Haaretz live-blogged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on the Middle East. The main message? The speech was like a nod to the old pre-intifada way of looking at the Palestinians, but at the same time mentioning two states. It seemed to be no to dividing Jerusalem, no to the return of refugees or an…
Showing all posts tagged Haaretz
Remembering the Jewish trauma
Amira Hass, the fine journalist from Haaretz, has edited a diary from her mother’s time in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp: But let us not fall into the trap and think because Israel abuses the Holocaust and very often makes use of it in order to justify the repression and oppression of the Palestinians, let us…
Jews who need a good, long hug
Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz about the worthlessness and bigotry of the settlers in the West Bank and receives this comment (from Australia): It is people like Gideon Levy who do more harm to Israel than any anti-semite any where else could, simply because the fact that he`s *Israeli*, gives him the credibility to undermine…
A very bad Zionist joke?
This article in Haaretz is the kind of piece that defines Zionist chauvinism, racism and ignorance. Welcome to modern Israel: With a rare combination of diplomatic sense, psychological understanding, clear logic and a deep and comprehensive grasp of security, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a brilliant draft law last week by majority vote. The…
The temptation to expand was there from the beginning
Tom Segev writes in Haaretz that Israel could have once chosen peace but as usual decided to pursue Greater Israel: On December 5, 1967, then-chief of staff Lt. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin suggested to prime minister Levi Eshkol that a Palestinian state be established in the West Bank. The minutes of that conversation are kept today…
What the hell happened to the Jewish mind?
Tony Karon in Rootless Cosmopolitan on the Israeli government’s seeming descent into madness: Haaretz’s Aluf Benn today reinforces the case I made earlier for Obama to keep Netanyahu on a tight leash concerning Iran. First, he reports, Netanyahu continues to talk up a frenzy of public expectation in Israel that leads only to military action.…
Race hatred in the heart of Israeli “democracy”
An important Haaretz editorial that requires little comment: The endorsing of a bill criminalizing anyone who marks the Palestinians’ Nakba Day on Israel’s Independence Day, making it punishable by three years in prison, is a hasty and dangerous act. The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a private member’s bill by Yisrael Beiteinu MK Alex Miller,…
Beyond time to wield the massive stick
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Saturday: Settlements are not the reason that the peace process is failing, they were never an obstacle, not at any stage. Even when Israel pulled out of [Palestinian] territory, the terror continued. Even when we uprooted [Jewish] communities, we got ‘Hamastan.’ That is why I propose that…
Because we can and should
Jews who want to discuss Jews and Israel in a critical way. The debate grows: On Monday, a discussion organized by the Jewish Community Centre for London entitled “Can We Talk about Israel?” illustrates just how much the Diaspora debate on Israel has changed. All the panellists were of the left, all opposed the occupation,…
More weapons equals more death
Despite all the rhetoric over Israel/Palestine, this news is what truly matters (and it bodes terribly for the region): Despite expectations that the Obama administration will pressure Israel to accept a two-state solution and implement practical measures, the U.S. administration has sent signals that aid to Israel will, in fact, be raised. At the same…