Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – The United States and Israel may be considered “liberal democracies,” though the US is technically a “republic;” and Israel’s brand of democracy is qualified by its selective application of human rights. Both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump have ravaged traditional norms of government and social […]
The Kushner Plan is a Dramatic Campaign Stunt for Trump and Bibi and Apartheid for Palestinians
Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – Now comes the most imperial campaign stunt in modern history, just in time for Israel’s third election since April – Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territories. This is intended to benefit both indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and impeached American President Donald Trump, in their symbiotic efforts to stave […]
Why Conflict with Iran also works for Israel’s Netanyahu: Wagging Two Dogs
Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – Even though he has lost two general elections and been indicted for corruption, bribery and breach of trust; Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu still clings to power as a way to claim immunity from his crimes. But while Republicans in America maintain their unanimous, unqualified support for President Donald […]
Patronizing Jews and Persecuting Palestinians: The Trump Executive Order
Oakland, Ca. (Informed Comment) – President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring Judaism to be a nationality is both a gross act of anti-Semitism, and an attack on free speech. The alleged intent is to combat rising anti-Semitism on college campuses, by requiring the schools to treat the Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) movement and other advocacy […]
Trump and Israel’s Netanyahu: How the Far Right Subverts Democracy Globally
San Francisco (Special to Informed Comment) – The trajectories and political fortunes of Israeli PM Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu and President Donald Trump are so closely aligned that there’s no irony it. They invested heavily in one another and may be experiencing parallel falls from “grace,” which was never a defining trait of either man. The […]
On Anniversary of Tree of Life Synagogue Massacre: US Jews a Face Trump-Fuelled Far Right and a Fringe Left
(Informed Comment) – October 27 marks the one-year anniversary of the Tree of Life Congregation massacre in Pittsburgh. This was a result of President Donald Trump giving aid and comfort to sinister right-wing forces, which had been buried under rocks of Western Civilization until he gave the all-clear signal. Since then, violent acts of anti-Semitism […]
Netanyahu no Longer King in Israel: A Byzantine Electoral Gothic
(Informed Comment) – The outcome of the Israeli election is still difficult to predict, since in parliamentary systems the horse trading comes after the election. This much is certain, though: Benjamin Netanyahu’s day is done as the man who would be king. That’s how he perceived himself, and that’s what he ran on. This included […]
Donald Trump: The Face of Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Campaign
From my point of view, the world was humming along pretty nicely until about 1981 when Ronald Reagan became US President, while Menachem Begin and Maggie Thatcher became Prime Ministers in Israel and Great Britain. Suddenly, all three Western powers took a sharp tack to the far-far right. Though there was a recovery period in […]