I missed this piece from last week. As always, Avnery’s characterizations of politicians is spot on, and he rips to shreds any false hope that the conference may actually help the Palestinians in Gaza. Given the economic crisis, the conference received little coverage here. I doubt the Obama administration wanted much press about their promise [...]
There has been a good deal of chatter regarding Mr. Freeman withdrawing his candidacy for the post of chairman of the National Intelligence Council, including the man’s own comments blasting the “Israel Lobby.” He was attacked by both the “right” and the “left” to the point where he could not serve effectively. The best commentary [...]
Yesterday’s post focused on the change in the White House. This article in Ha’aretz by Gershom Gorenberg, discusses change on Capital Hill:
Congress’ attitude toward the Arab-Israeli conflict has begun to shift. The conservative line of AIPAC, the veteran pro-Israel lobby, is no longer the only understanding of how to support Israel. The principle of two [...]
Or will it? Now that we are back to the deja vu period of the conflict, here is an interesting article I read a while back.
Freedom of speech and the right to assemble are limited in Egypt, which since 1981 has been ruled by Mubarak’s National Democratic Party under a permanent state-of-emergency law. An estimated [...]
Continue reading about The Revolution will not be Facebooked
Zadie Smith is a terrific writer. Reading her novels can be exhausting. Her creative mind is hyper-active, running in a thousand directions at once. She always manages to pull it altogether in the end, but sometimes, as a reader, I just can’t keep up. Which is why I prefer her essays. The short format forces [...]
Avrum Burg is the quintessential Israeli insider or as they are called in Israel, “prince.” His father, Yosef, served in every Knesset starting with the first until his retirement. Almost from the start, Yosef also served as a government minister in every coalition his party was a part of. In his time, he was considered one of [...]
That was Clinton talking about Bibi Netanyahu. More great quotes may be found in this article by Akiva Eldar. Joe Lockhart, who was Clinton’s White House spokesperson, nails Netanyahu with this perfect description: ”[He is] one of the most obnoxious individuals you’re going to come into – just a liar and a cheat. He could open his mouth [...]
An interesting piece on the topic in the Gaurdian, always a good source for news and analysis. Just to remind my readers that there is “nothing new under the sun,” compare this post from 6 years ago! The Ha’aretz interview with Professor Bar-Tal, mentioned in an earlier post, is quoted here as well. Gila Svirsky [...]
Reuters analysis is well worth reading:
Despite killing some 1,300 Palestinians and blazing a trail of destruction, Israel failed to achieve the decisive military triumph that its leaders have claimed, said Alastair Crooke, a former European Union negotiator in the Middle East.
“It was a war of ghosts,” he said, adding that Hamas had preserved much of [...]
Ten months ago, the last time things heated up between Israel and Hamas, I posted this comment. At the time, a full flare-up was avoided and a six month cease fire was set in place. This time around, the political leadership seems to have convinced the Israeli public that confrontation is the best option. Actually, negotiations were [...]
Continue reading about Feature: Israel’s Three Laws of Action or Lessons Still Not Learned