political writings
Lobbies
An article by Richard Falk
Obama bows to AIPAC’s will
24 May 2011 | On Sunday May 22, 2011, President Barack Obama spoke at an AIPAC Conference, three days after giving his pro-Israeli speech at the State Department on his broader Middle East foreign policy. It was a shockingly partisan speech (*) to the extremist lobbying group that has the entire US Congress in an unprecedented headlock that has become the envy of even the National Rifle Association.
Obama bows to AIPAC’s will
24 May 2011 | On Sunday May 22, 2011, President Barack Obama spoke at an AIPAC Conference, three days after giving his pro-Israeli speech at the State Department on his broader Middle East foreign policy. It was a shockingly partisan speech (*) to the extremist lobbying group that has the entire US Congress in an unprecedented headlock that has become the envy of even the National Rifle Association.An Article by Mazin Qumsiyeh
Obama and the changing landscape
19 May 2011 | In follow-up to the very successful 15 May events (the beginning of the global uprising), activists around the world called for a day of protests Friday (tomorrow). In Bethlehem, we gather after Friday prayers in front of Omar’s mosque (the Nativity square) and march towards the apartheid wall.
President Obama tried in his (Cairo II) speech to again convince a skeptical world that the US promotes democracy and human rights. We have heard all of this orientalist talk before and yet have seen no action/change.
Obama and the changing landscape
19 May 2011 | In follow-up to the very successful 15 May events (the beginning of the global uprising), activists around the world called for a day of protests Friday (tomorrow). In Bethlehem, we gather after Friday prayers in front of Omar’s mosque (the Nativity square) and march towards the apartheid wall.
President Obama tried in his (Cairo II) speech to again convince a skeptical world that the US promotes democracy and human rights. We have heard all of this orientalist talk before and yet have seen no action/change.Interview with Jeffrey Blankfort
Israel Is the Most Immediate Threat to the Future of the Planet
29 October 2010 | .
Israel Is the Most Immediate Threat to the Future of the Planet
29 October 2010 | .
An article by Saed Bannoura
Israeli settlers expand campaign to manipulate entries on Wikipedia
18 August 2010 | The internet’s open-source, user-edited encyclopedia called ’Wikipedia’ has been targeted by Israeli governmental and non-governmental partisans since its inception, who have attempted to manipulate its contents to promote a Zionist agenda. This week, Israeli settlers launched a course for right-wing Israelis interested in helping to manipulate the contents of entries on the online encyclopedia.
Israeli settlers expand campaign to manipulate entries on Wikipedia
18 August 2010 | The internet’s open-source, user-edited encyclopedia called ’Wikipedia’ has been targeted by Israeli governmental and non-governmental partisans since its inception, who have attempted to manipulate its contents to promote a Zionist agenda. This week, Israeli settlers launched a course for right-wing Israelis interested in helping to manipulate the contents of entries on the online encyclopedia.An article by Antoine Raffoul
Israel: total boycott against total occupation
5 April 2010 | Antoine Raffoul argues that as the Israeli occupation is total and is sustained with the help of almost every institution and enterprise in the country, so must the boycott of Israel be all-encompassing and uncompromising.
Israel: total boycott against total occupation
5 April 2010 | Antoine Raffoul argues that as the Israeli occupation is total and is sustained with the help of almost every institution and enterprise in the country, so must the boycott of Israel be all-encompassing and uncompromising.A Crisis in U.S. / Israeli Relations? Sure. But ...
Why Israel Always Prevails
19 March 2010 | Jeff Blankfort sums up the small turbulence in American-Israeli relations after Biden affront. He doubts Netanyahu’s innocence for Israelis always behaved like that just in order to rub the American statesmen’s noses in the mud of their impotence. His conclusion: nothing will come out of it, because nothing ever did.
Why Israel Always Prevails
19 March 2010 | Jeff Blankfort sums up the small turbulence in American-Israeli relations after Biden affront. He doubts Netanyahu’s innocence for Israelis always behaved like that just in order to rub the American statesmen’s noses in the mud of their impotence. His conclusion: nothing will come out of it, because nothing ever did.An article by James Petras
Bended Knees: Zionist Power in American Politics
22 December 2009 | This is probably the most well-rounded and complete article by James Petras on the configuration of Zionist power - at all levels of the US political system and society - that far outweighs its numerical strength. More than a lobby, the ZPC has acted over the past fifty years as an agent in the interest of a foreign military power. Its influence is already deeply entrenched in many other regions of the world, denoting a trend that Petras describes as the globalization of Zionist power. However, support may be falterning, as divisions among the US policy elite over Zionist control have started to emerge. But, despite the dissenting voices, Obama continues to take his marching orders from Tel Aviv on all major issues promoted by the ZPC.
Bended Knees: Zionist Power in American Politics
22 December 2009 | This is probably the most well-rounded and complete article by James Petras on the configuration of Zionist power - at all levels of the US political system and society - that far outweighs its numerical strength. More than a lobby, the ZPC has acted over the past fifty years as an agent in the interest of a foreign military power. Its influence is already deeply entrenched in many other regions of the world, denoting a trend that Petras describes as the globalization of Zionist power. However, support may be falterning, as divisions among the US policy elite over Zionist control have started to emerge. But, despite the dissenting voices, Obama continues to take his marching orders from Tel Aviv on all major issues promoted by the ZPC.An article by Kristoffer Larsson
Israeli Apartheid in the Middle East
23 September 2009 | We reproduce here an article published by Kristoffer Larsson in January 2006.
Israeli Apartheid in the Middle East
23 September 2009 | We reproduce here an article published by Kristoffer Larsson in January 2006.
Another Blankfort’s letter to Avnery on boycott issue
On Rationalizing Israel’s Dispossession of the Palestinians
5 September 2009 | .
On Rationalizing Israel’s Dispossession of the Palestinians
5 September 2009 | .
Boycott against Israeli Apartheid
Blankfort’s response to Avnery on boycott issue
30 August 2009 | .
Blankfort’s response to Avnery on boycott issue
30 August 2009 | .
An article by Kim Petersen
Boycotts as a Legitimate Means of Resistance, as Determined by the Oppressed People
29 August 2009 | .
Boycotts as a Legitimate Means of Resistance, as Determined by the Oppressed People
29 August 2009 | .
An article by Faris Giacaman
Can we talk? The Middle East "peace industry"
20 August 2009 | Upon finding out that I am Palestinian, many people I meet at college in the United States are eager to inform me of various activities that they have participated in that promote "coexistence" and "dialogue" between both sides of the "conflict," no doubt expecting me to give a nod of approval. However, these efforts are harmful and undermine the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel — the only way of pressuring Israel to cease its violations of Palestinians’ rights.
Can we talk? The Middle East "peace industry"
20 August 2009 | Upon finding out that I am Palestinian, many people I meet at college in the United States are eager to inform me of various activities that they have participated in that promote "coexistence" and "dialogue" between both sides of the "conflict," no doubt expecting me to give a nod of approval. However, these efforts are harmful and undermine the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel — the only way of pressuring Israel to cease its violations of Palestinians’ rights.About the resignation of Charles Freeman
John J. Mearsheimer: The Lobby Falters
20 March 2009 | Many people in Washington were surprised when the Obama administration tapped Charles Freeman to chair the National Intelligence Council, the body that oversees the production of National Intelligence Estimates.
John J. Mearsheimer: The Lobby Falters
20 March 2009 | Many people in Washington were surprised when the Obama administration tapped Charles Freeman to chair the National Intelligence Council, the body that oversees the production of National Intelligence Estimates.An article by Jean Bricmont
French Echoes of the Israeli-Palestine Conflict
12 February 2009 | At each new war waged by the West, certain leftist or pacifist movements fall back on a “neither-nor” position. “Neither Milosevic nor NATO”, “Neither Bush nor Saddam”, and, now, rejecting both Israel and Hamas in the same breath.
French Echoes of the Israeli-Palestine Conflict
12 February 2009 | At each new war waged by the West, certain leftist or pacifist movements fall back on a “neither-nor” position. “Neither Milosevic nor NATO”, “Neither Bush nor Saddam”, and, now, rejecting both Israel and Hamas in the same breath.The Shoah used as a weapon by Israel
John J. Mearsheimer: Invoking the Holocaust to Defend the Occupation
10 December 2008 | For American readers, the great virtue of Avraham Burg’s important new book is that he says things about Israel and the Jewish people that are hardly ever heard in mainstream discourse in the United States. It is hard to believe how stunted and biased the coverage of Israel is in the American media, not to mention the extent to which our politicians have perfected the art of pandering to the Jewish state. The situation got so bad in the recent presidential campaign that journalists Jeffrey Goldberg and Shmuel Rosner — both staunch defenders of Israel — wrote pieces titled "Enough about Israel Already."
John J. Mearsheimer: Invoking the Holocaust to Defend the Occupation
10 December 2008 | For American readers, the great virtue of Avraham Burg’s important new book is that he says things about Israel and the Jewish people that are hardly ever heard in mainstream discourse in the United States. It is hard to believe how stunted and biased the coverage of Israel is in the American media, not to mention the extent to which our politicians have perfected the art of pandering to the Jewish state. The situation got so bad in the recent presidential campaign that journalists Jeffrey Goldberg and Shmuel Rosner — both staunch defenders of Israel — wrote pieces titled "Enough about Israel Already."Israel’s founding myth
Jonathan Cook: Israel’s surprising best seller contradicts founding ideology
8 October 2008 | No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel’s bestseller list — and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel’s biggest taboo.
Jonathan Cook: Israel’s surprising best seller contradicts founding ideology
8 October 2008 | No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel’s bestseller list — and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel’s biggest taboo.Controversy Blankfort / Chomsky (3rd and last part)
How Chomsky eclipsed the influence of the pro-Israeli lobby on the United States’ policy
5 October 2006 | In this last part of his study of Noam Chomsky’s work, Jeffrey Blankfort shows how this latter voluntarily eclipsed the role of the AIPAC. This powerful lobby mobilizes the United-stator Jewish community to put pressure on the Congress and to obtain an unfailing support for Israel, often to the detriment of the American national interests.
How Chomsky eclipsed the influence of the pro-Israeli lobby on the United States’ policy
5 October 2006 | In this last part of his study of Noam Chomsky’s work, Jeffrey Blankfort shows how this latter voluntarily eclipsed the role of the AIPAC. This powerful lobby mobilizes the United-stator Jewish community to put pressure on the Congress and to obtain an unfailing support for Israel, often to the detriment of the American national interests.Controversy Blankfort / Chomsky (2nd Part)
Contrary to Chomsky’s theories, the United States has no interest to support Israel
28 September 2006 | We publish, today, the second part of Jeffrey Blankfort’s study on the ambiguities of Noam Chomsky. Having shown, in the first part of his article, the professor’s commitment to support the investments in Israel and to accredit the misleading theory of the guard of the oil wells, Blankfort dissects, below, two other dogmas. On the one hand, far from being a strategic asset for the United States, as Chomsky claims, Israel is a handicap. On the other hand, it is not Washington that prevents the solving of the Israel-Palestine conflict, but Israel itself, which wants to be, simultaneously, a Jewish state and the single state in Palestine.
Contrary to Chomsky’s theories, the United States has no interest to support Israel
28 September 2006 | We publish, today, the second part of Jeffrey Blankfort’s study on the ambiguities of Noam Chomsky. Having shown, in the first part of his article, the professor’s commitment to support the investments in Israel and to accredit the misleading theory of the guard of the oil wells, Blankfort dissects, below, two other dogmas. On the one hand, far from being a strategic asset for the United States, as Chomsky claims, Israel is a handicap. On the other hand, it is not Washington that prevents the solving of the Israel-Palestine conflict, but Israel itself, which wants to be, simultaneously, a Jewish state and the single state in Palestine.Controversy Blankfort / Chomsky (1st Part)
Damage Control: Noam Chomsky and the Israel-Palestine Conflict
20 September 2006 | While the Bush administration is sinking into the Iraqi mess and supports the Israeli destruction campaign in Palestine and in Lebanon, a controversy is expanding in the United States on the exact links between the US imperialism and the zionist expansionism. Suddenly, the thought of Noam Chomsky, which was imposed, for a long time, as a reference to the US left-wing, does not function any more. It is the moment, for the journalist Jeffrey Blankfort, to question this superstar. We publish here, in three parts, his long study of the limits of Noam Chomsky’s thought.
Damage Control: Noam Chomsky and the Israel-Palestine Conflict
20 September 2006 | While the Bush administration is sinking into the Iraqi mess and supports the Israeli destruction campaign in Palestine and in Lebanon, a controversy is expanding in the United States on the exact links between the US imperialism and the zionist expansionism. Suddenly, the thought of Noam Chomsky, which was imposed, for a long time, as a reference to the US left-wing, does not function any more. It is the moment, for the journalist Jeffrey Blankfort, to question this superstar. We publish here, in three parts, his long study of the limits of Noam Chomsky’s thought.An Article by Jeffrey Blankfort
The Israel Lobby and the Left: Uneasy Questions
May 2003 | It was 1991 and Noam Chomsky had just finished a lecture in Berkeley on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was taking questions from the audience. An Arab-American asked him to explain his position regarding the influence of America’s Israel lobby.
Chomsky replied that its reputation was generally exaggerated and, like other lobbies, it only appears to be powerful when its position lines up with that of the “elites” who determine policy in Washington. Earlier in the evening, he had asserted that Israel received support from the United States as a reward for the services it provides as the US’s “cop-on-the-beat” in the Middle East.
The Israel Lobby and the Left: Uneasy Questions
May 2003 | It was 1991 and Noam Chomsky had just finished a lecture in Berkeley on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was taking questions from the audience. An Arab-American asked him to explain his position regarding the influence of America’s Israel lobby.
Chomsky replied that its reputation was generally exaggerated and, like other lobbies, it only appears to be powerful when its position lines up with that of the “elites” who determine policy in Washington. Earlier in the evening, he had asserted that Israel received support from the United States as a reward for the services it provides as the US’s “cop-on-the-beat” in the Middle East.