#5 Gray Area

Three Palestinian civil society organizations that supported the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into war crimes committed in Gaza have recently been added to the US sanctions list. While Palestinian organizations are being punished for appealing to international law, foundations in the US that fund genocide and sustain the occupation continue to operate freely.

The “501(c)(3)” status plays a critical role here. Under US law, donations to organizations classified as “charitable institutions” benefit from tax exemption. Yet this system, ostensibly designed to strengthen civil society, has effectively become a mechanism that rewards foundations supplying equipment to the Israeli military and funding illegal settlements. Thus, those demanding justice are silenced while foundations supporting genocide receive both tax advantages and legitimacy under the guise of philanthropy.

For example, the civil society organization American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS) raised $137,525 in donations in 2023, using these funds to supply the Israeli military with thermal drones, helmets and steel vests. The organization Friends of Paratrooper Sniper Unit 202 collected over $300,000 to support a sniper unit known for firing on unarmed Palestinians in Gaza. The Worldwide Friends Foundation alone raised over $12 million in 2023, purchasing thermal camera-equipped drones under the label of “advanced technology solutions” and donating them to the Israeli military. These examples clearly demonstrate how donations under the banner of philanthropy in the US have entrenched the occupation and genocide.

Another area of activity for US-based foundations is recruiting foreign soldiers for the Israeli military. Through a special status called “lone soldier,” young people from around the world with no direct ties to Israel are brought to the front lines. Between 2002 and 2020, approximately 3,000 to 4,000 volunteers joined the Israeli military each year through this mechanism. After October 7, 2023, at least 7,000 volunteers came from the US alone. At least 20 “charitable organizations” in the US fund these recruitment campaigns, with total contributions to these programs reaching $8.8 million in 2023. As Israel faces shortages in its military conscription system, these foundations continue to sustain the genocide by providing both human resources and economic support from around the world.

Donations under the banner of “philanthropy” also directly fund illegal settlements. For instance, the US-based Israel Central Fund finances the displacement of Palestinian families and the resettlement of Israeli settlers in their vacated homes. Each dollar raised under the guise of charity thus serves to displace a family, systematically empty neighborhoods, and forcibly alter Palestine’s demographic structure. This mechanism, operating under the mask of philanthropy, has effectively become an instrument of settler colonialism.

The occupation in Palestine is also legitimized through the guise of “civilian volunteerism” via US-based foundations. The Christian Zionist organization HaYovel organizes volunteer programs in illegal settlements in areas such as agriculture, firefighting and patrols, integrating participants into the daily practices of occupation. These activities create the appearance of “aid” on occupied land while actually reinforcing the presence of settlers. Moreover, through its “Operation Ittai” campaign, the organization purchases night-vision goggles, protective vests, drones and helmets under the pretense of civilian aid, directly strengthening Israel’s military capacity. Thus, tourism, volunteerism and philanthropy have become tools of propaganda that normalize the occupation and provide logistical support to genocide.

Another way to legitimize the occupation is by directly infiltrating the heart of American politics. The American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) took more than 20 Democratic representatives on trips in 2023 to illegal settlements, aiming to persuade decision-makers on the ground. These trips went beyond diplomatic briefings, directly staging propaganda for the occupation before the eyes of US politicians. The scale of funded travel is striking: the $15,000 provided to Rhode Island Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz for her trip nearly matched her annual salary. 15,000 dollars

The “humanitarian aid” narrative is one of the masks covering genocide. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by Israel, has come under serious scrutiny regarding how and to whom its funds are distributed. Nevertheless, the US State Department has allocated $30 million to this controversial organization. At its helm is Johnnie Moore, a leading figure in the evangelical movement known for his support of Israel. This situation reveals that funds presented under the humanitarian label function not to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but as a mask legitimizing the occupation.

While each of these examples is striking individually, the overall picture is far more alarming. Between 2009 and 2013, US foundations transferred over $220 million to Israeli settlement organizations. This figure is evidence of a systematic and institutionalized financial flow. Moreover, since the war that began after October 7, these funds have increased significantly. In recent years, donation campaigns targeting Israel have multiplied rapidly, with millions of dollars mobilized for new weapons, technological equipment and settlement projects. All of this flow is incentivized by the tax exemption granted under the 501(c)(3) status. In other words, the American tax system effectively subsidizes this colonial financial network that directly funds the destruction of Palestinians.

Global corporations have also joined the financial flow sustaining the occupation. For example, Apple, one of the world’s largest technology companies, matches donations made by its employees to pro-Israel foundations (price-matching). That is, for every dollar donated by an Apple employee, Apple contributes the same amount to the same foundations. As a result, these donations are effectively doubled and redirected toward financing the occupation. This mechanism clearly demonstrates how the private sector indirectly strengthens occupation policies and how global capital actively supports the destruction in Palestine.

Last week, the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, the backbone of the US technology sector. The program, in effect since 1990, has drawn engineers, software developers and scientists from India and China to the US, fueling the growth of Silicon Valley. Born during a period when globalization accelerated after the Cold War, strengthening the cross-border flows of capital, labor and knowledge, the program also reinforced US global dominance. Yet today’s decision reveals how that era’s globalization trend is being increasingly curtailed by harsher policies.

The H-1B program was enacted in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush’s Immigration Act. Designed to address labor shortages in science, engineering and education amid the accelerating globalization following the end of the Cold War, the program played a critical role in the massive expansion of Silicon Valley and remained one of the most important tools supporting US global technological dominance for decades.

As debates intensify over whether globalization has ended, this same program now stands at the center of increasingly rigid state border policies. The Trump administration’s decision, when viewed alongside rising pressure on migrants, risks weakening US competitiveness by making access to the global talent pool prohibitively expensive. The contradiction between the program’s original mission of filling skilled labor gaps and its current restrictions clearly signals a shift in the direction of globalization.

The impact of this regulation extends beyond the US. In 2025, over 70 percent of approved H-1B visas were issued to Indian citizens. Rising visa fees threaten a decline in remittances from Indian migrants. According to World Bank data, India has long been the world’s largest recipient of remittances. Indians living abroad, primarily in the US, send income home to finance a broad consumption chain spanning education and healthcare. Thus, changes in US H-1B policy represent a direct macroeconomic vulnerability for India.

This rupture also reveals how fragile the mutual dependencies created by globalization truly are. A policy decision in one country can directly affect household livelihoods and national economies thousands of kilometers away. As invisible economic ties built by globalization are rapidly severed by tightening anti-globalization state policies, they generate widespread insecurity about the future. Ultimately, the once-stable promise of “free movement” is increasingly becoming contingent on state strategic calculations and political preferences.

The Trump administration also plans new restrictions on international students. According to regulations announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), foreign student and exchange program visas will be capped at a maximum of four years. Previously, these visas remained valid as long as students complied with educational and visa conditions. Under the new rule, the duration for foreign journalists will be reduced to a maximum of 240 days, and for Chinese citizens, to just 90 days.

These changes, combined with intense pressure on pro-Palestinian students, risk weakening the US’s global appeal in higher education. For decades, the US, home to the world’s best universities, was the top choice for thousands of international students. But visa restrictions are creating uncertainty in students’ educational plans, threatening university revenues from international students and undermining the country’s image as an “open knowledge society.” Ultimately, this step constructs new barriers against globalization in the global flow of knowledge and academia.

For Palestinian students, the situation is even more severe. Even with acceptance letters and full scholarships, obtaining a US visa is effectively impossible. The door closes before it even opens. This reality exposes how the right to education in the US is being effectively erased for Palestinians while genocide unfolds in Gaza and educational institutions are bombed. In short, genocide is targeting the very window through which Palestinian youth, despite all hardships, have managed to survive and connect with the world.

The resulting picture signals a deeper transformation in globalization. The 1990s promise of free movement and global integration is now being replaced by rigid border policies that prioritize state strategic interests. Restrictions extending from H-1B visas to student visas narrow the global flow of knowledge and labor, demonstrating that the “golden age of globalization” is closing.

Recent developments in Europe have once again demonstrated that cybersecurity is a fundamental pillar of security and social order. Cyberattacks on the US-based aerospace company Collins Aerospace caused widespread flight disruptions across Europe, while a similar attack targeted Russia’s national airline Aeroflot. In addition, the GPS signals of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane were jammed, further illustrating the reach of cyber interventions.

The cyberattack on MUSE software, which manages check-in, baggage and boarding operations for Collins Aerospace, caused massive disruptions at Europe’s busiest airports. At Brussels Airport, 88 percent of flights were delayed; at London Heathrow, 90 percent; and at Berlin, 94 percent. The systems’ switch to manual operations led to long queues and cancellations, revealing how targeting a single software company can paralyze continental mobility.

The cyberattack on Russia’s airline Aeroflot exposed another dimension of this picture. While European attacks raised suspicions of Russian origin, the targeting of Aeroflot by a Ukrainian hacker group reveals that cyberwarfare has become mutual and boundless. This underscores that the digital domain has become an invisible front in conflict, where every canceled flight carries a political message.

The GPS signal jamming targeting President Ursula von der Leyen’s aircraft while over Bulgarian airspace stands as one of the most striking examples of the scale cyber interventions can reach. This development reveals that even the security of the highest political figures is directly at risk. Consequently, cybersecurity is increasingly becoming central to national security doctrines, and the aviation sector is transforming into an invisible cyberwarfare arena.

The attempt to disrupt von der Leyen’s aircraft should not be seen as an isolated incident but as part of a broader security gap. In recent months, thousands of GPS jamming incidents have been recorded in the Baltic region, particularly in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The aircraft carrying former UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps was subjected to signal jamming near Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave, and Finland’s FinnAir canceled some flights to Estonia due to signal interference. These incidents demonstrate that these threats have become systematic.

The effects of these attacks are not limited to aviation. In Germany, 28 percent of companies attributed their cyberattacks to foreign intelligence services, with 46 percent traced to Russia and China. In Poland, critical infrastructure systems face 20 to 50 cyberattacks daily, sometimes leading to the shutdown of healthcare systems and the theft of medical data.

Data supports this trend. NATO countries recorded a 300 percent increase in Russian-linked cyberattacks in 2022 compared to 2020. In the EU, hacktivist attacks, many linked to Russia, doubled between the last quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. This surge confirms that cyberattacks have become a persistent and growing security threat.

The dam incident in Norway in August further exposed the potential destructive power of cyberattacks. Hackers believed to be linked to Russia seized control of a dam’s systems and kept its gates open for four hours. This event proves that energy and infrastructure systems have also become invisible cyberwarfare arenas. Thus, cybersecurity has become central to European security debates, with each new attack reaffirming how deeply the digital domain has transformed into a strategic front.

Groups alleged to be backed by Russia are held responsible for cyberattacks across Europe. One of the most active, NoName057(16), has carried out over 1,500 cyberattacks against NATO allies since 2022. The hacker group targeted more than 250 German institutions and companies, crippled Swedish authorities and banking systems, and disrupted logistics and shipbuilding sectors in Japan. Its attacks on institutions linked to the June 2025 NATO summit once again demonstrated that the digital domain has become a front capable of directly influencing international diplomacy.

All these incidents clearly show that cyberattacks can no longer be viewed as isolated events or technical glitches. Attacks spanning from Europe’s largest airports to energy infrastructure, and from government representatives to private corporations, demonstrate that cybersecurity has become a direct issue of social stability and national security.

The most striking aspect is the invisibility of these attacks. There are no explosions, no massive tanks advancing across borders. This confirms that alongside physical battlefields, a new cyber domain has opened in modern warfare. This raises new questions for the international community on how to respond to the lawless and boundary-less nature of cyberwarfare. The answers to these questions will determine the future direction of security doctrine.