Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Every time Israel bombs Gaza into smithereens, it is left to others to try to rebuild. The European Union, Qatar, and even the Biden administration are offering aid. (The US is giving a piddling $150 million; even tiny Qatar is pledging $500 million.) The Greek myths contain the story of […]
Why Jared Kushner’s ‘Abraham Accords’ did not produce Israel-Palestine Peace and are increasingly Irrelevant
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Jared Kushner/ Trump plan for Israel-Palestine had some basic premises. The first was that the U.S. could act punitively toward the Palestinians with no consequences. The second was that the Arab states were so afraid of Iran that they would throw the Palestinians under the bus and make an […]
Irish Parliament first in EU to Condemn Creeping Israeli “Annexation” of Palestinian West Bank
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kerry O’Shea at the Irish Examiner reports that the Irish Dail (parliament) on Wednesday night passed a resolution accusing Israel of having committed the crime of “annexing” the Palestinian territories. Ireland is the first European Union state to make such a declaration. The motion also condemned Hamas for indiscriminately firing […]
“This will Change the World:” Dutch Court orders Shell to reduce CO2 by 45% by 2030
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a historic ruling, a tribunal in the Netherlands has ruled that Royal Dutch Shell must reduce its and its customers’ carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent by 2030 from its 2019 base, according to Le Soir. Shell had already committed to a 20 percent reduction by that date, but […]
A Year Later: Are Palestinians like George Floyd?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – May 26 was the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police, and President Biden had the victim’s family to the White House, where they lobbied the president on police reform. George Floyd could not have imagined how he would become an international symbol of the victimization […]
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A primer on the long-standing dispute over Gaza (Video: U-Michigan Interviews Juan Cole)
“Since May 10, more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have died in fighting in Israel and the occupied territories. Juan Cole, the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, studies the ongoing political change in the Middle East and is author of the blog Informed Comment. He discusses the history behind the current […]
In Victory for American Freedom, Judge Mark Cohen Calls “Unconstitutional” Georgia’s Ban on Boycotting Israel for Brutalizing Palestinians
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ross Williams at the Georgia Reporter writes that federal judge Mark Cohen on Monday characterized as unconstitutional a Georgia state law that prohibited contractors for the Georgia state government from boycotting Israel. Cohen is United States District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. This […]
Irish Parties and People demand Expulsion of Israeli ambassador, Fines for importing Settler-made Goods
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The recent Israeli assault on the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the bombardment of Gaza, has stirred passions in the Irish Republic, where public opinion has swung around to be strongly in favor of Palestinian rights and critical of the Apartheid, Occupation government of Israel. Rallies have […]
As Boteach comes for Dua Lipa, has Tactic of Smearing People as anti-Semites for Backing Palestinian Human Rights jumped the Shark?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Orthodox Rabbi Shmuely Boteach has come after the brilliant, Grammy-award-winning Kosovar-British pop star Dua Lipa with an ad in the New York Times accusing her of anti-Semitism for supporting Palestinian rights. She vigorously denied the charge and denounced the ad. She should also sue for libel. Boteach is a huge […]
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