Owner: Mostly on Israel URL:http://mostlyonisrael.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:00:56 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Israeli politics from a different perspective... Site statistics:Click here
Military Intelligence is a Contradiction in Terms 2007-12-05 00:05:00 What is behind the new American intelligence report according to which Iran has not been developing nuclear weapons since 2003?I can think of three main possible options based on the following assumptions and questions: either the report is true or it is false. If it is true, how come this was not known previously? On what were previous forecasts based, and how does previous data fit in with new data? Who may gain from the publication of the new report?I also keep in mind that many of my questions will not be answered in the near future, since much of the relevant information is confidential, and is released with censorship, distortion or intentional disinformation.If the new report is not true, there are two options. Either the Iranians have successfully misled the American intelligence, or the American intelligence has purposefully changed its assessment. If the report is true, one may wonder how long was this known by US officials before releasing it to the press. Consider, for exam Read more:Military
, Contradiction
, Terms
Missing White Girl 2007-12-03 22:03:00 I haven't had a chance yet to write any comments on the strike in the universities, and already news is coming in regarding Iran's nuclear power scheme. I will postpone my response to that by a day or so, because first I still owe myself a follow-up on a news item of Friday night.I recently read a fascinating article on the "missing white girl syndrome".[1] True, my interest in the topic in itself might be part of the syndrome, but there's no other way to face it and its implications other than verbalizing my thoughts on the subject. Sarah Stillman, a PhD candidate at Oxford (though I believe this paper is a result of her undergrad work at Yale), discusses motivations of the media to focus on cases of missing white girls, and practically ignoring other cases which are obviously just as fascinating. The main purpose of the article is to reconstruct and commemorate a woman murdered and forgotten during a widespread coverage of a missing white girl. This, to her, is performative archae Read more:Missing
, White
What is the strike about? 2007-12-02 22:36:00 The teachers strike
in Israel is entering its 47th day and the end, though inevitable, is not seen. Ran Erez, chair of the teachers' union, definitely made what would seem to be a tactical mistake when not coordinating his struggle with the union of the elementary school teachers' union. The elementary teachers have more power, because their strikes actually bear direct consequences on parents and thousands of work places. However, I am not familiar enough with the settlement that the elementary union reached. Perhaps the benefits weren't as good. When the strike broke out, many said that Erez will not be able to get more than the elementary union settled for, because that would encourage future strikes. Meanwhile, treasury officials have been quoted to say that if Erez does get a better deal, they will compensate the teachers of the elementary union. It is still early to say, but previous mockings of Erez and his misunderstanding of politics (see for example Shtrasler writing in Ha
Between Politics and Values 2007-12-15 23:21:00 The semester has almost reached its end, and not surprisingly, not with a bang but a whimper. In this case, it was the whimper of the time-beggars, scavenging for extra minutes to complete overdue tasks, lost by the squandering of time in preceding months. This is not only an exhausted description of my current status, but also an apology accounting for my relatively long absence of this blog.I was teaching this semester, acting as what is known in Princeton as a "preceptor" and "TA" in many other institutions, for a course on Early Christianity. The course ended with a discussion of Constantine and Augustine, regrettably clampered together for lack of time. Several of my students were interested in Constantine's motives. Was he a true believer or did he create an official religion of the empire for political reasons, believing Christianity would help unify its various components?For me, there is no question. If one does not believe in Christianity, how can one possibly believe that i Read more:Values
Teachers: 1, Government: 1 2007-12-14 23:40:00 The strike of the teachers is over, for the time being. Ran Erez tried to show that he gained many victories, and in doing so, he stressed the fact that the teachers will be compensated for all the days lost. I'm not dismissing the importance of this section, with its financial implications, but of course this cannot be presented as an achievement of the strike. The tautology is clear: you don't go on strike in order to win compensation for the salaries lost during the strike.Other than that what was gained? This is not clear. The compensation for the erosion of wages was due even without the strike, and this is the 8.5% hike guaranteed. The additional raise is under condition of a reform. Now both sides have caught their opponent's bull by the horns. Will the teachers give up the extra 17.5% in order to avoid the reform, or will the government keep demanding for a bigger reform to avoid paying the extra 17.5%? Either way, I think the fact that the strike ends with the expected incr Read more:Government
Two Types of Opposition 2007-12-24 23:02:00 A couple of days ago I referred to Yoel Marcus endorsing Ehud Olmert to stay in power regardless of the final report of the Winograd Committee. I didn't comment on it much further, and in the meantime Haaretz has published a response by Emmanuel Sivan, concluding that Olmert is obliged to resign (Hebrew). Most of his arguments are regarding Olmert's performance as Prime-Minister in various aspect,s including the Peace Process, Annapolis, the Gaza strip and the education crisis. His arguments concerning Olmert's functioning during the Lebanon war of 2006 are mainly the ground offensive of the last few days of the war, and even more so the decision to continue the war after the first week, when "three independent reports, solicited by his bureau and the office of the defense minister… reached a similar conclusion: all that was possible to achieve by military means against Hezbollah had already been met". This is Olmert's great fault according to Sivan. When deciding Read more:Opposition
Another Benvenisti Reference 2007-12-23 21:31:00 Another gem by Meron Benvenisti was published today in Haaretz. I am still hoping that one day his editorials in Haaretz will be compiled into a book (and at the same time hoping that it's much too soon for that).I don't have much more to add to what he said: the link is here, Hebrew and English.Note the fabulous twist of his argument, fabulous for its being subversive as much as its literary pleasure: The title implies the Israeli illusion of the Israeli Palestinians coming to terms with Israel as a Jewish state and them as a marginalized minority. A reader unfamiliar with Benvenisti's writings would therefore be surprised to find him chastising Public Security Minister Dichter for voicing precisely this illusion. The penultimate paragraph tells it all. The Israeli Palestinians should stop mourning and take pride, but not as Israeli citizens, rather as the bearers of a progressive Palestinian identity.My response:- Mocking the Israelis for the illusion of a Palestinian acceptance o
Olmert's Late Love? 2007-12-22 20:30:00 Yossi Verter reports in Haaretz on the warming relations between Olmert
and Peretz (Hebrew Version), labeling it a "Late Love":A senior figure in the Labor Party this week offered an incisive headline for the relations between Olmert and Peretz: "late love." While Peretz was in the government, their relations were marked by quarrels, lengthy periods of mutual silent treatment, and constant mutual suspiciousness. But after their paths parted, in June of this year, when Peretz was replaced by Ehud Barak as party leader, they rediscovered each other. The time apart has been good for them. Olmert meets frequently with Peretz privately and keeps him abreast of intelligence secrets and security developments. When the relations between the prime minister and the present defense minister deteriorated, Olmert found in Peretz an attentive and sympathetic listener. Olmert also enjoys hearing Peretz attack Barak and urge him to show a warmer attitude toward the negotiations with the Palestinians
Marcus on Olmert 2007-12-22 20:28:00 I'm using the chance I have to write for several ideas I had over the weekend, posted as separate posts for sake of archiving. Others may have opted for this to be one long post. Yoel Marcus
has returned to support Olmert
(Hebrew). He supported him for premiership, considering him a successor of Sharon, was quickly disenchanted, and now supports him again. For me, this is only a sign not to take to much notice of someone who is supposed to be a leading commentator. For Olmert, this might be good news.
The Army and the State 2007-12-22 20:25:00 A fascinating article was published in the weekend supplement of Haaretz, though quite disturbing. Zvi Vogel, a retired Brigadier General, accounts for his own responsibility in instigating the October 2000 Intifada (Hebrew version). His remorse appears sincere and is convincing, but one wonders how many more turmoil of bloodshed will the inhabitants of the region suffer by people who will later regret it.Not that I consider his account true. His thesis in its own reflects the illusion many people have regarding Israel's omnipotence in the conflict. The article confirmed notions I've established previously of Israel's share (and its leaders' interest) in leading to a clash in 2000, but that does not account for the Palestinian response. Why would Arafat unleash the violence instead of standing firm and demanding the alleviation of the exact points of pressure that Vogel details? Why could such demands not have been brought forth (and more importantly - put down on paper) before c Read more:State
Recommend Site To A Friend
