What To Read

5.15.2008

Democratic hold on Jewish vote could slip

Republicans say Sen. McCain may be uniquely suited as their party's nominee to draw Jewish support, according to the WSJ. Here is more:

Republicans are betting that, voting records aside, they can foster doubts about how firmly an Obama administration would back Israel against its enemies. On the campaign trail, Sen. McCain routinely has said that as president, he will be the "worst nightmare" of Hamas, a militant Palestinian organization that he has attempted to link to Sen. Obama. "A spokesperson from Hamas said that he approves of Sen. Obama's candidacy," Sen. McCain said May 9, referring to top Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef's statement of support for Sen. Obama.

The no-debate on Hamas

How to deal with groups like Hamas should be an important debate in the coming U.S. election, writes Joe Klein. But it will not be:

It was taken off the table in the past few weeks. First, John McCain allowed his campaign to spread the word that Barack Obama had been "endorsed" by a leader of Hamas. That will be one of McCain's main lines of attack: Obama is soft on terrorism. He wants to negotiate with Iran. He has advisers like Zbigniew Brzezinski who have been "anti-Israel" in the past; the wantonly accommodating spirit of Jimmy Carter looms heavy over Obama's candidacy. Such accusations subtly reinforce the most scurrilous smears circulating about Obama ? that he's a Muslim Manchurian Candidate, a secret agent sent to do us in.

14.5.2008

J Street does not represent American Jews

James Kirchick of TNR does not appreciate the new J Street lobby. Read it in full here, or just this paragraph:

the real gap, it turns out, is between the miniscule group of writers and activists involved with J Street and the majority of American Jews. It's true that American Jews are overwhelmingly liberal on most issues; the problem for J Street is that Israel simply isn't one of those issues. According to the same AJC survey cited by J Street supporters, nearly three-quarters of American Jews do not believe that Israel can "achieve peace with a Hamas-led, Palestinian government," as J Street's founder advocates. What's more, 55 percent believe that negotiations between Olmert and Abbas "cannot lead to peace in the foreseeable future." And a whopping 82 percent agree with the following statement: "The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel." None of this should be particularly surprising. After all, holding liberal views on issues like taxes and gay marriage--or even issues like the Iraq war and terrorism--is not mutually exclusive with favoring a tough line on Hamas.

5.13.2008

Not winning the war on terror

Just 39% of American voters now believe the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. A new Rasmussen Reports survey concluded that:

By a 69% to 14% margin, Republicans believe the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Democrats are evenly divided on the question. Among unaffiliated voters, 21% say the U.S. and its allies are winning while 34% say the terrorists have the advantage.

A separate survey found that Americans now trust Democrats more than Republicans when it comes to issues of national security. Another survey has found that the number of people who consider themselves Democrats has grown to record levels.

Just 24% now expect the situation in Iraq to get better in the next six months while (39%) hold the opposite view and believe the situation will get worse. That's the second straight month that a plurality has expected things to get worse. Prior to April, a plurality had held the more optimistic view for six consecutive months.

Just 28% of Likely Voters now say history will deem the U.S. mission in Iraq a success. That's down four points from a month ago, six points over the past two months, and is the first time fewer than 30% have been optimistic on this point since last August. Most Americans?52%--now say history will judge the U.S. mission in Iraq to be a failure.

Troubling? Maybe, but not for a president that does not appreciate "much rather be judged by the latest Gallup poll than making the necessary decisions to keep the peace, to do the hard things now to confront the realities of the world in order to make sure our children grow up in peace".

The global vision of Adelson

An article about Sheldon Adelson, "a huge--and mostly behind-the-scenes--financial angel for Republican, pro-business, and pro-Israel causes", was published in the National Journal:

the 74-year-old casino titan, who is Jewish, appears to have set his sights on projects in Washington, China, and Israel that meet his ideological and political litmus tests, and that sometimes intersect tightly with his business interests. Adelson has also been a leading patron to medical and humanitarian organizations.

Well known for his staunchly anti-union views and his close links to the Israeli Right, including Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Adelson is, by many accounts, a hard-charging dynamo. He likes to immerse himself in the details of the many causes he champions while assiduously avoiding the limelight.

Adelson's philanthropic and business projects are far-reaching, Weidner says, and they keep both men plenty busy. Weidner often pinch-hits for Adelson on big projects. But Adelson "likes to be engaged," Weidner says. "His vision is a global vision. Sheldon has dozens and dozens of things [going on]. We have a tag team in certain aspects."

By the way, Adelson will be flying to Israel with President Bush.

5.12.2008

Obama: Jewish state is a fundamentally just idea

Barak Obama was speaking to Jeffrey Goldberg about Zionism Israel. The timing can not be better, since in some quarters, the NYT piece about Obama's early contacts with Palestinian activists is already used against him.

Here is a paragraph from the NYT (but in order to understand the context one should read it all):

For years, the Obamas had been regular dinner guests at the Hyde Park home of Rashid Khalidi, a Middle East scholar at the University of Chicago and an adviser to the Palestinian delegation to the 1990s peace talks. Mr. Khalidi said the talk would often turn to the Middle East, and he talked with Mr. Obama about issues like living conditions in the occupied territories. In 2000, the Khalidis held a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama during his Congressional campaign. Both Mr. Khalidi and Mr. Abunimah, of the Electronic Intifada, said Mr. Obama had spoken at the fund-raiser and had called for the United States to adopt a more "evenhanded approach" to the Palestinian-Israel conflict.

Still, Mr. Khalidi said ascertaining Mr. Obama's precise position was often difficult. "You may come away thinking, 'Wow, he agrees with me,'" he said. "But later, when you get home and think about it, you are not sure."

A.J. Wolf, a Hyde Park rabbi who is a friend of Mr. Obama's and has often invited Mr. Khalidi to speak at his synagogue, said Mr. Obama had disappointed him by not being more assertive about the need for both Israel and the Palestinians to move toward peace. "He's played all those notes right for the Israel lobby," said Mr. Wolf, who is sometimes critical of Israel.

Here is a couple from the interview with Goldberg:

I think that the idea of a secure Jewish state is a fundamentally just idea, and a necessary idea, given not only world history but the active existence of anti-Semitism, the potential vulnerability that the Jewish people could still experience. I know that that there are those who would argue that in some ways America has become a safe refuge for the Jewish people, but if you've gone through the Holocaust, then that does not offer the same sense of confidence and security as the idea that the Jewish people can take care of themselves no matter what happens. That makes it a fundamentally just idea.

That does not mean that I would agree with every action of the state of Israel, because it's a government and it has politicians, and as a politician myself I am deeply mindful that we are imperfect creatures and don't always act with justice uppermost on our minds. But the fundamental premise of Israel and the need to preserve a Jewish state that is secure is, I think, a just idea and one that should be supported here in the United States and around the world.

The Republican Jewish Coalition did not like this interview (hard to imagine an interview with Obama they will like). Here is why:

"Once again, Senator Obama demonstrates his questionable grasp of America's foreign policy. Senator Obama manages to excuse the inexcusable actions of anti-American militant jihadists by putting the blame for their actions on America's foreign policy. America stands with Israel because it is one of our strongest allies and the only democracy in the Middle East. Senator Obama naively believes that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will solve the global scourge of radical Islamic extremism. Yet Senator Obama never says how he will reign in Hamas' daily onslaught on Israel or Iran's scurrilous condemnations of Israel. Is it any wonder Hamas has endorsed him for president?"

In his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, Sen. Obama described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as 'this constant wound.' Sen. Obama said 'that this constant sore, does infect all of [America's] foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions.'

Can Israel Survive for Another 60 Years?

Christopher Hitchens has an answer - apparently, not the one Obama would like to hear:

In many visits to the so-called Holy Land, I have never quite been able to imagine that a Jewish state in Palestine will still be in existence a hundred years from now. A state for Jews, possibly. But a Jewish state...

Hitchens says this:

Zionism has only replaced and repositioned the question of anti-Semitism. For me, the Israeli family is not the alternative to the diaspora. It is part of the diaspora. To speak roughly, there are three groups of 6 million Jews. The first 6 million live in what the Zionist movement used to call Palestine. The second 6 million live in the United States. The third 6 million are distributed mainly among Russia, France, Britain, and Argentina. Only the first group lives daily in range of missiles that can be (and are) launched by people who hate Jews. Well, irony is supposed to be a Jewish specialty.

5.11.2008

Gaza is not occupied by Israel

If you did not have time to read the WPost Saturday, you missed this interesting article by David Rivkin and Lee Casey:

Israel, however, is not an occupying power, judging by traditional international legal tests. Although such tests have been articulated in various ways over time, they all boil down to this question: Does a state exercise effective governmental authority -- if only on a de facto basis -- over the territory? As early as 1899, the Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land stated that "[t]erritory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation applies only to the territory where such authority is established, and in a position to assert itself."

Is it good for Obama to be popular abroad?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote in Slate an article asking Does international enthusiasm for Obama hurt him?

If Americans expect world opinion to become pro-American if Obama wins, they will be disappointed. Opinion polls, especially in Europe, proved way before 9/11 that the world has a low opinion of America's culture and values and that frustration with its world domination is a cause for hostility. If, on the other hand, Americans perceive Obama as someone who will act to appease world opinion, they might become angry.

I found some signs that the debate over Obama abroad is picking up, following the exchange between him and McCain regarding the support he gets from Hamas.

Daniel Larison thinks that:

I have never understood the enthusiasm of Obama boosters to stress his background and biography as selling points or talk about how enthusiastically Muslims around the world will respond to his election. You begin to see how this sort of thing backfires on Obama when McCain or his supporters can say, accurately if rather demagogically, that Hamas wants Obama to win - there's some enthusiasm from overseas that Obama could do without. This is why there should never have been an emphasis on whether or how many foreign nations would cheer an Obama win - there may be nations whose endorsement that might be politically damaging that you don't want, but once you go down the road of touting popularity abroad you take on the undesirable supporters with the rest.

Andrew Sullivan finds it depressing:

If Obama's biography and appeal affect global opinion and therefore foreign policy, the subject should be on the table - as a weapon in pursuit of national self-interest. If we cannot have a debate in a democracy about this impact without fostering xenophobia, ignorance and fear, then democracy cannot work.

5.10.2008

Rob Malley will not advise Obama

He is not an advisor now, reported the Times:

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama's Middle East advisory council.

"I've never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people," he added.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: "Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.? The rapid departure of Mr Malley followed 48 hours of heated clashes between John McCain, the Republican nominee-elect, and Mr Obama over Middle East policy.

And here you can see Obama speaking about 60 to Israel. He was a guest at the Washington Embassy reception.

Fighting Iran

What are we going to do about Iran?

Here is one option - start in Iraq:

In the time remaining to it, the Bush administration should do all it can to reinforce this Shiite dissent and outrage. The surge aside, it is the most effective vehicle for checking Iran in Iraq and stabilizing Iraqi politics. The U.S. government should broadcast as loudly as possible any and all information showing Tehran's complicity in the death of Iraqi Shiites. If the United States can again arrest members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps inside Iraq, it should do so, interrogate them rigorously, and make the information public. The tide may have turned for good against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, with potentially huge ramifications for hearts and minds throughout the Sunni Arab world. The clerics in Tehran could be dealt out of the inner circles of Iraqi Shia politics. With continued progress in Iraq, the next administration would be in a position to turn its full attention to thwarting Iran elsewhere in the region--and to preventing the mullahs from acquiring nuclear weapons.

5.8.2008

Who's pushing the US to war with Iran

Here's David Ignatius' authoritative column:

The risk of a U.S.-Iranian confrontation is growing in part because Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies in the Middle East are so eager for it. "Behind closed doors, we are praying that the Iranians will make a mistake so that you will have a reason to attack," one Saudi told me this week. Another prominent Arab official said he hopes the U.S. will strike Iranian training camps just over the border from Iraq.

Obama on Independence Day

Does Obama have a problem with Jewish voters? My take of a new poll is here. Whether you agree or not, you can not blame him for not making an effort. Here is Obama on Israel's Independence Day:

While threats to its existence have endured, Israelis have built their nation into a strong, vibrant democracy, with a prosperous economy, a rich cultural life, and a deep friendship with the United States that benefits both our peoples in so many ways. Even in hard times, Israelis have so much to be proud of. As the Jewish State continues to grow and prosper, the United States will always stand with Israel to ensure it can defend itself against threat of terrorism and violence, from as close as Gaza and as far as Tehran. We must never waver in our unshakeable commitment help Israel achieve its goal of true security through lasting peace with its neighbors.

And here is S.V. Dáte of TNR on Obama and the Jews.

Jewish voters made up three percent of the national electorate in 2004, with their numbers concentrated in a handful of states where they constitute significant voting blocs. The states that have the highest Jewish populations, however, also tend to be reliably Democratic. Which means that even if McCain and the Republicans could somehow pry away most of the Jewish vote in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California (or if a lot of Jews were to decide to sit this election out), it's likely that those states would nevertheless deliver their electoral votes to an Obama ticket. And most swing states, such as Ohio and Missouri, have too few Jewish voters to make much of a difference either way. Which, naturally enough, brings it all back to Florida.

Olmert, where to find the news

While Israeli media can not say much about the legal issues involving Prime Minister Olmert, one can read a lot in other places:

Here is The Forward.

The New York Jewish Week.

The New York Sun.

7.5.2008

So much to read, so little time.

Israel's birthday

Here is Richard Holbrooke in the Post:

Israel was going to come into existence whether or not Washington recognized it. But without American support from the very beginning, Israel's survival would have been at even greater risk. Even if European Jewry had not just emerged from the horrors of World War II, it would have been an unthinkable act of abandonment by the United States. Truman's decision, although opposed by almost the entire foreign policy establishment, was the right one -- and despite complicated consequences that continue to this day, it is a decision all Americans should recognize and admire.

How Should We Pray for Israel on Her 60th Anniversary? Ari Kelman has an answer:

As you might expect, the contents of the prayer differ from prayerbook to prayerbook. Each of the four major American denominations has its own version of the prayer, and organizations and publications like Rabbis for Human Rights and Tikkun magazine have penned and published their own versions of the prayer to suit each of their respective relationships with Israel. Some might be considered revisions; others are totally new creations.

What Muslims really think?

Rob Satloff discusses polling in the Arab world, and the book Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think

Evidently, he does not think this is a valuable book:

More than half the book is an effort to distinguish the 7 percent of extremist Muslims from the "9 out of 10," as they say, who are moderates and then to focus our collective efforts on reaching out to the fringe element. With remarkable exactitude, they argue: "If the 7 percent (91 million) of the politically radicalized continue to feel politically dominated, occupied and disrespected, the West will have little, if any, chance of changing their minds." There is no need to worry about the 93 percent because, as Esposito and Mogahed have already argued, they are just like us.

And then there is the more fundamental fraud of using the 9/11 question as the measure of "who is a radical." Amazing as it sounds, according to Esposito and Mogahed, the proper term for a Muslim who hates America, wants to impose Sharia law, supports suicide bombing, and opposes equal rights for women but does not "completely" justify 9/11 is... "moderate."

Bar Mitzva mania

Ruth Marcus has a funny Bat Mitzva story to tell in the Post. I know what she is talking about, since my Bar Mitzva, some 27 years ago, was on the same Shabbat.

Emma chanted beautifully, from a portion that the ancient rabbis said contains the essence of the Torah: Love your neighbor as yourself.

To the attention of Marcus' daughter: It also contains: respect your parents.