Leid Stories – 08.25.15

Israeli President Affirms Zionist ‘Right’ to Build in West Bank

A ‘Fresh Start’ for Ferguson’s Court System, But Is It Justice?

A month after Israeli extremists firebombed a Palestinian home in the West Bank village of Duma, killing a father and his 18-month-old son, President Reuven Rivlin yesterday affirmed to leaders of the settler movement that, contrary to international law, Israel had a “right” to build settlements, as “a basic fact of modern Zionism.”

Mark LeVine, professor of Middle Eastern History at the University of California-Irvine and distinguished visiting professor at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden, addresses Rivlin’s assertion and related issues.

Five months after the U.S. Department of Justice skewered the police department and criminal-justice system in Ferguson, Missouri, for targeting blacks and treating them largely as source of revenue for the city, newly appointed Municipal Court Judge Donald McCullin yesterday announced a series of changes—chief among them dropping all arrest warrants for minor crimes and infractions issued before December 31, 2014.

It’s a good sign, says Leid Stories in a commentary. But is it justice?

Netanyahu Strikes Deal For New Coalition Government In Israel – JOSEF FEDERMAN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completed the formation of a new coalition late Wednesday, putting him at the helm of a hard-line government that appears to be set on a collision course with the U.S. and other key allies. Netanyahu reached a deal with the nationalist Jewish Home party shortly before a midnight deadline, clinching a slim parliamentary majority and …

The Roots of Netanyahu’s Electoral Victory: Colonial Expansion and Fascist Ideology

“It is always a meritorious deed to get hold of a Palestinian’s possessions” The code of Jewish Law revised and updated by Benjamin Netanyahu             Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election makes him the longest serving prime minister in Israel’s history.  His 20% margin of victory (30 Knesset seats to 24 for his nearest opponent) underlines the mass base of his consolidation of power.             Most critical commentators …