Liberals swooning over President Barack Obama’s recent speechmaking are also much impressed by his rhetorical overtures to Arabs and Muslims, first articulated during his inaugural address and reiterated on a major Arabic-language news channel. The sharp divergence in tone and tenor from Bush’s rhetoric is certainly welcome after eight years of hubris and arrogance. Quoting […]
Geography Archives: Israel
Jews and Arabs Refuse to Be Enemies: Hadash Campaigns against Fascism and Racism
Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel) launched its new election campaign on Monday, January 26, 2009, facing the general elections to be held on February 10. The campaign’s focus is the fight against fascism and racism. The Arab-Jewish front’s new campaign slogan is “Jews and Arabs Refuse to […]
Letter to Israeli Ambassador: Thank You, But No Thank You
The Israeli Embassy in Greece, in the name of Ambassador Ali Yahya, sent three bottles of wine as a holiday gift to Theodoros Pangalos. Pangalos returned the gift, thanking the ambassador in the following letter. Dear Mr. Ambassador, Thank you for the three bottles of wine that you sent me as a holiday gift. […]
BBC Spurns Gaza Appeal
There is an urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza. So far, the death toll is more than 1,200, including nearly 300 children. Pictures broadcast around the world prompted the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, an organization which brings together 13 of the UK’s biggest charities, including the Red Cross and Oxfam, to broadcast an appeal […]
Italy’s Most Powerful Union: Prosecute Israeli War Crimes, Suspend EU-Israel Agreement
Federazione Impiegati Operai Metallurgici nazionale (FIOM), the largest metalworkers union in Italy, whose membership numbers 360,000, called for prosecution of Israeli officials for war crimes and suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement as well as of the military cooperation agreement between Italy and Israel. The following is FIOM’s 13 January 2009 statement on Gaza published […]
Spilling Ink Instead of Blood: Bolivia Poised to Vote on New Constitution
Evo Morales a días del referéndum por la nueva constitución en “Bolivia Decide” Dozens of marches and rallies in support of Bolivia’s new constitution, to be voted on this Sunday, have filled the streets of the La Paz in recent days. On Tuesday, at a rally for the constitution and to celebrate Venezuela’s donation of […]
Histadrut Justifies Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza as “Self Defence”
Here’s what the Histadrut had to say about Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza: . Excerpt: The Histadrut would have preferred that the current situation had not developed this way. Israel embarked on operation “Cast Lead” after acting with great restraint for many years towards unbearable constant terror attacks from Gaza and making every diplomatic […]
Behind the Myths about Hamas
Most mainstream accounts of the Palestinian Hamas organization present it as a bunch of rabid fanatics, bent on violence and motivated by an irrational hatred of Jews and the state of Israel. This view is reflected both in the mainstream media and in many books published on the topic. When we separate propaganda from reality, […]
700 Have Been Detained in Demonstrations Held in Israel against War Crimes in the Gaza Strip
Over 700 citizens and residents of Israel, mostly Arab-Palestinian, have been detained since Israel began its military attacks on the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008. Detentions were made in the wake of public demonstrations, held primarily in northern Israel, Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, and also in the southern city of Bee-Sheva, against Israel’s war crimes in the […]
Continuing Gaza Protests, as Seen on Al Jazeera
and unseen on American TV. . . . Demos Call for Closure of US Embassy — Police and Protesters Clash, Awkar (North of Beirut), Lebanon, 19.01.09 Demos in Solidarity with Gaza in Cities of Australia — Sydney Demo, the Largest, Draws 20,000, 19.01.09 Tens of Thousands Protests in Solidarity with People of Gaza, Karachi, Pakistan, […]
The Democrats on Israel: A Brief Oral History
“Israel continues to show admirable restraint in dealing with her hostile neighbors, even in the face of increasing rocket attacks, kidnappings, and threats to her people. I support her actions in defense of her people, and I pray for a swift and just conclusion to the fighting.” — Jerrold “Progressive” Nadler, DEMOCRAT, July 13, 2006.
Palestinian Government’s Open Letter to President Hugo Chavez
Palestinian National Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Office, Gaza January 12, 2009 In the Name of God; the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful President Hugo Chavez, Your Excellency, President Hugo Chavez, We, the people of Palestine, commend your courage to speak and act upon your conscience regardless of your detractors’ criticism or cowardice. Mr. […]
Women of Gaza: Interview with Islah Jad
Islah Jad is a Ph.D holder from SOAS (School of African and Asian Studies), University of London. She lectures on gender and politics in the Women’s Studies Institute and Cultural Studies Department, Bir Zeit University, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine. Rochelle Jones: Israel’s attacks on Gaza have taken a heavy toll. What is your understanding […]
“My Grandmother Did Not Die to Provide Cover for Israeli Soldiers Murdering Palestinian Grandmothers in Gaza”
I was brought up as an orthodox Jew and a Zionist. On a shelf in our kitchen, there was a tin box for the Jewish National Fund, into which we put coins to help the pioneers building a Jewish presence in Palestine. I first went to Israel in 1961 and I have been there […]
Roma Slated to Be Ignored at the UN Commemoration of the International Day in Memory of the Holocaust
The president of the European Roma and Travellers Forum, Rudko Kawczynski, has expressed outrage at the decision by the U.N. to formally exclude the Roma from its commemoration ceremony on International day in Memory of the Holocaust, January 27, in the General Assembly Hall in New York City. He noted that “the Holocaust was the […]
Gaza in Europe
Freedom of expression is once again on the agenda in Denmark. The country received world attention when the rightist newspaper Jyllands-Posten published provocative cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad a few years ago. The cartoons caused widespread protests in the Muslim world, whereas discussions in Denmark and other Western countries revolved around freedom of the press. […]
Still Breathing: A Report from Gaza
The morgues of Gaza’s hospitals are overflowing. The bodies in their blood-soaked white shrouds cover the entire floor space of the Shifa hospital morgue. Some are intact, most horribly deformed, limbs twisted into unnatural positions, chest cavities exposed, heads blown off, skulls crushed in. Family members wait outside to identify and claim a brother, […]
Under the Voices of Fire: Artists in Gaza
I am working under the voices of fire, Israeli warplanes. . . . I still breathe, take some pictures everyday. — artist Shareef Sarhan, January 12, 2009 As Israel’s vicious attack claims more lives, Gaza’s infrastructure now lies in shambles, including the handful of nonprofit venues that made cultural life possible. Even before the invasion, […]
Mr. Zion Clarifies a Few Things
Calm down folks and listen to my story, OK? You need to understand that I live with an absolutely impossible woman. All I ever wanted was to live in peace and harmony with her. I was willing to share and share alike. So I let her build us a beautiful house, under my direction. I […]
Interview with Avi Shlaim:Israel’s “State Terror” in Gaza
Introduction by Lincoln Shlensky Israeli historian Avi Shlaim, in an audio/video interview (also transcribed) with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, breaks down the responsibility for the current war in Gaza and clarifies the definition of “terror” as a term that should be applied both to Hamas and Israel. Based on Israeli Ministry of Defense statistics […]
