West Bank

Posted by: John Phoenix By: Prof Rima Najjar Image is of a young Israeli soldier, one of the hostages held by Hamas, who was killed by Israeli air strikes over Gaza as negotiations stalled. Arabic says, “we are originally from Morocco.” On the day after Abu ‘Obaidah, the spokesperson for Hamas’ Al-Qassam Islamic Brigade, mentioned the death of the 19-year-old Israeli soldier, “originally from Morocco” as she had described herself in an earlier video clip, I was chatting with my sister, who happened to be in Morocco, and naturally asked her what the news outlets there were saying about Abu ‘Obaidah’s broadcast. She had just been reading the local newspaper (Al Akhbar) and told me with consternation that news about the war on Gaza was buried on page 12 of the newspaper. There wa...

Posted by: John Phoenix By: Prof Rima Najjar Ismail Haniyeh, senior Hamas leader and former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (2006–07) and of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip (2007–14). Screen shot is from Al Jazeera broadcast of his statement on Dec 13, 2023 Ismail Haniyeh’s statement yesterday (Dec 13, 2023) was eloquent and powerful. Haniyeh is the senior Hamas leader and former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (2006–07) and of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip (2007–14). His statement was carried on many Arabic news channels. I listened to the speech carefully as it was being broadcast live on Al Jazeera Arabic during its coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, and then had a hard time finding it again on Al Jazeera’s website, likely because Isra...

Posted by: John Phoenix Hamas’ “guests” — Table manners in 'Israel' vs. Arab traditional values By: Prof Rima Najjar Abu Obaidah, spokesperson for Al Qassam (Al Jazeera, Dec 21, 2023): “The enemy continues to repeat its foolishness and historical mistakes, because it is disconnected from the reality of our people and their civilization.” The verse from the Quran in upper left corner says: “And God supports with His victory whom He wills.” Only a short time prior to listening to Abu Obaidah’s press statement of Dec 21, I had been watching a news report that included a view of the installation of the table set for 200 that was initially organized in Tel Aviv by Mosaic United, the World Zionist Organization and the European Jewish Congress as a symbol of the absent prisoners held...

Posted by: John Phoenix By: Prof Rima Najjar “I am certain soon we can look forward to a family of rockets named after martyred leader Saleh al-Arouri,” Deputy Chair of the Political Bureau of Hamas and founder of the Martyr Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. It is beyond me how Israel has failed to figure out that a martyred Palestinian leader exerts a vastly more powerful hold on his people’s imagination and will to resist than a living one. After decades of targeting and killing a long list of Palestinian leaders (or imprisoning them), Israel has not learned that another generation of leaders, stronger and fiercer than their predecessor, emerges inevitably. It makes me wonder if Israel is merely stupid or insane. There is a saying that goes, “Insanity is doing the same ...

Israel — “Nation of murderers and murder victims” By: Prof Rima Najjar “Holding on to the occupied territories will turn us into a nation of murderers and murder victims.” Declaration published in Haaretz in 1967 signed by a minority of Israelis who were against Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories after the 1967 war. I don’t see them much anymore — I mean the “Israeli public.” In the first few weeks after al-Aqsa Flood, their images and voices were all over the live coverage on Al Jazeera Arabic and al-Mayadeen. The hope was that the pressure the families of the hostages was exerting on the Israeli government would succeed in making their release a priority for the Israeli cabinet over the impulse of vengeance. That obviously did not happen and most of them continu...

By: John Phoenix The Ugly 'Israeli' Denounced By: Prof Rima Najjar Frame captured from a De-Colonizer 1948 video titled “Une conversation en hébreu sur le génocide” Even before Israel exposed its heart of darkness to the world in the aftermath of Oct 7, the term “the ugly Israeli” was already a thing. According to many reports, Israelis traveling internationally have developed a reputation for unruliness, rudeness, and assertiveness; observed instances of Israelis arguing, yelling, and disregarding rules have led to negative perceptions by airline staff and other travelers abroad, and even to a Ynet news report that wonders, “Are Israel’s tourists the worst in the world?” But such characterizations of a national stereotype are just the tip of the iceberg. The “hea...