Palestine

Jordan Peterson in Jerusalem
Governments all over the world have been courting the more extremist elements in their society, bringing them into the mainstream, legitimizing their demands and grievances, and Israel is no exception. Peterson’s popularity with far-right audiences and pundits shows that he understands the power of the extremes, but more, his writings and broadcasts show how aligned he is with their thinking.

The Gaza View From Israel
The situation on the ground in both Israel and Gaza has returned to pre-war “normal,” a testament to the strategic value of the economic and civilian facets of their budding relationship. But absent a longer-term understanding, this precarious dance will just push off another conflagration.

As Murder Plagues Palestinian Towns in Israel, the Killers Are Rarely Caught
The pattern is painfully familiar — men, mostly young, are gunned down, often in broad daylight, in Palestinian towns or mixed cities inside Israel. Police rarely seem able to stop these crimes or catch their perpetrators. Many residents believe this inability to solve such crimes is an intentional act aimed at ensuring Palestinian communities are mired in crime and poverty, unable to fight for their civil rights and end state discrimination that has contributed to the gun violence epidemic plaguing these neighborhoods.

Israelis Watch Afghanistan and Remember Lebanon
While Israel isn’t the U.S., and Lebanon isn’t Afghanistan, the common themes that run through both sets of wars are jarring, especially in the way a Western democracy tries to end a military campaign and how it manages (or not) the fate of local allies who fought alongside it.

Covering War from Home
My mom always tells me not to go to war zones because she’s afraid of losing me. I would never tell my parents when I entered a war zone, so they wouldn’t worry. But this summer when I returned to Palestine to photograph the war, she was pleased. “It’s OK,” she said, because I am next to you!” It’s funny how moms think.

How Israel’s Occupation Came Home
While the attacks carried out by Palestinian citizens of Israel were extensive and deadly, the overwhelming focus on that violence prevented the emergence of a much-needed debate within Israel about its growing problem of Jewish radicalization.

“Lebanon Will Be Last”
The obstacles are daunting, but no law of nature dictates that Lebanon must remain last in line to make an honorable and complete peace with its neighbor to the south, one that secures the interests of the “Precarious Republic” and its citizens.