Morocco's King and Holocaust Awareness

Morocco's King and Holocaust Awareness

While the Islamic Republic of Iran held a Holocaust denial conference, Morocco's monarch King Mohammed VI is raising awareness of the Holocaust tragedy and its centrality for the Jewish people:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277908622&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The stance of Mohammed VI makes me proud. I am a Jew of Moroccan heritage. I have always insisted that Morocco can and will continue to play a vital role in enhancing tolerance between religions and civilizations, as well as promoting Middle East peace. I wish the King well in this righteous endeavour. And hope that the message spreads throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds. For peace to come, we must acknowledge the deep suffering of the other, yesterday and today.

Tamir Bar-On

Gaza's Creeping Islamicization

A top judge in Gaza has insisted that female lawyers must wear the Islamic headscarf:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/26/gaza-judge-female-lawyers_n_245015.html

Hamas has not yet imposed Islamic law in Gaza, but is this a sign of creeping Islamicization? And will Gaza's people stand for such blatant expressions of religiosity? Remember Gaza was once the fiefdom of the left-wing, secularist Fatah faction of the PLO. But the times they are a changin', particularly with the new Islamists in power in Gaza.

Tamir Bar-On

Cheney Wanted to Send US Troops to Buffalo

Cheney Wanted to Send US Troops to Buffalo

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney pressed to send US troops to Buffalo as part of the post-9-11 war on terror:

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/25/troops-american-cities/

From Guantanamo to the US homeland, following the rule of law was not one of Cheney's strength, to say the least.

Tamir Bar-On

US Right-Winger Says Obama Has Chip on Shoulder

US right-wing columnist Rush Limbaugh cannot get any more partisan and racist than his latest rant against US President Barack Obama:

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/24/limbaughs-obama-is-black/

Obama may have won the presidency, but as equality increases so do racist sentiments, ultra-nationalism, and homogeneous conceptions of nationhood from those political movements that fundamentally reject de facto equality.

Tamir Bar-On

A New Fascism Consensus?

A New Fascism Consensus?

In August, I will begin my new post as Professor in the Department of Humanities and International Relations at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Querétaro in Mexico (ITESM is the acronym in Spanish for Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey). As a political scientist with a specialisations in fascism, neo-fascism, terrorism, and the history of war and peace, I will teach international relations.

Here is a wonderful new academic article from a mentor, the Oxford Brookes University (England) historian of fascism Roger Griffin:

http://roger-griffin.blogspot.com/2009/07/conference-paper-new-new-consensus-on.html

Defining fascism is a monumental task. Griffin has not been shy in respect of this endeavour. His works have sought to highlight a "minimal" definition of fascism: A palingenetic (rebirth) form of populist ultra-nationalism. Other academics like Payne insist that fascism needs a more "maximalist" definition to encompass its negations (what it was against), ideological goals, and organizational framework.

A further question that preoccupies Griffin: Was fascism epochal (inter-war years)? Did it spread beyond Europe? And is fascim possible after the official defeats of the two main fascist regimes in history, Fascist Italy (1922-43) and Nazi Germany (1933-45)?

Questions to chew on...Griffin's paper will surely inform some of the debates with my students and colleagues in my new home at ITESM, Querétaro.

Tamir Bar-On

Blackwater's Dirty Tactics

Blackwater's Dirty Tactics

Blackwater's name is all that is synonymous with war, greed, the excesses of privatization, and the de-humanization of Iraqi lives. And their tactics are getting dirtier:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090803/scahill

General Sherman once said that war is hell and there is no way we can refine it. A good start might be banning Blackwater and other private contractors from the domain of war.

Tamir Bar-On

Islamists Find Toronto Home

Islamists Find Toronto Home

It is frightening the degree to which Islamists pull the wool over our eyes in both Toronto and Canada at large. Check out this Taliban-loving, death-rejoicing Islamist that is coming to Canada's largest city to set up an Islamic institute:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/07/21/terry-glavin-canada-s-new-taliban-booster-says-good-muslims-love-death.aspx

Tamir Bar-On