Category Archives: Middle East

Backlash Hits CUNY for Denying Honorary Degree to Tony Kushner, Top US Jewish Dramatist and Israel Critic

Posted on 06/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

The plays of the award-winning US Jewish dramatist Tony Kushner are remarkable for the empathy he demonstrates for the ‘other‘. Whether the ‘other’ is a Jew, a gay, a Mormon, an African-American, the people of Afghanistan, Kushner tries to get … Continue reading →

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The Aftermath of Goldstone’s ‘Reconsideration’: Debunking Two Myths and Assessing the Damage

Posted on 21/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

Unless and until Justice Richard Goldstone writes a full-exposure memoir, we will probably never fully understand what made him write the 1 April Washington Post op-ed in which he reconsidered the conclusions of his eponymous report for the UN Human Rights … Continue reading →

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Is an Israeli Think Tank Behind the New SOAS Israel Studies Posts? Ben White vs. the Reut Institute

Posted on 19/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

When I wrote about the establishment of two new academic posts in Israel studies at SOAS, funded by the Pears Foundation, I was unaware that Ben White had already posted a piece on Mondoweiss giving his take on the announcement. … Continue reading →

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SOAS’s New Israel Studies Posts: Promoting Academic Excellence or Israel Advocacy?

Posted on 12/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

Two new academic posts in Israel studies are to be created at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, funded with a grant of £485,000 over 4 years from the Pears Foundation, which describes itself as a ‘British … Continue reading →

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Moussa Koussa May Be a Criminal But He Knows Where the Bodies Are Buried. Will He Ever Be Prosecuted?

Posted on 01/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

The defection of the Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa adds some spice and immediacy to current arguments over universal jurisdiction. There’s probably good prima facie evidence that he was involved in criminal acts in Libya, Britain and other countries contrary to … Continue reading →

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Israel’s Cynical Exploitation of the Murder of Jewish Settlers in Itamar on the West Bank

Posted on 22/03/2011 by Antony Lerman

The horrific murder of three children and their parents in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Itamar on 11 March was a shocking and sickening event. Even in a long-running conflict which has seen the bloodiest of murders and the … Continue reading →

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Libya: Arab League Supports No-Fly Zone. Now What About Egyptian Military Help for the Rebels?

Posted on 13/03/2011 by Antony Lerman

On 23 February I doubted whether the West would agree to intervene militarily in the Libyan crisis. It still looks that way and there are good reasons why the West shouldn’t. But the discussion about outside help for the rebels … Continue reading →

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The Libyan Crisis: Western Complicity and Why Action is Unlikely to Follow UN Security Council Condemnation

Posted on 23/02/2011 by Antony Lerman

We might wish it was like the Egyptian revolution – and the fact that it isn’t may be making some people avert their gaze – but despite the fragmentary images of horror, the absence of a continuous Al Jazeera-type visual … Continue reading →

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A Sensitive Television Drama on the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Posted on 17/02/2011 by Antony Lerman

This piece is cross-posted from Eretz Acheret where it was published today. British television viewers are currently being treated to a 4-part dramatised lesson in the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. And so far, there has been virtually none of … Continue reading →

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A Few Things I Learnt From the Egyptian Revolution

Posted on 14/02/2011 by Antony Lerman

On Thursday and Friday I was glued to the internet and rolling news on the television. Along with millions around the world I was able to share in the frustration, pain and then euphoria of the Egyptian people as they … Continue reading →

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