Category: News

Orientalism failed to identify with human experience. If the “global war on terror” has taught us anything, it is that the road to barbarism begins with this failure.

By Adam Shatz | The New York Review of Books | Jun 20, 2019

Orientalism is a foreign ambassador in an Arab city belittling popular concern about Palestine and depicting Arabs as a docile mass who only woke up in 2011, during the Arab revolts, and then reverted to being a disappointment to a benevolent West that merely seeks to be a good tutor. It is a Western ‘expert’ reducing Islamist terrorism in Europe to a psychology of ressentiment, without bothering to explain why European citizens of Muslim origin might feel alienated, then telling an Arab critic of the Westerner’s work that he is being emotional for objecting to a presentation purely based on scientific data, and finally flying into a rage at being misunderstood by this stubborn Oriental.

Edward Said’s Orientalism is one of the most influential works of intellectual history of the postwar era. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Perhaps the most common misunderstanding is that it is “about” the Middle East; on the contrary, it is a study of Western representations of the Arab-Islamic world — of what Said called “mind-forg’d manacles,” after William Blake. The book’s conservative critics misread it as a nativist denunciation of Western scholarship, ignoring its praise for Louis Massignon, Jacques Berque, and Clifford Geertz, while some Islamists praised the book on the basis of the same misunderstanding, overlooking Said’s commitment to secular politics.

Since the book’s first publication in 1978, “Orientalism” has become one of those words that shuts down conversation on liberal campuses, where no one wants to be accused of being “Orientalist” any more than they want to be called racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic. That “Orientalist” is now a commonly applied epithet is a tribute to the power of Said’s account, but also to its vulgarization. With Orientalism, Said wanted to open a discussion about the way the Arab-Islamic world had been imagined by the West — not to prevent a clear-eyed reckoning with the region’s problems, of which he was all too painfully aware.

Continue reading ““Orientalism” then and now”

Conservative Christians in Texas are aligning with Israel’s right to occupy the land as God given and giving Texas beneficial business opportunities.

By Alex Kane and Nashwa Bawab | The Intercept | June 1, 2019

As the Trump administration maintains the friendliest U.S. relationship with the Israeli right in history, Texas has become one of the most pro-Israel states in the country.

On the afternoon of April 19, 2018, a group of Texas Republicans received an email confirming their upcoming all-expenses-paid trips to Israel. An orientation packet filled with background on their destination “for reading on the flight,” the message said, was forthcoming.

The May 2018 trip to Israel would not be Texas politicians’ first — Gov. Greg Abbott, for one, flew to Israel on casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s private jet in 2016.

But it was unique in at least one crucial way: The trip was organized by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, according to records obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy and reviewed by The Intercept. The right-wing group of over 2,000 state legislators, lobbyists, and corporate backers writes legislation to be exported to statehouses around the country and has largely focused on issues like “stand your ground” gun laws and voter suppression efforts. By leading a delegation to Israel, ALEC was opening up a new front, demonstrating the extent to which support for Israel has become a central part of the GOP’s policy agenda, especially in Texas.

Continue reading “God, gas, and cash: How Texas fell in love with Israel — and then trampled on the constitution.”

Conservative Christians often perpetuate stereotype, misunderstanding, and outright bearing of false witness against our Muslim neighbors both here and abroad.

By Benjamin Corey | benjaminlcorey.com | Jun 7, 2017

1.  Muslims love Jesus
2.  Muslims are some of the most hospitable people you’ll ever meet
3.  Most Muslims do not view Christians or Jews as ‘infidels’
4.  Killing innocent people, and being a suicide bomber, are both forbidden by Islam
5.  Muslims are most often the victims of terrorism

Conservative Christians seem to have a lot of opinions about Islam and our Muslim neighbors.

Those opinions are often grossly misinformed at best.

I’ve met very few conservative Christians who have spent any considerable amount of time in friendships with Muslims; it’s also true that I’ve rarely met an overly anti-Islamic conservative Christian who has studied Islam beyond reading some sketchy articles on Facebook. The net result of this is the perpetuation of stereotype, misunderstanding, and outright bearing false witness against our Muslim neighbors both here and abroad.

Continue reading “5 things I wish conservative Christians understood about Muslims”

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, accountability is an uphill battle in the absence of basic laws and a working parliament.

By Miriam Berger | The National | June 17, 2019

‘Getting rid of corruption shortens the occupation and adds to the confidence of the people in the struggle for liberation and independence against the occupation,’
— Shawqi Al Issa, a former Palestinian minister who resigned over corruption

Earlier this month, cash-strapped Palestinians learned that their president Mahmoud Abbas had secretly approved a massive pay hike for ministers – finding out only because an anti-corruption collective leaked documents showing it online.

Indeed, both the Palestinian public and the Trump administration rate corruption in the Palestinian government as a top concern.

But when American officials and their allies attack the financially-strapped Palestinian Authority as untrustworthy in a push to delegitimise it, this all out assault on Palestinian sovereignty actually makes it harder for those working for more transparency and democratic reforms from within

Continue reading “For Palestinian activists fighting corruption, Trump’s attacks are making their work even harder”

With the neocolonial plans they have concocted for the Palestinians, Kushner and his Israeli allies are swimming against the tide of history.

By Rashid Khalidi | The New York Review of Books | Jun 12, 2019

The Trump administration’s Middle East ‘initiatives’ so far have virtually all come pre-packaged from the Israeli extreme right’s storehouse of ideas, including moving the Jerusalem embassy, recognizing the annexation of the Golan, airily dispensing with the Palestinian refugee issue, trying to liquidate UNRWA, and withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran.

“You cannot do without us,” Lord Curzon condescendingly told the Indians over whom he ruled as British imperial viceroy more than a century ago. As the Trump family rubbed shoulders with the Windsors during their recent visit to London, there was no mistaking the difference between the real aristocracy and the trumped-up one. However, Jared Kushner, presidential son-in-law and senior adviser responsible for crafting a Middle East peace plan, does have something in common with Lord Curzon and his colonial ilk.

In an interview with Axios shown on HBO on June 2, shortly before he arrived in the UK, Kushner cast doubt on the feasibility of independent Palestinian self-rule, declaring, “we’ll have to see,” adding, “the hope is that they over time can become capable of governing.” When asked if Palestinians should ever be able to enjoy freedom from “Israeli government or military interference,” he said only that this was “a high bar.” After suggesting that Kushner had consulted few if any Palestinians over the two years during which his peace plan was in the works, his interviewer asked if he understood why the Palestinians did not trust him. Kushner responded curtly, “I’m not here to be trusted.”

Continue reading “The neocolonial arrogance of the Kushner Plan”

This interactive map follows a timeline illustrating the implementation of the various measures Israel has implemented to achieve this reality.

By B’Tselem | Jun 5, 2019

‘Israel has doggedly chipped away at Palestinian space, breaking it up into conveniently exploitable pieces, the easier to control and oppress.’
— B’Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad

Today — 52 years to the day since Israel began occupying the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and against the backdrop of measures undertaken by the Trump administration to promote its “deal of the century” — B’Tselem launched a new interactive project illustrating Israel’s encroachment upon Palestinian space over the decades, shattering the land into small, isolated units, and keeping Palestinians apart from one another and from Israelis.

A collaboration with independent research agency Forensic Architecture, the Conquer and Divide project traces how government resolutions, military orders and state planning have created ever-expanding Israeli settlements and infrastructure, promoting Israeli interests at the expense of Palestinians’ rights. The map throws into stark relief the current situation of Palestinian communities, which have been intentionally cut off from one another and exist as islands in a vast sea of Israeli control.

Continue reading ““Conquer and Divide” — B’Tselem launches interactive map to mark 52 years since the Israeli occupation began”

A leaked report raises questions about social media campaign for Israel.

By Asa Winstanley | The Electronic Intifada | June 12, 2019

Much of the last several years of the establishment media’s time has been wasted raising hell about supposed Russian interference in US elections, despite a lack of real evidence. Israel’s interference in western democracies, however, is now very well documented, and is often quite open.

A global influence campaign funded by the Israeli government had a $1.1 million budget last year, a document obtained by The Electronic Intifada shows.

Act.IL says it has offices in three countries and an online army of more than 15,000.

In its annual report, from January, Act.IL says its goal is to “influence foreign publics” and “battle” BDS – the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement for Palestinian rights.

Through its app, Act.IL issues “missions” to this troll army in exchange for “cool prizes” and scholarships.

The app directs comments towards news websites in support of Israeli wars and racism, while attacking Palestinians and solidarity campaigners.

The leaked report claims Act.IL’s app completes 1,580 such missions every week.

Continue reading “Inside Israel’s million dollar troll army”

A call for censure and the topic of academic freedom and the First Amendment.

By Ariän Taher | Truthout | June 9, 2019

Hill peddles the myth that the Six-Day War — whose first attack was carried out by Israel — was ‘defensive’.

Supporters of international humanitarian law must condemn the views espoused by DePaul University’s Jason Hill, a tenured philosophy professor, regarding his statements on Palestine-Israel, both in the past and in his recent article in The Federalist.

Hill’s opinions on Palestine-Israel must be examined carefully as a microcosm of the myths broadly perpetuated by the right wing to justify Israel’s military occupations, operations and land seizures in Palestine.

Hill’s article fails to present any primary-source and peer-reviewed material to justify his argumentation, instead providing only neophyte analyses, historical falsification and historical negationism.

Continue reading “The treacherous falsification of Palestine-Israel history”

A young Palestinian’s story shows peace is still possible.

By Yousef Bashir | The New York Times | Apr 26, 2019

I wish we could talk. I would tell him that I want to do my part to make peace between our peoples more possible, the way my father taught me. I would tell him that I have forgiven him.

I was born and raised in the Gaza Strip. For years, my “neighbors” were Israeli soldiers based in the Kfar Darom settlement across the road from my house. Although the settlement was illegally established, my father taught me never to feel hostility toward the soldiers. They were the children of Abraham, as were we Palestinians.

But in September 2000, when I was 11 years old, all that changed. One night after dinner, the soldiers started shooting at our kitchen windows. As we crawled to the center of the house, I could see the bullets ricocheting around me.

Soon after, the soldiers told my father that it was time for him to leave. They wanted to use our house as a command center. My father politely but firmly refused: “I am a peaceful man. I am not your enemy. There is no need for me to leave. If it is not safe for us in our own home, then it will not be safe for us anywhere.”

Continue reading “An Israeli shot me — an Israeli healed me”