Salem-News.com Israel articles

Pope Francis Plans Second Visit to Jerusalem

On his second trip to Jerusalem in May, 2014, there will be no war to interrupt the Pope’s journey. There is, however, a labor strike by Israeli diplomatic personnel which began this week.

(CHICAGO ) - Pope Francis currently plans to visit Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, May 24-26. This will be his second trip to Jerusalem.

The Pope’s first visit was 41 years ago. On that trip, he arrived in Jerusalem in October, 1973, just before war began between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Egypt`s Shameful Rejection of Mairead Maguire and Other Peace Advocates

The Syria Solidarity Movement declares its support for Mairead Maguire and other exponents of compassion, free speech, human rights and respect for diversity.

(DAMASCUS) - The Syria Solidarity Movement views with sadness and dismay the Egyptian government's denial of entry to Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire for the purpose of transiting to Gaza to attend the International Women's Day commemorations.

Ms. Maguire is a good friend of the Syria Solidarity Movement and has played a central role in the promotion of peace, justice and human rights...

A Cri de Coeur: Stop the Empire from Blowing Up the World!

We need to do something to stem this tide of lunacy emanating from Washington, DC. Obama is hopeless – a feckless Uncle Tom, a sock-puppet easily manipulated by the Sanhedrin.

(WASHINGTON DC) - Madness reigns as the Atlantic Empire, riding its imposing, armed-to-teeth sinking ship, tries to maintain their imaginary control of the world while neglecting to repair the leaks in the hull - not to mention their heads and hearts.

A $5+ billion dollar effort to further destabilize an already unstable Ukraine and add it to the Imperial holdings...

Israel: A Significant Shift in U.S. Public Opinion...? And What if the Answer is ``Yes``?

If AIPAC wanted to show true friendship for Israel, it would have stopped cheering long ago and started whispering.

(LONDON) - A recent public opinion poll asked Americans which of two options they would favour if a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict was no longer on the table. (It is in the rhetoric of leaders and diplomats but not in reality). The two options were:

“The continuation of Israel’s Jewish majority (presumably this assumes permanent Israeli occupation of the West Bank and continuing ethnic cleansing of it by stealth) even if it means that Palestinians will not have citizenship and full rights.”

Just What the Spin Doctor Ordered: an Arms Shipment from Iran`s Government

Israel’s clandestine battle with weapons smugglers

(LONDON) - An ‘explainer’ from the BBC is followed by Richard Silverstein’s interpretation. A Reuters report gives the basic facts as known at the time.

The announcement by Israel that it has seized a major shipment of weaponry heading to the Gaza Strip from Iran throws a spotlight on alleged ongoing attempts to arm militants there, and Israel’s aim to thwart them.

Putin`s Ukraine Adventure a Gift to Netanyahu

Netanyahu arrived with an empty bag – meaning a bag full of empty slogans.

(London Redress News & Analysis) - Binyamin Netanyahu is very good at making speeches, especially to Jews, neocons and such, who jump up and applaud wildly at everything he says, including that tomorrow the sun will rise in the west. The question is: is he good at anything else?

His father, an ultra-ultra-rightist, once said about him that he is quite unfit to be prime minister, but that he could be a good foreign minister. What he meant was that Binyamin does not have the depth of understanding needed to guide the nation, but that he is good at selling any policy decided upon by a real leader…

Baghdad Central

Center-staging the calamities of collaboration, Elliott Colla’s noir thriller exposes the moral and strategic failures of military occupation.

(JERUSALEM) - Without networks of collaborators conscripted from among the ranks of the insurgency, sustained military occupations are unthinkable. Yet, no one likes to talk about collaborators—it is an unpleasant subject because collaborators are about as loved by their handlers as they are by the communities they betray.

To be sure, collaborators under military occupation consider themselves as a beneficial screen, ameliorating the worst that might happen, and at times they even embrace the new order and think of themselves as brave emissaries of the future.

Sexist Culture Still Bars Women from Driving in Saudi Arabia

International Women’s Day (March 8th) sees women in the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia with little to celebrate.

(DUBLIN) - A strong system of customs and laws in Saudi Arabia keep women heavily reliant on men for their basic day-to-day survival. A song satirizing Saudi Arabia’s driving ban for women, ‘No Woman, No Drive’, has the desert kingdom rocking. Dozens of Saudi women’s rights activists have been in trouble for defying the driving ban by staging "protest drives".

In the past, women have had a grim acceptance of their lot, but old ways are quietly being questioned for nowhere in the Koran does it say women cannot drive or lead a normal life.

On Abby Martin, Freedom and Tolerance

Truth, must be said, Martin’s TV appearance yesterday may suggest that Russia is now more tolerant and pluralist than the West.

(LONDON) - RT’s presenter Abby Martin has bought herself a reputation as a 911 sceptic and a vocal opponent of Israeli‘s policies . Yesterday she denounced Russian action in Crimea while she was live on air.

She said she 'would not sit here and apologise or defend (Russian) military aggression,' before saying her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian people whom she described as 'the real losers here.' 
Ms Martin hosts on the American version of the channel and made her statement at the end of her show

The War on Emotions is Driving Us Insane

What can we do if abusers will not (or, more accurately, cannot) listen to us, because they are too afraid?

(TASMANIA, Aust.) - Have you ever been provoked by someone into fear, anger or pain, and then blamed, punished or humiliated for feeling and expressing these feelings?

This is a form of psychological torture which has very serious consequences. Here are three stories that demonstrate how commonly this form of torture occurs in human society.