Once upon a time, a man lived in an area with mosquitoes. No matter what the man did to contain the mosquitoes, the man was bitten. Frustrated by his inability to control the mosquitoes – and feeling humiliated because the mosquitoes were biting him – he sprayed the entire area around his house, killing hundreds of mosquitoes, many of which hadn’t even bitten him. He didn’t really care because they were mosquitoes. But he did justify himself to Continue Reading...

Some of my readers may notice that I have not written much in the last two years. In fact, I haven't written anything. About a year and a half ago, I started writing a post with the above title. I didn't write anything after the title. Apparently, the answer was, "No." Who reads blogs anymore? I used to spend a couple of hours on each post, and then I thought, "Why not just post a status update on Facebook?" I did that until over a year ago, Continue Reading...

Following Secretary of State John Kerry's speech on Israel-Palestine, Professor Corey Robin pointed out the following on Facebook: "There's something so surreal about the state of the Israel/Palestine debate in this country.  John Kerry makes a speech today, warning that if we don't act soon, the two-state solution may be in jeopardy.  Liberals swoon: Unprecedented!  Conservatives seethe: Unprecedented!  Meanwhile, on April 18, 2013, John Continue Reading...

By “anti-Palestinianism” I understand prejudice against Palestinian Arabs based on perceived negative qualities of Palestinian cultural or natural identity.  Views such as “Palestinian Arab culture is a culture of death and martyrdom,” “Palestinian Arabs hate Jews because of incitement,” “Palestinian Arab labor is inferior” are examples of this prejudice.  Attempts to justify these prejudices are inevitably based on selective data, Continue Reading...

Since the election of Ehud Barak as prime minister in 1999, if not earlier, there has been no center left in Israel.  Of course, there has been something referred to as “center left” but that was only relative to the so-called right of the Likud, Kadima, Shinui, Yesh Atid, and defunct parties whose name I forget.  Former prime minister, Ehud Barak managed almost single-handedly to destroy the center left, which had supported recognition of the Continue Reading...

J. K . Rowling has signed a statement against the cultural boycott of Israel, and has called instead for cultural engagement.  Some of her Palestinian fans have objected, pointing to Harry Potters’ fight against Voldemort and  the Death Eaters.  In her reply she asks her readers to consider Dumbledore’s attempt to engage with Snape, then a Death Eater. Continue Reading...

Update: Apparently, the Spanish festival has recently apologized and reinvited Matisyahu.  The festival organizers' should not be confused with the BDS-País-Valencià, which initiated the action.   The latter will no doubt continue to call for a boycott of the concert and ask other reggae acts to cancel their participation. Continue Reading...

These are sad days for Israel/Palestine, but today I got a kick out of a story that I thought at first was produced by the satirical mag, the Onion. It seems that an all male group of generals, security chiefs, and right wing politicians, calling itself the “High Level International Military Group,” has produced a report that not only exonerates Israel of war crimes but praises it for its humanitarian efforts!  The timing is viewed as as Continue Reading...

I was asked last summer by a friend what was my reaction to the Two States in One Homeland initiative.  My short answer was that it had some positive elements but it read like a very liberal Zionist document.  I went through the proposal and sent the friend comments, mostly my reservations.  Since the initiative may or may not have a conference next week – people are dropping out like flies – I will repeat what I wrote my friend.  Here are my Continue Reading...

Several days ago, the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, which takes testimonies from IDF soldiers, published a booklet of over sixty testimonies of soldiers involved in Operation “Protective Edge”, the Gaza Op of last summer.  The report has been overshadowed by other news from Israel, and aside from a long (and good) report in the Washington Post and some other major newspapers, and a fine opinion piece by Elisheva Goldberg in the Forward, it Continue Reading...