My following article appears in Crikey: In 2003, Palestinian politician and human rights activist Hanan Ashrawi won the Sydney Peace Prize. The Zionist establishment reacted with outrage, accused her of extremism and pressured then New South Wales Premier Bob Carr to not present the award. The campaign was a disaster and convinced large swathes of…
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IAJV August newsletter
The following email was just sent to the Independent Australian Jewish Voices list: Dear all, We would like to inform you of upcoming events and relevant information about the Israel/Palestine conflict. Saree Makdisi, a professor of English Literature at the University of California in Los Angeles, nephew of Edward Said and leading Middle East intellectual,…
Let Jews live where they want in Palestine (please!)
Back in July, a handbook from the Zionist group The Israel Project emerged, giving advice to poor Jews who just wanted to support their fanatical friends in the settlements. Alas, the team has had to recant: The Israel Project says it has removed the term “ethnic cleansing” from an internal document discussing how to talk…
Singing the futile Fatah blues
Who are they kidding? The Palestinian Authority intends to establish a de-facto state within the next two years, despite failing peace talks, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Tuesday. “We have decided to be proactive, to expedite the end of the occupation by working very hard to build positive facts on the ground, consistent…
Israel has utterly no self-control over colonies
Der Spiegel grills Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor in ways that most Western journalists do not. When Israeli officials lie, call them on it: SPIEGEL: You blame Palestinian intransigence. Western leaders are, of course, demanding that the Arab side compromise on some issues. But they are also putting pressure on Israel…
What lies beneath Israel’s surface
Jewish-American writer and provocateur Max Blumenthal (and some mutual Israeli friends) are keen to tell the world about Israel’s increasing crack-down on dissent and blatant hatred of Arabs. A reality that remains hidden in much of the West. I posted in July a trailer for their forthcoming documentary by The Daily Nuisance. Now, a full-length…
If the occupation stays, cinema tickets are meaningless
Efforts by eager Western journalists and Zionist officials to praise the supposedly positive economic signs in the West Bank are thankfully challenged by the Independent. Less checkpoints have undoubtedly brought more freedom for some Palestinians but here’s the rub: Critics say Mr Netanyahu’s approach is aimed at evading the broad political concessions needed to really…
US aims to convince Muslims that killing them is for their own good
Barack Obama films a Ramadan message and tells the Muslim world that he cares deeply about Pakistan, Afghanistan and a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Yet again, this is effective PR dressed up as policy. Muslims across the globel aren’t going to be seduced by pretty words from the US President when Israel…
Listen to an Israeli who supports boycotting his own country
Leading Israeli academic and intellectual Neve Gordon, with a history of critical thinking, writes in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times that it’s time to boycott Israel: It is indeed not a simple matter for me as an Israeli citizen to call on foreign governments, regional authorities, international social movements, faith-based organizations, unions and citizens to suspend…
Don’t mention the occupation (repeat after me)
The number of Western commentators – well, Zionists on the drip-feed, actually – who are proclaiming the wonders of an economically-buoyant West Bank is seemingly growing by the day. Why worry about ending the occupation and ongoing settlement building when you can see a new Hollywood film at the local cinema? Palestinians should be so…