RSS Feeds

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
Title		Description	Date
Can a focus on “Palestinian narrative” be dangerous to Palestinian rights?		Sarah Irving - EI - "There are two main strands to Anna Bernard’s book `Rhetorics of Belonging` (Liverpool University Press). Both have significance towards how Palestine is thought and written about in the West and how Western liberals categorize `good` and `bad` Arabs, selecting what they wish to hear and believe about Palestine" [ry]	31/3/2014
...
What Role for Law in the Palestinian Struggle for Liberation?		Noura Erakat - Jadallyia - what then do Palestinians have to gain from international law and human rights? Several esteemed scholars and writers have insisted that there is in fact nothing to gain and much to lose by insisting upon a legal framework that depends on the structure of international law.-rh	27/3/2014
Israel`s former Navy commander fled UK for fear of arrest		Middle East Monitor - Israel`s former Navy Commander General Eliezer Marom may have escaped from Britain last October for fear of arrest over charges of committing crimes against humanity during the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara freedom Flotilla in 2010, a letter issued by British police has revealed.-rh	27/3/2014
Israeli defense minister closes debate on US security plan		Ben Caspit - Al Monitor - ""...the Israeli defense minister exhibited arrogance, contempt, obtuseness; he gave derogatory nicknames to the security plan and presented it as an empty plan of “gadgets” and “sensors.”" - id	26/3/2014
...
The Small Bang		Adam Keller - Crazy Country - "...the police and government demolition teams (which) visit Arakib again and again. Next time, so they threatened, they will also demolish the village cemetery, which hitherto remained untouched." - id	26/3/2014
...
Israel’s minority parties targeted by new restrictions		RAY HANANIA - Saudi Gazette - "Although Israel strives to oppress non-Jews, the real obstacle undermining Arab political empowerment has been Israel’s Arab leadership, which advocates against participation so they can complain of having no voice. The Arabs demand “all or nothing” and almost always send up with nothing." - id	26/3/2014
...
Israel’s ‘war between wars’ backfires		Larry Derfner - +972 - A self-fulfilling prophecy is playing out in the north [ry]	25/3/2014
...
The visible rejectionism of Ari Shavit		Amos Schocken- Haaretz - Will he accept a Palestinian recognition of a Jewish nation-state that is built on the ruins of 400 Palestinian villages and hundreds of thousands of refugees, who have since become millions, and where 20 percent of the citizenry are Palestinians, who are just as nationalist as he is? Those who present themselves as supporters of the two-state solution, but who insist on demanding recognition of a nation-state, are acting to perpetuate the occupation and settlement. bz	24/3/2014
...
A just Israeli demand, yet non-essential, and therefore unnecessary, says Israeli 2000 negotiator		Gidi Grinstein - Reut Institute - As long as the Palestinian leadership declares that the establishment of the Palestinian state realizes the right of the entire Palestinian people to self-determination, and undertakes to represent its citizens and them alone, Israel can be less sensitive to whether the Palestinians simply recognize ‘the State of Israel,’ as they already did, adopt the language of ‘Jewish State’ and ‘Arab State’ as is enshrined in UNGAR 181, or accept the current Israeli demand for the more specific language of ‘Israel as the nation state of the Jewish People.’ [The writer was Secretary of the Israeli negotiation team under Prime Minister Barak in 2000-bz]	24/3/2014
...
Netanyahu Orders IDF to Prepare for Possible Strike on Iran During 2014		Barak Ravid - Information Clearing House - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have ordered the army to continue preparing for a possible military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities at a cost of at least 10 billion shekels ($2.89 billion) this year, despite the talks between Iran and the West, according to recent statements by senior military officers.-rh	20/3/2014
Israeli opposition fails to oppose controversial bills		Akiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - Not a day goes by without us hearing the prime minister calling on the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. But is it possible to recognize Israel as a democratic state, as a state that makes every effort to treat all of its citizens as equals, regardless of religion, race, nationality or gender?-rh	19/3/2014
Jewish State Declaration Is Unyielding Block to a Deal		MARK LANDLER - The New York Times - Mr. Abbas, speaking before a meeting in the Oval Office, made clear that he was no closer to uttering the words that are a litmus test for the Israelis: that he recognizes Israel as a Jewish state.“Since 1988, we have recognized international legitimacy resolutions” on Israel, Mr. Abbas said as Mr. Obama looked on, a hand on his chin. “And in 1993, we recognized the State of Israel.”-rh	19/3/2014
...
“We are not Pirates – we are the Israeli Defence Forces”		Adam Keller - Crazy Country - It would be poetic justice if Yair Lapid’s lucky streak would fade by the next elections and his party fails to pass the threshold he had himself raised...	19/3/2014
...
We should find better heroes than Meir Har-Zion		Yossi Sarid - Haaretz "What does Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas feel in the company of murderers released from prison, when he hugs and kisses them and praises them to the skies? After all, he himself was never actually involved in terror and certainly despises those who spill innocent blood.This week we got the answer, when the state’s top echelons gathered at Meir Har-Zion’s Shoshana Farm to take shelter in the shadow of the deceased and his legacy." ca	21/3/2014
...
WCC Expresses Concern over Knesset Law		Chris Carlson - IMEMC "Tveit called on "Israeli authorities to reverse this law to stop an injustice against the Christian citizens of Israel", encouraging WCC member churches to "raise this issue with representatives of Israel and with their own governments", and urging reversal of this law." ca	21/3/2014
...
Time to recognize Hamas government		Giora Eiland - Ynet - There is a Palestinian (and also Egyptian and Jordanian) interest that the West Bank and Gaza will be one political entity, but that is not an Israeli interest at all. In this state of events, and in order to achieve our interests, it`s important for Gaza to have a stable government with the responsibility of a state. [Eiland was Sharon`s strategic adviser... bz]	19/3/2014
...
Analysis: Saji was not a victim, and neither am I		Wa`d Abbas - Ma`an News - There is no shame in fighting back against the occupation. What is shameful is not fighting back and fabricating stories only to fit the victim role that will never help nor change the reality we`re living in. bz	18/3/2014
...
Peace Now: `How great it is to be right-wing!`		Ynetnews--Peace Now launches satirical video poking fun at right-wing, slamming West Bank policy and new legislation. So, is it so much fun being part of the right-wing? dn	16/3/2014
...
A Counter-Coalition		Uri Avnery--SOMETHING VERY important happened this week in the most unlikely of places: the Knesset. dn	16/3/2014
...
Israel’s nation-state talk means the return of the yellow star		Gideon Levy--Israelis are judging people by their ancestors and withdrawing into a ghetto-state whose nature will be determined by its purity. dn	16/3/2014
...
Cameron at the Knesset: helping to burst the bubble of Israeli politics?		Nicholas Blincoe--If Cameron learned anything from his visit, it ought to be that Israelis are fully engaged in arguing with other Israelis; the rest of the world does not get a look in. Israel`s political class exists inside a bubble in which only their views matter, no matter how detached from reality they might be. dn	16/3/2014
...
How many times must the Palestinians recognize Israel?		Hussein Ibish--Netanyahu’s new `Jewish state` mantra negates the fact that Palestinians recognized Israel more than twenty years ago. They’re still waiting for Israel to recognize Palestine. dn	15/3/2014
...
Why John Kerry’s peace mission should worry liberal Zionists		Peter Beinart - Haaretz - Kerry and the rest of the Obama foreign policy team know that if they present a framework that Benjamin Netanyahu dislikes, he and the right-leaning American Jewish establishment will make their lives miserable. If, on the other hand, they present a framework that tilts against the Palestinians, the resulting Palestinian outrage will be far easier to withstand. That’s partly because Palestinians wield little influence in Washington. And it’s partly because we liberal Zionists—desperate to see Kerry succeed—have given every indication that we’ll support whatever he serves up, the particulars be damned. The consequences of this political imbalance have been quietly playing themselves out for months now. Numerous press reports have suggested that Kerry is contemplating a framework that offers the Palestinians substantially less than what Bill Clinton offered them in December 2000 and what Ehud Olmert offered in 2008. bz	15/3/2014
...
How can you tell that Israeli refuseniks are scaring the system?		Moriel Rothman- +972 "This week, a group of 50+ Israeli high schools students and youth penned a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu declaring their refusal to enlist in the army as an act of protest against Israel’s 47-year old military occupation of the Palestinian Territories.And the system is scared." ca	14/3/2014
...
Abbas questions rival`s role in Arafat death		Al-Jazeera - Source: Reuters "Palestinian leader accuses former Fatah man Mohammed Dahlan of roles in murders and questions relationship with Arafat.Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has accused one of his main Fatah rivals, Mohammed Dahlan, of involvement in six murders, and questioned his role in the death of former leader Yasser Arafat." ca	14/3/2014
...
Why the Kerry Middle East Peace Framework Will Fail		Michael Lerner - The Huffington Post - And it will fail, because Kerry`s plan will be "realistic" rather than visionary, and de facto that means speaking more to the power of Israel and its domestic lobby (not only AIPAC, but the tens if millions of Christian Zionists) than to the aspirations of the Palestinian people.-rh	13/3/2014
Iranian weapons shipment no `tiebreaker`		Akiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - The rollout of Israel`s seizure of a ship carrying Iranian arms may have disappointed Israeli leaders looking for a public relations windfall.-rh	13/3/2014
Israel fears it has lost world attention on Iran		Ben Caspit - Al Monitor - "Netanyahu and Ya’alon know that they have lost the West’s attention. They know that US President Barack Obama is not lending an ear to this news and that the Europeans are rather indifferent, too." - id	12/3/2014
...
Until the last secular soldier		Adam Keller = Crazy Country = "So for quite a long time still the Ultra-Orthodox Modi’in settlers can continue, on Bil`in lands, to study the holy Scriptures under far from holy army protection." - id	12/3/2014
...
It`s not the boycott that`s anti-Semitic		Larry Derfner - +972 - It’s the occupation and Israeli bigotry. What we do to the Palestinians and Israeli Arabs – in the last two days, for example – has caused more damage to the Jewish people than anything since the Holocaust [ry]	11/3/2014
...
God Bless Putin		Uri Avnery - Gush Shalom - "Binyamin Netanyahu is very good at making speeches, especially to Jews, neocons and such, who jump up and applaud wildly at everything he says, including that tomorrow the sun will rise in the west. The question is: is he good at anything else?" [ry]	11/3/2014
...
When Arab Jews forget who they are		DAVID SHASHA--Given the dearth of Arab Jewish voices in the media, it is sad to note that Ms. Lagnado, like André Aciman, another angry Egyptian Jew who has become prominent in the larger discourse, has chosen to turn her back on her cultural heritage and act the part of a typical paranoid Ashkenazi Jew of the New York City variety rather than remain loyal to the rich cultural heritage of Middle Eastern Judaism. dn	9/3/2014
...
If I were an American Jew, I’d worry about Israel’s racist cancer		Daniel Blatman--Amid the awareness that Israel is sliding toward an apartheid regime, the silence of Jews worldwide is deafening.dn	9/3/2014
...
American Israel Public Affairs Committee and My Favorite Israeli Grandmothers		Philip Farah--Today, Israeli leaders don`t need an economic crisis in order to rattle their sabers because they have a chronic political crisis: What to do with the Palestinians under their control, a population whose numbers may have already exceeded those of Jews in Israel. The leaders` answer is, again, to point the finger elsewhere: Iran is the Boogie Man, with its (Muslim) bomb that threatens not only Israel, but all of the West`s Judeo-Christian civilization.dn	9/3/2014
...
Palestinian government may soon pass transparency law		Daoud Kuttab - Al-Monitor - Access-to-information laws are credited the world over with improving transparency and fighting corruption. Countries` rankings in the transparency index are improved once a country passes such a law. Transparency International makes the connection very clear, using a quote from its late co-founder, Jeremy Pope: "There is an obvious link between access-to-information and low levels of corruption," he said in 1998.-rh	5/3/2014
Netanyahu`s Anti-Iranian Rant		PAUL PILLAR - The National Interest - Benjamin Netanyahu`s tiresome vilification of Iran has taken on the characteristics of a rote obsession that diverges farther and farther from truth, reality, and his own ostensible objective.-rh	5/3/2014
Borders Are Becoming A Bit Odd In The Middle East		Robert Fisk - Information Clearing House - For last week, the Strategic Affairs Minister – is there any other nation on earth which has such a ministry, I ask myself? – of Israel, warned Lebanon that it must prevent Hezbollah (Iranian-armed, Syrian-supported, you know the usual and true clichés) from attacking Israel in reprisal for Israel’s attack on a weapons convoy – an attack which, as is often the case, Israel didn’t actually admit to having carried out.-rh	5/3/2014
Netanyahu`s world Jewry dilemma		Akiva Eldar - Al Monitor - "Statements by Israeli officials against the two-state solution confront members of world Jewry with their latest dilemma: supporting Israel even when it endangers their interests in their countries of residence." - id	5/3/2014
...
Good news: Obama gives the Palestinians an insurance policy		Larry Derfner - +972 - "Netanyahu and Israel come out looking like Goliath again, Abbas and the Palestinians like David, and the fight against the occupation gathers strength dramatically." - id	5/3/2014
...
Not an Apartheid State? Bennett will take care of it.		Adam Keller - Crazy Country - " And what about an Arab who dares to raise his voice in protest? The minister made it clear: zero tolerance." - id	5/3/2014
...
Netanyahu`s last tango in Washington		Shimon Shiffer - Ynet - The Central Bureau of Statistics released figures pointing to a massive increase of roughly 120 percent in settlement construction within the future Palestinian state`s territory. As long as this is the situation, one can understand why Abbas and his men refuse to join the dance – and one can equally understand why American President Barack Obama`s remarks Monday evening contained a strong whiff of despair. bz	4/3/2014
...
Red Rag weekly column: Barkat: Occupation Mayor - Bedouin death-march - Pete Seeger RIP		Gideon Spiro - Nir Barkat, Mayor of the Occupation - water apartheid - death-march in Sinai, 1972 - Adam Verete and the Israeli Stasi - Pete Seeger, RIP - A bouquet for Achinoam Nini	4/3/2014
Is AIPAC doomed?		Philip Giraldi - AlJazeera - The Israel lobby demonstrates its power but is it in decline? [ry]	3/3/2014
...
Stifling Discussion about Palestinian Human Rights		Ron Forthofer--For too long in this country, people supporting human rights and international law in relation to the Palestinian/Israeli issue have been reluctant to speak out. Many university faculty members didn’t want to get involved in an issue that they believed might cost them their jobs or tenure. dn	2/3/2014
...
We do not rule the world		Yoel Marcus--The good news from Merkel’s visit is that there is no deep crisis between her and Bibi. The bad news, in the eyes of Israeli leaders, is that she and Obama believe the time for decision is here. dn	2/3/2014
...
Two blushing pilgrims: A Palestinian love story		Hamid Dabashi--Can Palestinian filmmakers afford telling a love story, in the midst of their historic trauma of dispossession and national liberation, without appearing to belittle or compromise the historic fate of their people? dn	1/3/2014
...
You’re an Arab? Strip		Haaretz Editorial--The unnecessary, humiliating treatment that multitudes of Arab Israelis suffer routinely in Israel`s airports must be done away with for good.dn	1/3/2014
...
Countering Israel Boycotts, With Glamour		MARK LANDLER--In speeches by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials next week, Aipac plans to pound the drums about what it regards as the pernicious motives of the anti-Israel campaign, known formally as the boycott, divestment and sanctions, or B.D.S., movement.dn	1/3/2014
...
Defining the Jewish State		Ali Jarbawi--RAMALLAH, West Bank — Secretary of State John Kerry is preparing a “framework” for peace and Palestinians are worried. They know it will define the American position and set the new parameters for resolving the conflict. When published, this document — whether Palestinians accept its contents or not — will become the reference point for all future negotiations. dn	8/3/2014
...
Netanyahu asks the impossible of Abbas		Ben Lynfield--Israeli PM demands the Palestinian President recognises the state of Israel as legitimate to progress in peace talks. dn	8/3/2014
...
Recognizing Israel is enough		Haaretz Editorial--Israelis live in a Jewish state, which is the realization of the Zionist vision; they need no Palestinian recognition. dn	8/3/2014
...
Defining the Jewish State		Ali Jarbawi - New York Times - Is the acknowledgement of the Jewishness of the Israeli state an implicit acceptance of the Jewish-Israeli narrative, and a rejection of the Palestinian one? In the interests of justice and fairness, will Israel be asked to acknowledge the Palestinian Nakba, or “catastrophe,” of 1948 and its responsibilities regarding that event? bz	8/3/2014
...
Palestinians respond to Obama: Nothing left to make concessions on		Jack Khoury and Barak Ravid - Haaretz "The Palestinians responded Wednesday to U.S. President Barack Obama`s promise to pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "to make tough decisions" in their March 17 meeting, saying they have nothing left to make concessions on." ca	7/3/2014
...
Palestinian Pleasures		JAMES ESTRIN--Since the mid-1980s, the visual narrative of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza has been predictable: photographs of stone-throwing teenagers confronting Israeli soldiers, refugee camps, mothers mourning children killed in conflicts, and long lines at border crossing points. Particularly dramatic variations on these visual tropes make the front pages and win awards. Tanya Habjouqa, a Jordanian-born photographer, looks for subtler strategies to explore today’s Palestinian experience.dn	23/3/2014
...
The Shin Bet in our beds		Oudeh Basharat--The Arabs say to themselves: Let’s resign ourselves to the discrimination - it`s more merciful than the flood of incitement we will get if we fight it.dn	23/3/2014
...
The Western devil wears Prada		Gideon Levy--The annexation of Crimea may be problematic, but it is less problematic than the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel. dn	23/3/2014
...
The America that Netanyahu ignores		Ari Shavit - Haaretz "The PM hasn`t been paying attention: outside the AIPAC conference very few people were listening." ca	7/3/2014
...
Articles Archive
Current Articles
5/2025
4/2025
3/2025
2/2025
1/2025
12/2024
11/2024
10/2024
9/2024
8/2024
7/2024
6/2024
5/2024
4/2024
3/2024
2/2024
1/2024
12/2023
11/2023
10/2023
9/2023
8/2023
7/2023
6/2023
5/2023
4/2023
3/2023
2/2023
1/2023
12/2022
11/2022
10/2022
9/2022
8/2022
7/2022
6/2022
5/2022
4/2022
3/2022
2/2022
1/2022
12/2021
11/2021
10/2021
9/2021
8/2021
7/2021
6/2021
5/2021
4/2021
3/2021
2/2021
1/2021
12/2020
11/2020
10/2020
9/2020
8/2020
7/2020
6/2020
5/2020
4/2020
3/2020
2/2020
1/2020
12/2019
11/2019
10/2019
9/2019
8/2019
7/2019
6/2019
5/2019
4/2019
3/2019
2/2019
1/2019
12/2018
11/2018
10/2018
9/2018
8/2018
7/2018
6/2018
5/2018
4/2018
3/2018
2/2018
1/2018
12/2017
11/2017
10/2017
9/2017
8/2017
7/2017
6/2017
5/2017
4/2017
3/2017
2/2017
1/2017
12/2016
11/2016
10/2016
9/2016
8/2016
7/2016
6/2016
5/2016
4/2016
3/2016
2/2016
1/2016
12/2015
11/2015
10/2015
9/2015
8/2015
7/2015
6/2015
5/2015
4/2015
3/2015
2/2015
1/2015
12/2014
11/2014
10/2014
9/2014
8/2014
7/2014
6/2014
5/2014
4/2014
3/2014
2/2014
1/2014
12/2013
11/2013
10/2013
9/2013
8/2013
7/2013
6/2013
5/2013
4/2013
3/2013
2/2013
1/2013
12/2012
11/2012
10/2012
9/2012
8/2012
7/2012
6/2012
5/2012
4/2012
3/2012
2/2012
1/2012
12/2011
11/2011
10/2011
9/2011
8/2011
7/2011
6/2011
5/2011
4/2011
3/2011
2/2011
1/2011
12/2010
11/2010
10/2010
9/2010
8/2010
7/2010
6/2010
5/2010
4/2010
3/2010
2/2010
1/2010
12/2009
11/2009
10/2009
9/2009
8/2009
7/2009
6/2009
5/2009
4/2009
3/2009
2/2009
1/2009
12/2008
11/2008
10/2008
9/2008
8/2008
7/2008
6/2008
5/2008
4/2008
3/2008
2/2008
1/2008
12/2007
11/2007
10/2007
9/2007
8/2007
7/2007
6/2007
5/2007
4/2007
3/2007
2/2007
1/2007
12/2006
11/2006
10/2006
9/2006
8/2006
7/2006
6/2006
5/2006
4/2006
3/2006
2/2006
1/2006
12/2005
11/2005
10/2005
9/2005
8/2005
7/2005
6/2005
5/2005
4/2005
3/2005
2/2005
1/2005
12/2004
11/2004
10/2004
Home page  back