Many readers will have already come across Jeffrey Goldberg’s piece in The Atlantic about the possibility of Israel resorting to force against Iran. Though it’s received a lot of attention, I don’t think it’s that interesting; it’s long on personal anecdote (by the way, for a seriously unflattering view of the Netanyahu family you ought to read Chapter 12 of this book) and the views of unnamed sources and short on analysis. People seriously interested in this matter still need to read Tira.
This is a guest post by Winston Pickett.
For media watchers familiar with the White House Press Corps, the saga of Helen Thomas is has served up a pungent lesson on how antisemitic ideas can pollute and ultimately force a 58-year career to crash, burn and splutter to an inglorious conclusion.
This is a guest post by Kenneth Bandler of AJC.
The propensity of some Israeli political leaders to speak publicly or take action before thinking clearly of the consequences hit a new low this week during Vice President Joe Biden’s visit.
If Israelis were looking for reassurance that the United States is genuinely the Jewish state’s number one ally, the vice president couldn’t have been clearer. “The bond between the U.S. and Israel has been and will remain unshakable,” declared Biden. “Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the United States and Israel.” But, alas, there is a significant gap, on settlements, and it was an Israeli Cabinet Minister who decided to remind all with international media focused on every step of Biden’s visit.
When cultural historians look back at this week’s J-Street conference in Washington, DC, they will observe that many of the participants invested its proceedings with an almost mystical significance: a Woodstock moment for Jewish politics in America which poked a finger into the flabby bellies of the establishment organizations by declaring, “change has come, move aside.”
This is a guest post by Micky.
Among the more shocking silences in the wake of Saturday’s hateful attack upon a Tel Aviv gay center is that of American Jewish organizations who claim to be dedicated to human rights and dignity and Israel’s safety.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson is known for his careless mouth - remember that recent remark about what he’d do to a certain part of Barack Obama’s anatomy? Such free association has often landed him in fights with the Jewish community. These tend to follow a pattern. He says something outrageous (for example, back in 1984, he referred to New York as “hymietown” in a conversation with a journalist,) a furore follows, he eventually apologizes, there is both hope and expectation that it won’t happen again, and then…it happens again.
Among American Jews, those who identify as liberals outnumber conservatives by more than two to one. When it comes to the Presidential campaign, it is the issues of concern to all Americans - especially the nosediving economy and health care - which guide voting intentions. When it comes to the Middle East, the overwhelming majority feels a sense of closeness towards Israel - but there is general pessimism over the prospects for peace in the region as well as significant doubt over the rectitude of a military assault upon Iran’s nuclear installations.
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