British writer Ian McEwan took a lot of heat for accepting the Jerusalem Book Prize. The literary award is given out every two years at the Jerusalem International Book Fair, an event that appears to be put on by the Jerusalem municipal government. In response to British writers who criticized his decision to accept the prize, McEwan wrote (with my […]

It’s big news here in Israel that “Strangers No More”— a documentary film that focuses on a South Tel Aviv school attended by zarim, Hebrew for foreigners or strangers—has won an Oscar. “Thank you most of all to the exceptional immigrant and refugee children from 48 countries at Tel Aviv’s remarkable Bialik Rogozin school,” Karen […]

Tahrir Square on February 1, 2011. (Photo: Zadokite) “Gratitude. And a prayer for the martyrs.” – Facebook status, February 11th 2011 A prayer for the martyrs is also to remember: The problem was not the events, but what happened. There are things about what happened which cannot be told it seems, some which cannot be […]

And more news from Today in Palestine:

And more news from Libya:

Below is a press release issued by Adalah-NY and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. For more background see these posts: Folk music legend Pete Seeger has come out in support of the growing Palestinian movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel as a program for justice for Palestinians and a route to peace in […]

Today in New York members of the US Palestinian Community Network will be serving a “notice of termination” to the Palestinian Authority at the Palestine Permanent Observation Mission to the UN. From a press release: On the heels of a people’s victory for freedom and democracy in Egypt, the US Palestinian Community Network-NYC will present […]

Below is an email from Judith Butler to Glennda Testone, the Executive Director of the New York LGBT Community Center, concerning the Center’s decision to cancel a “Party to End Apartheid” under pressure from donors. Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 To: [email protected] From: Judith Butler Subject: censorship at the NY LGBT Center Dear Glennda Testone, I am […]

The secret message at J Street is, No enemies on our left. Yes they trash the one-state solution. Yes, they invite a supporter of boycott so as to repudiate boycott, their leader tells a Jewish publication. Yes, their board member Mort Halperin suggests that American Realists seek the destruction of Israel. But them are just […]

And more news from Today in Palestine:

I’ve been at the J Street conference for two hours now and the political program seems to be, End the Netanyahu government now, because we’re in deep trouble. But that message was overshadowed by Mona Eltahawy, the Egyptian journalist, who actuallly actually got applause when she spoke about the “massacre” in Gaza and Arab “hatred […]

Protesters Continue to Make Gains Libya protesters control Zawiyah Tanks have surrounded Libyan city as residents brace for raid by pro-Gaddafi forces at any moment. And more news from Libya:

Since I got back from Palestine two months ago, every Friday brings me back to the village of Bil’in. I won’t even remember the importance of Friday, as anything other than the start to my weekend, until I stumble across a video in my Facebook mini-feed and watch Haitham’s footage of the weekly demonstration in […]

Below is a statement from the organizers of New York City’s Israeli Apartheid Week responding to the decision by New York LGBT Center to cancel a “Party to End Apartheid” under pressure from donors. You can sign their petition here. As organizers of New York City’s Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), we are dismayed to learn […]

Saudi Arabia, an Islamic absolute monarchy, has enjoyed extremely close relations with the United States, a constitutional republic. This relationship highlights the gross hypocrisy of US foreign policy: fundamentalism and dictatorship in the Arab world is only condemned when it comes garbed in anti-Americanism. In fact, Saudi Arabia makes Iran—the target of sanctions and regime […]

Mondoweiss contributor Jimmy Johnson has just unveiled an interesting new resource to highlight “news, data and analysis focusing on Israel’s arms industry.” The site is called Neged Neshek (“Against Arms” in Hebrew) and it looks like it will be a very useful resource. In addition to laying out the raw data on what Israel sells […]

Popular Army to March on Tripoli, as Qaddafi Massacres Protesters, Juan Cole Aljazeeera Arabic is reporting that Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has lost control of much of Tripoli and really only dominates the area of the capital immediately around his palace. Certainly, his security forces are having to fight for control. More news from Libya:

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Sitting in the backseat of a taxi heading to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, I waved goodbye to my grandmother while trying hard to hold back tears. I was nine years old at the time and I had no idea that this moment would be the last time I’d ever see her again. My sitto’s […]

As we bear witness to the daily, ever escalating, ever-unprecedented yet routine Israeli collective punishment and cruelty and torment inflicted on the Palestinians—men and women, young and old, boys and girls, children and infants, farm animals, fruit orchards, and olive trees—one cannot but be awed at the utter lack of morality and conscience the Zionist […]

The J Street conference begins tonight in D.C.. The liberal lobby group will be streaming some of the conference live, including Obama Mideast envoy Dennis Ross at 9am on Monday, here. You can see the full schedule and what else they’re streaming online here. I see that the U.S. star of the Egypt revolution, Mona Eltahawy, will […]

Yesterday at West Point, in his sharpest criticism of the Iraq war, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that anyone who advises a ground war for the U.S. in Asia ought to have his head examined. Funny– because earlier this week Gates had a meeting about Libya with two neoconservatives, Bill Kristol and Robert Kagan, who […]