Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Points Out the Obvious, While Missing the Point

Writing over at Foreign Policy, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon, points out that the UN Human Rights Council is absurd because so many of the member nations are human rights abusers. Point taken. One of the major problems that has dogged the legitimacy of almost every council and agency within the UN is […]

Marines Urinate on Taliban They May Have Just Killed

Gee, why do these Afghans, Iraqis, etc. dislike us so much? Could it be our endless occupation of their countries? How about our rendition and torture of mostly innocent people who apparently have no right to ever be seen again? Or our covert wars and targeted assassination programs? Or how about the fact that we […]

One Brutal Regime in Libya Down, Another One Rises

I just did a quick search of the major US mainstream media websites and as of yet, there is no coverage of this. But luckily our friends across the pond in Britain are on top of it: Thousands of people, including women and children, are being illegally detained by rebel militias in Libya, according to […]

White House/State Dept. Continue to Refuse to Condemn Egyptian Military

The violence is escalating in Tahrir Square with the military and security forces cracking down on protesters, with upwards of 35 killed. As usual when dealing with an intransigent, human rights-abusing ally, the administration has just called for “restraint on all sides” which is code for “we don’t want to denounce the disproportionate force used […]

Are We Witnessing the Beginning of a Change in Discourse on Israel-Palestine?

It goes without saying that for the past 30 or so years in the U.S., real debate about our policy on Israel and Palestine is almost non-existent in any real sense of the word. The media, politicians, commentators etc. stick to one theme- unwavering, blind, unquestioning support for Israel no matter what, even if it […]

Washington Post: Support for Palestinians at UN is Anti-Semitism *updated*

The Washington Post is certainly working overtime to get Israel’s message out. Between Jackson Diehl, Richard Cohen, Jennifer Rubin and Fred Hiatt, it’s hard to tell who is a more effective hasbarist. In a guest commentary over at the WaPo, Robert Bernstein makes an argument that ends up minimizing true anti-Semitism as it tries to […]

Why The Two State Solution is Dead

One of the problems with the administration’s foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that it increasingly ignores reality in favor of political expediency. The so-called “peace process” has become a time-honored endeavor for many, many Presidents and while 15-20 years ago there actually was the possibility of creating two states along lines that would […]

Israel LOVES Obama’s Speech at the United Nations

And well they should. After all, the ultimate goal of perpetual occupation, circular negotiations, continued settlement expansion and American protectionism has been achieved. To hear President Obama speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one could be forgiven for thinking that Obama has adopted the philosophy of right-wing Likud. Israel’s far, far, far-right racist Foreign Minister, Avigdor […]

US Brags About Denying Palestinians Legal Redress for Israel’s Human Rights Violations

I just got an email from the White House with bullet-points highlighting all the wonderful things the U.S. has done at the United Nations. There was a section on Israel. Here it is: Defending Israel Standing up for Israel at the UN: The Obama Administration has consistently and forcefully opposed unbalanced and biased actions against […]

The Price of Israel

There is a good article over at Foreign Policy about how most countries, including our European allies, are pretty much fed up with the United States’ constant pandering to even the most damaging, de-stabilizing Israeli dictates. The irony of course is that in doing Bibi’s bidding, the Obama administration is, in essence, validating right-wing Likud […]

The Washington Post Continues to Carry Bibi Netanyahu’s Water

Richard Cohen is a hack, but given his lofty perch over at the WaPo, it’s important to call him out on his shameless need to put the interests of a foreign country over the interests of the United States: Israel’s dilemma is that the Middle East, for all the talk of revolution, is slipping backward. […]

State Department Says Israel’s Violation of Palestinian Rights is an ‘Internal Matter’ for Israel

As Kurt Vonnegut would say, “and so it goes.” From the State Dept. spokeswoman Victoria Nuland: QUESTION: Can the U.S. confirm the Israeli government’s eviction of Negev Bedouin Palestinians from territory unrecognized by Israel as Palestinian? If so, what do we know about the details of the removal from these communities? ANSWER: This is an […]

Call Senator Leahy to Thank Him for Taking a Stand on the IDF’s Human Rights Abuses

Finally, someone in Congress who is willing to take a stand: U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy is promoting a bill to suspend U.S. assistance to three elite Israel Defense Forces units, alleging they are involved in human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Leahy, a Democrat and senior member of the U.S. Senate, […]

The Arab Spring Comes to Israel…

And Bibi Netanyahu is terrified because it’s not Arabs taking to the streets, but the Israeli middle class. Here’s a nice big shout out to the folks in Israel who have managed to get their leaders re-focused on a domestic agenda that revolves around middle class priorities. Good for them. In case you weren’t aware, […]

The National Security State: If We Keep This Up The Terrorists Win

The events of 9/11 have spawned an understandable focus on security, however, the extent of fear-mongering, Islamophobia and ongoing curtailment of civil liberties, along with the meteoric rise of an unwieldy national security state which operates like a secret government within a government, is at odds with the principles and values of representative democracy. The […]

IDF Harasses Palestinian American

A Palestinian American and a friend who were trying to attend a peaceful protest against the Israel Occupation in Nabi Saleh, was preventing from doing so by IDF soldiers who detained them prior to entering the village for no reason, took their phones and hacked their twitter account and sent out tweets pretending to be […]

Video: Palestinian Youths in E. Jerusalem Abducted by IDF While Playing Soccer

I’m sorry, but this is not how a democracy acts: Some are saying they might have been abducted on suspicion of throwing stones. Or not. Not that it matters. Once a Palestinian is accused of stone-throwing they usually end up in jail even if they are not guilty and even if they are as young […]

It’s Time to Stop Chasing the Peace Process Unicorn

As someone who believed in the peace process and the two state solution, it’s not been easy to reach this conclusion, but all the evidence points this way. Earlier this month I wrote several posts about how the Mideast Quartet had become little more than a vehicle for the U.S. and Israel to strong-arm their […]

The State Dept. Has to Speak Out About This NOW: Israel Taking Unilateral Action to Prevent Contiguous Palestinian State

We hear a lot in the media, from our government and from commentators about how the Palestinians are undermining the peace process by taking “unilateral” action by going to the United Nations in an attempt to have a Palestinian state recognized by the international body. Both Secretary Clinton and President Obama have repeatedly denounced the […]

Will There Ever Be An End to Military Dictatorship in Egypt?

This could put the U.S. in a prickly situation given the Egyptian people don’t trust us due to our strong support of the Egyptian military. While the Egyptian military did exercise significant restraint during the uprising, the U.S. turned a blind eye to the ongoing detention and torture of activists and dissidents by the military, […]