tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14881803976458202362024-02-18T23:48:41.086-06:00Blog ZahavCan I have my Zionism back before you break it?Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-34742230304109359352014-12-15T08:57:00.001-06:002014-12-15T09:29:48.899-06:00Thoughts as I stand for re-election<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText">
The <a href="http://act.jstreet.org/survey/2015_board_ballot/?t=2&akid=3528.205070.GWO-Uv">ballot for the J Street board position is now open</a>. I feel very honored to be part of this organization and to
stand for re-election. I’d like to wish Talia, Edward, Virginia, Phyllis, and
Howard the best of luck. I know whoever among us sits on the board will serve J
Street well.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
I am incredibly proud of having served on the board at a
time of tremendous growth and success. In the last three years, our influence
in Congress has greatly increased, as has our strength in local chapters and on
university campuses. We have also had impressive political victories, including
winning robust American engagement in the peace process, which alas was
unsuccessful, and beating back an effort to ratchet up Iran sanctions in the
midst of negotiations. I point this out not to take credit - it surely isn’t
mine - but to suggest a path forward.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
There is somewhat of a paradox at play. Whenever someone
asks me how J Street is doing I can tick off the number of endorsed candidates,
95, the number of J Street U chapters, 62, or the $2.4 million raised in the
last election cycle. In just about every metric we are succeeding. Yet, when it
comes to moving the dial on the two-state solution, things in Israel seem to be
backsliding. And that’s the paradox. The more extreme the politics in Israel
become, the more obvious it is here in our community that J Street is a voice
of reason.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
This past summer I was privileged to lead <a href="http://jstreet.org/blog/post/why-im-here_1">J Street's solidarity mission</a>
to Israel during the Gaza war. The horror and futility of the war was apparent
from the outset. Yet, as dire as things were, being on the ground once again
confirmed what I feel every time I'm in Israel. While I’m there, it's easy to
see why many Israelis believe, or at least convince themselves, that the
vibrancy of Israeli life can endure in the face of the occupation. Because for
many, especially those in the position to influence opinion, life is that
vibrant.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
But continents away, we have the benefit of perspective that
distance provides, and that Israelis either lack or choose to ignore. Israelis
know the arguments about the moral decay of the occupation. Likewise, Israelis
know the demographic and security arguments. These arguments are made by their
fellow Israelis with greater credibility, at least in their eyes, than us. But
what we have unique to offer is perspective.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Communicating that perspective may be J Street's greatest
opportunity and challenge in the short term, certainly ahead of the Israeli
elections in March. We need to find a way to express to our brothers and sisters in Israel that the situation will not hold and in a way that they will
be open to. Doing so will not be easy. We must not shrink from expressing our
concern over an increasingly intolerant society, growing extremism, and a
deepening of the occupation that we can see everyday. We must state that the Palestinian people are entitled to self-determination, just as the Jewish people are, and that their non-violent resistance to the occupation is legitimate. Israelis are fond of a
saying I heard first from Ariel Sharon explaining what some saw as his new
found flexibility upon becoming prime minister: “You see things from here that
you don’t see from there.” We now have an opportunity to explain what we see
from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and everywhere in between, that they
aren’t seeing in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
I know many people are despairing of the situation,
especially with the breakdown of negotiations, the war this summer, and an
intifada looking like it will explode at any moment. Pessimists have been
cashing bets for a long time. But we have to be right just once and last. And
we still have that chance.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
I ask for <a href="http://act.jstreet.org/survey/2015_board_ballot/?t=2&akid=3528.205070.GWO-Uv">your vote and your support</a> for my re-election
to the board.<br />
<br />
Thank you,<br />
Richard Goldwasser </div>
Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-24308529253467911322012-06-06T16:59:00.002-05:002012-06-06T16:59:46.124-05:00Jerusalem the divisibleSee my new post at The Times of Israel: <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-the-divisible/">http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-the-divisible/</a><br />
<br />Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-19665104653102637042012-04-12T20:56:00.000-05:002012-04-12T21:00:03.661-05:00Not EveryoneI must have met Aziz Abu Sarah over a year ago. A few of us from J Street Chicago had dinner with him and Kobi Skolnik. At the time Kobi and Aziz were traveling around the United States making the case for Jewish-Arab co-existence. Their personal narratives made their presentation quite compelling. Kobi had come from a religious background and grew up on a settlement in the West Bank. Aziz grew up outside of Jerusalem; Israeli interrogators killed his brother. Usually, the way you see that phrased is "died in Israeli custody." I remember over 20 years ago in Israel reading in the Jerusalem Post that after having his hands restrained with a belt a Palestinian was "subdued to death." Not a whole lot has changed since.<br />
<br />
So back to Aziz. I came across a video of <a href="http://972mag.com/watch-aziz-abu-sarah-presents-his-journey-from-revenge-to-reconciliation/26269/">Aziz's presentation</a> at +972 and posted it <a href="http://blogzahav.blogspot.com/2011/10/must-see.html">here</a>. I showed it to my wife. I showed it to my two teenage daughters. I sent it to the Hebrew teacher at the public high school my girls attend. And I sent it to the woman in charge of post bar/bat mitzvah education at my synagogue. (The high school teacher, an Israeli, showed it to the Israel Interests Club. My synagogue has yet to show it.) The presentation made two compelling points for me. The first is that there is hope. That even after having your brother killed, you can still speak about co-existence. The second, and more personal, is that I wanted to be sure that my girls and my community were exposed to Palestinians in a way that doesn't caricature them as suicidal terrorists bent on Israel's destruction. I understood that I could not leave it to my community to teach co-existence, and that I would have to take a hand in it, however small.<br />
<br />
Then a couple weeks ago at the J Street Conference, I ran into Aziz in
the hallway at the DC convention center, and re-introduced myself to
him. Clearly, he had left a greater impression on me at our first
meeting than I on him. He smiled and feigned a hint of recognition. I told him that I had greatly appreciated his presentation and had sent the video around, and asked if he would be willing to come
back to Chicago. He gladly said yes. In fact, one of his partners in
<a href="http://mejdi.net/">Mejdi</a>, a company that conducts dual narrative tours to Israel and Palestine, is from a Chicago suburb.<br />
<br />
Later that
night I saw Aziz at the gala dinner. Someone told him that I had won an election to fill an open seat on the J Street Board of Directors, and he congratulated me. When I half-teasingly asked him if he had voted for me, he half-teasingly said
that being a Palestinian he didn't want to interfere in our internal
elections. I laughed."Everyone could
vote," I told him. "Not everyone," he reminded me. Of course. Not everyone. Could it
be any plainer than that?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
*** </div>
<br />
My community largely has no interaction with Palestinians and doesn't see their suffering, or if it does see it, it rationalizes it somehow. As a result, when making the case for the urgent need for a two state solution (as opposed to, oh yeah I support a two state solution, but right now we have to attack Iran, and then fight the delegitimization of Israel, and then whatever the next excuse will be), I focus on why it's in Israel's self- interest to do so.Which is absolutely true. I also think it's absolutely necessary to frame it this way, because sadly we're just not able yet to process Palestinian suffering. But it's not the only way to frame the matter, and we must do a better job getting those in the American Jewish community to see what is happening on the other side of the green line. Maybe then they too will be reminded that it ain't only about us.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-29257955660924837102012-03-31T15:44:00.000-05:002012-04-01T11:45:02.476-05:00Keeping the Eye on the Prize<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6UjJpgZFjYV4PFHI26oUWRe9ilzg7t1_GB4bEmsrkRTWCQnp6u-_XnX5ALPXSCnusSqgLtn4qV8OmUDJ6TVMewGpPERQnGm0mzdvfshpWYhmZk9xUsVvyNxhCIREqGf1eYm9g0i3U3n0/s1600/Conf+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6UjJpgZFjYV4PFHI26oUWRe9ilzg7t1_GB4bEmsrkRTWCQnp6u-_XnX5ALPXSCnusSqgLtn4qV8OmUDJ6TVMewGpPERQnGm0mzdvfshpWYhmZk9xUsVvyNxhCIREqGf1eYm9g0i3U3n0/s320/Conf+2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening Night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
J Street’s third annual
conference just concluded and it was a huge success by any measure. It was
attended by 2,500 supporters, including nearly 700 college students. President
Obama sent two representatives, with his closest confidant, Valerie Jarrett,
bringing a packed room to its feet several times. The Israeli government dispatched
its number two diplomat to address the conference, the first time one of its representatives
appeared at the annual gathering. Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister,
presented his remarks at the gala dinner, which was emceed by the legendary
Theodore Bikel. And perhaps the most memorable moment was delivered by one of Israel’s
pre-eminent authors, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTlSqYgQ738&list=UUPLrl4LlKV_4TpmEOEg9IgQ&index=14&feature=plcp">Amos Oz</a>, telling a raucous opening night audience: “J Street, I’ve been
waiting for you my entire adult life.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
The press coverage was equally
impressive. Articles appeared throughout the conference in <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/having-real-conversations-about-israel-at-j-street-s-conference-1.420751">Haaretz</a>, <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4208585,00.html">Ynet</a>, <a href="http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=263689">TheJerusalem Post</a>, and the <a href="http://forward.com/articles/153841/j-street-swims-upstream-in-election-year/?p=all">Forward</a>. Notice of the conference was not limited to
the Israeli and Jewish press. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/us/politics/j-street-pro-israel-but-against-iran-strike-takes-its-message-to-washington.html">The New York Times</a> covered J Street’s Lobby Day efforts
on Capitol Hill, as 700 activists pressed the case for a two state solution and
diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
While the plenary sessions and the
panel discussions presented matters of great substance and varying
perspectives, the impromtu meetings with Americans, Israelis, and
Palestinians who are doing the hard work in the trenches provided the most
insight on what is actually happening on the ground.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
With all that was packed into the
three day conference, reading some of the post conference wraps I can't help but notice some of the attention given to the tangential issue of where J Street and its
supporters are found on the left-right political spectrum. First, let me say
that I get it.Writers gotta write and bloggers gotta
blog. And true, some of the analysis can be interesting to read. But this sort of discussion,
like its sister debate in political campaigns, focuses too much on the horse
race, obscuring the point that brought 2,500 people together – the urgent push
for a two state solution in order to secure Israel’s future as a Jewish and
democratic homeland. Viewed against the existential threat that the lack of a
viable peace process presents, trying to place J Street and its supporters
along a left-right political spectrum or gauging who earned the loudest, most
polite or tepid applause serves only to diminish the dire moment in which we
find ourselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud
Chair Benjamin Netanyahu has, himself, acknowledged the need for an independent
Palestinian state living along side a safe and secure Israel. The former heads
of Israel’s
security branches overwhelmingly support a two state solution along the 1967
borders with land swaps. A two state solution is both the official policy of
the United States
government and the PLO. So what’s with the obsession with trying to place J Street, which was
founded for the express purpose of advocating for a two state solution, on a
left-right continuum? In 2012, a two state solution is simply no longer a
left-right issue. It’s a matter that is necessary for Israel’s
survival.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
Supporters of a two state solution
arrive from a variety of perspectives. Many, like former Brigadier General Amram Mitzna, view the matter as necessary from a military-security vantage.
Some, like<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IYmDDQ6308&list=UUPLrl4LlKV_4TpmEOEg9IgQ&index=9&feature=plcp"> Rabbi Donniel Hartman</a>, come to the conclusion from their understanding
of what Judaism requires of us. Others advocate for this solution to
vindicate the human rights of the Palestinians. Certainly some see a peace
agreement between Israelis and Palestinians as serving American security
interests. And I welcome anyone who is willing to work for a two state
solution regardless from which camp he or she comes; although befitting the
complexity of human thought many of us find ourselves as belonging to more
than one of these camps, or perhaps all of them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
So as we push forward toward the
same goal – a safe and secure Jewish and democratic Israel, it is time to move past the
false left-right dichotomy. Instead of trying to pigeon hole each other, we
should be talking about how to make a two state solution a reality, or at the
very least, preserve its possibility. Because we may well discover that while
we are taking the temperature of the room, the house has collapsed around us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
Make no mistake. This is what we face if we do not change the current dynamic. Every day that goes by
without progress on a two state solution is one day closer to the end of the
Zionist enterprise. It is therefore incumbent upon all who care about Israel to ask
ourselves every morning what we will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i>
that day to make it happen<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> The
choice now before us is not which path to pursue, but whether we will actually
pursue it.<br />
<br />
<i>Note</i>: In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a member of the J Street Board of Directors and was privileged to open this year's conference alongside Hannah Fishman of the J Street U chapter at Reed College.</div>Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-1061864663781614772012-03-01T22:01:00.000-06:002012-03-01T22:15:20.168-06:00When Hanin Met Danny<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T6VAgcL_XzM?fs=1" width="459"></iframe></div>
<br />
Ami Kaufman of +972 posted a <a href="http://972mag.com/watch-hanin-zoabi-israel-has-no-right-to-live-in-security/36847/">10 minute clip</a> of Israeli news anchor Danny Kushmaro interviewing Hanin Zoabi. (Ami's clip provides English subtitles.) For the
uninitiated, Hanin is a woman, an Arab and a member of the Israeli
Knesset. The clip includes Hanin's brief history in the Knesset as a
lighting rod. But what caught me about Ami's post was its title: "WATCH
Hanin Zoabi: Israel has no right to live in security."<br />
<br />
And
indeed during the ten minute segment, Hanin said: "You are not allowed
to live in security. An occupying people has no right for a normal life.
It has no right." But this brief exchange was not the theme of the
interview nor even a major part of it; there was no real followup to
this declaration. My point here is not to take issue with or to defend
Hanin.What struck me was something altogether different.<br />
<br />
I
commented at Ami's blog that I found the interview fascinating, but
thought the title didn't convey its tenor. When I read "Israel has no
right to live in security," I expect conflict. Enmity. Outrage. Though
truth be told, what's left to be outraged about? Everything's been said,
all the arguments made. But there wasn't even faux outrage. Quite the
opposite in fact. I thanked Ami for the post and he responded by asking
me what would have been a better title. I replied without offering one.
Until now. <br />
<br />
The viewer of the aforesaid clip is
introduced to Danny and Hanin as they meet cute on the street. The first
words you hear from Hanin are playful - "you don't do a warm up talk?
You don't want to get to know your interviewee?" The camera follows
Danny and Hanin walking through traffic to sit down at an outdoor cafe.
The sun is out; they are each wearing sunglasses. Looks like they are
drinking mashehu cham (something hot, coffee or tea). They smile at each
other and laugh comfortably. What struck me was how utterly Israeli the
scene is. Especially Hanin. It's true chevrai. I don't know if she's
the most hated person in Israel as the clip suggests, but she may be the
most Israeli. Not sure I'm going to win too many friends on either side
with that. Oh well, watch the interview and tell me who is supposed to
be the "other"?<br />
<br />
So Danny asks Hanin how she felt when
she was jeered by right wingers in Hebron, who, surprise, surprise, took
notice of the fact that she is single. Danny takes his cue and lets us
know that Hanin
is "almost" 43, has never been married, has no children. A red-blooded
Israeli, he basically asks what's up with that? Hanin giggles and
explains that she has no plans to marry and no plans not to marry. "I'm
very
spontaneous on these issues." Danny responds by
voice over "this is more or less the most personal we could get to the
Balad MK." Not for lack of trying, Danny. But really, this hardly seemed
to be the case. Danny tells us that Hanin lives with her parents in
Nazareth, has multiple degrees - philosophy, psychology, communications,
comes from a well-known family, a former Supreme Court Justice, a
former Deputy Health Minister, and former warrior in "God forbid" the
Hagganah. (I know some yidlach stateside that would kill for a pedigree
like that.)<br />
<br />
For her part, Hanin distances herself
from her "good Arab" uncles ("now is the time when that oppressed
Palestinian lifts his head up and says to you 'Enough'"), sidesteps the
oath of allegiance she took to the State of Israel upon becoming a
Member of Knesset ("I didn't think about it"), and justified accepting a
salary from the state ("a fraction compared to the lands you took from
my family"). They go to Hanin's office where she makes Danny coffee.
Danny playacts the role of embarrassed guest, concerned about
stereotypes of gender and ethnicity, tries in vain to takeover, but ends
up submitting to Hanin's "No, no, not yet." All in good fun as it
should be. And if you've watched the clip, you know the chemistry is
better than I've portrayed.<br />
<br />
So what's my take? This
looked more like a first date that didn't go all that badly. And I'd
definitely tune in to a second. There is hope yet.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-83989131690072580412012-01-25T12:17:00.000-06:002012-01-25T12:20:45.457-06:00UpdateAs most of you have seen by now, my blogging has slowed down considerably. Aside from trying to navigate the line between my new role as a member of J Street's Board of Directors and blogger, probably the biggest factor is that at the moment I just haven't felt that I have had anything terribly unique to add to the current conversation.While I try to regain my voice, you can find interesting perspectives in the articles posted on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jstreetchicago">J Street Chicago Facebook page</a> (click like). Talk soon.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-85582432188581232322012-01-06T18:08:00.001-06:002012-01-06T18:09:39.586-06:00Details emerge on Gurvitz investigation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/diplomania/the-blog-post-that-led-to-the-investigation-of-an-israeli-left-wing-activist-1.405920">Haaretz runs it down</a>,
but essentially Gurvitz wrote in a blog post that armed Israelis
including settlers are legitimate targets of the Palestinian military operations:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
According to the article: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Gurvitz wrote that there are situations, “In which violence is
required and justified, such as resistance to invasion or occupation.
However, it is necessary to limit violence to people in combat roles or
those who carry weapons, whether they are in uniform or not.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This paragraph, together with Gurvitz’s
response to a reader “talkback” on another blog post he published a few
days earlier, are what led the organization to make the official
complaint against Gurvitz. The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel
claimed that, in response to the talkback, Gurvitz wrote that
thesettlers are, “A legitimate target for Palestinian military
operations.”
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
If that's incitement, what the hell is this: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gTwWKdfi8G8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-36510963512916232392012-01-06T12:28:00.000-06:002012-01-06T12:28:12.453-06:00Who is Yossi Gurvitz?You may remember him from his <a href="http://blogzahav.blogspot.com/2011/08/who-is-responsible-for-terrorist-attack.html">early reporting</a> questioning the claim by the Israeli government that the terrorists responsible for the August 18 attacks near Eilat came from Gaza. Gurvitz suggested that the terrorists actually were Egyptian and came from the Sinai. Oh and by the way,<a href="http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=252456"> in today's Jerusalem Post</a>, the IDF confirms that Gurvitz was right. Not saying there's a connection here. Just saying for the time being we don't know.<br />
<br />
You can read his bio and his blog <a href="http://972mag.com/author/yossig/">here.</a>Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-17973303252306655472012-01-06T12:15:00.000-06:002012-01-06T12:15:09.897-06:00Where do things stand in Israel?<a href="http://972mag.com/short-note-i-was-interrogated-by-the-police/32261/">Consider this:</a> Yossi Gurvitz, a "leftwing" Israeli blogger, was brought in for interrogation by the police for incitement to violence. What did he do exactly? Well he can't say because he is under an order not to report on it.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-34569667212390522472012-01-01T21:52:00.000-06:002012-01-02T17:10:40.037-06:00In which A.B. Yehoshua makes his first appearanceAfter waiting for a couple days for Haaretz to post an English translation of A.B. Yehoshua's op-ed, I decided to translate it myself. Shortly before I went to print, as it were, Professor Shapir, who was kind enough to assist me, informed me that, yes, Haaretz had finally<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/an-unwelcome-intro-to-the-binational-state-1.405013"> posted the piece on its English website</a>. Good news for readers - you won't have to suffer through my amateurish translation, although I must say it wasn't bad at all.<br />
<br />
To the point, Yehoshua has written a terribly important piece that demands to be read. It contemplates the possibility of an unwanted future of a single bi-national state between the River and the Sea. His piece demonstrates the urgency of the situation, the disaster of a one-state solution, and entreats supporters of Israel "to display moral forcefulness, and keep Israel from the downward-spiral course it has set for itself."<br />
<br />
Here's a taste, followed by the link:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But for those who believed in and dreamed of an independent
Jewish-Israeli identity which, for better or for worse, stands up to the
test of dealing with a national-territorial reality entirely its own, a
binational state represents a broken dream, a surefire source of
demoralizing conflicts in the future, as was proven by the failure of
binational experiments around the world that involved peoples who were
closer to one another than are Jews and Palestinians in terms of
religion, economics, values and history.<br />
<br />
Is it still possible to forestall this
anticipated downswing in the patient's health? Will it still be possible
to persuade the Palestinians to mobilize for the attainment of the
two-state solution (even if the states are joined as a federation)?
Will it still be possible to persuade Israel's well-wishers in the
United States and Europe to display moral forcefulness, and keep Israel
from the downward-spiral course it has set for itself?
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/an-unwelcome-intro-to-the-binational-state-1.405013">The whole piece is here</a>. Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-91627999404907405612011-12-29T14:33:00.000-06:002011-12-29T14:34:15.856-06:00Religious Extremists in Israel<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zqJRMBGrbBY?fs=1" width="459"></iframe><br />
If you want to know what's going on in Israel at the moment, watch this report.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-22361985840702004922011-12-29T14:30:00.000-06:002011-12-29T14:30:08.746-06:00I'm back!Back from a quick family vacation. It's official: I am now a member of J Street's board. Thanks for all of those who voted and to those that have been following this blog since last April.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-59908316994701652522011-12-20T17:19:00.001-06:002011-12-20T17:28:16.638-06:00Awaiting election results . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9ZqeGDvINVxx42k68Q9x7J-ueJasn7ZisX6cABEqfrhf6YZP2ytiEuaswls0v_OaVLg8Bq_pduVUgNnnNmNtmvF1HMX0KD0cPtpyyFsEjD2mRWXrwWuiPY1fsHBR9xFFiqyXI95tammR/s1600/florida_hanging_chad_recount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9ZqeGDvINVxx42k68Q9x7J-ueJasn7ZisX6cABEqfrhf6YZP2ytiEuaswls0v_OaVLg8Bq_pduVUgNnnNmNtmvF1HMX0KD0cPtpyyFsEjD2mRWXrwWuiPY1fsHBR9xFFiqyXI95tammR/s320/florida_hanging_chad_recount.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1841796861"></span><span id="goog_1841796862"></span>Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-10548717708690019452011-12-18T13:31:00.001-06:002011-12-19T09:15:56.838-06:00Vote for Me for the J Street BoardOkay friends, I need your support. I'm running for the <a href="http://www.jstreet.org/">J Street</a> Board. Please vote for me <a href="http://action.jstreet.org/p/salsa/web/questionnaire/public/?questionnaire_KEY=578">here</a>! Voting is open until Tuesday. You do not have to be in the US or a current member of J Street. Just check the box on voting page that says to count you as a member.<br />
<br />
Also if you could post the <a href="http://action.jstreet.org/p/salsa/web/questionnaire/public/?questionnaire_KEY=578">voting link</a> on you facebook pages that would be incredible. And you are all invited to my page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/191807604246058/">Vote for Rich</a>.<br />
<br />
I'd give you my platform, but it's all here on the blog. I recommend the <strike>links</strike> "Popular Posts" on the right.<br />
<br />
Thanks!Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-3133400831118576152011-12-18T11:25:00.000-06:002011-12-18T11:25:50.240-06:00'What pro-Israel Should Mean'Read J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-pro-israel-should-mean/2011/12/15/gIQAlbaCzO_story.html">op-ed in this morning's Washington Post</a>. Here's a taste:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Many of Israel’s closest friends — including strong advocates of the
U.S.-Israel relationship from both parties — understand that it must
choose this latter path because its long-term survival and security are
at risk without the creation of a Palestinian state.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The United States desperately needs to have a serious debate over which path best promotes its interests and those of Israel.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
U.S. politicians also need to choose. Will they opt to seem pro-Israel
to a small number of the loudest voices on the far right, or will they
choose to actually be pro-Israel by advocating bold leadership and
giving Israel the support it needs to take necessary risks? </blockquote>Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-14460285572961733302011-12-16T08:39:00.001-06:002011-12-16T14:27:01.787-06:00'GOP candidates guilty of Holocaust abuse'Chemi Shalev, my new favorite journo, is on the case. Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt calls it soft-core denial, dangerous, pandering, embarrassing and unhealthy. <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/top-holocaust-scholar-blasts-holocaust-abuse-by-u-s-israeli-politicians-1.401821">Shalev's article is here</a>. <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/full-interview-with-holocaust-historian-deborah-lipstadt-1.401823">Read the whole interview here.</a><br />
<br />
Six million Jews and millions of others did not perish so know-nothing fools could cover themselves in their ashes when they run out of cogent thought. <br />
<br />
It's time we put an end to this despicable behavior.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-74285949437876063902011-12-15T09:20:00.002-06:002011-12-15T09:20:59.485-06:00And just like that it's over<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/world/middleeast/panetta-in-baghdad-for-iraq-military-handover-ceremony.html?_r=1&hp">The Iraq War</a> comes to an end. Aside from the dead, the injured, the maimed, the combatants, the civilians, the families, has anyone else paid the price? All those who itched for war. All those who cheered it on. All those who defended it. All those who exploited it. Our leaders who planned and executed it. Will there never be an accounting? Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Condi, et al. are still accepted in polite society. We know they have no shame, but what about us?Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-91597779174126950702011-12-14T21:06:00.000-06:002011-12-14T21:06:17.251-06:00Yonathan ReportsOur friend Professor Shapir, back in his native Israel, asks whether the tectonic plates beneath the West Bank are starting to move and sends this report from Kibbutz Nahshonim:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As all of you know it is never boring in Israel. Yet some days are
more crucial than others. The time before the last time I was here the
Turkish flotilla debacle happened. This time the vicious attacks of
extreme-right religious fanatics are making the headlines.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
The Likudniks and the settlement establishment supporters are
"shocked" from what has happened here in the last couple of days. The
most extreme have started to attack not only Palestinians, but
Zahal (Israeli Defense Forces) officers and bases as well. To the center and moderate-right
leaning people this is a very hard awakening. Suddenly, they realize
what rotten elements grew up in the lawlessness of the West Bank they
themselves helped to create. The story line of Gershom Gorenberg (he
will have a piece on these events in the American Prospect today or
tomorrow) is exposed in a sudden bang to all those who tried to
pretend that skirting the rule of the law is a small price to pay
in the pursuit of Greater Israel. For the first time the settlement project is undermined by its rogue elements more than it is by its
oponents. Politically the effects will take time to materialize,
but future historians may well mark the last two days as the beginning
of the decline in the support for the settlments within Israeli public
opinion.</div>
</blockquote>
For more on the extremist element in Israel read Amos Harel <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/netanyahu-s-crackdown-on-jewish-extremists-unlikely-to-change-west-bank-status-quo-idf-officials-say-1.401509">here in Haaretz.</a>Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-5632008169909432012011-12-09T09:18:00.001-06:002011-12-09T13:07:34.941-06:00Obama bad, Reagan good?Chemi Shalev is my new best friend. I swear this is the truth. You see yesterday morning I had a conversation with one of the strongest supporters Israel will ever have in this country or any other for that matter, but of the old school. His distaste for our current president has been well-expressed on prior occasions. Yesterday he stated that what we needed was a strong leader and friend of Israel in the White House, like Ronald Reagan. (Full disclosure: Reagan was the first president I voted against.) I controlled myself and left the comment alone.<br />
<br />
Then I awoke this morning and, as I do every morning, checked out Haaretz and saw this from <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/if-obama-treated-israel-like-reagan-did-he-d-be-impeached-1.400542">Haaretz's Chemi Shalev</a>, as he remembers Reagan. Shalev starts:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Imagine if Israel would launch a successful preemptive strike against a
country that is building a nuclear bomb that threatens its very
existence, and the American president would describe it as “a tragedy”.
</blockquote>
And he goes from there. Chemi, if you are ever in Chicago. Stop by. Drinks are on me.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-32896357505537724232011-12-08T15:30:00.001-06:002011-12-08T15:34:43.536-06:00ICYMTO (in case you missed the opportunity)ICYMI . . . <a href="http://www.forward.com/articles/144916/">here's Eli Valley's take</a> on the zombie talking point that "the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Brilliant.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-62966929403006428422011-12-08T13:19:00.001-06:002011-12-08T13:22:37.733-06:00New blog discoveredCheck out <a href="http://dsadevil.blogspot.com/">Professor David Schaub's blog</a>. He's been following the <a href="http://dsadevil.blogspot.com/2011/12/berkeley-hillel-urges-berkeley-jsu-to.html">J Street U Berkeley story</a>, which has just <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/berkeley-reconsiders-j-street-rejection-following-public-uproar-1.400391">taken a turn</a> for the good guys.<br />
<br />
And oh yeah, Go Illini! Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-8364509031845407332011-12-07T14:58:00.001-06:002011-12-07T15:00:49.210-06:00If you dare . . .<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/live-blog-u-s-presidential-candidates-speak-at-the-republican-jewish-coalition-1.400175">Click here</a> and follow Haaretz's live blogging of the Republican Jewish Coalition's candidates forum.Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-12336054347339589892011-12-03T16:57:00.001-06:002011-12-03T17:09:23.368-06:00Meretz MK assigned body guardThe onslaught against champions of Israeli democracy continues. Following death threats from a right wing extremist, the <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-mk-assigned-bodyguard-after-death-threats-from-right-wing-extremists-1.399360">Knesset Guard and Israeli Police assign</a> Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On a bodyguard. Right wing extremist National MK Michael Ben-Ari <a href="http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=247975">calls it</a> "a provocation of the Left." Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-66781155204055946452011-12-02T10:46:00.001-06:002011-12-02T12:55:47.922-06:00Not turtley enough for the turtle club, I guess<a href="http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/63630/berkeleys-jewish-student-union-says-no-to-j-street-u/">How effed up is this</a>? The Jewish Union at UC Berkeley voted (10-9, 2 abstentions) to deny membership to the Berkeley Chapter of J Street U, because J Streeters are just not pro-Israel enough for the pro-Israel club. According to Jacob Lewis, co-president of the student group Tikvah, “J Street is not pro-Israel but an anti-Israel organization that, as
part of the mainstream Jewish community, I could not support.” Give 'em hell Jakie!<br />
<br />
Jacob, as self-assigned spokes-kid for the "mainstream Jewish community" represented by the 10/21sts who voted to keep the Streeters out of the club, knows what all true blue and white blooded American Jews know -- the real pro-Israel folks are American Jews.<br />
<br />
I'm sure that comes as quite a shock to Alon Mazor, the Berkeley J Street U member who sought admittance to the club. Get it? <i>Alon Mazor. </i>Do I need to spell it in Hebrew fonts? Alon, you see, was born in Israel.<br />
<br />
So where did Jacob get the idea that Alon's J Street U is anti-Israel? To hear Jacob tell it, it was from another Israeli he heard speak . . . at a J Street U event. Last year, Assaf Sharon, from the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity
Movement in Israel spoke at Berkeley and explained to Jacob that East Jerusalem, being beyond the Green Line, is a settlement. Sharon, the presenter at this "virulently hateful event about Israel" is now back home in Israel, spreading his "anti-Israel" message, with a host of other "anti-Israel" Israelis, and where he was recently <a href="http://972mag.com/settlers-attack-and-injure-23-israelis-and-palestinians-outside-jerusalem/24410/">physically assaulted</a> by those "pro-Israel" Israelis living beyond the Green Line.<br />
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Perhaps, if Alon hates Israel so much, he should just go back where he came from, and leave the pro-Israel clubs to real Jews.<br />
<br />Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488180397645820236.post-36231637196544786592011-12-01T14:57:00.001-06:002011-12-01T14:58:50.104-06:00Meir Dagan - Od Pa'am (Again)Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/former-mossad-chief-israeli-attack-on-iran-must-be-stopped-to-avert-catastrophe-1.399046">warning against an attack on Iran</a>: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm concerned about possible mistakes and I prefer to speak out before
there is a catastrophe," Dagan said in an interview on the Israeli
television program “Uvda."
</blockquote>Zahavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04133442451882408726noreply@blogger.com0