Geography Archives: Israel

The politics of plunder imposed by the United States and its NATO allies in the Middle East is in crisis.  This was inevitably unleashed with the high cost of grain, the effects of which are being felt with more force in the Arab nations where, despite their enormous oil resources, the shortage of water, arid […]

  On Al Jazeera, Dr. Azmi Bishara said that the violence unleashed in Libya against the Libyan people is beyond belief — indicative of desperation on the part of the political order — or rather “disorder” — in Libya, attempting to put a quick end to the uprising before escalation, as the situation is a […]

The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, as well as several other NGOs, held a protest against the Gaddafi dictatorship on 21 February 2011, condemning the Libyan head of state for giving orders to fire on civilian protesters, and expressing support for the Libyan resistance.  The protesters gathered in Taksim Square and marched on to the Libyan […]

After Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned last Friday, we asked Israeli activists as well as people on the street for their opinion about recent events in Egypt. Produced by Ruth Orli Mosser.  This video was released by the Alternative Information Center on 15 February 2011 under a Creative Commons license. | Print

This just in from AFP: “Israel has agreed to let Egypt deploy hundreds more troops in Sinai in order to protect gas pipelines as the country undergoes sweeping political unrest.”  Israel’s agreement to more Egyptian troop deployment exceeding the terms of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty came just as the youth representatives of the tribes […]

Much like Mubarak, the former democratic reformer turned long-serving US dictator for the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, demonstrates what can happen to even stalwart defenders of capitalism when they are opposed by their citizens en masse.  Like Mubarak, Marcos previously provided a ray of hope for Western elites intent on quelling popular resistance within their own […]

What is happening in Egypt is of immense importance, not only due to the importance of the country but also due to the radicality of the demand.  The demand is not just that Mubarak should leave — that is a first step — but that the system be changed, putting an end to the neoliberal […]

The events of the last weeks are one of those historical moments where the lessons of many decades can be telescoped into a few brief moments and seemingly minor occurrences can take on immense significance.  The entry of millions of Egyptians onto the political stage has graphically illuminated the real processes that underlie the politics […]

Millions of people in Egypt and all over the Middle East erupted in joy as Omar Suleiman announced on Friday that Hosni Mubarak had resigned. The Egyptian military decided to oust a widely-resented dictator as it witnessed the growing threat of a potential revolution being born in Egyptian streets.  Had it been allowed to continue […]

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation today criticized the Obama Administration for giving Israel “too much love” in its FY2012 budget request to Congress.  The budget request, delivered today to Capitol Hill, contains a record-breaking $3.075 billion in military aid to Israel. “With the United States facing an ongoing budget deficit and debt, […]

Thousands of workers from several oil and gas companies are on strike, protesting in front of the Ministry of Petroleum, in Nasr City.  The workers have several economic and political demands, including putting an end to abusive management practices such as sacking workers who speak up for their rights, reinstating the sacked workers, raising salaries […]

The US has not supported democratization in Egypt, or really anywhere else in the Middle East, because US policymakers would not like the outcome of democratic processes.  Policies made by governments that are freely elected by the people would not reflect, would not support, let alone enforce, the US polices that are unpopular, whether that’s […]

Since yesterday, and actually earlier, middle-class activists have been urging Egyptians to suspend the protests and return to work, in the name of patriotism, singing some of the most ridiculous lullabies about “let’s build new Egypt,” “let’s work harder than even before,” etc.  In case you didn’t know, actually Egyptians are among the hardest working […]

7 February 2011 . . . Today we declare our solidarity.  One of the forms of our solidarity is to defend this revolution, this intifada, this great historic popular movement.  One of the responsibilities of defending this revolution is to reveal its true image as all data indicate. . . .  We contact those on […]

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.  Cf. ; Mark Landler and Helene Cooper, “Allies Press U.S. to Go Slow on Egypt” (New York Times, 8 February 2011); James Besser, “The Best Lobbyists for Egypt’s U.S. Aid: Israeli Diplomats” (Jewish Week, 9 February 2011). | Print

In a speech attacking ‘multiculturalism’ Prime Minister David Cameron argued for a “muscular liberalism” that would actively confront “extremist” ideologies — principally radical Islamism — that fail to conform to “Western values”.  The problem is not with Islam per se, he argued, but with those “distortion[s]” of Islam that reject “democracy, the rule of law, […]

  Hossam el-Hamalawy is a member of the organization Revolutionary Socialists as well as of the Center for Socialist Studies in Cairo.  A journalist and blogger, he is one of the “cyberguerrilla” youth at the heart of the revolutions underway in the Arab world.  While constantly occupying Tahrir Square, he seeks to regularly disseminate alternative […]

  5 February 2011 More than two thousand people rallied today in the center of Ramallah at Al-Manara Square in solidarity with the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, calling for freedom, social justice, democracy, and human rights.  Parallel rallies took place in Bethlehem and Nazareth.  Previous rallies have been held by Palestinian activists in […]

“Freedom lies behind a door closed shut,” the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi wrote in the last century.  “It can only be knocked down with a bleeding fist.”  More than that is bleeding in the Arab world at the moment. The uprisings we are witnessing in Egypt have been a rude awakening for all those […]

Egypt is throbbing with resistance.  Cairo is cloven between the forces of revolution and those of counterrevolution.  Hundreds of thousands of people — on Tuesday, February 1, well over a million — have been streaming each day into Tahrir Square, the largest plaza in the Arab world, located in the heart of downtown Cairo.  Army […]