Intersectionality: Comparing Gaza to Ferguson
Oh how some people just love the term, intersectionality! You can take roads going hither and thither and somehow find a way to make them intersect. It seems to me that without the word, intersectionality, there would be little justification for what some people have to say. Take James R. Thomas, for example. He compares […]
Genocide: Seeing Israel Where It Is Not
If hate for Israel is triggered whenever you hear or read certain trigger-words, such as genocide, then you might see things that are not really there. I can think of no other reason for the blooper I spotted in an academic journal than that. “Racialized Violence and the Churches’ Responsibility” is the title of a […]
Maternal Diets in Gaza: Not Our Fault!
Congratulations are in order…..a team composed of scientists from Gaza, Iran and Iraq just published a high quality paper in which the name “Israel” did not appear even once. There was no mention of “occupied territories” or anything that could have been construed as political. A breath of fresh air. While the paper did talk […]
“Extending Our Sovereignty” in one corner Versus “Divorce” in the other
It looks like the incoming government might actually move toward a July declaration of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. With this idea gaining traction, we can expect lots of push and pull in the media and semi-academic websites. I examine the two sides of this debate using […]
You Cannot Divorce an Octopus Until You Release Its Tentacles
Anyone who looks at the map of Judea & Samaria can see that it can be compared to an octopus that has its tentacles all in a dither. Therefore, when talking about any change in status to the region, whether that is extending Israel’s sovereignty, unilaterial disengagement, or the supposed two-state-solution, it is not the […]
When Israel’s Supreme Court Sees itself as Therapist
Sometimes you can find the damndest things when you read court protocols. While preparing an article on MK Ofir Katz’s (Likud) proposed amendments to the law prohibiting the candidature for the Knesset of those who support Israel’s enemies, I read the judgement in the case against Heba Yazbak that was held before the March 2020 […]
Ofir Katz and the Yazbak Law: Will This Help?
Many Israelis wonder how it is possible that elected officials who support acts of terror against the very nation in whose legislature they sit were allowed to run in the first place. The legitimacy of the candidacies of a number of Arab Members of Knesset and one Jew who hold such views have been challenged […]
Happy Independence Day — If You Celebrate It
In what other country in the world would you find a major university qualifying their Independence Day greeting to students? What does that little “if you celebrate it” do to those who see it? Who would even think up such a thing? Or am I making a mountain out of a molehill? During Israel’s Independence […]
The Occupation Causes Schizophrenia
A new article, entitled “Schizophrenia in the Context of Mental Health Services in Palestine”, reviews the literature concerning problems treating schizophrenic patients in the Palestinian Authority (PA). All authors are faculty at the An-Najah National University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Nablus. The article appears on the website of a relatively highly ranked […]
Did This Happen Because Arabic was Demoted?
In which case, the Arab parliamentarians in Israel may either jump for joy or sigh in relief. Or is it because anti-Zionist Arabs running for public office are treated differently by Israel’s Supreme Court than Jewish candidates against whom the claim is made that they are racist? In any case, here is the story: In […]