As Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the misplaced priorities of the George W. Bush administration, the Carmel fire has similarly exposed the reality of Israel's domestic and foreign policy priorities.
Read MoreIn the Media
The Electronic Intifada, the online publication about Palestine that I co-founded in 2001, finds itself at the centre of a storm as a pro-Israel group applies pressure to have a grant from a Dutch foundation withdrawn.
This assault on our freedom of conscience is about much more than our website. It is part of a well-coordinated, escalating Israeli government-endorsed effort to vilify individuals and cripple organisations that criticise Israel's human rights record and call for it to respect Palestinian rights and international law.
Read MoreIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barely had time to enjoy the way the WikiLeaks revelations seemed to bolster his case for an attack on Iran when a catastrophic fire raged through northern Israel. Both events swept talk of peace talks off the front pages, buying Netanyahu more time to deal with the US push for the resumption of direct negotiations. That push continues even though some reports claim Israel turned down the incentives the US offered for a three-month settlement moratorium intended to entice the Palestinian Authority (PA) to come back to the table.
Read MoreWhen a project mixes the feel-good words of jobs, economic development and Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, how can anyone complain? These things are some of what the international community has been promising to deliver through the construction of industrial free trade zones in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Read MoreAs Israeli-Palestinian negotiations lurch from crisis to crisis, Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders have been suggesting they may go to the United Nations to seek resolutions confirming the illegality of Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories and recognizing a reality of Palestinian statehood.
Read MoreThe Adva Center, an Israeli think tank dedicated to studying equality and social justice, recently published its second issue of a bi-annual report entitled, The Burden of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The report seeks to examine the costs of occupation on Israel in economic, social, military, political, and diplomatic terms and concludes that Isra
Read MoreIn 'The Music of the Violin,' a short story by South African writer Njabulo Ndebele, one of the characters comments on the 'concessions' made by the apartheid regime to the indigenous people: "That's how it is planned. That we be given a little of everything, and so prize the little we have that we forget about freedom."
On October 31, 2010, Spanish Judge Ferdinand Andreu refused to grant former Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter immunity from prosecution during his trip to Spain where he planned to participate in an international peace summit. Dichter faces charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 2002 targeted assassination of Salah She
Read MoreComing on the eve of midterm elections, many asked about the political importance of the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" organised by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Would it be able to help the Democrats bounce from what is looking like a major shellacking coming their way today?
Read More