Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard law professor and one time defender of O.J. has more recently emerged as one of the toughest critics of books and authors he deems unfair to Israel. His first target was Norman Finkelstein, who was recently denied tenure by DePaul University in Chicago. I could not feel too sorry for Finkelstein whose own style is angry and polemical. I had first encountered Finkelstein when I read his attack on Prof. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s work, Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust. I found Finkelstein to be angry and destructive in his critique of Goldhagen which he wrote in a take no prisoners style. Evidently, not satisfied with trying to destroy the reputation of a young scholar, Finkelstein turned his guns on Dershowitz, who replied in kind. I learned little from either of them since they presented little or nothing in the way of new evidence to help me to learn more about the holocaust or Israel.
Dershowitz next attacked former President Jimmy Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Before I found time to read the book, I had been e-mailed the Dershowitz critique by several friends who likewise had not read the book but now thought they knew something. In addition people I met at Jewish functions were all attacking Carter because they had read Dershowitz. Ultimately, I read both and could make my own mind up. I hate the use of the word apartheid by Carter or his publishers as much as I loath the use of terms such as “Nazi” or “genocide” by thoughtless critics of Israel. “Apartheid” was probably used in the title to promote sales but it sets off useless debates, often by people who know very little about the old South African system, and it discourages many Jews from reading or listening.
Dershowitz also usefully pointed out some serious errors in Carter’s work. However, most books have errors and that does not stop intelligent readers from learning from them. Hundreds of Brandeis University students who respectfully listened to Carter, despite these attacks, gave him a standing ovation. At the least, they and subsequent University audiences learned that the former President had not turned anti-Semite or enemy of Israel. Carter could be read or heard by those who Dershowitz had not inspired to close their eyes or ears.
Prof. Dershowitz has most recently taken on Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer whose article and now a book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
has excited many Jewish critics of varying political stripes. From my own point of view some of the criticisms have merit but I do not regard the authors’ purpose as that of dredging up an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. Intelligent readers of the book and its critics can decide for themselves just how strong the Israel lobby is in the United States, and certainly its existence and power cannot be denied.
However Dershowitz sank to a new low, when he stated that Presidential candidate Barack Obama had to repudiate his new foreign policy advisor, Zbigniew Brezezinski, a former National Security Advisor. Why, because Dr. Brzezinski had written in Foreign Policy that Mearsheimer and Walt “have rendered a public service by initiating a much-needed debate on the role of the ‘Israel Lobby’ in the shaping of U.S. foreign policy.” Dershowitz characterized this as an endorsement of “a bigoted attack on the American Jewish community.” Nonsense, Dershowitz has descended into guilt by association linking the authors of The Israel Lobby to Brzezinski and then to Obama. You may be interested to know that Dershowitz supports Obama’s rival, Hillary Clinton
The pattern is clear. Books critical of Israel or of some of its American supporters are to be subjected to destructive attack. They should not be subject to balanced criticism and consideration; rather they should be effectively eliminated, not by a book burning, but in a torrent of condemnation which serves to drown out critical voices.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
ISRAEL'S HIGH COURT VACILLATES
In two important, but strikingly different decisions the High Court of Israel ruled on the route of the security barrier in the area of Mod’in Ilit and the Palestinian village of Bil’in. Weekly protests had taken place there for over two years. The villagers have claimed that they were unjustly cut off from much of their agricultural land, without any security justification. They not only protested but took their case to the Israeli courts and were supported by Israeli human rights organizations and by Peace Now.
The first case challenged the routing of the fence and a three judge panel, headed by the Court’s President Dorit Beinisch, found unanimously for the villagers. Peace Now had long contended that the routing of the fence in certain areas constituted a land grab. Judge Beinisch pointed out that at Bil’in the government had actually ignored security considerations by building the fence through a valley, with the Palestinians occupying the high ground. She wrote that “the route of the separation barrier should not be planned based on the desire to include land earmarked for expanding settlements.” The court then ordered that the fence be moved within a reasonable period of time.
This ruling may constitute an important precedent. It in no way threatens the security of Israelis, quite the contrary, but it does recognize that the mask of security cannot be used for the unjust expropriation of Palestinian lands. In this instance the Court proved that it could be the major institutional bulwark of Israeli justice and democracy.
It is then, all the more surprising that a different panel of the court reversed course in its next decision affecting an adjacent area. Peace Now and the village council of Bil’in had petitioned the Court for the demolition of apartment construction in the Matityahu Mizrach neighborhood, east of the settlement. Whereas, only a year ago Justice Aharon Barak had issued an injunction against the project, the judges now have revoked the injunction despite recognizing “the very serious problem of mass building without any plans or permits.”
Much of the construction was built by Heftsibah, a company now in bankruptcy and with its CEO Boaz Yona presently in Italy trying to avoid extradition, for alleged corruption. The Court rested its decision on narrow technical grounds, that the petitions should have been filed in 1998 when the first plan for the neighborhood was deposited. It is possible that the Court deemed it easier to move a fence rather than to order the destruction of squatter occupied apartments. Still, it is a bewildering decision, standing along side the other Court panel’s ruling in the fence case. One can only guess that either the Court was trying to balance its two opinions or yielded to the settler’s usual tactic of creating “facts on the ground.” Still, the Palestinian villagers did get a half-measure of justice, which is more than they usually obtain.
On Tuesday, Sept. 25 Akiva Eldar, one of Israel’s most brilliant journalists speaks for Peace Now at the Gelber Auditorium, at 7:30P.M. His topic is “Rumors of Peace, Rumors of War: Israel’s Quest for Security in the ‘hood.”
The first case challenged the routing of the fence and a three judge panel, headed by the Court’s President Dorit Beinisch, found unanimously for the villagers. Peace Now had long contended that the routing of the fence in certain areas constituted a land grab. Judge Beinisch pointed out that at Bil’in the government had actually ignored security considerations by building the fence through a valley, with the Palestinians occupying the high ground. She wrote that “the route of the separation barrier should not be planned based on the desire to include land earmarked for expanding settlements.” The court then ordered that the fence be moved within a reasonable period of time.
This ruling may constitute an important precedent. It in no way threatens the security of Israelis, quite the contrary, but it does recognize that the mask of security cannot be used for the unjust expropriation of Palestinian lands. In this instance the Court proved that it could be the major institutional bulwark of Israeli justice and democracy.
It is then, all the more surprising that a different panel of the court reversed course in its next decision affecting an adjacent area. Peace Now and the village council of Bil’in had petitioned the Court for the demolition of apartment construction in the Matityahu Mizrach neighborhood, east of the settlement. Whereas, only a year ago Justice Aharon Barak had issued an injunction against the project, the judges now have revoked the injunction despite recognizing “the very serious problem of mass building without any plans or permits.”
Much of the construction was built by Heftsibah, a company now in bankruptcy and with its CEO Boaz Yona presently in Italy trying to avoid extradition, for alleged corruption. The Court rested its decision on narrow technical grounds, that the petitions should have been filed in 1998 when the first plan for the neighborhood was deposited. It is possible that the Court deemed it easier to move a fence rather than to order the destruction of squatter occupied apartments. Still, it is a bewildering decision, standing along side the other Court panel’s ruling in the fence case. One can only guess that either the Court was trying to balance its two opinions or yielded to the settler’s usual tactic of creating “facts on the ground.” Still, the Palestinian villagers did get a half-measure of justice, which is more than they usually obtain.
On Tuesday, Sept. 25 Akiva Eldar, one of Israel’s most brilliant journalists speaks for Peace Now at the Gelber Auditorium, at 7:30P.M. His topic is “Rumors of Peace, Rumors of War: Israel’s Quest for Security in the ‘hood.”
Monday, September 3, 2007
NOTHING TOO GOOD FOR THE SETTLERS: LUXURY ROADS ON THE WEST BANK
NOTHING TOO GOOD FOR THE SETTLERS: LUXURY ROADS ON THE WEST BANK
9/12/07
Recently, Shalom Akshav (Peace Now) issued a report on road construction to the West Bank settlements. It is another demonstration of the cost to Israeli society of maintaining settlements for approximately 3.5% of her population. In this instance, it costs lives.
Israel has long suffered from an epidemic of highway fatalities. On average, roughly 500 persons are killed on her roads each year, a number that can, of course, be deemphasized by citing population growth, kilometers traveled and other factors, or highlighted by comparing it to the much lower numbers of deaths attributable to war and terrorism. There are many factors governing the rate of traffic fatalities in particular countries, among them national culture, traffic enforcement, and drinking. However, it is undeniable that the condition of the highways plays a vital role. European nations including Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands have some of the best roads and the fewest fatalities. Central dividers are, for example, one simple method of reducing the number of head-on crashes and may cut the number of fatalities by half.
Israel understands this and the Transportation Minister promises to pursue the program of promoting safe highways providing “all the necessary means are received.” Thus, the Tel-Aviv – Haifa road and the Jerusalem – Tel-Aviv highway and others can be slowly improved if the budgets are not cut. Meanwhile, as the work drags on, needless deaths will occur. But, at the same time, large sums of money are being spent to build new roads to serve a few settlers.
Peace Now Secretary General, Yariv Oppenheimer, puts it this way: “The State spends at least $12,000 (50,000 NIS) for each settler’s vehicle, on infrastructure and new roads. While people in Israel get killed on a daily basis due to a shortage in funds for infrastructure, the settlers get luxury roads.” Separation barriers which were deemed not affordable for some of Israel’s main highways were constructed on a road in the southern Mount Hebron area. The High Court ordered the barrier dismantled when it found that it was built not to keep Palestinian cars off the road but to stop Palestinian shepherds from grazing their flocks close to settlements. The cost of building and then dismantling this “sheep barrier” was (80 million NIS) 18.5 million U.S. dollars.
One, particularly exasperating use of Israeli tax dollars, and one of the most costly projects underway is to the south east of Bethlehem. This is a road linking four small settlements with a total of 2500 people 500 cars will use this “Liberman Road”, so-called because one of the small band of settlers is Avigdor Liberman, who just happened to be Minister of Transportation when the project was initiated.
Peace Now’s study finds that current road construction projects on the West Bank require a minimum investment of $75,000,000 (315 million NIS). The share of investment devoted to West Bank roads in 2005 was 13.2% of the total highway budget and went as high as 17% in previous years. 33,279 settlers and 6390 vehicles will be served by the roads now under construction.
Nehemiah Strassler, economics editor of Haaretz sums up the matter: “It is true that not all Israelis drive carefully, responsibly and ‘in keeping with road conditions.’ Do they deserve the death penalty?” They, of course, do not and the vast majority of Israelis deserve their fair share of road building funds to assure adequate safety standards. The settlements continue to exact a high cost from Israeli society.
9/12/07
Recently, Shalom Akshav (Peace Now) issued a report on road construction to the West Bank settlements. It is another demonstration of the cost to Israeli society of maintaining settlements for approximately 3.5% of her population. In this instance, it costs lives.
Israel has long suffered from an epidemic of highway fatalities. On average, roughly 500 persons are killed on her roads each year, a number that can, of course, be deemphasized by citing population growth, kilometers traveled and other factors, or highlighted by comparing it to the much lower numbers of deaths attributable to war and terrorism. There are many factors governing the rate of traffic fatalities in particular countries, among them national culture, traffic enforcement, and drinking. However, it is undeniable that the condition of the highways plays a vital role. European nations including Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands have some of the best roads and the fewest fatalities. Central dividers are, for example, one simple method of reducing the number of head-on crashes and may cut the number of fatalities by half.
Israel understands this and the Transportation Minister promises to pursue the program of promoting safe highways providing “all the necessary means are received.” Thus, the Tel-Aviv – Haifa road and the Jerusalem – Tel-Aviv highway and others can be slowly improved if the budgets are not cut. Meanwhile, as the work drags on, needless deaths will occur. But, at the same time, large sums of money are being spent to build new roads to serve a few settlers.
Peace Now Secretary General, Yariv Oppenheimer, puts it this way: “The State spends at least $12,000 (50,000 NIS) for each settler’s vehicle, on infrastructure and new roads. While people in Israel get killed on a daily basis due to a shortage in funds for infrastructure, the settlers get luxury roads.” Separation barriers which were deemed not affordable for some of Israel’s main highways were constructed on a road in the southern Mount Hebron area. The High Court ordered the barrier dismantled when it found that it was built not to keep Palestinian cars off the road but to stop Palestinian shepherds from grazing their flocks close to settlements. The cost of building and then dismantling this “sheep barrier” was (80 million NIS) 18.5 million U.S. dollars.
One, particularly exasperating use of Israeli tax dollars, and one of the most costly projects underway is to the south east of Bethlehem. This is a road linking four small settlements with a total of 2500 people 500 cars will use this “Liberman Road”, so-called because one of the small band of settlers is Avigdor Liberman, who just happened to be Minister of Transportation when the project was initiated.
Peace Now’s study finds that current road construction projects on the West Bank require a minimum investment of $75,000,000 (315 million NIS). The share of investment devoted to West Bank roads in 2005 was 13.2% of the total highway budget and went as high as 17% in previous years. 33,279 settlers and 6390 vehicles will be served by the roads now under construction.
Nehemiah Strassler, economics editor of Haaretz sums up the matter: “It is true that not all Israelis drive carefully, responsibly and ‘in keeping with road conditions.’ Do they deserve the death penalty?” They, of course, do not and the vast majority of Israelis deserve their fair share of road building funds to assure adequate safety standards. The settlements continue to exact a high cost from Israeli society.
MIGRON AND GOD'S JEWISH WARRIORS
MIGRON AND GOD’S JEWISH WARRIORS 9/5/07
Many of us watched, with interest, CNN’s recent documentary hosted by their superb journalist Christiane Amanpour. Perhaps some Jewish viewers felt more comfortable watching her segment on Muslim fanaticism than they did seeing her portrayal of the religious settlers of the West Bank. She did not equate Islamist suicide bombers with the settlers but did find one common thread for Jewish, Christian and Muslim extremists. All of them proclaimed that they were following the message of their God, bringing the holy word directly into politics. Of course, CNN’s message is that this produces a politics on all sides which is rigid and uncompromising, for who can compromise God’s will.
Amanpour did not seek to determine the influence of the Jewish Warriors, on today’s state of Israel, but did show how the state constantly acquiesced in and even encouraged settlement expansion on Palestinian lands. Long time settlers winked and smiled at the subterfuges that had been used, masking a settlement as a military base, and the like.
Hanan Porath, a founder of the Gush Emunim, is contrasted to another veteran of the ’67 war, Yakov Barnea, who proclaims that the only Messiah he listens to is Handel’s. Leaders of the state do not themselves listen to God but they have certainly listened to the settlement movement, as it continues to expand not only established settlements, often on Palestinian owned land, but also almost 100 illegal outposts. These outposts, ruled as illegal not only by the American roadmap, but also by the Israeli courts, remain as evidence to the Palestinians and to the world that Israel is not following the path of peace.
The largest of these illegal outposts of God’s Warriors is Migron, begun five years ago, but now containing 43 families, 60 trailers and two permanent homes. It began at the end of 2001 when the IDF received a request to place a cellular antenna at the top of a hill, in order to improve communication, and with the potential to rescue terror victims. Brigadier General Ilan Paz, who granted the request, only realized later that he had been deceived, when the area was fenced and trailers brought in. The settlers’ trickery had worked once again, to establish an outpost on private Palestinian land. This was compounded by a government which invested 4 million (NIS) of public funds in this illegal enterprise.
In October 2006 Peace Now, acting for the first time with the rightful Palestinian landowners, petitioned the courts for the evacuation of the outpost. Talia Sasson who authored an outposts report, on the request of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that “The establishment of unauthorized outposts involves the commission of crimes.” The issue now is whether the state has the desire or the will to confront the Migron “criminals”, more of God’s warriors, and those in the other illegal outposts. In response to Peace Now’s petition, the State admitted that establishment of the outpost was a mistake and admitted that Migron stands on private Palestinian lands. Finally this February the Supreme Court ordered the State to report within 60 days on the steps it had taken to remove the outpost. With a new Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, the State has asked for more time, in order for the Minister to master his dossier.
Migron and the other outposts are manifestations of God’s Jewish Warriors determination to realize the biblical imperatives of occupying, what they regard, as the entire ancient land of Israel. There is much discussion now of a deal between the settlers and the State whereby the former would leave a few dilapidated shacks in return for a broad government “laundering” of most of the outposts. In any case, the continuing failure of the State to deal with the outposts casts doubt on the intentions of a government which even now is negotiating with the Palestinians on the principles for ending the occupation. No Palestinian government can make peace with an Israel which continues to sanction the illegal occupation of their land. Olmert, Barak and all of Israel’s leaders must decide whether they govern in the interest of most Israelis, who desire peace and security more than land, or continue to bow to the threats of God’s Warriors.
Many of us watched, with interest, CNN’s recent documentary hosted by their superb journalist Christiane Amanpour. Perhaps some Jewish viewers felt more comfortable watching her segment on Muslim fanaticism than they did seeing her portrayal of the religious settlers of the West Bank. She did not equate Islamist suicide bombers with the settlers but did find one common thread for Jewish, Christian and Muslim extremists. All of them proclaimed that they were following the message of their God, bringing the holy word directly into politics. Of course, CNN’s message is that this produces a politics on all sides which is rigid and uncompromising, for who can compromise God’s will.
Amanpour did not seek to determine the influence of the Jewish Warriors, on today’s state of Israel, but did show how the state constantly acquiesced in and even encouraged settlement expansion on Palestinian lands. Long time settlers winked and smiled at the subterfuges that had been used, masking a settlement as a military base, and the like.
Hanan Porath, a founder of the Gush Emunim, is contrasted to another veteran of the ’67 war, Yakov Barnea, who proclaims that the only Messiah he listens to is Handel’s. Leaders of the state do not themselves listen to God but they have certainly listened to the settlement movement, as it continues to expand not only established settlements, often on Palestinian owned land, but also almost 100 illegal outposts. These outposts, ruled as illegal not only by the American roadmap, but also by the Israeli courts, remain as evidence to the Palestinians and to the world that Israel is not following the path of peace.
The largest of these illegal outposts of God’s Warriors is Migron, begun five years ago, but now containing 43 families, 60 trailers and two permanent homes. It began at the end of 2001 when the IDF received a request to place a cellular antenna at the top of a hill, in order to improve communication, and with the potential to rescue terror victims. Brigadier General Ilan Paz, who granted the request, only realized later that he had been deceived, when the area was fenced and trailers brought in. The settlers’ trickery had worked once again, to establish an outpost on private Palestinian land. This was compounded by a government which invested 4 million (NIS) of public funds in this illegal enterprise.
In October 2006 Peace Now, acting for the first time with the rightful Palestinian landowners, petitioned the courts for the evacuation of the outpost. Talia Sasson who authored an outposts report, on the request of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that “The establishment of unauthorized outposts involves the commission of crimes.” The issue now is whether the state has the desire or the will to confront the Migron “criminals”, more of God’s warriors, and those in the other illegal outposts. In response to Peace Now’s petition, the State admitted that establishment of the outpost was a mistake and admitted that Migron stands on private Palestinian lands. Finally this February the Supreme Court ordered the State to report within 60 days on the steps it had taken to remove the outpost. With a new Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, the State has asked for more time, in order for the Minister to master his dossier.
Migron and the other outposts are manifestations of God’s Jewish Warriors determination to realize the biblical imperatives of occupying, what they regard, as the entire ancient land of Israel. There is much discussion now of a deal between the settlers and the State whereby the former would leave a few dilapidated shacks in return for a broad government “laundering” of most of the outposts. In any case, the continuing failure of the State to deal with the outposts casts doubt on the intentions of a government which even now is negotiating with the Palestinians on the principles for ending the occupation. No Palestinian government can make peace with an Israel which continues to sanction the illegal occupation of their land. Olmert, Barak and all of Israel’s leaders must decide whether they govern in the interest of most Israelis, who desire peace and security more than land, or continue to bow to the threats of God’s Warriors.
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