Jewish Russian Telegraph

Party Is Over for Israel's Labor

Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (via Martin Kramer) (emphasis JRT):

by Efraim Inbar

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Among the reasons for the decay and marginalization of the Israel Labor Party are its abandonment of collectivist ideology (including the values of military service and settling the Land of Israel), distancing from Jewish traditional values, identification with the wealthy, abandonment of Jerusalem, and identification with the failed Oslo peace process. The party also failed to stay in sync with demographic changes in Israel.

The most remarkable result of the 2009 elections was the emergence of an Israeli political map where the three largest parties in the Knesset are Likud (27 seats) and two of its offshoots: Kadima (28) and Israel Beiteinu (15). Seventy seats went to parties led by Likud or former Likud politicians, while a clear majority of 65 seats were secured by the conservative bloc. This made Benjamin Netanyahu the election winner and candidate for prime minister.

Even many leftist Israelis that wanted to prevent the success of the much demonized Netanyahu cast their votes for centrist Kadima rather than strengthening Labor. Indeed, the once hegemonic party in the Israeli political system ג€“ the Israel Labor Party ג€“ ended up in 2009 as only the fourth largest party, with a meager 13 Knesset seats. Meretz, to the left of Labor, fared even worse, barely obtaining 3 seats in the Knesset.

The zeitgeist in Israel is clearly conservative. This has been the case for a while. Thus the 2009 elections have witnessed the culmination of an historic process of decline, beginning with the 1977 political upheaval when Labor lost the election to the Likud Party for the first time. This heralded the gradual decay, and eventual marginalization, of the Labor Party.

One main reason for this is the fact that the Labor Party has lost its most important political asset: identification with the establishment and building of the State of Israel. The two main activities in this endeavor “military service and the settling of the Land of Israel" were gradually given up by Labor and its supporters.

Once upon a time, kibbutz members were disproportionately represented in IDF officer ranks. This is no longer so. The social composition of the officers' course for the ground forces that ended in February 2009 was typical of recent years. Nineteen percent of the graduating class defined themselves as modern Orthodox. A senior officer called them "the new kibbutzniks."

Similarly, the intensive settlement activity under the guidance of Labor-led governments basically ended in 1977, leaving settlement within and beyond the Green Line to other elements in Israeli society.

The military is still the most respected institution in Israel. A majority of Israelis, though ready for re-partition of Israel, regard settling the Land of Israel an important Zionist value. Labor foolishly allowed modern Orthodox and right wing circles to adopt and commandeer important national symbols “which were once clearly associated with the party that founded the state.

Another important Zionist symbol deserted by Labor is Jerusalem, united in 1967 under Labor reign. The recent elections were also about keeping Jerusalem united under Israel's sovereignty. Labor Party leader Ehud Barak's willingness to divide Jerusalem at the 2000 Camp David Summit stunned many Israelis. As a matter of fact, over two-thirds of Israelis oppose any division of the city and are ready to continue armed conflict with the Palestinians in order to maintain the status quo. It is political folly to underestimate the great appeal of Jerusalem for most Jews.

Moreover, Labor's leaders, particularly its younger echelons, gradually distanced themselves from the Jewish-Zionist tradition and flirted with a cosmopolitan culture and individualistic values, such as human rights and democracy. While there is a consensus about the supremacy of law in a democratic society, the Supreme Court, under the leadership of its former president Aharon Barak, adopted a very active posture, which was not appreciated by the more conservative elements in Israeli society. Yet, the Supreme Court has become the secularists' temple. Labor and leftist parties in its orbit have gradually adopted the discourse that favors individualism and pursuit of individual rights at the expense of the collectivist ethos that was once dominant, but is still widespread.

Furthermore, the Israel Labor Party's socialist heritage and groundings have been drowned out, even crushed, by the business and economic elite of Israel. Labor has become a party of the wealthy. The entourage of the old-fashioned Yitzhak Rabin and the "nouveaux riche" Ehud Barak became full of successful capitalists. And so, the underprivileged classes in Israel no longer view the Labor Party as their guardian in Israeli politics. This role has been overtaken by parties on the Israeli right and by religious communities. [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Murder in Moscow

The Weekly Standard:

Press criticism, KGB-style.
by Stephen Schwartz
02/23/2009, Volume 014, Issue 22

Vice President Joseph Biden has told the Europeans that the new administration wishes to "reset" relations with Vladmir Putin's Russia. But the January 19 slaying of two dissidents, 34-year-old human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalism student Anastasia Baburova, 25, on a Moscow street is one of several recent reminders that Americans cannot be comfortable in Putin's embrace.

Markelov, head of the Institute for the Supremacy of Law, may well have been murdered as a result of the release from custody, one week before, of Russian army colonel Yuri Budanov, who had been sent to prison for crimes he committed while serving in Chechnya. Markelov had been crucial to Budanov's 2003 conviction in the kidnapping, torture, multiple sexual assault, and murder of an 18-year-old Chechen girl, Elza Kheda Kungaeva. Budanov, although he admitted his guilt and was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, had benefited from an early release.

On the day he perished, Markelov delivered a statement to the press. Representing the family of the Chechen female victim, he accused the Russian authorities of improperly arranging for Budanov to be let go. He then walked to a metro station near the Kremlin with Baburova. The killer, wearing a ski mask, approached from behind and shot Markelov in the back of the head. Baburova pursued the shooter, who turned and fired into her forehead. She died several hours later.

Anticipating her graduation from journalism school, Baburova was working for the daily Novaya Gazeta, which has employed a distinguished roster of liquidated investigative journalists. Novaya Gazeta is co-owned by Alexander Lebedev, an ex-KGB official and billionaire turned political reformer, who purchased the ailing London Evening Standard on January 21, only two days after Baburova's death.

As the largest individual shareholder in Novaya Gazeta--he owns 39 percent--Lebedev is responsible for a publication that has experienced the high-profile killing of several of the country's leading reporters. Anna Politkovskaya, murdered in the elevator of her apartment building in 2006, was his top staffer; she too had exposed atrocities in Chechnya, and Markelov was her lawyer. Igor Domnikov was killed in a brutal beating in 2000. His colleague Yury Shchekochikhin was poisoned in 2003.

Indeed, the poison cabinet seems to have become a favored anti-dissident weapon of the Russian state, as it was under Stalin. Politkovskaya herself was poisoned (though not fatally) in 2004 when she tried to travel to Beslan during the hostage crisis there. And less than two months after her eventual murder, Alexander Litvinenko, another former KGB agent critical of the Putin regime, was killed in a highly unusual poisoning in London.

In the aftermath of the Markelov-Baburov assassinations, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Lebedev, perhaps spurred by his KGB experiences, had announced the intention of Novaya Gazeta journalists to petition to arm themselves if necessary. Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov denounced the Russian government for its inability to protect the press and asserted, "We have three options. The first one--to leave and turn off the lights. .  .  . The second--to stop writing about the special services, corruption, drugs, fascists; to stop investigating the crimes of the powerful. .  .  . The third option is to somehow defend ourselves." [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Avigdor and Joe Finally Meet

Jerusalem Post:

Lieberman auditioning for Foreign Affairs portfolio
Feb. 23, 2009
Gil Hoffman , THE JERUSALEM POST

Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman met with his American namesake, US Senator Joseph Lieberman, on Sunday in what sources close to him said was an audition for the role he wants in Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu's government: foreign minister.

Lieberman has told associates in closed conversations that he will request the Foreign Ministry in coalition talks. Former ambassador to Washington and incoming Israel Beiteinu MK Danny Ayalon, who accompanied Lieberman to the meeting, said he was a natural fit.
"He's already prepared to be foreign minister," Ayalon said.
"Of course he's fit for the position. He's a strategic thinker and analyst. He's impressive one on one. His English is very good. The more meetings like this, the more people understand his caliber. I've been meeting ambassadors, including Arab officials, and no one is raising eyebrows about the possibility of Lieberman being the minister of foreign affairs."
The head of Israel Beiteinu's negotiating team, MK Stas Meseznikov, confirmed that "in a narrow government, I am sure we will get the portfolio."
The senator requested the meeting, because he wanted to better understand the Israel Beiteinu leader's views. He advised his namesake to go to the US to explain his views.
"Though we're not related by blood, we are privileged to hold positions in two great nations," the senator said after the meeting. "I wanted to meet Lieberman, because he will play an important role in the next government, so it's important that we in the US get to know him well."
The Israel Beiteinu chairman explained his party's platform, including his call for a loyalty oath, which he renamed "the responsible citizenship bill," and dispelled what he said were myths about the party being racist.
Ayalon told the senator that Israel Beiteinu was not singling out Arabs and compared the benefits he wanted to give discharged soldiers to the American GI Bill.
"I told him that we are the most Americanophile party," Ayalon said. "We support drafting a constitution, an American system of government, and instituting a pledge of allegiance like America has." [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Regina Spektor: "When a Jew Who Loves Israel ..."

Regina Spektor, a great performer, and brave young Russian Jewish woman posted this defense of Israel on her My Space site:

Friday, January 16, 2009 

Eretz Yisrael Israel When i realize how many times i decided not to, before i decided to, write this - i see why this is such a frightening time.When a Jew who loves Israel, who has been there, has played shows there, has visited there with family, with friends, feels this way, you know the fear is in you . As if Israel- the word itself, is so igniting, so dangerous, that it is better held inside. There have been times like this before. Roughly 60 years before. And if people think that now is any different, they are mistaken. It's just that enough time has passed. And it seems it is our turn again. But when hasn't it been our turn... Israel has been shelled. It has been hit with rockets for years. Years. Manchester, St. Louis, Leon, Munich, Copenhagen, Detroit, Madrid, Brisbane, Leeds, LA, Tokyo, these cities are not. But if they were, God forbid, their governments would be completely authorized and in the right to fight back.There is no government in the world that would not protect its citizens from attack. That's unlawful. And it's not sticks and stones, as many of my friends and relatives who live in Israel know. It's rockets. Is one of these things not like the other? Are there different laws and rules for a Jewish government? If you prick us do we not bleed? ... I do not agree with the Liberal Media when it comes to Israel. I have never seen such one sided reporting in my life. And I've seen some amazing propaganda growing up in the Soviet Union. I have never seen a group of people so determined to portray Israeli people, Israeli soldiers, as blood thirsty, inhumane monsters. I am not a politician. I am sure there's a great political reason for this kind of reporting. For this kind of misrepresentation. I am sure there's a great reason for my hearing on a UK television set, while getting ready to play one of the festivals a couple of years back, a reporter saying, in a tragic voice with a tragic face "At this moment Hezbollah is fighting for its very existence." As if Hezbollah was a kitten that fell down a well, and not a terrorizing organization, and that Israel was the one who threw it down there. I'm sure there's a reason. And i think the reason is fear. And i think the reason is the same reason i was deciding and undeciding and deciding and undeciding whether to write this. [link

In 2007 Regina became a huge hit on YouTube. Here is our post.

posted by: jrtelegraph

Salita and Kotelnik in Summer 2009

Secondsout.com

Salita and Kotelnik in Summer 2009

Jerry Glick reporting: Dmitriy Salita, the undefeated, 28-0-1 (16), Jr. Welterweight has informed this reporter that because he will be designated the WBA number one contender for Champion Andreas Kotelnik’s title he has high hopes that his long awaited chance at a title is about to happen.  [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Did Israel Use "Killer Switch" During Attack on Syrian Site?

Wired Blog Network:

Pentagon looks for 'Killer Switch'

By Sharon Weinberger April 30, 2008 | 4:48:36 PMCategories: DarpaWatch  

Imagine if the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could be effectively shut down by a foreign adversary with the flip of a switch? That's, in part, the the concern behind the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Trust in Integrated Circuits program, reports IEEE Spectrum, in a fascinating article that explores the underbelly of national security and globalization:

Last September, Israeli jets bombed a suspected nuclear installation in northeastern Syria. Among the many mysteries still surrounding that strike was the failure of a Syrian radar—supposedly state-of-the-art—to warn the Syrian military of the incoming assault. It wasn't long before military and technology bloggers concluded that this was an incident of electronic warfare—and not just any kind.

Post after post speculated that the commercial off-the-shelf microprocessors in the Syrian radar might have been purposely fabricated with a hidden “backdoor” inside. By sending a preprogrammed code to those chips, an unknown antagonist had disrupted the chips' function and temporarily blocked the radar.

That same basic scenario is cropping up more frequently lately, and not just in the Middle East, where conspiracy theories abound. According to a U.S. defense contractor who spoke on condition of anonymity, a “European chip maker” recently built into its microprocessors a kill switch that could be accessed remotely. French defense contractors have used the chips in military equipment, the contractor told IEEE Spectrum. If in the future the equipment fell into hostile hands, “the French wanted a way to disable that circuit,” he said. Spectrum could not confirm this account independently, but spirited discussion about it among researchers and another defense contractor last summer at a military research conference reveals a lot about the fever dreams plaguing the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Professor Anna Geifman: February 23rd, “Sderot: An Image of Post-Modern Terrorism”

JRT Public Service:

Temple Emanuel’s Israel Action Forum presents:
Admission is Free
Voluntary contribution to the Sderot project is very welcome.

“Sderot: An Image of Post-Modern Terrorism”
with Professor Anna Geifman

What does it mean for the people of Sderot to live under constant threat of terrorist violence?

Professor Geifman will describe psychological implications of 8 years of terrorism on the adults and children living in Sderot.
Professor Geifman will also discuss S’derot in the general context of contemporary terrorist warfare and her belief that it is no longer necessary for terrorists to resort to significant physical violence, if they are able to sustain psychological pressure. Designating a particular locality a "death zone", in which everyone suffers from various forms of permanent emotional condition, such as pronounced anxiety and post-traumatic stress, is a trademark of a new phase in "post-modern terrorism”.



Anna Geifman, PhD (Harvard, 1990), is the author of Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917 (Princeton University Press, 1993) and Entangled in Terror: The Azef Affair and the Russian Revolution (Rowman & Littlefeld Publishers, Inc., 2000). She is the editor of Russia under the Last Tsar: Opposition and Subversion, 1894-1917 (Blackwell, 1999). She has also authored journal articles and book chapters on Russian political and cultural history, as well as psychohistory. Her last major publication is a psychohistorical study, La mort sera votre dieu: du nihilisme russe au terrorisme islamiste [Death Will Be Your God: from Russian Nihilism to Islamist Terrorism] (« La Table Ro authored journal articles and book chapters on Russian political and cultural history, as well as psychohistory. Geifman is Professor of History at Boston University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on the history of imperial Russia/USSR, psychohistory, and modern terrorism. She also teaches history of contemporary terrorism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Monday, February 23rd
8:00 PM in Reisman Hall

For Question and Registration call Cynthia 617-558-8100 or email Greg at kaidang@comcast.net

posted by: jrtelegraph

Greg (Zvi) Margolin: My Trip to Sderot, One Year Later

Greg Margolin :

On January 18th of this year, I visited Sderot once again. It was exactly, almost day to day, one year anniversary of my previous trip to the city. The purpose of the visit was the same as last years -- to check  RJCF's projects on the ground and to meet with our staff, and partners.
 First thing that struck me were Israeli flags. Flags were everywhere in the center of the city. All cabs were sporting four small flags on all corners of the car. There were lots of volunteers who came from all over the country to help the residents and the troops. (click on pictures to enlarge)

The unilateral cease fire was signed during that very day, so this was the last day of Gaza war. The mood that I saw in Israel and in Sderot was very different than last year. There was unity, support in the rest of the country, and there was much better mood in Sderot itself. For two reasons: significant reduction in Quassams, and the sense that the residents were no longer abandoned.
After meeting our colleagues and friends in Sderot -- Natasha Ponayatova and Sveta Lior Shitrit

we went to Beit Chabad to meet with Rav Moshe Zeev Pizem, our friend and partner. A year ago Beit Chabad was first to welcome and to host our main year round project -- an after-school program in English, Math and Tradition for children of Sderot.

During the war Beit Chabad hosted refugees from kibbutzim of the Gaza vicinity who were shelled very severely. In addition to taking care of refugees and residents in need,  Rav Pizem would pack everyday with the help of Yeshiva students his Chabad mitzva-tank -- a big RV typically used by Lubavicthers for various projects -- with clean underwear for soldiers, food, and would go to positions to bring it to soldiers, to do b-b-q for them, to play music. The army let him go there to improve morale of the soldiers. As he said to me with a smile -- Bli Chabad Ein Milchama -- No war is possible without Chabad.
In the Chabad house I saw the picture of Mayor of Sderot David Buskila during his visit to the Lubavithcher Rebbe. About eighteen years ago during his first term as Mayor, David Buskila brought a symbolic key from the city to the Rebbe. The Rebbe accepted, but warned Mr. Buskila that by giving him the key he made the Rebbe owner of the city. The Rebbe promised with a smile "not too meddle in the affairs of the administration."

Our next meeting with the same Mayor David Buskila. During the war the city government relocated into a re-enforced command center. This was where we were supposed to meet. Every single person we met at the entrance to the center felt obliged to tell us that Mayor does not receive anybody, and that he would not receive us. But despite that inside the center we were warmly greeted by Mayor's staff who told us, that Mayor would be late because he was meeting with Bibi Netaniyahu. At the end the Mayor was late only by fifteen minutes, and he was very interested to meet with us and to discuss our projects and partnership with the city.

 At the end, we shook hands with Mayor of further cooperation between RJCF and the city of Sderot. He was very excited about the scope and effectiveness of RJCF's projects in the city.

An exhibit at the entrance to the command center reminds visitors what Sderot was through this past eight years.

After the meeting with Mayor Buskila we went back to Beit Chabad where we met with young adults, participants and future leaders of our programs in Sderot and in summer and winter camps.

The day in Sderot ended with meeting with parents of children and community activists. We discussed a new program of Sderot Community club for adults that was initiated by Dr. Sam Geisberg.

Project management of RJCF's project in Sderot is done by Dr. Baruch Youssin of Ma'ale Adumim. Baruch is a former refusnik, as many of us, a former Moscovite, and a former Bostonian. So, he is perfectly fit to bridge cultural mentalities of different parts of the Russian Jewish diaspora that are participating in our charitable projects. We spent Shabbos prior to trip to Sderot at our usual destination -- Ma'ale Adumim.

Saturday night, after Shabbos the Russian Jewish community of Ma'ale Adumim was visited by Uzi Landau, former MK from Likud for twenty-two years, and now, number two in Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beitenu. A natural question that people asked Mr. Landau -- was why Israel Beitenu? His answer was that Israel Beitenu will be a good stop mechanism to Bibi sliding to the left under pressure. Uzi Landau went to MIT and has warmest memories of Boston. He also hada very warm words for the Russian Jewish community of Boston.

All in all, it was a good trip. Back home main stream media was focusing on Gaza's suffering. How come that all these supposedly well-meaning journalists did not notice ten thousands Quassams dropped on a peaceful city during last eight years?

My impression was that Israel actions were justified, even if belated. Finally a tremendous injustice of abandoning civil population under terrorist fire was corrected by the Jewish state and people were grateful for this.

posted by: jrtelegraph

A letter to CNN from Moscow: your coverage of the Gaza conflict

RJCF Reprint Center:

To CNN International Edition

I am an American citizen living and working in Moscow, Russia. My choice of western TV News here is limited, and I spend a fair amount of time watching the CNN International Edition. During the height of the conflict in Gaza I watched more than the usual, and became so disappointed with your unbalanced coverage, that I decided to write this letter.

If I were totally unfamiliar with the issue, by watching your channel I would have formed the opinion that Israel is a terrorist state that has no mercy for “Palestinian” women and children, and even specifically targets them. No other conclusion is possible when 90% of the coverage is devoted to pictures of destroyed houses, schools and mosques, and to funerals, without mentioning that:
· Hamas strategically places women and children in harm’s way (for your cameras)
· Hamas produces amateur weapons in residential buildings, schools and mosques
· Since Israel left Gaza, over 3000 rockets were fired at it from this Hamas-controlled territory
· Israel continues to supply Gaza with water and electricity (for free)- even during the hostilities

Israel’s point of view also makes it into your cameras, but it has no chance to register being so overwhelmed by the Arab side of the story. Is it possible to fairly report on a conflict while devoting 90% of the coverage to the sufferings of one side? Would you consider it fair and balanced today to report in great detail on the sufferings of the German people during the 1945 bombing of Berlin, with no mention of the Nazi atrocities and only a fleeting mention that the Nazis did something bad to start the war?

Your news programs are a significant factor in forming opinions around the world. Many of the people watching are open-minded and may have no prior knowledge of the issue, and it is no surprise that some of them participate in anti-Israel demonstrations, including ones with openly fascist rhetoric. These people don’t know that Israel left Gaza with infrastructure, including agriculture that could be cultivated– but Hamas is not interested in growing food, only in making bombs and rockets and shooting them at Israel. I know that because I visited Israel and talked to people – but I would never have learnt it if I relied only on your reporters for information.

I tried to understand why your coverage is so biased. Do pictures of dead people bring good ratings? Is it easier to paint Israel as the aggressor rather than Hamas? Certainly it is true in all moslem countries and most of Europe by now (thanks in part to you). My explanations seemed to be incomplete until I paid attention to the commercials between your newscasts:
· Traveling to Egypt
· Qatar Airlines
· Royal Jordanian Airlines
· Bank of Kuweit
· ORASCOM Companies

Is it a coincidence or does the fear to offend your Arab sponsors take priority over fairness and balance in reporting the truth? The answer seems obvious to me.

I hereby accuse you, CNN, of unfair reporting for the sake of your bottom line. I hold you, CNN, partially responsible for the demonstrations held around the world and for the financial support your coverage will bring to terrorists like HAMAS.

I am not a radical and I know my limitations. I cannot fight CNN, but I will make every effort to share this information with as many people as possible.

Allen.Karpman@gmail.com, February 2009 [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Exclusive Children of Sderot Winter Camp Report and Interview

JRT public service:

RJCF News release:

Photo: Nathan Bar exclusive for RJCF

RJCF's winter camp for 50 Children of Sderot took place during the week of Chanukah vacation in the  Nitzana Education Center in the Negev. The camp was a smashing success. Not only were the children taken away for a brief respite from Kassam fire, they took part in nature trips, math and English clubs, and learned about Chanukah and Jewish traditions.
Interview with Children of Sderot Winter Camp Counselors' Eliza Zell and Anna Kamenetsky.
Read More...

posted by: jrtelegraph