religion

( The Times of Israel) – This Shabbat we read the second paragraph of the Shema, and last week we read the first paragraph which opens with a call — arguably the most famous prayer in our liturgy: Listen, Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). “The first paragraph of […]

Iraq

The Kurdish Town of Kocho is the ‘Guernica’ of the 21st Century

Ibrahim Al-Marashi

( Rudaw.net) – A decade ago, on August 3, 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS) conquered the village of Kocho (Kojo) in the Sinjar (Shingal) area of northern Iraq. On August 15, it began massacring several hundred men and elderly women of the Yazidi community, an ethno-religious minority in Iraq and Syria, after they failed to […]

Featured

Ascending the Temple Mount: Political Act in a Site of Holiness

Yakov M. Rabkin

Montréal (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Every year, Jews recite the entire Pentateuch aloud in synagogues. It is divided in weekly portions. This week’s one (Vaet’hanan, Deuteronomy 3 :23 – 7 :11) contains passages that are central to Jewish liturgy, including the Shema, a declaration of loyalty to God, or more precisely, a declaration […]

Islam-hatred

Refusing to call out Islamophobia has emboldened the Far Right – and Britain’s current Violence is the Result

The Conversation

By Chris Allen, University of Leicester | – (The Conversation) – As someone who has researched Islamophobia in Britain for a quarter of a century, it is clear to me that the current violence on the streets of Britain is an example of it. This was true from the first outbreak of violence, after a […]

Islam-hatred

As Far Right Islamophobic Mobs riot in the UK, Online Merchants of Hate work their Audiences

The Conversation

By Richard Fern, Swansea University | – The frightening scenes of far-right extremists clashing with police and even rioting in British towns and cities in recent days have many wondering how to stop the spread of the propaganda that encourages racism, violence and misogyny. The tough truth is that in seeking to fact check misinformation […]

Christan Nationalists

Inside Ziklag, the Secret Organization of Wealthy Christians Trying to Sway the Election and Change the Country

ProPublica

By Andy Kroll, ProPublica, and Nick Surgey, Documented | – ( ProPublica; Co-published with Documented ) – A network of ultrawealthy Christian donors is spending nearly $12 million to mobilize Republican-leaning voters and purge more than a million people from the rolls in key swing states, aiming to tilt the 2024 election in favor of […]

Islam-hatred

US Data Shows Continued Surge in Hate Against Muslims, Palestinians

Common Dreams

By Jessica Corbett | – ( Commondreams.org ) – A spike in “relentless” Islamophobia across the United States that began in October with Israel’s U.S.-backed attack on the Gaza Strip continued through the first half of this year, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group said Tuesday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) […]

Donald Trump

Project 2025: The Christian Nationalist Vision to be Imposed on America

Tomdispatch

By Liz Theoharis and Shailly Gupta Barnes ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Roman poet Juvenal coined the phrase “bread and circuses” nearly 2,000 years ago for the extravagant entertainment the Roman Empire used to distract attention from imperial policies that caused widespread discontent. Imagine the lavish banquets, gladiatorial bouts, use and abuse of young men and […]

Anti-Zionism

Liberal Zionism and the woke facade of Israeli genocide

Yoav Litvin

( The New Arab ) – Israel’s ongoing genocide is part of a downward spiral for the Zionist project. In the words of acclaimed historian Professor Ilan Pappe: “We are witnessing a historical process – or, more accurately, the beginnings of one – that is likely to culminate in the downfall of Zionism.” Yet Zionism’s […]