Politics & Society

Israel Firsters Latest Cause: Don't Let Iran Help In Iraq

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The neocons are back, although not by popular demand. Yesterday, the New York Times ran a nauseating profile of Robert Kagan, one of the Flying Wallenda, I mean Kagan, war tribe consisting of Robert, father Donald, and brother Frederick. Tough guys all! The justification for the article is that the Kagans have come out of hiding because their Iraq policy has proven a success. Their thinking goes like this:
Yes, we helped steamroll the US into invading Iraq and we were right.

Healing Israel/Palestine

The Choice Is Nationalism or Human Rights

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The choice is nationalism or human rights as the guiding principle. Otherwise one is left with a contorted defense, in effect: “We knew transfer had to happen for our goals to be met, and it happened — but we didn’t intend for it to happen,” letting the inhuman doctrines of ethnic nationalism determine our future as Jews.

Culture

Two Perspectives on Presbyterian Divestment from U.S. Multinationals that Sustain the Occupation

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it’s hard to get the two sides in the Jewish world to sit together and discuss the issues, since anyone who supports even the very limited form of divestment proposed by the Presbyterians is, as J Street’s Jeremy Ben Ami said recently in explaining his opposition to any form of Boycotts, Divestments or Sanctions, crossing “a red line” and hence, in the view of the Jewish establishment, automatically suspect of being anti-Semitic. We believe a public debate is a more healthy way to conduct this discussion,

Politics & Society

Iraq is not Pottery Barn

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In advance of the Iraq War, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman and Secretary of State Colin Powell both referred to what is commonly known as the Pottery Barn rule: you break it; you buy it. The United States did break Iraq, but we cannot buy it. We do not, cannot, and ought not own it. Iraq belongs to the Iraqi people and what becomes of the country is their responsibility alone.

art

A Review of Ali Abunimah’s The Battle for Justice in Palestine

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A review of Ali Abunimah’s latest book, The Battle for Justice in Palestine, which offers a careful explanation of what is lacking in the proposed two-state solution, and what is abundantly present in his proposed solution: self-determination for the Palestinian people.

Culture

Bergdahl and the Broader Conversation

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To many, Bob Bergdahl himself is a traitor, learning about the enemy in a way that many just don’t understand. The controversy surrounding him is almost as big as that surrounding his son Bowie. Yet that is all politics, and we must recognize it as such. Muslims are not evil, Islam is not evil, and understanding the enemy is not the same as being a traitor. Let’s focus on the real – humanitarian – issues, not the political ones.

Empathy

My Letter to Bob Bergdahl

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‘A letter to Bob Bergdahl’ is a beautiful display of support and camaraderie for the man who overcame pain and grief in the face of his son’s capture, and learned that empathy and understanding of one’s so-called ‘enemies’ can be the most effective path to healing.

Culture

Arrivals Gate

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Sitting in the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, nearing the anniversary of Shavuot, author Rae Abileah considers the commandment “love thy neighbor” in regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict.