Israel

A Pattern of Nakba Passivity at the New York Times

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By Yousef Munayyer

Last week I wrote about the use of the passive voice in describing the Nakba in the New York Times. This device allows for a sense of ambiguity as to who did what and specifically, who destroyed Palestinian villages. However, on May 16th this is how Jodi Rudoren described it: After two young Palestinian men were killed Thursday by Israeli security forces during a demonstration commemorating the Nakba — Arabic for “catastrophe,” and the word used to describe Israel’s destruction of Palestinian villages as it became a state in 1948 — two Israeli journalists said they were nearly “lynched” by a Palestinian mob.

The New York Times: On Holiday in Israel/Palestine

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By Yousef Munayyer

The state of Israel marked two holidays this past week that come in succession. One is Israeli memorial day, the other is Israeli “independence” day. Of course for Palestinians, including the 20 percent of Israel’s very population, these holidays are not seen the same way the state sees them. For Palestinians, Israeli “independence” day in particular marks the foundation of their plight.

Two important headlines emerged around this theme this week. One was the release of the iNakba app by Zochrot, an Israeli organization that works to document and remember the Nakba. The second was the mass rally of Palestinian citizens of Israel in Lubya, an ethnically cleansed Palestinian village.

Israel/Gaza Cease-Fire Dynamics Breakdown

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by Yousef Munayyer

For months we have been tracking Israeli cease-fire violations in Gaza. In November of 2012, a cease-fire agreement was brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Previous cease-fire agreements, like the one brokered by Egypt in June of 2008 were shattered by extrajudicial assassinations carried out by Israel. The biggest question after the cease-fire agreement, as I made clear here, was who would hold Israel to account for cease-fire violations? Egypt was not going to play this role. The U.S. was not going to play this role. So effectively, Israel could fire into Gaza without accountability, provoke a reaction and then claim self-defense.

The Politics of Identity in the Middle East

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Panel I – Prospect for Palestinian Freedom: Assessing the “peace process” and exploring alternatives; Panel II – Sectarianism Spinning out of Control: The drivers and victims of hate; Panel III – Palestine in the Middle: Effects of regional conflict on the future of Palestine and its Politics; Panel IV – A Return to the Cold War?: The foreign policies of great powers and regional players

What Roger Cohen Gets Wrong

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Yousef Munayyer: Liberal Zionism seems capable of nothing but hopelessness. Few things portray that as clearly and as succinctly as Roger Cohen’s most recent column for the New York Times, “Zero Dark Zero.” To give credit where credit is due, Cohen does accurately identify some important and relevant points. He argues that “Israelis for the most part are comfortable enough to ignore their neighbors.” He’s right. Israelis, as many analysts have come to conclude in reading the results of the most recent elections, have deprioritized the Palestinian issue.

The Israeli Elections: Implications for U.S. Policy and Palestinians

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Parliamentary elections in Israel are scheduled for 22 January and are expected to bring forward a pro-settlement government that is more right-wing than the current government. What implications does this have on U.S.-Israel relations? What will this mean for Israeli policy toward Palestinians and Palestinian territory? How will this new political reality effect diplomatic efforts for progress?

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