Bush & Sharon

In a lengthy article in next month's Commentary, Norman Podhoretz argues that the strategies of the Bush Doctrine and Sharon's separation plan will dovetail with each other to produce a decent outcome between the Israelis and Palestinians. He relates and analyzes the assessments of several different figures in the Israeli security establishment. Basically, the Israelis, who remain anonymous, are split on how much Mahmoud Abbas can be trusted, as well as some of the specifics of how the disengagement should be conducted.

Though not addressed in this article, it's important to consider the impact that developments in Iraq may have on the Palestinians and the success of Bush's strategy throughout the region. If the process of selecting an Iraqi government gets derailed somehow, the negative results could erase the democratic gains in the region since 2003.

Does Israel need a civil war?

Yesterday, after the Knesset rejected a bill calling for a referendum on Sharon's plan to pull Israeli troops and settlements out of Gaza, the Yesha settlement council issued a statement that said Sharon has wasted the chance to "prevent a violent confrontation and a civil war."

But, if these settlers are willing to resort to violence and have such contempt for the government and its institutions, is a civil war really the worst possible outcome? Can Israeli society allow a radical, violent ideological faction to determine its fate? The same question might be asked of the Palestinians.

'Jewish Orientalism' ?

The Nation has what could have been an interesting article on how Jews have historically been stuck between Eastern and Western identities. It begins, encouragingly enough, by critiquing Edward Said:

"Orientalism is rife with contradictions that over the years have become more and more difficult to ignore. It hops disconcertingly between Orientalism as an academic pursuit, as a mental attitude and as a system of colonial oppression..."

Then, more interestingly, it talks about Essad Bey (aka Lev Nussimbaum), a European Jewish writer from the early twentieth century who posed as a Muslim.

True to Nation form, though, the article concludes with some shaky claims about Zionist racism and assassination plots. Oh well.