Anyone who believes that Israel’s occupation of Palestine can last forever must read Zohra Drif’s memoir of the Algerian war for independence. Drif was a 22-year-old law student in 1956, when she left a bomb in a milk bar. Her account is a vital addition to a sparse literature: the Algerian side of the 1954-62 war for independence, in which up to one million Algerians died before France was forced to leave its colony.
Israel is making a big effort to strengthen its diplomatic ties in Africa. Netanyahu told his ambassadors to Africa, “The first interest is to dramatically change the situation regarding African votes at the UN and other international bodies from opposition to support.” But Tel Aviv’s history and its policies today mean it will fail in this effort.
Jodi Rudoren promoted the Israeli Zionist narrative as bureau chief for the New York Times in Jerusalem. Now she’s the newspaper’s guide in Israel to wealthy visitors for three days during a first-class round the world tour in a private jet next year, 26 days and 9 countries for $135,000.
June 8 marked the 50th anniversary of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, killing 34 American sailors. The case remains a mystery that is the subject of a Haaretz investigation in Israel and a new book, but U.S. media won’t even address the controversy, leaving the case entirely to Letters to the Editor.
Jeffrey Gettleman, a New York Times reporter who covered Africa for a decade, accidentally reveals why much mainstream coverage is so bad. There is a focus on violence and “ooga-booga” stories, ones that satisfy western prejudice, rather than relating the real struggles and achievements of Africans.
Iran today is not a unified, expansionist juggernaut, but an increasingly corrupt, discredited regime that faces rising opposition. But U.S. policy reflects the Israeli and Saudi claim that Iran is supposedly unified, powerful and expanding, so it must be confronted everywhere.
A questionable New York Times article contends Israel possibly faced “doomsday” in the Six-Day War, and therefore planned to explode a nuclear device to deter Arab invaders. The truth is that Israel started the war and its leaders knew that it did not face destruction.
The Six Day War, 50 years ago, was a walkover, Norman Finkelstein relates. It lasted closer to six minutes than six days. But it had a stunning effect on American Jewish identity. Jews went from nebbishes to martial heroes.
I am old enough to remember clearly how the Six-Day War was reported at the…
Paul Berman’s claim that Eric Alterman is blackmailing him over sexual correspondence has had the good effect of exposing Berman’s continued evasion of the fact that he supported the disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq.