Comments on: Ignorance on parade: Richard Cohen’s mistakes

By: balabusta in blue jeans

balabusta in blue jeans — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 07:19:11 +0000

If there is one thing that ticks me off, it is the description of Israel as a country founded for European (or worse, ‘white’ Jews, and the fact that…

OK, if there are two things that tick me off…and the fact that there is NO apparent knowledge that there were Sephardi and Mizrachi Zionists before the founding of the state and the subsequent unpleasantness, and…

Well, if there are three things that tick me off…

Never mind. I think this guy got to all of them.

By: Shimmy

Shimmy — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:49:19 +0000

Ha, you beat me to it! Good stuff. I have to link you now to make sure I don't repeat your points AGAIN :)

By: AtlanticBlog

AtlanticBlog — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:54:35 +0000

Another new blog…

I had no energy to engage Richard Cohen’s bizarre attack on Israel, but fortunately the job was done for me…….

By: Ephraim

Ephraim — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:06:21 +0000

Just a quibble, but the Jews from Arab lands who now make up about half the population of Israel are not all Sephardim, since many of them never left the Middle east and were never in Spain (Sepharad). They are more properly referred to as “Mizrachim”, IIRC.

By: Meryl Yourish

Meryl Yourish — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:15:47 +0000

Larry: Yes, it seems they do get it. Which makes Cohen look even more stupid.

By: Meryl Yourish

Meryl Yourish — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:13:47 +0000

Michael: You are now assuming things that I never said. It is obvious to me that the argument in your head doesn’t resemble the argument in my post.

I’m not going to get into a discussion with someone who doesn’t wait for me to actually say something before disagreeing with it.

By: Larry G

Larry G — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:40:46 +0000

Interestingly enough, the Washington Post Editorial Board does seem to get it. See their editorial today:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071701310.html

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 19:58:58 +0000

If I was in charge of Israel. I would make a declaration stating that all territory taken would be incorprated into the Israel. I would forcibly remove the Paleoarabs who do not want to become Israeli Citizens. I would forcibly disarm the terrorist by any means necessary. I would even open war with Syria and perpare for the inevitable conflict with Iran with the cooperation with US Military to end the potential military threat of Iran. I would annex Gaza and the West Bank incorprate those lands to Israel and would kick Hamas to become a thorn on the Egyptians and the West Bank terrorist would be expelled in the same manner Jordan did to the PLO in the 1960s/1970s. No more coddling. If I was the Prime Minister we would see the biggest expansion of Israel since the 1967 War.

By: Michael Bindner

Michael Bindner — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:33:20 +0000

You are correct, I read more into his comments than he said. However, he did not call for capitulation to Hezbollah’s demands to but to strategic defensibility. He seems to also be saying something about occupation in general which may have domestic implications regarding Iraq. He does, however, seem to implicitly endorse a two-state solution. I have called such a solution a mistake. In light of Hamas, wouldn’t you agree? Short of genocide against the Muslims, if two state is dead, what else is there? It seems like Israel is in a heck of a pickle. If it goes two state, Hamas is on its border. If it annexes and grants citizenship, demography overcomes it.

If you don’t like Cohen’s idea of pulling back to defensible borders, which Sharon would have likely agreed with, what would you do?

By: The Real Ugly American.com » Blog Archive » Richard Cohen Offers some Bad Advice

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:20:20 +0000

[...] Meryl Yourish has Jewish history 201 for Mr. Cohen when he is ready. [...]