Mondoweiss Policies

Comments Policy

One of the goals of this site is to promote critical discussion and debate on US foreign policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We want Mondoweiss to be a place that everyone feels comfortable visiting, to read and comment, regardless of political perspective. People might not always like what we post, but everyone should feel invited and encouraged to join the discussion, share their opinions, and engage in debate.

For this reason here are the ground rules:

  1. No racist or sexist comments. This includes anti-Arab, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic comments (and yes, Christian-bashing too). This includes comments that disparage, intimidate or attack a person based on perceived ethnicity or gender.
  2. No Nakba or Holocaust denial. We’re not going to tolerate any discussion of the Jewish role in the rise of the Nazis which is used as a pretext for blaming Jews for the Nazi rise, a form of Holocaust denial we want no part of. Similarly, this policy includes Nakba denial as well, and efforts to blame the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 on Palestinian actions.
  3. No profanity. Along with racism and sexism the prevalence of profanity in the comments on the blog has forced people away. This has to end.
  4. No personal attacks. We encourage spirited, passionate debate, but if you have to resort to vicious personal attack, you’re not advancing the discussion. Stay on the issues.
  5. No calls for violence or glorification or celebration of violence. Against anyone. Ever.
  6. No imposture. You can use any pseudonym you like, but if you represent yourself as someone you’re not, you’re outta here.
  7. No trolling. Wikipedia defines trolling as “someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response.” That definition is good enough for us. We hope our comment section can feature an engaged and free flowing debate, but we are not interested in commenters whose only aim is to disrupt or sabotage the discussion.
  8. This is not a site to discuss 9/11 theories. This discussion turns into a huge distraction, is not central to the life of the site, and is a drag on the moderators.

If we judge that you have broken one of these rules you will be banned. We will ban the IP address you are posting from and if you try to post from another IP address we will ban that as well.

We like to think that this site has become a dynamic and necessary forum. Your help will ensure that it continues to grow and develop.

Privacy Policy

Updated May 25, 2018

This notice falls under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Who We Are

Mondoweiss is an independent website devoted to informing readers about developments in Israel/Palestine and related US foreign policy. We provide news and analysis unavailable through the mainstream media regarding the struggle for Palestinian human rights.

The website is fiscally sponsored by The Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC), a nonprofit organization that is tax-exempt in the United States under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax-deductible in the United States as allowed by relevant law, and other jurisdictions may also have applicable law governing such donations.

Our postal address:
P.O. Box 442380
Detroit, MI 48244

Our properties

This privacy policy covers the following Mondoweiss properties:

How To Contact Us

Email [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy.

Personal Data We Collect May Include

  • Email address;
  • Names;
  • IP;
  • Website URL;
  • Social Media handle;
  • Newsletter: opens, clicks, opt-ins;
  • Comments submitted by users;
  • Support inquiries submitted by email;
  • Information collected when you make a donation or purchase may include: Names, email address, mailing and billing addresses, phone number, credit card or bank information.

Cookies

Cookies are “small pieces of data sent from a website and stored on the user’s computer by the user’s web browser while the user is browsing.”[Wiki] Our websites, and the third-party services listed below, may use cookies to help identify and track visitors, their usage of our websites, and their preferences. If they do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers, users should set their browsers to refuse cookies before visiting Mondoweiss websites.

Consent to Collect

We collect data from users that have created accounts with us on our websites. We ask for consent during the account creation process with a checkbox. A link to this page is provided during the account creation process. The legal basis for us to collect the data is to be able to provide you with a service.

Your Data, Your Rights

  • You can request a copy of your data which we will provide within 30 days;
  • You can request your data to be anonymized which we will do within 30 days;
  • While we will do everything we can to keep our service secure, in the event of a data breach or misuse, we will inform our users of what happened and what we have done to put it right within 30 days.

Services and Third Parties

Mondoweiss never shares or resells any of our data. However, we do use third-party services to store and manage data for the following purposes:

  • Email marketing;
  • Social media marketing;
  • Communications among Mondoweiss staff;
  • Fundraising;
  • Website analytics;
  • Merchandise sales

Length of Data Collection

Mondoweiss will keep identifiable data for an undetermined amount of time or until the user asks us to anonymize and / or delete their data.

Who Has Access to Our Data?

  • Data at Mondoweiss is not shared or sold with any third party.
  • Staff and contractors of Mondoweiss and our fiscal sponsor CERSC have access to users’ data for the purpose of providing services.

Privacy Policy Changes

Mondoweiss may update or change this privacy policy at its discretion. Users are encouraged to check this page for updates. Your continued use of Mondoweiss websites after any change in this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such change.

Gift Acceptance Policy

Mondoweiss solicits and accepts gifts that are consistent with its mission to inform readers about developments in Israel/Palestine and related U.S. foreign policy.

Donations will generally be accepted from individuals, partnerships, foundations, or other entities, without limitations. Gifts generally accepted without review include cash in any form, including by check, money order, credit card, or online; marketable securities, bequests; life insurance policies; commercial annuities; and retirement plans.

Certain types of gifts may be reviewed prior to acceptance. Examples of gifts that may be subject to review include gifts of real property, gifts of personal property, and gifts of securities.

Mondoweiss may accept gifts of cryptocurrency after due diligence is performed to determine the asset’s value and whether it is able to be transferred and/or liquidated. Factors that contribute to the gift value and Mondoweiss’s decision to liquidate or hold the asset include: the actual price at the time of the contribution; the closing price for the day of the contribution; and average of the high and low price.

Mondoweiss may not accept gifts that are too difficult or too expensive to administer in relation to their value; would result in any unacceptable consequences for Mondoweiss or our fiscal sponsor, the Center for Economic Research and Social Change; or are for purposes outside Mondoweiss’ mission.

All decisions about whether to accept gifts will be made by the executive leadership of Mondoweiss in consultation with the board of our fiscal sponsor, the Center for Economic Research and Social Change. The primary consideration will be the impact of the gift on the organization.