J Street’s statement about the Obama administration’s capitulation to Israeli demands reeks of desperation; what happens if Washington doesn’t deliver, people? Though we welcome the government of Israel’s expressed willingness to restrain settlement growth, we echo the Secretary’s statement today in Morocco that offers made to date fall far short of the Obama administration’s position…
Showing all posts tagged Gaza
Will Hamas struggle to maintain Gaza?
Kabobfest looks at the political situation for Hamas in Gaza and finds a less than rosy reality: Observers of the political scene in Palestine are carefully monitoring the situation on the ground as President Abbas just issued the much anticipated Presidential Decree to recommend holding the both the Presidential and Legislative elections on January 24th…
South African Jews killing Arabs in the name of Zionism?
Al-Jazeera reports: Efforts to prosecute those who may have committed war crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza have spread beyond the Middle East. A lawyer in South Africa has identified 75 South African nationals who he says were fighting with the Israeli army in the war earlier this year. How many Australian Jews fight in…
The only moral and Jewish response to Goldstone
One of America’s leading Jewish writers, Tony Judt – who tragically is suffering from a great physical affliction – writes on the importance of the UN Goldstone report: We Jews should be very proud of Richard Goldstone. In an ancient tradition of Jewish self-questioning and uncomfortable truth-telling, the author of the recent report from the…
The J Street aftermath
Perhaps J Street’s real position is revealed in a statement they released today, seemingly incapable of understanding the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza: J Street supports passage of a resolution by the U.S. Congress calling for the United States to oppose and work actively to defeat one-sided and biased action in the United Nations when…
Dispatch from J Street
My following article is published in the Huffington Post: The Obama administration’s National Security Adviser General James Jones told the “pro-Israel and pro-peace” Israel lobby J Street this week that America believes “Israeli security and peace are inseparable.” The comment received a wild cheer, although similar comments were made during the Bush years. The over…
Lebanon and Gaza changed Zionism’s image
The Nation profiles the shifts in young, Jewish identity. Israel right or wrong is so yesterday’s news: Rachel Jones spent the past week in Washington, DC, at the first annual conference for the new progressive Jewish organization J Street. She was passing out literature for Meretz USA, an American nonprofit that supports the platform of…
J Street pushing a policy that leads to disappointment
My following article appears in today’s Crikey: Antony Loewenstein writes from Washington DC: During this week’s first J Street conference in Washington DC… ”‰—”‰a US-based, “pro-Israel and pro-peace” lobby group that aims to widen the debate over the Middle East… … ”‰—”‰an older woman stood up in a session titled “What does it mean to be pro-Israel?” and…
The crimes in Gaza will be remembered
If Israel and the US believe that killing Palestinians is an acceptable part of doing business, they’re dead wrong: Human rights lawyers and pro-Palestinian activists in a number of European countries hold lists with names of Israel Defense Forces soldiers allegedly linked to war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. Existing…
Gazan tragedy reflected (oh so briefly) at J Street
M J Rosenberg has a personal revelation at the J Street conference. A powerful sign that the event wasn’t simply about re-hashing tired slogans: Between sessions at the amazing J Street conference, people mill around talking to friends and, sometimes, just a person standing near by. I was lucky enough to find myself talking to…