Although I am a Jewish American, born and raised in the United States, I am also a citizen of Israel by virtue of my father’s birth in that country. Israel’s laws automatically confer citizenship on the children of citizens regardless of their place of birth. Like all other Jewish citizens of Israel, I am required to serve in the Israeli army. On Thursday I set fire to my Israeli military deferral papers across the street from the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. This act of civil disobedience took place during a protest organized by a Jewish American peace organization against the atrocities that Israel is committing in the occupied Gaza Strip. Josh Ruebner explains why. Read more about Why I Burned My Israeli Military Papers 

Things must be bad in Palestine when the United States allows a resolution to pass in the UN Security Council, as it did late on 19 May condemning Israeli actions. The resolution is a moral victory for Palestinians, but there is no reason to take comfort from it as Israel intensified its attack on the Gaza refugee camp. Unless the other members of the Security Council and the wider international community act immediately to halt Israel’s assault, we can conclude that the UN Resolution was designed only to absolve them from any further action. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah names some specific actions the international community must take. Read more about After Rafah, Europe, Arabs have no excuse for inaction 

“Nidal played the hero of the play who did not confess anything to the interrogators. He said that the play taught them about what to expect if they were ever arrested, and how to avoid giving up information even when manipulated. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘three of the actors are living the play in real life.’ Muhammad, who played an interrogator in the play, is lonely these days, having lost many in his circle of friends. With a forlorn air that almost suggested he only spoke to journalists because there was no one else to talk to, Muhammad said, ‘Before the arrests, there was movement in Aida, I could find people to chat with. Now, there is no one’.” Amahl Bishara and Nidal al-Azraq report on life imitating art in one West Bank refugee camp. Read more about Assume the position: a play about prison is followed by arrests 

Israel’s ongoing assault on human lives and property in Rafah is, according to Israeli spokespersons, “aimed at preventing a huge shipment of arms being smuggled.” The past four days, Israeli forces have killed 39 Palestinians. Its military assault on Palestinians in Rafah includes extensive house demolitions and other human rights abuses. The question should be asked, who supplies Israel’s military occupation of the Gaza Strip. Both the U.S. and EU are the main suppliers of arms with which Israel has forced Palestinians to live under military occupation for decades. Read more about Who really smuggled weapons to Rafah? 

When I saw the images of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by U.S. troops in Abu Ghraib, I felt as though I had already visually experienced it in the visceral work of American artist Leon Golub. Similar to what I sensed when first seeing the now infamous Abu Ghraib photographs, the even more recent images of house demolitions and death in Rafah incited an all too familiar feeling of dread — the feeling that we have seen this all before, and how horrible are we for letting it happen again. Read more about Pictures of war: Conflicts and dates may change, but the imagery and inhumanity stay the same 

Since Rachel Corrie died in Rafah over a year ago, Rafah has held a special place in the hearts of Olympia residents who have been attempting to forge a sister city relationship with the besieged city. On May 18, the Olympia Rafah Sister City Project [ORSCP] sponsored a demonstration in support of the people in Rafah. About 35 people gathered at rush hour on Percival Landing to protest the latest destruction and show solidarity with the Palestinian people. The current deadly incursion in Rafah has hit many people here hard. Read more about Outrage in Olympia as Sister City is Attacked