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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
We are not living in a `post-truth` world, we are living the lies of othersRobert Fisk--How can we complain about the lies of Trump and the Brexiteers when we journalists are chopping up the facts of the Middle East? Still, I notice in our newspapers and on television, Israel’s wall is a “security fence”, its colonies are “settlements” which are “disputed” rather than illegal. Can we really shake our heads in disbelief at electoral lies when we have been lying to our readers and viewers for years? dn 31/12/2016
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A speech on Palestine-Israel awaiting President ObamaSam Bahour--“No one thinking seriously about peace can ignore the reality of what the settlements pose to that peace.” We tried to shift all the attention to the settlements, but it’s not working. The international community is seeing right through us. Israel is a colonial project, par excellence, and no screaming about illegal settlements is going to change that. Israel, I’ve always assumed we’ve supported you for this long because our own history is just like yours, but your native Palestinian population refuses to buckle in the face of your brute force. Native Americans being regulated to impoverished reservations worked for us once upon a time, but your modern day equivalent in the form of Palestinian Bantustans, infamously called Areas A in the Oslo Accords, is clearly failing. dn31/12/2016
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Anti-Semitic Zionists Uri Avnery--But Netanyahu`s behavior may not be as stupid as it looks. Actually, it may be quite clever. Depends on his aim. As a diplomatic strategy, it is disastrous. But as a strategy to win elections, it is quite sensible. Here is the great hero, the new King David, fighting for his people, facing down the entire world. Is there anyone in Israel who can compare with him? 31/12/2016
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Theresa May`s criticism of John Kerry Israel speech sparks blunt US replyHeather Stewart - The Guardian "Theresa May has distanced the UK from Washington over John Kerry’s condemnation of Israel, in comments that appear to be designed to build bridges with the incoming Trump administration." ca30/12/2016
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Rewriting the history of Hanukkah and intifadasYossi Bartal - +972 "Thanks to new archaeological findings and comparative historical research by important scholars of antiquity, such as Steven Weitzman and Sylvie Honigman, the history of the festival can now be considered rather differently..." ca30/12/2016
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Why Netanyahu Will Miss ObamaPHILIP GORDON - New York Times "But any celebrations in Mr. Netanyahu’s office may prove premature. By giving the Israeli prime minister all he claims to want and more, Mr. Trump could make his life vastly more difficult." ca30/12/2016
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Welcome to Greater Israel!Philip Giraldi - Information Clearing House "The problem with Israel and its friends is that they are never satisfied and never leave the rest of us Americans alone, pushing constantly at what is essentially an open door. They have treated the United States like a doormat, spying on us more than any ostensibly friendly nation while pocketing our $38 billion donation to their expanding state without so much as a thank you. They are shameless. Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer has been all over American television sputtering his rage over the United Nations settlements vote. " ca29/12/2016
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Israeli hysteria over UN vote is solidifying country’s new status, as a rogue state Philip Weiss - Mondoweiss "Israel’s supporters long claimed that Israel only makes progress if you embrace it and tell Israel you love it. (Dennis Ross says this all the time.) Obama heeded that advice for years and got nothing. Now he has made one gesture against Israel, and the progress in a few days is amazing." ca29/12/2016
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Will Liberman`s Palestinian sanctions cost Israeli lives?Shlomi Eldar - Al Monitor "On Dec. 24, Liberman instructed Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who heads the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), to sever ties with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and avoid working sessions with its senior officials on civilian-diplomatic matters...According to the Palestinian source, Israeli civil administration officials have expressed their displeasure with the order handed down by their boss. He added that Abbas will not rush to annul security coordination, but could choose other, less radical steps, which he declined to identify." ca 29/12/2016
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Trump Could Be Israel’s Worst NightmareGregg Carlstrom - NYT "But the embrace of Trump and the belligerence toward the rest of the world that Netanyahu is using to woo right-wing voters carries a profound risk. Israel is betting all its chips on an unpopular, untested president with no knowledge of the region and a history of breaking his campaign promises. If he does renege, Israel will find itself even more isolated." ca29/12/2016
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Palestine 2017: Time to Bid Farewell to Washington and Embrace the GlobeRamzy Baroud - Counterpunch - "...begging and pleading for American compassion will not suffice. If a united Palestinian leadership does not seize the opportunity and regain the initiative in 2017, all Palestinians will suffer. It is time to move away from Washington and to embrace the rest of the world." - id 28/12/2016
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Netanyahu sacrifices Israel on his crusade against ObamaBen Caspit - Al-Monitor - "Conventional wisdom is that Netanyahu knows exactly what he is doing. It is a perfect imitation of what Trump did over the last year. He is lashing out at all norms, spitting at political correctness, breaking all the rules of the game and denigrating anyone who isn’t him." - id 28/12/2016
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Mossad’s Yossi Cohen Gets Away with Murder…AgainRichard Silverstein - Tikun Olam - "He represents murder for murder’s sake.  He represents rule by blood, the Israeli version of Richard III. A man liable to kill anyone for any reason as long as it’s possible to do it, get away with it, and it will advance his interest." - id 28/12/2016
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America’s empty “happy talk” on Palestine coming to an endRay Hanania - The Arab Daily News - "President-elect Donald Trump is doing exactly what Palestinians and the Arab World need. He is throwing out all the useless, do-nothing “happy talk” about saving Palestine and Jerusalem that has put the Arab and Muslim World in a coma." - id 28/12/2016
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Why Did Obama Let the UN Criticize Israel? Because It Was The Last Chance to Act SaneJay Michaelson - The Daily Beast - "So what’s left? For Americans who care about this issue, the hard right and the hard left." - id 28/12/2016
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The genius of the UN`s resolution on Israeli settlements Bob Carr - theage.com.au - The resolution has undermined the nationalist strategy that says Israel can lose Europe but enjoy new partnerships in Asia and Africa and with Vladimir Putin. In the end not only France and Britain but Russia and China voted to brand settlements flagrantly illegal. Netanyahu is left vowing retaliation against plucky little New Zealand and Senegal. Donald Trump can tweet and bluster. But the resolution stands as international law, to be taken seriously by cabinets and bind the International Criminal Court. After years of provocation by Israeli hawks that`s the genius of what Obama and Kerry have pulled off. If Israel responds with more settlements, or annexes slabs of the West Bank, then UN agencies and member states have to decide how to react. Leave that "how" to another day. [bz]27/12/2016
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UN Resolution Against Israeli Settlements May Be Only the First Step Aeyal Gross - Haaretz - Security Council decisions are binding for all states, and the decision may urge more to take measures that will exclude the settlements from their various forms of cooperation with Israel – financial, trade, academic, and so on. (...) Another important element is the request that the Secretary-General report to the Security Council every three months on the resolution`s implementation, a provision that ensures constant engagement with the topic. Not least, the consensus that the resolution represents on the illegality of the settlements and the description of their construction as a “flagrant” violation may convince prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the International Criminal Court that she has strong grounds to pursue the matter before the ICC. [bz]27/12/2016
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Differentiation clause will boost BDSHERB KEINON - Jerusalem Post - What is new, and could open doors to actions is clause No. 5, which calls upon the nations of the world “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.” This measure, if taken seriously by the international community, may trigger a slew of initiatives that could make the labeling of settlement products in Europe seem tame by comparison. [bz] 27/12/2016
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Red Rag column - sex offenders, thought police, fashion policeGideon Spiro - Recently we have been witness to intense publicity about sex offenders. A grandfather in his 70s, serving as a cantor in a synagogue, has been accused of raping his daughter and his granddaughters. A settler rabbi has been accused of raping a 14 year old female student. A former Shas Knesset Member has been accused of receiving bribes in the form of sexual favours. A sitting Knesset Member from the Jewish Home party is suspected of having committed serial sexual offences for many years. The head of a Regional Council in the Occupied Territories resigned due to sexual assault. gm26/12/2016
U.S. abstention is a message to Europe: End Israel’s impunityAmjad Iraqi - +972 - The U.S. essentially admitted that its unyielding defense of Israel in the diplomatic arena was a disastrous strategy. With Obama bowing out, Europe will need to act on this lesson [ry]26/12/2016
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If it wanted to, Israel could have stopped the massacre in SyriaRonen Bergman - Ynet - "There are many reasons why it didn’t intervene, but they are the exact arguments that stopped the Allies from intervening in favor of the European Jewry." - id 21/12/2016
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Netanyahu: Attacking Israeli journalists on Facebook is `fun`Edo Konrad - +972 - "Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel’s communications minister, has in recent years designated the media as his arch nemesis. He attacks journalists by name, and often issues long, belabored responses to investigative reports published on his alleged misdoings." - id 21/12/2016
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Why did Mossad kill Mohammed al ZoariRichard Silverstein - Tikun Olam - "Israel has proven time and again that it wants war, it incites war.  War is a tool of state policy.  It achieves the country’s goals of maintaining regional hegemony against all comers.  The Mossad is a critical part of this war-making machine as it projects destructive Israeli power outside its territorial boundaries." - id21/12/2016
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Israel’s Arabs remain key to peaceRay Hanania - The Arab Daily News - "The only thing keeping Israel from annexing the West Bank is the fear that the West Bank Palestinians will join with Israeli Palestinians and vote Israel out of existence. The pen is mightier than the sword, but the vote is mightier than the pen." - id 21/12/2016
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Aleppo Falls, Syria WeepsYacov Ben Efrat - Challenge - "These are people who seek an escape from backwardness and tyranny to democracy and freedom, people who want to integrate into the modern world. Trump and Putin, Netanyahu and Erdogan, the Saudi king and the rulers of Iran are united against these educated young people and against the marginalized poor. They leave us with the horrors of Aleppo, which will haunt us for many years to come." - id 21/12/2016
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Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel is unfit to serveJeremy Ben-Ami - Washington Post - Even though Friedman’s views completely contradict bipartisan U.S. policy for the past five decades, that’s not sufficient reason for the Senate to reject his nomination. Friedman’s lack of any policy or diplomatic experience (he has been Trump’s bankruptcy lawyer) is also not, alone, a basis for rejection. But never before has a diplomatic novice been placed in this sensitive post, where a single wrong word or move could pour fuel on fires already burning in the region. [Jeremy Ben-Ami is founder and president of J Street-bz]20/12/2016
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Good news, for a change – opposition prevents setting up kangaroo court for KMsGush Shalom press release - The government sought to have the radical Arab Knesset Member Basel Ghattas summarily unseated, based on the unproven allegation that he had “smuggled mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners”. However, the mainstream parliamentary opposition did refuse to give the assent needed for such an act – refusing to be carried along on the waves of incendiary nationalist rhetoric emanating from the Prime Minister`s Bureau. [ak]20/12/2016
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The closing of the Israeli mindNaomi Chazan - Times of Israel - (...) little attention has been paid to Minister of Education Naftali Bennett’s appointment of Professor Asa Kasher, the author of the IDF Code of Ethics, to compose an academic code for the faculty of the country’s universities and colleges. Nothing can undermine Israel’s productive energies, distort its creative propensities, eat away at its moral underpinnings, or destroy its democratic foundations more than patrolling its academic institutions. [bz]20/12/2016
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Want to fight boycotts of Israel? Boycott West Bank settlements instead.Nathan Hersh - Washington Post - By boycotting the settlements, Americans would be sending a message of solidarity to progressive Israeli groups such as B’Tselem, Gush Shalom and Peace Now — as well as to Palestinians who suffer the humiliations of the occupation every day. In the Trump administration, everyone working to end the occupation will need more support, not less. Instead of boycotting Israel, progressives should continue to stand with those Israelis who are on the front lines against their government and the settlement movement.[bz]20/12/2016
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Trump Chooses Hard-Liner as Ambassador to IsraelMATTHEW ROSENBERG - NYT - "In naming an ambassador with the hard-line views of Mr. Friedman, Mr. Trump could end up undercutting the security of Israel and the United States and condemn “the Palestinians to further disenfranchisement and dispossession (...) and causing headaches for American national security interests across the region and even for Israel’s own security establishment,” former peace negotiator Daniel Levy said. [bz] 20/12/2016
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New year, new Netanyahu?Mazal Mualem--Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again proclaimed his support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians, but is he being genuine? dn18/12/2016
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Jewish Storm Builds Over David Friedman’s Appointment as Israel AmbassadorNathan Guttman--Friedman, who was largely unknown in the organized Jewish community before joining the Trump campaign, has been reaching out to Jewish officials recently, even before being announced as Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel. But in the meetings and discussions, Friedman has made no attempt to bridge the gaps with the liberal wing of the community. dn18/12/2016
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WHY THE ISRAELI HARD RIGHT LOVES DONALD TRUMPNINA BURLEIGH--For two days and two nights in December, the Israelis and their American friends in Washington, D.C., convened among the carolers and Christmas trees at a luxury hotel near the White House. It was supposed to be Haim Saban’s political bar mitzvah, the ultimate celebration of his president-making powers. In 2016, the billionaire emerged as the most influential Israel donor to Hillary Clinton, and most of the Israeli-American policy world turned out for his 13th annual Saban Forum: think tank policy wonks, dn18/12/2016
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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Heads for 50 Years of UN FailureThalif Deen--UNITED NATIONS, Dec 15 2016 (IPS) - Come 2017, the United Nations will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s longstanding unresolved political problems firmly entrenched on the UN agenda: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dating back to the Six Day War in June 1967. dn18/12/2016
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Trump pick for ambassador to Israel supports Israeli annexation of West Bank and calls liberal Jews ‘kapos’Roqayah Chamseddine--Donald Trump has nominated 57-year-old Long Island native David Friedman to serve as U.S ambassador to Israel. Friedman served as Trump’s Israel adviser during the election campaign and has worked as Trump’s bankruptcy lawyer. He is a vociferous pro-settler advocate who openly advocates for the annexation of the West Bank, and serves as president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, a settlement advocacy group. Friedman will join an administration that has continually promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and has made clear its opposition to the two-state solution. In announcing the pick Trump called Friedman “a longtime friend and trusted adviser.” dn18/12/2016
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Anger as Israel finances Amona relocation while poor go without Akiva Eldar--Outrage is sweeping Israel as the government is set to allocate $34 million to empty the Amona outpost of law-breaking settlers despite the budget cuts that are crippling small municipalities. dn25/12/2016
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Barack Obama, John Kerry, and the Palestine sagaAvi Shlaim--Is there anything Obama can do to salvage his reputation in the remaining weeks of his lame-duck presidency? dn25/12/2016
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Ramifications of UNSC resolution: Sanctions, boycotts and ICC lawsuitsItamar Eichner--While the anti-settlement resolution adopted by the UN Security Council has no immediate practical ramifications, it could open the door to lawsuits against Israel at the ICC, sanctions imposed for any Israeli move seen as violating resolution, and boycotts on settlement products. dn25/12/2016
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Five takeaways: What the UN Security Council resolution meansMichael Schaeffer Omer-Man--In a 14-0 vote and with the U.S. abstaining, the UN Security Council passes a resolution reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements. What does it all mean, and what comes next? dn25/12/2016
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Israel Vows To Defy UN Resolution on SettlementsJ.J. Goldberg:That ‘Shameful’ UN Resolution Actually Blasts the Settlements — Not Israel--dn25/12/2016
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Forced existenceRuchama Marton - Mondoweiss - The occupier is trapped in his own forced existence as occupier – unable to change, despite the fact that this would benefit both sides. [Ruchama Marton is founding member of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, whose decades-long actions appear in the later part of the article--bz]24/12/2016
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Liberal Zionism in the Age of TrumpOmri Boehm - NYT - In the last few decades, many of America’s Jewish communities have grown accustomed to living in a political contradiction. On one hand, a large majority of these communities could rightly take pride in a powerful liberal tradition. (...) On the other hand, the same communities have often identified themselves with Zionism, a political agenda rooted in the denial of liberal politics.As long as liberalism was secure back in America and the rejection of liberalism confined to the Israeli scene, this tension could be mitigated. But as it spills out into the open in the rapidly changing landscape of American politics, the double standard is becoming difficult to defend. [bz]24/12/2016
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Hell just froze over: the New York Times runs an article saying Zionism is racistMona--Boehm’s most startling point is that Zionism has anti-Semitic strains, witness its collaboration with Nazis. Hannah Arendt is happy today.dn24/12/2016
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WHY THE ISRAELI HARD RIGHT LOVES DONALD TRUMPNINA BURLEIGH--For two days and two nights in December, the Israelis and their American friends in Washington, D.C., convened among the carolers and Christmas trees at a luxury hotel near the White House. It was supposed to be Haim Saban’s political bar mitzvah, the ultimate celebration of his president-making powers. In 2016, the billionaire emerged as the most influential Israel donor to Hillary Clinton, and most of the Israeli-American policy world turned out for his 13th annual Saban Forum: think tank policy wonks, ribbon-decked retired generals and diplomats who had sweated over the intractable peace process. Knesset members on the right and left flew in from Tel Aviv, along with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a hard-liner sometimes described as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, who beamed in by satellite.dn17/12/2016
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The wall that separates Israeli, US JewsAkiva Eldar--While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drags his feet in ensuring that all Jews can worship at the Western Wall in the way they wish, some members of his party have proposed a law that would imprison women for doing just that. dn17/12/2016
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Two-thirds of Palestinians believe Palestinian state is no longer possible Kate - Mondoweiss "Two-thirds of Palestinians believe a two-state solution to their conflict with Israel is no longer possible, a poll said Tuesday. The share of those who lost faith in such a deal rose from 56 percent in September to 65 percent now, probably due to an acceleration of settlement activity, said the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey research. Most in the international community still back the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, even though a deal appears to be increasingly complicated, in part because of the continued growth of settlements."ca16/12/2016
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On the struggles and duties of the Israeli Left: A response to `Palestine Today`Dahlia Scheindlin and Matt Duss - +972 "Palestine Today, a California-based blog, has written a sincere response to our article drawing on lessons and parallels between Israel and the U.S. for dejected progressives.We appreciate the thoughtful critique regarding what is clearly a shared goal of advancing progressive values and ending occupation. Some of the points reflect very real ambiguities in the situation, and we welcome the opportunity to engage in an important conversation." ca 16/12/2016
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From Dismay to Jubilation, Trump`s Pick of David Friedman as Israel Envoy Splits Jewish Response Debra Nussbaum Cohen |- Haaretz "Appointment of pro-settlement David Friedman, who this year called J Street supporters `worse than kapos,` alarms dovish Jewish groups. ZOA, meanwhile, lauds potential of `greatest U.S. Ambassador to Israel ever.`" ca16/12/2016
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Israel lobby group threatens lawsuit if MLA endorses academic boycottDavid Lloyd--The Brandeis Center has sent a letter to the Modern Language Association threatening a lawsuit if the Association passes the resolution to endorse the Palestinian call for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. The Brandeis Center is a legal lobby group that represents its mission as being “to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and to promote justice for all”, but lately it seems to have been devoting its time to suppressing legitimate efforts to achieve justice and civil rights for the Palestinian people.dn24/12/2016
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Nominee For US Ambassador to Israel Should Set Off Alarm BellsMitchell Plitnick - LobeLog - With his nomination of attorney David Friedman as the new United States Ambassador to Israel, President-elect Donald Trump has sent a very clear message that he intends to shift U.S. policy away from its decades-long commitment to ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. That commitment represents not only a strong American political consensus, but an overwhelming international consensus as well.-rh21/12/2016
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When Israelis Can No Longer Go to Macy’s Gideon Levy - Haaretz - In the same way that Palestinian-Americans are interrogated and humiliated at Ben-Gurion Airport, an Israeli from the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim arriving at a Canadian airport will be questioned about his activities, his origins, his friends, his plans and his sex life; his computer will also be searched, just like they do at Ben-Gurion. [bz]13/12/2016
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Netanyahu in high stakes gamble with new settlement billMaayan Lubell - Reuters - As well as those settlements, which Israel fully supports, settlers have established more than 100 outposts, many on hilltops across the West Bank, often with tacit government support. Under the new bill, 55 of the outposts will have official sanction, according to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now. Compensation would be offered to Palestinian land owners. The deeper the government becomes involved in backing settlement activity the worse it could be for Israel, said Aeyal Gross, a professor of international law at Tel Aviv University. Once the law is on the books, Gross said, it will "add a level of illegality to the existing illegality of the settlements". [bz]13/12/2016
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Netanyahu, Israel’s one and onlyNahum Barnea - Ynet - The system of checks and balances, which stabilized the prime minister, has collapsed. Only two restraining systems remain: The IDF General Staff and the free media. Both are under fire right now [ry]12/12/2016
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Red Rag column - the fires in Israel - militaristic feminism - Brigadier-General Ofek Buchris - AmonaGideon Spiro: While Arabs are being accused of arson, firefighters from the Palestinian Authority have been helping to extinguish the fires, and leaders of Arab communities have opened their doors to those who have been displaced by the fires. 11/12/2016
Can Kerry convince Obama on final MidEast move?Ben Caspit--US Secretary of State John Kerry, who labored relentlessly to promote the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, wants President Barack Obama to support a UN resolution against the settlements before leaving office. dn11/12/2016
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`Arabs flock to the polls? I`d prefer if they didn`t show up to vote at all`Jerusalem Post--Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh responded on Twitter stating, "Surprising realization that Bitan, the great democrat, prefers Arabs don`t vote... his racism and the racism of the government is just another tool for us to continue intensifying our political power." dn11/12/2016
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Israel`s controversial settlement bill provokes Palestinian blitzShlomi Eldar--The “whitewashing” of unauthorized settlements established on private Palestinian land — after paying compensation to the Palestinian landowners — would be a de facto declaration of war by Israel and generate widespread Palestinian unrest. On the other hand, the Palestinians would be handed what they call a “smoking gun” on a silver platter: ultimate proof that Israel is intent on annexing the occupied territories and not on peacefully resolving its conflict with the Palestinians anytime in the foreseeable future. dn10/12/2016
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Darfur Refugee Beaten to Death for Trying to Consort with Israeli GirlsRichard Silverstein - Tikun Olam - "While I’ve not been able to establish a direct connection between the murderers and groups like Lehava, which advocate violence against Palestinians, Christians and Africans–this is part of their modus operandi.  The attack is a mark of Kahanist thuggery, of which Lehava makes a specialty." - id 7/12/2016
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Prominent Muslim group denounces AJC-led coalitionRay Hanania - The Arab Daily News - "The American Muslims for Palestine issued their press release on Monday Dec. 5, 2016 demanding that ISNA and MJAC members demand that the AJC renounce its past attacks against Palestinian, Arab and Muslim groups." - id7/12/2016
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Government incitement is worse than online incitement Yossi Dahan - Ynet - Declaring that the fires were “acts of terrorism” would mean that the damages citizens suffered as a result of the fires would have be paid by the state rather than by insurance companies. So the incitement apparently continues as long as it pays off politically. It stops as soon as a financial price has to be paid for it. [bz]6/12/2016
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Choosing ViolenceOded Na’aman--As a child brought up in the Jewish-Israeli educational system, I was taught that none of Israel’s wars was a war of choice. Like most Israelis, I believed that Israel uses its military might only to defend its citizens from imminent danger. This is the Israeli ethos of necessary violence: peace is our yearning; war is our plight. We never choose violence, Israelis believe, violence chooses us. Hence the name of our military, the Israel Defense Forces. dn4/12/2016
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Israeli education minister declares math `state of emergency`Mazal Mualem, Translator Danny Wool--When the results of the 2015 international Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) tests were released Nov. 29, Israeli students showed a marked decline in math and the sciences. Nevertheless, Education Minister Naftali Bennett was ready with a pat and efficient response, at least as far as he was concerned. “Remember how everybody attacked me over my obsession with mathematics? Now you see why. When it comes to the study of math, we are facing a state of emergency,” Bennett wrote on his Facebook page soon after the results were released to the media. dn4/12/2016
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Book Review: ‘The Two-State Delusion,’ a well-researched but mistitled saga of a failed peace processSam Bahour--The book’s title suggests that there is something paradoxical in persevering with a proposed solution of two states, Israel and Palestine, as a way forward; the thrust of the historical accounts and the arguments made, however, are actually geared more toward convincing the reader that what failed is the process rather than the two-state paradigm itself, which has never yet been tested. A more accurate title would have been “Eulogy for a U.S.-Monopolized Peace Process.” dn4/12/2016
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Senate Passes a Dumb and Dangerous BillJames J. Zogby--This week, without debate or an actual vote, the US Senate stealthily passed a disturbing and dangerous piece of legislation introduced by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Bob Casey (D-PA). Called “The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2016” (AAA), the Scott-Casey bill requires the Department of Education (DOE) to apply the State Department’s (DOS) definition of anti-Semitism in evaluating complaints of discrimination on US campuses. dn4/12/2016
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Why a settlement boycott is so scary for IsraelMichael Schaeffer Omer-Man - +972 - Israeli leaders see the idea of a limited boycott of the settlements alone as a farce because they know it would bleed right through the Green Line they’ve been working so hard to erase. [bz] 3/12/2016
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This Is How to Stay BehindHaaretz Editorial--The figures show that Israel’s gap in math-test scores between students from richer areas and those from poorer areas is the third largest among the countries surveyed, preceded only by Turkey and Qatar. In sciences, the income gap in Israel is the ninth largest. The meaning is simple: If you have money and access to high-standard schools, you’re in good shape educationally. If you don’t have money and live in the periphery – the Israeli radar will probably not find you. dn3/12/2016
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Will Netanyahu’s collective blame sink Israel?Akiva Eldar--Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s collective blame strategy will punish many Israeli Arabs who had no connection to the wildfires and will only aggravate tensions between Jews and Arabs. dn3/12/2016
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Ashrawi: Partition is a historical concession, and solidarity should be an active engagementRamallah/PNN/ "Even when the Palestinians accepted the principle of partition in 1988 and went even further in agreeing to the 1967 borders, there was neither a recognition of the enormity of the sacrifice nor an appreciation of the historical magnitude of such a concession. As such, it is the only key to peace with minimal justice which is being destroyed by Israel’s continued violations and fundamentalist extremist Zionist ideology." ca2/12/2016
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Red Rag column - Trump and Ze`evi - Advice for Ilana DayanGideon Spiro - The session to honour the memory of Rahavam Ze’evi was one of the low points in the history of the Knesset. gm1/12/2016
Does Netanyahu count on leftist NGOs to save him?Akiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - "Netanyahu is counting on B’Tselem and the Supreme Court to extricate him from The Hague. There is no guarantee that this time they will oblige and take on this ungrateful task for him." - id 14/12/2016
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Trump and Netanyahu Governments Both Steeped in Ethnic Supremacy, Ultra-NationalismRichard Silverstein - Tikun Olam - "That’s why Netanyahu, despite being the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, is not popular.  He reigns through fear, through setting rivals within his own Party against each other.  He has no political legacy to speak of: he’s led Israel through several wars but not ended the security threat of terrorism.  He has led a robust economy, but one that mainly benefits the upper classes and elites, while fully one-quarter of Israelis live below the poverty line." - id14/12/2016
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Why a Texas rabbi keeps losing a debate over Israel with a white nationalist leaderRichard Spencer--It must have been a terrible embarrassment to Hillel rabbi Matt Rosenberg at Texas A&M University, when he tried to challenge the alt-right Spencer with ‘radical inclusion and love’. Spencer was invited to the University, and Rosenberg was there to challenge his bigotry:dn10/12/2016
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Israeli bill to legalise settler homes `unequivocally illegal`: UNAFP - "I strongly urge lawmakers to reconsider their support for this bill, which if enacted, would have far-reaching consequences and would seriously damage the reputation of Israel around the world," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein." ca 9/12/2016
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