Search London Progressive Journal
Yes, We Can
Lately, more and more people in Israel and around the world have been saying that the "Two-State Solution" is dead.... [read more]
Remember Naboth
An incredible piece of legislation is now being debated in Jerusalem.... [read more]
The Settlers' Prussia
Israeli democracy is sliding downwards. Sliding slowly, comfortably, but unmistakably... [read more]
The Widening Gap
In any list of Israel's 100 most important women, Ilana Dayan would occupy a prominent position... [read more]
Respect the Green Line!
The most incisive analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict I have ever read was written by the Jewish-Polish-British historian Isaac Deutscher... [read more]
Paga Hill – a model for the future of the Pacific Islands?
Catherine Wilson reports how a housing crisis in Papua New Guinea’s capital is socially empowering squatter communities... [read more]
Captain Boycott Rides Again
It has always been a secret ambition of mine to have a Bagatz ruling bearing my name... [read more]
The Shot Heard All Over the Country
Now the army, the last bulwark of national unity, is being torn apart... [read more]
The Case of Soldier A
A group of soldiers, supported by a major part of the political scene, has mutinied against their commanders. This is a major menace to the structure of the state, a challenge to what remains of our democracy.... [read more]
Wobbly Stools
Uri Avnery considers the respective struggles facing three embattled leaders - Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas.... [read more]
Welcome! Bienvenue!
"Anti-Semitism in France" is now all the rage in Israel. A huge propaganda effort is invested in this campaign. The aim is to induce French Jews to come to Israel... [read more]
Muhammad, Where Are You?
About a month ago, on the eve of the Jewish New Year, the government statistical office published a set of interesting items about the population of the state... [read more]
Bury my Heart at Gaza City
The similarities between the building of Israel and the US are astonishing. The native people are portrayed as savage, inherently violent, unable to understand peace... [read more]
An Armed Ghetto
One side's terrorists are the other side’s freedom fighters. That is not simply a matter of terminology. It is a difference of perception, which has far-reaching practical consequences... [read more]
Letter to President Obama
Dear Mr. President, I was sorry to hear that you have been upset by that rogue President Putin... [read more]
A Bird’s Eye View
Uri Avnery explains a principle that has long guided Zionists: 'accept every compromise that gives us what we can get at any stage, but never let the final aim out of our sight'... [read more]
''You are fed up with him?''
Uri Avnery gives his opinion on a recent leaked conversation between Presidents Obama and Sarkozy... [read more]
“…And A Little Child Shall Lead Them”
Barack Obama has weakly capitulated to Binyamin Netanyahu over Israeli settlement-building in the heart of the Arab community in East Jerusalem, says Uri Avnery.... [read more]
Ezra Nawi Spared Jail, For Now
Peter Tatchell urges readers to show their support for Israeli human rights campaigner Ezra Nawi.... [read more]
Is Peace Possible in the Western Sahara?
Joanna Allan on the ongoing struggle of the Saharawi people.... [read more]
Despair of Despair
My optimism about the future of Israel irritates a lot of people. How can I be an optimist in view of what's happening here every day?... [read more]
One, Two, Three – Rejoice!
I remember the first few Independence Days, just after the foundation of the State of Israel. There was spontaneous jubilation, we were all out in the streets, the celebration was real. This year's Independence Day was not a happy affair... [read more]
My Palestinian Exile Is Not Theatre, Mr Fleisher. It Is Real Life
I am a Palestinian. Do not relegate me to some imperial design suiting Israel's ends and tell me to pack off to Jordan or anywhere other than where I was born and where my forefathers have lived for well over a thousand year... [read more]
Being There
President Donald Trump – we must get used to these three words. The only one thing that can be said with some certainty is that nothing is certain. That this man is totally unpredictable... [read more]
The Great BDS Debate
But what does peace mean? Peace is made between two enemies. It presupposes the existence of both. When one side destroys the other, as Rome destroyed Carthage, it puts an end to the war. But it is not peace... [read more]
The Pied Piper of Zion
The Israeli Peace Camp is in despair. No savior is in sight. Many just sit in front of their TV set and wring their hands... [read more]
Palestine
Just to think of Palestine is evocative. From the lush orange orchards to the laden olive groves... [read more]
The Cats of Ariel
Every time you think we have reached the limit, something else pops up and the limit moves... [read more]
The Face of a Boy
The Israeli occupation in the Palestinian occupied territories is being filmed all the time. Everybody now has cellular phones that take pictures... [read more]
The Magician's Apprentice
One has to choose: Binyamin Netanyahu is either incredibly shrewd or incredibly foolish... [read more]
BDS, the New Enemy
For years now, Netanyahu has built his career on fear of the Iranian Nuclear Bomb... [read more]
The Israeli Salvation Front
The 2015 election was a giant step towards the self-destruction of Israel. An Israel Salvation Front is needed now.... [read more]
The Pen Trumps the Sword Anytime (Part 2)
The second part of an 'Introduction' to an illustrated book of poetry by Faysal Mikdadi. The collection, Painted into a Corner, appeared in the summer of 2014... [read more]
The Imperator
In the middle of the 70s, Ariel Sharon asked me to arrange something for him - a meeting with Yasser Arafat... [read more]
Ariel Sharon: Serial war criminal, mass murderer
Richard Becker, author of "Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire" describes the true legacy of the virulently anti-Arab racist and former Israeli prime minister... [read more]
Palestine and Israel: A Modest Suggestion for Peace (Part 2)
Faisal Mikdadi discusses the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and presents a road map for achieving peace between all peoples and factions that reside in these lands (Part 2)... [read more]
The Implication of Syria's Civil Strife
Syria's Civil War is essentially a war between the majority Sunni Muslims and the minority Alawites (Shi'ites) who have ruled Syria for over 40 years. The result is a foregone conclusion. President Assad will lose and the Alawites will be ousted. Or will they? And before they do, what will be the price paid by others, asks Faysal Mikdadi.... [read more]
The Palestinian Nakba: The Resolve of Memory
Writing about the events of Al-Nakba, Ramzy Baroud reports that every region in Palestine that was meant to be taken was captured, its people were expelled or massacred in their homes and villages. Ben Guiron ‘cleansed’ the land, but he failed to cleanse Israel’s past. Memory persists.
... [read more]
Illegal Settlements Bonanza: Israel Plots an Endgame
Israel’s colonization policies are entering an alarming new phase, comparable in historic magnitude to the original plans to colonize Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the war of 1967, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Back to Basics in Palestine: Redefining Our Relationship to a People’s Struggle
Palestinians are governed by laws without internationally recognizable legal frame of reference, a situation that allows Israel to justify the detention of Gaza patients seeking medical treatment outside their besieged area, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Deport the Palestinians to Where They Came From - Israel
Ahmed Amr calls on Barack Obama to show courage and stand up to the racism of the Israeli state.... [read more]
The Israeli Occupation: The Bubble Has to Burst
Reporting from Al Najah, Assed Baig looks at how Palestinians are coping with the increase in Israeli settlement building.... [read more]
Tutu's Prayer
Looking back at the fall of the Apartheid regime in South Africa, Uri Avnery asks what lessons - if any - can be learned by activists campaigning for justice for Palestine.... [read more]
Yes, You Can!
Barack Obama faces a historic challenge in the Middle East, as Uri Avnery explains.... [read more]
The March of Folly
The Israeli argument was that the victims were shot while trying to "storm the fences". Actually, not a single such attempt was photographed, though hundreds of photographers were posted on both sides of the fence.... [read more]
Two-state solution is dead, Palestinian courage should spur international action
After 70 years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still unresolved. The conflict simmers for a few years, then erupts again with new massacres and violence.... [read more]
Strong as Death
I have spent many happy hours in Gaza. I had many friends there. From the leftist Dr. Haidar Abd al-Shafi to the Islamist Mahmoud al-Zahar, who is now the foreign minister of Hamas... [read more]
Two Meetings
During the last few days, I met with two old friends: Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin... [read more]
The Terrible Problem
Ze'ev Begin, the son of Menachem Begin, is a very nice human being. It is impossible not to like him... [read more]
A Tale of Two Stories
This Tuesday morning he arrived at the gate as usual. But something aroused suspicion among the guards. He was wearing a jacket, though the weather was quite hot on this early autumn day. The guards asked him to remove his jacket.... [read more]
Kaya, the royal Dog
The spectacle is almost bizarre: a political party refuses to accept new members. And not just a few individuals, but tens of thousands... [read more]
The Tunic of Nessus
In a few weeks, Israel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. Millions of words, most of them hollow, will be poured out. As usual.... [read more]
Danegeld
It was just over a thousand years ago that the King of England shook his piggy bank and found it full of twigs and trinkets. He needed dosh and he needed it fast.... [read more]
! TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE?! Trump’s naïveté in exposing the historic truth of American Exceptionalism
... [read more]
President Kong
The real sad fact is that in every single speech since the inauguration, the main theme – indeed, almost the only theme - of President Donald Trump is I – I – I.... [read more]
Iran as the Historical Tri-Continental Bridge, and Ireland? An Ethno-Cultural and Etymological Interconnectedness
Over forty years ago, a number of Irish professors visiting the University of Tehran disseminated their research findings that there is a firm anthropological connection between Iran and Ireland from the distant past... [read more]
Don't Send Him!
Donald Trump has spat in the faces of at least half the Israeli population. He has appointed a bankruptcy lawyer named David Friedman to the job of US ambassador in Israel.... [read more]
The Call of the Nation
A dark wave is submerging democracies all over the Western world.... [read more]
The Israeli Trumpess
What will Donald Trump do if he loses the elections in a week and a half from now, as most polls indicate?... [read more]
The Funeral Ruckus
Shimon Peres would have enjoyed it. A public battle about his funeral.... [read more]
It Can Happen Here
Political ideas and structures don't die easily. The human mind is lazy and apprehensive, and clings to familiar ideas, long after they have become obsolete... [read more]
Lucky Bibi
Luck can be a great benefactor. It can also be the cause of catastrophes. I seem to remember that one of those evil Greek gods or goddesses destroyed their human victims by making them lucky.... [read more]
Hatred Unlimited
Absent all chances for a serious effort for peace, hatred will just grow and grow, until it engulfs us all... [read more]
Squaring the Circle
This week, President Rivlin published a peace plan. That is not a usual act by a president, whose office is mainly ceremonial.... [read more]
Holy Water
In the last few months Netanyahu has appointed new people to several of the most important government functions... [read more]
Extreme, Extremer, Extremest
By 1967, the situation was quite different. The causes of the new war were disputed, David had turned into Goliath, a world-wide Cold War was on... [read more]
Seashore Thoughts
Looking out at the sea, I thought about the three great dangers I perceive... [read more]
Tiffany’s Supplier Funds a Unit of the Israeli Military Accused of War Crimes - Jewellery Industry Awash with Blood Diamonds
The hypocrisy and double standard that permeates the jewellery industry when it comes to blood diamonds is laid bare when one examines the ethical credential of Tiffany’s diamonds – one of the world’s most prestigious jewellers.... [read more]
Weep, Beloved Country
Sometimes, a small incident can pierce the darkness and reveal a frightening picture... [read more]
Jewish Terrorists
Some of my best friends demand that I write an article condemning unconditionally the "administrative detention" of Jewish terrorists. ... [read more]
The Real Naqba
Three weeks ago was Naqba Day – the day on which Palestinians inside and outside Israel commemorate their "catastrophe... [read more]
The Kiev Junta: A study in the Anatomy of Fear and Ignorance
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek shows the apparent ease with which fear propagates ideas which might otherwise be rejected as absurd... [read more]
A New Israeli-Palestinian Discourse
There is a need for both Israelis and Palestinians to change their discourse which is based on a mixture of rewriting history, expansionist aims, victimhood and endless conspiracy theories where none exist... [read more]
For whom to Vote?
Uri Avnery discusses whom to vote for in the upcoming Israel elections... [read more]
Half of Shas
The Shas party has split into two. Opinion polls show that both parts are hovering around the 3.12% threshold which is now necessary for entering the Knesset, after the minimum was raised by the last Knesset... [read more]
The Plebiscite
Israelis are fed up with Binyamin Netanyahu. They are fed up with the government. They are fed up with all political parties. They are fed up with themselves. They are fed up... [read more]
The Pen Trumps the Sword Anytime (Part 4)
The fourth part of an 'Introduction' to an illustrated book of poetry by Faysal Mikdadi. The collection, Painted into a Corner, appeared in the summer of 2014... [read more]
The Unholy City
In its long and checkered history, Jerusalem has been occupied by dozens of conquerors. Uri Avnery's weekly article... [read more]
God Wills It!
For six decades my friends and I have warned our people: if we don't make peace with the nationalist Arab forces, we shall be faced with Islamic Arab forces
... [read more]
The Atrocity
Bombs are raining on Gaza and rockets on Southern Israel, people are dying and homes are being destroyed... [read more]
A Coup? Nonsense!
Journalist and former member of the Israeli parliament, Uri Avnery, describes how the Israeli Defence Force is held on a pedestal... [read more]
A National Hero
Just before Israel’s 66th Independence Day, the country acquired a new national hero, writes Uri Avnery... [read more]
Changing The Flag
New Zealand has decided to change its flag. This was only briefly mentioned in the media here. But it is a significant example for us... [read more]
Angel Face
Seeing her face on the TV screen, one is struck by her beauty. It is the face of an angel, pure and innocent... [read more]
Britain's Legacy in Palestine (Part 1 of 2)
Dr Faysal Mikdadi publishes an excellent account of Palestine's history, focusing on how the economic, racist, religious, nationalistic, commercial and orientalist attitudes of Britain shaped the land and its people (Part 1 of 2)... [read more]
The Judaization of Israel
On my 16th birthday, in 1939, I rushed to the district registration office of the Government of Palestine to change my name officially... [read more]
The Culture of Blame Will Get Us Nowhere
Dr Faysal Mikdadi challenges the culture of blame associated with the long running conflict between Palestinins and Israelis
... [read more]
“Ich bin ein Bil’iner!”
This does not happen every day: a Minister of Culture publicly rejoices because a film from her country has NOT been awarded an Oscar. And not just one film, but two.
... [read more]
Who to vote for?
The Israeli elections will take place in three days, and they are boring, boring, boring writes Uri Avnery... [read more]
Palestine’s New Status: A History Rerun or a New Palestinian Strategy
Palestine has become a “non-member state” at the United Nations as of Thursday November 29, 2012.The draft of the UN resolution beckoning what many perceive as a historic moment passed with an overwhelming majority of General Assembly members: 138 votes in favour, nine against and 41 abstentions, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Obituary: Colonial officer, overseas aid administrator and champion of the oppressed who advanced the cause of gay people in the Civil Service'
Richard Kirker remembers Ian Buist: the quintessential Civil Service mandarin, but also a doughty proponent of social progress. He had a fearless determination to champion the rights of the victims of injustice, minorities and the marginalised.... [read more]
Obituary: Colonial officer, overseas aid administrator and champion of the oppressed who advanced the cause of gay people in the Civil Service'
Ian Buist: Ian Buist, CB, colonial officer, overseas aid administrator and champion of human and gay rights, was born on May 30, 1930. He died on October 19, 2012, aged 82, remembered by Richard Kirker.... [read more]
Palestine and Israel: A Modest Suggestion for Peace (Part 1)
Faisal Mikdadi discusses the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and presents a road map for achieving peace between all peoples and factions that reside in these lands (Part 1)... [read more]
Lip Service to Peace: EU as an Enabler of Netanyahu’s Colonial Policies
Europe is different, as we are often reminded. The general wisdom is unlike the US’ unconditional support for Israel. European countries tend to be more balanced in their approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The USA: Glorious Diversity or Cruel Contradiction?
Faysal Mikdadi takes a look at the reality of the 'American Dream'... [read more]
The Promised Land
To be young in the post-industrial nations today is to be excluded. Excluded from the comforts enjoyed by preceding generations; excluded from jobs; excluded from hopes of a better world; excluded from self-ownership, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank: Nathan Englander
Emmeline Ravilious reviews Nathan Englander's latest book... [read more]
Hurrah for Egypt!
Uri Avnery has warm words for the new democratically elected Egyptian parliament... [read more]
Anti-Semitism and Israel’s Inherent Contradictions
In a recent article, columnist Yaniv Halili described British author Ben White as 'anti-Semitic'. He also denounced Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi for writing a forward to White's latest book, Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy, writes Ramzy Baroud.
... [read more]
The Blockbusters
Uri Avnery shows how the differences that exist between the different cultural blocs in Israeli society are a barrier to peace ... [read more]
Palestine: Those Who Inspired Us in 2011
2011 had its share of tragedy. Human lives were lost in Palestine. But hope was also sustained by the sacrifices of numerous ‘ordinary’ people, says Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Everybody\'s son
Uri Avnery comments on the recent Israel-Palestine prisoner swap and the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit... [read more]
One Holy Land United With Liberty and Justice for All
The absurd mythology of Zionism cannot hold firm forever, writes Ahmed Amr.... [read more]
Netanyahu’s Ring and the Legitimacy of Zionism
At the root of Israeli state violence is a total refusal to recognise the Palestinians as a people, let alone a nation, writes Ahmed Amr.... [read more]
Why Support the Palestinians?
Of the many international solidarity movements in the world today, the Palestinian struggle has a special status. Greg Sharzer explains why.... [read more]
The Lobby Within
A just and peaceful solution to the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict will only be possible when the US ceases to block every move made towards it, argues Ramzy Baroud. ... [read more]
How Israel Won the Settlement Battle Again
Ramzy Baroud on the gaping chasm between the rhetoric and the reality of US / UK policy on Israel-Palestine.... [read more]
Whose Acre?
Uri Avnery on how the battle over the identity of the historic port of Acre reflects wider struggles over cultural identity in Israel-Palestine.... [read more]
The Tone and the Music
While Obama proclaims the 21st century, the government of Israel is returning to the 19th, writes Uri Avnery.... [read more]
Clinton's Unpromising Start
Ramzy Baroud on the inauspicious opening phase of the new Obama administration's Middle East policy.... [read more]
Israel Investigated, But Will It Repent?
Ramzy Baroud issues a call for justice for the victims of Israeli violence.... [read more]
Is Israel Winning the 'Media War' over Gaza?
In the week that the death toll from Israel's vicious onslaught passed the 1,000 mark, Ramzy Baroud looks back on a clinical campaign of distortion and misinformation by the Western mainstream media.... [read more]
Stop Israel's Massacre in Gaza!
With hundreds of innocent civilians killed in Israel's brutal attack on Gaza in recent days, Walter Leon argues that the Israeli labour movement has a moral duty to help rally domestic opposition to the aggression.... [read more]