Articles of interest

A Pillar Built on Sand: What is Israel Really Up to in Gaza?

Article by John Mearsheimer originally published in the London Review of Books. He argues that "the ongoing attacks in Gaza are part of a long-term strategy to coerce the Palestinians into giving up their pursuit of self-determination and submitting to Israeli rule in an apartheid state."

Is Middle East Peace a Mirage?

Article by Patrick Buchanan in which he questions Obama..."[he] should ask himself: How would America’s vital interests be imperiled by staying out of this particular quarrel, conflict or war? Why are all of these crises somehow ours to resolve? What are the odds that we can resolve them?"

Galilee First

Sam Bahour points to the many facets of discrimination faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel. Bahour is a Palestinian-American business development consultant from Youngstown, Ohio, living in the Palestinian city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank. He frequently provides independent commentary on Palestine and serves as a policy advisor of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.

The Plight of Gaza

Edward Said Memorial Lecture delivered by Sara Roy October 10, 2012. This lecture is drawn from a longer research work that will be published as a new introduction to the third edition of her book The Gaza Strip: the Political Economy of De-development forthcoming from the Institute for Palestine Studies. Dr. Sara Roy is a senior research scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University where she completed her doctoral studies in international development and education. Trained as a political economist, Dr. Roy has worked in the Gaza Strip and West Bank since 1985 conducting research primarily on the economic, social and political development of the Gaza Strip and on U.S. foreign aid to the region. Dr. Roy has written extensively on the Palestinian economy, particularly in Gaza, and has documented its development over the last three decades. Her most recent book, Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza: Engaging the Islamist Social Sector, was published last year by Princeton University Press.

Soulless Killing Machines

Article by Conn Hallinan from Counterpunch about the "morality" of the US use of drones on "terror" suspects..."the issue is not the morality of drones; they have none. Nor do they have politics or philosophy. They are simply soulless killing machines. The morality at play is with those who define the targets and push the buttons that incinerate people we do not know half a world away."

The Color Purple and Israel

Letter from Alice Walker to Publishers at Yediot Books refusing to allow publication of her award winning book, The Color Purple, in Israel because of its apartheid and her support of the BDS movement to change that.

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.

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."

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."

When Obama Speaks (and says nothing)

Gideon Levy describes what Obama said in his interview with Channel 2 on the eve of his visit to Israel. "He is betraying his principles, those that have won him international acclaim and the Nobel Peace Prize."

The Greatest Robbery in the Twentieth Century

Four maps of Palestine from 1946-2000.

Patrick Tyler - Fortress Israel - January/2013

Please click the link below to watch Patrick Tyler's talk presented at McCormick Hall on the Princeton University campus.