There is a sentence towards the end of Walt and Mearsheimer’s new book that undercuts some of what they have tried to accomplish with their critique of the “Israel Lobby.” Having rejected the binational, single-state solution as well as Israel’s permanent occupation, they assert: “The United States will have to put significant pressure on Israel […]
Author: Dan Fleshler
Mearsheimer, Walt and the so-called “silent” Jewish doves
I have read the Mearsheimer and Walt book. They have answered some–although not all– of my prayers, which were spelled out in my post on August 12th. The book is much more careful, more nuanced, more detailed and more convincing than their original paper, which was published in the Spring of 2006. I wanted very […]
Realistic dove disappears
My family and are taking a much needed vacation and will be cruising up Alaska’s Inside Passage until Aug. 24th. I’ve been advised to forget about the Middle East, American Jews, redefining Zionism, the plight of Israel’s Arabs, the pro-Israel lobby and my career…I may well ignore this advice from time to time and send […]
Prayers for Mearsheimer and Walt
The chattering/blogging class eagerly awaits the publication of the new, full-length book on the “Israel lobby” by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in September. A taste of what may be in the offing was provided last week by a report that their Sept. 27th presentation at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs was cancelled. As […]
What does Wallace Stevens have to do with Zionism?
I am quite certain that the following post will be the first discussion of the Jewish National Fund and Zionism to invoke the poet Wallace Stevens. People who appreciate Stevens tend to be amateur philosophers and a bit nerdy (yeah, I appreciate him), but if neither of those apply to you, please have patience and […]
Petition campaign against Knesset’s JNF bill
Blogger Richard Silverstein of “Tikun Olam” has initiated an on-line campaign to protest the Knesset’s preliminary approval of a bill that would bar Israel’s Arabs from leasing JNF-owned lands that are managed by the Israel Lands Authority. I’ve made a fuss about this bill in two previous posts. So has the increasingly intriguing Magnes Zionist. […]
Give Israel’s Education Ministry credit: new text acknowledges Palestinian narrative
Yuli Tamir, Israel’s Education Minister, gets it. She and her staff have taken a tiny step towards a goal that has never been a priority for either Israel or the Palestinian Authority/PLO: acknowledging that there are two very different narratives at work here, two different ways of looking at the same set of events. Those […]
Postscript on the JNF law: A matter of official Israeli policy, not private whim
Ken Bob, President of Ameinu, is a self-taught expert on the morass of official and semi-official Israeli institutions. For that alone, he deserves a medal. In an email, he cleared up an issue raised in the previous comment thread by “Chris,” who insisted that the JNF is a “private organization:” [The term] “JNF” causes some […]
Time to throw out the little blue JNF box?
My new friend Jerry Haber, “The Magnes Zionist” tipped me off to a shameful story about the Jewish National Fund and proposed Knesset legislation. Here is the Ha’aretz report: Bill allocating JNF land to Jews only passes preliminary reading By Yoav Stern and Shahar Ilan The Knesset plenum approved a bill Wednesday, in its preliminary […]
The Magnes Zionist on “moral” vs. “immoral” Zionism
I have found a rare commodity: a kindred spirit in the blogosphere. “Jerry Haber” is the nom de plume of an Israeli professor whose provocative blog, “The Magnes Zionist,” wrestles bravely with the same issues I am trying to address. Both of us were recently plugged by Mobius in his indispensable “JewSchool.” Judah Magnes, as […]