Rachel Shabi is a journalist – who writes regularly for the Guardian and Al Jazeera – and the author of two books on Mizrachi Jews (Jews of Middle Eastern origin). Born to Iraqi Jewish parents, she grew up in the UK and is now living in Tel Aviv.

In discussing a review of “Not the Enemy: Israel’s Jews from Arab Lands”, the New Centrist succinctly sums up Shabi as follows:

“Shabi is part of small group of post-Zionist Mizrahi intellectuals who want to reclaim the non-European aspect their identity. I think this is a positive thing. But some of these post-Zionists have a tendency to borrow analytical frameworks from Marxists and others who view Ashkenazim and Zionists in general as imperialists and colonialists. In this narrative, the Mizrahim are indigenous people who have been victimized by Zionism, just like the Palestinians. In other words, Mizrahi Jews and Palestinians are people of color and Ashkenazis are whitey. Shabi and her political allies, in turn, are part pf the global resistance against the forces of global empire. It is a very tired and played out perspective which is why I won’t be spending time reading the book.”

Below is a selection of statements made by Rachel Shabi in ‘Comment is Free’ “in her own words”:

“Most Israelis, in other words, seem to have convinced themselves that their own moral superiority somehow sanctions and justifies their own acts of moral repugnance. As a line of defence, it’s hard to see how this will stand up in court.” The self-defence defence January 23, 2009

“But Palestinian analyst Ghassan Khatib says there is another factor at play in the overall media skew. “Even if the Palestinian side came up with proper messages, Hamas has been successfully labelled by Israel as a terrorist group and is portrayed in the western media in a manner similar to al-Qaida,” he says. As a result, western audiences are more prepared to sympathise with Israel – because it fits the “us or them” binary to which post 9/11 ears are attuned.” Winning the media war January 10, 2009

“The increased suffering of Gaza’s population, now under even more terrifying bombardment, may be given an Israeli spin (aka, “Whose fault is that?”) – but it is not ignored. Southern residents are still dominant in the media frame: reports converge on the rockets still being fired from Gaza and the bored and school-less children in shelters, whose matriculation exams the government has thoughtfully postponed.” We’ll fight them in the headlines January 6, 2009

“Palestinians living in Israel might feel solidarity with and a connection to the Arab world, but they don’t compare their own status with residents of Arab countries; why should they? Their reference point is their Jewish co-nationalists, constantly shown to be favoured by a state that denigrates and discriminates against Arab skin.” Why are you complaining December 12, 2008

“Kfir Brigade’s own former members describe its role in enforcing the Israeli occupation as having turned them into “monsters”. This brigade is the nightmare of bed-wetting Palestinian children and its deeds should be the nightmare of any Israeli who seeks peace, rather than perpetual loathing, between the Jewish and Palestinian peoples of the region.” Bruiting about brutes November 29, 2008

“Still, it’s one thing to admire a neighbour’s cooking, quite another to name it your own national dish, as Israelis have done for hummus and that other Middle Eastern chickpea favourite, falafel.” Who owns hummus? October 8, 2008

“What JJAC seems keen to establish is that Arab countries treated Jewish citizens with contempt and cruelty, fuelled by antisemitism. This formulation perpetuates the myth of Arabs and Jews as polar opposites, destined to be eternal enemies. It shirks the plain fact that Jews lived in Arab counties for over two millennia, for the most part productively and in peace.” Another side to the Jewish story June 27, 2008

“Lambasting is an odd term to describe the words of an academic duo [Walt and Mearsheimer] who reiterate their belief in a Jewish state at every opportunity (and there have been plenty), and who repeatedly explain that the US pro-Israel lobby is not comprised entirely of American Jews – many of whom do not support it.” No rotten tomatoes June 16, 2008

“And that’s how I begin this year’s Remembrance Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers, a day I’ve been dreading for weeks. Of course, it’s not that I have a problem with honouring Israel’s dead (in recent years, Remembrance Day has expanded to include those civilians who died in suicide bomb attacks). The dread surfaces because, having experienced this sequence for the first time last year, I know that these coming days amount to a cruel, exhausting psychological operation waged on Israel’s citizens. Today’s remembrance ceremony is immediately followed by Israel’s Independence Day celebrations, creating a roller-coaster ride of emotions, absolute grief followed by absolute joy – and, worst of all, a binding of these two incompatible feelings.” The price of freedom April 23, 2007

“Perhaps, then, Israeli youth are rejecting whatever popular culture is telling them about the military and coming to a very different conclusion: that being forced to give up three prime years to serve in an occupying army with a terrible human rights record really isn’t so cool.” The myth of military cool May 23, 2006

“Israelis who consider demonstrating in the West Bank have to climb several steep hurdles. First, there’s the socially ingrained terror of venturing into Palestinian territories, then the hate and derision from Israeli society at large. Those who manage to surmount those obstacles are then faced with the very real prospect of injury – at the hands of Israeli settlers or the Israeli army (which, according to Matan, claims he was hit in the eye by a protester-thrown stone).” Breaking barriers April 28, 2006