Notwithstanding his record on the neverending “peace process” (12 years, during which colonization of the West Bank marched on), Dennis Ross is said to be on the inside track to become envoy on the Iran portfolio under Obama. Well, two…
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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Why is Hillary’s right hand at State investing $50-100,000 in Israel bonds?
Mazin Qumsiyeh writes in an email: Associated Press Story: “The two men selected to serve as Hillary Clinton’s deputy secretaries of state, Jacob Lew and James Steinberg, also filed financial disclosure forms. Lew, a former Clinton administration official who recently…
‘Informal, vague, unspoken–and immense’ (the Israel lobby)
We have been running a series of posts from an anonymous journalist that began with a previously- unpublished story about how the Israel lobby flexed its muscle to destroy the candidacy of a Lebanese-American politician in New Jersey. After that…
Dual loyalty issue said to damage Ross bid to honcho Iran portfolio
Here’s a report that Dennis Ross’s candidacy to be Iranian envoy could be torpedoed by his heading the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute and not registering as an agent of a foreign government. The source is IRMEP, the investigative org…
Sign of the times
From WiZaNe’s flikr photostream.
Erdogan warns Obama: ‘We expect justice from now on’
Yesterday Laurence Zuckerman here pointed out that Turkish P.M. Erdogan was behaving politically when he pulled his theatrics at Davos. There is obviously truth to the comment; there are Turkish municipal elections in a month or so. But it raises…
‘J Street’ finds a wedge issue, AIPAC loses influence
J Street has found a wedge issue: support for “60 Minutes”‘ amazing broadcast last Sunday on the end of the 2-state solution. J Street is driving the wedge here, crying out to all American Jews to celebrate Bob Simon’s work,…
Somebody with a ‘sense of victimization, siege mentality, blind patriotism, belligerence, self-righteousness, dehumanization’ needs help
[From Jiser’s photostream.] Israel is screwed up because Israelis by and large have no communication with Arabs. That’s a simple fact. They don’t know Arabs and don’t trust ’em. I saw that for myself. Works both ways. But America is…
Internet is driving the ‘sea change’ in American response to Israel/Palestine
Nim Chimpsky takes Weiss’s side in the challenge posed by AC the other day, Is Weiss deluded that a sea change is occurring: This is obvious but since no one seems to have said it I’ll throw my two cents…
Would ‘Washington Post’ writer David Ignatius put his arm on President Obama during a debate?
Yesterday Susie Kneedler took a swipe at David Ignatius of the Washington Post. Jack Ross defends him: He supported Iraq like the whole Washington establishment (publicly at least, it may have been a transparent facade like with Chris Matthews but…
Many wish that Obama had chosen ‘Al-Jazeera’ over ‘Al Arabiya’
A couple friends have taken exception to Obama’s choice of Al Arabiya as his first interview, on the grounds that Al Arabiya is often criticized as being pro-Saudi and pro-American, and he should have gone to Al-Jazeera. The point came…
Secret database shows Israeli government to be active partner in settlement landgrab
Ha’aretz has busted open a huge story today: “Secret Israeli database reveals full extent of illegal settlement.” The story outlines a database created by the Israeli defense establishment to gather: credible and accessible information at the ready to contend with…
Iraq/Gaza… Ignatius/Peres
Susie Kneedler writes: And David Ignatius [moderator of Peres/Erdogan debate at Davos] SUPPORTED the attack on Iraq by parroting Bush-Co, so he is not a fair arbiter: “Get Ready for the American Ninjas [what a barbarous headline, SK] Feb 25,…
In their own words
Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum: “Why did they fire at us? What did they want? We didn’t occupy. There was never a day of starvation in Gaza. By the way, Israel is the supplier of water daily to…
Some are cynical about the 2-state solution. Why?
AC writes: Peace Now just released a report which found that settlement growth has increased 69% in 2008 as compared to 2007. A similar report was issued by the group in August of 2008. A similar report was issued by…
Debating Davos: Preening, monstrosity, or punctilio?
Here’s a dialogue about the Davos incident between Laurence Zuckerman and Phil Weiss: Zuckerman: I happened to watch the Davos panel on C-Span last night. The portrayal of Erdogan’s actions as a walkout are not exactly correct. He tried to…
The lobby is losing – Rep. Rothman can’t find co-sponsors for his anti-UNRWA attack
Thanks to the great Americans for Peace Now Legislative Round-Up for pointing out that the Israel lobby is currently falling on its face. Today’s update includes a rundown of the lobby’s weak response to the congressional letter to Hillary Clinton…
One American’s awakening: ‘I was 7 when they punched my grandfather in the face, and none of the men in my family dared say anything’
(Anyone new to this blog should be aware that while it has a Jewish character, it represents an effort, in the new global environment, to cross borders and hear what members of other groups have to say. This is both…
One journalist’s awakening
Yesterday we ran an anonymous journalist’s account of how the Israel lobby flexed its muscle to destroy the New Jersey freeholder candidacy of a Lebanese-American politician. The article had never run before. Where could it appear? In exchanges, the journalist…
Dear Abe Foxman, ‘The knock on the door is coming, it’s time to go!’
Yakov offers this open letter to Abe Foxman: Abe, It’s time to go. I have been following your updates on the A.D.L. page very closely and I am frightened for you. I’m concerned that you have been too busy doing…
Gaza’s threat to American Jewish belief
I saw an old friend last night. We had drinks in Grand Central. He’s Jewish too, and he and I completely disagree about Israel but we’ve learned to tiptoe around all that. He’s a very fair minded, intelligent man. But…
Translating Israeli leaders
Ira Glunts just read an AFP story about the settlements and offers his translation: Olmert — I offered to evacuate 60,000 settlers. [It was easy to do because I will not be Prime Minister long enough to implement it, but…
Who lost Turkey?
I still love the New York Times. A great newspaper; here’s a simply perfect and objective account by Sebnem Arsu (with the help of many other reporters, including Isabel Kershner, whom this site has criticized) of an important incident, the…
At a leftwing NY bookstore, a very pan-global vibe for Gaza
On Monday night, Kathy Kelly, a longtime activist who spent a week in Gaza, came to the Bluestockings bookstore, a center for the next wave of activism on the Lower East Side, and said something I hadn’t heard before. As…
Democracy lesson: As soon as you agree with me that Hamas is your enemy, we will stop bombing you
Yishai, an Israeli reservist, occupied a Palestinian home in Gaza during the recent assault. The family had fled. He saw that they had a computer and were privileged. He felt he could explain it all to them, and left them…