Monthly Archives: May 2011

A Millstone Round His Neck: Obama’s Yes to Bibi’s ‘No Negotiations Unless Palestinians Recognize Israel as Jewish State’

Posted on 30/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

I watched live coverage of the press conference given by President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron at Lancaster House on 25 May. Towards the end, a journalist asked Obama an intelligent question about the Middle East speech he made … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, Religion | Leave a comment

Bibi’s Speech to the US Congress: A Flagrant Denial of the Autonomy and Diversity of Jews Worldwide

Posted on 26/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

There were so many fictions and distortions in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress on 24 May, so many demagogic assertions and flourishes, so much self-aggrandisement and self-promotion and so much that insulted and demeaned Palestinian hopes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Jews worldwide, Middle East | Leave a comment

From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘No We Can’t’: Obama’s Middle East Speech Lowers Expectations of American Power

Posted on 22/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

In a relatively low-key speech on his administration’s Middle East policy, deliberately short on high-flown rhetoric and, in terms of grand design, more Heath Robinson than Isambard Kingdom Brunel, President Obama set out to lower expectations of American power. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East | Leave a comment

The Jewish Chronicle’s Attack on the Pears Foundation for ‘Blindness’ Towards ‘Jihadi Propagandists’ is Shoddy and Undeserved

Posted on 17/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

Splashed across the front page of the Jewish Chronicle on 13 May, like a sensational scoop, was the ‘revelation’ that the Pears Jewish family foundation funded an organization, Forward Thinking, which was responsible for bringing an associate of the 7/7 bombers to the House of … Continue reading →

Posted in British politics | 2 Comments

‘Push and Press Israel’ New Israel Fund President tells UK Jews. So Why is NIF Supporting a Whitewash Israel conference?

Posted on 11/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

Naomi Chazan is a class act. Professor emerita, former Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, former Member of the Knesset for the Meretz civil rights party, feminist, President of the New Israel Fund – I doubt whether anyone can better … Continue reading →

Posted in British Jews, Middle East | 3 Comments

Backlash Hits CUNY for Denying Honorary Degree to Tony Kushner, Top US Jewish Dramatist and Israel Critic

Posted on 06/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

The plays of the award-winning US Jewish dramatist Tony Kushner are remarkable for the empathy he demonstrates for the ‘other‘. Whether the ‘other’ is a Jew, a gay, a Mormon, an African-American, the people of Afghanistan, Kushner tries to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East | Leave a comment