In this review of the just published book “On Antisemitism: A Word in History” by Mark Mazower, Omer Bartov, the Dean’s Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, lays out well-established arguments on why anti-Zionism is not implicitly antisemitism. Bartov’s elaboration in this piece of the threat of Jew hatred from the right, however, is his most important contribution to this discussion. This is the first of two parts.
Caracas Hands Over Nation’s Patrimony for Next Century — “BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY,” US president Donald Trump shouted from his X account on August 28, 2026. Touting the US acquisition of majority control over one fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves, he claimed the arrangement comes at “no cost to the American Taxpayer … and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future.” On the Venezuelan side, Rodríguez claims the deal will generate $200 billion in tax and royalty revenues for her country. But the deal is nothing short of highway robbery at the point of an imperial sword.
This is the second part of the executive summary of the “Elimination Project: Israel’s Systematic Dismantling of Palestinian Collective Life in the West Bank.” The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released this report on September 14, 2026. It provides a comprehensive, historical outline of the systematic effort by the Israeli government and its entire repressive apparatus to eventually cleanse the occupied territories, and perhaps even Israel proper, of all Palestinians. This is the second of two parts.
This is the executive summary of the “Elimination Project: Israel’s Systematic Dismantling of Palestinian Collective Life in the West Bank.” The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released this report on September 14, 2026. “At the time of publication, the West Bank is under a sweeping Israeli assault that is systematically and at an accelerating pace dismantling the foundations of Palestinian existence,” the report says in its opening. It provides a comprehensive, historical outline of the systematic effort by the Israeli government and its entire repressive apparatus to eventually cleanse the occupied territories, and perhaps even Israel proper, of all Palestinians. This is the first of two parts.
Activists at Socialism Conference Discuss Building Opposition to US Blockade — CHICAGO, September 6, 2026 — Chants of “¡Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!” opened the round table session “Cuba Under Siege” during the Socialism 2026 Conference held here over the Labor Day weekend. The conference, sponsored by Haymarket Books, was attended by approximately 2600 people. More than 100 conference attendees took part in the discussion on Cuba, hosted by the Chicago Cuba Coalition, and another 50 online.
We are pleased to announce that we have just added a “text-to-speech” (TTS) feature to World-Outlook and its sister Spanish-language publication Panorama-Mundial. Thank you to all readers who made generous donations recently, allowing us to enable an audio version of this website.
This article highlights the central role of the escalating US economic war in causing the crisis that has engulfed Cuba — the most severe economic and social crisis the Caribbean country has faced since the 1959 revolution. At the same time, the author sounds the alarm that the new economic measures the Cuban government adopted in June could lead to a concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and undermine the main achievements of the Cuban Revolution — unparalleled social equality and human solidarity created and sustained for decades. Written by Wilder Pérez Varona, who has served as a managing director of the Institute of Philosophy of Cuba, the article reflects a real debate in the country on how to confront the tremendous challenges in everyday life wrought by the attempted imperialist strangulation and about how various ways of implementing the recent economic measures pose potential dangers to the Revolution.
Right-wing settlers, with the backing of the Israeli government and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), are well on their way toward accomplishing ethnic cleansing of the West Bank — home to some 3 million Palestinians and half a million Zionist settlers. Confirmation of such an impending disaster has recently come from an unlikely source: retired IDF generals and former officers of Mossad, Israel’s main spy agency, who are touring the West Bank.
“Across Gaza, the West Bank and Israel itself, the machinery for making Palestinian life impossible is already operating, laying the groundwork for mass expulsion,” warns Amira Hass, the correspondent of the Israeli daily Haaretz for the occupied territories — Gaza and the West Bank, in this column. “Let me reiterate: The very existence of the Palestinian people between the sea and the river is now in danger.”
The August 20 Guardian, a British daily, published an Open Letter addressed To Iran’s political prisoners, trapped ‘between two blades of a scissors.’ Signed by Angela Davis, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and other activists and academics, the letter extended solidarity to political prisoners facing repression by Iran’s theocratic regime, and, at the same time, expressed opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran. The letter is reproduced in this post. The Open Letter stirred a fierce controversy. Many on the left slammed the authors as objectively aligning themselves with US imperialism by criticizing the Iranian regime. This article explains why World-Outlook stands on the side of the Open Letter in this debate.
In just nine days, 45 readers helped World-Outlook and Panorama-Mundial surpass the fundraising goals set on August 12. Total contributions of $2,500 put us well over our $2,000 target. These donations include $210 in new monthly pledges, exceeding our goal of raising $180 in new sustaining contributions. Our heartfelt thanks to all who chipped in!
The US president has threatened he may declare a “national security emergency” to subvert the fall midterm elections. If successful, this move would strike a crippling blow to democratic rights and would represent a giant step toward one-man rule.
In the early 1920s, the Bolsheviks carried out a retreat from earlier policies of the 1917 Russian Revolution — the New Economic Policy (NEP). It was launched following the devastation of the young Soviet republic after three years of civil war, foreign imperialist intervention, and setbacks of revolutionary struggles in Europe. In discussions and debates on social media and elsewhere in Cuba on a series of economic measures adopted in the Caribbean country on June 18, 2026, a number of supporters of the Cuban Revolution have referred to the NEP. While some of the measures being taken in Cuba resemble the NEP, the situation facing Cuba today is very different. An article on the NEP in the first installment of this post summarized that policy and the reasons for its implementation in Soviet Russia, as well as the differences between the situation in Soviet Russia in the early 1920s and what Cuba faces today. In this part, we are publishing major excerpts of speeches by Lenin on the NEP.
On June 18, 2026, Cuba’s National Assembly — the country’s highest legislative body — adopted an extensive series of new economic measures. These decisions were made as Cuba confronts its deepest economic and social crisis since the 1959 revolution, largely caused by Washington’s relentless economic war for nearly seven decades, which the Trump administration qualitatively escalated this year. In discussions and debates on social media and elsewhere in Cuba, a number of supporters of the Cuban Revolution have referred to similar measures adopted in the early years of the Russian Revolution, known as the “New Economic Policy” (NEP). While some of the measures being taken in Cuba resemble the NEP, the situation facing Cuba today is very different. As a contribution to this discussion, we are publishing here an article on the NEP with a postscript sketching the main differences in the political situation faced by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s and those Cuba confronts today.
In this article, Enrique Ubieta Gómez, the editor of Cuba Socialista, the theoretical magazine of the Communist Party of Cuba, dissects the current economic and social crisis in Cuba, the recent measures the Cuban government adopted in an attempt to confront this dire situation, and the international conjuncture. This is the second of two parts.
In this article, Enrique Ubieta Gómez, the editor of Cuba Socialista, the theoretical magazine of the Communist Party of Cuba, discusses the current economic and social crisis in Cuba, the recent measures the Cuban government adopted in an attempt to confront this dire situation, and the international conjuncture. This is the first of two parts.
Johanna Fernández, a Dominican American historian and an associate professor of history at Baruch College and CUNY Graduate Center, died in Manhattan on July 30, after a long battle with cancer. She was 55. She was born and raised in the Bronx. She was one of four children of Tirso Sr. and Minerva (Estevez) Fernández, immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Tirso Sr. was a maintenance worker, and Minerva managed the home. Johanna Fernández is the author of the acclaimed book “The Young Lords: A Radical History.” This is a tribute to her life by one of her students.
This article addresses a widespread controversy in Cuba, sparked by the participation of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro in Cuba’s negotiations with the U.S. government in May. Known as Raulito, or “El Cangrejo” — “The Crab” — Rodríguez Castro is the grandson of Raúl Castro, a central leader of the Cuban Revolution and a former president of Cuba. Many Cubans questioned or objected to Rodríguez Castro’s participation in such high-level talks because he does not hold any elected or other formal position in the Cuban government and because his public conduct renders him “a symbol of wealthy partygoers, the type who wore designer clothes and flashy jewelry, imitating the mannerisms of the moneyed North,” in the words of Michel Torres Corona, this article’s author, who is a well-known Cuban TV host and a staunch supporter of the Cuban Revolution.
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“Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” released by the U.S. Department of State on July 20, 2026, is a monumental distortion of history. The same government that recently threatened to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age, backs genocide in Gaza, and put militarized thugs on the streets to terrorize its own population labels Cuba the “Espionage Empire,” the global center of a new “red menace.” Under that rationale, it lays the groundwork for escalating government repression — reminiscent of McCarthyism during the Cold War — against perceived “domestic enemies,” in essence, targeting anyone who speaks out against U.S. policy. This is the second of two parts.
“Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” released by the U.S. Department of State on July 20, 2026, is a monumental distortion of history. The same government that recently threatened to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age, backs genocide in Gaza, and put militarized thugs on the streets to terrorize its own population labels Cuba the “Espionage Empire,” the global center of a new “red menace.” Under that rationale, it lays the groundwork for escalating government repression — reminiscent of McCarthyism during the Cold War — against perceived “domestic enemies,” in essence, targeting anyone who speaks out against U.S. policy. This is the first of two parts.
In December 2024, Yeshitela, Penny Hess, and Jesse Nevel — the Uhuru 3, as they are known — were acquitted of charges that they had acted as agents of a foreign power, in this case Russia, and interfered in elections. However, the jury found them guilty of conspiracy to act as agents of a foreign power.Twisting political opinion and protest activities into an alleged conspiracy is the same method the federal government is using against those speaking out against genocide in Palestine and raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to quell dissent. And it is the same argument that Washington has most recently outlined in a July 27, 2026, state department document, Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism, targeting those who oppose the U.S. blockade of the island nation. The following is a report on hearings held July 22, 2026, to overturn the conviction.
On July 15, 2026, Argentina’s national team beat England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal match in Atlanta, Georgia, advancing to the final against Spain. It was a stunning victory since Argentina trailed England 1-0 for most of the game but scored two goals within seven minutes at the very end of the match. A moment minutes after the end of the match stood out as the most worth highlighting and is the reason for this post. The Argentine players, facing thousands of jubilant fans in the Atlanta stadium, unfurled a banner that read in Spanish: “LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS” (The Malvinas Belong to Argentina), drawing louder cheers from the stands. This article provides historical background to this conflict.
At the World Cup on Tuesday [June 23, 2026] — a man in a red suit stood completely still for 90 minutes in the stands. Then he covered his mouth and used two fingers to simulate pointing a gun to his head….His name is Michel Kuka Mboladinga — known as “Lumumba Vea,” which means “Lumumba Lives.” For more than a decade he has stood motionless at every DR [Democratic Republic] Congo match — suit and tie, arm raised — as a living tribute to Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of an independent Congo. This story provides historical background on who killed Lumumba and why.
On October 11, 2025, Norway’s national football (soccer in U.S. parlance) team defeated Israel 5-0 in a World Cup qualifying match in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. Norway’s football federation then donated the proceeds from that game to humanitarian aid in Gaza.This action got wide publicity and praise on social media in the United States and internationally during Norway’s appearance in this year’s World Cup. During the tournament, Norway’s team made history by reaching the competition’s quarter finals for the first time ever.
Less than a week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement killed Mexican construction worker Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, the scene played out yet again in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian immigrant, was killed by agents who fired into his car as he left his home in the early morning. Once again, officials claimed he “weaponized his vehicle.” Once again, the federal agents were not wearing body cameras. Once again, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Markwayne Mullin said the victim was not the “intended target” of their operation. World-Outlook is publishing the article below from the Maine Morning Star, reporting on the protests against the latest ICE killing, for the information of our readers.
On July 7, 2026, U.S. immigration agents added another name to the list of people they have shot dead. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived on the U.S. side of the border for 35 years, was on his way to work at a construction site in Houston, Texas, with three fellow workers. According to ICE officials, Salgado Araujo “weaponized his vehicle” against an agent and was shot by the officer acting in “self-defense.” Salgado Araujo died on the way to the hospital. His coworkers are all in detention. Almost immediately, the Salgado family and civil rights groups called for an independent investigation, saying they did not trust the federal government to tell the truth given its track record in other cases. Testimony from Salgado Araujo’s coworkers — the only known eyewitnesses so far — supported the family’s suspicions. The ICE thugs’ story has begun to unravel.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Calls Out Hypocrisy of U.S. Claims Over Blockade. UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY, July 7, 2026 — In a diplomatic offensive aimed at challenging the U.S. economic war against Cuba, Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parilla requested a session of the UN General Assembly to re-open debate on ending the U.S. blockade of the island. U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio actively and aggressively opposed the proposal. But an overwhelming majority of UN member states approved Cuba’s request to hold the debate. 136 voted in favor, 9 against, and 30 abstained. A win for Cuba! This is an eyewitness report on the debate that followed.
In the “Afterword” to the book “Out Now! A Participant’s Account of the Movement in the U.S. to End the Vietnam War,” author Fred Halstead summarized the main challenges of building this movement, the key characteristics that allowed it to involve millions — including within the U.S. military, and its significance in the 1975 defeat of Washington’s war machine in Southeast Asia. As new imperialist wars shake the stability of the capitalist system, all generations seeking social justice will be better equipped to face today’s challenges by studying the lessons outlined in Out Now! — succinctly summarized in the book’s “Afterword,” from which we are publishing excerpts. This is the second of two parts.
In the “Afterword” to ‘Out Now! A Participant’s Account of the Movement in the U.S. to End the Vietnam War,’ author Fred Halstead summarized the central challenges of building this movement, the key characteristics that allowed it to involve millions — including within the U.S. military, and its significance in the 1975 defeat of Washington’s war machine in Southeast Asia. In its recent editorial on the blow Washington suffered in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, World-Outlook noted, to this day, the Pentagon’s ability to put “boots on the ground” to further the U.S. rulers’ interests around the world is hampered by the ‘Vietnam syndrome.’ As new imperialist wars shake the stability of the capitalist system, new generations seeking social justice will be better equipped to face today’s challenges by studying the lessons outlined in Out Now! In this spirit, we publish excerpts from that “Afterword.”
This is a review of a powerful new book by a young Palestinian in Gaza. Part-memoir and part-literary testimony, the book traces Qusai Tariq Abu Tebah’s journey through war, 12 displacements around southern Gaza, and grief — including the deaths of two of his brothers.
On June 7, 2026, the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee (SCFC) voted “to remove the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) participants from membership in our committee,” as the organization announced, “because of ideological differences with the SWP Middle East policy, specifically their support of Israel in the face of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.” Others active in Cuba solidarity work across the United States have expressed opposition to the SCFC action and its rationale, even though many of them also decried the SWP’s position on Israel/Palestine; these activists explained that the SCFC decision set a dangerous precedent that could hurt the chances of broadening opposition to the U.S. blockade against Cuba. We publish here documents outlining both sides of the debate. This is the second of two parts.
On June 7, 2026, the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee (SCFC) voted “to remove the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) participants from membership in our committee,” as the organization announced, “because of ideological differences with the SWP Middle East policy, specifically their support of Israel in the face of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.” Others active in Cuba solidarity work across the United States have expressed opposition to the SCFC action and its rationale, even though many of them also decried the SWP’s position on Israel/Palestine; these activists explained that the SCFC decision set a “dangerous precedent” that could hurt the chances of broadening opposition to the U.S. blockade against Cuba. We publish here documents outlining both sides of the debate. This is the first of two parts.
In response to the recent review of ‘Out Now! A Participant’s Account of the Movement in the U.S. to End the Vietnam War,’ reader Mark Satinoff asked for clarification of author Fred Halstead’s views on the problem of trying to organize “multi-issue” organizations against the war. This “Discussion with Our Readers” column responds to Satinoff’s questions, providing some additional material on the subject.
The Federation of Cuban Workers (CTC) held its 22nd congress in Havana, Cuba, on June 26-27, 2026. Delegates from every province on the island discussed the new economic and social measures adopted nine days earlier by the National Assembly of People’s Power, the country’s highest legislative body. The measures are aimed at addressing the severe humanitarian crisis faced by the Cuban people. Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel, speaking at the conclusion of the congress, addressed the changes and surrounding debate on their significance for the future of the Cuban Revolution. He said, “So that it is perfectly clear to our compatriots, to our friends, and even to our enemies: We do not propose, nor will it ever be among our objectives, to restore capitalism in Cuba!”
In this except from “Out Now! A Participant’s Account of the Movement in the U.S. to End the Vietnam War,” Fred Halstead gives a concise and illuminating biography of A.J. Muste. Halstead’s sketch provides valuable insight into how and why this radical pacifist played a crucial role in unifying and broadening the U.S. antiwar movement in the 1960s.
Justice Department Uses ‘Conspiracy’ Charges to Curtail Dissent. In one of the latest attacks on free speech and the right to protest, a federal grand jury in Minneapolis has indicted 15 people on felony charges related to protests against Operation Metro Surge last winter. The June 16, 2026, indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize its opponents. The case tests how far prosecutors can go to manufacture a criminal conspiracy based on group chats, social media posts, discussions of protest tactics, and efforts to protect privacy using anti-surveillance precautions.
In mid-June 2026, top leaders of Standing Together announced the launching of “A Place for Us All,” a new Jewish-Palestinian political party in Israel. Standing Together is made up of Jews, Palestinians, and others. It is one of the most prominent organizations in Israel that have campaigned against Israel’s war in Gaza and for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
MIAMI — Forty people attended a June 18, 2026, speak out here opposing U.S. war threats against Cuba. The Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade of Cuba and the campus Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) sponsored the meeting. The event took place on the main campus of Florida International University (FIU).
Harlem, New York— Organized by the new Blacks4Cuba coalition and led by the December 12th Movement, 100 people, overwhelmingly Black, took to the streets on June 20, 2026, demanding “No War On Cuba!” This was just one of what was projected to be an ongoing campaign of organizing and activity in the Black community focused on solidarity with Cuba.
Cuban President Explains Critical Need for Economic Reforms: On June 17, 2026, the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party approved a series of economic reforms to be considered by the National Assembly of People’s Power.The reforms come as Washington’s decades-long economic war on Cuba has devastated the island’s economy, threatening the social gains of the Cuban Revolution. In the speech published here, Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel stated, “When life for the people becomes so difficult, the primary duty of the Communist Party and the revolutionary government is not to explain the crisis better, but to change whatever needs to be changed to overcome it. The transformations we are proposing are intended to advance the defense of socialism.”
On March 15, when our subscription base stood at 331, World-Outlook issued an appeal to our readers to help us reach 350 subscribers by June 15. We went way over that goal. […]
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Washington and Tehran on June 17, 2026 — declaring “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” — registered a major setback for U.S. imperialism in the war against Iran, a war the U.S. and Israeli militaries jointly launched on February 28.
On June 18, 2026, Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power — the country’s highest legislative body — adopted an extensive series of economic reforms after extensive debate. The Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party had approved the same measures a day earlier. The Cuban government made these decisions as the Cuban people face a dire humanitarian crisis caused largely by Washington’s relentless economic war for nearly seven decades, exacerbated this year by a blockade of oil imports into the island and new draconian U.S. sanctions. The reforms seem to signal an organized retreat with substantial openings to the capitalist market. They are “conceived as a sovereign exercise to preserve the conquests of the Revolution without renouncing socialism,” said Cuba’s prime minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.
‘Out Now!’ – A Participant’s Account of the Movement in the U.S. Against the Vietnam War by Fred Halstead should be in the library of everyone seeking social justice. It is a handbook for political organizing. It is a vivid and accurate narrative by one of the central leaders of the debates, street protests, and skirmishes of a movement that changed the U.S. political landscape in ways that reverberate today, a movement that helped the Vietnamese people hand U.S. imperialism its first major military defeat. The book was published in 1978. But the lessons of that era clearly outlined in its pages are invaluable in the current struggles to oppose Washington’s escalating wars and the march toward authoritarianism and one-man rule.
On June 8, 2026, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued a declaration condemning Washington’s unrelenting economic war against Cuba, escalated this year with an oil blockade. He called for the immediate lifting of all U.S. sanctions, which are creating dire consequences for the Cuban people. “Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate, and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law,” Türk said. The declaration published below accurately presents the devastating effects of the blockade of fuel, Trump’s May 1 executive order, and all the other U.S. sanctions designed to suffocate the Cuban economy.
CHICAGO – An audience of over 100 workers, union activists, and organizers from more than a dozen unions attended a reception here for representatives of the Cuban Embassy in Washington. The event – sponsored by Building Relations with Cuban Labor (BRWCL) with the support of the Chicago Cuba Coalition – was part of the annual Labor Notes conference from June 12-14, 2026, that brought together 4,700 union activists and organizers from across the country, and several delegations from other nations. Tanieris Diéguez, deputy head of the Cuban mission to the United Nations, spoke of the impact of the U.S. blockade on the lives of the Cuban people. She emphasized that Cuba is a “country of peace” and is open to talk about cooperation with the United States, but only on the basis of respect for Cuba’s national sovereignty. However, she added, we will “fight to defend our honor” against all acts of U.S. aggression.
On the first day of his second term, U.S. president Donald Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, citing public safety and national security. Less than four months later, he relaxed the ban and welcomed a charter plane filled with white South Africans. Effective October 1, 2025, the Trump administration capped refugee admissions at 7,500 for the 2025-26 fiscal year, a precipitous drop from 125,000, the level established for the previous year. As of May 31, 2026, 6,668 “refugees” have been admitted, all but three of them Afrikaners.
In an important victory for free speech, a federal court has dismissed with prejudice all civil rights conspiracy claims brought against The People’s Forum and other individual defendants arising from the April 2024 occupation of Hamilton Hall — Hind’s Hall — at Columbia University. As political activists face more attempts by federal authorities — and the institutions that they have cowed — to curtail fundamental democratic rights, precedents like these will be a valuable part of the fightback. It is also important to note this example of the danger of the use of “conspiracy” charges by the government to criminalize free speech.
This article reports that UNITE HERE Local 11 shop stewards distributed ‘Kick ICE Out’ union buttons to stadium workers to wear at the Los Angeles venue that hosted the World Cup match between the U.S. and Paraguay teams on June 12. This action is a sign of the widespread opposition within the working class to the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant campaign of mass deportations. It also sets an example for the labor movement that should be emulated and championed by all unions. And, at the launching of the world’s largest sports event, it stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s shameful actions, which have included airport detentions, deportations, and visa denials to World Cup players, officials, and staff, as well as fans.