In this week’s column at Souciant, I take a closer look at the outcome of the Israeli election. Particularly, I examine the idea that Yair Lapid’s surprising showing and the broader split between the nationalist and religious camps and the so-called center now makes a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict more feasible. Put simply, I think not.
Posts Tagged ‘Ariel’
The Occupation Won
Posted in Elections, Israel, tagged Ariel, Avigdor Lieberman, Balad, Benjamin Netanyahu, democracy, Habayit Hayehudi, Hanin Zoabi, HaTnuah, Israel, Jerusalem, Jewish State, Justice, Kadima, Labor, Middle east, Naftali Bennett, Occupation, Palestine, Settlements, Shelly Yachimovich, Two-state solution, Tzipi Livni, West Bank, Yair Lapid on January 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
The Only Alternative is War
Posted in International Law, One-State Solution, tagged Ariel, Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu, Geneva Convention, George W. Bush, Gush Etzion, Israel, Levy Report, Ma'ale Adumim, Occupied Territories, Oslo Process, Palestine, West Bank, Yehuda Weinstein on July 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
My column for Souciant this week looks at the execrable “Levy Report” which claims that Israel’s occupation is legal under international law and recommends that Israel retroactively legalize most the outposts that were set up contrary to even Israeli law. Yep, that’s what it said, this is not The Onion. the recommendations are unlikely to be accepted even by teh Netanyahu government that commissioned them, but I explore what impact they will have. Check it out.
Meretz USA: Buy Israel – Don’t Buy Settlements (They’re not the Same)
Posted in Divestment, tagged Ariel, Israel, Jewish State, Meretz Usa, Occupation, Palestinians, pro-Israel, Settlements, Two-state solution, West Bank, Zionism on February 15, 2011 | 1 Comment »
It is a very fine line to try to walk for a group that wants to take concrete action for peace and still identifies as a Zionist organization. Meretz USA does an admirable job of taking on that tension with their nuanced statement here. There are certainly critiques to be made, and I’m sure people will make them. But there is something more important here.
That something, which is all too often lost in the various political debates in Israel-Palestine, is a sincere attempt to reach across lines while maintaining one’s own identity.
Meretz USA Board Chair and actor, Theodore Bikel
Meretz USA is trying to do just that, in my view, with this statement. I particularly like the fact that the state they “denounce” attempts to bring down the state of Israel (kind of goes without saying if you’re pro-Israel, and I agree with them) while saying they merely “disagree” with using BDS as a tactic within the Green Line. I find that kind of nuance refreshing and it opens important doors for groups of various different views to be able to work together in areas they can without being bogged down about issues they disagree on.
I know many of my readers will find things to object to in Meretz USA’s statement, from a variety of different approaches to this vexing issue. I have my critiques as well, and I’ve shared them with Meretz USA. But let’s just for a moment, try and see where we have common ground rather than focusing on where we differ. Ultimately, I think a Zionist group trying to find a way to use economic pressure against the occupation is a very promising step forward that should be welcomed by all.
Bibi’s Big Gambit
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged AIPAC, Arab Peace Initiative, Ariel, B'Tselem, Clinton Parameters, CUFI, Israel, Israel Lobby, Jerusalem, Jewish State, Ma'ale Adumim, Middle east, Netanyahu, Obama, Occupation, Palestine, Peace Groups, pro-Israel, Settlements, Two-state solution, West Bank on November 9, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Did Benjamin Netanyahu overplay his hand?
Probably not, but he’s definitely testing the boundaries. That is the only way to explain his going beyond even his own usual hubris and obnoxiousness this week.
What looked at first like more of the same old Bibi nonsense – he comes to the US, Israel announces more building in
both East Jerusalem and Ariel – has morphed into something more. The Obama Administration, displaying what is by now its customary weakness in the face of Israeli intransigence, merely said it was “disappointed” with the new construction.
There was little else there of substance, and Israel could simply have gone along its merry way, continuing to build while Bibi whipped the zealous masses into a frenzy in New Orleans. Instead, Netanyahu decided to escalate the matter by stating that building in Jerusalem is completely separate from peace negotiations.
This is a total re-framing of the issue, and one the Americans could not just ignore. They directly contradicted Bibi’s statement, drawing a line in the sand. Again, though, it was a mere statement; there seems to be no consequences from Washington if Bibi continues to defy them. That may change in the next few days, but thus far, Bibi seems to be making it even clearer than before that he will do what he wants with the full knowledge that the United States will do nothing to stop him, even if it makes America look absolutely impotent.
Some see Bibi’s move here as a test of the post-election Obama, a sort of poke to see if Obama is going to be even weaker with an incoming Republican House and smaller Democratic majority in the Senate than he was with the Democrats in full control of Congress. I think it’s actually directed at that incoming Congress and to the Jewish and Christian activists who will bring the pressure next year to prevent any move toward peace.
Bibi is sending a message that he believes the time is ripe, with the incoming Congress, to put the final nail in the coffin of the idea of a Palestinian state. He’s doing it on two fronts: Jerusalem and the major settlement blocs.
Bibi is hoping to re-orient American policy on both of these issues by bringing them more out into the open. (more…)
Performing In Israel, Not the Settlements
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Ariel, BDS, Boycott, Israel, Jewish State, Netanyahu, Palestine, Peace Groups, Performers Boycott, pro-Israel, Settlements, settlers, Two-state solution, West Bank on August 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I weigh in on the controversy over some Israeli performers’ refusal to perform in thee settlement of Ariel. Click here to read the piece at MeretzUSA’s blog.
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