May 17, 2012 - News & Politics - 
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Isi Leibler, calling Peter Beinart “a leading Jew engaged in demonizing and delegitimizing the Jewish state,” says he shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the Peres Presidential Conference. It seems he would prefer some liberal Zionists not be part of the community at all.
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May 16, 2012 - News & Politics - 0
There’s no escaping it. We can argue about how and why people were dispossessed, it’s just part of our history now. What we can do is figure out how we can maintain a Jewish-democratic state while still being maximally inclusive of a Palestinian minority.
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May 14, 2012 - News & Politics - 0
Credit where it’s due. Bibi’s rhetoric has certainly been more positive in the last few months, and if he’s talking about using his coalition to explore peace, and in an official document no less, these are big steps forward.
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May 13, 2012 - News & Politics - 0
Administrative detention is anti-democratic. Israel has to choose between being “a free and open society” and either putting these Palestinians on trial or releasing them, or perishing deeper into the nondemocratic abyss.
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May 12, 2012 - News & Politics - 0
Aaron David Miller, writing in Foreign Policy: “Here’s a low-brow but reliable guide to how and why deals get done.”
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May 12, 2012 - News & Politics - 0
“If we build all over the place, we lose. Even if we don’t have an agreement [with the Palestinians], we need to have a rational policy.” This proposal, if accepted by the new Bibi-Mofaz coalition would be a major step forward. Certainly a confidence-building measure at the least.
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May 9, 2012 - News & Politics - 0
Peace can only come between two democracies. The Palestinian Authority has to get its house in order or else everyday Israelis simply won’t trust them. They’ve made great advancements since the Arafat years, but it’s still a long way to go.
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May 8, 2012 - News & Politics - 2
A quiz — who said “We do not accept the semi-official view … wherein the state grants rights and is entitled to rescind them. We believe that there are human rights that precede the human form of life called a state.”
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My response to the Zionist Council of Victoria’s letter in the Jewish News denouncing my column from two weeks ago. The ZCV, writing purportedly on behalf of the entire community, attempted to sideline my Zionist views, instead of backing their inclusion within the Zionist community’s discourse. A better communal path would be to embrace these differences of opinion and structure a forum to debate these issues. Every Zionist view, no matter how confronting, should be encouraged; doing so will allow everyone to discuss the future of Zionism and say what it means for them to support Israel as a Jewish-democratic state. Our community will be demonstrably stronger for it.
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May 5, 2012 - News & Politics - 1
Olmert accuses right-wing American Zionists of spending “millions and millions of dollars” to topple his government and derail his peace making efforts. This gives new credence to the view that the only criticism some sections of establishment Jewry is willing to accept is from the right.
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