Sunday, January 14, 2024

Doomed US lunar lander’s space odyssey continues…for now


AFP
January 13, 2024


Though Astrobotic, the company that built the Peregrine robot, has said a controlled touchdown on the Moon is no longer possible -- it hasn't ruled out a so-called "hard landing" or crash, a prospect that has space watchers gripped. - Copyright Astrobotic/AFP/File -


Issam AHMED

Is it the little spaceship that could?

A private US lunar lander that’s been hemorrhaging fuel since an onboard explosion at the start of its journey is somehow still chugging along, snapping selfies and running science instruments as it continues its journey through space.

Though Astrobotic, the company that built the Peregrine robot, has said a controlled touchdown on the Moon is no longer possible, it hasn’t ruled out a so-called “hard landing” or crash — a prospect that has space watchers gripped.

“Peregrine has now been operating in space for more than 4 days,” Astrobotic said in its latest update posted on X on Friday, adding it remained “stable and operational.”

The rate of fuel loss has steadily diminished as the pressure inside its tank drops, meaning the company has been able to extend the spacecraft’s life far longer than it initially thought possible.

Meanwhile, the US, German and Mexican space agencies have been able to power on the scientific instruments they wanted to run on the Moon.

“Measurements and operations of the NASA-provided science instruments on board will provide valuable experience, technical knowledge, and scientific data to future CLPS lunar deliveries,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration for NASA.

Commercial Lunar Payload Services is the experimental NASA program under which the space agency paid Astrobotic more than $100 million to ship its hardware of Peregrine, as part of a strategy to seed a commercial lunar economy and reduce its own overheads.

Astrobotic is the third private entity to have failed in a soft landing, following an Israeli nonprofit and a Japanese company.

– ‘Shots on goal’ –

Though it hasn’t worked out this time, NASA officials have made clear their strategy of “more shots on goal” means more chances to score, and the next attempt, by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, launches in February.

Astrobotic itself will get another chance in November with its Griffin lander transporting NASA’s VIPER rover to the lunar south pole.

For now, the Pittsburgh-based company is staying tight-lipped on Peregrine’s intended destination, leaving enthusiasts to make their own calculations.

Amateur astronomer Tony Dunn used publicly available data provided by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to plot out the spaceship’s current course, posting a graphic on social media platform X showing it would collide with the Moon on January 23.

But “it’s really anybody’s guess as to what is actually going to happen because of the leaking fuel,” which could easily push it off course, he told AFP.

Or, Astrobotic could intentionally point Peregrine another way, such as flying by the Moon and shooting for interplanetary space.

While a hard lunar landing might satisfy some of Astrobotic’s clients, such as those flying human ashes and DNA to the Moon, it could anger others like the Navajo Nation, which had called that cargo a “desecration” of the celestial body.

“I think it would be a shame if they completed their failed mission by littering the surface of the Moon with debris,” Justin Walsh, a professor of art history, archaeology, and space studies at USC told AFP, adding that humanity had left some 180 tons of material on the surface since the first Soviet impactor crashed in 1959.


Op-Ed: Giant cosmic Big Ring is corkscrewing — What makes it do that?


ByPaul Wallis
January 12, 2024

In this screen grab of a White House broadcast the first infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is seen during a briefing with US President Joe Biden and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2022.The JWST is the most powerful telescope launched into space and it reached its final orbit around the sun, approximately 930,000 miles from Earths orbit, in January, 2022. The technological improvements of the JWST and distance from the sun will allow scientists to see much deeper into our universe with greater detail. — © AFP/NASA

The James Webb Telescope is rewriting the history of the universe, and upending a lot of core theories. It’s also throwing a few space-time curve balls, and the Big Ring of galaxies is one of them.

This gigantic ring is 1.2 billion light-years across. If the artistic impression images are anything to go by, it really is a circular shape in two dimensions. Nobody thought that was possible.

There’s a profound but understandable lack of information regarding the specific galaxies in the Big Ring. How old is the Big Ring? What are the ages and relationships with each other? Have they been gathered together over time or are they acting in relation to a local gravity situation? Are they ordered into a ring by some unknown gravitational phenomenon?

This vast ring of galaxies isn’t a sort of decorative place mat, either. It’s active. It’s actually corkscrewing. “Corkscrew” means a more or less symmetrical consistent directional screwing motion. That’s where classic physics gets a word in edgewise.

According to all known laws of physics, there needs to be a driving source of energy for the Big Ring to be able to corkscrew. Now it gets even more opaque in terms of physics beyond the Newtonian level.

Another more or less accurate word for this type of corkscrew motion is vortex. Vortices exist in micro and macro environments. A black hole is a vortex. So is the water going down your kitchen sink. Earth’s orbit around the sun looks like a corkscrew in real-time, too.

OK, that still leaves us with the question of what is driving the Big Ring corkscrew? Gravitational forces created by itself? It requires a lot of mass and gravity to move such a vast structure.

There’s another galactic megastructure in the vicinity of the Big Ring called the Great Arc. What created the arc shape, of all possible configurations? These are both huge local events, even in context with the trillions of galaxies in the known universe.

Is there a superstructure creating the Big Ring and causing it to corkscrew? This can’t be a rhetorical question. Any physical action has a cause.

The problem with terminology in cosmology is usually scale. There are supermassive things, megastructures, and just maybe scales nobody’s seen before. The driver of the corkscrew may be something so big nobody’s even thought of it before.

Symmetry doesn’t “just happen”, even in basic physics. The consistent morphologies of the Big Ring and the Great Arc are interesting. The curves give unique pictures of “curved space”.

Nothing else seems to have curves like that or in that form. Well, at least not yet. They’re not ball shapes, condensed by a local center of gravity. They don’t even have similar curves in relation to each other.

This is where visualization needs some space, excuse the pun. It would require colossal mass to create a ring of orbiting galaxies. So, what exactly are they orbiting, if those are orbits?

Is the Great Arc the remains of a former Big Ring? Maybe the Great Arc is a released former Big Ring, dissipating. Is something blowing smoke rings with galaxies? Are these phenomena some sort of distant cousins of a Fermi Bubble, extrusions from a bigger structure?

One way or another, cosmology isn’t in Kansas anymore. This type of cosmic tornado obviously needs a bit of Yellow Brick logic. Probably one brick at a time.

_____________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.



 

Starbucks faces lawsuit from US consumer group over claims its tea and coffee is ethically sourced

A consumer advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks.
By Euronews Green with AP

The US consumer group says that the company's claim of ethical sourcing for its tea and coffee is false and misleading.

Starbucks is being sued by a consumer group in the US which alleges that the company's claims its coffee is ethically sourced are false and misleading.

The National Consumers League cited media reports of human rights and labour abuses on farms in Guatemala, Kenya and Brazil that supply coffee and tea to Starbucks. 

The group said the cases cast doubt on Starbucks’ packaging, which states that the company is “committed to 100 per cent ethical coffee sourcing”.

“On every bag of coffee and box of K-cups sitting on grocery store shelves, Starbucks is telling consumers a lie,” Sally Greenberg, chief executive officer of the National Consumers League said. 

Starbucks Pike Place Roast K-Cup Pods are displayed in a Costco Warehouse.
Starbucks Pike Place Roast K-Cup Pods are displayed in a Costco Warehouse.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File

"The facts are clear: there are significant human rights and labour abuses across Starbucks’ supply chain, and consumers have a right to know exactly what they’re paying for."

Starbucks said on Wednesday that it was aware of the lawsuit and will “aggressively defend against the asserted claims.” The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in the District of Columbia in the US. 

Reports of human rights and labour abuses

Among the incidents cited in the lawsuit was a 2022 case in which police rescued 17 workers - including three teenagers - from a coffee farm in Brazil. They were made to work outdoors without protective equipment and lift 130-pound (59 kg) sacks of coffee. 

The case was covered by RepĆ³rter Brasil, a group of journalists that investigates workers’ rights and environmental issues.

Starbucks said Wednesday it had no information about that case.

“We take allegations like these extremely seriously and are actively engaged with farms to ensure they adhere to our standards,” the company said.

The lawsuit also cites a 2023 report by the BBC exposing rampant sexual abuse and gruelling working conditions on the James Finlay tea plantation in Kenya. James Finlay was a supplier to Starbucks at the time, but Starbucks said Wednesday it no longer buys tea from that plantation.

Lawsuit claims Starbucks is misleading consumers

Starbucks buys around 3 per cent of the world’s coffee. The company says it works with 400,000 farmers in more than 30 countries.

Starbucks developed ethical sourcing guidelines in 2004 and uses third parties to verify conditions at its suppliers. The company says it has zero tolerance for child labour and requires farmers to provide a safe, fair and humane working environment.

But the National Consumers League said Starbucks is misleading consumers by failing to disclose that its certification program doesn't guarantee ethical sourcing.

A customer picks up their drink at Starbucks.
A customer picks up their drink at Starbucks.AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

The group is asking the court to stop Starbucks from engaging in deceptive advertising and require it to run a corrective ad campaign.

“Starbucks’ failure to adopt meaningful reforms to its coffee and tea sourcing practices in the face of these critiques and documented labour abuses on its source farms is wholly inconsistent with a reasonable consumer’s understanding of what it means to be ‘committed to 100 per cent ethical’ sourcing,'" the group said in its court filing.

Euroviews. Africa needs a unified voice on climate change

Worker levels the ground at a solar plant in Soroti about 300 kilometers east of Uganda capital Kampala, June 2016
By Hassanein Hiridjee
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

A unified voice on the international stage can help Africa achieve a sustainable future, Hassanein Hiridjee writes.

Last month’s COP 28, and the preceding inaugural Africa Climate Summit, which delivered the Nairobi Declaration, signalled Africa’s growing importance and influence on the international stage. 

In the new year, more needs to be done to promote an equitable energy transition, underpinned by green technologies and prioritising both rural and urban communities.

These are important issues for Africa and more widely for the Global South. 

At COP 28, I was enthused by the commitment shown by heads of state and business leaders to help the Global South and its increasingly central role in discussions. 

However, the time has come for a more unified voice from the continent which demands developed nations to not only fulfil their current commitments, and address past deficiencies, but also significantly enhance their financial contributions to Africa’s climate action efforts.

I commend African leaders for their role in securing greater commitments to climate financing and delivering the loss and damage fund. But the weight of Africa’s voice is greater than the sum of its parts. 

And the continent’s views and needs have focused on specific, albeit important, overarching issues such as phasing out vs phasing down fossil fuels.

Our needs are vast, but the potential to meet them is incredible

The EU, G77 plus China, and the Alliance of Small Island States were some of the unified negotiating blocs representing the views and priorities of its countries. Beyond nation states, global industries have also come together to protect their interests.

Africans understand the continent’s challenges better than anyone else. We know that a one-size-fits-all approach will leave behind our rural communities and urban poor if the right partnerships and infrastructure are not in place. 


A young girl uses her mobile phone while charging it using solar power at a house in Harare

Across the Global South, this is a critical commonality: our infrastructure needs are vast and there is incredible potential to meet them by harnessing the domestic and international private sector.

And when challenged, African private-public partnerships have defined ingenuity. 

During the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, Nigeria’s public health agency teamed up with local dry ice producers and UPS to deliver vaccines to rural communities. At home in Madagascar, AXIAN Energy provides rural communities with solar mini-grids, providing rural villages across the country with accessible clean energy.

Legitimate steps taken elsewhere are much needed in Africa

A unified voice from Africa can drive the international community to provide more concrete commitments for the continent. Companies like mine understand that Africa is brimming with untapped potential. 

We can showcase the power of homegrown businesses and partners, who have the ambition and entrepreneurship to bring the green revolution to rural and urban communities. 

A worker installs a solar panel at a photovoltaic solar park situated on the outskirts of the coastal town of Lamberts Bay, South Africa
Schalk van Zuydam/AP

We can help the international community rethink and reconfigure its approach to investing in African projects and businesses.

But we also need the international community to set out a clearer roadmap that addresses the structural issues which prevent renewable projects from coming to fruition. 

This can include developing mechanisms that mitigate risks borne by businesses and unlock investment, such as payment protection, support with upfront costs, and more flexible financing terms — all legitimate steps taken in developed countries — but missing from the international agenda when it comes to Africa.

African businesses can and want to do more

The need to promote a more equitable energy transition is vital now more than ever. 

Rapid population and economic growth will result in 90 million additional people across Africa requiring access to affordable electricity every year by 2030, triple the rate of today. 

African private-public partnerships are best placed to implement the key projects needed to meet this demand while keeping countries on track to meet their global climate objectives.

Africa’s businesses can and want to do more — a commitment shown by my peers in the Africa Business Leaders Coalition, when we recently signed a policy blueprint at COP28 calling for interventions that enable Africa’s private sector. 

A more unified voice for Africa can ensure the role of its businesses as a major catalyst for change is at the top of the international agenda.

Hassanein Hiridjee is the CEO of AXIAN Group, and Africa CEO Forum’s 2022 CEO of the Year.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversati

Yedioth Ahronoth: ‘South Africa presented detailed case of facts’

January 13, 2024

Public hearings in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel began on Thursday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands on January 11, 2024
[Dursun Aydemir – Anadolu Agency]

Israeli writer for Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth, Nadav Eyal, has reported that South Africa submitted “a detailed, organised case full of facts and quotes against Israel” to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Eyal added in his article: “There is no point in denying this. It was a harsh day for the State of Israel in The Hague. One of the harshest days, diplomatically, since the outbreak of the war.”

He said: “There is no point in denying this either: in a certain sense, Israel has already lost in this situation, as soon as it began, even if Aharon Barak (Israel’s representative at the International Court of Justice) succeeds in convincing the rest of the judges not to issue a temporary order. The damage was done as soon as the international discussion and attention started, and as soon as the international media started discussing the question of whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza or not.”

On Friday, the ICJ resumed its sessions to try Israel on charges of committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, based on a lawsuit filed by the state of South Africa and supported by dozens of countries, in a historical precedent.

READ: Germany rejects genocide charges brought against Israel by South Africa

During Friday’s session, the court heard the response by Israel, the occupying power, to the lawsuit filed against it by South Africa.

In the first session on Thursday, South Africa submitted a detailed 84-page file to the court in which it collected evidence, noting: “The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

The lawsuit filed by South Africa before the ICJ against Israel received Arab and international support.

Since 7 October, the Israeli occupation has continued its genocidal aggression against the Gaza Strip, with US and European support, as its planes bomb hospitals, buildings, towers and homes of Palestinian civilians, destroying them over the heads of their residents.

The occupation has also prevented the entry of water, food, medicine and fuel, which led to the deaths of 23,469 martyrs and the wounding of 60,005, most of whom are women and children. It also caused the massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza and international organisations and bodies.


'South Africans now see Israel as an apartheid state'

'What's been happening in Palestine, It's been happening for a very long time. I think maybe South Africans are like, 'this looks a bit familiar'.' As South Africa's proceedings enter their second day, where Israel put forward its rebuttal to charges of genocide in Gaza, MEMO speaks to pro-Palestine demonstrators outside the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands who express their hope that this trial will encourage other countries and peoples to come forward if they are experiencing something similar to Palestinians.


 


South Africa president: ‘I’ve never felt as proud as today’

January 13, 2024

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks during a press conference at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on December 18, 2023 
[ROBERTA CIUCCIO/AFP via Getty Images]

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, commented on his country’s genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), expressing: “I have never felt as proud as I felt today when our legal team was arguing our case in The Hague.”

In his speech before the Women’s League of his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, Ramaphosa said that his country’s goal in filing a lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ is to stop the genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Ramaphosa added: “When our lawyers were defending our case in The Hague, when I saw Ronald Lamola, a son of this land, presenting our case in court, I have never felt as proud as I do today.”

Regarding what his country might be subjected to because of the case, President Ramaphosa explained: “Some people say that the step we are taking is risky. We are a small country, and we have a small economy. They can attack us, but we will stand by our principles. As the father of our democracy taught us, we will not be truly free until the Palestinian people are free.”

The ICJ heard South Africa’s arguments on Thursday and Israel’s response on Friday.

On 29 December, South Africa submitted an 84-page lawsuit, presenting evidence of Israel – the occupying power – violating its obligations under the United Nations Charter and its involvement in committing acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

For the 100th day, the Israeli occupation continues its genocidal aggression against the Gaza Strip, with US and European support, as its planes bomb hospitals, buildings, towers and homes of Palestinian civilians, destroying them over the heads of their residents.

The occupation has also prevented the entry of water, food, medicine and fuel, which led to the deaths of 23,469 martyrs and the wounding of 60,005, most of whom are women and children. It also caused the massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza and international organisations and bodies.

READ: Israel failed to disprove genocide case before World Court: South Africa



Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich criticises ICJ lawyer Blinne NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh for ‘ignoring’ role of Hamas in war

Palestine’s Irish ambassador has now lost 12 of her family in war

'Entire multigenerational families will be obliterated' - Irish lawyer Blinne Ni Ghralaigh at The Hague

Niamh Horan
Yesterday 

Dana Erlich, Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, said she “categorically rejects” an application made by Irish lawyer Blinne NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh and a South African legal team in the genocide case being brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent this weekend, Ms Erlich said the application made by Ms NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh and the South African delegation at the ICJ is “inherently false and biased” and “completely ignores” the role and responsibilities of Hamas for the war.

The diplomat also claimed South Africa has “publicly and shamelessly aligned itself with Hamas” and says it is “embracing a proscribed terror organisation” which is “calling for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people across the globe”.

Last week, Ms NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh’s work as a top human rights barrister brought her to the ICJ, the UN’s highest court.

‘The fact that Ms NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh is from Ireland means a lot to me’

In a powerful address on Thursday, Ms NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh said the conflict in Gaza was the “first genocide in history” being broadcast in “real-time”.

Addressing the court in both English and French, which she studied at Cambridge University, she said her task was to convince the court of the urgent need for provisional measures to be imposed to protect the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.

In response to the application, Ms Erlich has described South Africa as “Hamas’s representatives in the court”.

She told the Sunday Independent that the South African team is “ignoring the fact that Hamas uses the civilian population in Gaza as human shields and operates from within hospitals, schools, UN shelters, mosques and churches, with the intention of endangering the lives of the residents of Gaza.”

She also welcomed statements from the Irish Government emphasising the role of Hamas in this war.

“As Taoiseach Varadkar stated, it is important to remember and understand the origin of the term genocide, and acknowledge the agenda of Hamas which openly declares its genocidal intents — as we’ve witnessed since October 7.”

Meanwhile, Palestine’s ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, described the opening statement by Ms NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh as “a landmark speech”. She also said “the fact that Ms NĆ­ GhrĆ”laigh is from Ireland means a lot to me”.

“She is Irish. She knows the meaning of colonisation, starvation, occupation and oppression.”

Reacting to the ICJ case, Dr Abdalmajid said: “The whole world has witnessed this genocide online — live. You cannot say it isn’t happening. We see it. You cannot hide it or lie about it.”


‘We need to be strong to stand up for our cause, but we have no time to grieve’

The diplomat also revealed her family suffered further losses in Gaza as recently as 10 days ago, and added that she has not been able to process their deaths.

“We have had more tragedies. We have now lost 12 family members. For a period of time it was very, very difficult. Maybe when this war is over — and I hope it will be soon — we will have time to deal with our grief. But now we are trying to freeze our feelings.

“To be able to stand up for our cause we need to be strong — but it is not easy. We don’t have time to grieve.”

Ms Nƭ GhrƔlaigh was brought up by her Dublin-born mother and Mayo-born father in London but has often travelled back to Ireland.

She only began training as a lawyer after completing an undergraduate degree in languages, working in the interim for a think-tank to save for the cost of a conversion course.

She took up a position at a human rights firm in London but turned down the offer of a solicitor’s training contract to work as a legal observer on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in Northern Ireland.

She then spent a further year in Derry working for a solicitor’s firm representing many of the Bloody Sunday families.

The ICJ hearing is the latest in a long line of high-profile cases for Ms Nƭ GhrƔlaigh.

She has presented to the ICJ before, on behalf of Croatia in a 2015 case against Serbia alleging genocide in the early 1990s.

She has also worked for the ‘Hooded Men’, a group of men interned in Northern Ireland in 1971 who last year received an apology from the PSNI for their treatment.

4,000 Israeli soldiers disabled in ongoing Gaza war
HOW MANY FROM FRIENDLY FIRE?!

January 13, 2024 

The Israeli army evacuates its soldiers who were wounded in battles in Gaza via a helicopter for medical treatment at Beilinson Hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel on December 18, 2023. [Nir Keidar – Anadolu Agency]

Hebrew news site, Walla, said late Friday that 4,000 Israeli soldiers have become disabled since the beginning of the war against the Gaza Strip in October, with estimations suggesting that the number could rise to 30,000, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The country is preparing to receive a large number of disabled Israeli soldiers, and after 100 days of the war, around 4,000 soldiers have already been acknowledged as having disabilities,” it said.

The site considered Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 as having “led Israel into a war that it had not previously experienced in terms of the number of soldier injuries, but more importantly, the injuries are extremely severe.”

“Thanks to the devoted and high-quality care provided by rescue teams and medical teams, those with severe injuries survive,” it said.

The site added that the Israeli army “does not provide all data about the wounded to the public, for fear that it will lower people’s morale.”

“Currently, about 4,000 soldiers (with disabilities) have been recognized according to classification 3, meaning they are entitled to all treatments and rights enjoyed by a disabled person in the Israeli army without being officially recognized in this way,” said Walla.

It noted that salaries are being paid to injured soldiers and their treatment without the need to prove anything and that the rehabilitation process “will begin soon to reintegrate them into life.”

The site quoted Idan Kaliman, chairman of the Israel Defense Forces Organization for the Disables, who said: “I have been in the organization for 30 years, and I have never encountered such a large number of severely wounded individuals. There are many wounded with amputated limbs, blindness, or paralysis.”

Kaliman pointed out that there are “many wounded who have had their limbs amputated, as well as those who were blinded and paralyzed.”

The Israeli army announced the conscription of 360,000 reservists in the ongoing war against the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, while the ground operation began Oct. 27.

As of early Friday, the number of officers and soldiers killed in the ranks of the army since the beginning of the war hit 520, including 186 since the start of the ground war in Gaza.
The one state reality
Pro-Palestinian protestors rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza
by Ann Garrison
January 13, 2024


On Dec. 8, the UN Security Council voted 13 to 1 for a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The US cast the only no vote, exercising its veto power, while the United Kingdom abstained. All of those present, excepting the Israeli ambassador, called for a two-state solution, but more and more scholars and activists are now saying that a two-state solution is no longer possible. It’s been under discussion for 57 years without any progress, so it’s time for a paradigm shift.  

That paradigm shift is, put simply, acknowledging that Israel is the only functioning state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and that it’s a hugely unjust state keeping half its population, the Palestinian people, in miserable conditions, and all but 20 percent without citizenship and the rights that citizenship entails. 

Half of those, as we’re all now acutely aware, live in the concentration camp called Gaza that Israel has bombed for decades, more mercilessly than ever since Oct. 7, 2023. The one-state reality is ugly, but continuing to imagine that there will finally be a two-state solution doesn’t make it any less so.

One hundred thirty-nine of the world’s 193 nations recognize the state of Palestine, but this is moral recognition, recognition of what should be, not of what is. Israel controls all the state apparatus, including the monopoly of force, and the Palestine Authority essentially plays the role of colonial administrator. 

The One State Reality” is an anthology of essays devoted to this paradigm shift, its history and its implications. Its subheading is, “What Is Israel/Palestine?” Its authors are scrupulously careful to say that they are trying to describe what is, not what should be, and that the Palestinian and Israeli people must ultimately make their decisions about moving forward. 

The book is edited by George Washington University Professors Michael Barnett, Nathan J. Brown, and Marc Lynch, and University of Maryland Professor Shibley Telhami. It’s written by political scientists who use language and concepts specific to their academic discipline that are often difficult for the layperson to parse, but it’s full of insight for those with patience. As a layperson, I found it easiest to digest by reading the introduction and conclusion, then flipping through pages to chapter heads and subheads that particularly piqued my interest, and reading several every day rather than starting from page one and reading to the end.

Several chapters I found of particular interest were “What is Israel Palestine?” (the introduction), “Israel/Palestine: Toward Decolonization,” “Delegation Domination: Indirect Rule in the West Bank,” “American Jewry and the One State Reality,” and the concluding chapter, “Recognizing a One State Reality.” 

I also found it helpful to search the index for key terms like “apartheid,” “settler colonialism,” “Oslo Accords,” “Security Council,” “West Bank” and “Gaza.” To the layperson, this book may serve as an encyclopedia as much as a page-to-page read. 

One of the central themes I found most important is that, as Marc Lynch wrote in his conclusion, “Negotiations toward two states were never sincere in this analysis, but merely cover for an ongoing process of colonization.”  Another co-editor speaking at a book talk at the Middle East Institute’s Oman Library called the two-state solution an “opioid for the diplomatic classes.” 

Speaking on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal , co-editor Shibley Telhamis said: “The reality of it is that you have in Israel a government that doesn’t really accept the idea of two states. You have ministers in that government who say: ‘All of the land belongs to us. Palestinians have to accept what they have, not equal rights, or at worst leave.’”

What are some of the implications of the paradigm shift from the two-state solution to the one-state reality? The academic authors of this book might be disturbed by my oversimplifications, but these are the most basic implications that I derived from this book:

  1. Accepting the paradigm shift would mean giving up on both the idea of a Jewish state and the idea of a Palestinian state, which some members of both communities might embrace while others would be alarmed. Palestinian demands for full citizenship and equal rights might then supersede the now unrealistic demands for an independent Palestine. 
  2. If policymakers and institutions, including the UN Security Council and the General Assembly, were to accept the paradigm shift, they would be compelled to confront and deliberate the ugly one-state reality which Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Israeli NGO B’Tselem have all labeled apartheid, a crime against humanity. (This of course motivates policymakers – including the US president – who have enabled Israel’s injustices and atrocities not to accept the paradigm shift.) 

In his concluding essay, Marc Lynch considers “Prospects for Ideational and Material Change” (a subhead of his chapter titled “Recognizing a One State Reality”). Here he describes three possible consequences of accepting the description of Israel as an apartheid state:

“First, naming Israel’s system as ‘apartheid’ might trigger such revulsion at home [in Israel] that it leads to a domestic demand for change.” This, he says, “seems highly unlikely, given the rightward trend in Israeli politics.”

Second, “it could trigger some form of international response by states or international organizations.” This he also describes as unlikely.  

“Third,” he writes, “naming Israel’s system as ‘apartheid’ could trigger global normative action at the societal and individual, rather than at the state, level. This effort to link the apartheid label to the production of a global cultural boycott comparable to that faced by South Africa is both the most plausible theory of change and the primary objective of the BDS movement.” 

He goes on to praise BDS for shifting the terms of the debate about Israel and Palestine by “effectively invoking norms against colonialism and analogies to the cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa.” He also says it could be “one of the most widespread instances of solidarity politics in the world.”

I believe he was saying that the paradigm shift and all its implications are rising from the grassroots.

Ann Garrison is a Black Agenda Report Contributing Editor and independent journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, she received the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize for her reporting on conflict in the African Great Lakes region. Please support her independent journalism on Patreon. She can be reached at ann@anngarrison.com.