The Netanyahu doctrine: how Israel’s longest-serving leader reshaped the country

He first became prime minister in 1996, and has been pushing the country further right ever since. Most agree his political days are numbered – but the approach he established will prove very difficult to shift by Joshua Leifer An attack like Hamas’s 7 October massacre was not supposed to have been possible. Certainly not while… Read More The Netanyahu doctrine: how Israel’s longest-serving leader reshaped the country

Henry Kissinger was the definition of elite impunity

For U.S. mass media, Henry Kissinger’s quip that “power is the ultimate aphrodisiac” rang as an obvious truism. Influential reporters and pundits often expressed their love for him. For decades, the media establishment swooned over one of the worst war criminals in modern history. After news of his death broke on Wednesday night, prominent coverage echoed the… Read More Henry Kissinger was the definition of elite impunity

President Biden needs to Dump his War Hawks and Turn to Peace Work if he wants to Salvage his Presidency

The rate of the killing of Palestinian civilians is similar to the rate of killing during the Cambodian genocide.  Within a week of the Israeli assault, 880 scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies, and genocide studies signed a statement warning the public and political leaders of the possibility of genocide…“As scholars and practitioners of international… Read More President Biden needs to Dump his War Hawks and Turn to Peace Work if he wants to Salvage his Presidency

Repeal the Exclusionary Nation-state Law, for the Sake of All Israelis

Carolina Landsmann Amid the emotional storm Israelis have been living through since the Hamas attack, the distinction between Israelis and Jews has completely collapsed. On television, there are no Israeli victims; the murdered are “Jews” and the hostages are “Jews.” And that’s despite the fact that Hamas demonstratively made no distinction among its Israeli victims… Read More Repeal the Exclusionary Nation-state Law, for the Sake of All Israelis

Manifesto of the One Democratic State Campaign for Israel-Palestine

PreambleIn recent years, the idea of a one democratic state in all of historic Palestine as the best solution to the conflict has re-emerged. It started gaining increased support in the public domain. It is not a new idea. The Palestinian liberation movement, before the catastrophe of 1948 (the Nakba) and after it, had adopted… Read More Manifesto of the One Democratic State Campaign for Israel-Palestine

The Revolutionary Temper by Robert Darnton review – a nation at breaking point

The ancien regime”, as applied to 18th-century France, always sounds like such a solid proposition. It speaks of arbitrary power, stiffened with protocol, girded by gold, topped by a dusting of icing sugar (you could always spot a noble by their terrible teeth) and utterly stuck in its ways. Until, that is, revolution arrived in 1789… Read More The Revolutionary Temper by Robert Darnton review – a nation at breaking point

Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza: my father saw it first-hand

Events point to Israel’s strategy of emptying the north of Gaza of its Palestinian population, with both the massive bombardment that has damaged at least 222,000 residential units, and the refusal to accept a ceasefire so essential life-saving provisions cannot enter. All this shows the massive pressure on the Palestinian population to move south, thus ethnically… Read More Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza: my father saw it first-hand

Debora MacKenzie: End of nations – is there an alternative to countries?

First posted October 01, 2016 Try, for a moment, to envisage a world without countries. Imagine a map not divided into neat, coloured patches, each with clear borders, governments, laws. Try to describe anything our society does – trade, travel, science, sport, maintaining peace and security – without mentioning countries. Try to describe yourself: you have… Read More Debora MacKenzie: End of nations – is there an alternative to countries?