Jonathan Cook

The sun is sinking fast behind the trees of an olive grove on the outskirts of the West Bank village of Nilin. After a day of confrontations between the Israeli army and the Palestinian villagers over Israel’s building of its separation wall on Nilin’s land, the soldiers appear finally to have gone. Overlooked by the … Continue reading “Israel Tightens Chokehold on Village of Entrepreneurs”

Israel seems to have little time for the irony that a modern Jewish shrine to "coexistence and tolerance" is being built on the graves of the city’s Muslim forefathers. The Israeli Supreme Court’s approval last week of the building of a Jewish Museum of Tolerance over an ancient Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem is the latest … Continue reading “Travesty of Tolerance on Display in Jerusalem”

In a conflict that has produced more than its share of suffering and tragedy, the name of Kafr Qassem lives on in infamy more than half a century after Israeli police gunned down 47 Palestinian civilians, including women and children, in the village. This week Kafr Qassem’s inhabitants, joined by a handful of Israeli Jewish … Continue reading “Palestinian Kristallnacht”

Salwa Salam Qupty clutches a fading sepia photograph of a young Palestinian man wearing a traditional white headscarf. It is the sole memento that survives of her father, killed by a Jewish militia during the 1948 war that established Israel. "He was killed 60 years ago as he was traveling to work," she said, struggling … Continue reading “Israel Bars Visit to Father’s Grave”

Israel has been suffering its worst bout of inter-communal violence since the start of the second intifada, with a week of what has been widely presented as "rioting" by Jewish and Arab residents of the northern port city of Acre. The trigger for the outbursts occurred on the night of Yom Kippur, or the Day … Continue reading “Israel’s ‘City of Coexistence’ Shows Its True Colors”

No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel’s bestseller list – and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel’s biggest taboo. Dr. Sand argues that the idea of a Jewish nation – whose need for a safe haven … Continue reading “Israeli Bestseller Breaks National Taboo”

The Israeli army officer in charge of the occupation of the West Bank, Gen. Gadi Shamni, has lambasted extremist Jewish settlers, blaming rising levels of violence on the encouragement of their leadership and right-wing rabbis. It is rare for a senior commander to speak so critically of the settlers, many of whom themselves serve in … Continue reading “Israel’s Army and Settlers Fall Out”

The words "Jewish" and "terrorist" are not easily uttered together by Israelis. But just occasionally, such as last week, when one of the country’s leading intellectuals was injured by a pipe bomb placed at the front door of his home, they find themselves with little choice. The target of the attack was 73-year-old Ze’ev Sternhell, … Continue reading “Israel’s Breeding Ground for Terrorism”

From just outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls, the simple stone and cinderblock homes of Silwan cascade southwards into a valley, known as the Holy Basin. The Palestinian residents are used to living in the shadow of history and religion, given dramatic physical form as the great silver dome of the al-Aqsa mosque and the looming … Continue reading “King David Recruited to Expel Palestinians”

The ground floor of Zaki Khimayl’s home is a cafe where patrons can drink mint tea or fresh juice as they smoke on a water pipe. Located by Jaffa’s beach, a stone’s throw from Tel Aviv, the business should be thriving. Mr. Khimayl, however, like hundreds of other families in the Arab neighborhoods of Ajami … Continue reading “Jaffa’s ‘Renewal’ Aims at Expulsion of Palestinians”