Israel-Palestine

Tying the Gordian Knot: the Historical Entangling of Israel and Palestine

Alan Flanagan
·
October 25, 2023
Tying the Gordian Knot: the Historical Entangling of Israel and Palestine

To most of us watching the latest act in the macabre tragedy of the Middle East unfold, the poisoned well of our information ecosystems exacerbates any capacity for reason or understanding. To much of the internet, the events of and subsequent to October 7th seem to be little more than The Current Thing, a chance to don a metaphorical jersey and rush in…

Read full story

Asymmetry and the Dilemma of Self-Determination

Alan Flanagan
·
November 13, 2023
Asymmetry and the Dilemma of Self-Determination

A potent mix of forces brought us to this point: the strategic location of the Levant and its historical coveting by peoples and empires from antiquity; the Israelite tribes dating to the Iron Age; the Arabisation of the region between the 7th-9th Centuries; the modern historical interplay of two fallen imperial powers, the Ottoman Turk’s and the Britis…

Read full story

Anti-Semitism and the Anti-Imperialism of Fools

Alan Flanagan
·
December 22, 2023
Anti-Semitism and the Anti-Imperialism of Fools

At this point in the series, we have set out important historical context and elaborated on some of the ahistorical perspectives that seem to dominate the present discourse, in particular the establishment of the state of Israel, the various conflicts with surrounding Arab states, and the quagmire of the military occupation of the West Bank (and Gaza un…

Read full story

Moral Combat, Messianism, and the No-State Solution

Alan Flanagan
·
January 22, 2024
Moral Combat, Messianism, and the No-State Solution

In Part 3 of our series, we addressed the explosion of anti-Semitism observed since the October 7th pogrom by reference to the history of Leftist anti-Semitism, the influence of postmodern relativism on Leftist justifications for massacres of “oppressors”, and the pivotal role of the Soviets in shaping Islamist fundamentalism and Palestinian terrorism. …

Read full story

So, Israel is No Longer a Liberal Democracy?

Alan Flanagan
·
March 24, 2024
So, Israel is No Longer a Liberal Democracy?

So Israel is no longer a liberal democracy. Based on the 2024 Varieties of Democracy “V-Dem” Index released earlier this week, the country has been downgraded from “liberal democracy” to “electoral democracy”. This has been met with much self-satisfied delight among the Western Left/liberal commentariat, and social media in particular, and predictably i…

Read full story

From the Safe Space to the Sea

Alan Flanagan
·
May 8, 2024
From the Safe Space to the Sea

Picture a scenario...a student group at a university applies to hold a “Palestine Week”, which is held with the full support of the university, but when a Jewish student group applies to hold their own campus event, they are told by the university that political activities are not permitted. At another university, the Jewish Society is stuck off the uni…

Read full story

Occupation in the Garden of Eden

Alan Flanagan
·
August 18, 2024
Occupation in the Garden of Eden

The Archbishop of Canterbury has a habit of making grand political declarations on matters ranging from the environment and Just Stop Oil campaigns to UK immigration policy to child benefits. I’m not much bothered by the Archbishop’s pronouncements (although certain corners of the British press

Read full story

Israel's Moral Purpose

Alan Flanagan
·
October 7, 2024
Israel's Moral Purpose

I’m not alone in how the horrific pogrom of October 7th, the bloodshed in the aftermath and the turmoil of the ongoing war and conflict have occupied so much of my days and nights in the past year. That this chapter in the ongoing calamitous saga of the Middle East has occupied much headspace probably comes as no surprise to 3am Thoughts readers given t…

Read full story