2023

Universities, Labor Unions Strike to protest Netanyahu’s firing of Gallant, as Israel faces Complete Paralysis

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired his minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, on Sunday evening, setting off a new round of massive protests, along with threats of strikes and university closures that seem likely to paralyze the country. Netanyahu had discussed firing Gallant […]

Haredim

Israel’s military reservists are joining protests – potentially transforming a political crisis into a security crisis

The Conversation

By Dan Arbell, American University | – (The Conversation) –The judicial overhaul plan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, introduced in January, has thrown the country into its most severe domestic crisis since 1973. That crisis intensified on March 26, when Netanyahu fired the country’s defense minister, who had – less than 24 hours […]

Islam

A Ramadan primer: Why Muslim Americans Fast

Minnesota Reformer

Abdulrahman Bindamnan ( Minnesota Reformer) – While growing up in Yemen, I was introduced to the practice of fasting. It ‎was a common practice, in which all the families ‎will encourage their children, as young as 7, ‎to practice fasting. In my household, I had ‎parents who were very observant of Islam. In fact, […]

Arms Sales

Congress Has Been Captured by the Arms Industry: And We’re Paying the Price (and What a Price It Is!)

William D. Hartung

( Tomdispatch.com ) – On March 13th, the Pentagon rolled out its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The results were — or at least should have been — stunning, even by the standards of a department that’s used to getting what it wants when it wants it. The new Pentagon budget would come in […]

Climate Crisis

Netherlands becomes European Leader in Solar Power Per Capita, with 500K Panels on Lakes, Reservoirs and Seas

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Solar panels are like magic, turning sunshine into electricity. They are, however, relatively bulky. We own our own home and have 16 of them on our roof, but renters have often complained to me that it isn’t so easy in an apartment building. There is also a danger that they […]

Israel/ Palestine

To Those Jewish Americans Who Protested Minister Smotrich with Me: We Have to Talk about the Palestinians

Waging Nonviolence

Via Fellowship Magazine By David Hart ( Waging Nonviolence ) – Earlier this month, I attended the large Jewish-led demonstration in Washington, D.C. (un)welcoming Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich to the U.S. We gathered in the cold rain to say that his remarks celebrating a brutal pogrom — and suggesting the state […]

Democratic Party

Workers praise Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for signing Repeal of GOP Union-Busting ‘Right to Work’ Law

Michigan Advance

By: Laina G. Stebbins – ( Michigan Advance ) – Unions and other pro-labor groups on Friday celebrated the signing of a set of bills to reverse GOP former Gov. Rick Snyder-era laws that have curtailed union power and pushed down wages. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday afternoon signed House Bills […]

Arab Americans

First Hijab-Wearing Muslim Judge joins Bench at US Court in New Jersey

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor) – US attorney Nadia Kahf has been appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court, becoming the first hijab-wearing judge on the bench, local media reported. Kahf, who is of Syrian origin, is a law and immigration attorney from the township of Wayne. She took the oath of office yesterday with her […]

Authoritarianism

Constitutional Crisis Threatens to Tear Israel Apart as Att’y-Gen. takes on Netanyahu and 200 Reservist Pilots refuse to Fly

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Thursday, the Israeli parliament passed a law preventing the Supreme Court from removing a sitting prime minister for inability to carry out his or her duties. This move was tactical, not strategic. Prime Minister Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, and he agreed with the Supreme Court in 2020 […]

Archives for 2023