Middle East News Service comments: For a few months now the Israeli Ethernet has been buzzing with mysterious rumours. I am told indirectly that there is a severe gag on mentioning a certain story in Israel. I cannot be told directly as there is a gag on the news of the gag itself. Quite apart from the gag, I have also been approached by someone’s friends with the request not to disclose any further information that I may (or may not) know. It is sufficient to say that former Haaretz Editor Hanoch Marmari probably did not write the item below for the fun of it.
Author: AJDS
[A version of this was also published in New Matilda 31 March 2010]
When I first saw Greg Sheridan’s op-ed piece , I burst out laughing, because it reminded me of capucchino froth–he sure must have been raging and frothing when he wrote this in today’s Australian:
This all might seem rather obscure in the scheme of things, but what goes on in the US bunkers is pretty relevant to the future of Israel.
Commentators are buzzing because General David Petraues, the US Chief of Staff, offered remarks about Israel as a ‘challenge’ to American interests in recent testimony to the US Senate on March 17 2010.
The remarks, contained as a ‘Posture’ of the US military central command in a document for the Senate Armed forces Commitee were as follows:
Everyday there is a new nuance, and apparently, new facts on the ground. But in fact, a lot of it is an old story, and it’s easy to get jaded and stuck in the rut.
Bitter Lemons has issued of the best 800kb of readings that you can get–readings over the past 5 years from many people with a wide variety of Palestinian and Israeli perspectives.
Everyday there is a new nuance, and apparently, new facts on the ground. But in fact, a lot of it is an old story, and it’s easy to get jaded and stuck in the rut.
Bitter Lemons has issued of the best 800kb of readings that you can get–readings over the past 5 years from many people with a wide variety of Palestinian and Israeli perspectives.
Israelis have one truth, Palestinians have another. It’s time we get to know what the other side thinks.
Gush Shalom have a strong new brochure–read it and pass it on. It takes apart 120 ‘truths’
“The Arabs believed that the Jews had been implanted in Palestine by Western Imperialism, in order to subjugate the Arab world. The Zionists, on the other hand, were convinced that the Arab resistance to the Zionist enterprise was simply the consequence of the murderous nature of the Arabs and of Islam.
Israelis have one truth, Palestinians have another. It’s time we get to know what the other side thinks.
Gush Shalom have a strong new brochure–read it and pass it on. It takes apart 120 ‘truths’
“The Arabs believed that the Jews had been implanted in Palestine by Western Imperialism, in order to subjugate the Arab world. The Zionists, on the other hand, were convinced that the Arab resistance to the Zionist enterprise was simply the consequence of the murderous nature of the Arabs and of Islam.
Gershon Baskin, of IPCRI, the Israel-Palestine Centre for Research and Information suggests:
“As I read the Israeli political map, Netanyahu, in coordination with his allies in Congress, AIPAC, and other US Jewish organizations have made a decision that President Obama will be, as far as they are concerned, a one term President. In this respect, they seek to weaken the President, regardless of the repercussions in the international community. ”
If AIPAC decides to campaign against Obama’s emerging new policy environment, this will certainly be the case. It could truly endanger Israel in the long term.
The full text of the article from the website and listserv is appended.
John Mearsheimer, whose earlier comments with Stephen on the Israel lobby in the US brought forth a torrent of criticism of highly variable quality, now has this observation:
“Siding with Israel against the United States was not a great problem a few years ago: one could pretend that the interests of the two countries were the same and there was little knowledge in the broader public about how the Israel lobby operated and how much it influenced the making of US Middle East policy. But those days are gone, probably for ever.”
Uri Avnery, as he does so many times, as hit the nail on the head.
He blogged this piece, which can be read in its entirety at Counterpunch.
There is no more effective means of obstructing peace than building new settlements in East Jerusalem, and as I see the news.