A month ago, our newsletter considered 9/11 and the long shadow of the war on terror. This week, we mark three years since Hamas insurgents invaded Israel, and the genocide that Israel has since enacted on the Palestinian people.
In my column this week, I try to make sense of why – after dozens of factsheets, UN reports, testimonies, and hours of footage of Israeli forces destroying Gaza – governments around the world are still hesitant to say what people around the world know to be true: that what Israel has done in Gaza is genocide, and it is inexcusable.
But before you get to my column, I urge you to read openDemocracy reporter Sian Norris’ explosive investigation into historical child abuse claims in the British military. This new investigation, co-published in the Guardian this morning, follows up on Sian’s reporting earlier this year.
Also in this edition, read Paul Rogers on the mysterious withdrawal of American B-1B strategic bombers from the RAF Fairford airfield in the UK, Nandini Naira Archer’s inspiring profile of Margaret Owen, the 94-year-old human rights lawyer arrested for holding a banner in support of Palestine Action, and Zack Polanski’s biographer, Russell Warfield, on the recently concluded by-election for Keir Starmer’s former parliamentary seat.
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This week marks the debut of our newest team member, tech journalist Evie Breese, who writes incisively on the UK’s muddled attempts to regulate so-called AI super-intelligence. As Evie notes in her piece, “UK legislators are caught between two competing priorities: preventing future catastrophe and addressing present harm.” As it turns out, they aren’t doing either at the moment.
Thank you, as always, for supporting our journalism. We are running a campaign to add 500 new regular supporters by the end of the year, so if you appreciate our journalism, please consider making a contribution.
Have a great weekend,
Aman Sethi
Sian Norris
Aman Sethi
Paul Rogers
Andrew Feinstein
Russell Warfield
Nandini Naira Archer
Evie Breese
Sian Norris
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openDemocracy receives so many carefully considered messages about our work that it seems a shame to keep them to ourselves.
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I respectfully disagree with the article's framing. In my opinion, anyone who deliberately commits criminal acts, destroys property and uses unlawful direct action to advance a political cause is employing terrorist tactics. These actions are not victimless. They are designed to create fear, intimidation and uncertainty among those targeted, including employees, contractors and others connected to the organisation.
When people are made to worry that political activists may attack their workplace, damage property or target them because of their association with a particular organisation, that goes beyond protest and becomes coercion.
While supporters may argue that the motives were noble, I do not believe that a cause justifies tactics intended to intimidate others or force political change through fear. For that reason, I regard those involved as terrorists rather than peaceful protesters.
Aston411 | I was sentenced as a terrorist. Now my barrister is on trial for defending me
This week in history
The Bolivian revolution and Che Guevara's death • 9 October 1967
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was captured and executed in Bolivia on 9 October 1967, having led a doomed guerrilla campaign to ignite revolution across Latin America. His death made him a global icon and led to his face being the most reproduced political image of the 20th century.
Our archive piece this week examines how the Zapatistas explicitly rejected the armed vanguard politics associated with Che, and why.
Ké Huelga
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