John Kerry’s doomed peace process is deja vu all over again

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Written by Phyllis Bennis Phyllis Bennis

Published: 13 August 2013 13 August 2013

Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest foray into Middle East negotiations should be called the Einstein peace process.  Doing the same thing over and over again and still expecting different results is the great scientist’s definition of insanity. This time around, indications are that Kerry actually believes, all evidence to the contrary aside, that this latest iteration of the decades-old industry known as the “peace process” might really succeed. But unfortunately for Kerry, his political calculations are about to run aground on the unforgiving shoals of political reality.

Whatever Kerry’s beliefs, the timing of this latest version of the talks clearly has a lot to do with the crises erupting across the Middle East region. The escalating civil and regional war in Syria, the growing sectarian and religious-secular divides exploding across the region, and even the Pentagon-backed Egyptian military’s coup against the Muslim Brotherhood all reflect broader U.S. weakness and failures in the Middle East. The inability of the U.S. to respond strategically to those challenges is certainly part of why plunging back into Israel-Palestine talks, however repetitive of earlier failures, might have seemed a useful move – for distraction, for reassurance of Israel’s backers, for reassertion of a weakened empire’s fading but still extant power.

But despite all those reasons, these talks are doomed to the same failure as the 22 years of failed diplomacy that precedes them.

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Consensus wisdom: The boycott of Israel is working

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Written by Larry Derfner Larry Derfner

Published: 21 July 2013 21 July 2013

[For original links and format, go to 972mag.com]

The only way to stop its spread is to end the occupation, say a growing number of prominent voices (none of whom, by the way, support the boycott). 

From reading my digital mail, I see that a lot of people who say they oppose the occupation also oppose the boycott against Israel, and not only on moral grounds, but for practical reasons as well. It won’t work, they say, it won’t convince anyone, it’ll have a boomerang effect by making Israel even more intransigent. I’ve made my arguments against the moral objections to the boycott (here, here and here), but now I want to yield the floor to much more prominent speakers – all of whom oppose the occupation and, explicitly or presumably, the boycott too – who have been warning lately that the world is gradually turning its back on Israel, and the only way it can avoid eventual isolation is by freeing the Palestinians. In other words, they’re saying the boycott is having an impact, and it’s growing. The catalyst for this gathering concern was Stephen Hawking’s decision in early May to boycott last week’s Presidential Conference in Jerusalem.

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ACTION: KING COUNTY METRO PLANS TO RUN HATE GROUP’S FALSE BUS AD ABOUT PALESTINIANS

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Written by Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign

Published: 18 July 2013 18 July 2013

Please see the press release and action alert by member group Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign and take action to protest King County's discriminatory advertising policies. (See bottom for people to contact!)

KING COUNTY METRO PLANS TO RUN HATE GROUP’S FALSE BUS AD ABOUT PALESTINIANS


You are being sent this email alert by The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign (SeaMAC)


King County Metro has plans to place false and misleading ads on Metro buses that violate Metro’s own advertising policy guidelines (Section 6.2.4).  The planned ad, paid for by the notorious Pamela Geller and her Islamophobic organization The American Freedom Defense Initiative, copies and uses the same photo as SeaMAC's recent bus ad which said "Equal Rights For Palestinians – The Way To Peace,"changing the text to read: “The Palestinian Authority Is Calling for a Jew-Free State - Equal Rights for Jews.” It is both false and misleading.

Read more: ACTION: KING COUNTY METRO PLANS TO RUN HATE GROUP’S FALSE BUS AD ABOUT PALESTINIANS

Israel: Demolitions of Bedouin homes in the Negev desert must end immediately

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Written by Amnesty International Amnesty International

Published: 18 July 2013 18 July 2013

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    18 July 2013

Israel must immediately halt all demolitions of Arab Bedouin homes in communities in the Negev/Naqab desert which the government has refused to recognize officially, Amnesty International said, following news that the village of al-'Araqib was once again razed by land authorities.

“The Israeli authorities must halt demolitions in these communities and change course completely to guarantee all citizens’ right to adequate housing,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“The Israeli government’s Prawer-Begin plan would lead to the forced eviction of tens of thousands of Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel. The plan is inherently discriminatory, flies in the face of Israel’s international obligations and cannot be accepted in any circumstances.”

Bulldozers from the Israel Land Administration, accompanied by a large and heavily-armed police force in more than 60 vehicles, arrived in al-‘Araqib early on Tuesday morning and began to destroy 15 shacks, effectively flattening the village and displacing 22 families.

The village, which has never been officially recognized by the Israeli authorities despite the residents’ longstanding claims to their lands, has been demolished more than 50 times in the past three years. Each time, residents have tried to rebuild their homes, constructing makeshift shelters on the same land. 

Read more: Israel: Demolitions of Bedouin homes in the Negev desert must end immediately