No comment is really required on this story except to say that it shows Israel to be a nation that views another people, the Palestinians, as lesser human beings. Amira Hass in Haaretz: After a three-and-a-half-year legal battle waged by the Gisha human rights organization, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has finally…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
It’s official; Jewish minority now rules over Arab majority
Akiva Eldar in Haaretz: Amid a dry economic report published yesterday in TheMarker lies an official announcement/acknowledgment of unparalleled importance: The government of Israel confirms that between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River there is no longer a Jewish majority. In other words, in the territory under Israel’s jurisdiction a situation of apartheid exists.…
Rewarding failure; Australia keen to embrace G4S to “manage” refugees in PNG
What does it take for a corporation to be shunned? Clearly not massive failure, like G4S. The Australian government needs its head read but it shows that firms like G4S sell themselves as invaluable and “efficient” service providers: The Federal Government is looking to have the Manus Island immigration centre run by G4S, the same…
Rabbis target the real enemies of life, the smartphone
Israeli publication Ynet reveals the holy war being fought by Rabbis against the greatest threat facing the Jewish people: Ultra-Orthodox rabbis are stepping up their war on smartphones, using the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah as an excellent opportunity to prove just how serious they are. On Monday evening, during the traditional singing and dancing…
“After Zionism” book launch in Sydney
The following event took place in Sydney at independent bookstore Gleebooks on 2 October with Sydney Peace Foundation head Stuart Rees chairing proceedings and journalist Peter Manning interrogating me. It was recorded and edited by Green Left TV’s Paul Benedek:
Haiti, in need of real support, faces shoddy aid “support” from US star
Most of the world’s media ignores Haiti. Too poor and too complex. The New York Times routinely frames the country as desperate with no interest in true independence. During my recent visit there I examined the reality behind the headlines, how multinationals and well-meaning souls are doing more harm than good. But now and then…
One state inevitable in Palestine/Israel but issue is right wing or left wing version
The kind of conversation that my recent book After Zionism is aiming to foster, this piece by Dahlia Scheindlin in +972 is more vital than ever: To put it bluntly: the question is no longer about whether one state should be considered, because if we’re counting “states” who control people, it is already a reality.…
What “5 Broken Cameras” shows about reality of Israeli fascism in Palestine
Last night I saw the acclaimed documentary, 5 Broken Cameras,… at Australia’s only documentary film festival, Antenna. It’s about Palestine, the non-violent resistance movement against the IDF and settlements and the grinding, daily brutality of the Israeli occupation. Here’s a piece about the film in the New York Times and an interview with the Palestinian and…
“After Zionism” contributor imagines Abrahamic state for Middle East
In my recently released book, After Zionism, there’s a range of views that don’t fit neatly into traditional categories. On yesterday’s ABC Radio National’s Religion and Ethics Report… with Andrew West, one of the book’s contributors offered his vision: There is a stalemate in the Middle East – no longer any tangible peace process between Israel…
You’ve been water-boarded but it’s illegal to talk about it
If you need the definition of Orwellian in the American “justice” system post 9/11, here’s the perfect example (via Pro Publica): In a motion… unsealed last week, the government proposed new ground rules for classified information in the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others charged with planning the 9/11 attacks. The new order says…