Home >> Middle East Israel President Obama, Rabin's Legacy and the words we use
Maurice Ostroff - 11/17/2009
President Obama's video message to the November 8 Rabin Rally in Tel Aviv was truly inspiring. One cannot help but be moved by his call to follow in the footsteps of Yitzchak Rabin and his statement that the USA will never lose sight of our shared purpose – a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world – one that respects the dignity and security of every human being. (View the speech on Youtube. http://tinyurl.com/yfm7tgq ) The Turkish-Israeli Alliance Over
Prof. Barry Rubin - 11/4/2009
The Turkey-Israel alliance is over. After two decades plus of close cooperation, the Turkish government is no longer interested in maintaining close cooperation with Israel nor is it—for all practical purposes—willing to do anything much to maintain its good relations with Israel. Judging Goldstone
Ted Belman - 10/28/2009
If you haven’t seen the movie Judgement at Nuremberg, you should. It was a movie of the trial of 16 Nazi Justices. One Judge in the dock, Schlegelberger, played by Burt Lancaster, was a good man who had reluctantly served the Nazi Regime until he resigned for reasons of conscience in 1942. He was found guilty. And in the end he agreed the verdict was a just one. Goldstone says Israel guilty until proven innocent
Ted Belman - 10/13/2009
The Goldstone Commission Inquiry reported that “Israel was guilty of war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.” But I thought it was a fact finding inquiry only. All the more reason to support Netanyahu
Ted Belman - 10/11/2009
I attended the Jewish Blogger's Conference in Jerusalem last night. It was sponsored by Nefesh b’Nefesh and WebAds. A very exciting event where I had a long conversation with Ashley Perry, International Media Advisor to the Deputy Foreign Ministry. More on that after I meet with him again. But the highlight for me was the speech given by Ron Dermer described by Wikipedia as follows, Israel can and must act in her own best interests
Ted Belman - 10/11/2009
Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future."
- Horace
As I read Ettinger’s excellent piece below, I was reminded of other historical facts having to do with limiting Jewish settlement, emigration or immigration. Even before the British Mandate, Britain was actively limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine. Stalin also prevented Jewish emigration. The Mandate didn’t change much. Britain continued to limit immigration and so so did Russia/USSR right up to its downfall. Remember the “Let my people go” campaign in the seventies. Keeping Israel On The Defensive As Long As Possible With Lie After Lie
Alex Grobman, Ph.D. - 10/10/2009
Opponents of Israel repeatedly accuse her of being an occupier, disenfranchising the Arabs and humiliating them in order to keep the government on the defensive. The objective of these alleged human rights violations is to pressure the international community to establish a separate Palestinian state according to Bar-Ilan professor Ron Schleifer. Netanyahu is sticking to Rabin’s guidelines
Ted Belman - 10/10/2009
In attempting to evaluate the “partial freeze, we must be wary of spin. We must also be wary of “Greeks” bearing gifts. Netanyahu has released about 500 units for construction. Is this a big deal or no deal at all? Why The Return To Zion? The Jewish Connection To The Land of Israel
Alex Grobman, Ph.D. - 9/28/2009
Not long after the establishment of the State of Israel, Abba Eban, Israel’s representative to the United Nations, remarked, “The peace on Israel’s borders may be no more than the peace of a quiescent volcano; and the crisis of state in its immediate external relationships remain unsolved.” 1 Avoiding the Unthinkable: Missile Defense is Israel's
Prof. Barry Rubin - 9/28/2009
Remember the name Uzi Rubin because he might emerge as the most important individual in the issue of Iran’s nuclear weapons drive. Rubin is the former head of Israel’s missile defense program and now a defense consultant. He has developed the best alternative (or supplement) to blocking the dangers of a radical Islamist, genocidal-oriented, terrorist supporting, antisemitic regime having nuclear-tipped missiles pointed at Israel. Rights-Based Diplomacy
Ted Belman - 9/24/2009
Sultan Knish suggests Why Israel is Losing the Military and Media Wars: Israel: Not Guilty As Charged
Ted Belman - 9/16/2009
Reuters reported on the Goldstone Report: “The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly in some respects crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defence Force.” More reason to support Netanyahu
Ted Belman - 9/14/2009
I attended the Jewish Blogger's Conference in Jerusalem last night. It was sponsored by Nefesh b’Nefesh and WebAds. A very exciting event. A New, Old and Ugly Spirit
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 9/10/2009
The article in the popular Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet alleging the Israel Defense Forces were involved in organ theft was the latest and most heinous example of an increasingly familiar phenomenon: classic anti-Semitic tropes and expressions of open hostility to Jews turning up in statements by members of the European liberal left. The New Blood Libel from Sweden Should Come as No Surprise
Alex Grobman, Ph.D. - 9/3/2009
For many Americans, the Nordic countries are a mystery. How many can locate these countries on a map or name their major cities? The international media hardly pays them any attention. The combined population of the five countries in this study—Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—is 25 million. Outside of the region, few people understand their languages. When Israelis Denounce Israel: Legitimate Criticism of Israel or Arrogant Self-Delusion
Dr. Alex Grobman - 8/27/2009
Critics of Israel abound. Some are antisemites who seek the demise of the Jewish state. Others have legitimate concerns about particular Israeli policies. Among the most vocal are a number of Israeli intellectuals who challenge the country’s raison d’ętre. A Modest Solution to Antisemitism, Crazed Hatred of Israel, and All Other World Problems
Prof. Barry Rubin - 8/21/2009
This is satire but intelligently designed, its humble author hopes, to clarify unpleasant realities in a way that a resort to more earnest, reasoned speech may not attain so easily. To illustrate the inhumanity of British policy toward Ireland, the Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift produced what he called, “A Modest Proposal” in 1729. The subtitle was: “For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public.” Jewish Settlements and the Anniversary of the Hebron Massacre
Prof. Jerold S. Auerbach - 8/7/2009
This week, when a lead editorial in The New York Times (July 31) advocates freezing Jewish settlements, marks the publication of my Hebron Jews: Memory and Conflict in the Land of Israel. No Jews are as relentlessly vilified as the Jewish settlers of Hebron. Castigated as "zealots," "fanatics" and "fundamentalists," they are the militant Jewish settlers whom legions of critics is Israel, in the United States and throughout the world love to hate. It is seldom noticed that their most serious transgression, settlement in the heart of the biblical Land of Israel, defines Zionism: the return of Jews to their historic homeland. Just say “No” to the settlement freeze
Ted Belman - 7/27/2009
The Arabs know what they want, and that is the end of Israel. The Jews are divided as to what they want. The left wants to get the hell out of the West Bank . The center, including Kadima and Labour, want to keep the settlement blocks containing most of the settlers but are prepared to uproot as many as 70,000 Jews, perhaps even 100,000. The right does not want to allow a Palestinian state to emerge, even if demilitarized. Three Failed Plans to Wipe Israel Off the Map
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/18/2009
There are now no less than three main plans for wiping Israel off the map. Prime Minister Netanyahu's Speech
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/15/2009
In a much-awaited speech about his new government's foreign policy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained Israel's situation, experience, and views. Other countries, especially those which think they have all the answers for making peace, should pay close attention. They might actually learn something. Memo To Bibi
Ted Belman - 6/12/2009
Memo to Bibi. What your speech should entail:
The League of Nations granted to Jews everywhere the right to settle in Judea and Samaria. The Palestine Mandate recognized our right to reconstitute our ancient homeland there. The United Nations is bound by this document.
While that is our right as Jews, we are prepared to relinquish our rights to some of the land pursuant to the Roadmap, providing it is based on Res 242 which authorized us to remain on all the land until we had secure and recognized borders. We insist on borders which are defensible and include all settlement block... How Can Israel Depend on Those Who Have Proven Undependable
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/3/2009
Back in 1993, when the “peace process” began, President Bill Clinton told a press conference that Israel was ready to take risks for peace and he told Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, "If you do that, my role is to minimize those risks."
One of the most important elements in contemporary Israeli thinking is the irony of those words. Clinton, of course, meant them and his intentions were good. But looking back from 2009, the risks taken by Israel and the concessions it has made have repeatedly plagued the country and cost the lives of thousands of its citizens. Israel, Obama, Iran, and Journalism
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 5/26/2009
"During Netanyahu's visit, Israel shared intelligence with the CIA regarding the potential for a terrorist attack which will dwarf 9/11 if Iran is allowed to continue with its nuclear designs and share its outcomes with allies such as Hamas and the Hizbullah. Iranian proliferation is a direct threat to US National security. Obama, Netanyahu and American Jews
Isi Leibler - 5/13/2009
It was with mixed feelings that I returned from New York after extensive discussions with a wide range of American Jewish leaders. Take Your Poison, Israel
Ted Belman - 3/24/2009
Israel must decide whether to attack Iran or not and whether to accept the Saudi Plan or not. In both cases Israel has to pick her poison. Book Review: Journey to Nowhere by Eva Figes
Eugene Schulman - 3/24/2009
It is hard to imagine that when Eva Figes dreamed up the title of this memoir she didn't have Samuel Butler's "Erewhon" in mind. Though Butler's book was a satire on social morals and an attack on religion, the reversed spelling of its title implied that this utopian world does not, could not, really exist. Figes, writing about Israel, seems to play on the word, showing that the "promised land" is truly nowhere. It is not the utopia everyone has been led to believe. Understanding Netanyahu
Ted Belman - 3/18/2009
In response to Solana threatening Netanyahu with these words, “Let me say very clearly that the way the European Union will relate to an government that is not committed to a two-state solution will be very, very different.” A Struggle of Honor and Shame
Ron Coody - 2/23/2009
Israel and Turkey seem caught together in a society of mutual shame. They have related on friendly terms for decades, under the influence of Kemalism. For Turks who value their Ottoman heritage, Turkey ’s lost control of Palestine and Jerusalem to the British in the early 20th century still brings pangs of discontent. Not only was the Ottoman Empire the peak of Turkish power in the last half millennium, it was also the protector of the three holiest sites of Islam. But the modern secular republic of Turkey has accepted Israel ’s statehood and legitimacy. Moral Vacuity In the Call For An Academic Boycott against Israel
Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D. - 2/23/2009
Seeming to give proof to Orwell’s observation that some ideas are so stupid they could only have been thought of by intellectuals, yet another group of academics—this time in the United States—has followed Britain and Canada by ignobly launching another academic boycott of Israel. What is called The U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel seeks to enjoin “participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions that do not vocally oppose Israeli state policies against Palestine,” “promot[e] divestment and disinvestment from Israel by international academic institutions. . . .” Journalist Says Israel Has No Right to Exist
Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. - 2/13/2009
A journalist who has written as many as 37 articles for a widely respected British newspaper, and who was at one time the editor of a radical Islamic Internet forum, has stated publicly that Israel has no right to exist Israel's Election in International Perspective
Prof. Barry Rubin - 2/9/2009
Many people don’t understand what’s happening now in Israeli politics, so here’s a brief, and non-partisan, appreciation. Compared to the past, there’s far less difference between the three main parties. This is largely due to the objective situation, which is rather inflexible. Israel: Living Next Door to a Serial Killer
Prof. Barry Rubin - 1/28/2009
Israel has won a huge military victory in a defensive war against the radical Islamist Hamas group which rules the Gaza Strip. ‘Lawfare:’ Another Weapon in the Jihad Against Israel
Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D. - 1/12/2009
As Israel launched strikes against Hamas strongholds in Gaza over the past week, putting down temporarily a relentless barrage of some 3000 Qassam rockets and mortars that have been lobbed into southern Israeli towns this past year alone, Israel’s many global critics immediately denounced what they termed the “disproportionate” military response against the Palestinians. Many also chimed in again about the “humanitarian crisis” being caused in Gaza as a result of Israeli blockades, bemoaned the continuing “siege,” and complained how military retaliation against Hamas for its unbridled terror a... Israel's International Support: A Glass Eight-Tenths Full
Prof. Barry Rubin - 1/11/2009
It's easy to be misled by elements of Western media and academia that seem to prefer terrorists and radical Islamists to Israel. A diplomatic balance sheet from Israel's standpoint is quite good, pretty remarkably good, better than it has been for a very long time. Warning for Israel: Avoid the Iranian-Hamas Trap
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 12/31/2008
The State of Israel, after some five days of its “Operation Cast Lead” which seeks to end Hamas’ and its allies’ continual rocket attacks on southern Israel—over 300 rockets being launched against Israel in the fortnight before Israel retaliated this week, and over ten times that many this past year alone, despite the 6-month ceasefire “lull”—finds itself under intense pressure to accept a ceasefire, especially from the E.U. as led by France. Despite the temptation to cave in to this pressure, Israel should reject the idea. Hamas has proposed a ceasefire, but with conditions that will allow it... Why Israel Is Bombing Gaza
Ephraim Sneh (Past Israel Deputy Defense Minister) - 12/31/2008
When demands are made of Israel to halt its military activities in Gaza, a brief historical reminder is in order. The Mandate for Israel
Ted Belman - 12/29/2008
Over three years ago I came across a new demographic study by AIDRG which argues that for the foreseeable future Jews would outnumber Arabs in Israel, Judea and Samaria by a ratio of 2:1. This fact gave rise to the suggestion that Israel should favour a Jewish One-State Plan. I became an immediate convert and wrote Not the Center of the World
Prof. Barry Rubin - 12/18/2008
Israel isn't going to be the center of the world for the Obama administration and that's a good, if ego-disappointing, thing. Both the pro-Israeli right's paranoia and the wishful thinking of the anti-Israeli left in the United States (and, in the latter category, Europe plus the Middle East as well), are operating out of expectations rather than the actual situation. Obama at Khalidi bash: Israelis commit 'genocide'
Ted Belman - 11/3/2008
Award-winning blogger Doug Ross reports that a reliable source has provided an eyewitness account of what he saw on the videotape of the Rashid Khalidi farewell bash that the LA Times is suppressing. Biden's 'Obama Crisis' May Be A War Against Israel
Ted Belman - 10/28/2008
Senater Biden recently warned about an upcoming generated crises and asked for political support for Obama re-action, “Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.” Time is on my side - yes it is!
Prof. Barry Rubin - 9/29/2008
So sang the Rolling Stones. But which side has time working in its favor? That's one of the Middle East's most intriguing and controversial questions. How the United Nations is undermining Israel
Dr. Alex Grobman - 9/1/2008
Zionism — the Jewish national renaissance movement — is one of the most misunderstood examples of modern nationalism. Part of the reason is that Zionism is founded on a paradox. In an attempt to transform the Jewish people into becoming like all the other nations of the world, Zionism sought a contemporary solution to the "Jewish problem" by returning Jews to their ancestral homeland.[1] Although secular Zionist thinkers drew upon sacred Jewish traditions of rebirth and restoration, they discarded or recast anything not connected to restoration, especially religious rituals. Zionis... Livni’s fiasco
Ted Belman - 8/15/2008
Jpost has an editorial Lebanon tipping-point? in which it reviews the deteriating situation in Lebanon. I thought I would review how Livni sold Res 1701 to Israelis just as Olmert “sold” Israelis that the Lebanon War II was a success. AP Falsely Reports Israel Building New Settlement
Prof. Barry Rubin - 8/13/2008
The AP falsely reported that Israel is building a new settlement on the West Bank and linked this to a wrong-headed spin on an important national leader visiting Israel. Annihilatory Politics: How to Get the World To Hate Israel
Dr. Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D. - 8/11/2008
As part of evaluating the competitive landscape of the popularity of nations, in a process referred to in marketing circles as ‘place branding,’ Israel, to no one’s great surprise, comes up short in brand likeability, ranking last out of 35 nations included in an August 2006 survey conducted by nation branding expert Simon Anholt, even less attractive to respondents than Indonesia, Estonia, and Turkey. Big battle looming between Obama and Netanyahu, if both elected
Ted Belman - 8/4/2008
Let’s face it, there is going to be a Declaration of Principles agreed to, if not this year, early next year. A Night on the Town in Jerusalem
Ted Belman - 8/3/2008
My “night on the town” started by attending a talk at 4:30 PM by Shuki Yashuv who was a master cabinetmaker and history graduate, before leaving Jerusalem with his wife and 2 daughters for Moshuv Agur in 1999 to set up his winery. Israelis and Fellow Travelers
Ted Belman - 7/28/2008
About thirty years ago, my how time flies, I was listening to a lecture by an Israeli law professor who had represented Israel in negotiations with the Syrians after the ’73 war. To illustrate the difference in style between negotiators, he informed that when a customer walks into an Arab store, the Arab asks him how he is, to please sit down, can I get you a glass of water, where are you from etc., etc. When the same customer walks into an Israeli store, the Israeli says “Hello, what do you want?.. The Israelis are anxious to get down to business whereas the Arabs have all the time in the world. Current day Israeli negotiators should take a lesson from this. My visit to Kibbutz Ein Harod
Ted Belman - 7/17/2008
Mike Packard, a longtime friend of Israpundit, invited me to spend Shabbat with him and his family in Kibbutz Ein Harod. I gratefully accepted. So on Friday I hopped on a bus in Jerusalem headed for Beit Shean. What Drives Me Crazy
Ted Belman - 7/17/2008
When I attended High School in Galt, Ontario, a city of 14,000, in the early fifties I was as normal as any other kid except that I happened to be Jewish and proud of it. That singular fact of being a Jew permeated my entire life. Collision Course
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 7/17/2008
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak this week called the Iranian nuclear issue "a challenge not just for Israel but for the entire world." He added that "Israel is the strongest country in the region and we have proven in the past that we are not deterred from acting when our vital interests are at stake." The Security Council has no jurisdiction over settlement construction
Ted Belman - 7/16/2008
Saudi Arabia is making moves to put a resolution before the Security Council dealing with Israeli settlement construction. So far the exact resolution hasn’t been formulated let alone tabled but is expected to demand a cessation of building additional housing units. Fighting To Win
Ted Belman - 7/3/2008
The other day, I met with MK Arieh Eldad to learn from his perspective what was going on, how the forces are lining up for the upcoming elections and how we can keep Judea and Samaria. Livni is not the answer
Ted Belman - 7/2/2008
The Jerusalem Report has a major article, The Livni Beat, which attempts to explain Livni’s politics. In Livni’s view, the occupation of Palestinian territory must be wound up for two reasons: Israel's Great Game
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/6/2008
Forget all the wimpy claptrap about Israel disappearing. Anyone who believes such nonsense has obviously never been to an Israeli soccer game. Olmert's Dilemma and Israel's Multi-front Negotiations
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/5/2008
Clearly, the conduct of negotiations by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government with Syria, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, has an Israeli political dimension. Yet it is easy to misunderstand this relationship. The Jews' Stupidest Pro-Obama Argument
Sammy Benoit - 5/21/2008
Two Jews are standing in front of a firing squad. They're asked if they want a cigarette. "Shah," says one Jew to the other, "You'll get us in trouble!" Israel's Disappearing Act
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/20/2008
Exaggerations of Israel ’s demise are greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain. The question is: why is this suddenly happening now and—even more important—what is the impact of this fad going to be? The answer to the second question is very surprising so keep reading. Redefining What it means to be pro-Israel
Ted Belman - 5/20/2008
The strategy of J Street was to revisit what it means to be pro-Israel and to convince the public that its stance is really a pro-Israel one. To this end, Washington Post published 5 Myths About Being ‘Pro-Israel’ by Joseph Ben-Ami, J Street's Executive Director, which included this statement "And forging a healthy friendship with Israel requires bursting some myths about what it means to be pro-Israel.". I challenged its position in J-Street is setting up strawmen and speaks for a small minority Life in Israel
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/14/2008
I'm sitting in Israel's Independence Hall, a 10-minute walk from my home, a small, relatively bare room that was Tel Aviv's first city hall. Sixty years ago today, it was the place where Israel was declared a country. Happy Sixtieth Birthday Israel
Amil Imani - 5/12/2008
Israel, your people, as well as people of good will, are celebrating your sixtieth birthday. We, the children of Cyrus the Great, also would like to offer our heartfelt best wishes to you on this occasion. Yet, this, in fact, is your rebirth. Your birth occurred some 4,000 years ago. Israel’s never-ending battle
Ted Belman - 5/11/2008
As the West ups the pressure on Israel to capitulate to Arab demands and return to the armistice lines, it is important to remember that all of Judea and Samaria were held in trust for the Jewish state from the singing of the Palestine Mandate in 1922, if not earlier from the time the San Remo Conference awarded these lands to the Jews. Israel and Europe: A Pretty Good Relationship
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/11/2008
PARIS, FRANCE. Israel-European relations are at their highest point in a very long time. The strong anti-Israel forces that are often so loudly heard in elite and media circles should not drown out that fact. AP Explains to you Why Israel Shouldn't Exist
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/4/2008
If I would choose one article in the Western media that I have read over many decades as the worst piece of anti-Israel propaganda of all, it might well be Karin Laub’s April 26, 2008 piece, “Palestinian plight is flip side of Israel's independence joy.” Why? Because many articles have slandered Israel on various points or told falsehoods ranging from the disgusting to the humorous or been based on assumptions that were at odds with the truth. But in this case, the article encapsulates the way in which much of the world has turned from admiration to loathing of Israel , and the way in which Israel ’s destruction—which in other contexts would be seen as genocidal—has been justified. Israel is hanging tough
Ted Belman - 5/3/2008
First we hear that Abbas was angry with what he was told and wasn’t told when he recently visited the Whitehouse. He didn’t get the kind of support he wanted. Barak is standing firm, so far, in rejecting a stupid hudna. Israeli State Radio Outs the Academic Fifth Column
Steven Plaut - 5/3/2008
Until now, Israel’s state-owned media have generally never done any investigative reporting on Israel’s Far left and Academic Fifth Column. The TV and radio stations are owned by the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and the IBA has always been a poorly-disguised bastion of the Left. Its heads have never hidden the fact that think their mission in life is to advance the Left’s agenda. Israel is Safe and Strong. Really.
Prof. Barry Rubin - 4/30/2008
Let’s face it, after almost 2000 years in exile and only 60 years of Israel as a sovereign nation, it still feels funny for Jews, especially those outside Israel, to have a state. Can Israel withstand US pressure?
Ted Belman - 4/30/2008
Recently we hear that Olmert offered to cede the Golan to Syria and I commented The Golan is safe for now. For now, because ultimately the US will be pressuring Israel to do the deal. Mercaz Harav and the G-Word
Richard Landes - 4/25/2008
Just after the murderous attack on the Seminary students in Jerusalem, SPME issued a statement to which it attached the names of the board members. The key passage runs as follows: There Is No Demographic Bomb For Israel
Ted Belman - 4/25/2008
Jews in Israel and the Diaspora follow the peace process closely and a majority of them favour the two-state solution. As Yoram Ettinger explains below, this is due in part to their fear of the alleged Demographic Time Bomb. Is Criticism of Israel Courageous?
Ami Isseroff - 4/22/2008
There is an old joke about the Englishman who explains that their way of answering the telephone is much better: "We say 'Are you there?' If you're not, there's no sense in continuing the conversation, is there?" The same logic underlies a popular refrain that seems to accompany every recent Israel-bashing publicity gig. No matter that it is prima facie illogical, it is now a permanent repetitive feature of every article, book and interview relating to anyone who wants to criticize Israel. You can read it in the morning paper, you can hear it on the radio, and you can see it on television. Jimmy Carter does it. Professors Walt and Mearsheimer do it. Everyone's doing it. Close Encounters of the Suicidal Kind: Crimes Against Jewish Humanity
Boris Celser - 4/20/2008
Israel is a confused nation, because its society is not given a chance to live a normal life, not only because of a hostile world, but also because of the ruling elite. In no other country would a perennial loser like Shimon Peres be allowed to manipulate the system for his own gain for so long and to implement his megalomaniac ideas at the expense of the lives of so many. He continues to do so almost unimpeded. Israel is in serious difficulties and, under the false pretence of being a true democracy, it is likely to never convene a real commission of truth to expose the crimes and punish the ... Michael Ignatieff in the lion’s den
Ted Belman - 4/16/2008
In the last couple of months, Barack Obama has gone before the American public to explain himself or perhaps to apologize for remarks made. He wasn’t terribly successful. Similarly, Michael Ignatieff, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Lakeshore, Deputy Leader Liberal Party of Canada, delivered an address at Holy Blossom Synagogue, Toronto last night with the intention of doing likewise. He also wasn’t successful. The USA, Israel's Friendly Bully
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 4/16/2008
It is common knowledge that, in international affairs, emotions defer to self-interest. As George Orwell noted in his masterpiece, "1984", the flux of circumstance may render yesterday's foe tomorrow's friend. What could be more democratic than a referendum?
Ted Belman - 4/7/2008
Finally Bibi took a stand “I will not allow for the division of Jerusalem”. Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot wrote: "Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) met with Condoleezza Rice Sunday, and stated that he informed the visiting US secretary of state that he would not endorse a declaration of principles calling for a return to 1967 borders and the division of Jerusalem." The Legal Status of East Jerusalem Under International Law
David Storobin, Esq. - 4/1/2008
Despite the common misconception, God did not create Heaven and Earth during the 6 days of the 1967 war, and starting that late in history distorts one’s understanding of the Middle East conflict. Thus, let’s start from the beginning. This is a Cultural/Religious War
Ted Belman - 4/1/2008
Moshe Feiglin was in New York on 9/11. Two weeks later he wrote this profound article, Why America Has Already Lost the War. For him it was a cultural/religious war. The same war that Israel had been fighting for a century and losing. Islam destroyed the greatest symbol of the West, he wrote, namely the Twin Towers and nothing less would do but to destroy Mecca, Medina and al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Stand with Israel against Durban II
Ted Belman - 3/24/2008
A couple of weeks ago, I attended an event hosted by the Conservative Party in Canada to report on its efforts to combat antisemitism. Canada as you know was quick to condemn and pull out of Durban II. Israel followed suit. Requisites for a Real Friend of Israel
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 3/13/2008
The 2008 Presidential campaign has brought forth statements from all the major candidates, both Democrat and Republican, of the depth of their support for the State of Israel, and their commitment to maintaining the close relationship that exists between the United States and the only real democracy in that area of the world. On the face of it, there would appear to be very little difference between the Democrats and the Republicans regarding support for Israel. The politically naive would be able to look at all the candidates and seeing their near equal “support” for Israel, come to the concl... If Someone Comes to Kill You, Rise Up and Kill Him First
Ted Belman - 3/5/2008
Israel is free to employ ALL munitions, tactics, equipment and personnel in her arsenal to defend herself against the outlaw Hamas terrorist organization. Short of the intentional targeting and murder of truly uninvolved and innocent civilians, Israel can (and should) operate as freely as she desires to protect her territorial sovereignty and the lives of her citizens. What happened to “innocent until proven guilty”?
Ted Belman - 2/20/2008
I have been looking for details as to the “siege” Israel has applied to Gaza. I read a lot of invective toward Israel such as this odious article in the International Herald Tribune, but little detail. Israel is always “guilty” regardless of whether she has committed a crime. It is always assumed that the law proscribes such conduct and that Israel has violated it. In most cases the “law” is misapplied. Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”. In the case of the “siege” she is “guilty” of “collective punishment” according to the Human Rights activists. Musharraf and Barak- Why did they meet?
Iqbal Latif - 2/7/2008
Politics is the name of the art of survival. In today’s world, geo-strategic realities demand that countries should work closely to reduce the threat from the unseen. When the very survival of a nation is at stake, efforts should be made to reduce tensions and harvest confidence building measures. Pakistan and Israel have solid rationale to promote the intensity of their communication. Last week, I highlighted that Lieberman's recent itinerary in Islamabad included two unusual appointments. Senator Lieberman had long meetings with Pakistani army chief, General Parvez Kiani, and the director ge... Terror Victims Remembrance Campaign 2008 - Israel 's 60th Birthday
Ted Belman - 1/21/2008
This year, on Wednesday May 7th, Israel 's memorial day, we will remember the Israelis fallen in the long battle for the existence of the state and for our right to a normal, sane and peaceful life in this small piece of land we call home. Jerusalem belongs to the Jews by history, religion and law
Ted Belman - 1/7/2008
Jews all over the world are preparing to rally to save Jerusalem as the united and undivided capital of Israel. Their efforts will reach an apex during the visit by Bush next week. But the fight for Jerusalem is ongoing as a result of the Annapolis Conference at which discussion were held about the division of Jerusalem . The fight to save Jerusalem will continue after Bush leaves. There Is No Right Of Return
Ted Belman - 1/4/2008
The LA Times continues with its pro-Palestinian advocacy and it misinformation. It recently published Will peace cost me my home? by Ghada Ageel who is a self professed “third-generation Palestinian refugee”. There are tens of millions of third generation refugees all over the world who neither claim a right of return nor would they ever claim to describe themselves that way. They and their parents have gotten on with their lives. The War on Zionism
Ted Belman - 12/19/2007
Post Annapolis, the Palestinian Authority made it crystal clear that it will never recognize Israel as a "Jewish state". Furthermore, it made it crystal clear that it will not compromise on Jerusalem making it a capital offense to do so. Yet negotiations continue. Either Olmert doesn't believe the PA or what is more likely, he will still cut a deal where Israel is denied that recognition and will divide Jerusalem according to Arab demands. There is no duty to accept peace on Arab terms
Ted Belman - 12/18/2007
Salon recently published a review by Gregory Levey, of the efforts of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem under the title, The right wing’s Jerusalem gambit and sub-titled, Terrorism Can Only Be Controlled By Occupation
Ted Belman - 12/14/2007
Hamas continues to fire rockets at Sderot. The situation is intolerable. Chief of Staff Lt. -Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi had a brain wave. He recently said, Israel Will Annex Judea And Samaria and Remain Jewish
Ted Belman - 12/3/2007
After the Annapolis fiasco, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights [assuming that the Palestinians in the territories will petition peacefully to be citizens of Israel, taking on the obligations of Israeli citizenship], then, as soon as that happens, the State of Israel is finished." Jerusalem Is a Jewish issue
Ted Belman - 12/1/2007
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Monday categorically rejected assertions by American Jewish leaders that Jerusalem is not an Israeli issue but “a Jewish one.” Speaking at a news briefing Monday, Olmert said that the Jerusalem issue had “been determined long ago” and that “the government of Israel has a sovereign right to negotiate anything on behalf of Israel.” He said that at this stage, the matter was a theoretical rather than practical one, as the subject of Jerusalem was not yet on the negotiating table. Don’t you believe it. Exclusive Interview: Danny Dayan, Yesha Council Chairman
Anthony Stroe - 11/27/2007
The Yesha Council is an umbrella group that governs Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (West Bank). Yesha is the Hebrew acronym Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The Yesha Council was formed in the 1970's as a successor to Gush Emunim, an organization formed to oversee the return to Jews to their Biblical homeland. The council consists of 25 elected mayors and 10 community leaders. Its mandate is to provide security for its residents such as to arrange the acquisition of bullet proof ambulances and buses; to oversee the improvements of infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water supplies a... Interview With Settler Leader of Homesh First
Anthony Stroe - 11/18/2007
Homesh became one of the places from which Jews were expelled by the Israeli Government two years ago during the disengagement. Anthony Stroe interviewed Boaz Haetni, one of the leaders of Homesh First, a movement to re-populate the abandoned settlement. Israel Should Say To US, 'Bring It On!'
Ted Belman - 11/17/2007
It is obvious that the Arabs by refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in addition to everything else they are refusing, dont want peace, but surrender. The US for its part has removed the gloves and are down to bare knuckles or should I say brass knuckles, at least when it comes to Israel. Rice has made it clear that Israel must march to the US drummer or else. She is now demanding that that Israel make it clear that it will be withdrawing from Judea and Samaria by enforcing the settlement freeze and dismantling the "illegal" utposts built since 2001. To Save Jerusalem, We Must Kill The Peace Process
Ted Belman - 11/13/2007
The Coordinating Council on Jerusalem, created on October 24, 2007, is off to a good start. The organizations joining, and there are many, have accepted the principle that defending Jerusalem from division is more important than unquestioned support of decisions made by the Government of Israel. Annapolis Conference: 13 Questions For The Israeli Government
Ted Belman - 11/10/2007
On the eve of the Annapolis conference, we would like to ask a few questions of the Government of Israel: The Attempt to Kill Olmert
Prof. Barry Rubin - 11/6/2007
Several Fatah security force officers assigned to protect Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as he went to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas, it has just been revealed, planned to assassinate him instead. This event should be amazing enough to get people to rethink their premises. After all, it is late 2007, with a supposedly moderate leadership running the PA and Fatah, and this kind of thing is still happening. Leftist – Islamist Alliance Aligns Against Jerusalem
David J. Jonsson - 10/16/2007
The West has a worldview based on the analysis and actions influenced by looking through the lenses of politics and economics, whereas the Islamists looks at the world through the lens of ideology. It is time for the West to place importance on looking at events happening around the world through the lens of ideologies. In the case of the Muslims, their worldview and subsequent actions are shaped by their vision for world domination, the establishment of Islamic kingdom of God on Earth – the creation of worldwide Caliphate and the End Times. Military Coup - A Gift For Israel's 60th Birthday
David Singer - 9/27/2007
Israel's enemies have become emboldened into believing that the moment is fast approaching when they can once again try to achieve their long held aim to eradicate Israel. They have taken this view following Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and what they perceive to be a victory over Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War. Iran - Hezbollah's puppet master and chief arms supplier - has openly threatened to unleash its nuclear weapons on Israel's 7 million citizens - 20% of whom are Arabs. Israel Is Not the Cause of All the World's Problems
Prof. Barry Rubin - 9/26/2007
Note: The following article was published as a response to an editorial in The Diplomat, a top Canadian international affairs magazine, which explicitly claimed that the Arab-Israeli conflict--and specifically Israel's "occupation" policy--was at the root of all the problems in the Middle East, between the Middle East and the West, and between Islam and the West. This notion continues to be expressed (perhaps increasingly so) despite the fact that there is so much evidence to the contrary and that (though many in the West seem to have failed to nice this little detail) Israel has withdrawn fro... Why Did Israel Air Force Enter Syria And Why Is The World Quiet?
David Storobin, Esq. - 9/14/2007
So why did the Israel Air Force (IAF) fly deep inside the Syrian territory? Some have suggested that it was done to gather intelligence, to attack terrorists and even to bomb the embryonic Syrian nuclear facilities. All of these may be true and I have no way to either confirm or deny these claims. But it is possible to gauge Jerusalem's desired long-term effects, and the reason why the world has remained silent. Israel, Palestine and Condoleezza - The Crowd Pleaser
David Singer - 8/6/2007
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is at it again talking up the prospects of ending the 140 years old Arab-Jewish conflict by the adoption of a two state solution involving the creation of an Arab state between Jordan and Israel - the 23 rd Arab State in the world should it ever eventuate. Israel's Illusion - Fatah Feted Is Hamas Hated
David Singer - 7/12/2007
Israel's unilateral decision to release 250 Fatah terrorists from Israeli jails continues the insane policy of appeasement adopted by successive Israeli Governments since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993. UK Academics Boycott Whom?!
Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D. - 7/4/2007
The British academics, doctors, and journalists who recently called for morally-imbecilic boycotts against Israel must have been disappointed with the recent events that wracked Gaza with internecine strife and plunged it into the grisly chaos that might have been one of Dante’s levels of hell. In their fervent obsession with what author Bat Ye'or has termed ‘Palestinianism,’ obsessive reverence for any struggle of the Palestinians and a total disregard for the self-affirmation, statehood, or security of Israel, the boycotters sought to single Israel out from all nations on the planet for its ... Syria and Iran are behind the firing of rockets on Israel
Elias Bejjani - 6/25/2007
All media reports circulated by news agencies on Sunday, June 18/07 covering the launching of Katyusha rockets from a Southern Lebanese-Israeli border village towards Israel's northern town of Kiryat Shemona, as well as releases and statements issued in this regard by the Lebanese Army Command, the UNIFIL forces, numerous Lebanese parties and politicians, all without exception stated that the identity of those militant elements who fired the rockets remained unknown. The Long War Strategy for Israel
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 6/18/2007
The decision by the University and College Union (UCU) to consider a boycott of Israel is the latest manifestation of a broader process which has been steadily gathering speed in the last half-decade: the converging of opinion on the Middle East conflict among members of two camps, who might ordinarily be considered to have little in common. The two camps are the European radical left and supporters - both in Europe and here in the region, of Islamist states and organisations. The alliance is built around a joint commitment to Israel's disappearance from the map. Jewish Israel Is the Key To Its Survival
Ted Belman - 6/16/2007
Jerry Gordon writes Burg goes ballistic: paints Israel as ‘Zionist ghetto’ because he said “to define the State of Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end”. Others say the opposite, namely, that being Jewish is the key to its survival. Will The Silent Majority of UK Academics Stand Up Against Israel Boycott?
Michelle Moshelian - 6/14/2007
It is often bemoaned that the silent majority of Muslims don’t speak out against the fanatical Islamists. Sadly, I now find myself bemoaning the silent majority of British academia who don’t speak out against the fanatical few amongst their midst. Their group has been hijacked by a minority and it is time to speak out. I wrote a letter to the editor of a British newspaper bemoaning the sheer hypocrisy of the latest British boycott of Israel. As a Brit living in Israel I am finding it increasingly embarrassing and hard to explain to Israelis why people in Britain are so hypocritical when it comes to Israel. Land For Peace Is A Failed Strategy for Israel
Ted Belman - 6/12/2007
Nothing should be taken for granted. Neither Resolution 242 nor the proposed "land for peace" trade off. On June 5th 1967, Israel, under great threat of an imminent attack, had no choice but to defend itself. And defend itself, it did. Six days later Israel found itself in possession of what was left of the British Mandate after Jordan was removed from it. Why Israel Is America's Vital Ally
Baron Bodissey - 5/26/2007
For the Jewish people, therefore, the history of the twentieth century may be summed up thus: If there had been a Jewish state in the first half of the century, there would have been no Holocaust. And if there had not been a Jewish state after the Holocaust, there would have been no Jewish future.
— from A Durable Peace, by Benjamin Netanyahu The mushroom cloud rising over Tel Aviv has to be the greatest dread of the Jewish State in the 21st century. For a half a century after the birth of Israel, the existence of a haven for Jews all over the world could be assured by the armed might of ... Israel and the Middle East IV: With Strength and Courage
Ami Isseroff - 4/6/2007
Suppose that 20 or 50 years hence there are 30 million Jews in the world, and 12 million Jews in Israel. Israel has a thriving economy and an integrated society of 15 million in total. Our education system is turning out engineers and scientists in quantity and our roaring economy finds jobs for them. An efficient transportation and communication system moves people, goods and information quickly. We are at peace with our neighbors and have forged strong alliances with world powers. Our universities produce philosophers and Nobel prize winners. Our parents are comfortable in their old age, our... Israel and the Middle East III: The Obsession
Ami Isseroff - 4/5/2007
Israelis Berl and Smadar are on an airplane that crashes in the Pacific ocean. They paddle their lifeboat to the usual island. There are many pressing problems of survival, as well as natural urges that suggest themselves in that situation. Israel and the Middle East II: Goals for Zionists and Israelis
Ami Isseroff - 4/4/2007
The first article in this series explained that there is no "salvation." There is no magic solution that will make all the problems of Israel, the Middle East and the world vanish forever. There is an ongoing reality. History is a process, and our actions on one day will have repercussions on the next day. We need to plan for those repercussions, as well as to deal with new challenges that are going to be thrown at us by history. History will also offer us opportunities that we can and must exploit. We can exploit those opportunities only if we have set down strong national foundations. Israel and the Middle East I: Looking for a policy instead of a solution
Ami Isseroff - 4/3/2007
Almost all foreign policy analysis is based on "problem solving." There is a "problem" posed and an attempt is made to offer a solution to this problem. Thus, there is an "Arab-Israeli" conflict problem, an Iran nuclear development problem, and an Iraq problem, and policies and attitudes are based on solutions to these problems. The Rewards of Peace with Israel
Charles Jalkh - 3/13/2007
In a press conference today with his visiting Belgian counterpart, Karel De Gucht, Syria's foreign minister Walid Moallem was asked about the possibility of stationing international troops on the Lebanese border with Syria. The Syrian foreign minister repeated a threat he made several months ago, in which he said "Syria would close its border with Lebanon" in such a case. "Why would you want to establish an international control on the border between Syria and Lebanon" he asked during the news conference. "That is a sign that the West wants a state of war between the two." The Mughrabi Bridge: Much Ado About Nothing!
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 2/12/2007
The recent spate of articles condemning Israel for the construction of a new covered bridge to the Haram es-Sharif’s Mughrabi (Western) Gate is truly a case of much ado about nothing! From the tone of the various condemnations of Israel, be it The Jerusalem Post’s Palestinian commentator Daoud Kuttab, director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, to King Abdullah of Jordan or Imran Khan of Pakistan, the naďve would think that Israel had engaged in a major plot to change the political geography of Jerusalem, and—God forbid—to undermine the structure of the Haram es-Sharif and al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Aqsa and the Temple Mount: Building a Deadly Bridge
Imran Khan - 2/11/2007
Bearing in mind the bitter impact of Ariel Sharon's (ex-Prime Minister of Israel) visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on 28th September 2000 , one would think that Israel could learn and prevent any actions in-that-area which could bring more violence in the region. His visit was condemned by the Palestinians as a provocation and an incursion. In fact, the visit by Sharon (then opposition leader) started a new wave of violence between Palestinians and Israelis known as second Intifada (uprising) or Al-Aqsa Intifada. The day after the Sharon's visit riots broke out in the West Bank and soon sp... The Secret History of Neturei Karta
Mordechai Levy - 1/2/2007
Recently a major scandal broke over a group of religious-looking Jews belonging to the Neturei Karta sect speaking at a "Holocaust is a Hoax" conference sponsored by the anti-Semitic President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. After it came out that top neo- Nazi leaders and the former KKK leader David Duke would be in attendance, many Jews, especially in the Orthodox community, were truly angered at Jewish attendees. Many Chassidic groups blasted the Neturei Karta in public. The Holocaust and the Embezzlement of Memory
Franklyne Ogbunwezeh - 12/18/2006
President Almedinajad of Iran recently stood up and tore the decency of political diplomacy to shreds. Acting like a mad cow in a china shop, he has been calling for the erasure of another sovereign country, with all the bigotry at his command. The world is not hoodwinked. This man is the mad face of a carefully cultivated hatred of Israel nursed by many Arabs. I have never seen a leader make such a fool of himself in a political strategizing gone awry from the start. This man has the megalomanic dreams of ancient Persian Supremacy. And to achieve this, he is ready to ride religious fanaticism and xenophobic anti-Semitism roughshod to his crooked dreams Not Merely A Slip By Olmert
Imran Khan - 12/16/2006
On Monday the 11th December, 2006 in an interview on Germen Television, the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apparently listed his country among the world's nuclear powers. In a reply to a question about Iran, He said "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel out of the map," and "can you say that this is the same level, when you are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?" The Bible, Archaeology, and the Origins of Israel
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 10/24/2006
David Storobin's essay on the origins of the Jewish People ("The Origin of the Jewish People and the Land of Canaan", Global Politician, May 10, 2006) while presenting a very different view of Jewish origins than that of the traditional Biblical text, actually comes close to the current theories afloat in the world of archaeology and critical biblical studies. There are however some important details in the presentation of his theory that are in need of clarification and/or correction; this essay seeks to do just that. Justice For Israel
Imran Khan - 10/23/2006
Mr. Moshe Katsav is the president of Israel since 2000 for a seven-year term when he surprisingly defeated Mr. Shimon Peres (ex-Prime Minister of Israel). The president of Israel posses no executive powers and is largely involved in ceremonial activities. Is Israel's Military Might a Myth?
Bhuwan Thapaliya - 8/30/2006
Are the dark clouds of bloody conflict that were gathered over Lebanon really parting? It may seem an unduly bleak question. Weeks after the U.N.-brokered ceasefire took effect, normality has returned to the country more rapidly than anyone expected. Lebanon's long war is finally over. Probably. But peace in Lebanon is not yet permanent. Agreement about how to reach a consensus could be months, if not years, away. Russia's Israeli Oil Bond
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 8/14/2006
In October 2002, Russia and Israel - erstwhile bitter Cold War enemies - have agreed to make use of Israel's neglected oil pipeline, known as the Tipline. The conduit, an Iranian-Israeli joint venture completed in 1968 is designed to carry close to a million barrels per day, circumventing the Suez canal. Time For Israel To Abandon US-style Warfare In Lebanon
Jan Lamprecht - 7/29/2006
For Israel, the war in Lebanon is not going as well as previous wars. There are several possible reasons for this: Why Restrain Israel? Their Victory is America's and Lebanon's
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 7/19/2006
One of the most unusual aspects of the last four years has been how Hezbollah camps in Lebanon have remain undestroyed. You would think any serious effort to democratize Lebanon, or to eradicate terrorism, or to discredit undemocratic Islamist dogma would incorporate some semblance of an attempt to disarm, disband, or dissolve the Iranian-backed jihadist organization. And yet both the supposed confrontational governments in Washington and Tel Aviv have, for far too long, played dove to Hezbollah’s hawk, holding a different standard to t he Shi’ite theocrats than we do with the Wahhabis of al Qaida. Lebanese People in Israel: Does Anyone Care?
Elias Bejjani - 5/29/2006
May is the month of roses, but for us it is the month of thorns because on the 22nd of it in 2000, Israel withdrew its army from south Lebanon in application of UN resolutions 425 and 426, a full 22 years after the two resolutions were adopted by the Security Council (in 1978). At the time, the Lebanese government was derelict in its national and humanitarian responsibilities because of its absolute servitude to the dictates of the Syrian occupier, and failed to fill the security gap and extend its authority, embodied in its own army and security forces, over the territory of the south. Basica... The Israel Lobby: How Powerful is it Really?
Prof. Stephen Zunes - 5/24/2006
Since its publication in the London Review of Books in March, John Mearsheimer and Steve Walt's article “The Israel Lobby” — and the longer version published as a working paper for Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government — has received widespread attention from across the political spectrum. These noted professors put forward two major arguments: the first is the very legitimate and widely acknowledged (outside of official Washington) concern that U.S. Middle East policy, particularly U.S. support for the more controversial policies of the Israeli government, is contrary to t... The Origin of the Jewish People and the Land of Canaan
David Storobin, Esq. - 5/10/2006
We've all heard the Biblical story about the origin of the Hebrew nation: Egyptian enslavement, God's punishment of the Pharaoh, 40 years in the desert, conquest of Jericho and other Canaanite lands by Joshua, etc. There is just a small problem with the story: there is no evidence of Jewish presence in Egypt or in the Sinai desert. One would think that after hundreds of years in Egypt and 40 years in Sinai, Hebrews would've left traces of their culture - but they did not. Furthermore, we now have evidence that by the time Joshua came to Jericho, its walls were already destroyed by an earthquak... The Jewish Divide Over Israel
Eugene Schulman - 5/6/2006
Franklin Roosevelt, in an address before the American Bookseller's Association in 1942, said that books are weapons. Adolf Hitler certainly believed they were. He so feared books that he found it necessary to burn them. Books can be used for many purposes: entertainment, learning, propaganda, or even as doorstops. But above all, they are weapons. Terrorists' Call To Suicide Bombers To Blow Up In Sharon's Hospital
Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. - 1/24/2006
A horrifying e-mail calling for suicide bombers to blow themselves up at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been in intensive care has been making the rounds of various Internet chat groups. Sharon, 77, suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 4, and has since undergone a number of surgical procedures. The latest was to change a respiratory pipe. An Uncertain Future For Israel
Manuela Paraipan - 1/11/2006
Israel has been left in turmoil after its Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed into the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem for surgery having suffered a second stroke and extensive bleeding on the brain. The hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef said that the eight-hour surgery has left the Prime Minister in a stable, but critical state. While he declined to make any other comments, the outside medical experts said prospects for recovery were slim. The Uganda Scheme
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 9/26/2005
Theodore Herzl, the visionary who founded Zionism, was an assimilated Jew, who did not consider Palestine the optimal choice for a resurgent Jewish nationalism. Israel May Not Survive Demographic And Military Challenges
Sajjad Khan - 8/31/2005
It has often been said about the Palestinians since 1948 that they have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. This statement has merit especially when one evaluates the PLO’s lamentable strategy, its corrupt governance and the fact that currently Palestinians remain confined to humiliating servitude. It also remains conventional wisdom among political commentators that in any future settlement, it will be the Palestinians as the weaker negotiating partner who will have to make the necessary strategic concessions. However as a result of new political trends, counter-intuitively it is the Israeli state that is now having to look over the edge of a strategic precipice. Total Annihilation: The Fate of the State of Israel
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 8/28/2005
The Anti-Israeli: The State of Israel is likely to end as did the seven previous stabs at Jewish statehood - in total annihilation. And for the same reasons: conflicts between secular and religious Jews and a racist-colonialist pattern of deplorable behavior. The UN has noted this recidivist misconduct in numerous resolutions and when it justly compared Zionism to racism. The Jewish Response: Zionism is undoubtedly a typical 19th century national movement, promoting the interests of an ethnically-homogeneous nation. But it is not and never has been a racist movement. Zionists of all str... Interview with Israeli MK Benny Elon
Anthony Stroe - 8/17/2005
I am here with Knesset Member Benny Elon from the right of center National Union Party. He's a strong opponent of the Israeli government's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The Israel-U.S. Bilateral Relationship Needs To Be Mended
Frederick Stakelbeck, Jr. - 7/7/2005
Israel is a strong U.S. ally in the war against terror; a long-time friend and a confidant on issues pertaining to Middle East peace and security. That unique relationship, however, has been challenged recently by the attempted sale by Israel of sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or Harpy Killer drones to China. This has led some analysts to speculate that the depth and strength of the Israel-U.S. bilateral relationship is now in question -- with a reformulation almost inevitable. Spanish PM to Israel: Ignore Europe - It Hates You; Appeases Arabs
David Storobin, Esq. - 6/7/2005
Israel should not pay attention to Europe, which is using its Middle East policy to separate itself from the US and not to play a constructive role in the Middle East, declared former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Europeans are pro-Palestinian appeasers who cannot contribute to peace between Arab and Jew, according to the man who served as the head of Spanish government from 1996 to 2004 when he lost elections several days after March 11 terrorist bombings by al-Qaida meant to scare his country out of Iraq. Aznar said that European policy was "not favorable to Israel" not out of principle, but only because of EU's goal to be different from Washington. A Dialog About Anti-Semitism
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 5/23/2005
Rabid anti-Semitism, coupled with inane and outlandish conspiracy theories of world dominion, is easy to counter and dispel. It is the more "reasoned", subtle, and stealthy variety that it pernicious. "No smoke without fire," - say people - "there must be something to it!". In this dialog I try to deconstruct a "mild" anti-Semitic text. I myself wrote the text - not an easy task considering my ancestry (a Jew) and my citizenship (an Israeli). But to penetrate the pertinent layers - historical, psychological, semantic, and semiotic - I had to "enter the skin" of "rational", classic anti-Semites, to grasp what makes them click and tick, and to think and reason like them. The Big Lie: Divest from Israel
I. J. Mansdorf, PhD - 5/2/2005
History has taught us that the "Big Lie" often works. As Adolph Hitler learned, repeat something enough times and with enough conviction and people will wind up believing you, even though what you are saying is patently false. Hitler's lessons are being put into practice today on campuses across the United States, where the issue of divestment from Israel has become not only a rallying point for much anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activity, but also a prime example of the "Big Lie" in action. Israel, Vladimir Putin and Middle East Peace
Frederick Stakelbeck, Jr. - 5/2/2005
Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip last week to Israel was the first ever by a Russian president. An elated Israel Vice Premier Shimon Peres described Putin's visit as "historic" stating, "This is a sign of the changes that have occurred in Russia itself, in Israel-Russia relations and in Russian policy in the Middle East." Israel Termed A 'Nuclear Power' By US Officials
Angelique van Engelen - 4/11/2005
In the last two weeks, two non-senior US officials indirectly called on Israel to start planning on cancelling its nuclear weapons programs. Even though they said this is not intended for 'the foreseeable future', their publicly terming Israel a nuclear power on a par with India and Pakistan might be a sign that the US perceives of nuclear issues as too serious to condone the double standards it employs freely on other issues. Sanctioning Sharon
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 3/17/2005
In a bid to strengthen the hand of the newly elected Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, the Israelis have released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and pulled, in March 2005, from Jericho and Tulkarm. In a significant change of heart, Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization, vowed to compete in future parliamentary elections and, thus, potentially, to repeat its impressive showing on the municipal level. Israel - The Next Target
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 3/17/2005
Its leader seems more comfortable in battle fatigues than in civil suits. He has been long pursuing a policy of bloody oppression and annexation. The regime is often castigated due to rampant human rights violations. The country possesses weapons of mass destruction, though it repeatedly denies the allegations. It refuses to honor numerous Security Council resolutions. President Bush senior once subjected it to sanctions. The United States is already training its sights on this next target: Israel. Israel's Economic Intifada
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 3/17/2005
A Danish firm, SID, as it was canceling an order with an Israeli supplier, dispatched to it this unusually blunt message: "When the soldiers of the Israeli army brutalize the areas of the Palestinians ... we do not feel it is the time to do business with your country. We hope this ugly war will end soon." Consumer boycotts of Israeli products are being touted - often through the Internet - from Belgrade to Moscow and from Copenhagen to Brussels. Israel's Hi, Tech - Bye, Tech
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 3/16/2005
During the 1990's, the number of Israeli firms on NASDAQ was the second or third largest (depending on the year) after American and Canadian ones. Israeli IPO's were hot. Israeli hi-tech was cool. The Internet was conquered by Israeli ingenuity and chutzpah. India and Israel Shape a New Strategic Relationship
Frederick Stakelbeck, Jr. - 2/15/2005
In the face of unrelenting international pressure and criticism, Israel is keenly aware that it must seek to develop strategic alliances wherever possible in order to help maintain its very survival. |
