Israel committed human rights abuses during the December/January war. And what about Hamas? A new Humans Right Watch report determined Thursday that Hamas rocket fire on Israel’s south constitutes a war crime. The 25-page report documents rocket fire from the Gaza Strip towards Israel starting November 2008 – a period when three Israelis were killed…
Showing all posts tagged Islam
A perfect way to launch a war against Islam
I’ve written many times about the military contractor Blackwater (now known as Xe Services). Their connection to the Bush administration was deep and utterly lacking in transparency. American journalist Jeremy Scahill has led the charge. Scahill’s latest article in the Nation is devastating: A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as…
The mad Jew on Obama
Orly Taitz, the mastermind behind the Obama birth-certificate controversy, has an intriguing background. She was born in the Soviet republic of Moldova before moving to Israel, where she lived until immigrating to the US in 1987. She now says: I realized that Obama was another Stalin—it’s a cross between Stalinist USSR and Nazi Germany. How…
An Islamic Republic that nobody recognises
In my book The Blogging Revolution I explained my time with Iran’s former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a popular blogger. He is currently on trial in Tehran as a supposed ring-leader of the post-election chaos. It is a sham, a show trial. His “confession” – “I say to all my friends and all friends…
Walking the Gazan streets for Islam
I saw this report a few days ago on Al-Jazeera about a Hamas push for a “better virtues” campaign in Gaza. I intend to write much more about what I saw and heard there about this, but suffice to say, the Strip’s conservative nature is both ripe for such a move but also open to…
Letter from Gaza: Keep off the grass
My following article appears in today’s edition of Crikey: Freelance journalist and author Antony Loewenstein writes from inside Gaza: The American International School in Gaza was bombed on 3 January, completely destroying the institution. Today it is a twisted wreck of concrete, metal and burnt vans. Surreally, when I visited a few days ago I…
Stories from Gaza
My following video and article appears on Mondoweiss: The Western view of Gaza is of a desperate and violent place. Terrorism, extremism, Jew-hatred and poverty merge to create a dangerous brew. The Hamas-controlled territory poses a supposedly existential threat to Israel (and Jews everywhere.) But this is only one side of the besieged Strip. And…
How much Islam does Gaza desire?
The Islamisation of Gaza under Hamas is something I’m hearing and seeing. But is it what the people want? The following story by leading local journalist Fares Akram – whose father was murdered by the Israelis during the January war – wrote the following story for Xinhua news service a few days ago: Four men…
Islam under Hamas gets defined
Being in Gaza, it’s clear that a relatively strict interpretation of Islam is growing in public appearance. Many Gazans don’t subscribe to it, but for example it’s very rare to see a woman with her hair uncovered. This report therefore rings true: Senior Hamas officials had claimed, in the wake of Hamas’ June 2007 Gaza…
The twisted Muslim mind behind death
Leading Australian journalist Sally Neighbour investigates the presumed mastermind behind last week’s hotel bombings in Jakarta, Noordin Mohammed Top: Top is known not only as a master of disguise and skilled escape artist who has eluded an Indonesian police dragnet for seven years. He is also a logistical and technical mastermind and, even more troubling,…