PEACE ON EARTH -- YEAH, BUT WHERE?

By Schmoel Yitzhak

Peace on earth -- good will to all men.

You hear it everywhere; see it everywhere in places where Christmas is celebrated.

The themes -- peace and good will -- are wonderful except when you check out the Arab Spring. 

Try the following check list and you'll see what I mean: 

* EGYPT: President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood has hijacked the country. All you have to do is check out the protests against the government that have been occurring on a regular basis. Some peace. Some good will as they battle over new constitution that a good chunk of the nation detests.

* LEBANON: Hezbollah continues its rocket build-up while its phantom bossman, Nasrallah, plays hide-and-seek with the civilized world. His explosives -- and promise to use them -- promise neither peace nor good will.

* SYRIA: It's difficult to choose between evils. Which is worse; Assad's forces who daily mow down the opposition? Or the opposition which has been annexed by Al Qaeda? Check out 9/11 for Al Qaeda's version of peace and good will. President Bashar al-Assad is a bad, bad, baaaad guy but it's quite conceivable that his foes may be just as evil and possibly even worse.

* GAZA: Hamas pleaded for a cease fire because its terrorist forces were being pummeled by the Israeli Air Force and the IDF was about to invade the Arab sanctuary and once and for all de-militarize the Strip. Meanwhile Hamas leaders continue to spew hatred at Israel and issue threats to take over the Jewish state. No matter how you translate them, Hamas messages are neither of peace nor good will.

* WEST BANK ARABS: Abbas & Company want to talk peace, but only on their terms.  Most recently they have broken the Oslo Accords and politically are on a treadmill to oblivion. When Abbas has nothing better to do he threatens to disband the PA. His main concern should be -- and likely is -- that Hamas eventually will do in Judea and Samaria what it did to Gaza. All that will save Abbas is Israel yet he preaches neither peace nor good will toward the Middle East's only genuine democracy. 

* THE EUROPEAN UNION: Building apartment buildings and other homes that do not include guns nor rocket-launchers should not bother any so-called peacemakers as the EU likes to think of itself. But when Hamas and Hezbollah build rockets and hide the launchers in civilian dwellings, the EU ignores such in the manner of human ostriches. But when Israel wants to build peaceful apartments peacefully, the EU acts as if nuclear warheads are being constructed in every other Jerusalem room. Thus, the EU's concept of peace and good will is about as straight arrow as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

* IRAN: As the mullahs merrily roll along constructing a world-threatening nuclear powerhouse, the world reacts with political counterpunches that have the power of cleansing tissues. While Tehran's leaders continually threaten to wipe Israel off the map, Uncle Sam, John Bull and the rest of the world works themselves into a giant snit over peaceful dwellings being built by peaceful Jews. It seems as if the peace and good will is unevenly distributed, doesn't it?

* WASHINGTON: President Obama had no choice but to support Israel's answer to Hamas as well as reject the Abbas United Nations charade. But the President's rejection of Jews building houses for Jews sounds roughly equivalent to the Klu Klux Klan rejecting the idea of African-Americans building homes in white neighborhoods. Why would any one object to a home built peacefully and with good will whether it's in Mississippi, Jerusalem or Ramallah? If Obama truly "has Israeli's back," that should include the front of the apartments and the back of Jewish apartments wherever they shall be; even if they're in Gaza or Lebanon.

You get the point; peace on earth and good will to all men is a noble precept ignobly applied. 

Nothing could be more ignoble than the manner in which the United Nations, the European Union, Obama's Washington and the Arab world have continually ganged up on Israel in virtually every political forum for decades. 

Therefore, when it comes to supporting "peace and good will," Benjamin Netanyahu must support one -- and only one -- policy. 

He must fight to ensure that Israelis enjoy peace even at the expense of forfeiting the "good will" of the EU, UN, US and others who have forsaken fair play to win the support of Arab oil.

In conclusion, if you're wondering how peace and good will work in the Arab Spring, check out the casualty figures in Syria on Christmas Day.