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.

Amnesty Apartheid Report: The Walls Protecting Israel Are Finally Crumbling

The walls protecting Israel are quickly crumbling. A year ago, it was Israel’s most celebrated human rights group, B’Tselem. Months later, it was the New York-based Human Rights Watch, whose senior staff have often enjoyed a revolving door with the US State Department. Now, the one speaking up is Amnesty International – an organization widely … Continue reading “Amnesty Apartheid Report: The Walls Protecting Israel Are Finally Crumbling”

Why Washington’s Focus on ‘Credibility’ Is a Recipe for War

The most pressing threat to global security right now isn’t so-called “provocations” by either Russia or China. It is the United States’ misplaced obsession with its own “credibility”. This rallying cry by Washington officials – echoed by the media and allies in London and elsewhere – is code for allowing the US to act like … Continue reading “Why Washington’s Focus on ‘Credibility’ Is a Recipe for War”

The Hounding of Julian Assange Leaves Honest Journalism With No Refuge

It is no accident that Julian Assange, the digital transparency activist and journalist who founded WikiLeaks to help whistleblowers tell us what western governments are really up to in the shadows, has spent 10 years being progressively disappeared into those very same shadows. His treatment is a crime similar to those WikiLeaks exposed when it … Continue reading “The Hounding of Julian Assange Leaves Honest Journalism With No Refuge”

Assange Ruling a Dangerous Precedent for Journalists and British Justice

On Friday, the English High Court paved the way for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States and tried over the publication of hundreds of thousands of documents, some of which contained evidence of US and British war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. The decision reversed a ruling in January by … Continue reading “Assange Ruling a Dangerous Precedent for Journalists and British Justice”

‘Honest Mistakes’: How US and Israel Justify Targeting and Killing Civilians

An “honest mistake” is buying your partner the wrong perfume or copying someone into an email chain by accident. It is not firing a drone missile at a car, killing 10 civilians – and doing so when a small child was clearly visible moments earlier. And yet, a supposedly “independent” Pentagon inquiry this month claimed … Continue reading “‘Honest Mistakes’: How US and Israel Justify Targeting and Killing Civilians”

Israel Calls the Fight for Palestinian Rights ‘Terror’ – and So Turns Reality on Its Head

It certainly looked that way last Friday as Israel’s defense minister – who has been presented as a force for moderation in an Israeli government led by the settler right – declared six leading Palestinian human rights groups to be “terrorist organizations”. The move effectively outlaws the most prominent organizations in the Palestinian human rights … Continue reading “Israel Calls the Fight for Palestinian Rights ‘Terror’ – and So Turns Reality on Its Head”

After Corbyn, Israel Lobby Turns Its Guns on UK Academia

The Israel lobby appears to be readying for a campaign to root out left-wing academics in the UK critical of Israel’s continuing oppression of the Palestinian people – echoing its efforts against the previous leader of Britain’s Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn. As with the attacks on Corbyn, the assault on academia is being led by … Continue reading “After Corbyn, Israel Lobby Turns Its Guns on UK Academia”

Iron Dome Funding: Don’t Be Deceived – US Aid to Israel Is Not About Saving Lives

Battles in the US Congress that erupted again this week, holding up an extra $1bn in military funding for Israel, underscored just how divorced from reality the conversation about US financial aid to Israel has become, even among many critics. For 48 hours last month, a small group of progressive Democrats in the US House … Continue reading “Iron Dome Funding: Don’t Be Deceived – US Aid to Israel Is Not About Saving Lives”

CIA Plan To Poison Assange Wasn’t Needed. The US Found a ‘Lawful’ Way To Disappear Him

A Yahoo News’ investigation reveals that, through much of 2017, the CIA weighed up whether to use wholly extrajudicial means to deal with the supposed threat posed by Julian Assange and his whistleblowers’ platform WikiLeaks. The agency plotted either to kidnap or assassinate him. Shocking as the revelations are – exposing the entirely lawless approach … Continue reading “CIA Plan To Poison Assange Wasn’t Needed. The US Found a ‘Lawful’ Way To Disappear Him”

Despite Its Exit, the US Will Continue To Wage War on the Taliban

The United States has always been a bad loser. Whether it has viewed itself as an imperial power, a military superpower or, in today’s preferred terminology, the “world’s policeman”, the assumption is that everyone else must submit to its will. All of which is the context for judging the outcry in western capitals over the … Continue reading “Despite Its Exit, the US Will Continue To Wage War on the Taliban”