israel/palestine

A new study reveals that the majority of Israelis view the conflict with Palestine through the lens of fear, throwing their support behind a parade of bellicose and paranoid leaders. Until the cycle of victimhood and aggression is broken no amount of pressure from the U.S., vain military adventures, or Labor Party victories will alter the tragic stalemate in the region.

Though Zionism sought to establish a state of normalcy, Israel has become an institutionalized mechanism for perpetuating a sense of abnormality.

When representatives of many Arab and Muslim nations publicly applaud Ahmadinejad’s racist rant, the real losers are the Palestinians.

All nations contribute to the management and definition of religion so it’s neither necessary, nor possible, to identify any state as definitively “religious” or “secular.” To choose is largely political.

A scholar of nonviolence shares his struggle with Jewish identity during a time of escalating conflict and violence in Israel.

Beneath the violence and inability to find peace in Israel/Palestine lie a series of narratives and myths American and Israeli Jews employ to understand the situation. One such narrative has shifted toward hope recently, but does it go deep enough?

Buying locally reminds us that purchasing is a mythical act that cements us to community in some magical way. But what if the very morality of a “local” act is being marketed in its own right? Is it just as moral to help a Palestinian cultural center build community as it is to buy Cisco products whose ads promise the same?

Christians should neither excoriate Israel nor remain silent in the face of horrendous attacks in Gaza and elsewhere. Rather, according to Rev. Laarman, American Christians must heed King and make the issue about US policy and the kind of nation we aspire to be.

There is a method to the madness indicated by the incoming Obama Administration but what kind of solution would it be?

Israel is still using a strategy of domination in its struggle with Hamas, trying to use force to gain security. But this is a recipe for endless war.