Norman Finkelstein: Israel is facing an existential crisis and South Africa offers a model for a one-state

Norman Finkelstein: Israel is facing an existential crisis and South Africa offers a model for a one-state

    Sunday, March 31, 2024   No comments

The American Jewish historian, Norman Finkelstein, argues that “Israel” is facing an existential crisis for the first time since its establishment, and suggests that South Africa offers a model for a one-state solution for one people of different backgrounds.

The American Jewish thinker and historian who opposes the Israeli occupation policy, Norman Finkelstein, said that “Israel” has obstructed all political solutions in its war on the Gaza Strip. In a symposium held with students at Princeton University, Finkelstein said: “At the current stage at least, we have reached the end of any kind of diplomacy to resolve the conflict,” adding that “talk about a two-state solution seems absolutely ridiculous, and there is no diplomatic solution.” appears in the horizon".

 He pointed out that "Israel is determined to impose a military victory and will not back down from that goal."  Finkelstein explained, “On the other hand, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah said it explicitly, that he will not accept a military defeat for Hamas, and that this will not happen,” adding that “these two goals are not reconcilable, either victorious or defeated.”

Finkelstein believed that "at the level of the Arab and Islamic worlds, a conclusion has been reached that living with Israel is impossible," adding that according to the Arab and Islamic worlds, it is "moronic and must go. For this reason, there is no political solution on the horizon in the short term."

 He pointed out that "Israel is facing, for the first time in its history, a crisis of existence and legitimacy," pointing out that "its main opponent in this regard is South Africa, the country that is confronting it at the International Court of Justice and presenting itself as a model for a one-state solution for one people."

 As for the United States, “the American Democratic Party is facing a crisis with its broad popular base that objects to Israel’s crimes, and the party’s leadership can no longer ignore that base,” according to Finkelstein.

 He continued by saying: "I was shocked and astonished by US Senator Chuck Schumer's speech last week. Senator Schumer has always been fanatical about Israel, and he was the one who called for the economic strangling of Gaza."

 The American writer pointed out that “Senator Schumer, along with New Jersey Senator Menendez, were at the forefront of those opposing the deal with Iran,” explaining that “he served as the official spokesman for the Israeli government in our country.”

 He considered that "Schumer's statements critical of Israel are beyond expectations."

Finkelstein's talk and comments were published on YouTube.

It must be noted that the two-state solution is promoted as the only solution, which is now becoming very hard to realize, when other examples from around the world point to other alternatives. One of these examples mentioned here is the South Africa example. For years the apartheid regime created systems that dehumanized the people of South Africa. The oppression was built in part on the false idea that Africans are incapable of building and running a democracy. All that was proved wrong: Africans overthrew the racist regime but did not purge South Africa of white people. The preserved South Africa as one country for all.

Other examples of single-state solutions to conflict zones are in the Middle East region and they were in part promoted and engineered by Western governments and their regional allies. The Lebanese example is just on the other side of the border: After 15 years of civil war, Christians and Muslims settled to live, still in tension, but in peace, thanks to a power-sharing system that allows Christians, Shia Muslims, and Sunni Muslims to create a calibrated power sharing system to preserve the national unity of Lebanon.

After the US invaded Iraq, the constitution and institutions that were produced under the authority of the occupying forces of the United States, produced a power sharing structure that allows the Kurdish people, the Sunni Muslims, and the Shia majority to live in relative peace. It is worth noting that the current president, then a senator, Biden, promoted the idea of breaking up Iraq—a tri-state solution if you will.

If the South African, Lebanese, and Iraq models of a single-state solution whereby different peoples, separated by religion or ethnicity, can coexist and govern through power sharing structures, why would a single-state solution that would allow Jews, Christians, and Muslims to live in peace through some sort of power-sharing formular be impractical? And how would a two-state solution solve the problem of the non-Jews, nearly 30% of the population who are Christian and Muslim, who would end up in Israel under any border configuration, should the two state-solution come into existence?

As the world community is forced to address this 75-year old conflict, there is much to be learned not only from the moral force that compelled South Africa to stand against genocide, but to offer a practical example of many peoples in one nation living in relative peace despite the cruelty of the past.

Media review: The Gaza war creates a new Islamic front and threatens American influence--Foreign Affairs

Media review: The Gaza war creates a new Islamic front and threatens American influence--Foreign Affairs

    Saturday, February 10, 2024   No comments

The American magazine Foreign Affairs published a long article dealing with the impact of the Gaza war on the Islamic and Arab worlds, saying that this war created a new Islamic front that may be the greatest challenge facing America.

The article, written by Toby Matthiesen, a senior lecturer in global religious studies at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, explained that the Gaza war is no longer limited to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel.

He pointed out the extension of this war and the participation of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” that includes Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen in it, and it has gone beyond that until it has now become, 4 months after its beginning, a strong unifying force for Sunnis and Shiites and has awakened a comprehensive Islamic front that includes the Sunni Arab masses, who are opposed by a majority. Overwhelming, Arab normalization.

The article added that for the United States and its partners, this development constitutes a strategic challenge that goes far beyond confronting the Iraqi factions and the Houthis with targeted strikes. By bringing together a region long divided, the war in Gaza threatens to further undermine American influence and, in the long term, could make many American military missions untenable.

He said that this new rapprochement also raises major obstacles to any US-led efforts to impose a top-down peace agreement that excludes Palestinian Islamists.

The writer reported that Arab opinion polls and social media show great Arab support for the Hamas movement and its strategy of armed resistance, and a significant decline in support for the United States and the regimes closely associated with it.

The same opinion polls now show, according to the article, that an overwhelming percentage of the population - more than 90% - opposes establishing relations with Israel, adding that the Arab Opinion Index for last January, a survey conducted in Doha that included 16 Arab countries, shows agreement. More than 3 quarters of respondents said their views of the United States had become more negative since the war began.

Matthiesen advised the pro-Western Arab countries to seek to bridge the widening gap between their policies and the sympathy of their citizens, saying that after years of neglect, these masses will urgently press for a just solution to the Palestinian issue, which threatens to spark a new wave of Arab uprisings.

He stressed that it is increasingly clear that it will be impossible for Washington to stop the regional escalation unless it is able to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, end the occupation, and finally establish a viable Palestinian state, adding that in the absence of concrete, credible steps in this direction, the pressure will continue. Popular influence on governments in the region.

Matthiesen concluded his article by emphasizing that without a just and broad solution to the Palestinian issue, the Middle East will never achieve lasting peace or the kind of political and economic cooperation that many have long dreamed of, indicating that the alternative is an endless cycle of violence, the decline of Western influence, and the integration of the region. In a way that is completely different from what the West wants, and even fundamentally hostile to it.

US intelligence was informed of the Ukrainian plan to bomb Nord Stream.. It was carried out by Ukrainian military divers working directly under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

US intelligence was informed of the Ukrainian plan to bomb Nord Stream.. It was carried out by Ukrainian military divers working directly under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

    Tuesday, June 06, 2023   No comments

The Washington Post reported today, Tuesday, that three months before the Nord Stream pipeline bombing, "Nord Stream", the administration of US President Joe Biden learned from a close ally that the Ukrainian military had planned the secret attack.

The newspaper quoted US intelligence information suspected of being leaked earlier this year by a computer expert who holds a job in the Air National Guard and has access to many highly classified materials.

"The Kiev authorities developed the plan after a reconnaissance operation carried out by a small team of divers who reported directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Navy," it added.

The leaked documents indicated that an unnamed European intelligence agency had informed the CIA in June 2022, four months after the Russian military operation in Ukraine, that Ukrainian military divers working directly under the command of the country's commander-in-chief were planning the attack.

And the newspaper continued: “European intelligence reports were shared on the Discord chat platform, which were allegedly by US Air National Guard soldier, Jack Teixeira, and the Washington Post obtained a copy from one of his online friends.”

And she confirmed that the intelligence reports were based on information from a Ukrainian element, adding that the CIA shared the report with Germany and other European countries last June.

Specific details included numbers of operatives and attack methods, according to The Washington Post. This means that for about a year, the Western allies had a basis to suspect Kiev of sabotage. This assessment is further reinforced in recent months "when German investigators uncovered evidence that the bombing bore clear similarities to what the European service said Ukraine was planning."

A few days ago, the German newspaper "Der Spiegel" confirmed that there is new evidence in the investigation indicating Ukraine's involvement in sabotage operations targeting the two "Nord Stream" gas pipelines.

The newspaper reported that the metadata of e-mail messages, which were sent during the charter of the boat, indicated the involvement of Ukraine, pointing to the finding in the yacht of traces of the explosive “HMX” substance, which is very widespread in the west as in the previous block in the east.

Numerous underwater explosions ruptured the newly built Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines connecting Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea on September 26, 2022.

The explosions occurred in the economic regions of Sweden and Denmark. Both countries say the bombings were deliberate, but have not yet determined who was responsible. The two countries, as well as Germany, are investigating the incident.

Washington and NATO described the incident as an "act of sabotage", while Moscow blamed the West. Neither side provided evidence of the perpetrator of the attacks.

    In related news, the attacks inside Russia and the attack on the dam might be the next crises the West will be forced to manage. 

Just like the Nord Stream explosion, Ukrainian officials denied responsibility and blamed Russia. However, for the incursions inside Russian territories, the armed group was shown to have used Western provided weapons. Western countries said that they provided these weapons on the conditions that are not used to carry out attacks inside Russia. Ukrainian officials have denied any connections. However, if it turns out that Ukraine is involved, the West will have a problem of credibility no matter how one looks at it. Either they are not insisting to Ukrainians on these conditions and don't care; or Ukrainian officials agree to the terms and violate them. In either case, NATO nation-states and Western supporters of the government in Kiev will have to decide how to manage these problems of credibility and loss of control over supplied weapons.

Russian leaders seem to take it one step at the time. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Belgian ambassador to Moscow.

“On June 6, Belgian Ambassador to Moscow M. Michilsen was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, who was strongly protested in connection with the revealed facts of the use of Belgian-made weapons by sabotage groups that carried out terrorist attacks on the territory of the Belgorod Region on May 22,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar calls for a dialogue with Shiite Muslim scholars

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar calls for a dialogue with Shiite Muslim scholars

    Friday, November 04, 2022   No comments

Today, Friday, Al-Azhar Sheikh Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb appealed to Shia Muslim scholars to hold an Islamic-Islamic dialogue in order to renounce "sectarian strife," at a time when several countries in the region and the world are experiencing tensions over a sectarian background.

In a speech delivered at the conclusion of the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue "East and West for Human Coexistence", in the presence of Pope Francis at the Royal Palace of Sakhir, Al-Tayeb appealed to "Islamic scholars in the whole world, regardless of their sects, sects and schools, to hasten to hold a serious Islamic-Islamic dialogue." In order to establish unity, rapprochement and acquaintance, the causes of discord, strife and sectarian conflict in particular are rejected.

The Imam of Al-Azhar said: “This invitation, as I address it to our fellow Shiite Muslims, I am ready, along with the senior scholars of Al-Azhar and the Council of Muslim Elders, to hold such a meeting with open hearts and outstretched hands to sit together at one table.”

The Imam of Al-Azhar set the meeting’s goal by “overcoming the page of the past and promoting Islamic affairs and the unity of Islamic positions,” suggesting that its decisions “provide an end to mutual hate speech, methods of provocation and infidelity, and the need to overcome historical and contemporary conflicts with all their problems and bad sediments.”

Al-Tayyib stressed that “it is forbidden for Muslims to listen to the calls of discord and discord, and to beware of falling into the trap of tampering with the stability of countries, exploiting religion by stirring up national and sectarian strife, interfering in the affairs of states, undermining their sovereignty or usurping their lands.”

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar calls for an end to the war in Ukraine

In a separate context, the sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif called for an end to the war in Ukraine for the sake of world peace and stability, saying: “I add my voice to the voice of benevolent people who call for peace and an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war, and to spare the blood of innocents who have no elegance or utterance in this tragedy, And raising the banner of peace instead of the banner of victory, and sitting in the circle of dialogue and negotiations.”

Al-Tayeb also called for "stopping the fighting going on in various parts of the world by rebuilding bridges of dialogue, understanding and trust, in order to restore peace in a world riddled with wounds, so that the alternative is not more suffering for poor peoples, and more dire consequences for the East and West."

Lavrov receives Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh

Lavrov receives Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh

    Monday, September 12, 2022   No comments

Today, Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with a delegation of the Hamas movement headed by the head of the Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.

"On September 12, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, received the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, who is in Moscow at the head of the movement's delegation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement pointed out that "the talks focused on the developments in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian problem."

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow stressed "the importance of speeding up the restoration of Palestinian national unity on the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the need to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of international law, relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the United Nations General Assembly and the Arab Peace Initiative."

On Saturday, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian "Hamas" movement, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in the Russian capital, Moscow, accompanied by a delegation from the movement's leadership.

In a press statement, Taher al-Nono, media advisor to Hamas leader, said that Haniyeh "has arrived in Moscow on a visit during which he intends to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and a number of Russian leaders and officials."

This visit comes after a high-level delegation from the "Hamas" movement, headed by the head of the International Relations Office, Musa Abu Marzouk, visited Moscow last May, aimed at holding talks with Russian officials on a number of important files related to the developments of the Palestinian cause.

Moscow criticized the position of Western countries in dealing with the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, noting at the time that "the West is very concerned about the situation in Ukraine... while it is indifferently watching the Israelis kill the Palestinians and destroy the Gaza Strip," describing the matter as a continuation of the "Western propaganda machine."

Who armed ISIS? A three year study provides some answers

Who armed ISIS? A three year study provides some answers

    Thursday, December 14, 2017   No comments

Supplies of materiel, including advanced light weapons systems the U.S. military, from foreign parties — notably the United States and Saudi Arabia, ended up in the hands of ISIS fighters.

This report is the result of more than three years of field investigation into Islamic State supply chains. It presents an analysis of more than 40,000 items recovered from the group between 2014 and 2017. These items encompass weapons, ammunition, and the traceable components and chemical precursors used by the group to manufacture improvised explosive devices.

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