Some say Palestine is the ultimate test of honesty: An open letter written in response to the news that the novelist and poet Margaret Atwood had chosen to accept the Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University in Israel on Monday 10th of May. Originally published in Salem-News.com on the 9th of May 2010. [...]

Norman G. Finkelstein: ‘This Time we went too far’ - Truth and Consequences of the Gaza Invasion. OR Books, New York, 2010 (www.orbooks.com)

Ever since disregarding Noam Chomsky’s warning more than 30 years ago that “expos[ing] the American intellectual community as a bunch of frauds” would lead to his destruction, Norman Finkelstein has continued to court [...]

A European country that scapegoats a Semitic people, persecutes defenders of human rights by stripping them of employment, and denies freedom of speech to Jews: surely a description of Germany during the Third Reich?
Yes, but unfortunately also a description of Germany at the outset of the 21st century.
In the wake of German Chancellor Merkel’s craven speech [...]

As a classical musician involved in pro-Palestinian activism, I frequently encounter the assumption that I am an unconditional admirer of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO). My reservations on this score tend to produce shocked disapproval: How could I not enthuse about such an idealistic project, particularly since it was co-founded by the late Edward Said, [...]