Welcome to +972’s Sunday Recap!

As the FIFA World Cup enters its final stages, it is clear that even three years of genocide has not extinguished Gazans’ passion for the game. Ibtisam Mahdi described how Palestinians are defying Israeli bombings and power outages to follow soccer’s biggest tournament, while many still fear that the world has abandoned them.

After silencing Palestinian citizens with its dramatic crackdown on political expression over the past three years, Israel is now turning to their leaders. Local Call’s Baker Zoubi reported on recent cases involving prominent Arab officials, which reveal the state’s new strategy: digging up old statements and seeking severe punishment in Israeli courts.

Dikla Taylor-Sheinman reviewed “The Splinter,” an exhibition at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem that aimed to confront the Israeli violence unfolding beyond the campus windows. The show at Israel’s preeminent art school was born out of calls to boycott the institution — and the result was a fraught collaboration between student unions. 

And Paola Caridi wrote about a crisis brewing inside the Catholic Church over Gaza: While Pope Leo XIV has embraced his predecessor’s ethic of empathy, across the Church, many are demanding he speak out more clearly against Israel’s crimes.

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