MER Article From the Editors (Fall 2014) In the last week of August, after several false starts, a ceasefire finally halted the summertime slaughter in Gaza. Israel’s bombs stopped falling, Palestinians stopped dying and the world media stopped its round-the-clock coverage. And, just like that, Gaza was again yesterday’s news. The Editors • 4 min read
Current Analysis Jerusalem Mixed and Unmixed The popular Israeli television series, Arab Labor, follows the lives of the fictional journalist Amjad and his family, all of whom are Palestinian citizens of Israel. Season one of the series, which first aired on Israeli public television in 2007, introduces Amjad and his endearingly unquenchable f Michelle Campos • 10 min read
Current Analysis Solidaridad con Gaza, La Segunda Parte Latin American solidarity movements with Palestine are starting to win important political battles. Cecilia Baeza • 3 min read
Current Analysis Beneath the Gray Lady’s Flak Jacket The New York Times is the most prestigious of the prestige press in the United States. The famed “gray lady” is the newspaper of record, a citadel of objectivity, it is said, where the first draft of history is crafted. It sets the agenda for other newspapers, for the broadcast news programs and eve William Lafi Youmans • 7 min read
Current Analysis Meanwhile, in Hebron... As Israel pounds Gaza by land, air and sea, we turn for a moment to the West Bank city of Hebron. In 1997, Israel withdrew its military from the majority of the city’s area, called “H-1,” which became part of “Area A,” the parts of the West Bank policed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli sol Yassmine Saleh • 7 min read
Current Analysis Judging the Judge On July 2, 16-year old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir was abducted, beaten and burned alive, apparently by a group of Jewish Israelis [http://www.timesofisrael.com/suspects-arrested-in-killing-of-east-jerusalem-teen/]. News of this “torture and murder by fire,” prominent American commentator Jeffre Jamie Stern-Weiner • 6 min read
Current Analysis Under-the-Radar Palestinian Connections With intensity unknown since the second intifada [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer217] and at a daily cost of $12 million to the Hebron economy alone, Israel is cracking down on the West Bank in its search for three missing Israeli settler youth. The result is a growing Palestinian chorus: Stop Israeli- Raja Khalidi • 4 min read
Current Analysis Justice for Rasmea Odeh This past winter, I was privileged to participate in several events in Chicago organized by Rasmea Yousef Odeh, associate director of the Arab American Action Network [http://www.aaan.org/] and leader of that group’s Arab Women’s Committee [http://www.aaan.org/?cat=27]. The events brought together a Nadine Naber • 5 min read
Current Analysis Onward, Christian Soldiers For the past 18 months the Israeli government has gradually raised the stakes in its campaign to pressure Palestinian Christians to serve in the Israeli military. In April, Israel upped the ante once again, announcing it would henceforth be issuing enlistment notices to Christians who have graduated Jonathan Cook • 17 min read
Current Analysis Indyk vs. Indyk Israelis and Palestinians share responsibility for the collapse of Middle East peace talks. That was the message delivered on Thursday [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/other/IndykSpeechtoTWI20130508.pdf] by US special envoy to the peace process Martin Indyk, in a speech to the W (Author not identified) • 3 min read
Current Analysis Washington Gets “Less Crazy” Yesterday the New America Foundation (NAF), a center-left think tank located one block north of big, bad K Street, hosted a discussion [http://www.newamerica.org/events/2014/citizen_strangers] about the 1948 war, the expulsion of Palestinians from what would become Israel, the new state’s imposition Chris Toensing • 4 min read
Current Analysis Using and Abusing Memory A firestorm broke out unexpectedly on my Facebook feed yesterday morning. Shira Robinson • 4 min read