American foreign policy
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What else Netanyahu needs to know about Obama
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
The following op-ed just went on-line and will be in Friday’s Haaretz. I’ve been waiting about 25 years to be able write something like this and actually believe it. Something else Netanyahu should know By Dan Flesher Even before President Barack Obama’s Cairo speech last week, there were reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and [...]
Will Obama’s speech “force clarity” on Israel?
Thursday, June 4th, 2009I took a break from my day job to do a quick scan of the reactions to Obama’s speech in Cairo. The most instructive one thus far comes from Daniel Gordis of the Shalem Center, whose post can be found on the NY Times blog. There has been much talk of late about Obama’ desire [...]
Jeffrey Goldberg breaks major taboo: says interests of U.S. and Israel might diverge
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009There is a ridiculous canard that American Jews who speak out against Israel are “courageous.” These days, it requires no bravery to say almost anything you want to say about Israel in a public forum (unless, of course, you are a politician, or an official in a mainstream Jewish organization). But what Jeffrey Goldberg just [...]
New, shameless self-promotion: review of my book in “Zeek”
Monday, June 1st, 2009Zeek, the magazine for literate, cultured, youngish, freethinking Jews just published a glowing review of Transforming America’s Israel Lobby. The reviewer is “Moshe Yaroni,” the pseudonym for someone who is clearly very astute. Some excerpts: This is a book that should have been written many years ago. It is full of insight into the major [...]
“Tough love” for Israel will be tough on the pro-Israel peace camp
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009A new Zogby International poll shows that 71 percent of Obama backers think the United States should “get tough with Israel” in order to stop settlement expansion, while 26 percent of McCain supporters feel that way. 80 percent of likely Obama voters also agreed with the statement, “It’s time for the United States to get [...]
Why neoconservatism is [almost] dead — Notes on the J Post review of my book
Sunday, May 10th, 2009Initially, I was delighted to read Jonathan Schanzer’s vicious attack on my book in the Jerusalem Post. Until then, the few reviews out there had been been quite positive (See essays by Jerome Chanes, the History News Network’s Murray Polner, and Thomas Mitchell), and I was hoping and praying for controversy of some kind, as [...]
Baker and Biden at AIPAC: A Tale of Two Speeches
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009At the AIPAC Policy Conference 20 years ago, Secretary of State James Baker made a widely publicized speech that, if I’m not mistaken, was written by Aaron David Miller. He told the throng: For Israel, now is the time to lay aside, once and for all, the unrealistic vision of a Greater Israel. Israeli interests [...]
Americans for Peace Now’s sensible take on new Iran sanctions bill
Friday, May 1st, 2009New Iran sanctions legislation is now in the House and Senate (S. 908 and HR 2194). No doubt it will be the major focus of AIPAC’s lobbying efforts this coming Tuesday, after AIPAC”s Policy Conference, when literally throusands of its members will descend on Capitol Hill. According to a contact at Americans for Peace Now, [...]
Ace reporter: American Jewish leaders are getting nervous about Obama
Friday, April 17th, 2009The well-connected and astute James Besser is hearing from American Jewish learders who are concerned that Obama will ignore conventional political wisdom and not worry (too much) about battling “the pro-Israel establishment.” He tells us: Last month Obama said “the status quo is unsustainable,” and he sounded like he meant it. For many pro-Israel leaders [...]
Why not call Netanyahu’s bluff on “economic peace?”
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009Prime Minister Netanyahu still hasn’t given up on the idea of forging an “economic peace” with the Palestinians, Bloomberg reports. Last week, at a meeting in Washington, I heard Yossi Beilin tell some left-learning, pro-Israel American Jews that they –and the Israeli left– should take Netanyahu at his word. “If he wants economic peace, let’s [...]
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