CNN Middle East News- U.N. Security Council to meet on SyriaThe U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Saturday and may vote on a draft resolution intended to pressure Syria to end its months-long crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, diplomats said. […]
- Samsung said it didn't make ad that angered IraniansSenior Iranian lawmakers are considering a boycott of Samsung, the South Korean electronics and appliance manufacturer, because of a controversial Israeli ad that pokes fun at the nuclear crisis, state-run Press TV of Iran said Friday. […]
- Iran's leader: War would be detrimental to U.S.The supreme leader of Iran issued a blunt warning Friday that war would be detrimental to the United States -- and that Iran is ready to help anyone who confronts "cancerous" Israel. […]
- Bold, exhilarating stands for freedom inside SyriaAbu Marwan jumps into the back of the small white van. He and his friend, Abu Omar, are heading to a grass-roots demonstration in the Syrian capital to protest the government of President Bashar al-Assad. […]
- Film director shares sights and sounds of Beirut's 'Little Armenia'Film director Nigol Bezjian was born in Syria, raised in Lebanon and studied in the United States, but nowhere does he feel more at home than in Little Armenia. […]
- U.N. Security Council to meet on Syria
Tag Archives: halper
Palestine 2011 By Jeff Halper
Struggling as I have for the past decades to grasp the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and find ways to get out of this interminable and [singlepic id=419 w=320 h=240 float=right] absolutely superfluous conflict, I have been two-thirds successful. After many years of activism and analysis, I think I have put my finger on the first third of the equation: What is the problem? My answer, which has withstood the test of time and today is so evident that it elicits the response…“duh”…is that all Israeli governments are unwaveringly determined to maintain complete control of Palestine/Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, frustrating any just and workable solution based on Palestinian claims to self-determination. There will be no negotiated settlement, period.
BREAKING THE VESSELS
Jeff Halper
OK, so the Palestinian Authority will not unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state. In fact, the whole issue seems a misunderstanding. [singlepic id=74 w=320 h=240 float=right]Concerned that the US has backtracked on a two state solution based on the 1967 borders and that Israel was getting the world used to the “fact” that the settlements and the Wall, rather than ’67 borders, now defined the parameters of a future Palestinian state (on only 15% of historic Palestine), the PA simply wanted the Security Council to reaffirm that principle.
NO PARTNER FOR PEACE: OUR AMERICAN PROBLEM
Jeff Halper
It was as if some official, perhaps one of President Obama’s “czars,” like the Czar for Demolishing American Credibility, had orchestrated a systematic campaign to isolate the US from the rest of the world, make it a political laughing-stock and, finally, render it a second-rate power [singlepic id=74 w=320 h=240 float=right]capable of throwing around tremendous military weight but absolutely incapable of leading us to a better future. The Israel-Palestine conflict, while not the world’s bloodiest, constitutes, for many people of the world, a unique gauge of American interests and intentions. So consider the messages this string of actions sent out to the world:
NETANYAHU CHOOSES WAREHOUSING
By Jeff Halper
May 25, 2009
Would Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu say the magic words “two states” after his meeting with President Obama? All Israel held its breath. (He didn’t). The gap between the two is wider than those words could ever have bridged, however. Obama, I believe, sincerely – perhaps urgently – seeks a resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a pre-condition, he understands, to getting on with larger, more pressing Middle Eastern issues.
A BONE IN AMERICA’S THROAT – Jeff Halper
Even before the voting began, Israeli politicians and pundits were asking: Will an Obama Administration be good for Israel? “Be good for Israel” is our code for “Will the US allow us to keep our settlements and continue to support our efforts to prevent negotiations with the Palestinians from ever bearing fruit?” For Americans the question should be: Will the Obama Administration understand that without addressing Palestinian needs it will not be able to disentangle itself from its broader Middle Eastern imbroglios, rejoin the community of nations and rescue its economy?
End of an Odyssey By Jeff Halper
Now, a few days after my release from jail in the wake of my trip to Gaza, I’m posting a few notes to sum things up.
First, the mission of the Free Gaza Movement to break the Israeli siege proved a success beyond all expectations. Our reaching Gaza and leaving has created a free and regular channel between Gaza and the outside world. It has done so because it has forced the Israeli government to make a clear policy declaration: that it is not occupying Gaza and
