Posted
on April 20, 2019
By Dr. James J. Zogby
I'm glad Benjamin Netanyahu won reelection. Since I realize that saying this won't sit well with many folks, let me explain:
As the election developed, it became clear that Benny Gantz, the leader of the opposition "Blue and White" coalition, for a number of reasons, had come to be seen as the darling of the liberal set – especially here in the US.
Some, for example, were justifiably upset by Netanyahu's gross corruption or unnerved by his authoritarian actions designed to intimidate the press, silence non-governmental organizations, and strip the courts of their power. Others...
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Posted
on April 13, 2019
By Dr. James J. Zogby
I awakened early Wednesday to listen to a voicemail message from Omar Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian movement to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) Israel. In the message, Omar told me that he was at Ben Gurion Airport and despite holding a valid US visa and a boarding pass for his flight to Washington, D.C., the airline would not let him board the plane. He was informed that American immigration officials had notified the airline that he was being barred from entry into the US.
We had invited Mr. Barghouti to Washington to...
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Posted
on April 06, 2019
By Dr. James J. Zogby
The New York Times headline on April 4th was simple enough, "After 37-Year Search, Israel Recovers Body of a Fallen Soldier," but the memories it dredged up were both painful and complicated. Here's the simple news story that appeared this past Thursday: Four days before Israelis will go the polls to vote, the remains of Sergeant Zachary Baumel, who had gone missing in 1982 during Israel's invasion of Lebanon, were returned to his family for burial. The remains reportedly were found by Russian and Syrian troops and then sent by Russia to Israel. The entire event...
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