I guess it started in 1987, when I got my first letter to the editor published complaining how a cartoon used antisemitic imagery in its portrayal of then PM Yitzchak Shamir.

In the following years I had letters published in the Baltimore Sun and other publications.

Sometime after 9/11, I got a sense that highly paid columnists, PhD, government officials and other anointed could write the most absurd nonsense and started to e-mail articles that represented reality better than what I was used to seeing in the New York Times or Washington Post (with some exceptions).

I also became aware that you didn’t have to be a highly paid columnist, PhD or government official to get to make unsupported assertions. Regular folks could do that too.

The medium through which they did that was called a blog and I e-mailed one of the earliest practitioners of blogging if what I did could be considered e-mail blogging. She answered that she supposed it could. (I thought I preserved the exchange, but can’t find it right now, so that’s from memory.) As you probably can guess my source was none other than Meryl. And no, bloggers like Meryl, weren’t known for making unsupported assertions, they backed up their assertions with links to sources, not appeals to their own brilliance or supposed expertise.

And so I was drawn to the world of blogging. After some years Meryl invited me to post announcements of Haveil Havalim – the Jewish blogging carnival – at her blog, one of her efforts to promote pro-Israel blogging. Eventually I was invited to join as a regular blogger, a role I enjoyed – getting much wider exposure than I got at my own blog – until my retirement from blogging.

But for me and many others Meryl was a pioneer and inspiration, someone who showed us what pro-Israel blogging could be.

On April 15, 2002, there was a pro-Israel rally on the Mall in Washington DC. It was the height of the so-called “Aqsa intifada,” (or, if you prefer, the Oslo War.) I remember a sign at the rally to the effect of “Israel has 9/11 24/7.” That was the desperate feeling at the time. Every few days, it seemed, brought word of another horrific attack.

The Bush administration, which despite its mistakes, was fundamentally pro-Israel. But in an act of political deafness, sent Paul Wolfowitz to speak to the crowd. The problem wasn’t Wolfowitz but what he said. As the AP started its report:

A top administration official was interrupted and booed Monday when he told thousands of people gathered at the Capitol for a pro-Israel rally that Palestinians as well as Israelis have been victims of Mideast violence.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz was drowned out by chants of “no more Arafat” and booed as he told a packed crowd of thousands that “innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying as well. It is critical that we recognize and acknowledge that fact.”

Forget about the blatant bias of the AP in that article. At a time when Israel was defending itself against the most brutal terror war in its history, for Wolfowitz to mention the Palestinians at a pro-Israel was really dense, and as noted, the crowd reacted. Nothing wrong with sympathizing with innocent victims, but to attribute them to Israel self-defense was outrageous.

Andrew Sullivan, about 6 and a half years before he was completely unhinged, thought that was rather ungrateful of the crowd. Meryl pointed out the obvious:

It isn’t just the way the “boos” were blown out of proportion, or the way they were taken so out of context, and made to look as if the crowd cared nothing for the death of innocents. What bothers me most is that the impression is wrong. American Jews care greatly that innocents–on both sides–are dying. But the rally was the Israel Solidarity Rally–not the Israeli and Innocent Palestinian Civilians Solidarity Rally. We went to Washington to make our points–not listen to theirs. We went to hear speakers talk of the innocent Israeli civilians who are dying–murdered by Palestinian “martyrs”–whose comrades hide in the midst of innocent Palestinian civilians.

That was my earliest clear memory of Meryl’s work, and she’s been doing the same for ten years now: showing us how to fight pervasive anti-Israel bias in the media and the chattering classes.

May she go from strength to strength over the next 10!

Back then, the JBlogosphere was Tal G in Jerusalem, and Israeli Guy, Imshin (Not a Fish), Gary Farber, and Allison Kaplan Sommer—and I was here before all of them. Lair Simon was a commenter at LGF when I first started blogging. Israpundit/Ted Belman started around the time of the posts I’m reprinting. The Elder of Ziyon? Pshaw, he’s just a toddler in comparison (although an extremely gifted one).

Ten years. I’ve been doing this for ten years. I can’t even begin to estimate the number of words I’ve written, or the thousands of hours I’ve spent blogging. But I do know that I’m not bored yet, and I’d like to try to get some of my old fire back. The redesign was originally planned for the Yourish.com birthday celebration, but thanks to my tech support, Jay, we have the new layout now. And as I have the time, I’ll be bringing back more posts that I’m pretty sure very few of you have read. My blogging time is more constricted lately because I’m writing fiction again. (That’s the main reason I’m so interested in the ebook revolution. A writer no longer needs to rely on the agent-publishing house route to becoming a published author.)

It’s always been about the writing for me. That’s why I started this blog, and that’s why I keep going. That, and the message. I know you can get the other side of the Israel story in dozens of places now. But none of them has my specific level of snark, and, well—I was here first.

A wonderful thing happened this week. Adil at Muslimpundit.com, whom I have been reading for months (and you should be reading him, too), mentioned me kindly in a recent blog, and told people to take a look at Iseema’s Diary while they were here. It got picked up by BBSpot and Metafilter and a few other places. (Not, may I point out, by Daypop.)

And thousands of people came.

They came, they read the diary, some of them looked around at other pages, and I hope to have interested some of them enough so that they come back on Monday.

But the most important thing, I think, is that they came not for a funny cat picture, not for a “Which X are you?” quiz, not for some freakish story, but for the writing. It’s up to me to keep them here now. I will do my best.

So, welcome, new readers. Kick your shoes off. Put your feet up, get comfortable, make yourself at home, and as soon as I’m settled back in from my Virginia trip (which will be tomorrow), I’ll be serving up some more helpings of what got you here in the first place.

But Adil is the one who gets to sit in The Chair That Swallows You Whole (so comfortable that you can’t get out of it), so nobody else sit there.

Yesterday I mentioned the things to expect during the Blogathon. But I forgot one. Violence.

After only an hour and a half, and due to the fact that I have no prepared posts, I’ve realized that I might get a mite testy by the end of the day. So please forgive me when I do, because I’m pretty sure it’s an inevitability.

If this keeps up, I might get desperate enough to post pictures of my cats.

Well. The least you can do is contribute to Shaare Zedek. There’s still about a 90% non-contributor rate out there, which saddens me. Six hundred-plus (non-Instalink) visitors a day, on average, and only 69 sponsors as of 10:30 a.m.

Wait! I know! I’m giving away free words with every contribution today. That’s right, you get to read 48 posts in 24 hours! Hey, how can you go wrong with that? And not only that, you can use my words anytime, in any situation, thereafter. Free words, no fair use constraints—why, it’s an invitation to plagiarize. That’s right, impress your friends. Guys, impress that girl you’ve been wanting and see if those free words don’t just get her into the bedroom. Use them in any combination, and you’ve got words for every occasion! I’ll even throw in a few swear words so you can tell off that asshole that sits next to you at work.

Yourish.com. The place on the Internet where you can get all the words that are fit to speak. And then some.

It occurs to me that I need one simple question answered, and only one. Let’s for the moment drop all of my arguments about the Palestinian suicide bombings, the refugee problems; in fact, let’s assume for the moment that I agree with everything you say regarding the Palestinian side of things. Except for this.

I have one question, and one question only: In what way does blowing up families sitting down to the Passover dinner aid the Palestinian cause? Please explain this to me in short, simple sentences so that I may follow your logic. Let me repeat it in simpler phrases: How do suicide bombings advance Palestinian self-rule and solve the refugee problem?

No, don’t go on about how they’re driven to it by the wretched excesses of the Israeli oppressors, or the conditions of the camps, or the Right of Return, or for whatever other reason you can think of. Answer the question, simply and directly: In what way does blowing the arms and legs off old men and women and children solve the problems of the Palestinian refugees? You can start like this: “Blowing up innocent men, women, and children helps solve the Palestinian refugee problem because…”

When you can answer that question to my satisfaction, then I will begin to take your arguments seriously.

Eat your heart out, Drudge. Glenn, ya snooze, ya lose. Yourish.com has obtained the actual transcripts of Yasser Arafat’s phone calls to world leaders from inside his besieged compound! It’s another exclusive from the folks that brought you Iseema bin Laden’s Diary! Without further ado:

Arafat: Kofi, my friend, I need a little help here. Can you convene the Security Council and get them to get these Israeli tanks off my front yard?
Annan: Mr. President, you know that I will do everything in my power to help you. I have sent a memo using the strongest possible language to each of the Security Council members that we must do something about the situation in Ramallah right away. I am recommending that our assistants schedule a meeting to discuss what time the Council can meet, where we will certainly get down to the business of putting together a resolution that will ask both sides to cease the violence. But first, a question: Mr. President, have you sent out the word to your people to stop the bombing? Terrorism will not bring the Palestinian people closer to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Arafat: [click]

Arafat: Moammar, my brother, now is the time for you to step up to the rock and help your Palestinian brethren. We need you now as never before to help us defeat the Israeli aggressors!
Gaddafi: Yasser, let me ask you–did you or did you not say that you think “Isratine” was the stupidest idea since that assassination attempt on you-know-who in the eighties?
Arafat: Moammar, my brother, my friend–you do know I was only kidding, right? Just a joke! Isratine is a great idea; I’m going to bring it up at the very next Arab League Summit, I swear by the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Gaddafi: [click]
Arafat: Hello? Hello?

Arafat: Rafik, my Lebanese brother, I need your help now more than ever. What about mobilizing the forces and maybe throwing in a few columns from Syria, sending them here to Ramallah and kicking these Israelis right out of here?
Hariri: Mr. Arafat, you know we’re not allowed to mention the S-word here in Lebanon. There are no S-columns here, no soldiers from any nation other than Lebanon, and I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Arafat: Rafik, what’s the matter with you? The Israelis can’t listen in on this, it’s a secure cell phone line! Just pick up the phone to Assad and ask him for permission to send in a couple of companies!
Hariri: [using disguised voice] We’re sorry, but that number is no longer in service. Please hang up and try again later. [click]
Arafat: Hello? Hello? Damn! Again?

Arafat: Hosni, nobody understands the depths to which Sharon will sink better than you! Can you help me get those tanks out of my compound? They’ve already destroyed four of my buildings, and I just put in a hot tub last month!
Mubarak: Yasser, I’d really love to help you out. I’ve already issued a very strong statement saying in no uncertain terms that the Israelis have no right to occupy Ramallah and should leave immediately. Oh, and I called the Israelis “terrorists”, just like you suggested.
Arafat: But Hosni, I need more than words, I need action. My men are being killed, I’m trapped with no electricity, no water, and if you think not being able to flush toilets isn’t one of the more annoying things in life, you haven’t been to the slums of Cairo lately.
Mubarak: There are no slums in Cairo. There are no slums in all of Egypt. What are you implying?
Arafat: Can we talk about the poverty situation in Cairo some other time? I really need—
Mubarak: [click]

Arafat: Amr, can’t the Arab League do something about the situation?
Moussa: Yasser, we did. We issued the unanimous approval of the Saudi Peace Plan. We’ve got the PR upper hand; now the Israelis are going to look like fools, and intractable ones at that, when they refuse to go along with it. Of course we rigged it so they’ll never agree to our terms, but–
Arafat: No, Amr, I mean now. I mean can you get the League back together, issue a statement to Israel demanding that she remove the tanks from my doorstep—oh, dammit, now they ran over the rosebushes! Do you know how hard my mother-in-law worked to make those roses grow?
Moussa: Yasser, you know how hard it is to schedule these things. We can’t do this at the drop of a kaffiyeh, you know. There are people to contact, schedules to work out, parties, feasts—oh, we can’t possibly do this before August. Can you hold out ’til then?
Arafat: [click]

Arafat: Mr. Secretary, we all know that if the United States says jump, Israel says how high, can’t you call Sharon and get these tanks—
Powell: Don’t interrupt me again, Mr. Arafat, I have a few things to say to you about—terrorism.
[15 minutes later]
Arafat: So you’re telling me that I’m on my own?
Powell: No, that’s not what I said. Listen. And stop interrupting.
[15 minutes later]
Arafat: Can I get a word in edgewise now?
Powell: Yes?
Arafat: So you’re telling me I’m on my own?
Powell: [click]

Arafat: Hey! How’s it going, uh—um—
Various African leaders: [click] [click] [click] [click]

And that’s the end of the transcripts. Remember, this is exclusive to Yourish.com—so if you post this anywhere else, don’t forget our slogan: What, you think we make this stuff up?

About a week and a half ago, I found a brief mention of my first essay on Metafilter, along with a question in the comments that needs answering. The question:

“I’m confused. I thought that the implication of his ‘I am a Jew’ statement was that it was something he was forced to say by way of giving the murders justification for killing him, claiming he was a Mossad spy or something.”

And there was something else, something from Mike Golby’s website, posted in response to my earlier essay. Here are the pertinent paragraphs, since Blogger seems to have damaged Mike’s archives (the essay is from March 3; you need to scroll down to read it):

“However, neither article will do much to assuage Meryl’s concern at the hatred others show towards her because of her faith. I firmly believe that, while others can support her, only she can do something to assuage the real anger she experiences at the thought of others hating her simply because she is Jewish. If it’s of any value to the feisty Ms. Yourish, I’ve seen infinitely more people twisted, broken, or driven crazy by the hatred they carry within than I have people who’ve been crippled by any viciousness voiced.

Those who hate are victims of self-abuse. I’d ask Meryl to follow the path she and her Polish friend took in their childhood, that most sensible time of our lives. Wait until they stop behaving like idiots, because, most of the time, and if South Africa is anything to go by, they eventually do.

Perhaps not in our lifetimes, but eventually.”

I can’t really speak for the hatred in South Africa. I ‘m no expert on South African history. And it is usually an exercise in futility to get into a comparison of whose misery goes deeper, but it must be pointed out that Jews have been subject to anti-Semitism for thousands of years, in, as far as I can tell, every nation in the world in which they have lived. Our history and South Africa’s are vastly different; it’s not a workable comparison.

Anti-Semitism doesn’t seem to be showing any sign of going away, except in places like the United States–which is over and above more tolerant of every ethnicity and religion than any other country in the world. Many of my anti-Semitic experiences have been with students or immigrants–Iranian Muslim students or immigrants, in point of fact. The negative experiences of my friend’s father and my mother–both native-born Americans–are the only ones that changed. The Iranian students weren’t willing to so much as give me a chance to become friends with them. In fact, the only Iranian I ever became friends with was a student at my college who had come to America as a small child, and whose parents deeply opposed the Ayatollah’s revolution. Nader was, in any case, completely Americanized by the time he met me–a critical factor in our friendship, I believe.

So here’s the problem, Mike. You recommend to me that I don’t fall victim to hatred. That I simply wait until the people who hate me because I am Jewish simply stop behaving like idiots.

I agree with you about not falling into hatred. It is extremely difficult not to, though, when I see Jews being gunned down at a Bar Mitzvah celebration, or while they are eating lunch at a cafe, or simply trying to study in their religious school. My anger overflows, but it is ultimately reined in and turns to sadness for the dead. I won’t fall into hatred, because it’s not in me to hate for no reason. And because when I do fall into anger and despair, I have friends–good friends–who can remind me that hate is the wrong path to follow.

But to “wait for them to stop behaving like idiots”? They’re not behaving like idiots. They’re behaving like murderers.

My mother and my friend’s father were acting like idiots, but they weren’t trying to kill us. Arab terrorists will kill me because I am Jewish. Danny Pearl is dead because he was Jewish. More people will die because they are Jewish, and this will keep happening for a very, very long time. I don’t have the luxury of waiting for them to stop behaving like idiots. My life could be at stake.

Which brings me around to answering the question from Metafilter: The reason we use that phrase is because even knowing full well that Danny Pearl was forced to recite the words that became his last, they resonate in every Jewish person’s soul: Yes, I am a Jew. Whether it is said voluntarily, or whether it is forced out in some pretense of justification by the executioners, it has the same resonance. I am a Jew, and I may die because of that. How many Christians ever think they may be killed for being a Christian?

The mob that surrounded and murdered Yankel Rosenbaum in Crown Heights was chanting “Kill the Jew!” In Nazi Germany, Jews who had completely assimilated were put to death alongside those who were deeply religious. If only one of your grandparents was Jewish, you went to the camps alongside someone whose Jewish lineage went back hundreds of years. It isn’t a question of faith. There is a distinction that gentiles make that cannot in actuality be made about Jews. If you take away my religion, I am still a Jew. Judaism is both religious and cultural. You cannot separate the two like you can, say, an Italian Catholic. Take away my sister-in-law’s Catholicism, and she is still an Italian-American. Take away my religious Judaism, and I am still a Jew. All of us know this, consciously or subconsciously. Because even if we want to no longer be Jewish, the world rarely lets us let go of our Jewishness. Hitler certainly didn’t. A lapsed Jew is still subject to the same hatred and bigotry that a religious Jew endures.

Therein lies the distinction that no other culture can claim. Therein lies our difference, our Otherness. Therein lies the reason for the continued attempts at our extinction. Therein lies my reason for taking the words forced upon Danny Pearl, and putting them out on a banner for all to see. Yes, I am a Jew. I was born a Jew, and I will die a Jew. I certainly hope I won’t die because I’m a Jew.

For the past couple of months, I’ve noticed that Qatar turns up regularly in my web stat demographics. It may be a spider; it may be a spammer using someone else’s IP address. But it just may be someone from the from the State of Qatar who reads my weblog. And if it is, there are so many things I wonder about that person. Qatar is 95% Muslim; there is no Jewish population at all that I can discover, and aside from knowing that Al Jazeera is based there, and that it’s a Persian Gulf state whose main industry is oil, we’ve hit the limits of my knowledge of Qatar

But I wonder many things about my visitor.

You figured out in the last few days that I, like Danny Pearl, am a Jew. Does it bother you to know that I’m Jewish? Does it make a difference in the way you perceive my words? Do you hate me now that you know? Will you stop reading a weblog written by a Jew? Do they hate Jews in Qatar?

Would you kill me because I am Jewish?

Here in America, I learned early about hatred. A boy in my fifth-grade class called me a "jewbagel" one day. I didn’t know what it meant, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t a compliment. I told the teacher; he apologized to me and got detention. It was my first experience with anti-Semitism, but not my last.

I have worn a Star of David as long as I can remember. It is a part of my identity. Unless I say otherwise, it is the only way you can tell I am a Jew, because I don’t "look" Jewish, and I don’t have a Jewish-sounding last name, and I don’t speak in "Jewish" inflections except when I’m at a large family gathering. But all you have to do is glance at the hollow of my throat, and you will see a six-pointed Magen David that shouts to the world: Yes, I am a Jew.

In college, my then-best friend introduced me to some new people–a group of Iranians attending her school on student visas. I was polite and welcoming to them, but whenever Mary Jo left the room, they would speak to each other in Farsi and look at me strangely. I knew what the looks meant, if not the words, and grew immediately uncomfortable. When I told my friend that her new buddies didn’t like me because I am Jewish, she told me it was my imagination. After a few more experiences like that, I decided that when she wanted to spend time with her Iranian friends, she would do it without me.

The first time they spent an evening without me, they apparently filled her in on the evils of having a Jew for a friend. It hadn’t been my imagination. It never is. You can’t disguise hatred, particularly to the object of your hate.

That was the last time my friend saw the Iranian students socially.

Did I mention that she’s Polish? There’s an interesting story to that. When we first met as teenagers, our parents didn’t want us to be friends.

My mother didn’t want me hanging around with a Pole. Her father didn’t want her hanging around with a Jew. We just ignored our parents until they stopped behaving like idiots–which they did. Another of my closest friends was Polish, too. His parents were from the old country, but they didn’t seem to have a problem with their son and me being friends. And my dearest friend now is of German descent. That’s three deep friendships I made with people who, had each of us been in Europe instead of America, would probably have never crossed paths–let alone been allowed to be friends.

Is that it? Do you hate us because you don’ t know us? But you used to have large Jewish populations in the Arab world; most have since emigrated or been driven out. Unless the government wanted to persecute the Jews–like they did in Syria. I don’t understand the logic behind not allowing them to leave, but then, I don’t understand anti-Semitism at all.

Some people claim it isn’t anti-Semitism, it’s anti-Zionism. It’s the biggest lie of the 20th century, and working its way into the 21st. You can’t separate Jews from Israel. If Zionism has evolved from "the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland" to the support for the State of Israel, then Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism under a new name. When Muslim speakers intertwine "Zionists" with "Jews" or "Israelis", they are speaking the language of hate.

And that language of hate—you’re teaching it to more than just your children. You’re teaching it to me and mine. You’re making me remember that I can be singled out and murdered because I am a Jew. Like the millions who died during the Holocaust. Like Leon Klinghoffer on the Achille Lauro. Like the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Like the Jewish passengers on the hijacked Air France plane that landed in Entebbe Airport. They freed all the non-Jewish passengers and kept only the Jews. Do you remember that? I’ve never forgotten. It was a lesson thrust home well; I flew a lot in those days and often wondered if I would have the time to hide my Star of David if my plane was ever hijacked. Or if I could actually do such a thing. Survive a liar or die a Jew? God willing, I will never have to choose. Because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t survive the choice.

Am I saying that I hate you because you’re from Qatar? No. I don’t hate you because you’re from Qatar. I don’t hate Arabs because they’re Arabs, or Muslims because they’re Muslims. I hate the people who hate me. They have taught me how to hate. I can tell in a moment. Sadly, I have far too much experience with hatred.

And so, my reader in Qatar, I stand openly and solidly with Danny Pearl and the millions of others who died for this reason, and this reason alone:

Yes, I am a Jew.

A couple of days ago, I was in the lunchroom at work, standing in line to pay for my purchase. I work at a college. You need to know that, because the age of the person in front of me was approximately college-aged boy. The age of the person he was talking to (manager of the lunchroom; cashier) was estimated to be a few years out of college, or maybe still in college, too. The student in front of me was discussing his class with the manager, and then quickly devolved into puns about his lack of class, which moved to how that helped him in spitting contests. At which point the manager said, “I knew two guys who got into a puking contest once.” I listened in horror, then College Boy left and it was my turn to pay. And I found I couldn’t keep still. I said to the manager:

“You aren’t just another gender, you guys are an entirely different species. There is not a woman in the world who would ever even conceive of getting into a puking contest.” The manager laughed. I shook my head.

It’s true. Men really are a different species.

In his analysis (‘It’s time to get to work’: 17 years after Oslo, Clinton takes on the Middle East challenge, 3 September), Ian Black describes Netanyahu as demanding that Abbas recognise Israel “as a Jewish state”.

However, according to Chris McGreal’s report on the facing page (‘Together we can lead people to a future that will end conflict’, 3 September), what Netanyahu actually demanded from the Palestinians was recognition of “Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people”. The difference is significant. Netanyahu is a Jewish prime minister, but he is certainly not the prime minister of the Jewish people, as he implicitly claims.

A state defined by ethnic religion is bad enough; but what Netanyahu’s actual demand amounts to is legitimation of Zionism, and the “right” of Israel to speak and act for an alleged Jewish “nation” consisting of Jews everywhere, including the UK.

I wold like to address first the main points of that letter. Since prof. Machover is expert in mathematical logic, one would expect him to be respectful to logic in general. But he goes illogical immediately, starting with his first statement – “Netanyahu is a Jewish prime minister“. Unless prof. Machover means Netanyahu’s Jewishness (which should be, but obviously isn’t irrelevant to professor), Netanyahu is a PM of a state that includes about 1.5 million Arabs, Druze, Bedouin, Bahai and other minorities*. For good or otherwise, he is a legally elected PM of all people.

Then “but he is certainly not the prime minister of the Jewish people, as he implicitly claims”. “Implicitly” means “Without ever expressing so clearly”. It obviously took the combined talents of “mathematician, philosopher, and socialist activist” to derive something that far reaching. Sheer math logic wouldn’t suffice for that feat. And, while I am far from being Bibi’s fan, even Bibi doesn’t pretend on the title of King of All Jews.

That “All” is especially significant, since prof. Machover uses the regular anti-Zionist strawman, where various Israeli VIP’s are accused in trying to speak for all Jews. Now the state of Israel is being blamed for trying to be a state for all Jews. I can already see how grim-looking British immigration officials are dragging kicking and screaming prof. Machover to the El-Al plane warming up its engines on the tarmac. Doesn’t bear imagining, I can tell you already…

But I digress. The national state of the Jews will hardly care to forcefully detach prof. Machover from his beloved United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, an Anglican Church monarchy with 14 fourteen overseas territories**… You may want to say that I am abusing a formal definition of otherwise enlightened democracy – but the definition Bibi is using is also formal, for the reason mentioned above (*).

Now to lesser issues

1. For some intangible reason prof. Machover prefers the quote from Chris McGreal (not a friend of Israel, to say the least) to that of Ian Black. I have checked some sources, and the formula Bibi used is different on different occasions. “Israel as the Jewish people’s nation“, “Israel as a Jewish state“, “Israel as the state of the Jewish people“, even a lengthy “Israel, not just as a diplomatic or political entity, but as the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people” etc. To me it means that Bibi, while not being letter perfect or sticking to the same formula every time, doesn’t exactly pursue the King of All Jews title.
2. “A state defined by ethnic religion is bad enough” – yeah, see (**) above.
3. “Netanyahu’s actual demand amounts to is legitimation of Zionism“. Zionism and its legitimation are anathema to prof. Machover, who spend most of his conscious life fighting Zionism. But, in my humble, Zionism doesn’t require (or, indeed, need) legitimation. At least no more than Communist Party of Israel or Matzpen. It’s a political movement.
4. “the “right” of Israel to speak and act for an alleged Jewish “nation” consisting of Jews everywhere, including the UK”. That’s another “discovery” of an “implicit” meaning. And another strawman. Becomes quite boring after a time.

To conclude: a short letter, chock-full of illogical claims, blames and political activism.

A short reminder about prof. Machover’s political pedigree: after a stint in Israeli Communist Party, Machover broke with it for the usual ideological reasons (don’t they all?) and established a more radical in many ways Matzpen (nowadays largely moribund). Matzpen gave birth to several new rabidly anti-Israeli / anti-Zionist characters, the more notorious among them Ehud (Udi) Adiv, the “celebrated” Sabra Spy. Probably feeling the hot breath of Shin Bet on his neck, Machover lives and operates in Great Britain since 1968.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews