MetaFilter posts tagged with Israel and politics

A chance for a Middle East peace

homunculus — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:36:22 -0800

Syria Calling: The Obama Administration’s chance to engage in a Middle East peace.

The Gaza Bombshell

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:33:25 -0800

Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war.

The Baker's Dough

Postroad — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:21:31 -0800

Baker to the rescue Is this guy the most powerful lawyer in the world? And he is now beginning not just to advise Bush but also it seems to dump Israel as an ally in favor of giving various Arab and Muslim groups--including our enemies-- what they have long wished for. As for the tiny democracy called Israel, they can have this for their future. Follow the dough (and oil)

It's complicated.

Meatbomb — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:28:14 -0800

Who hates who in the Middle East. An interactive chart from Slate. Click the graphic on the page to access the chart. Click on any cell for more details.

Speechless and saddened.

spiderwire — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:57:45 -0800

500,000 Lebanese citizens are now homeless. That's out of a population of 3.8 million, according to Juan Cole. People in Southern Lebanon have received leaflets warning them to leave, but are trapped in their villages under Israeli bombings. The IDF has opened a 60-km front on the border, using tanks to probe Hezbollah. Meanwhile, a ceasefire remains... elusive. I normally take the position that both sides are excessively violent, but this is a pretty sad picture of what's going on in Lebanon.

My crystal balls sez:

bigmusic — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 23:02:50 -0800

PINR presents a well educated guess over what is going to happen with the Israel - Hezbollah conflict. They also offer significant background and insight into the mood and motives of some surrounding states.

"But I think it's also worth noting that there is absolutely no military solution to this whole crisis."

kliuless — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:04:23 -0800

Saving Corporal Shalit: "I think the only danger to the soldier's life is if there is an actual incursion by Israel into the Gaza Strip."

Union Boycotts Israel

five fresh fish — Sun, 28 May 2006 19:16:00 -0800

Union Boycotts Israel. Delegates to the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario convention voted overwhelmingly to support a boycott of Israel products, part of the The Wall Must Fall campaign. (TWMF Pamphlet in PDF form.)

A priest, a rabbi and a Hamas leader walk into a bar. .

Smedleyman — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 17:37:28 -0800

"If Hamas fails to agree to a permanent ceasefire, we will have to create another leadership, just as we did before with Sheikh Yassin." Former head of the double ISO (Mossad), Efraim Halevy Spoke at the Middle East Forum in Boston last week (yes, he's selling a book) and had some interesting things to say. Earlier post here. (More inside).

Write this one in your diary Anne!

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 10:07:20 -0800

When Iranian paper Hamshahri (in Persian) launched a contest for Holocaust cartoons, an Israeli group responded in turn with a contest of their own for cartoons that make fun of Jews. Too bad it closed yesterday, or the Dutch branch of the AEL could submit theirs. (WARNING: some of the linked content may be offensive to readers' ethnicities, cultures, religions, or tastes.)

An Iranian blogs Israel

ori — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:56:55 -0800

Hussein Derakhshan [English site] is one of the leading voices of the Persian blogosphere. His blog [Persian site] manages to reach a wide audience in Iran despite being officially censored. Currently, he is fulfilling his dream of visiting Israel [Flickr pics] and breaking barriers in Israeli-Iranian relations. Lisa Goldman, his host in Israel writes about his visit in her blog, too. He is interviewed by the Israeli press in this Haaretz article. He has written "Democracy's Double Standard", an NYT op-ed piece, [bugmenot]. from Tel Aviv, and delivered a lecture on "Reform, Youth and Technology" at the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. Oh yeah, he's also a MeFite.

Christian challenge to Christian Zionism

mediareport — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:48:24 -0800

Challenging Christian Zionism "We are a group of evangelical pastors, academics and mission executives who have been disturbed by the growing influence of Christian Zionism on the political scene in America..." Detailed critique of the Christian Zionist movement includes a look at Hal Lindsey, "the Father of Apocalyptic Christian Zionism."

A Spreading Treason

mk1gti — Wed, 25 May 2005 07:43:35 -0800

A Spreading Treason The vagaries of U.S. involvement in the Middle East were surely brought home to First Lady Laura Bush on her recent trip to Israel, on a tour of Jerusalem's holiest sites. At the Wailing Wall, where she placed a note in the Western Wall – as is the custom – she faced surly throngs of protesters shouting "Free Pollard Now!" The Pollardites also showed up earlier that morning, as Mrs. Bush paid a visit to the home of Israeli President Moshe Katsav: "Pollard, the people are with you!" they chanted.

Q & A with former Israeli Mossad chief Efraim Halevy.

ori — Mon, 16 May 2005 15:04:10 -0800

Q & A with former Israeli Mossad chief Efraim Halevy. Halevy fields questions from readers around the world. See also his article "The coming Pax Americana".

Straight from the horse's mouth!

loquax — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 11:39:38 -0800

MEMRI adds a TV monitoring project. MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) has added hundreds of clips from various Middle Eastern television stations (list of sources here). The archive of clips can be found here. There are amazing primary sources available, like "Saudi Sheik Sa'd Al-Breik on Human Rights in Islam and in the West", "Sheik Youssef Al-Qaradhawi in Favor of Democratic Elections in the Arab World", and "Former Dean of Humanities at Cairo's Ein Shams University: 9/11 was 100% American".

Jorn Barger missing

rcade — Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:46:21 -0800

Robot Wisdom weblogger and prolific online writer Jorn Barger has been missing since early October, according to friend Eric Wagoner.

neo-nazis + jewish exremists

Tlogmer — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 18:25:43 -0800

In france, neo-nazis and extremist jews unite against arabs -- so says left-leaning anti-racist group MRAP (view machine-translated page) in a new report. Yeah, the conspiracy theorists sure need more ammo...

textureslut — Tue, 24 Sep 2002 02:43:37 -0800

Is Libya next? This story in Israel's Ha'aretz has a very very interesting lead: "The U.S. agrees with Israeli assessments that Libya has renewed its efforts to acquire a nuclear bomb, and that those efforts have been stepped up since 1999, when the UN sanctions on the country were removed." Not only that, Ariel Sharon says that he believes the Iraqis might be helping build said nuclear bomb, and that Libya might attain nuclear capability before Iraq does. And not only that, the always-exciting "unnamed experts" suggest that Pakistan and North Korea might have a hand in this as well. Libya is still on the State Department list of nations that support terror, so why hasn't this story been getting any play stateside? Is it really overstating the case to suggest that Bush's new doctrine of preemptive strikes without hard evidence, if applied across the board, could very well lead to world war?

ParisParamus — Mon, 09 Sep 2002 11:04:52 -0800

Hamas is losing. Good news from the Mideast To all those who insist terror wars can't be won, some evidence you are pessimists.

Postroad — Mon, 02 Sep 2002 11:14:15 -0800

Official confirms that Syria allowing Qaida to operate in Lebanon Ok Israeli intelligence so I assume some will dismiss this as propaganda, though clearly US knows of this and works along with Israeli intelligence. And Syria occupies Lebanon with thousands of troops and thus runs the country. Meanwhile, we will (or will not) busy ourselves with Iraq.

specialk420 — Sun, 04 Aug 2002 21:46:35 -0800

Israel weighs response to attacks after the strike on the hamas leader and the collateral damage caused in that attack - a friend of mine and i discussed that it seemed like the people who should be most upset were the relatives and friends of the as of yet undead/injured in the next retaliatory attack... when is the senselessness of the cycle of violence going become clear?

johnnyboy — Mon, 22 Jul 2002 04:56:09 -0800

Zionism - Outspoken criticism from the unlikeliest of places. Neturei Karta, members of this orthodox clique condemn zionism, claiming there is no place in the modern world for a jewish state.

Postroad — Sat, 01 Jun 2002 15:30:28 -0800

Syria takes over Security Council rotating presidency Now at long last we can get some good moral leadership. This is the same international organization of Truth, Peace, Justice that does not allow Israel a chance to join the rotating chair. Go ahead, flail me with posts, but kind of an organization is this?

BentPenguin — Wed, 01 May 2002 06:34:08 -0800

(.) (.) The United Nations: Non partisan independant arbiter of international matters or hyper-politicized arena? You make the call

boaz — Tue, 30 Apr 2002 21:16:20 -0800

Hamas accepts Saudi peace plan:

"There has been generation after generation (of war). Now there is a generation who needs to live in peace, and not worry about their safety," said [Hamas executive Ismail Abu] Shanab. "So it is a generation that wants to practice living in peace and postpone historical issues. We speak of historical Palestine, and practical reality."

Since their official position is that "Leaving the circle of conflict with Israel is a major act of treason" (Hamas Charter, Article 32), this is a dramatic change in policy indeed. I'm gobsmacked; this is utterly unbelievable, yet apparently real. And genuinely hopeful IMHO. What do you think?