Comments on: Power Concedes Nothing Without Demand–and Neither Will Israel

By: The Road to Apartheid | Souciant

The Road to Apartheid | Souciant — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:27:45 +0000

[...] action would cause. As I’ve explained before, withdrawal of significant numbers of settlers involves grave political risks for any Israeli leader, and serious sacrifices, especially of water resources, for Israel as a [...]

By: What J Street’s Gotta Do « The Third Way: Finding Balance In Mideast Analysis

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:35:24 +0000

[...] Last week, In a piece on Open Zion, Peter Beinart defends J Street from MJ Rosenberg and myself, and our criticism of its decision to strongly oppose the Presbyterian Church’s targeted [...]

By: Kung Fu Jew 18

Kung Fu Jew 18 — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:05:15 +0000

I disagree, Mitch. Furthermore, you’re inventing a few straw arguments in your portrayal of J Street, APN and JVP. You’re a responsible and thoughtful thinker, don’t discredit yourself in such a way.

Firstly, you misstate J Street and APN’s models of change. Neither are out to convince Israel of anything; they’re out to convince American Jews and American politicians.

Secondly, this entire post discusses only “sticks” in the “carrots and sticks” of Israel’s game theory. A strategy that tackles only one element of one player in this conflict is doomed to failure, since both players experience both negative and positive incentives. Personally, I don’t see how working on 1/4 of the possible angles is going to fix the whole conflict.

I notice a culture with BDS circles that breeds an overly victimized defensiveness about the tactic’s validity that has little bearing on its ultimate ability to impact the daily lives of Palestinians or final status negotiations.