Dialogue on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict

Many people claim that the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is complicated. I don’t buy that. It boils down to the blatant denial of human rights to the Palestinian people. If the US would stop funding the Israeli war machine and join other nations in denouncing Israel’s injustices toward Palestinians, I believe we would have peace in relatively short order.

To those detractors who claim the Arab world wants to drive Israel into the sea, that sounds much like the false argument some people used years ago to defend a divided Ireland. “Home rule is Rome rule,” they said, stoking fears that an independent and united Ireland would be governed by the Pope.

Similarly, Israel needs to be one country where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and others not only respect but learn to appreciate each other’s differences. Just as Ireland is not officially a Catholic country, although 75% of the population is Catholic, Israel shouldn’t declare Judaism its official religion either. Continue Reading →

Alaska’s inaction on climate taken to court

On this week’s Fallon Forum, I interview Kat Haber and Bob Shavelson. Kat was a participant in the 2014 Great March for Climate Action, and remains vocal and active on a number of climate fronts. Bob is an attorney, and his two daughters are plaintiffs in the Sinnok v. State of Alaska lawsuit.

The suit was filed by sixteen young Alaskans against the State of Alaska, Governor Dunleavy, and five state agencies. The lead plaintiff, Esau Sinnok, lives in Shishmaref, a small coastal community that has seen extreme erosion in recent years due to climate-induced ice melt. Continue Reading →