While I of course share in the joy at the return of the first three hostages, I’m also saddened because the agreement that freed them makes a mockery of human rights. That can only lead us towards more conflict. Consider this: If Palestinian terrorists who have committed gruesome murders of Israelis are being set free …
As Israel faces yet more terrorist attacks, there has been a renewed push to revoke the citizenship of terrorists and their families as punishment. It’s understandable why Israel wants to do this, but legal and practical obstacles mean it is probably not a workable solution. First, the problem. When a person commits a crime, unfortunately …
Can Israel Deport Families of Terrorists and Revoke Their Citizenship? Read More »
I admit that I did not purchase or read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ (TNC) new book. Ordinarily that ought to disqualify me from writing a review. But in this case, I think it’s fair to make an exception. I’ve heard quite a bit about his book, and I also read through an hour and twenty minute interview of …
After Israel, Egypt is the second-highest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, with $1.3 billion in military assistance allocated each year. Of that sum, $225 million is conditioned on ‘clear and consistent progress’ in improving human rights, and $95 million on releasing political prisoners. But in spite of limited or no movement on these matters, on …
Help Human Rights by Overlooking Them? What Releasing Aid to Egypt Says About Israel Read More »
I recently had the opportunity to attend RightsCon, a convention which brought over 8000 participants from 174 countries to discuss ‘human rights in the digital age’. The breadth of topics and attendees was astounding. I was able to chat with an investigative journalist from Jordan, a Bolivian environmental defender, and representatives of an organization called …
The U.S. State Department recently released a document titled ‘Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights’, with the purpose of clarifying and assessing the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy. Immediately, a coalition of over 200 human rights groups, former government officials, and academic experts released a letter condemning the report, saying it …
Controversy On State Department Report On Human Rights Read More »
Recently there has been much argument over statues of historical figures that owned slaves or carried out other such injustice. People argue that honoring these figures is to condone or overlook their crimes, minimizing the gravity of what they did and the harm they caused. Of course, statues don’t have rights and there is no …
In his recent book Evicted, Mathew Desmond follows the detailed stories of poor Milwaukee residents as they struggle with the threat of eviction, are evicted, and then subjected to homelessness and struggle to find new housing. The strength of Desmond’s writing is that he is scrupulously non-judgmental in his portrayal of both evicted tenants and …
The small nation of Brunei announced this week that it intends to punish homosexuality and adultery with death by stoning, in keeping with their strict interpretation of Islamic law. CNN coverage is here. Many world leaders have chimed in to denounce this as cruel and inhumane. Human rights groups have also been quick to protest. …
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