Adil E. Shamoo - If conditions do not change quickly by the time of the U.S.-promised veto of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly on September 20, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could explode into a new uprising with hundreds of deaths. The recent attack of Palestinian extremists on a bus in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat and the eager over-reaction of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is a harbinger of what is to come. The uprising will bring the United States into sharp...
Vijay Prashad - Sitting on an Amtrak train from New Haven to Washington DC on Friday, I was enjoying my thriller, Kjell Ola Dahl's The Man in the Window. Dahl's police procedural novels are set in Oslo, Norway, where the remarkable detectives Frank Frølich and Gunnarstranda confront the heart of modern evil: Property is often the hub of the conflict, but so too is the ineluctable history of Nazism and the Second World War. A brave history of pacifism, partly contained in the Norwegian Labour Party,...
On Friday, 8 July 2011, hundreds of activists from around the world were prevented from landing in Israel's Ben Gurion International airport. The activists were invited by Palestinian groups in a campaign called "Welcome to Palestine." The Fly In was meant to protest Israel's practice of frequently denying the entry of activists and the Palestinian Diaspora into the occupied territories. Just as the boat flotilla's are being prevented from leaving Greek and Turkish...
A group of international musicians has released a new single by OneWorld, with all proceeds going to UK Charity War on Want for projects in Palestine. The song features Maxi Jazz (Faithless), Dave Randall (Slovo/Faithless), LSK, the Durban Gospel Choir, Jamie Catto (1 Giant Leap) and musicians from around the world. Find the "Disco Nutter Mix" by Yasen Velchev here. Find the "Drum & Bass Mix" by Dan Birch here.
In Washington on Tuesday, on the invitation of the house speaker, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the American Congress. It's a speech that Israeli political analyst, Gideon Levy, referred to as "lies on top of lies," yet the Israeli prime minister received 29 standing ovations during his address, in a clear sign of what some commentators have come to describe as the sycophantic stance of the American Congress to the Israeli lobby. In an obvious challenge to...
Imraan Buccus - Struggling for Justice and Freedom Had we not defeated apartheid, this year would have marked 63 years of oppression in South Africa. But, with incredible mobilisation and international solidarity, the evil system of racial capitalism was defeated and in 1994 we had our first democratic election. The euphoria of liberation was indeed overwhelming. This week, we celebrate democracy in South Africa with a third local government election. But, as we celebrate democracy in South Africa, Israel,...