Israel
Obama and the Jews
Granted there was something about George W Bush that sent plenty of otherwise reasonably normal people a little nuts too and perhaps the nature of politics and technology today is… Continue reading
9 CommentsThe Limits of American Power: Israel and Iran Editions
I agree with Melanie Phillips that the principle reason there’s no middle-east preace prcess worth the name is the Palestinian’s reluctance to recognise and guarantee Israel’s security. I believe there… Continue reading
48 CommentsMossad’s suspected actions in Dubai may be a crime, but will they help Israel?
One of Israel’s most potent weapons has been the mixture of awe and fear with which its spy services are held. Now that Mossad is suspected of killing Mahmoud al-Mabhouh… Continue reading
25 CommentsLabour’s Revolting Over Israel
As the Labour Party descends further into student union gesture politics, it is perhaps appropriate that the last backbench rebellion before the election is set to be over Israel and… Continue reading
18 CommentsThe Guardian and Tzipi Livni
Since working at the Jewish Chronicle, I have discovered that many in the Jewish community will have nothing to do with The Guardian. This is based on the pre-conception that… Continue reading
38 CommentsWhat on earth was Daud Abdullah doing on Channel 4 News?
What a bizarre decision by Channel 4 News to invite the Muslim Council of Britain’s Daud Abdullah on to talk about the attempt to arrest the Israeli politician Tzipi Livni… Continue reading
39 CommentsRediscovering Paul Berman
Six years ago I wrote a review for the Observer about Paul Berman’s Terror and Liberalism, a quite brilliant polemic about the way the legitimate liberal desire to overturn the… Continue reading
10 CommentsIsrael’s Enemy Within
I confess I don’t know very much about Isi Leibler, but he’s a columnist at the Jerusalem Post who wrote this week that: The exploitation of Judge Goldstone’s Jewish background… Continue reading
9 CommentsFollowing a strike, would Iran close the Straits of Hormuz?
In most discussions about what would happen following a strike on Iran it is taken as a given that the Iranians would close the Straits of Hormuz, through which 90… Continue reading
27 CommentsThe Swedish-Israeli War of Words
I am just back from holidaying in Sweden. And while I dutifully kept away from blogging, I did follow the news and the developing Swedish-Israeli dispute, the implications of which… Continue reading
24 CommentsYou Can’t Believe Everything You Read in the Swedish Press Either…
So, in addition to everything else the Israeli Defence Forces are organ-hunters, feasting on the livers and kidneys of murdered Palestinians? From Haaretz: A leading Swedish newspaper reported this week… Continue reading
5 CommentsIran’s Red Line? A Case for Caution, Not Action
As is customary, James and I disagree about Iran. Or perhaps we merely have different ideas about what constitutes the most important Persian questions. James, I think (and I’m sure… Continue reading
7 CommentsWho leads Iran?
Marty Peretz makes a sensible point: A story by Parisa Hafezi at Reuters knocks the wind out of the expectation that, if Dr. A’jad loses his re-election campaign, Iran’s nuclear… Continue reading
5 CommentsKen Loach’s Bullying Ghastliness
This is normally Melanie’s territory and it is disgraceful. The chain of events seems to be this: 1. The Edinburgh International Film Festival invites Israeli film-maker Tali Shalom-Ezer to show… Continue reading
16 CommentsBombing Iran? Counter-productive and unlikely to even work.
Of all the many reasons to be wary of bombing Iran, one of the best is also one of the simplest: it won’t work. Or, rather, whatever advantage there may… Continue reading
36 CommentsBenjamin Netanyahu’s Recipe for Disaster
The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg has a very interesting interview with Benjamin Netanyahu which includes this passage: Netanyahu offered Iran’s behavior during its eight-year war with Iraq as proof of Tehran’s… Continue reading
42 CommentsCharles Freeman
Appointing Charles Freeman to run the President’s National Intelligence Council is not quite the same thing as asking him to be National Security Advisor or Secretary of State. How many… Continue reading
0 CommentsHow do you know Obama will defend Israel? John Bolton says he won’t.
How do you know the Obama administration isn’t "soft" on Israel? John Bolton says it is. To wit, Bolton was asked at CPAC today if Obama would defend Israel "when"… Continue reading
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