politics
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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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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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Project Israel: hegemony + elimination
The project to create an Israeli imperium over swathes of the Middle East is well under way. Hubris attends the project, as time will tell. Israel, led by a man, Netanyahu, with pronounced megalomaniacal tendencies, allied to maniacal, Jewish supremacist Knesset members and government ministers, knows no bounds in its pursuit of ‘security’ via domination. Continue reading
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From values to counting: the apoliticisation of play (and much else)
One way of characterising the play sector, if indeed it constitutes a sector, is that it is apolitical and dependent, those two qualities interacting and exacerbating each other. By apolitical, I mean that it has no obvious popular or voter support, nor is much attention directed towards securing it. Rather, the ‘sector’ concentrates its efforts Continue reading
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On Evidence. On the Political
I want to pursue the discussion about ‘evidence’ as it affects, or is said to affect, policy and funding decisions about play. I allow myself this indulgence in part because I suspect I am at least partially responsible for provoking comment on the subject; and of course Tim Gill is also thoroughly culpable in this 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 