The Day In Israel: Wednesday Mar 10th, 2010
From the Department of Bad Timing:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to alleviate new tensions with the United States on Tuesday, after an announcement that Israel will build 1,600 new homes in an ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood drew strong condemnation from the White House, and visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
The prime minister reportedly promised Biden “No one was seeking to embarrass you or undermine your visit – on the contrary, you are a true friend to Israel.”
Biden arrived in Israel on Monday in an attempt to kick-start long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which had been expected to resume in the coming days, but looked in danger Tuesday after a furious response from the Palestinians to the construction plan.
Netanyahu told Biden during their meeting in Jerusalem earlier in the day that he had had no prior knowledge of the decision to authorize the additional construction, and added that the program had been drafted three years ago and only received initial authorization that day. It could take several months, Netanyahu assured him, before the program is granted final approval.
Netanyahu told his guest that the regional councils are not under the political leadership’s direct authority, and that his administration tries not to interfere with their work.
A high-ranking official in Jerusalem, however, said Netanyahu has “no problem” with construction in Jerusalem and has no intention of apologizing for building there. The official acknowledged, however, that the announcement’s timing was harmful to Israel’s diplomatic interests.
“We didn’t want to humiliate Biden or sow division while he is in Israel,” the official said.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
11:40PM: Oh, this should be good:
Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will open the first international conference on the theology of peace, justice and reconciliation in a Palestinain context, hosted by the Bethlehem Bible College and Holly Land Trust, organizers said.
The conference, titled Christ at the Checkpoint: Theology in the Service of Peace and Justice, is set to run 12-17 March, and “aims to equip the global church to understand Scripture as it relates to the Palestinian context,” a news brief about the conference said.
Perhaps a good starting point would be to look at references to the palestinians in scripture.
Yes, exactly.
8:00PM: Biased caption of the day:
Palestinian women supporters of the Islamic Jihad movement march during a rally against Israel’s decision to include two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites, in the Jebaliya refugee camp, north of Gaza City, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Forgetting a minor detail there, Mr caption writer?
5:52PM: With Joe Biden in Israel, the PA ordered the cancellation of a ceremony to honor terrorist Dalal al-Mughrabi by naming a traffic circle near Ramallah after her and unveiling a memorial plaque.
Or should that be postponement.
4:50PM: Ynet reports:
US Vice President Joe Biden has told the Palestinians that they deserve a “viable” independent state with contiguous territory.
—-
At a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Biden reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s plan and urged both sides to refrain from actions that could “inflame” tensions.
The American VP said Israel’s plan was undermining Palestinian faith in new peace negotiations.
“It is incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations and not to complicate them,” Biden told reporters.
“Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem undermines that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin … profitable negotiations,” he said.
Abbas, for his part, urged Israel to commit to the peace process. “The Palestinians remain committed to peace as a strategic choice,” he said.
If I am not mistaken, Biden made this comments while standing under a banner of arch terrorist and father of the airline hijacking, Yasser Arafat, which serves as a reminder as to how the palestinians do not deserve a “viable” independent state with contiguous territory, and are not committed to peace as a strategic choice.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, talks during a press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, not pictured, as he is backdropped by a banner of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Israel’s new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jews in Palestinian-claimed east Jerusalem overshadowed Biden’s visit to the West Bank on Wednesday.
3:10PM: The Corrie circus is in town.
A court today began hearing a civil suit brought against the Israeli government over the death of Rachel Corrie, the US activist who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago.
The case, brought before a Haifa court by Corrie’s family, challenges the official Israeli version of events in which the military said its troops were not to blame. The family hopes the hearing will be a chance to put on public record the events that led to their daughter’s death in March 2003. If the Israeli state is found responsible, the family will press for at least $300,000 (£201,000) in damages.
Before the hearing began, Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father, said the family had been on a “seven-year search for justice in Rachel’s name”.
“I think when the truth comes out about Rachel, the truth will not wound Israel, the truth is the start of making us heal,” he said.
Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother, said the family was still waiting for the credible, transparent investigation Israel first promised into her daughter’s death.
“I just want to say to Rachel that our family is here today trying to just do right by her and I hope that she will be very proud of the effort we are making,” she said.
The family’s lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, will argue that witness evidence shows the soldiers saw Corrie at the scene, with other activists, well before the incident and could have arrested her or removed her from the area before there was any risk of her being killed.
He will argue her death was either due to gross negligence by the Israeli authorities or was intentional.
Four key witnesses – three Britons and an American – who were at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed are to give evidence.
The first witness to give evidence was Richard Purssell, a Briton who was an ISM volunteer along with Corrie. He described how he had gone to Gaza to see the situation for himself and to prevent the Israeli military from demolishing Palestinian houses.
He said the ISM told him it was a strictly non-violent organisation. “Our role was to support Palestinian non-violent resistance.”
He briefly described the moment Corrie was killed. “Rachel disappeared inside the earth and the bulldozer continued for 4 metres and then reversed,” he told the court.
Corrie, who was born in Olympia, Washington, travelled to Gaza to act as a human shield at a moment of intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians.
On the day she died, when she was just 23, she was dressed in a fluorescent orange vest and was trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah. She was crushed under a military Caterpillar D9R bulldozer and died shortly afterwards.
A month after her death the Israeli military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame and said the driver of the bulldozer had not seen her and did not intentionally run her over.
Instead, it accused her and the group she was with, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), of behaviour that was “illegal, irresponsible and dangerous.”
The army report, obtained by the Guardian in April 2003, said she “was struck as she stood behind a mound of earth that was created by an engineering vehicle operating in the area and she was hidden from the view of the vehicle’s operator who continued with his work. Corrie was struck by dirt and a slab of concrete resulting in her death.”
But several witnesses offered a different version of events, saying the driver had seen her but continued anyway, hitting her with the bulldozer blade. She was severely injured and died shortly afterwards in an ambulance.
While Corrie was in the Palestinian territories, she wrote vividly about her experiences. Her diaries were later turned into a play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, which has toured internationally, including in Israel and the West Bank.
I have to chuckle. The ISM is constantly complaining when Israel arrests its “activists” (i.e. terror enablers) who are obstructing IDF operations designed to bring security to Israeli civilians. Yet now Corrie’s lawyer is arguing Israel could have arrested her.
Meanwhile, if you want to know more about what happened to Rachel Corrie, I suggest you start here:
The Upcoming Rachel Corrie Trial: Go After Her Real Killers
11:52AM: Old and busted: settlement freeze.
New hotness: Illegal palestinian worker freeze.
Despite the hot weather, an ice cream truck investigated in Netanya on Tuesday was not transporting ice cream to bathers on the beach, but Palestinians illegally present in Israel.
Netanya police carried out routine checks in the city’s southern neighborhoods. “We got to Ramat Poleg beach, where we saw an ice cream truck parked near the restaurant on the beach,” Community Officer Avinoam Shoshan said. “I know this beach well, and know there isn’t an ice cream truck there usually. We observed the truck, and saw people going into the vehicle.”
The vehicle and the activity around it raised the suspicions of the police. “We decided to check it out from close up,” Shoshan said
“We knocked on the vehicle, but nobody opened it. We continued until finally the door was opened and people began to exit – not one or two, but 14, one after the other. Upon investigation, we saw that the vehicle’s storage area had been turned into a big bedroom, for 14 people.”
Further checks revealed that all 14 are Palestinians who are in Israel illegally. Some of them have a criminal past, some are not permitted to enter at all.
6:18AM: Interview with a Syrian political analyst regarding Syria’s claim that Israel dropped uranium particles in an attempt to justify bombing a desert site.
Noteworthy: Syrian political analyst’s “didn’t hear your question” when faced with a tough one, followed by lame answer (from 1:40 onwards).
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About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
"The ministry said the plan is intended to ease the ultra-Orthodox community's housing shortage, and 30 percent of the units will be relatively small and inexpensive, aimed at young couples. " Oh, my, how horrible!
What is Ramat Shlomo? Is it part of Ramot?
I would like people to understand how in these matters people are basically living on different planets.
Ramat Shlomo is a residential neighborhood next to Ramot, the latter being a huge complex of several neighborhoods of apartment buildings. The people in both would be quite astounded to learn that they were settlers or lived in settlements. As far as they are concerned, they live in Jerusalem, period, the capital of Israel. The most controversial thing about Ramat Shlomo was thirty years ago, when there were plans to build a stadium there, and some people were concerned that it would increase the Shabbat traffic on the Ramot Road (a.k.a. Golda Meir Ave.). (At least I think that's where it was.)
Wait till we withdraw from J&S and they say all Israel is a settlement.
They don't now?
I will say this. Ramat Shlomo is an integral part ofthe New City, not some annexed Arab Villiage. Anyone who says we can't build there is not our friend.
This posted from the settlement of Yoqneam Ilit, just south of the Druze settlements of Dala'at Al Carmel and Osifiya, and my home settlement of Haifa.
Aw that's awesome. I love the Druze, as I think I've said before. I should really get a book on them… Just so cool. In 1948, they immediately picked up arms and joined the Israelis from what I've read.
Not as much as they will then.
I did see two things to indicate a difference, when visiting a friend in Ramot. One was that the barrier iss right there, and the other that his "neighbor" is an Arab who has moved there when Jordan occupied it in 1948-49. He has a whole compound where he and his schildren live, and no-one has tried to throw them out. Our friend and he talked once about trading language lessons. Maybe the Arab is a settler? (By the way, people commonly cross the barrier because there is a famous Jewish grave just on the other side, IIRC.)
One can still see the bullet holes from '48 through '67on the outside of some buildings in the Sanhedria neighborhood. Back then, they were on the edge of no-man's land on the border with Jordan. There was nothing but barren hills on the Jordanian side.
No there were beautiful Palestinian villages and olive groves that Palestinians tended every day as joyful folk….until the Jew—Zionists! came and bulldozed everything and stole the Palestinians land. </sarcasm>
I give Shy Guy and Michael K. credit for their honesty. If I understand them, all the land between the Jordan and the Sea belong to the Jews and the Arabs have no valid claims. Why can't Netanyahu be as honest? He claims to support a two-state solution but makes no real efforts to create an environment for genuine negotiations with the Arabs. He supports Jewish expansion in the West Bank and Jerusalem, but says he values U.S. support for Israel which opposes this very policy. Just own your own positions, Bibi. Don't pretend to be something you're not.
I never said that; I was speaking of Jerusalem, and that belongs to all Israelis, of whatever sort – not just Jews.
Now I do not see how Netanyahu is not creating "an environment for genuine negotiations with the Arabs", when you take into account that people's personal needs should be taken into account. It is Abbas how is keeping a two-state solution from occurring, by refusing to compromise.
And can't he "value U.S. support for Israel", and disagree on anything? Besides, have you polled the Congress?
I just saw the Likud registration form. It refers to itself as a "Liberal Nationalist Party". Can't trust thse liberals!
So you support a two-state solution? And there is a difference between honest disagreement and a concerted effort to sabotage American efforts in the region. I agree the Palestinians don't do nearly enough to help themselves. But they're such a dysfunctional stateless mess of a government. I can't expect as much from them as I do our Israeli friends. A negotiated settlement is in Israel's best interest anyway. Over time, a one state solution means no more Israel as a Jewish state.
I am here two years; I do not have offical opinions on security issues.
Please explain, in specific concrete terms, an exact action that Netanyahu did to sabotage "American efforts", whatever that means. I do not believe that this is so.
(I have always, all my life, never considered the Department of State representative of the United States itself, But no matter.)
You know better than I what goes on day after day in the West Bank. The Netanyahu administration does nothing to remove illegal outposts. The Netanyahu administration refuses to accept American initiatives to implement a settlement freeze, a precondition for Palestinians to come to the negotiation table. Members of the Government have complete freedom to make statements which sabotage American efforts to initiate talks with the Arabs (If you need specifics, just read Ha'aretz for the last 6 months.) It seems that Arutz Sheva has more influence on the Israeli government than the American State Department. This alone is outrageous and irresponsible of the current Government. The sooner it is replaced, the sooner a real partnership between America and Israel can be created to make a two-state solution a possibility.
I will just say that this is the exact opposite of what Netanyahu is doing. He is implementing a horribly draconian freeze, way beyond what he even claimed he is doing. I've reported on it here. He is in real trouble from his party; he tried to postpone the primaries.
BTW, you aren't quoting Ha'aretz, you are quoting some English web service they run, which I think is quite inferior to the actual ha'aretz (not that I'm a fan of that), as Ynet is to the real Idiot.
Ynet is bad? i always liked ynet.
It's rather sketchy, no? And they refer to terrorists as militants.
But I haven't read it much.
Well arguably someone shooting a gun at a soldier is a militant, while one attacking civilians to provoke fear is a terrorist. And then you can also talk about militant (belief) that doesnt necessarily mean violence. But even so, I still refer to Hamas fighters as terrorists.
I believe the term is from the French, franc-tirier, free-shooter, for someone who does not follow the rules of war. But my source is fiction, so I could be wrong.
At any rate, I'll take a look the next time I see the reference and report if it does not involve soldiers.
"The Netanyahu administration does nothing to remove illegal outposts."
Irrelevant, as they can always be removed in the process of a peace deal. Why should Israel make more unilateral concessions for a negotiation that is likely to go nowhere? Israel already proved it is capable of removing settlements. The PA hasn't even proven it's actually interested in a compromise…
"The Netanyahu administration refuses to accept American initiatives to implement a settlement freeze, a precondition for Palestinians to come to the negotiation table."
Whose precondition? The Palestinians never made this demand until Obama came out of the blue with this. Maybe the answer is for Obama to climb down.
"Members of the Government have complete freedom to make statements which sabotage American efforts to initiate talks with the Arabs."
This is the Israeli Parliamentary system where small parties have a lot of power, and no one party ever had a majority (>60), but only a plurality (and even that may not be sufficient to form a government**). There has been only two Israeli governments ever (out of a total of 32) which managed to complete their term***.
** The Likud is only the second largest party in the Knesset right now. In spite of Kadima's majority, it had absolutely no hope of forming a government.
*** http://www.knesset.gov.il/govt/heb/memshalot.asp – The dates are the terms of the respective governments.
"It seems that Arutz Sheva has more influence on the Israeli government than the American State Department."
Unlikely. Their media share is negligible AFAIK (a comparison to Fox would be misleading here).
Although I think b’sheva’s week-end circulation compares well with ha’aretz’s.
I always felt that this term would go to full because Netanyahu seemed to have it balanced just right and could always fall back if there was a danger of collapse.
Of course I only have a small knowledge of Israeli politics that I've read during the election.
If he falls, it will be the right that takes him down. And they don't want to, because they know history tells us that Kadima would probably win the next elections if this happens. So they are trying to see how much pain they can bear before it becomes unbearable.
Generally, they blame Barak for anything bad that happens.
Tzippi who?
Yeah that's pretty much what I figured. In my roleplay, which I think I mentioned once before, when I played Israel, I had Herskovitz's group leave over continued settlement freezes, but kept Netanyahu for the whole term.
They better have that Israeli Politics course next semester.
I'll be happy to help correct the biases.
Between me and my father, we have the history past the start of the state. The cute bit in Israel, is that almost EVERYTHING precedes the State.
I think it's taught by an Israeli, but even so…
I took a history course of the Jews until 1400 last semester. Very good stuff and did note that life was not all fun and games under Islamic rule, although it was overall better than Christian rule.
It's true Nathanyahu played his cards well, yet he is still at the mercy of events. The threat in this scenario is less the settler parties than Israel Beithnu or (less likely) a backbencher revolt in the Likud. If Israel Beithnu decides to leave too (planning to run to the right of Likud), this would make Nathanyahu dependent on the fractious Labour and/or (unlikely if it hasn't happened until then) defecting Kadima members. That's rather risky (Labour is internally divided and would be pressed hard from the Left), and will force him to the Left more than he likes.
In short, I believe this is not an empty threat (they can harm Nethanyahu), but it's a double-edged one for all the parties involved. I expect the coalition to survive for another year at least, after that everything is unpredictable (though this coalition is indeed more stable than most).
I just realized what you said. "It seems that Arutz Sheva has more influence on the Israeli government than the American State Department."
Well, I would hope so! The Arabists in the State department have their own foreign policy, independant of the "summer help" (elected officials) and congressional legislation. I hope MARTIANS have more influence than that bunch of jerks. And I am saying this as an American, not as an Israeli, and in spite of the fact that one of them enabled me to make it through college.
And you find this "outrageous and irresponsible"?
Oh, should we mention the role of the State Department in making sure almost no-one escaped the holocaust?
America is our friend, at least sometimes. The Obama admistration is neither our friend nor our enemy. The Department of State is an enemy of the State of Israel.
Historically, the Likud is a union between Herut (the old right wing party headed by Begin) and the Liberals (In most non-American systems, "liberal" describe moderate right wing parties. e.g. the Australian Liberal Party is the right-wing one).
Abbas is open to compromise: a compromise between the Green Line and the Mediterranean.
Please add me to the list. However, most Israelis (Left and Right) are willing to get a practical compromise even if we don't get all that we want and deserve – Israelis understand that getting full justice is impractical (and possibly inhumane) in this conflict. However, it must be a compromise that guarantees Israel's needs, not one that gives in to all Palestinian demands and than asks for more. As Abu Mazen said in the Fatah conference**, the PA hasn't given up on anything since 1988 [and even that is dubious given their record]. Are Americans ever going to ask anything of them, or is the actual American position that the Palestinians should be rewarded for their terrorist campaign by an even more generous offer than the ones rejected by them in Camp David and in Taba?
** http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/… – you might not trust the source, but it sure matches the actual Palestinian negotiating position.
Death by a thousand cuts.
Of, course, rewarding terrorism has been trhe ISRAELI postion since Oslo.
I recognize that Joe Biden has been a long time friend of Israel. Israel should be thankful for that relationship and not create problems for him when he visits.
I personally believe that in any distant future peace settlement, I would like to see East Jerusalem (all the Arab sections of it) minus the Old City given over to the Palestinians, along with all other Arab villages bordering the green line. I want to preserve the Jewish demographics.
Having said this, the reality is that all of Jerusalem functions under the municipality of Jerusalem, it has for decades and will continue for many decades more. It is up to that municipality to make appropriate decisions on housing. The idea that housing can't be built because Jews will live there is fundamentally grotesque and racist.
I have seen a shift in the press. We are seeing more and more where neighborhoods in Jerusalem are called "settlements". This has been a great success for the propagandists of the PA. It needs to be fought with good Hasbarah.
Insulting Joe Biden, our long time friend is not good Hasbarah
Stan
You do know that Ramat Shlomo is not an "Arab viliage", or an Arab anything else", I presume.
Stan has it right. Lately, even American media outlets have been referring to Jewish neighborhodds in East Jerusalem as "settlements," and their residents as settlers. Not good.
We have to wonder what kind of internal political calculation inspired this idiotic gesture (the news reports here have it as an act of the Israeli Cabinet, not a lesser body). For those of us that have insisted for years that Israel wants peace and the only real obstacle is Palestinian intransigence, this housing declaration made it more than a little bit harder to make that case. Maybe it's not intended as a personal insult to Joe Biden, but it comes off that way. You can say what you want about him making pronouncements under the Palestinian "terror" banner, but I can tell you that for decades now, Israel has not had many better friends in the American political elite than Joe Biden.
Israel wants peace, but it also has minimal demands for security and historical reasons. If the Palestinians or the world not only refuses to meet there demands, but backs the most extreme Palestinian demands, than we might as well continue the war as long as it takes.
Well that is because anything the Arabs say is gospel truth.
Y.K.–You're well informed about Israel, the P.A. and the nature of the current conflict. But you're tragically wrong in your prescription on how best to deal with the Arabs. You're playing into Hamas' hands insisting on armed conflict for the forseeable future with no efforts made to hammer out a negotiated settlement with Fatah. Damn world opinion. Damn the United Nations. And to hell with our friends the Americans, too. We can go it alone. That seems to be your point of view. I fear unless there is a change in direction on the part of the Israeli government, no good will come of it for Israelis.
"Damn the United Nations."
By assuming anyone in this country would disagree with that statement, I think you've sunk your argument.
Israel is still a member of this international body. At some level, some Israelis must care what the UN does regarding Israel. I do agree that over the years the UN has treated Israel unfairly and has singled out Israel as a "special case."
Why should any of care about a corrupt organization that jumps to the commands of the OIC and numerous world despots and dictators?
Seriously.
Jim, you are treating everything as black-and-white. There is grey, also. First, many people, like myself, do not believe in appeasement – we think a stake was driven though its heart in the Sudetenland. I do not think we should give in more than people who refer to us as the "enemy".
Second, did it ever occur to you that Netanyahu is balancing many things – his own base, his own opinions, and his desire to please the U.S.? I think he has met Obama much more than halfway, hurting his own position, and causing needless suffering to many innocent people. I do not think someone is not a friend of the U.S. if they don't kiss Obama's boots, as you seem to think.
I have many friends and relatives in Ramot – same as its neighbor Ramat Shlomo, but much bigger. I would be horrified to hear someone say they cannot build a porch on their apartment. Do you think Tsippy Livni would try that – I don't.
I think you give Netanyahu too much credit. Perhaps I'm not giving him enough. I can't judge his heart. I can only judge his actions and inactions. I still feel that Israelis would benefit if they changed Governments in order to allow for an American-brokered peace agreement (yes, again, I know, but what other options are there?) I don't believe this Netanyahu-led Israeli government wants a negotiated settlement.
BTW, I've noticed a complete lack of coverage of the Tiger Woods Mistress Beauty Pageant held today on the Howard Stern Show. I won't go into the salacious details here, but this is what I got out of it:
1. All contestants admitted that Tiger Woods was great in bed. Although not Gay, he enjoyed watching another guy doing it with his mistresses.
2. Tiger Woods was emotionally distant and took no responsibility for how he used any of the women he bedded down.
3. Tiger Woods was a lousy tipper at restaurants. He was generally cheap about financial matters.
4. Tiger Woods flew most of his mistresses coach.
Jim, your arrogance that the West knows what to do is really overwhelming. Look at Oslo as the prime example of what happens when the Naive West installs a peace agreement. If it wasn't for Oslo, the PLO/PA would not be in power over the Palestinians and who knows, we might actually have peace since there wouldn't be terrorists in suits, dictating and terrorizing their populace.
And I'm from the US and I think that the US can only provide a neutral setting for the negotiations to occur, not actually make them. But the US has legitimized the PLO/PA along with Israel. And that is the biggest mistake Israel has made since the Sabra and Shatila massacre by the Marionite Christian militia allied with Israel.
We do have an honest disagreement, Michael. You judge extending the hand of a friend to help another friend as arrogance. Do you prefer that Israel go it alone in the world? Do you really think that is a better course? The Palestinians drive me crazy, too, Michael. Trouble is they aren't going anywhere and I don't think a military solution is viable. Maybe it is arrogant to think that America should intervene to help its friends. It seems like a flight of fancy to think that Israel would be better off without American intervention over the years.
Jim, I don't think we have an honest agreement. I think you are failing to see my point that it is up to Israel and whatever semblance of governance the Palestinians have to make peace, not to be scolded like children and told this is what you have to do. America needs to take a step back, along with the entire world and just provide an arena in which honest discussion (fat chance of that happening with what we did with Oslo) can occur.
Well, I'm gald you have SOME sources that are more accurate than Ha'aretz!
It is not what they WANT. I have no idea if Netanyahu is true to what he said for years as an anti-terrorism expert, or if he sincerely now thinks a two-state solution would be a good idea.
The point is what we are willing to do to appease our colonial masters. I think Netanyahu may take a settlement, provided:
1. He does not have to subscribe to appeasement, and
2. He does not have to give away the store.
I don't care that you disagree on what should be done. But it's a bit disturbing if you consider a person "not a friend of the U.S." (rather ominous that) if they:
1. Do not do whatever the current president (or Jim) wants, or
2. Protest when the U.S. acts as a colonial master, instead of as an ally.
I am on BBC radio right now talking about Israel-US relations, please tune in and call in your support!
So is my father-in-law!
Please have a kind word or two for Marty Roberts, Dave. I don't know the man, but I really can't listen to his show any more. He just seems very extreme right wing and very inflexible in his thinking. I'm sure he has many good qualities as a person, though.
He's my father-in-law.
That was a real Zen moment for me, Dave. It says so much while saying so little.
(Resists attempt to make "cute" remark.)
Dave, could you tell us the general part of the country you live in? Not specific enough to ID yourself, of course, just so we can get a better idea of where you are coming from?
For example, living in the North as I do, I have a much more positive take on Jewish-Arab relations than I would probably have if I lived in Jerusalem.
I live between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
In the place where they genetic fingerprint the dog doodoo?
How's that train line going? I love trains.
The new train is really wonderful; there are a whole bunch of lines. (I see in wikipedia that there was a train station in Beit Shemesh – where my father is visiting now – even going back to the Turks.) They are supposed to speed it up, but that may take a decade.
Of course, to me "new" is since 1980!
Good, good, good. Biden is such a bumbling fool, it really is nice to see him embarrased this way. Build, build, build. Screw world opinion. I want to see Israel prosper and grow.
Great articles today, Dave. Thanks so much.
The 'settlement' issue is one of the best recent examples of Palestinian political play.
Only 10 years ago you never heard about them as any 'obstacle to peace'. The issues that they complained about them have either been solved OR ignored (because they never really mattered anyway,) in the last few years.
Israel made a number of big shifts after oslo, after camp david and now the Palestinians think they can keep demanding big shift after shift without actually doing anything themselves.
It's also an example of how poorly thought out their ideas are. Without 'settlers' the West banks economy would collapse, the only thing that would save them is foreign aid which lets admit is the only difference between the way they live now and moving back to tents in the desert.
They have no plan, no model to nationhood. If they do it goes something like this-
1) remove Jews> (2)Nationhood
THAT is just one reason of many why they don't deserve to be a country.
I know somebody else that thought removing Jews would build a nation and create peace- he had a very small moustache and wasn't Charlie Chaplin.
Unfortunately it seems that this way of thinking and the behaviour it encourage is fine in the western world as long as the people doing it are Arabic or Muslim.
The Syrian video is hardly surprising, there is a programme on the BBC called 'syrian school' that is a perfect example of how they are brainwashed as Children (although the BBC doesn't present it that way).
I felt sorry for them, mostly because they are made to study poetry and have to stare at Bashar Assad all day (or as he likes to be called, 'dear leader').
The way they go on you would think ' Palestine' was the cradle of civilisation- not just a made up place like Never Never land.
The programme includes a link at the end asking British people if they would like to create links with schools in the Arabic world……Not the entire Middle East then?
Maybe the BBC only likes to foster a certain type of understanding. British kids should be linking with the children of Sderot and Ashkelon, see what understanding is like in the Middle east.
Don't blame Obama or Clinton for the Jerusalem 'settlement' idea. It was Barak who added areas of Jerusalem as a sweetener, to his 2000 peace proposal.
Given this sort of proof of our hunger for peace is it any wonder that the PA refuse it, hoping for ever more goodies?
Great compilation article here, Dave, excellent topical links.