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Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Tucker Carlson Destroys John Kerry and Climate Change Zealots with Facts (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila
Tucker Carlson Destroys John Kerry and Climate Change Zealots with Facts (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila: Tucker Carlson on Monday released episode 44 of his show on X.
Nuclear Power Is the Only Solution | TIME
Nuclear Power Is the Only Solution | TIME: The world has to embrace nuclear power in order to solve the climate crisis.
Houthi attacks on vessels in Red Sea sound alarm for global trade
Houthi attacks on vessels in Red Sea sound alarm for global trade: Shipowners demand more military protection for maritime routes amid fears of widening Middle East conflict
[Salon] Winning the battle, losing the war - ArabDigest.org
Winning the battle, losing the war
Summary: Israel has said it will win its war in Gaza and destroy Hamas; Tarek Megerisi dissects the three brutal scenarios by which Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu could claim a ‘win’.
In our 1 December podcast with the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Tarek Megerisi we focussed on the current situation in Libya. But before we did so we asked him about the war in Gaza. Here is what he said (you can find the podcast here.)
After the horrors of the 7 October Hamas attack we've seen the slaughter of now more than 14,000 Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip, another 200 killed in the West Bank, by the IDF and settler vigilantes. This is a war that Israel says it will win. Do you think it's winning? Do you think it can win?
I don't even know what win means anymore. To be honest, in this context. I think that if you look at the situation in front of us, there are probably three different definitions of winning, depending on which part of this wider alliance you ask, this group of the world's most technologically advanced states and militaries, who are currently pulverising the Gaza Strip. You know, the nicer face of this alliance, the United States of America, the Europeans they love to patronise us and tell us this is all about Israel's right to self-defence and that what Israel and the IDF are doing is carrying out a counterterrorism campaign. Under that narrative, I think winning is defined as completely removing Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It seems plausible, it seems something that most of us are familiar with, from previous campaigns against al Qaeda, against ISIS, and so on. And let's not get into the ironies of this as an objective. But if that is indeed the objective, then this is a very counterproductive approach to achieving it. After obliterating most of the built-up areas of Gaza, after committing atrocities, like forcefully shutting down hospitals, forcing babies to die in incubators, which is something I can't even believe I'm actually saying and just massacring large swathes of the population, you're only going to drive people towards Hamas, because they are an embedded resistance movement, whether we like it or not. And I think it says a lot that one month after what Hamas did, to massacre civilians in Israel in deeply distressing and inhuman ways - and I think that's something important to acknowledge, because there has been almost a counter narrative being produced to gloss over that - but despite all of that, to me, at least, it seems that Hamas are clearly winning the PR war here. And that should really spur a moment of self-reflection amongst the coalition because honestly how disgusting do your own actions have to be to start off from the point of October 7, and still look like the bad guy here.
The Israeli Defence Force is intensifying its operations in the southern Gaza Strip after a week-long pause in the war with Hamas [photo credit: IDF]
And the second definition of Israel winning Tarek?
The second definition of winning that I've discerned is the one that is espoused by large sections of Israel's extreme right wing government and its cultural establishment. And it's chilling, I think, if you note how much of that political and cultural establishment and even how many of the normal population of Israel just simply have no acknowledgement at all of the humanity of Palestinians. It's not even dehumanisation, it's almost like they consider them some kind of repulsive scourge that has to be extinguished. And if you look at the statements of these politicians and of these groups, it's really quite clear that what they want to do is to reclaim large chunks, if not all of the Gaza Strip and use the cover of this military response to Hamas in Gaza to also catalyse the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. So basically, when the dust settles, they want to have seized as much land as possible in Palestine and killed or expelled as many Palestinians as possible. And as distressing as it is to say, that probably has a higher chance of success than the first definition of winning here. Because you know, the block on this happening is not the conscience of Israelis or any of their western partners and it's not their military capacity. They could probably do this overnight. The block is the political pressure that this activity is creating elsewhere in the global political system. Already large swathes of the world, from Chile to South Africa to Malaysia, are outraged at what's happening. The Abraham Accords group is shaken, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia trying to lead the diplomatic push against what's going on. Even old allies like Jordan and Egypt - who have been at peace since the 70s - are being pushed into ever more desperate and hardline statements in a bid to stop this happening. So the Israelis keep pushing towards this barbaric goal. And if they do it too hard and too fast, it really could trigger a regional war and God knows where that leads.
You said three definitions of Israel winning, what’s the last one?
The last definition of winning, which is probably one that I don't hear discussed hardly at all, but it's worth being cognisant of, because it highlights how utterly depraved this whole thing is, is to make the case to say that this is all about Netanyahu saving his political skin. I mean, the guy was deeply unpopular to begin with. And then many blamed him for his failure to stop October 7 happening. And you know, Bibi, his whole shtick is that he would be the guy who stops a Palestinian state ever emerging by empowering Hamas against the Palestinian Authority, defending Hamas and neutralising any armed resistance to Israel by periodically mowing the lawn, which is this horrible clinical phrase for regularly killing armed resistance actors, for want of a better term, in order to manage them. And it's clear that after October 7, this policy has failed catastrophically. So right now, he knows that as soon as this war ends he's done for, the polling numbers are hugely stacked against him. So really, he feels like he has to keep waging a war until something that looks like either satisfying revenge or victory can be created, that would be sufficient for him to keep this Frankenstein's monster of a (government) coalition going on or to allow him to build a new one.
So yeah, I don't really know what winning looks like, it's probably healthier for us to focus on how this ends, which is that we just hope that the ceasefire continues, hostages continue to be released. And eventually there's too much inertia around the prolonged truce, and Netanyahu has too little political capital remaining to start up hostilities again. Because a real win here would be to stop October 7 happening again, or to stop the systematic massacre of Palestinians happening again. And the only way to do that is through a political settlement.
The podcast was recorded 30 November. On 1 December Israel resumed its offensive targeting the southern Gaza Strip and the city of Khan Younis. Yesterday Al Jazeera reported the renewed offensive had already killed 700, taking the death toll in Gaza to more than 15000.
Most Deserving Of A Lump Of Coal – Issues & Insights
Most Deserving Of A Lump Of Coal – Issues & Insights: Administration climate envoy John Kerry wants to be sure that others will never reach the life of easy affluence he's lived.
NATO/West or Global Majority?, by Michael Hudson - The Unz Review
NATO/West or Global Majority?, by Michael Hudson - The Unz Review: Unipolar Destruction or Multipolar Development? The World Must Choose
Why John Kerry Would Force Poor People To Burn Wood And Dung
Why John Kerry Would Force Poor People To Burn Wood And Dung: Listen now | The main alternatives to coal are oil and natural gas; John Kerry says he's against them, too.
Monday, December 4, 2023
Zelensky will brief senators Tuesday ahead of key vote on military aid | The Hill
Zelensky will brief senators Tuesday ahead of key vote on military aid | The Hill: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address senators at a classified briefing Tuesday via a secure video conference feed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced. Zelensky will brief senators on the state of the war in Ukraine and the need for another round of military aid a day before the Senate is scheduled to…
In 2014, 300 scientists warned Anthony Fauci would start a global pandemic.
In 2014, 300 scientists warned Anthony Fauci would start a global pandemic.: In 2014, 300 scientists warned Anthony Fauci would start a global pandemic. Following the high-profile escape of three bugs from U.S. labs, these 300 scientists sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to shut down Anthony Fauci's gain-of-function research.
[Salon] The fracturing of the Sisi / Bibi love affair - ArabDigest.org
The fracturing of the Sisi / Bibi love affair
Summary: Israel’s aim of destroying Hamas is unlikely to be realised yet in the drive to do so Benjamin Netanyahu seems ready to accept heavy damage to relations with Egypt and other Arab states.
We thank Maged Mandour for today’s newsletter. Maged is a political analyst and a regular contributor to Arab Digest and to Middle East Eye and Open Democracy. He is also a writer for Sada, the Carnegie Endowment online journal. Maged is the author of an upcoming book, Egypt Under El- Sisi: A Nation on the Edge (I.B.Tauris) which examines the social and political developments in Egypt since the coup of 2013. The book is published 25 January. You can find his most recent AD podcast which focusses on Egypt Under El- Sisi here.
On the 21 November, in a carefully orchestrated show for domestic consumption, the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly gave a speech in the Egyptian parliament. In his address, the prime minister emphasised that Egypt will respond “decisively” against any plans to push Palestinians out of Gaza into the Sinai. The speech was met with wide support, with the PM stating that parliament will “barricade” itself behind President Sisi. Madbouly's comments were a reiteration of remarks given by the president on 18 October where he rejected the depopulation of Gaza, even going so far as to hint that millions in Egypt would rise up in protest at such a move. The regime’s position shows the beginning of growing tension with Israel which, since the coup of 2013, has been one of Sisi’s closest allies. In 2016 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the warming relationship between the two countries, thanking the president for his efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The close alliance, however, was primarily based on an Egyptian foreign policy that was geared towards one goal, ensuring regime stability and long-term survival. Hence, as long as the alliance with Israel functioned in a way that allowed the regime to cement its hold on the domestic sphere, then this alliance would only get closer. From the Israeli side, the Sisi regime played a role in taming Hamas, blockading it, while not completely destroying it. This allowed Netanyahu to continue to avoid peace talks with the Palestinians and to continue his policy of settlement expansion in the West Bank. His strategy was completely undone by the 7 October attack, which has now placed Cairo at loggerheads with one of its closest allies.
Indeed, prior to the Hamas attack, the relationship between Sisi and the Israelis had reached unprecedented levels of cooperation. In terms of security, Israel participated in the counterinsurgency campaign in the Sinai, conducting over 100 airstrikes against Daesh-affiliated militants. Israel participated in the Sisi regime's domestic repression through the sale of sophisticated spy software used to monitor political dissidents. The American Jewish organisation AIPAC even lobbied on behalf of the regime to ensure the continued flow of American military aid as Sisi was establishing his autocracy. On the economic front, the relationship also reached new heights, with a US$15 billion gas deal signed in 2018, the proceeds of which went directly into the coffers of the Egyptian General Intelligence Services (GIS). Another deal was also signed in August 2023, aimed at increasing Israeli natural gas exports to Europe through LNG facilities in Egypt, once again showing the depth of the cooperation between the two countries. In exchange, the regime continued to blockade Hamas, while working to maintain security in Sinai, suffocating the strip but not completely destroying Hamas either, in a complex dynamic of carrots and sticks.
The Israel war in Gaza, however, is a direct threat to the regime's stability, which sees an influx of Palestinians as a grave security risk. Indeed, such an influx would be extremely damaging to Sisi’s legitimacy and would accelerate the erosion of his already thinning base of support. One only needs to keep in mind that one of the main propaganda pieces used to delegitimise the late President Morsi was his supposed intent to “sell” Sinai to the Palestinians. Hence, any hint that Sisi has accepted the transfer of Palestinians in exchange for debt relief would cause an uproar amongst his base in the midst of a crushing economic crisis which is already posing a grave threat to Sisi's rule. In addition, the perception that Egypt is participating in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, or in the suppression of armed Palestinian attacks against Israel would also do incalculable damage to the regime’s legitimacy within a population that is decisively anti-Israeli, in spite of years of propaganda against Hamas including accusations of direct participation in terror attacks inside Egypt. Hence, based on the regime’s calculus of maintaining a grip on power, no amount of American or Israeli pressure will dissuade Sisi from his staunch opposition to the depopulation of Gaza.
A satellite photo dated November 17, 2023 shows a crowd gathered on the Salah al Deen road, which is used as a population evacuation corridor in the southern Gaza Strip [photo credit: Maxar Technologies]
Israel, on the other hand, in its fevered pursuit of a ‘permanent solution’ to the Gaza question, is making Gaza uninhabitable with what appears to be the goal of forcing a new reality on not only Egypt, but the region. For example, as of 17 November , 45% of the housing in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed, 51% of the schools in the strip have been damaged, only 9 out of the 35 medical facilities are partially functioning and 70% of the Gazans in the south do not have access to clean water. In addition, the IDF is now moving to expand its military operation to the south of the strip, after calling for people to move there from the north, with the ex-Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert arguing that the Hamas HQ is located in Khan Younis. In doing so, the IDF plans to designate an area of 2.5 square miles as a safe zone. A minuscule slice of land for over 2 million people and one without even the modicum of facilities such as safe drinking water and adequate toilets.
The humanitarian disaster that is unfolding in Gaza seems to have a clear aim, to push as many Palestinians out of the strip as possible. This places the Sisi regime in an extremely difficult position. Curiously, it has failed to force the entry of humanitarian assistance to attempt to alleviate the deepening crisis, even though the border crossing is under Egyptian control. There is a clear lack of desire by the regime to antagonise Israel, which has shown its willingness to use force to stop the delivery of aid, most notably when it bombed the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing multiple times since the start of the conflict.
Hence, the 7 October attacks and the IDF’s brutal response are threatening to upend one of the hallmarks of the post-Arab Spring Middle East, namely the Sisi-Bibi alliance. It has also shown the limits of cooperation between Egypt and Israel as long as the Palestinian question remains unresolved. While the long-term ramifications of the war are unclear what is without doubt is that Israel’s reliability as an ally is now an open question, not only in Cairo, but elsewhere across the region with those countries with whom it has established formal diplomatic relations as well as those with whom it has had friendly, if informal dealings.
Does putting my parent in a retirement home make me a bad son or daughter? — Aleteia
Does putting my parent in a retirement home make me a bad son or daughter? — Aleteia: In many cases, the time will come when our elderly parents need full-time care. Not everyone is able to provide that at home, but sending our parents to a retirement home can make some people feel guilty. Should it?
Chipmaking Amid War in Israel - by Nicholas Welch
Chipmaking Amid War in Israel - by Nicholas Welch: What happens when innovation comes under fire
Sunday, December 3, 2023
How Jensen Huang’s Nvidia Is Powering the A.I. Revolution | The New Yorker
How Jensen Huang’s Nvidia Is Powering the A.I. Revolution | The New Yorker: The company’s C.E.O. bet it all on a new kind of chip, Stephen Witt writes. Now that Nvidia is one of the biggest companies in the world, what will he do next?
(185) You Can’t Save Yourself - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon - YouTube
(185) You Can’t Save Yourself - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon - YouTube: Friends, we come to the First Sunday of Advent—the liturgical new year. I've said this before, but Advent is a time to get back to basics. Can I suggest we s...
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Melatonin Use and Poisoning Reports Surging in Children, Revealing Concerning Problem | The Epoch Times
Melatonin Use and Poisoning Reports Surging in Children, Revealing Concerning Problem | The Epoch Times: Experts believe the cause of the increase in poisoning reports may extend beyond issues of melatonin safety.
'Israel' destroys Gaza to control world’s most important shipping lane (Part II) | Al Mayadeen English
'Israel' destroys Gaza to control world’s most important shipping lane (Part II) | Al Mayadeen English: Why won’t Western leaders even call for a ceasefire? The answer is that this genocide in Gaza is their project too.
[Salon] Israel Reopens the Gaza Slaughterhouse -
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/israel-reopens-the-gaza-slaughterhouse?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=3arvp&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
'Palestinians are sleeping on the streets' say Gazans in the south as truce ends
'Palestinians are sleeping on the streets' say Gazans in the south as truce ends: Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the south say they have nowhere to go
Combined therapy with ivermectin and doxycycline can effectively alleviate the cytokine storm of COVID-19 infection amid vaccination drive: A narrative review - ScienceDirect
Combined therapy with ivermectin and doxycycline can effectively alleviate the cytokine storm of COVID-19 infection amid vaccination drive: A narrative review - ScienceDirect: An unprecedented global health crisis has developed due to the emergence of the mysterious coronavirus-2 of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, whi…
Dr. McCullough Feted on Nasdaq Tower in NY
Dr. McCullough Feted on Nasdaq Tower in NY: IAOTP Award: "Top Internist and Cardiologist of the Year"
(185) Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin - YouTube
(185) Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin - YouTube
FM: John Whitbeck writes:
Transmitted below is a link to a powerful documentary film, produced in 2019, which remains relevant in the context of the new Nakba now under way.
It includes a detailed segment on Razan Al-Najjar, the young woman paramedic who was assassinated by an Israeli sniper during the Great March of Return.
I consider this film essential viewing, both for an understanding of reality and for nurturing a sense of humanity.
Saudi Arabia, oil companies agree to big cuts in methane gas emissions - The Washington Post
Saudi Arabia, oil companies agree to big cuts in methane gas emissions - The Washington Post: Saudi Arabia and other big fossil fuel entities sign onto initiatives to cut methane as they try to position themselves as part of the fix for climate change.
Friday, December 1, 2023
The Netanyahu doctrine: how Israel’s longest-serving leader reshaped the country in his image | Benjamin Netanyahu | The Guardian
The Netanyahu doctrine: how Israel’s longest-serving leader reshaped the country in his image | Benjamin Netanyahu | The Guardian: The long read: He first became prime minister in 1996, and has been pushing the country further right ever since. Most agree his political days are numbered – but the approach he established will prove very difficult to shift
GENERAL TO GENERAL - Seymour Hersh
GENERAL TO GENERAL - Seymour Hersh: A potential peace is being negotiated in Ukraine by military leaders
Why renewed China-US cooperation bodes well for climate action
Why renewed China-US cooperation bodes well for climate action: The two superpowers – and super-emitters – recently put out a joint statement on climate change.
Steve Kirsch Discloses More Information on Why Pfizer is Not Immune Under EUA/PREP and Can Be Prosecuted
Steve Kirsch Discloses More Information on Why Pfizer is Not Immune Under EUA/PREP and Can Be Prosecuted: People (experts) are living on a short time fuse right now. And the longer they delay, the worse they look and the more they discredit their profession (themselves).” - Steve Kirsch
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Progressive US lawmakers renew calls for ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
Progressive US lawmakers renew calls for ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera: With pause in Gaza war set to expire, Congress members gathered outside White House in call to stop the bloodshed.
Henry Kissinger was a cave man
Henry Kissinger was a cave man: The establishment media was Hitler's Leni Riefenstahl
How Huawei surprised the US with a cutting-edge chip made in China
How Huawei surprised the US with a cutting-edge chip made in China: The inside story of how the country’s flagship tech company kept its edge in the semiconductor war despite sanctions
Saudis Offer To Invest In Sanctioned Iranian Economy To Deescalate Gaza Tensions | ZeroHedge
Saudis Offer To Invest In Sanctioned Iranian Economy To Deescalate Gaza Tensions | ZeroHedge: ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
NATO makes new Ukraine announcement — RT World News
NATO makes new Ukraine announcement — RT World News: NATO makes new Ukraine announcement
The US-led bloc promised “interoperability” – but not membership – to Kiev
Self-Amplifying RNA Shots Are Coming: The Untold Danger | The Epoch Times
Self-Amplifying RNA Shots Are Coming: The Untold Danger | The Epoch Times: The truth behind RNA-based vaccine technology (Part 3)
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Fr. Bob's Reflection for the Solemnity of Christ the King -
Father Bob Warren’s Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King – 11/26/23
Today’s Gospel tells us that most of the time, we get in trouble for doing nothing. I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no water. I was away from home, and you gave me no welcome; naked and you gave me no clothing. I was ill and in prison, and you did not come and comfort me.
In other words, in all these cases, nothing was done.
Of course, we sin when we do wrong: Stealing, lying, cheating. But so often, we overlook the possibility of sinning by not doing anything.
The Gospel calls our attention to the fact that we will all face judgment. This is wholly contingent on whether one has responded humanely to the needs of the marginalized, the homeless, those society looks down upon.
You do not define your neighbor by race or religion. Neighbor is a four-letter word: Need. We have our modern-day outcasts, often ostracized from human society. Separated from their families, even at times from their churches. There are substance abusers, unable to receive treatment, runaways who sleep on the streets every night. Add them to the elderly, for whom a nursing home is hardly a home; who watch and wait for a relative or a friend, anyone to spend an hour with them. There are many people in the world who need us. What are we doing to help?
St. Theresa of Avila, a great mystic and doctor of the Church, wrote after 20 years of being a nun: “Christ has no body on earth but yours. No feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He is to look out into the world. Yours are the hands He must use to bless.”
St. Theresa understood that if the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the thirsty are to be cared for, then it is to be done by us, His followers. We are the ones who must sustain His mission.
My friends, it is not for me to tell any of you how you should fit into today’s Gospel. I do, however, urge you to take time and listen to what God might be saying to you; what He might be asking of you. Perhaps, He is saying to some of us, “Live simply, so that others may live simply.”
Especially, those who experience far more of Christ’s crucifixion than His resurrection.
In the preface of Christ the King, it tells us that His Kingdom on earth is to be a Kingdom of truth and life. A Kingdom of holiness, grace, justice, love and peace. Is this the Kingdom we experience every day? If not, then why not?
Maybe we need to recall from time to time the words we begin Mass with: “Forgive us the things we have done, and those we have failed to do.” We stand before the Lord and He asks us what we do to bring about His Kingdom on earth.
Make sure your answer is not “Nothing.”
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.
Spiritual Director
[Salon] Peace in the Middle East: a suggestion - ArabDigest.org
Peace in the Middle East: a suggestion
Summary: a Jewish Canadian who has written plays about the Israel/Palestine conflict offers insights and calls for international intervention as neither side is capable of finding a road to the fair and equitable peace that the majority on both sides yearn for.
We thank Arthur Milner for today’s newsletter. Arthur is a Canadian playwright and activist and the author of two plays about Israel/Palestine Masada and Facts. Critics described Masada as “a skillful piece of writing driven by a powerful and frightening logic” and “an act of great moral courage” while Facts was called “riveting (from) a writer passionately engaged” and “a hard-hitting discourse on and challenge to identity – Zionist and Jew, Palestine and Israel – carried by the momentum of an intriguing who-done-it.” A published version of the two plays is available here.
Below, I offer a concrete plan for peace in Israel/Palestine. These are my credentials:
My parents’ parents, their grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and all but one of their uncles were killed in the Holocaust. Since his youth, my father had been an active right-wing Zionist. In Montreal where I grew up, he was president of an Orthodox synagogue for 30 years and remained active in Zionist politics. He went to Israel every year. Menachem Begin was a friend of his and occasionally visited our home. Begin had been a member of Irgun, the Jewish paramilitary organisation responsible for blowing up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and for the massacre of more than 100 Palestinian villagers, including women and children; in fact Irgun was a terrorist organisation. Begin was a founder of Likud and served as Israeli prime minister from 1977 to 1983.
My mother was active in more mainstream Zionism. We were “traditionally” kosher. Pork was banned from the home but welcomed in Chinese restaurants. My brother and I were sent to Hebrew school. If you asked my father if he believed in God, he’d say: “religion keeps the Jews together.” He had absolute confidence that left to our own devices we would arrive at his conclusions. He did live to regret his laissez-faire approach.
I turned 17 in 1967 and got involved in sixties left-wing politics. My generation gradually turned against Israel as, following the Six-Day War, Israel transformed from David to Goliath, from socialist outpost to oppressor. In 1975, I joined a leftist theatre company and in the early eighties became resident playwright. I decided that, given my background and since no one else was doing it, I should write about Israel/Palestine. The result was Masada, a one-person play about the history of Zionism, which premiered at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) in Ottawa, in 1990. I remember telling my father I was writing a play about Israel. He anticipated it would not be to his liking and he was quite angry. I didn’t mention it again until the opening date had been announced. “Then I should come see it,” he said. But he never did.
The play is told as a monologue through the character of an Israeli history professor who begins the lecture as a critic of Zionism but moves into an emphatic pro-Zionist stance, shifting from reason to passion or to put it another way from the rational to the irrational.
An Israeli infantry soldier takes part in a live firing exercise near the Gaza border in Southern Israel in readiness for possible deployment, November 20, 2023 [photo credit: @ahnouch_hassana]
The Middle East and its politics continued to fascinate me. But it wasn’t only the complex political dilemmas that roused my interest. I had started reading about evolution and I became interested in creation, as described in Genesis and by Darwin; and then about biblical history, according to the Pentateuch and modern archaeologists. When I heard about the actual unsolved murder of Dr Albert Glock an American archaeologist teaching in the West Bank, I thought: I have a plot.
That play, Facts, opened at GCTC in 2010 and was soon translated into Arabic by Kamal El Basha. Bethlehem’s Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society produced Facts in 2012, and it toured through Palestine and Israel. We did talkbacks after every show — the cast translated for me. The play was very well received. Looking back on it, I think that, wherever it was produced, people liked Facts because it showed that two very different characters, a Palestinian Authority police inspector and an Israeli police detective, could find common ground in their effort to solve the murder. A good and mature relationship developed between a Palestinian and an Israeli. And in the third character, a settler who is the suspected killer, audiences could see the face of the militant settler movement which was then and to this day is doing its best to fatally damage any hope of a two-state solution.
In the talkbacks I was often asked, “Why does a Canadian write about us?” I was a little nervous about answering. “I’ve always written political plays,” I’d say, adding “I grew up in a Jewish and Zionist home, and eventually I felt it was my duty to write about Israel and Palestine.” The reaction was almost always positive. However, I recall one talkback, where a Palestinian university professor was particularly critical of the play but afterwards invited me to his home for lunch.
Two years after its Palestinian tour, Facts was produced at the Finborough Theatre in London and, in Turkish, by Semaver Kumpanya in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, I had been writing articles about Israel/Palestine for inroadsjournal.ca. I’d long supported the two-state solution and then the Arab Peace Initiative but, by 2004, I had reached the conclusion that there was no hope for a negotiated settlement. And if a negotiated settlement was hopeless then, what is it now, after 56 years of occupation and the atrocities we’ve just witnessed?
I’ve concluded two things: arguing about who’s to blame will never get us anywhere. And it’s time for the international community to step in, to protect Palestinians from Israelis and Israelis from Palestinians, and to keep war from spreading. It’s time to say to Palestinians and Israelis, ‘You’ve had long enough to work this out. We’re taking over now.’”
Keeping that in mind, I’ve come up with a seven point plan. To bring peace to Israel and Palestine, the international community must:
as soon as possible, send an armed force to the Israeli border and maintain a reduced blockade of Gaza. The international force will come primarily from the U.S. and from Arab countries.
oversee the removal of all remote and small settlements from the West Bank, and the freezing of all other settlements.
oversee moving the fence to the Israeli side of the Green Line. Israel can have its “security barrier” but it cannot be used to annex Palestinian territory.
construct a secure road link between the West Bank and Gaza; and oversee the reopening of airports.
oversee elections in Israel and in Palestine. All parties and individuals contesting election must accept the existence of Palestine and Israel within the post-1948 borders. All must renounce violence.
after elections, oversee the complete closing of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. However, the newly elected governments may alter the borders and settlement closures through mutual consent.
keep international troops in the area for five years, at which time the situation will be reassessed.
It’s a simple plan, based on the Arab Peace Initiative, though it does not speak to the Palestinian right of return, which will have to be resolved down the road, by other means. Pretty well every international institution and every country supports the two-state solution. Will they send their armies? That’s what we have to work on. But it’s urgent. And it’s the easiest and most likely solution because it’s the only possible solution.
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
However Difficult, The United States Should Still Pursue Israeli-Palestinian Peace - War on the Rocks
However Difficult, The United States Should Still Pursue Israeli-Palestinian Peace - War on the Rocks: The horrific Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel has laid bare a key assumption underpinning U.S. policy toward the Middle East: that the Israeli-Palestinian
[Salon] UN Secretary-General message on the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people
The Secretary-General
Message on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
29 November 2023
This International Day of Solidarity comes during one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Palestinian people. I am horrified by the death and destruction that have engulfed the region, which is overwhelmed with pain, anguish and heartache.
Palestinians in Gaza are suffering a humanitarian catastrophe. Almost 1.7 million people have been forced from their homes – but nowhere is safe. Meanwhile, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risks boiling over.
I express my sincere condolences to the thousands of families who are mourning loved ones. This includes members of our own United Nations family killed in Gaza, representing the largest loss of personnel in the history of our organization.
I have been clear in my condemnation of the terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October. But I have also been clear that they cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Across the region, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is an indispensable lifeline, delivering vital support to millions of Palestinian refugees. It is more important than ever that the international community stands with UNRWA as a source of support for the Palestinian people.
Above all, this is a day for reaffirming international solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to live in peace and dignity.
That must start with a long-term humanitarian ceasefire, unrestricted access for lifesaving aid, the release of all hostages, the protection of civilians and an end to violations of international humanitarian law. We must be united in demanding an end to the occupation and the blockade of Gaza.
It is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-State solution, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.
The United Nations will not waver in its commitment to the Palestinian people. Today and every day, let us stand in solidarity with the aspirations of the Palestinian people to achieve their inalienable rights and build a future of peace, justice, security and dignity for all.
COVID Vaccine Skepticism Censored After Virality Project… – The Vaccine Reaction
COVID Vaccine Skepticism Censored After Virality Project… – The Vaccine Reaction
"A Stanford University group helped the United States government censor COVID dissidents, then they lied about it. The Twitter files published by journalist Matt Taibbi in March revealed the Stanford’s Internet Observatory initiative, also known as the Virality Project, pushed platforms to treat user concerns about vaccine mandates as disinformation and to consider stories of true vaccine side effects to be actionable content on social media.”