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.

Postmodernism Alive and Killing

While scores of Palestinians and several Israelis are killed every day now, while one of the world’s strongest armies is bravely proving it can turn even wretched refugee camps into ashes, I feel rather uncomfortable talking about ideology. Still, I’ll do it. In a previous column I analysed several arguments of the right-wing ideology of … Continue reading “Postmodernism Alive and Killing”

Occupation Vs. Democracy

Occupation, as I mentioned in an earlier column, is one of the most unpopular terms in media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, some people say there is no occupation at all, meaning that occupation is not the right term to refer to Israel’s presence in the territories occupied in 1967 – the Gaza … Continue reading “Occupation Vs. Democracy”

Terrorism Vs. Occupation

Readers very often accuse me of not writing about Palestinian terrorism against Israel. A typical reader writes: "if Israeli gunmen were going in Palestinian pizza places, weddings, buses, discos, shoe stores and deliberately massacring Palestinian civilians, Ran HaCohen would go on a tirade against Israel. Yet he remains silent on Arab terrorism against Israeli civilians." … Continue reading “Terrorism Vs. Occupation”

Peace Now. Now?! Well, Maybe Later

The last couple of weeks have witnessed a real awakening of the Israeli peace camp. This heterogeneous camp was beaten ideologically by the purported “generous offer” made by former PM Barak, whose belligerent legacy, as we argued earlier, consisted (of hundreds of victims and) of telling the world that “there was no partner for peace”. … Continue reading “Peace Now. Now?! Well, Maybe Later”

David Horowitz Rewrites the Past

An American Jew, David Horowitz, wrote a 5,000-word article "proving" that "…Israel Is The Victim And The Arabs Are The Indefensible Aggressors In the Middle East." I always enjoy reading the work of an American Jew who defines himself as non-Zionist, but who is nevertheless ready to sacrifice my life in his hatred towards Arabs. … Continue reading “David Horowitz Rewrites the Past”

Say No to a Palestinian ‘State’

Imagine the following scenario: after ages of discrimination, the United States decides to compensate African-Americans generously and to solve their problems once and for all. All African-Americans are locked up in prison, and the prisons are declared to be an independent African-American state. Sound crazy? That is just what the US and Israel are now … Continue reading “Say No to a Palestinian ‘State’”

Who Cares About the Palestinians?

Dennis Ross, former envoy to the Middle East in the Clinton administration and in Arab eyes an incarnation of the blind American support for Israel, has published a column in the New York Times entitled “Bin Laden’s Terrorism Isn’t About the Palestinians.” Ross writes: “In 1990, Saddam Hussein claimed that he had invaded Kuwait to … Continue reading “Who Cares About the Palestinians?”

Dancing in the Streets

One moment before the Sons of Light wage war on the Sons of Darkness, when the former are purported to be “the Judeo-Christian Culture,” whereas the latter, “the Arab-Moslem Culture,” is identified with suicide bombers as its inherent, constitutive trait, let us commemorate the first suicide bomber, who prayed to God to die killing thousands. … Continue reading “Dancing in the Streets”

The Ideology of Occupation

In an excellent recent article, leading Palestinian intellectual Edward Said cites the "astounding result" of a poll conducted among US citizens by the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, according to which less than three or four percent of the sample had any idea that there was an Israeli occupation. This seems to confirm a general rule: as … Continue reading “The Ideology of Occupation”