Australian-born Zionist spokesman, Isi Leibler, now living in Israel, wrote recently in The Jerusalem Post about the revelations of IDF abuse during the Gaza war. He knew who to blame: Few would deny that over the past years Haaretz, notably its English Internet edition – has more effectively damaged Israel’s image in the West than…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
When the war was over
What we aren’t reading about in the mainstream media: Democracy Now! producer Anjali Kamat files a report on the state of the Gazan economy, where unemployment and poverty rates are among the highest in the world. Despite international pledges of over $5.2 billion to rebuild Gaza, in the four months since Israel’s assault the siege…
The wool is slowly being removed
A very powerful piece in the New York Times today by Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and a member of the Knesset: The right-wing coalition of the new Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, does not bode well for Palestinians in Israel. With the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as foreign minister, the extremists are…
Because our friends can do what they want
Sometimes eloquence can occur in only a few words. A letter in today’s Australian newspaper: Israel invades Gaza, kills 1500 people (including women and children) and commits war crimes. The US and UN do nothing (and in fact encourage the killings). The Stalinists in North Korea launch one “communications” satellite and the US and the…
When citizens take things into their own hands
Peace activist Jeff Halper was one of the many who broke Israel’s blockade of Gaza last year by sailing on a boat from Cyprus. The boats are soon to sail again: The Free Gaza Movement will again challenge Israel’s illegal closure of the Gaza Strip and collective punishment of its civilian population by sailing the…
Human rights justice for all
A necessary request from Israel’s leading human rights group, B’Tselem: B’Tselem welcomes the appointment of the jurist Richard Goldstone to head the fact-finding mission, called for by the UN Human Rights Council, to investigate the recent fighting in Gaza. Particularly welcome is the delegation’s mandate, which covers violations of international humanitarian law by both sides,…
Stop bowing to dictators
It’s hard to disagree with conservative commentator Michelle Malkin: I have expressed my disgust many times over the years with the Bush administration’s kowtowing to Saudi Arabia. That notorious image of Bush holding hands with Saudi royalty in 2005 and doing sword dances with Wahabbists in 2008 sparked outrage on both the left and the…
The long road ahead
Salim Vally is a leading member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee in South Africa, a veteran anti-apartheid activist and here provides some background for the necessary struggle against Israel: It will be helpful to draw activists’ attention to some of the egregious lessons from the campaign to isolate apartheid South Africa, bearing in mind Amilcar…
Melbourne marks Palestine Solidarity Week
The following article by Kimberly Yu appears in this week’s Green Left Weekly: As part of Palestine Solidarity Week — March 30 to April 3 — renowned Jewish author Antony Loewenstein spoke at campus meetings at La Trobe University, Monash University and the University of Melbourne on April 1. The public lectures were organised by…
A colonial project supported by us
Rami G. Khouri, The Daily Star, April 4: It is not clear to most of the world, beyond the hypocrisy-democracy heartland in Tel Aviv and corners of the West, why the Palestinians are asked to show strict compliance with past agreements and a priori formally recognize the enemy before any talks can start, while no…