The J Street gang is trying to organize a response to the burgeoning smear campaign against Bob Simon of “60 Minutes,” whose segment castigating Israeli settlements on Sunday was a first for network T.V. Here is their message: Tell Bob Simon you thought his 60 Minutes segment on Israeli settlements was an accurate and thoughtful […]
Month: January 2009
“We were used like cows…”
He couldn’t take it any more. He was a nationally-known American rabbi who had publicly supported the Israeli government, despite his doubts about the wisdom or morality of its policies. He had backed its initial military response to attacks by non-state actors on Israeli citizens. But as time wore on, he could not find a […]
Ignoring reality in the Gaza Strip is the problem, not the “mainstream media”
No doubt Ethan Bronner will be attacked by both the Israel-can-do-no-right crowd and their ideological adversaries for his wonderful piece in today’s NY Times, which conveys the impossibility of covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without offending someone. No doubt the attacks on him will prove his point: Trying to tell the story so that both sides […]
Glimmers of hope for a sane American Middle East policy
After the carnage of the last few weeks, there are many compelling reasons to give up hope for an enduring peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis. But there are shards of hope to be found in the Obama administration. Assuming, as I do, that a fair, evenhanded American approach to both conflict management and more […]
Wrestling with American Jewish Realpolitik
Richard Silverstein, Jerry Haber and Verso Books are striving to obtain signatures for an impassioned attack against Israeli behavior in the Gaza Strip. I thought long and hard about whether or not to sign the statement and then post it on Realistic Dove. The rationales for not associating with it were the same rationales that […]
Will Obama reduce loan guarantees to Israel?
It seems that the U.S. is considering a plan to reduce $1 billion worth of loan guarantees to Israel, according to Ha’aretz. The decision will be left to Obama, and perhaps it will be part of a larger diplomatic package: The assessment now is that the Obama administration will weigh the political situation carefully before […]
Report: Israel’s assault on Gaza thus far has been “child’s play”
Needless to say, most of what is written by Israeli military reporters includes information that the IDF wants to make public for political or strategic purposes. So while the following piece by Alex Fishman in Yedioth Ahronoth is absolutely TERRIFYING, take it with a grain of salt, as it seems to be a message to […]
Peace Now anti-war rally expresses (gasp) love for Israel
Check out this video of a Peace Now demonstration against the war in Gaza. Yariv Oppenheimer. Peace Now’s current honcho, explains the point of the rally: We are here because we care about the [Israeli] soldiers. We are here because we care about the residents of southern Israel. And yes, we are here because we […]
Odessa, 1918 and the Gaza Strip, 2008-2009
My maternal grandmother, Pearl Weiner, used to tell me stories about her adolescence in Odessa, where, in 1918, she lived through the Ukrainian Revolution. In one year, Odessa was overrun with a succession of occupying armies and gangs, whom she invariably described as “the Bolsheviks, the Denekinovitches [followers of Anton Denekin, a White Russian General] […]
“Emergency! Emergency! U.S. caves in at the U.N.”!
MJ Rosenberg writes, somewhat gleefully, that “AIPAC is furious with George Bush for not vetoing Security Council Resolution 1860 which calls for an immediate ceasefire. After almost eight years, the Bush administration has decided not to stand with Israel against an otherwise unanimous resolution.” The AIPAC statement notes: AIPAC…expresses its disappointment with the U.S. administration […]