights, with a particular focus on nuclear energy law and non-proliferation. He is deeply engaged in research on the social and environmental consequences of nuclear radiation, especially in Jaduguda, the site of India’s first uranium mine. At the same time, he recognizes the transformative potential of nuclear technology, particularly Small Modular Reactors, in shaping the future of sustainable energy. He has served as the Chief Student Coordinator for the 10th Nuclear Energy and Law Training Programme organized by the Nuclear Law Association of India.
Beyond academics, Prince is an active poet, known for his thought-provoking recitals that blend creativity with social commentary. He is also a sports enthusiast and athlete, with a passion for football and volleyball.
Navigating Humanitarian Realities: OCHA oPt’s Mapping Resources
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory (OCHA oPt) offers a valuable collection of interactive and thematic maps that aid understanding of humanitarian conditions. These maps shed light on issues ranging from movement restrictions and displacement to access to essential services.
Understanding the Maps
OCHA oPt’s Maps section organizes visual data into several categories and filters:
Themes such as access to services (health, education, water, sanitation), displacement, casualties, destruction of property, and movement and access issues like blockades or checkpoints.
Areas covering geographic zones including the West Bank (including Area C and East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.
Types of maps, including barrier maps, closure maps, situation maps, thematic maps, and reference maps.
Years, offering a timeline of changes from 2015 onward.
Featured Maps & Highlights
Recent featured products include:
West Bank Access Restrictions Map | July 2025, detailing areas where movement is limited.
Population and Internal Displacement since 7 October 2023 | Gaza Strip, showing displacement patterns after renewed conflict.
Gaza Strip Access and Movement | July 2024, illustrating constraints on mobility and humanitarian access.
Gaza Strip: Humanitarian Access Constraints, updated as of June 2024.
These visual tools help stakeholders—from aid agencies to community leaders—analyze and respond to evolving humanitarian needs.
Learn more here: https://www.ochaopt.org/maps
David Chanoff
David Chanoff received his B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Brandeis University. He has written on current affairs, foreign policy, education, refugee issues, literary history, healthcare and other subjects for such publications as The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Quarterly, The American Journal of Education, Medscape, The New York Review of Books, The Washington Post, and The American Scholar. He is a featured writer in the Washington Post’s anthology The Writing Life and his work appears in the Norton Reader Anthology of Nonfiction (12 th edition). His academic affiliations have been with Tufts University, The Helsinki University of Technology, Boston College, and Brandeis University in fields as varied as psychology, English language and literature, and anthropology. His twenty-six books include collaborations with former surgeon general Dr. Joycelyn Elders, healthcare disparities expert Dr. Augustus White, former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. William Crowe and former secretary of health and human services Dr. Louis Sullivan. Several of his books have been included among the New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Among his more recent publications, his collaboration with Louis Sullivan [Breaking Ground] was named the NAACP’s Best Biography/Autobiography of 2014. Spies in the Family (with Eva Dillon) received the Association of Former Intelligence Officers award as Best Intelligence Book of 2017.
We’ll Fight It Out Here, a history of Black health and healthcare going back to pre-emancipation times, was published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in October, 2022 and received the 2023 Phillis Wheatley prize for history from the Sons & Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage. Anthony Benezet: Quaker, Abolitionist, Anti-Racist, about the 18th-century Philadelphia Quaker who led the campaign against the Atlantic slave trade, will be published by the University of Georgia Press in 2025. From Crisis to Calling, a collaboration with his son Sasha, is about moral decision-making at critical moments of life. Dr. Chanoff is currently a visiting research scholar at Brandeis University.
The 2025 Goldziher Prize Opens for Submissions
The Goldziher Prize has announced its 2025 call for entries, seeking journalists and digital creators whose work illuminates stories of solidarity between Jews and Muslims. At a time when discourse is dominated by violence, polarization, and the rise of both Islamophobia and antisemitism, the prize seeks to highlight overlooked narratives of cooperation, connection, and hope.
Beyond the Binary of Conflict
Mainstream coverage often reduces Jewish–Muslim relations to a framework of conflict. The Goldziher Prize encourages storytelling that moves past this binary to explore the deeper truths — the relationships sustained by shared history, high-level diplomacy, everyday acts of decency, and a stubborn hope for something better.
The 2025 competition specifically invites journalism and opinion pieces that may grapple with contradictions and uncertainties but ultimately broaden public understanding. From accounts of international negotiations to local community collaborations, the prize values work that sparks curiosity and challenges stereotypes.
Honoring a Legacy
Named in honor of Ignác Goldziher, a 19th-century Hungarian scholar of Islam who championed cross-cultural understanding, the prize reflects his legacy of dialogue and respect. By awarding monetary prizes to journalists and creators worldwide, the Goldziher Prize continues to recognize excellence in storytelling that brings to light new and nuanced perspectives.
In spotlighting these stories, the organizers hope to expand collective vision and trace pathways toward resolution in an era overshadowed by division.
For more details on the prize and entry guidelines, visit The Goldziher Prize.
Israel’s Assassination of Memory
Chris Hedges, journalist and Pulitzer Prize–winning former correspondent, argues that Israel’s current campaign in Gaza is not only an act of ethnic cleansing but also an attempt to erase cultural memory itself.
The Razing of Gaza
According to Hedges, Israel’s operations have escalated beyond military assault into the deliberate destruction of Gaza City, one of the oldest cities in the world. Bulldozers, tanks, and jets are reducing neighborhoods to rubble while food and water supplies collapse under siege. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has confirmed famine conditions in Gaza City, with over 500,000 people facing starvation and nearly 300 already dead from hunger, including more than 100 children.
Cultural Erasure
The essay details the destruction of historic and religious sites: the Great Omari Mosque, the Qasr al-Basha fortress, the Barquq Castle, Roman cemeteries, and even Anthedon Harbor dating back to 1100 B.C. Hedges compares this obliteration of memory to the destruction of mosques in Bosnia, arguing the aim is to eliminate Palestinian history and replace it with myth.
The Politics of Denial
Hedges contends that erasing Gaza’s heritage enables Israel to sustain a narrative of victimhood and avoid confronting its violent past. Banning public commemorations of the Nakba and prohibiting Palestinian flags are cited as part of a wider campaign to suppress historical truth. In his view, this denial calcifies society, fuels illusions, and prevents regeneration or reform.
Lessons From History
Referencing South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Hedges stresses that only by acknowledging verifiable facts and confronting atrocities can societies move toward healing. Without this reckoning, he warns, Israel risks not only destroying Gaza but also undermining itself from within.
Source: https://countercurrents.org/2025/08/israels-assassination-of-memory/
Is There a Moral Majority in Israel?
In a recent essay, Israeli commentator Gershon Baskin reflects on the shifting public mood after nearly two years of war in Gaza. He highlights polling that suggests up to 80 percent of Israelis want the fighting to end and hostages returned, even if that outcome means Hamas remains in power and thousands of Palestinian prisoners are released.
Questions of Morality and Accountability
Baskin challenges Israelis to examine whether their desire to end the war stems from moral conviction or war fatigue. He raises pointed questions about the army’s self-image as “the most moral army in the world” and whether the public is willing to acknowledge accusations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and famine conditions in Gaza.
He cites the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed body, which recently accused Israel of responsibility for famine in Gaza, reporting over half a million people in catastrophic conditions. Israel has dismissed the findings, but Baskin argues that without open access for international journalists, official denials lack credibility.
The Black Flag of Illegality
The essay describes a “black flag” hanging over Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, including widespread destruction, displacement of millions, and continued settlement expansion. Baskin warns that silence among ordinary Israelis risks complicity in policies viewed internationally as violations of humanitarian and international law.
A Call to Israel’s “Moral Majority”
Despite acknowledging Israel’s cultural, technological, and democratic achievements, Baskin urges citizens to confront the reality of the war. He writes that true moral responsibility now lies in stopping the conflict, holding leaders accountable, and preventing the erosion of Israel’s legacy.
According to Baskin, whether Israelis act or remain silent will determine how history judges this period — as a defense of national values or as a “dark age” in the country’s story.
Inside the World’s Longest Running Fraudulent Flag Registry Scheme
An investigation by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), in partnership with the Financial Times, has uncovered what is believed to be the most expansive and longest-running network of fraudulent ship flag registries in modern history.
At the center of this scheme is Indian national Suniel Kumar Sharma, who, along with a group of associates, has allegedly overseen fraudulent flagging operations for at least a decade. Evidence suggests that this network is responsible for more than half of all fraudulent ship flags currently identified worldwide.
How the Scheme Worked
Legitimate flagging requires ships to obtain official permission from a recognized state, binding them to that nation’s laws and oversight. Fraudulent registries bypass this process by falsely claiming state authorization to issue flag certificates. Ships flying such flags are legally “stateless” and in direct violation of international treaties.
C4ADS reports that Sharma’s network issued hundreds of counterfeit certificates across as many as 12 nations and territories — including the uninhabited South Pacific island of Matthew Island. These false documents allowed vessels, including dozens under international sanctions, to operate under the appearance of legitimacy, shielding them from scrutiny.
Industry Reaction
The revelations have shocked the maritime community. For years, the network evaded detection, exploiting gaps in regulatory oversight. Its exposure underscores the risks posed when private individuals manipulate international shipping norms to enable illicit activity.
Horizons: A New Investigative Tool
The investigation also coincides with the launch of Horizons, a new C4ADS-built platform designed to assist investigators in uncovering hidden links in complex networks. Horizons combines vast datasets — from corporate records and property ownership to sanctions lists — into one of the largest searchable repositories of public information available.
By structuring and modeling this data, Horizons enables investigators, journalists, and researchers to identify patterns and connections that may otherwise remain hidden. C4ADS hopes that both this investigation and the launch of Horizons highlight the value of collaborative, data-driven approaches to tackling systemic vulnerabilities in global industries.
Opinion: Worship of Force and Endless War Risks Undermining Israeli Society
In an op-ed published by Haaretz on August 21, 2025, Ariel E. Levite argues that Israel’s reliance on military might as the ultimate solution to its security challenges is corroding the nation from within.
Levite highlights that Israel is currently engaged across multiple fronts—Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. While the country has achieved short-term military successes, he warns that these victories mask deeper failures. Social, economic, and political dimensions, often more decisive than battlefield outcomes, are being ignored.
The essay criticizes the dominance of what Levite calls a “Spartan model” of governance, rooted in endless war, militarism, and the suppression of dissent. He outlines three critical shortcomings in Israel’s approach: treating force as the formula for victory, assuming society will endlessly bear the burden of war, and neglecting the need for political and social strategies alongside military ones.
Levite contrasts this with examples where nuanced strategies yielded durable gains—peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, normalization with Gulf states, and even temporary deals with the Palestinian Authority. He stresses that translating battlefield gains into political arrangements is vital. Without this, Israel risks losing legitimacy, undermining its economic stability, and fueling global hostility.
The op-ed concludes that maintaining a state of perpetual conflict threatens Israel’s future more than its enemies do. Levite, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School, calls for a reckoning with the limits of force and a shift toward strategies that combine military capability with diplomacy and societal resilience
Applications to Open for CFR’s 2026–27 International Affairs Fellowship Programs
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has announced that applications for its 2026–27 International Affairs Fellowship (IAF) programs will open on September 15, 2025. These prestigious fellowships provide mid-career professionals in the field of foreign policy with opportunities to broaden their expertise and gain experience in new environments.
Fellowship Opportunities
The upcoming application cycle includes four fellowship tracks:
The International Affairs Fellowship
The International Affairs Fellowship in Indonesia
The International Affairs Fellowship in Japan
The Robert A. Belfer International Affairs Fellowship in European Security
Awardees may spend time working in the United States, Europe, Indonesia, Japan, at an international organization, or at CFR itself (for IAF recipients coming from government service).
A Transformational Program
CFR notes that the programs have advanced the careers of more than 650 alumni since their founding. Past fellows include a former U.S. secretary of state, several undersecretaries of state and defense, and leading scholars and writers in international relations.
Application Timeline
Application portal opens: September 15, 2025
Deadline: October 31, 2025
Applicants must be U.S. citizens and demonstrate a strong commitment to a career in foreign policy.
Learn more about the fellowships and application process here: CFR Fellowships.
Little Amna Went to Get Water. An Israeli Drone Killed Her
Amna and her brother, Baraa, were both killed in separate Israeli airstrikes. Photo via the family’s social media.
The story of 11-year-old Amna al-Mufti from Gaza has drawn global attention after video footage emerged of her final moments. On December 21, 2024, Amna left her temporary shelter near Kamal Odwan Hospital in Beit Lahia to fetch desalinated water. Carrying a white container, she was struck and killed by an Israeli drone missile.
Her father, Ashraf al-Mufti, had been recovering from injuries sustained in an earlier airstrike. He described his daughter as eager to help her family, particularly after his wounding. The footage, released on August 17, 2025, shows Amna running down a street before the missile strikes, a scene that has circulated widely and provoked outrage.
Amna’s burial took place in Beit Lahia Cemetery. Her mother, Najla, and younger brother, Baraa, were later killed in a separate airstrike on May 17, 2025, while sheltering in Jabalia Camp. They were buried in Gaza City’s Shekh Redwan Cemetery, far from Amna’s grave. Another son, Mohammad, was wounded in that same attack—his fourth injury from previous incidents while collecting water.
The tragedy is compounded by the targeting of medical facilities. Six days after Amna’s death, Israeli forces raided Kamal Odwan Hospital, detaining staff, including the pediatrician-director, and setting critical sections of the hospital ablaze.
Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha, who recently joined Zeteo as a contributor, reported the story after speaking with Amna’s father. His account emphasizes the broader reality of daily risks faced by children in Gaza, where access to water itself can become deadly.
Read the full article here: Little Amna Went to Get Water. An Israeli Drone Killed Her.
Make-A-Will Month: Supporting New Voices in Journalism with The VII Foundation
While traveling to a safer place, Yazidi refugees mourn family members lost in the fight with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, while they were trapped on Mount Sinjar in Faysh Khabur, Zakho, Iraq on Aug. 9, 2014. © Ali Arkady / VII.
This August, The VII Foundation is highlighting Make-A-Will Month as an opportunity for individuals to create lasting support for press freedom and documentary journalism. The initiative emphasizes how legacy gifts can help sustain the work of independent photojournalists who risk their lives to report the truth.
A Story of Courage: Ali Arkady
One example of this mission is the journey of Ali Arkady, a former participant in the VII Mentor Program and now a contributing photographer with The VII Foundation. In 2017, Arkady documented evidence of war crimes committed by an elite Iraqi military unit. Despite significant threats and pressure to remain silent, he persisted in exposing the truth.
With support from The VII Foundation, Arkady’s work was published, and when the risks to his life grew, the foundation helped relocate him and his family out of Iraq. Today, he is not only an award-winning journalist but also an educator, continuing to train new generations in the power and responsibility of visual storytelling.
Legacy Through FreeWill
In recognition of Make-A-Will Month, The VII Foundation has partnered with FreeWill to provide tools for individuals to create or update their wills at no cost. By including the foundation in their estate plans, supporters can ensure the protection of journalists, the amplification of vital stories, and the continuation of documentary projects that advocate for justice and change.
Continuing the Mission
Stories like Arkady’s underscore the importance of safeguarding truth-telling in dangerous environments. Legacy gifts, whether large or small, help guarantee that future generations of journalists can continue this work and that communities worldwide remain informed.
For more information, visit https://www.freewill.com/theviifoundation.