Canada revoked the tax-exempt status for donations to Magen David Adom on the grounds that some of MDA's ambulances operate in the occupied territories. I would be less bothered by this if the Canadian government applied this rule equally and penalized the Red Cross chapters in every country that possesses "occupied territory". Like Canada, for example.
Akiva Eldar, writing in Ha'aretz, criticizes the Israeli Labor Party for not reaching out more to dovish liberal American Jews. His theory is that if Labor tried harder to persuade more American Jews to support the Israeli peace camp, those Americans would have been able to put more pressure on the Bush Administration to take a tougher line on Sharon. This all sounds pretty silly, not least of all because liberal American Jews aren't going to have much influence on GWBush to begin with. And putting pressure on Sharon is not a job for Jews in Santa Monica, but for Jews in Beer Sheva. What Eldar's editorial really tells me is that the Israeli peace camp has very little left to offer the Israeli voter.
North Korea rejects demands to give up nuclear program. Who would have guessed?
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 29, 2002 02:35 PMHell, I'd be less bothered by it if the same government wasn't simultaneously upholding the rights to charitable status for Hamas and Hezbollah.
Posted by: BruceR on October 29, 2002 09:37 AMAmerican Jews do need to speak up more often and more loudly. But they need to do it because radical Islam has such a loud and persuasive collection of voices screaming in Dubya's ear . . . and Dubya listens to them! Even if you ignore the phoney crying of the general American Muslim community, the voice of Saudi Arabia alone needs to be countered. Dubya spends too much time altering policy to Arabia's demands, including forcing Israel to stop defending herself again and again and again. If Jewish Americans don't stand up and show their indignation, then who will?
Posted by: Tom on October 29, 2002 10:40 PM