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.

How to Live With Hunger

When I was a child, a popular argument in favor of the Israeli “liberation,” i.e., occupation, of the Palestinian territories was its being a blessing for the Palestinians themselves. “When we took it over,” I was told at school, “there were just a couple of cars in the entire West Bank. And look how many … Continue reading “How to Live With Hunger”

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”

The Embarrassment of the Wretched

A recent call for a cultural boycott against Israel by John Berger and others has elicited one of its more wretched responses in the Guardian (Dec. 22), signed by Anthony Julius and Simon Schama. I confess I haven’t heard of Anthony Julius before – I am told he is a lawyer, and lawyers sometimes bend … Continue reading “The Embarrassment of the Wretched”

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?”

Good News From Gaza

Fleeing from Nazi Austria on the eve of World War II, Sigmund Freud was asked to sign a statement saying he was not mistreated. The old Jewish psychiatrist is said to have asked whether he could add: “I can most highly recommend the Gestapo to everyone.” Israeli Hotel Spoils Palestinians Since the abduction of an … Continue reading “Good News From Gaza”

The End of Lebanon?

The UN Security Council resolution draft on Lebanon reflects a new stage of Western colonialism in the Middle East, and perhaps a historic precedent: for the first time, the UN Security Council – should the resolution draft be endorsed – breaches the fundamental principle of the right of people under occupation to resist, and in … Continue reading “The End of Lebanon?”

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 Army Wants Action

Just two weeks after the tragedy of an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza, history repeated itself on the Lebanese border, this time as farce. Hezbollah, the Middle East’s most sophisticated guerilla, managed to kidnap two Israeli soldiers into Lebanon. Once again it took the Israeli army almost an hour to figure out that … Continue reading “The Army Wants Action”

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”