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Benni Morris at the London School of Economics

LSE aims at educating students From 2004 to the present Morris “claims objectivity , even if a careful reading of almost all of Morris’ writings reveals a very simplistic and one-dimensional view on the Jewish-Arab conflict.  Despite all his “discoveries” about moral wrongs perpetrated by the Israelis, on the bottom line, he always tended to adopt the official Israeli interpretation of the events . Morris devoted a very salient and extensive discussion to the centrality of idea of “transfer” (i.e., ethnic cleansing) in Zionist thought, but concluded that the Palestinians had not been expelled by the Israelis in compliance with a master plan or following a consequential policy. This was not precise. What the new material shows [– says Morris –] is that there were far more Israeli acts of massacre than I had previously thought. To my surprise, there were also many cases of rape…  They are just the tip of the iceberg." So far it is the “old good” and expected Morris. The restless deb

Télk Qadiyya

In ‘Egyptian Arabic’ with English subtitles. The original lyrics can be read here .

What the Houthis Want

Although I don’t agree with the use of some of the language such as ‘the international community’ by a supposedly a radical leftist magazine, it is a history and context, power struggle and geopolitics, internal dynamic and social forces that help us understand a movement and its actions .   An interview with Yemen scholar Helen Lackner

Ukania and Palestine

Accurate description of the state of the major trade unions and the Labour Part y.  However, there is no self-criticism of the Stop the War Coalition, especially the way it managed the protests prior and after the 2003 war on Iraq. There is no self-criticism of the undemocratic procedures they pursued, the selected, speakers, etc and most importantly, Stop the War Coalition’s timidity in radicalising the movement. There is also the almost-usual-exaggeration and overoptimism you read in the speeches and articles by Stop the War leaders/organisers. Are not the components of the coalition themselves a hindrance towards radicalism in the face of compromises and in the face of cooptation? Lindsey German repeats the same clichés about elections, which contradicts what the she herself states about the continuation of the UK imperialist actions in the Middle East and elsewhere regardless of the party running the British regime*. One should note how the interview completely ignored the war in U

So Many ‘Terrorists’ in Sixteen Arab Societies

Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, based in Qatar, conducted a poll of 8000 Arabs in 16 Arab societies . One of the results is: “67% of the polled agreed that Hamas attack on 7 October was ‘a legitimate resistance operation’.  If the poll is really reflective, it means there are so many ‘terrorists’ in the Arab societies and ‘the free world’ has a bigger task in eradicating them, which means it is ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslims’ are to blame, it is in their history and character, they really hate ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’ and therefore they ‘hate us and they are against our values’, and the ‘war on terror’ must indeed be an endless war.

Erdoğan is no Friend of Palestine

He is a bourgeois businessman and hypocrite, complicit in crimes against Kurdish, Palestinians and others. “Erdoğan is the quintessential demagogue — he issues challenging statements to the established order while maintaining the status quo. Erdoğan’s denouncements of Israel tend to coincide with periods of heightened violence. But once public outrage declines, it’s back to business as usual .”

From the River to the Sea – Essays

Essays for a Free Palestine   (a free e-book) Related Free resources

The Earth is Narrowing Around Us

A poem by Mahmoud Darwish  (translation) The original version in Arabic A bus station ad purports to show a shrinking 'Palestine' in Vancouver, Canada.  (photo credit: @globalpilgrim via Twitter, via timesofisrael

Reclaiming the Slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’

Succinct. First and foremost is the fact that the Euro-American settler colony of Israel is already practising its version of “from the river to the sea” in Palestine. While the Palestinians “ have turned the armed robbery of their homeland into a motto for their national liberation movement and anti-colonial struggle.” Min annahr ilā albahr Buenos Arires, May 17th, 2021. Photo: Manuel Cortina/NurPhoto via AP via Jewish Currents

Palestine Demonstration in London

Why I have not taken part in protests for years. In UK alone hundreds of thousands demonstrated prior to the war on and invasion of Iraq. They were sent/went back home on the same day. They did not stop the British regime from being part of the crime, and the destruction of Iraq that ensued and lasted for years. May times demonstration/protests in support of the Palestinians took part in London. They did not change the British regime’s policy in supporting the Israeli state. In this regard, Mark Fisher’s argument is still valid : radicals in Britain should direct their efforts to mobilise working people around social issues at home and attack the British regime’s socio-economic policies.  A regime change at home is the way forward. We have seen that even with a self-proclaimed socialist like Bernie Sanders , leaders can side with the oppressors and be complicit in crime. Sanders would have not changed American imperialist support of the Israeli state. Social movements in the beginning

Israel: Two Stories in One

An Israeli liberal: Only a few acknowledged that the father’s story of return, redemption and liberation was also a story of conquest, displacement, oppression and death. Yaron Ezrahi ,  Rubber Bullets, Power and Conscience in Modern Israel, 1996 I would say there is probably a mistranslation. Instead of ‘Only a few’ I think the author meant ‘Only few’. Related – from my radio show archive Occupied Minds - A Journey through the Israeli Psyche (Pluto Books, 2006). An interview with Arthur Neslen The impracticality of a two-state solution. Overcoming Zionism: an interview with Joel Kovel The Colonial Drama of Israel-Palestine The Myths of Zionism – an interview with John Rose in 2008

Fanon’s Conception of Violence Does not Work in Palestine

 A very realistic approach “Whatever catharsis this constitutes, it is not one that will lead to victory over an Israeli society that has been using violence against Palestinians as its own traumatic catharsis for 75 years, in a world that has a very high tolerance for Palestinian civilian casualties, with most people in the West still supporting Israel whenever there is a high level of Israeli Jewish casualties. If Palestinians are to defeat Zionist colonialism, it will likely take a much different sort of analysis of its violence and power than Fanon offered three-quarters of a century ago, and it will probably require a paradigm shift in the core concepts of what a nation, freedom and independence are at a moment when the entire world, not just Palestine/Israel, is heading towards conflagration.” Israel’s settler colonialism is much more than ‘violence in its natural state’ and thus will require far more than ‘greater violence’ to defeat

History: The Arab Left

Today, we should add Workers Party in Algeria with its Trotskist foundation and tradition —led by a woman— and the Iraqi Communist Party that even made an electoral alliance recently with Muqtada Al-Sadr.  The alliance which united the Shi’i Islamist Sadrist movement, led by the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) won more seats (54) than any other electoral coalition. From offensive to defeat