Michael Oren is one of my favorite writers. A great historian, he manages to compile long and complicated histories in a fairly simple, and easily digestible way. Despite it having sat on my shelf for a number of years, I finally read “Six Days of War,” fairly recently. It is a history textbook, inundated with [...]
Archive for the ‘Israel’ Category
Michael Oren – Thoughts
Posted in Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Politics, Talks on April 22, 2009 | 2 Comments »
UN-Consistency
Posted in Israel, Middle East, Politics on April 20, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Israel has been criticized endlessly, both internally and externally, for countless alleged crimes. A popular accusation is of collective punishment. I do not wish to examine the facts of the matter here, but to raise a general question about the legality of such acts, particularly as seen by the United Nations.
Only a few short months [...]
A.B. Yehoshua – Thoughts
Posted in America, Israel, Language, Media, Middle East, Talks on April 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
A conversation of sorts, took place tonight between A.B. Yehoshua and Leon Wieseltier, at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C. Hearing him introduced as “A.B. Yehoshua” grated on my ears a bit. Even when reading his name in English, I always heard it in my head as “Aleph Bet Yehoshua.” I don’t [...]
Aviv
Posted in America, Israel on April 18, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Spring has returned to the Atlantic seaboard. As usual, it has come too late for my taste. Weekends in April here mean something very different. Outdoor happy hours, beginning on Friday, merging seamlessly into sunny workless days. For yuppies in their mid-20s, an extension of college but without homework, really.
Weekends at home begin on Thursday [...]
Responding to ‘New’ Antisemitism
Posted in America, Israel, Jewish, Media on April 13, 2009 | 7 Comments »
It’s no secret that antisemitism around the world is on an upswing. While the entrenched antisemitism in the Muslim world is disturbing, it is no surprise, and appears to be going nowhere. Over the past few decades, however, it was believed by many that antisemitism in the West was on its way out. From the unbridled [...]
Religious Soldiers and the Establishment
Posted in Israel, Jewish, Media, Politics on April 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I’m probably paraphrasing badly, but someone once told me that the true sign of a liberal is that will stand for anyone’s belief – as long they agree they should have it. In other words, freedom of expression does not apply for those who differ from you. I would hope that is not true for [...]
There is No War on Israel’s Campuses, but Why?
Posted in Israel, Jewish, Politics on April 3, 2009 | 10 Comments »
The fact that there is an ongoing PR war for Israel on campuses is no secret. A multitude of speakers, social events, editorials, student groups on both sides – all devoted to protecting or harming Israel’s reputation on campus in the West.
Much less known is how tarnished the image of Israel is in Israel itself. [...]
Is a Boycott Just? Who Cares – Does it Work?
Posted in Gaza, Israel, Media, Middle East, Politics on March 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
To Boycott or Not to Boycott, That Is the Question No it’s not. Stanley Fish, law professor, and NY Times blogger, appears reasonable in debating whether or not an academic boycott of Israel is a good idea. However reasonable, though, he does not come to a concrete conclusion about such a boycott until the very [...]
The Times. Again.
Posted in America, Israel, Media, Middle East, Politics on March 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The NY Times came out today with yet another backwards analysis of the Middle East and what needs to be done. How has the West and the the Obama administration (and the NY Times is a fairly accurate representative of the administration) not yet learned that more often than not that the blind pursuit of [...]
Two State Solution – Fatahland and Hamastan?
Posted in Israel, Middle East, Politics on March 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »
For years, the world seems to already have the answer to Israeli-Arab conflict. It’s called the “Two-State Solution.” Solution to what, however? What exactly will the formation of two states solve?
Allegedly, this is the answer to war – there will be peace. An honest belief that simply creating two states between the Mediterranean Sea and [...]
