This is a rather hard-to-read piece by the usually lucid Amir Oren on where Netanyahu is left after the enrolment of Iran amongst the good guys. (For years, Israeli belligerence had surfed on the belief in US backing for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.) The wind has been taken out of the Israeli sails – can it take off a new track of diplomacy?

The new Joint List MKs are determined to raise issues of discrimination against Arab citizens. Al Monitor interviews MK Yousef Jabareen, whose home town of Umm al-Fahm has been a frequent target of far-right aggression, talks about the discriminatory laws and practice that diminish the lives of Israeli Arabs.

‘Oslo’ is dead. Economic aid does nothing for political spirit. Bibi’s re-election means no negotiation. The 2-state solution is not viable. It’s time to start again and take the steps which would create a new political system for Palestinians says Alaa Tartir. A new political spirit and leadership are needed.

Deir Yassin was a small Palestinian village near Jerusalem. On April 9th 1948 it was attacked by Israeli paramilitary groups who killed over one sixth of the village’s residents. Its main success was that it terrorised other Palestinians into fleeing their homes. Ilan Pappe discusses the dehumanisation that is part of acts of ethnic cleansing.

In a venomous piece in the Jewish Chronicle, Marcus Dysch attacks ‘toxic Ed’ for causing the move towards conservatism of British Jews because he criticised Israel’s attack on Gaza last summer when he was ‘Israel’s chief political critic’. As if. In what silo is ‘The UK’s oldest and most widely-read Jewish newspaper’ produced?

In this week’s Signatories’ Blog, Ben Samuel, one of our youngest signatories, writes about how his interest in politics grew and what attracted him to JfJfP. He is standing as the Green candidate for Hendon in the coming election. Obviously, JfJfP does not endorse any political party.

This seems like a Jewish Chronicle storm in a teacup. Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, Leeds, has attacked party leader Ed Miliband for ‘betraying’ a foreign country, viz Israel, by criticizing its lethal onslaught on Gaza last year. He did say “Armed responses to protests, including killing with impunity and the torture and imprisonment of individuals, have become the cause of instability and are therefore deeply counter-productive.” He was talking about Tibet.

This is a fascinating article from 1967 extolling the role of the UK in supporting the establishment and development of Israel and the need for British Jews (most of whom did not want to move to Israel) to support their brethren who did. Palestinians and the ’67 occupation are not mentioned. It is such a different world, when all events took place in the context of the Cold War and the UK still fancied itself as a Great Power.

‘Anonymous’ has threatened before to launch a cyber war against Israeli computers. This time it succeeded in hacking and suspending websites, though not in affecting any used by the Israeli state (or at least, that’s what the government says). This is, by and large, a peaceful protest. But it is tinged by antisemitism by reference to The Jews and a Holocaust (see Brian Klug below).

Brian Klug examines the claimed rise in antisemitism in Europe during last summer’s Israeli attack on Gaza. Looking at the contemporary usage of the word he argues that for it to be meaningful it must have the figure of ‘the Jew’ at the heart of it. Although for many Israel can represent The Jew, Klug argues they must be separated – and warns against the danger of supporting a ‘patently unjust military action’.

Yaron Kaplan joins a long line of young Israelis who have refused to do military service for reasons of conscience. Most end up in prison which Yaron is expecting. He is unusual because his refusal came mid-way through his service, after his experience of the extreme violence embedded in the IDF’s training and the impossibility of asking Palestinians to co-operate when he was imposing a military regime on them.

In a detailed article, Hassan Hassan asks why ISIL has again entered Yarmouk camp and identifies the shifting alliances and rifts amongst the many factions which are defending or trying to gain territory in the region. Hamas has joined in to repel ISIL, Ynet interviews Palestinians trapped in the camp.

The conference planned to be held at Southampton University, April 18-19, on Israel’s legal status has been cancelled following intense pressure from the pro-Israel lobby. Conference organizers are applying for judicial review of the decision. You will see from this selection of articles , there are many points of attack: on the conference organizer (association with Gilad Atzmon) through the conflation between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, on the conference canceller, the vice-chancellor, for bowing to pressure

It would be hard to imagine how life for the Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp, Damascus could get worse. But ISIL, with its penchant for killing other Muslims, has defied imagination and created mayhem in the camp with beheadings and sniper fire. At least 2000 have fled (to where?) .

At the beginning of the week, March 30-April 4, 2015, the dominant news seemed to be the accession of the PA to the ICC (which formally took place on Wednesday April 1st, 2015) and Israel’s frenetic opposition to this international legal and diplomatic procedure. Whatever the PA is able to do with this new power, […]

This time, the attack is by ISIL rather than Assad’s forces. The aim, both times is purportedly to destroy the PFLP fighters inside the camp. As this force does not venture outside the camp, the reason seems simply beacuse the camp is there – and to prevent any Palestinian fighting force developing.

For the last few years Netanyahu has done everthing to keep the West in a state of high anxiety about the imminence of being annihilated by Iranian nuclear bombs. No more. The hopes of the Lausanne conference were that Iran opens its nuclear facilities to inspection and that Netanyahu stop belabouring the West about his annihilation by Iran. Here are comments praising, doubting and condemning the deal. It stretches the gap between US and Israel policy aims. But will Congress block it?

Against all predictions, a deal was struck between the negotiators for Iran and the P5+1 group. on limiting the speed and nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. Predictably this has been denounced by most Republicans and the Israeli government. But support for the deal has been unpredictably warm, revealing the widespread desire for an end to bellicose rhetoric and to fear of the barbarian at the gates.

More than seven months after the IDF/Hamas ceasefire homes, hopes and lives in the Gaza strip remain wrecked. Reconstruction aid is not arriving, the Israelis and Gaza Palestinians see their governments as essential defences against the other and all the signs are that, as Gideon Levy said, Israel will attack again as though it’s ‘a periodic ceremony’.

Doubt meets the PA’s accession to the International Criminal Court. What can they actually do with this new legal power, when and how? Will they, Fatah or Hamas be open to charges by Israel? No-one knows until any process begins. But it gives Palestinians status and hope. The Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights said “Why were there three wars against Gaza in less than six years? It is simply because Israel is not accountable. This might act as a deterrent.”