I always try to give “props” to our local (Central New York State) institutes of higher education if the opportunity presents itself. Shmuel’s fine post, “Israel’s actual invention is new standard on asymmetrical conflict,” gives me the chance to do just that. Shmuel and Jeff Halper may be correct in crediting Israelis with originating the […]
Last Thursday I joined Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists for the “Open Shuhada Street” demonstration to demand Palestinian access to one of the most important streets in Hebron. Hebron, along with East Jerusalem, is unique in having settlers and Israeli soldiers occupy the very heart of a large Palestinian urban area. The protest was held […]
Has the NY Times response to the complaints about Ethan Bronner led it to be even more forceful in pushing its pro-Israel agenda including getting the US to attack Iran? Apparently so. In today’s op-eds, they’ve imported the thoughts of a British Jewish professor, Efraim Karsh, (another Bernard Lewis, and a Nakba denier) who uses […]
A recent assignment of mine covering Israel’s presumed links to the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh provoked some more thoughts about the New York Times reporter Ethan Bronner. He is the Jerusalem bureau chief who has been at the centre of a controversy since it was revealed last month that his son is serving […]
The following post first appeared on the new website Israel: The Only Democracy in the Middle East? People are talking about Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). People should be talking about BDS. If you’re not talking about BDS in the context of Israel/Palestine, you should be thinking about it. And here is why. When I […]
I’m headed off to the woods for a couple days. This site will be a little spotty for a time. Enjoy the weather.
Yesterday I did a blogpost quoting from journalist Noam Sheizaf’s blog. I saw Sheizaf in Israel last month and he told me a line of poetry with political resonance about the connection of Israelis to Palestinians. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and well, I emailed Sheizaf a week or so back and he […]
For readers active in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Movement, here is an obvious target that has been overlooked. According to today’s Jerusalem Post, "Over 30 Israeli companies are set to help South Africa secure this summer’s Soccer World Cup, via hi-tech security products ranging from rocket-proof shields to cameras that can climb up […]
Max Ajl at Jewbonics had an interesting take on the Martin Kramer genocide charge: The question about Kramer’s insane burblings is not whether use of the word “genocide” is analytically appropriate to describe what has been going on in Palestine for the last 60+ years. The question is if Kramer’s argument met the legal definition […]
From Coteret: Tel Aviv presents municipal program to stop Jewish girls from dating Palestinian boys. The municipal finance committee decided three weeks ago to give NIS 250,000 [~$66,000] to what it refers to as “‘an aid program for immigrant girls at risk”. The program will be launched this month in the Shapira, Kiryat Shalom and […]
TPM says that neocon Dan Senor, the commentator and Israel lobbyist (I’ve seen him at AIPAC) who recently published a book about how Israel is the great miraculous startup nation, is thinking of running for the Republican Senate nomination in NY and maybe taking on Mort Zuckerman, from the right. I didn’t know there was […]
Check out Isabel Kershner in the Times, on a clash in Hebron over two "hotly contested" sites in occupied territories that Israel is claiming as national heritage sites: On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu laid out a $100 million government plan to rehabilitate what he called “archaeological and Zionist heritage sites,” during a special cabinet meeting held […]
Poignant post by Noam Sheizaf about the impending crisis in Israeli society:
Eli Clifton has a funny post about the Lawfare project— the anti-Goldstone project that is staging a conference hosted by Columbia Law dean David Schizer– and shows that the group has an internet domain name that shares an IP address with: http://childrensrightsinstitute.org/ which is pure Israel lobby stuff, saying the Palestinians train their children to […]
Angry, soulful post defenestrating an unnamed Israel lobbyist and demonstrating the policy of targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The Palestinians are at last gaining a brief in the American conversation.
Henry Siegman is angry. He’s still attached to the idea of a "democratic Jewish" state but he blames the legitimacy problem on Israel; and he understands the reality on the ground. From overseas, of course; the Financial Times: The disappearance of the two-state solution is triggering a third transformation, which is turning Israel from a […]
Steve Walt channels Saul Alinsky and offers some advice for combatants in ideological wars. No direct references here to taking on the Israel lobby, but we know that’s where he got his shark’s skin. Here are two of his rules for how to play in the sharktank. Smart: Never Get Mad. Let your critics throw […]
Martin Kramer’s patron at Harvard is Stephen Peter Rosen, a neocon and professor of national security. Rosen also helps run “Long Term Strategy Group”, a consulting company, along with Jacqueline Newmyer. They had a lucrative DOD gig providing bland “strategic” planning guidelines and the odd slide show in DC. It seems they pulled in a […]
What is so amazing about these three new government-sponsored ads urging ordinary Israelis to go forth and change Israel’s image is that it is precisely when Israel tries to change the subject that it is most overtly racist. The conceit of the ads is that they pretend to show how ignorant foreigners portray Israel in […]
Martin Kramer story, in the Harvard Crimson. It’s about time the neocons are put on the spot, eh? They used to put realists on the spot, and lefties. Mood is shifting. Watch out David Frum and Bill Kristol, the money will dry up next! “I called on [Western countries] to desist from deliberately encouraging births […]
A performance of the Israel Ballet at the University at Buffalo last night was protested by UB Students for Justice in Palestine and the Palestine-Israel Committee of the Western New York Peace Center. Reports Jim Holstun, Professor of English, SUNY Buffalo: "One of our members (a member of both groups), Irene Morrison, was ejected from […]
In a piece yesterday on National Public Radio, legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg, who ought to know better, suggested that the Palestine Liberation Organization should be considered a terrorist organization.
certainly in Europe, and it may be outdated. Don’t tell anyone in the States– “Israel is losing its soul in the occupation. You have to stop the occupation." JPost quoting Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-leader of the Greens party in the European parliament, a German, and son of Holocaust survivors.
After reading the recent post here about the New York Times coverage of protests by Palestinians, termed a "West Bank Spectacle," I posted a comment to the blog of reporter/videographer Jaron Gilinsky. He responded, and a dialogue quickly developed. Below are excerpts… jaron said: “My personal opinion is that the Palestinians should adopt a truly […]