- "Many Civilian Targets, but One Core Question Among Gazans: Why?"; By Sabrina Tavernise; A12
- "Israeli Arabs Recoil at Attacks on Gaza as Allegiance to Their Country Is Strained"; By Isabel Kershner; A12
- "Israel Speeds Withdrawal From Gaza; Efforts to Buttress Cease-Fire Continue"; By Ethan Bronner; A6, A12
“The central issues are,” he writes, “how to stop arms smuggling into Gaza from the Egyptian Sinai and how to rebuild the economy here through a reopening of border crossings closed by Israel and Egypt.”
The first is a real issue. The second is a Hamas demand, which will not be met until Hamas accepts the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.
In Isabel Kershner’s article about Arab Israeli responses to the war, she makes an equivalence between Israeli Arab disapproval of the Israeli incursion into Gaza – an opinion – and the decision of Israel’s Central Elections Committee “to disqualify the two main Arab parties from running in the national elections on Feb. 10” – a legal matter.
“The animosity was mutual,” she writes.
The Committee’s decision is not an act of animosity but of legality. If politicians of a political party incite against the state of Israel, support terrorism, and refuse to recognize Israel – as members of these two parties have – the parties are liable to be denied the right to run for Knesset.
Kershner is correct to describe the sentiment of certain Arab Israelis as antipathic. She reports, “Like several who were interviewed, Mr. Jabarin compared Israel’s actions to those of the Nazis in World War II.” Point blank: Comparisons between Nazis and Jews are anti-Semitic.
Despite remarks such as this, Kershner endeavors to paint a sympathetic profile of Arab Israelis, who “have displayed exemplary patience as citizens of the state.” She quotes Shalom Dichter, former co-director of a Jewish-Arab advocacy organization, who states, “The state will have to work hard to make its Arab population feel included after years of discrimination in the allocation of lands and funds.” Dichter’s statement, though true, is unbalanced, as it puts the onus only on the state to integrate its Arab citizens into the body politic.
Arab Israelis, too, must work toward integration. Ironically, though integration seems to be Kershner's hope for Israeli society, she quotes Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, who is one of the strongest advocates against Arab-Israeli integration into Israeli society.
In a third article on Tuesday, Sabrina Tavernise exposes Palestinian exasperation in the war’s aftermath.
Despite providing Israel’s rationale for attacking civilian infrastructure – “those institutions help funnel money, supplies and people to Hamas” – she seeks to undermine Israel’s decision by quoting a number of Gazans who express outrage and incomprehension about these attacks.
Unsurprisingly, those quoted in Tavernise’s article demonstrate neither self-criticism nor accountability - first for brining Hamas to power, second for allowing them to send rockets into Sderot.
Then she unwittingly reveals Palestinian rejectionism and extremism. "Gazans say that there is a range of relationships people have with the group, starting with sympathizer and ending with rocket launcher or suicide bomber,” she writes. Noticeably, she does not mention dissenters, who are needed now more than ever.
Despite remarks such as this, Kershner endeavors to paint a sympathetic profile of Arab Israelis, who “have displayed exemplary patience as citizens of the state.” She quotes Shalom Dichter, former co-director of a Jewish-Arab advocacy organization, who states, “The state will have to work hard to make its Arab population feel included after years of discrimination in the allocation of lands and funds.” Dichter’s statement, though true, is unbalanced, as it puts the onus only on the state to integrate its Arab citizens into the body politic.
Arab Israelis, too, must work toward integration. Ironically, though integration seems to be Kershner's hope for Israeli society, she quotes Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, who is one of the strongest advocates against Arab-Israeli integration into Israeli society.
In a third article on Tuesday, Sabrina Tavernise exposes Palestinian exasperation in the war’s aftermath.
Despite providing Israel’s rationale for attacking civilian infrastructure – “those institutions help funnel money, supplies and people to Hamas” – she seeks to undermine Israel’s decision by quoting a number of Gazans who express outrage and incomprehension about these attacks.
Unsurprisingly, those quoted in Tavernise’s article demonstrate neither self-criticism nor accountability - first for brining Hamas to power, second for allowing them to send rockets into Sderot.
Then she unwittingly reveals Palestinian rejectionism and extremism. "Gazans say that there is a range of relationships people have with the group, starting with sympathizer and ending with rocket launcher or suicide bomber,” she writes. Noticeably, she does not mention dissenters, who are needed now more than ever.
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