Many of you know how hard I work at putting together this blog. You have some sense of the hours of research, the cultivation of sources, and then the literary crafting of these posts, and all that this involves. It’s intense work. Even sometimes frustrating work. But there is nothing I’d rather do than this. In nothing else can I conceive that I can strike a blow for the world I want to see and be.
As 2017 comes to an end, matters are bleak in the Middle East. Donald Trump has brought us to the edge of a precipice with the willing participation of Bibi Netanyahu and Mohammed ibn Salman. But it precisely in these dark moments that we must hold on to our humanity; retain our ability to project a future that redeems the blood and hatred of the past. Do not give up hope.
I seek your support for the groundbreaking work this blog has done exposing the secrets of the Israeli national security state. I’ve supported victims of rape and sexual abuse, exposed the crimes of judges and IDF officers, revealed Israeli war-time massacres, and generally exposed secrets Israeli intelligence and military hoped to keep concealed from its public and the world.
There are also real expenses involved in developing and maintaining the blog: servers, hosting, hardware, software, repairs, technical support. It adds up to a considerable sum.
Shards of Hope
Just as one example, back in 2011 I was the first journalist to reveal that the Mossad, with the connivance of the highest level of the Ukrainian intelligence services, had kidnapped a Gazan who traveled to the Ukraine, fleeing the grip of Hamas. Dirar Abusisi’s case was sad and beyond tragic. He was accused of crimes he never committed. Accused of being a terror mastermind (he wasn’t). His case was a sham from beginning to end, concocted to hide the fact that Hamas had fooled Israeli intelligence into believing Abusisi was someone he wasn’t. Instead of admitting they’d been duped, the Mossad decided to save face by throwing the book at Abusisi. After years of refusing to bend Abusisi, facing poor medical care and serious health complications, did accept a plea and faces decades in an Israeli prison. He leaves behind a wife and six young (and now teenage) children.
Hardly anyone in the Israeli media took an interest in covering the case possibly because the military censor generally refused to permit any extensive reporting that went into any detail. But earlier this month all that changed with a one-minute segment mentioning Abusisi in Israel’s leading TV news magazine, Uvdah. Now, another intrepid reporter seeks to take advantage of this breakthrough and is preparing a segment dealing much more comprehensively with his case. It’s taken six years to get to this point. But finally, there may be some light and truth shed on a travesty of Israeli justice.
That is how I maintain my hope and faith. Look into the future. Look at the long-term. Victories are rarely big. Instead they are incremental. But there are victories. Truth, justice and history guarantee it.
I’ve come to accept, grudgingly that I may never live to see a full, real Israeli-Arab peace. But I retain hope my teenage son may.
Raising Hell
I’ve raised hell here. Neither the Israeli military censor nor the state cyber-crime czar are terribly happy about it. A few years ago, at a public conference the censor told the audience she hoped some time she would come face to face with me. The implication was that she hoped it would be behind [Israeli] bars. This past year, some of my posts to social media were censored by orders of the Israeli security apparatus. And Twitter and Google, I’m sorry to say, succumbed to this outrageous abuse of free speech.
Because of the lack of transparency and the heavy hand of the security state, Israeli journalism has at least one hand tied behind its back. Literally hundreds, if not thousands of stories can’t be reported because of gag order and censorship. But I am not bound by such limits. I can report freely what may not be published there.
My goal is to strike a blow for justice and democracy. To fight against the censorious powers-that-be. To envision a future that is democratic and offers a “state for all its citizens.”
I can only do this with your help. If you value this work, stand up and support it. Give $100. More if you can.
There are three ways to do this:
- Make a tax-deductible gift via Network for Good (designate gift for “Tikun Olam”)
- Make a gift that is not tax-deductible via Paypal
- Send a check made out to my fiscal sponsor:Media Island International
Post Office Box 7204
Olympia, WA 98507add “Tikun Olam” in note portion of check
your gift is tax-deductible
I wish you a wonderful New Year filled with happiness and justice.