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This week, we have seen once again how Israel employs the “unlimited use of limited force” to provoke a response from Gaza and to thereby undermine the fragile tahdiya—the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in place since last June.

Last Tuesday, while the world’s attention was focused on the United States’ presidential election, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip… Ostensibly there to destroy several smuggling tunnels, they encountered resistance (naturally) and killed six Palestinian militants. In response, dozens of Palestinian rockets were subsequently fired into Israel. And in response, Israel made a statement “regretting” Hamas’s hostility and eagerly shut Gaza’s borders, exacerbating the already disastrous humanitarian conditions. Soon after, Israel also forced Gaza’s main power plant to close by cutting fuel supplies, a move which plunged hundreds of thousands into darkness (yet again). Ehud Olmert threateningly declared that a “full-scale” Israeli operation in Gaza is not a question of “if” but “when”, even as he blamed Gaza for breaking the truce! And in response, rockets continue to fly over the border from Gaza into Israel.

And in response… and in response…
(more…)

It has come as a surprise to many of my friends to hear that I have decided not to vote. Some people have sent me messages begging me to cast a vote, some of them aggressive and condescending, others desperate… so I will try to clarify my views to those among you who consider voting to be an important aspect of democratic participation.

Above all, I am convinced that no political action is worth undertaking without the possibility of the action bringing about a desired change—or even the possibility of placing us on a path towards this change. So while I believe that voting is indeed an important aspect of civic awareness, I believe it is a useful practice only once certain democratic institutions are in place to make it worth our while. In this particular case at this particular time, I don’t believe voting is my best option for number of reasons—so why should I participate just because I am eligible?

I would not go to a political demonstration if I believed the particular manifestation of protest would be ineffective, just as I would not express my political views to a dog. There is simply no point in these acts.

Likewise, when the choice lies between parties that have monopolized the “debates” by excluding third-party candidates, that have transformed a theoretically multiparty political system into de facto two-party farce, that have pushed candidates who both essentially agree that military aggression is a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy, that profess their immutable support for Israel’s right to kill Palestinian civilians, that quibble over the deaths of American soldiers while basically agreeing that the carnal nightmare in Iraq should continue, that actually threaten to widen American offensives, and agree on much else… the word “choice” defies its very meaning. Until it reclaims its meaning, voting is at best a waste of my time and at worst a capitulation to the corrupt and decidedly undemocratic state of the American political structure. (more…)

Yesterday’s nomination of Tzipi Livni as Kadima’s candidate for Israel’s upcoming national election (and especially the pleasant reception of the news by Ramallah) confirms two immutable facts about Israel/Palestinian relations: 1) Israel’s tradition of electing killers to the highest office is alive and well… Likewise, 2) the Palestinian puppet leadership always lick it all up.

Let me elaborate…

To begin, yesterday’s contest between Tzipi Livni and Shaul Mofaz was an old-fashioned battle between two evils. Despite Kadima’s reputation for being “moderate” and offering Israel’s best hope for brokering peace with the Palestinians, both candidates were (in Livni’s case, still is) entirely unfit to rule.

On the one hand, yesterday’s nomination offered Shaul Mofaz - a man notorious for recent revelations that, during his tenure as commander of the IDF in the West Bank and Gaza, he called for 70 slain Palestinians per day. This, as well as his role in demolishing hundreds of Palestinian homes during the same period, has led to accusations of war crimes. David Kretzmer, emeritus professor of international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says that recent evidence suggest that Mofaz “committed serious offenses, some of which at least, fall into the category of war crimes.” (more…)

A letter recently appeared in the Washington Post that got me thinking about John Walker Lindh again. You remember him… The so-called “American Taliban” sentenced to 20 years in prison for “aiding the Taliban”. In reality, Lindh was more likely likely an unwitting victim of an emotionally fragile post-9/11 United States as well as a guinea pig for U.S. torture policy elsewhere.

As it turns out, the FBI allowed Lindh to be abused in various ways, perhaps insignificant compared to incidents in Iraq and Guantánamo, but abuses nonetheless. In retrospect, the revelation that Lindh was subject to abuse should not be a surprise. In the foamy-mouthed ideological environment of Bush’s “War on Terror”, Lindh was just another tool to forward the administration’s propaganda machine. (more…)

It seems the U.S. State Department has reversed the decision to deny the seven Gaza students Fulbright Grants. And while this is good news in principle, it should not be praised out of context—or too early.

The spokesman for the Israeli Defense Ministry’s department of civilian affairs, Major Peter Lerner (whom I dealt with regularly when arranging coordination in and out of Gaza), says that each of the the Palestinian students will face security check before being allowed to leave Gaza.

Fine. This sounds very reasonable… but I am skeptical that these students will actually be granted permission to leave. Since June 2007, approximately 670 students have been unable to pursue higher education abroad due to the total closure of the territory by the Israeli military. (more…)

In the chronology of the Bush administration’s record of manipulation and willful distortion of evidence, the apparent revelation – revealed in a recently declassified National Intelligence Estimate – that Iran ceased its nuclear program in 2003 promises to usher in a renewed phase of White House propaganda. While the cautious pundits and news anchors of the television media may predict this new information to initiate a sea-change in Washington’s antagonistic posturing, I am more skeptical. This administration will somehow find a way to interpret the development as “proof” of their wolf-crying.

Leaving aside the obvious outrage we should express at the government’s failure to rely on solid evidence and the colossally ignorant manner in which Bush threatened to launch WWIII based on shoddy intelligence, it would be prudent to review the case Washington has made against Iran thus far… (more…)

To Greeks, the island of Crete is thought to be a scenic holiday location - albeit isolated by a particularly wide expanse of the Mediterranean sea. It is an island with a great history and a unique polymorphic landscape. As a girl, I remember hearing stories of the oddity of Crete’s inhabitants and of the amazing and unusual things that occurred there.

One summer, I visited the sleepy town of Ierapetra with my family. As I can recall, the Cretans were a kind and hospitable people with a talent for cooking – even by Greek standards. It’s common knowledge in Greece that Cretans are old-fashioned charming folks, keeping traditions as they go. Being very young (I believe I was only 5 when I visited Crete), I had wondered with some interest why so many of the Cretans dressed entirely in black. It was as if the entire island was perpetually trapped in the throes of some unspeakable tragedy. A childish thought to be sure, but I came to realize that Crete was indeed more tragic than one might have imagined. (more…)

I received this message from Professor Noam Chomsky this summer in response to my article Security or Demography: The West Bank Barrier as a Demographic Tool.

From: chomsky[at]MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: West Bank Barrier
Date: June 16, 2007 19:27:29  IDT
To: kris[at]harmonicminor.com

Interesting, and well done, but I’m quite skeptical about the value of such inquiries, for a number of reasons.  Here’s a few.
 
You say it is a “highly contentious point” whether a barrier on the Israeli side of the Green Line would have achieved whatever security effects the Separation Wall does.  I don’t agree with that at all.  It’s an obvious point.  In fact it could have achieved far better results, since it could be impregnable, patrolled heavily on both sides of the fence, etc. Furthermore, even accepting (for argument’s sake)  the idea that for security Israel somehow needs intrusion into the West Bank, then why not just build a wall a fixed distance from the Green line, say 5 km (or whatever number one wants), thereby excluding the Maaleh Adumim salient and the Ariel salient, and the many other illegal communities?  Plainly, that would be at least as effective for self-defense.  The whole discussion seems absurd.  I’ve followed the arguments, and they don’t stand up to a moment’s inspection.  About as clear an evasion of the obvious as can be imagined.  We should also be more than a little disturbed, I think, by the universal acceptance in the West that the question of “security” reduces to the security of Israelis, that is, to the rich and powerful state closely linked to the US and EU, while there is no security problem for those under the jackboot.  The racism is stunning, even given the ineradicable imperial mentality. (more…)