Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Daniel Gordis on a Timeless Nasty Sterotype in Time (Magazine)

He's angry, is Danny Gordis. Spot on, though. Spouting ancient negative lies about Jews is now fine, even on the cover of Time Magazine.

Ah, here comes the rub. Part of the answer that Time offers is that Israelis have despaired of peace (though why that might be is never explicitly stated – Palestinian recalcitrance is never actually mentioned, like a dark family secret that everyone knows but that everyone hopes will go away if it doesn’t surface). Israelis have learned to build decent lives even in the face of the conflict, and the Palestinians are now a nuisance, not a strategic threat. That’s true, and a fair point.

But what about the rest of the answer that Time offers? Why are Israelis not more interested in the peace process? Money. Yes, you read that correctly. The Jews are more interested in money than in peace.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Palestinian recalcitrance is mentioned, from the article:

> "Listen to me," says Eli Bengozi, born in Soviet Georgia and for 40 years an Israeli. "Peace? Forget about it. They'll never have peace. Remember Clinton gave 99% to Arafat, and instead of them fighting for 1%, what? Intifadeh."

I think the rubric that an article should be judged by isn't if it's 100% fair and balanced-an impossible goal-but if it is more accurate than the average reader's perception of events. This article definitely is. Most Americans assume Israel is a wartorn country and would be interested in correctly understanding that economic issues are more important to the Israeli electorate right now.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anon,

I read the beginning of that article with that real estate selling couple in Ashkelon

There was a tone to it that made me conclude that it'd be a lousy article not worth my time because lousy articles more often than not tend to try to "upholster" their lower than mediocre quality behind some "yeah, but they are Jews - wink wink" stuff which just gets people's juices flowing - and why wasn't this by your count obviously superb piece withheld from us Europeans?

Silke

annie said...

Gordis writes:
There’s a line in the Rosh HaShannah liturgy, which many Jews will recite in just a few days, that reads tein kavod le-amekha, roughly translated as “restore some dignity to Your people.”
There's an even better line a bit further on:
ועולתה תקפץ פיה וכל הרשעה כלה כעשן תכלה, כי תעביר ממשלת זדון מן הארץ
"And evil will close up its mouth and all evilness with be consumed like smoke, for the rule of wickedness shall pass from the Earth."

Now that's something to pray for!

Shana tova to all my fellow Jews.

Anonymous said...

Shanah tovah to everyone. I wish you all a good year, of heath and safety, happiness, and satisfaction with what life brings you.

Nycerbarb

Anonymous said...

more often than not this is a program worth listening to
i.e. Golda Meir in Great Lives

and Happy New Year to y'all (what a strange time of the year to have it ;-) )

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tmt95

Silke

Sylvia said...

Happy new year 5771 to everyone

I am sending you this which seems to symbolize the Jewish people and the State of Israel

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7986675/One-of-rarest-flowers-in-world-blooms-for-first-time-in-200-years.html

Anonymous said...

There is a rabbinic agadah (legend) that says that Rosh HaShana was established by Enoch before the flood, thus making it a holiday for the entire human race. In that spirit then, Shana Tova to all.

David E. Sigeti

Anonymous said...

Sylvia how wonderful of you

and thanks for making me read that interview - wouldn't it be wonderful, if Castro of all people became the "Dalai Lama" of the loony left? Who knows? Stranger things have happened ...

Silke