The fact that the Egyptians offered a peace initiative to Israel in 1970-1971 and were rebuffed by Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan should be better-known. One reads and hears about this diplomatic blunder periodically in the Israeli media. But my impression is that the story hasn’t sunk into the consciousness of American Jews and other […]
American foreign policy
Wes Clark says attacking Iran will hurt Israel
A new video blog on Wesley Clark’s “Stop Iran War” web site is, alas, rather amateurish, but he briefly articulates why launching an attack on Iran will hurt Israel. He makes sense. Assuming he is running for some kind of higher office, it is refreshing to see at least one nationally recognized political figure articulating […]
My Iranian problem…and ours
When I was a teenager, I learned not to take at face value anything Robert McNamara or Lyndon Johnson said about U.S. military behavior in Vietnam. Later, I didn’t automatically accept what Sharon and Begin said about the first Israeli invasion of Lebanon or what the IDF said about its behavior in Lebanon this past […]
“AIPAC Hijack: With Friends Like These”: Worth Reading
Much has been written about the latest AIPAC Policy Conference. Bits and scraps of details have been revealed about it but, until now, I have not read an enlightening, detailed summary. Here is an impassioned description of what happened by Ameinu’s new Executive Director, Gidon Remba.
Redefine the American Jewish-Israeli relationship
The organized American Jewish community and Israel are like a tired old married couple that lives together on the basis of old habits, not new realities. They need to make an effort to redefine their relationship so that both can benefit. (Full disclosure: I stole that simile from Jerry Goodman, former director of the National Committee for Labor Israel and […]
Should Arab Americans and Jewish Americans join a new lobby?
Yesterday, Aviva called for a survey of American Jews and American Palestinians, indicating that the voices of the majority in both communities are often not heard. Great idea. What follows is an edited excerpt from a book I’m working on, tentatively titled “A Lobby for the Rest of Us.”  It is followed by another question from me. […]