Posts in the 'General Commentary' Category

State to State: New Mexico and Israel

By Sam Sokolove on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Categories: General Commentary, Uncategorized

From: AIPAC  

http://www.aipac.org/NearEastReport/20100510/New_Mexico.html

 

The people of New Mexico face the same challenge confronting all desert communities—too many people and too little water. With an average annual rainfall of only 8.9 inches and limited natural resources, New Mexico struggles to meet the water demand required by its two million residents.

The state has found a natural ally in a tiny desert country in the Middle East: Israel. The Jewish state is a world leader in water conservation. It recycles a staggering 80 percent of its water. By comparison, New Mexico, a U.S. state on the forefront of water management, recycles only four percent of its water.

While the two states are more than 7,000 miles apart, Israeli and New Mexican government and business leaders came together last February in Albuquerque for a symposium on clean water and natural resource management.

Roee Madai, Israel’s Consul for Economic Affairs, praised his country’s relationship with New Mexico. “We have natural synergy and great similarity in vital and immediate need for clean energy and water technology,” Madai said. He added that New Mexico is a “prime location for collaboration and cooperative ventures.”

New Mexico is home to a tiny Jewish community—less than one percent of the state’s total population. It is common interests and goals, rather than family or cultural ties, that have brought the two states together.

A Trading Partner
In 2008, New Mexican businesses exported over $27 million in goods to Israel; the total value of exports since 1996 exceeds $490 million. In recent years, New Mexico has also expanded its direct investment in Israel, purchasing a combined total of $15 million in Israel bonds. Israel is now New Mexico’s 11th leading international trading partner—a remarkable ranking given that Israel only has about seven million people.

“I’m proud that my state has invested heavily in Israel’s economy,” said then-New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson during his presidential run. The state’s investments have paid dividends.

New Mexico businesses and institutions have profited from their state’s expanded trading partnership with Israel. For example, the Albuquerque-based Lumidigm Inc., a multi-spectral imaging biometrics company, and the Israel-based BioGuard Components and Technologies Ltd. have inked a multi-million dollar contract to produce biometric security sensors. The devices include fingerprinting and other scanning devices used to protect and secure government and commercial facilities around the world.

New Mexico education centers have also benefitted by receiving millions of dollars for joint U.S.-Israeli agriculture and technology research grants.

Formalizing New Mexico-Israel Ties

During a 2008 trip to Israel, Gov. Richardson signed a letter of agreement formalizing efforts to promote trade between his state and Israel. New Mexico is one of 20 states with a trade office in Israel.

The deep ties extend to New Mexico’s urban centers. The state’s largest city, Albuquerque, is a sister city with Rehovot, an Israeli city of more than 100,000 people.

Both cities are home to major academic and research institutions and stand at the center of their respective state’s technology booms. The partnership between them expands opportunities for business-to-business contacts and, ultimately, could provide a platform for additional investment and trade between Israel and New Mexico.

For more information on the relationship between Israel and New Mexico, visit the Jewish Virtual Library.

Some of the Reasons to Invest in Israel

By Sam Sokolove on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Categories: General Commentary, Israel

By Yoram Ettinger

1. According to TopForeignStocks.com (May 2, 2010), Some of the reasons to invest in Israel are:

*The banking sector remained stable during the global credit crisis and emerged strong last year. Unlike many banks in the West, none of the banks had any large sub-prime exposure and needed to be bailed out by the state. The five largest banks - Hapoalim group, Bank Leumi Bank, Discount Bank, Mizrahi-Tfahot Bank group and First International Bank - are all well capitalized and their capital adequacy ratio is much higher than the minimum required by Basel standards.

*Israel runs a current account surplus. In 2009, the current account soared 243% to $7.2 billion.

*By the end of this month MSCI will upgrade Israel to a developed market [OECD]. Hence Israel will join this select group of 23 other developed countries in the index.

*The high-tech industry forms a large part of the Israeli economy. While Germany is known for engineering, Israel can be called as a high-tech powerhouse. Some have called the incredible growth of the hi-tech industry in a short period of time as a hi-tech miracle. The country is a global leader in many hi-tech sectors such as electronics, generic pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and aeronautics. Export of products by the hi-tech industry has grown at an annual rate of 8.5% in the last five years. In March 2010, the sector brought in $2.1B in export revenue. In the manufacturing sector, sale of hi-tech products forms the largest source of export revenue as the chart for 2008 shows below.

*Israel has the largest number of companies listed on the NASDAQ than any other country except Canada. This is very significant considering the country’s population is relatively small compared to many other countries such as India, China, Brazil, UK, France, etc.

*A December, 2009 Bank of America Merrill Lynch report titled “Playing Defense” recommended Israel as an attractive investment destination and recommended companies especially in the banks and telecom sector.

According to Merrill Lynch, some of the reasons for investing in Israel were the strong currency vs. the US dollar, the resilient economic performance among other emerging markets and the strong leadership performance shown by The Bank of Israel and Israel’s Ministry of Finance in handling the economy.

*The rate of investment in research and development as percentage of GDP in Israel is the highest in the world. High R&D spending coupled with a highly skilled and educated workforce spawns hundreds of start-ups producing many successful commercial products. Israel has the highest number of scientists and engineers per capita in the world. Hence one of the areas where Israel excels compared to other OECD countries is the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector which forms a considerable portion of exports. Little wonder that after Silicon Valley, Israel has the highest concentration of start-ups anywhere in the world.

*Many of Israel’s leading multinational companies weathered the credit crisis and continue to expand both domestically and abroad. Companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), the world’s largest generic drug maker, generate most of their earnings from overseas markets. The Top 25 Israeli multinationals had over US $40B in foreign sales including exports) in 2008. The top five firms in this category are Israel Corporation, Elco Holdings, Teva, Amdocs (DOX) and Ormat (ORA).

*Some of the other factors that make Israel an attractive destination for investment are: general government consumption accounts for a small portion of the total GDP, relative low unemployment rate, stable and growing housing market, very low growth in debt to GDP during 2009, the Tel-Aviv 25 Index beating the S&P 500 over the last five years, etc.

2. The $1.8BN NY-based private equity fund, Pegasus Capital Advisors, has increased its Israel-dedicated fund by $150MN, focusing on water technologies, alternative energy and homeland security technologies. Pegasus invested $100MN in Israeli companies during 2005-8, acquiring controlling interest in 5 companies (Globes business daily, April 5, 2010).
3. The European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which supports exceptional R&D projects, awarded 17MN Euros to 34 Israeli companies and researchers. The total received by Israeli companies and academic researchers, from the FP7 amounts to 290MN Euros (Globes, May 3).

4. Canada’s Enablence has acquired Israel’s Teledata for $50MN (Globes, April 16). Google made its 1st Israeli acquisition - LabPixies for $25MN (April 28).

Jihad: “A Wake up Call” By Yoram Ettinger

By Sam Sokolove on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 7:33 am
Categories: General Commentary, Uncategorized

By Yoram Ettinger

1. Jihad (Holy War) has been a cardinal feature of Islam since the 7th century. It constitutes a clear & present danger to Western democracies, irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, independent of the Palestinian issue and regardless of Israel’s policies and existence.

2. The most authoritative analysis of Jihad was published by the late Prof. Majid Khadduri of Johns Hopkins U. in War and Peace in the Law of Islam (http://yoramettinger.newsnet.co.il/Front/NewsNet/reports.asp?reportId=211429).

3. Hebrew University Prof. Moshe Sharon, a world renowned authority on Islam, sheds light on Jihad in Islam Against Israel and the West (2007):

“Jihad is the strategy and, therefore, agreements are a [tactical] interlude in the war [against the infidel]…

“Islam came to being as a fighting religion. Mohammed imposed his authority by means of his military strength…Islam established empire before it crystallized as a systematic religion…The imperial and religious aspects of Islam are interconnected. Without an empire, Islam feels that it lacks a home. The empire expressed Islamic power, prominence and virility. Islam was born in order to rule, as is only fitting for the religion of Allah which is one and exclusive…Jews and Christians cannot claim that they possess true, holy scripture as all of the holy scriptures must be identical to the Qur’an…Islam is supreme… Anyone challenging this Muslim law of nature rebels against Allah and should not be allowed to exist…The establishment of a Jewish state on Islamic land is an open rebellion…insolent towards the Prophet and impudence towards Allah…

“Any territory that was ever Muslim becomes sacred to Islam [Waqf – sacred Islamic endowment]…If the territory is conquered by enemies of Islam, like Spain, Palestine and parts of Europe, it is incumbent upon Islam to do everything to restore it to Islamic rule…Islam has not recovered from the loss of Spain…Spain, which Arabs insist on calling Andalus, is regarded to be a lost Islamic territory, the recovery of which is a religious and political duty…The Jihad for the conquest of Europe already began a few decades ago…[Muslims migrants] are coming to Europe as masters and not as immigrants…Thousands of mosques have been established from Finland to France. Islamic version of history and thought is creeping into al the echelons of [European] political and intellectual life, affecting the educational system on all levels…

“The laws of Jihad…form the basis of the relations between the Muslim world and the West…The only possible relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are war or a limited ceasefire…Any sign of weakness is a clear call to renew Jihad…An agreement which contains anything beyond a limited armistice or ceasefire is null and void. The only agreement with non-believers that is permitted by Islamic law is one that enables Islam to strengthen itself, so that when the time comes it can resume Jihad in better conditions. An armistice/ceasefire is based on the postulation that the infidel enemy will mistake the agreement for peace, lower its defenses and slide into a slumber, thus turning itself into an easy target…

According to Prof. Bernard Lewis, the world’s leading expert on Islamic history, “the Muslims believe that they had caused the fall of the Soviet Union [in Afghanistan]…Dealing with the soft, pampered and effeminate Americans would be easier…The lessons of Vietnam and Beirut (1983) were confirmed by Mogadishu (1993). A murderous attack on Americans was followed by a prompt and complete withdrawal…This was the course of events leading to 9/11…

“The Muslims are now convinced that terror is the most effective weapon in their arsenal. They found out that they can kill civilians without being punished…that terror has become an acceptable phenomenon. Some western writers have even defined terror as ‘the weapon of the weak’…Muslim terrorists are encouraged by ‘experts,’ who keep repeating: ‘There’s no military solution to terror.’

“In the Mideast, negotiations are a method to win time…Terrorists need time to arm themselves with more deadly missiles for more effective attacks on civilians…”

4. Israel is the West’s First Yard Line of defense.
A strong Israel deters Jihad; a weakened Israel fuels Jihad.

Robert Efroymson’s Introduction to “How Will It End?”

By Sam Sokolove on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Categories: General Commentary

On Thursday, August 20, Robert Efroymson, President of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico and Mark Rudd, the legendary 60’s activist and member of Another Jewish Voice, debated the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at an Albuquerque event titled “How will it End.” The following is Mr. Efroymson’s  introduction to this landmark conversation:

The title of the event is “How will it End,” but before we get to the end, we should talk a little about where we are now, and how we got here. It has been noted that there is only one place on Earth where the same people are speaking the same language, practicing the same religion and governing themselves in the same place as they did 3000 years ago. That place is Israel. The story of how that came about is the history of Zionism. Zionists built the state of Israel, and that is why it exists.

I do not want to minimize the historical impact of the holocaust, except to correct a common misconception, common enough to have crept into President Obama’s speech in Cairo, that Israel was born of the ashes of the Holocaust. Perhaps you heard this growing up, I know I did. It is not so. In the 1920s there were already very active Palestinian civic organizations, from Newspapers to Symphony Orchestras, Labor Unions, to schools. In those days Palestinian did not mean what it does now, the institutions were all Jewish, and in the particular case of the Labor Union, functioned as the Jewish government. It is no accident that the Labor party ruled Israel continuously from 1948 to 1977.

In the years before WWII, my great grandfather received a number of letters from European Jews who wanted his assistance in getting to America. In those days, there was no such concept in our Immigration Law as “reasonable fear of persecution”. Immigrations was severely limited, and immigrants needed someone to vouch for them, to assure the government that the new American would not become a drain on the public purse.

My great-grandfather answered many of these letters, and filed the appropriate forms with the State Department to get some people into the US. Unfortunately there were delays in getting paperwork to people, and some of the letters that he responded to are heartbreaking. The ones that most affected me were some of the last in the series, when my great-grandfather had to tell his correspondents that he was too old, and the American government would not allow him to sponsor any more immigrants. My grandfather was able in some cases to step in as sponsor, but there are several people we were not able to save.

Some day I plan to check the Holocaust records to see what happened to them, but I have not had the heart to do so yet.

While the Holocaust did not result in the creation of the Jewish State, it perhaps hurried it along, and in relation to today’s discussion, it brings me to an imperative, and that is that a bi-national state is not a possible end-game. There must always be a place of refuge for Jews, and therefore there must always be a Jewish homeland, with a right of Return. As you all should know, the state of Israel uses the same criteria to evaluate Jewishness under the Law of the Return that the Nazis did. In other words if you are Jewish enough for the Nazi’s to have murdered you, you are Jewish enough for Israel to save you.

Perhaps this is a good place to note that Israel is not a perfect place, and I am not going to stand here and defend everything that Israel does. While anyone who is Jewish under the Nuremberg laws is eligible for Israeli citizenship, they are not necessarily considered Halachikally Jewish, and thus may not be able to marry in Israel. The “who is a Jew” question is just one of the many unresolved issues in Israel. There are others.

The question of settlements for example. It is vitally important to understand that the term “settlements” covers a lot of territory. There are suburbs of Jerusalem and of Tel Aviv, that because they are built in areas to the West of the 1949 cease fire line are considered by some to be settlements. There are also small caravans (mobile homes) parked on hilltops in remote areas that get the same name, but that are not in the same category.

There is a consensus that the largest suburbs, closest to the rest of Israel, are legitimate Jewish neighborhoods, and should be part of a Jewish state. Consider Gush Etzion, which was settled prior to 1949, but was captured by Jordan in the War of Independence. The Jordanians massacred the residents who were unable to flee. By what right should Gush Etzion today be evacuated? If the conquest by Israel in 1967 was illegitimate, even more illegitimate was the conquest and massacre in 1949 by Jordan. This proves the absurdity of demanding that Israel withdraw to the Green Line.

Ariel, Ma’ale Adumim, and the other bedroom communities of established cities in Israel should stay, and indeed it is not difficult to see how they will. Of the Jews living West of the Green Line, 80% are in communities that together make up no more than 5% of the total area of the West Bank. That 5% cannot logically be called an insuperable obstacle to peace, so when you hear someone say “the settlements are the problem” you need to know that they are not.

I spoke earlier about Zionism, and how Zionists built the state of Israel. This process did not end in 1948 or 1967 or 2001. It is going on to this day. The main difference I see is that instead of developing new agricultural land by draining swamps and watering deserts, the modern Israeli is developing new agricultural techniques, such as drip irrigation, and salt tolerant tomatoes. The technological innovation of course extends well beyond farming, to solar energy, water treatment, chip design, and medical technology, all of which impact the daily lives of all Americans, and in particular New Mexicans.

It is an exciting time to live and work in these areas, because like Israel New Mexico is blessed by abundant sunshine, but not by abundant water. Right now Israeli labs and entrepreneurs are inventing solutions to the problems facing their country and our state, and we can all take pride in that.

There are of course those who are not participating in the tech revolution that has changed life in Israel dramatically over the course of the last few decades. Far too many there still live in poverty. And I would be remiss to not mention that the Palestinians have not seen the kind of economic growth and development that Israelis have.
Without being flip, I consider myself to be strongly pro-Palestinian in the sense that they deserve better lives. Every Palestinian mother deserves to send her child to school without worrying, to see that child grow and be productive, just as every Jewish Israeli mother deserves the same. One group over the last decades has played the most malign role in depriving Palestinians of their rights. That group is the Palestinian leadership. The Palestinians have been cursed with leadership that has picked the wrong side in every conflict from choosing the Nazis in WWII (see Icon of Evil for more about the Mufti and Hitler), to siding with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, to recently siding with Saddam’s Iraq, (which led to the expulsion of numerous Palestinians from Kuwait, an event little commented upon). Hamas continues to misrule Gaza and pursue a confrontational policy toward Israel, a policy of rocket fire that forced Israel into Gaza late last year, the “Cast Lead” operation.

However there are signs of hope in the West Bank, where Abu Mazen continues to give signs that he truly is a voice of Moderation. The recent elections to the Palestinian Authority’s central committee brought in many younger leaders, who are not tied to the rejectionist legacy of Yasser Arafat. The easing security situation has led to a reduction in the number of road blocks, which has dramatically improved the economic conditions on the ground there. There is once again a real reason to hope, for the Palestinians who live there, and for us.

So to answer the question, How will it end? I believe that we can see the outlines of a future two state solution on the ground right now. The Security fence that Israel has built over the past several years has already served one purpose, it has dramatically reduced the number of suicide bombings in Israel. In 2000 to ride an Egged Bus was to play Russian roulette. By contrast, on my last trip to Israel, a year ago, the Bus was a safe and convenient way to get my family from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The fence will also be the boundary line between Israel and a new Palestinian state. To account for the 5% of the West Bank that will become part of Israel, other territory may be traded. There are numerous other issues that must be solved, for example a connection between the West Bank and Gaza. A secure road? A tunnel? A railway? I don’t know. There will also be new roads for the new Palestinian state. They may pass underneath or around the Jewish suburbs I mentioned before.

It is not just the Palestinians who will need to make accomodations. While 80% of the Jews in the West Bank live on 5% of the land, land which will be incorporated into Israel, the other 20% will have to be resettled, or accept that they live in a Palestinian ruled state.

Finally of course there is the question of Jerusalem. Speaking only for myself, it seems clear that there are Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that properly should be part of the new Palestinian state. Perhaps they will even host its capital. The details of this are beyond my ken, and in any event must be worked out on the negotiating table between the Israelis and the Palestinians. As Americans we should recognize that Israel is a Democracy, in fact the only Democracy in the Middle East, and we should allow its citizens to determine its fate. They are the ones who must live with those decisions, they are the ones who send their sons and daughters off to defend those decisions.

Voices that Matter

By Sam Sokolove on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 am
Categories: General Commentary, Uncategorized

Rula Abo Hussein (foreground) and May Freed (background)

Rula Abo Hussein (foreground) and May Freed (background)

It takes a certain amount of determination to traverse the winding hills that lead to Nancy Dickenson’s beautiful home in Santa Fe; MapQuest warns of ‘portions unpaved” and lifting one’s eyes from the road to take in the surrounding stellar views is to risk veering into paint-peeling scrub brush.

It takes a bit more determination, admittedly, to leave one’s home and family in Israel and the Palestinian territories to journey to a place as unfamiliar and exotic as New Mexico for the purpose of coming face-to-face with “the enemy” under the auspices of the program Creativity for Peace. At Ms. Dickenson’s home on the afternoon of July 11th, two CFP participants, Israeli Jew May Freed and Arab Rula Abo Hussein, came to share their experiences with supporters and friends of the program.

Since 2003, Creativity for Peace has brought more than 126 Palestinian and Israeli adolescent girls and women together to talk, listen and heal through facilitated discussion, art, and simple socializing. Over time stereotypes are shattered, and hatred and distrust fades. Upon return to their home communities, these young women are often assailed as traitors and collaborators, but their commitment to advancing peaceful coexistence trumps such concerns. “I want to open people’s minds,” insists May, a commitment seconded by Hussein, who shares her new friend’s belief that, “we can make a change.”

The day after the CFP gathering, Another Jewish Voice Santa Fe – “a grassroots organization of progressive Santa Fe, New Mexico area Jews and friends” — sponsored a performance of Seven Jewish Children, A Play for Gaza. Ostensibly a decrial of Israel’s military actions in Gaza during last year’s Operation Cast Lead, as written by British playwright Caryl Churchill, a vehement supporter of anti-Israel causes who refuses to allow her plays to be performed in The Jewish State, the short performance is essential a mocking of Jewish paranoia, Jewish “tribalism,” Holocaust obsessiveness and — a particular bugaboo of European leftists — Jewish “chosenness.” In eight pages, the play captures none of the complexity of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in favor of gross caricaturing.

Since its debut at London’s Royal Court Theatre last February, the play has been met by some scathing reviews. British critic and author Howard Jacobson, who is hardly known as a pro-Israel reactionary, calls it “a toxic discourse that masquerades Jew-hatred as denunciation of Israel.” Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly, laments, “It reads like anti-Jewish agitprop to me. I see it as a short polemic directed against one party in a complicated conflict.” In a letter published in the Daily Telegraph, sixty well-known British Jews objected to Seven Jewish Children’s depiction of Israelis as “inhuman triumphalists”, and British Anti-Semitism monitors Dave Rich and Mark Gardner argue, “Seven Jewish Children is not a play about Israel… (Churchill’s) response to Gaza is to accuse Jews of having undergone a pathological transformation from victims to oppressors.”

The primary question that arises then from AJVSF’s staging of such a work is, what’s the point? As a sermon to the converted (who, in the words of Seth Frantzman, “have in mind an Israel that is a dark fantasy…the Israel they need to exist in order to think the worst about it”) there’s no new insight to be gained, no transfer of information, just a reaffirming of the canards that have made it possible in supposedly enlightened circles to resurrect the long discredited “Zionism equals racism” charge with moral impunity.

Another Jewish Voice Santa Fe’s mission statement declares that, “The restoration of the basic values of justice and dignity, for one’s neighbor and oneself is essential to achieving a just peace.” Fair enough. But exactly how does giving voice to one of Churchill’s Jewish monsters crowing, “they’re animals living in rubble…I wouldn’t care if we wiped them out” promote such worthy aspirations? As for AJVSF’s assertion that American Jews should, “formulate, propose, and advocate creative new foreign policy initiatives toward Israel and Palestine,” it’s doubtful that staging Seven Jewish Children will promote a new perspective amongst our leaders anywhere as meaningfully as when CFP Board member Dr. Paul Kovnat handed a letter from Creativity to Peace to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a recent visit to the Capital. In light of AJVSF’s own mission statement, using Seven Jewish Children as an instrument to effect change seems, at best, cynically disingenuous.

As the participants of Creativity for Peace prove, changing hearts, minds and policies is certainly harder work than simply pointing fingers. In an incisive op-ed titled, “End the Preoccupation,” Michael Brooks acknowledges within American Jewry a “profound sense of sadness and frustration at the continued suffering of the Palestinian people and the less-than-equal treatment of Arab citizens in the Jewish State,” but chastens pro-Palestinian advocates to, “drop the Anti-Semitism.” “Clean up your act,” he scolds. “Do you really think that presenting yourselves as racists and anti-Semites will build sympathy for the creation of a Palestinian state? Enough is enough.”

Enough, indeed. “Tell them we want peace” one of Churchill’s Jews deceptively declares towards the end of the play, a sneering rebuttal to the inconvenient truth that most Israelis – not to mention British and American Jews – do favor a two-state solution. The heavy lifting towards this goal, however, will be done by the May Freed and Arab Rula Abo Hussein’s of the region; young adults who with their dedication, open-mindedness and sheer bravery will make the vision of peace in the Middle East breathe and come to light. That’s progressiveness in its truest form, progressiveness that a small piece of hate literature can’t begin to approach.

Community Responses to “No More Military Aid to Israel.”

By Sam Sokolove on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 8:48 am
Categories: General Commentary, News

(continue reading…)

Apartheid in Israel? The facts say Otherwise

By Sam Sokolove on Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 am
Categories: General Commentary, Israel, Uncategorized

Op-Ed: Apartheid in Israel? The facts say otherwise
By Reda Mansour · April 1, 2009

ATLANTA (JTA) — A few years ago I began an initiative at the Israeli Foreign Ministry aimed at opening a dialogue with Muslim communities in the West. When the first delegations of European and American Muslims started to arrive, they were amazed at the coexistence between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

For many outside of Israel, their perception of the country has been framed by the international media. They have allowed their opinions to be shaped by a constant stream of pictures and articles with one main idea: Between Arabs and Jews there can be only hatred and violence.

With this mind-set, the delegates traveled to Haifa, Israel, one of the most beautiful cities on Earth, a place where beauty is about more than geography. In Haifa, the Muslim delegations visited a major university with an Arab Muslim vice president and many Arab students. They went to markets and offices and observed Arabs and Jews peacefully going about their simple daily lives.

The delegations heard the call to prayer of the muezzin. They visited the mosque of the Ahmadi Islamic sect, Muslims persecuted in many parts of the world who have flourished in Israel, and traveled near the world Baha’i religious center, a faith persecuted in Iran. They met some of the more than 100 Islamic family court judges and talked with the imams who provide religious services; both groups are paid by the Israeli government.

In a regular Israeli parliament session, there are an average of 15 Arab members, some of whom are part of self-proclaimed Zionist parties. Israel has Arab members of parliament and in the Cabinet; it has Arab ambassadors and high-ranking Arab officers in the military.

Yet despite examples of diversity like these, some critics persist in trying to apply the terrible adjective of apartheid to the State of Israel. The facts on the ground, however, show nothing even remotely close to a racist system. For while one can claim that Arabs in Israel do not receive enough government attention or investment in their community, or one can argue that the situation for Israeli Arabs is sensitive as a minority in a country that has gone to war with its Arab neighbors, all of these issues are political and have nothing to do with race.

There is no apartheid in Israel. Nor is there apartheid in Gaza and the West Bank. The territories came under Israeli control in 1967 following the Six-Day War, and over the next 20 years Israel controlled them with nearly no security measures: almost no checkpoints, no fences and no controlled roads.

However, during the first Palestinian uprising in 1987 and again during the 1990s, Israel was forced to toughen its security measures. The country had to protect its citizens because the terrorists of Hamas made suicide bombing their tactic of choice and shopping malls, night clubs, schools and hotels their primary targets.

Before the uprising began, more then 120,000 Palestinians worked in Israel. In every Palestinian household there was at least one person who worked in Israel. The workers entered the country freely and their standard of living was among the highest in the Middle East.

Only after 25 years of controlling the territories and having its citizens targeted by terror did Israel begin to institute the security measures that some are trying to call “apartheid.” That is why it has been so hard to make the charges stick. Israel, like any other country, is not perfect. The country and its diverse population still admittedly face political and security issues. But apartheid? You must be joking.

Israel and the international community are ready for Palestinian freedom and independence. The question is, are the Palestinians?

The greatest problem facing the Palestinians today is not Israel or illusionary “apartheid” but a lack of unified and visionary leadership. Palestinians need to understand that violent action will never yield the results they want and that serving as a useful distraction for the regime in Tehran will never bring prosperity.

The Palestinians need to produce their own Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi — a leader who will demonstrate to them that nonviolence is a much more successful tool for freedom and coexistence.

(Reda Mansour is an Israeli Druze and the current consul general of Israel to the southeastern United States. Mansour, the author of award-winning poems and short stories, is a longtime activist for dialogue between Israelis and Arabs.)

Sam N. Lehman-Wilzig’s TIPS FOR ISRAEL ADVOCATES

By Sam Sokolove on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 7:53 am
Categories: General Commentary, Israel, Media

Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig, the Schusterman Visiting Israeli Scholar, Brown University, visited Albuquerque recently to address the topic of “Can Israel Do a Better PR Job?”

 His facinating discussion offered background on the relationship of the Israeli government to the Israeli media and how this is a major reason for the Israeli governments’ historical complacency and lack of focus on “hasbarah” (professional PR) vis-a-vis explaining its policies to the rest of the world. 

The following are suggestions Professor Lehman-Wilzig offered to Israel advocates as to how they can help as part of Israel’s larger general PR campaign.

 Truth: most Americans don’t care about Foreign Policy unless it really impacts their lives: (1974 oil embargo — gas prices go up!).

Rather, most Americans see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a regional problem, not a local one. “Public opinion is overrated,” says Dr. Lehman-Wilzig. “What is really important (is reaching) the opinion leaders – people who set policy.”  

Main Advocacy Efforts Should Be Focused on:

  • Political leadership itself: AIPAC, for example, goes to officials at the most grassroots level; they go to up- and-comers, make a long-term investment in education and mentorship, and this ultimately influences policy;
  • Social Opinion Makers: Clergy, media personalities, academics.”You never know when a singer will say something positive about Israel; this can be hugely beneficial;”
  • Journalists (print, electronic, radio).  

 Main Advocacy Messages

  • Make sure the basic facts get out — e.g., Arafat’s rejection of 96% of the West Bank; Hamas’ launch of 6,000 missiles, etc. — you’ll be amazed by how little information is actually out there;
  • Try to Persuade: this includes Israel’s right to exist, right to defend herself and the truth that Israel is honestly seeking peace. This isn’t accomplished by browbeating, which may have only a short-term success; persuasion is long-term, civil, and best handled face-to-face;
  • Normalize and Civilize Israel: It’s a place where people can actually live a normal life; it’s technologically advanced nation, a leader in computer tech, etc.  When people read about Israel, 90% of the time it’s in the context of war, crisis – as advocates, we should “lower the disaster quotient” and show the normalcy!  (BTW: this talk happened the same day the polling firm Dahaf, on behalf of the Jerusalem Institute of Market Studies, released a survey revealing that a majority of Israelis are happy — 30 percent, in fact, in fact very happy.

“American Jews don’t have to tote the Israeli government line… it’s our job to learn more about what makes Israel tick,” he says. In other words, the more we see and portray an “Israel beyond the conflict,” the more effective our advocacy work will be.

 

Welcome to JFNM’s Advocacy Blog!

By Andrew Jaffee on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Categories: General Commentary

Welcome to the home of nmisrael.org, a new site dedicated to advocacy for the State of Israel and other Jewish issues. This site is supported by the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. Please bookmark this page and come back and visit shortly to see our site as we add new articles, information, and features.

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