05.04.2012 07:30 AM

Israel, by Israelis

Whenever I listen to the wisdom of this extraordinary man, he reminds me of the Irish. Yes, the Irish.

He’s a moderate. He’s measured. He’s a thinker.

He’s all the things that the ex-pat Irish didn’t used to be. Irish abroad always tried to out-Irish the Irish who lived there. They’d fund extremism and mouth extremist slogans. They’d try and make up for lost time, like converts always do.

Some in the North American Jewish establishment – its leaders, and the ones in Canada in particular – are a bit like that. They try to out-Israel the Israelis. They’re hardcore. Their head lobbyist, whom I deeply detest, has made their lead organization an arm of the Conservative Party, because he thinks that’s smart. It isn’t.

Anyway, I’d listen to Peres. He lives there. You wannabes? You don’t.

9 Comments

  1. bluegreenblogger says:

    open Iranian Israli conflict is a scenario fraught with problems. The question for Israli’s must be an incredibly hard balancing act weighing off the potential for nuclear attack vs. the certainty of war on all their borders should they act, whether they act in concert with America, or alone. When the stakes are so very high, you can bet there are dissenting voices inside and outside the Israeli ‘establishment’. I do not envy the Isralis their predicament. Nobody in their right mind would agree with Irans pursuit of nuclear weapons, but it must be said that Iran has finessed their way into a win-win position. If they ultimately decide to acquire nuclear weapons, and succeed, then Iran will be the uncontested master of the Gulf region, dictating to Sunni and Shiite states alike. Their political influence and effective control of the region will be guaranteed for generations to come. If Iran merely bluffs the world, and draws an Israeli – American attack, then their influence will grow throughout the Muslim world, and pretty well any measures they take anywhere in the world will win un-qualified support from the majority of Muslims. So either their hard power, or soft power will be enhanced massively. I get it, I can understand why they are doing what they are doing.
    For the Israelis and Americans ( and Canadians, and allies?) the stakes couldn’t be higher, and there is no viable solution short of extreme measures. I know it is complex, and pressuring Iran through sanctions etc could conceivably moderate their behaviour, but honestly, does anybody anywhere think that Iran will not seek to expand their power regionally? So wtf do you do when faced with their situation? All I can say is that an attack will result in a disastrous war, and a failure to attack may result in the end of Israel, but more likely would result in Iranian hegemony in the Gulf. Time for some out of the box thinking, and we should all be praying that wiser heads and the goodwill of men blah blah blah, (they won’t in other words).Oh dear, we live in a scary world.

  2. Mulletaur says:

    If Diskin says that an attack on Iran by Israel will accelerate the former’s nuclear weapons program, I am inclined to believe Diskin over Netanyahu and Barak :

    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-former-shin-bet-chief-i-have-no-confidence-in-netanyahu-barak-1.426908

    The U.S. invasion of Iraq under Bush made Iran feel insecure enough to make acquisition of a nuclear weapon a top priority. Now Netanyahu is determined to push Iran even harder to get a nuke. Both messianic Conservatives. Go figure.

  3. Ted H says:

    A friend was visiting her late father in the hospital, he was suffering from some sort of dementia, moving in and out of full awareness. They were in the cafeteria and he was quiet. Suddenly there was a loud crash as someone dropped a tray. He straightened right up yelling ” Hit him again, he’s Irish”.

    So, if he was Israeli would he have said “hit him again he’s Iranian” or if he was in an Iranian hospital would he say “hit him again he’s a Jew”? We are dealing with deeply internalized feelings on all sides. The politicians will do what the people support.

  4. frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

    “Jaw Jaw is better than war war” -Sir Winston Churchill.

    Having said that, I remember the Israeli surgical air strike against the Osiraq Nuclear plant in Iraq in 1981….it set back Saddam Hussein’s development of nuclear weapons forever….which certainly made things less dodgy for the coalition in the Gulf War.

    If there was any other leadership in Iran aside from Ahmadejani(soon to be ex-president Ahmadejani it seems), perhaps negotiation and sanctions would work…..but I dont see this madman(or soon to be President elect Khameni) swaying from his vow to destroy Israel, and I dont see him using Irans nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes only…..Im sure China and Russia(both with large Muslim minorities, and Muslim states on their borders) wouldnt like to see Iran join the nuclear club, either….
    Im sure the die has already been cast…..but lets hope todays elections bring a new willingness for Iran to negotiate.

  5. Jack says:

    Warren what you can not say is this.The most ardent Canadian Zionists are cowards.They will blow tremendous smoke about Israeli as long as they and their families do not have to physically defend Israel.That is why the debate is so personal,violent and irrational,it is a cover for personal cowardice.People in Israel know this and regularly mock these folks as Olmert did in New York last weekend.

  6. dave says:

    The article does not have the whole interview. But what it has, I read Peres as having the insouciant attitude that Israel can go on attacking its neighbours with impunity, no matter what laws there are.
    In light of the Holocaust in Europe, that the European regimes of Israel have treated their non European neighbours so badly is one of the ironies of the 20th (and now, the 21st) Century.

    I agree with the point, though, about people here in Canada taking inflexible positions on conflicts in lands they feel a special connection to. In 1914, and again in 1939, it would have political catastrophe for any Canadian Government to have resisted those in Canada who felt a special connection to England.

  7. Geoffrey Laxton says:

    As a Jewish person, I have been debating right wing Jews for a few years now. They are hardcore and they try to make out that Israel is a right wing state or something. This is pretty ironic considering Israel was founded on a principal of social cooperation with Kibbutz’. Anyways, I was told by a Conservative Jew that 70% of Jews in Canada support Harper and that crazy Israeli PM. Don’t believe the hype. Most Jews want peace.

    • jmbo says:

      most jews want peace but those in israel dont do anything about it. worse, part of the population wants to ignore the palestinian problem and the ever increasing right wing zionista population is fine with the brutality towards the palestinians – no problem if settlers can on a regular basis kick out palestinians from their privately owned homes and lands, indiscrimately beat palestinians, the state apparatus can demolish a palestinian home on 30 minutes notice, … zionism at its best

  8. patrick Deberg says:

    I raise a glass to the Jews that want peace!

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