Peter Beinart: Barred from Atlanta’s Jewish book festival
UPDATE: As the AJC’s Rosalind Bentley reports, tonight’s presentation by Peter Beinart at the Margaret Mitchell House has been sold out.
—————————–
Peter Beinart was raised in the Jewish faith, attends an Orthodox synagogue in New York City, keeps kosher and says “I love Israel and believe in the Zionist experiment.” He was also just named one of the “Forward 50” by the Jewish Daily Forward, a listing that marks him among those “who have made a significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year.”
Peter Beinart
So how does Beinart become persona non grata at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, his invitation to speak this week suddenly withdrawn? Beinart himself is in some ways mystified, noting that “I speak to Jewish audiences all the time — at synagogues and community centers,” and had never previously been disinvited. However, he also recognizes that in his new book “The Crisis in Zionism,” he says things that have angered and perhaps even frightened America’s Jewish establishment.
In brief, Beinart sees Israel becoming less and less democratic — both in spirit and reality — as it attempts to swallow the occupied territories without granting basic human rights to the millions of Palestinians who live there. And he warns that over time, an abandonment of Israel’s democratic heritage will jeopardize its support among young Jewish Americans by forcing them to choose between Israel and their support for democracy and equal rights.
Last month, an opinion poll released in Israel highlighted the risks cited by Beinart. The poll found that 42 percent of Israeli Jews did not want their children to attend class with the children of Israeli Arabs; only 19 percent would give Palestinians the right to vote if the territories were permanently annexed into Israel. And just six years after Jimmy Carter was strongly condemned for using the term “apartheid” to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, 59 percent of Israeli Jews admit point-blank that apartheid now exists in their country.
It is absolutely true, of course, that a similar poll of the Arab nations that surround Israel would find overwhelming, even vicious anti-Jewish sentiment. It is equally true that even today, Israeli Arabs enjoy a degree of free speech unavailable in almost any Arab country.
But it is also true that the United States maintains no “special relationship” with those Arab countries. Some may be U.S. allies, but it is an alliance of mere convenience, not an alliance based on deeply shared values and traditions. Beinart fears that if Israel abandons a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem and attempts permanent subjugation of the Palestinian people, even many Jewish Americans will begin to detach themselves from the country, with dangerous consequences.
As he writes in his book, Israel “must not do to others what Jews found hateful when done to them.”
Beinart is hardly the first to make that argument, and is far from the most forceful. But such things are generally said in Israel, by Israelis, not here in America. For example, Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, wrote that the poll cited above “lays bare an image of Israeli society, and the picture is a very, very sick one. Now it is not just critics at home and abroad, but Israelis themselves who are openly, shamelessly, and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists.”
Beinart has been invited to Israel to speak and debate its future, and has received a respectful welcome. “In general, the conversation in Israel is less confined,” he says. “Israelis don’t worry about whether they have the standing to comment.”
So he can say these things in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but not at the Book Festival of the MJCCA?
“Our membership isn’t closed to anyone or any one idea, but the negative reaction was significant,” Steven Cadranel, president of the MJCCA, told Rosalind Bentley of the AJC. “We believe this is a message best presented away from our facility.”
As a result, Beinart’s presentation has been stripped from the book festival listing and rescheduled for Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. at the Margaret Mitchell House. As he put it last week, “There’s something not quite Jewish about trying to deny someone a public forum to discuss public issues.”
– Jay Bookman
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547 comments Add your comment
Paul
November 13th, 2012
5:39 pm
RB from Gwinnett
“Well, gee, Paul, since Jay can’t seem to tell us what is a low cost alternative to Xolair”
Why should he? Or why should I? You’re the one who brought it up. You just assumed that for decades the UK hasn’t had any drugs in the system to treat severe asthma. Why don’t you show us how on top of this you are and provide a cite that shows severe asthma is a new phenomena in the UK and they’re just now realizing they need a drug to treat it, hmmmmm?
josef
November 13th, 2012
5:42 pm
Well, there’s our top of the page nyanh-nyanh…
JAY
Before I forget, thanks. No J Street comment?
Jay
November 13th, 2012
5:45 pm
Sorry, Josef. Just got back in here to the blog and I’m trying to catch up on comments. What’s your question again?
(In the meantime, I’ll solve RB’s problem for him.)
Paul
November 13th, 2012
5:48 pm
“(In the meantime, I’ll solve RB’s problem for him.)”
RB’s a lib? Expects others to take care of him and solve his problems?!!?
Another day I’ve had a stereotype busted all to pieces -
josef
November 13th, 2012
5:49 pm
JAY
I was just noting the absence of the J Street angle…to the topic at hand… in re our earlier communication vis a vis the banning of Beinart…
josef
November 13th, 2012
5:51 pm
PAUL
Off topic, but Unmentionable’s sausage man had some wild boar sausage last week…not too bad, but he didn’t spice it right for our taste…
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
5:54 pm
Unmentionable’s sausage man???
Sounds like a Frank Zappa song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkL4QOoGHAA
josef
November 13th, 2012
5:56 pm
ZamVet
I figured that one wouldn’t pass without some comment!
Paul
November 13th, 2012
5:57 pm
josef
Went to Branson a couple years ago (made it a point to catch Andy Williams’ Christmas Show. Glad we did). There’s a small, private college a couple miles south. They have a culinary arts program, restaurant is a beautiful place, hammered copper ceiling. First night I ordered a meatloaf made with boar and a few other meats. It was hearty. Spicing on that was pretty good, but the students still need to learn about chopping Rosemary and how pungent it can be.
But I am glad to hear you’re adventurous in the food area. Was why, early on, I enjoyed Jeff Smith “The Frugal Gourmet” on a bare-bones PBS show. His emphasis was so much on appreciating other cultures thru their food and encouraging viewers to give it a try.
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think
November 13th, 2012
5:57 pm
Josef,
I can’t commit much about the Israel situation because, until now, Israel was always my security blanket of sorts. They always seemed so together as a nation ans had a single minded purpose. This has really shaken my tree.
But as to wild boar sausage, it’s not so much the spice but the age of boar…younger…better. also try some apple sauce when cooking it.
Jay
November 13th, 2012
5:58 pm
Josef, leaving that angle out was largely a question of space. This was written to be tomorrow’s AJC column, and had to be fitted to that pre-ordained space.
Also had to weave a lot of background into it to make it accessible to the general reader, which ate up column inches.
Paul
November 13th, 2012
5:59 pm
JamVet
Did anyone ever find out what became of Suzy Creamcheese?
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:04 pm
JAY
Understood…but, well, we do suspect that played no small part in this. And like you said, it had to be accessible to the general reader. And J Street will soon be getting enough air time…
CORBIN
As for Israel, above this internal fracasing, there is that unifying factor. Like I said earlier, the optimistic view is that this is growing pains.
AS FOR the WILD BOAR…I’m getting there…see below…
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
6:06 pm
RB, cease your name-calling please.
Yellow card…
Logical Dude
November 13th, 2012
6:06 pm
Found good sausage at Patek meats.
I had a budget of 50, so I was glad I made it out of there at 49.52. Also good that they were out of the house salami, or I would have busted my budget.
Try the Hunter Salami. I bought 2 (cases?) for about $15.
Jay
November 13th, 2012
6:08 pm
Bro, that card turned red when he refused to abide by my request.
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
6:08 pm
(In the meantime, I’ll solve RB’s problem for him.)
Did we just get a silent red card???
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
6:09 pm
Jay
Just catching up myself… Suspicions confirmed.
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
6:11 pm
josef @ 6:04
Speaking of J Street, did you happen to catch the exit poll that was released by them on election night?
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
6:12 pm
Paul,
No but hopefully she didn’t eat the yellow snow!
Talk about prolific! The man recorded over 60 albums!
He was a true genius – a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship.
My kind of liberal…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f1E3wCX7G4
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:13 pm
USA Today:
“If the U.S. government ends up careening off the “fiscal cliff,” Republicans in Congress stand to shoulder most of the blame, according to a new poll released Tuesday.”
Well, duh. Dog bites man. Stop the presses.
This country has decided that the radical O’bozo, hater of achievers, euro-socialist extrordinaire, is our ruler. He can do no wrong.
RIP USA 1776-2012
Marx on, Comrades!
USA
November 13th, 2012
6:17 pm
“RIP USA 1776-2012″
The reports of my death have been greatly exagerated
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
November 13th, 2012
6:17 pm
Bro, that card turned red when he refused to abide by my request.
Well, by my count RB called Joe Hussein a liar 10 times before he got banned. That means I got 9 names I can work with. Let’s see now, one for josef and . . .
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
6:22 pm
RB got whacked?
Wow. It only took one week for the serious meltdowns to begin, huh?
… hater of achievers…
Does that means he loves Georgia Republicans?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHx5C4O0Cvg&feature=related
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:25 pm
Okay, wild boar…
The best I ever had was at a little restaurant across the street from Napoleon’s birthplace in Ajaccio on Corsica. But, as we all know, there is a lot more to the most memorable meal that meets the eye.
I was on Corsica to work on the translation of a Hungarian Shoah survivor who had worked with the Walenberg resistance. Several of her friends set out to make sure that I was treated as a prince for my efforts in bringing her story to light. One of them was the proprietress of said restaurant. When she heard that I was from Mississippi, the Land of Faulkner, she knew that one of her specialties would be right to my taste—wild boar. Now, unlike here, wild boar there is not ridding the terrain of a pest, but requires a permit to kill. She got the permit, sent “her man” to make the kill, dressed the tender little beastie and prepared it au provençal, done but not overcooked in red wine and light spicing I couldn’t identify all of.
When she personally brought it out to serve me, the looks of the snooty French patrons (and their dogs) toward this young petit prince américain was something I’ll remember forever as a special moment. Only later did I find out that those looks of envy were in no small part due to the fact you had to be somebody to even get a table, much less be served wild boar by the owner herself,
But the boar ? Sheer perfection in the most romantic of ambiance.
Paul
November 13th, 2012
6:25 pm
Pleasant evening, all -
Go easy, will you, Redneck Convert? The blog would be poorer without your insight, keen analytic skills and….. oh heck, we just like “Tales from the Trailerpark” and tunes like “Mrs Redneck Brained Me With a Frying Pan but I’m Okay ‘Cause There Warn’t No Brains There.”
Logical Dude
November 13th, 2012
6:26 pm
F. Sinkwich. “Republicans in Congress stand to shoulder most of the blame”
This country has decided that the radical O’bozo, hater of achievers, euro-socialist extrordinaire, is our ruler. He can do no wrong.
Oh, come on F. Own it like the Republicans in Congress that threatened not to raise the debt limit for partisan purposes.
Republicans own this one. They created it, and only they can assists in getting us out of it.
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:26 pm
“Does that means he loves Georgia Republicans?”
I doubt it.
O’bozo, like most here, hates the south.
But thanks for asking.
Paul
November 13th, 2012
6:28 pm
josef
Thank you for sharing that. Glad I saw it before I signed off.
I really enjoy your recollections. You, sir, may have been a bit wild, but you are never a bore.
getalife
November 13th, 2012
6:29 pm
rb will not take that well.
filky,
It never died because we fired the gop.
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think
November 13th, 2012
6:29 pm
Jamvet…
” she abused a sausage pattie
And said why don’t you treat me mean?
(Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, oooooh!)” ;0
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:29 pm
“Republicans own this one.”
That’s what the poll said. I posted that. Sheeeesh.
O’bozo knows best! The majority of this country says so.
It’s over.
RIP USA 1776-2012
Chip
November 13th, 2012
6:30 pm
Jay, did you read through the many posts on Beinart’s Open Zion forum (among many other places) about the “apartheid” poll written up in Haaretz? Much of what was originally written about it was somewhere between misleading and false. Among other things, it’s not clear the Israelis surveyed understood the meaning of “apartheid,” and the articles didn’t note that most Israelis don’t want to annex the West Bank (the condition that would lead to the voting rights question). There was still plenty in the survey that was disappointing and dismaying, but it was hardly vindication for Carter.
As for what happened with Beinart, it was a terrible decision to disinvite him, even though another venue was found, regardless of one’s opinions on Beinart’s conclusions. The decision is even worse when you consider that the festival has room for that famous “Jewish” author, Tony Danza.
Still, you shouldn’t call it the Atlanta Jewish Book Festival. It’s the Book Festival of the Marcus JCC of Atlanta, and the JCC showed again that despite its name, it is not the center of the Jewish community and does not represent the diverse views of Atlanta’s Jews.
ODD OWL
November 13th, 2012
6:30 pm
Israel is perpetrating slow motion genocide against the Palestinian people… The whole world stand by lethargically and do nothing about it… The U.N. must man up and put pressure on Israel to give up the occupation of Palestinians territory and retreat back to the 1967 borders… Israel must change their warlike mentality and adopt peaceful means in negotiations with the Palestinians and all the surrounding Countries.. In my opinion, the one state solution is the best option for Israel and Palestine… The U.N. should create a new nation called Canaan… Canaan would be composed of three states, Palestine (west bank), Gaza and Israel.. One nation, one citizen, one vote… State lines could be re-drawned to suit all parties… If the nations of the world don’t solve this Zionist problem quickly, i’m afraid that Israel will find itself in dire straits… Israel should avoid becoming the egg between the hammer and the anvil…
getalife
November 13th, 2012
6:30 pm
“like most here, hates the south.”
We live in the South silly sally.
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:31 pm
“It never died because we fired the gop.”
Yes you did. You won. America is so over. I agree.
Sheeeesh.
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:32 pm
BROSEPHUS
No, I didn’t…what did it say…?
USA
November 13th, 2012
6:33 pm
“RIP USA 1776-2012″
Pretty lively corpse you’ve got on your hands
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think
November 13th, 2012
6:33 pm
Geez Josef, and I thought being served barbecued wild boar in a paper plate (Georgia China) by a chick in a Daisy Mae outfit was cool…geez
getalife
November 13th, 2012
6:34 pm
Chin up filky.
Life goes on.
It is karma for 8 long years of w..
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think
November 13th, 2012
6:35 pm
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:29 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gn9A-kdsRo
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
6:35 pm
RC
Let’er rip!!!
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:37 pm
I don’t do YouTube BS.
You got a point? Make it.
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:39 pm
ODD OWL
Your plan won’t work. The best solution is a two-state solution. And you say “If the nations of the world don’t solve this Zionist problem quickly”
Two questions:
What IS the Zionist problem?
Why is it up to “the nations of the world…?”
Jack ®
November 13th, 2012
6:41 pm
Being banned gave Beinart’s book some much needed notoriety. Don’t know why Bookman decided to help too.
indigo
November 13th, 2012
6:42 pm
F. Sinkwich – “like most here, hates the south”
I’m sure we all would just LOVE to know what brings you to this conclusion?
Jay
November 13th, 2012
6:43 pm
Josef, I’m thinking the two-state solution is all but foreclosed as an option.
USA
November 13th, 2012
6:44 pm
“Being banned gave Beinart’s book some much needed notoriety”
Ummm…did you actually READ what Jay wrote? The book is not banned.
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
6:46 pm
“I’m sure we all would just LOVE to know what brings you to this conclusion?”
Reason? He doesn’t NEED a reason. He said it…so therefore it’s true…right?
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:47 pm
CHIP
I have found the commentaries on the Ha’Aretz article fascinating…again, imeoiauo, it has opened a discussion abroad long overdue…
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think
November 13th, 2012
6:47 pm
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:37 pm
Ok, so you don’t like the election results, then do what the song said and…cry me a river.
willie lynch
November 13th, 2012
6:48 pm
This is an issue like that of the changing Republican demographic. While Jews may out number Palestinians in Israel they don’t outnumber Arabs in the region. Their situation is not an easy one to solve but they too will have to have an open, serious heart to heart with the world community. Israel must seek to re-establish credibility on the world stage in order to be considered serious about a solution to the “Middle East Peace process.”
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:48 pm
“I’m sure we all would just LOVE to know what brings you to this conclusion?”
Uh, because we’re red, bitter clingers, love America, and hate euro-socialism?
Kinda like that.
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:48 pm
JAY
Expand on that, if you would…
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:49 pm
“Reason? He doesn’t NEED a reason. He said it…so therefore it’s true…right?”
Pretty much.
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
6:51 pm
“Ok, so you don’t like the election results, then do what the song said and…cry me a river.”
No. You won. Takers > Makers. I accept that.
RIP USA 1776-2012
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:54 pm
Jack ®
“Being banned gave Beinart’s book some much needed notoriety. Don’t know why Bookman decided to help too.”
Two comments on that. Beinart’s book was not in need of any notoriety. It was getting plenty already. Why would Jay “help?” Because this is something we should all be paying attention to. Anytime a small minority of powerful voices can stifle open discussion of ideas any place is something disconcerting to us all.
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
6:55 pm
josef
It showed how people here felt about things, such as the 2 state solution and other ideas. It was rather eye opening for me. Then again, I don’t really have a concrete idea of the inner workings of the Jewish community.
Jay
November 13th, 2012
6:58 pm
Josef, I don’t think the Israeli body politic has the will needed to make that emotional break and shed itself of the territories, and the United States has lost the will and leverage needed to force Israel to make that decision. A considerable part of the Israeli public, Netanyahu included, is perfectly content to delay and delay, knowing that every week of delay makes it even more unlikely that Judea and Samaria will ever be surrendered.
In other words, without admitting it to itself, Israel is slowly sliding toward its inevitable attempt to absorb that land, and I am very dubious about its chances of doing so successfully. I’m not usually pessimistic by nature, but I don’t see a way in which that process can be stopped.
josef
November 13th, 2012
6:59 pm
BROSEPHUS
“…a concrete idea of the inner workings of the Jewish community.”
Just change the word Jewish to Black and you’ll get a good idea..
RF
November 13th, 2012
7:00 pm
“Anytime a small minority of powerful voices can stifle open discussion of ideas any place is something disconcerting to us all.”
That does seem to be a trend of late in many places. One dare not criticize the establishment, either here or in Israel evidently. What that says to me is that like the GOP, many in Israel have realize how tenuous their control is and don’t want to dare give any indication of it. It’s a tactic of those whose power is waning, IMO.
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
7:00 pm
josef
Here’s a link to the results of that poll. I don’t know how scientific or accurate it is, but the results were kind of surprising to me on some of the questions.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.jstreet.org/images/national_election_survey.pdf
godless heathen
November 13th, 2012
7:02 pm
Victoria’s Secret apologized for that Native American _Head Dress_ on the runway because some were offended. Reckon the believers will start bitchin’ about the angel wings next?
_______________
“The Administration” didn’t hesitate to name the Broadwell woman in the affair with General Peaches. NYT: “Administration and congressional officials identified the woman as Paula Broadwell.”
Gregg Eastbrooks comment: “But the White House looks worst in this affair. During the campaign, Democratic operatives kept saying theirs is the party that respects women, including women’s private choices, while asserting Republicans were engaged in a super-sinister “war on women.” Just two days into his new term, Obama presides over the release of information calculated to humiliate Paula Broadwell. Her offense was what, being sexually active? Liking the military?”
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
7:06 pm
Just change the word Jewish to Black and you’ll get a good idea..
So, I simply need to channel my inner Sammy Davis Jr.???
F. Sinkwich
November 13th, 2012
7:06 pm
Can we cut to the chase?
O’bozo, like most lib ilks luvs Arabs and hates them some Isrealis.
As a result of last Tuesday, like America, Isreal is doomed.
Live with it.
Iran gets nukes. The Muslim Brotherhood rules northeast Africa.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
josef
November 13th, 2012
7:11 pm
JAY
I’m probably less sanguine and more optimistic, but neither am I blind to that slide you mention. Our own elections, the relative successes in Tunisia and Libya, the Kurds, the recent moves among the Syrians to say no to both Assad and the fundamentalists, among others, have bouyed my belief that around the world we are watching as the forces of enlightened self-interest are gaining ground. I think that those forces will prevail in Israel and Palestine, too. That is long term. I am far less optimistic in the short term.
We will see, though, in the next Israeli elections whether or not the liberal elements have to chutzpah. My fear is that Bibi and the Hebrew Tarzans will get itchy and jump the gun in order to solidify that “unity under attack” mentality.
Günther Rückl
November 13th, 2012
7:14 pm
JamVet, I share your sentiment. The dissonant tone of discourse in this country is startling. Equally startling is the disinformation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Disinformation by US media has a long history and it is getting worse. Therefore I suggest to read, as a primer, Gilad Atzmon’s The Wandering Who and Miko Peled’s A General’s Son, two Israelis who grew up staunchly Zionist yet turning peace makers. Both, Atzmon and Peled, spoke in Atlanta within the past year.
Check please!
November 13th, 2012
7:18 pm
Peter Beinart said “There’s something not quite Jewish about trying to deny someone a public forum to discuss public issues.”
Jay Bookman said “Bro, that card turned red when he refused to abide by my request.”
By the book man or get barred, banned, disinvited.
Not much difference between the blog host and the Jews he criticizes.
josef
November 13th, 2012
7:18 pm
BROSEPHUS
Thanks for the link…I’ll be going back to it when I can give it the attention it deserves…I saw a few surprises to me on the way through…
And, yes, your inner Sammy Davis, Jr!
barking frog
November 13th, 2012
7:18 pm
Well is this a festival of Jews celebrating books or a festival celebrating Jewish books?
LydiasDad
November 13th, 2012
7:19 pm
Wow, another self-hating Jew. Shocking. Kind of like Jews who vote for Democrats, even though Democrats hate Israel.
Chip
November 13th, 2012
7:19 pm
Gunther, there’s no conflict between being staunchly Zionist and being a peacemaker. I believe, for instance, that Beinart is both.
Jay, it’s hard not to be pessimistic about the peace prospects, but a two-state solution still is favored by the majority in Israel. I’m not sure whether the same is true among the Palestinians, but I hope so.
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:20 pm
“Not much difference between the blog host and the Jews he criticizes.”
Sure there is. A warning was issued and ignored. Who warned Beinart?
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
7:21 pm
Doggone
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:22 pm
“Well is this a festival of Jews celebrating books or a festival celebrating Jewish books”
You left out a third option
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
7:23 pm
Andy’s melodramatic fainting couch predictions are a real hoot, aren’t they?
The worst candidate in 80 years and you cons were surprised that the shameless fraud got steamrolled?
You fools underestimated the Uppity Muslim Juggernaut effect!
And overestimated your own relevance.
I read an article that posited the theory that if Obama lost this election, we would probably not have seen another person of color in the White House for 40 or 50 years. But now? With the big victories for women, minorites and gays, this re-election spells a potential hastening swan song for the Old Stuck in the 1950s White Guy Party.
Can I get an amen?!
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:23 pm
“even though Democrats hate Israel”
Got proof?
Jay
November 13th, 2012
7:24 pm
Chip, I know the polls say the majority of Israelis still want the two-state solution, but that majority shrinks with each passing year and they do not seem capable of ever forcing the decision and compelling Israeli society to go through that extremely divisive trauma.
The longer they avoid it, the less likely it is to happen. To be honest, it’s why I seldom write about the issue any more. I fear the cake is baked.
barking frog
November 13th, 2012
7:25 pm
Doggone/GA
Go for it. Clarity is everything.
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
7:26 pm
No Dad, we don’t hate Israel, you foolish little man.
We hate right wing fascists.
German or American…
Orange12
November 13th, 2012
7:27 pm
This president is a great actor. Ever notice that when matters of importance happen like Benghazi, CIA Director Scandal, Fast and Furious etc. the Pres. acts like Sgt Schultz off that old sitcom Stalag 13.
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:27 pm
“Go for it. Clarity is everything”
It’s a good mental exercise…just combine components of the 2 options you mentioned and see if you can figure it out.
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:30 pm
“the Pres. acts like Sgt Schultz off that old sitcom Stalag 13.”
Nope. But I bet I’m not the only one who notices that his detractors act like Colonel Klink in “Hogan’s Heroes”
oops
November 13th, 2012
7:33 pm
The Obama stimulus is here. Gun sales are way up.
barking frog
November 13th, 2012
7:35 pm
Doggone/GA
well i didn’t explore but it could be an Atlanta festival celebrating Jewish books or a festival
of Atlanta Jews celebrating books or festival celebrating Atlanta Jewish books…
godless heathen
November 13th, 2012
7:36 pm
Gun sales are way up.
I hear sales are Fast and Furious.
They BOTH suck
November 13th, 2012
7:36 pm
Sink
You are perfecting the sour grapes into whine process.
If you drink all that whine, you might be in trouble.
Stop the madness before it is too late.
josef
November 13th, 2012
7:37 pm
JAY, CHIP
Much of what you both are saying does have to do with the demographics of Israeli Jewry. How I’m saying what I’m saying is not exactly politically correct, but the Mizrachim and Sephardim have been breeding like rabbits and, largely from the lower socio-economic and educational classes, they have a lot of axes to grind with the Ashkenazi elite, now moving toward minority status. The tensions that have always been there just below the surface are now coming to the fore. The two state solution is, I think, viewed as a Western solution and suspect therefor from the get-go.
For Israeli Jewish society to pull back from the brink, one of two things has to happen. The Eastern Jews have to see an appreciable effort to advance their status in a more inclusive manner or the Western Jews have to start a breeding program or encourage a greater aliyah from the Western countries. This seems unlikely.
barking frog
November 13th, 2012
7:37 pm
why is the latest facial hair mode one that resembles ahmadinejad?
Jay
November 13th, 2012
7:37 pm
Obama is Hogan. Mitch McConnell is Klink. Boehner is Schultz.
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:40 pm
“well i didn’t explore but it could be ”
Or a gathering of Jews, celebrating Jewish books
barking frog
November 13th, 2012
7:40 pm
Good casting Jay.
Orange12
November 13th, 2012
7:41 pm
“Obama is Hogan. Mitch McConnell is Klink. Boehner is Schultz.”
In the words of another famous Democratic politician: Bill Clinton – “Give me a break”
Doggone/GA
November 13th, 2012
7:42 pm
“Obama is Hogan. Mitch McConnell is Klink. Boehner is Schultz.”
I like it! Does that make the rest of the conned the deluded German guards?
They BOTH suck
November 13th, 2012
7:42 pm
Gun sales went up after the last election.
NRA and gun manufacturers laughed to the bank as they are doing now.
I still have my guns. Whose guns were taken from them due to the last hysteria?
Sales and price will subside as reality sets in that NRA was just on another marketing campaign.
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
7:43 pm
To me, the most humorous aspect of any discussion about American/Israeli politics is how the neocons feign being such being BIG fans of that country.
Gimme a break. Who are they kidding??? It is transparent and laughable.
I remember a time not very long ago in this country when conservatives HATED the Jews. As in “they own all of the banks, hook-nosed cheats” kind of hate.
Now?
Presto, chango they LOVE the Jews!!
Nonsense.
The reality is that they HATE Muslims. As in “all Muslims are terrorists, Islam is a religion of hatred and destruction and the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim” kind of hate.
If the Muslims were all to magically disappear overnight, the cons would not even bother to spit on the Israelis.
Look at how little respect many of them here have for th eideas, opinions and political belief of American Jews…
barking frog
November 13th, 2012
7:45 pm
“gun sales are way up”
…………….
probably need to expect a suicide rate increase…
josef
November 13th, 2012
7:46 pm
Okay, you know us…when it gets too depressing…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCA3WzRC6n4&feature=autoplay&list=PLhzmINwoVkuVjup8eFTA09O-4gN7nXnlU&playnext=1
Fred ™
November 13th, 2012
7:47 pm
josef
November 13th, 2012
5:51 pm
PAUL
Off topic, but Unmentionable’s sausage man had some wild boar sausage last week…not too bad, but he didn’t spice it right for our taste…
+++++++++++++++++
And here all this time I thought YOU were his sausage man………… (I know I’m late, SOMEONE else had to have teed off on that one.)
Jay: Mrs. Fred thanks you. I’ll bet I could get her to make you a pie. She makes the most awesome pies. I cook, she bakes.
godless heathen
November 13th, 2012
7:48 pm
I still have my guns. Whose guns were taken from them due to the last hysteria?
Both, they just haven’t around to you yet.