Palestine/Israel
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NSPCC complicity in cruelty to Palestinian children. An open letter signed by ninety one health workers, academics, educators, social workers, youth workers, and others
It should at the very least be a source of disquiet that a number of mainstream media, including the Guardian, determined that this letter, and the issue it addresses – NSPCC’s complicity in undermining the lives of Palestinian children and their families – does not warrant space within their columns. A perhaps unintended, though perhaps… Continue reading
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The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children accused of complicity in cruelty to Palestinian children
My guess is that a significant number of those who read my posts are involved, in one way of another, with children and the required work to ensure their flourishing. We recognise this as a universal goal, unbounded by border, background or ethnicity. With this in mind, this post may have particular salience for at… Continue reading
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An insightful letter framing a courageous act: Israeli students publicly refuse military conscription
Last month, January 2021, sixty Israeli High School students very publicly refused to be conscripted into the Israeli army (military service is compulsory for men and women) . Below is the letter they sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, Minister of Defense Benny Gantz and Education Minister Yoav Galant.… Continue reading
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Seismic shift: Authoritative Israeli human rights organisation brands Israel an Apartheid State
It’s as good as official: Israeli human rights group – B’tselem – defines Israel an Apartheid State. Other organisations have made that evidence-based judgment, not least the UN and Al-Haq, but the B’tselem report has special significance – it represents a radical break in its previous position and implcitly calls to account those that have… Continue reading
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Stuctural and personal violence: Israel’s relationship with Palestinians
Dear Reader, I return to a topic that is much neglected in mainstream media. It is also a matter of some sensitivity for many, and for many reasons. Whilst it is not necessarily hard to discern the motives and objectives of key state interests in maintaining and enriching, beyond all conscience, an apartheid regime, for… Continue reading
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Playing with death – Palestinian childhoods
Traditionally, this site has been concerned with children and their freedoms. More recently, it has also focused on the conflict in Palestine/Israel. The two subjects distressingly combine in todays’s Daily Telegraph report. Something hidden, obscured or ignored now starkly highlighted: More children than Palestinian fighters are being killed in the offensive on Gaza. The name,… Continue reading
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2019 Eurovision Song Contest – Songwashing occupation, discrimination, apartheid
Tel Aviv is to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest What’s Tel Aviv like? This from Business Insider: ‘From the Mediterranean shores of Tel Aviv, Israel’s fraught geopolitical position is almost non-existent. Tourists and locals alike sip Goldstar, Israel’s ubiquitous dark lager, as the waves roll in and out. Children laugh and splash in the… Continue reading
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Palestine/Israel: Reflections on a visit
Extract: War on Want Briefing to MPs Israel’s use of military force against Palestinian civilians is a prominent feature of its occupation regime. This militarised repression of the Palestinian people extends beyond the scenes of checkpoints and bombings we have unfortunately become accustomed to; Israel’s military and security services maintain an intense regime of surveillance,… Continue reading
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Palestine/Israel: What oppression looks like
I have just returned from a trip to Palestine/Israel. My purpose: to understand more; to interview/have conversations with people; to report back to those who might already be interested and, fond hope, to encourage more widespread interest – and action. The bulk of my time was spent in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), taking the… 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 