European Banks Are Joining the BDS Campaign Against Israel

Denmark, the Netherlands and others are withdrawing investments from the West Bank; there may be a hole in another Fukushima reactor leaking radioactive water; meanwhile, “vigorous linking” is helping save newspapers. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

Denmark’s Largest Bank Blacklists Israel’s Hapoalim Over Settlement Construction Denmark’s largest bank, following other European institutions, decided to blacklist Bank Hapoalim because of its involvement in the funding of settlement construction.

N.Y. Senate Passes Bill Penalizing Schools for Boycotting Israel The New York State Senate approved a bill that would suspend funding to educational institutions that fund groups which boycott Israel.

Hamid Karzai: ‘I Saw No Good’ With America’s Presence In Afghanistan The president of Afghanistan has not spoken to his American counterpart since June, he said, in an interview which showed the increasing gulf between Kabul and Washington.

What’s New in Digital and Social Media Research Vigorous linking as an antidote to newspaper failure, who gets crowdfunded, and skepticism around the standard narrative of the Arab Spring: all that and more in this month’s roundup of the academic literature.

TEPCO Fears 3-cm Hole in Fukushima Reactor No.2 The suppression pool of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit No. 2 reactor may have a 3-centimeter hole in it, through which the highly radioactive water might be leaking out, the plant operator said.

Why Israel Fears the Boycott If Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempts to revive talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority fail because of Israel’s continuing construction of illegal settlements, the Israeli government is likely to face an international boycott “on steroids,” as Mr. Kerry warned last August.

Is the NYT Entering a New Era on Israel? The New York Times’ oped pages have recently been opening up to much more critical commentary on Israel.