Current Issues Perspectives

A Saturday night in Sheikh Jarrah

By Brad Rothschild

Brad Rothschild, Ameinu Vice President and Chair of the Policy and Advocacy Committee, published an eyewitness account of the Sheik Jarrah demonstrations on foreignpolicy.com.

We republish it here with permission. › More Info

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE CORDOBA INITIATIVE

By The Jewish Labor Committee

The Jewish Labor Committee a bridge between the Jewish community and the trade union movement presents the following statement in support of the Muslim community center to be built a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center. › More Info

David Twersky, Political Journalist and Peace Activist, Dies at 60

By J.J. Goldberg

David Twersky, a prominent Zionist activist, political journalist and peace advocate in Israel and America, died July 16 after a long illness. He was 60. › More Info

World’s Unions Reject Boycotts, Embrace Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation

The international trade union movement has just delivered a stinging rebuff to advocates of the campaign to boycott Israel. › More Info

President Obama Sends Letter to Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

Responding to concerns within elements of the Jewish community, in what they perceive as the U. S.pressuring Israel’s government, President Obama has written a letter to Jewish leaders. To see the letter and read the full text click here › More Info

A Cynical Post-Zionist Proposal

By Colette Avital

Collete Avital discusses the politics behind the recent Israeli Knesset proposal to allow Israelis living abroad to vote in Israeli elections. › More Info

Kicking the Fund

By Nahum Barnea, Yediot Ahronot

Should the Israeli Knesset establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate the New Israel Fund's actions? Nahum Barnea, one of Israel's leading political correspondents, explores the issue. › More Info

Four Questions for New Member of Knesset Einat Wilf

By Einat Wilf

We asked new MK Einat Wilf to share her thoughts with us on her hopes and priorities, the pending peace process, the future of the Labor Party, and the current state of the Israel-Diaspora relationship. › More Info

The Road Less Traveled

By Liel Leibovitz

Discussing the effectiveness and logic of road blocks in the West Bank. › More Info

Women creating peace: A joint social-economic venture of Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs

By Julia Chaitin, Ph.D.

Joint Ventures for Peace is an organization which brings Palestinian and Israel women together for a unique discourse on their visions of peace. › More Info

If you believe that things can get worse, why not believe they can get better

By Ezra Weinberg

Rabbi Ezra Weinberg offers us a response to Jay Michaelson's "Dear John" Letter to Israel. › More Info

Stand For Freedom In Iran - Comments at the Rally

By Stuart Applebaum

Read the transcript of Stuart Applebaums speech at the Freedom for Iran rally held in front of the United Nations in New York on September 24, 2009. › More Info

More Than Just a Photo-Op

By Daniel Levy

Daniel Levy recent article which originally appeared on the Foreign Policy magazine website reviews the recent tri-lateral talks between the Israelis, Palestinians and the United States. His perspective is unique in its positive view regarding where we might be heading. › More Info

Opinion: This Is Zionism?

By Rabbi Sid Schwarz

Rabbi Schwarz reflects on his recent attendance at this years Salute to Israel Parade, billed as the largest celebration of Israel in the United States, and how he feels it has been hijacked. › More Info

The West’s (Or Obama’s) Oil Weapon

By Tsvi Bisk

Can our oil be the spark that drives us towards Middle East peace? Examine Tzvi Bisk's unique take on a possible scenario. › More Info

Trade Union Call for Cooperation Between Israeli and Palestinian Workers

By Executive Members of the Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine

Last month, the Scottish Trade Unions Congress became the most recent in a series of unions which has called for a boycott of Israeli products. Support for boycotting, divesting from and sanctions against the Jewish state appears to be growing by leaps and bounds. › More Info

Why is the UN Blaming the Jews

By Bernard-Henri Levy

Everyone remembers the famous Durban conference, held in South Africa under the aegis of the United Nations, .

We all have in our memories of Durban representatives gathered to decry “intolerance” and “racism,” but who in reality agreed on the fact that there was only one racist state in the world—Israel.

Eight years later, same story.

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Odessa, 1918 and the Gaza Strip, 2008-2009

By Dan Fleshler

Dan Fleshler, an Ameinu Board member and the Realistic Dove blogger, tells us how he learned of different narratives ... on his grandmother's knee. › More Info

Operation "Cast Lead" In Gaza

By - Position of the Israeli Labor Party

Here is the official Labor Party position on the military operation in Gaza. › More Info

An Open Letter to the World: Sorry, No Apologies

By David Breakstone

(Originally published in The Jerusalem Post)

'Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." Ironically, it was this verse from Zechariah, read on the Shabbat of Hanukka, that was being chanted in synagogues throughout the world several days ago, precisely as Israel's air force was embarking on a display of might and power that it rarely demonstrates. So, do we believe in the message of our prophets or not?



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The Scenario Neither Side Wanted

By Yossi Beilin

(Originally published in Bitter Lemons)

In the Lebanon war, we were informed about the objectives of the operation and knew they were impractical. Now we are not told, so we have to guess. Is this about destroying Hamas? Apparently not. › More Info

Understanding the Other

By Hillel Schenker

Our various wars provide equal opportunities for all of us, the north was targeted in 2006, Tel Aviv in 1991. This time around, I feel tremendous empathy for the kids and others in the southern towns, The trick is to try, at the same time, to feel empathy for the kids in Gaza. We feel our own pain first, but this shouldn't undermine our ability to feel the pain of others. › More Info

Is Israel Imprisoned in the Familiar Ceremony of War?

By David Grossman

Writing in Haaretz Grossman says:
After its severe strike on Gaza, Israel would do well to stop, turn to Hamas' leaders and say:

Until Saturday Israel held its fire in the face of thousands of Qassams from the Gaza Strip. Now you know how harsh its response can be. So as not to add to the death and destruction we will now hold our fire unilaterally and completely for the next 48 hours. Even if you fire at Israel, we will not respond with renewed fighting. We will grit our teeth, as we did all through the recent period, and we will not be dragged into replying with force.

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Encountering Peace: How will it end?

By Gershon Baskin, PhD

Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Baskin says:
The national morale is quite high. Most Israelis are thinking: How good it feels to see our side winning a war. The attack on Gaza is supported by an overwhelming majority of Israelis who are fed up with seven years of rocket attacks from Gaza. This viewpoint is quite easy to understand: We left Gaza up to the international border, we removed settlements, the army left, the occupation ended - if they continue to attack us, it is not because of the occupation, it is because they don't want us to live.

The Palestinian position is obviously quite different. › More Info

Israeli Conversion Crisis

By Rabbi Vernon Kurtz

Speaking at the recent Jewish Agency Assembly in Jerusalem, Rabbi Vernon Kurtz shared his strong feelings about the current conversion crisis in Israel. › More Info

Stop the Kassam Attacks Without Collective Punishment

By Julia Chaitin, Ph.D.

All forms of non-violent protest on our part to try and stop the kassam attacks are legitimate. However, actionns taken by residents of the region to prevent the people in Gaza from having access to needed supplies is both unjustified and immoral. › More Info

Four Questions for MK Colette Avital

By Newsletter Editor

Member of Knesset Colette Avital shares her thoughts on Israel at 60, West Bank settlers and the peace process. › More Info

The Kibbutz has Returned

By Gavri Bargil

In the mid-1980s, kibbutzim in Israel faced a severe financial crisis. This crisis afflicting the kibbutzim, primarily for political reasons, was added to the ideological crisis that had already started earlier but was suppressed until that moment.
The ideological and financial crisis brought with it a demographic crisis that prompted the departure of over 50,000 people over the course of the next 20 years.
In the early 2000s it seemed that the kibbutz idea, the same idea that was a central component in the building of the state of Israel, was about to end. The kibbutzim were suffering from a comprehensive systemic crisis and over half of all kibbutzim (some 135 out of a total of 276 kibbutzim) were defined as having ceased repayments and faced the threat of liquidation.
In the mid-1980s, kibbutzim in Israel faced a severe financial crisis. This crisis afflicting the kibbutzim, primarily for political reasons, was added to the ideological crisis that had already started earlier but was suppressed until that moment. › More Info

What Does It Mean To Be the Pro-Israel Candidate?

By Gershom Gorenberg

The major candidates in both parties seek the "pro-Israel" label. Now is the time to debate what it means to support Israel, so that a year from now, elected leaders will be able to refer to publicly recognized ideas to justify acting more sensibly.



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Reckless in Gaza

By The Forward

Olmert's actions are undermining his own, and Bush's, hopes for peace. › More Info

Israel, Settlements and the "P" Word: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle Op-Ed

By

U.S. pressure on the Israeli government over settlements is a necessary ingredient for making a secure and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. › More Info

JTA Op-Ed: U.S. Jews must be ready for Israeli deal on Jerusalem

By Kenneth Bob

For peace negotiations to achieve their goal, each side has to give up one national dream. › More Info

What Bush and Olmert Could Learn from Begin and Sadat: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle Op-Ed

By

What lessons can today's leaders learn from the first successful Arab-Israeli peace effort 30 years ago? › More Info

Why Annapolis Succeeded: Knesset Member (Labor) and Former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh - Special to Ameinu

The Arab world, led by the Saudis and including the Syrians, attended the event. › More Info

What Bush and Olmert Forgot About Begin and Sadat: Part II

By

The US has helped Israeli and Arab leaders reach peace by judiciously applying pressure on both sides. › More Info

A Diplomatic Tool: The "Freyer" Factor

By Dan Fleshler

Israeli official-U.S. pressure is justified when Israel doesn't live up to its obligations to U.S. › More Info

Of Genocide and Morality

By Forward Editorial

Forward: Remembering genocide is important, but not as important as saving lives today.

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Genocide: Take A Side

By Rabbis Eric Yoffie and David Saperstein

How can the very groups that have led the effort to ensure that our genocide will never be forgotten now turn their backs on the genocidal tragedies of others? › More Info

Turkey and the Armenians: Today's Denial is Tomorrow's Holocaust

By Yossi Sarid

What happened to us can happen again, to us and to the people of Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, Sudan, Burma.

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War or Peace? What Bashar Really Wants

By

Syrian President Bashar Assad has been telling visitors that Syria's alliance with Iran is tactical. › More Info

Neocons Tie North Korea To Israeli Strike On Syria

By Khody Akhavi

Some U.S. analysts have been very dubious of an actual Syrian nuclear threat, viewing the nuclear story as a fiction for advancing a neoconservative agenda. › More Info

End Syria's Isolation

By Gershon Baskin

Syria is ready to trade its alliance with Iran for one with the U.S. and to curb Hizbullah & Hamas. › More Info

Self-Appointed, Arrogant American Jewish Interlopers Offer Illusions of Peace (Abridged)

By

Unofficial negotiators often play a vital role in facilitating peace talks between adversaries. › More Info

Checklist for a Peace Pact

By Ephraim Sneh

How Bush's upcoming Arab-Israeli peace conference can succeed. › More Info

Self-Appointed, Arrogant American Jewish Interlopers Offer Illusions of Peace

By

Unofficial negotiators often play a vital role in facilitating peace talks between enemies. What I learned from Stanley Sheinbaum, Yasser Arafat, Anwar Sadat and my father. › More Info

George W. Bush's Flawed Peace Plan

By Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami

It is a fantasy to believe that peace can be concluded without the participation of Hamas and Syria.



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A Glimmer of Hope from Jerusalem, Damascus and Ramallah

Syria is prepared to break ties with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas once peace with Israel is achieved. › More Info

Director’s Take | AIPAC Hijack Revisited: War or Peace with Iran and Gaza?

By

AIPAC again endorsed Rev. John Hagee, overlooking his calls for a preemptive US war with Iran. › More Info

Bush: The New Prince of Mideast Peace? A Guide to the Perplexed

By

While some celebrated Bush's new peace initiative, many observers expressed deep skepticism. › More Info

Olmert: Israel can't hold West Bank forever

Olmert now says Syrian President Bashar Assad's overtures towards peace are serious. › More Info

Israeli Security Requires Palestinian Unity

By Rafi Dajani

There can be no stability and security for Palestinians & Israelis without minimal Palestinian unity. › More Info

'West Bank First': It Won't Work

By Robert Malley and Aaron David Miller

Efforts to deepen the Hamas-Fatah or Gaza-West Bank splits will lead to disaster. › More Info

A Close Encounter with Ehud Olmert: The Hamas Revolution in Gaza

By

I had the opportunity to hear Prime Minister Ehud Olmert address American Jewish leaders on the eve of his meeting with President Bush. › More Info

The Fall of Gaza and the Rise of Palestine

By Gershon Baskin, PhD

There is now an opportunity to contrast the horrors of Gaza with a new reality in the West Bank. › More Info

Did the Holocaust's Specter Drive Israel to Attack in 1967? Exclusive Excerpt | Tom Segev’s New Book

By Tom Segev

As soon as the crisis of war began, the press began comparing Nasser to Hitler--a reason to attack. › More Info

Exclusive Excerpt | 1967: Israel, the War, and the Year That Transformed the Middle East--Israel on the Eve of the Six Day War

By Tom Segev

Tom Segev's new book, 1967, challenges the conventional view that Israel fought an inevitable defensive war. › More Info

Israel Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh Tells Ameinu: To Win Against Qassam Rockets, Israel Must Preempt Attacks, But Also Wage Peace: Full Interview

By Ephraim Sneh

I drafted a platform for final status talks with Abbas' deputy. › More Info

If Gaza Gets a Second Chance, Europe Must Act

By Daniel Levy

To prevent Mogadishu in Gaza, the EU should talk with and aid the Hamas-led PA. › More Info

What Israel Wants is Within its Reach

By Raafat Dajani and Daniel Levy

There are at least three reasons for real hope - Israeli, Palestinian and regional. › More Info

A Burst of Peace Diplomacy

By

Are both Israel and the US heading for a new round of peace diplomacy? › More Info

Labor Doves Call on Prime Minister Olmert to Resign

We, of the Labor party, the party that has led the state from the beginning, have the historic task of mending the political situation in Israel. › More Info

How to Avoid Another Arab-Israeli War: Learning from Winograd

By Daniel Levy

How can we avoid turning the Winograd Report on the last war into a countdown for the next? › More Info

Israel Should Talk to Hamas, Labor Knesset Member Colette Avital Tells Ameinu

By

I favor a dialogue with the Palestinian government, even with Hamas. › More Info

The Arab League Peace Initiative Holds Promise for Israel

By Israel Minister of Education Yuli Tamir

We are witnessing an initiative that is widely supported in the Arab world. › More Info

The Arab Peace Plan Revisited: What the Right Doesn’t Want You to Know

By

When President Kennedy received both hardline and conciliatory messages from Khrushchev in 1962, he chose to respond favorably to the conciliatory message, setting aside the bellicose one. › More Info

Ameinu Letter of Thanks to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi

By Kenneth Bob

Ameinu applauds Speaker Nancy Pelosi's efforts to bring Israel and Syria closer to peace. › More Info

Myths and Facts About the Arab Peace Initiative

By

The Arab peace offer contains no explicit reference to a “right of return” for Palestinian refugees. › More Info

Ameinu Letter to Defense Minister Peretz: Remove Settlers Occupying Palestinian Home in Hebron

Continued presence of extremist Jewish settlers in Hebron: one of the greatest obstacles to peace › More Info

Are We the New Jews of Silence?

By

What if the status quo in the West Bank is toxic to Israel? › More Info

Director’s Take--What’s New? Most Israelis Want to Negotiate with the New Palestinian Government

By

A seismic shift is occurring in Israel on the Palestinians. American Jewish leaders haven't noticed. › More Info

AIPAC Hijack: With Friends Like These…

By

AIPAC keynoter Hagee “supports Israel” by advocating nuclear war & conversion or death of the Jews. › More Info

The “Israel Lobby” in America: A New Response to Mearsheimer & Walt

By Dan Fleshler

One of the reasons for American passivity over the Arab-Israel conflict is the work of AIPAC and the conventional Israel lobby. If American Jews who backed Israel’s peace camp launched a massive, well-organized, sophisticated effort to raise money for politicians, Congress and the White House staff might stop being gutless. Our government might be more balanced, more pro-active when it deals with Israel and its neighbors. › More Info

Who is Really Suppressing Debate on Israel?

By Jeffry V. Mallow, Phd.

Sitting up here in Scandinavia reading the International Herald Tribune, I came upon yet another claim that American Jewry stifles debate on Israel. This time it was a piece by IHT columnist Roger Cohen, entitled “Time for U.S. boldness on Israel and Palestine,” in which he urges America to push Israel to negotiate with the Palestinians. Well, that’s a case I might support, although I am less sanguine about the role of Hamas than Cohen seems to be. › More Info

Supporting Israel and Palestine: The two faces of Progressive Zionism

By Ami Isseroff

The Union of Progressive Zionists, Ameinu and other progressive Zionists are justifiably upset by the crude attempt of Mort Klein and the ZOA to oust them from the ICC, or to change the ICC charter so as to stifle dissent. Good sense got the better part of hysteria, and the attempt was quashed. The controversy did no good for Zionism, though it generated publicity for ZOA, UPZ, Ameinu and the Breaking the Silence group sponsored by UPZ.

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How the Internet Made Impossible an Internal Debate (And Why it’s a Bad Idea Even if We Could)

By Benjamin Murane

As Ami Isseroff schooled me recently, internal dissent is internal and not for sharing. We only contribute to the destroyers of Israel by making public our qualms with Israel, Israelis and the Israeli state. Like sex, it’s naughty and embarassing—so save it for someone you love. › More Info

Stop Conflating Anti-Zionists with Progressives

By Christopher MacDonald-Dennis, Ed.D.

Lately, there have been a spate of articles that discuss how "liberal" and "progressives" criticize Israel but are being silenced by the "mainstream" Jewish community or are endangering Jews everywhere. As a progressive activist who supports Israel's right to exist, I am worried about this conflation of left-wing views with anti-Zionism. It is time to state the obvious loud and clear: the writers of these articles and reports are engaging in lazy scholarship. Supporting a liberal/progressive/left ideology does not automatically lead one to being an anti-Zionist.



Professor Alvin Rosenfeld of Indiana University, in his recent piece on "progressive" Jews and anti-Semitism obviously does not understand the nuances of the left. By using a sledgehammer to define progressive thought, he polarizes the situation even more. As the American Jewish Committee, whose publication it was, says on their website: "The article asserted that with the publication of the Rosenfeld essay we had launched an assault on "liberal Jews." By the paper's unfortunate framing of the story in this binary manner, i.e., conservatives versus liberals, readers could be left with the impression that the debate over Israel's very right to exist was now defined along this political spectrum." This is not how it should be seen and I appreciate the American Jewish Committee for making this important point.

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Phyllis Sutker Z”L, Friend, Colleague, Ally, Leader

By Daniel Mann

The passing of Phyllis Sutker, of Skokie, IL, in November generated not only a feeling of profound grief but also a flood of personal and communal memories. Ken and Jamie have invited me to share some of them with Ameinu, and I’m grateful for that privilege and mitzvah. › More Info

From Yedid | The Struggle against Israel’s pilot Welfare-to-Work Project Widens to the Legal Arena

By From the Staff of Yedid

Last week YEDID convened a meeting of YEDID’s national, legal and center staff, as well as Attorney Tomer Moskowitz, judicial advisor of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment and Attorney Galit Yaacobov, judicial advisor for the government’s pilot Welfare-to-Work program to discuss the failures and inherent problematics of the program’s appeal process. › More Info

Musings from Jerusalem

By Ann Shlay

Life in Israel is anything but boring. I expect you want an update on the legal status of Israel's President Katzav. Well, you can relax. It looks like he is not going to be charged with rape but with "involuntary sexual intercourse." There are various theories about why this may or may not be important. But you must admit, this is interesting stuff.

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Why I will march in the world gay parade in Jerusalem

By

Autumn is fast arriving in Jerusalem and this year it is bringing with it controversy and mayhem. On November 10th, the Jerusalem gay community, backed by the world gay community, plans to march in the holy city. By marching they will declare that Jerusalem also belongs to the gay community. The opposing factions, consisting of politicians, religious clerics, and others, who are the self declared voice of morality and god, vow to oppose the march. The danger of violence towards the marchers is not to be underestimated. Last year a person was stabbed, and this year right wing radicals are threatening to beat the marchers. The police are not taking these threats seriously enough. › More Info

What Benedict Really Meant about Islam

By Elihu Davison

Pope Benedict’s recent remarks at the University of Regensburg set off worldwide Islamic protests and demands for a Papal apology for alleged defamation of Islam and its prophet. › More Info

Israel after Lebanon : A Talk with Ephraim Sneh

By Ephraim Sneh

The most urgent goal for Israel is to make sure that she wins in the next round with Iran. › More Info

Pride in Jerusalem

By Bruce Temkin

I had the opportunity to lead a group of New Israel Fund donors to Israel this August, most of whom were gay and lesbian, to participate in the WorldPride activities in Jerusalem. The press in Israel and around the world was buzzing with stories this past spring about the storm surrounding this second international LGBT event. The first one was in Rome in 2000, and last year’s was postponed due to the Gaza disengagement. › More Info

Aftermath of the Lebanon War: A Q&A with Brigadier-General (ret.) and MK Ephraim Sneh

By Ephraim Sneh

Brigadier-General (Ret.) and Member of Knesset Ephraim Sneh spoke with Ameinu about what the recent Lebanon war means for the future of the region. What follows is an edited transcript of our talk. › More Info

The Current Crisis: Where We Stand

By Ameinu Policy and Advocacy Committee

The current violence in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip is harrowing and heartbreaking to us, progressive American Zionists who want to connect with and support Israeli counterparts who are working for peace and social justice. › More Info

Breaking the Routine

By Barry Steinberg

For those rigidly adhering to civil defense instruction, a few hours are set aside to emerge from their cave-like existence, into the vast summery daylight. They can exercise themselves or their dogs, provision their pantries, or water their garden. In Eilon there are people who have a tough time breaking with routine. On these usually gray and overcast mornings, you can find them huffing up hill by the main gate, pummeling the air with their short mechanical aerobic rhythms.

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In the Bomb Shelter

By Judith Gelman

Israel’s citizens living along the Northern stretch of country have been ordered into bomb shelters. There, they will be safe from katushya attacks, but it is not a comfortable place to be. › More Info

Remarks by Theodore Bikel To the 35th World Zionist Congress

By Theodore Bikel

Today let me speak to you of passion. There are some who would consider it unseemly or anachronistic for us to show the youthful enthusiasm of the early Zionist movement. After all, Israel is now 58 years into statehood and we are a long way from the time when the notion of Israel was a dream, a hope, a yearning. One might argue that in this time of a country facing the mundane business of governing amidst harrowing concerns about security, talking of Zionist ideals and dreams is no more than an exercise in nostalgia. › More Info

My Grandfathers Were Illegal Immigrants

By Judith Gelman

The immigrant experience is central to the American Jewish story, so as Jews we often sympathize with the challenges today’s immigrants face in coming to a new country. Although they would never admit it in public, many Jews feel superior to today’s immigrants.

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Ameinu Chats with MK Colette Avital

MK Colette Avital spoke at the Ameinu offices to a select group of Ameinu and Meretz Board members. › More Info

Israeli Election Debriefing with Ina Friedman

By Ina Friedman

Ina Friedman, senior reporter of the Jerusalem Report and co-author of ‘Murder in the Name of God: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin’, recently spoke with Ameinu over the phone about the Israeli elections. › More Info

Nisped Strategic Partnership with Ameinu

By Nisped Staff

We at NISPED, the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development, are delighted to join with Ameinu in a strategic partnership which we hope will be of mutual benefit and interest. After having worked with Ameinu in the past by hosting both Ameinu Missions to Israel, we know that we both share the same goals of fighting for social justice, peace and progressive values. › More Info

INNOCENTS ABROAD

By Jeffry V. Mallow, Phd.

There’s no escaping Middle East politics. Here I am, living in Denmark, as it struggles against a Muslim boycott and attacks on its citizens across the Arab world. The newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a series of cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad, among other things, with a bomb fuse attached to his turban. The paper has apologized for giving offense. But Muslim critics go beyond the legitimate complaint that the cartoons conflate Islamic terrorism with the religion itself. They demand that Danes relinquish their right to free expression and abide by the Muslim proscription against any depiction of the Prophet. The support of immigrant and Danish-born Muslims for the boycott has shocked the indigenous Danes out of their naivete. They have discovered that their generous immigration policies and their pro-Palestinian politics have not rendered them immune to attacks from the Muslim world, and that those attacks have the support of many Muslims in their own country. › More Info

Hope will have to visit on another day

By Gershon Baskin, PhD

The Palestinian people have spoken and their voice has been heard. No, the results did not surprise me; I have been speaking about a 55% Hamas victory for several weeks. The handwriting was on the walls, but the pollsters and the analysts failed to see it. The majority of Palestinians chose Hamas not only as a protest vote against the corruption of Fateh and the PA, as many Palestinians will tell us. The people also voted for Hamas because of its political agenda, and the Hamas won because most Palestinians share the belief that the negotiated process based on Oslo was not only bad for Israel, it was perhaps, even worse for Palestinians.

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Why the World Zionist Congress Elections Matter

By Jamie Levin

The Truth: it is hard to raise interest in the upcoming elections for the World Zionist Congress. Yes, the same movement founded by Theodore Herzl in Basle, the same organization that gave birth to the modern State of Israel. It is desperately difficult. › More Info

Forging a New Way for Israel?s Labor Party

By Jerry Goodman

In a stunning rejection of the status quo, nearly 2/3 of the eligible members in Israel?s Labor Party chose a new leader. By a slim margin of 2.5%, the venerable Shimon Peres, Deputy Prime Minister in the present coalition government, was defeated by MK Amir Peretz in the November 9 primary. The campaign for the Israel Labor Party leadership, originally due to be held on June 28th, was an occasion to decide who will lead Labor into Israel?s next national elections, scheduled for November ?06 (with conventional wisdom suggesting early national elections, probably in the Spring). › More Info

Rosa Parks and the Middle East

By

Rosa Parks has died, having been blessed with longevity and an activist spirit. Her act of defiance on an Alabama bus in 1955 will no doubt be reviewed and celebrated by mourners and observers this month. But it?s not only Americans who should recall the lessons taught during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Nor are the ethical imperatives of civil rights confined to the struggle for racial equality; so too can the Middle East stand to contemplate her legacy. The problem remains that the rights of humans ? and of the groups we create for ourselves ? too often appear contradictory in their claims. Security or sovereignty? Symbols or self-determination? And most basically, my rights or yours? › More Info

The Secular Ethos Of Labor Zionism

By Jeffry V. Mallow, Phd.

Labor Zionism began as a secular and socialist movement. It now calls itself social-democratic. Its Zionism is still secular, although many of its adherents are synagogue members, some of them even suspected believers. Which puts me in mind of a sermon a year ago by the rabbi of the Reform synagogue into which I married. He said, ?There can be no Zionism that is not theologically based.? I turned to my wife and said, ?Oops.? › More Info

Scenes from the Disengagement

By Guy Spigelman

I just spent two week in the reserves as a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense forces. In this capacity I witnessed and participated first hand in the withdrawal from Gaza and the Northern West Bank. On the whole I came away feeling more confident in the strength of Israeli society and its institutions than I have for a long time.

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Trickle Down Democracy

By Alex Sharone

Scenes of IDF soldiers removing Gazan settlers bring new meaning to the rallying cry: ?Support Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East.? Despite calls to skirt their duty, soldiers behaved honorably during the evacuation, revealing the humane side of the IDF that the global media usually disregards. The empathetic restraint displayed by the soldiers towards the evacuees humanized the surgical language and procedures that usually characterize IDF activity. Images of soldiers weeping and praying with settlers immediately following their removal revealed the possibility of Jewish unity in the midst of painful discord. Notwithstanding the emotional complexities of carrying out such a decree, the conduct of the army upheld the democratic decision making power of the Israeli government, one that operates tenuously amidst repeated assaults on its authority. › More Info

The Age Of Deconstruction

By Jeffry V. Mallow, Phd.

There are no facts. This is the mantra of radical deconstructivism. All knowledge is relative, temporary, subjective, and ultimately political. No one has a greater claim to truth than anyone else, certainly not by virtue of birth or class, but not even by education and training. So, for example, science is no more valid a ?narrative? than astrology, because science is the product of white male Europeans, and therefore its methods and conclusions are dependent on its practitioners. › More Info

The Unspoken Truth: Canada in the Age of Terror

By Howard Fremeth

Al-Qaeda represents both the result and the Achilles? heal of a wired, interconnected ?global village.? New media such as the Internet and satellites have made information and mentalities that were was once only available and cultivated in places such as Pakistan or Afghanistan to spread throughout the world?including Canada. › More Info

Giving a Voice to the Majority of American Jews

By Kenneth Bob

The last four years have been an extraordinarily difficult time for American Jews. We watched as Israeli men and women fell victim to senseless terrorist attacks, and many more became accustomed to a new reality, in which fear prevailed over the enjoyment of daily life. We were forced to mobilize, quickly and efficiently, to help our Israeli brothers and sisters with money, political support and friendship › More Info

My Vision of Peace

By

Thank you very much for joining me. I want to start by saying something about myself?not to describe what I did in the Israeli Navy which, I think, is irrelevant but I want to mention the fact that my parents came to Israel in the 1930?s. My father was an illegal immigrant and my mother came as a child o study in Jerusalem. Together, they helped to create a Kibbutz in the Jordan valley. My father retired several years ago at the age of eighty, for the last ten years he was the carpenter on the Kibbutz. › More Info

Poll: U.S. Jews Overwhelmingly Support Israeli Gaza/West Bank Disengagement

American Jews, by a nearly three to one margin (62% to 23%) support Israel?s disengagement plan to leave Gaza and some West Bank settlements, according to a new survey released by Ameinu today. › More Info

Is Peter Pan Jewish?

By Avi Glicksman

Peter Pan is, of course, the boy who never grew up. He spends his time flying around having various adventures with persons good and bad. › More Info

Zionist Diarist

By Jeffry V. Mallow, Phd.

including destroying his own ruling coalition to pursue withdrawal from Gaza, is greeted by anything but suspicion and derision. Jeambar excoriates the Europeans for their pretensions of dovishness, all the while they ignore any gestures by Sharon, thus encouraging the least dovish of Palestinians to continue their attacks, and the least dovish of Israelis to › More Info

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