Jonathan Cook

Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilizations: Iraq, Iran, and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). Visit his Web site.

One-State Debate Explodes Myth About Zionist Left

A fascinating debate is entering Israel’s political mainstream on a once-taboo subject: the establishment of a single state as a resolution of the conflict, one in which Jews and Palestinians might potentially live as equal citizens. Surprisingly, those advocating such a solution are to be found chiefly on Israel’s political Right. The debate, which challenges … Continue reading “One-State Debate Explodes Myth About Zionist Left”

Israel Stops Listening to Its Judges

The Israeli government is facing legal action for contempt over its refusal to implement a Supreme Court ruling that it end a policy of awarding preferential budgets to Jewish communities, including settlements, rather than much poorer Palestinian Arab towns and villages inside Israel.   The contempt case on behalf of Israel’s Palestinian minority comes in the … Continue reading “Israel Stops Listening to Its Judges”

Israeli Education Minister to Punish Supporters of Academic Boycott

Hundreds of Israeli college professors have signed a petition accusing the education minister of endangering academic freedoms after he threatened to “punish” any lecturer or institution that supports a boycott of Israel. The backlash against Gideon Saar, a member of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, comes after a series of moves suggesting he … Continue reading “Israeli Education Minister to Punish Supporters of Academic Boycott”

Israel Plans Second Dig in Ancient Muslim Graveyard

Israeli authorities are pressing ahead with plans to build a courthouse complex on a large historic Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem that is already at the center of protests over plans to locate a “Museum of Tolerance” there. The proposed courthouse is expected to provoke stiff opposition, especially from Islamic groups, after it was revealed that … Continue reading “Israel Plans Second Dig in Ancient Muslim Graveyard”

Israel’s Cult of Victimhood

Why are Israelis so indignant at the international outrage that has greeted their country’s lethal attack last week on a flotilla of civilian ships taking aid to Gaza?   Israelis have not responded in any of the ways we might have expected. There has been little soul-searching about the morality, let alone legality, of soldiers invading … Continue reading “Israel’s Cult of Victimhood”

Israeli MP Who Joined Flotilla Faces Witch Hunt

An Israeli parliamentary committee recommended stripping an Arab MP of her privileges yesterday in a move to prepare the ground for putting her on trial for participating last week in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla attacked by Israeli commandos. Haneen Zoubi, who has become a national hate figure since challenging Israel’s account of the confrontation, said … Continue reading “Israeli MP Who Joined Flotilla Faces Witch Hunt”

‘Mad Dog’ Diplomacy

Moshe Dayan, Israel’s most celebrated general, famously outlined the strategy he believed would keep Israel’s enemies at bay: "Israel must be a like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."  Until now, most observers had assumed Dayan was referring to Israeli military or possibly nuclear strategy, an expression in his typically blunt fashion of the … Continue reading “‘Mad Dog’ Diplomacy”

Israeli MP’s Terror on Aid Ship

An Arab member of the Israeli parliament who was on board the international flotilla that was attacked on Monday as it tried to take humanitarian aid to Gaza accused Israel yesterday of intending to kill peace activists as a way to deter future convoys. Haneen Zoubi said Israeli naval vessels had surrounded the flotilla’s flagship, … Continue reading “Israeli MP’s Terror on Aid Ship”