Isolate a territory, target its rulers and don’t wonder why Islamism breeds (though it must be condemned and plays directly into Israeli hands): Gaza’s Hamas rulers are banning women from smoking water pipes (nargilas) in cafes, claiming it violates tradition and leads to divorce. The new order went into effect last week, and several cafe…
Showing all posts tagged Gaza
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Don’t touch anything Palestinian, it’s toxic
Any company that dares work for a pro-Palestinian cause is being targeted by the Zionist lobby (nobody is safe): A U.S. public relations firm said it will not renew its contract with a pro-Palestinian group that helped to organize the flotilla that aimed to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. The announcement from Fenton…
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The importance of the right of return
I just signed the following recent statement written by Al-Awda, the US-based Palestine Right to Return Coalition: In the year and a half since Israel’s massacres in Gaza, the Palestine solidarity movement, for fifteen years weakened by the two-state “Peace Roadmap” of the 1993 Oslo Accords, has gone through what can only be described as…
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Israel should not wonder why few people love her
A wonderful column by Larry Derfner in the belly of the Zionist beast, the Jerusalem Post: Given the way Israel behaves now, it’s pretty sad to remember that it was envisioned as a country where the Jews ran their own national affairs – but nobody else’s. Now it’s not enough for Israel to have its…
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Hamas is building a society of sorts in Gaza
There are increasing numbers of reports from inside Gaza, including this piece today in the New York Times that rightly says, “Gaza, on almost every level, is stuck”. Journalist David Rose offers a slightly different view, claiming that while life in Gaza is undoubtedly tough, many people are simply getting on with life and the…
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Of course life must go on in Gaza
Despite the ongoing hardships in Gaza caused by Israel’s blockade, Palestinians continue to innovate in very difficult circumstances. Gaza journalist Rami Almeghari, whom I met last year in the Strip, reports: The relentless Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip has squeezed many things, but it hasn’t robbed people of their ability and desire to innovate…
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Remote-control killing in Palestine
What is an occupying army to do when people are simply not as keen to kill Palestinians anymore? It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the action with a PlayStation-style joystick. The aim: to kill. Played by: young women serving in the Israeli…
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Israel is drifting and the future looks bleak
The US Presbyterian Church continues to gently push for effective change in Palestine and the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof rehashes the tired line of finding a Palestinian “Gandhi” (do these Western commentators simply feel the need to repeat predictable talking points over and over again?) Max Blumenthal finds increasing Israeli violence at Sheikh…
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Life under occupation in the holy city of Bethlehem
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…