Judith Green Last night I attended, reluctantly, the official gathering at “Rabin Plaza” in Tel Aviv in commemoration of the 5th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, at which I had also been present. I don’t really enjoy the sentimental Israeli ballads that are the main programming at such events - not just because I didn’t … More »
Peace, but Not Now
Hephzibah Levine The secretary laughed. “You want to study Ara-bic? Now?” The truth was I wasn’t sure I wanted to study Arabic anymore. Traveling to the Hebrew University campus involved taking busses, risking a suicide bombing. But more important, I had begun my study of Arabic before coming to Israel with utopian dreams of a … More »
Israel and the New Intifada
Zachary Lockman In the spring of 1999, as the United States and its allies began to bomb Serbia, and Serbian au-thorities oversaw the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians from their homes, I was in Jerusalem with one of my daughters, celebrating Pesach with family members. Like many others, I was horrified by … More »
Oslo and the Crack-up of the Jewish Left
Jonathan S. Tobin The signing of the Oslo Peace Accords on the White House Lawn in September 1993 was the crowning event of the crack-up of the nationalist camp in Israel. To the applause of most Israelis, the Diaspora, and international opinion-makers, Oslo signaled Israel’s rejection of the ideology of the Land of Israel movement. … More »
Even in These Rage-Filled Times
Thomas Smerling A few years ago, I proposed writing a pair of Op-Eds with a very conservative colleague. We would title both”…But I Could be Wrong.” My hawkish friend would explain why the peace process is a sham, but - since he could be wrong - Israel should give diplomacy every chance. I would argue … More »
Home to Tekoa
Daniel Yossef It’s past midnight and I’m still in the office at Sha-lom l’Dorot (Peace For Generations) reviewing official Palestinian TV (PBC) broadcasts. Worldwide, the networks are broadcasting the plight of Palestinian children, but what the networks do not reveal is the systematic and cynical exploitation of these children by their leaders. The Palestinian police … More »
Ishmael and Isaac: Two Blessings or None
Stephen P. Cohen Peace is not the property of one political faction or another. It belongs neither to the left nor to the right. It is not a stick with which one subgroup of Jews can beat another. Peace is not just the political choice of Rabin or Barak. Peace is the only strategically viable … More »