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 […]
Israel
“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, […]
Mearsheimer, Walt and what didn’t really happen at Camp David
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 […]
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. […]