Palestine
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Palestine/Israel: Gramsci has something to say to us
At time of writing, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is nominally agreed. ‘Nominally’: Israel, as ever, has conjured pretexts that call into question what was but moments ago cause for cautious, celebratory feelings among both the Palestinians of Gaza and the families and friends of the Israeli hostages – achievement of a ceasefire agreement Continue reading
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Gaza, Lebanon, Syria: the moral abasement of the UK’s political and mainstream media caste
Has the moral abasement of our political class, along with the bulk of mainstream media, including the public-funded – that’s you and me – BBC reached its nadir, or will it descend still further into an ethic-less abyss of its own creation? How comes it that this coterie of comfort and ignominy so tenaciously cleaves Continue reading
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The end of the Israeli state?
It is not possible to be certain of the duration of its decline, it is only possible to be certain of the conclusion: the end of the Israeli state. A state that has debased itself more than anyone could have imagined possible. Israel, in common with any other state, has no inherent right to exist. Continue reading
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Perhaps. Just perhaps…the boundaries of what can be thought and said about Israel are shifting
Perhaps. Just perhaps…Israel, in unleashing its genocidal fury on Gaza, and now on Lebanon, has, unwittingly, fostered and spread the corrosive agents that are eating away at its legitimacy as a specifically Jewish, Zionist state. This is happening at the fundamental level of ideas, of ideologies, of ethics and of morality. Of what can be Continue reading
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It didn’t work first time, so we’ll do it again: Israel repeats itself in deadly ways
The Middle East is in a phase of radical uncertainty. Speculation is rife. Will Israel launch a ground offensive against Hezbollah? Will Hezbollah expand the scope and severity of its attacks on Israel? By the time you read this, the answers may be known. Or remain as uncertain as it is at the time of Continue reading
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From October, Israel will be able to kill vaccinated children
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, reports that hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s children – 90% coverage – have received the first of two required polio vaccinations. The second round should take place at the end of September. So, come, say October/November, Israel will find comfort in the knowledge that the Gazan children it will continue Continue reading
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Israel’s PR problem: Itself
The problem for proponents of Israel as a ‘normal’ state, is Israel itself. Over the past eleven months, Israel’s murderous, ethnic cleansing in Gaza, and now escalating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, have been displayed on our screens for all to see. It is not a good look to destroy hospitals, kill and Continue reading
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Israel and its uncritical proponents: a danger to Jews
Jews genuinely concerned about antisemitism are ill-served by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) for its actions and approach are more likely to engender antisemitism than to counter it. This is because its main function is to protect and promote the foremost generator of antisemitism, the State of Israel. It is joined in this enterprise by Continue reading
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Israel broken? Repairable?
The symbolism couldn’t be starker. On the one hand, the many Israeli flags held aloft by Jewish religious nationalists as they marched through Jerusalem’s Muslin Quarter on Jerusalem Day, May 2022, shouting ‘Death to Arabs’. On the other, the many Israeli flags held aloft around the country this March 2023, notably in Tel Aviv, by 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
About Me
This is Bernard Spiegal’s blog.
I write mainly about Palestine/Israel and related issues; sometimes other stuff too
Bernard Spiegal 