Palestine/Israel
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As you sow, so shall you reap
Israel is a militaristic state. For many years[1] now, it has ranked first in the Global Militarisation Index (GMI). By way of contrast, the USA ranks twenty-seventh, the UK seventy-seventh. The GMI bases its rankings on a set of quantifiable indicators, for example, GMI compares a country’s military expenditure with its Gross Domestic Product, and… Continue reading
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Israel’s voracious appetite
An inherent, defining feature of Zionism, and therefore of the Israeli state, is its appetite. An unrelenting, voracious appetite for that which is not theirs to consume: Palestinian land. Zionism is this appetite, an appetite not capable of satiation until all – or practically all – Palestinian land has been consumed and digested by the… Continue reading
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State policy: dispossession, displacement, demolition
A state founded on an oxymoron – that Israel can be both democratic and yet in the exclusive control of one ethnonationalist group, in this case Israeli Jews – is unlikely to have a developed sense of irony. Irony, after all, requires, at a bare minimum, a capacity to notice a contradiction when it’s staring… Continue reading
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The State of Israel has a right to exist…doesn’t it?
The ending of the latest fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians, in particular Hamas, has drawn attention yet again to the need for an end to over 70 years of conflict and this, it is said, requires a two state solution. I have explained in previous articles why it is that a two state… Continue reading
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When is the death of a child acceptable? An open letter from Dr Sara Roy to President Biden
I had intended that my next post – this one! – would take a look at ‘Israel’s right to exist’, a key phrase in the armory of the Israeli State. But I’ve deferred that subject to the next blog, and that because I happened upon the open letter to President Biden from Dr Sara Roy… Continue reading
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First hand report from Jaffa
I thought readers of this blog may be interested in a piece by Matan Kaminer, a Jewish Israeli anthropologist and political activist living in the ‘mixed’ city of Jaffa. Matan reflects on the situation in Jaffa and the larger meaning of the crisis, arguing that it serves the Israeli far right’s agenda of eroding the… Continue reading
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The original wound
The original wound is still raw – septic. Yet the work of wounding continues, daily, without let, without hindrance. The original wound The original wound was inflicted in 1948 – the Naqba (Catastrophe) marking the expulsion of the settled, indigenous inhabitants of Palestine from their homes and land. The methods: Intimidation and brute force at… Continue reading
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The Israelisation of British politics
It should be a matter of the gravest concern. A concern for the integrity of British politics. A concern over and above those we have about the diverse causes we support. When it comes to thinking about, speaking about, using one’s best judgment about Israel and Palestine, too many of our politicians behave with the… Continue reading
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Two States or One?
I’m afraid this is rather a long post – just under 3,000 words –which may tax some readers’ stamina, and indeed patience. Doubtless a bit more incisive editing might have reduced the word count, but the subject I was aiming at – the One State idea as a potentially positive approach to the Palestine/Israel impasse… Continue reading
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NSPCC/JCB complicit in cruelty to Palestinian children: Campaign report
There’s been an agreeable increase in both visitors and viewings of pages to this blog site. In particular, there appeared to be interest in the campaign to persuade NSPCC to refuse donations from JCB (Machines) on the grounds that this made the NSPCC complicit in cruelty to Palestinian children and their families. JCB’s heavy duty… 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 