Israel

Avoiding The J Word: Ilan Pappe on Hardtalk

History is an attempt to narrate the past. A few brave historians aim for a consistent narrative that sets events within the appropriate context which includes ideology, culture and heritage. Most historians however, are engaged in the opposite: the active concealment of the shameful i.e. that which is better to shove under the carpet. Instead of identifying the Zionist crime within the context of Jewish history and culture, Pappe attempts to isolate the Zionist crime by disconnecting it from Jewish history and continuum.

The Soaring Profits of the Military-Industrial Complex, The Soaring Costs of Military Casualties

War profits have soared with the series of military interventions in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The arms industry lobbyists pressure Congressional and Pentagon decision-makers to link up with the pro-Israel lobby as it promotes even deeper direct US military involvement in Syria, Iraq and Iran. The growing ties between Israeli and US military industries reinforce their political leverage in Washington by working with liberal interventionists and neo-conservatives. They attack Obama for not bombing Syria and for his withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. They now clamor for sending US troops back to Iraq and call for intervention in Ukraine.

Jihadism and the Petroleum Industry

While the Western media portray the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant as a group of jihadists reciting the Qur’an, the ISIL has started the oil war in Iraq. With the help of Israel, it has cut off Syria’s supply and guaranteed the theft of oil from Kirkuk by the local government of Kurdistan. The sale will be assured by Aramco who will camouflage this diversion as increased “Saudi” production.

Leaving the USS Liberty Crew Behind

Justifying the swap of Taliban prisoners for Sgt. Bergdahl, President Obama cited a principle of never leaving U.S. soldiers behind, but that rule was violated in the shabby treatment of the USS Liberty crew, attacked 47 years ago by Israeli warplanes, writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

Dead In The Water

“By way of deception thou shall do war”

Israel claimed that the whole affair had been a tragic accident based on mistaken identification of the ship. The American government accepted the explanation.

For more than 30 years many people have disbelieved the official explanation but have been unable to rebut it convincingly. Now, Dead in the Water uses startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack. The film combines dramatic reconstruction of the events, with new access to former officers in the US and Israeli armed forces and intelligence services who have decided to give their own version of events.

Wow! An Israeli government minister speaks the truth!

The real blame has to be laid at the feet of the American-dominated UN Security Council for its failure to put Israel on notice in the text of Resolution 242 that it would not be permitted to settle (colonize) any of the Arab territory it grabbed in the 1967 war. All those who drafted 242 knew it was a war of Israeli aggression not self-defence; and after “Emphasising the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war”, the text should have indicated that if Israel settled the newly occupied territories in defiance of international law it would be sanctioned.

International Justice, empire style.

There is a certain kind of liberal who places great faith in the ICC as a means of resolving conflicts and holding war criminals and human rights abusers to account. Personally, I think that faith is quite badly misplaced.

The ICC in it’s current incarnation is far too open to political manipulation and pressure from the stronger states of the world to be considered a neutral arbiter. This potential Resolution, which grants the U.S. and Israel immunity from prosecution, demonstrates that clearly.

How Americans can help world peace

The sobering fact for many Americans is that the world would be a better, far more peaceful place if only their government spent more time and resources tending to their own country’s onerous social needs. Needless to say, America would be a far better place too for its citizens.
But this eminently reasonable outcome won’t happen under present circumstances because US governance relies on imperialist conflict-making abroad.

Why Israelis are Content to Live in a Bubble of Denial

Inside Israel, the government is seeking to silence the few critical voices left. The intimidation was starkly on display last week as the supreme court considered the constitutionality of the recent “boycott law”, which threatens to bankrupt anyone calling for a boycott of either Israel or the settlements.

Israel and Saudi Arabia’s priorities in Syria

The US Empire, in its efforts to contain, and therefore dominate and control such a strategic and resource-rich region, is more than content to allow its reactionary and sectarian clients to incite the conflict necessary to subvert, fracture and divide the inevitable power a unified Middle East could claim: if only their progressive aspirations and unity were not repeatedly “set back” by Zionist occupation and manufactured antagonism.

Roger Waters takes Neil Young and Scarlett Johansson to task on Facebook

Noting he had written each one privately, the pro-BDS rock star lamented that he was “confused” about Young, who was “always one of my heroes,” coming to Israel to give a concert, and that Johansson, who “was a young woman of strength and integrity” had made an “about face” in choosing to be a spokesperson for Israeli company SodaStream.

Is Netanyahu Certifiable?

IF Netanyahu was of sound mind he would not only have given Rouhani’s Davos speech the consideration it deserved, he would take full account of Israel’s growing isolation in the world and, also, the fact that an increasing number of American Jews are no longer sympathetic to what one Jewish-American has called “the blood-and-soil nationalism of Zionism”.