Peace

The problem is not the absence of a Palestinian state, but Zionism itself. 

 What is the use of a Palestinian state, if Zionism, as a racist, exclusivist ideology continues to define Israel, and impose that definition on the Palestinians? 

 This ideology calls for racial purity of Jews in Palestine, of course, at the expense of the native inhabitants of the land. To achieve this, millions of Palestinians had to be forced into exile, hundreds of thousands needed to be killed, wounded or incarcerated. 

 Neither two states, nor even one state is possible if Zionism is not entirely defeated - not revamped, not ‘fixed’, but eradicated. 

In the first phase of the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, it was clear that the Palestinian Authority was caught off guard. Its leadership neither anticipated that the Gaza Resistance would carry out such an operation nor did they expect that the Israeli war would quickly reach the point of genocide, in a matter of days. 

 This resulted in a dichotomy. While, early on, some PA officials strongly criticized Israel, others did so, but guardedly. The likes of Mahmoud al-Habbash, a close adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, actually blamed Hamas for the October 7 operation, bizarrely speaking about the PA’s intention of holding the Resistance accountable, of course to the delight of Israeli media. 

Yes, the Doomsday Clock keeps ticking — it’s now at 90 seconds to midnight, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists — but the ultimate time bomb never gets the attention that it deserves. Even as the possibility of nuclear annihilation looms, this century’s many warning signs retain the status of Cassandras.

The first and the last time I met John Pilger in person was in 2018. 

 I was invited to deliver a speech at the NSW Parliament in Sydney, Australia. Among the large crowd were many that I knew and respected - a former foreign minister, socially conscientious MPs, morally driven intellectuals and activists, and so on. 

 As I stood at the podium, glancing at the crowd, I saw John Pilger. He had a big smile on his face, as if he was in great anticipation to hear me talk. 

 The reality was entirely different. I would have rather listened to John than to lecture before him. 

 As I expressed my many “thank yous”, I made a point of emphasizing that I have modeled my journalism around that of John Pilger. 

“And some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak.”

Take a day, pore over a few of his words. I’m talking about Martin Luther King, of course. His “day” is over, but his message still pulsates. We must speak! The world is bleeding with the wounds of war and poverty and racism, just as it was 57 years ago, when he spoke — infamously, you might say — at Riverside Church in New York City. He defied LBJ and stared directly into the muzzle of the Vietnam war, declaring it to be moral savagery, declaring the United States to be “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”

What are we to say about a U.S. culture in which people can openly admire Germany for backing yet another genocide, and condemn warning of World War III as reckless endangerment?

This article was written shortly before Israel assassinated the Deputy Head of Hamas Political Bureau Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut on January 2. The assassination is a further illustration of the Israeli government's desire to escape the consequences of its disastrous war in Gaza, by igniting a regional conflict. 

The clashes between Hezbollah and Israel are the closest to an actual war that the Lebanon-Israel border has seen since the war of 2006, which resulted in a rushed Israeli retreat, if not outright defeat. 

 We often refer to the ongoing conflict between Lebanon and Israel as ‘controlled’ clashes, simply because both sides are keen not to instigate or engage in an all-out war. 

Obviously, Hezbollah wants to preserve Lebanese lives and civilian infrastructure, which would surely be seriously damaged, if not destroyed, should Israel decide to launch a war. 

To: President Joe Biden

Should there be a ceasefire in Gaza? Yes!

Palestinian deaths in Gaza are approaching an horrific 20,000, plus another 55,000 wounded, as Israel expands its violence into the West Bank.

One hundred and fifty-three member nations of the United Nations General Assembly agreed to a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire. The US voted “NO.”

Is Pope Francis correct in saying this has “gone beyond war. This is terrorism” as he describes what is happening in Gaza? The pope was especially focused on the sniper-murders of Nahida Anton and then her daughter trying to carry her to safety inside the Holy Family Catholic Church compound in Gaza.

Their offense? Going to the only bathroom available.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has described it “an incident.” Contrary to constant Israeli statements to the contrary there were no warnings, no justification.

Nor were there warnings for Yotem Haim and two other Israeli young men – all former hostages – who appeared shirtless, holding a white surrender flag and calling out in Hebrew who they were. They were also killed by the IDF.

Top American officials in the “national security” establishment are notably good at smooth rhetoric and convenient silences. Their scant regard for truth or human life has changed remarkably little since 1971 when Daniel Ellsberg risked decades in prison to leak the Pentagon Papers to the world. During the years between then and his death six months ago, he was a tireless writer, speaker, and activist.

Most people remember him, of course, as the whistleblower who exposed voluminous official lies about the Vietnam War by providing 7,000 top-secret pages of classified documents to the New York Times and other newspapers. But throughout his adult life, he was transfixed above all by the imperative of preventing nuclear war.

One day in 1995, I called Dan and suggested he run for president. His reply was instant: “I’d rather be in prison.” He explained that, unlike typical candidates, he couldn’t stand to offer opinions on subjects he really knew little or nothing about.