“Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a street near a U.N. school, after an Israeli attack killed dozens of Palestinians taking shelter there, in Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)”(source) The UN contends that Israel may have committed war crimes in its assault on [...]

[Read more →]

Mandolin expresses frustration at trying to keep a cool, compassionate head amidst the debates on Israel and Gaza: Debate about Israel and Palestine is plugging into something really, really weird. We don’t seem to get this level of emotionality and jackassery on other foreign policy issues, even ones that involve equivalent levels of death and [...]

[Read more →]

Israeli activists demonstrate against the war in Tel Aviv, as reported in Al-Jazeera. Glenn Greenwald asks a question that has been lurking at the back of my mind as I hear my fellow Americans rationalize the Israeli government’s war with Hamas militants. I have a question for supporters of the Israeli attack on Gaza: Prior [...]

[Read more →]

David Brooks views the Israeli invasion of Gaza not in terms of violence, death or chaos, but “psychology”: This new game isn’t a war of attrition. It’s a struggle for confidence, a series of psychological exchanges designed to shift the balance of morale. The material destroyed in an episode can be replaced, but the psychological [...]

[Read more →]

How do you know you’re screwed? Bill Kristol predicts your success. Sorry, Israel. After arguing that the attack on Gaza is, like, totally different from the attack on Lebanon, Kristol reminds us Why We/They Fight: An Israeli success in Gaza would be a victory in the war on terror — and in the broader struggle [...]

[Read more →]