Author Archives: Alex Kane

Hillary Clinton condemns Shepherd Hotel demolition as demonstrators cry, ‘This is stolen land’

[UPDATE: Hillary Clinton condemns the destruction: [We are very concerned about the initiation of demolition of the Shepherd's Hotel in East Jerusalem. This disturbing development undermines peace efforts to achieve the two state-solution. In particular, this move contradicts the logic … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

In Ajami and Mas’ha, evidence of the continuing Nakba

Ramallah, West Bank–The Palestinian catastrophe, the Nakba of 1948, never really ended. What has happened since then, as Yehouda Shenhav, an Israeli sociologist and the author of Bounded by the Green Line, puts it, is a “continuation of the [1948] … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Nakba | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

‘Why are you on the Palestinian side, working against your homeland?’

Ramallah, West Bank–It’s a far cry from the daily checkpoints, beatings, tear-gassing and harassment that Palestinians have to go through, but today I can say that a tiny slice of the Palestinian experience became alive to me. My arrival at … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 8 Comments

‘The Palestine Cables’: Other countries want to ‘smoke out’ Israel on NPT and Mossad use of passports

Whether it’s the Mossad’s use of foreign passports or the refusal to open up about its nuclear weapons program, Israel is developing a reputation as a rogue state.  Some of the nearly 2,000 secret State Department cables so far released … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘The Palestine Cables’: Gaza is a burning issue from Egypt to Latin America to Pakistan, to John Kerry being ‘shocked by what I saw’

This is the third entry in “The Palestine Cables,” Alex Kane’s series on what WikiLeaks is telling us about the Palestinian position in world politics. Forsaken by the “peace process,” ignored by mainstream media, denied justice two years after Israel … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Jeffrey Goldberg likens BDS movement to Nazi Germany policies

If you can’t beat ‘em, smear ‘em.  And throw in the word Nazi for good measure. As the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement continues full-steam ahead in its efforts to force Israel to comply with international law, pro-Israel hawks … Continue reading

Posted in BDS, Beyondoweiss, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , | 279 Comments

‘The Palestine Cables’: WikiLeaks dox expose Netanyahu’s vision of Palestinian bantustan

Last week Alex Kane began a series called The Palestine Cables, based on Wikileaks data. His second entry. The Obama administration’s failure to bribe Israel’s right-wing government into accepting a three-month settlement “freeze” should have ended talk about the “peace … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

‘The Palestine Cables’: WikiLeaks expose European chill on Israel after Cast Lead, and Lebanese advice on defeating Hezbollah

WikiLeaks has gone from a drip to a torrent, and we need a way to keep up. With this post we inaugurate a new feature at this site. “The Palestine Cables” will be a weekly chronicle/analysis of important revelations bearing … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

What’s J Street doing meeting with Israeli officials on BDS?

The lobby group J Street has a somewhat muddled policy on the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. An interview in which their executive director says that he’s meeting with the Israeli Foreign Ministry on “how to address” the movement … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 26 Comments

WikiLeaks docs expose Egyptian complicity with Israeli war crimes (again)

One of the most striking things that I took away from my time in Egypt last winter was the extent to which the U.S.-backed Mubarak dictatorship goes to squash public dissent on their government’s Gaza policy. Swarms of riot police … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Michael Bloomberg and New York’s Muslims: a lesson in how Israel courses through Jewish-Muslim relations

Ever since Lawrence Swaim of the California-based Interfaith Freedom Foundation articulated his valuable insight to me that the question of Israel courses through Jewish-Muslim relations, I’ve been coming across stories that fit into that theme. In general, strong support for … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, US Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

The real Yitzhak Rabin

Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of when former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli extremist for Rabin’s signing of the Oslo Accords with Yasir Arafat. With the anniversary comes the obligatory mourning of Rabin as … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Nakba | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

How much money is needed to stop the BDS movement?

$6 million: enough to combat a largely grassroots, bottom-up and growing boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel? That’s what the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs are hoping. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s … Continue reading

Posted in BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , , | 43 Comments

Cut, cut, cut the budget (just don’t touch Israel)

If the GOP’s electoral wins next week are enough to take over Congress, one thing they’ve pledged to do is “stop out-of-control spending,” as their “Pledge to America” policy blueprint says. But don’t even think about touching the over $3 … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

The Democratic-Likud Party

Ynetnews.com today publishes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “list of millionaires,” a group of people Netanyahu identified as potential donors to him ahead of the 2007 primary elections in Israel. What’s important about the list of donors that Netanyahu identified … Continue reading

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Image and reality of Barack Obama’s Israel policy

The photo shown above of an Israeli throwing a shoe at an image of Barack Obama perfectly captures the bizarre notion emanating from right-wing Zionist circles, both in the U.S. and in Israel, that President Obama is hostile to the … Continue reading

Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Neocons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Groundwork laid for media narrative of failed peace talks: It’s the Palestinians’ fault

With direct “peace talks” between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government headed nowhere fast after the Netanyahu government let the so-called “settlement freeze” lapse, the groundwork for the media narrative on who to blame if the “peace talks” officially … Continue reading

Posted in Beyondoweiss | Tagged , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Israel-centric Ethan Bronner cites Israeli law on East J’lem and Golan, ignoring crystal clear int’l standards

Nestled in this all over-the-place article written by Ethan Bronner in today’s New York Times is this factually-challenged nugget: Both East Jerusalem and the Golan were officially annexed by Israel through parliamentary votes, so by Israeli law they count as … Continue reading

Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

‘Eased’ blockade continues to ‘strangle’ Gazan economy

The Gaza “Freedom Flotilla” of May 31 brought the world’s attention to the collective punishment the people of Gaza are going through. But despite the much-heralded Israeli “easing” of the siege in response to a furious world, the situation in … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza | 2 Comments

Avigdor Lieberman’s UN speech shows the true face of Israel

Yisrael Beiteinu’s strong third-place showing in Israel’s February 2009 elections for the Knesset was met with dread and disgust from many different quarters. Avigdor Lieberman, the founder and leader of the far-right party and the current Foreign Minister, ran a … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Jewish groups denounce ‘Museum of Tolerance’ builder Simon Wiesenthal Center for support of Islamophobia

A coalition of four Jewish groups, backed by a wide array of peace and justice organizations, held a demonstration Sept. 16 outside the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance in New York, denouncing the organization’s opposition to the Islamic community … Continue reading

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

House Republicans pal around with anti-Muslim, anti-Black racist David Yerushalmi

It should come as no surprise that elected officials are aiding and abetting anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S., especially with mid-term elections nearby. But it was still a little shocking to read Think Progress national security blogger Matt Duss’ post … Continue reading

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Neocons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

On night before 9/11, New Yorkers voice strong support for Muslim community center

As the the anniversary of 9/11 and the Islamophobic rally led by far-right blogger Pamela Geller converge today, over 1,000 New Yorkers gathered Sept. 10 at Park Place in lower Manhattan for a candlelight vigil in support of the proposed … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

U.S. has ‘rock solid’ commitment to Israel’s security as Mossad impersonates U.S. intelligence

At this year’s American-Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the crowd: So from its first day, the Obama Administration has worked to promote Israel’s security and long-term success. And if you ever doubt the resolve … Continue reading

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

‘New York Post’ joins campaign against Moustafa Bayoumi

The New York Post, the sensationalistic right-wing daily in New York, is joining the smear campaign against Moustafa Bayoumi, the Brooklyn College professor and the editor of the newly released book titled Midnight on the Mavi Marmara: The Attack on … Continue reading

Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel Lobby, Middle East, Neocons | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments