- Israel Doesn't Want Peace
Ha'aretz journalist Gideon Levy argues that Israel Prime Minister Olmert's attack on Nancy Pelosi for saying to the Syrians that Israel wants peace is actually a reflection of the reality--Israelis could embrace peace right now, but they don't want it.
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- Say "NO" to Torture!
We have a moral obligation to act to stop torture. NOW.
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- The Scandal of Urban Education
Bill Moyers explores the dismal situation facing education for the poorest and most vulnerable children in America....and their teachers.
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- A Persona Non Grata
Akiva Eldar and Tamar Gosanzky deconstruct Israel's new race baiting Deputy Prime Minister.
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- A Country Ruled by Faith
Garry Wills examines the influence of the religious right on government policy during the Bush era.
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- The Right to Choose
Ruth Rosen reminds us of the biggest issue buried by this election season's exclusive focus on Iraq.
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- A Compassionate Conservative
Dick Cheney explains why simulated drowning is a morally acceptable form of torture.
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- The Future is War
John Kampfner looks at Israel's prospects for peace in the October 30th edition of New Statesman.
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- Engaging Iran
Vali Nasr tells Der Spiegel why America must talk to its increasingly powerful Islamic adversary.
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- A Partial Victory for Equality
Doug Ireland reviews the New Jersey Supreme Court decision granting civil recognition to same-sex couples.
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- A Crumbling Alliance
Abbey Scher discusses the growing rift between Evangelicals and the Republicans in In These Times.
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- Ring the Alarms
Arthur Neslen analyzes Avigdor Lieberman's rise to power and what it says about the present state of Israeli politics.
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- Iraq War Vets Endorse Democrats
In Wednesday's edition of Salon, two retired US generals throw their weight behind the opposition.
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- The Military Commissions Act
RU Sirius analyzes media responses to the controversial security legislation signed into law last week by the White House.
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- What Happened?
Expecting to lose the midterm elections, the Bush administration has abandoned its 'stay the course' stance on Iraq.
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- When a Fascist Joins the Government
Uri Avnery explains why Israel's new deputy prime minister, Avigdor Lieberman, is a threat to Israeli democracy.
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- Richard Dawkins and Religion
Three penetrating reviews of Dawkins' controversial new book about faith by Jim Holt, Terry Eagleton and The Economist.
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- Saying 'No' to America
Peres Center for Peace President Uri Savir argues that Israel must resist US pressure and engage Syria and the Palestinians.
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- Endgame Coming
Writing in Saturday's Asia Times, Jim Lobe argues that a momumental change in US policy in Iraq is drawing near.
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- The Attack on Human Rights Watch
Aryeh Neier analyzes the travails of HRW in the November 2nd edition of the New York Review of Books.
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- Losing the Flock?
According to Salon's Joe Conason, in the run-up to the elections, the religious right is being riven by ideological crises.
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- Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam
President G.W. Bush finally concedes to the New York Times.
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- The New Jewish Bi-Nationalism
A growing number of Jews are rediscovering the bi-national solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mark LeVine reports.
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- Memoirs of a refugee from Gaza
"Keep Hope Alive", a recently published work of creative spiritual literature from an eco-feminist POV offers an opportunity to "begin the world again" [Tom Paine] in Gaza, in the spirit of Number 7 on Tikkun's Spiritual Covenant with America.
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- Are We Dead or Merely Asleep?
a poem by Abby Sher
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- Is George Bush a Mass Murderer?
Tikkun's contributing editor Mark LeVine reflects on recent reports of Iraqi death counts.
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- Attacking Iran for Electoral Gain?
If the Bush Administration believes that it can shift the elections by attacking Iran, the only thing that might restrain them would be for Democratic Party leaders to say that such an attack scheduled to influence voting, would be an impeachable offense. Could that happen? And how likely is an attack on Iran?
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- Update from B'tselem: the Israeli Human Rights Organization
Out of sight, but still real: the ongoing daily oppression of the Occupation, which continues in both the West Bank and Gaza.
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- North Korea--a new nuclear power?
Network of Spiritual Progressives' ally Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches of Christ issues a statement about North Korea's nuclear test worthy of your attention.
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- Military Commissions Act Shames the Constitution and Weakens America
An editorial by Stephen Rhode from the Forum Column/Daly Journal
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- Should We Be Involved in Oct. 5 Demonstrations Against the War?
After sending out information about "The World Can't Wait" demonstrations being planned around the country on October 5th, several members of the NSP sent letters of critique, pointing out that the slogan "Drive Out the Bush Regime" seemed rather inappropriate in the possibly violent sound of "driving out" and in not acknowledging that elections coming up in November could do much more than demonstrations in actually limiting the power of the Bushites.
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- A Constitutional Crisis?
Two editorials from The Nation and Alternet on President George W. Bush's new executive powers.
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- An End to Absolutes
Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was once the great hope of the Left. Marlene Nadel takes a critical look at his accomplishments.
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- Teach Your Children Well
A frightening documentary about an Evangelical school has just been released. Dan Glaister assesses the Jesus Camp controversy.
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- Better Critical than Red
Tikkun's Jonathan Schorsch explains the failings of Jewish neo-conservatism and its destructive impact on Israel.
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- Rise Up Against the Empire
Brandishing a copy of Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez implores the world to revolt.
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- Bush's Useful Idiots
Since 9/11, US liberals have supported the present administration's self-destructive policies. Tony Judt asks why.
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- Slavoj Zizek on 9/11
Europe's leading progressive philosopher goes to the movies to learn what Americans really think about September 11th, 2001.
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- Questionnaire For Political Candidates
The Network of Spiritual Progressives invites you to respond to a survey on issues important to NSP members.
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- Goodbye to All That
Henry Porter argues that President Bush is destroying the American constitution. To make matters worse, no one seems to care.
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- The Left and the Jihad
Why is the enemy of the enemy now your ally? Fred Halliday on the new intimacy between Islamists and the Western Left.
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- Conspiracy Nuts
Tragedy frequently inspires wild allegations of subterfuge. David Rubenstein deconstructs 9/11 conspiracy theories.
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- Another Casualty of Iraq
According to two new studies published this week, Americans are losing confidence in President Bush's Mid-East policy.
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- The First Post-Zionist War
In the new edition of Challenge magazine, Roni Ben Efrat provides an absolutely eye-opening analysis of Lebanon War II.
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- Recycling Ineffective Rhetoric
The Bush administration has run out of ideas. Sydney Blumenthal spells out why the White House has ceased mobilizing voters.
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- Are We Five Years Wiser?
Former French Prime Minister and Socialist MEP Michel Rocard on the 5th anniversary of 9/11.
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- Gaza's Darkness
Hidden by the fog of the second Lebanon war, Israel returned to the Gaza strip. Gideon Levy explains.
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- The End of Moral Values?
Looking ahead to the midterm elections, Mark Pinsky argues that the religious right's electoral capital might be exhausted.
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- Errors of the War on Terror
Progressive philanthropist George Soros assails the self-defeating strategy of the struggle against Hamas and Hezbollah.
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- The Dialectic of Katrina
On the first anniversary of the disaster, Gary Younge, Jim Gabour, Adolph L. Reed Jr, Jane Slaughter, Tim Shorrock and Jeremy Schiff offer their reflections.
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- The New Creative Destruction
Tikkun's Mark LeVine argues that Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Israel and the US subscribe to the same contemporary capitalist logic.
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- Iran: The New Regional Power
According to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Tehran is the only beneficiary of American policy in the Middle East.
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- Israel Accused of War Crimes
Coverage of Wednesday's controversial report issued by Amnesty International, including a link to download the full document.
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- Big Media, Small World
Ehsan Masood explains why Muslim audiences are losing their faith in Anglophone news media such as CNN and the BBC.
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- 7 Facts You Might Not Know About the Iraq War
Michael Schwartz on the current state of the Iraq conflict
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- Palestinians in the Territories During Lebanon War II
Israeli Human Rights organization B'Tselem documents the intensification of human rights violations in the Occupied Territories during Operation Summer Rains.
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- END THE Middle East Struggle: Once and For All
Thanks to your help, a version of this ran in the NY Times and LA Times. We hope to reprint the ad in newspapers in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon and US media, but that can only happen if you sign and donate now!
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- War and Peace in the Mideast: Daily Updates
Doron Rosenblum, Fred Halliday, David Hirst, Gideon Samet, Robert Fisk, Yoel Marcus, Hazem Saghieh, Martin Jacques, Robert Parry, Yossi Beilin, Uri Avnery, The Other Israel, Mark LeVine, Michael Lerner and more discuss this summer's violence.
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- The Mel Gibson Debacle and the Opus Dei Movement
Matthew Fox discusses the infiltration of the Opus Dei in American society.
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- Understanding Israel in Gaza and Lebanon
We present a view on how to end these crises, along with analyses by Tanya Reinhart, Yitzhak Frankenthal, Michael Rubin, David Horowitz, Arik Diamont (of Courage to Refuse,) Robert Fisk, and others.
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- Islam & The Left
The chair of the UK's Stop the War Coalition praises Muslim-Left cooperation in Tuesday's Guardian.
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- Revisiting The Great Satan
Al-Ahram Weekly's Mustafa El-Labbad believes that an end to US-Iranian hostilities is near.
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- A Warped Worldview
In the current issue of Church & State, John Sugg reminds us of the dangers of Reconstructionism.
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- Who Started?
Gideon Levy argues that Israel bears primary responsibility for the present situation in Gaza.
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- Is Religion Really the Problem?
Sociologist Mark Juergensmeyer and al-Jazeera editor Faisal Bodi discuss the issue on Madrid11.net
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- Immigration: The Issue Republicans Are Using in 2006
Thom Hartmann analyzes how Republicans downplay the role that employers play in fostering illegal immigration.
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- Why The NSP Doesn't Embrace Identity Politics
While the NSP actively seeks to involve people of color, people of all different religious, ethnic, class, gender and age diversities, we are not following the “identity politics” route of the Left.
Michael Bronski, a founder of the Gay Liberation Front, explains why a different route is likely to be better.
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- The Landlord's Craziness
According to Akiva Eldar, Israel's left is abetting the perpetuation of the Occupation and the destruction of the Palestinian Authority.
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- U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia
Echoing the Network of Spiritual Progressives' critique of the anti-religious and anti-spiritual sentiments in some sectors of liberal and progressive culture that see spirituality as flakiness and all religion as irrational and hateful, Obama takes on the elitists in the Left.
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- Israel's Actions Illegitimate
What Israel is doing in Gaza has nothing to do with securing Gilad Shalit's release, according to Haaretz commentator Gideon Levy.
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- Suffering From a Paralysis of Thought
Israel's most distinguished political philosopher correctly diagnoses the failings of Ehud Olmert's new government.
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- Tikkun of Sexual Misconduct Issues in Jewish Renewal
We propose exploring a new conceptual model, in which the Feminine Divine is always present, indwelling and never separate from the Whole.
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- Close Guantanamo and its Mindset
In openDemocracy.net, Rami Khouri argues that America's detention center epitomizes its contempt for the rule of law.
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- From Guevara to Al-Zarqawi
According to Al-Ahram Weekly's Ayman Al-Amir, the dying embers of Third World revolution are being rekindled by a confrontation between Islamic fundamentalism and Western globalisation.
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- US Military Families Speak Out
An appeal from a military family--and a strategy for what to do in the next few months.
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- Defusing the Iranian Nuclear Crisis
Writing in Monday's Guardian, Noam Chomsky contends that a political solution to the nuclear weapons standoff with Tehran is still possible.
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- An Army Woman Resists Going to Iraq ..and a statement from Dennis Kucinich
Just one of the thousands of stories of the personal costs the war in Iraq; followed by Dennis Kucinich's statement about the war offered during the debate in Congress in mid June, 2006
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- The Continuing Tragedy of Israel's Occupation of Palestine
After the killing of a Palestinian family on a Gaza beach, a variety of reactions and how they shape the next stages of an ongoing tragic saga between Israel and Palestine.
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- Right Idea, Wrong Policy
Forcing British university professors to sign loyalty oaths hurts the anti-Occupation movement.
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- Globalization's Watchdogs--American Media
US media frame global issues from the standpoint of the needs of American corporations.
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- Rabbi Lerner's report on the NSP Conference in D.C. May 17-20,2006
A nuanced perspective.
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- Palestinians Should Give Up The Demand for a "Right of Return"
Gershon Baskin explains why.
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- A Spiritual Covenant with America
Here is the Network of Spiritual Progressive's Spiritual Covenant with America {full version can be found in Rabbi Michael Lerner's The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Right (HaprerSanFrancisco, 2006), chapters 9-12.}
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- Immigration Reform?
It might be better to defeat all the current compromises on immigration.
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- Iran: Neither U.S. Aggression Nor Theocratic Oppression
You don't have to be a supporter of the Iranian regime to oppose U.S. bombing of Iran. Last week the NSP conference included a pray-in for peace at the White House, followed by the delivery of 40,000 signatures to the White House calling for NO BOMBING. Here's some background thinking.
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- Sinai: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
In an age of religious fundamentalism and violence, the Jewish people has an obligation to articulate an inclusive vision of God's relationship to the peoples of the earth.
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- Iraq's Bosnian Future
Senator Joseph Biden has decided that dividing Iraq into separate ethnic cantons is the best way to guarantee its future. Al-Ahram Weekly's Firas Al-Atraqchi comments.
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- More Domestic Spying Allegations
If you want to take America's current political temperature, look no further than a USA Today (yes, USA Today!) investigative scoop uncovering a previously unknown NSA program tracking all domestic telecommunications traffic.
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- As Though It Couldn't Get Any Worse
In Wednesday's Guardian, Mark Tran analyzes the US public's growing disapproval of President Bush.
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- Ahmadinejad's Letter to Bush: Full Transcript
Despite the White House's one-word denunciation of the Iranian President's letter as "rambling," upon closer inspection, this fascinating piece of writing demands far more critical an analysis than that offered by the US government.
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- The Most Powerless Man in the World
In a remarkable interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, George W. Bush's answers reveal how totally impotent America's President has become.
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- Israel to Divide Jerusalem?
The Associated Press reports that Israel's new government has offered to unilaterally divide the city.
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- American Muslims on Darfur
The Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations speak out about the crisis.
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- Iran is Bush's Bogeyman
In this week's edition of Al-Ahram Weekly, Firas Al-Atraqchi analyses the surprising evolution of America's relationship with Iran since invading Iraq in March 2003.
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- Ordinary Muslims and Ordinary Jews
In Tuesday's Guardian, Rabbi Tony Bayfield, the head of the UK's Movement for Reform Judaism, contends that Diaspora Jews bear responsibility for alienating western Muslims.
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- What You Need to Know About May Day
Writing in Znet, Socialist Register editor Leo Panitch explains why May Day has never been an important event for Americans.
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- Breaking the Last Taboo: The United States of Israel
With one well-placed article, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt triggered the most rigorous debate to date about AIPAC's negative influence on American foreign policy. Robert Fisk assesess their impact in Counterpunch.
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- Immigration Debate and "The Rape of the Working Class"
David Podvin argues that the assault on immigrants is not primarily about racism but about the selfish accumulation of wealth and power by America's corporate elites.
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- A Tribute to William Sloane Coffin (1924-2006)
May his memory serve as a source of blessing and inspiration to all those who seek to do the same: yehi zikhro barukh.
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- Revolt of the Generals
Writing in Friday's Guardian, former Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal analyzes the American military's growing anger about the war in Iraq.
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- Is Bush the Worst President in American History?
In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Princeton's Sean Wilentz carefully assesses the discussion taking place among American historians.
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- A Partnership Made in Heaven
Israel is on a course to destroy the Hamas-led government and the Palestinian Authority. According to The Daily Star's Rami Khouri, due to its diehard policy of armed resistance, Hamas is doing its best to make sure Israel finally succeeds.
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- Who Is a Terrorist?
Ha'aretz columnist Gideon Levy asks tough questions about Israel's continuing military operations against the residents of Gaza. By no means has the much ballyhooed withdrawal ended the oppression of Palestinians in that area.
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- Rabbi Lerner's Speaking Tour: Calendar of Events (coming soon to a town near you!)
Send this to your friends in the relevant cities Rabbi Lerner will visit to discuss his new book, American politics, the global situation (including the Iraq war and the Hamas victory in Palestine) and the Network of Spiritual Activism.
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- The Age of Stalemate
Europeans are increasingly rejecting neoliberal economic reforms. Voters are expressing their dissatisfaction by not granting any new EU government a clear mandate. The Guardian's Jonathan Freedland dissects.
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- Democracy Revisited
Throughout the Middle East, Islamic political forces are racking up an impressive number of electoral victories. Al-Ahram Weekly's Galal Nassar lays the blame on America's failed policy of forced democratization.
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- Passover and Easter 2006 and the Renewal of Hope
Both Passover and Easter call for a renewal of hope. How can we do that in the Spring of 2006? An analysis by Rabbi Michael Lerner.
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- If Not Now, When?
According to Seymour Hersh, the Bush administration is devising plans for a massive strike on Iran. Even more frightening, the use of tactical nuclear weapons to reach underground targets is under active consideration.
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- Darfur: Four Questions
As the holiday of Passover approaches, we prepare to celebrate the exodus of our ancestors from Egyptian bondage. During this season of liberation, the Jewish people must commit itself anew to ending oppression throughout the world. Rabbi Or N. Or Rose and Ruth Messinger ask you to consider the following questions about the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
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- What Israel's Election Means
As Ehud Olmert begins assembling his governing coalition, in OpenDemocracy.net, veteran Mideast analyst Jim Lederman uncovers a huge rift growing between Israelis and their political parties.
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- Save Darfur
For many years Tikkun has been a lone voice calling on the US to support international action to save the people of Darfur from genocide. Now we have a Save Darfur Coalition which has taken up the challenge. Please help us.
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- Hugo Chavez' Alleged Anti-Semitism
Right-wing pundits and politicos are calling the Venezuelan leader an
anti-Semite. Venezuela's Jewish community says they don't know bupkus.
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- None of the Israeli Parties Talk of Peace
Veteran Israeli Peace activist Uri Avneri analyzes the ads during the current Israeli election campaign.
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- Global Struggle Over Reproductive Rights
In the US, the state of South Dakota signed into law a near-total ban on abortion. In the EU, a court refused a woman's request to use frozen embryos fertilized with her ex-boyfriend's sperm to have a baby.
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- On the Fate of Pat Robertson
Even though the legendary televangelist appears to have succumbed to a debilitating case of foot-in-mouth disease and lost his seat on the board of the National Religious Broadcasters, Robertson's career is far from over.
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- Bush Support At All-Time Low
The disastrous results of America's occupation of Iraq have driven the President's ratings down to levels comparable to that of Richard Nixon in his second term.
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- America and Islam
The fortunes of the US and the Islamic world have never been so entertwined. In openDemocracy, Zvonimir Zelic reports on the fourth US-Islamic World Forum.
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- Don't Despair about the Possibility of Middle East Peace
Israeli Peace Activist Uri Avneri, well aware of the temporary setbacks facing those of us who have been seeking reconciliation between Israel and Palestine, reminds us of the movement for peace among Palestinians despite Hamas.
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- Jeff Halper Nominated for 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
On February 3rd, the American Friends Service Committee nominated the Tikkun contributor and Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions co-founder for the prestigious - and well-deserved - award.
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- Western Double Standards in the 'War Against Terror'
The legitimate desire to punish those responsible for the deaths of thousands must not lead to condemnation of the wrong man. Patrick Baudoin considers the fate of Zacarias Moussaoui in the February edition of Le Monde Diplomatique.
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- The Hamas Victory: Another View
According to Stephen Zunes, radical Islam was never a feature of Palestinian politics until more than a decade following the Oslo Accords, when Palestinians saw the hope of a negotiated settlement under U.S. auspices fade.
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- The Liberal Dilemma: Integration or Vilification?
The Danish cartoon scandal poses a stark choice to "progressive" citizens and thinkers in western Europe, writes social scientist Tariq Modood in the UK's openDemocracy.
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- Alito on the Supreme Court
He's part of the process by which the Bush Administration is destroying the Constitution.
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- Iraqi Communist Party Disagrees with Anti-War Movement's Call for Immediate Withdrawal
A sober analysis and a call to the anti-war movement to rethink the complexities in Iraq
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- Hamas' Electoral Victory: A nuanced response
The Tikkun Community and the Network of Spiritual Progressives have to look at the Middle East in a more sophisticated and complex way than the ideologues on both sides. The Hamas election challenges us--and yet it was something we consistently predicted.
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- A personal response to The Terrorist Threat
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- Maybe We Do Have Someone to Talk to
If the government of Israel gives the rabbis of Israel the opportunity to act for peace within the inter-religious field, perhaps we will be granted peace with Islam, which is so needed for this holy land. The entire world will be grateful to us for that.
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- Hamas as Obstacle, Hamas as Liar
Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery challenges the Israel-U.S. line on Hamas.And Ha'aretz correspondent Amira Hass, another staunch critic of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, reveals Hamas' dishonesty in the way it is campaigning against the Fatah party that has dominated the Palestinian Authority.
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- Slavoj Zizek on the Fox Show "24"
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- If you talk to one enemy, talk to all
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- How the Dems Blew It on Alito
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- Hamas Drops Call for Destruction of Israel
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- Thinking About Ariel Sharon
The impact of Ariel Sharon's hospitalization on Israeli and Jewish politics has been tremendous. We've collected several commentaries on the Israeli Prime Minister's legacy from major commentators and peace organizations that best express the significance of this event.
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- Christian Peacemaker Jerry Levin on Ariel Sharon
A unique perspective from Hebron
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- Alito's Path
If confirmed, his track record suggests he'd support the Republican consolidation of power at every opportunity....An essay by Paul Loeb
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- They Too Have Dreams
People regard them as eyesores. The homeless litter your landscape. They seek refuge in doorways and on park benches. You turn away from them in disgust. You step over them with thoughts of condemnation. You see them as less than human. You see them as a visual nuisance. "They created their situations", you tell yourself.
Homelessness is one thing people wish not to think about during the orgy of opulence that is at the center of holiday celebrations in the U.S. Many people won't even click to read this!
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- Where is the Love?
A cautionary note for the holiday season from Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater
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- Christmas and Non-Violence
John Dear reminds us of a beautiful theme for the Christmas season that is too often forgotten by those who pretend to be Christians while simultaneously making wars.
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- Kindness, a poem
Poet Naomi Shihab Nye gives us a poem that helps elevate us into the holiday spirit
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- Spielberg’s Munich: Myth and Reality
Steven Spielberg’s Munich has already generated considerable controversy. New York Times columnist David Brooks said that Spielberg presents a “perpetual motion machine” of violence and that he ignores the “evil” involved—presumably meaning the Palestinians. The right-wing organization, CAMERA, is aghast that Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner depict Palestinians as people rather than as mindless killers. Our friends at Jewish Voice for Peace review the film.
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- White Horse
A poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
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- Christians in the Holy Land: A New Leader?
Meet Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the new Roman Catholic in charge of all the Christian holy places in the Middle East.
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- Chanukah--its universal message
It's not about gift or about latkes or about a cruise of oil that lasted 8 days.
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- Christmas Wars Again? The Jews and the Secularists did NOT Steal Christmas, but it WAS stolen!
Last year Rabbi Lerner was on the O'Reilly t.v. show to challenge the religious right's attempt to blame secular people, civil libertarians and Jews for the loss of the Christmas spirit. They are still at it this year, and Rabbi Lerner's response is still relevant.
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- Chanukah and Idealistic Non-conformity
What's the Chanukah spirit all about?
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- Judaism and the Death Penalty
Some people believe that the Bible pushes us to support the death penalty. Not so fast!
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- Interfaith Dialogue: The Overlooked Objectives
An Egyptian psychiatrist, anthropologist, and freelance writer says that there are two objectives of interfaith dialogue that are overlooked: First, scholars should apply their academic knowledge to defuse conflicts between faiths. Second, interfaith dialogue has to move from conferences to synagogues, mosques and churches.
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- Israel Update
The U.N. condemns Israel, but not Palestinian terror; a peace activist in Israel argues that Sharon will make some real contributions to Palestinian freedom, and another argues against that notion. Meanwhile, Palestinian Muslims join Tikkun and other Western voices in calling for release of the Christian Peacemaker Team 4 held by Muslim extremists in Iraq. Plus other articles that you may have read on Tikkun mail (if you are not subscribed, it's free--please do so now). Hit the box that says free sign up for Tikkun mail on the right hand column (scroll down).
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- Patriot Act About To Be Re-Enacted
Did you know how bad the new version of the Patriot Act is going to be? Shauna L. Smith provides a useful analysis for spiritual progressives. She urges some immediate action.
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- Ethical Consumption During the Holiday Season
You dont have to buy stuff to be loved or to be loving toward others. It's better for the environment if you don't. Here are some creative alternatives to resist the pressure of holiday buying.
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- Aftershock
Ariel Sharon has launched a new political party. Polls showing him winning the March election. This will be the first three-way race in Israeli history. For the first time in decades, Labor has an unabashed social democrat at its head, and the settlement movement is in disarray. Robert Rosenberg reports from Tel Aviv.
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- Sharon is Not the Path to Peace. Peretz Might Be
Assessments of the plans of Amir Peretz and Ariel Sharon in regard to building peace between Israel and Palestine.
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- Noam Chomsky Interview
One of the world's most respected (and vilified) public intellectuals challenges conventional wisdom on Israel and much more.
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- It's in Our Hands to Build the Society We Want
Howard Zinn reminds us that reliance on the Supreme Court has been a mistake for liberals and progressives. The Court responds to society, so only by building mass social movements can we expect it to stop defending the interests of America's elites.
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- More People in Prison for Marijuana Than For Violent Crimes
Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor bemoans the terrible betrayal of ethics by Democrats who joined the crusade to impose heavy jail sentences on people using marijuana, a drug with less adverse effects than many currently legal drugs sold without prescription.
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- Interview With Amir Peretz
In this June 2005 interview, LabourStart's Eric Lee talks to Israel's new Labor Party chief about his political beliefs. If you want a good sense of what Peretz actually thinks, this fascinating conversation covers all of the relevant bases.
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- The Return of Israel's Left
For the first time in years, Israel's Labor Party is being led by someone who speaks the language of the Left. Not since Menachem Begin's election in 1977 has Israeli politics undergone such a dramatic change. Robert Rosenberg reports from Tel Aviv.
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- Israeli Authorities Grabbing More Palestinian Land
It seems as if the Israeli government has learned nothing--it still proceeds to grab Palestinian land in the West Bank. Amira Hass, Ha'aretz correspondent, reports.
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- Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre & Reflections on Oil as Motive for War in Iraq
Ever wonder why so many Iraqis are willing to kill themselves to get rid of the U.S. presence? Here is some relevant information. And ever wonder why the US persists in wanting to hold on? Consider the latest revelations.
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- Why is France Burning?
Radical journalist Doug Ireland gives a full introduction to the rioting in France and why it has spread beyond the suburbs of Paris. A more serious analysis than you'll get from print and television news.
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- Bush's Own Church Calls for Withdrawal from Iraq
If Bush heard a call from God to take him into war, will he listen when God gives a different message to his Church?
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- US Torture Chambers: Why the Media Won't Tell The Truth
There are important facts that the media is voluntarily withholding from the public in order to show how "responsible" it is when it comes to challenging U.S. torture sites.
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- Ten Years After
A decade after after the assassination, the Rabin commemoration industry is developing a peculiar `legacy,' one `without politics' - that is, without Oslo.
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- Sheikh al-Dhari's Disastrous Gamble, and Ours
If it is true that the US has little intention of withdrawing its troops, Iraq is faced with the prospect that the Bush Administration prefers a manageable insurgency that ensures its indefinite presence.
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- Why Are Some Democrats Aligned with Wal-Mart?
The firm that has taken the lead in destroying small business and preventing union organizing has support from some Democrats. Is it really a surprise that many working people feel confused about what the Dems really stand for?
Author Jonathan Tasini presents a powerful critique.
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- Venezuela's President Chavez Uncensored
America's news media has never given us a real opportunity to learn about the unique political thinking of Venezuela's revolutionary President. Here is a transcript of an interview with Chavez by Democracy Now's Amy Goodman.
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- Assad and Bush the Sons...
Shouldn't the world body demand that any member of the US government, up to and including the President, who is found to be responsible for the war in Iraq, be turned over to a special UN tribunal for trial un