Israel may never have been paradise for the some 20% of its citizens who are non-Jewish and Arabic-speaking. They did face de facto and sometimes even legal discrimination. But at least in the eyes of the law, they were full citizens. After the passage last week of the “nationality” law, Israel is no longer multicultural. […]
Love in the Qur’an: 19:96
Despite the negative messaging nowadays about the Qur’an (the scripture of the Muslims) among the haters, it is a book replete with love, mercy, warmth and peace (to the extent that Muslims are bewildered by the odd opinions of it among outsiders–most of whom have never read it). My new book, out October 9, explores […]
Trump Passive-Aggressive Offer to Meet Iranians Rebuffed b/c he is “Unreliable”
At a news conference Monday with the prime minister of Italy, Trump blurted out that he was willing to meet with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani any time and without preconditions. “No preconditions. No. They want to meet, I’ll meet. Anytime they want. Anytime they want. It’s good for the country, good for them, good for […]
Top 5 Things Released Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi Learned in Colonial Israeli Prison
Let’s donate to send Ahed Tamimi to Law School
Trump Disses Real NATO, now Wants Unrealistic Arab NATO
The Trump White House is again hoping for a summit of Gulf Arab leaders this fall, after the last one collapsed. The idea is to establish a Middle East Strategic Alliance against Iran. It would involve supplying these countries with US-made anti-missile batteries and training their militaries for better self-defense against Iran. Trump is not […]
Global Heat Wave made Twice as Likely by Humans Burning Coal, Oil & Gas
You’ve seen the headlines. Dozens of people dead in Japan of heat stroke. Massive forest fires raging in Sweden. Dozens dead in Athens from wildfires. Record temperatures in Oman and Algeria. The world is suffering from heat waves on four continents all at once. Marina Pitofsky notes, “In the past 30 days, there have been […]
Iran’s Soleimani warns Trump that Invading Iran Would spark Ruinous Guerrilla War
Qasem Soleimani, the head of the special operations Jerusalem (Qods) Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, spent Thursday morning taunting US president Donald Trump, whom he called a casino gambler. He warned Trump, “We are closer to you than you think. Keep in mind that I am keeping account of you. And you know […]
“Reject the Evidence of your Ears:” Trump, Orwell, & Cohen Bunny Tape
Trump’s success stems in large part from his hucksterism, from his disregard for facts and his ability to pull the wool over the eyes of his cultists. It also stems from a shrewd use of logical fallacies in argument. After the catastrophic Helsinki summit, the question was, ‘Is he Putin’s poodle?’ That is a good […]
“Hypocritical Clergymen”- How the Trump-Pompeo Slam of Iran Backfires
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s rant against Iran on Sunday accused the leadership of that country of hoarding the country’s wealth, behaving like a mafia, and being hypocritical clergymen. While these allegations are not without basis in fact, Pompeo’s own record undermines the critique. The Trump administration is itself a government of billionaires, by billionaires […]