A Sydney paper starts opening its eyes

A senior journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald tells me that the relatively new editor is keen to show to the Zionist lobby that he can’t be intimidated. The last months have been an interesting ride. Hardly revolutionary but a noticeable shift. First an editorial in March telling Jews to accept wider views on the…

When unions back oppression

The following message was sent to the Trade Union Action Committee of the British Palestine Solidarity Campaign: An interesting notice appears on the website of The JC.com under the title “New labour movement is ”˜pro-peace’” (30 April 2009). The article states that: “A new international trades union movement committed to work for peace between Israel…

Obama should stand strong (but will he? Probably not)

The challenges ahead for Barack Obama as he prepares for his speech in Egypt in early June are many. Will he honestly tackle Israel/Palestine? US-backed dictatorships in the Middle East? Human rights? The New York Times reviews: Even before the issue of human rights is raised, though, Egyptian leaders and activists will be looking for…

Fear is a good thing for Israel

Zionist neo-cons are allegedly convinced that the Obama administration no longer cares about Israel and will not help the Jewish state protect itself from the Iranian nuclear “threat”. As if. Since when was some tough love not in order? Israel is not a special country and nor should it be treated that way. This is…

Book title of the year?

Neil MacFarquhar served as New York Times Cairo bureau chief from 2001 through 2005 and is now its UN bureau chief. His new book has the delicious title: The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East.

Of course the fight will go on

These kinds of statements will continue for as long the occupation deepens: The leaders of Iran and Syria reaffirmed their support on Tuesday for what they characterized as “Palestinian resistance,” a defiant message to the United States and its Middle East allies, which are uneasy over American efforts to forge closer ties with Iran. President…

Don’t let them change the subject

The leading American Zionist lobby, AIPAC, finishes its annual conference in Washington today. The message? Iran, Iran and Iran. Progressive Israel lobby J Street isn’t happy: To thunderous applause last night, Newt Gingrich attacked President Barack Obama’s policies in the Middle East, promoted military action against Iran, and assailed diplomatic engagement as weakness at AIPAC’s…

This is the new major Zionist lobby

Israel lobby J Street in the US is a mixed bag. Its recent statement on Israeli Independence Day is pretty lame and can’t even mention the Palestinians by name. There’s no doubt, however, that the Zionist lobby needs to be challenged. But this statement, just sent to supporters, is an interesting document, an attempt to…

Taking care of your own problems

One of Israel’s leading historians, Benny Morris – a fine scholar who now represents the bigoted underbelly of Israeli society – knows how to solve the Middle East conflict: Morris concludes that a majority of Jews during the Mandate and Israelis in the years since have come to accept the notion of two states for…

This is a plan guaranteed to lead to violence

Let’s hope Obama treats this Israeli attempt to indefinitely postpone any negotiations with the Palestinians with the contempt it deserves. If not, a third intifada is far from unlikely: The new Israeli government will not move ahead on the core issues of peace talks with the Palestinians until it sees progress in U.S. efforts to…

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