Delving into the truly horrifying developments in Israel regarding the attacks by the contemptible group Im Tirtzu abetted by some friends of theirs in the Knesset and the daily newspaper, Ma’ariv. Fortunately, in the Knesset, cooler heads seem to have prevailed, but it’s worth noting that the major incitement there came from a Kadima MK while the properly legal view came from ministers further right. The article in Zeek can be found here. And thanks to new friends at PalestineNote.com, you can also follow my articles there.
Birth Pangs East Jerusalem
January 31, 2010 by Moshe YaroniIn my latest piece for Zeek, I examine some of the implications of the weekly protests in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem and how they might signal the rise of a new, more credible Israeli left and what hope that might bring.
Apartheid or Not Apartheid, the Facts Are the Same
January 11, 2010 by Moshe YaroniI intend to write a good deal more about the important ideas Henry Siegman put forth in his article in the Nation this week. But there’s an important aspect to my thoughts on the piece that I felt needed a separate reading.
Siegman decided to bluntly call Israel “the only apartheid regime in the Western world.” I’m no longer interested in discussing whether the label is appropriate or not. The overriding point is how much the word diverts attention from much more important, and much less academic, discussions about the situation on the ground.
Henry Siegman
For a broader overview of the question and why the whole thing is a big distraction, I’ll refer you to a colleague’s piece here.
But the point today is that Siegman’s decision to make this statement was bound to cause controversy, and he knew it. OK, maybe that’s what he wanted. But did he really want that statement to become the focus of his article?
As I’ll expand on in my upcoming piece on this, Siegman’s article contains some very important ideas and analysis. But the Jewish Telegraphic Agency report on Siegman’s piece focuses entirely on the apartheid point, which amounted to one sentence in Siegman’s article.
It’s not only the mainstream Jewish media that bore in on this point; the tweets from left-wing bloggers and activists also focused overwhelmingly on the statement.
This is the problem. The question of whether the apartheid label fits on Israel is not as important as the realities on the ground that raise the question in the first place. And the apartheid debate is dwarfed in importance even more by crucial questions of what to do about it.
Jimmy Carter’s apology for greatly expanding the use of this terminology was widely seen as self-serving. Maybe it was. But the debate itself makes it more difficult for American Jews, Israelis and those who are neither but are more interested in peace than in the nationalism of one side or the other in this conflict to bring the realities on the ground onto the center stage of political discourse.
The term is a distraction. Whether or not to label policies that insert illegal settlements populated by Israeli citizens in the midst of an occupied people with no guaranteed rights and hold 1.5 million people under a strangling siege as apartheid matters not one whit. The policies and the conditions remain the same.
At one time, it might perhaps have been reasonable to think that this term would help shed light on the realities. It has proven not to be so. It’s time to let go of this phrase which is now a powerful tool in the hands of those who would deny the realities of occupation and Israeli excesses.
The Sophistry of Daniel Ayalon
January 5, 2010 by Moshe YaroniIn my latest piece for Zeek Magazine, I take on Danny Ayalon’s assertion that the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not “occupied territory.”
A Most Unlikely Source of Hope
December 26, 2009 by Moshe YaroniAn article I really can’t believe I could write. But my latest at Zeek describes a report from one of the most hardcore right-wing people in the DC scene and how it reflects a real opportunity to turn things around in the impasse between Israel and the Palestinians.
Saving Peace from the Peace Activists
December 18, 2009 by Moshe YaroniIn my latest piece in Zeek Magazine, I take to task activists who take actions blindly without a sound political strategy. While I use as my foil left-wing, pro-Palestinian activists, it’s true for so many involved on all sides of the issue.
The Enemy Within
December 7, 2009 by Moshe YaroniMy latest article in Zeek examines the threat posed by the settlement movement and their blatant disregard for Israel and Israeli law.
