Fatah thug Mohammed Dahlan, with a long history of collusion, brutality and corruption, returns to mainstream Palestinian politics (which is highly appropriate really, as Washington and Israel have long admired anybody who can be bought and work for their interests): He ran the Gaza Strip like the Godfather, dispensing brutal punishment and benevolent largess. But…
Showing all posts tagged Gaza
Boycotts are the new tool of pressuring Israel
The debate over film-maker Ken Loach’s pressure on the Melbourne International Film Festival to refuse Israeli government funding continues. The festival’s director expressed his view last week in the Guardian. Today, Loach, his producer and writer respond: When we decided to pull our film Looking for Eric from the Melbourne International Film festival following our…
Survey puts Israel and Zionism under scrutiny
My following article appears in Crikey: Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation has released the preliminary findings of its survey of Australian and New Zealand Jewry in which… 6200 Jewish people answered 144 questions on a variety of subjects, including anti-Semitism, Israel and Zionism, inter-marriage, education and identity. It’s the biggest study of its sort…
My Israel Question third edition out today
The third edition of my best-selling book, My Israel Question, is released today: Antony’s Loewenstein’s My Israel Question was a bestseller when first published and generated a storm of controversy, critical praise and robust public debate. Loewenstein’s forensic discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues here in a fully updated and expanded new edition, examining the…
One more nation may see sense towards Israel
The new, more liberal Japanese government, throwing the country’s political map into a spin, may shift its policies towards the Middle East. Haaretz reports: Withdrawing from American guardianship could also change Japanese policy toward Israel. Until now, Japan limited its support for the Palestinians to aiding economic projects, in keeping with American requests. The Hatoyama…
Gazans celebrate the holy Muslim festival
A report from inside Gaza during the festival of Ramadan: I heard it all the time in the occupied West Bank back in 2007, and I hear it here in besieged Gaza also: ”˜we used to live with the Jews, side by side. We worked together, lived as neighbours.’ The theme of coexistence is bastardized…
What Israeli cultural ambassadors now must do
Udi Aloni, an Israeli-American film maker, suggests a code of conduct for Israeli artists: We, as Israeli artists opposed to the occupation, must act according to the following guidelines: 1. Declare everywhere that Israel is an apartheid state, violating international law as far as it concerns the Occupied Territories. 2. Demand the immediate lifting of…
Caring more for Israeli blood
The return from Hamas of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is reportedly near (though many false stories have alleged this in the past). Gideon Levy in Haaretz highlights the hypocrisy of those shouting the loudest for his release: There is no need to waste more words on everyone’s desire to see Gilad Shalit return home.…
How to pressure Israel one cultural step at a time
How to pressure Israel to change its behaviour? There are a myriad of ways but normalising relations with an apartheid state is not one of them. Outside pressure is the only way to bring change (a message I heard time and time again from countless Israeli Jews during my recent visit there). The occupation won’t…
A day in the life of a Gazan surfer
A story of rare hope and the kind I wish I read more about. The National publishes a piece about surfing in Gaza, of all places, and the surfers in Israel and America that want to help Gazans experience the global sport. We often hear about attempts at understanding but this is the real deal,…