What's the IOI - "If Only Israel" - syndrome?
It's the misguided notion, peddled in the name of Israel's best interests by some in the diplomatic, academic, and media worlds, that if only Israel did this or that, peace with its neighbors would be at hand. But since it doesn't, then Israel constitutes the principal, perhaps only, real obstacle to a new day in the Middle East. Striking, isn't it? Poor Israel. If only it had the visual acuity of these "enlightened" souls, then all would be hunky-dory. After all, according to them, Israel holds all the cards, yet refuses to play them. The thinking goes: Why can't those shortsighted Israelis figure out what needs to be done - it's so obvious to us, isn't it? - so the conflict can be brought to a screeching halt? Dear Prime Minister Erdogan
Dear Prime Minister Erdogan, I write as a friend of Turkey. These days, though, I'm finding it harder to feel well-disposed. I've been stunned by things I've heard, seen, and read in recent weeks. The outburst of animosity for Israel and the anxiety awakened in the Turkish Jewish community make me wonder what's going on and what the future holds. If this only emanated from the "street" or from an extremist fringe, it would be worrisome enough. But it goes deeper - and higher. It starts at the very top. Yours has been the loudest voice, and you have used it to attack Israel in a manner that is not only vicious, but also disconnected from the facts. Take Hamas at its word
There's the story of the mother determined that her five-year-old child should one day be headed for a top college. She decided to pump him with new vocabulary words at every opportunity. When little Charlie came home from school one day, his mother promptly asked, "Charlie, what's the difference between ignorance and indifference?" Totally uninterested, he shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "I don't know and I don't care." At times, that's the sense I get about today's response to Hamas. It's as if there is an ignorance - perhaps a willful ignorance, perhaps just intellectual laziness - about what Hamas, which rules Gaza, really means. No, it is not just another political party in some far-off place, but something far more ominous. Ten worst news stories of 2008
This year, it wasn't difficult to identify candidates for the worst new stories. The challenge was limiting them to ten. Here's my list: An ethical meltdown An Israeli prime minister compelled to leave office, on the heels of an Israeli president who was obliged to leave his post under a cloud in 2007, sent another disturbing message that all is not well in Israeli politics. The Bernie Madoff story, embodying greed and fraud to the Nth degree, inflicted more harm this year on the Jewish world than all of our external enemies combined. And the front-page stories on the accusations against Agriprocessors, the kosher meat plant in Iowa charged with massive labor violations, triggered shock and embarrassment. For a people whose mission statement puts a moral code front and center, clearly, there's remedial work to be done. Israel at 60: reasons to celebrate
Israel is about to mark its sixtieth anniversary. Some friends say they're in no mood to celebrate. The timing isn't right, they complain. The country's political circuitry is overloaded. Danger lurks on the Gaza and Lebanon borders. Iran's nuclear ambitions - and annihilationist threats - loom large. Disputes over the current peace talks with the Palestinian Authority are daily fare. Israel continues to take a beating in UN forums. The drumbeat of anti-Zionism grows louder. A fractious social climate creates long-term and seemingly insoluble fissures between Arab and Jew, not to mention Jew and Jew. And global market volatility spells trouble for the Israeli economy. All true, perhaps. But the story mustn't end there. Milestone anniversaries offer the chance to step back, however briefly, from the news of the moment and take stock of the larger picture. |
 |
 
Combined feed for all JPost.com blogs
Top Rated Posts
Tags:Blogroll |
Comments (56)
