Israel’s tent protests symptom of larger identity crisis

Foreign Policy, August 19, 2011 The media has been quick to depict the Israeli tent protests as a middle class movement. But there are other groups taking part: Palestinians, low-income Jewish Israelis, migrant workers, and African refugees. While all of these groups face a number of serious problems—as does Israel’s middle class—one was living outdoors …

Are “supporters” being hired to attend Glenn Beck rally?

+972 Magazine, August 17, 2011 The uber-conservative Christian Zionist commentator Glenn Beck has arrived in Israel. He will hold his “Restoring Courage” rally in Jerusalem on August 24. So it seems like a mighty odd coincidence that a few weeks ago, I found this ad on Janglo: On August 24 2011 there is a huge international event being …

Crisis, shmisis: 81 Congressmen head to Israel

The Huffington Post, August 10, 2011 The American economy is in a crisis. Suburbs arefalling into poverty. Schools are struggling. Cities teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. And 81 U.S. Congressmen are off in Israel when they should be here, dealing with the mountain of problems facing the American people — you know, the men and women …

Demoting Arabic: the Knesset finally tells the truth

+972 Magazine, August 6, 2011 The Israeli Knesset is on a roll. First, it passes the anti-boycott bill. Now, it’s considering changing the status of Arabic from the state’s second official language into the language of the state’s second class citizens. I’ll say now what I felt about the anti-boycott law: the Knesset should pass …