Avi Davis
Liberal Academics Blind to Terror Threat
\”Come on, Mr. Davis,\” he said with an edge now in his voice. \”You should know better. You\’re a journalist. That neocon crap is just as easily disproved as Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. It\’s clear fabrication — used by Bush and his cronies to justify an unjustifiable war. Better to check the terrorism coming out of Washington before looking elsewhere.\”
Don’t Expect Arab Democracy Anytime Soon
Those expecting democracy to spring to life in Iraq soon after an allied invasion might wish to recall the fate of another Arab strongman from 36 years ago.
In June, 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser was sitting in the darkened studios of Cairo Radio, with barely a candle to illuminate his script. His voice cracking, he delivered his political testament:
\”We expected the enemy to come from the east and the north, but instead he came from the west. I must accept full responsibility for this disaster that has befallen us and must now resign as your president.\”
No sooner had he spoken than the hum of Israeli Mysteres could be heard in the skies above the city and the crack of anti-aircraft batteries filled the air.
It’s Not Our Right to Challenge Israel
Whatever our opinions about Israel\’s claim on the territories, its attitude to Palestinian nationalism or its rights to self-defense, no one was asking us to risk our lives for Israel\’s sake.
I had neither the right nor privilege to challenge the government of Israel\’s decisions on how to protect its citizens. If I did so, I was in some way undermining that government and endangering Israel\’s existence in a hostile world.
In a cynical age such as ours, this parochial attitude might seem charmingly out of date. And yet, this central tenet of a Zionist education remained embedded in my consciousness throughout high school, through my student leadership days and even into my 30s, when I had to make strenuous efforts to channel my bitter opposition to the Oslo process into nonpublic activism.
The Bloody Lesson of Hebron
There are few locations in the Middle East that excite fiercer debate than the Jewish community of Hebron.
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