Rural Wisdom

Food at the Capitol, Trump's Search, March Madness, New Jersey, Netanyahu, Columbia: The Weekly Conquest Week of 3.16.25 – 3.22.25

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Week of March 16, 2025

The “Ag Day” Precession

Lobbying for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship with AIPAC is always a pleasure. I met with Massachusetts state legislators to advocate for another policy. Luckily, it was “Ag Day,” where local farmers brought their produce to the State House. From what I saw, the strategy was pretty effective, so I may bring some Shawarma next time I’m at the Nation’s Capitol.

Sunday 3.16

Map Highlighting Sudan, Somaliland, Somalia, and Gaza

Trump is shopping for countries for Gazans to relocate to. Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland were on his list this past Sunday. Somaliland, an unrecognized breakaway from Somalia, has the highest chance of acceptance in exchange for U.S. recognition. [1]

Monday 3.17

A Screenshot of My Bracket

Clemson University is joining Hebrew University and Sapir College in a joint venture led by Nikki Haley to advance Israeli agriculture in the Negev. It’s nice to hear some news from Clemson this week, especially after their loss completely wrecked my March Madness bracket’s Midwest region. [2]

Tuesday 3.18

A board member for Politico’s parent company called out the newspaper for one-sided coverage of Israel. He noted the articles on the war’s resumption failed to mention that the recent strikes were strategic. The articles read like they were indiscriminate, rather than targeting terror cells.

Politico is taking a new path by hiring reporters more sympathetic to Israel. As a daily reader of two of their newsletters, I’m glad to hear it. [3]

Wednesday 3.19

A former Brown Medicine official attended Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral and openly admitted to supporting Hezbollah. As friends are applying to medical school, I keep hearing that a “doctor’s a doctor” regardless of where they go to school, but I may have to start doing some background checks before my check-ups… [4]

Thursday 3.20

Jewish Insider Headline

I had to do a double-take after reading this headline. Mohammed Khalil's case will be heard in New Jersey. He isn’t being deported to New Jersey. Phew. [5]

Friday 3.21

Netanyahu is the last remaining high-ranking official in the Israeli government who was in office on 10/7. He moved towards firing the Shin Bet (Israeli FBI) chief Ronen Bar this week.

The move came amid the Shin Bet’s investigation into Netanyahu for “Qatar-gate,” where aides of the Prime Minister reportedly took money from the Gulf State. Bar also called for an inquiry into the failings during the seventh, which could potentially indict Netanyahu, who cites trust issues for the firing. [6]

Saturday 3.22

Trump is the big winner in his tussle with Columbia University. As a precondition for talks to resume the $400 million in federal aid, the school conceded to his demands. Among the changes are a masking ban, giving campus police the power to arrest, and restructuring the Department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies and Center for Palestine Studies. This case will serve as an example for other such universities. [7]