Here’s to small blessings. A rather good editorial in today’s Sydney Morning Herald that calls for a re-thinking of years of imperial attitudes in the Arab world and an opening to Islamists who get elected. Bravo: The patronising orientalism that the Arabs or even Muslims in general are somehow culturally conditioned to political slavery is…
Showing all posts tagged Lebanon
Just which part of the Jewish state is democratic for all?
You can smell the fear in this Haartez editorial. Israel is a democratic state that should be saved? Who thinks this? Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza? While the negotiations over the final-status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians have fallen into lethargy, Israel’s international status is steadfastly sinking. The process…
Wikileaks shows how keen Israel is to launch wars in the Middle East
Juan Cole brings news of yet more Wikileaks cables that show the threat Israel poses to world peace: The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has summarized an Israeli military briefing by Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi of a US congressional delegation a little over a year ago and concludes that “The memo on the talks…
Wikileaks will soon expose Zionism’s dirty little secrets
Enough with the conspiracy theories (aka Israel colluding with Wikileaks). The group will soon unload on Israel and it won’t be pretty: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday that his website is due to release thousands of documents related to Israel, particularly dealing with the Mabhouh assassination in Dubai and the Second Lebanon War, Channel…
The revealed bumbling steps of US policy
What emerges from the litany of Wikileaks cables is the ineptitude of American foreign policy, either jumping at shadows or trying to impose its bullying ways on the world, often unsuccessfully. One: Saudi Arabia proposed creating an Arab force backed by US and Nato air and sea power to intervene in Lebanon two years ago…
Why not bomb Syria?
This is mainstream media reporting. Anonymous voices advocating war and chaos in the Middle East, courtesy of Israel and the US: Syria’s fresh interference in Lebanon and its increasingly sophisticated weapons shipments to Hezbollah have alarmed American officials and prompted Israel’s military to consider a strike against a Syrian weapons depot that supplies the Lebanese…
Washington’s global footprint is as subtle as the BFG
We often hear about the military industrial complex, but what does it mean in practice? Exhibit number one: The construction projects are sprouting like mushrooms: walled complexes, high-strength weapons vaults, and underground bunkers with command and control capacities — and they’re being planned and funded by a military force intent on embedding itself ever more…
Why there cannot be a Zionist loyalty oath
The following statement was released on 31 October by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network: On October 10, 2010, the Israeli government proposed a bill obligating non-Jewish naturalized citizens to swear loyalty to a “Jewish and democratic state.” The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) deplores this attempt to demand recognition of Israel as a Jewish state…
Australian unions recognise the power and necessity of BDS
Now this is news, a growing realisation that the status-quo in Palestine is simply oppressing Palestinians. Civil society is rising: Australian unions are signing up to an international campaign to boycott Israeli goods. But a fight is brewing over a proposal for the Australian Council of Trade Unions to endorse the movement. The broad-based divestment…
How Lebanon could teach Americans a thing or two about acceptance
The story of Lebanon’s oldest synagogue restored to its former glory, including with the backing of Hizbollah.