Israelis and Palestinians depict each other in schoolbooks as an enemy and largely deny their adversary\’s history and existence, according to a U.S. government-funded study published on Monday.
Universalism, Cynthia Ozick once noted, has become the particularism of the Jews. Increasingly, our most fundamental belief about ourselves is that we dare not care about ourselves any more than we can about others. Noble Jews have moved beyond difference.
Mitt Romney’s pessimistic take on Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects drew some headlines in the press but not much noise from centrist Jewish groups.
Just eight weeks before the American presidential elections, Palestinians are furious over comments by Republican candidate Mitt Romney. The private remarks were made in May to wealthy donors but released only now.
It’s nasty and getting nastier. That’s what people on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian debate on college campuses are saying following an emotional seven-hour hearing on Feb. 29 at UC San Diego, called to discuss divestment from companies doing business with the Israeli military.
No one should mistake the afterglow in Israel from the release of Gilad Shalit, or the rare sight of Israelis and Palestinians showing mutual flexibility and actually concluding an agreement, as hopeful signs for the prospects of peace. Just the opposite: Shalit’s release, in addition to being an undeniable security risk for Israelis, is giving the Right yet another boost, and making relations with the Palestinians even worse, as hard to imagine as that may be.
There is a well-known story about a rabbi who was called upon to settle a dispute between two of his followers.
Some charges criticizing Israel are distortions and slanted, based on faulty information and half-truths, animus, and even classic anti-Semitism.
However, the situation and history are complex, and unfortunately, Israel is not perfect.
The Jewish community is now openly discussing whether Jerusalem should be on the negotiating table for a Palestinian-Israel peace agreement.
There was one big question left unanswered when Tony Blair spoke last Monday evening at the opening of American Jewish University\’s (AJU) 2007 lecture series.
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