Author Archives: Matthew Phillips

What is it about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that compels intelligent and sensitive analysts to persist in believing—despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary— that a solution will emerge top-down, from leaders, rather than from demands made by civil society? And why, … Continue reading →

In a memorable exchange on the Gaza War between Norman Finkelstein and Benny Morris some months ago, Finkelstein asked Morris about one of the more bizarre allegations in the Goldstone Report: the evidence of the massive destruction of chicken farms … Continue reading →

  “The tasks of the critic, thus armored, are…to question relentlessly the platitudes and myths of his society”—Michael Walzer, The Company of Critics “We justify our conduct; we judge the conduct of others.”—Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars In November, … Continue reading →

Many readers of Mondoweiss will, I’m sure, be familiar of the work of  Chalmers Johnson. In my last review, dealing with the relevance of imperial and postwar Japan for current American policy in the Middle East, I cited Johnson as notable American … Continue reading →

Due in large part to the examples set forth by editors Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz, readers of Mondoweiss have been encouraged to think about the issue of American “double standards”, especially in terms of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. As … Continue reading →

On June 13th, two weeks after Israel’s attack on the Mavi Marmara, a profile of the respected liberal intellectual and Just War theorist Michael Walzer appeared in Haaretz. Amidst his professed concern about Israel’s diminished standing in world, Walzer offered … Continue reading →