1949, 1967, etc
May 23, 2011 12:43 PM Subscribe
Contemporary Israeli politics. Israel and Palestine. Point me to good resources.
So I've been watching this bruhaha between Netanyahu and Obama this last week, and as a result I'm looking to fill in the gaps of my knowledge about the situation as it currently stands. In particular, I'm interested in english language blogs and/or news sites that cover contemporary Israeli politics, as well as books that give a decent historical background to how we got here. I have a vague understanding of the basics, but I feel that my understanding of the situation could be better.
(Good Palestinian and/or general mideast resources are welcome too, but I'm currently more interested in the intra-Israeli politics of the current situation more than anything.)
So I've been watching this bruhaha between Netanyahu and Obama this last week, and as a result I'm looking to fill in the gaps of my knowledge about the situation as it currently stands. In particular, I'm interested in english language blogs and/or news sites that cover contemporary Israeli politics, as well as books that give a decent historical background to how we got here. I have a vague understanding of the basics, but I feel that my understanding of the situation could be better.
(Good Palestinian and/or general mideast resources are welcome too, but I'm currently more interested in the intra-Israeli politics of the current situation more than anything.)
read this introduction, then read the other features on his site.
posted by moorooka at 1:16 PM on May 23, 2011
posted by moorooka at 1:16 PM on May 23, 2011
I was told that "From Beirut to Jerusalem" by Tom Friedman was one of the best books on the subject and I was not disappointed.
posted by kat518 at 1:34 PM on May 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by kat518 at 1:34 PM on May 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
This question and in particular this answer may be of use to you. Seconding FBtJ.
posted by K.P. at 1:44 PM on May 23, 2011
posted by K.P. at 1:44 PM on May 23, 2011
I doubt you can find an impartial source. For this particular issue, I would point you to the recent link aggregation that the Council for Foreign Relations just posted about the past couple of days (Obama's speech at the State Department and the AIPAC speeches):
If you are in a rush and want to see a pretty concise and clear view of the percieved Israeli threats, I would refer you to this video.
Its slick and obviously swayed towards Israel but shows the major concerns at hand here.
There are infinite sources about the Middle East issue. Living in Israel and being involved in the field, I am not in a place to do more than push my own agenda...but I would urge you to check out both side's arguments, bearing in mind that ultimately, both sides have extremely valid claims, playing out a close-to-zero-sum game deciding how trends which have been in place for thousands of years are decided.
Feel free to metamail me if you would like a more extensive list of resources, again, largely from the Israeli perspective.
posted by eytanb at 2:37 PM on May 23, 2011
If you are in a rush and want to see a pretty concise and clear view of the percieved Israeli threats, I would refer you to this video.
Its slick and obviously swayed towards Israel but shows the major concerns at hand here.
There are infinite sources about the Middle East issue. Living in Israel and being involved in the field, I am not in a place to do more than push my own agenda...but I would urge you to check out both side's arguments, bearing in mind that ultimately, both sides have extremely valid claims, playing out a close-to-zero-sum game deciding how trends which have been in place for thousands of years are decided.
Feel free to metamail me if you would like a more extensive list of resources, again, largely from the Israeli perspective.
posted by eytanb at 2:37 PM on May 23, 2011
And as for the intra-Israeli issues, be sure to balance out the Haaretz newspaper link thoughtfully provided by mareli with the Jerusalem Post. Both are decent newspapers, and while Haaretz is more left-wing (and incidentally, also better journalism), the Jerusalem Post represents the right-wing community more. This is all the more important with a decidedly right-wing coalition, together with a right-wing Foreign Minister (Avigdor Lieberman) and a historically right-wing Prime Minister.
posted by eytanb at 2:40 PM on May 23, 2011
posted by eytanb at 2:40 PM on May 23, 2011
You might check out www.bitterlemons.org - it's extremely in-depth, but each week it features two Arab or Palestinian and two Israeli voices on a current specific issue. The "Documents" link at the top also has an exhaustive list of important treaties, agreements, and other documents from the past several decades.
The Forward has a variety of articles of Jewish interest, including a few each week on Israeli internal politics and society, as well as Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other similar issues. The Forward itself leans somewhat left, but there are people from all regions of the Jewish spectrum writing in the editorial and opinion pages.
posted by mef613 at 9:47 PM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
The Forward has a variety of articles of Jewish interest, including a few each week on Israeli internal politics and society, as well as Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other similar issues. The Forward itself leans somewhat left, but there are people from all regions of the Jewish spectrum writing in the editorial and opinion pages.
posted by mef613 at 9:47 PM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
It doesn't match what you're asking for 100%, but I'd still recommend the documentary Defamation.
posted by WalkingAround at 10:29 PM on May 23, 2011
posted by WalkingAround at 10:29 PM on May 23, 2011
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posted by mareli at 12:49 PM on May 23, 2011