Whether it has been other nations

Turkey's cabinet yesterday discussed steps to take against Israel, whose actions were condemned by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Sunday over its excessive use of force against Palestinians in Gaza.
“It is not possible for us to approve of the recent inhumane practice in Gaza. Children, civilians are being killed with disproportionate use of force,” Erdoğan said Sunday in a speech he delivered to his party's youth branches here.
“There is no humane or legal justification for the attacks in Gaza. We, the Turkish Republic, openly condemn Israel's attitude,” he said.

(h/t Daled Amos )

Diplomats

Rice called on Israel to "make a very strong effort to spare innocent life" in Gaza, but did not rescind her earlier position that walking away from negotiations would be a victory for those who oppose peace.

or editors

Yet the likelihood of achieving the two-state solution they have embraced diminishes with every rocket lobbed into Israel from Hamas-controlled Gaza and with every Israeli military strike or squeeze on civilian life in Gaza.

Everyone seems to suggest that Israel be careful about civilians in Gaza even as it seeks to defend its own civilians.

And yet there's a record that shows exactly how careful Israel is with civilians (or, in one case, non-combatants)

Ynet reports

The Kerem Shalom terminal in the southern Gaza Strip was expected to reopen Tuesday after being closed for six weeks for security reasons.

Some 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the Palestinians were expected to pass through the terminal, while 60 additional trucks containing equipment and medications were to cross the border at the Suffa crossing.

The Kerem Shalom crossing was used as an alternative terminal after the Karni crossing in the northern Strip was shut down. The terminal was shut down, however, after the defense establishment received warnings on terror organization's plans to carry out attacks at the area, and after mortar shells were fired at the terminal while goods were passing through it.

On Tuesday, the IDF was instructed to reopen the crossing, allowing a limited number of trucks to enter Gaza while following the developments in the area on a daily basis.

Sixty trucks were expected to pass through the Suffa crossing with medications, as well as equipment and food from the United Nations and donations from Jordan and Turkey. In addition, 80 trucks carrying grains were to enter the Strip through the Karni crossing.

(h/t Elder of Ziyon who notes:

Meanwhile, three Qassams landed in Israel so far today, to correspond with the three crossings that goods will be shipped through.

I guess that's what they mean by a "proportionate response.")

Israel's MFA boasts that the Barzilai hospital that was nearly hit by a Grad missile has been treating premature Palesitinian babies.

The first Hamas missiles began raining down on Ashkelon on Saturday (1 March) shortly after 5 a.m. When the Hamas shelling of Ashkelon started, the twins, a boy and girl, were still in the NICU. One of the Grad rockets fell a mere 50 meters from the hospital entrance. All the premature babies in the NICU unit, including the two Palestinian babies, were transferred to the hospital's bomb shelter for fear that the hospital itself would receive a direct missile hit.

(h/t Israel at Level Ground )

And when an Egyptian helicopter crew got lost in Gaza, it was the IAF that escorted them to safety.

The pilot of an Egyptian helicopter lost in the fog found himself over the Gaza Strip and under fire from Hamas militants Monday until Israeli warplanes escorted his aircraft back across the border, Egyptian and Israeli security officials said. The red-and-white chopper strayed into the narrow coastal strip between Israel and Egypt shortly after Israeli forces withdrew from northern Gaza, concluding an offensive against rocket squads. Hamas mistook the Egyptian aircraft for an Apache attack helicopter used by Israel in airstrikes and tried to shoot it down, the militant group said. There were no reports of injury to the pilot or any passengers.

(h/t Yourish )

On the other side we see that Hamas is using mosques to hide weapons. (There is a history of Israel's enemies using the protection of holy places to wage war.)

Frankly given the disparity of how each side treats civilians the condemnations of and suggestions to Israel are insulting.

It isn't the collateral damage of Israel's defense that threatens peace. It is the impression of Israel's enemies that they can attack Israel with impunity - and as a bonus get Israel condemned - that undermines peace. Maybe if Israel's critics were a bit more forthcoming about everything Israel was doing it would reduce the incentives of Hamas to continue attacking. (That's probably a pipe dream.)

Haveil Havalim #115

Welcome to the May 6, 2007 edition of Haveil Havalim.All week I had a lot of ideas about how I wanted to organize this carnival - but of course, I then realized that current events were going to dictate it, not me. Therefore I gathered some posts about the Aftermath of the Winograd Report together. I am sure future hosts will have a lot more to say about it as events continue to unfold in Israel.
One thing I did want to take an opportunity to say here was to thank everyone at JBlogs, those I've met, those I'm getting to know and those getting to know me - for being so welcoming to me.
Despite blogging for almost 4 years now I was very hesitant to join a blogging "community" for a long time. Over the summer I joined the Progressive Faith Bloggers and went to their BlogCon. It was very motivating and something I would love to see the JBlogosphere get together on. But still I dragged my feet, preferring to keep my little personal blog to myself and concentrate on the people who needed me - my children, of course and the readers at my Anti-Domestic Violence Blog.In late February I shared with my counselor some more things I had written, at her request. We spent a couple sessions talking about why wasn't I doing more with my personal blog - because despite the fact that I was disabled, blogging could put me in contact with others for debate & discussion, educate me more about the Judaism I had just embraced and help restore my courage and my "voice." She gave me the URL to Israel Forum and JBlogs and told me to go for it. So I did.And I am so glad I did. I am a read-a-holic and always have been. I have gotten into reading so many blogs I would never have seen otherwise. Whether I agree or not I am exposed daily to new information, new insight and reminded how differently the same situation can be seen among people. I get daily Torah learning I wouldn't have gotten otherwise and Jewish law is turned over & upside down as we learn together. Thank you to all the JBloggers who brought their wisdom, humor and rants to me. I must waste a good hour a day just going through Today's Catch. I thank you and my brain thanks you.Now... let's see what came in this very busy week:
MY PERSONAL PICK FOR THIS CARNIVAL
Nuch Epes Ah Chosid presents Did you get the message? posted at Nuch Epes Ah Chosid, saying, "A major post on the topic of hashgacha protis - divine intervention how nothing is by accident, and the signal from heaven we get , but we need to respond to them."
Hashem sends us "Wake up call" in form of things that upset us, or g-d forbid cause us pain. If we have the right understanding that NOTHING happens just by accident, then we remember that this is a call for action, for 'cheshbon hanefesh' to inspect ourselves repent and correct something. (from this great blog post)
General JBlogging Goodness
Yisrael Medad presents Belgian Justice or should we say Belgian "INJUSTICE"?My Right Word, saying, "Seems MyRightWord wouldn't mind getting his hands on Veronique De Keyser, or more properly around her neck" (and after reading that post can't say I'd blame him either)Yisrael Medad presents an interesting ethical dilemma that asks can we honestly trust information from an 'unnamed source'? (this one doesn't fall under whistleblower status either) Media Ethic Matter posted at My Right Word, saying, "As is his wont, MyRightWord deals with a media ethics matter concerning the identity of sources."
SnoopyTheGoon reports "Army undergoing revolution," Peretz says But what kind of revolution? Ask yourself at SimplyJews.Carl in Jerusalem presents Why Feigele can't be Prime Minister posted at Israel Matzav.
Carl in Jerusalem posts a dilemma facing the IDF & its Hesder soldiers IDF threatening Hesder (again) on ideological grounds take a look Israel Matzav.
Carl in Jerusalem presents Israel Matzav: Treason at Haaretz: Haaretz helps Iran look for nuke builders or the New York Times strikes at Israel again... a good post at Israel Matzav.
CultureTherapyDoc posts an article which I appreciated personally. It was honest, well thought out and about a lot bigger issues than a rehash of the Virginia Tech massacre - but about something missing from a lot of people these days... EMPATHYCho Copycat and Life is a Battlefield posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, "Sometimes a blogger has to make some tough choices when it comes to posting. Choosing Cho once again to make a point about surviving childhood wasn't easy." (But I, for one, am glad she did!)
Elie presents What's in a (Jewish) Name a question we've all thought about at one time or another, posted at Elie's Expositions.
V presents a post I found enlightening regarding a "jewish marketing" tactic Tznius - In Defense of Gedolim - A Positive Spin posted at V's Jewish Blog.
yours truly posts about spirituality & culture being two pieces of the same puzzle at Spirituality & Culture posted at Barbara's Tchatzkahs.
Culture: Sports
Mark asks "Did you know there was a Jewish Sports Hall of Fame?" No! and this is very enlightening! Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Inductees posted at SportsBiz - The Business of Sports Illuminated, saying, "This year, the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inducted 12 athletes, including Mark Spitz, Dwight Stones and Howard Cossell (ok, not all of the inductees are athletes)."
Mark writes about Hockey's Up and Comer Benjamin Rubin - an Orthodox Jew at An Athlete's Dilemma posted at SPORTSYIDS - Celebrating Jews In Sports, saying, "Benjamin Rubin is an excellent 18 year old hockey player whose chances to make the NHL are compromised because he is also Orthodox, and as a result will not play or practice on Shabbat."
Humor
Ah! The frustrations of rules, customer service and the airline industry as told by TherapyDoc who shows us how NOT to do behavior modification in And Another Thing: British Air and Behavior Mod posted at Everyone Needs TherapyI included this in humor because it did make me laugh - as only Debbie Schlussel can at Muslims Upset that Breast Cancer Awareness, Blacks Get Whole Month posted at Debbie Schlussel
Israel
Rafi G reminds us its not just Aliyah but successful Aliyah to strive for at Kosher Style posted at Life in Israel.
West Bank Mama gives it to us straight about Aliyah Some Straight Talk About Making Aliyah posted at West Bank Mama.
muse presents a blog post close to my gardener's heart Didn't I tell you? posted at me-ander.
Cosmic X presents a commuter's lament Commuting To The Holy City Of Tel Aviv posted at ****** Cosmic X in Jerusalem ******.
Cosmic X continues by expressing the longing of many to channel their inner 'Easy Rider' and knowing you never will in The Holy City Of Tel Aviv: Motorcycles posted at ****** Cosmic X in Jerusalem ******.
Wolfline writes a blog post I loved - about personal victory in the face of injury, disability and how love and perseverance can win out at Roni's Victory posted at Busywolf
Elder of Ziyon lets media spin have a piece of his mind with US official praises Palestinian Arab press posted at Elder of Ziyon.
Ya'aqov Ben-Yehudah alerts us It's Official...We're Rednecks.... posted at Esser Agaroth, saying, "tongue and cheek" -- yes the truth is always the most humorous! ;)
muse compares day to night with the current situation in Israel Transitions aren't always beautiful posted at Shiloh Musings.
Judaism
JackB waxes nostalgic about the Good Ole' Days vs. the Good New Days The Golden Age Of The JBlogosphere posted at Random thoughts- Do they have meaning?, saying, "A few thoughts about the JBlogosphere"
Irina has some deep thoughts about her identity - a great post we can all relate to Who Am I Anyway? posted at The IgNoble Experiment, a.k.a. Live Dangerously!.
Happy Mom of 6 asks Medical Miracles or just Mistakes personally, I have had this happen and I like to think - its a miracle but you should take a look and give your opinion at Baby Lox.
Jerusalem Joe presents a fascinating look at psychology, Jung and its relation to a Halacha at Why Women Are Exempt From Prayer In Judaism – A Jungian Explanation posted at The Israeli Tikkun Blog.
A Simple Jew shows us there's always a new opportunity for a "Lego Castle" and a new chance to be a better Jew & a better person - however it presents itself atLego Castles & The Yahrzeit Of The Degel Machaneh Ephraim posted at A Simple Jew.
Ya'aqov Ben-Yehudah tells of a date correction at Um,...Hello?! RaShB"I Didn't Die on Lag b'Omer posted at Esser Agaroth
Kashrut
Mottel presents a photo essay worth taking a look at Shechita -A Photo Essay on Ritual Slaughter posted at Letters of Thought.
and Mottel follows up the above photo essay with some thoughts about animals, ethics and ritual slaughter PETH: People for the Ethical Treatment of Humans you can weigh in your thoughts atLetters of Thought.
Jewish Blogmeister asks for help in getting BeachNut to keep their baby food kosher atBeechNut Baby Food Alert: Going Non Kosher posted at Jewish Blogmeister.
Personal
Robert J. Avrech tells many a man's dilemma of saying, "What happens when Trash TV meets Kosher Yoga."No Yen for Yoga posted at Seraphic Secret
Nuch Epes Ah Chosid writes another post I personally like this week, about failure, personal accountability & determination at Tell Me What You Want.. What You Really Really Want ?! posted at Nuch Epes Ah Chosid, saying, "A view on our personal struggle in life to be better, and yet even if we fail, we still want to be good." (Yes, I believe most people's default setting is GOOD)
muse talks about how, in her area of Israel, a simple commute can be life threatening on a daily basis at With this map... posted at Shiloh Musings.
yours truly shares more of the trials & tribulations of being a "New Ju" at OPPRESSION, CONVERSATION and FITTING IN posted at Barbara's Tchatzkahs.
Politics
Irina asks about the American Authorities and their relations to the Jewish Community today with a news story at Old News Resurface Despite All Odds posted at The IgNoble Experiment, a.k.a. Live Dangerously!, saying, "On the arrest of Rabbi Avi Weiss"
Smooth alerts us all to the WMATA's Anti-Israel posters and the letter Smooth wrote - a must read! - at My letter to WMATA, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, for partnering with US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation posted at Smooth Stone
Elder of Ziyon presents more re-writing of the English Dictionary meetings to whitewash Palestinian intentions at Elder of Ziyon: Today's Palspeak/Reuters word: "siege" posted at Elder of Ziyon.
Freedom's Cost asks some hard questions that Europe needs to ask itself “Europe or Eurabia?" posted at Freedom's Cost. (I included this one because not only is this one of my favorite new blogs but it begs a question that I asked myself on and since my recent trip abroad and seeing what is going there)
Torah
Dixie Yid brings Hashem's presence a little closer to us with What's the Pillar on Which the Whole Torah Stands? posted at Dixie Yid - Thoughts on life and Chassidus, saying, "This post discusses the pasuk, "V'ahava l'reyacha kamocha, Ani " and it's meaning as the Klal Gadol BaTorah."
Rafi G gives a very good analysis at Emor: from rags to riches posted at Torah Thoughts.
Dan gave a great lesson with analogy to illustrate Lag B'Omer at Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's Kabbalah posted at Tsmicha.com, saying, "Lag Baomer and Kaballah"
Josh Waxman puzzler at P3: Parsha Punning Puzzle for Emor #4 posted at parshablog, saying, "This week, I've launched a serious pictorial parsha punning puzzles.[Earlier entries from the same week are:#3#2#1Though the last two listed have already been solved.]
Reb Chaim HaQoton enlightens us for Lag B'Omer with Carobs and Dates posted at Reb Chaim HaQoton.
Avrohom adler writes some learning we can all use at Daf Yomi - Chagigah 23 - JUSTIFYING A CUSTOM REGARDING GEBROCHTSDaf Yomi - Chagigah 22 - AVOIDING STRIFE posted at Daf notes.
Avrohom adler presents some debate & information on the measurements of the Ark More measures posted at avakesh.
Avrohom adler continues with - the difficulty of relating to non-observant family posted at Divrei Chaim.
Avrohom adler presents an explanation of Sefiras HaOmer: Short, straight and simple posted at Drush and Agadata.
Avrohom adler blog posts Limud Torah with Rav Chaim - COVERING THE BREAD WHEN STOPPING TO MAKE KIDDUSH posted at Limud Torah.
Avrohom adler presents Standing Up: Part 2 posted at Nefesh HaChaim.
Avrohom adler presents Emor 5632 Second Ma'amar posted at Sfas Emes.
History
Mr. Bagel wishes a very Happy Birthday to Theodor Herzl (1860) the 'Father' of Modern Zionism posted at (in my opinion-- one of the most imaginatively designed blogs in the JBlogosphere) The Original Bagel Blogger.
Yisrael Medad presents A Bit Odd posted at My Right Word, saying, "MyRightWord doesn't like the avoiding of Jabotinsky in the Shalem Center's new essay collection on Zionism."
On the Aftermath of the Winograd Report
SnoopyTheGoon presents Ask a good question a day-before-the-Winograd-bomb-dropped post which asks some very pointed questions indeed at SimplyJews.
Rafi G presents another pre-Winograd release blogthoughts on the upcoming firestorm posted at Life in Israel.
Carl in Jerusalem presents Shootout at the OK corral and includes an image of a historic U.S. document that is a good reminder for all at Israel Matzav.
muse talks about the rally Correction/Clarification--Yes, I admit mistakes! posted at Shiloh Musings.
Olah Chadasha puts the effects of Winograd and some masterful and prophetic thoughts in this post at Golda Meir He Aint posted at Greetings from the French Hill, saying, "This article is my take on the Winograd Report and what I believe Olmert's next move will be to try and delay his inevitable demise."
yitz presents MISSING THE RED QUEEN posted at Shiloh Musings, saying, "Wonderful post linking an excerpt from Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" to today's political situation in Israel."
muse presents Olmert's Greatest Miss-Calculation! posted at Shiloh Musings.
Cosmic X reminds us of history at Who's To Blame? Olmert, Peretz, Halutz, and the Israeli MSM posted at ****** Cosmic X in Jerusalem ******.
That concludes this edition. I want to thank Soccer Dad for his trust and for giving me the opportunity to host Haveil Havalim this week. Despite some technical glitches earlier in the week I have truly enjoyed it and all the submissions. I would love to do it again sometime! (o.k. so now you all know I am not in my right mind) Though, I can never hope to do it as well as Soccer Dad does!
Have a wonderful, peaceful and successful week everyone. Enjoy! - Barbara
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Labels: blog carnival, haveil havalim, israel, judaism, torah

Haveil Havalim #111 is UP!

Though his expertise is in the daily study of the Gemora (Talmud) Daf-Notes has produced Haveil Havalim #111 - the final pre-pesach edition of Haveil Havalim the weekly Jewish Blogging Carnival. Thank his wife for letting him do it instead of cleaning the car!

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Thanks for participating, reading and keeping Haveil Havalim going!

April 1 - Pesach Vacation
April 8 - Pesach Vacation
112 April 15 YidWithLid

However is someone decides that he/she wants to host in the future let me know at dhgerstman at hotmail dot com or use the BlogCarnival Contact form.

In addition to e-mail you may submit entries to Haveil Havalim using the submission form over at BlogCarnival. Or feel free to e-mail me at dhgerstman at hotmail dot com.

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Remember, that while the hosts and hostesses of Haveil Havalim do a wonderful job of editing and searching for interesting posts, they can't see everything. If you want a better chance of being included in Haveil Havalim please submit one or two posts for inclusion.



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Loss for words

In Sad Devotion to an Ancient ReligionThe Loss Column argues that it's silly for Orioles fans to criticize Peter Angelos. And it's sillier yet for them to criticize him for declaring that he nixed a proposed trade of Brian Roberts and Hayden Penn to the Braves for Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche.

In particular The Loss Column went after Thomas Boswell's excellent critique of Angelos, "Angelos says Plenty." Boswell blasted Angelos not just for what he said, but for demonstrating the Orioles fans can expect no change from the owner.

What rival GM wants to spend his time, especially in trading-deadline situations, working on a complex deal with the Orioles when it's known how often Angelos has erased all the work at the last minute? How will Roberts now feel about Flanagan and Duquette? And how enthusiastic will the Atlanta Braves feel about working up another big deal with Baltimore?

What Orioles star, in his walk year, wants to put his faith in Baltimore's ability to negotiate a new contract during the season? After all, from Rafael Palmeiro to Mike Mussina, the Orioles' owner has dawdled for months on big contracts -- paralyzing all parties -- as his asbestos-wrangling background misinforms him that more time off the clock equals more negotiating leverage.

These are all problems that Dan Connolly pointed out in the Baltimore Sun two years ago. Angelos's recent talk with the Sun confirmed that we can expect more of the same as long as he owns the team.

And why does the Loss Column think that Angelos is right in this case?

The worst part about this — and this is partially the well from which tonight’s thoughts spring — is that not dealing Roberts was the right move. Marcus Giles ended up getting released while LaRoche was subsequently dealt to the Pirates for closer Mike Gonzalez, on whom the jury is decidedly still out. I get the argument that meddling is bad, and it carries a lot of weight. But he is who he is, and we’re stuck with him. We may as well play fair and admit he was right for a change.

Marcus Giles was released because of payroll - not performance - considerations. He was headed to arbitration and the Braves weren't willing to spend what it would take to retain him.

This was, frankly, a perfect opportunity for the Orioles to use some leverage. The Braves were conceding that Giles was lost to them and wanted to get some value in return. The Orioles had an opportunity to ask for additional considerations. The Orioles should have told the Braves that if they didn't want lose Giles for nothing, they'd have to add in a solid AAA or AA pitching prospect. Or offer someone with less perceived value than Hayden Penn.

Instead Angelos nixed the deal.

Giles - though coming off a disappointing season - at his best is likely better than Roberts at his best. Given that Roberts hasn't played like he did at the beginning of 2005 at any other time in his career, it's not reasonable to assume he will achieve that level again. Gile is almost certainly a small step up over Roberts. Adam LaRoche may not be as good as Boswell claims, but he's a step up over the Orioles current first base options. Is upgrading at two positions worth Hayden Penn? Quite possibly.

I've been following the Orioles for nearly 40 years now. I'm still going to listen to their games. But my patience is wearing thin. If they're winning, I might just stick around, but if not, I'm not wasting my time on them.

I'm not wishing for some mythical past. I just want a decent present that I can enjoy. Consider the thoughts of FOX Sports writer, Dayn Perry. On the downside he considers Mike Flanagan one of the GM's on the hot seat.

Mike Flanagan, Orioles
On the job since: 12/4/2002
Cumulative Winning Percentage: 0.452
Winning Seasons: 0
Playoff Appearances: 0
Last-Place Finishes: 0
For the first two seasons of his tenure, Flanagan shared GM duties with Jim Beattie. Beattie was let go following the 2005 season, but increased autonomy for Flanagan hasn't improved the state of the organization. The Orioles of late have been so uninteresting, so decidedly vanilla that their best marketing angle might be something like: We''re Not the Devil Rays!" Of course, once the Rays' exceptional collection of young talent finds its sea legs, they'd have to scrap that slogan. To Flanagan's credit there are some promising youngsters in the Orioles' system: Nick Markakis, Adam Loewen, Bradon Erbe, Pedro Beato, to name but a handful. However, there's just no chance of breaking through any time soon, what with the Yankees and Red Sox in the same division. Flanagan could take the fall if 2007 is anything like, well, the previous nine years.

I feel bad for Flanagan. I really do. I have no idea how good he is as a GM, because he many not be the final word on transactions. But Perry thinks he may be in trouble.

But hey Perry also is looking a the good. He thinks that the Orioles may be one of the surpise teams in the majors this year. Really.

Baltimore Orioles: No way, no how will Baltimore earn a playoff spot in 2007, but they could improve. If the young-ish rotation responds to the tutelage of Leo Mazzone and Nick Markakis continues to exhibit skills growth, then the O's could finish as high as third place for only the second time since 1997.

In other words this year the Orioles are likely to finish somewhere above the Devil Rays and somewhere below second place. About where they've been the past decade. Such a consistent record of failure deserves mocking. Lots of it.

Blogdigger tags: Peter Angelos, Baltimore Orioles

Haveil Havalim #85 is UP!

Fighting against Blogger's hiccups and his daughter's fever Daled Amos has persevered and managed to get Haveil Havalim #85 UP for your reading pleasure. Fortunately his daughter is normal. The same can't be said for Daled Amos. (He's my friend I can say that. Can't I?)

#86 - September 10, 2006 - Soccer Dad
#87 - September 17, 2006 - Greetings from French Hill - contact them at israelrulesblog at hotmail dot com.
Sept 24, 2006 - No Haveil Havalim - Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year.

Keep in mind that if Soccer Dad is listed as host, that it is a placeholder. I will plan to host, but would not protest if someone else volunteered.

If you would like to submit one or two of your best Israel or Judaism related posts send me an e-mail at dhgerstman at hotmail dot com. Also if you'd like to host an upcoming edition e-mail me at the above address.

In addition to e-mail you may submit entries to Haveil Havalim using either Conservative Cat's handy dandy submission form or the submission form over at BlogCarnival. Or feel free to e-mail me at dhgerstman at hotmail dot com.

(Note the change in the operation of Conservative Cat's submission form. It takes you directly to Haveil Havalim.)

Remember, that while the hosts and hostesses of Haveil Havalim do a wonderful job of editing and searching for interesting posts, they can't see everything. If you want a better chance of being included in Haveil Havalim please submit one or two posts for inclusion. (And please don't submit everything or nearly everything you posted in a week. Winnowing out your best posts takes time.)

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Previous editions ...
Most recent editions of Haveil Havalim at Blog Carnival
#22 Mystical Paths
#21 Rabbinical Authority Consortium of HACKers
#20 Shiloh Musings
#19 Devarim
#18 Soccer Dad
#17 Mystical Paths
#16 Critical Mastiff
#15 Soccer Dad
#14 Multiple Mentality
#13 IsraPundit
#12 DovBear
#11 Kesher Talk
#10 Biur Chametz
#9 Soccer Dad
#8 It's Almost Supernatural
#7 Bloghead
#6 Willow Tree.
#5 Crossing the Rubicon2
#4 Dov Bear
#3 Biur Chametz

Watching the weasels 08/30/2006

The nominations are in. Here is a rundown of this week's Council posts ...

In Cutting the Biased Some Slack, Sundries Shack notes that all journalists appear to be on the same team. It just may not be the team of freeedom and democracy.

Done with Mirrors applies the Heisenberg uncertainty principle to media watching in Read it and Weep.

Gates of Vienna examines why Europe is more susceptible to being co-opted by Islamism and what it portends for the future in an Asimov sounding Empire and Apocalypse.

Education Wonks examine a case of a teacher's insubordination to a poorly thought out request from the principal in Flag Flapped In Colorado. (BTW, read the comments.)

Right Wing Nuthouse wants to Save the Electoral College!

JoshuaPundit observes that the same Arab world that considers peacekeepers in Lebanon so essential don't give two hoots about protecting real victims in Meanwhile, in Darfur.... Of course that would mean acting against Islamists and we wouldn't want any of that.

Unlike Done with Mirrors who uses science to analyze politics, Socratic Rhythm Method uses politics to understand science in Pluto Struck Down As Unconstitutional.

In Valid Pedagogical Purpose -– Poor Pedagogical Methodology, Rhymes with Right considers the Colorado flag flap, but the details seem rather different from the Educational Wonks.

Shrinkwrapped analyzes and dismisses new shoplifting laws in England in "Root Causes" and Other Nonsense.

In Say Anything, AbbaGav demonstrates how the media act as shills, but doesn't demonstrate kickboxing. Not disimilar Done with Mirrors' thesis.

The Glittering Eye considers and rejects the charge that the House Intelligence Committee's report on Iran was "cooked" to sound more alarmist in Fearmongering? Or Oversight?

Milbank vs. mearsheimer

Dana Milbank turns his scornful style on John Mearsheimer to good effect in Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby

Whatever motivated the performance, the result wasn't exactly scholarly.

Walt singled out two Jews who worked at the Pentagon for their pro-Israel views. "People like Paul Wolfowitz or Doug Feith . . . advocate policies they think are good for Israel and the United States alike," he said. "We don't think there's anything wrong with that, but we also don't think there's anything wrong for others to point out that these individuals do have attachments that shape how they think about the Middle East."

"Attachments" sounds much better than "dual loyalties." But why single out Wolfowitz and Feith and not their non-Jewish boss, Donald Rumsfeld?

"I could have mentioned non-Jewish people like John Bolton," Walt allowed when the question was put to him.

And that is the problem. Walt and Mearsheimer promote themselves as academics and their paper as scholarly, but the paper is just as sloppy (or selective if you prefer) as Milbank describes the charge against Wolfowitz and Feith.

Milbank's mockery continues

This line of argument could be considered a precarious one for two blue-eyed men with Germanic surnames. And, indeed, Walt seemed defensive about the charges of anti-Semitism. He cautioned that the Israel lobby "is not a cabal," that it is "not synonymous with American Jews" and that "there is nothing improper or illegitimate about its activities."

But Mearsheimer made no such distinctions as he used "Jewish activists," "major Jewish organizations" and the "Israel lobby" interchangeably. Clenching the lectern so tightly his knuckles whitened, Mearsheimer accused Israel of using the kidnapping of its soldiers by Hezbollah as a convenient excuse to attack Lebanon.

You think that "The Israel Lobby" was better in the original German maybe?

"Israel had been planning to strike at Hezbollah for months," he asserted. "Key Israelis had briefed the administration about their intentions."

A questioner asked if he had any "hard evidence" for this accusation. Mearsheimer cited the "public record" and "Israeli civilian strategists," then repeated the allegation that Israel was seeking "a cover for launching this offensive."

Actually the argument against this charge is that Israeli military planners would be neglectful if they didn't have contigency plans in effect for responding to each nearby enemy. Being prepared for conflict is essential, it doesn't mean that Israel was looking for a pretext to attack. (And of course Mearsheimer ignores six years of Hezbollah violations.)

Milbank brought up one more instance of Mearsheimer's sloppiness

As evidence that the American public does not agree with the Israel lobby, the political scientist cited a USA Today-Gallup poll showing that 38 percent of Americans disapproved of Israel's military campaign. He neglected to mention that 50 percent approved, and that Americans blamed Hezbollah, Iran, Syria and Lebanon far more than Israel for the conflict.

As noted above, this kind of selective quoting was typical of the "Israel Lobby" paper.

And who was Prof Mearsheimer addressing? Why it was the Islamic "civil rights" organization CAIR! The end of the article gives a sense of openmindedness and understanding that permeated the talk.

When the two professors finished, they were besieged by autograph- and photo-seekers and Arab television correspondents. Walt could be heard telling one that if an American criticizes Israel, "it might have some economic consequences for your business."

Before leaving for an interview with al-Jazeera, Mearsheimer accepted a button proclaiming "Walt & Mearsheimer Rock. Fight the Israel Lobby."

"I like it," he said, beaming.

I'm no fan of Milbank, but here his scorn was well placed and used to excellent effect.

Earlier this summer the Post's ombudsman Deborah Howell defended the paper's Middle East coverage. She wasn't at all bothered that a whitewash of Walt and Mearsheimer appeared at a time that Israel was fighting terorists in its north and south

Some readers didn't like The Post Magazine piece by Glenn Frankel examining the Israel lobby and felt it was poorly timed. I liked it. Production on the magazine closed June 30, before the war began. One could also say that piece couldn't have been more aptly timed.

Howell wrote. In ohter words Howell's implicitly arguing that it was pro-Israel groups (aka the Israel lobby) that led the United States to support Israel in its fight against anti-Western terrorist organizations. One would hope that it wouldn't require a lobby for the United States to see that its interstests and Israel's coincide.

Power Line and LGF have their takes.

UPDATE: Meryl Yourish observes that Mel Gibson and Jimmy Carter apparently missed the fun.

Boker Tov Boulder sees something biblical in the motivations of Walt and Mearsheimer.

Rhymes with right concludes

The association between these professors and the terrorist-supporting CAIR should be enough to discredit these pseudo-academics -- and to discredit the organizatation, which sponsored them despite their having been is creditted as
dressing up old anti-Semitism in new garments.

Mere Rhetoric points out additional inconsistencies in the original Israel Lobby paper

He might also have mentioned their intellectual dishonesty in complaining about US aid to Israel (aid that Israel was promised so that Jimmy Carter could get a Noble Prize by getting Israel to give up critical land - and security - to Egypt, which the realists supported because it moved Egypt out of the Soviet orbit) and in leaving out the part where Bush Sr. almost cut off aid to Shamir because of Israeli settlements.

and points to Jewish Current Issues critique

Neither of them mentioned the fact that George W. Bush formally endorsed a Palestinian state (assuming the Palestinians built a “practicing democracy” with leaders “not compromised by terror”), nor the fact that the U.S. -- while waiting in vain for Abbas to meet his initial Road Map obligation of “sustained, targeted, and effective operations aimed at confronting all those engaged in terror and dismantlement of terrorist capabilities and infrastructure” -- nevertheless (a) pressured Israel into releasing 900 prisoners to help Abbas (a step not required in the Road Map); (b) supported Sharon’s plan to simply give Abbas all of Gaza (under the mistaken assumption it would generate popular support for Abbas); (c) supported Abbas financially with tens of millions of dollars in handouts, and with pledges of billions more; (d) watched without protest as Abbas took the money and padded the public payroll with “security forces,” instead of building schools or hospitals or houses for refugees; and nevertheless (e) continually supported Abbas as a “man of peace.” ...
But Walt & Mearsheimer blame the “Israel Lobby” for giving Abbas “nothing.”

Elder of Ziyon demonstrates how Walt and Mearsheimer have cause and effect backwards.

Maryland Conservatarian confuses Walt with Nasrallah.

Walt and Mearsheimer remind Extreme Mortman of a classic SNL skit. And they remind Capatain's Quarters of a Family Circus cartoon.

Liberty and Justice emphasizes one of Milbank's points

Mearsheimer constantly singled out Jewish individuals while conveniently ignoring the fact that some of this US administration's most fervent pro-Israel members aren't Jews, but Christians.

Am Echad writes that W & M produce a worse result than anti-semitism - they produce shoddy scholarship. Instapundit has similar thoughts.

The sixth column notes that it isn't just important what Walt and Mearsheimer said but who they said it to.

The Volokh Conspiracy.David Bernstein writes that he's finding it harder to give W & M the benefit of the doubt as to whether they've crossed the line into antisemitism. Hit and Run wonders the same thing.

Other commenting include Solomonia, Blog-o-fascists.

More at Buzztracker.

Technorati tags: Walt and Mearsheimer, Israel.

Haveil Havalim #82

Check out the whole thing here.

No Feminists on a sinking ship thinks that Google is making people lazy.

Daled Amos writes that Israel must take back the narrative.

Confederate Yankee condemns the complicit MSM as the ghost in the media machine.

Elder of Ziyon expands on Confererate Yankee's thesis and gives a specific example that the AP is writing Hezbollah's press releases.

Ace of Spades HQ wonders how those stringers get all those poignant photographs.

Perspectives of a Nomad argues, Hezbollah lies, wins sympathy.

Here's a comprehensive list of all the types of photographic fraud are committed by the media.

Israelly Cool! observes that not all Arabs are listening to Nasrallah's warning to leave Haifa.

West Bank Mama sees that the Israeli Left is speaking up again.

Jewish Current Issues recounts a press conference that he and other prominent pro-Israel bloggers had with Natan Sharansky.

IRIS blog exerpts an op-ed by Gen. Doron Almog.

Ocean Guy excerpts from Jewish Current Issues and Michael Behe's article in the New Republic showing that the widespread destruction in Lebanon is, well, exagerated.

Israel Matzav explains the Geneva Conventions and why they don't protect Lebanon.

A view from a Height tells us that Israel was winning.

Deja Vu compares PM Olmert's wartime performance with that of Levi Eshkol.

Solomonia has testimony from a photographer that the practice of "directing shots" is widespread.

Crossing the Rubicon2 quotes from an op-ed by a non-Jew who would rather Jews be alive and angry rather than meek and dead.

Atlas Shrugs carries a Nidra Poller essay "Don't Apologize."

Media Backspin links to a commentary that tells us that "... editors everywhere can no longer trust the pictures from Lebanon."

The Volokh Conspiracy asks what year an offensive cartoon was published.

IN how many ways does the ceasefire screw Israel? Let Mere Rhetoric count the many many ways.

Meryl Yourish dons her teacher's cap and gives the ceasefire a D.

The Hashmonean grades Olmert and Peretz, and he doesn't grade them on a curve.

Israeli Matzav explains what went wrong and wonders if Israel can still win.

The Bush Administration's complicity in the ceasefire has Powerline wondering who won the 2004 election.

Greetings from French Hill explains why the ceasefire is a Hezbollah victory.

Cozy Corner guesses at what lies in Israel's future.

Back in 2000 Dry Bones was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Cozy Corner considers applying game theory to the war against Hezbollah.

The Ignoble Experiment defends the rights of those she disagrees with to disagree - unharrassed.

Treppenwitz considers an obscure episode of history to draw a lesson about never being complacent about the loss of life.

Critical Mastiff writes that being kind to the cruel is never the right measure.

Daled Amos wonders how Ariel Sharon would have handled this war and looks for hints.

Simply Jews fisks a moonbat named Monbiat.

Joshuapundit comments on the Israeli government's decision to push forward with an expanded offensive.

The Ministry of Offence explains why Israel can neither win nor lose the war with Hezbollah.

Life in Israel tells us two stories about life at the front in Lebanon.

Life in Israel wants the government to let the army win the war and forget about convergence.

Greetings from French Hill wonders if the government wants to win the war.

The Partisan Times says that Israel must win.

Raanana Ramblings tells us what to put in care packages for the Israeli soldiers. (There are some interesting comments too.)

Say hello to the Israeli Tikkun Blog.

Me-Ander reflects on her new neighbors from the North.

Shiloh Musings reproduces the Hula Hoop describes what it's like to experience Katyushas, in Kiryat Shmona.

Arts/Entertainment

A Simple Jew has an interview with Psychotoddler about the state of Jewish music.

The Ignoble Experiment goes to two concerts in support of Israel.

This reminds me that a few weeks ago Crossing the Rubicon2 mentioned the Voices for Israel CD that includes, among other things, Shir Lismoach. This cheerful and optimistic song was written by Malki Roth, whose Yahrzeit (Hebrew annivesary of her death) is tomorrow. Her life (and those of many others) and music were cut short that day 5 years ago when a young man walked into Sbarro's carrying a guitar case hiding his deadly device.

Israel at Level ground announces that Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull) is returning to Israel.

Kesher Talk has a teremdous linkfest about the war.

The Board Game blog considers Hebrew music and gets a surprising comment from a Jordanian and takes a trip through a war torn country.

Orthodox Anarchist has pictures of some "street art" that shows the anxiety of Israelis.

No feminists on a sinking ship tells Mel Gibson that antisemitism is bad for business.

Jewish Baltimore

Crablaw writes about the Jewish constituency that makes up the a significant portion of Maryland's 3rd Congressional District.

Cross Currents looks at Baltimore's Orthodox Jewish community.

Presence reports on vandalism at his Shul (synagogue.)

Foreign

The ignoble experiment continues her quest to internationalize Haveil Havalim.

Here's a Russian entry on encountering an antisemite.

More Kyshara on what Israel A Simple Jew interviews Psychotoddler on the topic of the current state of Jewish music.

Faux news

Esser Agoroth explains why the Enterpise couldn't have been in the Reuters photo.

Simply Jews discovers the secret behind those Reuters photos.

The Fireant Gazette found a similar original photo.

Pillage Idiot has also reasearched and found an original Reuters photo. (Or maybe the Peoples Cube found them?)

Israel Matzav asks what would happen if the current editors of the NY Times were around in 1943. (h/t Life of Rubin, original image plus details at the People's Cube.)

More related at Kesher Talk.

Judaism

R' Chaim HaQoton discusses Judaism before Sinai.

R' Chaim HaQoton also discusses the holiday last week of Tu B'Av.

(You may need Firefox to view these posts. They did not display in IE.)

Elie's Expositions also discussed Tu B'Av. (Who compares Tu B'Av to Valentine's Day, I thought it was the Jewish Sadie Hawkins day.)

Torah Thoughts applies the lessons from this week's Torah reading to the war against Hezbollah.

Velveteen Rabbi discusses her observance of Yom Kippur Katan.

Loss

Shiloh Musings argues that the cost of fighting a "moral" war are too high.

House of Joy shares her non-joyous thoughts about war.

Biur Chametz attended two military funerals and reflects on them.

Two bloggers remembered Michael Levin.

Saba Yeshayah knows many people who knew him from Philadelphia.

Am Echad knew people who knew him from Nativ.

Consecutive headlines in ha'aretz

Annan: Both Lebanese, Israeli PMs have agreed to cease-fire
UN envoy: Int'l force to deploy in S. Lebanon in 7-10 days; Olmert to address security cabinet. 06:21
Syria still transferring supply of rockets, missiles to Hezbollah
IDF source: Senior Syrian officials involved in arms transfer; says Iranian fighters sent to Lebanon. 03:53

The reviews are in on Richard Cohen's latest, "Hunkering Down with History" and the self selected ones I've seen have been uniformly negative.

Little Green Footballs:

At the Washington Post, Richard Cohen agrees with Hamas and Hizballah that “Israel is a mistake.”

And he’s open to the argument that Israel is a “crime.”

Israel Matzav - his post is aptly title History Lesson

Cohen's article reflects a total ignorance of Jewish history, and of the Jewish connection to the land of Israel dating back to biblical times, which is inexcusable even for an assimilated Jew (which I assume Cohen to be). In fact, even Christians should be offended by Cohen's writing them out of the history of the Holy Land. Cohen adopts the Arab narrative of the last century of history lock, stock and barrel, without even considering that it might be false. Note, I said Arab and not 'Palestinian,' because the 'Palestinians' by their own admission are a fiction created by that Arab narrative.

SerAndEz

Someone explain to me why anyone in their right mind would think that the "smart choice" is to pull back to borders that are not impervious, while terrorism continues, while "waiting and hoping" that history will "move on to something else"?!

Judeopundit

The life he has cheerfully resigned himself to sacrificing might be your own, but that's what you get for being born in a mistake-state, right?

Backspin

After reading the latest from Richard Cohen, we have to wonder what the Washington Post columnist has been smoking...

Yag's thoughts

In it he calls the creation of Israel "a mistake". OK. That's fine. It would be surprising to my father, who is a 6th generation Jerusalemite. It might be insulting to my mother, a holocaust survivor who moved there from Germany after the war, but OK. I’ve read worse ...

Infotainment Rules

So says the hysterical Richard Cohen in the Washington Post, in the first (current) case of a Jewish pundit desperately trying to feed Israeli Jews to the crocodile in the hope that he will be eaten last.

Blue Crab Boulevard

Hunkering down is never a strategy for winning a war. It is a way to die. Israel did not choose this war, it was thrust on them. Sitting back and taking it will not make it better and will not fix the underlying problems. I do not profess to know the ultimate solution, but I highly doubt it is the one Mr. Cohen charts.

Occidentality

Richard Cohen advises Israel not to be overly aggresive. He theorizes that Israel would be best serve to "hunker down" in a defensive position and wait for the nations which surround it to develop into peaceful neighbors. It is an excellent hypothesis provided one does not have to face the consequences of testing it.

Sierra Faith

Richard Cohen is a useful fool tool for Anti-Semites the world over.

I can see the smile cross the face of the evil Ahmadinejad as he reads these words in a prominent American newspaper.

We should all weep for the lack of moral clarity in these times from many in America.

The Belmont Club

"Never Again" lasted all of sixty years.

Though not addressed to Cohen's column this recent Dry Bones provides a rebuttal to Cohen's argument.

And while I don't think that Cohen probably meant something less offensive than it sounds - when he calls Israel a mistake he probably means a historic accident given the unlikelihood of a third commonwealth being founded after 2000 years - it's hard to get past the article without feeling that he's giving ammunition to Israel's enemies.

But when Cohen writes

In his forthcoming book, "The War of the World," the admirably readable British historian Niall Ferguson devotes considerable space to the horrific history of the Jews in 19th- and 20th-century Europe. Never mind the Holocaust. In 1905 there were pogroms in 660 different places in Russia, and more than 800 Jews were killed -- all this in a period of less than two weeks. This was the reality of life for many of Europe's Jews.

Little wonder so many of them emigrated to the United States, Canada, Argentina or South Africa. Little wonder others embraced the dream of Zionism and went to Palestine, first a colony of Turkey and later of Britain. They were in effect running for their lives.

you get the impression that he is providing ammunition to the Arabs and their sympathizers who argue that since the Holocaust is a European crime why should Europe repay Jews by taking the Palestinians' land from them. As President Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Der Spiegel (where he's clearly having trouble with the idea that the Holocaust did take place)

We don't want to confirm or deny the Holocaust. We oppose every type of crime against any people. But we want to know whether this crime actually took place or not. If it did, then those who bear the responsibility for it have to be punished, and not the Palestinians.

Cohen doesn't mention the historical ties of Jews to Israel and no mention of persecution of Jews in Arab and Muslim lands. Nothing to provide a context that Israel is a refuge for Jews, not just from Europe, but from the world over.

To Cohen Israel's founding is a reaction to the Holocaust. Toleration of Israel is a sign of civilization and an acknowledgement of the wrongness of the Holocaust. But there are those who don't accept his premises. They too must be tolerated no matter how outrageous (and murderous) their behavior. Until they come around. Somehow that's not very comforting or convincing.

UPDATE: Welcome Memeorandum readers.

AbbaGav's title says it all Israel's Mistake: Existing. Remedy: Cower Passively, Hoping They Run Out of Rockets . Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing.

Daled Amos writes of the many aspects of history that Cohen ignores ...

Or the history of Safed, the city in Israel that is currently known for being struck by Hizbullah missiles, but back in the 16th century was home to a Jewish community which included Rabbi Joseph Caro who wrote the compendium of Jewish Law used till today.

Kesher Talk

Winston Churchill knew Saudi Arabia was a mistake. Don't blame the Brits for letting Jews finally have tiny Israel back after they had repeatedly returned and gotten slaughtered and exiled again and again for 2000 years. Blame the Brits for giving Arabia to the Wahabis, arguably the mistake which has shaped the last 100 years more than any other.

On the topic of Kesher Talk's zinger read this.

UPDATE II: Welcome to Buzztracker readers.

Captain's Quarters

Richard Cohen channels National Lampoon's "Deteriorata" in today's Washington Post opinion section in writing about Israel. He argues that since Israel's birth came out of the Holocaust and that many in the Muslim world refuse to acknowledge that genocide, Israel should "hunker down" and apparently allow terrorist groups to attack then without fear of reprisal.

And by all means check out Deteriorata. It's a riot.

A Barbaric Yawp

In short Cohen agrees that the critics of the withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza were correct and that these moves were seen as weakness by Hezbollah, Hamas and company. Cohen also admits that UN peacekeeping troops are not the answer.
His solution is to withdraw again to what he calls defensible borders. Isn't the definition of insanity continuing to do the same thing over and over again with the hope that it will yield different results.

Right Wing News on noting the column sounds like satire

Maybe they can just replace Cohen with Frank J., Liberal Larry, Scott Ott, or Iowahawk. The conservatives would think it was funny, the liberals would have trouble telling the difference, and the bloggers would probably work much cheaper than columnists like Cohen.

Hot Air

Picture yourself perched in the turret of a tank, scanning the horizon with night-vision goggles, pondering whether the order that sends you north across the blue line is the order that might end your life. You’ll be sent over into Lebanon to take out a Hezbollah rocket cache, but it’s heavily defended and there’s every chance in the world that Hezbollah has an ambush waiting for you. At that moment, the Washington Post’s Richard Cohen wants you to remember: Israel is a mistake.

Thoughts by Seawitch

But I will say this, far from being a mistake, Israel is the greatest miracle to have occured in the 20th century. The Jewish people returned to their ancient homeland and have created a vibrant society while at the same time defending itself in numerous wars from neighboring countries and from terrorists groups such as Hamas and Hizbollah.

LawHawk - expanding on KesherTalk's point

Israel's existence was a mistake? You could say the same thing about every border drawn by Europeans in Africa, the Middle East, and anywhere else for that matter, where countries were invented along borders that never existed before (Palestine, TransJordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Turkey were all part of the Ottoman Empire until its breakup after WWI by the Europeans).

Common Folks using Common Sense in a similar vein

By the way, if Israel is a historical mistake, then so are Pakistan and Bosnia, and probably others. Anything noteworthy about them, Sir Cohen? Maybe we should return Iran to the Zoroastrians, Egypt to the Copts, Lebanon to the Maronites, western Turkey to the Greeks, Iraq to the Assyrians, and eastern Turkey to the Armenians. Why don’t we turn the whole world over to the Roman Empire?

Boker Tov Boulder

After acknowledging in this very same column that 95.7 percent of Poland's Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, Cohen has the audacity to suggest that Israel wait and hope "that history will get distracted and move on."

Common Sense and Wonder

Ah yes, if only those Europeans hadn’t foisted the Jews they didn’t manage to kill off on the poor Arab world where no Jews had been before. If only the few million Jews already living there under British rule and Turkish before that agreed to permanent dhimmitude under the enlightened Arab rulers after the British left there would be no troubles at all. I’m sure the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem would have been happy to carry on the unfinished work of the Germans and then there would be no ‘problem’ with the Jews at all.

Or as Tinkerty Tonk puts it succinctly

Cohen would have Jews continue to run for their lives.

Others:
Iowa Voice
Gateway Pundit
Confederate Yankee
Shrinkwrapped

UPDATE III: TBIFOC gets some expert opinion on Cohen. Katz say, "meow."

If creating a nation of European Jews was a horrible mistake, I guess the morons who came up with the idea of expelling 600,000 Jews in Arab lands to force them to move there and cement the Jewish hold on those lands have got to be the dumbest, most ignorant people who ever lived.

And he's soliciting. Opinions that is.

Maryland Conservatarian starts with

As of this writing, Richad Cohen’s column - Hunker Down With History - in today’s Washington Post has already generated 87 blog linkings according to the Technorati sidebar. A quick sampling of them indicates the trend is definitely anti-Cohen…and deservedly so because his column today is mind-numbingly inane.

(Emphasis mine) and he doesn't let up.

Partisan Times also noticed the similarity to Ahmadinejad and links to a few others.

Some general criticisms including Cohen:
Life of Rubin - the long version
Beit Frumpy Chic - the short version

UPDATE the final: I never mentioned any of Cohen's defenders. Here's Mahablog after noting that it isn't clear what Cohen wanted, writes

Righties, who have below-average reading comprehension skills at best, have variously interpreted this column...

Well yes there's a lack of clarity in the column and that would explain the various interpretations of Cohen. That's the fault of the writer, not the critics. But for the most Cohen was criticized for his ignorance of history. By focusing strictly on Jews coming to Israel after the Holocaust he was leaving out an awful lot of history. His central point was very weak.

Mahablog approvingly quotes Matt Yglesias “

Israel itself is a mistake . . . the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now” is a bit too quick and easy. … The “mistake” here would be Arab rejection of the UN partition plan which, at the time, I’m sure looked to them like a really clever piece preventative security gambit but obviously turned out to be a total fiasco. The lesson would be something about not pushing things too far, not rejecting reasonable favorable compromise proposals, not doing things with giant downside risk, etc.

But Cohen's column was directed towards Israel not the Arab/Muslim world. And Cohen seemed to be saying that the conflict won't end as long as Israel's viewed as a mistake so Israel better get used to it. If anything that seems to be encouraging Israel's enemies, not cautioning them.

Technorati tags: Israel, Richard Cohen.

Walt-Mearsheimer retrospective in the washington post
In the Sunday between publishing an op-ed by the leader of Hamas and an op-ed by a regular columnist declaring the existence of Israel a mistake, the Washington Post undertook another sticky topic regarding Israel in its magazine. It revisited the Walt-Mearsheimer paper in an article, A Beautiful Friendship? by former Israel correspondent Glenn Frankel.

I'd have to agree with questioner (from a subsequent Q & A with Frankel, who wrote

As a Jewish American with deep connections to Israel, I began your article expecting to be outraged and finished only mildly annoyed.

Unfortunately Frankel, while generally balanced, never really addressed the content of the Walt/Mearsheimer paper directly.

In March two distinguished political scientists -- Stephen Walt from Harvard and John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago -- published a 42-page, heavily footnoted essay arguing that the Bush administration's support for Israel and its related effort to spread democracy throughout the Middle East have "inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security."

Yes it was heavily footnoted. It was also extremely selective. A critique that Benny Morris wrote in the New Republic dealt with the selective nature of the paper. Or I could link to an excellent critique on a single point by Jewish Current Issues. The problem with that unless one acknowledges the sloppiness of the paper, one isn't going to question the motives of the authors.

This is troubling.

In an e-mail Pillage Idiot wrote:

The basic issue is whether the position a "lobby" espouses is correct. These people are saying that a lobby whose position they oppose HAS TOO MUCH POWER. That's a wholly different thing. What is power, anyway, but the ability to persuade? Was Bush duped into supporting Israel? Was he bribed into supporting Israel? Doubt it. He actually believes in what he says.

For Frankel to address the question of the power of the Israel lobby, implicitly he is acknowledging that he disagrees with the aims of that lobby. He wouldn't look too critically at the contents of the Walt/Mearsheimer paper because he, at least, accepts that part of their premise.

But let's assume supporting Israel is against American interests. Therefore the $3 billion in annual aid is a waste. Well does anyone ask about whether the $2 billion annual aid the U.S. gives to Egypt? Or the millions that went to the PA over the past 13 years? And does support of Egypt or the PA really advance American interests?

Israel's enemies and America's enemies are largely the same. Egypt and the PA embrace those enemies. Israeli votes roughly 90% of the time with the United States; Egypt about 20% of the time. (Actually no country votes with the United States more than Israel. Wouldn't that suggest that their interests are similar?)

But despite the antagonism shown to the U.S. by Egypt in a number of ways the American monetary support of Egypt isn't subjected to anywhere near the same level of scrutiny as aid to Israel. (About the only time the Washington Post editorially opposes the aid to Egypt is in reference to its suppression of the opposition - including the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.)

Another problem with Frankel's articles is that he lets Walt and Mearsheimer get away too easily with their dismissal of David Duke. Yet as even Walt's friend Shai Feldman observed "

You have to differentiate between them and their argument," Feldman replies. "They're not anti-Semites even if they have slid into an anti-Semitic argument. I think it all comes from their failure to prevent the war on Iraq."

Or, more pointedly, as Pillage Idiot e-mailed

If you mimic anti-semitic charges that have been made against the Jews for centuries and perhaps millennia, the burden shifts to you to prove you are NOT an anti-semite.

And in fact, though Walt and Mearsheimer rejected the support of David Duke a well know white supremacist in this country they were more than happy to submit to a sympathetic interview in England's Independent with Robert Fisk who isn't exactly well known in the United States. But Fisk's antagonism towards Israel is no less than Duke's. And in case anyone missed the point of the interview, the Independent ran a cover with an American flag where the star field replace 5 point stars with the six point Jewish stars. It was a visual representation of what white supremacist call ZOG - the Zionist Occupied Government.

(The cover photo of the Washington Post magazine had a similarly disconcerting image prompting a questioner to ask Frankel

But what has me most upset is the cover art on the magazine itself. The Washington Post gave every anti-semetic organization in the nation their new poster image. It is like something straight out of The Elders of Zion. I expect more from the Post.

Frankel answered I

understand your concern but I can't agree with your comment about the cover. Yes, it's a strong image, but if you look at AIPAC's own logo, it's a Star of David with American stripes going through part of it. Symbols do have power, and extremists often seek to hijack them for their own purposes. But that shouldn't stop us from engaging in free expression.

Except that AIPAC uses that imagery to show a confluence of interests. Israel's antisemitic critics use it to show that the Elders of Zion have hijacked American policy. Frankel at best is oblivious. And of course he says well, we can't not run such an image, that would curtail our right of free expression, latching onto another criticism of the Israel lobby: that it silences its opposition.)

(In a different context Hatemonger's Quaterly observes

By now, we all know the old saw: Zionists purportedly mean-spiritedly label opponents of Israel anti-Semites in order to shut them up. This helps silence the opposition in what is, we imagine, the most cacophonous silence in history—one hears more about this horrible silence more than one actually notes the non-existent silence.

)

Then there's another matter of Walt and Mearsheimer's behavior that also makes it hard for me to give them the benefit of the doubt about their motivations.

In an interview published Friday with Forward, Prof. John Mearsheimer alleges that the pro-Israel lobby is so powerful that he and Stephen Walt would never have been able to find an American publisher for their paper.

Who is Walt kidding? I'm sure that the Village Voice, the Nation, the American Conservative or even the New York Review of Books would have been willing to publish "The Lobby." And if they were interested in publishing the essay in book form, there's certainly Nation Books. Walt has no problem using the language of the anti-Israel crowd when it suits his purposes. For him and Mearsheimer to shrink from David Duke's praise is a little hyprocritical. They agree with the view, but don't want the stink of others who hold that view to stick to them.

Finally Frankel mention former Senator Charles Percy who feels that he was successfully targeted for defeat by AIPAC. (AIPAC is frequently referred to in the article as "right-wing" yet it was its support of the very liberal, the late Paul Simon, that is cited as the reason for Percy's defeat.) The reason given that AIPAC targeted Percy was that he met with Yasser Arafat even though, according to Percy, he voted for every foreign aid bill that AIPAC favored. Look I can understand Percy's resentment if he feels he was targeted by AIPAC, but reading Frankel you don't realize that there's more to the story.

First of all meeting with Arafat 20+ years ago, was a big deal, that it wasn't post Oslo. Though Arafat never gave up his terrorist ways, he was accurately perceived as a bad guy then and meeting with him was tantamount to approval of his agenda. Furthermore since his defeat, Percy has been involved with the American Educational Trust. AET is a decidedly anti-Israel organization. It is probably antisemitic too. (Check out the website for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs for a sense of the organization.)

Again this is a significant piece of information about Percy that Frankel doesn't mention.

So the problem with Glenn Frankel's treatment of Walt and Mearsheimer is that it's about their paper without it being about them and their views and allies. It is, in other words, shallow. Long but shallow. So though the article appears balanced between proponents and opponents of Walt and Mearsheimer, it lets them off the hook by not investigating what their paper really said.