I know there are those who wonder why, with all of the various injustices going on in the world, do I seem to dwell on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians? It’s a fair and important question. For me it boils down to this: I’ve come to believe that too many of us in the Jewish community [...]
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
I Can’t Dance Any More
Posted in Gaza, Human Rights, Israel, Movies, Nonviolence, Palestine, Politics on June 26, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Iran for Iranians
Posted in Current Events, Iran, Politics, Politics/Middle East on June 18, 2009 | 4 Comments »
In my final post from my visit to Iran this past fall, I wrote the following:
We’d be foolish to deny that there are troubling human rights issues that Iran would do well to address. But at the end of the day, the solutions to these problems are certainly not ours to impose.
I felt that passionately then [...]
Bibi’s History Tutorial
Posted in Israel, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East, Refugees, Zionism on June 15, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I’m in agreement with the pundits who conclude that there was absolutely nothing new for consideration offered in Netanyahu’s speech. Perhaps he achieved a personal milestone by finally uttering the words “Palestinian state” but beyond this it was a tune we’ve all heard before. He offered “peace negotiations immediately without prior conditions” then proceeded to [...]
The Power of the Word
Posted in Iran, Islam, Israel, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East, Religion on June 5, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I’m going to step back from my regularly scheduled cynicism and simply savor the profound and deeply inspiring message that Obama offered the world today. Yes, he is a politician, and yes, every word was carefully calibrated with political implications, but my God, what a tremendous blessing to have an American President who would end [...]
Confessions of a Peace Process Cynic
Posted in Israel, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East on June 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Don’t get me wrong. I’m on board. I’m in there with the American Jews who are reassuring Obama that we’ve got his back. But I have to say it’s all I can do to resist my cynicism when I read about Peace Process, version 5.0. (And for safety’s sake, let me just reiterate my blog’s [...]
“Now the Hard Work Starts…”
Posted in Israel, News, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East on May 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
So Netanyahu managed to spend his entire sojourn in DC without uttering the magic words “two state solution.” On the upside, however, the Obama team has laid down the line on Israel harder than any American administration in recent memory – particularly on the issue of a settlement freeze.
Note Clinton’s forceful words on [...]
Postville One Year Later
Posted in Immigration, Interfaith, Politics on May 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the ICE raid on the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, IA – at the time the largest immigration raid in US history. Here in Chicago, I was honored gather with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and other orgs for an interfaith rally at Federal Plaza. It offered an [...]
On Clowns and Illegal Hothouses
Posted in Current Events, Human Rights, Iran, Israel, Politics on April 24, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I know I promised to pontificate on this week’s UN World Conference on Racism in Geneva, but I don’t know that I have anything to add that hasn’t already been said about this particular circus. (And I mean this literally – see above.) For what it’s worth, I found Cecilie Surasky’s dispatches for Muzzlewatch to be [...]
The Plight of Roxana Saberi
Posted in Current Events, Human Rights, Iran, Politics on April 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Several people have asked me, now that Iranian-American Roxana Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in Iranian prison, if I have reconsidered my opinions about Iran and the importance of American-Iranian diplomacy. If anything, this current crisis has only deepened my convictions on both counts.
As I’ve written here before, I certainly don’t harbor any [...]
Is BDS anti-Semitism?
Posted in Anti-Semitism, Global Activism, Human Rights, Israel, Nonviolence, Palestine, Politics, Zionism on April 1, 2009 | 16 Comments »
For many Jews, no three letters seem to conjure up rage and fury as effectively as “BDS.” Still, I have a strong suspicion that we’ll be hearing them bandied about increasingly in the coming months.
Since the Gaza war, the movement for global Boycott/ Divestment/ Sanctions against Israel seems to have gained new momentum. Among its [...]
