Archive for the 'Israel' Category

I’m saying what Michael Walzer is saying


Eminent political philosopher Michael Walzer says what I’ve been saying about the flotilla, Israeli public opinion and the conduct of states:
Walzer repeatedly appeals to Israelis - both the citizen committed to a shared social project and the sovereign committed to high-level international politics. “I think the sense that people have been expressing in the last [...]


Another great use of web videos for Gaza


For whatever reason, there are several great animated shorts produced for Gaza education. Just today another came out: Yoni Goodman, the animator behind Waltz with Bashir, produced the latest one for UNWRA. His previous was “Closed Zone” for Gisha. See it and other notables below.
Great Gaza Global Bounce, by Yoni Goodman, for UNWRA

Closed Zone, by [...]


I have an idea to counter the right-wing funding monster


The Jewish Community Relations Councils are countering various boycotts of Israeli products, such as Ahava, with “buycotts.” The article says an entire Ahava store was sold out, so here’s my idea: if this keeps up, then sooner or later, they’ll run out of money to fund the settlements!
Right, guys? Right? Guys?
BDS isn’t going to get [...]


The downward spiral of making dissent the enemy


Click to zoom. Panel translations from right to left:

Big guy: A Real Israeli doesn’t dodge IDF conscription!
Skinny guy: I’m a deputy battalion commander in the paratroops.
A Real Israeli doesn’t sit in cafés on Ibn Gavirol [a Tel-Aviv boulevard]! 
A Real Israeli doesn’t order Pixies tickets!
A Real Israeli is a fan of Beitar Jerusalem [football club], listens to [...]


More movement to recognize the Armenian genocide


Marx Arax, Armenian American journalist, watches Jewish communal leaders “come out” in support of recognizing the Armenian genocide. Turns out, 20 years ago he wrote a piece about the Jewish community’s covering for Turkey as a political quid pro quo for being Israel’s ally. And got fired.
Jewish leaders have recently “recognized” the Armenian genocide in [...]


Everything stops for World Cup


By Jonathan Zapiro, South Africa. From the Bereaved Parent’s Circle exhibition “Cartooning in Conflict,” the calendar version of which hangs next to me in my office.


Try this: debate Israel-Palestine with “Taboo” rules


The board game Taboo is one of my favorites. The objective: get your teammates to guess the word at the top of each card but without relying on the related words listed at the bottom.
Related game, try this: “Israel-Palestine edition” Taboo for political debates. Prohibited words:

anti-Israel
pro-Israel
anti-Semitism
pro-Palestinian
support
Israel (alone as a noun)
Palestine
peace

Most conversations about the conflict use these [...]


“In Gaza, no one is dying. But no one is living.”


I wanted to share this quick excerpt from the NY Times article about the likelihood Israel’s blockade of Gaza will come down soon.
What I found notable was the reality check regarding the humanitarian crisis. Israel has managed to keep Gaza teetering on the edge of crisis, with just enough sustenance to not be technical starvation [...]


Jews now believe the Armenian genocide happened


Eli Lake at the Washington Times chronicles the slow decline in Turkish-Israel relations since Turkey’s recognition of Israel in 1949 (the first Muslim nation to do so). From collegially taking out anti-Turkish but unrelated terrorist groups in Lebanon during the 1982 invasion, to lending cover for Turkey’s evasion of genocide charges in the U.S. Congress, [...]


Audio: Peter Beinart debates AIPAC hack on NPR


Peter Beinart is still on his (incredibly polite but) hard-hitting crusade against the Jewish establishment. First on the NY Review of Books, then bloggingheads.tv, now NPR with Brooke Gladstone. In this 12-minute clip, he politely brushes aside the “self-perpetuating victimization” of Steven Rosen, a 23-year AIPAC senior staffer, and the category of being anti-Israel for [...]