Obama defenders find ways to justify use of arms here and there

The New York Times, being an establishment paper, unsurprisingly backs Barack Obama’s military intervention in Libya. Much more revealing, however, is this interview with Samantha Power, a senior director on the National Security Council. I truly wonder if she believes the words she’s telling Politico: Obama “has used his pulpit and a number of speeches…

Do we know anything about Libya’s “rebels”?

Not much, no. In fact, what’s remarkable about the Western intervention is the complete lack of understanding who is fighting for what and why. Calling for democracy is essential, of course, but what else? Barack Obama’s recent speech backing the war was all about protecting civilians and America not willing to watch massacres take place.…

Boycotting Israel…from within the Zionist state

This is the kind of vital shift in Israeli Jewish society that is taking place under the nose of the authorities and they hate it. Why should Jews be treated better than Arabs? Why should the Jewish state spend every day finding new ways to discriminate against Palestinians? And why should the democratic world –…

Palestinians heard backing BDS in Marrickville

With all the talk about Marrickville council embracing BDS in Sydney, Palestinian voices have been largely absent. Like in so many debates about the Middle East in the West, all we hear are Zionists and Zionists. Well, let’s change that right now. Here’s Australians for Palestine public advocate Samah Sabawi and the group’s founder Sonja…

What Israel does to dissidents; smear and damn

Gideon Levy in Haaretz: About two weeks ago, I was invited to the Jewish Book Week in London, following the publication in English of my book “The Punishment of Gaza.” The Jewish establishment in Britain threatened to boycott the event, the organizers considered hiring security guards, and roughly 500 people, mainly middle-of-the-road Jews, filled the…

Looks like I’m a new kind of self-hating Jew

Bradley Burston in Haaretz: This is the message of the new self-hating Jew: There is no place for the likes of Gary Rosenblatt in the new Zionism. Nor J Street. Nor the New Israel Fund. Nor Jews who oppose the occupation. Nor Jews who believe that non-Orthodox Judaism is valid and important. A people which…

Real message of Marrickville BDS; Zionists scared of focus on occupation

It’s one day before the New South Wales election. Sydney’s Marrickville council embraced BDS late last year and since then we’ve seen a litany of hysterical attacks by the Zionist lobby, Liberal Party, Labor Party and Murdoch press. The main “issues”? The Greens are anti-Semitic, want Israel destroyed and hate Jews. That’s the kind of…

Aussie Zio bullies want no debate about Palestine here

The Australian Jewish News write these stories like Israel is about to destroyed by the mere mention of Palestinian rights. Insecure much? The leader of the Government in the Senate, Chris Evans, has denied that he refused to condemn an anti-Israel boycott this week. Senator Mitch Fifield accused Evans of failing to speak out against…

Serbia 1999 vs Libya 2011

Leading Australian academic Scott Burchill has some thoughts about Libya: 1. Military intervention like this can make the humanitarian crisis worse, as it did in Serbia in 1999. Milosevich’s attacks on Kosovars only escalated after NATO’s bombing campaign begun. So even though the West controls the skies over Libya, expect ground attacks by Gaddafi loyalists…

South Africa knows about apartheid and sees it in Israel

Wonderful news (via Joseph Dana): In a major victory for… proponents… of the academic boycott of Israel, the University of… Johannesburg has voted to end its relationship with Ben Gurion University. This… decision… to boycott Ben Gurion University carries… special… significance… given South Africa’s history of Apartheid and the… successful… boycott that was… launched… against the country in the 1980’s. The university’s decision is another confirmation of…

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