[lbo-talk] An antidote to Benny Morris

Bryan Atinsky bryan at alt-info.org
Mon Jan 22 14:32:27 PST 2007


Colin Brace wrote:
> <http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3354983,00.html>
>
> Iran motivated by fear
>
> Tehran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities stems from fear, not hatred
> Prof. Dror Zeevi
>
> Professor Zeevi is a lecturer at the department of Middle Eastern
> Studies at Ben Gurion University

I didn't notice that piece.

Dror was one of my favorite professors in the department at BGU. He was on the committee for my MA thesis and was quite helpful.

His work in Ottoman studies is quite interesting in my opinion. For a while now he has been doing work on sexual discourse in the Ottoman Empire (for instance: http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FCON%2FCON16_02%2FS0268416001003800a.pdf&code=e88e465f98c4f9a3215d621ee092fd38) and late last year he published "Producing Desire: Changing Sexual Discourse in the Ottoman Middle East, 1500-1900" (I haven't read the whole book, but did read earlier pre-published versions of several chapters). His previous book: "An Ottoman Century: The District of Jerusalem in the 1600s" is also interesting, but, admittedly, is probably hard going if you aren't really into the specific subject matter.

Doug wrote:
>
> Bryan, you mentioned an intense propaganda drumbeat in Israel for war
> against Iran. Can any of that be traced to the loss in Lebanon? Some
> attempt to undo that defeat by appealing to the masterful Israeli
> attacks of old, like the destruction of Iraq's reactor? Did the loss
> in Lebanon deepen Israeli paranoia?

I would say that, definitely, some of this can be traced to the loss/stalemate (take your pick) in Lebanon, but I think that it is a mixture of several factors. First, though there has been a significant increase in the pitch and intensity of the hysteria and propaganda about Iran, this has been going on for a period before the war. And during the war, it was frequently framed as a war by proxy with Iran. Yet, this increased intensity following the war can probably be traced to a few things. One, (and not necessarily in order of importance) as a distraction from the large number of political, economic and sexual corruption scandals/investigations going on against members of the ruling coalition parties, up to and including Olmert. The government is doing all it can to justify itself and continue. Two,Israel's failure to end Qassam fire from Gaza. Three, as you said, the military dearly desires to regain the sense that they have a strong deterrent capability and pull off something 'old style', that will regain the pride and prestigious position of the military within Israeli society. Four, that the Israeli administration and military are feeling time pressured, not necessarily due to a perceived moment of critical mass in Iran, after which it would be too late to stop them, but because there is a feeling that if some military 'solution' is going to occur, it could only be done while the current US administration is in office. Whether, in practice, Hillary, Obama, Biden, Edwards or whatever pablum will be in office come the next election, would pursue (or allow Israel to pursue) a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, the gov/military feels the window of opportunity closing fast. Five, I think that to one degree or another, many Israelis, including some of these manipulative politicians, have convinced themselves through constant repetition, of their own rhetoric/mantra, and the hysteria feeds itself. There are probably many other factors...

I really hope that the voice of reason wins out on this issue, but I have my doubts the moment.



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