The London Times writes about the growing radicalism of the IDF: During the Gaza war this year, Schmuel Kaufman, a military rabbi from a West Bank settlement, used to stride between the Israeli soldiers’ tents and urge them to fight what he deemed an “obligatory war” ordained by ancient scripture. “It’s a holy war to…
Showing all posts tagged Zionism
Freedom means offending people
The curious case of US academic William Robinson under attack by the Israel lobby was mentioned here in late April. Since then, however, a number of free speech advocates have come forward to defend Robinson’s right to circulate a blog posting that juxtaposed images of Jews from the Holocaust with images of Palestinians in the…
Will the US really challenge this?
Russia talks sense (while Israel simply continues to expand settlements in the West Bank): Russia’s foreign minister has… said talks with the Palestinian group Hamas were “needed” to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East. “We are certain that this is needed,” the Russia interfax news agency quoted Sergei Lavrov as saying on Sunday after meeting…
Free trips to fellate Israel
Are there no limits to the whoring the political and media elite won’t display towards Israel? Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard will lead a delegation to Israel next month as part of a bid to strengthen political, business and cultural ties between Australia and Israel. The tour, organised by pro-Israel lobby group the Australia Israel…
What form of censorship will come next?
The ever-growing rise of fascism in the Israeli state. And just the latest example: Today was the start of the 2nd Palestine Festival of Literature, slated to open at the Palestinian National Theater in East Jerusalem. The festival began as a call from Edward Said, to “reaffirm the power of culture over the culture of…
Beyond time to wield the massive stick
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Saturday: Settlements are not the reason that the peace process is failing, they were never an obstacle, not at any stage. Even when Israel pulled out of [Palestinian] territory, the terror continued. Even when we uprooted [Jewish] communities, we got ‘Hamastan.’ That is why I propose that…
Because we can and should
Jews who want to discuss Jews and Israel in a critical way. The debate grows: On Monday, a discussion organized by the Jewish Community Centre for London entitled “Can We Talk about Israel?” illustrates just how much the Diaspora debate on Israel has changed. All the panellists were of the left, all opposed the occupation,…
We can build and peace will never come
Who says the illegal occupation of West Bank settlements is an impediment to peace? Not the neo-con Zionist Right.
We can do it because we’re good
Perhaps somebody should remind Israel that killing leaders is actually illegal: Israel is planning to assassinate the head of the southern Lebanon-based Shi’ite militia Hezbollah, a development which would “set the region ablaze,” one of the group’s deputies told an Arab language newspaper on Friday. Imagine the outcry if a story emerged that the head…
Resistance in Indonesia
A few months ago I spoke in Ubud, Bali about the Middle East crisis and Jewish responsibility for the chaos. I’ll be returning in October as a guest of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. Here’s the latest news about the wonderfully diverse guest list, a unique opportunity to share stories and be inspired: The…