Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Back in mid-October, a controversy broke out about a blast on the grounds of the al-Ahli Arab (Baptist) Hospital in Gaza City. Some quarters blamed it on Israel, but the latter’s defenders took the stance that Israel wouldn’t hit a hospital. It appears that it probably didn’t on that occasion, […]
Archives for December 2023
Israel: Starvation Used as a Weapon of War in Gaza
The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which is a war crime. Israeli officials have made public statements expressing their aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water, and fuel – statements reflected in Israeli forces’ military operations. The Israeli government should not attack […]
The Empire of Whiteness: Race in the European Perspective
Review of Hans Kundnani, Eurowhiteness: Culture, Empire and Race in the European Project. London: Hurst & Co., 2023. Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – What does it mean to be European? This is a complex but legitimate question. Still, one is unlikely to find an answer to the conundrum in the numerous billboards paid […]
Open Letter to Higher Ed Presidents on Palestine-Israel and Academic Freedom
Middle East Studies Association of North America | Letters and Statements from the Board | – Open Letter to US and Canadian College and University Presidents We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to urge you to uphold academic freedom on your […]
What the World needs Now is another Winter Truce
Tiffin, Oh. (Special to Informed Comment) – An iconic song back in the 1960’s addressed the causes of war, and what leads young people to fight in them. Buffy Saint Marie’s Universal Soldier advised that we could end war if soldiers refused to fight. So what if we gave her idea a test this Winter? […]
Israeli Public Pressures Netanyahu for Ceasefire after Hostages Killed: But will He Say ‘No’?
By Ian Parmeter, Australian National University | – The mistaken killing of three Israeli hostages by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at the weekend has substantially increased pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire in the war against Hamas. The Biden administration is exerting maximum pressure to convince the Israeli government […]
One is the Loneliest Number, especially when the One is Trump
By Mattea Kramer and Sean Fogler ( Tomdispatch.com) – Consider two phenomena that might seem unrelated. This fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data showing a marked increase in overdose fatalities nationally. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CNN that she had expected overdose deaths to […]
Gaza’s Second Front: Houthi Drones Drive Major Shipping Cos. out of Red Sea in Blow to World Trade
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Saturday, Muhammad al-Bakhiti, a member of the Politburo of the Helpers of God (Houthi ) government of northern Yemen, announced that it had completely closed off shipping to Israel via the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. Actually, the Helpers of God have more or less closed Red Sea […]
Rep. Rashida Tlaib joins with UAW to call for Gaza Ceasefire
By Jon King | – U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) speaking at Ceasefire Now rally in Washington D.C. 12/14/23 ( Michigan Advance ) – U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) on Thursday joined with United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain in Washington, D.C., in calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the […]