A potentially explosive new campaign by Meretz USA has just been launched. It calls upon American Jews to urge Israel’s Housing Minister to stop building settlements, and says they have the right and the obligation to do so because they are AMERICAN CITIZENS, as well as Jews with ties to Israel. It’s the part about […]
Israel
One state advocates: More lessons from South Africa, Northern Ireland
What follows is another guest column from Tom Mitchell. As he notes in the first line, those who advocate a single, “secular” binational state in what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories often cite Northern Ireland and South Africa as examples of countries that resolved deep-seated ethnic conflicts and forged one, common nation. He […]
Americans for Peace Now makes the neo cons panic about Syria
I can hear the alarms clattering in the minds of neo cons inside and just at the edges of the Bush administration, who have been increasingly upset that the U.S. is opening the door to diplomatic contacts with Iran. Despite arduous efforts, they were unable to prevent Israel from (gasp) negotiating with Syria under Turkish […]
Philip Weiss attacks J Street. Why he’s wrong.
Philip Weiss and I have been communicating after he attacked J Street on MondoWeiss. A good many issues were broached, but one of his arguments is that J Street ought to be appealing to a much broader constituency than American Jews who feel some attachment to Israel. Some of his acolytes, true to form, said […]
Ameinu forces us to confront the realities of occupation
Ameinu is showing clips from a video documentary that got a lot of attention in Israel in 2005 and deserves to get even more attention now. For two years, Haim Yavin, the venerable Israeli anchor for the government-run Channel 1 TV, roamed the territories with a simple video camera, talked to Jewish settlers, soldiers, Palestinians, […]
What are Iran’s motives?: A guest column
Tom Mitchell sent me the following, cogent analysis of Iran’s nuclear weapons program –assuming it exists. I would very much like to believe that what he writes is true. The money quote: “For understandable historical reasons, Israelis take any threats made against them literally. They should keep in mind that Mao spoke with the same […]
Ackerman, Pence Deny Calling for Iran Blockade
The plot thickens. Politico’s John Bresnahan reports that: Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) have issued a letter today stating that a non-binding resolution they offered on Iran does not call for a military action against that country… …While the resolution (I repeat, non-binding) also includes a specific denial that it authorizes use […]
Parsi: Israel would benefit from U.S. accommodation with Iran
Here is a bit of sanity and reason from Trita Parsi. It has been excerpted here and there, but the only way to do it justice is to cut and paste the entire piece from Foreign Policy. As I’ve noted before, there are perhaps 50 people in the world who have a sufficiently detailed understanding […]
Yes, a blockade of Iran is an act of war
I take it back. Sorry, MJ. I blew that last one. What has possessed me to search for moderation like a thirsty man in a desert? First of all, the original title of the previous post referred to a “boycott,” not a “blockade.” The latter, when enforced, is an act of war. The title has […]
Is a blockade of Iran an “act of war?”
MJ Rosenberg, just alerted me to his latest post in TPM Cafe. The headline:”169 House Members (77 Dems) Push For WAR NOW with Iran.” Alarming. But is it alarmist? MJ, an American hero (I mean that!), is concerned about House Resolution 362 and S. Res. 580. I described the House bill in my previous post, […]