The European Union Report on Jerusalem: Distortions and Omissions
An imbalanced EU position paper on Jerusalem written in December 2008, and recently leaked to the media, completely ignores Israel’s historical and legal rights to its capital. The EU attack refers primarily to the City of David, located just beyond Jerusalem’s Old City walls, an area identified by archaeologists and historians as the location of King David’s capital some 3,000 years ago.
The Obama Administration and Implications for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East
The U.S. government can use Arab governments’ insecurity regarding Iran as leverage to encourage real reform. This is particularly true for Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – now engaged in the ideological fight of their lives with Iran and its reactionary allies.
The Role of Radical Islamic Groups in Israel: Implications for Israeli-Arab Coexistence
The core question is to whom does this country belong? According to the Arab narrative, this has been an Arab Islamic state since the days of Omar, the caliph who conquered the country in the seventh century. According to the Islamic approach, since Islam began in 622 CE, all of history before that time has no meaning or significance.
The Obama Administration Reaches Out to Syria: Implications for Israel
In early March, two senior U.S. officials traveled to Damascus for the highest-level bilateral meeting in years, part of the new administration’s policy of “engagement.” Based on Syria’s track record, there is little reason to be optimistic that the Obama administration will succeed where others have failed. Damascus today remains a brutal dictatorship, which derives its regional influence almost exclusively through its support for terrorism in neighboring states.
The Jews in Poland: Recent Developments
The Polish Jewish community is growing and the average age of its members is declining. The process of Jews discovering their Jewish origins and wanting to "do something Jewish" is likely to continue for years to come. A number of new rabbis have arrived from abroad in recent years. Developing local leadership, however, remains slow.
China’s Interaction with Israel and the Jewish People
China is largely uncharted territory for Israel and the Jewish people. The Chinese slate is blank with regard to Jews. No holy books exist where the Jews are condemned for killing God’s son or rejecting Allah’s prophet. The Chinese word youtai (Jew) has no negative connotations. For the Chinese, Jews and Israel are the same. Besides the Hindu world this is the only major civilization where the Jewish people can start from a neutral or even positive position.
The Gaza War and the New Outburst of Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli manifestations reached post-Second World War highs during Israel’s recent Gaza campaign. A number of new hate thresholds were crossed. There were much-increased public expressions of equating Israel with Nazi Germany. Calls for the murder of Jews abounded for the first time in demonstrations in Germany, as well as in the United States. A number of actions by various independent Muslim bodies in several Western countries manifested their desire to conquer the public
Letters to the Editor: Defending the Golan Heights
exchange between Dore Gold, Shimon Shapira, Martin Indyk and Richard Haas on the subject of the Golan Heights.
The Cut-and-Omit TV News (Norway)
When watching TV news, one receives information and forms an ethical judgment based on preexisting norms. This is a rapid, implicit process. But if, in the first step, one has been falsely informed, the ethical judgment also is likely to be false.
Israel and the False Charge of Apartheid
The comparison of Israel to South Africa has been utterly rejected by those who understand the old Apartheid system.
Averting Abuse of Universal Jurisdiction
NGOs that are supported financially by special interest groups or even states for the benefit of their own agendas have been instrumental in the implementation of universal jurisdiction against Israeli officials. Universal jurisdiction and the International Criminal Court are applied when a country does not or cannot act to prosecute. Yet Israel is a democracy with a well-developed judicial system and does not need external intervention to conduct any investigation.
Fighting for Crumbs: Financial Restitution in Eastern Europe
After the fall of communism in 1989, the issue of Jewish property restitution in Eastern Europe gradually reemerged. Its main proponents were Polish and Czech Jews, but the subject was raised in Jewish organizations as well. As a result, in 1992, the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) was established by the Jewish Agency and the World Jewish Congress. The latter’s Secretary General, Israel Singer, was the driving force behind its creation.
Christian Friends and Foes of Israel
The Holocaust initiated a major change in thinking about the Jewish people in numerous Christian circles. To many it was clear that centuries of Christian anti-Semitic teachings had paved the way for the mass murders by the Nazis and their supporters. These crimes alone, however, could not have shifted the theological thinking of many Christians to such a large extent. It was the theological shock of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 that challenged the fundamental church teachings and
The Future of the Two-State Solution
While the outlines of a two-state solution are generally known, the maximum that any government of Israel will be ready to offer the Palestinians and still survive politically is much less than the minimum that any Palestinian leader can accept. So while the two-state solution is a very nice slogan, it cannot be achieved in the foreseeable future. We can either stay in the same situation and try to manage the conflict, or we can try to think of some other solution.
The Cut-and-Omit TV News
From Manfred Gerstenfeld ( ed.) Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel and the Jews
