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Links to Recent Articles of Interest
“How the Israeli Settlers Movement Shaped Modern Israel”
By Arie Perliger, Informed Comment, posted September 19
“Since the late 1970s, the future of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank has been the country’s most divisive debate. Yet the once-fringe settler movement has arguably become the most influential actor in Israeli politics.” The author is director of Security Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Among his books is Jewish Terrorism in Israel (Columbia U. Press, 2009).
“How the Trump Campaign Ran with Rumors about Pet-Eating Migrants — After Being Told They Weren’t True”
By Kris Maher, Valerie Bazuerlein, and Tawnell D. Hobbs, Wall Street Journal, posted September 18
A careful, damning account of how Springfield, Ohio became a target for far-right hate groups with the help of a major political party’s presidential ticket. The authors are veteran investigative reporters for the Wall Street Journal.
“The Historical Precedents to Trump’s Attacks on Haitian Immigrants”
Interview with Kathleen Belew, The New Yorker, posted September 18
“An expert on white nationalism explains how such demonizing rhetoric incubates and spreads— and what sets this particular episode apart.” Focuses especially on the interplay between grassroots far-right groups and the politicians who stoke and use their anger. Kathleen Belew teaches history at Northwestern University and has written Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America (Harvard U. Press, 2018)
“The Sphinx and the Sultan: How Biden’s Bear Hug of Netanyahu Caused Washington’s Mideast Policy to Crash and Burn”
By Juan Cole, TomDispatch, posted September 17
Details ways in which US support for Israel’s extremist government is uniting nearby Arab regimes (both secular and Islamist) in their opposition to the ongoing destruction of Gaza, while undermining US hopes to foster an alliance against Iran. The author teaches Middle East history at the University of Michigan.
“The Law of Force or the Force of Law”
By Lawrence Wittner, Counterpunch, posted September 13
Asks, “Are the nations of the world doomed to go on fighting the brutal, horrifying wars that have long characterized human history?” and offers “the structure of international relations” as a reason for the persistence of warfare. Goes on to describe calls that have been made for forms of global governance. The author is a professor emeritus of history at SUNY Albany.
“How Should the Global South Look at the U.S. Elections?”
By Walden Bello, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted September 12
Argues that although most Americans would be better off with a Harris presidency than one under Trump, the Democratic Party leadership has embraced an imperial foreign policy that is different from Trump’s but no better. Barring a change in Harris’s foreign-policy stance, “we in the Global South would be well advised not to take sides in this dogfight between rival parties of empire.” The author is a former member of the Philippines congress and a co-founder of Focus on the Global South.
“The Threat of the Comstock Act to Abortion Rights If Kamala Harris Loses”
By Rebecca DeWolf, Made by History – Time, posted September 12
Recounts the origins of the obscure “anti-obscenity” law passed in 1875 and never repealed, and notes that while the Biden administration has resisted any attempt to apply it to the mailing of abortion-related materials, a Trump administration could adopt the opposite policy. The author has a history PhD from American University and is writing a book on the criminalization of abortion in the nineteenth century.
“The Dangers of White Totalitarianism”
By Elizabeth Schmidt, Africa as a Country, posted September 12
Draws a present-day lesson from the experience of the British colony of Rhodesia in the 1960s, when leaders of the 7% white minority declared the colony’s independence in order to avoid power-sharing. The author is a professor emerita of history at Loyola University Maryland and vice-president of the African Studies Association.
“Israel Is Not an Ally, Netanyahu Is Not a Friend”
By Alan Singer, Daily Kos, posted September 4
The current Israeli government “pursues policies that run counter to U.S. interests in the Middle East and around the world and it meddles in U.S. politics to create partisan political tension and influence elections.” The author is a historian who teaches at Hofstra University and directs the social studies education program there.
“Project 2025 Provides a GOP Blueprint for Destroying America’s Labor Unions and the Rights of American Workers”
By Lawrence S. Wittner, Z, posted August 28
Sets forth the specific attacks on labor rights advocated in Project 25, which would be ensured by the firing of up to 50,000 federal workers and their replacement by Trump loyalists. It also shows the fingerprints of the Trump world in Project 25’s formulation. The author is a professor emeritus of history at SUNY Albany.
“The Haditha Massacre Photos That the Military Didn’t Want the World To See”
By Madeleine Baron, The New Yorker, posted August 27
On the lengthy struggle to force the US military to release photos taken in the wake of the massacre of 24 civilians in an Iraqi town in 2005. The Marine Corps commander at the time said he was proud of the photos having been suppressed. A sampling of the photos are published for the first time in connection with this article. The author is the host and lead reporter for the American Public Media podcast In the Dark.
“Trump’s Asylum Rhetoric Is Rooted in the Mariel Boatlift”
By Mauricio Castro, Made by History – Time, posted August 26
Describes the “Mariel boatlift” of 1980 that brought 125,000 Cubans to the US, and its subsequent use as a cudgel for anti-immigrant political figures. “Narratives about Mariel, frequently grounded in false information, have helped fuel a hostile populist politics that has been used by politicians, policy wonks, and voters to justify their embrace of punitive immigration restrictions.” The author teaches history and Latin American Studies at Centre College.
“Veterans and Victims in Kristin Hannah’s The Women“
By Jerry Lembcke, NYU Press Blog, posted August 20
A critique of a best-selling recent novel in which the discredited stereotype of American civilians spitting on soldiers returning from Iraq has taken on new life. The author, a Vietnam veteran is a professor emeritus of sociology at Holy Cross University His own book, Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam (NYU Press, 1998) is the definitive refutation of the myth. .
Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg and an anonymous reader for suggesting some of the articles included in the above list, and to Roger Peace for valuable consulting. Suggestions can be set to jimobrien48@gmail.com.
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