Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

Educational Resources

recommended articles, February/March 2003

1. Current Events
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1. Iraq War and Israel
2. Israeli Election
3. Media Coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
2. Brit Tzedek v'Shalom's Seven Principles
1. Settlements
2. Non-Violence
3. The Occupation
4. A Palestinian State
5. Jerusalem
6. Palestinian Refugees
7. U.S. Foreign Policy
3. The Collapse of the Peace Process
4. Jewish Fears, Jewish Identity, Anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust

1. Current Events-
   1. Iraq War and Israel
   1. Iraq, Israel, and the Jews
   
   by Stephen Zunes, Tikkun, March/April 2003
   Professor Stephen Zunes presents a very detailed and insightful analysis of why the argument that the invasion of Iraq is a war for Israel advanced by powerful American Jewish interests is deeply flawed. He asserts that the war is being promoted to advance the interests of Bush administration friends in the oil and defense industries, not "for the Jews."
   [read article]
   2. Divide Among Jews Leads to Silence on Iraq War
   
   by Laurie Goodstien, New York Times, March 15, 2003
   This New York Times news story reports on the deep divisions among American Jews over whether to support the Iraq War. As a result, most of the major American Jewish organizations have remained relatively silent on the issue.
   [read article]
   3. The Protesters: Right for the Wrong Reasons
   
   by Amos Oz, New York Times, February 19, 2003
   Oz, a prominent Israel novelist and peace advocate, argues that the United States is about to make a dangerous mistake by invading Iraq.
   [read article]
   4. After Iraq: The Plan to Remake the Middle East
   
   by Nicholas Lehman, New Yorker, February 17, 2003
   Lehman describes in detail the plans of some Bush administration policy-makers to re-make the Middle East. They seem to be more interested in democratizing the region and defeating terrorist organizations, than advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
   [read article]
   2. Israeli Election
   1. Sharon's Bittersweet Victory Sends Labor Soul Searching
      by Michael Dahan, Tikkun, March/April, 2003
      Dahlan summarizes the results of the election and offers hope that Sharon's near-term victory may turn out to be a Pyrrhic one.
      [read article]
   2. The Profligate Son, Ha'aretz
      by Doron Rosenblum, Ha'aretz, February 28, 2003
      In this deeply sarcastic article, Rosenblum relates Ariel Sharon's wasteful personality to all his wasted peace-making opportunities.
      [read article]
   3. Israel's Dangerous Crossroads
      by Hillel Schnenker, The Nation, February 3, 2003
      Schnenker lays out some of the difficult issues Israelis face in this election that must be dealt with if Israel is to remain both a Jewish state and democratic one.
      [read atricle]
   3. Media Coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
   1. A Story of Conflict
      by Abe Aamidor, Brit Tzedek member
      Society of Professional Journalists, February 18, 2003 Aamidor analyzes the accusations by both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian watchdogs about media bias in the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
      [read article]

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2. Articles related to Brit Tzedek v'Shalom's Seven Principles
   
   
   1. Settlements
      1. What threatens Israel's security: Saddam or Settlements
         by Yossi Alpher, Bitterlemons.org, March 31, 2003
         Alpher argues that Israel's continued expansion of settlements poses a much greater threat to Israeli security than Saddam Hussein.
         [read article
      2. Settlement Removal,
         by David Newman, Jerusalem Post, February 11, 2003
         Newman lays out some of the vital actions that the Israeli government must do to prepare Israel and the settler population for the ultimate inevitable evacuation of Israeli West Bank settlers.
         [read article]
      3. The Unsettlers
      
      by Samantha M. Shapiro,
      New York Times Magazine, February 16, 2003
      This fascinating magazine piece provides a great deal of detail on the radical Israeli settler youths who are grabbing hilltops all over the West Bank in an attempt to expand settlements and undermine the chance for a two-state solution.
      [read article]
      
      
   2. Non-Violence
      1. Distant Neighbors
         by Aviv Lavie, Ha'aretz, March 28, 2003
         The moving story of Amiram Goldin, who lost his son Omri, in a suicide bombing on August 4, 2002, but still seeks peaceful co-existence with his Arab neighbors in Galilee - including some of the family members of the bomber's accomplices.
         [read article]
      
      
      
   3. Occupation
      1. US State Department Annual Report on Human Rights in Israel and the Occupied Territories, March 31, 2003 The US government's official report on Human Rights paints a bleak picture of the situation in the Occupied Territories. The report states: "Israel's overall human rights record in the occupied territories remained poor and worsened in several areas as it continued to commit serious human rights abuses. Security forces killed at least 990 Palestinians and 2 foreign nationals and injured 4,382 Palestinians and other persons during the year, some of whom were innocent bystanders."
         [read article]
      2. Only Sderot. Only Us
         by Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz, February 24, 2003
         Levy describes how Israelis can feel only their own pain and no longer pay any attention to Palestinian suffering. He argues that "focusing exclusively on our victims while ignoring the other's victims is morally contemptible."
         [read article]
      3. Danger: Rafah's Fresh Water Wells
         by Amira Hass, Ha'aretz, February 5, 2003
         Hass describes the destruction of Palestinian wells by Israeli bulldozers in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
      
      [read more]
      
      
   4. A Palestinian State
      1. A Letter from Porto Alegre
         [read letter]
         Brazilian Friends of Peace Now, February 4, 2003
         In sharp contrast to the Durbin summit in South Africa, the Porto Allegre (Brazil) World Social Forum proved to be a model of cooperation among Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. The Forward reported on the cooperation among Israeli and Palestinian peace activists at Porto Allegre: At a Leftist Summit, Cheers For a Separate Mideast Peace (Forward, February 7, 2003)
         [read article]
      
      
      
   5. U.S. Foreign Policy
      1. Staff Changes means Mideast Policy Shift
         by Richard Sale, UPI, February 26, 2003
         UPI reports on the rise of Elliot Abrams to a senior position on the National Security Council with responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abrams, who was indicted and pardoned as part of the Iran-Contra scandal, is known to be an opponent of Oslo and supporter of Sharon. His rise and the removal of more moderate subordinates is an indication that the administration is becoming increasingly hostile to the two-state approach contained in the "Road Map."
         [read article]
      2. Bush and Sharon Nearly Identical On Mideast Policy
         By Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post, February 9. 2003
         Kaiser reports that because of the after-effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the "war on terrorism," for the first time "a U.S. administration and Likud government in Israel are pursuing nearly identical policies." The Bush administration has embraced Sharon's hard-line view of the peace process.
         [read article]

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3. The Collapse of the Peace Process
   
   
   1. The Origins of the Intifada II and Rescuing Peace for Israelis and Palestinians
      by Menachem Klein,
      Foundation for Middle East Peace (posted February, 2003) In this fascinating lecture, Menachem Klein, a former Israeli peace negotiator, explodes many of the myths around the Camp David summit and the second Intifada. He gives details about the maps presented at Camp David and explains that the second Intifada was not planned by the Palestinian Authority.
      [read article]

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4. Jewish Fears, Jewish Identity, Anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust
   
   
   1. Holding Israel to the Highest Moral Standard
      by Rabbi David com, Reform Judaism, Spring 2003
      Rabbi Forman, chair of Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel, argues that the Israeli government's policies of collective punishment show that it has "lost its moral compass." He warns Jews against the threat of the "downgrading of the moral principles that define us as a religion, as a people."
      [read article]
   2. Anti-Semitism
      By Cherie Brown,
      Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, February 12, 2003 In her speech, Cherie Brown, vice president of the Brit Tzedek board, analyzes what anti-Semitism is and is not, where it originates, and offers four specific actions to counter anti-Semitism.
      [read article]
   3. Partners in Pain,
      By Aviv Lavie, Ha'aretz, February 7, 2003
      Lavie describes an inspirational project in which a large group of Jews and Israeli Arabs will jointly learn about the Holocaust and visit Auschwitz together in order to attempt to address the ghosts of the past and their effects on the present conflict. He describes the fears, hopes and doubts expressed among both groups of participants.
      [read article]