illegal business (original version)

whither the national religious camp?

Whither NRP? (extracts)
Matthew Wagner, JPost, Nov 13 2008

On Tuesday the National Religious Party’s central committee, a group of 1,160 kippa s’ruga wearers representing the heart of religious zionist political aspirations, will convene to vote on its own demise. Last week, after months of negotiations, the NRP and the parties making up the National Union — Moledet and Tekuma — announced they would disband and form a single political party that has yet to be named. Two NU MKs — Arye Eldad and Effi Eitam — opted against the union. Eldad plans to establish a right-wing secular party called Hatikva, while Eitam hopes to find a place for himself in the Likud. As Eldad, a reserve brigadier-general and former head of the IDF Medical Corps, put it in an interview with the weekly Basheva, which caters to a decidedly right-wing segment of religious zionism:

I asked one of the senior members of NU/NRP who is running to become chairman of the new party a question: ‘If I bring you a combat pilot who is a reserve colonel, a decorated war veteran, a real patriot, but who drives on Shabbat, would you include him on the list?’ He said to me, ‘That’s a problem.’ If that is the type of party they want to create, it is not for me.

The unity deal calls for the creation of an election council, composed of rabbis, university professors, businessmen, IDF officers and other non-politicians, who will choose the new party’s candidates for the next elections. The council of about 40 will be chaired by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ya’acov Amidror. Some of the rabbis who were chosen to sit on the council include Dov Lior, rabbi of Hebron-Kiryat Arba; Haim Druckman, rabbi of the Bnei Akiva yeshivot; Elyakim Levanon, rabbi of Elon Moreh; Yuval Cherlow, rabbi of Tzohar; and Yehuda Gilad, rabbi of Kibbutz Lavi. The goal of the council is to straddle the chasms that have caused the NRP to disintegrate over the years. On the left-wing side of the spectrum are those who integrate readily into general society and tend to reject rabbinic involvement in the political realm. Most voters belonging to this camp are liberal in their approach to religious practice but politically hawkish, with opinions to the right of the Likud. Some are more centrist and identify with Kadima, while a small minority is politically left-wing and supports Meimad, a religious party that favors territorial compromise for peace with the Palestinians, and runs on a united ticket with Labor. In the center of the spectrum are the NRP pragmatists who live in religious-zionist neighborhoods inside the Green Line in cities such as Givat Shmuel, Rehovot, Modi’in, Netanya and Kfar Saba, or in the more established settlements in Judea and Samaria, such as Elkana or Efrat. Their men are usually clean-shaven and wear their tzitziot inside their pants, while their women often do not wear a head covering.

On the right are those who are more “enclavist” and parochial in their religious outlook. Like haredim, they tend to accept Torah opinion (da’at Torah) as binding for political as well as religious matters. Overwhelmingly this group tends to have political views to the right of the Likud. This combination of haredi-like observance of Halacha combined with fervently right-wing politics earns them the name “hardal,” a combination of haredi and nationalist (leumi). Hardal men normally have beards and wear their tzitziot outside their pants. Their women are strict about modesty dress codes and scrupulously cover their hair. Hardal parents tend to send their children to schools that devote more time to Torah studies than to secular studies. High-school graduates are more likely to postpone IDF service indefinitely instead of entering the army after attending a pre-military academy or hesder yeshiva. Yoske Achituv, one of the founders of Kibbutz Ein Tzurim, who broke with the NRP to join Meimad, is strongly critical of the hardal elements which he claims have commandeered the NRP:

The NRP has been taken over by a bunch of hardalim who are convinced that there is some metaphysical connection between maintaining the entire Land of Israel and the imminent redemption of the Jewish people. For these people it is crystal clear what God wants them to do. They know His ways and they know how He manifests Himself in history. This messianism was never a part of religious zionism. In the past religious zionists worked hand in hand with secular zionists to build the Jewish state. But today’s religious zionists claim that the origin of zionism has nothing to do with Herzl. Rather it all started with the Gaon of Vilna and his students. Theologically, I can have no part of this style of religious zionism.

The left-right religious rupture is not the only divisive element within religious zionism. There is also an ethnic, socio-economic split. Historically, the NRP has drawn electoral strength from various strata, from predominately Sephardi development town residents to middle and upper class Ashkenazi professionals and businessmen. Over the years the NRP has lost Sephardi votes to the Likud and Shas. It has lost hardal votes to various splinter parties that broke off from it, such as Moledet, Tekuma and Tehiya. Meanwhile, less right-wing religious zionists have been drawn away by the Likud and Kadima and to a lesser extent by Labor-Meimad. Political scientist Menachem Friedman, an expert in religious political parties and himself a religious zionist, argues that the NRP has lost its political justification:

Today there is no need for the NRP. If you are right-wing in your political views, there is the Likud. If you are haredi in your religious outlook, there is Shas or United Torah Judaism. The NRP never offered an alternative theology that could seriously compete with the haredim. There was always a feeling that religious zionists were subordinate to the more authentic version of Judaism practiced by the haredim. I believe we are entering into a political era that will be similar to the US’s two-party system, in which people with diverse opinions and backgrounds will find what they need in a few large political parties.

NRP chairman Orlev disagrees:

Politicians with kippot s’rugot who join a larger party end up losing their impact. The NRP has a unique agenda in numerous fields, whether it be value-based education or the Jewish character of the State of Israel. Our economic platform is fundamentally different from the Likud‘s under Binyamin Netanyahu. And of course there is our belief in the Greater Land of Israel, not for security reasons, not because it is easier to defend ourselves with Judea and Samaria, rather because there is an inherent religious value in settling the Land of Israel.

dore gold’s nose in the trough, already

Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN and a close Netanyahu adviser, said the Likud leader liked and respected Obama, and that the two meetings they had held so far, in Washington in 2007 and in Jerusalem last summer, had gone well. “I was at both meetings, and it was clear that the two leaders established a very good chemistry very quickly,” he said. “We are convinced that the Obama administration will be open to hearing new ideas from Israel on how to make progress in the region.” Netanyahu’s aides add that just as the Obama campaign linked McCain to Bush, they plan to label Livni as a continuation of the status quo and Netanyahu as the candidate of change. “Yes he can,” one aide said, with a touch of self-parody. “He believes he is the guy who can do it.” – Bronner & Cohen, NYT

tell us about it, mr zogby

[…] Obama has tapped Emanuel for his proven political skills. It is that simple. This, of course, was neither the content nor the concerns raised by the emails I received. Some charged that Emanuel was an Israeli citizen or a dual US-Israeli national (he is neither, he was born in Chicago in 1959); or, they alleged that he served in the IDF, losing his finger confronting a Syrian tank during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon (he did not serve in the IDF, and lost his finger in a freak accident while working as a teenager in an Arby’s restaurant). A few accused Emanuel of skipping US military service to join the IDF in 1991 (also not true — in the midst of the 1991 Gulf War, while US forces were manning Patriot missile batteries in Israel and the Arab Gulf, Emanuel volunteered for a few weeks, as a civilian, doing maintenance on Israeli vehicles). The most recent story alleges that Rahm Emanuel was fired from the White House in 1998 after being implicated by the FBI, together with Monica Lewinsky, in a Mossad plot to spy on then-President Clinton (a total fabrication, compliments of a shady character who claims to have been a US intelligence official and is a purveyor of many bizarre tales) […] – James Zogby, HuffPost

bailout blues

Rep Elijah Cummings attack:

Bailout Czar Neil Kashkari response:

grauniad momentarily achieves clarity

from Sharaf Nashashibi, ‘Comment Is Free’, Grauniad

There were several fundamental failings in the British press coverage of the recent US raid into Syria. For example, Richard White in the Sun and the Independent correspondent Patrick Cockburn both reported as fact that the raid killed Abu Ghadiya, an alleged al-Qaida figure who smuggled fighters into Iraq. Similarly, the Times diplomatic correspondent Catherine Philp reported as fact that American commandos entered Syria and fought “a brief gun battle with Abu Ghadiyah and members of his cell.” Such news justifies the raid to readers because the target was important enough to violate the sovereignty of another country. However, Abu Ghadiya’s death, and the fight against him, were uncorroborated US claims. The news was not identified by the reporters as coming from American sources. Furthermore, the Independent and Sun did not publish concise, polite letters I had written pointing this out. However, the Daily Telegraph diplomatic editor David Blair responded promptly, politely and commendably to my email questioning why he reported Abu Ghadiya’s death as fact:

Thank you very much for your email. The point you make is entirely valid, and I have amended the web version of my story accordingly. You might have noticed that the print version is entirely different, and did not make the particular claim that you raised. What happened was that the web version was updated by someone unknown to me, who inserted that late at night, so we have corrected that mistake … Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Reporting of the US raid included reminders of Israel’s bombing, last year, of what it claimed was a nuclear site (a claim Syria vehemently denies). Despite Israel’s claim being unproved, it was reported by some as fact. Again, this may encourage readers to see the bombing as a necessary means of halting nuclear proliferation in a volatile region. At fault were an anonymous piece in the Daily Mail, and a Guardian editorial. Guardian analyst Simon Tisdall accounted for this, describing the target as “a supposed nuclear facility”, though here, too, Syria’s denial was absent. The Guardian published my letter pointing this out. The Mail did not. Worse, the tabloid article stated:

Syria is believed to have continued with its nuclear programme by following Iran’s lead and scattering its nuclear development programme around several sites in order to make it difficult to thwart with a single strike.

The article does not identify who believes this, which would have been very useful because not only is it devoid of evidence, but in the eight years that I have been monitoring British media coverage of the Arab world, including Syria, I do not recall ever coming across such a claim. It certainly did not appear elsewhere in British press coverage of the US raid, nor after Israel’s bombing.

‘4 anonymous diplomats’ make more policy

Diplomats: West opposed to IAEA nuke aid to Syria
George Jahn, AP, Nov 14 2008 (extract)

The US and key allies object to an IAEA offer to help Syria build a nuclear power plant, diplomats said Friday. The IAEA would help “select the most favorable nuclear power plant” and offer related help, according to the proposal. The diplomats said the US, Britain, France, Australia and other key members of the 35-nation board are concerned the assistance would send the wrong signal about a country under IAEA investigation. Before the UN agency’s next board meeting, starting Nov 27, the US and its backers are considering whether to openly oppose the project, but obstacles stand in the way. Resistance spearheaded by Washington led two years ago to the board effectively denying Iran technical help in building a plutonium-producing reactor. But Tehran is under UN sanctions. Syria is not. That difference is leaving some nations that supported the US on IAEA aid to Iran lukewarm about Syria, said one of the diplomats. He and four others discussing the issue with the AP asked for anonymity because their information was confidential. Western countries worry that too much pressure on the agency and Syria about the project might backfire. It could draw complaints from developing nations of Western attempts to deny them IAEA aid […]

hip hop movie from occupied palestine

Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them. Here’s the trailer:

http://slingshothiphop.com/