Jonathan Cook

It is astonishing how often one still hears well-informed, otherwise reasonable people say about Julian Assange: “But he ran away from Swedish rape charges by hiding in Ecuador’s embassy in London.” That short sentence includes at least three factual errors. In fact, to repeat it, as so many people do, you would need to have … Continue reading “Endless Procedural Abuses Show Julian Assange Case Was Never About Law”

By any reckoning, the claim made this week by al-Qaeda-linked fighters that they were targeted with chemical weapons by the Syrian government in Idlib province – their final holdout in Syria – should have been treated by the western media with a high degree of skepticism. That the US and other western governments enthusiastically picked … Continue reading “The Western Media Is Key to Syria Deceptions”

After winning the Israeli election with a slim majority, in a campaign that grew more sordid and vilifying by the day, Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to begin his fifth term as Israeli prime minister. The culmination of his dirty tricks campaign was an election-day stunt in which his Likud party broke regulations – and possibly … Continue reading “Annexation of West Bank May Provide Key to Unlocking Netanyahu’s Legal Troubles”

For seven years, from the moment Julian Assange first sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, they have been telling us we were wrong, that we were paranoid conspiracy theorists. We were told there was no real threat of Assange’s extradition to the United States, that it was all in our fevered imaginations. For … Continue reading “After 7 Years of Deceptions About Assange, the US Readies for its First Media Rendition”

Israel’s election campaign, now in its last days, must be the first in which a sitting Israeli prime minister has sought to win over voters by boasting about how much he insulted a president of the United States. One of the last campaign videos by Benjamin Netanyahu spliced together media clips of US analysts voicing … Continue reading “This Israeli Election Is Between the Right Wing and the Even More Right Wing”

When President Donald Trump moved the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem last year, effectively sabotaging any hope of establishing a viable Palestinian state, he tore up the international rulebook. Last week, he trampled all over its remaining tattered pages. He did so, of course, via Twitter. Referring to a large piece of territory Israel seized … Continue reading “Trump’s Golan Green Light Paves Way to Israel’s Annexation of West Bank”

The United Nations postponed last week for the third time the publication of a blacklist of Israeli and international firms that profit directly from Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied territories. The international body had come under enormous pressure to keep the database under wraps after lobbying behind the scenes from Israel, the United States … Continue reading “The UN Fails To Name and Shame Firms Aiding Israel’s Illegal Settlements”

"McCarthyism" is a word thrown around a lot nowadays, and in the process its true meaning – and horror – has been increasingly obscured. McCarthyism is not just the hounding of someone because their views are unpopular. It is the creation by the powerful of a perfect, self-rationalizing system of incrimination – denying the victim … Continue reading “Britain’s Witchfinders Are Ready To Burn Jeremy Corbyn”

Israel’s decision to withhold part of the taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and plunge it deeper into crisis starkly illustrates the hypocrisies and deceptions at the core of the two governments’ relationship. Under the terms of what are now the quarter century-old Oslo accords, Israel is responsible for collecting about $200 … Continue reading “Is Israel’s Tax Grab a Prelude To Further Hollowing Out the PA?”

In which country did a senior, state-salaried cleric urge his followers last month to become “warriors”, emulating a group of young men who had murdered a woman of another faith? The cleric did so with impunity. In fact, he was only echoing other highly placed colleagues who have endorsed a book – again without penalty … Continue reading “How the Rule of the Rabbis Is Fueling a Holy War in Israel”