Bat-Hen Epstein Elias’s long article on Iranian Jews is interesting. Parts of it, in fact, are heartwarming. Yet, despite the lack of any serious evidence, the story is entirely framed in the language of fear. Entitled, “All the Jews there live in fear...
Jewish Nation-State Bill: Israel’s Precarious Identity Is Palestine’s Nightmare
The Israeli Knesset (parliament) has hurriedly passed a new bill that defines Israel as the “national home of the Jewish people.” Although the association between Jewishness and Israel goes back to the foundation of the state, the new law also carries clear...
Should Hamas Rewrite the Past?
Now that the Palestinian Islamic Movement, Hamas, has officially changed its Charter, one should not immediately assume that the decision is, in itself, an act of political maturity. Undoubtedly, Hamas’ first Charter, which was released to the public in August...
The Prisoners’ Revolt: The Real Reasons behind the Palestinian Hunger Strike
Gaza is the world’s largest open air prison. The West Bank is a prison, too, segmented into various wards, known as areas A, B and C. In fact, all Palestinians are subjected to varied degrees of military restrictions. At some level, they are all prisoners. East...
Palestinian and Jewish Voices Must Challenge Israel’s Past Together
Israel has resorted to three main strategies to suppress Palestinian calls for justice and human rights, including the Right of Return for refugees. One is dedicated to rewriting history; another attempts to distract from present realities altogether and a third aims...
When ISIS Is Defeated: Who Will Fill the Intellectual Vacuum in the Arab World?
Back in the Middle East for a few months, I find myself astounded by the absence of the strong voices of Arab intellectuals. The region that has given rise to the likes of Michel Aflaq, George Habash, Rached Al-Ghannouchi, Edward Said and numerous others has...
Palestine Retold: Palestine’s Tragic Anniversaries Are Not Only About Remembrance
For Palestinians, 2017 is a year of significant anniversaries. While historians mark May 15th as the anniversary of the date on which Palestinians were expelled from their historic homeland in 1948, the fact is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians began in earnest...
Normalization in the Name of Peace: How Israel Understands the Arab Peace Initiative
Once more, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 is taking center stage. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas insisted during his speech before the recently-concluded Arab League Summit in Jordan, that the Initiative is the only solution on the table;...
The Next Phase in the War on BDS: Why Israel Detained Omar Barghouti
The Israeli state has violated international law more than any other country, yet has rarely, if ever, been held accountable for crimes and misconduct. Israel’s successful public relation campaigns through the ever-willing western media partners, coupled with the...
US and Israeli Codependent Relationship Is Not Just about Money
“We must look back twenty-five years to realize how far Israel has fallen in world support,” wrote famed Jewish scholar, Harvard sociologist, Nathan Glazer in 1976. In the last forty years since Glazer wrote his piece, which was uncovered and transmitted...