Tag: israel

Remembering Yitzhak Rabin

A year before the Oslo agreement, I had a meeting with Yasser Arafat in Tunis. He was full of curiosity about Yitzhak Rabin, who had just been elected prime minister. I described him as well as I could and ended with the words: "He is as honest as a politician can be." Arafat broke into … Continue reading “Remembering Yitzhak Rabin”

Rights Groups Condemn Bid to Quash Goldstone Report

International human rights groups have raised concern over a proposed non-binding resolution in the U.S. House Representatives which would call on the White House to oppose any future endorsement or consideration of Judge Richard Goldstone’s "Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict." The Goldstone Report, which detailed the laws-of-war violations … Continue reading “Rights Groups Condemn Bid to Quash Goldstone Report”

Palestinians File Lawsuits Over Gaza War

RAMALLAH — As the legal and moral implications of the UN Goldstone report on Israel’s military assault on Gaza continue to mount, Gazans are taking matters into their own hands and preparing civil lawsuits. The Israeli defense ministry’s prosecution department has received about 1,500 notices of future civil lawsuits against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) … Continue reading “Palestinians File Lawsuits Over Gaza War”

Netanyahu Unsure How to Contain Gaza Fallout

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself embattled on several fronts as he tries – so far unsuccessfully – to ward off the enormous international pressure on Israel unleashed by the Goldstone report for its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza earlier this year. Israel’s failure to bury the report has … Continue reading “Netanyahu Unsure How to Contain Gaza Fallout”

Israelis Targeting Grassroots Activists

EAST JERUSALEM – Israeli authorities are increasingly targeting and intimidating nonviolent Palestinian grassroots activists involved in anti-occupation activities who are drawing increased support from the international community. Several weeks ago masked Israeli soldiers stormed the home of Ehab Jallad from the Jerusalem Popular Committee for the Celebration of Jerusalem as the Capital of Arab Culture … Continue reading “Israelis Targeting Grassroots Activists”

Fool’s Goldstone

According to a Chinese saying, if someone in the street tells you that you are drunk, you can laugh. If a second person tells you that you are drunk, start to think about it. If a third one tells you the same, go home and sleep it off. Our political and military leadership has already … Continue reading “Fool’s Goldstone”

Why the Attacks on J Street?

For the past few years we’ve seen a sea change on the question of U.S. relations with Israel, both in the U.S. and in the Jewish state. In America, the idea that our "special relationship" with Tel Aviv dictates a policy of unconditional support has come under attack, not only from critics of Israel but … Continue reading “Why the Attacks on J Street?”

Pro-Israel Group’s Money Trail Veers Hard Right

StandWithUs — an "organization that ensures that Israel’s side of the story is told" — has become increasingly aggressive in challenging the "pro-Israel" credentials of moderate Jewish-American groups, going so far as to suggest that receiving money from Arab donors and supporters of Human Rights Watch undermines a group’s commitment to Israel and peace. J … Continue reading “Pro-Israel Group’s Money Trail Veers Hard Right”

At Olive Harvest, Rabbis Take on Settlers

AWARTA, West Bank — Away from the media spotlight that focuses on the widening chasm between Israelis and Palestinians, a group of Israeli humanists is quietly working to break down barriers with their Palestinian neighbors. Rabbi Arik Ascherman, director of Israel’s Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), has been used as a human shield, arrested, and … Continue reading “At Olive Harvest, Rabbis Take on Settlers”