Martin Kramer
Martin Kramer is an authority on the modern Middle East. He holds research fellowships in Jerusalem, Cambridge, and Washington, and is author of the weblog Sandbox and co-convener of Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH). Updates daily.
View Martin Kramer's curriculum vitae, with links to all his on-line books, articles, and lectures.

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Ivory Towers on Sand

Martin Kramer's Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America appeared six weeks after 9/11, and gave rise to an intense controversy. Seven years after publication, the book has been made available as a free download. Click here.
Israel Lobby

Martin Kramer has written several critiques of the Israel Lobby thesis of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. In reverse chronological order:
Israel, Iraq, and Cold Feet
The American Interest
Mearsheimer/Walt Retreat
Israel, Oil, Realism
Israel and Iraq War
A Powerful Lobby
Stephen Walt's World

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Events

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Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
Sob-to-the-judge strategy: "The Arab-Israeli conflict may shift from the battlefield to international organisations and courts. Israel may be forced to recognise fundamental Palestinian political aspirations, and even the right of return eventually, by order of the international community." Is that pathetic? Arab state...s have dropped out, Israel has whipped the "resistance" (three times since 2002), so the Pals will bank on... the Goldstones?Read More

Source: english.aljazeera.net
Expert says state's influence upon public opinion has not grown with its military power.
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
We're ON this!!!
Wed at 9:11pm
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
On the clinical/mass psychological level, even the internalized lies can be neutralized, but counter-psychological warfare and psy ops MUST be mobilized and utilized. Even Freud finally acknowledged this as he waited and, therefore, BARELY escaped the Nazis.
Wed at 9:26pm
Isaac
Isaac
Asaad Aboukhalil is the jerk whose blog "the angry arab" is full of BS, always ranting about israel, the us, arab givernments but hey, he prefer life in the US.
Thu at 4:52am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
"An international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam." And Sheikh Qaradawi as adviser! Life imitates art! The late Richard Grenier wrote a hilarious novel, "The Marrakesh One-Two" (1983), about a gaffe-filled, intrigue-ridden attempt to make a biopic... on Muhammad ("The Second Greatest Story Ever Told"?) It will leave you in stitches.Read More

Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Barrie Osborne, part of the Oscar-winning team behind the Lord of the Rings films, says the new production 'will educate people about the true meaning of Islam'. In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.
Arun Kapil
Arun Kapil
Thanks for the tip on Marrakesh One-Two. Will look for it.
Wed at 10:21am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer Douglas Davis: "I am left with my own very personal question: where exactly was Richard Richard [Goldstone], paragon of human rights, when my human rights were being comprehensively trashed in an interrogation room at the Security Police headquarters in Pretoria? This was not Rwanda, Yugoslavia or even Gaza. My interrogation room was less than a minute's walk from Judge Goldstone's Supreme Court."

Source: www.spectator.co.uk
Why has Richard Goldstone, a self-professed Zionist, accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza? Douglas Davis suspects opportunism.
Jonathan Usher
Jonathan Usher
Answer to your question: He was talking to Irwin Cotler.
November 2 at 11:50am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
When will Gideon Levy stop sucking up to Israel's critics? He's probably envious of Amira Hass, who recently got a prime suck-up award for journalistic distortion (http://3.ly/xpR). The piece at the link is just a rant, absent any journalistic insight. Expect more of this from Levy, as he angles for some international ...Euro-denominated award delivered to "courageous" Israelis who spew invective only against... Israel.Read More

Source: haaretz.com
"Israeli hearts can no longer be won with hope, promises of a better future or sweet talk, for this is no longer Israel's language. For something to change, Israel must understand that perpetuating the status quo will exact a painful price."
Jonathan Usher
Jonathan Usher
And people say there is no such thing as a self-hating Jew? Gideon Levy is unbelievable in his naitivity and wrong understanding of the facts.
November 2 at 10:35am
Todd Warnick
Todd Warnick
Gideon Levy may have reached a new nadir with this peice - though I am sure he will figure out how to surpass this as well.
November 2 at 11:51am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
A year ago, I gave this address about the baggage Barack Obama would bring to his Middle East policy. May I quote myself? "The United States will try to talk the radicals out of being radical, and once again it will fail. And the United States will try to talk Israelis and Palestinians into a final peace for all times ...which neither of them wants as much as America wants it, and once again it will fail." Bingo.Read More

Source: sandbox.blog-city.com
Martin Kramer assesses the influences on Barack Obama's thinking about the Middle East.
Todd Warnick
Todd Warnick
I think the word is "prescient"...
October 31 at 8:37am
Christopher Wilken
Christopher Wilken
The part about the radicals is yet to be seen, but prescient certainly applies to the Israelis and Palestinians. If they wanted a peace deal it would have been done yesterday.
October 31 at 8:57am
Shaun Baker
Shaun Baker
prescient, or only having the ability to see eternal repetitions of the same mistakes and wishful thinking? Carter..Clinton..
November 1 at 5:16am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
Don't trust Rashid Khalidi with numbers. "Recent polls show that Mahmoud Abbas has the support of 12% of the Palestinians," he says. "When you see Abbas getting 12% in a poll, this [Goldstone] is partly the reason." 12% is what Abbas gets when Pals are asked which Pal—any Pal—they most trust. Actual approval rating: 39....4% are "very" or "somewhat satisfied" with Abbas' performance. Spin away, Rashid. Poll: http://3.ly/Z4kRead More

Source: www.cfr.org
"People were just outraged that an authority, purportedly representative of the Palestinians, should in effect be shilling for the Israelis and preventing investigation of alleged war crimes by Israel, as well as alleged war crimes by Hamas."
Andy Krol
Andy Krol
Rashid Khalidi?
Is to terrorism 101, as Maobama encouraging Zakat.
October 30 at 10:08am
Christopher Wilken
Christopher Wilken
I don't think Khalidi is very trustworthy. He is a dangerous ideological radical.
October 30 at 12:03pm
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer "One businessman who attended Ehud Barak's 65th birthday party said the former prime minister's hedonism has swelled to the point where he is totally disconnected from the average Israeli. There is no chance Barak will return to the premiership, the source said. 'I felt like I was going to throw up at any minute. I felt like a visitor in Ceausescu's mansion.'"

Source: www.haaretz.com
"It is as if the man has gone insane," the associate told the newspaper. "He lives in another universe, disconnected from the people, dizzied by money, enchanted by money, by power."
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
Hedonism, the hand-maiden of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Disconnection because of his contempt for the de-valued.
October 30 at 1:54am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
Matt Yglesias spoke at the J Street conference. What did he find? "A number of people in the audience really were quite uncomfortable self-defining as 'pro-Israel' in any sense and others are uncomfortable with the basic Zionist concept of a Jewish national state. It had seemed to me that it was clear that that wasn't ...what J Street is there to advocate for. Apparently, though, it wasn't clear to everyone." I'm shocked.Read More

Source: yglesias.thinkprogress.org
I completely grasp the pull of radical cosmopolitan values, but I think people who think that the area west of the Jordan River would be a great place to try implementing them in the short-term are being a bit crazy.
Daniel Irving
Daniel Irving
"By far the best way to secure a just resolution of those conflicting claims is through a two-state solution—an independent Palestine, and a democratic Jewish Israel."

See - my problem with that comment is this: The Palestinians already have a state - it's called Jordan.
October 29 at 7:19pm
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
Yes Jordan IS the Palestinian State....so your problem is also MY problem.
October 29 at 7:23pm
Noah Pollak
Noah Pollak
Yglesias is to be congratulated, ten years into his career, for tepidly endorsing the concept of the nation-state. He's moving in the right direction.
October 30 at 8:31am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer The president and provost of the U of Chicago: “The repeated disruption by audience members of the views presented by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, speaking at the invitation of the Harris School, is disturbing. Any stifling of debate runs counter to the primary values of the University of Chicago and to our long-standing position as an exemplar of academic freedom.” So they’re disturbed. Therefore... therefore what?

Source: www.chicagomaroon.com
President Zimmer and Provost Rosenbaum took a stand in an e-mail to all faculty, staff, and students.
Daniel Irving
Daniel Irving
The sheer lack of intelligence in some of posters in the comments section of this article is simply breathtaking.
October 29 at 8:08pm
Josh
Josh
The biggest problem was most of the protesters, especially the ones who behaved the worst, were from outside the campus, particularly from other Chicago area schools (UIC, Loyola, etc.)
October 29 at 8:57pm
Martin Kramer
Martin Kramer
I'm going to be speaking soon at a major university, and admission requires student ID. The U of Chicago could have easily kept out the flotsam. (I understand Olmert got a respectful hearing at the University of Arkansas--not as prestigious a venue but apparently more civilized.)
October 29 at 9:40pm
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer It's quite commonly said that the RAF used chemical weapons against Iraqi tribesmen during the 1920 rebellion. The claim belongs to the "who are we to lecture them?" relativists on the left. (Here is an example from Juan Cole: http://3.ly/tnR). But new research shows that the British never did use chemical weapons in mandatory Iraq. Saddam was the first to use them there—against his fellow Iraqis.

Source: www.journals.uchicago.edu
It has passed as fact, from tourist guidebooks to the floor of the U.S. Congress: British forces used chemical weapons on Iraqis just after World War I. According to historian R. M. Douglas, no such incident ever occurred.
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
Sorry, Pat. All Texans must leave by December first...or else. Oklahoma has been kind enough to set up massive tent shelters. Food and water...depends on political affiliation...sorry, kid.
October 28 at 9:15am
Joshua Teitelbaum
Joshua Teitelbaum
First use of chemical weapons in the Middle East was by the British. See Yigal Sheffy,"Chemical Warfare and the Palestine Campaign, 1916-1918,"
The Journal of Military History Volume 73, Number 3, July 2009, pp. 803-844
http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/journal_of_military_history/v073/73.3.sheffy.pdf
October 28 at 1:31pm
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer The latest Philistine tactic is to disrupt campus addresses by Israeli political figures. They did it to Ehud Olmert at the U of Chicago (http://3.ly/Eai), and they’ve done it to deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon at the London School of Economics (at link). Universities should raise the costs by (1) admitting only card-carrying students to these events and (2) disciplining the vandals. They’ll wither.

Source: electronicintifada.net
The minister began and ended his lecture amid boos and chants of "Free, Free, Palestine" while his speech was interrupted relentlessly throughout with audience members questioning Israel's atrocities.
Samson  שמשון מנחם
Samson שמשון מנחם
Thanks ...will repost...
October 27 at 3:03pm
Blain Nelson
Blain Nelson
They could, but they won't. It's okay to be uncivil to Israelis and conservatives.
October 27 at 3:11pm
Yitzhak Bronstein
Yitzhak Bronstein
Alll that these outbursts during speeches accomplish is the alienation of clear thinking people. They don't come off as persuasive people, but as raving lunatics.
October 27 at 3:27pm
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer I arrived in Cambridge today for my (abbreviated) fall stay at Harvard, just in time to catch one of Orhan Pamuk’s Norton Lectures (http://3.ly/grS)—this one entitled “Museums and Novels,” evoking his newly-published “The Museum of Innocence.” I haven’t read much Pamuk, only “The White Castle,” a minor work. Now I shall read more.

Source: astore.amazon.com
“It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn’t know it.” So begins the new novel, his first since winning the Nobel Prize, from the universally acclaimed author of Snow and My Name Is Red.
Martin Kramer
Martin Kramer
Here is a report of the lecture in the Crimson: http://3.ly/lbn
October 27 at 8:15am
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
thanks, Martin. Hope the Fall colors are still vibrant.
October 27 at 9:28am
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer
Do you know what independent watchdog groups thrive upon? Whiners who charge them with McCarthyism. The link might as well be an ad for Israel Academia Monitor and IsraCampus. If you want to be a serious public intellectual, don’t claim immunity from criticism just because you happen to be an academic. There’s no prote...ctionism in the marketplace of ideas, and if you can’t give as well as you get, leave it to those who can.Read More

Source: www.haaretz.com
"The crude censorship they use to shut up academics runs counter to the most cherished beliefs about freedom of speech in Western democracies. They undermine Israel's status as a democracy."
Zach
Zach
"'Censorship' is a term pertaining only to governmental action. No private action is censorship. No private individual or agency can silence a man or suppress a publication; only the government can do so. The freedom of speech of private individuals includes the right not to agree, not to listen and not to finance one’s own antagonists."
-Ayn Rand
October 24 at 2:05pm
Gary Katz
Gary Katz
Here, here.
October 24 at 2:42pm
Jonathan Usher
Jonathan Usher
I would congratulate these guardians of Israel. The leftist Israeli professors do great harm to the state of Israel as a democracy and as a Jewish homeland. They should not be silenced, but should be ridiculed and exposed. Jesus' expression - "Forgive them for they know not what they do" applies perfectly to these "useful idiots" as Lenin would ... Read Morehave called them. Another expression - the greatest intolerance is the tolerance of intolerance, also applies. We live in a world where democracy is at risk from Islamism. Unfair and untrue criticisms of the West, including Israel, is not helpful.
October 24 at 8:53pm
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer Orwell described Newspeak as "the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year.” So here is Amira Hass, Haaretz journo, shrinking English: “When borders are closed, when all exits to Gaza and out of Gaza are closed, this is violence. This is daily violence. When children do not have pens and pencils and paper to use in schools, this is violence.” My Facebook page must be violence too.

Source: www.democracynow.org
“There are no Americans who have a potential right to become automatically Saudi citizens or Chinese, or I don’t know what. Only Israel.”
Martin Kramer
Martin Kramer
Arun, here's a link that contends with the link you posted: http://bit.ly/1Vw8l
October 22 at 7:13pm
Stephen Shoshan
Stephen Shoshan
To top it all off, she's an ignoramus. Many countries prefer their own ethinicity for citizenship, and make special provision for returnees from that group. These include, inter alia, Bulgaria, Greece, most of the Balkan and Baltic countries, and Germany. There are thus many Americans who have an enhanced right to citizenship elsewhere.
October 22 at 7:17pm
Martin Kramer

Martin Kramer Goldstone Report: “The timing of the first Israeli attack, at 11:30 am on a week day, when children were returning from school and the streets of Gaza were crowded with people going about their daily business, appears to have been calculated to create the greatest disruption and widespread panic among the civilian population.” Well, perhaps the timing was optimal for the targets? It’s a (blood)-libelous speculation.

Source: www2.ohchr.org
Head of the UN Fact Finding Mission Justice Richard Goldstone presented the report of the Mission to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 29 September 2009, urging the Council and the international community as a whole to put an end to impunity for violations of international law in Israel and the ...
Alan
Alan
This is the blood libel reborn.
October 22 at 10:59am
Christopher Wilken
Christopher Wilken
British Colonel has a rare, but probably accurate, take on Israel's response to Hamas rocket fire in December - January 09.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX6vyT8RzMo
October 22 at 11:01am