David Cronin

The notion that Spain’s government is more favorably disposed to the Palestinians than to the State of Israel falls apart under scrutiny. David Cronin analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.

The EU’s unwillingness to address the treatment of Palestinians within Israel was exposed in a February report published by Adalah, a human rights organization based in Haifa, and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network.

Academic cooperation between Europe and Israel has been encouraged by governments on both sides. But who benefits and who loses? David Cronin comments for The Electronic Intifada.

If apartheid is a crime, there is only one way to treat its practitioners: arrest them. That is precisely what I tried to do when I confronted Avigdor Lieberman, the architect of a series of laws designed to make Israeli apartheid even more draconian than it already is.

BRUSSELS (IPS) - Arms traders are seeking to convince the European Union that publicly-funded scientific research grants should help develop weapons for future wars. In a series of secret discussions, Brussels officials and representatives of the arms industry are examining if the EU’s multi-billion euro “framework program” for research can be used for projects of a military nature.

Volvo prides itself on being a byword for sturdiness, safety and reliability. After a careful examination of the vehicle-maker’s investment in Israel, perhaps it should also become synonymous with enabling torture.

Rather than help nurture institutions for a future Palestinian state, a much-vaunted EU police training mission in the West Bank acts as a proxy for the Israeli occupation and is complicit in severe human rights abuses. David Cronin reports for The Electronic Intifada.

BRUSSELS (IPS) - Organizations raising funds to benefit the Israeli army and illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank enjoy tax-exempt status in Europe, an IPS investigation has shown. The Sar-El Foundation is one of several groups working in the Netherlands dedicated to supporting the Israeli military.

Even though they are supporting settlement activities that the Dutch government officially considers to be illegal, Christians for Israel and the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities enjoy a cordial relationship with some of the most powerful politicians in the Netherlands.

BRUSSELS (IPS) - Talks aimed at reaching an intelligence-sharing agreement between the European Union and Israel have skirted around the location of Israel’s national police headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. In 2005, the EU decided that Europol, its law enforcement office, should negotiate a formal cooperation agreement with Israel.