Comment is Free today published my piece on Chas. Freeman’s withdrawal.  I wanted to expand on a few points in it.  The NY Times characterizes Aipac’s Josh Block as saying the following about the group’s involvement in the anti-Freeman campaign: Joshua Block, a spokesman for the ...

The Israel lobby and Republican neocons have scored their first triumph of the Obama administration by derailing the appointment of Chas. Freeman as director of the National Intelligence Council. The next time anyone qvells about how moderate a Republican Olympia Snowe is just remember that it was p...

Mira Award and Noa (photo Ronen Ackerman) Noa is about to represent Israel along with Israeli Arab performer, Mira Awad, in the Eurovision song contest. Until recently, the Israeli Sephardic vocalist had an impeccable musical and political reputation both within Israel and abroad.  Among other thin...

While it is well known perhaps to Israelis, few outside know that Avigdor Lieberman, whom Israel’s new prime minister is poised to name as foreign minister, plead guilty in 2001 to beating a child.  I’d heard of this story but never read any news coverage about the event nor read a conf...

Jerry Slater, professor at SUNY Buffalo, has published an important essay, A Perfect Moral Catastrophe: Just War Philosophy and the Israeli Attack on Gaza in Tikkun Magazine, examining Israel’s moral claims in pursuing Operation Cast Lead.  Slater uses just war theory as the basis with which ...

That title is strange enough, but even stranger is that Michael Totten (I enjoy calling him “Larry of Arabia”) who hosted the conference at which Abu Toameh made these remarks, took them down from his site at the Jerusalem Post reporter’s request. This, of course, piqued my interes...

The unthinkable happens rather frequently in Israeli politics.  Ariel Sharon weathered banishment from politics to return as prime minister.  Many Israelis thought it wouldn’t be possible considering the humiliation of Sharon’s fall from power after Sabra and Chatilla.  But he managed...

Avigdor Lieberman isn’t like you or me. Most of us go about our lives trying to follow the rules and when we break them by say, speeding or jaywalking we take our punishment and accept it. Perhaps reluctantly, but we accept it. Not so Lieberman. The laws don’t apply to him. And when he i...

Disraeli once said memorably: “there are lies, damn lies and statistics.”  But he didn’t know Avigdor Lieberman.  If so, he might’ve substituted the latter’s name for “statistics.” Avigdor Lieberman’s op-ed in Jewish Week is a tissue of lies.  There...

JTA has launched the first salvo in the Jewish war against proposed Obama intelligence appointee, Chas. Freeman.  Freeman is a friend of Obama intelligence chief, Adm. Dennis Blair, who asked the former to chair the National Intelligence Council.  Freeman’s background as former U.S. ambassad...