“If Moses had chosen to bring us to America, our problem would have been easy, but he did not choose to do so, and he is not here to discuss it.”
Chaim Weizmann, quoted in Oren Kessler, Palestine 1936 (p. 200; attributed to a meeting in London in February 1939).
I hardly wish to quarrel with Chaim Weizmann, but I’m not so sure that the problem would have been “easy”; “easier,” quite likely.
These three always provide thoughtful discussion in their “For Heaven’s Sake” podcast.
But in their latest episode, they’ve outdone themselves.
(more…)“These false charges of genocide against Israel are smears long used by critics who apply classical anti-Semitic tropes to the Jewish state. And they have consequences. These forms of blood libel fan the flames of hatred towards Jews as surely as the medieval claims once did that we murdered Jesus or were killing Christian infants. To utilize my father’s name in such vile accusations is so far beyond the pale that I am staggered by the silence in response.”
Source: Elisha Wiesel, “Tlaib’s Shameful Weaponization of the Elie Wiesel Genocide Act Against Israel” (The Hill)
“How do we ‘tally’ or assess what is retaliatory or ‘proportional’, as the international community is always quick to remind Israel. Western media is quick to denounce Israel reflexively, no matter how many hundreds of rockets are aimed at the country’s civilians. Israel is ‘blamed’ and faulted for suffering fewer civilian casualties than Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. And the media seems oblivious to the reasons for this asymmetry; that Israel invests in defense capabilities – like the Iron Dome. Civilian shelters are also a priority. PIJ and Hamas, on the other hand, embed weapons caches in civilian areas quite intentionally, counting on the Israeli avoidance of collateral damage.”
Source: Vivian Bercovici, The State of Tel Aviv (the link will take you to the latest newsletter issue, from which I’ve excerpted the quote above; Bercovici also offers an accompanying podcast)
Titled “Israel@75: How Did We Get Here?”, this conversation with celebrated Israeli author Etgar Keret was hosted by the Forward and took place last Thursday.