Editorial

By Lawrence Davidson

Better  News

There have been two news stories in the last couple of days that have raised spirits and hopes both in the Middle East and here in the U.S. It is very good to get positive news in a world of constant struggle against greater forces of injustice and brutality. Yet, it would be wise to restrain one’s glee. Those forces represent governments (including the one in Washington) and their bureaucracies. In both the U.S. and Israel they have the backing of a majority of citizens. Thus, those of us who see ourselves as actively fighting for the rights of the Palestinians on the one hand, and the protections of the U.S. Constitution on the other, almost certainly have additional decades of effort before a real light appears at the end of our dark and dangerous tunnel. That is why I want to look at these two news stories in sobering perspective.

Read more: Staying Sober

By Gilad Atzmon

Postcolonial, feminist and gay studies share many similarities to the extent that some academics regard these fields as theoretically and ideologically complementary. These fields of study are primarily concerned with politics, the structure of hegemony, the oppressed and the mechanism that brings about injustice. It is only natural then, that these realms of thought, primarily concerned with prejudice and injustice, would become key instruments in our understanding of Zionism and Israeli oppression.

Read more: Postcolonial Theory, Whiteness & Palestine

By Lawrence Davidson

The Death Knell of the Two State Solution

Over the past month Palestinian leaders have begun to publicly acknowledge that continuing actions by the Israeli government, and corresponding inaction by the “international community,” have destroyed any reasonable hope of a viable and independent Palestinian state.

Read more: The Zionist Scenario: Now And In The Future

By Ben Tanosborn

I have always looked at government subsidies with suspicion… trying to identify whether they are designed to assist (those in need) or to render support (for a cause). And looking at housing subsidies has been no different.

Housing subsidies to provide assistance with shelter have existed for centuries now, and continue to exist, particularly in developing nations with a high level of poverty, a low level of sophistication in the mortgage and banking systems, and an inefficient or poor land titling system.

Read more: Housing Subsidies: Capitalism’s Smoke and Mirrors

By Richard Falk

There is ongoing militant expression of Palestinian resistance to the abuses of Israel’s 45 years of occupation and de facto annexation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and five year blockade of Gaza taking the form of a series of hunger strikes. Recourse to this desperate tactic of courageous self-sacrifice is an extreme form of nonviolence, and should whenever and wherever it occurs be given close attention. Palestinians have protested by hunger strikes in the past but failed to inspire the imagination of the wider Palestinian community or shake the confidence of Israeli officialdom. Despite the averted gaze of the West, especially here in North America, there are some signs that this time the hunger strikes have crossed a historic threshold of no return.

Read more: Historic Hunger Strikes: Lightning in the Skies of Palestine