JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Freeing Samir Kuntar

By Uriel Heilman · June 26, 2008

In a follow-up to his recent piece arguing for ignoring Israel's national interest and releasing terrorists in exchange for captive Israeli soldiers, former Rabin aide Eitan Haber writes in Thursday's Ynet that convicted murderer Samir Kuntar should be freed by Israel, if needed. Kuntar is the Lebanese Druse who snuck into Israel in 1979 and killed four people, including a 4-year-old girl and her father.

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Hitchens’ good war—against Pat Buchanan

By Ami Eden · June 26, 2008

Writing in Newsweek, Christopher Hitchens takes aim at Pat Buchanan's new book, "Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War." Hitchens levels several damning criticisms, including this one about Buchanan's view of the Holocaust:

As the book develops, Buchanan begins to unmask his true colors more and more. It is one thing to make the case that Germany was ill-used, and German minorities harshly maltreated, as a consequence of the 1914 war of which Germany's grim emperor was one of the prime instigators. It's quite another thing to say that the Nazi decision to embark on a Holocaust of European Jewry was "not a cause of the war but an awful consequence of the war." Not only is Buchanan claiming that Hitler's fanatical racism did not hugely increase the likelihood of war, but he is also making the insinuation that those who wanted to resist him are the ones who are equally if not indeed mainly responsible for the murder of the Jews! This absolutely will not do. He adduces several quotations from Hitler and Goebbels, starting only in 1939 and ending in 1942, screaming that any outbreak of war to counter Nazi ambitions would lead to a terrible vengeance on the Jews. He forgets — at least I hope it's only forgetfulness — that such murderous incitement began long, long before Hitler had even been a lunatic-fringe candidate in the 1920s. This "timeline" is as spurious, and as sinister, as the earlier dates, so carefully selected by Buchanan, that tried to make Prussian imperialism look like a victim rather than a bully.

Newsweek also has video of Hitchens talking about the book and a reaction from Buchanan.

Also, in the same issue, check out Evan Thomas' article on the uses (and misuses) of the appeasement card by American presidents and Jon Meachem riffs on Churchill.

3 Comments | Share This | Holocaust revisionism, Pat Buchanan, Shoah, World War II |

Time to bolster Hamas?

By Uriel Heilman · June 26, 2008

If Fatah militants are now firing Kassam rockets at Israel in a bid to embarrass Hamas and prompt the collapse of the group's cease-fire with Israel, does this mean Israel should bolster Hamas' military wing so that it cracks down on these renegade Fatah militants and can impose its rule on Gaza?

Madness, you say? Perhaps. But I recall Israel doing just that some years ago when the tables were turned and it was Hamas militants trying to ruin the truces between Israel and the Fatah faction of Yasser Arafat.

Now it's Hamas' gain, Fatah's loss.

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Beware of war

By Uriel Heilman · June 26, 2008

An editorial in Thursday's Daily Star of Lebanon suggests Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may launch a war this summer in a bid to rally Israeli public opinion and ensure his political survival. Possible targets: Iran, Gaza and Lebanon, write the Daily Star's editorialists.

Though tensions long have been mounting on the Gaza and Iran fronts (click on those links for recent JTA pieces on the subjects), the Daily Star editorial relies on flawed logic to reach the conclusion that the likelihood of war with Lebanon is higher as a result of Olmert's political problems. It ignores the lack of public will in Israel for another confrontation in Lebanon of indeterminate success, Olmert's own bitter experience from the 2006 war with Hezbollah and (dare I say it?) the integrity of a prime minister who would not wage war merely for political survival.

But in the Hezbollah-dominated (and intimidated) state that Lebanon has become, it's telling to read the roundabout way the editorialists warn Hezbollah against provoking Israel (which really is an implicit plea to the Shiite militia not to invite more destruction upon Lebanon. The editorialists can't flat-out say that, because that would be blaming Hezbollah for the last war with Israel, in 2006, and that's a dangerous proposition in today's Lebanon):

All of these potential targets should take great care to avoid providing Olmert with a pretext that would both make an attack inevitable and dilute whatever condemnation might come from more responsible members of the international community... Rarely have so many factors converged so perfectly to increase the likelihood of Israeli aggression. Rarely has it been more important, therefore, for the region's indigenous forces - especially Hamas, Hizbullah and the Iranian government - to think long and hard about anything that might give the Jewish state an excuse to lash out. Indeed, even if an onslaught is launched without a pretext, all of these actors should consider turning the other cheek in hopes of preventing escalation and, thereby, of preserving the viability of the diplomatic solutions that such an attack would be designed to doom.

While I applaud the sentiment, it's highly doubtful any of these parties would even consider turning the other cheek. They don't really have a very long track record with that.

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The mitzvah of redeeming Jewish captives

By Uriel Heilman · June 24, 2008

When it comes to making deals to return captive Israeli soldiers, dead or alive, successive Israeli prime ministers have ignored Israel's national interest and their own pronouncements to do all they could to bring Israel's missing boys home, writes Eitan Haber, a former aide to Yitzhak Rabin, in Ynet. This is not necessarily a bad thing, Haber says; it's a Jewish virtue.

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The shark and the fish

By Uriel Heilman · June 24, 2008

When captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was 11, he wrote a story about two mortal enemies, a shark and a fish, making peace. This month, the Israeli Consulate in New York posted a video on You Tube with Bronx middle-school students reading the story. Watch the video here.

0 Comments | Share This | Israel |

BBYO to steer clear of Rubashkin’s

By Ben Harris · June 24, 2008

B'nai Brith Youth Organization will abstain from Agriprocessors meat this summer. Here's their statement:

Camp Food is No Joking Matter BBYO Teens Demand Agriprocessor-Free Camp Programs

As a result of the allegations of intolerable injustices at Agriprocessors, the largest producer of kosher meat and poultry in the U.S., BBYO takes major stand by asking its various camp partners to avoid serving Agriprocessor products, to which they comply.

Nine hundred teens participating in BBYO's summer leadership experiences at Perlman Camp, PA; Beber Camp, WI; and American Hebrew Academy, CA, over the course of this summer, will eat meals free of Agriprocessor products, showing a unified commitment to social justice and Jewish values.

Teens make concerted effort to expand summer program curricula to address the Agriprocessor issue from variety of angles, including the ritual and ethical implications of kashrut, worker's rights, immigration reform and Jewish values.

The first program will take place on Thursday, June 26, 11:45 am – 1:15 pm, when nearly 100 Jewish teens will gather at Beber Camp in Mukwonago, Wisconson (suburban Milwaukee) to make their voices heard against the intolerable injustices at Agriprocessors. Confirmed speakers include Rabbi Morris Allen, a Minneapolis-based leader of the Heksher Tzedek campaign for kosher foods to be produced ethically, who has been to Postville multiple times and will share first-hand accounts from factory workers. Lauren Shenfeld, BBYO's International Teen Co-President, will also address the group, to raise awareness among her peers and encourage action when teens return home to their local communities.

"If anyone is going to make their opinion on this problem matter to the Jewish community and communities at large, and ultimately stand up against an issue in which human rights and Jewish values are demeaned, it's BBYO teens." – Lauren Shenfeld, BBYO International Teen Co-President

"The reason this issue has struck such a deep chord with BBYO teens is because it's the story of their grandparents and great grandparents – the story of immigrating to find a better life, fighting oppression and standing up for social justice." – Marilyn Sneiderman, BBYO Deputy Director and former Director of Field Mobilization for the National AFL-CIO

94 Comments | Share This | Agriprocessors, Kashrut |

Cameras as weapons

By Uriel Heilman · June 24, 2008

After the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem handed out more than 100 cameras to Palestinians in the West Bank to document their harassment by Israelis, it didn't take long for the investment to pay off. This month, Muna Nawajaa of Khirbet Susiya recorded an attack by masked men, believed to be Israeli Jews, beating members of her family with clubs.

The video of the incident, which took place in the South Hebron hills, prompted Israeli police to take action. Three suspects from the nearby Jewish town of Susiya already have been arrested. Tuesday's New York Times carries a feature on the June 8 incident and its aftermath.

While the project, called "Shooting Back," is a good way to root out the thugs among Israeli Jews who live in the West Bank, it shouldn't be limited to the West Bank – or Israel, for that matter.

Imagine if this project were expanded throughout the Middle East. Just as Israel has taken action against this thuggish and criminal activity, authorities from Riyadh to Cairo would take action against thugs in their societies who target Arab innocents.

There's just one problem: Nobody's interested in how people in those places are beaten, murdered and maimed – and, in some cases, the persecution is carried out by their own governments. B'Tselem, or at least the United Nations, would do well to protect those innocents as well.

1 Comment | Share This | Arab-Israeli Conflict, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Settlements |

Good news on coexistence

By Uriel Heilman · June 24, 2008

At a time of mostly bad news on the Arab-Jewish coexistence front, a recent Harvard University study on Arabs and Jews in Israel finds some good news to report. Among the key findings:

• 77% of Arab citizens would rather live in Israel than in any other country in the world. • 68% of Jewish citizens support teaching conversational Arabic in Jewish schools to help bring Arab and Jewish citizens together. • A great majority of both Jewish citizens (73%) and Arab citizens (94%) want Israel to be a society in which Arab and Jewish citizens have mutual respect and equal opportunities. • More than two-thirds of Jewish citizens (69%) believe contributing to coexistence is a personal responsibility; a majority (58%) of Jewish citizens also support cabinet level action. • Arab citizens and Jewish citizens both underestimate their communities' liking of the "other." • Urgent action on coexistence in Israel is desired: 66% of Jewish citizens and 84% of Arab citizens believe the Israeli government investments should begin now, and not wait until the end of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Imaginary independence: Spertus Museum shuts down exhibit in face of Jewish protests

By Ami Eden · June 24, 2008

Back in May, the Chicago Sun-Times had a short write-up hailing "Imaginary Coordinates," a multimedia exhibit at the Spertus Museum that "juxtaposes the [institution's] collection of antique maps of the Holy Land against contemporary artworks by Israeli- and Palestinian-born women artists riffing on what you might call cartographic themes: national identity, cultural boundaries, place and displacement."

According to the paper, the exhibit suggested a willingness by Spertus officials to "re-energize, if not radicalize, its programming in ways that may not be what many visitors expect from a Jewish institution." For example, several of the works "implicitly criticize" Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.

What some might view as artifacts of Israeli triumphalism – a 1970 Hanukkah lamp studded with bullet casings, a recent official publication extolling the security wall's effectiveness in reducing terrorist attacks – bounce off homey folk embroidery by Palestinian women.

Then there are several works by female Israeli artists that are no less politically fraught. The most harrowing of these is Sigalit Landau's "Barbed Hula" (2001), a video loop in which the artist, stark naked on a beach in Tel Aviv, shimmies inside a hula hoop made of barbed wire. The barbs on the hoop, like those on the razor wire atop a certain wall, point outward. But the growing welts on the artist's skin are dire enough to make her point about the collateral, self-inflicted wounds that can result from the pursuit of security.

To hammer home the point, the paper cited a catalog essay, by Rhoda Rosen, the director of the museum, in which she said that Spertus is moving "from the parochial toward the civic," adding that "while the new Spertus' starting point continues to be Jewish experience, the institution does not operate from a partisan point of view." There will be times, she added, that "broadly accepted Jewish assumptions will be examined and cherished, and at others they will be examined and questioned."

All this under the headline: "In 'Imaginary Coordinates,' Spertus maps its independence."

As it turns out, it wasn't the coordinates that were imaginary.

The Chicago Tribune published a front-page story on Saturday announcing that, in the face of anger from Jewish supporters, the museum had pulled the plug on the exhibit.

Under intense pressure from angry Jewish patrons, the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies on Friday abruptly closed the controversial "Imaginary Coordinates" exhibition, which explored Israeli and Palestinian concepts of homeland and how that is defined both historically and in the present day.

Critics charged that the combination of historical Holy Land maps and contemporary artwork cast Israel in a negative light.

"Aspects of it were clearly anti-Israel," said Steven Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. "I was very surprised that a Jewish institution would put forward this exhibition. I was surprised and saddened by it."

As for the museum's president:

Spertus President Howard Sulkin expressed regret that the exhibition caused pain for its core constituents. But he said the concept behind it fit with the evolving mission of the museum.

"A willingness to experiment is incorporated right into our core principles, and we see one of our roles as being a place that inspires dialogue on the critical issues of our time," Sulkin said Friday.

On Tuesday the Tribune published an opinion piece by Patty Gerstenblith, a professor at the DePaul University College of Law and director of the Center for Art, Museum and Cultural Heritage Law, criticizing the museum's decision. She lamented that sometimes "donors wield more influence over museum exhibits than the museum's professional staff and that controversial topics cannot be raised because of objections from a local community."

Her conclusion:

The Chicago community and its Jewish community, in particular, have been denied an opportunity to explore the mental state that underlies the conflicts of the Middle East, while the vital role of museums as independent entities has been undermined.

P.S. The exhibit might be closed, but – as of Tuesday morning – the initial news item praising the exhibit and the museum's independent streak is still posted on the museum's Web site.

4 Comments | Share This | Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Museums |