Who is talking with Hamas?

Israel and Hamas each say they do not speak directly to the other; but according to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, direct talks do occur.

Tel Aviv ... or Montréal?

High unemployment and fears of anti-Semitism are motivating French Jews to emigrate. Some move to Israel, and some to Québec.

One Canadian-Iranian blogger pardoned in Tehran; another remains in captivity

Hossein Derakhshan, the Iranian-Canadian who pioneered blogging in Iran, and who was sentenced to death for his activities (commuted to 19.5 years and later reduced to 17 years) has been pardoned by Iran's Supreme Leader. Hossein spent six years in Iranian prison.

No pardon has been granted to Saeed Malekpour, software engineer, blogger and a Canadian permanent resident, serving a life sentence for the alleged crime of "desecrating Islam".

Debate in the diaspora ... and an Israeli response

In this much-debated opinion piece in the New York Times, Anthony Lerman argues that because embracing the Israel of today as a Jewish state implies policies of exclusion and discrimination, it has become impossible for diaspora Jews to be both liberal and Zionist.

Not so, responds Rabbi Josh Weinberg, a declared liberal Zionist."I am not at a crossroads ... I take pride in the notion that we do not turn our back on Israel, even though we may be at times critical." Adam Shedletzky likewise, in this Globe and Mail article, sees no conflict, and calls on diaspora Jews "to respectfully and strategically speak out."

Daniel Gordis, responding from Israel, finds the debate ill-timed and irrelevant.

"When the IDF killed Hamas men who had come through the tunnels and found them equipped with weapons, handcuffs and injectable sedatives, it was clear that the movement’s intent was to kill as many Israelis as they could, then kidnap others and take them to Gaza. That, more than anything, struck horror so deep into the hearts of Israelis that, for the most part, internal politics have disappeared. ..."

"Let there be no mistake – this is a battle for Israel’s survival. Some people get that, many do not."

Two nightmares about a Palestinian state

... that there won't be one and that there will be one. Yossi Klein Halevi summarizes the Israeli-Palestinian dilemna.

How to restart the peace process?

During the Gaza conflict, and before the ceasefire, novelist David Grossman spoke at a peace rally at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square. His speech, and a reply by Rabbi Yuval Sherlow are here. "Both," says translator-columnist J.J. Goldberg "well worth reading for their insight into the current mood in Israel."

Cease-fire in Gaza

Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to an indefinite cease-fire proposed by Egypt.  Read more.

Update: More here.

Egypt - Gaza smuggling continues

On the main street of Al-Sarsouriya, a Bedouin town in Egypt, a third of the houses look derelict, but inside tunnel smugglers still pursue a flourishing trade. Reuters reports.

Qatar makes demands

Qatar has sought to block efforts by Egypt to mediate between Israel and Hamas. Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal resides in Qatar. Arabic daily Al-Hayat reports that Qatar is demanding a seat at the negotiating table in Cairo, and threatened to expel Mashaal if Hamas agreed to ceasefire terms put forth by Egypt.

Media manipulation in Gaza

The Foreign Press Association has protested against the blatant, incessant and forceful  intimidation of journalists in Gaza.  Hamas uses threats, expulsions and a “vetting” procedure to influence press coverage, and deliberately misrepresents militants as civilians when reporting casualties.

Kibbutz attack awakens a new generation

Terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nahal Oz in 1956.  They attacked again this July, reviving Israeli memories.

New York and New Zealand

U.S. politicians visit Jerusalem ... and a Maori woman summarizes the case for Israel (video).

Technological advantage

Israel is developing a system to stop tunnels, reports al-Arabia.

In favour of elections

It's fashionable to say that democracy won't work for the Palestinians. Reuel Marc Gerecht disagrees -- let the Palestinian people choose. 

Still fighting the 1948 war

The most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas is just one more round in the unresolved Arab-Israeli war of 1948-49 -- so writes New York Times columnist Steven Erlanger.

Gaza and the Green Party of Canada

In July 2014 Paul Estrin (then president of the Green Party of Canada) published a post, with comments favourable to Israel, on the party's website.  The post was taken down, and he was promptly forced to resign.  His article, "Why Gaza makes me sad" is here.

Understanding conflict

Reservists in the Israel Defense Forces spoke to journalist Yuval Avivi about war, politics and their personal response to being called up for the recent conflict with Hamas.  Their point of view is not the same as the younger, regular soldiers in the IDF.

“You see the soldiers in the regular army and they look like kids to you,” says one, only 29 years old himself. “They are not really adults who can cope with the emotional state brought on by the war. Most if not all of them don’t understand anything about the trauma and emotional fallout that this causes them.”

Another speaks in more personal terms, “Today, I live for three people; I have a family. I’m not a young soldier who only worries about himself and is only responsible for himself. I have to be an adult, responsible for myself and my environs. You have to take care of yourself also for the sake of your family.”

Another says this: "In the reserves, you hear a lot more people saying that the conflict won’t be resolved without a diplomatic process. In other words, I waged the war that the state sent me to wage, now it’s the turn of the politicians to fight for a diplomatic process.”

Read more.

Gaza's Egyptian heritage

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is a called a traitor in Gaza.  Why "traitor" which implies he is a countryman, rather than "enemy"? Because many Gazans see themselves as Egyptian. Lawrence Solomon explains.

First reflections on the war in Gaza -- three views

Victor Davis Hansen argues that Israel won the war.  He defines victory as 4-5 years of peace from Hamas, and, he says, Europe’s anti-Israel position is looking even more indefensible.

Uriel Heilman says Israel dealt a strong military blow to Hamas, but will find it difficult to separate its image from the scenes of destruction in Gaza.

Despite the damage done to Hamas, their leadership and a large rocket supply remain intact in underground bunkers, writes David Horovitz.

Is demilitarization of Gaza possible?

Israel should offer reconstruction in return for demilitarization, says Zvi Hauser in an op-ed in ynetnews.com.

Terrorist do not disarm, says analyst Herb Kenon in the Jerusalem Post.

"Anyone who believes that Hamas’ current fundamental beliefs are flexible enough to recognize Israel or that the organization will ultimately give up arms as a long-term political concession is simply naïve," writes blogger Ken Stein.

Grim statistics

Has Israel made efforts to target combatants in Gaza and avoid civilians?

A New York Times analysis of 1,431 deaths finds "that the population most likely to be militants, men ages 20 to 29, is also the most overrepresented in the death toll: They are 9 percent of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents, but 34 percent of those killed whose ages were provided. At the same time, women and children under 15, the least likely to be legitimate targets, were the most underrepresented, making up 71 percent of the population and 33 percent of the known-age casualties."

A BBC analysis is here.

Arab leaders stay silent

No voices are heard from Israel's Arab neighbours to end the fighting in Gaza. Egypt has led a new coalition of Arab states — including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — that has effectively lined up with Israel against Hamas. The Egyptian fight against the forces of political Islam and the Israeli struggle against Palestinian militants are nearly identical.“Whose proxy war is it?” asks Khaled Elgindy, a former adviser to Palestinian negotiators.

How Hamas assembles and fires rockets

A reporter from NDTV India captures the process on camera, just meters away from his hotel "bang in the middle of what is a residential area".

Update: NDTV reporter Sreenivasan Jain, after departing from Gaza to Israel, produced this follow up report.

War between a democracy and a terrorist organization is not symmetrical

Shajaiya neighbourhood encapsulates the challenge Israel faces in the Gaza conflict: It is crisscrossed with an elaborate network of underground bunkers and tunnels containing equipment for the manufacture of rockets, storage facilities for rockets and other weapons, and launching sites from which the rockets were fired at Israeli towns. It was a civilian area where Hamas embedded its most important military capabilities, precisely to encourage condemnation of Israel should the IDF be forced to fight there. How can Israel defend itself without being accused of violating the principle of proportionality?

Israeli soldiers find a mosque with weapons and tunnel openings

Watch the video here.

Hamas' deadly capabilities

An estimated 15,000 active fighters, Russian shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, homes and installations booby-trapped with deadly IED's (including one with signage indicating it was a UNRWA clinic), suicide bombers and bomb-laden donkeys, specialists trained in Malaysia, Syria and Iran --  tunnels too, mostly dug 18-25 meters (60-82 feet) underground, but one at a depth of 35 meters (115 feet) "like a 10-story building underground” -- these are some of the military capabilities of Hamas. More.

Hamas tunnels into Israel

A New York Times video report on Hamas tunnels into Israel.  Read the article here.

Relaunching our blog

Renewed hostilities between Israel and Hamas have prompted us to resume posting to this blog.  Please follow us for links to insightful journalism about Israel and its neighbours.