Arbella Bet-Shlimon
@abshlimon.bsky.social
Historian (Iraq + elsewhere), Assyrian, Seattle | author, City of Black Gold (sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/city-black-gold) | personal account | she/هي/ܗܝ
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
This is terrible. Ursinus College (where my partner works) spent last year planning a reorganization (they’re creating multidisciplinary “hubs”) only for its administration to announce layoffs this semester. I hope this isn’t in the cards for those working at Montclair State
www.wsj.com/opinion/mont...
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Opinion | Montclair State’s Inhumanity to the Humanities
Goodbye, English department. Hello, Institute for Complex Systems and Algorithmic Infused Societies.
www.wsj.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:28 PM
This is terrible. Ursinus College (where my partner works) spent last year planning a reorganization (they’re creating multidisciplinary “hubs”) only for its administration to announce layoffs this semester. I hope this isn’t in the cards for those working at Montclair State
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
Breaking from us:
As the Trump administration searches for more space to detain immigrants, it is approaching Washington tribes to see if they will participate.
Nisqually Indian Tribe is saying no.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
As the Trump administration searches for more space to detain immigrants, it is approaching Washington tribes to see if they will participate.
Nisqually Indian Tribe is saying no.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
ICE looks to WA tribes to house detained immigrants
The Nisqually Indian Tribe says it is turning down a request from ICE to house detained immigrants on tribal land.
www.seattletimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Breaking from us:
As the Trump administration searches for more space to detain immigrants, it is approaching Washington tribes to see if they will participate.
Nisqually Indian Tribe is saying no.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
As the Trump administration searches for more space to detain immigrants, it is approaching Washington tribes to see if they will participate.
Nisqually Indian Tribe is saying no.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
UPDATED: Washington state epidemiologist on first human infected with H5N5 bird flu strain, different from H5N1 that has been spreading widely: “This is a severely ill patient.” But officials say no change to public health response or guidance. My story. 1/3
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
First U.S. case of human bird flu in 9 months confirmed in Washington state
The U.S. has reported its first human case of bird flu since February, with a confirmed infection in Washington state
www.washingtonpost.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
UPDATED: Washington state epidemiologist on first human infected with H5N5 bird flu strain, different from H5N1 that has been spreading widely: “This is a severely ill patient.” But officials say no change to public health response or guidance. My story. 1/3
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
Texas A&M University System regents will vote Thursday to ban classes on “race” and “gender ideology.”
It's the latest escalation in a statewide conservative push to rid universities of liberal leaning teaching. bit.ly/4nTHlDY
It's the latest escalation in a statewide conservative push to rid universities of liberal leaning teaching. bit.ly/4nTHlDY
November 11, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Texas A&M University System regents will vote Thursday to ban classes on “race” and “gender ideology.”
It's the latest escalation in a statewide conservative push to rid universities of liberal leaning teaching. bit.ly/4nTHlDY
It's the latest escalation in a statewide conservative push to rid universities of liberal leaning teaching. bit.ly/4nTHlDY
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
basically every 2024 truism is dead. Trump did not build a lasting multiracial coalition or turn young men into committed Republicans. You don’t need to cave on trans rights to win. The pundits have nothing left to tell you.
November 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
basically every 2024 truism is dead. Trump did not build a lasting multiracial coalition or turn young men into committed Republicans. You don’t need to cave on trans rights to win. The pundits have nothing left to tell you.
schadenfreude is rarely my thing but I will make an exception for the incoming Third Way meltdown
November 5, 2025 at 2:45 AM
schadenfreude is rarely my thing but I will make an exception for the incoming Third Way meltdown
I saw a kindergartener do the 6-7 in Assyrian (“ishta showa”) complete with hand gestures. This is getting out of control
November 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I saw a kindergartener do the 6-7 in Assyrian (“ishta showa”) complete with hand gestures. This is getting out of control
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
I have an essay on self-help, the "philosophy" industry, and human finitude in our new issue. As Dylan said of "Tangled Up In Blue," it took me ten years to live and two to write. I hope you enjoy. www.thedriftmag.com/how-i-learne...
October 31, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I have an essay on self-help, the "philosophy" industry, and human finitude in our new issue. As Dylan said of "Tangled Up In Blue," it took me ten years to live and two to write. I hope you enjoy. www.thedriftmag.com/how-i-learne...
The word “ceasefire”—the cry of protests two years ago, including ones I was part of—was vacated of all meaning once people who supported the genocide started to claim that they wanted one. And now this
October 29, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The word “ceasefire”—the cry of protests two years ago, including ones I was part of—was vacated of all meaning once people who supported the genocide started to claim that they wanted one. And now this
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
‘Test of ceasefire’ comeon guardian wtaf
October 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
‘Test of ceasefire’ comeon guardian wtaf
The fact that this is how people are learning about the Assyrian Church of the East 💀 if you enjoyed this post you may be interested in my forthcoming article on Assyrians in Middle Eastern studies, stay tuned
Mar Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, also born in Chicago, gave Pope Leo a Cubs jersey.
October 28, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The fact that this is how people are learning about the Assyrian Church of the East 💀 if you enjoyed this post you may be interested in my forthcoming article on Assyrians in Middle Eastern studies, stay tuned
“In the end, generative AI might be a blip in tech history, over-promising and under-delivering until finally the cash runs out. But it seems it’s arrived just in time to shove universities over a cliff edge they’d already walked themselves up to.” defector.com/higher-eds-r...
Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI | Defector
If you don’t work at a university or have college-age kids, you may have missed the flurry of news stories and social media banter about AI adoption in higher ed, stories which have snowballed into th...
defector.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:05 AM
“In the end, generative AI might be a blip in tech history, over-promising and under-delivering until finally the cash runs out. But it seems it’s arrived just in time to shove universities over a cliff edge they’d already walked themselves up to.” defector.com/higher-eds-r...
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
“An artificial intelligence system apparently mistook a high school student’s bag of Doritos for a firearm and called local police to tell them the pupil was armed.”
US student handcuffed after AI system apparently mistook bag of chips for firearm
Baltimore county high schools have gun detection system that alerts police if it sees what it deems suspicious
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:58 PM
“An artificial intelligence system apparently mistook a high school student’s bag of Doritos for a firearm and called local police to tell them the pupil was armed.”
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
Translation: After we built an addictive tool based on stolen data, exploited labor and plundering the environment, which pushes kids to commit suicides, we were like, why not cash in on "erotica"? After all, this is what building so-called AGI that "benefits humanity" looks like.
October 20, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Translation: After we built an addictive tool based on stolen data, exploited labor and plundering the environment, which pushes kids to commit suicides, we were like, why not cash in on "erotica"? After all, this is what building so-called AGI that "benefits humanity" looks like.
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
For more information about the Friday night massacre at CDC, I wrote up an analysis of who got terminated and what that means for public health.
Grateful to @saveamericamvmt.bsky.social for supporting and amplifying. We are in really terrible trouble.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-death-...
Grateful to @saveamericamvmt.bsky.social for supporting and amplifying. We are in really terrible trouble.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-death-...
October 11, 2025 at 4:42 PM
For more information about the Friday night massacre at CDC, I wrote up an analysis of who got terminated and what that means for public health.
Grateful to @saveamericamvmt.bsky.social for supporting and amplifying. We are in really terrible trouble.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-death-...
Grateful to @saveamericamvmt.bsky.social for supporting and amplifying. We are in really terrible trouble.
rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-death-...
👇🏽
Pretty incredible own goal by liberal institutions and many Democratic electeds to crush the exact type of protests in 2024 that would’ve been the most effective way to slow or stop ICE incursions into American cities in 2025
October 6, 2025 at 3:52 AM
👇🏽
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
Chicago, Illinois, 2025:
"They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another van."
"They was bringing the kids down, had them zip-tied to each other."
"I kept asking, 'What is the morality?' One of them laughed. He said, 'Fuck them kids.'"
abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...
"They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another van."
"They was bringing the kids down, had them zip-tied to each other."
"I kept asking, 'What is the morality?' One of them laughed. He said, 'Fuck them kids.'"
abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...
ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground
ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.
abc7chicago.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Chicago, Illinois, 2025:
"They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another van."
"They was bringing the kids down, had them zip-tied to each other."
"I kept asking, 'What is the morality?' One of them laughed. He said, 'Fuck them kids.'"
abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...
"They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another van."
"They was bringing the kids down, had them zip-tied to each other."
"I kept asking, 'What is the morality?' One of them laughed. He said, 'Fuck them kids.'"
abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were
September 29, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
The Israeli government continues to violate international law — this time, killing 31 journalists in a strike on Yemen in the second deadliest attack on the press ever recorded.
The U.S. cannot keep funding and supplying weapons for this destruction. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
The U.S. cannot keep funding and supplying weapons for this destruction. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Israel killed 31 journalists in Yemen strike, press freedom group says
Last week’s attack was “the deadliest strike on journalists in the Middle East” ever documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 19, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The Israeli government continues to violate international law — this time, killing 31 journalists in a strike on Yemen in the second deadliest attack on the press ever recorded.
The U.S. cannot keep funding and supplying weapons for this destruction. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
The U.S. cannot keep funding and supplying weapons for this destruction. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Reposted by Arbella Bet-Shlimon
CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese paramilitary group reportedly killed 43 civilians while praying inside a mosque early Friday in the besieged city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, said a local medical group.
Sudanese paramilitary group reportedly kills 43 in mosque drone strike, says a local medical group
CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese paramilitary group reportedly killed 43 civilians while praying inside a mosque early Friday in the besieged city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, said a local medical group.
www.winnipegfreepress.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:26 AM
CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese paramilitary group reportedly killed 43 civilians while praying inside a mosque early Friday in the besieged city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, said a local medical group.
In light of this reporting, the story from a couple months ago about American contractors in Gaza celebrating whenever they shoot a starving aid seeker comes into focus
Remember the Gaza Humanitarian Fund? The shady American nonprofit run by a Christian Nationalist that was given full control of food aid distribution sites in Gaza?
Its parent organization GH solutions hired members of an American white supremacist biker gang to run security for the all the sites.
Its parent organization GH solutions hired members of an American white supremacist biker gang to run security for the all the sites.
Anti-Islamic US biker gang members run security at deadly Gaza aid sites
BBC identifies members of Infidels MC gang hired as armed security at US and Israel-backed aid sites.
www.bbc.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:58 AM
In light of this reporting, the story from a couple months ago about American contractors in Gaza celebrating whenever they shoot a starving aid seeker comes into focus
!["They're thinking: 'Oh I don't think [I'll get shot] because I'm wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon and all that, but they were wrong," said Raab, who majored in biology at the University of Illinois before joining the Israel Defense Forces.
"That's what you have snipers for."
After Salem was shot, his father, Montasser, 51, rushed to the site, and tried to collect his sons' bodies for burial, but was also fatally injured by a sniper.
The need for a dignified funeral for loved ones is a core human instinct, protected in law and explored in art for millennia. It is at the emotional heart of Homer's Iliad, one of the earliest surviving works of literature.
But on that day, Raab treated love and grief as cause to kill. "They just kept on coming to try and take these bodies," he said.
The video of Salem's killing, and footage of other attacks on unarmed Palestinians, was posted online five months after his death, part of a montage made by a soldier called Shalom Gilbert to celebrate a deployment in Gaza.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:37ep67vxuq2ujsef4zrsaur3/bafkreifkgzqanl4lrtayrlrj566mu6xyz6ftpmxjyzroxtfhjvsvhrv2qy@jpeg)
September 9, 2025 at 10:26 PM