tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273871082009-11-08T02:24:55.998-05:00Left-wing politics from the US to Nepal, via Zimbabwe, South America and Palestine.Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1159374427338638082006-09-27T12:26:00.000-04:002006-09-27T12:27:08.253-04:00

So apparently Ehud Olmert met with someone high-up in the Saudi regime a couple of weeks ago. They discussed the rather defunct 2002 Arab peace initiative, which offered Israel full normalization with Arab states, in return for a withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza and a return of the Golan Heights to Syria.Some might say that the very fact of this meeting shows one of two things:Olmert's

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1159205454685941702006-09-25T13:27:00.000-04:002006-09-25T13:31:55.956-04:00

Between us, I'm also Fed Up with the Zionist Entity!By Benny Tziper 09/24/06Hebrew original here.While standing in line at the post office I saw a French couple, a man and a woman, not young, who were trying to figure out which line they should be standing in. I went over to them and asked them what they wished to do. They said that since they made aliyah [1] to Israel half-a-year ago they

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1159036813378481922006-09-23T14:27:00.000-04:002006-09-24T09:52:04.573-04:00

One more blog entry from Benny Tziper, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year.My Wishes for a Year of Continued Myth-ShatteringBy Beni Tziper - 09/22/06In the next year, I hope that organized student trips to Auschwitz get canceled, and I hope for the continuation of the myth-shattering that began during the Lebanon war, during which the Israel army entirely failed to protect us, and the ones who

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158787273991959092006-09-20T17:02:00.000-04:002006-09-20T17:21:20.626-04:00

Today in Ha'aretz, Uzi Benziman laments the 'fact' that Arabs living in Israel supported Hizbollah during the last war. He leaps from the correct assumption that "To Israeli Arabs, the Israel Defense Forces operation was unnecessary, disproportionate and caused abominable injustices to their Lebanese brethren." to "During the recent war, a line was crossed: Arab Israelis did not hesitate to

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158676260841229962006-09-19T10:30:00.000-04:002006-09-19T10:31:01.800-04:00

Israel scattered at least 350,000 unexploded cluster bombs on south Lebanon in its war with Hezbollah, mostly when the conflict was nearing its end, leaving a deadly legacy for civilians, United Nations officials said on Tuesday.cluster bombs had killed or wounded an average of three people a day since the war ended, with 15 killed, including a child, and 83 wounded, of whom 23 are children.it "

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158623467101345292006-09-18T19:36:00.000-04:002006-09-18T19:51:07.586-04:00

I wasn't planning on doing another translation today, but then I came across one more Benny Tziper blog entry, and I just couldn't resist.Three Religions with Alzheimer'sBy Benny TziperHebrew original here.The three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (I have no idea what's happening with other religions) - have reached in our days the last stage of Alzheimer's disease, and

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158597027246460812006-09-18T12:17:00.000-04:002006-09-18T12:30:28.123-04:00

After that last translation-saga, I was rather hoping to return to the left for my next piece. So here it is. Moshe Zimmerman is one of many left-wing Israeli academics who opposed the war in Lebanon. This column deals with the effect of the war on Israel's international image. While that may not be of concern to the majority of the world's left, I believe that one does have to consider the

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158535432567881162006-09-17T19:07:00.000-04:002006-09-17T19:24:10.750-04:00

Here's the rest of the interview. Man, this was a long one...Ben Kaspit, Ma'ariv, 9/15/06Hebrew original here.Just Kill CitizensWhat are your conclusions from the war?"The Lebanon arena is not a unique case. It exposed basic flaws in the conceptualization of security."What do you mean?"The moment massive missile fire into Israeli territory began, and the civilian population in the rear was

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158444966748856192006-09-16T18:15:00.000-04:002006-09-16T18:18:20.776-04:00

As one of the leaders of Israel's far-right National Union-National Religious, MK Efi Eitam has long been one of the most hard-line political leaders in Israel. While pretty far in political terms from the center of Kadima, he has carved himself a niche of strong influence on the government from opposition. When I saw he gave a long interview to the right-wing newspaper Ma'ariv, I jumped at the

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158333566365491772006-09-15T11:11:00.000-04:002006-09-15T11:19:26.736-04:00

I came across this on BBC today:"Iraq's interior ministry has announced plans to increase security in Baghdad by digging trenches around the city, and surrounding it with checkpoints....Brigadier Abdul Karim of the interior ministry told the BBC that hundreds of minor roads would be sealed off under the plan, so that the city could only be accessed via 28 checkpoints."According to BBC radio,

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158256140552106652006-09-14T13:48:00.000-04:002006-09-14T13:49:00.920-04:00

I always enjoy reading the Israeli far-right. I wouldn't find them disturbing if they didn't have so much damn power. These crazy wingnuts have 20 seats, fully one-sixth of the Knesset. Nine seats for the National Union and eleven seats for Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), whose platform isn't radically different. Throw in the Likud, whose platform is just a touch less radical, and you get

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158244084568463992006-09-14T10:27:00.000-04:002006-09-14T10:28:06.220-04:00

The Ha'aretz editorial today condemns the use of cluster munitions by the army. Good.I'm further convinced that there needs to be an official commission to investigate the use of these weapons, especially the level at which the decision was taken to do things like '"flood" an area with cluster bombs'. While that would in no way absolve the higher command (if indeed the order came from the

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158097174754343632006-09-12T17:38:00.000-04:002006-09-12T17:59:57.533-04:00

Last Friday, Ha'aretz published an article by Meron Rappaport containing testimony from Israel army soldiers regarding the firing of cluster munitions during the recent war. Unsurprisingly, it was not translated into English. Today, a follow-up article was published. The Hebrew edition made reference to the Friday article. The English edition did not. I figured I'd translate the Friday

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1158011643148546532006-09-11T17:53:00.000-04:002006-09-11T17:54:04.623-04:00

So somewhere between crying over the victims of 9/11 and singing the Star-spangled Banner with your hand on your heart, you may have noticed that Mahmood Abbas declared a Palestinian unity government today. The basis for this government is the Prisoner's Document and the 2002 Arab initiative for peace.Let's examine what that means, from the Prisoner's Document:"the Palestinian people [...] seek

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1157949809729145032006-09-11T00:35:00.000-04:002006-09-11T10:49:44.666-04:00

Another wonderful article from my new favorite Israeli.The Arad Cult [1]By Benny TziperHebrew original hereIf the saying that memory is the intelligence of fools is true, then the nation of Israel is the fool of the nations. It is a nation that has turned the memory of past painful events into an addiction, or even a religion. To understand a few of the mysteries of this religion it was

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1157394155168982652006-09-04T14:22:00.000-04:002006-09-04T14:22:37.053-04:00

Yo, this is awesome. Probably won't last long, but hey, it's a start.A number of European states are refusing to allow El Al cargo planes carrying Israel Defense Forces equipment from stopover landings in their airports.The refusal came from states considered friendly with Israel, including Britain, Germany and ItalyDanny Rubinstein wrote a great op-ed in Ha'aretz today, pointing out that while

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1157128364145120532006-09-01T12:13:00.000-04:002006-09-01T12:34:26.813-04:00

A decent, if a tad shallow Chomsky article in the Guardian Unlimited blog today.I disagree with his assertion that a two-state solution will bring about peace, but the rest of his analysis makes quite a bit of sense. Especially this:"In keeping with a familiar pattern, the aggression is sharply increasing the support for Hizbullah, not only in the Arab and Muslim worlds beyond, but also in

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1156945604061851772006-08-30T09:42:00.000-04:002006-08-30T09:47:16.673-04:00

Wonderful article by Amira Hass in Ha'aretz today: Can you really not see?|Israel|Palestine|Zionism|Translation|Ha'aretz|Middle East|War|Arabs|Jews|Racism|

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1156413483244306392006-08-24T05:44:00.000-04:002006-08-24T05:58:03.593-04:00

Poll done for Israeli Channel 99 (the Knesset channel) today came out with the following results:76% of Israeli Jews believe that at least half of Arabs living inside Israel supported Hizbollah during the war.In actual fact, 18% of Arabs living in Israel supported Hizbollah during the war.62% of Israeli Jews would not be willing to rent a flat to an Arab.56% of Israeli Jews would be 'disturbed'

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1156240966888585202006-08-22T05:58:00.000-04:002006-08-22T06:02:47.256-04:00

Enough with the "Axis of Evil"By Yaron Ezrahi(Hebrew original here)A 180-degree turnaround is needed in Israeli policy towards the Muslim worldAs the only non-Muslim state in the Middle East, Israel will not be able to exist in the region for long if it continues to fulfill, in her own perception and in the perception of her neighbors, the role of front in the Western struggle against Islam. In

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1155026931319079042006-08-08T04:48:00.000-04:002006-08-08T05:27:16.646-04:00

From YNet today. Of course this isn't translated. Check out the (generally) insane right-wing stuff they post on their English opinion site. Yours truly providing you with what they don't want you to see: the critical opinions from inside Israel showing that their is no united rear. OK, that may be a bit over the top, but here goes anyway:Where is the State?By Ariana Melamed8/8/06(From Hebrew

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1154942602900541002006-08-07T05:04:00.000-04:002006-08-07T05:23:55.850-04:00

I cannot comment on this. Watch it.Originates from here. Made by these people.Locations in Lebanon bombed by Israel, as of August 5th, 2006Lebanese transport and vital sites bombed, as of August 4th, 2006Both those originate here.|Israel|Lebanon|Video|Beirut|Middle East|YouTube|

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1154861321096952542006-08-06T06:44:00.000-04:002006-08-06T06:49:23.656-04:00

So I promised myself I'd never get into the trend of posting Daily Show clips, but then I also said I'd do some work.Oh well, here's some Daily Show on the war:|Israel|Lebanon|Daily Show|Jon Stewart|Comedy|Religion|apocalyse|

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1154625525680510232006-08-03T12:42:00.000-04:002006-08-03T13:18:54.780-04:00

Damn, they're quick. A 51-page report on the war, including Qana, available here.Some selected quotes:"The Israeli government claims that it targets only Hezbollah, and that fighters from the group are using civilians as human shields, thereby placing them at risk. Human Rights Watch found no cases in which Hezbollah deliberately used civilians as shields to protect them from retaliatory IDF

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387108.post-1154594084990834092006-08-03T04:30:00.000-04:002006-08-03T04:37:21.666-04:00

Olmert, for those of you who don't recognize the bastard. Yesterday, he declared victory in the war. Anyone want to tell me why there are still a ton of soldiers there if Israel's already won?|Israel|Lebanon|military|caricature|

Rannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04500705550771570013noreply@blogger.com3