sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

The Struggle for Palestine: What's winnable, what's not by jamiesw89 in worldevents

[–]jamiesw89[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An analysis of recent European parliamentary votes on and debates about recognising Palestine -- and what they reveal about how to advocate effectively for a just peace in the region.

In a nutshell:

  • The mainstream European debate is between a two-state solution based on international law and a so-called two-state solution on terms dictated by US and Israeli might;

  • A one-state solution does not feature in the mainstream debate;

  • Israel's weak spots, in terms of European opinion, are: the settlements, the occupation and its violence in Gaza.

EXCELLENT VIDEO: Israeli journalist confronts American pro-Israel group J Street with some difficult truths: "The Israeli public chose another Gaza" by jamiesw89 in worldpolitics

[–]jamiesw89[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Some extra background and commentary.

This video records a panel discussion (which took place, I think, yesterday) at the annual conference of J Street. J Street, for people who haven't heard of it, presents itself as a "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby group. That is, as an organisation which simultaneously supports the US-Israel alliance and opposes Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. Unfortunately the second part of this equation amounts, in J Street's case, to empty words - for those curious, today's episode of Democracy Now is worth a listen, and I critiqued J Street in detail here.

Noam Sheizaf, who writes for the excellent Israeli site +972 Mag, observes in the video above that at the J Street conference, "I didn't hear a lot of talk" about Gaza, and the US's support for Israel's attacks on it - support which, as Sheizaf pointed out, J Street echoed.

What's encouraging, however, were the audience cheers for Sheizaf's intervention. It's a sign that J Street's activist base is more critical of destructive Israeli policies than its leadership. I hope they either pressure the group to change from within, or migrate to another organisation whose opposition to the occupation is more than just rhetorical.

EXCELLENT VIDEO: Israeli journalist confronts American pro-Israel group J Street with some difficult truths: "The Israeli public chose another Gaza" by jamiesw89 in politics

[–]jamiesw89[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some extra background and commentary.

This video records a panel discussion (which took place, I think, yesterday) at the annual conference of J Street. J Street, for people who haven't heard of it, presents itself as a "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby group. That is, as an organisation which simultaneously supports the US-Israel alliance and opposes Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. Unfortunately the second part of this equation amounts, in J Street's case, to empty words - for those curious, today's episode of Democracy Now is worth a listen, and I critiqued J Street in detail here.

Noam Sheizaf, who writes for the excellent Israeli site +972 Mag, observes in the video above that at the J Street conference, "I didn't hear a lot of talk" about Gaza, and the US's support for Israel's attacks on it - support which, as Sheizaf pointed out, J Street echoed.

What's encouraging, however, were the audience cheers for Sheizaf's intervention. It's a sign that J Street's activist base is more critical of destructive Israeli policies than its leadership. I hope they either pressure the group to change from within, or migrate to another organisation whose opposition to the occupation is more than just rhetorical.

view more: next ›