Martin Kramer on Facebook

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard has pulled its logo...

2012-02-24T12:53:01+00:00

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard has pulled its logo from the student-run "One State" conference website. This is the conference site as it now appears: http://bit.ly/wHPLpC. Scroll to bottom: Weatherhead is gone. The image here is the original site, showing the Weatherhead logo. So how long will the Kennedy School logo stay?

Yes, I post links here on Facebook, but I also tweet a lot more of them. Here's...

2012-02-23T22:42:01+00:00

Yes, I post links here on Facebook, but I also tweet a lot more of them. Here's a very easy way to catch up on my other choices, share them, and leave comments if you like. (Thanks, scoop.it!)

Linkage: Fresh links every day by Martin Kramer
www.scoop.it
"This page mirrors the links tweeted by Martin Kramer @martin_kramer and at www.MartinKramer.org."

I'm not a student, alumnus, or friend of Harvard University, so I'm not signing...

2012-02-23T16:29:56+00:00

I'm not a student, alumnus, or friend of Harvard University, so I'm not signing this petition. But if you fall into one of those categories, you might consider it.

Withdraw financial support of and affiliation with "One State Conference" | Petition to Harvard
www.change.org
"As concerned members of the Harvard Community, we hope that Harvard will take the appropriate actions we have outlined and unilaterally condemn the hatred, thinly disguised as academic inquiry, which this conference advocates."

So much for the intellectual's obligation to speak truth. Joel Beinin praises Mu...

2012-02-23T16:22:24+00:00

So much for the intellectual's obligation to speak truth. Joel Beinin praises Mustafa Barghouti's NYT op-ed (http://goo.gl/LhPRW) for omitting the "right of return." That was "strategic." Beinin: "It isn't always necessary or even useful to say everything you know and everything you believe is right." In other words, conceal your extremism to dupe reasonable people. Spoken like a true man of the far left.

BDS in the News by Joel Beinin | MERIP
www.merip.org
"Barghouthi would never deny the refugees right to return. But neither does he insist on mechanically mentioning them when he gets a rare chance to write in the New York Times."

Amazing and comprehensive report from inside Homs, the most thorough yet. This i...

2012-02-22T21:30:06+00:00

Amazing and comprehensive report from inside Homs, the most thorough yet. This is the stuff of a civil war with no end in sight. (11 min.)

Syria: the horror of Homs, a city at war | Channel 4 News (UK)
www.youtube.com
"Graphic pictures of what is happening to people in the under-siege Syrian city of Homs."

Harvard to host a "One-State Solution" conference… • Analysis of Speakers, NGO M...

2012-02-21T09:41:44+00:00

Harvard to host a "One-State Solution" conference…
• Analysis of Speakers, NGO Monitor http://bit.ly/xgTveF
• Harvard's Academic Pogrom by Steven Plaut http://t.co/Ezfm7GWW
• Harvard under fire by Leah Burrows http://t.co/EZGrh3Ft
• Harvard to Host Conference Promoting Israel's Destruction by Sarit Catz http://t.co/FPmYAE1X
• Harvard, Jew haters, motherhood and Israel by Caroline Glick http://t.co/esJUFyww

One State Conference: Israel/Palestine and the One-State Solution | Harvard
www.onestateconference.org
"The aim is to explore the merits of a one-state solution, a framework in which Israelis and Palestinians can share a liberal democratic state."

This book frightens. Its purpose is "to show the historical obstinacy of religio...

2012-02-18T19:36:10+00:00

This book frightens. Its purpose is "to show the historical obstinacy of religiously based superstitious discourses among both the Iranian public and its political leaders…. Modern-day Iranian political leaders have continued to impress upon the people their 'witnessed' supernatural experiences." Ahmadinejad had one (read at link). So are you still sure that in Iran we're dealing with rational actors?

Superstition as Ideology in Iranian Politics by Ali Rahnema (excerpt) | Google Books
books.google.com
"A supposed connectedness to the hidden world has allowed leaders such as Ahmadinejad to present themselves as representatives of the divine, and their rivals as the embodiment of evil." http://amzn.to/wkd4Nu

"The Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram published an article (Feb. 10) claiming...

2012-02-18T15:22:45+00:00

"The Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram published an article (Feb. 10) claiming that 30 years ago, on orders from the US administration, renowned scholar Bernard Lewis had concocted a plan to divide Egypt into four smaller countries and to partition all the Arab and Islamic countries in the region." The Muslim Brotherhood general guide made the same claim two years ago. I'm sending this to Lewis. It'll amuse him.

Egyptian Government Daily: US Striving to Divide Egypt into Four Countries | via MEMRI
www.memri.org
"The seizure of the partition map of Egypt at the headquarters of an American organization proves the existence of this dubious plan."

Norman Finkelstein takes the one-staters and BDSers who seek Israel's demise to...

2012-02-17T15:36:26+00:00

Norman Finkelstein takes the one-staters and BDSers who seek Israel's demise to the woodshed. And he dismisses BDS as a "cult." Must be seen to be believed.

Arguing the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign with Norman Finkelstein
vimeo.com
"Norman Finkelstein being interviewed at Imperial College London, February 9, 2012."

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi rejects my claim that the US should have done more to sus...

2012-02-17T14:57:56+00:00

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi rejects my claim that the US should have done more to sustain the status quo in Egypt. It may be true that Mubarak couldn't have been saved. But he also argues that chaos, not Islamism, is the future, and "for Israel, chaos is ultimately a good thing." (It distracts the natives.) Israel once did live next door to true chaos: civil-war Lebanon. I assure Aymenn: it wasn't a good thing.

Chaos: the new 'status quo' by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi | Haaretz
www.haaretz.com
"For Israel, chaos is ultimately a good thing. It means that the Islamists and other hostile forces will be too distracted by infighting to focus any attention on fighting Israel."

Fareed Zakaria picks his historical analogy: the US deterred the USSR, so why ca...

2012-02-16T17:06:55+00:00

Fareed Zakaria picks his historical analogy: the US deterred the USSR, so why can't Israel just deter Iran? Well, Israel took out Iraq's nuclear reactor, so why can't it just take out Iran's? It took out Syria's plant without much fuss either. Arguments are never clinched by historical analogy, because history is too rich. Historical analogy is the glib man's substitute for analysis. That's you, Fareed.

How history lessons could deter Iranian aggression by Fareed Zakaria | WaPo
www.washingtonpost.com
"The global revolutionaries in Moscow, the mad autocrats in Pyongyang and the terrorist-supporting military in Pakistan have all been deterred by mutual fears of destruction."

"Jodi Rudoren's stint in Jerusalem ended before it even started. Well, not offic...

2012-02-15T23:00:41+00:00

"Jodi Rudoren's stint in Jerusalem ended before it even started. Well, not officially ended. She can write fine stories from Jerusalem and can even break some news. What she will not be able to do is to pretend to be unbiased. What she will not be able to do is to have good sources at the very top. With these people she's probably toast, and without them she can't be as good as a NYT Jerusalem reporter could be."

Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times, I hope I’m wrong by Shmuel Rosner | Jewish Journal
www.jewishjournal.com
"She made one foolish mistake, and can't take it back since people already know what she really thinks, how she really feels."

"I don't know what to think…. I'm afraid that I have no solutions to offer… My o...

2012-02-15T21:28:42+00:00

"I don't know what to think…. I'm afraid that I have no solutions to offer… My opinion is not that interesting, nor does it carry any weight whatsoever." The other 2,000 words in this piece should have been cut.

Blame, Responsibility, and How We Talk About Syria by Jullian C. York | The Atlantic
www.theatlantic.com
"I have spent nearly every day these past few months reading opinion pieces on Syria."

It's a tight race. You've got Iran's envoy to Lebanon, who told Hezbollah's radi...

2012-02-15T13:28:28+00:00

It's a tight race. You've got Iran's envoy to Lebanon, who told Hezbollah's radio that "the Israelis don't have the strength to carry out any attack on Lebanon." And there's Egyptian Salafist preacher Mohamed Hassan, who's called for local donations to replace $1.3bn in (mostly military) US aid, so that Egypt may become "self-dependent when it comes to producing its own military equipment." Who's crazier?

Donald Duck and Goofy in "Crazy with the Heat"
www.flickr.com
"Israel Incapable of Attacking Lebanon," http://goo.gl/KHQkW. "Egyptian Salafist Preacher Promises to Replace US Aid," http://goo.gl/2c0WQ.

It ain't comin' back: "The Obama administration is seeking a small increase of $...

2012-02-14T15:05:59+00:00

It ain't comin' back: "The Obama administration is seeking a small increase of $1.7m for the Title VI program, primarily to help disadvantaged students develop 'global competencies.' However, the administration did not seek to restore the large cut that Title VI received in 2011, when it was reduced by some 40 percent…. In all, for 2013, Title VI would receive $68.3m." In 2010, it received $108.4 million.

Budget Presents Mixed Picture for International Education by Ian Wilhelm | CHE
chronicle.com
"Perhaps of greatest concern is the Title VI program, which is run by the US Department of Education. Title VI supports more than 150 academic centers dedicated to the study of various regions of the world."

A PR industry insider: "As Syria brutally murders its citizens, and Hamas target...

2012-02-13T10:49:33+00:00

A PR industry insider: "As Syria brutally murders its citizens, and Hamas targets Westerners, public relations pros will help them sell their story. There are millions to be made in sugar-coating terror and brutality. My firm, I am glad to say, will not make any of those millions. No firm should." And interesting mention of who's working for whom.

Syria Slaughters, Hamas Terrorizes: PR Firms Advance their Cause by Ronn Torossian | Cutting Edge Ne
www.thecuttingedgenews.com
"Israel does not use public relations agencies in the US—and it is not a coincidence that the Arabs receive better media coverage than Israel, because they use communications professionals."

Ismail Haniyah, Hamas "prime minister," finds a common denominator with his host...

2012-02-12T12:09:02+00:00

Ismail Haniyah, Hamas "prime minister," finds a common denominator with his hosts on his Iran visit: " I am announcing from Azadi Square in Tehran that we will never recognize Israel… The resistance will continue until all the Palestinian land, including Al-Quds [Jerusalem], is liberated and all the refugees return."

Haniyeh to Iranian People: You Are Partners in Arab Victories | Al-Manar
www.almanar.com.lb
"Haniyeh took part Saturday in Iran's commemoration of its 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran. After thanking the Islamic Republic for supporting the resistance movements, he assured that Hamas 'will never recognize Israel.'"

Walt and Mearsheimer reportedly received a $750k advance on their book 'The Isra...

2012-02-11T20:36:58+00:00

Walt and Mearsheimer reportedly received a $750k advance on their book 'The Israel Lobby' from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (http://goo.gl/rCD5o). So you knew Peter Beinart's agent wouldn't settle for less for his new Israel-basher, 'The Crisis of Zionism' (http://amzn.to/xp37zc). Reports say he landed an $800k advance from Times Books. Now you know what to do if you're ever in a pinch: have an epiphany.

Peter Beinart by @buberzionist | Twitter
twitter.com
"Peter Beinart book ($800.000 advance) is due. More power to him. He's caused no harm. Hard to sell books these days."

Lee Smith reads the leaked Assad emails: "What is most interesting about these e...

2012-02-11T13:18:31+00:00

Lee Smith reads the leaked Assad emails: "What is most interesting about these emails is the picture they paint of a sick and grasping Western elite, the top echelon of an open society, that came on bended knee to curry favor with a dictatorship." Names are named. The bowing and scraping doesn't sink to the level of the LSE before Qaddhafi, but it's a matter of degree, not kind.

Assad@axisofevil.com . . . by Lee Smith | Weekly Standard
www.weeklystandard.com
"Americans who should have known better petitioned this bloody regime for favors and friendship. With its policy of engaging Assad, the Obama White House set the tone: It is small wonder the administration has no policy to get rid of him."

The New York Times runs a piece about how the giant new $750m, 104-acre US embas...

2012-02-08T19:34:19+00:00

The New York Times runs a piece about how the giant new $750m, 104-acre US embassy in Baghdad, which employs 16,000 staff (including 2,000 diplomats), is going to be downscaled by half (http://goo.gl/1AdyN). "What we are doing is looking at how we can 'right-size' our embassy in Iraq," says the State Department spokesperson. What's the right size? Well, consider the Iraqi embassy in Washington….

Embassy of Iraq in Washington (image)
commons.wikimedia.org
3421 Massachusetts Ave., N.W, Washington, D.C. 20007

Diwaniya is the podcast series of the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. Last...

2012-02-07T19:38:45+00:00

Diwaniya is the podcast series of the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. Last week I gave them a short interview on the life and legacy of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, a 19th-century precursor of several schools of modern Islamic thought. About 15 minutes. You can go straight to the audio file here: http://goo.gl/j1qPS.

The Life and Legacy of Jamal Al-Din Al-Afghani with Martin Kramer | Diwaniyya
diwaniyya.blogspot.com
"In this first installment of Diwaniyya's Biography Series, former Dayan Center Director Martin Kramer discusses the life and legacy of the man whose friend, Wilfrid Blunt, called a 'wild man of genius.'"

Alon Liel, ex-director general of Israel's foreign ministry, chairs the Israel-S...

2012-02-07T09:40:30+00:00

Alon Liel, ex-director general of Israel's foreign ministry, chairs the Israel-Syria Peace Society. His tune has changed: "If Assad remains Syria's ruler, he won't get the Golan. An illegitimate ruler doesn't deserve such a prize. If the rebels take over, it will take time to consolidate internal control, and many years will pass before they demand the Golan." I saw him say the same on TV yesterday. Good for him.

‫דיפלומטיה חסרת בושה של רוסיה וסין מאת אלון ליאל | וואלה ‬
news.walla.co.il
‫מדינת ישראל לא יכלה לחלום על "זכייה" נאה כזאת קצת למעלה משלוש שנים לאחר שאהוד אולמרט כמעט החזיר את הגולן לאסד‬

Niall Ferguson from Jerusalem: "The single biggest danger in the Middle East tod...

2012-02-06T14:37:56+00:00

Niall Ferguson from Jerusalem: "The single biggest danger in the Middle East today is not the risk of a six-day Israeli war against Iran. It is the risk that Western wishful nonthinking allows the mullahs of Tehran to get their hands on nuclear weapons. Because I am in no doubt that they would take full advantage of such a lethal lever. We would have acquiesced in the creation of an empire of extortion."

Israel and Iran on the Eve of Destruction by Niall Ferguson | Newsweek
www.thedailybeast.com
"Sometimes a preventive war can be a lesser evil than a policy of appeasement. It feels like the eve of some creative destruction."

Alwaleed warns fellow royals: "The winds of change that are now blowing in the M...

2012-02-06T07:56:36+00:00

Alwaleed warns fellow royals: "The winds of change that are now blowing in the Middle East will eventually reach every Arab state. Now is therefore an opportune time, particularly for the Arab monarchical regimes, which still enjoy a considerable measure of public goodwill and legitimacy, to begin adopting measures that will bring about greater participation of the citizenry in their countries' political life."

The Lesson of the Arab Spring by Alwaleed bin Talal | Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com
"The young generation not be satisfied with the governing modalities of yesteryear, nor with the highly touted minuscule and often cosmetic steps toward reform that have been taken thus far."

My remarks at a Herzliya Conference "roundtable" held yesterday. I dodged the as...

2012-01-31T12:14:35+00:00

My remarks at a Herzliya Conference "roundtable" held yesterday. I dodged the assignment rather elegantly (and I wasn't the only one on the panel who managed that). This might be read profitably in conjunction with my earlier stab at the future, "The Middle East circa 2016," here: http://goo.gl/wp0Kx.

Middle East scenarios (well, not really…) by Martin Kramer | Sandbox
www.martinkramer.org
"Short-term scenarios are obviously more dangerous than long-term ones—dangerous, that is, to whoever formulates them."

My November presentation to a Chinese delegation on Israel’s national interests...

2012-01-30T21:51:05+00:00

My November presentation to a Chinese delegation on Israel’s national interests (http://goo.gl/S8Olm) has been translated into… Chinese. I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but if you have Chinese friends, share it with them.

以色列国家利益
www.martinkramer.org
耶路撒冷塞勒学院指定主席Martin Kramer的演讲 2011年9月7日

Herzliya Conference! I spoke this morning in a closed panel on short-term scenar...

2012-01-30T21:14:16+00:00

Herzliya Conference! I spoke this morning in a closed panel on short-term scenarios for the Middle East. I'm here between Bob Zoellick, president of the World Bank, and David Gordon, head of research at the Eurasia Group. Also on the panel: Ed Djerejian, former US ambassador to Syria; Sir Mark Allen, ex-MI6 and BP's Libya troubleshooter; and Riad Al Khouri, Jordanian economist. My outlook wasn't encouraging.

Pew poll: "When asked which country represents the greatest danger to the US, mo...

2012-01-25T21:51:15+00:00

Pew poll: "When asked which country represents the greatest danger to the US, more Americans volunteer Iran (28%) than name any other country, though nearly as many (22%) name China. North Korea (8%), Iraq (7%) and Afghanistan (5%) are mentioned by smaller proportions of the public. The percentage naming Iran has more than doubled since last January (from 12% then to 28% today)."

Tough Stance on Iran Endorsed | Pew Research Center
www.people-press.org
"Among those who are aware of the recent tensions between the US and Iran, a majority say that it is more important to take a firm stand against Iranian actions (54%) than to avoid a military conflict with Iran (39%)."

I’m pleased to say that I never wasted a moment waxing optimistic about the so-c...

2012-01-25T15:21:18+00:00

I’m pleased to say that I never wasted a moment waxing optimistic about the so-called “Arab Spring,” so I’m exempt from the flood of confessions to buyers’ remorse now coming from various quarters. I didn’t get around to blogging my Herzliya Conference speech of last year, in the midst of Egypt’s “revolution,” but it’s been posted since then, and you can watch it here. Length: 5:40 min.

Martin Kramer at the 2011 Herzliya Conference
vimeo.com
Martin Kramer's presentation during the panel discussion "Dilemmas in US Policy in the Middle East: Stability or Democracy?" at the 2011 Herzliya Conference, February 9, 2011.