I regularly feature the writings of Father Peter Bray, a New Zealander who heads Bethlehem University. He offers first-hand accounts of the realities of occupation: 7 July 2010 Greetings from this holy place! Last week we finally celebrated the graduation of 656 students and so brought to an end the academic year which was the…
Showing all posts tagged Egypt
Obama is a barrier to any kind of Middle East peace
Even if this story is accurate, that US/Israeli relations are struggling, other reports indicate Washington is very happy to continue carrying the water for Tel Aviv, even if it means not releasing Gilad Shalit because it would strengthen Hamas. First, this: Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, denied painting a dark picture of U.S.-Israeli relations…
Cairo hearts Washington and murders its own citizens
What America gets with a few billion dollars of aid every year: Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the death of Khaled Mohammed Said, a 28-year-old human rights activist who is widely alleged to have been beaten to death by police in Alexandria on 6 June, and calls for an independent and transparent enquiry. The…
Welcome to what Gazans were saying four years ago
While a new French reality program pits Israelis and Palestinians under constant watch to learn more about the other (and hopefully not worsen stereotypes), the New York Times decides to finally report on the inevitable: the siege on Gaza has failed and perhaps a different strategy should be employed. But note the tone. Israel was…
Israel must be “enlightened”
What world do these people live in? Here’s Ari Shavit in Haaretz: If Israel intends to attack Iran, it must carry out the following diplomatic operations during the year preceding such an offensive: position itself anew in the international arena as an enlightened, peace-seeking democracy; tighten its alliances with the United States and the West;…
Talking BDS post flotilla massacre
My following interview with Green Left Weekly appears today: Sydney-based journalist and author Antony Loewenstein is an outspoken critic of Israeli policies and author of the best-selling 2006 book My Israel Question. He is the co-founder of advocacy group Independent Australian Jewish Voices and is a board member of Macquarie University’s Centre for Middle East…
Gazans feel a few days of freedom
A small but welcome step (considering Egypt is a client state) and a slap in the face to Israel’s insane, cruel and counter-productive siege on Gaza: Egypt opened its border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, letting Palestinians cross until further notice amid a storm of international criticism of Israel’s blockade of the enclave, officials…
Israel’s choice is clear
My following article appears in today in New Matilda: The deadly attack by Israeli forces on the Gaza relief ships has provoked global outrage, writes Antony Loewenstein. Has Israel bitten off more than it can chew this time? Within hours of Israel’s storming of the Gaza flotilla yesterday in international waters, Haaretz columnist Bradley Burston…
Another win for Hamas in Gaza but Turkey is the real key
When the smoke settles, the most likely long-term ramifications of the Israeli attack today are the moves made by Turkey. Zvi Bar’el of Haaretz outlines possible scenarios: The Turkish government’s political-security cabinet convened Monday morning to assess its options on an official Turkish response to Israel’s attack on the Gaza aid convoy, in which IDF…
Netanyahu and Mubarak see Arabs in a very similar way
What a region of democracy and freedom: Both Obama and Netanyahu understand that Israel’s most important ally in the Middle East is Egypt, and they are doing everything possible to keep it that way. Of all the world’s statesmen, the one closest to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.