• There was an anti-war demonstration in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening. Jill and
    I went to check it out – out of pure, journalistic curiosity. The truth
    is, we didn’t expect anyone to show up. We thought it unlikely that
    there would be a peaceful anti-war (and hate free) demonstration on the
    day that around 100 missiles fell on our country, nine people were
    killed, somewhere between 20 and 30 injured (I’ve lost count, to be
    honest) and Satan Hassan Nasrallah promised more missiles… – On the Face

  • Anthony Shadid, always supplying fine, lyrical journalism, worries
    about the future of his country of origin and the reopening of
    sectarian wounds. Some of the comments of the people he interviewed
    in this article really made me wince. I edited the English translations of articles today written by a
    couple of friends in Lebanon — Hassan Dawoud, the writer and editor a
    major cultural weekly and the journalist and poet Youssef Bazzi — and
    they will both be shortly online (in Arabic, English and French) at babelmed.net,
    the Mediterranean culture site. Hassan and Youssef’s articles make me
    worry about the psychological impact of this war, which seems much
    greater than the 1996 Israeli operation Grapes of Wrath (then again, so
    is the damage). Youssef — your classic mad, intense Lebanese poet — has
    a wonderful turn of phrase to describe Lebanon in his piece: “a P.O.
    box for violent opportunists.”
    – The Arabist

  • Katushas have continued to rain down
    on northern Israel, landing north of Nahariya, in the western Galilee
    communities, and in the Akko area. There have been reports of 4 people
    being lightly injured. One rocket directly hit a house, wounding the
    father of a family, while his wife and children were not hurt. – Israellycool
  • Today was a difficult day. On the metro heading to work this morning, I
    fought with myself: to read The Washington Post or not to read it. I
    did and I got even more depressed. There is nothing more disheartening
    than a picture of destruction or suffering frozen in history…more
    striking than on TV. More disheartening was an 80-year-old
    Beiruti saying to the Post that Lebanon is doomed never to be. If these
    are the words of wisdom, then what do I have left? – The Lebanese Bloggers
  • Here is a bit of information your way: Iran received an ultimatum
    regarding its nuclear development program from the G8 (Canada, France,
    Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States). The
    G8 were scheduled for talks on July the 15th. I make a clear connection
    here: Iran orchestrated this telling Syria to provide Hezbollah with
    weapons and arguing Hezbollah to attack Israel to divert attention from
    itself. – Live From an Israeli Bunker
  • Just now, as I was writing, I heard a fighter jet diving outside my
    window, and then a boom. As I look out, I can see leaflets slowly
    falling to the ground down by the Corniche. Either more propaganda
    against Hizballah, or perhaps a warning of more strikes to come?
    Whatever they want to say, I’m not interested. I understand that Israel
    wants security, but what they are doing now will not bring security;
    they are planting the seed for a new generation of fierce enemies. I
    can hear distant rumbling now. I wonder how many humans they are
    killing this time. – Beirut Under Siege