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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it    
Commentary

TitleDescriptionDate
Britons protest over Israel plan to remove 70,000 Palestinian BedouinsThe Guardian--More than 50 public figures including Antony Gormley and Brian Eno put names to letter opposing expulsion from historic land. dn30/11/2013
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Not for Obama, for usYossi Shain - Ynet - Weakened US status in Middle East obligates Israel to firmly move towards peace. An agreement with the Palestinians, if achievable, may not improve America`s status in the region, but is critical for us. bz30/11/2013
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P5+1 can make peace in Israel, tooZeev Sternhell - Haaretz "Netanyahu is convinced, and rightly so, that the Iranians will try to deceive and cheat. He knows this because that’s what he would do in their situation. After all, that is what his government is doing daily in the occupied territories, better than anything else it does.The whole settlement enterprise was carried out surreptitiously, using mafia methods and trampling on accepted laws and norms while robbing the local population... For Netanyahu, lies and deception are a foundation of international relations, an expression of political astuteness and of a capacity to get things done." ca29/11/2013
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Where does the Iranian nuclear deal leave Binyamin Netanyahu?Harriet Sherwood - The Guardian " The Palestinian issue is the big casualty of this deal," Bruce Riedel, of the Brookings Institution in Washington, told the New York Times. "Now that they have an Iran deal, over the strong objections of Israel, it`s going to be very hard to persuade Netanyahu to do something on the Palestinian front." ca29/11/2013
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What`s behind Israel`s biggest economic boom? The occupationDr. Assaf Oron - +972 " neither geopolitics per se nor the objective security situation were the economic ATM making Israel rapidly wealthier between the summer of 1967 and the fall 1973.What was this ATM then? It was the establishment of the Occupation regime, which paid immediate dividends in multiple ways. Here are some of them." ca 29/11/2013
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Netanyahu’s peace gesture is meant to extract concessionsJonathan Cook - The National - "As one Israeli commentator pointedly observed, Mr Netanyahu would have either to hurriedly change the law or to recognise Mr Abbas as the head of a Palestinian state. We can assume he is about to do neither." - id 27/11/2013
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Israel`s Iran DilemmaROGER COHEN - NYT "As changes go, this U.S.-Iranian breakthrough is big, almost as big as an Israeli-Palestinian peace would be."ca26/11/2013
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Four Emerging Myths About the Iran, P5+1 DealJohn Glaser - Antiwar.com "The deal was finalized in the wee hours of Sunday morning, but already there are a number of myths being propagated throughout the media. Here are a few to watch out for" ca26/11/2013
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This extreme left-wing stateGideon Levy--Cracks in Israeli democracy are widening; nationalist and racist laws are being legislated serially and without interference. dn24/11/2013
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Israeli-Ukrainian soldier admits she killed Palestinians on TVAbir Kopty(Contact writer)--Elena Zakusilo, an Ukrainian young women, decided at her young age to leave Ukraine and go to serve in the Israeli military. On November 4th, she participated in Ukrainian TV game show, “Lie detector” The Ukrainian version of “The moment of truth”. Contestants (connected to a truth detector) answer a series of personal and embarrassing questions to receive cash prizes. During the show she reveals horrible information on her military service. dn24/11/2013
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Israel looks to muzzle witness in US anti-terror caseNahum Barnea - Ynet News "The Israeli government has decided to prevent a key witness from testifying in an anti-terrorism case in the United States, drawing accusations that it is caving in to pressure from China.The lawsuit revolves around allegations that Bank of China knowingly allowed Palestinian terrorists to use its accounts to finance their operations, including a suicide attack in the city of Tel Aviv in 2006 that killed 11 people." ca22/11/2013
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The Nakba in the New YorkerMarilyn Kleinberg Neimark - MuzzleWatch "The publication of Avi Shavit’s “Lydda, 1948: A city, a massacre and the Middle East Today” in The New Yorker, October 21, 2013, is a welcome chink in the wall of silence around the Nakba, the forced dispossession and expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinians from their homes and land before, during, and after the creation of the Jewish state. That’s a very good thing, regardless of what one thinks of Shavit’s conclusions." ca22/11/2013
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A pro-Israel hawk to draft Kerry’s peace plan?Noam Sheizaf - +972 "That one must be a pro-Israeli Zionist in order to be eligible for the State Department’s Israel-Palestine team is indicative of the problem with U.S. policy in the region. You’ll never see an analyst from a PLO-affiliated advocacy organization or Palestinian think-tank become a senior member of the U.S. Mideast peace team."ca22/11/2013
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Why Israel has no "better friend" than ItalyStephanie Westbrook - EI - "When political leaders from Italy and Israel gather for a summit in Turin next month, they will celebrate a flourishing friendship — one in which Italy helps Israel obscure its bloodstained reality." - id 20/11/2013
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Fixing Gaza`s electricity crisisOMAR SHABAN - Al Monitor - "The electricity crisis in Gaza has proven to be as devastating as the Israeli occupation, as never-ending as negotiations and as neglected by Palestinian officials as the Palestinian reconciliation." - id 13/11/2013
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Israel, Egypt, Gulf fear US betrayalBEN CASPIT - Al-Monitor - "The Saudis are already taking initial steps toward a large nuclear deal with Pakistan. The princes of the Gulf, the insurgents in Syria (the few that are not affiliated with al-Qaeda) and even the Turks — each one of them awaits their turn for the American betrayal. And the problem with the Americans is that they indeed do deliver." - id 20/11/2013
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The empty chairEfraim Halevy = Ynet - "If Israel is always left outside the room, it will remain with just one alternative to achieve its goals. Is that what it has been striving for to begin with? Must the sword devour forever?" - id 20/11/2013
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Film review: Arab citizen of Israel, member of the enemyShoshana Madmoni-Gerber--What is a Muslim woman’s place in a country where Jewish suffering is the dominant cultural theme? A new Israeli film tells the story of Hadeel, a 27-year-old Arab woman who teaches at a Jewish school in central Israel, and explores the difficulty of never fully belonging. dn17/11/2013
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One year after Pillar of Defense in Gaza, Hamas-Fatah rivalry is mounting again Amira Hass--Hints of reconciliation between the Palestinian factions seem to have faded as frustration among Gazans grows. dn17/11/2013
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Stop the discriminatory East Jerusalem park planHaaretz Editorial--The state insists on establishing a grandiose park of dubious archaeological importance without considering welfare and quality of life of locals who are Arabs. dn17/11/2013
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Israeli army`s drone commander: Surgical strikes were key in Operation Pillar of DefenseGili Cohen--One year following the IDF operation in Gaza, the army commander discusses the IDF`s use of unmanned aerial vehicles and the implications for the drone operators on the ground. dn17/11/2013
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Lobby Crowd Working Round The Clock This Weekend To Block Iran BreakthroughM J Rosenberg - When it comes to real matters of national security -- like avoiding an unnecessary war -- a president and Congress needs to do the right thing without regard what any lobby is saying. The supreme national interest -- American lives -- must come first. And the lobby and Netanyahu need to be told that they are, to put it gently, out of line. bz16/11/2013
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Migration can be a good thing - just look at the Arabs in EuropeYigal Ben-Nun--Israel needs to readjust its mind-set about migration, otherwise it`s going to end up looking like the global village idiot.dn16/11/2013
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J Street responds: Don`t undermine chance for `good deal` on IranDylan Williams--Alan Dershowitz is wrong: The only way to ensure Iran doesn`t go nuclear is the verifiable, negotiated settlement that the U.S. administration is seeking. dn16/11/2013
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A bold proposal to end the Palestinian-Palestinian impasseTalal Alyan- +972 "It is hard to make sense of the discourse on Palestine today. There is a new, or perhaps not so new, culture that has been cultivated among many pro-Palestinian segments in the West. It is a culture that eagerly awaits any opportunity to defame other Palestinians, one that almost yearns for perceived betrayals and the act of purging." ca15/11/2013
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Lying by omission: The JNF`s role in setting Negev land policySeth Morrison - +972 "If JNF truly cares about Israel as a functioning democracy, if not for Palestinians under Israeli control then at least for its own citizens, it will take responsibility for its actions and devote time at the National Conference in Denver to demand that Israel cancel the Prawer-Begin Plan, recognize the unrecognized villages and engage in meaningful negotiations with the Bedouin community." ca15/11/2013
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Tel Aviv Wants Veteran Jerusalem, Historic Palestine, Detainees ExiledIMEMC - "A number of Arab members of the Israeli Knesset visited veteran Palestinian detainees who told them that “not being released this December would be an act of betrayal against them”, and “a sort of capital punishment imposed on them by Palestinian negotiators.” They urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) not to succumb to Israeli pressure, and said that they will not accept to be forced into exile in return for their release. They are demanding to be sent home once they are freed." ca 15/11/2013
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When Falsehoods TriumphRAMZY BAROUD - Counterpunch - The current generation of Palestinians is yet to have a fully comprehensive, well-funded, long-term national Palestinian project that spans limited group interests and geography; one that is manned by qualified, well-trained Palestinian historians, spokespersons and scholars, so that a broad and unswerving Palestinian narrative can be presented throughout the world.-rh 14/11/2013
Palestinians want to know who killed ArafatDaoud Kuttab - Al-Monitor - What Palestinians and the world want to know is not whether Arafat was killed, but who caused his sudden and mysterious death and how. Experts in the Swiss lab, whose detailed 108-page report was outlined on Al Jazeera, state that death by polonium requires the killer element be taken into the body. In other words, someone had to have placed it in Arafat’s food or injected it into his body. This means that the circle of individuals who are potential targets of any investigation can only be those officials who were with or met with Arafat in his last days in Ramallah.-rh 14/11/2013
The cost of Netanyahu`s campaign against an Iran dealAkiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - Either way, as I noted in one of my previous articles, the opening of negotiations with Iran closed the door on an Israeli nuclear strike against Iran. If negotiations end in an agreement that will put the minds of the P5+1 at rest, but not that of Netanyahu, it’s doubtful whether even the right-wing government which he heads would authorize a military strike against Iran without international support.-rh14/11/2013
No Iran deal, but a chance for a better strategyEditorial Board - The Washington Post - Any successful negotiation with Iran will require distasteful concessions to a regime whose domestic repression and external aggression are repugnant and a menace to U.S. allies. But a deal that decisively curbs its nuclear capacity is preferable to military action. The Obama administration is right to move forward — but it should work harder to align any deal with its goals and to bring Congress and allies on board.-rh 14/11/2013
A different Israeli take on IranDalia Dassa Kaye - Los Angeles Times - Netanyahu`s stridency has also faced criticism at home because of concerns that his positions might isolate Israel and undermine its legitimate concerns about Iran`s nuclear program. Dan Gillerman, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, warned that it was very dangerous for Netanyahu to be viewed as "the only naysayer and warmonger."-rh 14/11/2013
Iran Deal Would Greatly Reduce Israel’s Military Option, Ex-advisers SayMitch Ginsburg - Information Clearing House - “Practically speaking, [a deal] shuts the [Israeli military] option down,” said Maj. Gen. (res) Giora Eiland, who served as head of the National Security Council under prime minister Ariel Sharon. He added, “It doesn’t matter what we think about the deal. Israel won’t be able to do a thing.”-rh 14/11/2013
What Comes Next: A one-state reality and a two-state discourseNoam Sheizaf - Mondoweiss - The two-state solution won’t be dead as long as both societies are on the ground. The Palestinians and the Israelis are dominated by the political forces supporting them, even if the support is done more and more for rhetorical reasons, and not as part of a real political agenda. Given the option between one state and two states, most Israelis will take the latter; all major Palestinian political parties are yet to give up the desire for their own nation-state.-rh14/11/2013
Why Netanyahu Has Put Settlement Expansion On HoldAlan Hart - Information Clearing House - I think it’s more than reasonable to believe that Netanyahu was concerned, possibly even alarmed, by the explicit nature of U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s condemnation on 6 November of Israel’s on-going colonization of the occupied West Bank.-rh 14/11/2013
The cost of Netanyahu`s campaign against an Iran dealAkiva Eldar - Al Monitor - "If negotiations end in an agreement that will put the minds of the P5+1 at rest, but not that of Netanyahu, it’s doubtful whether even the right-wing government which he heads would authorize a military strike against Iran without international support." - id 13/11/2013
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Business: Arabs just don’t understand marketing and PRRay Hanania - Columns - "How do I know that? It’s obvious. I can analyze the advertising purchased by pro-Israel groups on Google and also press releases distributed by pro-Israel groups." - id 13/11/2013
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Small sparksAdam Keller - Crazy Country - "When Amidror started on his job he was considered to be on the deep right. After a while, however, foreign diplomats came to consider him “one of the more pragmatic and responsible Israeli officials”, while the settlers and their supporters in the government started calling him “The leftist of Netanyahu`s bureau”." - id13/11/2013
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Israelis and Palestinians need a Nakba debateDahlia Scheindlin - +972 - "The proposal is not just about policy, but it’s an ambitious attempt to address deep-seated symbolic elements that drive this conflict, by providing mutual affirmation of each side’s identity: Israel as a Jewish state, and the Palestinians as historic inhabitants of modern-day Israel, before their exile." - id13/11/2013
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U.S., Israel break not only on Iran, but on Palestine, tooLarry Derfner - +972 - In the last week, things have changed between the U.S. and Israel. They are at open diplomatic war on two fronts, Iran and Palestine. ... It’s legacy time, Kerry’s name is on these Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, there’s no love lost between him (or anybody else in the administration) and Netanyahu, and he just may have the guts to continue refusing to lie for Israel’s occupation – which is all that’s needed to shake its foundations. bz12/11/2013
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Transforming Our Vision of Palestine Into RealitySam Bahour - Al Shabaka - Many Palestinian youth are looking reality in the eye and saying: Maybe we are too weak to create a state; what we really need are our rights. They may very soon look Israel straight in the eye and say: You win. You get it all: the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, the settlements, the water, the electromagnetic spectrum, the airspace. And you get us, and what we want is equality or nothing, like the late Edward Said so eloquently put it. bz12/11/2013
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Why is no one addressing the real reason for the weak Palestinian economy?Amira Hass - Haaretz - When a journalist was invited to a meeting, asked a question, and the distinguished speakers invoked their right to remain silent11/11/2013
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Expert on antisemitism attacked for being anti-zionist Jews for Justice for Palestinians Posts--In an email to the Post, Klug wrote, “The dossier compiled by [the Berlin International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism] is a classic example of a kangaroo court. It distorts my work, misrepresents my views and maligns my character. Reading it, I felt a little like Socrates at his trial: he opened his defense by saying that listening to his accusers he almost forgot who he was.” dn 10/11/2013
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They aren’t anti-Semites, just plain old bigotsBy Rabbi Eliyahu Fink--The ADL - and Jews in general - should be careful about what they call ‘anti-Semitism.’ dn10/11/2013
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Israel can`t muzzle the world`s media - not even CNNBarbara Opall-Rome--Israel`s security establishment and its servile defense reporters need a few lessons in quality journalism and the rights of a free media beyond its borders. dn10/11/2013
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If Iran and world powers want a deal, what`s causing the delay?Zvi Bar`el--It seemed for a moment as if the foreign ministers of the P5+1 group and Iran were about to sign an agreement. Iranian newspapers also believed that the talks were on the verge of a breakthrough. In optimistic articles, they detailed the parties’ positions without the pessimism that had accompanied the previous generation of negotiations.dn10/11/2013
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Prisoner-settlement exchange means no free lunchAkiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - According to sources close to the negotiations, if by the end of the year Martin Indyk still can`t report to Kerry significant advancement in the direct talks, the United States will pull out the draft of the final status arrangement that has been carefully prepared at the White House and the state department, with the help of experts from Washington think tanks.-rh 6/11/2013
Israel traps Palestinians in negotiations with prisoner cardDaoud Kuttab - Al-Monitor - One of the problems of political negotiations without a clear reference point is that the parties, especially the stronger party, can change the rules of the game at will. And the absence of a neutral referee on the field allows such a strong party to get away with regularly moving the goal posts.-rh 6/11/2013
The Return of the Israeli LeftShlomi Eldar - Al-Monitor - "The struggle against freedom of expression lies at the heart of Im Tirtzu’s activities. This struggle against academic freedom, artistic freedom and human rights groups is an attempt to limit freedom, if not to eliminate it entirely. Laws passed in the spirit of Im Tirtzu, which harm freedom of expression, have already been legislated, and include the Nakba Law and Boycott Law, which were passed by the previous Knesset.”" - id 6/11/2013
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Confidence-destroying measuresAdam Keller - Crazy Country - "An interview with a Palestinian in the Israeli media: Even though the Palestinian speaks impeccable Hebrew, interviewer and interviewee seem to speak two different languages." - id 6/11/2013
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Imploding the Myth of IsraelChris Hedges - Portside - "He knew that prolonged occupation of the Palestinians would spawn “concentration camps” for the occupied and that, in his words, “Israel would not deserve to exist, and it will not be worthwhile to preserve it.”" - id 6/11/2013
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Analysis: What future for the Oslo Model?By Al-Shabaka - Ma`an News Agency "Even though the Oslo model is a failure as far as Palestinian national aspirations and universal rights are concerned, it serves Israel’s interests. Israel’s influence in the US, when combined with the instrumentalist view that the problem with aid lies not in the model but in its application, means that Oslo may be around for many years. Our conclusion is reinforced by interviews with informed observers of donor policies in the OPT." ca8/11/2013
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How to stir up hatred between Jews and Bedouin in IsraelRabbi Arik Ascherman - Haaretz - Altogether the Bedouin land claims amount to around 5.4 percent of the Negev. (...) If the Begin/Prawer bill is passed, El-Araqib will be outside the "Pale of Settlement" outlined on the map attached to the bill delineating where it is permissible for a Bedouin community to exist. (...) Up to 40,000 Israeli citizens will be transferred from their homes to townships that are magnets for crime and poverty because those living in them have been torn from their sources of income. bz 5/11/2013
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90 Years from NowUri Avnery - Gush Shalom - "This, then, is my optimistic vision: Israel, the nation-state of the Israeli people, closely aligned with the nation-state of the Palestinian people, will be a member of a regional Union that will include the Arab states and hopefully Turkey and Iran, as a proud member of the United States of the World. A democratic, liberal and secular state" 4/11/2013
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Red Rag column: Germany against Germans - Letter to Ismail HaniyehGideon Spiro - In his book Germans against Germans Professor Moshe Zimmermann casts light on an aspect of the Holocaust that has not been studied enough – the fate of the Jews of Germany.3/11/2013
Peace is war: After the Oslo Accords Joseph Massad--Almost a century after the Balfour Declaration, the Palestinians` rights are being negotiated away by the PA. dn3/11/2013
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Uri Avnery: A vision of peace made in IsraelBen Lynfield--As he turns 90, the war veteran, former MP and celebrated peace activist tells Ben Lynfield he still advocates a Palestinian state, and that one is possible in his lifetime dn3/11/2013
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Bombs awry || Is Israel`s alleged bombing of Syria really necessary?Gideon Levy--The six aerial attacks on Syrian soil this year have been hailed for their effectiveness, but no one in Israel is asking the important question. dn3/11/2013
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Defense always wins the budget battleHaaretz Editorial--Total rollback of planned cuts to defense budget is a stinging loss for Yair Lapid, the treasury and Israel`s citizens. dn3/11/2013
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Bakri, BakriGideon Levy translated by Sol Salbe--forwarded by Ofer] Bakri, Bakri 27 October 2013 at 01:57 My first reaction to seeing this article in the Hebrew was wow. I wrote: This is the kind of strong article with a message that even Gideon Levy only produces a couple of times a year. Fully expecting Haaretz to translate this item. Well they didn`t so here it is. I reiterate IMHO this is exceptional article. dn2/11/2013
If the State does not obey the law, why should we?’Yishai Menuhin--translated by Mark Marshall--Our expectations of the various branches of government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary – are quite simple. We, the citizenry, must obey the law and the courts, because “the law is a supreme interest in every society, and a condition of its existence”, as former Attorney-General and retired Supreme Court judge Yitzhak Zamir put it. They, however, do not consider themselves bound to obey the law or the courts. The response of the government in general and the enforcement branch in particular to the court orders to dismantle the Amona outpost embody perfectly this unacceptably flexible attitude to obeying the law and the courts. dn2/11/2013
Red Rag Weekly ColumnGideon Spiro - Black November: the anniversaries of Krystallnacht and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin - the assassination of Arafat - corrupt judges in Israel - impending intifada in the Negev24/11/2013
Brandeis President’s HypocrisyRichard Silverstein--In the past week, Brandeis University severed its academic affiliation with Palestine’s Al Quds University due to a campus rally by the Islamist militant group, Islamic Jihad. The controversy began with Israel’s far-right prime minister railing about a “Nazi-like” rally with its alleged anti-Semitic character on the Al Quds campus on November 5th. Within days the story was reported in all the right-wing dailies and had spread to English-language hasbara sites like Israel Matzav. From there the cause was taken up by Breitbart. dn23/11/2013
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The Neighborhood Bully - Israel, Iran and the BombAndrew Levine - CounterPunch - "It is a scary thought but it is possible that there are people in the American and other delegations who actually believe what Netanyahu says. What is certain is that they are all wary of the political consequences of not bending to his will .That fear is no doubt justified – not so much because Israel’s lobbyists really are omnipotent, but because the idea that they are has become a self-fulfilling prophecy"18/11/2013
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