There is quite a bit of brouhaha regarding Judge Goldstone recent op-ed in the Washington Post. As I see it, broader issues are involved.
Tags: Feature, Human Rights, Non-violence, War Crimes
[Another guest post by Neve Gordon about the decline of democracy in Israel --the editor]
Imagine a college student returning to her university after spending Christmas break at home. At the airport she logs on to the Internet to double check some of thesources she used in her final take-home exam for the course “Introduction to Human Rights.” She gets online and begins to surf the web; however, she soon realizes that the websites of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are blocked. She calls the service provider’s 800 number, only to find out that all human rights organizations’ websites have indeed been restricted and that they can no longer be accessed from the airport.
Tags: Human Rights
[Another guest post by Neve Gordon about the attack on academic freedom in Israel --the editor]
“Everything is political,” cultural theorists often claim. Recently, Bar Ilan University in Israel, decided to prove them right.
Tags: Israeli Politics, Xenophobia
View from my window of only memorial 9/11 will ever need – video version
[Neve Gordon has appeared many times on this blog. I don't usually do "guest posts" but I received an email with what follows and asked Professor Gordon for his permission to reprint it here. The far-right in Israel is crossing dangerous boundaries. --the editor]
Tags: Human Rights, Israeli Politics, Nationalism
Sixth in a series. Sadly this probably won’t be the last.
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Tags: Snappy Answers, War Crimes
When we moved to Israel in 1983, my first job was at Israel’s largest (at the time) software consultancy. One of my colleagues was a modern Orthodox (“dati”) man. I was far less to the “left” then, and since this man actually lived in a Tel Aviv suburb, not the settlements, I assumed he was relatively moderate as well. So I had no hesitation to get into a political discussion with him. Shamir had just become prime minister and was already dragging his feet in implementing the Camp David accords. In discussing this, I stated my opinion that the US would never let Shamir get away with his intransigence. To my surprise, my colleage replied: “The US will never force Israel to dismantle the settlements!”
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Tags: Feature, US Politics, Zionism
Chris Hedges is a writer and thinker whom I greatly admire. In the past I have written about his book War is Force that Gives us Meaning. Recently I came across an article he wrote at Truthdig, Democracy in America Is a Useful Fiction, which is both insightful and depressing. About a year ago I started listening to the History of Rome podcast. Even a slight acquaintance with Roman history indicates that the US republic has long gone and we live in the days of empire. However, as Hedges points out the US emperor is a mere figurehead. Wolin’s idea of inverted totalitarianism is the best model of US society I have yet encountered. I am not convinced however, that we are in the period of decline. The US elites are quite resourceful. The barbarians are not yet at the gate….
Tags: Human Rights, US Politics
I have cited Colin Dayan’s book Cruel and Unusual several times. Here is a lecture by the author herself:
Tags: Human Rights
Real News Network does a good job presenting the significance of the possible prisoner exchange: