Israel Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

The pro-Palestinian demonstrations

Well, duh

For weeks, I’ve been trying to write a piece about the pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses, stymied by the ever-changing circumstances.

Last month, I was conversing with two of my friends, both 70 or older, veterans of many demonstrations for civil rights, and against wars and apartheid, among other issues. Our reflexive responses tended to be generally favorable to young adults expressing themselves.

So, as a matter of principle, I support the pro-Palestine demonstrations. I support the pro-Israel demonstrations, too, though the former are more numerous and the ones most subject to debate. Since I grew up in the civil rights era, I presuppose a level of civility and peacefulness.

Howard W. French, a columnist at Foreign Policy, notes: “Some politicians have called student protesters a threat. Instead, they are providing us all with an education in democracy.” What he said.

Is there an element of radical chic in the demonstrations, a romanticized flashback to the demonstrations of the past, as Frank S. Robinson opines? Probably, but it does not negate the broader issues.

I’ve noticed, and the Weekly Sift guy concurs: “Press coverage has been all over the map. Some sources essentially repeat the Netanyahu claim that ‘antisemitic mobs have taken over the leading universities’, while others interview demonstrators with more sympathy.”

A running narrative, in some circles, is that some sinister backers must be coordinating the pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Based on my experience, a Boston Globe article describes a more likely scenario.

“In addition to forming a larger community of protesters who help each other, students in the encampments are also getting aid, both legal and material, from outside ideological groups attracted by the focus on this new protesting front, the organizations say. And that, in turn, has helped draw external pro-Israel organizations to campuses to counterprotest.”

And then

Colleges and universities are grappling with their responses. Should they call the police, and if so, at what point? There were 133 people arrested at my alma mater, SUNY New Paltz on May 3, including a reporter from Spectrum News and a student I know personally. The campus has a tradition of activism.

Jay Bernhardt, the newly installed president at Emerson College, got an earful about the arrest of more than 100 protesters at the Massachusetts campus. He commented to the Boston Globe, “I realize now that I must take more time to actively listen and learn, find more ways to connect personally with students, faculty, and staff, and help create space for multiple voices.”

Conversely, The Daily Signal asks Can the Current Universities Be Saved? Should They Be?

Caveat

Most people who have attended more than a few events recognize that not everyone attending a rally or demonstration will agree on rhetoric or strategy. I need to create a big caveat.

On Medium, Mo Husseni wrote something he had previously posted on Threads, which I’m not on. It’s called 50 Completely True Things.

They are things that some people might say, “Well, duh!” Including himself. He is “a Palestinian American who is tired of stupid people. I wanted to share a (not exhaustive) list of 50 useful and indisputable facts on the Palestinian / Israeli conflict.”.He is particularly fond of the S-word and the F-word.

“Not all Arabs are Muslim.” “Not all Palestinians are Hamas.” “Not all Israelis like the Israeli government;” I’d add, especially Bibi.

He suggests the history lessons of who controlled the land before, the Ottomans, the British, etc. are “F***ING IMMATERIAL.” This was particularly interesting to me. Are we going to adhere to 1491 Western Hemisphere maps?

“If you want to be an ally to Palestinians, please feel free to continue to advocate for peace, security, and self-determination, but do it without dehumanizing or stereotyping Israelis and Jews.” It is similarly true for allies of the Israelis regarding Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs.

Did this even need to be said? Unfortunately, yes.

So, in review: October 7- BAD. Holding hostages – BAD. Tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them children, killed in Gaza – BAD. A land on the brink of famine – BAD.

US foreign policy toward Israel – a continual array of mixed messaging. The Daily Show created a video of DOD’s John Kirby – you will recognize the face if you watch the Sunday morning news shows – saying repeatedly since November 2023 that Israel has a right to exist but that Israel should “do more” to minimize civilian casualties.

SNL

Here’s a news flash. Red State and the New York Post liked the Saturday Night cold open. RS called it “Truly Funny As Skit Mocks Columbia University Parents Whose Kids Are Busy Protesting.” And they almost always hate SNL. Of course, they characterize the demonstrators as “pro-Hamas” because that’s what they do.

Wow, this feels a bit like 1968. We have a Democratic President with less than robust support. Instead of Americans fighting a war in Vietnam, we’re supporting proxy wars in Gaza and Ukraine. The Republican Presidential candidate had been in high office before, ran for President before and lost, and is running for President again. The DNC meets in the Windy City. A headline in The Daily Signal just this morning: “Weakness in the Face of Chicago’s Protests Spells Trouble for the Democratic National Convention.”

The Israel/Hamas conflict

‘I Love You. I Am Sorry’

I’ve avoided writing about the Israel/Hamas conflict because I may have nothing fresh to say. Also, it’s fraught with the potential to tick off people. It’s a complicated history.

One can support Israel’s right to exist, understanding how the repercussions of pogroms past are shaping the reaction to the utterly horrific 7 October attack.

At the same time, one could also voice concern about the fate of the Palestinian people, with over 5,000 killed and insufficient aid coming via Egypt.

There’s an opinion piece in the South China Morning Post (behind a paywall) suggesting that “Hamas’ leaders desperately want the de facto veto Palestinians once had on concessions other Arabs make to Israel, ” and Israel’s “mighty vengeance” might be the only way they might get it.

Also, Gaza: The Cost of Escalation by Ben Rhodes. The consequences of the US’s vengeful reaction to September 11 should remind us of the risks of responding to violence with greater violence. The Weekly Sift guy writes about his 9-11 flashbacks. After the US war against Iraq, c. 2003, it’s reasonable to note: Israel Says It Will Destroy Hamas. But Who Will Govern Gaza?

So, the conversations about whose “side” one is on are, to me, not helpful. It’s been brought up regarding the Writer’s Guild, the Democratic Party, even reporters covering the war, etc, etc, etc. The LA Times reports that Muslim parents say the LA Unified School District’s ‘pro-Israel’ statement made their kids targets.

An article in Medium, which you may not be able to read, talks about the wrongheadedness of the hatred towards the Russian PEOPLE in the Ukraine war and of the Palestinian PEOPLE in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Taking care

Moreover, “inaccurate news reports of atrocities have flooded social media, spreading horror and rage worldwide,” per several sources, including the Boston Globe.

“Some misinformation researchers say it’s primarily up to social media users to protect themselves (and each other) from false information by developing new habits. If we can’t tell fact from fiction at today’s speed of information flow, researchers say, we need to slow down, prepare ourselves mentally, and be extra careful about what we share and with whom.” This is where I’m coming from.

Let me be Pollyannic and say I’m on the side of peace, as reflected in ‘I Love You. I Am Sorry’: One Jew, One Muslim and a Friendship Tested by War. “A Los Angeles program that connects Muslims and Jews has been strained by the war in Israel. But the group’s leaders found that it has strengthened their bond.”

Movie review: Golda

Henry Purcell

Right after we got home from church, my wife said we had to go NOW if we were celebrating National Cinema Day with $4 tickets. I didn’t know that she’d selected a movie to see at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany.

I knew nothing about the film Golda, except that it was about the late Israeli prime minister and starred Helen Mirren.

After a cursory history of Israel (formed in 1948 and fought the Six-Day War in 1967), we heard a discussion among Israel’s military leaders about what turned out to be the Yom Kippur War of 1973. There were disagreements about strategies in anticipation of Egyptian and Syrian military buildups; a preemptive strike by Israel would have been unacceptable to the US leadership of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger.

What I learned in the film is that Golda Meir smoked cigarettes. She smoked a LOT of cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes was hazardous to her health.

Meanwhile, the battles far from Tel Aviv seemed at arm’s length, hearing about defeats and victories via audio transmissions.

I was not engaged in the film until about halfway through when Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber) arrived. There’s subsequently a good scene with multiple phones and a few others. But it was too little, too late.

Wanted more

Golda Meir, the person, is intriguing; she was born in Kiev/Kyiv in 1898, immigrated with her family to Milwaukee, and then emigrated to Palestine with her husband in 1921. She became the first female head of government in the Middle East.

Golda, the movie, is, according to critic Todd Jorgenson of Cinemalogueone” “.. .uninvolving as a political thriller and incomplete as a recap of Golda’s background and rise to power. It remains emotionally detached while struggling to penetrate her steely gaze.” I’ll buy that. It was 51% positive with the critics, though 89% with the audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Music

One thing I loved was the outro music. It was from Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas, specifically Dido’s Lament from the aria “When I am laid in earth.” Conductor Leopold Stokowski wrote a transcription of the piece for the symphony orchestra.

Here’s a version conducted by Stokowski. The video has too much background hiss, but I love that the conductor announces that it’s a piece “we all know.”

Listen to a version from the 1995 Proms, conducted by Andrew Davis.

One last thing: to the woman whose cellphone rang at least four times during the film- Grawlix.

Random unrelated thoughts

tumult

Kelly wrote a brief blog post titled Random unrelated thoughts that are actually quite related.

I had been musing on the same theme. Specifically, his second point: “Americans are very, very, very bad at seeing how societal problems tie into one another.”

ITEM: Per this 2021 article: “The gas tax has not been raised in 28 years, and America’s infrastructure network is suffering the consequences. The tax was last raised in 1993 from 14.1 cents to 18.4 cents per gallon, where it remains today.

“Because the gas tax is not pegged to inflation, its purchasing power has eroded significantly over the past 28 years, and the tax is now ‘worth’ 45 percent less than in 1993; if the tax had been indexed for inflation each year since 1993, it would be approximately 15 cents higher in 2021.”

This is why the vast infrastructure bill became necessary. And of course, certain people – OK, Republicans – are taking credit for a bill they voted against. But there would have been no need for the massive legislation if the gas tax had been raised periodically.

Living wage

ITEM: The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. That is insane. Several states have a higher threshold.

When market pressure to raise wages occurred, the general argument was why that kid working at Mickey D’s should make $15/hour. It became a shock to the system for many employers.

However, employers would have more easily absorbed the increase if the rate had increased incrementally.

A related topic: the ideal CEO-to-Employee Pay Ratio. This article notes that “The phenomenon of firms with overpaid CEOs and underpaid employees is not new. In 1977, the late Peter F. Drucker, arguably the most famous management thinker, suggested the pay ratio between CEOs and employees be a maximum of 25-to-1.

“However, in 2011, he scaled it slightly back to a ratio of 20-to-1. Drucker said at the time: ‘I have often advised managers that a 20-to-1 salary ratio is a limit beyond which they cannot go if they don’t want resentment and falling morale to hit their companies.'” Yet the ratio is ten times that. Hospital executives are overcompensated, while nurses are underpaid, for example.

From THR. “A-list actors are known to pull in larger paydays, but SAG-AFTRA advocates for all of its 160,000 members, including background actors, singers, dancers, and stunt performers. Only 12.7 percent of SAG members make the annual $26,470 needed to qualify for union health insurance, according to some guild members. Actors made a median salary of $46,960 in 2021.”

Meanwhile, “when he re-upped at Disney as CEO, [Robert] Iger’s 2023 pay package was valued at $27 million. [Warner Brothers’ David] Zaslav’s 2022 compensation package hit $39.3 million.” So Iger is making over 500 times the median SAG salary, yet calls the unions’ demands “just not realistic.”

Democracy

ITEM: With more indictments of djt come more defenses by the usual suspects. The former prez speaks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, “who leads the House GOP’s messaging efforts,” and their responses parrot their handler. The term “unpresidented” – I mean unprecedented – is thrown around a lot. No president has been charged so often.

But this article from Foreign Policy was helpful. “Trump is just one of 78 political leaders in democratic nations who have faced criminal charges since the year 2000.”

“In the past five years alone, South Korea has convicted two of its former presidents on corruption charges… Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of bribery in 2021… Just last year, former President of Bolivia Jeanine Añez—who stepped forward as a proposed interim president in 2019 following the resignation of her predecessor, Evo Morales—was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was accused of illegally taking over the presidency.

Bibi

Possibly most instructive: “Prosecuting a former leader can also ignite political tensions and destabilize domestic politics. One of the most contemporary examples is Israel, where the charges of corruption against Benjamin Netanyahu sparked a political crisis in 2019 that continues to run its course. It resulted in a tumultuous power swing that saw five elections in four years with Netanyahu returning as prime minister in December 2022 despite his legal troubles. It’s unclear whether he’ll be found guilty, or whether the courts could enforce a guilty verdict.

“Now back in power, Netanyahu has proposed a sweeping judicial overhaul that would give him final say over judge appointments and his government the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions. The proposal led to mass protests this year, and opponents call it a conflict of interest as Netanyahu remains a criminal defendant.”

When leaders aren’t held to account, bad things can happen to democracy.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli PM, 70

accused of meddling with an Israeli telecom company merger

When I looked at a list of all of the people turning 70 in 2019, I had decided NOT to write about Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.

Then, in February 2019, he was indicted on one case of bribery and two cases of fraud and breach of trust. This involves allegedly planning to help a newspaper disadvantage its competition to get good press in return. Also, he is accused of meddling with an Israeli telecom company merger in exchange for positive coverage on its news site. The prime minister, in the midst of a tough election contest, denied any wrongdoing.

The guy living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue started insinuating himself into the Israeli electoral process. This is possibly beyond what his base was looking for.

In the election of April 9, Bibi seemed set to win a fifth term after vowing to annex the West Bank, part of a so-called American peace plan.

The huge problem is that millions of Palestinians live in the area captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians want to make it part of their future state. This campaign promise is sure to raise tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The right-wing Likud party of Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t win enough seats to govern. He attempted to form a coalition government, but it failed. By late May, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) voted to dissolve itself and redo the election.

Try, try again

Ahead of Israeli’s do-over election in September, the Prime Minister faced opposition from the left and the right.

President Rivlin tasked Netanyahu with forming a government when unity talks With Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan reached a stalemate.

There COULD be a third round of voting if this doesn’t work out, and as of this writing, here’s no real government. What are Netanyahu’s recent liabilities? They may be:

-criminal allegations, and the sense that a win could get him immunity.
-the American’s apparently-canceled wish to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as the Israeli prime minister insisted that Iran was developing its nuclear program

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Israeli officials “played” his ex-boss. He warned that a “healthy amount of skepticism” is needed in dealings with Israel’s prime minister.

“They did that with the president on a couple of occasions, to persuade him that ‘We’re the good guys, they’re the bad guys,’” Tillerson said, according to the Harvard Gazette. “We later exposed it to the president so he understood, ‘You’ve been played.'”

Benjamin Netanyahu turns 70.