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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
Likud blindly obeys NetanyahuMazal Mualem - Al-Monitor "The obedient vote by the Likud Party’s Knesset faction to dissolve the parliament, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s needs and wishes, shows the current state of Israel’s ruling party — one of being in an era of a strongman who has turned the Likud into a one-man band." ca 31/5/2019
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Why are Israeli liberals suddenly courting a far-right nationalist?Edo Konrad - +972 "Avigdor Liberman has, over the past decade, exerted a greater impact on Israel’s political discourse than any other lawmaker. In just a few years, he made once unthinkable ideas — such as stripping Palestinian citizens of their citizenship and forcing them to swear oaths of loyalty to the Jewish state — part of the mainstream discourse." ca31/5/2019
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Benjamin Netanyahu: The fugitive Crime Minister Yossi Gurvitz - Mondoweiss "In a move considered surreal even two days ago, the Israeli Knesset – elected on April 9th – dissolved itself last night (Wednesday). Some new Members of Knesset didn’t even get to get to give their maiden speech.The vote on dismissal came after a few political days which cannot be described as anything but lunatic." ca 31/5/2019
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UN agency aiding Palestinians rejects US bid to strip it of mandateReuters - "UNRWA says it provides services to about 5 million registered Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza, and that it safeguards and advances their rights under international law. Most are descendants of about 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes or fled fighting in the 1948 war that led to Israel`s creation and claim a right of return to the lands they left...Palestinian leaders reject settling refugees in host countries, saying their presence there should be considered temporary. Palestinians in host countries complain of restrictions on jobs and benefits there." ca25/5/2019
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U.S. Complicity in Israel’s Violations of International LawJames Zogby - Lobe Log - During the past 50 years, there has been a steady erosion in U.S. policy toward Israeli behavior in Palestinian lands. [bz with thanks to FMEP]21/5/2019
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If the U.S. Goes to War With Iran, Netanyahu Will Be the Prime Suspect Chemi Shalev - Haaretz "...if war breaks out between the U.S. and Iran, he will be named as the prime suspect as far as its opponents are concerned. Netanyahu, with the assistance of like-minded allies in the U.S. and the Middle East, persuaded Donald Trump to abandon Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu convinced Trump that a combination of crippling economic sanctions and a credible military threat will force Tehran to beg for a new and improved nuclear deal, which will include its malevolent regional activities which were not addressed in “Obama’s deal”. And given that countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are far more belligerent towards Iran in private than they are in public, Netanyahu became a one-man cheerleading squad for Trump’s latest moves." ca 20/5/2019
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Despite its flaws, we need to fight for Israel’s High CourtMichael Sfard - +972 "There, in the occupied Palestinian territories, the justices allowed the messianic right to do almost everything it wanted, until it grew from a parasite into a predator that threatened the very hand that fed it...Thus, the justices of Israel’s High Court played a significant role in the creation of the political culture that has led us to the present, that which fantasizes about destroying the rule of law and granting unlimited power to our Jewish supremacist leaders." ca18/5/2019
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Israel/America or Netanyahu/Trump?Kenneth Surin - CounterPunch - "Avnery would have been aghast, but not surprised, at the turn of events taking place shortly before or after his death– Trump recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (both Palestine and Israel claim Jerusalem as their capital, and it will take a peace deal, and not unilateral action on Israel’s part, in order resolve this dispute); closing down the Palestine Liberation Organisation office in Washington; reducing direct aid and aid to the UN agency aiding Palestinian refugees; recognizing Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights; and supporting Netanyahu in his recent pledge to begin annexing Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank." - id 17/5/2019
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Hamas-Fatah standoff vexes Egypt as mediatorRasha Abou Jalal - Al-Monitor - "There has been speculation that Egypt has given up on mediating a reconciliation between rival Palestinian factions Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah in the West Bank, but so far Egypt hasn`t said it will throw in the towel." - id 17/5/2019
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Benjamin Netanyahu, Like Donald Trump, Aims to Go So High That He Is Above the Law Lloyd Green - The Daily Beast - "The Israeli prime minister is reportedly seeking to escape prosecution on multiple corruption charges by gutting judicial oversight of his cabinet and the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in effect immunizing himself and all that he touches." - id16/5/2019
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The ‘strong Jew’ is weakJonathan Ofir - Mondoweiss - The ethos of Zionism has been that of the “strong Jew”. This notion was a counter to the ‘diasporic’ Jew, who lives on others’ terms, either in seclusion or in assimilation, and cannot defend her/himself. The people who championed this notion often expressed their contempt for this supposedly weak Jew. Some of the Zionist founders’ descriptions of such ‘diasporic’ Jews were downright anti-Semitic. Consider, for example, Zionist founder Theodor Herzl’s description of Jews at a gathering at a wealthy Berliner’s home in 1885: Some thirty or forty ugly little Jews and Jewesses. No consoling sight.-rh14/5/2019
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Behind the curtainsGush Shalom - weekly statement - For the Eurovision/ We present an image/ Of an open, pluralist and/ Tolerant society./ Perhaps the world/ Won`t pay attention to/ Our Nationality Law/ Which fits Apartheid/ And the paralyzing of the Supreme Court/ And will forget the Occupation/ As well as the Gaza pressure cooker/ All of the making of/ Israel Start-up Nation [bz]14/5/2019
Trump and Kushner Middle East Peace Deal Is a Trojan Horse for Further OccupationVIDEO Phyllis Bennis - The Real News "Phyllis Bennis discusses the recent Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and the real nature of Kushner`s supposed "deal of the century" ca11/5/2019
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Jared Kushner’s ignorant incitement against PalestiniansJonathan Ofir - Mondoweiss "Commentator Peter Beinart wrote in the Forward last year that Jared Kushner is uneducated."Since joining the government, he has displayed a predictable, yet nonetheless alarming, ignorance of the subjects he oversees. Discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with congressional interns last summer, Kushner declared that “the variables haven’t been changed much” in “the last 40 or 50 years” — a period of time in which the Jewish settler population in the West Bank has risen from zero to close to 400,000. He went on to complain that people were always trying to explain the conflict’s history to him. “We don’t want a history lesson,” he told the interns. “We’ve read enough books.” In fact, it’s a virtual certainty that when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians, Kushner hasn’t read enough books. More frightening is that he doesn’t think he needs to." ca 11/5/2019
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Has Facebook Decided the Star of David is Anti-Semitic?Richard Silverstein — Tikun Olam "Today, I’m writing because the beleaguered folks at Facebook have committed another bit of face-palm censorship. They slapped a three-day suspension on the account of my friend, Prof. Muhammad Sahimi. His “crime?” He posted a Latuff cartoon from Mondoweiss which was a take-off on the infamous photograph of King Salman, Donald Trump and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi laying their hands on a shining globe. In the cartoon, Trump, Salman and Bibi Netanyahu gleefully fondle a glowing missile aimed at a map of Iran." ca11/5/2019
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Why Do Israel and Gaza Keep Fighting? Because It’s in Their Leaders’ Interests.David M. Halbfinger - NYT "More than two dozen people were killed and homes and businesses destroyed in the weekend’s fighting between Israel and Gaza, but on Monday leaders on both sides declared themselves satisfied with the outcome.The cycle of violence-ceasefire-repeat that keeps verging on all-out war may look like pointless destruction to the outside world. But analysts say it is amply serving the interests of the two main antagonists." ca 11/5/2019
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I am an Israeli-Arab and this is my Memorial Day tooYoseph Haddad - Ynet - "Today isn’t a Jewish occasion, it belongs to us all; we face the enemy`s rockets together and defend our country together, and extremists in the Arab sector who wish to deepen the rift between us don`t represent our public." - id9/5/2019
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Bolton Sounds Drumbeat of War Based on Tenuous Israeli Claim of Iran ThreatRichard Silverstein - Tikun Olam - "“Not very specific” and “unclear.” Those are the operative words. Any editor or reporter who’s willing to gin up war based on such vague claims coming from a U.S. administration whose very existence is based on lies and fraud should think twice." - id9/5/2019
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Palestinians can use Trump’s peace plan as a launchpadRay Hanania - The Arab Daily News - "Through rejectionism, the Palestinians have allowed themselves to be boxed-in, giving extremist voices the power to bully and silence pro-compromise moderates into non-engagement. Should Palestinians continue to play the rejectionism card, with no voice to affect change?" - id9/5/2019
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“Sign, you dog!” The withering of the Palestinian AuthorityYacov Ben Efrat - Challenge - "Only one little item remains: to make Abu Mazen open his arms and receive the document, then take his place on a Cairo stage beside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, while the white headdresses of the Gulf leaders ripple in the air behind them, and place his signature with trembling hand—though not before Sisi hisses, “Sign, you dog!” as Hosni Mubarak hissed at Yasser Arafat in 1993. Rabin, Peres, and Arafat received the Nobel Prize for Peace. It’s doubtful whether Abu Mazen will get any kind of prize for a powerless Autonomy dependent on Israel’s graces. The Deal of the Century will create de facto apartheid." - id9/5/2019
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Reflection: Key to open door of peace is in the hands of IsraelLatin Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah - Al-Bushra - Israel complains of the war. Yesterday, Sunday May 5th, the Israeli Defense Minister tweeted and cried out to the world to notice and see Israelis waking up for the second day in a row of rockets coming from Gaza and falling in Israel. War is painful after two days in Israel. It is as painful and more painful in Gaza after 13 years of siege. War is an absolute evil both for the Israelis and for the Palestinians. Mr. Minister, the key to peace and the end of war is not in the hands of a world that we summon but simply in your hand and in the hands of Israel.The issue is not only that of Gaza but the issue of all the Palestinian people. The issue is the injustice imposed on the Palestinian people for generations. Israel refuses to see Palestinians as human beings with same rights and equal to all human beings. Israel has tried the methods of war and violence repeatedly to solve the issue. Until today, it has not succeeded and now, on the near horizon, there is talk about a solution wrapped in darkness and non-recognition of Palestinian rights. It will not bring a just solution. It will be another failure.[ak] 7/5/2019
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In Occupied Territory, Reality Check at Ground ZeroAngela Godfrey-Goldstein - Common Dreams - Here at the grassroots, where real life is lived, things look very different. The Bedouin of the village of Khan al Ahmar are anxiously awaiting Israeli military bulldozers, not olive branches of peace. Named “gatekeepers of Jerusalem” by the late President Arafat, the continued Bedouin presence on the periphery of Jerusalem is key to keeping the two state solution on the table, despite Israeli settler colonialism and creeping Israeli annexation—each designed to prevent a viable Palestinian state from ever arising.[ak] 7/5/2019
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Latest Israel-Hamas flare-up made Palestinian state a possibilitySever Plocker [senior Yediot commentator] - Ynet - It’s reasonable to assume what happened over the weekend was the last major round of cross-border fighting between Israel and the militants in Gaza. Let’s not kid ourselves, there will not be anymore attempts to "restore the deterrence" because it simply can no longer be restored. [bz]7/5/2019
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France and the EU Recognize Yet Support Apartheid Reality in PalestineRamzy Baroud - antiwar.com - "A recent statement made by the outgoing French Ambassador to the US regarding the nature of Israeli apartheid accentuates a larger ailment that has afflicted the European Union foreign policy. The EU is simply gutless when it comes to confronting Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine." - id3/5/2019
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How the Green Line became a red line in Israeli educationAkiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - "The teacher, Yael (a pseudonym), shows the children a bas-relief map depicting the Land of Israel as stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. “This is the State of Israel, this is our state,” she tells the pupils. One of the students, Galia Bar-Tal, seeks to set the teacher straight. “That’s wrong,” she says. “The demarcation of the Green Line is missing from the map.”" - id3/5/2019
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Nearly half of Knesset members were born into a reality of apartheidOrly Noy - +972 - "Just under half of the members of the 21st Knesset were born after June 1967, when Israel occupied Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Almost all the other members were either children or teenagers at that time." - id 2/5/2019
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