Mideast Media Sampler 07/20/2011

From DG:

1) The unimaginative "Turnip Truck Tom" Friedman

From Beirut to Jerusalem, 1989 by Thomas Friedman - page 273

That is why despite the fact that Israel has one of the most powerful and advanced armies and air forces in the world, the country's leadership finds it almost impossible to imagine bold ways in which they could unilaterally use their overwhelming power to shape positive new options for themselves, particularly regarding the West Bank and Gaza.

Thomas Friedman on the Charlie Rose show - June 29, 2011

"Israel today, I'm sorry, it has the most inbred, unimaginative government I think it's ever had," Tom Friedman said on "The Charlie Rose Show" this week.

Thanks to Ed Lasky for telling me about Friedman's obnoxious comments on the Charlie Rose show.

I could point out that the fizzling of the flotilla, for example, shows some imagination. But Friedman isn't interested in facts, but rather recycling old cliches and passing it off as sophisticated analysis.

2) Not speaking its name

Walter Russell Mead writes about the "five pillars of antisemitism" in The Hate that Dares not speak its Name  (h/t Instapundit)

Jews are more clannish than other people and act in concert to support a specifically Jewish agenda.

Jews deploy extraordinary wealth with almost superhuman cunning in support of the Jewish agenda.

As a religious and national minority, Jews cannot flourish without attacking the traditional values of their host society.  In every country Jews seek to weaken national culture, religion, values and cohesion.

Jews are not a national group or a people in the way that others are; they do not have the same right to establish a nation state that other peoples do. 

Where Jewish interests are concerned, the appearance of open debate in our society and many others is a carefully constructed illusion.  In reality, Jews work together to block open debate on issues they care about and those who resist the Jewish agenda are marginalized in public discussion.

Mead adds:

These ideas are the five pillars of anti-Semitism; you don’t have to believe them all — any one will do.  Being an anti-Semite does not necessarily make you a Nazi.   You are an anti-Semite.

Daled Amos suggests taking these principles and applying them to anti-Zionism.

On a related note, Martin Peretz critiques a number of pompous anti-Israel writers in What Explains Fashionable Hostility Toward Israel? (h/t Jim Wald) Peretz concludes with an observation:

But there is this persistent coterie, influential among the elites, and especially the smart-ass Jewish elites, who do not rise and are not enthusiastic. And so, despite all the true evil in the world, the designated target of the chic progressives, including alienated Jews, is the Jewish state. There are many predecessors of the type in history.

3) Kiwi spies?

I was shocked by this headline Report: Deadly New Zealand earthquake unearths Israeli spy ring; prime minister won’t comment. How did the AP justify carrying this story as there was no proof offered in the article, just this:

The Fairfax newspaper group, which didn’t state how it obtained the information, said one of the Israelis who died was carrying at least five passports.

It's not just the Fairfax group that's inexcusable here. The story was carried by the AP and made it to the Washington Post's feed. (I have no idea if it was published in the print edition.

Interestingly enough here's the followup story New Zealand prime minister says no reason to think Israeli earthquake victims were spies.

It does appear that that the New Zealand government had concerns, but found no evidence that the victims were spies. Still this is a rather disturbing example of "When did you stop beating your wife?" journalism.

4) The viable Palestinian state

Babylon and Beyond reports on the latest financial shortfall suffered by the Palestinian Authority.

After four years in office during which he was able to pay salaries on time, Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority prime minister and finance minister, has publicly declared that he may not be able to pay salaries. Last week, President Mahmoud Abbas made a similar announcement. 

The Palestinian Authority's financial crisis surfaced at the start of the year and has gotten worse in the following months. Yet, Fayyad continued to pay salaries regularly until May, when the April salary payments were delayed for several days. The same thing happened the following month.

When it came to paying the June salaries, the Palestinian Authority had enough money to pay only half of the amount, with a promise it would pay the rest when money arrives. Three weeks into the new month, it has not yet been able to pay the other half, and there is talk that the it will not be able to pay any more salaries.

Funny, but the article doesn't mention that Israel has held up remittances to the PA since the Fatah/Hamas unity agreement. Daled Amos also notes that the PA suffers from decreasing payments from the Arab world. We have the spectacle of Arab states pushing for the Palestinian unilateral declaration of a state in September, but, at the same time, they are making it harder for the PA to function. Daled Amos speculates:

The Arab world has no pressing interest in seeing the creation of a Palestinian Arab state and likewise is opposed to seeing Hamas--a client of Iran--gaining more prominence.

For all the plaudits Fayyad has received for good governance, the PA has functioned as 'Occupation Incorporated' (h/t Brian of London)

Even if the Palestinians declare full statehood in September they would not be truly independent, not only because of the continuing Israeli occupation, checkpoints, lack of freedom of movement of goods etc, but also because Palestine is addicted to aid and as long as you are addicted you are in thrall to your supplier.

The billions that pour in here mean the Palestinian Authority does not need to try very hard to deliver the services expected by voters, it also stifles the private sector, inflates wages and causes an internal 'brain drain'.

Barry Rubin adds:

So in other words, the NGOs have every interest in continuing this situation, a lot of Westerners are making great money, the Palestinians are subsidized to an extent that much-worse-off Third World people can only dream about, AND they are portrayed as heroic, suffering victims, too!

So while many institutions of governance may be in place; the PA lacks a significant private sector. And the aid deemed so important may be a reason that a Palestinian private sector does not exist.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Middle East.