Exploiting Holocaust Remembrance Day

by Stephen Lendman

Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated annually. It runs from sundown April 7 to sunset April 8. This year's theme is "Defiance and Rebellion during the Holocaust: 70 years Since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising."

Sunday night Warsaw and Jerusalem ceremonies included government officials, dignitaries and holocaust survivors.

More Peace Process Hypocrisy

by Stephen Lendman

On April 6, John Kerry began a multi-nation tour. He'll travel to Europe and East Asia. His first stop is Turkey. He'll meet with Netanyahu and Abbas. He wants peace talks restarted. More on that below.

Peace process deception is policy. It's always been a charade. It is now. Israel wants it that way. So does Washington.

They Demand That the Israeli Blockade of Gaza Be Lifted

By Ann Wright

Representatives of IHH, the international humanitarian organization that organized the passengers on the Mavi Marmara in the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, have told the author that families of the nine murdered by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) commandos on May 31, 2010, consider the “apology” of the Israeli government to the Turkish government as meaning very little until the Israeli government lifts the blockade on Gaza.

Institutionalized Barbarism: Official Israeli Policy

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article discussed Arafat Jaradat. Shin Bet interrogators killed him. They tortured him to death. Independent autopsy results proved it. 

Israeli Murder by Neglect

by Stephen Lendman

Israel operates one of the world's most unconscionable gulags. Thousands of Palestinian political prisoners fill it.  

Fundamental human rights are denied. Torture, ill-treatment and medical neglect are commonplace. 

Discriminatory Israeli Land Policies

by Stephen Lendman

On March 28, Haaretz headlined "Just 0.7% of state land in the West Bank has been allocated to Palestinians, Israel admits."

Obama Spurns Palestinian Rights

by Stephen Lendman

He frankly doesn't give a damn. He spent three days in Israel. He showed one-sided support. He gave Palestinians short shrift. He spent token time in Ramallah. 

He told Israelis "so long as there is a United States of America, Ah-tem lo lah-vahd (You are not alone)." He left no doubt what he means. 

What Follows Turkish/Israeli Reconciliation 

by Stephen Lendman

A separate article called it grand betrayal. Aggrieved families were denied justice. What's ahead matters most. Be concerned. Be very concerned.

Grand Betrayal

by Stephen Lendman

Turkey and Israel reconciled. Headlines announced it. They reflect grand betrayal. It's duplicitous. It's too little, too late. More on that below.

Israel bears full responsibility. Officials ordering nine cold-blooded murders remain unaccountable. Corpses won't be reborn. Family survivors aren't assuaged. They deserve better. They were promised justice. They're denied it.

By Dave Lindorff

The American media is full of praise for President Obama for “brokering” a detente between Israel and Turkey, two former allies who have been at loggerheads since May 31, 2010 when heavily armed Israeli Defense Force fighters boarded the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish-flagged vessel seeking to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza with non-military supplies, and killed nine unarmed peace flotilla activists.

Obama in Jerusalem 

by Stephen Lendman

Rhetoric doesn't reflect policy. What matters most is what Obama means, not what he says. His agenda affirms one-sided Israeli support. He spurns Palestinian rights. He's done so throughout his tenure. 

He's not about to change now. Palestinians have no friends in Washington. For sure they have none in high places. 

Unbreakable US/Israeli Ties

by Stephen Lendman

Longstanding US/Israeli ties remain firm. Obama's visit reinforces them. It does more. 

It assures continued support. It endorses hardline extremism. It affirms occupation harshness. It lets Israel do what it pleases.

Obama in Israel

by Stephen Lendman

His visit bodes ill, not good. He left late Tuesday night. On March 20, he arrived around noon Israeli time.

Secretary of State John Kerry came earlier. Scores of officials, aides and security personnel accompanied him and Obama.

Remembering Rachel Corrie

by Stephen Lendman

Rachel represented the best of courageous activism. She put her body on the line for justice. She did so because it matters. She's gone but not forgotten.

Ten years ago on March 16, an Israeli bulldozer driver murdered her in cold blood. She tried stopping a Rafah refugee camp home demolition.

Israel's Fascist Government: Part II

by Stephen Lendman

On March 18, Israel's new government was sworn in. Doing so hardened fascist rule. A previous article explained.

Israelis elected their most extremist government ever. It's hugely over-the-top. It's militantly hardline, racist and unscrupulous. It menaces the region. 

Obama Heads to Israel

by Stephen Lendman

As now scheduled, he'll arrive March 20. He'll remain until March 23. It's his first presidential visit. He made several trips before. He's only the fifth US president to go. Others included Nixon, Carter, Clinton, and GW Bush.

He waited until Israel's new government was formed. It took weeks to do so. On March 15, coalition partners agreed.

Israel's Fascist Government

by Stephen Lendman

On January 22, Israelis voted. Results hardened fascist rule. Dominant right-wing parties control 102 of 120 Knesset seats. 

Israelis have themselves to blame. They elected their most extremist government in history. Belligerence, state-sponsored terrorism, militarized occupation, racist persecution, settlement expansions, and neoliberal harshness reflect official policy.

Challenging Israel's Right to Exist Responsibly

by Stephen Lendman

Israel's a rogue terror state. It's been so from inception. Its leaders' hands are blood-drenched. They're responsible for decades of high crimes.

Israeli Violence on International Women's Day

by Stephen Lendman

Police state harshness reflects official Israeli policy. Palestinians are ruthlessly targeted. On March 8, Israeli security forces stormed the Al Aqsa mosque. 

It wasn't the first time. It won't be last. They did so on International Women's Day. They commemorated it violently. More on that below.

Persecuting Hanin Zoabi

by Stephen Lendman

Israel's Supreme Court ruled twice on her. Most recently it did so in mid-February. It went both ways. More on that below.

In July 2010, Knesset members stripped her of key parliamentary rights and privileges. They did so lawlessly and maliciously. They targeted her for doing the right thing.

AIPAC Conference Day Two

by Stephen Lendman

AIPAC operates lawlessly. It's an unregistered foreign agent. It prioritizes militancy, war, occupation harshness, apartheid, racist hate, and Israel uber alles. 

It's a dagger in the heart of rule of law principles and democratic value. It menaces world peace. Its annual conferences display the worst of its agenda. 

‘Talking Points’ for Hagel on Iran

[Editor Note:  Some neocons hope they softened up new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his bruising confirmation fight. But ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern suggests in these proposed “talking points” that Hagel stick to his principled reputation as someone who tells it like it is, regardless of political pressures.]

March 5, 2013

MEMORANDUM

FROM: Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern

TO: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

Subject: Proposed Talking Points on Iran for Your Meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak

AIPAC Conference Promotes War

by Stephen Lendman

On March 3, AIPAC's 2013 conference began. It "Celebrat(es) 65 Years of Friendship." It's nothing to be admired. 

It supports war, occupation, exploitation and dominance. It deplores peace, equity and justice. 

Whitewashing Israeli Murder by Torture

by Stephen Lendman

Torture is official Israeli policy. It's longstanding. Palestinian suffering explains best. Thousands every year are subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment. Their physical and emotional scars bear witness.

Accountability is long overdue. Arafat Jaradat is Israel's latest victim. Israel tortured him to death. His body bore clear signs. Autopsy evidence proved it.

Eroding Free Expression in Israel

by Stephen Lendman

Israel targets anti-war dissent. Demonstrators are beaten and arrested. So are journalists and activists. Arabs are vulnerable. So are Jews.

Military solutions are prioritized. Opposition is called endangering national security. Saying so bears no relation to reality. Israel claims might justifies right. Police states operate that way.

Thaw in Israeli Immunity?

by Stephen Lendman

Hope springs eternal. Palestinians waited so long. Don't expect too much too soon. Anything is better than nothing.

Israel's rap sheet includes decades of crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. Nuremberg justice is long overdue. It's essential. Maybe one day. Not now.

Israeli Commanders on Trial

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article said Israel's rap sheet makes serial killers look saintly by comparison. It's no exaggeration. Decades of crimes of war, against humanity and genocide explain.

Accountability so far is wishful thinking. Hope springs eternal. In May 2012, Turkey issued arrest warrants. Four former senior IDF officers were named.

Profile of Imperial Lawlessness

by Stephen Lendman

Israel is second only to America in imperial lawlessness. Both nations partner in high crimes too grave to ignore. 

Neither admits fault. One conflict leads to others. Both nations are modern-day Spartas. They live by the sword. Perhaps one day they'll perish by it. Humanity may not last that long.