The New Sensibility
Northern Bavaria is not known for its anti-occupation politics. Highway rest stop, Frankenwald area, 18/6.
Berlin is full of flags. Cafe Szimpla, Friedrichshain, 17/6.
Archived entries for Gaza
Flotilla Midrash
On Tuesday, Italian daily Il Riformista ran an opinion sampling-piece on the Gaza flotilla fiasco. The talking heads were myself, speaking for the left, and Efraim Inbar, of Bar Ilan University, representing the right. Download the PDF.
Complex Carbohydrates
That’s one ideologically charged burrito. Notice its colonially-designated Indian neighbor. Cal Mart supermarket, SF. 9/4/09.
Same Day, Different Neighborhoods
Operation Cast Lead, in German. Breakfast in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. January 8th.
Same war, twenty-seven years before. Looking for dinner in Kreuzberg, nine hours later.
Brixton Goes Gaza
You don’t need to know all of the elements that make up this poster to be moved by it. However, if you do, it gets even heavier. Anti-Zionist sticker affixed to an already tagged Department for Work and Pensions anti-benefits abuse poster, Brixton Market, 1/17/09.
The Politics of Ambiguity
Not long after Israel began its military offensive in Gaza last month, a senior Bush administration official told the Washington Post that the Jewish state had embarked on its campaign in order to create ‘facts on the ground’ before the Obama administration assumes office on January 20th.
In our first collaboration together, Arthur Neslen and I push the envelope, discussing how this ‘leak’ has helped frame an otherwise confusing and brutal military operation, and illuminates the unfortunate tensions that exist between America’s president-elect, and the present Israeli government.
If you haven’t read Arthur’s work before, now is as good a time to start as any. For those Tikkun readers among you, I interviewed Art about his fabulous book, Occupied Minds, in the January/February 2007 edition of the magazine. A PDF copy of our convo can be downloaded from the Clips section of this site.
No More Mr Bling Bling
The essay on Israel in his 2007 book, Testimony, is absolutely dreadful. In fact, it is so bad that one could never imagine the French leader engaging in any remotely positive diplomacy in the Middle East.
Nevertheless, President Nicolas Sarkozy‘s current efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza have been quite fascinating to follow. My new piece on the subject was published on Thursday by France 24.
From Gaza to Tehran
On Friday afternoon, France 24 published my thoughts on the Gaza campaign’s geopolitical significance, recalling Israel’s deteriorating relationship with Iran during the Bush era. If you read French, the translation is stellar, and the comments fascinating. I’ll be the first to admit I’m easy, but I prefer this version to my English original.
Cultural Literacy
If Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza, most defense analysts expect the IDF to face the same kind of anti-tank fire that helped cripple Israeli armor in Lebanon in 2006. In “Sci-fi Tanks“, French military officer Michel Goya and myself discuss the issue, and the technologies under development to help cope with it.
I close things out with a political observation, contending that even if Israel does succeed in employing effective countermeasures, there are other reasons why the Palestinians still might succeed in resisting Israeli forces. Not exactly a feel good conclusion to the year, but neither is the situation in Gaza.
For those curious about why I’d have knowledge of such things, one of my earliest childhood memories is of being taken to a manufacturer‘s demonstration of Leopard tanks crashing through stone walls, near the city of La Spezia, in northern Italy. For further reference, check out the final chapter of my 2002 book, Jerusalem Calling.
Big up to my editors at France 24 for a great first year, and as always, requests for commentaries like these. It takes a lot to surprise me these days, especially when it comes to covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.