Author Dan Ephron thought Yigal Amir’s family would be outcast because he killed Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir 20 years ago. No, they’re socially included in Israeli society, and Amir’s brother and co-conspirator Hagai who served 17 years in prison gets congratulated for his bravery.
Larry Summers says he studies economics and doesn’t know about the history of anti-Semitism or conditions on the West Bank, but ignorance doesn’t stop him from hubristically holding forth on both topics in a funny if disturbing performance at the Center for Jewish History in New York.
Sarah Algherbawi reflects on a devastating photo of Yahya Hassan and his son Mohammed, who survived an Israeli missile attack on their Gaza home which killed two other members of the Hassan family.
Katie Miranda has partnered with the Northern California chapter of the International Solidarity Movement (NorCal ISM) to sell Palbox, a quarterly offering of gifts from Palestine, including olive oil, olive oil soap, za’atar and jewelry
In rare opportunity for Palestinian perspective on CNN, Yousef Munayyer said of alleged “lone wolf” attacks on Israelis: “It would be like reducing the conversation around race riots in the United States to condemnations on attacks on store owners without talking about the systematic racism that underlies this, causing political violence.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton expressed great pride in making enemies of “the Iranians” during this week’s Democratic Party debate. Why would a past Secretary of State – a position dedicated, at least in part, to improving the United States’ relations with other nations – boast of an adversarial relationship with a key Middle Eastern geopolitical power in the aftermath of a historic diplomatic breakthrough? To find the answer it’s best to follow the money.
In light of recent headlines filmmaker Udi Aloni reflects on violence in Israel/Palestine: “As an individual sovereign human being I oppose all violence. This is the reason why I’ve supported BDS, and I’ll never collaborate with violence, but when I think with the aid of Walter Benjamin I can say that the violence of the Israeli Jews is institutional violence that represents the Israeli will for hegemony and oppression, while the violence of the Palestinian Jerusalemites and citizens of the state is the violence of oppressed subterranean streams seeking a place to erupt and to utter a strong outcry against injustice and for justice.”
State Department spokesperson Admiral John Kirby left Israeli officials outraged yesterday by his remarks during the daily State Department Press Briefing when he suggested Israel was, at a minimum, at least partly to blame for the current eruption of violence in Jerusalem and throughout the Palestinian Territories.
Al Haq’s Tahseen Ellayyan writes, “If you are Palestinian, expect to be killed by Israeli forces at any time, even if you are an Israeli citizen. It has become clear that Israel is operating under a practice of shoot to kill Palestinians and ask no questions later.”
On Thursday, Hamas official Ismail Radwan called for a third intifada: “Our people in the West Bank, Gaza and inside [Israel], tomorrow is the day of rage, the day of confrontation, and the day of renewing the intifada.” Hamas is attempting to ride popular sentiment and ignite a fire which the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s biggest asset in sustaining the occupation, cannot control.