Israel's 60th anniversary: more from our new issue

Today Israel is celebrating its Independence Day, which this year marks 60 years since its foundation (initially I was confused as independence was declared on 14 May 1948, but a trusty Wikipedia search tells me Israel celebrates its Independence Day on the 5th of the Jewish lunar month Iyar, which is today).

To mark the 60th anniversary of Israel's foundation we asked two Jewish writers – Mike Marqusee and Eliane Glaser – to consider what Israel means for them. Their answers reflect the mixed feelings the issue invokes in those with attachments to Israel (and in those without them) and are sure to attract some strong opinions.

Have a read and then discuss by leaving comments on this post.

NH contributor Stan Cohen on Comment is Free

Regular New Humanist contributor Stan Cohen has a piece on the Guardian's Comment is Free site today, discussing Israeli academic Carmi Gillon's upcoming visit to London.

Gillon is the Hebrew University's vice president of external relations – but he is also a former head of the Shin Bet, the internal Israeli general security service. He occupied senior positions within the organisation from 1988-95, which, as Stan writes, "was the high point in Shin Bet's policy of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees". In his piece Stan questions Hebrew University's wisdom in appointing someone with Gillon's track record, while at the same time Israeli academics claim "to be at the forefront of the struggle for justice for the Palestinians".

This ties in nicely with Stan's upcoming article for the January/February 2008 issue of New Humanist, when he will be discussing the return of torture.