Doc's Talk: "The Balagan"

Monday, November 22, 2010

"The Balagan"

Arlene Kushner

My readers are likely familiar with this Hebrew word, which I use from time to time. It means confusion, a mess, a muddle.

Thus my choice of this word to describe the negotiations on the freeze that are still pending. I've learned never to say never -- especially with regard to occurrences in this part of the world. But it's sure looking less likely as time goes on.

The biggest development on this front, as I see it, is a statement by PA president Mahmoud Abbas, after meeting with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, that:

"Of course ... if there is no complete halt to settlements in all of the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, we will not accept." At the very same time, Minister Eli Yeshai, head of Shas faction, has said, "As of now we oppose an additional freeze."

Yeshai explained that, "Rabbi Ovadia (who calls the shots for Shas) wants to see things clearly and only then will he make a decision."

"The rabbi asked for a US guarantee there will be no freeze in Jerusalem and that there will not be an additional freeze after three months. All Israeli administrations built in Jerusalem, even the left-wing governments, did not stop for one second."

Well, there ain't gonna be a "guarantee" from the US regarding our right to continue building in Jerusalem. That much can be stated with some certainty. Former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Kurtzer, made news the other day when he said that a "clear statement" from the Obama administration that excluded a freeze in eastern Jerusalem would set a "policy precedent" and was "highly unlikely."

At best there would be a blinking of the eye and a request that we soft-peddled construction east of the Green Line in Jerusalem. I had alluded to an article in Haaretz last week with regard to what a US official said about this. Here we have an expanded version of that article:

"[According to a US official] the US administration is not demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declare a formal construction freeze in East Jerusalem, but it expects a halt to Israeli construction in practice, and that Israel will not carry out any other provocative activity.

"The US official said that if a new settlement freeze takes effect, the American administration will continue to pressure Israel to keep things quiet in East Jerusalem during the 90-day period."

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-to-demand-halt-to-east-jerusalem-building-as-part-of-freeze-1.325460

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Meanwhile...

[] Netanyahu top security advisor Uzi Arad has publicly questioned whether we have a negotiating partner in the PA. This is not exactly a startlingly new observation, but it departs from the politically correct babble his boss has been spouting, and we must ask if he did this with sanction. Is this a trial balloon for a new approach?

[] Thousands of people demonstrated against the freeze outside of the prime minister's residence today. Minister Uzi Landau (Yisrael Beitenu) addressed the demonstrators:

"The Oslo accords are a fatal disease whose traces we can still see inside of us today. Israel has changed its tune...We said we wouldn't return to the '67 borders, which are Auschwitz borders. We said we wouldn't divide Jerusalem or evacuate the settlements. But each year we see the governments are ready to make concessions."

The demonstrators have said they will be camping outside the prime minister's house.

[] Members of the Likud Central Committee who are opposed to the freeze have begun circulating a petition supporting those Likud MKs and Ministers who have stood strong. They have acquired close to 300 signatures to date and hope to secure signatures of the majority of the Committee. The goal is to provide reassurance to those who in Likud who have opposed the freeze, letting them know the Committee is with them.

[] Last Thursday, MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) created a stir when he spoke out against the freeze, warning that Israel would be forced to accept another after this, and then another. While Mofaz is certainly to the right within Kadima, one senses political motivation here; he might be speaking as the head of the much-alluded-to, but somewhat illusory faction within Kadima that was expected several times over to leave Kadima and join Likud.

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Tonight our prime minister said that he will not bring the issue of a new freeze to the Security Cabinet until he has a letter from the US. However, he also declared that "I'm sure the ministers will approve it." We'll see.

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On Friday Reuters ran a piece that began:

"Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.

"But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling UN system, their efforts have been blocked by a United States resolved not to display the slightest tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to act as honest broker in their
halting peace talks with Israel."

It would be a stretch to believe that the US is eager not to display the slightest tilt towards the Palestinian Arabs. But this information is interesting nonetheless because it does seem to be the case that the Obama administration is reluctant to foster unilateralism by the PLO as long as there's a chance that Abbas might come to the table.

The big question is what happens when all chances of this happening fall apart.

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In October The Israel Project commissioned Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research to do a poll of Palestinian attitudes towards peace and negotiations with Israel. The results have been released:

"A majority of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza favor direct negotiations with Israel...but most are yet to reconcile themselves to the long-term existence of the Jewish state." (Emphasis added)

30% think the best goal is for a two- state solution that keeps two states living side by side.
60% think the real goal should be to start with two states but then move to it all being one Palestinian state.

58% think this is a time for armed struggle.
36% think this is the time for engagement with Israel.

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I want to recommend another excellent piece -- "Obama's Jerusalem Apartheid" by Daniel Greenberg writing as Sultan Knish:

"When Obama attacked Israel for building housing on Jewish owned land in Jerusalem, he was doing more than just pandering to his Muslim hosts with an obligatory dose of Israel bashing. He was diving once again into the ugly pool of bigotry, that first surfaced when he used Joe Biden as a proxy to launch a hate campaign against Israel over the same issue back in March.

"And what it comes down to is Apartheid. Plain and simple.

"Obama does not object to Arab Muslims living in Jerusalem. He objects only to Jews living in Jerusalem. The issue is not about 'Israelis,' as the media likes to present it, because Jerusalem Arabs and Jews are all citizens of Israel. What distinguishes them is race and religion.

"The media and the administration only attack the municipal authorities of Jerusalem and the Israeli government for providing housing for its citizens-- when those citizens happen to be Jewish. If they are Arab and Muslim, then there's no problem. If they're Jewish on the other hand, then the alarm bells go off and the politicians and the press denounce them as enemies of peace. How does one describe that as other than 'Apartheid'?"

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2010/11/obamas-jerusalem-apartheid.html

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The Cabinet today approved 85 million shekels over five years for improvement of the Kotel (Western Wall) plaza and its environs. Plans include preservation of -- and improved accessibility to –- archaeological findings, upgrading infrastructures, and development of educational activities for students and soldiers. A major consideration is accommodating 8 million visitors to the Kotel annually.

The project will be managed by the Prime Minister's Office and carried out by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, with the funds coming from the interior, transportation, tourism, public security, defense and education ministries, and the Israel Lands Authority.

Lovely that this should be set in motion, especially now.

But sure enough: inexorably, as night follows day, the PA has now registered a complaint. This plan, you see, is preventing peace. Said a PA spokesman:

"Israel does not have permission to make changes in the occupied territories, especially in Jerusalem."

They do go on about this. We should only be as persistent and consistent in stating our position.

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With everything else happening, I had not gotten to this, and so am grateful for a column by Isi Liebler -- "Harper and Obama on Israel" -- that explores the subject of the great friend we have in Canada, and the way in which the US has failed to provide support.

"...Canada [whose prime minister, Stephen Harper, has taken brave stands on behalf of Israel and against anti-Semitism] was in fact 'punished' for its support of Israel when it was ignominiously defeated by Portugal, an almost bankrupt country, in its attempt to obtain a seat at the UN Security Council. All 57 seats of the Organization of the Islamic Conference opposed the Canadian nomination.

"For some, Canada's defeat under such circumstances will be viewed as a badge of honor. But what made Canada's defeat even more outrageous was the role of the US. According to Richard Grenfell, a former press officer with the US mission to the UN, 'US State Department insiders say that US Ambassador Susan Rice not only didn't campaign for Canada's election but instructed American diplomats to not get involved in the weekend leading up to the heated contest.'

"David Frum, a speechwriter to former president George W. Bush, also noted that 'the US government has kept awfully quite about the suggestion that it went missing during the Security Council vote.'

"The US betrayal of its neighbor and long-standing ally is a chilling indication of the depths to which the Obama administration has stooped in its efforts to "engage" and appease Islamic and Third World rogue states."

http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=2571

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JINSA's report on this subject -- "By Failing Canada, We Failed Ourselves" -- includes this:

"Thank you, Mr. Harper. Most sincerely, thank you.

"State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley declined to directly address Grenell's claims (cited above). Asked whether the United States did anything to support Canada, Crowley said, 'For that particular seat there was a contested election, and we were present. We voted. And beyond that, I'm not going to comment.'

"Watch out for that. Our vote is one of 192 in the body.

"When the United States wants the right thing, lobbies for it and argues for it, there are a great many countries that will go where we want to go. But if we decide our vote is worth only 1/192nd of the total, we will be overwhelmed by forces in the body that seek to do us - and our friends - ill. If that is the best Israel can expect from the United States - that we will be present and vote our 1/192nd with Israel on principle - the UN will sink even lower than we thought it could.

"Some days, being Canadian looks like a good option."

http://www.jinsa.org/node/2056

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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner, functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.

see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk