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‘We don’t need your tears – we have a lot of that from tear gas’. Israel and the role of International Civil Society
This article first appeared in 2021, but I thought it still relevant and worth republishing. The article now begins – in its title – and ends with a quote from Bassem Tamini. It’s in three parts. Some readers already familiar with the reports I cite in Part two and may wish to leapfrog to Part… 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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Sheffield Hallam University corrects itself in the case of Shahd Abusalama
The immediate purpose of this post is to share with readers Shahd’s – @ShahdAbusalama – heartening announcement on Twitter. Plus a few words of my own. But first, Shahd in her own words: ‘We’re celebrating a fantastic victory for Palestine today @sheffhallamuni will not be progressing with any further investigation of the malicious smears that… Continue reading
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Latest Position (29.01.2022) on the Shame of Sheffield Hallam University
For this post it is sufficient to quote the words of Shahd Abusalama and to reiterate that the matter is a long way from being settled satisfactorily. The hope is that readers of this blog will add their voice of protest to Sheffield Hallam University. Shahd Abusalama’s position I am reinstated, which shows how powerful… Continue reading
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The shame of Sheffield Hallam University – letter of protest
Introduction Along with many others, I have written to Sheffield Hallam University protesting the suspension of Shahd Abusalama from her teaching post. That letter appears below after this brief introduction. The suspension appears to be based on accusations made by Jewish News and the Israel lobby group Campaign Against Antisemitism that she had been fostering… Continue reading
About Me
This is Bernard Spiegal’s blog.
I write mainly about Palestine/Israel and related issues; sometimes other stuff too
Recent Posts
- Chief Rabbi Mirvis: Moral purpose shattered
- A charade and a reflection on relative time: Jewish Establishment meets with Foreign Secretary Miliband
- You don’t have to succumb to…
- Synod begins loosening the shackles that tied it to the pro-Israel Jewish Establishment
- Clumsy and wrong: Jewish Establishment’s attempt to influence Church of England’s York Synod
Bernard Spiegal 