In the latest edition of “Axis of Evil” politics Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued to the United Nations on September 29th that “Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas,” and that they are following the path blazed by Iran 35 years ago. The Prime Minister in the process exposed the mutual relationship between Zionism and its crutch: Islamophobia.
Oskar Schindler’s redemptive life is a legacy, an invitation to all of us to move past our self centered concerns and figure out how we can contribute to the saving of innocent lives. Today it tells us to throw our energy into supporting the people of Palestine
In an unhinged analogy, Frederick Krantz, a Canadian Jewish leader, says that Hamas is the Nazi Luftwaffe trying to cross the channel to bomb Britain, and the Israeli army is the valiant RAF holding the Nazis at bay.
The NY Review of Books leaves till the last paragraph of an article on the failed peace process that a “domestic” power of Israel in the U.S. foiled the efforts. When is the journal going to address the Israel lobby directly?
The bitterly contentious exchange involving New Atheists Sam Harris and Bill Maher teaming up against actor Ben Affleck on the matter of Islam shows us quite explicitly the dangerous pitfalls of Interfaith Dialogue and its fatally flawed process. Harris and the other New Atheists, following the lead of the Interfaith Dialogue movement, militantly isolate religion from its contexts. Instead, our understanding of religion needs to take into account the history, culture, and politics that has impacted its development.
Before voting 274-12 to recognize Palestinian statehood, the British parliament had an astonishing debate on Palestine you’d never hear in the US Congress. That the occupation is worse than apartheid, that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, and that British public opinion has shifted dramatically to view Israel as a bully, and the US must pay attention.
The Israeli policies to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian Bedouin communities from the Jordan Valley and the area east of Jerusalem include the construction of three apartheid-style townships. Once expelled, these communities should be relocated there. However, in the last weeks Palestinian campaigners and Bedouin communities have made great advances to obstruct this plan: They have directly targeted the companies involved in the construction of the two townships currently being developed.
This past month, Rebuilding Alliance’s office in San Mateo filled with thousands of bags of gently-used clothes, shoes, and bedding for those in Gaza who lost everything. A hundred volunteers — all faiths and backgrounds — sorted and packed over 600 boxes. Albayk Restaurant donated lunch each day and Home Depot discounted tape and boxes. The United Nations is helping Rebuilding Alliance get this first shipping container into Gaza for delivery to the Al Basma Club for the Disabled (ABCD). ABCD is the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization in Gaza City who will distribute to the families who need it most.
Katie Miranda introduces a “tele-summit” for action on Palestine: Huge shifts are happening in the struggle for Palestinian self-determination. If you’re ready to hear new ideas that will help invigorate the struggle, I invite you to join the Palestine Solidarity Telesummit
Hundreds of young Jews from around the country converged on Harvard over the weekend for the Open Hillel conference. The event succeeded in creating a space where open dissent on Israel is welcomed and where conversation and debate is the norm. At the heart of the Open Hillel network is a conviction that Hillel should be a place that welcomes all Jews–not just those who follow the establishment line on Israel.