The Only Democracy? » Featured
What’s So Funny ‘Bout Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions: Elvis Costello’s Beautiful Message
By Jesse Bacon , I was a little young to get Elvis Costello, as opposed to the Pixies. He was well on his way to the iconic status, vaguely sterotypical rabbi look, dorky glasses and angst that made him a kind of hipster patriarch and unfortuantely led to a cameo in the hideous would-be 80’s epic 200 Cigarettes. But I was always amazed at how much yearning he worked into pop songs, made them carry … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Victories for Democracy
The Only Democracy Wishes You Knowledge and Power This Shavuot
By Jesse Bacon The Jewish Holiday Shavuot, which begins tonight, commemorates the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is the very epitome of revelation from on high. But this holiday, revelation is not from a mountaintop. It is cumulative, from a thousand different places.. It is cumulative, dare I say it, open source. And what have we learned? We have learned that Israeli Democracy is being withdrawn bit by bit, even from its Jewish citizens. … Read entire article »
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What if Tea Partiers were Palestinians?
By Jesse Bacon The Congresswoman from my neck of the Big Woods, Michele Bachmann (R-Parallel Earth) made headlines when she compared the census to WWII Japanese internment camps. It seems to be a common belief in the Tea Party movement that the government is planning to round up its supporters; their fears of persecution are driving them to ever more fanciful beliefs. I thought of the Tea Party when reading accounts of the protest, (well promoted by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Rethink This Veto! Ibrahim Shikaki at Berkeley Divestment Vote
Please note: corrections and amendments to this post are in italics below. Our apologies for the errors! By Ibrahim Shikaki Speech of Ibrahim Shikaki, the last speaker at the hearing on the Berkeley divestment bill on March 28th. Ibrahim is a resident of Ramallah and an visiting scholar at Berkeley. The speech as it was delivered was previously published by USACBI. Dear Senators, my name is Ibrahim Shikaki. I’m a visiting student from Palestine. I want to talk to … Read entire article »
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What if Bil’in held a demo and the army didn’t show up?
By Emily Schaeffer Some of us have become so used to West Bank demonstrations meaning major Israeli army presence, and, typically, the use of weapons, that we have forgotten what demonstrations in a democracy look like. We’ve forgotten that a protest against oppressive working conditions in downtown New York City, or against oppressive abortion policies in Fredericton, Canada, or against wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in cities including London, Sydney, Paris, San Francisco and Toronto — … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, On The Ground Reports
…In Israel, it has been “Arizona” all along!
(by Assaf Oron, crossposted from his DailyKos diary) I am encouraged by the wave of justified indignation, and spontaneous boycott movement, against the new Arizona law. Indeed, requiring citizens and legal resident to carry proof of their status at all times, and encouraging police to profile passersby who “look suspicious”, runs counter to the soul of democracy. The bigots who put together the Arizona law should be made to pay. And hopefully it will be declared … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Featured
Remembering Bassem (Pheel) Abu Rahma
Exactly one year ago, Bassem Abu Rahma (who everyone called Pheel, which means “elephant”), was killed by Israeli forces. Pheel, as he did every Friday, was demonstrating at the Wall which cuts off Bil’in from its own lands. His last words were to ask the soldiers not to shoot because an Israeli had been injured. He was shot in the chest by a tear gas canister, as can be seen in this video (somewhat graphic). Pheel … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
