NATIV Online        

  Vol. 5  /  August 2004                   A JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND THE ARTS      

 

We invite you to share your thoughts in honor of NATIV's special accomplishment.
Please send your comments to us at ariel.center@gmail.com.

Professor Edward Alexander, Professor of English at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA:

Congratulations to Arieh Stav and his staff for their courageous and sustained defense of Israel and Zionism against its manifold enemies around the world – and in Zion itself. Nativ has been a bulwark against the ideological assault on the Jewish state.

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Christopher Barder:

Nativ’s 100th Issue: A Tribute: In the basement of its Shaarei Tikva home are shelves of testimony to this remarkable publication. It has, perhaps long since, passed the test of longevity. It has remained true to its principles and vision when all too many around, within political parties and beyond them, have lost sight of both. Indeed, a hallmark of its remarkable objectivity, and the term is chosen deliberately, is that it has remained true to its insights unflinchingly, even, almost especially, when they appeared unpalatable, hard to countenance and face. This facet was put most clearly by a man at a hire car firm in Netanya – a kind of variant on the taxi driver theme. Looking through the copy of Nativ I showed him, with a perceptive eye, he said “the trouble is, I wish to dream and you are presenting reality”. The search for truth, stark and demanding, requires courage and penetrating analysis with the Left’s wishful thinking and utopianism removed. Is there an alternative reality whereby foes are friends and fears may be liars? What Nativ has shown is that reality ignored, or manipulated to fit a scenario, leads to fantasy and it has demonstrated this in the fields of politics and the arts without being simply polemical and without sacrificing scholarship. In the face of many falsehoods, it has continued to search for integrity and academic standards and it has represented freedom of speech by saying things even when they stand against fickle fashion and the tide of political correctness. To have managed all this for 100 issues says much for its readership and even more for its conception and editorship. It has been an honor to be published in Nativ’s pages – people write and congratulate on an appearance. Now in English as well as Hebrew, the light Nativ has consistently shed on crucial issues should reach a wider audience. So important is what it has said for 100 issues that there is an earned imperative: it must do so. There is no better testimony to Nativ’s quality. 

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 Dr. Atalia Ben-Meir:

Israel’s existence and its integrity are dependent upon protecting its identity as both a Jewish and a democratic state. A coalition of Israeli-Arabs and Jewish humanists have launched a campaign to eradicate Israel’s Jewish identity and to remodel and transform the State of Israel into a “state of all its citizens”. At the same time, we are witnessing the gradual erosion of Israel’s democratic institutions and values.

 Arieh Stav, both personally and through Nativ, has established a bulwark against these forces.  

The free exchange of opinions is a fundamental parameter of a democratic state. While mainstream Israel is dominated by “politically correct” views and academic analyses, Nativ has provided an outlet for worldviews, ideas, insights, perceptions, concepts etc. that are no less valid than those propagated in the media. Thus, in establishing Nativ, Arieh has made an outstanding contribution to buttressing Democracy in Israel.

Nativ has also been at the forefront of the battle to protect the unalienable rights of the Jewish people for self-determination, and to safeguard the State of Israel as a Jewish state.

Last, but certainly not least, Nativ gave a home to hundreds of frustrated academics, who felt like ugly ducklings in an academic world dominated by an ideology that tolerated anything but right-wing and Jewish religious views.  

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 Professor Louis René Beres, Professor of International Law, Purdue University, Chair of “Project Daniel”:

Dear Friends at ACPR,
Of the many worldwide publications that deal in one way or another with Israel, none has been so utterly valuable and so intrinsically high quality as Nativ. So, on the happy occasion of its 100th issue, the editor and staff of Nativ – especially of course ACPR Director Arieh Stav warrant very special congratulations. Over the years I have been personally honored to share my own work in Nativ, knowing always that such publication would put me in the company of first-rate scholars and that my work would be read widely by Israel's leading figures in government, politics and the arts. Dr. Arieh Stav, a distinguished thinker in his own right, whose range of erudition is astounding and whose willingness to labor unceasingly on behalf of Israel's survival is prodigious, deserves our complete gratitude. Only rarely can one find such a remarkable fusion of Jewish soul with Jewish intellect and Jewish commitment. Hats off to Arieh and Nativ on this great anniversary.

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Yossef Bodansky, Director of Research of the International Strategic Studies Association, and  Director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare of the US House of Representatives:

Since its inception, Nativ has been the standard bearer of national responsibility. As successive Israeli governments have been both seduced by the lure of a “peace process” to the point of endangering the very existence of Israel, and succumbed to the relentless pressure of successive US administrations exploiting the Israeli-Arab conflict for domestic political gains at the expense of Israel’s vital interests, Nativ never wavered. Although advocating strong positions in contentious and emotionally loaded times, Nativ has always maintained scrupulous intellectual integrity. Its articles included factual presentations and logical articulations by excellent authors and expert contributors. As such, Nativ has been a unique resource - the purveyor of intellectual excellence in turbulent times.

The most desirable wish for Nativ is that their impassioned advocacy will no longer be needed for Israel has come to its senses and embarked on a polity prioritizing the furthering of the nation’s vital interests and self-survival. However, the strategic postures in the Middle East and the rest of the world being as they are – it is safe to assume that future Israeli governments will stay the course on that seductive slippery slope called “peace process” and placating US administrations. Under such dire circumstances, one hopes and wishes that Nativ remains the unique high-quality standard bearer of the sane nationalist Zionist camp.

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Dr. David Bukay, Department of Political Science, University of Haifa:

One hundred leaves a  profound impression on people, especially when it is accompanied by 18 years. The 100th edition of Nativ, and approaching 18 years since it was published is not only cause for a party, it is a genuine celebration – among whose pages one can find an island of sobriety, wisdom, knowledge and especially love for the Jewish people, the Land of Israel and Zionism.

Nativ, true to its name, is groundbreaking and serves as a lighthouse in stormy waters. It serves as a guide, conscience and compass, aiding the Jewish people, who are surrounded by enemies from without and misguided hedonists from within. It reveals the concealed light to them in the sense of  “observe, look and see”, and it is now your turn to walk by its light.

Nativ is a periodical, which quickly conquered the elite, not only because there remain but a few (and this, too is a proof of its quality, according to the principles of evolution), but primarily because of its quality, its scientific meticulousness and the pluralism of opinions expressed therein.

Nativ is a paean to its editor, Arieh Stav, whose knowledge, abilities and sacrifice have made Nativ what it is. Arieh is true to his name – battles like a lion to enhance our knowledge concerning Israel’s strategic reality and existential needs, and is very stubborn as far as the fate of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel is concerned.

Nativ is also a paean to the small, super-talented staff of workers, who produce so much with such limited means, and who epitomize proficiency and professionalism. So much is done, with such limited means, there is nothing left for us to do other than admire and praise.

Would that we would be able to congratulate Nativ on the occasion of its 200th edition and 36th year and realize that Nativ not only paved the way and illuminated it with a brilliant light, but also that the Jewish people is proceeding by that light.

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Professor Yehezkel Dror, Professor of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem:

Congratulations on having reached issue 100 – this is quite an achievement Public discourse in Israel tends to be dogmatic, shallow and ad hoc. Very few periodicals publish serious articles on critical issues. All the more important is Nativ, the first 100 issues of which are distinguished by deep discussion of future-shaping topics, including those by authors who disagree with its main positions. Continue and expand your contributions to policy thinking in Israel!!, this is the Anniversary Bracha (blessing) which I would like to offer.

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Professor Paul Eidelberg, President and Co-Founder of the Foundation for Constitutional Democracy in the Middle East as well as President of the Yamin Israel Party:

In celebration of the 100th issue of Nativ, a word must be said in honor of its founder and editor, Arieh Stav. “Arieh, I don’t know whether you believe in miracles, but Nativ is a miracle. It just wasn’t supposed to be, given the left-wing’s dominance of the written word in Israel. Against all the odds, you set out to create an Israeli counterpart to Commentary, one of the leading conservative journals in America. Well, in Nativ, you excelled Commentary. The breadth and depth of Nativ’s articles have no equal—certainly not in Israel. Nativ draws on the best writers from many countries. No journal in Israel dares what Nativ dares. None has so profoundly exposed the suicidal nature of the “peace process”. None has so provocatively revealed the decadence of Israel’s political and judicial elites — the exponents of post-Zionism. None has so lucidly displayed the lethal consequences of Israel’s dysfunctional system of governance. And yet, no other journal offers constructive Jewish remedies for Israel’s intellectual and political malaise. Nativ is the path to sanity, to Jewish national pride, and for Nativ to have arisen and flourished amidst the decay of post-modernism, is indeed a miracle. Yasher koach, Arieh!”

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Yoram Ettinger, Consultant on US-Israel relations and former Minister for Congressional Affairs to Israel's Embassy in Washington, DC:

Nativ – the brain child of Arieh Stav – has been the role model of professionalism, moral clarity, independence, intellectual courage, common sense and tenacity. Nativ has been the Pillar of Fire, attempting to change the course of the Israeli Titanic away from the iceberg. Israel’s leaders, as well as the leaders of the US, would do well to pay attention to Nativ’s messages. Its assessments on the Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Oslo Process in particular have, unfortunately, been vindicated, as have been the assessments on critical issues such as arms race and Islamic terrorism. Nativ has made a difference!

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Raphael Israeli, Professor of Islamic, Middle Eastern and Chinese History at Hebrew University in Jerusalem:

Nativ, literally “the path”, has been a guiding path to intellectuals, politicians and thinking persons since its inception 100 issues ago. As one who has accompanied it since the beginnings, and occasionally contributed to its stature and content in my capacity as Member of the Board, or as a writer like all my fellow contributors, I take great pride in the ground covered, which no other journal of this sort can boast, in the domains of politics, Israeli affairs, strategy and defense, Middle East and Islamic affairs, literature and political thought. The variety and quality of the journal have made it unique in its kind.

However, these compliments, crumbs of which can be picked up by all the contributors to what has become a first rate journal of current affairs, are only crumbs, while the main glory goes to the one man who shaped the journal, built it from the foundations, talked the writers into contributing to Nativ, designed it, oversaw its production and watched over its edition and quality. That is undeniably Arieh Stav, the founder and editor, to whom contributors, staff and readers owe an immeasurable debt.

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Yisrael Medad, Educational Resources Director, Menachem Begin Heritage Center and Vice-Chairman, Israel's Media Watch:

The crucial contribution made by Nativ to the intellectual discourse that Israel so sorely needs in the political, diplomatic, cultural and security fields is nigh immeasurable. This effort to challenge ideas, to refine them and debate the accepted nonsensicals of our time is one in which Nativ has been a true Zionist national force. Congratulations for what has been done and for what will surely been done in the future.

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Dr. Irving & Cherna Moskowitz:

Public awareness of important strategic issues is vital for the people of Israel in order to fully understand and evaluate the decisions of their leaders. We recommend the Ariel Center for Policy Research for its publications of Nativ.

May you be blessed with much success and satisfaction. You are performing a necessary service to Israelis, as well as many people around the world. Mazel Tov to your anniversary edition. 

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Professor Benzion Netanyahu:

The 100th edition of Nativ marks an extraordinary achievement in the history of nationalist Hebrew periodicals, from the days of Smolenskin’s Hashahar to our own time. I have reached this conclusion for several reasons, which I will note briefly.

The Jewish people in its state have long been lacking a fundamental knowledge of its situation and the situation of its enemies – a knowledge vital to a nation in a state of war. In order to overcome this serious deficiency, Nativ sought and found, in the ranks of the nationalist movement, talented scholars in various disciplines and entrusted them with a multi-faceted mission which, ostensibly, only a large university is likely to fulfill. Amazingly, Nativ has carried out this mission on a high level and vast scope. What its researchers provided in their studies were not more conjecture, speculation and opinions of party propagandists and dubious authorities, but rather an abundance of corroborated facts and statistics, upon which the Zionist movement can base a program to effectively defend its positions. This was Nativ’s conceptual contribution – a valuable contribution from any perspective.

However, Nativ is not merely a research periodical. It is also a periodical which provides guidance. The Jewish people, who were distanced by delusions from the direction taken by the founders of Zionism, have been off their track for a long time. It even strays to the paths of enemy movements, turns to the sides, stops and turns back. Nativ forcefully and consistently opposed not only the aberrations, but also the turns and withdrawals. Its writers were imbued with the consciousness that Zionism cannot stray from the path leading directly to its objective, and therefore cannot turn right or left, but rather must burst through the obstructed passage – the passage up the mountain.

And just as it is, a research and guidance journal, it is a combative periodical as well. This combat is not motivated by ambition to rule, party subversiveness and the aggressive trickery of conscienceless foes. Nativ’s war has but one objective – repelling the dangers threatening our people, its future, its country and its very existence. And just as it powerfully defends the recognition of the Jewish people’s right to its land, so too it combats the false assertions of its enemies, which it exposes for what they are: Malicious libel.

Obviously, it is impossible to distinguish between Nativ and its editor, who is not only an outstanding organizer and planner, but also a brilliant publicist. His articles and titles serve as crushing blades in Nativ’s repeated forceful assaults upon the enemies of Zionism and the Jewish people.

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Dr. Mordechai Nisan, Department of Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Rothberg International School:

It is a great personal pleasure and honor to commend Nativ and its founder  and editor, Arieh Stav, who has demonstrated that national dignity, eloquent writing, and cultural creativity can yet flourish in these turbulent times. Israel and beyond would be a far more barren and baneful wasteland of dribble, haughtiness, and myopia if it were not for the exceptional leadership Arieh has offered to a distinguished array of writers and researchers, poets and scholars. His masterful journal challenges the politics of denial and exposes the geo-strategic realities, providing words of warning and programs of action for Israel. Let the 100th issue of Nativ be a springboard for the confident growth of this most worthy enterprise whose guidance are so manifestly critical today. Nativ is indeed the path of truth and enlightenment for everyone who is committed to the welfare of Israel and the Jewish people, as the forces of terror and hatred haunt the Middle East and the entire world.

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Dr. Steven Plaut, Department of Business Administration and Economics at the University of Haifa:

Israeli media are under the near-totalitarian hegemony of the radical Left. The disasters that have befallen Israel over the past 15 years are in part attributable to this anti-democratic domination and the inability to debate Israeli policy freely in the media. An important exception to this rule however is Nativ. Over the last 100 issues, Nativ has represented the main alternative in print to the establishemnt media, which plays amen chorus to the disastrous “ideas” of the radical Left.

Nativ was among the very first to point out the follies of “Oslo” and the attempt by Israel to appease its way to peace. Nativ broke the near-monopoly of the Left over academic dispute and policy analysis. And its work has never been so vital as it is in today’s self-destructive Israel.

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Professor Eliav Shochetman, Dean of Sha'arei Mishpat College (Law School) and Professor Emeritus of Jewish Law at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem:

To the one and only Arieh Stav, a man of truth and breadth of knowledge, a man of clear thought and sharp expression,

Heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the 100th issue of Nativ – a ray of light in the reality of our lives, and best wishes for hundreds of additional editions, which will illuminate the path of our lives in this country.

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Yoash Tsiddon-Chatto, Col (ret.):

Peace is everyone’s ideal. “Shalom Aleichem”, (alias “Pax Vobisqum”for Catholics) is the Jewish greeting-wish for thousands of years.

In 1938, the conclusion of “Peace in our Times” with Hitler has won Chamberlain the acclaim of most of the democratic world, except the Churchills of the period, who understood that the statement meant, in fact, “War is postponed until Hitler decides that Time has come.” In Middle-Eastern terms, Hitler’s “Hudna” was celebrated. Some people were surprised when it ended, when politically correct thinking proved to be but wishful thinking.

Peace is a universal ideal, however, there are those who believe that all that is needed to achieve it, is their wish for it, whatever the obstacle. Others, the “unpopular”, believe that peace, like a strong building, has to have foundations, walls, a roof, etc., all assembled according to a certain stern logic, not unsimilar to the laws of physics. Peace is not achieved by manipulations, fiestas and Galut-dreams of miracles. Achieving peace is a hard and not always a pleasant work. It’s not all songs, flowers and celebrations.

Sailing against heavy head-winds of politically-correct- wishful- thinking, Nativ has predicted storm and weathered the post-Oslo political hurricane, fighting its solitary way for 100 issues, thanks to Arieh Stav and his team. Beautifully attired and dignified, Nativ can, unfortunately, not be proven wrong in contents, which aggravates its reception by “The Masses”.

However, truth and its documentation cannot be stifled by political opposition, be it that of a majority or, as the Jewish divergent nature of politicians prevails, by personal acrimonies.

I salute Nativ, the lone voice of realism in our present wilderness of self-deception. I counsel it to continue to keep its ears to the ground and hear the rumbling voices of a continuously changing geo-political situation, a never-stopping flow of history where our mistakes, like those of others, are irreversible because time is a one way street. Past mistakes, like Oslo, cannot be “wound back”. New situations have to be created to overcome them and these may need realignment of confrontation lines.

Mazal Tov, Nativ, and may your wisdom be spread and your warnings heeded to. Then we shall have peace.

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Erez Uriely, Director, Norwegian Israel Center Against Anti-Semitism (NIS), Norway:

Our warmest congratulations to ACPR! Thank you for providing us with the highly intellectual information needed to guide us all in this historic time of disinformation, confusion and enormous pressures that are threatening the existence of the Jewish state. Thank you for standing against the stream, for spreading high-quality information, and for forcing us all to think and move in the right direction.

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Dr. Laurence Weinbaum, Senior Research Officer at the Institute of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem:

For 18 years, Nativ has been an island of right and reason in a stormy sea of indifference, ignorance and hypocricy. Its continued viability, against all odds, represents the strongest expression of intellectual resistance to the self-destructive tendencies afflicting the Jewish body politic. Its pages have been a refuge for all those committed to the idea of Jewish national renaissance in the Land of Israel. May Nativ continue to radiate this message for many years to come. 

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Herbert Zweibon, Chairman, Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI):

Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI) is pleased to add its congratulations on the special occasion of the publication of the 100th issue of Nativ. Nativ’s editor, Arieh Stav, along with the entire editorial staff and the contributors to the journal, deserve sincere commendation and kudos for setting the highest standards in the field of journalism. They consistently provide, to the good fortune of the Israeli people, and Jews worldwide, intellectual and insightful material in support of Jewish rights in the land. We are proud to consider ourselves friends of Nativ and know that the publication will continue to promote the truth about Israel as long as it is necessary to do so.

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