Akiva Eldar writes in Haaretz of where the real power lies in Israel: Rather than demand an apology, the Israeli peace camp needs to send Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon a large bouquet of flowers. The videotaped appearance of the vice premier before a group of Feiglinites last week is worth its weight in gold. His statements…
Showing all posts tagged Haaretz
Sources that lead to war against Iran
Beware any media stories that feature anonymous sources claiming Iran (or Iraq, in the bad old days) has WMDs. Welcome to the podium, Haaretz: The world’s nuclear weapons watchdog is hiding data on Iran’s drive to obtain nuclear arms, senior Western diplomats and Israeli officials told Haaretz. The officials and diplomats said that the International…
A hidden side of the Gaza war
Amira Hass writes in Haaretz: Forty Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were incarcerated in Israel Prison Service facilities during Operation Cast Lead at the beginning of this year, and 21 are still in prison. That’s a very small number, compared to the many hundreds the Israel Defense Forces arrested in Gaza, and as compared with…
When Hamas and Israel are judged by different standards
The Hamas strike against a (supposed) al-Qaeda gang in Gaza is given a thorough examination by journalist and blogger Orly Halpern: I was shocked today to read how my colleague and friend, Haaretz’s Palestinian Affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff, portrayed Hamas’ crushing of an Al-Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group over the weekend in southern Gaza. The…
Watching the two-state solution disappear
While the world dithers, Jewish settlers in the occupied territories are busy: House trailers are playing a major role as West Bank settlers try to create facts on the ground before the United States and Israel reach any decision on a construction freeze in the settlements. In recent months, settlers have been trying to assemble…
The IDF: unclean and immoral
Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz that the most “moral army in the world” is anything but: Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi is a moral and ethical paragon who stands atop an organization that is no less moral or ethical. Last week, he broke his silence and proved his acute sensitivity to matters of conscience: “We have…
Israel is running rings around Obama
I share Gideon Levy’s despair in Haaretz over America’s seeming unwillingness to pressure Israel over its settlement program and overall behaviour in the occupied territories. During my recent visit to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, an overall sense of resignation and despair hung everywhere: With great sorrow and deep consternation, we hereby declare the…
When peace for Israelis is so easy
The New York Times today in an article that discusses the concerns felt by Israelis – yes, the poor dears have to continue occupying another people without a day’s rest – includes this telling quote: Aluf Benn, a senior journalist for the leftist newspaper Haaretz, expressed his concern last weekend in an article, saying that…
Very unequal before Israeli law
Gideon Levy in Haaretz on the ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem: The distance between Sheikh Jarrah and Sheikh Munis has been shortened in one fell swoop. Those who contend that Jews must be given back their property cannot in the same breath deny the Palestinians’ property rights because of their national origin. It’s true that a…
When the state is really out of control
The ongoing ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem is challenged by a good Haaretz editorial: The sight of the evicted Palestinian families, who had lived in these houses for decades, paints Israel in the world’s eyes as a country that maintains a cruel regime of occupation, oppresses the weak and strives to create political facts in…