Michael Bloomberg brings it home and Jon Stewart nails it, again
Sometimes humor frames things finest.
Not so funny thoughts after the jump More »
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Gaza conflict: Who is a civilian?
The BBC reports on Human Rights Watch and B’tselem accounting of Israel targeting a university, schools, mosques, government buildings, and other civilian cites. The article also outlines some of the thorny issue around the question of who is a civilian:
The bloodied children are clearly civilians; men killed as they launch rockets are undisputedly not. But what about the 40 or so young Hamas police recruits on parade who died in the first wave of Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza?
And weapons caches are clearly military sites – but what about the interior ministry, hit in a strike that killed two medical workers; or the money changer’s office, destroyed last week injuring a boy living on the floor above?
As the death toll mounts in Gaza, the thorny question is arising of who and what can be considered a legitimate military target in a territory effectively governed by a group that many in the international community consider a terrorist organisation.
This is also the group that won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 and a year later consolidated its control by force.
So while it was behind a campaign of suicide attacks in Israel and fires rockets indiscriminately over the border, it is also in charge of schools, hospitals, sewage works and power plants in Gaza.
…
“Our definition is that anyone who is involved with terrorism within Hamas is a valid target. This ranges from the strictly military institutions and includes the political institutions that provide the logistical funding and human resources for the terrorist arm.”
-Benjamin Rutland, IDF spokesman
…
“To claim that all of those offices are legitimate targets, just because they are affiliated with Hamas, is legally flawed and extremely problematic.”
-B’Tselem director Jessica Montell
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Safeguarding Jewish universalism in times of terror
Last week, I was accused on two separate occasions and blogs of not issuing a “peep” and of a “deafening silence” about the Mumbai killings. One was even on a blog with nothing to do with international affairs. Meanwhile, the conservative blogs are in a bloody feeding frenzy.
But on the other hand, as the Hebron settlers rioted and carried their pogrom to the point that even the head of the Yesha Council has condemned them, the reciprocal silence has been interesting to watch. Jewlicious: nothing. Israelycool: one sentence. A hapless jaunt around the Jblogosphere results in more posts about the injustice (vomit) of the evacuation than condemnation of the rampages. It makes me sick.
Safeguarding Jewish universalism after these events is not easy. Mumbai has depressed all of us. Us meaning the progressive Jews specifically. And certain commentors have accused us of a guilty silence about it. Their implicit challenge is whether progressive Judaism has anything to say except to eat our words about coexistance, the Muslim world, and terrorism.
Yes, yes, we do. More »
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Indian Jewry
As an undergrad, I wrote my thesis on the immigration and business patterns of Gujaratis (especially in the US as a way to re-imagine ethnic entrepreneurial niches). Gujarat shares the West Coast of India with a few other provinces including Maharastra (home to Mumbai) and Kerala (home to Cochin and most of India’s native Jews and Christians). As a result of that research, I got the chance to read a fair amount about the long history of Indian Christians and Jews. All this to say, the history is fascinating and there is a great (brief but deep) synopsis of the two thousand year old story in a recent New Republic article. Here is a particularly intense passage:
“The Indian Jewish identity is the only one that hasn’t been created by persecution,” he said. “We’ve never felt scared. This is the first time we’ve been made to feel like Jews.” That, to me, has been among the most tragic casualties of this terrorist attack. In a barrage of grenades and bullets, a part of the Indian dream that’s 2,500 years old has now been buried in a pile of bloody concrete shards.
Check out the story and I hope you’ll share my interest and wonder whiter Indian Jewry.
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Praying for Mumbai
At the time of this posting, Mumbai has been under terrorist siege for over a day, and information about the situation is still forthcoming only slowly.
One of the sites surrounded is Mumbai’s Chabad house, and it seems that the rabbi there, Gavriel Holtzberg, and his wife Rivka are likely among the hostages, along with, possibly, others. Reports indicate that Chabad’s cook managed to escape, taking the Holtzberg’s toddler-aged son with her.
Reports also indicate that there may be 20 or 30 Israelis among the hostages at the Oberoi Hotel, along with unknown numbers of other American, British, and other foreign hostages, and presumably Indians as well.
The death toll of these attacks is now being tallied at over 120, with over 300 injured.
May this end soon, with no more casualties. May everybody find their way home safely. May the memories of those who have already died be for a blessing. Mumbai, our prayers are with you.
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Four Murdered, Dozens Hurt
First rocks, then bombs, and guns, busses, and exploding cars. Today, a bulldozer. The enemies of peace will kill any way they can. God save us.
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Prisoner Swap Approved, Olmert: We know soldiers are not alive
In a 22-3 vote, the Israeli cabinet approved a measure that would allow for Samir Kuntar, terrorist serving 4 life sentences for 1979 murders, to be exchanged for Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser who were kidnapped by Hezbollah in June 2006.
Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim and Finance Minister Ronny Bar-On opposed the measure while the remaining 22 ministers voted in favor.
The exchange will likely occur on German soil in the coming days. More »
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The deal was on, then it was off, now it may be on again–Goldwasser and Regev, maybe alive, maybe coming home
In the past couple of weeks there has been a fury of news about the possible return of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, and for good cause after two years of nervous waiting.
The negotiated deal was ready to be implemented between June 20-25, but earlier in the week, Hezbollah added some Palestinian prisoners to their list, Olmert shuffled his feet, and then all of a sudden Mossad is declaring that the captives are likely dead. After an outcry against the political move from the Israeli public and specifically the captive soldiers’ families the cabinet is now set to discuss a written deal with Hezbollah on Sunday.
thoughts and analysis after the jump More »
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A Surprising Turn of Events–Goldwasser and Regev May NOT be Coming Home
In a very surprising change in the position of the Israeli government, Ha’aretz reports that the IDF may soon declare Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev “killed in action.” The two soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbollah in June of 2006, which triggered the summer war two years ago.
In recent reports, the government was said to be in negotiations with Hezbollah via German mediators on an exchange of Samir Kuntar, a convicted murderer held by Israel since 1979, for the two captive soldiers. The government announced that were the two soldiers declared “killed in action,” there would certainly be no deal exchanging Kuntar for their bodies.
While last week there were reports of an imminent deal to be carried out between June 20-25, beginning yesterday the Israeli media reported that the deal was in danger of collapsing after Hezbollah added Palestinian prisoners being released as part of the negotiated deal. Now, it seems that Israel is possibly going to declare the soldiers dead, thereby ending any negotiations regarding Samir Kuntar. It seems likely that Israel would continue to negotiate to retrieve the remains of the soldiers, as has been the historic practice of the Israeli government.
The announcement comes as a shock to the families of the captive soldiers, who were under the impression their sons would be home this week. According to Miki Goldwasser, mother of Ehud,
“I ask what happened now that they remembered two years after the abduction to make such a move…Why now? Why when the deal is closed and it is the best possible deal?”
The reported deal to exchange Samir Kuntar for the Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev was overwhelmingly supported in the Knesset and specifically, the cabinet. The deal also received support from the Israeli public, and most importantly, was supported by the families of the captive soldiers.
Ehud’s wife, Karnit, said:
“We are at the end of a very difficult day in the Knesset, on the verge of humiliating…At the end of the day I get a call that the file has been transferred to the chief military rabbi. I don’t have time to notify the family before I hear it on the news. I am furious. This is a terrible and shameful day for the state of Israel,”
According to the report, she added that the family has been reduced to begging the ministers to agree to a prisoner swap.
It seems that the Olmert administration picked up on the demand to release Palestinian soldiers as an excuse to get out of the deal. It seems that they had come so far in the negotiation to release Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. It seemed like it had been successful and the soldiers would be freed. And now they’re dead?
What goes through the mind of Prime Minister who has almost no support from his people, who denies the will of his electorate, who denies the will of his cabinet, who denies the will of his parliament, who denies the will of the families who urge him to free Samir Kuntar to free their sons?
How is it that this man is even still in office? Is this a sign that Israeli democracy has matured to the point that bi-annual elections are a thing of the past? Or, perhaps, this is a sign that Israeli apathy has hit an all-time high, and a nation that once held the threat of toppling governments in a day now bears the corruption and dysfunction.
According to the report linked above, the deal received widespread support from the government and the public, only the PMO and the defense establishment do not support the deal. Is this an example of when the army and government “know more than the people”? Or is this another example of how the IDF and the PMO are completely out of touch with the perspectives and will of the Israeli public.
I, for one, am a bit dismayed and a lot surprised.
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Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev Supposedly Coming Home
from left to right: Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev; Gilad Shalit (captured by Hamas in separate incident)
Ha’aretz is reporting that the soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah, triggering the summer war of 2006 may be reunited with their families the week of June 20. Ha’aretz is citing the Lebanese newspaper, As-Safir, as breaking the news.
According to the Saudi owned newspaper al-Sharq al-Aswat, Israel will release Samir Kuntar, the infamous Lebanese terrorist sentenced to four life-terms for murders he committed in Israel in 1979.
According to Kuntar’s attorney, his client has received no information to this end.
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Jimmy Carter tells Stewart about talking to Hamas
It’s not necessarily funny, but it is a President talking about Israel-Palestine relations to a Jew.
As to Stewart’s question — I’ve always wondered the same thing. It doesn’t get the Palestinians anything to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state (i.e., the occupation won’t end) but why the hell not?
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The minds of two terrorists
Two shockingly intimate interviews, one this first-person article published in Der Speigel from a Qassam-making shed in Gaza and the other with a disillusioned Al-Aqsa commander from Jenin in Haaretz. A view into the minds of two terrorists, one active and the other depressed.
I have no time for extended commentary except to say that the two views here explicitly endorse violence. We can applaud the complaints of the retired commander who complains that the PA acts too much to meet demands of Israel’s security needs, longing instead for the days when Palestinian terrorism had some sense of accomplishment towards a political goal. We can applaud the PA for, as the commander laments, protecting Israel’s security interests, unlike the good ol’ days when the PA coordinated successful terror efforts. And we can wince at the hypocracy of the Hamas rocket maker who claims sympathy when his missiles hit children, “If we kill soldiers, then we are more than happy. If it hits a child, then naturally we are not happy.”
But into these worldviews is a lack of sterotype of the mindless fanatic aiming to drive Jews into the sea. In both cases, we see political activists bent on violence as a tool for political progress, coldly calculating and aware of costs and benefits. The glory of Allah is rarely under discussion here; a political end to the occupation (in vague terms) is definitely.
Much of the writing I do here is not to claim that terrorism doesn’t exist, but instead to argue that our understanding of Palestinian terrorists is a bit outdated. And that the right-wing views of intrasigent, forthing-at-the-mouth Islamists is laughably simplistic. It is time to update our grasp of the political stalemate in the West Bank and Gaza, so that when we discuss Palestine and Palestinians, we understand with whom we’re really dealing.
I highly recommend a read through both articles and the iconic views they provide into a young Hamas on one side and an aged Fatah on the other.
(Hat tip to Y-Love for the Der Speigel article.)
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Between Hebron and Jerusalem
Editor’s note: The following D’var Torah is a guest post from Elliott Horowitz
On a Friday morning fourteen years ago, Dr. Baruch Goldstein walked into the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, on a day that was Purim for him but Ramadan for his victims, and opened fire, with his army-issued semi-automatic rifle, on dozens of Muslims who were praying there, killing twenty nine. Goldstein had, like his hero Rabbi Meir Kahane, been born in Brooklyn, and after studying at Yeshiva University and completing his medical studies, immigrated to Israel in 1983, settling in Kiryat Arbah on the West Bank. It was from his home there that Goldstein, accoutered in his IDF reserve officer’s uniform, made his way to the holy tomb. Before leaving on his deadly mission he dutifully attended services for the day of Purim. The Torah reading, from Exodus 17, recounted the Amalekite “rear attack†upon the Israelites at Rephidim, and it was followed by a re-reading of the book of Esther, culminating in the hanging of Haman and the revenge of the Jews. There is little doubt that Goldstein regarded not only Haman and his sons, but also the Arabs of Hebron, as Amalekites who, according to divine commandment, were to be utterly destroyed.
Earlier this month, on a Thursday evening that inaugurated the New Moon of the traditionally merry month of Adar, Ala Abu Dhaim, a twenty-five year old Arab resident of East Jerusalem, left his home in the Jebel Mukaber neighborhood armed with a semi-automatic rifle and made his way to the Merkaz Ha-Rav Yeshiva in west Jerusalem, a trip just a bit longer than that taken by Goldstein from Kiryat Arbah to Hebron. Abu Dhaim sprayed his bullets as indiscriminately as had Goldstein, killing eight young men – most of them teenagers.
Speaking at the collective funeral of all eight young victims, which took place the next day at Merkaz ha-Rav, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, who recently succeeded his late father as head of the Yeshiva, said that “the murderers are the Amalek of our day, coming to remind us that Amalek has not disappeared, just changed its appearance.†He also saw the attack as “a continuation of the 1929 massacre,†in Hebron, many of whose 67 victims were students of the famed local Yeshiva.
Although the rabbis of the Talmud have taught us that “a man is not to be held responsible for things said in a time of sorrow” (Baba Batra, 16b), I beg to differ with Rabbi Shapira on both points. Regarding the latter, it is not likely that Abu Dhaim, who was not much older than most of his victims, ever heard of the massacre in Hebron. He was much more concerned with the 126 Palestinians, many of them women and children, who were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza during the first week of March, 2008, in their (perhaps overzealous) attempt to save the lives of Israeli women and children in Sderot and Ashkelon. By contrast, Baruch Goldstein, like most Jewish residents of the Hebron area, had been well aware of (if not obsessed with) the bloody massacre that took place some three score and five years earlier, and it is his murderous action in that same city which is is better described “a continuation of the 1929 massacre.â€
With regard to the alleged Amalekite affiliation of “the murderers,†Rabbi Shapira is on even shakier ground. As every student in his yeshiva knows, the biblical Amalek was the grandson of Esau, the older son of Isaac. The Arabs, by contrast, are seen as descendants of Ishmael, the half-brother of Isaac. Rabbi Shapira presumably meant that those behind the murder of his young students were Amalekites in the metaphorical sense. But in that sense, it may be argued, so was Dr. Baruch Goldstein.
Elliott Horowitz is the author of Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence (Princeton, 2006)
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Beyond the Massacre
Now that we have brought out our dead and escorted the slaughtered kedoshim to their final graves, now that we have torn our garments and have begun to recite kaddish and Tehillim, now that the blood has been mopped up from the floors of the beit midrash, Israel — and indeed, the entire Jewish Nation — is beginning to enter the painful phase of “where do we go from here?”
While Hamas of course are still making statements praising the operation as a “normal response” to the Gaza incursion (with Hezbollah now distancing themselves from it), Olmert is still insistent that roads of communication must remain open with Palestinian local leaders, and that we must still continue on the road to peace. Jerusalem’s Arab citizens say they fear Israeli reprisal, and Women In Green is calling for eight new settlements to be constructed in the West Bank, in memory of the eight murdered yeshiva students:
“The Jewish Zionist revenge must be an immediate revenge by establishing eight new communities throughout Judea and Samaria in memory of the those murdered, especially in light of the fact that the Mercaz Harav yeshiva symbolizes the settlement in the Yesha region,” a statement from the organization read.
(As an aside, it is so refreshing to see a charedi rabbi speaking so highly of Obama’s plans for dealing with terrorism.)
However, I must say that I agree in this one case with Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar above all things:
“This is a tragedy of the entire nation of Israel; we are all crying, we are all mourning… Let us arouse to distance ourselves from all hatred and disunity, and let us increase love, brotherhood and Torah study…†he added.
Like I ask on thisisbabylon.net, if the Talmud teaches us that “G-d, Israel, and the Torah are One”, if yeshiva students can be murdered with their blood spilling out over their volumes of Talmud and if it can happen in the Holy City of Jerusalem, if the Torah is not protecting members of Israel in Israel, what does that say about our relationship with Hashem?
Metaphysically, how can it be that a terrorist can accomplish such a thing? The Torah is supposed to protect us!
In addition to the military one, I believe the Jewish Nation has been called upon a very important spiritual reconnaissance mission — one that can be ignored no less than Hamas — and it behooves all of us to find the “breach” in our collective soul’s “security fence” to insure, on both physical and spiritual planes, that never occurs again.
Increase love, brotherhood, and unity. Shalom al Yisra’el.
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The latest from Lieberman: Please waterboard me!
Well, no, not really,but he does claim that waterboarding isn’t so bad, because “the person is in no real danger.” He voted Wednesday in opposition to a bill that would limit the CIA to the 19 interrogation techniques outlined in the Army field manual which does not include waterboarding, as a permitted interrogation technique. I guess he knows better than the army.
The Conn Post reports:
“We are at war,” Lieberman said. “I know enough from public statements made by Osama bin Laden and others as well as classified information I see to know the terrorists are actively planning, plotting to attack us again. I want our government to be able to gather information again within both the law and Geneva Convention.”
In the worst case scenario — when there is an imminent threat of a nuclear attack on American soil — Lieberman said that the president should be able to certify the use of waterboarding on a detainee suspected of knowing vital details of the plot.
RRRRRRright. Except of course for the problem is that the best evidence is that torture does not actually give good information. To the contrary, all the best evidence is that torture does not provide good evidence. But let’s ignore that fact, shall we? Torture is not part of the Geneva convention, and furthermore, even if it were that wouldn’t be an acceptable reason for using it. Um, also, we’re not at war. But if we were, that is precisely, davka, the time when our worst impulses need to be reigned in by the rule of law. It’s not biggie to refrain from doing what one ought not at a time when there’s no pressure.
Here’s the best line of the article though, “Lieberman said that his position on waterboarding differs from that of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who he has endorsed as a presidential candidate. As a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam, McCain was tortured. McCain, he said, believes waterboarding is torture.”
So, let me get this straight, McCain, who has experienced this torture, calls it torture, but you, who have not, are okay with contradicting him? Well, okay. As long as we’re clear on it.
Also see here.
Could you please stop telling people you’re religious? It embarrasses me.
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“There is no pro-Israel candidate” and other Middle East mishegaas
- A superbly insightful op-ed by NY Jewish Week editor-in-chief Gary Rosenblatt says that no matter what candidate — Obama, Clinton, or McCain — the next president’s approach to Israel is going to be the same.
- Washington Jewish Week and JTA run op-eds by Americans for Peace Now on peace and apartheid. APN also launches “PeaceTube” video feed.
- Tonight at DC JCC: “What Makes an Army Jewish?” a panel discussion between Yehuda Shaul, co-founder of Breaking the Silence, and Adam Hartman, right-wing Israeli military soldier-turned ethicist.
- Feb 25th, “On the Way to Gender Equality in Israel: a Comparative View” will present several expert perspectives on the struggle for gender equality in Israel, including recent initatives and developments. Location info here.
- Mort Zuckerman, editor of US News & World Report, says Israel is a client state of the U.S.
- Israel21c (ich) has video of “Chefs for Peace” who cooked meals for the Oslo negotiators — and check out their recipe list.
- Brit Tzedek v’Shalom’s annual advocacy visit to DC announced for June 21 – 24!! Check out last year’s agenda and email adam@btvshalom.org for upcoming details.
- A former U.S. Army captain and a former Israeli Chief of Staff weigh in on the Winograd Report at Middle East Progress — and how the Israeli military knew it was screwed from the get-go.
- Did you know Israeli President Shimon Peres has his own blog at Haaretz??
- Rabbi Arthur Washow’s Shalom Center launchs a special resource section on the Gaza/Sderot crisis.
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Occupation can’t be done differently
The central message of Breaking the Silence is “it can’t be done differently.â€
A humane occupation is not possible in the experiences of these soldiers and if someone is committed to the settlement project, wherein a small number of Jews live amidst and must be protected from a greater number of Palestinians, then the result will be these ugly pictures.
Said veteran Arnon Degani, 25, today in a guided tour to a half dozen UPenn Hillel students, “It’s a slippery slope. You begin doing everything by the book. But then you realize that you can get away with everything. And that’s when enforcing curfew or guarding a checkpoint turns into abuse. You have so much power for an 18 year old. Shooting your gun becomes the most exciting part of the day.”
A very agitated participant, brought in by his son today, confronted Arnon on whether the territories were safer for Israeli citizens as occupied. Claiming the Arabs would kill all the Jews if Israel ended the occupation, he clearly represented a mainstream American Jewish understanding of the conflict.
Arnon said, “If you believe the occupation is necessary for Israel’s security, then you must accept that all of this will continue to happen. For all of the world to see. All of this must happen if we are to keep the settlements. And that’s fine if you think that. But if you think the settlements are for Israel’s security, then you legitimize settlers are military targets by terrorists. They are no longer civilians. I am there to protect civilians from attacks. That’s my job.”
To me, the most enlightening testimonies given by the soldiers are those which explain the realities of military operations.
“How can you tell if a detainee is a terrorist?” asked on student.
“Easy,” Arnon replied. “You radio the secret service and they tell you. You have the man’s ID. There are two kinds of detainees: terrorists and everybody else. I do everything necessary to capture terrorists. But I’m talking about what I have to do to civilians. I know these people are not terrorists. And far more numerous than terrorists. And yet I have to humiliate them to keep order. Every day. It can’t be done differently.”
This is what occupation looks like — not just the Occupation, but occupation in general. This bears an important relevance to Americans rightly concerned about Iraq today. And the message Breaking the Silence is bringing to the States is not how to end the occupation or even whether it should be.
This exhibit poses the question directly to you, asking, “This is what occupation looks like. It can’t be done differently. Are you willing to pay this price?” And the answer is up to you.
(X-posted to Breaking the Silence’s exhibit video blog.)
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Graffiti: the update
Back in September, I wrote about the rampant homophobic graffiti in Jerusalem, and posted some photographic evidence.
I’ve decided that it’s time for an update. This is best done, again, by sharing photographs snapped around town. Actually, these are all taken in a four block stretch of a major street that runs from my neighbourhood towards the city centre. Many of these have gone back and forth a few rounds (the original homophobic slur, a correction, reiterating the homophobia, a further correction…). In order to demonstrate that, I added notes to the photos on flickr, so I highly recommend you check them out individually there.
I like the alterations to the homophobia, and the different styles people are using to change the message. (Though, I admit that I don’t quite understand the squaring of the “h”.)
I’d like to thank the others who are helping with this project. I have my sharpie in hand every day, and there’s still more to do…
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