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 […]

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 […]

A Nice Double Standard: How Israel Responds to Nonviolent Protest

Hundreds of thousands of Jewish Israelis have taken to the streets in recent weeks, demanding economic justice. It’s a truly inspiring scene in Tel Aviv and elsewhere. In response, the police have acted with restraint, even in a few instances where things got a little out of hand. What will happen if the Palestinians peacefully […]

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, […]

Clearly the Only Language the Palestinians Know is Violence

Oh, but wait: The Palestinian Authority has ordered its security forces to prevent demonstrations planned for September from escalating into violent confrontations with Israel, especially in potential friction points like the roadblocks and settlements. Senior Palestinian Authority figures issued the orders to the Palestinian security forces in recent weeks out of concern that there may […]

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 […]

M.J. Rosenberg: Enough with the “Delegitimization” Distraction

I’ve said it many times- nonviolent protest against the Occupation is not delegitimization, it’s simply a disagreement/criticism of Israeli politics and policies visa vi the Palestinians. To claim that nonviolent protest is an existential threat to the very existence of Israel is a lazy, fear-mongering tactic that actually serves, ironically, to minimize some of Israel’s […]

Some Rare Good News: Unprecedented Security Cooperation Between Palestinian Authority and Israeli Defense Forces

When we briefly put aside all the rhetoric, propaganda and finger pointing on both sides, there have definitely been improvements in the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. One thing that helped improve the relationship was the death of Yasser Arafat, who continued to play both sides- he said publicly what people in the […]

Why the Israeli Anti-Boycott Law is a Slap in the Face to Democracy

Israel’s right-wing government passed a law which penalizes any Israeli who engages in, or speaks about, boycotting Israel or the Occupied Territories. For example, if an Israeli urges artists to not have a concert in Jerusalem, that individual could be sued in civil court and under the law, the person bringing the suit does not […]

A Great Example of How the NYT Shapes the Debate About Israel

Someone just passed on this link on Twitter and although it’s a few days old, it’s really a perfect example of how the NYT’ Jerusalem bureau tilts it’s coverage towards Israel, even if only in very subtle ways. This is important because most people have only the most basic knowledge of the conflict. I’m not […]

Rep. Gary Ackerman Wants You To Know That All Disagreement with Israel is Antisemitism

Yup, that’s the low bar that’s been set by our government when it comes to debate about the policies of our closest ally. From J-Post: …Our gathering is focused on the twin challenges of delegitimization and regional change. Despite the rhetoric, I don’t believe that increasing attacks on Israel’s right to exist and efforts to […]

Israel’s Tilt Towards Fascism

Check out the independent Israeli media blog +972 for coverage of the Israeli governments’ repression of free speech and thuggish tactics with respect to the activists flying in to Ben Gurion airport to enter the West Bank. The type of rationales for keeping out anyone with whom the right-wing Israeli government (and increasingly, the right […]

I Hope the US Government Stands Firm Against This New Threat to Israel’s Existence!

Now that Israel, Greece and the U.S. have bullied the Flotilla activists to such a degree that some have been arrested and it appears the Freedom Flotilla will simply not happen this year, Israel is on to the next big threat to its existence- pro-Palestinian activists flying into Ben Gurion airport and announcing they want […]

If This is Not Ethnic Cleansing, Then What is It?

I’d be curious to know what people think of this story that appeared, much to my surprise, in the Washington Post. Thain brought up an issue in the comments the other day, that the official U.S. and European definition of anti-Semitism includes references to Israeli policies as “racist” or “ethnic cleansing.” That’s why I ask, […]

U.S. Militarism and Women’s Rights

This is a subject that I’ve been interested in for a long time. I’ve always had a hard time rationalizing certain feminist principles with the United States’ hawkish foreign policy. How can we as a country proclaim our unyielding support for women around the world while at the same time advocating military solutions to almost […]

Official IDF Website Says Alice Walker Poses Grave Threat to Israel

Ok, not just Alice Walker, but they are particularly focused on the big names who signed up to sail to Gaza. Somebody really needs to help these guys with their propaganda. This is a screenshot of the IDF webpage: Now, I don’t know about you, but even if I totally disagreed with the methods used […]

Shut Up Already, You WON

This J-Post editorial is the perfect example of the peace rejectionist, perpetual victim mindset. The faux hysteria over the Flotilla is long past tedious. The U.S. and Israeli response to the Flotilla shows how Israel is incapable of dealing with anything without blowing it totally out of proportion. Every act, no matter how minor and […]

Greek Commandos Prevent US Boat to Gaza from Leaving Greece

Apparently Greece has caved to Israeli and U.S. pressure and will not be allowing the Flotilla to leave Greece. One of the activists on board the Audacity of Hope just tweeted that the Greek Coast Guard has taken over the ship and it’s been impounded. I am so disgusted. Here is a photo from earlier […]

Former Israeli Air Force Pilot on Flotilla Responds to Israeli Propaganda

This is an interesting interview by Democracy Now, which is one of the few media outlets providing the other side of the story. Of course, Democracy Now isn’t part of the MSM. Today, Bibi Netanyahu came up with some clever new names for the Flotilla, while making totally un-subtantiated charged against the Flotilla participants. Yesterday […]