Tikkun Magazine is in a weird spot. They say that their readers came down on both sides of the Gaza assault. That's Tikkun's community. Oh my. If half my readers came down in favor of Gaza, I'd have to quit and go to a monastery or something. But Tikkun is stuck with an older, more conservative audience, I think. Which is why Tikun Olam, Richard Silverstein's west coast publication, which did not equivocate for a moment about Gaza, will inevitably eat Tikkun's "progressive" breakfast.
Anyway, Tikkun ran a piece by an American Jewish Committe official, Doug Lieb, calling Gaza a just war. Jerry Slater, whom Lieb assailed, responds well:
No serious observer would deny these facts. Lieb, however, clearly believes the attack was successful. Why? Because “the senior military and political officials to whom I spoke”—that is, the people who planned and carried out the attack—“uniformly” told him so. Personally, I would be embarrassed to write a sentence like that.
The worse Israel’s behavior becomes, the more indefensible the arguments and tactics of its hardline defenders. It has become almost a cliché—but nonetheless true—that what Israel is in desperate need of from its true friends is tough love, not more disingenuous propaganda masquerading as analysis and persuading increasingly few serious observers of Israel policies. When organizations like the AJC defend Israel no matter what it does, they succeed only in enabling its morally and strategically bankrupt strategy.
I'm waiting for you to exhibit similar disillusion regarding MJ Rosenberg and his "Israel Policy Forum", Phil.
By the way, thank you for your kind appreciation of my phrase "the Jewish Too-Lateness Syndrome." It does have a pleasantly unsyntactical air about it, reminiscent of what Robert Graves called "the fine awkwardness of truth."
If half your readers supported the Holocaust on the other hand… Oh, wait, I bet half your readers do support the Holocaust.
Thom, engage brain before putting typing fingers in gear.
"The worse Israel’s behavior becomes, the more indefensible the arguments and tactics of its hardline defenders."
This is the sort of Israeli-whitewashing claptrap from so-called Israel critics, which fits into the same category as "Israel must live up to its ideals" etc. Israel's behaviour has been fueled by ethnic hatred of the indigenous arabs from its founding onwards. There's nothing "worse" about Gaza than Israel's behaviour in the Lebanon for example.
I've never heard ANYONE from the tikkun community state that the harms done to Gazans was desirable/successful.
But, Hamas itself is not shelling Israel now. It is allowing other factions to, but they are staying "clean". Is that a success? Yes.
Can you ask if the Hamas shelling of civilians in Sderot was successful? Did it accomplish what it intended?
I think that in that it brought more attention to the status of Gaza for a period, they might also say "Yes, we were successful."
They did say "We won." as did Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Success for Israel is cessation of terror. Success for two-state advocates is sovereignty at the green line. Success for single-state advocates is a FULLY democratic single-state with full civil and property rights for all.
Any successes anywhere yet?
On Tikkun's goals. I would work to encourage them to clarify their goals, and for you and dissenters to NOT emphasize differences in the means to those goals.
I found Richard Silverstein to be frankly obnoxious in the tone of his blog, particularly in the agreement to not hold Hamas accountable (in words even) for any of its actions, on the basis that they were solely victims.
In contrast, I state that the people of Gaza were the victims. The people of Sderot were the victims, and Israel and Hamas were jointly perpetrators.
Doug Lieb needs 'senior military and political oficials' to inform him of their 'truths'.
Can't he sieve out the narcotic narcissism, exclusivity amd dominant view of those opinion makers?
The man is devoid if any intellectual stamina.
Its time to get out of short pants Doug Lieb and think for yourself.That is what serious and mature men do.
John.
"After Hamas won the January 2006 Palestinian elections, the United States and European Union refused to directly fund a government run by a terrorist organization, but funds were transferred to humanitarian groups instead. The Rafah crossing to Egypt was open. Goods moved back and forth to and from Israel-except when Hamas tried to launch a massive attack on the Karni border crossing in April 2006. Gaza hardly enjoyed the economic openness of Singapore, but there was no blockade.
So why were there 946 rocket and mortar strikes on Israel from Gaza in 2006? Why was an imported Katyusha rocket fired deep into Israel in March 2006? Why, indeed, has southern Israel been indiscriminately fired upon for the last eight years?"
Why is it the Israel haters have no answer to the above?
Err…Julian, no they weren't transferred to Humanitarian groups. The sanctions placed on the Palestinian territories were four-pronged:
(1) withholding of tax revenues collected in the Palestinian territories by Israel,
(2) cutoff of international aid to the Palestinian National Authority from the Quartet countries,
(3) restrictions by Israel of movement within the Palestinian territories and of goods moving in and out, and
(4) U.S. banking restrictions.
On June 9th 2006, during an Israeli artillery operation, an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing eight Palestinian civilians. Hamas formally withdrew from its 16-month ceasefire on June 10, taking responsibility for the subsequent Qassam rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel.
You forgot to mention the above bit.
" I state that the people of Gaza were the victims. The people of Sderot were the victims, and Israel and Hamas were jointly perpetrators."–Witty
"My father is your system…. I am only what you made me. I am a reflection of you." –Charles Manson
Hard to know your point Citizen.
well, for you Richard, it would be hard, because you are majorly unhip, even to the fairly elementary lessons spelled out by Charlie Manson, which most people understood only too well.
Rabbi Lerner: Zionism as Affirmative Action?
Witty: But, Hamas itself is not shelling Israel now. It is allowing other factions to, but they are staying "clean".
Which was exactly the situation before Israel broke the ceasefire that existed last November and then began no "war", but a Guernica of machine against flesh.
Success for Israel is cessation of terror.
All evidence to the contrary. Whom do you mean by "Israel"? Whose terror[ism]?
@Pulaski
Israel, it's a country in the Middle East. Founded about 60 years ago. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it.
Hamas broke the ceasefire by digging a tunnel under the Israeli border in order to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Israel responded to this attempted attack by going in to destroy the tunnel. Hamas soldiers shot at the Israelis, who were there to destroy the tunnel. The Israelis fired back.
Or do you think that digging a kidnapping tunnel under Israel's border was a happy fun time action rather than a violation of the ceasefire?
As to whose terrorism, most of the terrorism is by Palestinian terrorist groups, with rare exceptions such as Baruch Goldstein, whose Kach party was banned by Israel for making statements in support of his attack.
However, if you are one of those idiots who thinks that all military action is terrorism (or that terrorism is the same as legitimate military action) then "both".
Israel would consider it a great win if neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians (nor the Lebanese, Syrians, or Jordanians) were getting killed. That is the saddest part of this whole thing. The Palestinians would be doing so much better if they (or their parents or grandparents) had just accepted what they were offered and gotten on with their lives, like every other displaced group of people in history has done.
The Palestinians need to make a course correction instead of futilely trying to get back on their original course.
They should ask themselves where they would be if they had accepted Israel's existence in 1948, or in 1967 (before their attack) or at Camp David.
@all the anti-Israel crowd including Phil and Adam
How is digging a kidnapping tunnel not a violation of the ceasefire?
Thom,
Digging a tunnel is not a violation of the ceasefire, even if you can prove beyond any doubt it was a kidnapping tunnel (which it wasn't).
The way you violate a cease-fire is by firing – not by digging, or any other activity, whether hypothetically related to future hostilities or not. Even re-arming is not a violation of a cease-fire. It is what it is, and it isn't firing.
If re-arming or planning an attack is a violation of a ceasefire, Israel broke it the second it signed it.
""My father is your system…. I am only what you made me. I am a reflection of you." –Charles Manson
A psychotic who took the spoiled brat baby boomer "blame it on daddy" mantra too far.
If the agreement was cessation from aggression, then building a tunnel even on the Gaza side, could have been a violation.
Its a problem with the ambiguity of a brokered agreement, rather than a face to face one.