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The views shared on The Mideast Peace Pulse are those of the author(s) and not those of Israel Policy Forum.

IPF Letter in The New York Times

By Israel Policy Forum
Friday, April 27, 2012 - 9:09am
It is sobering yet productive that three distinguished Israelis are generating ideas despite the unfortunate but realistic conclusion that “a comprehensive peace agreement is unattainable right now.”

In Meeting, A Chance for A Regional Approach

By The Pulse
Monday, March 5, 2012 - 12:41pm

Today, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after weeks of speculation about how the two countries will address the threat of Iran potentially obtaining nuclear weapons, and with little expectation for progress on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.  However, the Iranian threat – coupled with the historic changes of governments across the Middle East – could actually serve as a strategic opportunity for these leaders to address Iran while advancing regional democratic efforts alongside Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The Right Balance on Iran

By Israel Policy Forum
Sunday, March 4, 2012 - 5:22pm

Israel Policy Forum applauds President Barack Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security outlined in his address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

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Congressman Ackerman Becomes Attackerman (Apologies to Spencer)

MJ Rosenberg
former Washington Director of Policy Analysis, Israel Policy Forum
Posted February 12, 2009 - 5:51pm

Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY) had some strong words about Israeli policies at today's hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, which he chairs.

According to the JTA, Ackerman said, "that he was not trying to draw a moral equivalence between Israeli hard-liners and Palestinian terrorists, 'but they are all part of the same destructive dynamic.' "

In his opening statement, Ackerman described "downward pressure" that "comes from terrorism and the march of settlements. It comes from the firing of rockets and the perpetration of settler pogroms. It comes in daily images of destruction and the constant reiteration that 'they only understand the language of force.' "

The "settler pogroms" apparently are a reference to attacks by Hebron settlers on Arabs in December after Israel evacuated settlers from a building.

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Ackerman is from Queens and is one of Israel's premier defenders on Capitol Hill. His strong language indicates an understanding that defending Israel does not require condoning policies that are not in its own interest or ours. Way to go, Congressman.

 

 

 

 

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Congressman Gary Ackerman's Comments

Submitted by Adin on February 12, 2009 - 11:14pm.

 

 

Representative Ackerman's comments were unusually courageous for a member of the House. But his words have the unmistakable ring of truth.

Can wars last forever? If one were to only look back to 1947 it might be sadly possible to say "yes." However, if one were to look back to the relationship between Jews and Arabs in Palestine from 1900 to the deadly 1929 riots in Jerusalem, it is easy to discern a productive and symbiotic relationship between Jews and Palestinians. The critical question for us all is do we continue to be spectators of the death spiral to an entropic resolution? Or will we support a compromise that affirms life, not disproportionate revenge, or the madness where a culture death is celebrated? This conflict will not last forever. It will not end in "victory" for any of the contending parties. Neither the Israelis, the Jews, the Palestinians, or the Muslims have righteousness on their side.

As someone who has been a combat soldier in war, I know first hand the butcher shop that is war. When people combine religion and state together, both always suffer. A radical change in the mindset of what tatters remain of a peace process is needed. Toss out the past, and start anew. 

What is the end game of the "destructive dynamic"? It is the annihilation of those who push the notion. Eventually, people will become spiritually and emotionally exhausted by war and turn on those who lead them into the abyss. That is a peace where the living envy the dead.

I am done listening to the rationales advanced that result only in more death and destruction, despite who they may be, or who they say they are.

I urge you to do the same.

Finally, I ask you to imagine this. What would the Palestinian/Israeli conflict look like today if the Palestinians adopted civil nonviolent disobedience in 1970 to advance their cause for a Palestinian state?

We are at this sorry state because of a failure of imagination on all sides. 

 

 

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