Author Archives: Soccerdad

About Soccerdad

I'm a government bureaucrat with delusions of literacy.

The shoals of Middle East peacemaking

The Washington Post, today, faults the Obama administration for its early forays into Middle East peacemaking. The administration also concluded, wrongly, that obtaining an unconditional Israeli settlement freeze was an essential first step. In fact settlements are no longer a … Continue reading

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The shoals of Middle East peacemaking

The Goldstone Standard Part II

The Goldstone Commission report discusses the case of the al-Samouni family (.pdf page 202). 712. In the morning of 5 January 2009, around 6.30 – 7 a.m., Wa’el al-Samouni, Saleh al-Samouni, Hamdi Maher al-Samouni, Muhammad Ibrahim al-Samouni and Iyad al-Samouni, … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Tagged | 1 Comment

Rosh Hashanahs past

The New York Times has a couple articles about past celebrations of Rosh Hashanah. In one article the Times tells about how Barbara Ann Paster relives what it was like to observe Rosh Hashanah in 1919 in Portsmouth New Hamphsire. … Continue reading

Posted in Jews | Tagged | Comments Off on Rosh Hashanahs past

The Goldstone standard

In his initial report about the Goldstone Commission report, Colum Lynch of the Washington Post wrote: He cited one incident in which Israeli forces allegedly fired a mortar shell through the door of a mosque in Gaza City during a … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 3 Comments

Kemp vs. Goldstone

Why does an expert in fighting insurgencies who defended Israel get much less attention than a judge who tendentiously applies the law in service of an organization with a record of bias against Israel? Is it because the latter presented … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Media Bias | Tagged | Comments Off on Kemp vs. Goldstone

Built on a foundation of sand

Avi Bell doubts that the Goldstone report will result in any significant diplomatic damage to Israel however, The situation in the wake of the Goldstone Report is reminiscent, to some degree, of the international uproar that erupted over the building … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time, Jew Cooties | Tagged | 2 Comments

Garlasco hits the fan

The New York Times finally covers the controversy over Marc Garlasco’s hobby first reported by Mere Rhetoric and reports that he has been suspended from Human Right’s Watch. The article covers most of the aspects of Garlasco’s collecting and summed … Continue reading

Posted in Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 1 Comment

Slapping the outstretched hand

Two recent observations from Barry Rubin stick out. In regard to Prince Turki’s recent up-ed in the NY Times, Rubin writes: Note also–something else nobody is going to notice–that the op-ed insults the United States as it directly contradicts Obama’s … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Turki stuffing

A few months we had an excuse: “The ambition to bring the Saudis on board has been disappointed,” said one Western diplomat based in Riyadh, who asked not to be identified because of the delicate nature of the debate. “I … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 2 Comments

Quote of the day

Fouad Ajami in the Wall Street Journal. Eight years ago, we were visited by the furies of Arab lands. We were rudely awakened from a decade whose gurus and pundits had announced the end of ideology, of politics itself, and … Continue reading

Posted in Terrorism | Tagged | 1 Comment

When is a war crime not a war crime?

Jules Crittenden asks, “is it a war crime?” (via Instapundit) It’s a small incident in the grand scheme of things. Another Navy corpsman doing his job, working on the wounded, sometimes under fire, and dying in combat as thousands have … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Semitism | Tagged | 2 Comments

Orde Wingate

There’s a fascinating essay on the Zionism of Orde Wingate. Who was Wingate? Traveling through Komemiyut in Jerusalem, at the intersection of Jabotinsky and David Marcus, one will see Kikar Orde (known also as Kikar Wingate). There are Wingate Streets … Continue reading

Posted in Israel | Tagged | 3 Comments

When meticulous means exaggerated

Helena Cobban writes about the recent casualty figures from Israel’s war against Hamas released by PCHR and B’Tselem. I dare say that when we see the final report in English from PCHR, they too will be specific about the methodology … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 2 Comments

When your enemy’s a lightbulb

Q. How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? A. Only one, but the light bulb really has to want to change. In defense of their stance on Hamas, J-Street writes (h/t Jennifer Rubin): We also recognize, … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 3 Comments

Quote of the day

Elliott Abrams in the Washington Post – in response to Jimmy Carter: Most inaccurate of all, and most bizarre, is Carter’s claim that “a total freeze of settlement expansion is the key” to a peace agreement. Not a halt to … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 5 Comments