Author Archives: David Samel

This site already has published an excellent review by Lisa Mullenneaux of Ismail Khalidi’s Tennis in Nablus, which is running for one more week in Hudson, New York. My wife and I saw the play last night and loved it. … Continue reading →

Some encouraging news from the New York Times. Wednesday’s article about U.S. efforts to avoid a UN vote on Palestine accepted comments from the public. As of this writing, 412 comments have been published, and the overwhelming sentiment is pro-Palestinian … Continue reading →

Yesterday, the nation paused to remember the horrifying attacks of September 11, 2001, and the victims whose lives were cut short by the brutal calculations of those who place a higher value on their self-centered geopolitical theories than on human … Continue reading →

According to a July Haaretz article, Israeli education authorities have implemented a new rule that kindergarten teachers must have their classes sing the Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, every week. This generated some debate in Israel about forced patriotism that poses … Continue reading →

Now that your government has made any calls for boycott illegal, I urge you to comply with the new law rather than risk financial penalties and even imprisonment. After all, Israel is a democracy, and every citizen should respect the … Continue reading →

A momentous historical find has provided insight into the manner in which sentiment against a particular ethnicity can grow from the ravings of a deranged individual into a frightening national movement with catastrophic consequences. A letter authored by Adolf Hitler … Continue reading →

Israeli PM Netanyahu has expressed dismay about President Obama’s Middle East speech. Bibi supposedly was outraged that Obama mentioned the pre-1967 borders as a starting point for negotiations. Netanyahu has complained that Mr. Obama has pushed Israel too far – … Continue reading →

Israeli leaders have condemned the nascent Palestinian reconciliation, considering the possible participation of Hamas members in any government to be unacceptable because of the party’s history of terrorism. To the great surprise of no one, American politicians have been competing … Continue reading →

Jerry Slater’s magnum opus on the history, present and future of Zionism has led to a large volume and variety of debate. He offers a lengthy defense of the creation and existence of a Jewish State despite recognizing the inherent … Continue reading →

Most of us generally think of the U.S. as a country that has made significant strides in combating racism, even if it still has a long way to go. Israelis and their supporters sometimes try to downplay Israeli racism by … Continue reading →

The horrifying murder of six members of a settlement family raises many complex issues. In the abstract, only the truly deranged would applaud any murder, much less plunging a knife into children, toddlers and even infants. But there is a … Continue reading →

The people of Egypt have toppled their dictator, which surely ranks among the most remarkable and wonderful human achievements in memory. However, every significant event is an occasion for idiotic and offensive commentary, and this has been no exception. Prominent … Continue reading →

In September, 2009, the Goldstone Report on the Israeli attack on Gaza was issued. While the Report was praised in most of the world as impartial and thorough, it was not greeted the same way in the U.S., where U.N. … Continue reading →

There have been many critical examinations of New York Times articles on this website, and I’ve had my share of such posts to the point where it has gotten tiresome. But there is literally an endless supply of material. A … Continue reading →

Interesting story out of Alabama. The new governor, Robert Bentley, on his very first day in office, shocked the civilized world, saying that he considered only Christians to be his “brothers and sisters.” Imagine that. The leader of the state … Continue reading →

A controversy has arisen over Sarah Palin’s injudicious use of the term “blood libel” to describe the accusation that her inflammatory rhetoric inspired the grisly Arizona murders. Apparently she thought it permissible to utter those words, unaware that they may … Continue reading →

Two related articles of note. First, from ynet, a new poll finds that 36% of Israeli Jews want to revoke voting rights for Palestinian citizens. Of course, this exclusion would represent a change only for the 1.4 million or so … Continue reading →

It cannot be much of a surprise to anyone with half a brain, but it’s now official. The 91-year-old Ibrahim Abu Sayed, his grandson Hossam and young family friend Ismail Abu Oda, who were blown away by Israeli tank shells … Continue reading →

Although I have replied individually to a few comments to my recent post regarding the recent killing of four Israeli settlers, there was one issue repeatedly raised in several comments. To what extent should Jewish settlers in the West Bank … Continue reading →