By Simon Fischler
Living in Israel is amazing.
I moved to Israel from New York almost eleven years ago and I could never imagine moving back to the States.
My three children were born here and although they also hold American citizenship they are Israeli to the core.
When I see all the horrible things being said about my adopted country, it pains me no end. This open, democratic nation has achieved so much with so little, in such a small amount of time, against the worst odds any nation in this world has faced.
You see, Israel truly is an open democracy. I can actually speak for this because I have lived in two of the most open democracies that still exist on this planet: Israel and the United States of America. Interestingly, many of the people out there who condemn Israel have never set foot in this country. All their information is given to them from jaded, hostile and one-sided sources.
Sadly, some very close friends of mine have come to doubt Israel. I have done my best to give them facts, undeniable facts. In some cases this has helped; in others, it has not.
This country is not perfect; that I know. We have many problems that still need to be fixed -- from education to government corruption. Is there a country, especially a democratic one, not facing these problems?
Most difficult of all, though, is the fact that we Israelis have been forced to fight for our country from its birth. So many of our young have been lost. No matter what, we must continually be ready to fight. If we are not, it could be nothing less than what happened in the Shoah.
On countless occasions we have reached our hands out in peace, but our enemies have refused us each and every time. Sadly, I am only too sure that someday my children will have to continue the fight to protect our nation.
Believe me when I say I want peace for my children more than anything. I also know that the majority of Israelis would be willing to make painful compromises if there ever was a genuine partner for peace.
Unfortunately I see no partner for peace. There is no one on the Palestinian side willing to make the compromises needed and to recognize Israel for what she truly is, the Jewish democratic nation state. Apparently all the Palestinians know how to do is deny Israel’s right to exist while simultaneously making demands she recognize their national aspirations.
Truly, the only way for anyone to see the folly in denying that Israel is an open democracy is to get on a plane and come see this beautiful country up close and personal, as they say.
Please, if you get the chance, come visit our country before you judge her; if you do you will see how wrong all those who condemn Israel truly are. There will also be an open door at our house waiting for you.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A FEW MORE THOUGHTS
By Simon Fischler
Anti-Semitism is possibly the oldest form of Racism this world knows.
From the time of the ancient Greco-Roman world until today almost every generation in the line of humankind has hated the Jews.
Anti-Semites will tell you that they must be right about the Jews; after all so many people for so many generations have hated and attempted to destroy the Hebrew, Israelite and Jewish Nation.
On the other hand, White Europeans and Arab Semites used to think Black Africans were sub-human and therefore it was acceptable to sell them like animals. Remember, a majority of people also used to think the world was flat.
My point is simple: anti-Semitism has been around since humans have been writing their own history. It’s an insidious disease infecting much of the human race, although concentrated in Europe, the American South (with pockets in the West and Midwest), all majority-Arab/Muslim countries (including those on the African continent) and Muslim Asia.
The acute irony – no, tragedy – is that anti-Semitism is almost completely a product of the two religions which have developed from Judaism, and are, in effect, its children: Christianity and Islam.
Sadly, after an all-too-brief period of being politically incorrect, anti-Semitism is on a rapid rise the world over. This ugly monster is alive and thriving again in Europe, where less then a century ago SIX MILLION JEWS were killed in the Shoah.
White Europe has always had a problem with the Jewish Nation. The ancient Greeks and Romans created what we know as anti-Semitism today, because we stubborn Jews refused their sophisticated cultures. To them we were a backwards people, believing in this ridiculous one G-d. we were to be laughed at and despised for our ignorance.
Today’s anti-Semitism has taken a new form and its main target is the Jewish Nation State, Israel.
The anti-Semites of the world spent many hundreds of years killing or dispersing or trying to force us Jews to assimilate or convert us Jews, in order to destroy or squelch the nation of Israel. Now they have decided that this reincarnated nation of Israel no longer deserves to be a nation. How funny is that?
And despite all the genetic tests and DNA tests that point to the fact Jews are a distinct people who share similar genetics, still anti-Semites would take that away from us, ignoring the truths of history.
Fact: The Jewish Nation and Jewish Law governed over the land of Israel long before there were Arabs here, before Mohammad was born and before anything called Islam existed.
Fact: the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron was built by the JEWISH King Herod, and is the only fully intact Herodian structure.
Fact: what is called the Al Aksa Mosque was built on the TEMPLE MOUNT, an act of desecration carried out by Colonialist Arab Muslims.
Littered all over the Land of Israel are archaeological sites of HEBREW, ISRAELITE and JEWISH history.
The JEWISH province of JUDEA (Where the name JEW comes from), with its capital of JERUSALEM (Note, Jerusalem is a Hebrew word) was a prominent Roman client state until the final revolt and destruction of the Temple -- long before anyone was called a Palestinian!
Yet somehow the Jewish Nation does not deserve to have self-determination in its historical homeland? That type of thinking only lives in the mind of an ANTI-SEMITE.
Names are a truly important part of a nation. Example, Arabs originally come from the Arabian peninsula, hence the name Arab. The same goes for the Jewish Nation, the name Jew comes from Judea. The Jewish people have always lived in the land of Israel. This was the birthplace of our nation and for much of history we have been a majority in our land.
The name Palestine is very new if one looks at history. On top of that, the name Palestine is a COLONIALIST EUROPEAN name! That is right, the name comes from the Romans and was given to the Jewish province of Judea after the Romans sacked Jerusalem.
The groups and organizations attempting to destroy Israel (and that is exactly what they are attempting) have also taken up a new banner: the complete delegitimization of Israel through the most heinous lies.
It is without a doubt diplomatic terrorism akin to that of the Nazi party in the early thirties. The ringleaders in this new form of terrorism are the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S) and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), two groups claiming to fight for human rights, while espousing the most virulent forms of racism and anti-Semitism. A perfect example of this is the call of both Movements for the outright destruction of Israel and the denial of the Jewish nation’s right to govern itself in its native land.
Movements like BDS and the ISM say Israel has no right to exist as a democratic Jewish nation state. They then continue to demand a Palestinian Arab, Islamic state. This is the must denigrating and racist policy. It is policies like this, ones that say our race is better than yours and more deserving than yours that were the corner stone of Apartheid South Africa.
After calling for anti-Semitic, racist and genocidal policies towards Israel, these organizations then blatantly lie when they accuse Israel of being a racist, Apartheid state. They completely ignore the fact that Israeli Arabs enjoy equal rights in Israel; they overlook the fact that there are thirteen Arab members in the Knesset.
This quote from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas given yesterday in Ramallah sums up the Palestinian Leadership and all the organizations standing against Israel today: “We have frankly said, and always will say, if there is an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital, we won’t agree to the presence of one Israeli in it,”
I'm sorry, but is this not an outright declaration of discrimination? Is this not what made APARTHEID what it was in South Africa? Of course it was.
Anti-Semitism is alive and thriving today Jew Hating is as popular today as it was in Europe in the early twentieth century. The only thing standing in the way of those who hate Israel and in the way of another Holocaust is Israel.
It is high time that Jews around the world realize this. And for any self-hating Jew or any Jew who thinks that secularism or outright denial will save his or her skin should the Jew-haters of the world succeed in destroying Israel, he or she had better look to the past and think again.:
Anti-Semitism is possibly the oldest form of Racism this world knows.
From the time of the ancient Greco-Roman world until today almost every generation in the line of humankind has hated the Jews.
Anti-Semites will tell you that they must be right about the Jews; after all so many people for so many generations have hated and attempted to destroy the Hebrew, Israelite and Jewish Nation.
On the other hand, White Europeans and Arab Semites used to think Black Africans were sub-human and therefore it was acceptable to sell them like animals. Remember, a majority of people also used to think the world was flat.
My point is simple: anti-Semitism has been around since humans have been writing their own history. It’s an insidious disease infecting much of the human race, although concentrated in Europe, the American South (with pockets in the West and Midwest), all majority-Arab/Muslim countries (including those on the African continent) and Muslim Asia.
The acute irony – no, tragedy – is that anti-Semitism is almost completely a product of the two religions which have developed from Judaism, and are, in effect, its children: Christianity and Islam.
Sadly, after an all-too-brief period of being politically incorrect, anti-Semitism is on a rapid rise the world over. This ugly monster is alive and thriving again in Europe, where less then a century ago SIX MILLION JEWS were killed in the Shoah.
White Europe has always had a problem with the Jewish Nation. The ancient Greeks and Romans created what we know as anti-Semitism today, because we stubborn Jews refused their sophisticated cultures. To them we were a backwards people, believing in this ridiculous one G-d. we were to be laughed at and despised for our ignorance.
Today’s anti-Semitism has taken a new form and its main target is the Jewish Nation State, Israel.
The anti-Semites of the world spent many hundreds of years killing or dispersing or trying to force us Jews to assimilate or convert us Jews, in order to destroy or squelch the nation of Israel. Now they have decided that this reincarnated nation of Israel no longer deserves to be a nation. How funny is that?
And despite all the genetic tests and DNA tests that point to the fact Jews are a distinct people who share similar genetics, still anti-Semites would take that away from us, ignoring the truths of history.
Fact: The Jewish Nation and Jewish Law governed over the land of Israel long before there were Arabs here, before Mohammad was born and before anything called Islam existed.
Fact: the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron was built by the JEWISH King Herod, and is the only fully intact Herodian structure.
Fact: what is called the Al Aksa Mosque was built on the TEMPLE MOUNT, an act of desecration carried out by Colonialist Arab Muslims.
Littered all over the Land of Israel are archaeological sites of HEBREW, ISRAELITE and JEWISH history.
The JEWISH province of JUDEA (Where the name JEW comes from), with its capital of JERUSALEM (Note, Jerusalem is a Hebrew word) was a prominent Roman client state until the final revolt and destruction of the Temple -- long before anyone was called a Palestinian!
Yet somehow the Jewish Nation does not deserve to have self-determination in its historical homeland? That type of thinking only lives in the mind of an ANTI-SEMITE.
Names are a truly important part of a nation. Example, Arabs originally come from the Arabian peninsula, hence the name Arab. The same goes for the Jewish Nation, the name Jew comes from Judea. The Jewish people have always lived in the land of Israel. This was the birthplace of our nation and for much of history we have been a majority in our land.
The name Palestine is very new if one looks at history. On top of that, the name Palestine is a COLONIALIST EUROPEAN name! That is right, the name comes from the Romans and was given to the Jewish province of Judea after the Romans sacked Jerusalem.
The groups and organizations attempting to destroy Israel (and that is exactly what they are attempting) have also taken up a new banner: the complete delegitimization of Israel through the most heinous lies.
It is without a doubt diplomatic terrorism akin to that of the Nazi party in the early thirties. The ringleaders in this new form of terrorism are the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S) and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), two groups claiming to fight for human rights, while espousing the most virulent forms of racism and anti-Semitism. A perfect example of this is the call of both Movements for the outright destruction of Israel and the denial of the Jewish nation’s right to govern itself in its native land.
Movements like BDS and the ISM say Israel has no right to exist as a democratic Jewish nation state. They then continue to demand a Palestinian Arab, Islamic state. This is the must denigrating and racist policy. It is policies like this, ones that say our race is better than yours and more deserving than yours that were the corner stone of Apartheid South Africa.
After calling for anti-Semitic, racist and genocidal policies towards Israel, these organizations then blatantly lie when they accuse Israel of being a racist, Apartheid state. They completely ignore the fact that Israeli Arabs enjoy equal rights in Israel; they overlook the fact that there are thirteen Arab members in the Knesset.
This quote from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas given yesterday in Ramallah sums up the Palestinian Leadership and all the organizations standing against Israel today: “We have frankly said, and always will say, if there is an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital, we won’t agree to the presence of one Israeli in it,”
I'm sorry, but is this not an outright declaration of discrimination? Is this not what made APARTHEID what it was in South Africa? Of course it was.
Anti-Semitism is alive and thriving today Jew Hating is as popular today as it was in Europe in the early twentieth century. The only thing standing in the way of those who hate Israel and in the way of another Holocaust is Israel.
It is high time that Jews around the world realize this. And for any self-hating Jew or any Jew who thinks that secularism or outright denial will save his or her skin should the Jew-haters of the world succeed in destroying Israel, he or she had better look to the past and think again.:
Saturday, December 25, 2010
IS IT PLAIN STUPIDITY OR IS IT ABJECT JEW-HATING?
By Schmoel Yitzhak
There is a simple arithmetical equation to explain Middle East politics.
Israel gives an inch and the Arabs take a mile.
It happens over and over again and yet the judgmental world X-raying Israel seems blind to the obvious.
The evolving situation in Gaza is a good starting point for the explanation.
In 1967, Israel won a war started by the Arabs and did so whenever the assaults were repeated. As a result, Israelis settled in Gaza establishing industry, producing fruits and vegetables, making the land better.
Palestinians demonized the move and harassed the settlements at every turn. Finally, in a moment of soft-headed senility or a sagacious concession to peace -- YOU take your pick -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon chose to vacate all Jewish habitation in the Strip.
This was a difficult decision because Jews in Gaza did not want to leave and they had every reason to fight the eviction process. But Sharon was convinced that the forced exit would produce long-range peace. And who could quarrel with the PM's thinking. The end of 2005 saw 21 settlements dismantled and 8,000 Israelis uprooted.
Here he was showing the Arabs that he will unilaterally give up some of the most advanced cultivation of a hitherto arid land with no questions asked. A rational person would assume that such a gesture would receive a reciprocal glad hand and some sort of entente cordiale could be established between the conflicting parties.
Sharon's glad hand earned him an eventual slap in the face. For starters, the Palestinians systematically destroyed everything Jewish, from the hothouses to the synagogues. The Arabs preferred scorched earth to cultivation.
That in itself could be tolerated. After all, it was peace that the Israelis sought.
So, here's what the Sharon gesture ultimately earned in return: for eight years Hamas has fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. This was WAR in no uncertain terms; except that the United Nations did not think so. Not a single UN resolution was passed condemning the assaults. Not one.
When Israel retaliated it was condemned by the UN Human Rights Council. As one commentator noted, "By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as criminals."
Now imagine if thousands of rockets were fired by a hostile Canada at the United States. Or that an irate Mexico sent barrage after barrage into Texas. For how many minutes would Uncle Sam tolerate that?
Maybe five -- and then the counterattacks would begin.
Israel's response was patience, patience and more patience -- until it finally ran out and Operation Cast Lead was launched. It was done with precision so that a minimum of damage was done to the civilian population.
Of course it was impossible to avoid civilian casualties among the Arabs because Hamas was firing missiles from homes and schools. Mosques were weapons depots. Ambulances were used to move explosives.
Eventually a truce was declared and the assumption was that, once and for all, missile attacks on Israel would be over and some sort of calm would be restored; not for a day, not for a month but for a long, long time.
But since the Palestinians remain dedicated to the extermination of Israel, it was inevitable that the attacks would be resumed and they were.
No surprise there. For 62 years the Arabs have sidestepped a permanent peace yet Jew-hating throughout the world keeps increasing.
In Malmo, Sweden, Jews have emigrated because of constant harassment by the growing Muslim population.
In Seattle, Washington, buses are carrying posters condemning Israel for Operation Cast Lead as if there was no reason for Israel to retaliate against the aggression.
In Washington, D.C. there is a president who badly treated Israel's prime minister, There is a chief executive who has yet to visit the only democracy in the Middle East. Barack Obama's policies have encouraged isolation of Israel, no more no less.
The Gaza pullout earned no gains for Israel. The way Arabs think, it proved that Israel has gone soft, if not just plain loco.
Israel must fight back on all fronts because the threats are growing.
Bibi's government needs more friends like American publisher Rupert Murdoch; someone who knows the score and won't bow to the left-wing philosophy of politically correct.
"The world of 2010 is not the world of the 1930s," says Murdoch. "The threats Jews face today are different. But these threats are real. These threats are soaked in the ugly language familiar to anyone old enough to remember World War II.
"And these threats cannot be addressed until we see them for what they are: part of an ongoing war against the Jews."
That war not only is being launched in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and Syria but in the Unites States as well.
Anti-Israel billboards on Seattle buses say it all.
"This," adds Murdoch, "is the soft war that seeks to isolate Israel by delegitimizing it."
Israel must win this war and cannot give an inch because that kind of concession invites even more missile barrages!
There is a simple arithmetical equation to explain Middle East politics.
Israel gives an inch and the Arabs take a mile.
It happens over and over again and yet the judgmental world X-raying Israel seems blind to the obvious.
The evolving situation in Gaza is a good starting point for the explanation.
In 1967, Israel won a war started by the Arabs and did so whenever the assaults were repeated. As a result, Israelis settled in Gaza establishing industry, producing fruits and vegetables, making the land better.
Palestinians demonized the move and harassed the settlements at every turn. Finally, in a moment of soft-headed senility or a sagacious concession to peace -- YOU take your pick -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon chose to vacate all Jewish habitation in the Strip.
This was a difficult decision because Jews in Gaza did not want to leave and they had every reason to fight the eviction process. But Sharon was convinced that the forced exit would produce long-range peace. And who could quarrel with the PM's thinking. The end of 2005 saw 21 settlements dismantled and 8,000 Israelis uprooted.
Here he was showing the Arabs that he will unilaterally give up some of the most advanced cultivation of a hitherto arid land with no questions asked. A rational person would assume that such a gesture would receive a reciprocal glad hand and some sort of entente cordiale could be established between the conflicting parties.
Sharon's glad hand earned him an eventual slap in the face. For starters, the Palestinians systematically destroyed everything Jewish, from the hothouses to the synagogues. The Arabs preferred scorched earth to cultivation.
That in itself could be tolerated. After all, it was peace that the Israelis sought.
So, here's what the Sharon gesture ultimately earned in return: for eight years Hamas has fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. This was WAR in no uncertain terms; except that the United Nations did not think so. Not a single UN resolution was passed condemning the assaults. Not one.
When Israel retaliated it was condemned by the UN Human Rights Council. As one commentator noted, "By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as criminals."
Now imagine if thousands of rockets were fired by a hostile Canada at the United States. Or that an irate Mexico sent barrage after barrage into Texas. For how many minutes would Uncle Sam tolerate that?
Maybe five -- and then the counterattacks would begin.
Israel's response was patience, patience and more patience -- until it finally ran out and Operation Cast Lead was launched. It was done with precision so that a minimum of damage was done to the civilian population.
Of course it was impossible to avoid civilian casualties among the Arabs because Hamas was firing missiles from homes and schools. Mosques were weapons depots. Ambulances were used to move explosives.
Eventually a truce was declared and the assumption was that, once and for all, missile attacks on Israel would be over and some sort of calm would be restored; not for a day, not for a month but for a long, long time.
But since the Palestinians remain dedicated to the extermination of Israel, it was inevitable that the attacks would be resumed and they were.
No surprise there. For 62 years the Arabs have sidestepped a permanent peace yet Jew-hating throughout the world keeps increasing.
In Malmo, Sweden, Jews have emigrated because of constant harassment by the growing Muslim population.
In Seattle, Washington, buses are carrying posters condemning Israel for Operation Cast Lead as if there was no reason for Israel to retaliate against the aggression.
In Washington, D.C. there is a president who badly treated Israel's prime minister, There is a chief executive who has yet to visit the only democracy in the Middle East. Barack Obama's policies have encouraged isolation of Israel, no more no less.
The Gaza pullout earned no gains for Israel. The way Arabs think, it proved that Israel has gone soft, if not just plain loco.
Israel must fight back on all fronts because the threats are growing.
Bibi's government needs more friends like American publisher Rupert Murdoch; someone who knows the score and won't bow to the left-wing philosophy of politically correct.
"The world of 2010 is not the world of the 1930s," says Murdoch. "The threats Jews face today are different. But these threats are real. These threats are soaked in the ugly language familiar to anyone old enough to remember World War II.
"And these threats cannot be addressed until we see them for what they are: part of an ongoing war against the Jews."
That war not only is being launched in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and Syria but in the Unites States as well.
Anti-Israel billboards on Seattle buses say it all.
"This," adds Murdoch, "is the soft war that seeks to isolate Israel by delegitimizing it."
Israel must win this war and cannot give an inch because that kind of concession invites even more missile barrages!
Friday, December 24, 2010
JUST A FEW THOUGHTS GOING THROUGH MY HEAD
By Simon Fischler
Top Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat has taken time off from proclaiming that “No Jew will live in the future Palestinian State” to tell the press that the PA is afraid of a new Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Well, Saeb might very well be right about a new offensive happening, due to the increased amount of rockets being shot into southern Israel.
In the last week Israel has endured forty-four rockets from the Gaza Strip. Try to imagine Mexico shooting forty-four rockets into Texas or Arizona on weekly basis!
One of these rockets badly hurt a teenager when it fell next to the pre-school she was walking past. Make no mistake: the rocket was fired intentionally in the early morning, when Israelis are taking their children to school.
What does that sound like to you? Maybe like intentionally targeting civilians, which is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.
But I guess it does not count, because the rockets are being fired against Israelis and we are just not human enough for the world to care.
Here is the problem and where Mr. Erekat could be right. Had that rocket killed the teenage girl, or landed on the pre-school, killing innocent children, be sure that OPERATION CAST LEAD II would already have been underway.
Basically the terrorist organization running the Gaza Strip, HAMAS, is flaunting International Law on a daily and weekly basis.
They are not only intentionally targeting innocent civilians in Israel, they are also hiding behind the civilians they claim to protect, Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
That is a DOUBLE WHAMMY in the crimes against humanity department. But the world is quiet.
Is that not ironic? Seriously, where is Annie Lennox now? Why isn’t she protesting against the cruel actions being carried out by the rulers of the Gaza Strip?
Why isn’t UN Leader Ban Ki-moon demanding Hamas stop all rocket fire? Or, for that matter, why isn’t another GOLDSTONE REPORT being created to document the rocket attacks against Israel.
Why? Because this sick world is being run by ARAB OIL money! Those running the UN and its supposed Human Rights Watch are some of the worst PERPETRATORS of crimes against humanity, but because they have OIL they are untouchable.
By the way shouldn’t the American Government and other governments in the free world be deeply scared of the fact that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is about to totally give into the threats made by Hezbollah and cancel the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon?
After all, it was the Lebanese government with American and French backing that demanded the UN conduct a fair and honest trial after the Assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Hezbollah is threatening to stage a COUP in Lebanon if the tribunal isn’t tossed into the dust bin of history.
Why?
Hezbollah will do just about anything to stop this tribunal, because they know well enough that the tribunal will indict many of its top militants. How do they know this and why is Hezbollah so afraid? Because, indeed, it was Hezbollah that assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Does that mean the world should let Hezbollah get away with murder? Of course not!
For that matter, how can Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri stick a knife so far into the back of the dreams his father had for Lebanon: freeing Lebanon from the hands of Iran and Hezbollah?
He claims he is doing this for the benefit of the people of Lebanon. I really do not see how succumbing to Hezbollah’s (that is, Iran’s) militant threats and selling out the dream of the majority of Lebanon, is for the benefit of Lebanon.
Again, this dream he is about to abandon and destroy is the same one his father started and the same dream that got him and Fouad Siniora before him elected.
It is all the same game being played out by the Arab Governments time and time again.
The Palestinians continue their racist policies towards Israel (such as refusing to recognize Israel as the Jewish Nation State), while demanding Israel recognize Palestinian aspirations. They continue to shoot rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip while crying wolf to the world. In Lebanon the leadership continues to appease a hostile organization that pays no attention to what the people of Lebanon want.
All of this means is one thing: WAR is sure to come again!
Israel will be ready and the deaths the next war brings will be the fault of the World Organizations that still refuse to hold the Arab Governments responsible for their actions.
But who will be blamed? I think we all know.
Top Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat has taken time off from proclaiming that “No Jew will live in the future Palestinian State” to tell the press that the PA is afraid of a new Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Well, Saeb might very well be right about a new offensive happening, due to the increased amount of rockets being shot into southern Israel.
In the last week Israel has endured forty-four rockets from the Gaza Strip. Try to imagine Mexico shooting forty-four rockets into Texas or Arizona on weekly basis!
One of these rockets badly hurt a teenager when it fell next to the pre-school she was walking past. Make no mistake: the rocket was fired intentionally in the early morning, when Israelis are taking their children to school.
What does that sound like to you? Maybe like intentionally targeting civilians, which is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.
But I guess it does not count, because the rockets are being fired against Israelis and we are just not human enough for the world to care.
Here is the problem and where Mr. Erekat could be right. Had that rocket killed the teenage girl, or landed on the pre-school, killing innocent children, be sure that OPERATION CAST LEAD II would already have been underway.
Basically the terrorist organization running the Gaza Strip, HAMAS, is flaunting International Law on a daily and weekly basis.
They are not only intentionally targeting innocent civilians in Israel, they are also hiding behind the civilians they claim to protect, Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
That is a DOUBLE WHAMMY in the crimes against humanity department. But the world is quiet.
Is that not ironic? Seriously, where is Annie Lennox now? Why isn’t she protesting against the cruel actions being carried out by the rulers of the Gaza Strip?
Why isn’t UN Leader Ban Ki-moon demanding Hamas stop all rocket fire? Or, for that matter, why isn’t another GOLDSTONE REPORT being created to document the rocket attacks against Israel.
Why? Because this sick world is being run by ARAB OIL money! Those running the UN and its supposed Human Rights Watch are some of the worst PERPETRATORS of crimes against humanity, but because they have OIL they are untouchable.
By the way shouldn’t the American Government and other governments in the free world be deeply scared of the fact that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is about to totally give into the threats made by Hezbollah and cancel the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon?
After all, it was the Lebanese government with American and French backing that demanded the UN conduct a fair and honest trial after the Assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Hezbollah is threatening to stage a COUP in Lebanon if the tribunal isn’t tossed into the dust bin of history.
Why?
Hezbollah will do just about anything to stop this tribunal, because they know well enough that the tribunal will indict many of its top militants. How do they know this and why is Hezbollah so afraid? Because, indeed, it was Hezbollah that assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Does that mean the world should let Hezbollah get away with murder? Of course not!
For that matter, how can Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri stick a knife so far into the back of the dreams his father had for Lebanon: freeing Lebanon from the hands of Iran and Hezbollah?
He claims he is doing this for the benefit of the people of Lebanon. I really do not see how succumbing to Hezbollah’s (that is, Iran’s) militant threats and selling out the dream of the majority of Lebanon, is for the benefit of Lebanon.
Again, this dream he is about to abandon and destroy is the same one his father started and the same dream that got him and Fouad Siniora before him elected.
It is all the same game being played out by the Arab Governments time and time again.
The Palestinians continue their racist policies towards Israel (such as refusing to recognize Israel as the Jewish Nation State), while demanding Israel recognize Palestinian aspirations. They continue to shoot rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip while crying wolf to the world. In Lebanon the leadership continues to appease a hostile organization that pays no attention to what the people of Lebanon want.
All of this means is one thing: WAR is sure to come again!
Israel will be ready and the deaths the next war brings will be the fault of the World Organizations that still refuse to hold the Arab Governments responsible for their actions.
But who will be blamed? I think we all know.
Monday, December 20, 2010
PEACE ON EARTH, GOODWILL TO MEN -- IS THAT A JOKE, OR WHAT?
By Schmoel Yitzhak
When American children are between the ages of two and five, they are led to believe that, yes, there IS a Santa Claus and, if they behave, jolly, old St.Nicholas will bring them gifts for Christmas.
There's even an evergreen hit tune that goes with the myth:
"YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT, YOU'D BETTER NOT CRY; YOU'D BETTER NOT POUT, I'M TELLING YOU WHY -- SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN."
Santa -- alias Kris Kringle -- annually makes his first appearance at Thanksgiving Day parades and in large department stores thereafter. Most kids believe in him until, well, sooner or later they wise up to the facts and the hopes of seeing St. Nick come down the chimney disappear like smoke rings in the air.
Thus, the Santa Claus fantasy can easily be transformed to the world political stage, especially in the Middle East, where the annual dream of "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men" is so much fantasy that one can only react to it in two ways; 1. The thought of Israeli-Arab peace is a joke; 2. The thought of Israeli-Arab peace is a BIG joke; more like black humor.
At a certain point during the Christmas season, growing kids grow cynical about the Santa ruse and who can blame them?
Ditto for those who have any expectations of an Arab-Israeli negotiating breakthrough. We've been burned one time -- make that a dozen -- too many.
Were there any hope for a better result, it would have to come from the only realistic broker available and that would be Uncle Sam.
Unfortunately, the Uncle Sam who once considered himself the Number One Pal of Israel has turned into a political chameleon, a reptile capable of changing its color. Only now he's a viper.
Dr. Mike Evans of the Jerusalem Prayer Team has articulated this point as well as anyone on the Middle East news beat.
"The Obama Administration," says Dr. Evans, "continues to treat Israel as an enemy instead of an ally. The U.S. has failed to enforce a promise from Syria not to provide advance weapons to Hezbullah for use against Israel.
"America has stood by while Iran has used ambulances -- in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions -- to smuggle missiles and other weapons to their terrorist proxies."
What's so irksome about all this is that leaked secret documents make it abundantly clear that the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi have pleaded with Uncle Sam to take action against the Iranians. The point is clear; that unless Obama, Inc. takes REALISTIC, MILITARY action against Iran, the radical mullahs of Tehran will gain control of nuclear weapons. Any UN sanctions will have the power of Santa's bottom-of-the-bag gifts.
Even more revealing among the secret messages is that the aforementioned Arab nations quietly SUPPORT ISRAEL AGAINST IRAN but have been fearful to do so in public.
Sadly, when it comes to taking meaningful action in the Middle East, fear has so engulfed America's Chief Executive that the most he can summon in anger is demanding a halt in Israeli settlement construction; as if that will make a smidgen of difference among the militant Arabs.
One wonders whether Obama, Hilary Clinton and her State Department cohorts are cognizant of simple facts when it comes to hammering out a settlement.
Perhaps if either -- or all -- of them checked out the analysis of Jonathan Rosenblum, they might alter their we-make-our-decisions-with-Arab-blinders-on stance.
Founder of Jewish Media Resources, Rosenblum sees things clearly and sees them whole.
"Since Oslo," Rosenblum explains, "the Palestinians have refused every Israeli offer while 'pocketing' the latest Israeli concessions as the starting point for the next round of negotiations."
Most recently, we saw this scenario unfold when Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a lengthy moratorium on "settlement" construction in return for Mahmound Abbas agreeing to negotiations.
Well, we all know what happened. Abbas did nothing and then came back with yet another demand.
Can Israel expect any help from Obama? Not a chance. Guarantees from American presidents such as George W. Bush are tossed in the garbage by Obama, including Bush's landmark letter pledging full support of Israel.
Rosenblum: "The Obama administration has made clear that it does not view the Bush letter as binding upon it."
"Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men."
Arabs hatred of Israel (Jews) will subside via treaties.
Sorry.
Santa Claus isn't coming to Bethlehem, Tel Aviv nor Jerusalem this Christmas!
When American children are between the ages of two and five, they are led to believe that, yes, there IS a Santa Claus and, if they behave, jolly, old St.Nicholas will bring them gifts for Christmas.
There's even an evergreen hit tune that goes with the myth:
"YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT, YOU'D BETTER NOT CRY; YOU'D BETTER NOT POUT, I'M TELLING YOU WHY -- SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN."
Santa -- alias Kris Kringle -- annually makes his first appearance at Thanksgiving Day parades and in large department stores thereafter. Most kids believe in him until, well, sooner or later they wise up to the facts and the hopes of seeing St. Nick come down the chimney disappear like smoke rings in the air.
Thus, the Santa Claus fantasy can easily be transformed to the world political stage, especially in the Middle East, where the annual dream of "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men" is so much fantasy that one can only react to it in two ways; 1. The thought of Israeli-Arab peace is a joke; 2. The thought of Israeli-Arab peace is a BIG joke; more like black humor.
At a certain point during the Christmas season, growing kids grow cynical about the Santa ruse and who can blame them?
Ditto for those who have any expectations of an Arab-Israeli negotiating breakthrough. We've been burned one time -- make that a dozen -- too many.
Were there any hope for a better result, it would have to come from the only realistic broker available and that would be Uncle Sam.
Unfortunately, the Uncle Sam who once considered himself the Number One Pal of Israel has turned into a political chameleon, a reptile capable of changing its color. Only now he's a viper.
Dr. Mike Evans of the Jerusalem Prayer Team has articulated this point as well as anyone on the Middle East news beat.
"The Obama Administration," says Dr. Evans, "continues to treat Israel as an enemy instead of an ally. The U.S. has failed to enforce a promise from Syria not to provide advance weapons to Hezbullah for use against Israel.
"America has stood by while Iran has used ambulances -- in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions -- to smuggle missiles and other weapons to their terrorist proxies."
What's so irksome about all this is that leaked secret documents make it abundantly clear that the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi have pleaded with Uncle Sam to take action against the Iranians. The point is clear; that unless Obama, Inc. takes REALISTIC, MILITARY action against Iran, the radical mullahs of Tehran will gain control of nuclear weapons. Any UN sanctions will have the power of Santa's bottom-of-the-bag gifts.
Even more revealing among the secret messages is that the aforementioned Arab nations quietly SUPPORT ISRAEL AGAINST IRAN but have been fearful to do so in public.
Sadly, when it comes to taking meaningful action in the Middle East, fear has so engulfed America's Chief Executive that the most he can summon in anger is demanding a halt in Israeli settlement construction; as if that will make a smidgen of difference among the militant Arabs.
One wonders whether Obama, Hilary Clinton and her State Department cohorts are cognizant of simple facts when it comes to hammering out a settlement.
Perhaps if either -- or all -- of them checked out the analysis of Jonathan Rosenblum, they might alter their we-make-our-decisions-with-Arab-blinders-on stance.
Founder of Jewish Media Resources, Rosenblum sees things clearly and sees them whole.
"Since Oslo," Rosenblum explains, "the Palestinians have refused every Israeli offer while 'pocketing' the latest Israeli concessions as the starting point for the next round of negotiations."
Most recently, we saw this scenario unfold when Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a lengthy moratorium on "settlement" construction in return for Mahmound Abbas agreeing to negotiations.
Well, we all know what happened. Abbas did nothing and then came back with yet another demand.
Can Israel expect any help from Obama? Not a chance. Guarantees from American presidents such as George W. Bush are tossed in the garbage by Obama, including Bush's landmark letter pledging full support of Israel.
Rosenblum: "The Obama administration has made clear that it does not view the Bush letter as binding upon it."
"Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men."
Arabs hatred of Israel (Jews) will subside via treaties.
Sorry.
Santa Claus isn't coming to Bethlehem, Tel Aviv nor Jerusalem this Christmas!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
SURE THERE'LL BE PEACE -- WHEN THE ARABS STOP HATING ISRAEL, NOT A MOMENT SOONER
By Schmoel Yitzhak
It is astonishing how deceptive the so-called wise media members have been when analyzing Middle East politics.
Deceptive is one description of the mis-information regularly dispensed.
Illusions fits just as well.
Webster's Dictionary defines illusions thusly: "an erroneous interpretation."
A prime illusion is that the Arabs want peace with Israel.
Hatred generated by Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran is so patently obvious as to not even bear discussion. But this detestation of the Jews -- Israel -- runs far deeper and is infinitely more widespread than that generated by those hideous groups. There are others who masquerade as proponents of peace in the Arab world.
One who has clarified this point is Harold Rhode who served in the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment. Currently he is a Senior Advisor at the Hudson Institute in New York.
"The Saudis (Wahhabis) have lots of money," explains Rhode, "and they are using it to propagate their hatred of the West and Israel."
What's curious about that statement -- true as it is -- reverts to American policy. Uncle Sam views the Saudis (Wahhabis) as allies. Yet, it has been clear for decades that, as Rhode explains, "Wahhabism is fanatical and for Islam is the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan brand of Christianity."
How can one even suggest that Israeli-Arab peace can be attained if so-called "moderates" such as the Saudis want to bring down Israel as fervently as the fanatics in Gaza and Lebanon?
How can columnists such as Thomas Friedman continually bash Israel for building homes when it has been abundantly apparent for decades that whether "settlements" rise or not, Arab hostility will not abate.
Another observer who understands the folly of Friedman and his pathetically misguided ilk is Barry Rubin, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs.
"For the Palestinian Authority and its governing body, Fatah," asserts Rubin, "the goal is the transformation of all of the land into a Palestinian, Arab and Muslim state. For Hamas, it is the transformation of all of the land into an Islamic Palestinian state that is also Arab."
One would think -- here we have another illusion -- that supposedly bright individuals such as Hilary Clinton and (ahem!) Barack Obama would see these things as clearly as other Middle East analysts do but the American leaders are hellbent on appeasing the Arabs at any cost and continue to do so while getting slapped around in return.
Why would the president consistently send emissaries to Jerusalem and Ramallah when the missions are automatically doomed to failure?
This is a point that was clearly enunciated by Richard Holbrooke, the distinguished American ambassador who recently passed away. Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Holbrooke examined the Arab-Israeli peace prospects and put it this way:
"One over-riding reason that the current process cannot be called a 'peace process' is the simple fact that there is no one to negotiate with, since the Palestinian Authority is at war with itself.
"Israel's most dangerous enemies, Hamas and Hizbullah, seek the destruction of the Jewish State. They are not party to any of the agreements. Furthermore, they are backed by the single most dangerous nation in the entire region, perhaps even in the world: Iran.
"Hamas and Hizbullah will not negotiate and their backers in other countries, Iran and Syria, will not force them to the table."
I recall columnist Friedman once making a big deal out of a visit to Saudi Arabia where he allegedly won a Saudi promise of an Arab-Israeli peace pact. Later a Saudi-backed proposal was adopted at a Beirut Summit in March 2002 and, here again, an illusion was created that it was conciliatory to Israel.
Far from it.
"The press often reported that Saudi Arabia offered recognition to Israel for the first time in its proposal," noted Holbrooke. "However, the word recognition is (was) not used but rather the term 'normal relations' -- there may be a difference in meaning.
"More significant, what this proposal really does (did) is to lay out as a precondition for the negotiation the very thing being negotiated; this is a fundamental flaw, along with the fact that the Saudis are not willing to participate in the negotiations themselves."
Sound familiar.
Time and again, Mahmoud Abbas sets forth pre-condition after pre-condition in an effort to sidestep the direct negotiations agreed to by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abbas is too weak to hammer out an agreement even if he wanted to; which he doesn't. And anyone who believes that the Arabs seriously want to achieve a permanent, lasting peace with Israel is, well, suffering from illusions.
"These problems cannot be waved away by good intentions," Rubin concludes, "or clever peace plans. They will prevent an end to the conflict for decades until Palestinian leadership and ideology changes."
And, pray, have no illusions; Palestinian leadership and ideology is not about to change!
It is astonishing how deceptive the so-called wise media members have been when analyzing Middle East politics.
Deceptive is one description of the mis-information regularly dispensed.
Illusions fits just as well.
Webster's Dictionary defines illusions thusly: "an erroneous interpretation."
A prime illusion is that the Arabs want peace with Israel.
Hatred generated by Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran is so patently obvious as to not even bear discussion. But this detestation of the Jews -- Israel -- runs far deeper and is infinitely more widespread than that generated by those hideous groups. There are others who masquerade as proponents of peace in the Arab world.
One who has clarified this point is Harold Rhode who served in the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment. Currently he is a Senior Advisor at the Hudson Institute in New York.
"The Saudis (Wahhabis) have lots of money," explains Rhode, "and they are using it to propagate their hatred of the West and Israel."
What's curious about that statement -- true as it is -- reverts to American policy. Uncle Sam views the Saudis (Wahhabis) as allies. Yet, it has been clear for decades that, as Rhode explains, "Wahhabism is fanatical and for Islam is the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan brand of Christianity."
How can one even suggest that Israeli-Arab peace can be attained if so-called "moderates" such as the Saudis want to bring down Israel as fervently as the fanatics in Gaza and Lebanon?
How can columnists such as Thomas Friedman continually bash Israel for building homes when it has been abundantly apparent for decades that whether "settlements" rise or not, Arab hostility will not abate.
Another observer who understands the folly of Friedman and his pathetically misguided ilk is Barry Rubin, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs.
"For the Palestinian Authority and its governing body, Fatah," asserts Rubin, "the goal is the transformation of all of the land into a Palestinian, Arab and Muslim state. For Hamas, it is the transformation of all of the land into an Islamic Palestinian state that is also Arab."
One would think -- here we have another illusion -- that supposedly bright individuals such as Hilary Clinton and (ahem!) Barack Obama would see these things as clearly as other Middle East analysts do but the American leaders are hellbent on appeasing the Arabs at any cost and continue to do so while getting slapped around in return.
Why would the president consistently send emissaries to Jerusalem and Ramallah when the missions are automatically doomed to failure?
This is a point that was clearly enunciated by Richard Holbrooke, the distinguished American ambassador who recently passed away. Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Holbrooke examined the Arab-Israeli peace prospects and put it this way:
"One over-riding reason that the current process cannot be called a 'peace process' is the simple fact that there is no one to negotiate with, since the Palestinian Authority is at war with itself.
"Israel's most dangerous enemies, Hamas and Hizbullah, seek the destruction of the Jewish State. They are not party to any of the agreements. Furthermore, they are backed by the single most dangerous nation in the entire region, perhaps even in the world: Iran.
"Hamas and Hizbullah will not negotiate and their backers in other countries, Iran and Syria, will not force them to the table."
I recall columnist Friedman once making a big deal out of a visit to Saudi Arabia where he allegedly won a Saudi promise of an Arab-Israeli peace pact. Later a Saudi-backed proposal was adopted at a Beirut Summit in March 2002 and, here again, an illusion was created that it was conciliatory to Israel.
Far from it.
"The press often reported that Saudi Arabia offered recognition to Israel for the first time in its proposal," noted Holbrooke. "However, the word recognition is (was) not used but rather the term 'normal relations' -- there may be a difference in meaning.
"More significant, what this proposal really does (did) is to lay out as a precondition for the negotiation the very thing being negotiated; this is a fundamental flaw, along with the fact that the Saudis are not willing to participate in the negotiations themselves."
Sound familiar.
Time and again, Mahmoud Abbas sets forth pre-condition after pre-condition in an effort to sidestep the direct negotiations agreed to by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abbas is too weak to hammer out an agreement even if he wanted to; which he doesn't. And anyone who believes that the Arabs seriously want to achieve a permanent, lasting peace with Israel is, well, suffering from illusions.
"These problems cannot be waved away by good intentions," Rubin concludes, "or clever peace plans. They will prevent an end to the conflict for decades until Palestinian leadership and ideology changes."
And, pray, have no illusions; Palestinian leadership and ideology is not about to change!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
WHO'S LIVING IN NEGOTIATING DREAMLAND -- U.S. OR US?
By Schmoel Yitzhak
While he was alive and thriving, Ariel Sharon once examined Arab intransigence and declared that a genuine peace pact with Israel and the Palestinians was no sooner than twenty years away.
Based on the unrealistic events of the past few days, I would say unequivocally that Sharon was right on the mark with his pessimistic assessment of yesteryear.
Really, what manner of deal can be negotiated?
Start with the fact that Barack Obama thinks so much of the State of Israel that he has yet to set foot in the Middle East's only democracy.
That statement alone should end any hope that a realistic deal can some day be hammered out by his administration.
What in Heaven's name is Uncle Sam's Chief Executive waiting for; and don't tell me a written invitation.
So, instead he deputizes his lackey Mitchell who will coax some kind of concession out of Benjamin Netanyahu but that, too, will be useless.
Why?
Any deal with Israel is predicated on two points: 1. That the Arabs acknowledge Israel as The Jewish State; 2. There will be absolutely, positively no "right of return" granted to the Palestinians.
And if you want a third point; there will be no return to the 1967 borders.
If Mitchell can figure a way around those issues, I would like to know how but even if he does possess those magical powers, we're back to Square Two; and that happens to be the terrorists who rule Gaza.
Oh, yeah, there's a Square Three, Hezbollah. Which is another way of saying those terrorists who, for all intents and purposes, dominate Lebanese and Gaza politics must also want peace with the Jews. But they do not.
There is simply no point in negotiating "peace" -- as if that feat were possible -- with Mahmoud Abbas & Company if such a pact does not include Hamas. And as we all know, Hamas is about as interested in normal relations with Israel as a crocodile is with bringing a frog home as a peaceful guest. Ditto for Hezbollah.
Guys. Lackey Mitchell. Secretary of Sloth -- alias Hilary Clinton -- you folks either don't get it or don't want to get it.
If there is to be "peace," it must include the good intentions of Hezbollah, Hamas and any of the other bloodthirsty outfits who are nothing more than the octopus Iran's tentacles attempting to strangle Israel.
Obama, Clinton and the other Washington bumbling braintrusters have been missing the diplomatic boat ever since the Republicans left office. (And make no mistake, George W. Bush's gal, Condi Rice, was no bargain for Israel either. John Bolton WAS.)
The only answer then as now is for America to -- hopefully with a few allies -- militarily wipe out the Iranian atomic facilities. But badly-gone-soft Uncle Sam has no stomach for that.
Obama continually offers carrots with no sticks and that just inspires the Muslims to more and more aggression.
As for Mitchell, he will be welcomed in Jerusalem as always.
Bibi will move right to the core issues and maybe -- more likely not -- Abbas will come to the table once and for all.
Mahmoud The Not Magnificent will resume his demand for a settlement-building freeze and Bibi, rightfully, will say no.
Abbas will walk away and Mitchell will return to Washington. Obama will then find a way -- he always does -- to rip Israel and we'll be back to Square One once more.
That, my good friends, is reality.
If Mitchell hasn't figured that out now, he never will.
Ariel Sharon could have told him that a long time ago.
While he was alive and thriving, Ariel Sharon once examined Arab intransigence and declared that a genuine peace pact with Israel and the Palestinians was no sooner than twenty years away.
Based on the unrealistic events of the past few days, I would say unequivocally that Sharon was right on the mark with his pessimistic assessment of yesteryear.
Really, what manner of deal can be negotiated?
Start with the fact that Barack Obama thinks so much of the State of Israel that he has yet to set foot in the Middle East's only democracy.
That statement alone should end any hope that a realistic deal can some day be hammered out by his administration.
What in Heaven's name is Uncle Sam's Chief Executive waiting for; and don't tell me a written invitation.
So, instead he deputizes his lackey Mitchell who will coax some kind of concession out of Benjamin Netanyahu but that, too, will be useless.
Why?
Any deal with Israel is predicated on two points: 1. That the Arabs acknowledge Israel as The Jewish State; 2. There will be absolutely, positively no "right of return" granted to the Palestinians.
And if you want a third point; there will be no return to the 1967 borders.
If Mitchell can figure a way around those issues, I would like to know how but even if he does possess those magical powers, we're back to Square Two; and that happens to be the terrorists who rule Gaza.
Oh, yeah, there's a Square Three, Hezbollah. Which is another way of saying those terrorists who, for all intents and purposes, dominate Lebanese and Gaza politics must also want peace with the Jews. But they do not.
There is simply no point in negotiating "peace" -- as if that feat were possible -- with Mahmoud Abbas & Company if such a pact does not include Hamas. And as we all know, Hamas is about as interested in normal relations with Israel as a crocodile is with bringing a frog home as a peaceful guest. Ditto for Hezbollah.
Guys. Lackey Mitchell. Secretary of Sloth -- alias Hilary Clinton -- you folks either don't get it or don't want to get it.
If there is to be "peace," it must include the good intentions of Hezbollah, Hamas and any of the other bloodthirsty outfits who are nothing more than the octopus Iran's tentacles attempting to strangle Israel.
Obama, Clinton and the other Washington bumbling braintrusters have been missing the diplomatic boat ever since the Republicans left office. (And make no mistake, George W. Bush's gal, Condi Rice, was no bargain for Israel either. John Bolton WAS.)
The only answer then as now is for America to -- hopefully with a few allies -- militarily wipe out the Iranian atomic facilities. But badly-gone-soft Uncle Sam has no stomach for that.
Obama continually offers carrots with no sticks and that just inspires the Muslims to more and more aggression.
As for Mitchell, he will be welcomed in Jerusalem as always.
Bibi will move right to the core issues and maybe -- more likely not -- Abbas will come to the table once and for all.
Mahmoud The Not Magnificent will resume his demand for a settlement-building freeze and Bibi, rightfully, will say no.
Abbas will walk away and Mitchell will return to Washington. Obama will then find a way -- he always does -- to rip Israel and we'll be back to Square One once more.
That, my good friends, is reality.
If Mitchell hasn't figured that out now, he never will.
Ariel Sharon could have told him that a long time ago.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
WHERE TO NOW?
By Simon Fischler
With the utter failure of Obama’s Near-East diplomacy vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict one must truly wonder where their administration intends to go now.
From the beginning of his presidency Barack Obama shot himself in the foot by making Israeli settlements more of an issue than they really are. He, of course, did this to appease the Palestinians, something that never works.
Now President Obama and Company have tossed the settlement issue out the window. They have also achieved some small gains by getting the Egyptians, Jordanians and now the Syrians to all admit that settlement building should not hold up direct negotiations.
The question is: how can the international community help Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas climb down from the tree he climbed when he demanded a halt to settlement building?
Of course it does not help when the European community comes out and points the finger at Israel for the breakdown in negotiations.
The EU forgets that Israel gave a ten month freeze in settlement building that was intentionally wasted by the Palestinian Leadership.
The Europeans claim Israel is flaunting International Law, disregarding the fact that Israel made it very clear she will pull up all settlements that will not be in the agreed upon borders of Israel.
The Europeans also turn a blind eye towards the Palestinians’ constant incitement against Israel, ongoing acts of terror and rocket launching. In the ROAD MAP FOR PEACE, all three of these Palestinian obligations needed to be met before Israel stopped settlement building.
Making the situation even more ludicrous is the fact that it is impossible for the Palestinian Authority to stop rocket launching, which originates from Gaza and which they do not govern! This fact immediately calls into question whether Israel can even sign an agreement with PA president Mahmoud Abbas.
If the Obama Administration and the European Union really want to move things forward, they must start making the same demands of the Palestinians that they have made of Israel.
It would be wise for the Americans to rein in their EU friends; stop them from condemning Israel every second of the day and use their Arab allies to create an atmosphere where President Abbas and his minions can return to negotiations.
Hmmmmm, and that intelligent a move ought to happen just about the time ancient Queen Elizabeth abdicates and lets her almost-ancient son Charles take over!
With the utter failure of Obama’s Near-East diplomacy vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict one must truly wonder where their administration intends to go now.
From the beginning of his presidency Barack Obama shot himself in the foot by making Israeli settlements more of an issue than they really are. He, of course, did this to appease the Palestinians, something that never works.
Now President Obama and Company have tossed the settlement issue out the window. They have also achieved some small gains by getting the Egyptians, Jordanians and now the Syrians to all admit that settlement building should not hold up direct negotiations.
The question is: how can the international community help Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas climb down from the tree he climbed when he demanded a halt to settlement building?
Of course it does not help when the European community comes out and points the finger at Israel for the breakdown in negotiations.
The EU forgets that Israel gave a ten month freeze in settlement building that was intentionally wasted by the Palestinian Leadership.
The Europeans claim Israel is flaunting International Law, disregarding the fact that Israel made it very clear she will pull up all settlements that will not be in the agreed upon borders of Israel.
The Europeans also turn a blind eye towards the Palestinians’ constant incitement against Israel, ongoing acts of terror and rocket launching. In the ROAD MAP FOR PEACE, all three of these Palestinian obligations needed to be met before Israel stopped settlement building.
Making the situation even more ludicrous is the fact that it is impossible for the Palestinian Authority to stop rocket launching, which originates from Gaza and which they do not govern! This fact immediately calls into question whether Israel can even sign an agreement with PA president Mahmoud Abbas.
If the Obama Administration and the European Union really want to move things forward, they must start making the same demands of the Palestinians that they have made of Israel.
It would be wise for the Americans to rein in their EU friends; stop them from condemning Israel every second of the day and use their Arab allies to create an atmosphere where President Abbas and his minions can return to negotiations.
Hmmmmm, and that intelligent a move ought to happen just about the time ancient Queen Elizabeth abdicates and lets her almost-ancient son Charles take over!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
ABOUT LIES AND MORTARS SHELLS THAT KILL
By Schmoel Yitzhak
When it comes to out and out perfidy and hypocrisy nothing can match the respective actions of the United Nations and the Obama administration in terms of downright venal treatment of Israel.
For starters, just about anyone who knows anything about Middle Eastern politics knew from the get-go that Washington's most recent attempts to jump-start "peace talks" was doomed from the very beginning.
The reasoning was simple: 1. Benjamin Netanyahu had already agreed to a settlement construction freeze and honored it from beginning to end. It was designed to lure the Arabs back to the negotiation table and did nothing of the kind; 2. Once the freeze had ended, Israel's prime minister was free to flash a green light to a construction renewal and he did; 3. In a desperate attempt to lure Mahmoud Abbas back to peace talks, Barack Obama offered a thinly-veiled bribe -- warplanes and UN support -- for yet another construction freeze to Bibi who wisely said, in Hebrew, of course: "Thanks, but no thanks!"
This, eventually, led to acknowledgement by America's State Department that the latest American-sponsored mediation attempts had failed. There also was the promise that Uncle Sam was working on new ways to bring the rival groups together.
Unfortunately Obama couldn't leave well enough alone. The White House -- via the State Department -- then added its own version of yet another slap at Israel.
State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley declared that his country does not and will not accept Israel's continued West Bank "settlement" activity.
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," said Crowley, "and we will continue to express that position."
Oh, really.
The United States was built on Native American land and continues to build on land expropriated from the Native Americans. I've never heard Bibi suggest to Hilary Clinton nor her State Department Arabist cohorts that Israel does not accept the legitimacy of continued American settlements on what once was Native American land.
When will Obama and companions get it into their heads that it happens to be the Arabs who are not only intransigent but continually belligerent and hostile toward Israel. Not yesterday, not last year but forever. Yet not a peep about this is heard from Crowley, Clinton nor Obama.
Not a peep about Arab exultation over the horrific fire that gutted Northern Israel. The Palestinians cheered the blazes until the Arabs were hoarse.
Nor have we heard any State Department reprimands over the latest attacks emanating from Gaza. Apparently, the White House believes that mortars fired at Israelis are manufactured by Toys 'R Us.
Over and over again, mortar shells and rockets continue to be lobbed into Israel forcing residents to stay in shelters for their safety. This is warfare being launched by the Arabs and ignored by the United States and the United Nations as well.
You would think that UN Secretary-General Ban K-moon would take note of the fact that Arabs in Gaza incessantly wage war on Israel. In the most recent mortar attack a piece of shrapnel struck the head of security in one of the kibbutzim in the Eshkol regional council. The shrapnel hit the victim in the neck and he was airlifted to Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheva.
Instead, the UN leader parrots the Obama line about settlements rather than deal with life-and-death episodes constantly being provoked by the Arabs.
Let's not forget that one Israeli government after another endorsed settlement construction and the Netanyahu administration merely is continuing this policy.
It does so because there never has been one iota of reciprocity on the Arab side when it comes to seeking an agreement.
Always, it comes down to the bottom line: Bibi endorsed a two-state solution; an Arab Palestine and Israel as the Jewish state.
Abbas and his henchmen say nix to that; thus building continues in the West Bank.
Really, it's a simple equation; they want an Arab Palestine but they don't want to accept a Jewish state.
How come we never hear acknowledgment of that fact from Crowley, Clinton and their godfather the duplicitous Obama?
Answer: Because their idea of a fair shake in the Middle East is to tilt on the side of the Jew-haters.
When it comes to out and out perfidy and hypocrisy nothing can match the respective actions of the United Nations and the Obama administration in terms of downright venal treatment of Israel.
For starters, just about anyone who knows anything about Middle Eastern politics knew from the get-go that Washington's most recent attempts to jump-start "peace talks" was doomed from the very beginning.
The reasoning was simple: 1. Benjamin Netanyahu had already agreed to a settlement construction freeze and honored it from beginning to end. It was designed to lure the Arabs back to the negotiation table and did nothing of the kind; 2. Once the freeze had ended, Israel's prime minister was free to flash a green light to a construction renewal and he did; 3. In a desperate attempt to lure Mahmoud Abbas back to peace talks, Barack Obama offered a thinly-veiled bribe -- warplanes and UN support -- for yet another construction freeze to Bibi who wisely said, in Hebrew, of course: "Thanks, but no thanks!"
This, eventually, led to acknowledgement by America's State Department that the latest American-sponsored mediation attempts had failed. There also was the promise that Uncle Sam was working on new ways to bring the rival groups together.
Unfortunately Obama couldn't leave well enough alone. The White House -- via the State Department -- then added its own version of yet another slap at Israel.
State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley declared that his country does not and will not accept Israel's continued West Bank "settlement" activity.
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," said Crowley, "and we will continue to express that position."
Oh, really.
The United States was built on Native American land and continues to build on land expropriated from the Native Americans. I've never heard Bibi suggest to Hilary Clinton nor her State Department Arabist cohorts that Israel does not accept the legitimacy of continued American settlements on what once was Native American land.
When will Obama and companions get it into their heads that it happens to be the Arabs who are not only intransigent but continually belligerent and hostile toward Israel. Not yesterday, not last year but forever. Yet not a peep about this is heard from Crowley, Clinton nor Obama.
Not a peep about Arab exultation over the horrific fire that gutted Northern Israel. The Palestinians cheered the blazes until the Arabs were hoarse.
Nor have we heard any State Department reprimands over the latest attacks emanating from Gaza. Apparently, the White House believes that mortars fired at Israelis are manufactured by Toys 'R Us.
Over and over again, mortar shells and rockets continue to be lobbed into Israel forcing residents to stay in shelters for their safety. This is warfare being launched by the Arabs and ignored by the United States and the United Nations as well.
You would think that UN Secretary-General Ban K-moon would take note of the fact that Arabs in Gaza incessantly wage war on Israel. In the most recent mortar attack a piece of shrapnel struck the head of security in one of the kibbutzim in the Eshkol regional council. The shrapnel hit the victim in the neck and he was airlifted to Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheva.
Instead, the UN leader parrots the Obama line about settlements rather than deal with life-and-death episodes constantly being provoked by the Arabs.
Let's not forget that one Israeli government after another endorsed settlement construction and the Netanyahu administration merely is continuing this policy.
It does so because there never has been one iota of reciprocity on the Arab side when it comes to seeking an agreement.
Always, it comes down to the bottom line: Bibi endorsed a two-state solution; an Arab Palestine and Israel as the Jewish state.
Abbas and his henchmen say nix to that; thus building continues in the West Bank.
Really, it's a simple equation; they want an Arab Palestine but they don't want to accept a Jewish state.
How come we never hear acknowledgment of that fact from Crowley, Clinton and their godfather the duplicitous Obama?
Answer: Because their idea of a fair shake in the Middle East is to tilt on the side of the Jew-haters.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
WHEN WILL THE NEW YORK TIMES GET IT -- AND OTHER THOUGHTS
By Schmoel Yitzhak
Every once in a while -- in weak moment -- I enjoy a momentary fantasy that the New York Times will live up to its claim to be the "newspaper of record."
As far as I'm concerned, for the past decade, at least, it has been the newspaper of agenda; and when it comes to covering the Middle East, it's tilt as an anti-Israel broadsheet is blatantly evident by the month.
Sometimes this is reflected in the slanted writing of its Jerusalem-based reporters; at other times it is the manner in which it simply ignores stories that would embellish the image of Israel.
Most recently this prejudice against the Middle East's only democracy was evident in The Times' error of omission when printing a significant story would have been a blow to the Arab cause.
The key here was an admission by Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hamad that Hamas and its assorted cohorts in Gaza suffered the deaths of up to 700 of its soldiers in the Cast Lead (Israeli) invasion.
What's important to remember right here and now is that the United Nations' fallacious Goldstone Report claimed that civilian deaths in Gaza were much higher in number than those of the Hamas fighters.
As the Committee For Accuracy In Middle East Reporting In America (CAMERA) duly notes, "That (Goldstone) document indicated Israel had DELIBERATELY targeted non-combatants.
"The public, however, is unlikely to know that Hamas itself has now, in effect, refuted Goldstone, because Fathi Hamad's remarks have been largely ignored by major news organizations, including the New York Times."
If Hamas has gone public stating that its military wing -- not civilians, mind you -- suffered about 700 deaths, it refutes the Goldstone Report.
"These figures," CAMERA points out, "closely match the Israeli estimate of 709 combatant fatalities and indicate that combatants comprised around half of the Palestinian fatalities between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, far more than the 17 percent claimed by Palestinian groups."
Why, then, wouldn't The Times -- nor the UN for that matter -- update and correct The Goldstone Report?
In terms of the newspaper, it simply is following its anti-Israel agenda.
Historically speaking, this is nothing new in terms of Times' reaction to many threats to Jews over the years. After all the Times literally buried news stories about the Nazi extermination camps 'way back in its news sections and -- worse yet -- with insignificant, short stories.
Thus, it is absolutely no surprise that the Times has been silent about the Hamas revelation.
CAMERA correctly asserts, "The Times should run a front page follow-up on this new key information, i.e., that according to the Hamas disclosure, Israel's and Hamas tally of fighters was almost exactly the same, which substantially debunks the central thesis of Goldstone's allegations."
Is such an event likely to happen? We're talking about the agenda-rife Times so don't count on it!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRIENDS OF ISRAEL STILL EXIST IN ENGLAND:
Just when you think that Great Britain has, in fact, become an outpost of the Islamic Empire, someone in England stands up to support Israel.
The following is an excerpt from a speech given in the House of Commons by member Andrew Roberts.
"The state of Israel has packed more history into her 62 years on the planet than many other nations have in six hundred. There are many surprising things about this tiny, feisty, brave nation the size of Wales, but the most astonishing is that she has survived at all.
"The very day after the new state was established, she was invaded by the armies of now fewer than five Arab countries, and she has been struggling for her right to life ever since.
"No people in history have needed the right to self-defense and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel, and that is what we friends of Israel demand today."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AND, YES, ISRAEL HAS FRIENDS IN JAPAN:
Ripping the Arab anti-Israel mantra to shreds, Yashiko Sagamori, a Japanese journalist, offers some pungent points about the Middle East. To wit:
"The truth should be obvious to everyone who wants to know it. Arab countries have never abandoned the dream of destroying Israel; they still cherish it today.
"Having time and again failed to achieve their evil goal with military means, they decided to fight Israel by proxy. For that purpose, they created a terrorist organization, cynically called it "the Palestinian people" and installed it in Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
"How else can you explain the refusal by Jordan and Egypt to unconditionally accept back the "West Bank" and Gaza, respectively."
Truer words never were spoken!
Every once in a while -- in weak moment -- I enjoy a momentary fantasy that the New York Times will live up to its claim to be the "newspaper of record."
As far as I'm concerned, for the past decade, at least, it has been the newspaper of agenda; and when it comes to covering the Middle East, it's tilt as an anti-Israel broadsheet is blatantly evident by the month.
Sometimes this is reflected in the slanted writing of its Jerusalem-based reporters; at other times it is the manner in which it simply ignores stories that would embellish the image of Israel.
Most recently this prejudice against the Middle East's only democracy was evident in The Times' error of omission when printing a significant story would have been a blow to the Arab cause.
The key here was an admission by Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hamad that Hamas and its assorted cohorts in Gaza suffered the deaths of up to 700 of its soldiers in the Cast Lead (Israeli) invasion.
What's important to remember right here and now is that the United Nations' fallacious Goldstone Report claimed that civilian deaths in Gaza were much higher in number than those of the Hamas fighters.
As the Committee For Accuracy In Middle East Reporting In America (CAMERA) duly notes, "That (Goldstone) document indicated Israel had DELIBERATELY targeted non-combatants.
"The public, however, is unlikely to know that Hamas itself has now, in effect, refuted Goldstone, because Fathi Hamad's remarks have been largely ignored by major news organizations, including the New York Times."
If Hamas has gone public stating that its military wing -- not civilians, mind you -- suffered about 700 deaths, it refutes the Goldstone Report.
"These figures," CAMERA points out, "closely match the Israeli estimate of 709 combatant fatalities and indicate that combatants comprised around half of the Palestinian fatalities between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, far more than the 17 percent claimed by Palestinian groups."
Why, then, wouldn't The Times -- nor the UN for that matter -- update and correct The Goldstone Report?
In terms of the newspaper, it simply is following its anti-Israel agenda.
Historically speaking, this is nothing new in terms of Times' reaction to many threats to Jews over the years. After all the Times literally buried news stories about the Nazi extermination camps 'way back in its news sections and -- worse yet -- with insignificant, short stories.
Thus, it is absolutely no surprise that the Times has been silent about the Hamas revelation.
CAMERA correctly asserts, "The Times should run a front page follow-up on this new key information, i.e., that according to the Hamas disclosure, Israel's and Hamas tally of fighters was almost exactly the same, which substantially debunks the central thesis of Goldstone's allegations."
Is such an event likely to happen? We're talking about the agenda-rife Times so don't count on it!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRIENDS OF ISRAEL STILL EXIST IN ENGLAND:
Just when you think that Great Britain has, in fact, become an outpost of the Islamic Empire, someone in England stands up to support Israel.
The following is an excerpt from a speech given in the House of Commons by member Andrew Roberts.
"The state of Israel has packed more history into her 62 years on the planet than many other nations have in six hundred. There are many surprising things about this tiny, feisty, brave nation the size of Wales, but the most astonishing is that she has survived at all.
"The very day after the new state was established, she was invaded by the armies of now fewer than five Arab countries, and she has been struggling for her right to life ever since.
"No people in history have needed the right to self-defense and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel, and that is what we friends of Israel demand today."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AND, YES, ISRAEL HAS FRIENDS IN JAPAN:
Ripping the Arab anti-Israel mantra to shreds, Yashiko Sagamori, a Japanese journalist, offers some pungent points about the Middle East. To wit:
"The truth should be obvious to everyone who wants to know it. Arab countries have never abandoned the dream of destroying Israel; they still cherish it today.
"Having time and again failed to achieve their evil goal with military means, they decided to fight Israel by proxy. For that purpose, they created a terrorist organization, cynically called it "the Palestinian people" and installed it in Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
"How else can you explain the refusal by Jordan and Egypt to unconditionally accept back the "West Bank" and Gaza, respectively."
Truer words never were spoken!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)