Israel's attacks will lead to its isolation

I hope Israeli people will see the wisdom behind Mr. Levy's article. The one who thinks this article is all wrong, is WRONG

Israel has been under threat since it's creation and gravitated to an ongoing defensive paranoid outlook and diplomacy. But it is damaging, as Gideon Levy points out. The atmosphere within Israeli politics is intolerant, without a thoughtful opposition, without new voices, and without initiative. By blaming the Palestinians and Arabs Israel surrenders it's own initiative in the peace process and so shoots itself in the foot. Start negotiations unconditionally now. Stop settlements because they infringe on Palestinian territory and jeoprodize any peaceful solution. It is pure theft, dressed up in misconstrued religious garb.

the damage has aleady been done.

what are you talking about, dumb troll???? Did you see how many rockets flew in Israel in October? Just one! So, tell me, what isn't working for you dumb Israeli trolls, or may be you think you deserve to live without rockets??? Ask Gilad Schalit, he will tell you like it is, without sugar.

but sadly he will loose... and I won't go into the properties that make him to loose election for fear of being accused of being deep racist. Other then those properties he is probably the only man in the world who would pull us out of Iraq and make good with Afghan... and then give Israel to all the needful. And then we all will live in peace for 1000 years. And for that I would suggest amending US consitution to permit Haaretz journalist to compete for the position of US president.

The world has never had much stomach for menshlichkite and doing what is right We never had "friends standing in line" and have done OK Don`t bomb Israel & expect to get away with it

Israel needs the world; The world do not needs Israel.

"We never seem to miss an opportunity to repeat the same mistakes over and over again." They're not "mistakes." These vindictive acts are simply expressions of your national character.

The only mistake in the article is to characterize American support as unwavering. No longer. We are tired. Enough. Spit in our face long enough and we have gone away. We won't stop you and save you from yourselves. Neither will we help you. You are on your own. Don't write. Don't call. Bon voyage.

If Levy wants to be a ghetto Jew let him. the rest of us are not and no longer want to be in that mold. To bad world. Israel aacts and thinks for itself and will not fall into "place". We are not ghetto Jews anymore.

quote from the new York times today "The state argued that Palestinians were barred from using the road for the past eight years for security reasons, to protect the 150 or so Israeli residents of a Jewish settlement and an unauthorized outpost in the area. An Israeli human rights organization, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, petitioned the court in 2006 on behalf of 22 Palestinian villages with a combined population of some 45,000."

the progeny of their Masada's ancestors. Way to go, Israelis!

the demise of all the regimes you mentioned nazi germany, the soviet union, imperial japan all fell not because of weakness, they ignored world criticism and got into trouble because they wanted more land. germany lebensraum, japan manchuria, soviet union ukraine eastern europe etc. once they gave up they land desires and accepted world criticism they because peaceful, secure and strong.

Those Israelis which refuse any compromise have come to totally dominate the society, no resolution must include the elimination of Arabs from Israel, Judea, Samaria and Gush Katif. There is no room for Israel to compromise with any Arab. For Israel, the only good Arab is a dead one. Even an Israeli Arab.

Come on Mr. Boston. I do not know a single person who continuously bereates Israel about its' human rights "abuses" against the palestinians who does not support a One State solution or "secular Palestine"-in other words the destruction of Israel. Name me one Arab country today that allows Jews to live in freedom to practice their religion freely. A Single State woud be no different. You and I know that and that is why the "Palestinian cause" is the modus operandi for those who seek Israel's extermination. Not politically corect to say it outright. Disguise it as "defending Palestinain rights" when they have more rights now than Jews in 57 Muslim countries.

I am not a right wing Likud supporter and believe in the two State solution with East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount being in either Israel or International control. But Israel is right to boycott countries that refuse to support it when its' existence is threatened by terrorists and it defends its' citizens by fighting back. Disproportionate response they say. None of them have defined a proportionate response to rockets targeting civilians. Israelis on this talkback are ignorant of the vocabulary of the antisemite. Jews in the English speaking world are well acquainted with it. Examples include the words "chosen people", "diaspora jews" etc in a thread that has to do with a government response to a biased report. Michael, Swiss Dino and others have found a home on Haaretz talkback. I wonder how their circulation is doing in their home market.

The author is right. The only supporters of Israel's current policies in the US are a few Jewish plutocrats and the Christian fundamentalists who want Israel to have its way so that you can all convert before you die. I don't believe that Israel can survive by continuing this insanity. What worries me most is that the horrible views of the PM and his scurrilous FM are woven more deeply into Israeli society than I would have thought. Reading Haaretz daily is not reassuring.

For years - maybe decades - I've been hearing about how Hamas and Hezbollah were experts in manipulating the media, staging demonstrations and inviting the press to watch the response, and even Netanyahu alluded to this in his address to the UN. Meanwhile Israel maintains that Hamas was hiding behind human shields in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. They maintained that they dropped leaflets and went out of their way to avoid civilian casualties. Yet I have not seen a single millsecond of video coverage of this. Where is the video? Israel needs to be as aggressive as its enemies in its use of the media. Today's wars are still fought with bullets and bombs but won and lost in the media!

Actually Brod it's the evil that disappear into the dustbin of history. Doesn't bode well for Israel.

One can be intelligent, articulate and even sincere. But one is not safe from one's own psychology. If I am insisting and insisting in bashing someone or something, until I have forged my entire professional sphere into an inssitent bashing, chances are, I am projecting some unsolved issues onto a screen called Israel. Now, chances of these words being posted by Haaretz are slim. It can be claimed I am not dealing the the issue of this article. But I am doing much more than that: I am dealing with the issue behind all your articles. It seems you find some relief in blaming Israel for all its woes, challenges and evils. And it seems the applause you get for it in "antisemitically correct" circles such as the majority of the guests of this talkback, only reinforces your insistance. Maybe it is time for a pause, and for connecting with the deepest, intimate emotional aspects of your own Jewish and Israeli psyche. It is a good exercise for all. Shabbat Shalom, Fortuna Benmayor.

Wonderfully phrased. Sometimes it really feels that way. Still, you're too hard on Israel. Every country has its diplomatic fights.

"But after 8 years, at least, the Americans voted for a president able to restore the respect which was gambled away by the Bush junta. I do not see the Israelis on a similar learning curve." - Axel True, but even 5 years ago many Americans were still giving the stiff-armed salute to their Fearless Leader. Eventually, enough Bush induced disasters caught up with the psycho-right. There is still hope for Israel to come to it's senses.

"Levy advocates the pathway of appeasement and surrender in the face of frontal attacks on Israel...The weak disappears into the dustbin of history." Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, the Soviet Union. No, the immoral disappear into the dustbin of history.

None of its victims deserved the holocaust, whether they were Jewish or not. Neither does any man, woman or child deserve to be brutalized today in the names of those victims of Nazi terror. Terrorism is terrorism, and it's not confined to one national, ethnic or religious group.

that says it all

Unfortunately, Israelis seemed to have decided to stick their head in the sand and ignore reality. Do they really think insulting everybody who disagrees with them is a smart move, especially when literally every country in the world disagrees with them? Israel has even been openly hostile to its only friend in the world, the US, becuase it dares to ask Israel to take baby steps toward what every country in the world (except Israel) believes it must do to preserve justice and international law? This hostility continues even though the US has once again agreed to blindly and unconditionally protect Israel from its own folly. Very few countries advocate the destruction of the State of Israel. The vast majority of human rights advocates who support Palestinian rights do not call for the end of Israel. Why must Isarelis accuse all who disagree with its belligerent policies of wanting to destroy it? All of this is destroying whatever credibility Israel had.

Levy advocates the pathway of appeasement and surrender in the face of frontal attacks on Israel. The problem is only the strong survives in this wicked world. The weak disappears into the dustbin of history.

The best Israelis are all considered "pariahs". They are the only ones who have a conscience, and are free of the pervasive hubris that has become the salient quality of Israelis who are not pariahs.

"Spain, Britain...Both nations were reduced to squat after they harmed Jews...All because of their treatment of Jews." How, then, would you explain the Holocaust? What did the Jews do to deserve that? Your analysis is garbage. Wrong is wrong regardless of who does it, or when. Even if there is no universal morality, we should behave as if there were.

come on israel, you can do so much better! please open your eyes and know there is a better way. my mom used to tell me when it seems like everyone is against you, maybe they have a point. maybe it is good to listen and make changes. you cannot ever find peace by continuing this occupation of millions of people. find another way, i want to love you again. where's israel's left? they are all coming here and we like them thank you very much!

As a failed actor, Homosexual, intellect and Jew, Sully is the best example as why most gerim should never be trusted. I guess this jackass couldn't make it as a Jew or an Israeli so now he lashes out. Pathetic.

So then, what do you call a Jewish person that supports Zionism if you can't call them a "Jewish Zionist"? Why don't you just label him anti-Semitic or self-hating Jew and completely miss the point of this article? Just see #7, "the self hater". Now that's debate. Speaking of missing the point, take Rara. I'll just use the late great Frederick Douglass' "... for he is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins. It is righteousness that exalteth a nation while sin is a reproach to any people."

"We had a government with identical contempt for the world for 8 years." But after 8 years, at least, the Americans voted for a president able to restore the respect which was gambled away by the Bush junta. I do not see the Israelis on a similar learning curve.

Does the fact that someone is a Jewish Zionist mean to you that they should always keep their mouth shut when they know that what Israel has done is wrong? Must a Jewish Zionist walk in lockstep with the Israeli state? Can't a Jewish Zionist love Israel but hate some of the things that Israel does? A true Jewish Zionist wants a state that is true to the ideals of Judaism and not a state that thinks it can get away with anything just because it is Jewish. Goldstone is a man of honor, a man of conscience and a man who wants an israel respected by the world. The way that Israel is going will ensure that it gets no respect anywhere in the world because it won't merit respect.

as being the "the whole world is against us", and admit that there are some legitimate historical reasons for that attitude, why do these same people so all they can to harden and reinforce that attitude amongs Israeli's.

For all the reasons you listed and perhaps none more importantly-- than in the immortal words of T.S. Elliot, it has been where it ought not to be...Dutch

The Bush-Cheney leadership had a policy of lashing out against anyone that did not agree with them. Netanyahu-Lieberman are taking this strategy to new lows with their reactions against China, France and Russia. When leaders use diversionary tactics rather than present facts, I suspect they have much to hide. Is it possible that the IDF did what they were instructed to do and received orders from the highest levels of Israeli leadership? Is that why Netanyahu and Lieberman are on the defensive?

Over the years it used to be said (and probably still is said) that it was the Palestinians who never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The current problem where Israel takes viewpoints where it disagrees with constructive criticism from those who are its friends and generally supportive is truly potentially a disaster. I cannot see how, for instance, it makes sense not to have had a major input into the Goldstone report. The report may well be flawed but by not participating fully in its process Israel has probably made the impact of the report worse than it should be. Constructive criticism is the lifeblood of democracy ---but unfortunately there are occasions when one feels that many in Israel cannot accept such criticism...with the result that Mr Levy's article is apposite. I hope that Israel will realize that castigating one's friends is indeed counterproductive.

Jews should evaluate the words of Gideon. Most of people in world like jews( Einstein, Freud,Sabin, Chomsky and so on) but some Israel actions make it difficult to convince the ones that don't like jews to become jews admirers. Peace Now!

that the road they have chosen is a dead end. Lieberman is like a nightclub bouncer from Moldovia who thinks he can get his way by shouting and brawling. In the end diplomats will just avoid Israel, as the photo opportunity will cause more harm than good.

Iran is on track to create nuclear weapons that will radically shift the balance of power in the Middle East, and not, in any way, in Israel's favor, and you're worried about J STREET? Seriously?

An unspoken belief by the astounding naive Left is that "Gee, maybe if we're EXTRA nice and do everything that they tell us to do, then they'll like us better." Folks may have a desire to have others like them but its not realistic for the world to suddenly "like" Jews or a Jewish state no matter whats done or not done. It is an offensive fallacy that anti-semitism is caused by Jewish actions/inactions but this seems to be the basic premise of the Left.

Firstly it is not Oren's decision. If the gov't tell's him to skip the conference that's what he must do. This is hardly a major issue of principle worth resigning over, so those that demonize him, call him a flak and attack him personally are just silly and counterproductive as usual. The Israeli embassy is sending a lower level representative to the conference. I often agree with Gideon Levy, but he is getting hyperbolic and hysterical.

Israel is having withdrawal symptoms given its loss of influence in the White House. This is expected and understandable. But Israel knows how to make a comeback and do things another way. Patience!

When the media+leaders of Israel seek to make Israel like all of the other nations and insist that Israel is not a product of Divine intervention, they only encourage those who wish Israel would just disappear. No other country in the world ever appeased/compromised its very existence away by negotiation with enemies who seek its destruction. Israel has fallen into a trap of its own making by engaging in a peace-faker ?peace process? which, in fact, is a process of self destruction. "A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly" (Cicero 42BCE).

Now that the Phillies are going to the World Series and I was elated beyond anything I open up Haaretz and see this self flagellation by the numero uno hand wringing hater of Israel. And no surprise all of his pitiful followers started posting in his defense like groupies following a drugged out rock star. Sorry Mr.Levy if you have not gotten the message yet..you know the one that has been passed along through the centuries saying that Jews are a pariah and are only to be tolerated until it is time to get rid of them. Now that they have a country...fragile at best...you and the world are asking them to commit national suicide. Well I think we will see another Masada before that happens..you might fall in lock step with those that wish Israel harm but you will answer for that when you meet your maker. Just take the time to see who sides with you..see the posters that are filled with hate for Israel and you will see people who agree with you..ugly isn't it?

During the 1967 war we lived in Manchester England. All of England and Continental Europe celebrated and became one of us. Little David taking on the united might of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Palestinian militias, Volunteers from other Arab countries and beat them in 6 days! How proud we all felt. 2009 Israel rains bombs down on a defencless sliver of desert, destroys hospitals, schools, mosques, roads, all the apperatus of the government and does it in 22 days and its friends are deadly silent. Bring back the Jew in Zionism. He would be the first to complain.

One of the most troublesome aspects of this trend for many American Jews is the demand that in the event Israel's interests clearly diverge from those of America's, American Jews should come out foursquare on the side of Israel. This effectively calls for American Jews to form a sort of "fifth column" within the US--and skate perilously close to sedition. Is this really what some in Israel are knowingly advocating?

Israel's behavior deserves condemnation. This is most clearly reflected by its refusal to acknowledge the facts presented in the Goldstone report. It is as if any criticism is deflected as one-sided, or worse, anti-semitic. This truly clouds issues of genuine anti-semitism. Many Jews, including this one, who have long withheld criticism of Israel, are now feeling a moral obligation to stand up and protest this irresponsible behavior. From continuing colonial occupation to refusing criticism from a respected jurist, Israel deserves to be condemned.

Mr. Levy makes a living being the devil's advocate.Don't assume he shares these feelings.

"The Jews have a long history of ghettozation and ostracism. So what is so different thing now Mr Levy," - alan the real one A very, very BIG difference. Jews were forced into those old ghetto's. The Israeli right is forcing Israel to become the Great Ghetto. This is the difference. And it is immense. A nation created by those fleeing ghetto's has been morphed into a vast Nation Ghetto by people with the mentality of those who forced Jews into ghettos. Such a curious turn of events.

"Surrounded by enemies: this was our situation right from the beginning. And we suffered from this like no other country. Surrounded by enemies, this will be our situation in the future. And this is our fortune", Hasse (the president of the `All-German Union') said in 1907. It was this sense of paranoia, that the `All-German Union' shared with the power elites of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-era, which became the root cause for the attitude to accept war not only as something unavoidable, but actually to long for war." (translated from: Volker Ullrich: The Nervous Great Power 1871-1918 - Rise and Fall of the German Empire, published in 1999, page 381) The Germans lost the 1st World War btw., so nationalism and victim mentality are maybe not so smart.

It is refreshing to read a 'tell them like it is' article like this.

Warsaw ghetto, Lodz ghetto, Paris ghetto, Rome ghetto. The Jews have a long history of ghettozation and ostracism. So what is so different thing now Mr Levy,

Mr. Levy might be right, but that doesn't change the fact that Israel voted in a government that believes 'Israel don't need no stinking world." We had a government with identical contempt for the world for 8 years. It is an idiotic attitude.

As for Oren, he is nothing but a right wing likud hack. The less said the better. He encapsulates the essence of prresent day Israel, which perceives it's dire predicament both regionally and internationally and is, as is to be expected, giving its knee jerk reaction. It thrives and feels best when it thinks the world is against them. That is the test Israel gives the rest of the world: Either you give us carte blanche and sanction everything we do or we will demonise you. Israel is sick. And here in this talkback we have those who demand a stalinist allegiance to every jot and tittle of the zionist right who attack Gideon Levy as a pariah because they are deathly afraid of the truth of his message. The pit bulls are rabid.

Egypt is threatening to boycott the Union for the Mediterranean foreign ministers' conference scheduled to take place next month in Istanbul if Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, attends. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1121386.html My personal opinion: Turkey is not your enemy. Israel is still our ally. But Turkey wants peace for the middle east. Real Peace! And every government who didnt shows enough effort for this goal will criticed by the Turks. Even if it is Israel. Thats the truth. Think about it.

What can you say to someone so tunnel-visioned, except "did you even bother to read the article, PETER"? Levy lists the countries that Israel has so casually insulted, and how does PETER respond? PSM: "Simple.Don`t bomb Israel esp.civillians & expect to get away with it." When did France bomb Israel, PETER? Or Sweden? Or Norway? Or Turkey? Or China? Or Russia? Remind me again what reason Israel has to so casually insult those countries? Apart from hubris, of course.....

torah doesnt teach us to wait a guy and be lazy. it teaches us to live in dignity and correctly. your proposition is just goin back to old times please everyone loose everything. messiah is inside us and its our dignity. the only one who can save us is us staying as a nation undivided in the land of israel withe the jerusalem as capital. obama or putin or sarco or any european asiatic arab leader is not our messiah. WE WONT PLEASE ANYONE ANY MORE LIKE A NORMAL NATION WHO JUST FOLLOWS ITS INTERESTS. ISOLATION CANT STOP US WE WONT BE THE ''JEW'' AMONG THE OTHER STATES. JUST TO PLEASE OTHERS WE WONT SACRIFICE ANYTHING ANYMORE.

He is not alone. God and His choosen ambassador support him. We expect from the children of Israel, that they act like His choosen people and if you would have prophetic understanding, you would know, that this means, that Israel must change in a dramatic way. Of cause it is your choice and as an advocate I can only tell you, that you have choosen the wrong way, you have choosen death instead of survival, curse instead of blessing, evil instead of good. God really loves the Jews, but He will not tolerate this enormous rebellion in His Holy Land. God is also like truth and in the end he can not contradict Himself. You are like sheep now, blinded by your own propaganda and nationalistic illusions. Look, what happened to the crazy Germans, when they worshipped their own nation.

Right on, alas, alas..........When will we learn?

nations "upon whom the sun never set?" Both nations were reduced to squat after they harmed Jews. Once big, powerful, ambitious nations reduced to housing muslims on the doll. Now, the Jews leave these nothing nations in favor of Israel or, America. How the mighty have fallen. Neither nation knew their bibles very well, now, did they? Both are now cursed where once, they had been blessed. All because of their treatment of Jews.

How about the fanatic Muslims who will not have anything to do with the state of Israel except attacking it. The fanatics in Israel were mainly created as the Arab world conviced us that there will never be peace. Myself , For dacades I voted Labor, Not any more.

no one will support the Goldstone report. It will not go to the SC. It would put some very powerful governments in a position they just don't want to be in. People like you start most of the wars due to your shortsightedness and your inability to see the bigger picture, one that would move you to an international level of thinking. Always being in the "I'm shocked" mode of thinking does not make you smart or right. It does, however, make you look very foolish. We have to live in the real world, why not join us.

declined to oppose the Goldstone "report", the long-awaited sequel of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. No this enlightened countries have all declared they will oppose Security Council discussion of the Goldstone "report". Giddeon you should have been better inspired reviewing why these countries oppose now such discussion although they voted or declined to oppose a few days ago the Goldstone "report" which recommends the Security Council to be seized with the alleged war crimes and war against humanities committed by the IDF during the last GAZA operation.

your "Good Jew" marks notwithstanding ? You aren't so keen on becoming a "citizen of Isratine" you outwardly fight for,eh Gideon?

Chas freeman on his way out blamed jews. This is who J street wanted to be the top intelligence official in the u.s and was defending him.

Israel will never be alone. Read the truth in history. The creator of all living things have chosen them and through them all nations to salvation. He promised never to leave them and He cannot and has never lied. When ALL nations turn against Israel the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob through Jeshua His only Son and God himself will lead them and all believers to eternal Freedom and eternity. No matter what we think we know it will not change the Godly Truth.

Solana? the EU spokesperson who said boycott not justified. Pinko accademics and left wing unions do not run the world just their fiefdoms and the BBC.Is it not a fact that the Israel bashing Guardian circulation is dropping from a lowly few hundred thousand to start with.? Not even Britain.

"2,000 YEARS ago..confrontations with Rome..destroyed the JEWISH STATE then" (my EMPHASIS) Care to tell WHERE was the GEOGRAPHICAL location of the Jewish NATION some TWO MILLENNIA ago?

few days before about boycott being unjustified? Maybe you are expecting 50 million Christian Zionists from the USA to come to your aid?

but I cant say the same thing for Netanyahu:(

They certainly did not flog their relgion,they did not proselytise.They changed their liturgy to make sure that it could not be misinterpreted as antisemites regularly do with Kol Nidre. They fought and died for the Fatherland.Very useful that. Progressive history clashes with the real one.(Just like they are subtly rehabilitating Stalin by jailing a research worker who might start to draw parallels with the KGB aparatchiks and their current use of power.)

FYI Mr. Levy, we are already isolated. Look out your window.

It is time for Israel to look at itself and for a moment forget Jewish history. Could you accept any state behaving similary as your friend or even as a strategic partner?

... that all this is ultimately for one single purpose: to protect the settlement enterprise on Pal land for ever and ever...

The Israeli Way of Life: *alway looking for someone else to blame*. Blaming others wont solve Israels problems.

Yes , Without Israel. Israel is the cause of all the trouble in this world. We asre her now 6 million Jews wit 300 million Muslims around us and one million within. Been attacked again and again to eradicate us, Our greatest fault is that we want to live .

get away with it. Lebanon started their war by bombing northern Israel Hamas refused to stop bombing the other end.No Johnboy they slowed down but did NOT stop despite vigorous attempts by their fellow travellers to rewrite history Outside the world of collective group think, people in the real world,realise that a sign of weakness in the Arab world is a fatal disease.

No one will attack Iran until it is too late and the result will be , not only 50 million as in last world war. But Israel will be the first boine to go. You should go to a safer place , and Join Goldstone. Good luck.

The longer we Israelis take to wake up to the reality as described by Levy, the worse it will be for us. Bibi and Liebermann are leading us down a dark, dead-end street from which it will be extremely hard to return.

Religion is ultimately what keeps Jews together even when they're a minority in non-Jewish societies. It keeps them distinct and different. That, of course, though comes at a price. Being separate and different is not a good way to win friends and belief that you have a special mission from God is always liable to produce some decisions fairly incomprehensible in human terms. 2,000 years ago religion led to bitter civil conflict and repeated destructive confrontations with Rome which destroyed the Jewish state then. Now the religion of the settlers is an increasing obstacle to any sane peace and could lead ultimately who-knows-where.

If boycotts are so bad, he should talk to his fellow far leftists in Europe.

ever considered that Israel is the only country in the ME where people like GL can openly critize the country in the media? Maybe the ME would be a better place if that was possible in Gaza, Iran, Syria etc. as well. But what the heck. who cares about their wrongdoings? gideon levy and you definitely dont

No matter how some Israelis try to be just like all the nations, we end up being put in a corner because . . . we are Jewish. Yeah, when some Jews were on a safari in Kenya they met some Masai tribes people. The Israeli tourists told them where they lived and . . . there they were, back to the Bible they left behind them when they graduated high school in Tel Aviv. The fact is when Balak called upon Balaam to "say some words" about the nation of Israel, all he could come up with was that they do things their own way, and, somehow, they survive--if fact, that is how Jews survive, by being themselves. Or, as told Balak a nation set apart.

It is to Israeli's misfortune that an organization such as J-Street, which supports her, may ultimately break with her. Israeli's suicidal, rightist drift will leave her an isolated (and vulnerable) pariah state.

....(including her best friends in the world), the Israeli citizens shouldn't be surprised if they regularly find themselves at the bottom of the list when it comes to worldwide public opinion polls. Make no mistake, the world would be more than willing (happy !!) to embrace the Israel of 2009.... ....but first, the Israeli/Diaspora mainstream will have to defeat the virus of "expansive Zionism". I'm afraid that is an absolute "must".....

I must say, again and again, as a Jewish American, that millions of American Jews don't give a damn about AIPAC or J Street! They are way too busy being 100% Americans. However here it can be seen, from Gideon, the leftist, (not "Zionist", the way this word was demeaned), that the view Israel has about American Jews is warped. AIPAC and J Street include only some of the rich, religious, Rightists or Leftist, Zionists Jews, and generaly speaking people who need to "belong" to some group or idea. They consist only of some tens or even a few hundreds of thousands people. This is only a small part of the 6 million American Jews. They do indeed a job of representing Jews, WITHOUT HAVING EVER BEEN ELECTED, without even be known that they exist by the great majority of Jews. They are also active, mostly with money, for Israel. However I always thought the money should have nothing to do with politics, one way or another, Left or Right!

Excellent article that makes clear what so many have been saying on the Comments pages ever since Operation Cast Lead. Israel has managed to win the war and lose the peace! The Goldstone Report will continue to be a problem for Israel for many years, the 'Boycott Israel' movement goes from strength to strength, Israeli soldiers, politicians and officials will need to be very careful about which countries they visit while the Iran situation does not look like an Israeli victory!

exactly, as has been the case over and over again from the Hasmoneans, to the futile and self-destructive revolts against the Romans to the current insanity. We never seem to miss an opportunity to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

An israeli friend of mine once said something to me that helped me a lot to understand the weird things going on in this country. He said: "u have to understand that the israeli mentality is middle eastern and therefore not comparable to the mentality of people in the "western" countries". I think this guy was utterly right!

"Now America too, even its Jews, are no longer immune to this aggressive Israel mad with grandeur." - GL Mad with alienation. This time a self-inflicted, self-perpetuating alienation. Israel was designed to banish that sense of alienation forever. An alienation born of the very fear and self-loathing the harsh conditions of the diaspora inspired and that Israel, not only a nation amongst nations, but aspiring also to be a light unto them, was to consign to the history books. Finger-pointing in all directions, hurling ever more melodramatic invective to the four winds will only make things worse, Mr. Netanyahu. Time to knuckle down to becoming a nation amongst nations. Just a nation amongst nations.

Please can we get a new foreign minister,somebody with a bit of class instead of this crude bouncer from the former USSR. I cant recall our image being so low for many years [about 50 in fact]and the reasons are so obvious. Many here in Beit Shean think its time we "got a grip on things" and returned to our normal selves, before things spiral out of control.

Indeed, Bibiism has spread to the whole government and information apparatus. Boycotting JStreet, which is indeed a pro Israel organization is a desperate attempt to squelch free discussion abroad and here as well. Israel will implode and alienate the whole world, justifying it's foolishness all the way..

Why is this man always criticizing Israel. We all understand that Israel may be criticized but Gideon devotes his life to this matter. Why not have some uplifting editorials for God's sake, I am sure he can find some positive things in Israeli society. He loses all legitimacy by acting this way. As a liberal zionist, I reject Gideon and his views.

by the world. Israel is second only to North Korea. A great honor!? Have you guys considered that maybe the never ending occupation has something to do with this? Or maybe you just don't care since "might makes right"?

The old cliché "If you don't respect yourself, nobody else will", still stands. Maybe Israel just had enough to "bend over and get f...." over and over again. Apaisement NEVER works, only a strong hand and strong principles.This is how Israel build itself. This country never had "friends standing in line" and it did very nicely. Problems started with those "well meaning friends" telling her what to do and how to behave. Those "friends" should read a page of their own book.

All it does is encourage more. The world will not reward you for accepting unfair treatment. It only encourages the bad actors.

"Hubris".

Thank god there is at least one sane person over there... Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand, real courage is when you know your licked before you begin but you begin anyway...from To Kill a Mockingbird. You speak truth to power, I hope you don't suffer for it.

As usual, Gideon Levy hit the topic right on. I love how he does not beat around the bush and is not afraid to voice his opinion. If only more Israelis had his strength and bravado the world, especially the Middle East, would be a much better place. Thanks!!

Thanks Gideon. At least somebody is not afraid to say what they think.

I'm going to the J STREET conference.

Great column. It is frustrating how the rightwing Jewish establishment treats American Jews who support a peaceful end to the conflict and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. It is Israel's best chance for a peaceful resolution. The alternatives of continuing the occupation lead to far worse outcomes. Jews who disagree with Foxman and Dershowitz are not enemies of the Jewish people as we are made out.

So what exactly do you suggest Israel should do? Let scandinavia issue blood libels while they spinelessly sway to the threat of fatwah? Let j-street give a platform to Arabs who claim zionists perpetrated 9-11(a featured speaker no less) Maybe we should surrender to a human rights council in the UN with a roster that would make the league of supervillains jealous. the world has never had much stomach for menshlichkite and riolling up sleeves and doing what is right will always alienate you. Israel may not be perfect, but you better believe it is currently surrounded by much worse... This unifo condemnation, cheap shots on a bandwagon, do your readers and Israel no favors. Next time you post a blog, kindly give it more than one dimension.

is like labeling a Robert Mugabe an Anglican Humanitarian!

Michael Oren won't attend this progressive Jewish conference where we've seen for the first time a good number of prominent figures within the peace movement (yes Israel does have these representatives), who really deserve acknowledgement and Jewish pride in their decades of work for the State of Israel. I'm really not particularly surprised with this negative gesture because I remember when Oren spoke in Toronto a few years back, he was also somewhat skeptical about peace negotiations given the setbacks - during the Olmert administration. I raised the point that I disagreed of course given that the alternatives were not better. I believe that Israel today is in the same predicament.