The Wall Street Journal provides important mainstream coverage to a provocative book about the history of the Jewish people: This much is known: In the mid-eighth century, the ruling elite of the Khazars, a Turkic tribe in Eurasia, converted to Judaism. Their impetus was political, not spiritual. By embracing Judaism, the Khazars were able to…
Showing all posts tagged Zionism
Dispatch from J Street
My following article is published in the Huffington Post: The Obama administration’s National Security Adviser General James Jones told the “pro-Israel and pro-peace” Israel lobby J Street this week that America believes “Israeli security and peace are inseparable.” The comment received a wild cheer, although similar comments were made during the Bush years. The over…
Doctors may infiltrate the minds of anti-Semites?
There may come a point in the near future when Zionist organisations don’t try and stop events that feature alternative views. Until that happens, we have here yet another ugly spectacle of Zionist censorship (via Muzzlewatch): Two lectures by Israeli-based charity Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I) were cancelled after a Zionist organisation told hospitals holding…
Lebanon and Gaza changed Zionism’s image
The Nation profiles the shifts in young, Jewish identity. Israel right or wrong is so yesterday’s news: Rachel Jones spent the past week in Washington, DC, at the first annual conference for the new progressive Jewish organization J Street. She was passing out literature for Meretz USA, an American nonprofit that supports the platform of…
Jon Stewart tackles Palestine in prime time
Last night’s Daily Show here in the US was a watershed: interviews with Palestinian politician Mustafa Boughouti and Jewish writer Anna Baltzer. On mainstream television the key issues of the Middle East were discussed: occupation, boycotts, Zionism, Israeli expansionism, human rights, Judaism, peace and the role of America. No wonder some Zionists were shocked. They…
J Street pushing a policy that leads to disappointment
My following article appears in today’s Crikey: Antony Loewenstein writes from Washington DC: During this week’s first J Street conference in Washington DC… ”‰—”‰a US-based, “pro-Israel and pro-peace” lobby group that aims to widen the debate over the Middle East… … ”‰—”‰an older woman stood up in a session titled “What does it mean to be pro-Israel?” and…
How soon will the world really tire of a Zionist state?
Eitan Haber writes in Ynet that the poor Jews are the victims of growing global cooling (he’s right, but it’s hard not to feel such pieces are designed to create sympathy for an occupying people): The US still offers great support to Israel, and White House officials are angry over every statement from here that…
A search engine with a mind on settlements
Google fans, hold your applause, as it looks like one of its founders backs the colonial project in Palestine: Jewish Billionaire, Sergey Brin, one of the founders of Google, donated $1 million to the so-called Hebrew national Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) which heavily encourages Jews around the world to immigrate to Israel and the United…
Dancing the post J Street blues
The dust is settling after the J Street conference. Many thoughts continue to resonate and the challenges ahead. A good summary of proceedings is from blogger Richard Silverstein, who I was finally able to meet in Washington DC. Where are the spaces for Jewish dissent? How willing is the Jewish mainstream to hear critical voices…
All we are saying is give Facebook a chance
I’m sceptical, but when the political elites aren’t really interested in bringing peace, alternatives must be found: For many of its 300 million enthusiasts, Facebook is a convenient way to keep in touch with friends, track down old sweethearts and share drunken photographs with the world. But the global power of the social networking site…