Harry's Place

Back in 2006 I linked to a Haaretz interview (unfortunately no longer online) with Shelly Yachimovich, then a new Knesset member for the Labor party.
As I wrote:
Yachimovich, a former radio interviewer, entered politics to support Amir Peretz’s successful campaign for Labor Party leader– a campaign that emphasized issues of social and economic injustice within Israel. [...]

It was deeply depressing to read the comments under Andy Newman’s piece on Socialist Unity.  So few regular commenters – apart from those who are consistently off SU message such as Darkness at Noon and Jonny Mac – were prepared to engage thoughtfully with the issues Andy raised.  Here’s a not untypical comment from ‘redscribe’:
But [...]

Harvard professor Stephen Walt writes for Foreign Policy:
Ever since John Mearsheimer and I began writing about the Israel lobby, some of our critics have leveled various personal charges against us. These attacks rarely addressed the substance of what we wrote — a tacit concession that both facts and logic were on our side — but [...]

The British charity Interpal tends to react furiously when it is linked to Hamas.
So what’s this then?

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas participates in the breakfast with the martyrs’ families and orphans in Gaza and the ceremony was held in Ramadan food iftar Interpal Foundation charity. August 11, 2011

Was Interpal embarrassed? Oh [...]

You will have seen the news today that six men from Birmingham have been charged with terrorism offences. The worst of them reportedly planned a suicide bombing campaign and had travelled to Pakistan to learn the gruesome trade. Others allegedly knew what they were up to and did not report them to [...]

While the hate preacher, Raed Salah, awaits the verdict on his challenge to the bungled attempt to exclude him from the United Kingdom, the Guardian is busy spinning his case.
The Guardian has published a report on the Salah case, based on government correspondence considering the merits of excluding Salah. The article is written by David [...]

The Guardian has published, in its print version and online, an article about Gilad Atzmon by Andy Newman.
The article is a good one, and it is positive that it has been published in the Guardian Newspaper itself. Here is Andy’s conclusion:
It is incumbent upon the left and the Palestinian solidarity movement to both be aware [...]

Rick Coyle has an interesting story over on Left Foot Forward. Unite has been trying to support workers at Waterstone’s national distribution centre in Burton on Trent.  Agency workers are being asked to sign up to new contracts, and take a pay cut – and a management dictat has been put in place requiring that [...]

Have you heard the revealing vignette, about the fallout between Gilad Atzmon and Reem Kelani?
Kelani is a Palestinian singer and archivist, Atzmon’s collaborator on his award winning “Exile” album. Here’s one account, from Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s mailing list:
I know that he also was very bullying to Reem who felt that she was being ‘occupied’ [...]

Cross-Post by Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi from the American Spectator
Since the de facto downfall of the Gaddafi regime, much analysis has justifiably focused on the questions of Libya’s internal dynamics and future stability. However, the possible implications on the security of the wider region, extending south through the Sahel to Nigeria, have been less widely considered.
One [...]