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Boycotting Israel: New Pariah on the Block
- Editorial
 The campaign for sanctions against Israel is growing. But it faces resistance and is less effective than it looks. For once, Israel's critics and cheerleaders agree on something: the Jewish state risks greater international isolation. Pro-Israel groups such as NGO Monitor and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs say a new assault is on the way. The chief difference between the Israeli and South African divestment cases is in the moral sphere. Israel is a robust democracy with vibrant academic freedom. Whereas it was plain to most South Africans that “separate development” was a cover for a gross system of racism, the rights and wrongs in Palestine are both murkier and more fiercely contested. Blaming Israel alone for the impasse in the occupied territories will continue to strike many outsiders as unfair. (Economist)
Looking for Scapegoat, World Again Turns to Jews
by Victor Davis Hanson
A new virulent strain of the old anti-Semitism is spreading worldwide. This hate - of a magnitude not seen in over 70 years - is not just espoused by Iran's loony president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or radical jihadists. The latest anti-Semitism is also now mouthed by world leaders and sophisticated politicians and academics. Their loathing often masquerades as "anti-Zionism" or "legitimate" criticism of Israel. But the venom exclusively reserved for the Jewish state betrays their existential hatred. There are various explanations for the new anti-Semitism. For many abroad, attacking Jews and Israel is an indirect way of damning its main ally, the United States - by implying that Americans are not entirely evil, just hoodwinked by those sneaky and far more evil Jews. This new face of anti-Semitism is so insidious because it is so well disguised, advanced by self-proclaimed diplomats and academics - and now embraced by the supposedly sophisticated left on university campuses. The writer is a historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. (Salt Lake Tribune)
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A Tale of Two Dictatorships: The Links between North Korea and Syria
by Michael Sheridan
  Today North Korea and Syria are ruled by the sons of their late 20th century dictators, President Hafez al-Assad of Syria and Kim Il Sung of North Korea - men who share more than just a common fear of the United States and a fondness for authoritarian family rule. In recent months, Kim Jong Il and Bashar Assad have quietly ordered an increase in military and technical co-operation which has caught the attention of western and Israeli intelligence. Syria possesses the biggest missile arsenal and the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the Middle East, built up over the last two decades with arms bought from North Korea. Syria possesses between 60 and 120 Scud-C missiles which it bought from North Korea over the last 15 years. In the 1990s it added cluster warheads for the Scud-Cs that experts believe are intended for chemical weapons. (Times-UK)
Hamas' Authoritarian Regime in Gaza
by Mohammad Yaghi
 Since its takeover of Gaza in June 2007 Hamas has imposed an independent, authoritarian regime. After an initial period of calm, there are increasing signs of public discontent over the faction's nascent rule. Yet, Hamas has a near monopoly on the means of force - its disciplined and well-organized security forces have managed to control Fatah-led disturbances. Hamas has conducted a sustained campaign aimed at capturing and intimidating Fatah activists since the June takeover. The group has arrested and tortured dozens of Fatah leaders. Journalists have also been victims of these repressive activities. If the Bush administration seeks to advance the peace process, it must focus on helping the Palestinian Authorities leaders, Abbas and Fayad, to implement a competitive agenda that will raise their political standing [versus Hamas]. Mohammad Yaghi is a columnist for the Palestinian daily al-Ayyam. (Washington Institute)
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