Articles of interest

A PALESTINIAN VIEW

Article by Sam Bahour about the I/P "peace process." "The Middle East peace process between Palestinians and Israelis has been emitting SOS signals for decades, but only recently are those signals being received and analyzed for what they are transmitting- -a clear and irreversible message that the entire paradigm of "two states for two peoples" has collapsed."

Palestine, a History Rich and Deep

From the Washington Post,by Maen Rashid Areikat, December 27. The issue of Palestinian identity and national history has become a source of controversy, with many Americans making deeply disturbing and alarming statements. As the representative of my people to the United States, I would like to tell you what the Palestinians, as a people, are all about.

No, Newt and JPeters, there is no Santa Claus: how national identies are really formed

Article from Hussein Ibish's blog on how national identities are really formed. This was in response to Newt Gingrich's recent "outrageous comments about Palestinians being 'an invented people' -- which he then augmented by describing them in general as 'terrorists'."

The Moment of Truth

Statement in the Jerusalem Post by By Saeb Erekat 11/12/2011. Top PA negotiator calls on Israel to protect fast-closing window of opportunity for peace based on two states.

Washington Loses on Own-Goal Hat Trick

Phil Giraldi writes that the US decision to veto the Palestinian membership bid in the UN, and resulting funds cut-off from UN agencies makes us look "ridiculous, irrelevant, and isolated internationally by inflicting massive and disproportionate punishment on most of the world." He illustrates with soccer analogies of "own goal" and "hat trick".

The Iraq Liars Target Iran

MJ Rosenberg shows how the same neo-cons who pushed for the war in Iraq are now angling for intervention in Iran after the most recent IAEA report, even though the US State Dept summarized it thus: “The IAEA does not assert that Iran has resumed a full scale nuclear weapons program nor does it have a program about how advanced the programs really are.”

There’s Nothing Idealistic About the One-State Solution

Jonathan Cook writes a response to Michael Neumann about the one-state solution. "One day you arrive at my home and take over most of the building using force. A short time later you drive me out of the house completely, and, in what you consider a generous concession, allow me to live in the shed at the end of the garden. Over the years we become bitter enemies. The neighbours, my former friends, can no longer turn a blind eye to my miserable condition and decide to side with me against you. One day they come to your door and threaten to use violence against you if you do not let me back into the house."

The Mess in the Middle East

Remarks by Ambassador Chas W. Freeman to the 20th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, 10/27/11. "The more policy we have, the more perverse the results it seems to produce for our country..."

United States Needs to Reevaluate Its Assistance to Israel

Walter Pincus writes in the Washington Post that because Israel is cutting its own defense budget to satisfy demonstrators, maybe the US could now reduce the over $3 billion that we send Israel each year.

The Real Story of How Israel Was Created

Alison Weir outlines the steps behind the creation of Israel at the UN. "The common representation of Israel’s birth is that the UN created Israel, that the world was in favor of this move, and that the US governmental establishment supported it. All these assumptions are demonstrably incorrect."

A State of Their Own

Article from America, 9/26/11. Describes the steps Palestine is taking to gain further recognition at the UN this month.

Robert Fisk: For 10 years, we've lied to ourselves to avoid asking the one real question

Robert Fisk asks why noone in the US seems to want to talk about the motive behind the 9/11 attacks.

The fabric of Palestinian identity

Article by Hussein Ibish, Senior Research Fellow, American Task Force on Palestine, reviewing a new book about Palestinian tradition and its political significance. "It is...[a]deeply meaningful resistance to the continued efforts at the negation of Palestinian identity and history."

The Tie that Binds

Article by Philip Giraldi in which he argues that Israel and the US have few common interests or values, though this has been promoted to tie the countries together. The resulting "tie" means that the US is increasingly unable to pursue its real interests.

The U.N. Voting Record of Susan Rice on Palestinian Rights, 2009–2010

Article by Howard Friel from CommonDreams.org On Friday, February 18, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution which, upon condemning Israel’s settlements in Palestinian territory, had the unanimous support of the 14 other Security Council members and over one hundred state sponsors. Although Rice’s veto in this instance was certainly outrageous, she is no stranger to voting contrary to U.S. obligations under international law, in support of Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, and against the clear consensus of U.N. member states, since, as U.S. ambassador, she (or her office) has consistently voted against huge majorities in the U.N. General Assembly seeking to reaffirm Palestinian rights.

Top Ten Reasons East Jerusalem does not belong to Jewish-Israelis

Article by Juan Cole. "Netanyahu mixed together Romantic-nationalist cliches with a series of historically false assertions. But even more important was everything he left out of the history, and his citation of his warped and inaccurate history instead of considering laws, rights or common human decency toward others not of his ethnic group."

The Greatest Robbery in the Twentieth Century

Four maps of Palestine from 1946-2000.