A welcome statement by Human Rights Watch on the dire situation in Sri Lanka: The Sri Lankan government’s proposal to create a committee of experts to examine allegations of laws-of-war violations during the conflict between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is an attempt to avoid an independent international inquiry,…
Showing all posts in June 2019
News flash: younger Jews want to use their brains
The JTA reports on J Street’s clear generational divide. Simply put, younger Jews are more ambivalent about Zionism and a two-state solution. They want independent thought and they oppose the Israel right or wrong crowd. Bring it on (and I heard this constantly over the last four days): After all the arguing in recent weeks…
Zionist myths spread wide at J Street
The J Street conference in Washington DC is over. There is so much to say, reflections, criticisms, praise and exhaustion. Until I have the chance to fully re-engage, Mondoweiss have two good pieces about the event (here and here). The challenges facing anybody in the US to seriously shift the dialogue was revealed once more…
Don’t allow racial division to infiltrate the Jewish community, J Street
Sydney Levy writes for Jewish Voice for Peace and argues against the issue of Israel facing a “demographic threat” from Arabs discussed here at the J Street conference. That’s called racism, peoples: The Palestinians are of course non-players in this Jewish democratic drama. At most, they are a threat just for being there. At best,…
The growing acceptance of Hamas in the West
Steve Clemons, from the new website Palestine Note, interviews Hamas leader Khaled Meshal:
Gazan tragedy reflected (oh so briefly) at J Street
M J Rosenberg has a personal revelation at the J Street conference. A powerful sign that the event wasn’t simply about re-hashing tired slogans: Between sessions at the amazing J Street conference, people mill around talking to friends and, sometimes, just a person standing near by. I was lucky enough to find myself talking to…
The J Street dance around justice
The J Street conference in Washington DC continues. Coverage here, here and here. Forgive the minimal coverage. I’m snowed under with work commitments, so more about all this shortly.
How moderate is Islam in the world’s largest Muslim state?
Islamism in Indonesia is something I examined during my recent visit there (my thoughts picked up by the Atlantic). It’s a small issue that shouldn’t be over-estimated but the reality exists:
Only good water for the lucky few Israelis
The Israel that many Jews, including at the J Street conference, would rather ignore; a serial human rights abuser: Israel is accused today of denying the West Bank and Gaza access to adequate water through a “total” and “discriminatory” control that enables its own people to consume four times as much as the Palestinians. An…