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Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Israeli elections may bring a brave new worldFollowing the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, the world is enamored of change. Change, however, is not always a good thing. It may bring to power a Franklin Roosevelt, but frequently the results are less constructive. The Islamist revolution in Iran brought change, for example, and so did the election of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. In 1977, Israelis who wanted "change" voted for the "Democratic party for change." We got change, but those who voted for the "change" party were disappointed to find the Likud of Menachem Begin in power. The era of settlements had begun in earnest. In a few months, there may soon be a another big political change in Israel too, bigger than many seem to realize. Big and BAD. [more] by Moderator @ November 19, 2008: 03:19 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] At the Crossroads, Again: Israel Facing Early ElectionsOne (major) tactical error and two fundamental political factors--namely, the position taken by the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party and a political rebellion within her own party, Kadima--doomed Tzipi Livni's efforts to put together a coalition government that could win approval in the Knesset. She informed President Shimon Peres that she had failed in her mission and would rather go to early elections than submit to the demands she was facing from several quarters. And it now seems that elections will be held on February 10, 2009, three years since the seventeenth Knesset was elected. Israeli citizens are once again facing a crucial decision that might have an effect for many years to come. [more] by Moderator @ November 19, 2008: 11:37 AM CST [Link] [2 comments] Sunday, November 16, 2008 Benny Morris: 1948 - A book that can make a difference
Morris, Benny Rghtly or wrongly, Benny Morris is recognized by many as the dean of Israeli historians of the First Arab-Israel War. At least, it is true for English speaking readers. If so, his latest book should cause an upheaval in that field. This is not a dry academic issue about historiography of events that are past and irrelevant. The history and perception of that war is vital to an understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For that war, at least, we have to agree with William Faulkner, who said, "The past isn't dead; it isn't even past." Since the 1980s, Israeli new historians have made much of the world look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of a single. "narrative." It states that the Arabs of Palestine were minding their own business in 1948, when they were attacked and expelled by superior Jewish forces for no reason whatever, according to a preconceived racist plan that was 'understood' if not put in writing or announced officially. A terrible historical injustice was done - "Ethnic Cleansing." Leaving aside for a moment whether real history can be written as part of a political polemic - Zionist or anti-Zionist, the real question is "What really happened?" [more] by Moderator @ November 16, 2008: 02:22 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Thursday, November 13, 2008 Hamas and 1967 borders: Enough to induce Obama?"We don't have a state, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. Gaza is under siege and the West Bank is occupied. What we have in the Gaza Strip is not a state, but rather a regime of an elected government. A Palestinian state will not be created at this time except in the territories of 1967." This is what the Gaza-based Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, told European parliamentarians who brought emergency relief supplies for the beleaguered residents of Gaza. According to him, Israel had rejected his initiative for a Palestinian state within the June 1967 borders. Within hours another Hamas leader, Mahmoud al-Zahar, declared that the group's long-term 'truce' with Israel is still on the table. [more] by Moderator @ November 13, 2008: 07:12 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Monday, November 10, 2008 Barack Obama: Maybe he can't
We can all celebrate the victory that Barack Obama has won for African Americans, and breath a sigh of relief that an incompetent regime is gone. But let's face it: Unless Barack Obama really can walk on water, it is doubtful that he can fulfill even a fraction of his campaign promises. by Moderator @ November 10, 2008: 02:51 PM CST [Link] Hamas and the Quest for Middle East PeaceRealizing that there is no realistic prospect for peace between Israel and Palestine unless the Palestinian factions can unite behind one common negotiating position, the Egyptian government planned to host a conference at the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Shaikh today in an attempt to unite no fewer than 13 Palestinian factions. [more] by Moderator @ November 10, 2008: 12:19 PM CST [Link] [2 comments] Friday, November 7, 2008 Lost in Translation: Who Me, a Settler?Stephen Kramer, a West Bank settler, wrote an article replying to Americans for Peace Now in which he supposedly derived the origin of the word "settler" for American readers. This was not an idle linguistic exercise. Kramer's purpose was to show that all Israelis are "settlers," and that the legal status and moral implications of my home in Rehovot, for example, are identical to those of the home of a a "settler" like Noam Federman, who took possession of land without a permit and in defiance of the laws of the state of Israel and in order to sabotage the international undertakings made by the Israeli government. According to Kramer, he, and I and Federman and the BILU who settled in Gedera and the inhabitants of Tel Aviv are all in the same moral category. We are all "settlers." [more] by Moderator @ November 7, 2008: 08:37 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Free at last!When history is happening, we never notice. History just happened. [more] by Moderator @ November 5, 2008: 12:27 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Monday, November 3, 2008 Middle East: Collision course2009 will bring a brave new world to the Middle East. Very probably, Barack Obama will be elected president of the United States tomorrow, and he will bring about significant changes in the style and perhaps the content of United States policy in the Middle East and elsewhere. But the elections that should interest us most are those which are going to take place, and those that will not take place closer to home. [more] by Moderator @ November 3, 2008: 06:44 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Thursday, October 23, 2008 Hamas: Myth vs FactMy last article about the Hamas, Palestinian Unity and Peace Paradox drew comments that showed plainly that a lot of people take the absurdities disseminated by Hamas groupies as gospel truth. These untruths have won a wide audience and now are now "accepted wisdom" in the "best" circles. Some debunking is in order. [more] by Moderator @ October 23, 2008: 12:29 AM CST [Link] [2 comments] Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Palestinian unity and peace paradoxIf reports about a proposed Palestinian unity deal are correct, the future of the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process may have gotten darker this week, if that is possible. Unity is essential for peace. Everyone understands that no real progress can be made until the Israeli political situation is settled and until the Palestinians form a unified government in the West Bank and Gaza. However, the wrong sort of unity could kill the peace process permanently, if it is not already dead. [more] by Moderator @ October 21, 2008: 10:23 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Is it 9-11 in the world economy?The attack of 9-11-01 defined the political discourse and preoccupations of most of the last decade. It was a dramatic event that made the world stand up and pay attention. The next seven years may be pregnant with a disaster signaled by much less dramatic events, centered on another area of New York City not too far from the former World Trade Center. The events it unleashes may kill many more people than those unleashed by the terror attacks of September 2001. [more] by Moderator @ October 8, 2008: 03:07 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Monday, September 29, 2008 Israeli-Palestinian Peace - Going noplace?Everyone except Zippy Tzipi Livni is pretty much agreed that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is going no place. Several articles have predicted that when the "deadline" for concluding a shelf agreement, or forming a Palestinian state, or whatever that deadline was, has passed at the end of the year, a third Palestinian Intifada may break out (see for example here and here). In the United States, George Bush is winding down his presidency. In Israel, Tzipi Livni is trying to form a government and in the Palestinian Authority it is not certain who will govern and what the status of the government will be after January 2009, when most Palestinians believe that Mahmoud Abbas's term as president will have expired. . [more] by Moderator @ September 29, 2008: 02:59 PM CST [Link] [1 Comment] Tuesday, September 23, 2008 In Defense of Indian SecularismI write this from New Delhi, which has just borne witness to five massive bomb blasts in which dozens were killed and scores more injured. The bombings were the work of a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen (IM). The callousness of their act was also witnessed by the fact that amongst those targets selected was a children's park. In the aftermath of the bombings, tensions between Muslims and the proverbial "other" is understandably tense. These tensions are being exploited by certain Hindu fundamentalists allied to the Bharata Janata Party (BJP). Neither is this the only cleavage in Indian society. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has noted that Christians in BJP-ruled States were feeling insecure as a result of the attacks on their churches in places like Orissa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. It almost seems as if one fundamentalism feeds the flames of other fundamentalisms. In this religious fundamentalists, whatever their religious persuasion, have far more in common than those who recognize the reality of India as an ethnically and religiously diverse country and therefore who aspire for a secular state in which all may practice their cultural and religious beliefs freely. [more] by Moderator @ September 23, 2008: 01:39 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Thursday, September 18, 2008 Devil's advocate: New Elections in IsraelTzipy Livni has evidenlty just become head of Israel's Kadima party (pending finalization of eleciton results) and has a chance, at least, to form a moderate government that will pursue the peace process. For those who support peace, the sensible course would seem to be to support Livni. [more] by Moderator @ September 18, 2008: 06:28 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] Thursday, September 11, 2008 Lessons of 9-11The tragic terror attacks of September 11, 2001 should, at least, have been a learning experience. But the high tuition has not generated much wisdom. [more] by Moderator @ September 11, 2008: 12:07 AM CST [Link] [2 comments] Monday, September 8, 2008 Everybody loves the Hamas
It seems that everybody, almost, loves the Hamas and is showering it with gifts. This might be surprising, since Hamas is a genocidal, racist terrorist group which continues to be an avowed enemy of the peace process, and which took power illegally in a bloody coup. But in the Middle East, that sort of thing seems to work pretty well. by Moderator @ September 8, 2008: 01:09 PM CST [Link] [No Comments] |
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