Violence should be condemned but my sources tell me that the reaction of the police in Melbourne yesterday was a gross over-reaction: Capsicum spray was used on pro-Palestinian demonstrators who tried to storm a hotel where Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke last night. About 200 demonstrators holding flags and placards tried to force their…
Showing all posts tagged settlements
Even J Street realises the window is closing
The position of J Street has often been awfully weak in the face of Israeli extremism. The group’s latest statement is a little tougher and necessarily so: J Street is deeply concerned about increasing tension in Jerusalem and provocative actions being taken by the Israeli government and settler groups there that threaten prospects for agreement…
We will build and you can’t stop us, says Zionist on Israel’s tit
Pro-settler group Women in Green and their leader Nadia Matar issue a clarion call to resist the Israeli state on its pathetic efforts to “halt” settlement growth. The organisation of the far-right is impressive and Israel has for decades bowed down to these hardliners. Arabs be damned. Here’s Matar: Dear Friends, A few thoughts about…
The state of the peace process in 2009
Overland is one of Australia’s finest literary journals. Punchy, provocative, topical, relevant and interesting, the magazine re-launched its website this week and is currently running a Subscriberthon. Do it for yourself and the country. Get into it! I was asked to write an original piece for the festivities: Antony Loewenstein is a prominent blogger, and…
Hamas and Israel move along their merry way of further crimes
Sometimes a necessary comparison must be done. First, Hamas in Gaza tightens its rule and undoubtedly increases the chances of human rights abuses: Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip plan to introduce the death penalty for gangs getting rich off smuggled narcotics. Security officials of the Hamas movement and human rights groups say drug smuggling…
When Netanyahu became Ariel Sharon
Ari Shavit in Haaretz: Few people are close to the prime minister, but among the few who are, some say he has indeed undergone a turnabout. Israel’s might, not the settlements or the settlers, is his top priority. Therefore, had there been a proposal on the table assuring Israel’s security in exchange for a painful…
Extremists should not be welcome in Australia
The following statement was released yesterday by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Sector union: Kevin Rudd is set to host an Israeli delegation to Australia led by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom. Shalom is one of the most senior members of the extreme right wing Israeli political party, Likud, forming part of the…
Some handy tips to break the Middle East impasse
Rami G. Khouri writes in Lebanon’s Daily Star with a suggestion to break the Middle East impasse: I have a suggestion. The Netanyahu move does not meet the legitimate demands of the Palestinians, the Obama administration, Security Council resolutions or international law and conventions, yet we should not merely dismiss it and remain diplomatically frozen.…
Chomsky on a Middle East that must revolve around Iran
Noam Chomsky and Tariq Ali recently spoke at The Imperial College Political Philosophy Society in London in association with Palestine societies at UCL, SOAS, Goldsmiths, LSE, Imperial and Kings on Palestine and the region in the Obama era: the emerging framework: Chomsky: Palestine and the region in the Obama era: the emerging framework. from ICU…
Why can’t colonists expand and get some Arab love?
Illegal settlers in the West Bank just want to reach out to the world and get some understanding: I am a settler, the daughter of settlers. My husband (or “partner” or “other half” or whatever you call it) is also of that ilk. A settler. And with the precepts of our forefathers in mind, and…