How Israeli drone strikes are killing journalists in Gaza (Mariana Abreu, Aïda Delpuech, Eloïse Layan & Yuval Abraham, +972, 25 June 2024) Israel’s path to defeat: The implications (Helena Cobban, 21 June 2024) London Times is first mainstream outlet to debunk Israel's "mass rapes" hoax (Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, 16 June 2024) ICC must be … Continue reading Palestine Links July 2024
Israel
An Army Like No Other—Book Review
John ClaydenAn Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defence Force Made a Nation Verso, 2020by Haim Bresheeth-ZabnerNot long ago some of us went to demonstrate outside Hackney Police Station when we learnt the police were receiving training from the Israeli security services. Our MP Dianne Abbott turned up thereby no doubt sealing her own … Continue reading An Army Like No Other—Book Review
Palestine Links
Surveillance and interference: Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposed (Yuval Abraham & Meron Rapoport, 28 May 2024) German foreign minister says she saw non-existent 7 Oct. rape video (Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, 27 May 2024) Can Palestinians imagine a future with Israelis after this war? (Mahmoud Mushtaha, +972, 27 May 2024) Doctor, teacher and children … Continue reading Palestine Links
Military Brutality as a General Principle in Western Thinking
(The photo shows Mosul after its destruction in 2017) "In a roundtable discussion Wednesday [8 May], former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and Palantir CEO Alex Karp defended Israel’s massacre of Palestinian civilians by advocating military brutality as a general principle. .... “Before we all get self-righteous about what Israel is doing, we … Continue reading Military Brutality as a General Principle in Western Thinking
Israel’s Iranian Dilemma—Editorial
On 1st April Israel attacked an Iranian consulate in Damascus. 16 people were killed including two senior Iranian generals. This attack was against international law and gave Iran the right to make a retaliatory strike against Israel. But Israel has always made it clear that any attack on Israel would be responded to with even greater force by … Continue reading Israel’s Iranian Dilemma—Editorial
The re-imagining of antisemitism and its implications
by Eamon Dyas The new definition Although the process had begun much earlier, the change in the definition of antisemitism began to have a direct bearing on the British body politic after Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party since 2015, took the party close to government in the 2017 general election. It was only … Continue reading The re-imagining of antisemitism and its implications
Palestine Links
Manufacturing Famine: Israel is Committing the War Crime of Starvation in the Gaza Strip (B’Tselem Position Paper, April 2024) Did an Israel Lobbyist Confect an Antisemitism Story About a Palestine Demo? (Rivkah Brown, Novara Media, 22 April 2024) Mishal Husain Effortlessly Takes Down Suella Braverman's Attack On Met Police In Painful Exchange (HuffPost, 22 April 2024) … Continue reading Palestine Links
Israel’s Plans for Rafah – Redefining Genocide as a Humanitarian Mission
Eamon Dyas In order to complete the final stage of its full-scale invasion of Gaza the IDF says that it will be necessary to forcibly move “1.4 million people - or at least a significant amount of the 1.4 million people” that have now crowded into Rafah. The population of Rafah was around 280,000 before … Continue reading Israel’s Plans for Rafah – Redefining Genocide as a Humanitarian Mission
“A Point of Order” on the ICJ Ruling
John McDonnell, the ICJ and another empty House of Commons Michael Murray (The photo shows the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands) On the 19th of March last, Labour MP John McDonnell tweeted: “The Government is sending arms to Israel that may be being used in attacks on Gaza, which under ICJ judgement may be … Continue reading “A Point of Order” on the ICJ Ruling
Historical Context is Crucial—Ernest Bevin and Zionism
John Clayden (The photo shows Ernest Bevin on the right of Churchill, 8 May 1945)The Left and that includes the very influential Zionist left have succeeded in wiping out a substantial chunk of working-class history namely the crucial contribution made by Ernest Bevin. This will come as no surprise to dedicated readers of this magazine … Continue reading Historical Context is Crucial—Ernest Bevin and Zionism
Palestine Links
Video: Al Jazeera Investigation: October 7 (March 2024) Video: Conversation on the Gaza Genocide (Norman Finkelstein & Chris Hedges, 26 March 2024) Germany next up to face Gaza genocide charges in The Hague (Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, 25 March 2024) Hebrew University of Jerusalem suspends professor (Orly Noy, +972, 23 March 2024) Israel lauds US … Continue reading Palestine Links
What happened on October 7th?
Shielding US Public From Israeli Reports of Friendly Fire on October 7 (Bryce Green, FAIR, 23 February 2024) This seems to be a comprehensive review of Israeli reports of friendly fire incidents on 7 October, reports that have been almost entirely absent from mainstream media in the US (and in Britain and Ireland, as well?). … Continue reading What happened on October 7th?
Edwin Montagu, Anti-Zionist Jew—August 1917
Edwin Montagu, at that time Secretary of State for India, circulated a secret memo on the 23rd August 1917, expressing strong opposition to the proposal to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Memorandum of Edwin Montagu on the Anti-Semitism of the Present (British) Government - Submitted to the British Cabinet, August 1917 "I have chosen the above title … Continue reading Edwin Montagu, Anti-Zionist Jew—August 1917
Zionism, Corbyn and the Prince
Eamon Dyas The idea that a member of the Royal Family would feel compelled to seek the approval of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, Sir Ephraim Mirvis (he was awarded his knighthood only last year), before commenting on a conflict in which Israel is committing war crimes is noteworthy. If such war crimes … Continue reading Zionism, Corbyn and the Prince
Rochdale—Another view
Eamon Dyas Zionism in Gaza and the support it gets from the West is a lifting of the “painted veil" that is civilisation. Whatever happens to the Labour vote after this, Labour GH will have a ready-made excuse to explain it. The same excuse will be used to explain the lack of locally sourced energy … Continue reading Rochdale—Another view
Gaza in Parliament, Wednesday 29th February 2024—For the Record
Original SNP motion: That this House calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel; notes with shock and distress that the death toll has now risen beyond 28,000, the vast majority of whom were women and children; further notes that there are currently 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, 610,000 of whom are children; … Continue reading Gaza in Parliament, Wednesday 29th February 2024—For the Record
“Hague Schmague?” Oy veh!
The outcome of the ICJ case Michael Murray “Ceasefire!” An appendix to an article elsewhere in this issue of Labour Affairs, about the human rights lawyer, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, KC, and her role in the South African legal team, lists the nine “Provisional Measures” sought in South Africa's Application to the ICJ. The first is: "The State of Israel … Continue reading “Hague Schmague?” Oy veh!
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh: “The Making of a Human Rights Lawyer.”
Michael Murray Introduction: “An bealach seo atá romham” - my destiny Over the desk of Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, In the busy London office of Matrix (Barristers’ ) Chambers, on the Greys’ Inn Road - also of Brussels and Geneva, hangs a framed pamphlet with a photograph on its cover of a smiling twelve year old … Continue reading Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh: “The Making of a Human Rights Lawyer.”