April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

people in the world would accept such a bizarre analysis and explanation.
Goldstone has not entered as yet the lunatic fringe of ultra-Zionism as
Morris did. But if he is not careful the future promises to be a pleasant
journey with the likes of Morris, Alan Dershowitz (who already said that
Goldstone is a "repentant Jew") between annual meetings of the AIPAC
rottweilers and the wacky conventions of the Christian Zionists. He would
soon find out that once you cower in the face of Zionism -- you are
expected to go all the way or be at the very same spot you thought you
had successfully left behind you.
Winning Zionist love in the short-term is far less important than losing the
world's respect in the long-run. Palestine should choose its friends with
care: they cannot be faint-hearted nor can they claim to be Zionists as
well as champions of peace, justice and human rights in Palestine.
www.zcommunications.org
Ilan Pappe is Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for
Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. His most recent book is Out
of the Frame: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Israel (Pluto Press,
2010).
The World's Unemployed Youth: Revolution In The Air?
Don Tapscott 5 April 2011
A common thread to the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and protests
elsewhere in the Middle East and north Africa is the soul-crushing high rate
of youth unemployment. Twenty-four percent of young people in the
region cannot find jobs. To be sure, protesters were also agitating for
democracy, but nonexistent employment opportunities were the powerful
catalyst.
Youth unemployment is similarly dire in other parts of the world. In the
UK, young people aged 16 to 24 account for about 40% of all unemployed,
which means almost 1 million young adults are jobless. In Spain more than
40% of young people are unemployed. In France the rate is more than 20%,
and in the US it's 21%. In country after country, many young people have
given up looking for work. A recent survey in the UK revealed that more
than half of the 18- to 25-year-olds questioned said they were thinking of
emigrating because of the lack of job prospects.
Unemployed young people comprised a large portion of the crowd
thatmarched in London on March 26 to protest against the economic
policies of the government. Fortunately, the protest was largely peaceful.
But youth unemployment will continue to stay high, and the coalition's
austerity measures are not going to help. We're deluding ourselves if we
believe the young will simply continue to be stoical and deferential to
authority.
Today's society is failing to deliver on its promise to young people. We said
that if they worked hard, stayed out of trouble, and attended school, they
would have a prosperous and fulfilling life. It turns out we were
inaccurate, if not dishonest. And then we rub salt in the wound by saying
we're in a "jobless recovery" – an oxymoron to tens of millions of young
people who are having their hopes dashed.