The ongoing troubles in East Jerusalem around Sheikh Jarrah – the forced removal of Palestinian families and the imposition of fundamentalist, Jewish settlers – are likely to massively explode at some point soon. It’s almost inevitable. Some recent reports about the reality on the ground are necessary. Here’s a story in Haaretz, on the ground…
Showing all posts tagged Haaretz
Will the real occupying Israel please stand up?
The essential Gideon Levy in Haaretz wishes Israel would finally come out of the closet and admit what it really is: Tomorrow will mark six months since the prime minister’s foreign policy speech at Bar-Ilan University. It’s now time for another historic speech. In the near future, the prime minister needs to convene the right…
Jewish law infects every aspect of Israeli life
The headline of Gideon Levy’s latest: Let’s face the facts, Israel is a semi-theocracy
The rights of Jews aren’t more important than others
Ali Abunimah, a key proponent of the one-state solution, talks to Haaretz in an interview that the paper has not published: It’s important to understand the the Jews of the world aren’t allowed to hold someone’s house as collateral in case the house they live in now burns. This idea that it’s the right of…
Haaretz says American officials face ‘pro-Israel’ background check
This Haaretz story is the kind of tale that would rarely if ever appear in the Western press: Every appointee to the American government must endure a thorough background check by the American Jewish community. In the case of Obama’s government in particular, every criticism against Israel made by a potential government appointee has become…
When Netanyahu became Ariel Sharon
Ari Shavit in Haaretz: Few people are close to the prime minister, but among the few who are, some say he has indeed undergone a turnabout. Israel’s might, not the settlements or the settlers, is his top priority. Therefore, had there been a proposal on the table assuring Israel’s security in exchange for a painful…
No entry, says Israel, because you’re Arab
Gideon Levy reminds us in Haaretz that only Israel gets away with discrimination on the basis of being Palestinian: In no other city is access to holy places restricted according to the believer’s age, as Muslims who seek to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque are restricted.
The world wants no more settlements and Israel doesn’t give a damn
The New York Times writes a typically soft editorial on the Middle East – Israel, the Palestinians and Washington are all at fault, it claims, ignoring the profound power imbalances in the region – and Haaretz reports on how the Israeli government really views the occupation (more, please): Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered…
Please hold and cuddle us, begs pro-settler Jew
Australian-born Zionist Isi Leibler – a believer in ex-communicating ‘dissident” Jews – appears in the Melbourne Age to plead for poor, little Israel. The whole world hates her and it’s just not fair. We’re a thriving democracy, he claims. Oh sure, the Palestinians are “suffering” but it’s their own fault. But the more spurious claim…
Nothing to see here, colonies will continue to expand
The world’s media is talking about Israel’s “settlement freeze” in the West Bank. It’s all a sham, of course, designed to convince the US-backed Palestinian Authority to return to the table and endlessly discuss negotiations and please Washington. And the occupation will only deepen. This little grab in Haaretz really speaks for itself: Attorney General…