Tag: human rights

Posted on

When artists speak:ย Moral responsibility and the limits of celebrity activism

Ed Sheeran and Macklemore. Image Credit: Christopher Polk By Rod Benson If artists possess the freedom to address political questions, what responsibilities accompany that freedom? The dispute surrounding Macklemoreโ€™s removal from Ed Sheeranโ€™s American tour illustrates why the answer cannot simply be that celebrities should speak whenever they possess strong convictions. Public platforms magnify both …

Continue reading "When artists speak:ย Moral responsibility and the limits of celebrity activism"

Posted on

Election is not exemption: Human rights, Scripture and sacred exceptionalism

Likud lawmaker Hanoch Milwidsky. By Rod Benson In remarks circulated on video in September 2026, Likud member of the Knesset Hanoch Milwidsky reportedly declared: โ€œWe are not like everyone else,โ€ adding that laws applying to others do not apply to the Jewish people. According to the published English translation, he also described the Jewish people …

Continue reading "Election is not exemption: Human rights, Scripture and sacred exceptionalism"

Posted on

The history and politics of the First Intifada

What came to be known as the First Intifada unfolding in Gaza Strip, 1987. Historians of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict identify two highly significant moments in the long drawn-out conflict by the names given to them by Palestinians: the First and Second Intifada. An overview In Arabic, the word "Intifada "(ุงู†ุชูุงุถุฉ) literally means "shaking off" or "uprising." …

Continue reading "The history and politics of the First Intifada"

Posted on

The trillion-dollar question

News that the world has seen the arrival of its first trillionaire captures public attention because it triggers shock and envy, and pushes familiar questions about wealth into unfamiliar territory. Human societies have always contained rich and poor, merchants and labourers, rulers and subjects. Yet a personal fortune measured in trillions of dollars represents wealth …

Continue reading "The trillion-dollar question"

Posted on

Why I do not support Hamas

It beggars belief that I need to spell out the reasons why I do not support a terrorist organisation whose aim is to annihilate the State of Israel, but here we are. Almost every time I speak up in defence of the human rights of Palestinians, or criticise Israeli state violence against Palestinians and other …

Continue reading "Why I do not support Hamas"