Moshe Dann

Edmund Levy’s revolution

Whether or not its recommendations are accepted and implemented, the report is a turning point in how Israel and hopefully the international community understand the critical question: whose land?

The fundamental misconception about Arab-Israeli peace

The “peace process” between Israel and the Arabs, touted as part of a “two state” plan, failed not because of disagreements over settlements and boundaries, but because of a basic false assumption: that Palestinianism could be fulfilled in a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It failed not because Israel did not give enough, but because nothing would have been enough.

A matter of sovereignty: NGOs vs Israel

The core of the controversy surrounding scores of politically-motivated NGOs in Israel is not only whether their activities are detrimental to the state, but their inordinate influence in shaping government policy, media perceptions, and public opinion.

The new anti-Semitism

It's Jew-hating time, again. No cross-burnings or bomb-wearing psychos screaming for Allah. It's sophisticated, draped by UN and EU glitz, banal reports about Israeli atrocities, and Palestinian liberation. It's so holy, so morally pompous, and fashionable.

UN Prolongs Palestinian Problem

Supporters of Palestinian statehood prominently display “194″ next to their flag. That number refers not only to its proposed place in the UN next-in-line, but their goal.

Negotiating for what?

Insisting that the Palestinian Authority engage in negotiations rather than appeal to the United Nations for recognition is based on the belief that an agreement that will end the conflict is possible. However, both sides know that Israel cannot offer anything that will satisfy Palestinian demands and that the Palestinians refuse to agree to minimal Israeli requests.

Hosni Mubarak’s revenge

For three decades, Hosni Mubarak tried to undermine the peace process that his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, set in motion. Except for one visit – for Yitzhak Rabin's funeral – he never visited Israel and viciously attacked Israel whenever possible.

The Arab refugee swindle

Of the estimated hundreds of millions of people who were considered refugees after World War II, with minor exceptions, only one group remains designated and cared for as refugees: Arabs who were expelled and/or left Palestine/Israel during the 1948-9 conflict. For 60 years they have been used to attack Israel and prevent reconciliation.

Libya’s Civil War, Arab Refugees, and Palestinian Statehood

“How Many Palestinian Arab Refugees Were There?” asks Professor Efraim Karsh in Israel Affairs (April, 2011). The discussion and his work are critical, because they lie at the heart of other pivotal questions: who are the “Palestinian refugees,” and from where did they come?

The imperative of Jewish sovereignty

As the PA/PLO presses for UN recognition of statehood, the question of who has sovereign rights over Judea and Samaria becomes critical. Historically and legally part of the Jewish national homeland, it is also claimed by Palestinians. To whom does this area belong? A uniquely Jewish definition of sovereignty provides a compelling answer. Sovereignty, the ability of a government to act independently and in its own interests, is the essence of statehood. Applying just authority and institutions to assure the protection and well-being of its citizens are what conventional statehood is about. A relatively modern concept associated with 16th-century French philosopher Jean Bodin, then later with Hobbes, Rousseau, Hegel and others, sovereignty is the expression of national independence and the right and responsibility to rule.

How Must the West Guide the New Middle East?

Two enormous appetites have suddenly arrived at the Middle East’s table: democracy and consumerism. Ravished from years of famine and abuse, the people revolted and opened the doors to the well-stocked pantry and kitchen. Yet despite having overthrown tyrants, they are not now unruled. Two strict overseers are watching: Islamists and the military. Crowded with tribes, Sunnis and Shiites, and colonialist operators who function like combinations of parasites and predators, the well-laden table is still a game of who gets full plates and who survives. Revolutions taking place in countries that have been ruled by dictators and exploited by foreigners are breathtaking in the possibilities that they offer. But they can, like so many others before, become hideous monsters of abuse and destruction.

Netanyahu must end ambiguity over Israel’s policy regarding Judea and Samaria

Thanks to uprisings throughout the Arab world, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided one of the most difficult domestic – and international – issues on the table: the fate of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, "the settlements," "the occupation," and the “two-state" delusion. Having recognized the "right of the Palestinian people" to a second, or perhaps third Arab Palestinian state, after Jordan and Gaza, and agreeing to a year-long moratorium on Jewish building beyond the Armistice lines of 1949 – a freeze which remains in place despite its expired time-limit and accomplished nothing except a fiercer Palestinian resistance to enter peace negotiations, PM Netanyahu's leadership is being tested.

Why Israel loses PR war

This schizophrenic position has led to paralysis of thinking, self-destructive unilateral withdrawals and concessions that allowed the continuation of terrorism, the emergence of a quasi- Palestinian state, and Israel's increasing isolation and de-legitimization.

Jew-hatred’s other face

Anti-Semites around the world have found a new and more subtle form of attack: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaigns. The Ramallah-based Palestinian BDS National Committee, an umbrella organization for dozens of Palestinian organizations supported by the Palestinian Authority, is a global movement. Behind anti-Israel actions by churches, unions and student groups, it is aided by the Muslim Brotherhood, with branches in 70 countries, and hundreds of campus and civic/social organizations and anti-Israel NGOs.

The ‘Peace Machine’ Failed

Theoretically, had the peace machine worked correctly, and everyone played their roles and lightening struck the clock tower at the right time, past mistakes would be corrected and the world would be transported into an era of harmony.

Clinton a danger to Israel

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's address to the Saban Forum should leave little doubt that she is a danger to the State of Israel and, thereby, to the Jewish people. For those who care about Israel, her words, because she expresses the position of President Obama's administration, are alarming.

War of Words: Israel’s Fight Against Delegitimization

Israel’s struggle to defend herself and survive is not only on the battlefield; it is also in the coliseum of public perception. Thrown into the same dungeon as South Africa 30 years ago, threatened with extinction by Arab countries and terrorist groups, Israel is portrayed as a racist, “apartheid” country, illegitimate, a threat to civilization and world peace. Failure to take this incitement seriously and criticism of Israel’s actions in self-defense are applauded by the crowd, thumbs-downed by international community.

Recognizing Palestine; the half-full glass

The Palestinian end-run around Israel and the US to gain recognition as an independent, sovereign state was predictable. They realized that whatever Israel and the US put on the table was, for them, insufficient. That explains why they refused to renew negotiations more than a year ago, after Israel agreed to freeze Jewish building in Judea, Samaria and even Jerusalem.

American President Obama aims to de-legitimatize Israel, until it gives in

Why would President Obama place American prestige, money and influence on the line for a three-month restriction on Jewish building in areas conquered by Israel in 1967? Another round of negotiations is doomed to fail, since Palestinian leaders have already refused to resume talks unless the freeze applies to eastern Jerusalem. Why is Obama pushing this snowball, knowing that any substantive agreement is unlikely in such a short time, if at all?

Who comes from Bethlehem?

For those who grew up outside of Israel the answer brings back familiar Christmas carols, shopping day count-downs, Santas and reindeer. On Christmas Eve, thousands of Christians flock to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to celebrate. Built in the early Byzantine period (the fourth century CE) by Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine ("The Great"), this church commemorates the birth of Jesus. Jewish history, however, offers another perspective.