Israel
December 19, 2014 — Steven Hayward
Paul wrote yesterday about the mendacity of the Israel BDS (“Boycott, Divest, Sanctions”) movement at Harvard, where the presence of a water dispenser made by an Israeli-based company in Harvard dining halls was called a “microaggression” by the permanently aggrieved. Late yesterday the widely noted psychologist Steven Pinker stepped up, writing to Harvard’s president Drew Faust and provost Alan Garber to protest in the strongest possible terms against capitulating to
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December 18, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Increasingly, we hear the term “microaggression” tossed around by the infantile left. But what does it mean? As far as I can tell, a microaggression is an affront — real or imagined for the sake of being affronted — so trivial that few stable adults would notice it and none would give it a second thought. When the term is used, the only aggression in sight is that committed by
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December 14, 2014 — Scott Johnson
The Jerusalem Post’s Herb Keinon moderated a panel at the Post’s diplomatic conference in Jerusalem on Thursday. On this panel Danish Ambassador Jesper Vahr expounded on the wisdom of the European Union’s application of a double standard to Israel. Senior contributing editor Caroline Glick angrily demurred. The Jerusalem Post covers it here. It’s an interesting exchange that warrants a look. UPDATE: Tom Wilson comments insightfully on this exchange at Commentary.
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December 9, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Following up on the adjacent post, I want to note that Vice President Biden keynoted the Saban Forum conference in Washington this past Sunday afternoon. The Saban Forum is an annual event including American and Israeli leaders from across the political and social spectrum, organized by Haim Saban and the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. The White House has posted the text of Biden’s remarks here.
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December 5, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
As John has noted, the Obama administration is contemplating the imposition of sanctions on Israel as a response to new settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. So says Haaretz, a reliable Israeli source. When asked about this report, White House press secretary Josh Ernest did not deny it. Neither did the State Department’s spokesperson Marie Harf. At a minimum, then, President Obama wants Israel to believe that
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December 5, 2014 — John Hinderaker
Russia is gobbling up much of Ukraine. China is putting growing pressure on its neighbors in East Asia. ISIS is chopping the heads off Americans. Syria’s government continues to slaughter thousands of its citizens. Iran is working feverishly on a bomb and running circles around our negotiators. Boko Haram is wreaking havoc in Nigeria. Hamas is raining rockets and missiles down on its neighbors. And the Obama administration reportedly is
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November 24, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
The deadline for reaching a deal with Iran over its nuclear program expires today without the parties having reached a negotiated agreement. The negotiating period will be extended until July 1 of next year. This development is being reported as “no deal,” but there actually is a deal of sorts here. According to the British foreign secretary, Iran will receive about $700 million per month in frozen assets. In exchange,
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November 19, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Our “picks” section today featurs an article by Jeff Dunetz claiming that President helped incite Tuesday’s deadly attack on a Jerusalem synagogue. It’s a provacative piece worthy of your attention. I disagree, however, with the view that Obama helped incite the attack or is otherwise culpable for it. Obama has not, of course, advcoated that Palestinians attack Israeli Jews. Moreover, Obama hasn’t said anything that rationally justifies attacks. Dunetz focuses
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November 7, 2014 — John Hinderaker
As Scott noted earlier today, the Obama administration’s warm attitude toward Iran’s mullahs has been in the news. Its view of Israel, on the other hand, is much chillier. Last night, General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a talk in which he lauded Israel’s avoidance of civilian casualties during the recent Gaza conflict, and stated that the U.S. military has sent a team of experts
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October 30, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Let us recall Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s disquisition on American foreign policy in which he explicated the text of Malcolm X in his Nation of Islam phase: “America’s chickens are coming home to roost.” It was Wright’s post 9/11 sermon. Thus spake Obama’s pastor (video here): “What Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Muhammad was in fact true: America’s chickens are coming home to roost.” Wright expounded on
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October 29, 2014 — Scott Johnson
The twisted mentality of the Obama administration is prominently on display in Jeffrey Goldberg’s summary of his conversations with senior officials posted here. Anonymously describing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as “chickenshit,” one senior official serves up a pure case of projection, and another senior administration official seconds him (or her). It is as if Obama himself had dismissed someone as “arrogant,” or Joe Biden disparaged anyone as “stupid,” or John
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October 28, 2014 — John Hinderaker
In case you missed it, the Obama administration (a “senior administration official”) has gone on record calling Benjamin Netanyahu a “chickenshit.” Somehow, that seems like a poor–not to mention vulgar–turn of phrase. The Netanyahu family is not known for its “chickenshit” qualities. Let’s just say that in his youth, Benjamin did not belong to a “Choom Gang.” Mark Hemingway responds on Twitter: Sure, that chickenshit PM was IDF special forces,
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October 13, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Doran Ben-Atar, a professor of history at Fordham University, is an outspoken opponent of calls by the American Studies Association (ASA) for a boycott of Israel’s academic institutions. And wisely so. The boycott is an affront to the free exchange of ideas that should be at the heart of the academic mission. The affront is so obvious that the boycott has failed to gain much traction, for now at least,
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October 7, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Alan Dershowitz’s Wall Street Journal column “The education of a wartime president” is behind the Journal’s subscription paywall but is easily accessible via Google. I learned something from it and urge readers to check it out. It is an important column, deserving of extended discussion in a couple of respects. I want to take it up by annotating it with relevant links. Professor Dershowitz introduces his subject with an Obama
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October 3, 2014 — John Hinderaker
Yesterday Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on Andrea Mitchell’s MSNBC program. While not as obviously loony as some MSNBC hosts, Mitchell is a loyal Democratic Party soldier, and she aggressively parroted Barack Obama’s criticisms of Israel. With his usual cogency, Netanyahu set her straight. It would be nice if Obama would view the tape, but I suspect his ignorance is impenetrable. First, a couple of the exchanges, then on to the video:
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September 29, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the United Nations this afternoon (video below). The prime minister’s office has posted the text here. As is just about always the case, everything he has to say is worthwhile. In part his speech responds to Mahmoud Abbas’s imputation of “war crimes” and “genocide” against Israel in the same forum this past Friday. Of most interest, however, is Netanyahu’s discussion of Iran in the context
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September 27, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Our chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition saluted retiring Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann this past Sunday night. Since her election to Congress in 2006 — she first spoke to us that December, before she took office — Michele has been our favorite speaker. By my count, this was at least her sixth appearance before us. No one else comes close. We are grateful for her heartfelt and eloquent support
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