J-Corner

An Online collection of Amitai Etzioni's recent op-eds and articles on Israel

(Please send your comments and questions to comnet@gwu.edu)

A Cost-Benefit Foreign Policy?

(Posted on TPM Cafe, September 12, 2008. Available here.)

One might disregard that the New York Times published a savage review of a well-meaning book. However, one cannot ignore -- especially as we about to face a changing of the guards -- a call for a foreign policy that ignores moral considerations and is built on costs and benefits. Killing people is very often much more efficient than helping them build a life for themselves, but helping people is clearly the right course, and happens to be what the book at issue calls for.

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Deterring Iran, Irrational Leaders, Israeli Nukes

(Three articles posted on the Huffington Post, I. May 29, II. June 6 and III. June 23.)

"We just have to get used to a nuclear Iran." Because of Chatham House rules, I am not allowed to inform you who said that. The rules permit quoting what has been said at a meeting, but forbid indicating by whom or naming the group that hosted the event. The Council on Foreign Relations, the Nixon Center and quite a few other groups in Washington conduct their meetings in accordance with these rules, named after the highly respected London think-tank credited with first introducing this form of deliberation. Trust me, the person who made this statement was a high ranking adviser to one of the leading presidential candidates -- someone likely to make it into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Followup articles available: "Irational Leaders" and "Israeli Nukes"

 

The Israel I was Fighting For

(Posted on the Huffington Post May 13, 2008.  Available here)

Sixty years ago, when I was fighting for Israel during its war of independence, I won a lot of respect. Now many of my liberal colleagues, including Jewish ones, raise their eyebrows. They hoped for an Israel that is citadel of individual rights, a land in which social justice prevails as laid out by the Prophets, and a peace-making nation--a sort of a Switzerland in the Middle East, only more enlightened.

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Should Israel Be a Jewish State?

(Published in The Guardian, April 30, 2008. Available here)

(Also published in French, in Le Monde, May 13, 2008. "Israël doit-il rester un Etat juif?")

To ask "Should Israel be a Jewish State?" is like asking if the Pope must be a Catholic. But champions of individual rights do raise this question, frequently using arguments similar to those raised by their counterparts in Britain and many other countries, who argue that unless national identity is greatly attenuated, minorities will not feel at home and will turn into fertile fodder for terrorists. These arguments ignore the nurturing that is provided by the national community, by the core values and identity it provides, and the normative glue that prevents nations falling apart.

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J-Street, in the wrong corner

(Posted on the Huffington Post April 16, 2008. Available here)

Finally, there is a new Jewish lobby, said to be dedicated to the security of Israel, called J-Street. Sadly, from day one it defined Israel's number one enemy as --another pro Israel lobby, another group of American Jews, namely, AIPAC. Jews have excelled in many areas, but in none have they done nearly as well as in hating each other and in generating factions and sub factions that fight one another, even when the enemy is at the gate. (There are already fights within J-Street).

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Annapolis: a speech not given

(Posted on the Huffington Post November 26, 2007. Available here)

There follows an address that will not be delivered by President Bush at the Middle East peace talks in Annapolis, Maryland. After the proper tribute to the various dignitaries present and a reference to the importance of peace for the region and the world, the speech reads as follows:

"A Palestinian state, long overdue, can be born before the sun sets on this day. It must be a state that will live in peace and security with Israel. To proceed, several essential compromises, which I list immediately, must be reached. None of them will please either side--the sure sign of compromise. However, if each side will continue to seek advantages, the road to peace will never be traveled."

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Small lies, big lies, and the Israel Lobby

(Posted on the Huffington Post October 4, 2007. Available here)

To those of us for whom the claim that the Israel lobby is all-powerful is neither a well established truism nor an ugly piece of anti-Semitism, the evidence presented in support of this claim matters a great deal. Surely Washington has more lobbies than a derelict dog has fleas. And, lobbying is a constitutionally protected activity, like the right to free speech and the right to vote. Hence, the pivotal question is whether the Israel lobby is significantly more powerful than others, and whether it is able to check-mate the usually pro-Arab oil companies, the arms manufacturers, and the other relevant lobbies that affect our foreign policy.

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