Israel House Demolitions
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Israel: Nurturing racism
It’s fair to say, isn’t it, that children are not born racist, but initiated into that particular mindset. This perhaps is particularly true of Israel. Therefore, where a state’s conception of itself rests on racist principles, on Zionist principles, one of its key objectives must be to shape minds at the earliest opportunity. This not… Continue reading
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Pro-Palestinian and Israel-critical voices silenced at the behest of a fragile ‘may’
It’s that word ‘may’ that tells you something fishy is going on. Something not quite right. Where the need is for certainty, for assurance that an idea, definition or policy can stand on its own two feet, ‘may’ suggests uncertainty, even evasiveness. A ‘may’ in a sentence prompts the thought, ‘well, maybe not’. Odd, then,… Continue reading
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Israel: The necessity of violence
As blood is to the body, so violence is to the Israeli state – an indispensable component of its existence. Violence – personal, physical, structural – courses through the organs and agents of this state, shaping its very instincts and intuitions. It is a violence it cannot forsake, nor indeed meaningfully mitigate, for, as currently… Continue reading
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Freeing Palestine. Current strategies necessary. But sufficient?
Part one, in summary, looks at the nature of some of the threats that Israel-critical/Pro-Palestinian advocates confront. It then asks whether there is a need for more joined-up, durable approaches in responding to key threats, ones that so negatively affect the Palestinian cause. (3 minute read) Part two looks at some examples of the threats… Continue reading
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How shall we harm you? Let us count the ways. A partial inventory of Israel’s oppression against Palestinians
Shoot your children bullet-dead – no tear to our eyes ‘On average, Israeli forces and settlers killed 6 Palestinian children per month this [2021] year. ‘Israeli forces and armed Israeli civilians have killed 78 Palestinian minors in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza, making 2021 the deadliest year on record for Palestinian children since… Continue reading
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UK Government and allies support BDS
Rank hypocrisy and shameless double standards are by now the unsurprising hallmarks of the UK Government. But it has excelled itself in its rapid and enthusiastic conversion to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) now seen as both a morally appropriate, and potentially efficacious, strategy designed, in this case, to persuade Russia to reverse its invasion of… Continue reading
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Campaigning for Palestine: Victories, threats, and resolve
There’s been a cluster of events, of which I shall mention only four, that have gladdened the heart, prompted admiration, and that serve to reinforce resolve. Ambassador sent on her way One was the protests undertaken by Cambridge University students against the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipi Hotovely. She was giving a speech… Continue reading
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Freeing Palestine: Victories, threats, and resolve
There’s been a cluster of events, of which I shall mention only four, that have gladdened the heart, prompted admiration, and that serve to reinforce resolve. Ambassador sent on her way One was the protests undertaken by Cambridge University students against the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipi Hotovely. She was giving a speech… Continue reading
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Palestine, Israel and the Labour Party: Is it racism that I see?
Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, struck the right tone in his tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu who died on the 26 December 2021. He described Tutu as: ‘a tower of a man and a leader of moral activism’ who ‘dedicated his life to tackling injustice and standing up for the oppressed…’His impact on the world… Continue reading
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As Olive Harvest Begins, Israeli Soldiers Prevent Palestinians From Reaching Their Groves
I reproduce without comment an article in Haaretz by Amira Hass, dated 17 October 2021 When it isn’t the settlers who try to directly disrupt Palestinians’ olive picking, it’s the Israeli army that prevents it from taking place Mohammed al-Khatib from the village of Bil’in uses every opportunity he has to talk to soldiers, in… Continue reading
About Me
This is Bernard Spiegal’s blog.
I write mainly about Palestine/Israel and related issues; sometimes other stuff too
Bernard Spiegal 