By Leah Levane
“The story of the prisoner is never only about the prisoner. It is about a people who refuses to submit. It is about the stubborn, beautiful, unbreakable human will to be free”
Palestinian prisoners, like those from other liberation struggles from South Africa and Kenya, Algeria and Ireland, are part of the struggle and what can emerge from those prisons are “songs, manifestos, revolutions.”
So, there’s been a tremendous amount of news coming out of Gaza and Israel-Palestine, more generally, obviously over the last couple of weeks. But one of the things that I think hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves that I want to highlight is Israel’s refusal to release Marwan Barghouti, the most famous Palestinian prisoner. And … Continued
I tried to watch the New York City mayoral debate last night. I made it maybe five minutes in—until the moderators started asking about Israel. That was enough. I turned it off. [You can see Cuomo’s crude attempt to skewer Mamdani and his straight response in this clip here. You can watch the full debate … Continued
By Leah Levane
Anti-Zionist Jews are saying: we need new institutions. In London, Toronto or New York, this is a literal call for social and religious organisations that do not replicate the harms of Zionism. However, institutions are agreed practices long before they are bricks and mortar. For anti-Zionist Jews to unseat Zionism globally, we must institutionalise a positive, … Continued
KEIR STARMER’S attempt to overturn an independent policing decision to unleash racist football hooligans on Birmingham is cynical, inept — and extremely dangerous. Cynical because he is a champion of “law and order,” who presses the police to obstruct peaceful demonstrations and oversees mass arrests of non-violent sit-ins. Yet when police take a safety-based decision to … Continued
The Tel Aviv football derby between Hapoel and Maccabi has been called off after rioting and “risks to human life”, Israeli police said. The match was due to take place on Sunday night at Bloomfield Stadium, a ground the two sides share, as a home fixture for Hapoel. Footage shared by the police shows projectiles … Continued
By Leah Levane
It is difficult but necessary to read about Israel’s quotidian brutality. It will make us angry. We can empathise but I, for one, cannot understand how this level of dehumanisation is possible but more seriously how Israel is allowed to carry out such actions, that this is known and yet that country is still welcomed into the international community, still invited to participate in international sports, arts and other activities. This torture alone should surely make it a pariah State,
The response to the measured decision by the Birmingham City Council’s decision to ban Maccabi fans from attending the game against Aston Villa on 6th November on safety grounds has been shamefully mispresented.
Keir Starmer’s immediate, absurd response was to say: “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets” about a decision which had nothing to do with antisemitism and everything to do with guaranteeing the safety of the ordinary citizens in Birmingham.
Judges have ruled that Palestine Action has the right to pursue a judicial review of its proscription under the Terrorism Act and Defend our Juries is escalating its non-violent protest campaign against the ban.
U.S. President Donald Trump is coming to Jerusalem on Monday to celebrate the cease-fire he imposed on Israel and Hamas, after two years of a bloody war that ended in a draw. Trump likes to boast that he is more successful at resolving conflicts than his predecessors in the White House, but he did nothing … Continued