Ran HaCohen

Dr. Ran HaCohen was born in the Netherlands in 1964 and grew up in Israel. He has a B.A. in computer science, an M.A. in comparative literature, and a Ph.D. in Jewish studies. He is a university teacher in Israel. He also works as a literary translator (from German, English, and Dutch). HaCohen's work has been published widely in Israel. "Letter From Israel" appears occasionally at Antiwar.com.

A Midwinter Night’s Dream

The United Nations General Assembly has just adopted a resolution condemning denials of the Holocaust. The resolution, co-sponsored by 103 countries, was approved by consensus, without a vote. Perhaps it’s too early to predict the reactions to this fresh UN resolution, but let us try to speculate what they might be. Outrage in Israel Both … Continue reading “A Midwinter Night’s Dream”

Who Makes the Middle East?

A revealing book I have recently read about the present Middle East is Joris Luyendijk’s Almost Human. Luyendijk was a Dutch journalist who spent several years (1998-2003) in Arab countries as well as in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, working for two Dutch quality newspapers and for the television. His background as a social … Continue reading “Who Makes the Middle East?”

Israeli Intellectuals
Love the War

Dedicated to the too few Israeli intellectuals who do dare speak out against this war. All generalizations are wrong, except this one: Israeli liberal intellectuals are against war. They have always been against it, and they even suffered greatly for their critical views, as they stress proudly. They were against the previous war, they will … Continue reading “Israeli Intellectuals
Love the War”

‘Respecting Lebanon’s Sovereignty’

Nothing compares to Israel’s open, independent, and pluralistic media in times of war. Saturday we had the pleasure of watching Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman give an especially repulsive horror show on Israeli public television (Channel 1). Foxman was invited to the studio to comment on Kofi Annan’s announcement that four UN observers had … Continue reading “‘Respecting Lebanon’s Sovereignty’”

The Ideology of Occupation Revisited

The history of occupation is not just that of Palestinian suffering and Israeli aggression; it is also the history of its ideology, the history of the fictions the Israeli society fabricates in order to justify its major colonial project which has just entered its 40th year. These fictions do have a history: one can trace … Continue reading “The Ideology of Occupation Revisited”