Everything is the Palestinians’ fault, even Israeli deaths from friendly fire

January 9, 2011

Not a particularly deep point, but it’s worth noting that Israeli incitement against Palestinians really is limitless. A couple days ago, initial reports suggested from the Israeli army that Palestinian militants had attacked soldiers, injuring at least four, but that it was unclear even hours after the event what had happened to “the terrorists”. Later [...]

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“He sleeps with a loaf of bread in his arms”

January 7, 2011

Watch this video and weep. . . . literally. The Israeli attacks on Gaza in winter ’08/09 unleashed such massive death and destruction that we far too frequently discuss the damage in terms of statistics, of large numbers alone. But put all of that aside and watch this short profile on the experience of just [...]

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Defense spending and commentary gone crazy

January 7, 2011

Make no mistake about it: the American and Israeli obsession with “defense”, which meets every commonsense definition of “offense” of which I am aware, is a catastrophe. Here, the New York Times gives us insight into the way that “defense” leaks into our brains—and budgets. “Pentagon Seeks Biggest Military Cuts Since Before 9/11″ Defense Secretary [...]

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Jeffrey Goldberg’s innuendo belied by history

January 6, 2011

Do you remember the Lavon Affair, when Israeli intelligence officials recruited Egyptians to plant bombs at American and British embassies? Apparently, Jeffrey Goldberg does not. In his interminable personal battle against the shadows of anti-Semitism that occupy (pun intended) his peripheries, Jeffrey Goldberg loves to highlight examples of alleged anti-Semitism. There is no doubt that [...]

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Totalitarian diets and other corrupted ethics

January 5, 2011

Elsewhere, I have argued that Israel’s policy of siege against the people of Gaza brings up all-too-familiar, yet still wretchedly uncomfortable, connotations for anyone familiar with Nazi practices toward those they imprisoned in ghettos and concentration camps. Since then, of course, even more dramatic evidence of Israeli planning over the caloric consumption and development of [...]

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The conventional right-wing wisdom in Israel

January 4, 2011

A brilliant, must-see video by the Eretz Nehederet show in Israel. What is most remarkable about this short satirical piece is how realistic it is. It can be considered satire, but it unfortunately reflects far too common thoughts that have infected Israeli critical thinking capacities. Like conservatives who can’t tell that Stephen Colbert is mocking [...]

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Thomas Friedman, barometer of a biased mainstream middle

December 13, 2010

My dear aunt (of letter fame) loves to think of me as biased (against Israel).  I have devoted a decade or two to the patient explanation of why this opinion is false—and demonstrably so.  But in her mind, my stubborn focus on human and civil rights means that I care more about Palestinians than Jews, [...]

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Israel’s serious concerns about legal action due to flotilla massacre

December 11, 2010

Israel has tried hard to justify its violent overtaking of the humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza last spring.  In particular, it has turned to convoluted, somewhat tortured interpretations of international law, which it claims provides legal cover for the brutal mission.  Israel was just enforcing a blockade according to maritime law, or so the argument [...]

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“Jewish and democratic” Israelis as confused about democracy as is their state

November 30, 2010

Israelis love to think about themselves as little ‘d’ democrats, but they have a very peculiar way of understanding democratic principles. A new poll released today by the Israel Democracy Institute brings into full, awkward view the contradictory, mutually inconsistent definitions of democracy that cohabit the Israeli psyche. First the (semi) flattering news. 51% of [...]

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Haaretz op-ed (in reverse): Peace requires that Jews realize the Holocaust was a self-inflicted tragedy

November 4, 2010

OK, that headline is deliberately and falsely sensationalistic in order to grab your attention.  Unfortunately, I believe Moshe Arens’ motivation for making an extremely similar statement about the Nakba reflects a far more insidious objective than simple attention grabbing. A couple days ago, Haaretz published a revolting verbal attack on what was probably the most [...]

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