Attempting to latch onto the just, vital, and growing movement in support of the Palestinian national liberation struggle, Gilad Atzmon is one of a very small and unrepresentative group of writers who have argued (in agreement with many Zionists) that there is no meaningful distinction to be made between Jews in general and Israeli atrocities. […]
Geography Archives: Israel
Turkey: The Honduras of the Middle East for a New Contra War
We all know it from the movies of Costa-Gavras: once “the leaders of the free world” start visiting your country frequently, carnage won’t be far behind. Nowadays, the capital city of Turkey, Ankara, looks very much like the set of a Costa-Gavras movie (except, of course, what we really want to see happens off-camera). […]
Sectarian Syrian Oppositionists: For Israel, GCC, and USA, Against Bahraini and Palestinian Liberation Struggles?
The attempt by sectarian Syrian oppositionists to silence Bahraini and Palestinian voices documented below by Maath Musleh and Sara Yasin occurred at a demonstration ostensibly for all Arab revolts organized by Amnesty International at Trafalgar Square, London, 11 February 2011. (It is noteworthy, though, that Amnesty International itself gives top billing to Syria in its […]
Targeting Iran on a Syrian Battlefield
Still stinging from the “travesty” of their defeat in the United Nations Security Council over the weekend, the United States and the “international community” have already begun to hatch their next ploy for intervention into Syria. On Monday — with the Security Council, and ostensibly diplomacy as well, having been deemed “neutered” by Secretary of […]
One State, Two States: Who Is the Subject of Palestinian Liberation?
One state or two? Boycott of Israeli goods or goods from the settlements? Is the lobby the genesis of American wrongdoing in Palestine or is it imperialism? The questions — regarding vision, strategy, and analysis — produce sharp cleavages on the Left. Indeed, generally ones much deeper than they need to be. And they remain […]
No War with Iran
Below is a statement by the UNAC CC on the assassination of Iranian scientists and the growing threat of war against Iran. Also, UNAC members participated in a national conference call on Tuesday with many other antiwar and Iranian groups. The meeting called for demonstrations on February 4 to protest the threat of war against […]
“Free Syrian Army”
Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist. See, also: “To those of you who don’t believe that the #Syria-n rebels have israeli arms, take a look. Nothing’s hidden anymore. pic.twitter.com/mOTfVyT4” (Joud, 25 December 2011); “الهيئة ” و “المجلس” يوقعان اتفاقا “مفخخا” يسمح ضمنا بتدخل عسكري عربي في سوريا لإسقاط النظام (SyriaTruth.org, 31 December 2011). | Print
A Conference for Security and Cooperation for the Middle East? Interview with Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Ali Fathollah-Nejad from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London is a member of the initiative for a civil-society Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Middle East (CSCME). One of its key aims is the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
Tough on Euros, Weak on Nazis
Hurray! Merkel won the day! It took a long night of backroom bargaining, but except for that Tory, David Cameron, all European Union members agreed to save the euro, save the economy, save the world! It had been on the brink of disaster, Sarkozy warned on the eve of the meeting: unless we reach agreement […]
Egypt’s Nour Party Leader: Onward to Salafi Pragmatism, Keeping Good Relations with US and Peace Treaty with Israel
Cairo — Emad Abdel Ghafour, the head of the Nour Party representing the Salafi school of Islamic fundamentalism, which is expected to make a great leap forward in Egypt’s first parliamentary elections since the collapse of the Mubarak regime, made the party’s foreign policy public, in an exclusive interview with Jiji Press. “We’ll strive […]
Why Syria Matters: Interview with Aijaz Ahmad
Aijaz Ahmad: For one thing, Syria is the last remaining representative of Arab nationalism as it used to be understood historically. It still calls itself socialist. Even though it has implemented a great deal of neoliberal reform, the state sector is still dominant. It bans, literally bans, religion from politics. It will not recognize the […]
Deconstructing the Foundational Myths of Israel
Shlomo Sand. The Invention of the Jewish People. Verso, 2009. By this time already, after 60-plus years of heatedly arguing the topic back and forth, is there anything new and insightful to be said that might have a bearing on the Israel-Palestine conflict and help to bring some political and intellectual closure at long last […]
Support Today’s Freedom Riders by Ending U.S. Support for Israeli Apartheid
Fifty years ago, Freedom Riders braved beatings and arson by supremacists intent on maintaining apartheid in the Jim Crow South. By challenging segregated transportation through nonviolent action, these African American and white activists set in motion a process that ultimately dismantled segregation. While the struggle for racial justice continues, at least this shameful chapter of […]
Qatar, Al Jazeera, and the Arab Spring
The leader of al-Nahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, made his first visit to a foreign country after the first post-revolution Tunisian elections. His choice was the State of Qatar. Analysts see many messages in this gesture but some Tunisians are troubled by the invitation he had extended to the Emir of Qatar. Although many do not […]
Bundaím, Socialists in Yiddish and Hebrew
Dear comrades and friends, On May Day 2006, I was invited to celebrate with the members of the “Bund” in Israel. I took my video camera with me. I thought it will be a one-time occasion, but it became a five-and-half-year political and personal journey. Unlike my previous films (Matzpen and Madrid Before Hanita, […]
Target Iran
Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. “The unnamed member state that informed the agency about Danilenko’s alleged experience as a Soviet nuclear weapons scientist is almost certainly Israel, which has been the source of virtually all the purported intelligence on Iranian work on nuclear weapons over the past decade. Israel has made no secret […]
Freedom Waves Prisoners Abused and Imprisoned; “Anonymous” Hackers Strike Back
In the immediate aftermath of the illegal capture of the Freedom Waves flotillas, Israel’s public image has been tarnished, as reports of violence at sea surface to counteract its claims of a peaceful takeover, and as human rights cyber-resistance group Anonymous retaliates by shutting down Israeli government web sites. As Israeli naval soldiers boarded […]
The Irish Presidential Election
The Irish presidency is a peculiar thing. For an almost powerless political position, the presidential election is usually quite a hard fought one. The presidency is nothing more than a ceremonial office for whoever gets it, but the upside to it is that they get to live rent-free for seven years in a big house […]
The Israeli Army Shot at Me and 3 Palestinian Kids in Gaza Today
28 October 2011 After a lovely day of drinking excessive amounts of tea with a few families in South Gaza (Faraheen and Khuza’a, to be exact), an Italian colleague, Silvia, who used to live in Khuza’a, suggested walking down the road towards the local school. It was late afternoon, about 4:30 p.m. and dozens […]
Good News from Germany (Finally)
Once in a while there’s good news from Europe — yes, even from here in Germany. And because Germany is so central in Europe and so strong, even minor good news from this country can be important. But, till now, there hasn’t been much good news for quite some time! The party called Die Linke, […]
