A number of Jewiish peace groups are trying to cobble together a rally in Annapolis next week (11/27). As of now, they include Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, Meretz USA, Union of Progressive Zionists, Kesher ARZA, Habonim Dror and Hashomer Hatzair. One of the problems that haunts peace-seeking people is that, let’s […]
Author: Dan Fleshler
The best line ever written about Israeli settlements…
Lords of the Land, by Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar, is one of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read (or, more accurately, started to read, as I am half-way through). Written in 2005 and just released in translation by Nation Books, it tells us everything Diaspora and Israeli Jews must be forced to […]
Will Olmert actually do something about the settlements? Maybe!
There are glimmers of hope out there, suddenly… Am I the only reader of Middle East news reports who feels that way? A few hours ago, both Y-net news and Haaretz.com ran stories about the possibility of a settlement freeze. Both tell us that Olmert informed the heads of the YESHA Council (i.e., the settler […]
Are pro-Israel doves part of the “lobby?”
Apologies for the recent lack of blogging activity. Too many work and family obligations, not enough hours in the day. Last week, there was a dyspeptic attack on Americans for Peace Now by my friend Philip Weiss on his blog, MondoWeiss. (Check it out at http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2007/11/foreign-affairs.html). It deserves a belated response. In taking on a […]
Israeli columnist: Cutting Gaza’s fuel supply is just “spin”
Americans for Peace Now’s latest “Middle East Peace Report” (link doesn’t work, so go to http://www.peacenow.org/mepr.asp?rid=&cid=4173) has some provocative critiques of the Israeli move to cut Gaza’s fuel supply, including lengthy excerpts from a column by Nahum Barnea in today’s Yedioth Ahoronot. I keep waiting to read sensible justifications for this action from the Israeli […]
AIPAC is an agent of…AIPAC
Mearsheimer and Walt write that AIPAC is a “de facto agent of the Israeli government.” In various parts of their book, they provide examples of the “Israel lobby’s” ability to promote Israel’s agenda in the halls of power. But they do not seem to grasp a far more interesting, subtle point about AIPAC: it answers […]
Weiss exonerates people who are obsessed with dual loyalty…
Philip Weiss reacted to my HuffPo piece (see previous post) on the neocons with a little essay entitled Fleshler Exonerates the Neocons of Dual Loyalties. Why He’s Wrong. Take a look at it. Take a look at the comments. There are a number of people, including Richard Witty, who disagree with Phil and make some […]
“Jewish Neocons Are Dead Wrong, Not Disloyal” –My piece in the Huffington Post
Please check out my new screed in Huffington Post, in which I find myself objecting to one (just one, I promise) of the accusations that are commonly hurled at Doug Feith and his fellow preemptive war fetishists. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to say what needed to be said, which […]
Whom should we trust on Syria? The Bushies…or the experts?
Ameinu’s web site has some informative pieces on Syria that stand in stark contrast to the don’t-trust-Assad-under-any-circumstances pablum that is available from most American Jewish groups. What follows is a tidbit from Gershon Baskin, a very wise Israeli Jew who for decades has carried out “Track 2” dialogue on the toughest issues with Arab counterparts, […]
What do Columbia U’s Lee Bollinger and the ADL have in common?
On the ADL web site, there is a section called “No Nuclear Iran.” The slogan is ‘Get informed. Get active.” One page is entitled “AHMADINEJAD: IN HIS OWN WORDS.” It provides some of his most “virulent statements” about the Holocaust, Israel, etc. etc. And they are pretty horrific, disgusting statements, indeed. Like other Jewish groups, […]