Pro-Israel and Jewish response to Michelle Alexander’s recent NYT piece, “Time to Break the Silence on Palestine,” was predictably hysterical and demonstrated that “hardline Israeli propagandists are losing their ability to shape political discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” James Zogby examines what this means…
The question “Does Israel have the right to exist?” is intellectually dishonest and intended, almost always, to silence critics and criticism of Israeli policies. Anyone who does not answer with a resounding Yes is guaranteed the label “anti-Semite.”
This was Tamika Mallory’s recent predicament – but she went in full speed and declared that “all people have the right to exist.”
The proper question is, “Is the way in which Israel exists right?”
A study of 50 years of headlines in 5 top newspapers finds that media coverage of Israel-Palestine favors Israel by providing more overall coverage, more positive coverage, and greater access to Israeli voices than to Palestinian ones. Much of this can be attributed to pressure from the pro-Israel lobby.
Israelist Neocons have moved back & forth between the left and the right… currently they’re working with progressives, funded by Pierre Omidyar, featured as “pundits” from Fox News to Rachel Maddow, & promoting anti-Russian conspiracie
A new year brings Palestinians more injustice and tragedy, as Israeli soldiers shoot and tear gas unarmed protesters in Gaza, and shoot alleged attackers with liberality.
Every day that Netanyahu chooses Trump and fundamentalism over the pro-democracy, pro-equality, pro-pluralism views of diaspora Jews, is a great day for the Palestinian cause.
No Israeli prime minister, no Israeli government and no consortium of allies has done nearly as much – inadvertently, to be sure – to bring the cause and the grievances of the Palestinians front and center.
Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has announced plans to “worsen” conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including rationing water supplies and reducing the number of family visits.
Lobelog reports how pro-Israel neocons at the Weekly Standard, Project for a New American Century, & Wall Street Journal promoted disastrous U.S. military interventions…
Razan Al-Najjar’s death by sniper last June was briefly newsworthy; she was briefly demonized by Israel, then the world forgot about her.
But the NYT chose to investigate, examining 1,000 photos and videos, interviewing experts and over 30 eyewitnesses, and piecing the event together using Israeli 3-D software.
The conclusion: the shooting should never have taken place – no one was endangering Israeli soldiers or the border, and medics were in plain view – and Israel has done little to decrease the frequency of these incidents.
Her death is at best reckless, at worst a war crime.
Today we remember the 2008-9 Israeli incursion into Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, which was launched exactly 10 years ago. 1400 Palestinians – including 344 minors – and 9 Israelis were killed in the hostilities.
A UN report found that Israel’s military operation “destroyed a substantial part of the Gaza Strip’s economic infrastructure and its capacity to support decent livelihoods for families.” A decade later, little progress has been made in rebuilding, thanks in part to Israel’s 2 subsequent attacks on Gaza.