The first half of the official Israeli response to the Goldstone report is a detailed explanation of why the world should trust the second half of the Israeli response to the Goldstone report. It offers a summary of Israel’s system for reviewing alleged military misconduct, and refutes the charge that the military is not capable […]
Israel
Arab relief efforts in Haiti
The remarkable Israeli relief efforts in Haiti have attracted predictable, offensive comments that treat the whole initiative as a p.r. stunt. Equally offensive are the triumphant voices that catalogue Israeli deeds and then say, ‘Where are the Arabs in Haiti? You don’t see the Arabs helping.” Well, James Zogby begs to differ and has a […]
Questions about the “p-word” (pressure)
I’ve been on a blogging hiatus, in part because of work commitments, in part because I have nothing original to say, in part because of utter despair about The Situation. When poking my head out and reading the musings of friends and fellow travellers, I sensed the gloves slowly being taken off when it comes […]
Settlers won’t let Palestinians “forget” the past
Conventional wisdom has it that the Palestinians should learn to accept the consequences of the catastrophe that befell them in 1947-1948. They should swallow their bitterness and find a way to move on and stop trying to reclaim property lost 60 years ago, just as other defeated peoples have moved on after war has ravaged […]
Once again, Netanyahu deliberately provokes the White House
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recently announced plan of tenders for nearly 700 new apartments in East Jerusalem was not just a gesture to his restless right wing. It was yet another deliberate attempt to embarrass the White House, say Americans For Peace Now’s Lara Friedman and Ir Amin’s Danny Seideman in a provocative, must-read analysis. They […]
Obama administration takes J Street’s side in the culture war
Officials from two different parts of the Obama administration have now sent strong public signals to the Israelis that J Street needs to be treated respectfully. Will Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s bosses get the message? Or will they keep insisting that he snub and insult J Street and, by extension, the vast numbers of American […]
Cancel tax-exemptions for U.S. funders of settlements ASAP
U.S. tax-exempt charities are in league with the devil in the occupied territories. Coteret, an increasingly important blog by Didi Remez, tells us: Last Tuesday (December 1 2009) an investigative report in Haaretz revealed that Machanaim a US 501c3 tax exempt charity is funding the Task Force to Save the Nation and the Land (aka […]
Will the Americans drive Bibi “crazy?”
Troll around the Web and you will find many, distinctly different ways of looking at Bibi Netanyahu’s recent announcement of a ten-month settlement freeze. Here are four that interest me: 1) IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE, GREATER ISRAEL FANS. Netanyahu has been telling the right wing that the freeze is only temporary and that construction […]
The gated country
I’ve just returned from Israel. The sense of gloom about the chances of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is so widespread and predictable that even mentioning it –or noticing it– seems naive. It is hardly new. But lately something different and probably dangerous has also seeped into the air, a kind of lethargic refusal to care […]
Gilo construction part of larger settlement expansion plan
Netanyahu willfully engineered a confrontation with the U.S. over announced plans to build in the West Bank town of Gilo, according to Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now and Danny Seidemann of Ir Amin. They make a persuasive case that the plans were a deliberate provocation of the U.S., as Netanyahu had many other […]