In 2011, Israeli ambassador Michael Oren tried to postpone New York Times publication of an op-ed by Danny Danon because Danon was an extremist who would hurt Israel’s image. Benjamin Netanyahu must like it that way: he just appointed Danon as UN ambassador!
The theologian Marc Ellis gave a sensational speech at the Carter Center in 1988, on the Palestinian uprising and the Jewish people. Friends fearing for his safety accompanied him from the hall. The next day he was seated across from Jimmy Carter and the president expressed anger at the Begin government for not following through on commitments at Camp David
Settler extremists break a Palestinian worker’s hand and torch a Palestinian tent as a price for detention for other settlers; a third burning victim is said to be near death
Since the settler firebombing that burned alive eighteen-month-old Ali Dawabshe and killed his father Sa’ad, Palestinians in Duma and other villages have formed night patrol groups to confront settler incursions. Unarmed, they have no means to repel settlers who have the full backing of the Israeli military. “We don’t have anything to defend ourselves or any equipment. We just try to warn people if we see something,” said one member of the Dawabshe family who identified himself as Akram, preferring to use a pseudonym for his own security.
Leaflets pepper the Upper East Side slamming Senator Chuck Schumer for being for the war with Iraq and now a war with Iran
James M. Wall reflects on his relationship with Jimmy Carter following the news that, at age 90, the former US president is fighting liver cancer. Wall writes: “Carter’s courageous truthfulness is interwoven with his stubbornness and his determination to see a larger picture as it unfolds. When he sees the truth, he follows it, regardless of the consequences.”
Paul Wolfowitz is back! Jeb Bush is talking to him, even as Netanyahu is said to be playing a loss on the Iran deal for a big win in the 2016 elections for a Republican who will back Israel to the max.
The Israeli occupation is the chief structural barrier to quality healthcare for Palestinians—it has exacerbated existing inequities in the population and has given rise to a host of issues unique to this devastating political reality. The structural aspects of the occupation —political, economic, and social— collectively mitigate access to quality health care for Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. Healthcare is not just measured in mortality statistics or disease prevalence. National health systems are highly influenced by the political climate surrounding them, and as Norwegian physician and activist Mads Gilbert puts it, “Medicine and politics are Siamese twins.”
A year ago Danny Danon was fired by Benjamin Netanyahu as deputy foreign minister because he said Israel was acting with restraint in attack on Gaza. Today he was appointed envoy to the UN by Netanyahu, as Israel’s rightwing trend continues.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is throwing mountains of money around in an attempt to derail the Iran nuclear deal. NPR says AIPAC will spend $20 million to $40 million to oppose the Iran deal, but that might be a conservative estimate.