Author Archives: Jeffrey Blankfort

Bush-Obama neocon at Treasury is lobby’s hope re Iran

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

The "lobby’s" crusade against Iran continues. Here, Jonathan Schanzer, "a former terrorism intelligence analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies," a potent neoconservative thinktank that emerged after 9-11, wants to … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | 16 Comments

Englander short story in ‘New Yorker’ says Holocaust legacy gives Israel a pass to do anything

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

In the May 17th New Yorker there is a beautifully written, touching short story by a 40-year old Jewish American author, Nathan Englander, entitled "Free Fruit for Young Widows." It is yet another Holocaust story, this time not by someone … Continue reading →

Posted in American Jewish Community, Beyondoweiss, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | 21 Comments

91 Democratic congresspeople need a little space on the special relationship

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

What the openly pro-Israel Jeff Jacoby describes here ("Support for Israel runs on party lines") is not a new phenomenon although the gap between registered Democrats and Republicans when it comes to Israel has grown wider. That 91 Democrats refused … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, US Policy in the Middle East | 14 Comments

Emulating the perpetrators of terror

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

The latest candidate for the Chutzpah of the Month award: Fern Oppenheim, in the Jerusalem Post, obviously an American Jew living in the States, cannot see the ironies when she writes: "When innocent Palestinian children watch their beloved Sesame Street-like … Continue reading →

Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | 285 Comments

Hey, Rep Kirk’s got to hide his Israel love away

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Here is a what appears to be a very strange situation, but is not so strange after all. This link is to Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk’s page for Jewish voters, replete with Hebrew, which makes it appear that he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby | 23 Comments

When Israel invaded Lebanon, Americans died

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Dershowitz at Huffpo, saying, The conflict between the US and Israel must end now! "Most of all, it is an entirely false argument. There is absolutely no correlation between Israeli actions and the safety of American troops — none. "No … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | 63 Comments

Why is this president worse than all other presidents?

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Rarely do we see a supporter of Israel acknowledge that previous presidents (although he failed to include Nixon with the Rogers’ Plan) have tried to induce Israel into negotiating a peace plan and that all have failed because they pushed … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, US Politics | 22 Comments

This is not a phony crisis

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

This is not a phony crisis, as a number of critics have been saying. I think the Obama administration has gotten the word from Petraeus and Mullen that Israel has become a liability and it is not about to let … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israeli Government, US Politics | 14 Comments

Lobby’s Iran game is dangerous

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

What follows is an excerpt from a long piece in the Jewish Journal of LA that demonstrates how there is really no line between AIPAC and most pro-Israel Jewish members of Congress, even liberal ones. Noticeably absent from this meeting … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel Lobby, US Politics | 5 Comments

Plus-ca-change agent Obama to meet Netanyahu

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

It’s curious but not surprising that this has been first announced by the JTA and also by Ha’aretz before the NY Times or the Washington Post sent it out. So apparently there has been no change in the White House’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israeli Government, US Politics | 23 Comments

Neocon suggests that Palestinians are grabbing Jewish neighborhoods in E J’lem

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

How quickly, David Makovsky moves into the "damage control" mode for Bibi at the New York Times site, saying he was blindsided by his interior minister. If Netanyahu didn’t know about it, which I doubt, the interior minister should be … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Neocons | 10 Comments

‘NYT’ Op-Ed congratulates Obama for laying off Israel ’cause solving I/P won’t solve anything

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Has the NY Times response to the complaints about Ethan Bronner led it to be even more forceful in pushing its pro-Israel agenda including getting the US to attack Iran? Apparently so. In today’s op-eds, they’ve imported the thoughts of … Continue reading →

Posted in Beyondoweiss, Iran, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | 13 Comments

Turkey vows to launch Berlin airlift

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

20 ships headed to Gaza in 2 months, from Turkey, bearing cargo blocked by the blockade… If and when Turkey does it the Israelis will have a serious problem on their hands because this will attract the kind of international … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza | 141 Comments

Hasbara meets chutzpah: Daniel Schorr puts Dubai hit on Palestinians

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Jeffrey Blankfort

While in Israel serious questions are being raised about the Mossad’s role in the Dubai assassination, Benny Avni, the NY Post’s house Israeli is gloating: "An Excellent Kill." And on NPR, syrupy Scott Simon allows that indefatigable hasbara war pony, … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 25 Comments

‘U.S.-Israeli arms cooperation quietly growing’

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

That’s the headline, in the Forward. The spat over settlements is trivial. Deeper and deeper, the US is being sucked into the Israeli swamp. "America’s commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge was codified directly into U.S. law via 2008 … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East | 29 Comments

Lustick: Attack on Iran would end any prayer of Israel being accepted in region

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Seattle’s Richard Silverstein held a conference on Iran sanctions. It produced an unusually reasoned editorial, this from the Seattle Times, in which Prof. Ian Lustick, who is Jewish and has been writing about Middle East issues for many years was … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine | 27 Comments

Rupert’s neocon rag blasts Obama for ‘meddling’ with Israeli expansion

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Most of the time we are focusing on the NYT or the Washington Post whose bias towards Israel is on the subtle side but this editorial, "Bam’s Mideast mess," in super Zionist Rupert Murdoch’s NY Post that is targeted for … Continue reading →

Posted in Beyondoweiss, Neocons | 30 Comments

U.S. government publishes Goldstone hit that defends… apartheid

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

This Goldstone hit piece, clearly supportive of South African apartheid, was on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty web site. RFE/RL is funded by US tax dollars. Even though there is a disclaimer that the opinions are that of the writer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, US Policy in the Middle East | 19 Comments

South Africa never had it so good department

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

From the Jerusalem Post. Rest assured, there will be no "editorializing": Can an American reality TV series, in which US doctors are thrust into the sociologically complex, perplexing and life-and-death situations of a fast-paced Jerusalem hospital, become the next Survivor? … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby | 13 Comments

Planet Neocon: Tom Friedman says that for 20 years US policy has been dedicated to rescuing Muslims

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Can you believe Tom Friedman in today’s NYT?  "Yes, after two decades in which U.S. foreign policy has been largely dedicated to rescuing Muslims or trying to help free them from tyranny — in Bosnia, Darfur, Kuwait, Somalia, Lebanon, Kurdistan, … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 41 Comments

UK diplomat questions Iraq-war-supporting Jewish historians being on Iraq-war panel

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

While it is certain that US critics of the Iraq war welcomed the news that Britain would hold an inquiry into the UK’s decision to join the Bush administration in launching the war on Iraq, the news that two British … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Israel Lobby | 5 Comments

Folklore and journalism

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

A piece assailing Shlomo Sand’s book on the Invention of the Jewish People in the New York Times the other day drew this applause from Andrew Silow-Carroll of the New Jersey Jewish News: The debate – and the Jews – … Continue reading →

Posted in Beyondoweiss, US Politics | 7 Comments

No, Gilo is not East Jerusalem

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

Jeffrey Goldberg gives one of his Goldbloggers, Hershel Ginsburg, the space to explain to Goldberg’s unenlightened readers that Gilo, where the Israelis are now building another 900 housing units, is not a part of East Jerusalem, but in Jerusalem: "a … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Settlers/Colonists | 22 Comments

Paul Hodes could be 14th Jewish senator

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

The National Jewish Democratic Coalition may play up the fact that New Hampshire Congressman Paul Hodes, now a candidate for Senate, is pro-choice but this organization exists for one reason. This was expressed in the first sentence in a letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | 21 Comments

the public interest?

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Jeffrey Blankfort

From the JTA: Canada’s opposition Liberal Party is crying foul after the ruling Conservatives mailed out flyers extolling themselves as stronger supporters of Israel.

Posted in Israel Lobby | 11 Comments