Complaining about Israel’s image problem is futile

How times are changing. This piece by Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz really speaks for itself. The case against Tzipi Livni is about far more than simply Gaza: There is a much wider issue at stake here, beyond former ministers’ and generals’ lecture engagements and holiday plans. Those who say that this is Israel’s battle for…

East Jerusalem rumblings will resonate far and wide

The ongoing troubles in East Jerusalem around Sheikh Jarrah – the forced removal of Palestinian families and the imposition of fundamentalist, Jewish settlers – are likely to massively explode at some point soon. It’s almost inevitable. Some recent reports about the reality on the ground are necessary. Here’s a story in Haaretz, on the ground…

Will the real occupying Israel please stand up?

The essential Gideon Levy in Haaretz wishes Israel would finally come out of the closet and admit what it really is: Tomorrow will mark six months since the prime minister’s foreign policy speech at Bar-Ilan University. It’s now time for another historic speech. In the near future, the prime minister needs to convene the right…

The rights of Jews aren’t more important than others

Ali Abunimah, a key proponent of the one-state solution, talks to Haaretz in an interview that the paper has not published: It’s important to understand the the Jews of the world aren’t allowed to hold someone’s house as collateral in case the house they live in now burns. This idea that it’s the right of…

Haaretz says American officials face ‘pro-Israel’ background check

This Haaretz story is the kind of tale that would rarely if ever appear in the Western press: Every appointee to the American government must endure a thorough background check by the American Jewish community. In the case of Obama’s government in particular, every criticism against Israel made by a potential government appointee has become…

When Netanyahu became Ariel Sharon

Ari Shavit in Haaretz: Few people are close to the prime minister, but among the few who are, some say he has indeed undergone a turnabout. Israel’s might, not the settlements or the settlers, is his top priority. Therefore, had there been a proposal on the table assuring Israel’s security in exchange for a painful…

No entry, says Israel, because you’re Arab

Gideon Levy reminds us in Haaretz that only Israel gets away with discrimination on the basis of being Palestinian: In no other city is access to holy places restricted according to the believer’s age, as Muslims who seek to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque are restricted.

The world wants no more settlements and Israel doesn’t give a damn

The New York Times writes a typically soft editorial on the Middle East – Israel, the Palestinians and Washington are all at fault, it claims, ignoring the profound power imbalances in the region – and Haaretz reports on how the Israeli government really views the occupation (more, please): Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered…

Please hold and cuddle us, begs pro-settler Jew

Australian-born Zionist Isi Leibler – a believer in ex-communicating ‘dissident” Jews – appears in the Melbourne Age to plead for poor, little Israel. The whole world hates her and it’s just not fair. We’re a thriving democracy, he claims. Oh sure, the Palestinians are “suffering” but it’s their own fault. But the more spurious claim…

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