I thought I'd share this response to the Hamas victory in the recent Palestinian elections, from my friend Gila, an Israeli peace activist and writer. ( 'Hamas and Us' by Gila Svirsky )

There's a lot of discussion going on right now about the sweeping victory of Hamas candidates in the Palestinian elections. I could recommend several opinion pieces that I agree with, but I'll go with this one by Ali Abunimah, journalist and co-founder of the very useful website Electronic IntifadaThere are a number of important points that ( Read more... )

It's unclear right now whether Ariel Sharon will survive his medical difficulties, though most people are pretty sure that his political career is over. That says something about how physical weakness and/or disability is seen in Israeli politics, I think. Anyway, I've been pretty appalled at how much praise has been heaped on Sharon in the past ( Read more... )