Comments on: A (Jewish) Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

By: trouvere

trouvere — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

"'... each tribe,' as the Times' Steven Erlanger thankfully states."

But is tribe the right word for the Palestinian people, or is the NYT trying to create a false impression of symmetry?

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

"High Court bars Gazans from studying in W. Bank"

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/892184.html

By Tamara Traubmann, Haaretz Correspondent

"The High Court of Justice on Tuesday rejected a petition by a group of Palestinian students from Gaza against Israel's policy of barring students from the Gaza Strip from studying in the West Bank, even when there is no evidence that they pose a security threat to the state.

The decision was made by a panel of judges chaired by Justice Elyakim Rubinstein.

The petition was submitted in 2005 by a group of occupational therapy students from Gaza who had enrolled at Bethlehem University because the university of Gaza did not have an occupational therapy program.

The Israel Defense Forces and the state claim that the students belong to a 'risk group,' and that the decision to collectively bar them from studying in the West Bank is part of the broader government policy regarding the Palestinian Authority since Hamas' ascension to power in Gaza. The students had asked that the army review their requests individually, and then decide if they pose a security risk.

In the verdict, Justice Rubinstein recognized the need for the formation of a bureaucratic mechanism that would view such cases on an individual basis. But he stipulated that "the bottom line is that situation between Israel and Gaza has deteriorated to an all time low, and issuing a court order that sets aside would not fit in with the present dire reality."

No comment needed.

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

Must-read article from the London Review of Books by Henry Siegman:

"The Middle East Peace Process Scam"

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n16/sieg01_.html

By: David

David — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

That Siegman article is a good one, Alan. Thanks. Highly recommended.

Another good background article, this one on some of the ideas behind the one-state solution, is this by Leila Farsakh–
link to mondediplo.com

By: Denis Drew

Denis Drew — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

Having read Siegman's piece I have only one comment — on Israel's oh-so ironic claim that the Palestinians are not ready for a state. The Palestinians already had a state before the Israelis showed up. The Palestinians did not drop out of the sky on Israel — the Israelis dropped out of the sky on Palestine!

By: bill Pearlman

bill Pearlman — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

For a guy who is a proponent of Jews assimilating themselves out of existence and the destruction of Israel it strikes me has ironic that Phil is so exercised about the future of the "Jewish mind" Sounds a little racist to me

By: snoopy

snoopy — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

If it wasn't for that road the Palestinians would have donkey path. They should be thankful that they are getting a road built.

By: evanj

evanj — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

BP seems to have a jaundiced view of PW's attraction to the transcendance of endogamy. Jewishness would not be assimilated 'out of existence' but would presumably contribute to a culturally more vibrant strain.
I think PW is confronting the clash between Jewry's herculean contribution to civilisation and its damning contribution to evil in the construction (and continuning support from without) of the Israeli state, born and reproduced on the principle of racial superiority and ethnic cleansing.
Many have queried how German civilisation could have produced the Nazi regime; the same could be asked of Jewry.
The lamentable insertion from 'SNoopy' is a minor vignette of the moral decay.

By: Arie Brand

Arie Brand — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

"The Jewish brain is one of the great gifts of civilization."

Phil, I don't know how to interpret this statement.Bill Pearlman reformulated it as "Jewish Mind" and even then smelt a whiff of racism here.I am inclined to agree. And this whiff becomes a pungent smell when you talk about the "Jewish brain".

However, since you see this precious organ as a "gift of civilisation" once can assume that you are not referring to anything physical here.

By: THRU

THRU — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

YOU ARE TYPICAL OF THE NEUSEATING LEFT-WING/PROGRESSIVE SELF HATING JEWS ,ONE WHO IS FOR THEIR ENEMY INSTEAD OF THEIR OWN!