2 April 2006

The paper "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", written by professors Mearsheimer and Walt has met so much controversy, lately in this newspaper by Professor Alan Dershowitz (March 31^st) that it is useless to add fuel to this bonfire. However, one point in their paper needs further elucidation because it is partially true : In their attempt to show that Israel is not a democracy, and thus not worthy, of  American support, they write :

"Israel was explicitly founded as a Jewish state and citizenship is based on the principle of blood kinship. Given this, it is not surprising that its 1.3 million Arabs are treated as second-class citizens".

Once there were three friends - three Amnons.

The three were law students and excelled in their studies. All three loved to study, loved to acquire knowledge, loved the good life, loved to love.

July 08, 2003

The growing data from various sources regarding the low achievements of Israeli pupils in reading comprehension, mathematics and the sciences are a real cause for worry because they constitute a real danger to the financial, security and social future of the state.

One consideration that lessens the severity of these findings is that in recent years, there has been a substantial reduction in the dropout rate, such that Israeli schools are more comprehensive than in the past. This trend has naturally had a negative  influence on all-over scholastic achievements, but is a positive development from the perspective of advancing equality and social solidarity.

13.5.03

A few days after the publication of the French philosopher Henri Bernard-Levi's book "Who Murdered Daniel Pearl?" suicide bombers attacked Mike's Place in Tel Aviv. The link between the two is Islamic, non-Arab, Pakistan.

Levi investigated the shocking murder of the American journalist. In an interview with Haaretz on May 2, he said there are two parallel systems in Pakistan - one Muslim, seeking to make Islam dominant in the world through terror and violence, and the other is the official secular government - nothing more than a thin veneer covering the reality.

16.11.03 

As expected, Theodorakis apologized. Not only doesn't he hate Jews - as one might assume from his statement that "the Jews are the source of all the evil in the world," he even admires them. Martin Hohmann, the German lawmaker who said Jews are "a criminal" nation, apologized. He "did not intend to harm the feelings of anyone."

The problem is that both the expressions of anti-Semitism and the apologies can be believed. The attitude toward Jews in the Christian West is not one-dimensional.

Hardly a week goes by without some representative of Israel's Arab community coming out with a declaration against the very existence of Israel as a Jewish state. None of these declarations is a demand for equal rights for Israeli Arabs or even a call for (justifiably) recognizing them as an integral part of the Arab nation and the Palestinian people. Instead, each and every one of the declarations is an attack on the existence of Israel as the state of the Jewish people.

June 29, 2003

The interview itself is standard, but its importance stems from the individual being interviewed. It is an interview with the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala), published on June 12 in the Lebanese daily Al Nahar. It is significant because Abu Ala is considered to be a moderate Palestinian leader, but among other comments, he decries the statement by President George W. Bush that Israel is a "Jewish state." Abu Ala is critical of this view because it endangers the right of return - "a principle from which no one can depart.

July 10, 2003

 No, we did not win the war of terror that the Palestinians declared against us. They did not surrender and we are not celebrating our victory over them. On the contrary - the fears of a renewed outbreak of terrorism are as great as the chances of ending the conflict are small. But there is a partial respite, and Israel has always known how to get stronger during respites.

May 05, 2003

The shutting down of Ben-Gurion International Airport on Saturday, as a result of pressure exerted by El Al employees on the airport workers, caused harm and distress to thousands of Israelis who were unable to return home from abroad as planned. This whim had absolutely no connection - not even an indirect one - to any professional struggle.

19/06/2003

When a despairing Israeli who lives in the hell of the Middle East meets a tranquil European who lives in the new Paradise, he hears comforting words: Look at that - even sworn enemies like Germany and France now live in peace. When peace reigns between Israel and its neighbors, all of the hatred will waft away like so much smoke. Based on the same comparison, there is also talk of a New Middle East, a regional Benelux.

July 29, 2003

 The Council of Europe, representing 45 countries joined together to protect the values of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, on June 25 delivered the first surprise with a resolution it passed on the issue of Palestinian refugees.

An initiative by Arab states seeking support for the Palestinian right of return was rejected and instead a resolution was passed calling for refugees to be settled in the countries where they live, or in other countries, and to grant full compensation and rights to those who remain in Arab countries.

June 03, 2003

In the state's treatment of Arab citizens one can find a mixture of achievement and failure. There are areas in which the gap between Jews and Arabs has narrowed, most spectacularly in education and health care. On the other hand there are significant gaps in income between Jews and Arabs, and Arabs are under-represented in senior positions in the public and private sectors.

The gap between the rich and relatively advanced State of Israel and the lagging Arab world has much increased (the Arab states are at the bottom of the United Nations' Human Development Index, behind South American, Caribbean, and Southeast Asian countries) and is liable to be another obstacle in the future of relationships between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. In Israel itself, however, despite the events of the last two years, equality between Jews and Muslims has grown in many aspects. Data from the health authorities, at least, attest to a better situation than in Western countries.

A study published not long ago by a research institute in Holland found a difference of up to 15 percent between salaries of Dutch employees and those of foreign workers. Even though the gaps are gradually decreasing, the fact that they exist at all in the social paradise of Holland shows that ethnic-based income disparities exist even in classic welfare states.