Peace in our time?

The Guardian has just published an op-ed by new Palestinian prime minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Olmert's unilateralism is a recipe for conflict. It is a plan to impose a permanent situation in which the Palestinians end up with a homeland cut into pieces made inaccessible because of massive Jewish settlements built in contravention of international law on land seized illegally from the Palestinians. No plan will ever work without a guarantee, in exchange for an end to hostilities by both sides, of a total Israeli withdrawal from all the land occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem; the release of all our prisoners; the removal of all settlers from all settlements; and recognition of the right of all refugees to return...

The problem is not with any particular Palestinian group but with the denial of our basic rights by Israel. We in Hamas are for peace and want to put an end to bloodshed.

Did British papers during WWII grant space for Nazi leaders to make their case to the British public? Who do you think wins when one side is fair and balanced and the other side is absolutist? Would a Palestinian paper publish an op-ed by President Bush?

Election Results

Now it's time to make a coalition:

Kadima - 29

Labor - 20

Likud - 12

Shas - 12

Yisrael Beitenu - 11

National Union-NRP - 9

Gil (Pensioners) - 7

Torah & Shabbat Judaism (UTJ) - 6

Meretz-Yachad - 5

United Arab List - 4

Balad - 3

Hadash - 3

The Canadian Campus

Believe it or not, there are a few proactive Zionists on Canadian campuses. One of them is Jordie Saperia:

The University of Toronto has denied Hillel’s request to remove the word “apartheid” from the name of the annual Israel-bashing week sponsored by the Arab Students’ Collective, Israeli Apartheid Week.

Instead of complaining – like elementary students tattling to the teacher – to university officials about student groups using Israel and “apartheid” together, Jewish students ought to take their heads out of the sand...

Jewish pride and Jewish identity will only be strengthened by standing up for our values, being proactive, and unapologetically celebrating the Jewish state and our Jewish heritage with good, old-fashioned Jewish courage and boldness.

Best of luck to our northern neighbors.

Austin CAMERA fellows program

CAMERA has at least 5 spaces reserved for students from the Austin area:

Sign up now for an exciting program on Israel and the media and be eligible for a free trip to Israel!

Learn from media experts how to communicate through the media to educate Americans about Israel. Twenty-five students who participate in the program will be selected for a free trip to Israel (no matter how many times you've been there before) this June (4-13) with CAMERA to tour the country and to meet with international journalists and Israeli experts. Students will be selected on the basis of the extent of their participation in the program and what they've done as a result-- i.e. writing letters, Op-Eds, broadcasting commentary in either the student or the general media. The program, which includes lunch on Sunday, is free and will take place on Sunday, March 26 at 1:00 (brunch starts at 12:00) at UT Austin. TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE TRIP TO ISRAEL, YOU MUST SIGN UP IN ADVANCE.

To sign up, please call Deborah at (888) 736-3672 or email campus@camera.org with the following information: Full name, Email address, Telephone number, Name of School, Year of Graduation, Major or area of concentration

Coffee House Follow-Up

Our discussions about the US-Israel relationship always come around to the topic of Evangelical Christian support of Israel.

Adding to the discussion is Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief David Horovitz, who interviewed Dr. John Hagee, the American evangelical pastor who last month announced plans for a Christian-style AIPAC.

Every Christian believes that Jesus Christ is the messiah. The Jewish people do not believe that. In that regard we have to agree to disagree. I say to my rabbi friends: "You don't believe it; I do believe it. When we're standing in Jerusalem, and the messiah is coming down the street, one of us is going to have a very major theological adjustment to make. But until that time, let's walk together in support of Israel and in defense of the Jewish people, because Israel needs our help."

Read the interview here.

Also, tonight's Krav Mega class at Hillel went well. Tonight was punches and kicks; next class is choke holds!

Coffee House Recap

Tonight we had a lively discussion about the US-Israel relationship - its origins, its value, and its vulnerability. There were tangents, of course, but our discussion mostly revolved around the following:

The Israel Lobby by John Mersheimer and Stephen Walt, a long essay suggesting that Israel is a liability for the United States.

Study: AIPAC works against US interests (news story about the Mersheimer & Walt essay)

Martin Kramer's defense of the US-Israel relationship

LGF has the story with more links.

And don't forget to "vote" in the March 28th Israeli elections. Vote now: www.israelvotes2006.com.