Sheldon Richman

Jason Greenblatt, Donald Trump’s No. 2 special envoy to the Middle East behind son-in-law Jared Kushner, assures us that his boss’s plan to settle the Palestine-Israel “conflict” once and for all is still in the works and is going to be great. (It’s a conflict in the same way that a confrontation between a car … Continue reading “Trump’s Middle East Delusions Persist”

As though we had any ground for doubt heretofore, we can now clearly see – in light of his end to $350 million in annual humanitarian assistance to five million Palestinian refugees – Donald Trump’s cruel and spiteful nature. It was not enough to stack the so-called peace process against the Palestinians in every possible … Continue reading “Trump, Spinoza, and the Palestinian Refugees”

I and others have warned that enactment of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act now before Congress would threaten free speech and free inquiry on America’s college campuses and beyond. As I’ve explained, this bill incorporates a conception – a “definition” plus potential examples – of anti-Semitism that conflates criticism of Israel’s founding and continuing abuse of … Continue reading “Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism: The Invidious Conflation”

In May the benign-sounding Anti-Semitism Awareness Act appeared before the U.S. Congress “to provide for consideration a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.” No big deal? Let us see. S. 2940 is sponsored by Republican Sen. Tim Scott and has four co-sponsors: Republican Lindsey Graham and … Continue reading “Defining Anti-Semitism, Threatening Free Speech”

The Palestinians’ deteriorating conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip makes even long-term optimism difficult. Neither a one-liberal-state nor two-state resolution seems in the offing because (if for no other reason) either would seem to spell political suicide for any foreseeable Israeli government. The one-staters have a good argument against the two-staters and vice … Continue reading “A Glimmer of Hope in Bleak Palestine”

One might have thought that, in the wake of the Nazi regime’s systematic crimes against humanity last century, dehumanization would have become unthinkable once and for all. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. It has shamefully continued unabated, the assorted perpetrators including, with tragic irony, those who themselves were victims of Nazi dehumanization. Dehumanization … Continue reading “Depopulating Palestine, Dehumanizing the Palestinians”

The United States and Russia remained at odds, continuing military exercises along the borders of NATO, undermining the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), upgrading their nuclear arsenals, and eschewing arms control negotiations. ~ It’s Two Minutes to Midnight,” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists I, for one, was much disappointed by the Trump-Putin summit – but not … Continue reading “Trump and Putin – How about Getting Rid of Your Nukes?”

The Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” for the Palestine-Israel has, predictably, gone over like a lead balloon. So it’s shifting gears. The Washington Post reports, “With President Trump’s promised Middle East peace plan stalled, administration officials are focusing on improving conditions in the impoverished Gaza Strip – a move that could put political pressure … Continue reading “Trump Turns to Gaza as Middle East Deal of the Century Collapses”

Here’s a shocker: Donald Trump and his Palestine-Israel fixers think they can buy a peaceful and permanent settlement of the 70-year conflict by getting Arab governments to pressure the Palestinians into forgetting the “politicians’ talking points” – you know, superficial things like independence from the routine abuses and indignities of colonial oppression (that’s right; the … Continue reading “The Trump-Kushner Delusion on Palestine”

Why does Palestine matter? It’s a question I ask myself nearly every day. Another way to put it is, “Is the devotion of major attention to the plight of the Palestinians an obsession worthy of suspicion or an appropriate response to a grave historic and continuing injustice? No one will be surprised when I reply … Continue reading “Why Palestine Matters”