Should Israel Now Send a New Message to the Arab World?
The impending renewal of Arab-Israeli contacts after the Aqaba summit is an appropriate occasion to reassess one of the weak points of Israel’s information effort. At the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, then Deputy Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "broke the ice" with scores of Arab reporters when he provided articulate explanations of Israel’s positions.
The Sacrifice of the Sons: Framing a Media Pseudo-event
The 2003 election campaign was highlighted by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s press conference in response to a leak regarding an ongoing police investigation. The live broadcast was cut off by the chairman of the Central Election Committee, Judge Mishael Cheshin. The judge’s argument was that the speech was unlawful since it contained political propaganda. This
brought to the fore the symbolic relationships between fathers and their offspring in politics.
INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY, NATIONALISM AND UNIVERSALISM IN THE RELIGIOUS-ZIONIST THOUGHT OF RABBI MOSHE AVIGDOR AMIEL AND RABBI BEN-ZION MEIR HAI UZIEL
Rabbi Amiel and Rabbi Uziel were outstanding Torah scholars of the twentieth century identified with religious Zionism. Both were universalistic thinkers. Yet while Rabbi Uziel emphasized humanistic Jewish nationalism as a part of the universalistic whole, Rabbi Amiel saw the combination between spiritual individualism and universalism as the core identity, according to the Torah. Rabbi Amiel was a strong critic of all the ideological trends of his day: capitalism and socialism, secular Zionism, and anti-Zionism. Even his own movement fell under his harsh judgment. In contrast, Rabbi UzieVs important contribution was his positive outlook on issues such as the status of women, the authority of the Israeli secular parliament, and the like. Their vision was of a religious Zionism that sees deep commitment to Torah as a basis for creating a just society for everyone.
ZIONISM AND ITS CRITIQUES
This essay demonstrates the factual shortcomings and ideological bias of political theories that attempt to delegitimize nationalism in general and Jewish nationalism in particular.
Although nationalism does not need to be militaristic, romantic or fascist, it is generally vilified as such by prominent scholars, who try to show that nationalism is both an artificial and dangerous ideology and thus an illegitimate phenomenon.
WAS THE JEWISH LABOR BUND IN CZARIST RUSSIA A “NATIONAL MOVEMENT”?
Russia and Iran’s Nuclear Program
Iran is much closer to acquiring a military nuclear capability than supposed, due to its unexpected progress in developing uranium enrichment facilities using centrifuge technology. By admitting that it has a uranium enrichment program, Iran is basically telling the world that it indeed has military intentions.
The New Arafat-Abu Mazen Cabinet: A Roadblock to Middle East Peace
Despite the formation of a new cabinet, Yasser Arafat remains the head of the Palestinian Authority, with powers over finances, security, and future negotiations. Pro-Arafat forces dominate the new cabinet. Some 12-14 ministers are expected to be old Arafat appointees, while only 4-6 ministers will owe their loyalty to Abu Mazen.
Israel’s Strategy after the Iraq War
In seeking democratization for the Middle East, the U.S. sees as its models Japan and Germany following World War II, both defeated in war and reconstructed in its aftermath. Let us remember that Israel paved the way for the Americans by halting Iraq’s nuclear plans in 1981, a demonstration of strategic cooperation between Israel and the U.S.
The Psychological Framework of Suicide Terrorism
Since 1993, attempts have been made to portray Palestinian-Arab perpetrators of suicide bombings as desperate individuals understandably coping with a difficult situation, in effect, transforming the attackers into victims, and thus diminishing the impact of one’s revulsion at such attacks. The use of the "bomber as victim" model has led others to similarly view, and incorrectly justify, the motivations behind Palestinian-Arab suicide bombers.
The Kingdom of Incitement
Even with the U.S. winning a lightning victory in Iraq, the question will remain about how to win the overall war on terrorism. The war in Iraq reminds us that the Saudi role in global terrorism still needs to be addressed. The organizational link between Iraq and al Qaeda, identified as Ansar al-Islam by Secretary of State Colin Powell during his address before the U.N. Security Council, was not just a product of Iraqi policy.
JEWISH AND CONTEMPORARY ORIGINS OF ISRAELI “HASBARA”
Negative image has become a major concern for Jews and Israelis. Standard arguments such as “reversal image of David and Goliath, ” Israeli democracy as a news gathering heaven, and split in freely expressed political views as opposed to Arab/Palestinian monolithic control, cannot explain properly the extentof Israeli helplessness in terms of image management.
This article argues that the roots of Israeli “hasbara” [a positive sounding synonym for “propaganda”] lay deep in Jewish history and the Zionist stage of Jewish history was not able to make a fundamental change. This article analyzes the various attitudes towards hasbara and outlines the deeper changes that Israel should internalize.
Reining in Riyadh
Much of the pre-war negotiation between the United States and its allies centered around the question of what should be the next steps in the Middle East after the removal of Saddam Hussein.
Anti-Semitism in the Post-Soviet States
Any review of anti-Semitism in the post-Soviet states must focus on Russia and Ukraine, the only two former Soviet republics with substantial Jewish populations. Perhaps 350,000 to 450,000 Jews remain in Russia today, concentrated in Moscow (150,000 to 200,000) and St. Petersburg (80,000 to 100,000). It is unlikely that more than 10,000 Jews live in any other Russian city.
Does the International News Media Overlook Israel’s Legal Rights in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?
International news organizations covering the Arab-Israeli conflict frequently refer to international agreements and resolutions in ways that are prejudiced against Israel’s legal rights and claims. Frequent references to Israel’s legal obligation to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders are inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 242 and the Oslo Accords.
Israel Should Not Pay the Price for Iraq
Tony Blair’s approach to Iraq is perhaps most admired because of the tremendous sense of conviction and justice motivating his position. For that reason, the British prime minister’s repeated need to refer in the same breath as Iraq to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and especially the diplomatic "road map" for resolving this conflict, is perplexing.
