Israel and the anti-Muslim blow-up
I don't know why I am at all surprised that the American Right – including the Republican Party – has decided that scapegoating Muslims is the ticket to success. After all, it's nothing new. I remember right after 9/11 when the columnist Charles Krauthammer, now one of the most vocal anti-Muslim demagogues, almost literally flipped...The credibility of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has been compromised and politicized
I have been in Lebanon for the past five weeks and not a day passes without hearing people talk about the implications of the indictment, which is scheduled for September 2010, on the basis on which the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will convene. The intensity of the anticipatory speculation rises in all directions along the length...The human element
EAST MEREDITH, NY — During a historical visit to Jerusalem in 1979, the late President Anwar Sadat of Egypt proclaimed that the Arab-Israeli conflict is largely psychological. Inherited notions about history and deeply felt convictions about the injustices are so strong that when an Arab American meets a Jewish American socially they...Islamophobia: A threat to American values?
There is no lack of hate speech in the media and in print to empower Islamophobia. The primary focus is often not balanced reporting, or even coverage of positive news about Muslims but on highlighting acts and statements of political and religious extremists. And hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise across the United...GOP drift to the neoconservatives
Republicans have dug a deep hole for themselves on matters related to the Middle East and Islam reflecting the extent to which the Party has become captive of the neo-conservative "clash of civilization" crowd and their partners on the evangelical Christian right. This drift becomes clear listening to statements by Republican leaders and...Dangerous illusions and foreign policy
After a century in which tragedy has been heaped upon tragedy across the Middle East, it is distressing to see how many dangerous illusions still shape the behavior of so many of the region's principal players. This truth was brought home by a recent report, "A Third Lebanon War," issued by the influential Council on Foreign...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......