Tag: gaza

How Israel’s Assault on Gaza Is Like the War of 1812

What do Israel’s assault on Gaza and the American War of 1812 have in common? Much more than meets the eye. The stated purpose of the Israeli assassination of Hamas’s military leader, which provoked the conflict in Gaza, was to impede the group’s rocket firings on southern Israel. Yet the rocket fire has been going … Continue reading “How Israel’s Assault on Gaza Is Like the War of 1812”

The Four Guilty Parties Behind Israel’s Attack

A short interview broadcast by CNN late last week featuring two participants — a Palestinian in Gaza and an Israeli within range of the rocket attacks — did not follow the usual script. For once, a media outlet dropped its role as gatekeeper, there to mediate and therefore impair our understanding of what is taking … Continue reading “The Four Guilty Parties Behind Israel’s Attack”

Another Superfluous War

How did it start? Stupid question. Conflagrations along the Gaza Strip don’t start. They are just a continuous chain of events, each claimed to be in “retaliation” for the previous one. Action is followed by reaction, which is followed by retaliation, which is followed by… This particular event “started” with the firing from Gaza of … Continue reading “Another Superfluous War”

Israeli Firepower Threatens to Overwhelm Palestinians

When the late Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), was engaged in a heavily one-sided battle against a robustly-armed Israel in 2000, he admitted the Palestinians were completely outgunned by the Israelis. As the the U.S.-supplied Cobra helicopters rained fire on the West Bank and Gaza, Arafat told reporters, “I have only … Continue reading “Israeli Firepower Threatens to Overwhelm Palestinians”

All Quiet on the Southern Front

“What have you learned in school today, my son?” “There was no school today. There is an emergency!” “And what have you learned from that, my son?” Actually, quite a lot. This week’s “round,” as the army likes to call it, followed a well-established pattern, as formal as a religious ritual. It started with the … Continue reading “All Quiet on the Southern Front”

Jailed for Sailing to Gaza, Challenging the Blockade

Two boats full of courageous passengers were on their way to Gaza when they were intercepted on Friday, November 4, by the Israeli military in international waters. We call the passengers courageous because they sailed from Turkey on November 2 with the knowledge that at any moment they might be boarded by Israeli commandos intent … Continue reading “Jailed for Sailing to Gaza, Challenging the Blockade”

Neocons Fume Over US Boat to Gaza

My co-passengers and I of the U.S. boat to Gaza have now gone from “High-Seas Hippies,” according to the right-wing Washington Times, to participants in a flotilla full of “fools, knaves, hypocrites, bigots, and supporters of terrorism,” says Alan Dershowitz in his usual measured prose. Poor Alan, he seems upset at our audacity not only … Continue reading “Neocons Fume Over US Boat to Gaza”

‘Flytilla’ Debacle Another PR Nightmare For Israel

BEN GURION AIRPORT, Tel Aviv — Confused foreign tourists arriving at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Friday would be forgiven for thinking that a terrorist attack was about to take place. Hundreds of armed Israeli soldiers and police spread throughout the airport as Israeli police surrounded six Israeli pro-Palestinian peace activists who were arrested … Continue reading “‘Flytilla’ Debacle Another PR Nightmare For Israel”

By Torpedoing the Gaza Flotilla, Israel Sank Its Own Ship

Instead of high-fiving each other for their success in thwarting the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Israeli officials should be throwing overboard the propaganda hacks who catapulted the flotilla into headline news for weeks and left Israel smelling like rotten fish. Last year, when the Israeli military killed nine aboard the Turkish ship, the incident made waves … Continue reading “By Torpedoing the Gaza Flotilla, Israel Sank Its Own Ship”