Middle East

NOVANEWS Abunimah says without Hamas talks are pointless Not trusting Bibi over anything Rabbinic court lashes singer More wars and Glenn Beck do not equal respect or honour When advertising gets inspired by US torture Abunimah says without Hamas talks are pointless  29 Aug 2010 Ali Abunimah in the New York Times – what, a Palestinian in the Times, get rid of him immediately! – on America’s apparent determination to fail at upcoming “peace talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority: George J. Mitchell, the United States Middle East envoy, tried to counter low expectations for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations by harking back to his experience as a mediator in Northern Ireland. At an Aug. 20 news conference with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, ...

NOVANEWS When will more Jews not back occupation and oppression? Glenn Beck is not Martin Luther King Jr. Reporters should not be embedding ABC talks about Afghanistan in a bubble Don’t see Turkey with rose-coloured glasses Wikileaks shows the CIA understands how the US is seen Nokia and their mates in Tehran The super-kosher rail car is coming to a Zionist state near you When will more Jews not back occupation and oppression? 26 Aug 2010 Many Australian Jews see their role as simply backing anything Israel does. Nuke Gaza? No worries. Those Palestinians clearly deserved it. Here’s a letter in this week’s Australian Jewish News that perfectly captures the mood. Thanks for mentioning Independent Australian Jewish Voices! Thank goodness for the unswerving, if not always uncri...

NOVANEWS Did the Israeli Defense Force Bomb Jews? August 29, 2010 by Bob Nichols (San Francisco) – Israel, a nuclear weapons armed colossus in the Middle East, fights a lot of wars with two small, almost defenseless neighboring countries – Lebanon and Gaza. The 2006 War with Lebanon took a turn for the worse, though. Israel executed an emergency purchase for 100 plus US GBU-28 5,000 lb, or 2,722 kg, weaponized uranium aerosol bombs from their patron, the United States. The GBU-28 is a cobbled together weapon consisting of an approximately 20 ft long surplus artillery barrel stuffed with uranium ballast and high explosives. It is very good for the delivery of a particular form of poison gas – a War Crime under several international treaties and US Law. But, who cares? the bomb’s victims? Th...

NOVANEWS Auto Draft It's useful to remember from time-to-time that the peace process is a joke, whose only aim is to continue. No one who participates in it cares much about a just final settlement. They care about keeping the appearance of caring about a just final settlement visible, while legitimizing ongoing occupation and settlement. Here is the PA violently breaking up a press conference protesting the renewal of direct talks. When the human rights group Al-Haq attempted to document the attack, its investigators were attacked by PA security forces. "Today's incident is a further example of the increasing climate of violence and intimidation that is effectively transforming Palestinian society into a 'police-state,'" it said. Two weeks ago, eleven Palestinian factions, including the ...

NOVANEWS 08/28/2010 White House briefing for Jewish-American leadership outlines strategy for Israeli-Palestinian talks Anti-Defamation League condemns the very ‘anti-Muslim sentiment’ it contributes to It’s not about religion Israeli troops fire on nonviolent anti-wall protest in Al Ma’sara, injuring five, I wish Jewish journalists would emulate Aslan and Zakaria in being transparent about their religious identity White House briefing for Jewish-American leadership outlines strategy for Israeli-Palestinian talks Aug 27, 2010 Adam Horowitz The following article appears on the front page today's Yediot Ahronoth, and was translated by Didi Remez on his blog Coteret. Agreement now, peace later Shimon Shiffer, Yediot, August 27 2010 [front-page] The Obama administration intends to pres...

NOVANEWS Yet another legacy of America’s war on Iraq Performing Brecht in Palestine is a shameful use of talent Chinese repression isn’t the way forward Behold the Jew who loathes Islam You want to negotiate with these fools? Yet another legacy of America’s war on Iraq 28 Aug 2010 The Iraq war isn’t over; it’s resulted in a mass influx of young Iraqi women to Syria who become sex slaves or prostitutes. Performing Brecht in Palestine is a shameful use of talent  28 Aug 2010 How too many Israeli theatres are embracing performing in the occupied Palestinian territories (but some are rightly refusing).   Chinese repression isn’t the way forward  27 Aug 2010 The Western capitalist model is inherently problematic with massive over-consumption and a gross disregard for hu...

NOVANEWS 8/28/2010 How Many Tanks Did Israel Lose in 2006 War with Lebanon? by James Buchanan A recent article in the Jerusalem Post reports “The US warned Lebanon that if it did not prevent any recurrence of the border-fire incident that occurred earlier this month, the IDF would destroy the Lebanese Armed Forces within four hours…” The US envoy’s assistant was referring to an Israeli plan for war. There’s just one little problem: Not all wars go according to plan. The last Israel war on Lebanon was a costly disaster for Israel. No doubt it’s a matter of state secrecy in Israel, but their tank losses in Lebanon were BIG. A low figure of 10 is a fairly certain minimum judging from various news reports during the invasion. The high figure might be 50 or maybe even 100. The Israeli invasion ...

NOVANEWS Israel is an ‘occupation-addicted junkie', Gideon Levy tells packed PSC meeting Israel is an ‘occupation-addicted junkie', Gideon Levy tells packed PSC meeting How ordinary Israeli citizens live with the knowledge of their country's occupation of Palestine is a question that vexes Gideon Levy on most days. Levy is an Israeli journalist who has served in the IDF as a writer and editor for the Israel Army radio and as an aide to Shimon Peres, when the latter was leader of the country's Labour Party. He now writes for the Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz. On Tuesday (24 August) he was in conversation with Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow in London, at a meeting organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Jews for Justice for Palestinians. He attempted to answer his own que...

NOVANEWS http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11493.shtml Seeing the land as one: Raja Shehadeh interviewed Sarah Irving, The Electronic Intifada,   27 August 2010 Ramallah-based writer and co-founder of the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, Raja Shehadeh launched his latest book, A Rift in Time, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 14 August. Like earlier works, Shehadeh's latest title addresses the dispossession of the Palestinian people, the failure of the international community and their own leadership to deliver justice, and the abuse of Palestinian rights by the Israeli military and civil authorities.   These themes are all presented through the lens of his family's history and his own experiences and passionate love of his land. But where Palestin...

NOVANEWS Mercenaries are ripe for business Less US involvement in the Mid-East is what’s needed The Brits speak on Afghanistan Sarkozy (doesn’t) reach out to Muslims Mercenaries are ripe for business27 Aug 2010 Leading private military contractor CACI were deeply involved in the Abu Ghraib scandal. In the world of America’s elite, the same company remains a key cyber-contractor in today’s new decade. CACI are like Blackwater; seemingly untouchable no matter how many alleged crimes they commit.   Less US involvement in the Mid-East is what’s needed27 Aug 2010 Page one story today from Israel’s leading paper, Yediot: The Obama administration intends to present Israel and the Palestinians with a new outline for ending the conflict. Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that the Amer...