Israel

2021
Kramer, Martin. “Why the Israeli Declaration of Independence Is So Popular.” Mosaic Magazine, 2021, November 29. Web originalAbstract
A response to comments on the seven-part series on Israel's declaration of independence. 
Why the Israeli Declaration of Independence Is So Popular (pdf)
Epilogue to the seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “How Israel’s Declaration of Independence Became Its Constitution.” Mosaic Magazine, 2021, November 1. Web originalAbstract

Israel's proclamation of independence promised a convening within six months of a “constituent assembly” charged with drawing up a constitution. But because of the war and then postwar politics, this never happened. A proclamation that was never meant to serve as the basis of law became a kind of quasi-constitution, retroactively vested with legal standing. Has the proclamation  stood up to this test? Is it really the ultimate bulwark of the Jewish and democratic state?

Seventh part of a seven-part series. 

How Israel’s Declaration of Independence Became Its Constitution (pdf)
Seventh part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “Whose Rights Did Israel Recognize in 1948?Mosaic Magazine, 2021, September 23. Web originalAbstract

It is often assumed that Israel's proclamation of independence declares Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state. In fact, the word “democratic” doesn’t appear in the text. The omission wasn’t just a matter of carelessness. The word appeared in earlier drafts but was then deleted. Why? Do other passages, establishing the equality of all Israel’s citizens, effectively enshrine the state’s democratic character? 

And what of individual rights? Israel’s proclamation, like America’s, justifies the establishment of the state in terms of its pledge to uphold the rights of its prospective citizens. But in the proclamation, all but one reference to rights is to the collective rights of the Jewish people. What does that say about how the founders understood rights?

Sixth part of a seven-part series.

Whose Rights Did Israel Recognize in 1948? (pdf)
Sixth part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “Did the UN Create Israel?Mosaic Magazine, 2021, August 10. Web originalAbstract

How did Israel’s founders express in words the legitimate claim of the Jews to statehood? What was the mix of biblical, historical and legal claims put forward in the text? And why were some kinds of claims preferred over others? 

In particular, how much significance should be attached to the issue of international legitimacy? The proclamation refers six times to the United Nations, mostly in connection with UN General Assembly resolution 181, recommending the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. To what purpose? And did the proclamation reject an Arab state in Eretz-Israel?

Fifth part of a seven-part series.

Did the UN Create Israel? (pdf)
Fifth part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “Did Israel’s Founders Declare a Secular State?Mosaic Magazine, 2021, July 20. Web originalAbstract

If readers are familiar with any aspect of the proclamation’s composition, it is the dispute over whether or not to mention God. The debate was famously resolved by this compromise formula: “Placing our trust in Tsur Yisrael”—the “Rock of Israel,” an ambiguous term—“we affix our signatures to this proclamation.”

But other passages in the proclamation also required that choices be made about the role of divine promise in the rights of the Jewish people to the land. In general, the earliest drafts made the most references to God; with each successive draft, the number shrank, eventually reaching none. So is is the proclamation a secular document? 

Fourth part of a seven-part series.

Did Israel’s Founders Declare a Secular State?
Fourth part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “Why Israel Is Called Israel and Not Judea.” Mosaic Magazine, 2021, June 10. Web originalAbstract

Who declared the state of Israel? By what authority, in whose name? The entity being declared was “a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel,” but what did “Jewish state” mean to those who wrote the proclamation? What does its name, Israel, reveal about the identity of the new state? If there were other alternatives—and there were—why was this name ultimately preferred? 

Third part of a seven-part series.

Why Israel Is Called Israel and Not Judea (pdf)
Third part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “Three Weeks in May: How the Israeli Declaration of Independence Came Together.” Mosaic Magazine, 2021, May 19. Web originalAbstract

Over the past two decades, the complicated history of the drafting of the proclamation has been established by comparison of the drafts. This article outlines the key stages in the drafting, each of which saw major changes in the text. It is also important to know who, up to and including David Ben-Gurion, made which changes.

Second part of a seven-part series.

Three Weeks in May: How the Israeli Declaration of Independence Came Together (pdf)
Second part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “The Most Significant Document Composed by Jew since Antiquity.” Mosaic Magazine, 2021, April 14. Web originalAbstract

Israel was born in the Art Museum on Rothschild Avenue in Tel Aviv on the afternoon of Friday, May 14, 1948. This article brings that day to life, culminating in the reading of the proclamation of independence by David Ben-Gurion, and the signing by members of the People’s Council. The full text is introduced, as is its traditional division into parts, via the official translation.

First part of a seven-part series.

The Most Significance Document Composed by Jews since Antiquity (pdf)
First part of a seven-part series.
Kramer, Martin. “Kissinger, Kerry, Kushner: Making and Missing Peace in the Middle East.” Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy (2021): 44-47. Full issueAbstract
An assessment of the Abraham Accords, and their place in the history of Arab-Israeli peacemaking, for the student journal of the Harvard Kennedy School.
Kissinger, Kerry, and Kushner (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “The unspoken purpose of the academic boycott.” Israel Affairs 27, no. 1 (2021): 27-33. CitationAbstract
The academic boycott of Israel, ostensibly targeting Israeli academe, is actually meant to isolate and stigmatise Jewish academics in America. It serves the aim of pushing Jewish academics out of shrinking disciplines, where Jews are believed to be ‘over-represented.’ That is how diehard supporters of the Palestinians find academic allies who have no professional interest in Palestine, in fields like American studies or English literature.
The unspoken purpose of the academic boycott (pdf)
2020
Kramer, Martin. “The West Bank Was Annexed Once Before. It Ended in Regret.Mosaic Magazine, 2020, June 25. Web VersionAbstract
Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. It had ten advantages that Israel doesn't enjoy today as Israel ponders annexation. But Jordan's "unification" still ended in regret.
The West Bank Was Annexed Once Before. It Ended in Regret (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “1948: Why the Name Israel?Times of Israel, 2020, April 27. Web originalAbstract
Israel's name was chosen by a process of elimination on May 12, 1948. The article explains the alternatives that were considered, and why they were ruled out.
1948: Why the Name Israel? (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “Ben-Gurion's Army: How the IDF Came into Being (and Almost Didn't).” Mosaic Magazine, 2020, February 3. Web originalAbstract
On the eve of Israel's statehood in 1948, with the massed forces of five Arab nations threatening invasion, David Ben-Gurion picked a fight with his own army. 
Ben-Gurion's Army: How the IDF Came into Being (and Almost Didn't) (pdf) Ben-Gurion at the Moment of Crisis (pdf)
The two parts of this essay were published in February 2020. Visit the website of Mosaic Magazine for the responses by Benny Morris, Eliot A. Cohen, and Efraim Inbar.
2019
Kramer, Martin. “What Did (and Didn't) Happen in Room 16 of the American Colony Hotel.” Mosaic Magazine, 2019, December 16. Web originalAbstract
Room 16 of the American Colony Hotel is reputedly where the Oslo process began, between Israel and the PLO. It isn't, but it was a milepost on the "road not taken," between Israel and the "inside" West Bank leadership personified by Faisal Husseini. A look at the forgotten alternative to Oslo, inspired by the author's own stay in Room 16.
What Did (and Didn't) Happen in Room 16 of the American Colony Hotel (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “Where MLK Really Stood on Israel and the Palestinians.” Mosaic Magazine, 2019, March 13. Web originalAbstract
Why did MLK not condemn Israel’s actions in the twenty years between 1948 and 1968, at a time when Israel stood repeatedly in the dock? And why didn’t he say anything about the Palestinian “plight,” especially as he got a high-level tutorial on the subject during a visit to East Jerusalem in 1959? An exploration of possible influences, from Reinhold Neibuhr to King's own personal experience.
Where MLK Really Stood on Israel and the Palestinians (pdf)
2018
Kramer, Martin. “How True is 'The Crown' on the Suez Cover-Up?Mosaic Magazine, 2018, March 1. Web originalAbstract
The Netflix series The Crown includes a scene depicting British prime minister Anthony Eden nearly misleading Queen Elizabeth about the role of Israel in the 1956 Suez "collusion." The author considers whether the depiction is accurate.
How True is "The Crown" on the Suez Cover-Up? (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “The May 1948 Vote That Made the State of Israel.” Mosaic Magazine, 2018, April 2. Web originalAbstract
An analysis of the proceedings of the People's Administration, culminating in a decisive vote not to specify Israel's borders in its declaration of independence of May 14, 1948.
The May 1948 Vote That Made the State of Israel (pdf) Israel's Situation Today Looks Much as Ben-Gurion Envisioned It (pdf)

The two parts of this essay were published in April 2018. Visit the website of Mosaic Magazine for the responses by Benny Morris, Efraim Karsh, and Avi Shilon.

2017
Kramer, Martin. “Who Saved Israel in 1947?Mosaic Magazine, 2017, November 6. Web originalAbstract
A reexamination of the crucial yet overlooked role of the Soviet Union in the UN recommendation to partition Palestine in 1947.
Who Saved Israel in 1947? (pdf) Кто спас Израиль в 1947 году? (pdf) Why the 1947 UN Partition Resolution Must Be Celebrated (pdf)
The two parts of this essay were published in November 2017. Visit the Mosaic Magazine website for responses by Benny Morris, Michael Mandelbaum, and Harvey Klehr. The Russian translation of the first part appeared in Лехаим № 4 (312), апрель 2018.
Kramer, Martin. “The Forgotten Truth about the Balfour Declaration.” Mosaic Magazine, 2017, June 5. Web originalAbstract
The author revisits the making of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, and demonstrates that the Lloyd George government only issued it after receiving the prior approval of other Allied governments. The role of Zionist diplomat Nahum Sokolow is given particular attention.
The Forgotten Truth about the Balfour Declaration (pdf) ﺍﻟﺴﻌﻲ ﻟﻼﺳﺘﻴﻼﺀ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻓﻠﺴﻄﻴﻦ: ﻛﻮﺍﻟﻴﺲ ﻭﻋﺪ ﺑﻠﻔﻮﺭ ﻭﺇﺻﺪﺍﺭﺍﺗﻪ (pdf) The Balfour Declaration Was More Than the Promise of One Nation (pdf) Balfour Deklarasyonu: Bir Ulusa Verilen Vaatten Daha Fazlası (pdf)
The two parts of this essay were published in June 2017. Visit the website of Mosaic Magazine for the responses by Nicholas Rostow, Allan Arkush, and Colin Shindler. The Arabic translation of the first part, by Ahmad M. Jabir, appeared in Al-Hadaf, January 20, 2018. The Turkish translation of the second part, by Dücane Demirtaş, appeared in Umran, no. 276 (November 2017), pp. 46-51.
2016
Kramer, Martin. “Setting the Record Straight on Israel (interview).” The Weekly Standard, 2016, November 7. Web originalAbstract
An interview with Martin Kramer by Lee Smith, on publication of Kramer's book The War on Error.
Setting the Record Straight on Israel (pdf)

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