Helen Thomas, supporters, not anti-Semitic
Arab museum should be supported in efforts to memorialize her life I am disappointed, but certainly not surprised, that the Jewish leadership and community find fault that the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn plans a sculpture in honor of the venerable journalist, Helen Thomas, a native Detroiter. As if that were not...Mike Bouchard is best choice for Governor
Since taking office in January 2003, I have worked hard as your Secretary of State to focus my department squarely on the mission of providing efficient and convenient service to the people of Michigan. Regardless of budget constraints, we have continued to do more with less. Early on in my term I set an agenda to reform...U.S. voters can demand Palestine’s freedom
In response to Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla, more than 800 labor and community activists picketed America's sixth largest port in Oakland last month. The result was a historic blockade of a large Israeli cargo ship for 24 hours. Across the world, dockworkers and activists engaged in similar actions. In...Ethnic nationalism and the fears of minorities
As a Jew with sympathies for Israel and the Palestinians, I did not expect to agree with much in Jamal Bittar's commentary, "Israel will not last for more than 30 years," (July 3-9, p. 10). But as I read past the title, I found myself in agreement with several of his points: that the 19th century equation of ethnic identities with...Israeli right embracing one-state?
There has been a strong revival in recent years of support among Palestinians for a one-state solution guaranteeing equal rights to Palestinians and Israeli Jews throughout historic Palestine. One might expect that any support for a single state among Israeli Jews would come from the far left, and in fact this is where the most...BDS campaign wants Israel to abide by international law
There is a considerable amount of misunderstanding about Boycott Divestment and Sanctions. BDS is not a principle but a strategy; it is not against Israel but against Israeli policy; when the policy changes BDS will end. BDS is not about a particular solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the demand that Israel abide by...Two failed efforts at Muslim-bashing
Two separate incidents of Muslim-bashing occurred last week. Because they involved comments by prominent individuals and were so brazen, they caused some concern. But because neither resulted in any benefit to the offenders, only embarrassed silence or scorn, there is some hope that we may be turning a corner. The first of these came...Israeli war crimes and piracy
On June 8, 1967, two squadrons of Israeli warplanes bombed, napalmed and machine-gunned the U.S. intelligence-gathering ship, USS Liberty, in international waters, killing 34 U.S. sailors and wounding another 172. The assault took place on a sunny afternoon, with the U.S. flag and identifying markers clearly visible. The...The Madness of Arrogance
Israel’s attack on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla on America’s Memorial Day was all too predictable, although the form it took surprised even me. And it confirms the old proverb that “Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad,” for the attack was the kind of madness only unbridled arrogance can assume.It wasn’t just...Why Iran won’t attack Israel
Palestinians are in Israel today because they managed to survive the depopulation of 1948, the year the Jewish state was founded (Arabs constitute about 20% of Israel's population). Ironically, while Benny Morris' scholarship suggests that the mere existence of these Palestinians in Israel — and millions more in the Occupied...Coming down the home stretch
Keep your eye on the ball! From the youngest beginners to the most seasoned veterans this short phrase is probably one of the most common pieces of advice given to athletes. The words hold so much meaning they're commonly used to remind people to stay focused, keep on task, and not lose sight of their goals. For all students, this...Friendship and faith: The WISDOM of women creating alliances for peace
In Metro Detroit, a mostly segregated area of isolated and sometimes hostile communities, with almost every person affected by the failing economy, a devastated auto industry, sky-rocketing unemployment, an area where homes have been devalued by as much as 50%, I saw a spark of hope. A spark ignited by my friends from WISDOM (Women's...
IDF order will enable mass deportation from West Bank
April 20th, 20100 A new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison terms of up to seven years. Palestinians hold signs during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 13, 2010,...The limits of ‘state secrets’
Four and half years after the Bush administration was caught eavesdropping on Americans without court approval, a federal judge in San Francisco has ratified a conclusion many Americans reached long ago: that the administration exceeded its legal authority in the war on terror. But U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker's ruling does more...Accountability needed at DHS
The Department of Homeland Security must make drastic changes in its policy and personnel. There is a crisis of leadership at the Department. The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. How else to explain an enforcement policy memo that directly contradicts the President, the rescue of Haitian evacuees only to jail them once......
Peace for Israelis and Palestinians? Not without America’s tough love.
More than 20 years ago, many Americans decided they could no longer watch as racial segregation divided South Africa. Compelled by an injustice thousands of miles away, they demanded that their communities, their colleges, their municipalities, and their government take a stand.As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a...Time to stand up to Israel
As I listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address an animated crowd of supporters on March 22, I felt physically sick. The man has already displayed time and again a complete lack of moral sense or ethical framework in his words and actions. A protester puts a Palestinian flag on an uprooted tree during a......
Rise of right wing extremist groups cause for alarm
April 4th, 20100 The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently documented 34 militia groups in Michigan - a staggering number when one considers that a year earlier the SPLC found only 42 militias in the entire country. As citizen militias formed across the country during the 1990s, few states were closer to the heart of the antigovernment...
Palestinians should now declare their independence
March 19th, 20100 This week the Obama administration – which gives Israel $3bn a year, more than they dole out to any other nation on earth – made a meek and craven request for Israelis to simply have a pause in seizing even more land, and to sit down with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with a big concrete slap: the...Welcome to Israel, Joe!
When he visited the Middle East, then Senator Barack Obama had a rude awakening. He was on the ritual visit for American presidential candidates to Israel, which usually consists of touring sites of significance to Jews and declaring support for the state of Israel. This is important for American politicians who pay homage to an...Gaza’s youth not ‘superfluous’
"To cut down on gang-related crimes, policies could be put in place to curb the African-American population growth in places like Harlem and Compton. The government could consider cutting off welfare benefits for families in these urban areas to discourage births of blacks and cut down the supply of 'superfluous young men' who have......
Helping Michigan’s job providers now
Michigan can again be a state with a thriving economy and abundant jobs if we reform government so it works with job providers rather than against them. There is no time to waste. Bouchard As governor, I will make one of the largest economic policy changes in decades. The majority of my focus will be on businesses already...The new freedom agenda: Will push meet pull again?
In his June 2009 Cairo speech to the Muslim world, President Obama paid lip service to the need for greater Middle East democracy. But since then he has done very little concretely to back this up in terms of quiet pressure for democratic change on the part of allies like Egypt, Jordan or Morocco. Indeed, the administration's ramping up......
The Tea Party movement frightens me
February 20th, 20100 Last weekend, when Washington was being hit by its worst-ever snow storm, the Tea Party Movement was holding its first national meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. With nothing else to do, and unable to travel, I watched parts of their convention on television and became quite concerned by what I saw and heard. After reviewing two sets of...NY Times’ Ethan Bronner should be reassigned
The fact that the son of The New York Times' Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner is serving in the Israeli military has highlighted an issue that should have been in the spotlight long ago. Ali Abunimah makes some important points about the NYT’s coverage of the Middle East on the Mondoweiss site. Although the paper has a Palestinian......
