Politics – September 2023 Shana Tova U’Meusheret
Israel should do whatever it can to bring home Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed as well as the remains of Hadar Golden and Shaul Aaron.
It is no less than state duty and, of course, the just and decent thing to do.
Israeli Population
Early Elections Poll
Hope for Israeli-Saudi Normalization
President Biden
New article: Christina Nyquist, Raphael Cohen-Almagor & Scott Y. H. Kim (2023) Expert Views on Medical Involvement in the Swiss Assisted Dying Practice: “We Want to Have Our Cake and Eat It Too”?, AJOB Empirical Bioethics, https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/NQZF8E8U3EMMVGEGKE8V/full?target=10.1080/23294515.2023.2232796; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23294515.2023.2232796?src=&journalCode=uabr21
Can You Guess?
AIS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
Treating Parkinson
Podcast
AIS Statement on American Anthropological Association Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions
Support The Jena Declaration
Can You Guess?
Monthly Gem: Flaam
Monthly Poem
Israeli Population
In just over a year, Israel's population is expected to reach 10 million residents. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Israel's population is estimated at 9,795,000 people, and, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population is projected to reach 10 million residents by the end of 2024. Israel will soon pass Swedish population. 7,181,000 of Israel's residents are Jewish, accounting for (73%) of the population. Approximately 2,065,000 residents are Arabs (21%), and about 549,000 are classified as other (6%). This includes non-Arab Christians, members of other religions, and people with no religious affiliation, according to the Interior Ministry. Sata on the public's attitudes and sentiments, against the backdrop of the judicial overhaul, shows that some 40% of Israelis are satisfied with the way democracy operates in Israel, with a similar percentage among both men and women. However, 56% express dissatisfaction.
Source: Ynet
Early Elections Poll
Polls at this present time show trends but, of course, they can change quite dramatically per events that are taking place in a rapid pace in Israel.
A poll conducted for Channel 13 News shows that the coalition is weakening, but the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties are remaining relatively stable and garner 11 seats in all. According to the data, if elections were to be held today, the National Unity party (Benny Gantz) would win 28 seats and the Likud 25. Yesh Atid (Lapid) would get 18, Shas 10 and United Torah Judaism 7. The Religious Zionism party would win 6 seats, Yisrael Beyteinu 6, and Ra'am 6. Otzma Yehudit wins 5 seats in the survey, Hadash-Ta'al 5 and Meretz 4.
Labor and Balad parties remain below the threshold to enter the Knesset. They should reconsider their conduct. Labour must change its leadership and may consider a joint run with Meretz. Similarly, Balad should find a way to join one of the other Arab parties. The bloc map shows that the current government would get 53 seats, while the opposition would get 67 seats. The fact that this extreme and truly horrible government and coalition still get 53 seats is deeply disturbing. Notwithstanding what they are doing, which is damaging to Israeli democracy, human rights, peace, law and jurisprudence, their base remains strong and loyal.
Source: Israel National news
Hope for Israeli-Saudi Normalization
Continue dreaming. Not with this government.
President Biden
Netanyahu wants a photo with Biden. I can understand him. Many leaders of the world would like to have such a photo. Netanyahu needs such a photo to show his people that despite all the wrongdoing that he has orchestrated, Biden is still interested to meet with him.
The issue is: What is Biden’s interest? Should HE be interested to meet with the Israeli prime minister who has humiliated him, the Democratic Party, President Obama and other US leaders time and again? Does Biden expect to be able to press Netanyahu on ANY issue, be it democracy, jurisprudence, law and order, peace or normalization? If Biden does expect something, then he deludes himself. Netanyahu will explain to him, in his eloquent language, that this is not about him. He is constrained by his coalition, the very coalition that he has created and leads. Netanyahu will air empty promises and excuses, but he won’t move an inch. Why should Biden provide brownie points to a person who undermines US-Israel relationships? He has absolutely nothing to gain from such a meeting. Biden is experienced enough to know all the Bibi tricks. He should not fall into this trap.
New Article: Christina Nyquist, Raphael Cohen-Almagor & Scott Y. H. Kim (2023) Expert Views on Medical Involvement in the Swiss Assisted Dying Practice: “We Want to Have Our Cake and Eat It Too”?, AJOB Empirical Bioethics, https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/NQZF8E8U3EMMVGEGKE8V/full?target=10.1080/23294515.2023.2232796; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23294515.2023.2232796?src=&journalCode=uabr21
Abstract
Background
Most jurisdictions that allow euthanasia and assisted suicide (AS) regulate it through the medical profession. However, the extent and nature of how medicine should be involved are debated. Swiss AS practice is unusual in that it is managed by lay AS organizations that rely on a law that permits AS when done for nonselfish reasons. Physicians are not mentioned in the law but are usually called upon to prescribe the lethal medications and perform capacity evaluations.
Methods
We analyzed in-depth interviews of 23 Swiss AS experts including ethicists, lawyers, medical practitioners, and senior officials of AS organizations for their views on AS.
Results
Although there was agreement on some issues (e.g., need for better end-of-life care), the interviewees’ preferred model for AS, and the nature of preferred medical involvement, varied, which we categorized into five types: preference for AS practice as it occurred prior to lay AS organizations; preference for the current lay model; preference for a modified lay model to increase autonomy protections while limiting medical AS normalization; preference for various types of more medicalized models of AS; and, ambivalence about any specific model of medical involvement. The rationales given for each type of model reflected varying opinions on how medicine’s role would likely impact AS practice and demonstrated the experts’ attitudes toward those impacts.
Conclusion
The dynamics within the Swiss AS regime, as reflected in the varying views of Swiss AS experts, shed light on the dilemmas inherent to medical scope and involvement in AS, which may have implications for debates in other jurisdictions.
AIS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
The Association for Israel Studies announces a dissertation completion fellowship for outstanding doctoral students in any field of Israel Studies. The fellowship aims to provide support to doctoral students for the final stages of the completion of their dissertations.
Based in its commitment to fostering multidisciplinary research about Israel, these fellowships will constitute recognition of the contribution and potential of an emerging scholar. One fellowship, in the amount of $5,000, will be offered annually to an outstanding doctoral student, chosen by a committee of AIS-member scholars. The fellowship will be offered for a single year only. As a dissertation completion fellowship aimed at providing assistance for the final stages of doctoral work, the fellowship will not be renewable. Students are expected to complete their dissertations during the completion year.
The grantee will be asked to acknowledge the source of funding in all publications that rely on the funds of the AIS scholarship.
ELIGIBILITY
The AIS dissertation completion fellowship will be available to students at universities in any country who:
Have completed all departmental and university requirements (obtain ABD status).
Have completed an approved dissertation prospectus.
Have completed at least two draft dissertation chapters (or one draft article for students in fields where the dissertation consists of three articles), confirmed by the dissertation advisor.
Are current members of the AIS at the time of application.
Eligible dissertations will be written in English or Hebrew.
Applications
Applications and should include:
A cover letter (up to 1500 words) describing:
The purpose, objective and rationale for the research project.
The methodology or methodologies employed.
Major findings of the dissertation and their importance/ contribution to the field of Israel Studies.
A chapter of the dissertation.
A bibliography (no more than 2–3 pages).
A one-page timeline outlining the schedule for completing and successfully defending the dissertation within the fellowship year.
Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from the student’s doctoral adviser/supervisor.
Professional CV and a full list of publications
Status Confirmation Form to be completed by department chair or director of graduate studies
Applicants should mail a single PDF comprising all aspects of the application (with the exception of letters of recommendation) as an attachment to this address: AIS_Dis.htg7xugdbtics3lm@u.box.com by February 1 2024. Recommenders can submit their letters of recommendation by emailing them as attachments to the same email address.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The AIS will notify applicants of the AIS Academic Committee’s decisions by the beginning of April. For additional information please see:
Names of winners will be published on the AIS website.
Treating Parkinson
An Israeli pharma company has found that its jab to alleviate the symptoms of patients with early Parkinson’s disease is more effective than those currently on the market.
Pharma Two B has developed a once-a-day injection that combines two existing Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatments, pramipexole and rasagiline, at low doses that are not commercially available.
The firm’s recent clinical trial compared the effects of its P2B001 therapy against conventional treatments in over 500 patients over the course of 12 weeks.
It found that the treatment not only significantly improved the motor symptoms and daily function of the patients, but resulted in fewer side effects than other treatments.
Today’s treatments for PD often result in excessive daytime sleepiness, hallucinations, and nausea and vomiting.
Source: https://nocamels.com/2023/08/revolutionary-jab-alleviates-parkinsons-symptoms-in-new-study/
Podcast
Discussing my book, Just, Reasonable Multiculturalism, The Maverick Paradox Magazine, https://themaverickparadox.com/the-problems-of-evil/
AIS Statement on American Anthropological Association Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions
The following statement was drafted by the Academic Freedom Committee and approved by the AIS Board.
The Association for Israel Studies (AIS), the international scholarly society devoted to the academic and professional study of Israel, is committed to academic freedom and freedom of expression. As such, the AIS expresses its profound dismay over the recent endorsement of an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions resolution by the American Anthropological Association (AAA).
While the language of the resolution claims that it “pertains only to Israeli academic institutions, and not to individual scholars and students”, it is clear that the distinction between individuals and institutions is meaningless in practice, thus the decision constitutes an infringement of the freedom of students and scholars to interact, study and conduct research about Israel. Given that the vast majority of Israeli academics maintain some form of affiliation with Israeli academic institutions, the resolution, in essence, unfairly discriminates against scholars on the basis of their national identity or institutional affiliation.
The AIS condemns the AAA boycott vote and emphatically urges the leadership of the AAA to reconsider their endorsement of the boycott resolution, and to refrain from implementing it.
Support The Jena Declaration
I support The Jena Declaration and encourage you to do so as well! https://www.thejenadeclaration.org/declaration/we-declare-that
Can You Guess?
Can you guess how Donald Trump wanted to call the Accords between Israel, UAE and Bahrain?
Monthly Gem: Flaam
Getty images
This quiet Norwegian town is a gem. You can take a train up the mountain on a trail considered one of the most beautiful train tracks in Europe. You can also take a ferry to the nearby fjords. And there are plenty tracks for hiking and biking in nature.
Monthly Poem
Simultaneously, I have been writing two books of poetry: one in Hebrew; the other in English. The book in Hebrew is titled Old News and now has 60 pages. The book in English is titled Between Love and Death and is now 92 pages long. I wish to publish both books and would very much appreciate pertinent constructive ideas.
Here is my weekly poem.
Blessing for the New Year
May the sky be blue and clear
And our heart always filled with joyful tear
May peace and tranquillity prevail
Keys for resolving conflict unveil
May we create more than destroy
Making dreams a reality to savour and enjoy
May we all be free of worry
No need to hear or say “I am sorry”
May we have time to delight in museums and parks
And mind to glee when adventure embarks
May we visit in hospital only the maternity ward
Visit our doctors only when they receive another award
May we sleep like a log
And captivate listeners like a funny cat or dog
May we surround ourselves with people we love
To enable growth and see all thrive
May we add one true friend to our life
Be with us at moments of strife
May we wish to sing as we wake up with a laugh
Love what we have and our second half
May we know what our loved ones wish and pray
Before a word is uttered, knowing what they want to say
May her lips be welcoming and red
Embrace and ready when sad.
Raphael Almagor
Light Side
Seafood for thought
A man went into a seafood restaurant and asked for a lobster tail. The waitress smiled sweetly and said, “Once upon a time there was this handsome lobster…” —Horse & Rider
Peace, Democracy and Good Health to you all
Rafi
My last communications with all the photos and illustrations are available on Israel: Democracy, Human Rights, Politics and Society, http://almagor.blogspot.com
People wishing to subscribe to this Monthly Newsletter are welcome to e-mail me at r.cohen-almagor@hull.ac.uk
Twitter at @almagor35
