Who to Read on Gaza
We have been failed again by the mainstream media. So here are a few suggested alternative sources to get “the straight goods” on the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
Reproduced with permission of Polish artist Barbara Galińska
By Alan Story
For more than five months, the Israeli Offense / Occupation Force and its political masters have been pulverising the people of Palestine. I personally expected their genocidal campaign would have ceased some weeks ago. I was wrong.
As experienced US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh—and who is not especially sympathetic to the Palestinian cause—recently reminded us:
“Few wars, justified or not, have ended because of the suffering of an enemy’s population. Russia’s twenty million deaths in World War II tell us that. When one side’s military is dominant, as Israel’s is in Gaza, and the people there suffer greatly, the losing party either surrenders or is annihilated… How this will end is unknown. And it is very scary.”
I think Hersh is right. Setting aside his misplaced analogy to World War II and appreciating that the Palestinians know surrender is hardly an option — and flatly and bravely refuse to be annihilated — this war on Gaza is unlikely to cease anytime soon.
Zionist ideology, rank political opportunism, party & personal electoral concerns, and delaying criminal prosecution have shamefully trumped saving the lives of the children of Gaza.
For us in the UK, two things are paramount. First, we must redouble our solidarity efforts with the Palestinian people. Find a local or national march to join. Yes, an immediate ceasefire is central, but other demands, such as ending all arms sales to the apartheid state of Israel, must be popularised. Labour and the Tories flatly refuse both.
Second, we must greatly step up our efforts to counter many of the flat out lies being spread by the mainstream media: that Israel is waging this war as “an act of self-defence”, that the West is supposedly impotent to stop it, that this war “began” on 7 October, and so on. (See this Novara Media “behind the scenes” piece on why The Guardian has been so pro-Israeli in its coverage.)
To assist you in this latter task of waging your own personal campaign against this media war of disinformation, we have selected four writers and one independent online publication—all English language—where you can get the “straight goods” on Israel’s war of genocide.
1. Chris Hedges: Highly credible and authoritative
This veteran US journalist and commentator has no shortage of boosters. Here’s what Dr. Cornel West, who is currently running to be president of the US, had to say about Chris Hedges:
“Chris Hedges is the greatest radical writer and journalist of our generation! His courage and consistency are legendary!”
For fifteen years, Hedges1 was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, including a number of years as that newspaper’s Middle East bureau chief. He has covered many wars and global hotspots since the 1980s and is feared by dictators. Saddam Hussein, for example, offered a bounty to anyone who killed Hedges after he reported on atrocities in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.
Hedges is also a long-time political activist—he was recently in London at the extradition appeal of Julian Assange—an environmentalist, and a Presbyterian minister. No journalist has been more critical of both the Israeli atrocities in Gaza and the complicity of the Biden government in this genocide.
He currently operates a Substack that regularly exposes the duplicity of both governments. Hedges writes like the seasoned pro that he is and I subscribe to his Substack at £5.00 per month. (As a bonus, his posts also often feature very strong artwork by Mr. Fish.)
Here is an 8 Feb. analysis by Hedges called ‘Let them Eat Dirt’.
And here is the archive of the Chris Hedges Report Substack (with 86k followers).
2. The Electronic Intifada: Always on message
Established in 2001, The Electronic Intifada has grown into a sophisticated online publication that justifiably calls itself an educational resource focusing on Palestine, its people, politics, culture and place in the world.
It is both independent and comprehensive in its coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza and, without doubt, “the place to go” if you want to keep right up to date with top-quality news coverage and commentary. Not surprisingly, the publication and its team of writers, both inside Palestine and around the world, have won numerous awards.
Check out the publication’s website and the many ways it tells the story of Palestine on a 24/7 basis.
Operating such a publication is expensive and your financial contribution would be most welcome, especially at a time when the Palestinian people are under such grave attack. Please feel free to donate here.
3. Caitlin Johnstone: Takes no prisoners
Here is how Caitlin Johnstone describes herself:
“Rogue journalist. Bogan socialist. Anarcho-psychonaut. Guerrilla poet. Utopia prepper. Proudly 100 percent reader-funded through Patreon and Paypal. Much work done with assistance from soulmate/brother-in-arms/co-conspirator Tim Foley.”
(By the way, a “bogan” is Aussie slang for “an uncouth or unsophisticated person of low social status”).
As a journo myself since the 1960s, I find nothing low status about her work. She is pithy and passionate, she does her homework, and is often very cutting.
Her main “beat” for weeks now has been Gaza/Palestine. In fact, these days, she writes on Palestine nearly every day. Due to the time zone difference between the UK and Australia, you can expect an analysis/commentary on overnight developments in Palestine—or in Washington—to arrive from her in your email in-box before 6:00 a.m. every morning. Invaluable.
A recent “no bs” newsletter by Caitlin and her Substack.
4. Mohammed el-Kurd: A young Palestinian writer. Speaks blunt truths to power.
I have not been following Mohammed el-Kurd for that long. He was recommended to me recently by a relative. I can see why she did.
Aged 25 and born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Mohammed el-Kurd is a Palestinian poet, journalist, activist, visual artist, and printmaker.
Look at his Wikipedia entry to get a fuller sense of his activism and views.
El-Kurd spoke on 14 Jan. 2024, at a march in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Afterwards, the Met formally investigated him but dropped the case.
Here is a selection of his articles. Follow el-Kurd’s Instagram to see his posts and videos about the war on Gaza such as Zionism Explained or this video explaining the cost of war in Gaza.
5. Jonathan Cook: Digs into the muck behind the scenes.
Jonathan Cook is one of the U.K.’s leading investigative journalists. He lived in Nazareth, Israel, for most of the past 25 years and won awards for his many investigations of the apartheid state of Israel and its brutal treatment of the Palestinian people. This work led to three books; you can find out their titles and read more on his career as a journalist on his Wikipedia entry.
When Cook won a Martha Gelhorn Special Prize for Journalism in 2011, the judge’s citation read:
“Jonathan Cook’s work on Palestine and Israel, especially his decoding of official propaganda and his outstanding analysis of events often obfuscated in the mainstream, has made him one of the reliable truth-tellers in the Middle East.”
In recent months, Jonathan has had lots of obfuscations — by the governments of Israel, the USA, and the UK, among others — to uncover and analyse.
Here is a link to one of his recent Substack exposes (this one on the BBC).
This is where you locate the archives of all Jonathan’s Substack pieces (and how you can subscribe or upgrade to paid… as I plan to do soon.)
To conclude:
1. We encourage you to look over the work of the above publications and writers. Writers need to pay their rent too and so if you read a Substack that you think is valuable to encourage, please think about a paid subscription.
2. For almost non-stop television coverage (as well as news articles) about the war on Gaza, AlJazeera cannot be beaten.
3. To keep up to date on pro-Palestine events in England and Wales, Google the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Consider making a donation. For Scotland, go here.
4. If you would like to purchase some of the graphic work of Polish artist Barbara Galińska (featured at the top of this post), get in touch with her via email at: licence@stopwar.com.pl.
You can see more of her work here.
Thanks for your support. You can reach us at: theleftlanepolitics@gmail.com
I've found many writers on substack excellent on this topic, such as: Another Angry Voice, The Byline Times, Ricky from Council Estate Media and for a more sardonic read, Laura K from Normal Island News. I find the news much more palitable when it comes from a sarcastic p.o.v so I adore Laura K.
Thanks for the reading suggestions. I wanted to add the following ones - and then I saw that Holly D had already mentioned the exactly same ones I wanted to recommend: Another Angry Voice, The Byline Times, Ricky from Council Estate Media and Laura K from Normal Island News. Ricky and Laura K are excellent - and also good for your mental health, I find!