I just returned from an eleven day trip to Israel, Palestine and Egypt.  I hope to write about it at greater length: the situation is tremendously depressing, as Israel is carrying on a kind of slow motion ethnic cleansing, severing the Palestinians from Jerusalem but various bureaucratic measures and home demolitions.  It is sad both for itself–to see the extent to which Palestinian every day lives are regulated  by Israelis with guns; for the peace process–because there will be no peace unless the Palestinians and Muslims world in general have some access to Jerusalem, which is a holy city for Muslims and Christians, as well as Jews.  And because America, as Israel’s only ally and benefactor, makes all this possible–indeed encourages it by the supine nature  of its dealings with Israel.

For the meantime, I’d like to call DC area TAC readers attention to an event at Busboys and Poets in Washington DC, this coming Sunday at 9:30AM.  Mondoweiss blogger (and TAC contributor) Philip Weiss and several of his co-authors will be discussing his recently published book on the Goldstone Report, its reception, and implications.  For those of you who don’t know it, Phil publishes one of the most penetrating blogs in the country–mostly about Israel and Palestine, but also   about Jews and Christians, the American media, the power of the Israel lobby, Jewish identity, and related subjects–in short, quite a lot of ground, in a voice that is subtle, searching, and quite unique.