The share of Palestinians who have lost faith in possibility of a Palestinian state rose from 56 percent in September to 65 percent now, probably due to an acceleration of settlement activity, said the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey research.
The world’s largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world is found in Chile. Siri Schwabe talks about her new PhD thesis on the Palestinian-Chilean community and how a particular diasporic form of being Palestinian has been created in the South American country.
The Israeli government this week continued to stall a so-called “muezzin bill” that if passed would criminalize mosques for playing the call the prayer over loudspeakers. Critics say Netanyahu’s support for the bill is an effort to counterbalance internal political pressure he faces over the future dismantling of the illegal outpost of Amona, a decision that continues to spur mass controversy with many in the far-right settler bloc. “This law is not about noise, it’s not about quality of life, Netanyahu doesn’t care about these issues. The bill is about inciting against the Arab population in a time that Netanyahu doesn’t look ‘right’ enough for his right-wing settler base because of everything going on with Amona,” says Reut Mor, spokeswoman for Joint List head MK Ayman Odeh.
The Times of Israel has reported that the Trump transition team “has begun exploring the logistics of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv, and checking into sites for its intended new location,” adding that the site being considered was formerly the location of the Allenby Barracks, the site of the British army’s Jerusalem garrison during the Mandate. However, research by Walid Khalidi shows the site being considered is Palestinian private property stolen from its owners. Khalidi says the move would recklessly violate U.S. and international law.
Donald Trump was “wise” when he said that he refused to demonize Putin and wouldn’t it be great if Russia and the US could cooperate not fight, Stephen Cohen says on WNYC. And Paul Krugman slurs Trump as a Kremlin agent and thereby stigmatizes dissenting views of the new Cold War.
This month, Israeli military authorities published a video on social media publicizing Palestinian attractions in the West Bank. At first glance, it looked like a generous promotional stunt by Israel to aid the Palestinians’ struggling tourism industry. But the deception at the campaign’s heart operates on several levels – and reveals much about Israel’s long-term policy towards the Palestinians.
The real struggle in Israeli leadership is not Netanyahu cowering before settlers, but who can control a sacred ethnocentric discourse of Jewish persecution and innocence in the face of alleged Palestinian Jew-hatred. Jeffrey Goldberg has propagated that discourse in the U.S. The inevitable conviction of army medic Elor Azaria on manslaughter charges next month represents a crisis for that discourse at last.
“For sale: Gazan passport, never used.” If you had to sum up life in six words, what would you write? Here’s what Palestinian refugees in Gaza and Lebanon are saying.
British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the UK is formally adopting a definition of anti-Semitism agreed to earlier this year by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Many of the definitions would bar criticisms of Israel that even Jewish Israeli critics have made, like likening Israeli conduct to that of Nazis.
Trump can’t stop talking about moving the embassy to Jerusalem; and Netanyahu is looking forward to the new president, thereby driving a wedge between himself and American Jewry.