Doc's Talk: West in state of denial

Saturday, October 29, 2011

West in state of denial

Op-ed: Western irrationally in respect to Middle East a recipe for tyranny and war

Yochanan Visser
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0%2c7340%2cL-4140751%2c00.html

In her book “The World Turned Upside Down” British journalist Melanie Philips wrote the following:

“When truth and justice are being turned upside down the outcome is tyranny and war."

The book describes how in today's world, reason and truth have totally been replaced by irrationality and lies. The theme of Phillips' book is more relevant than ever, especially where it comes to the current crisis in the Middle East.

The way the world community deals with the Palestinian UN bid to obtain a state without a peace agreement with Israel is only one of the prime examples of Phillip’s theme, but there are many more. Rai's warning
Let's take for example the way the Lebanese Maronite patriarch Bechara Rai was treated recently, when he issued a warning about the eventual demise of the regime of the Syrian dictator el-Assad.

Rai warned that Assad’s fall could lead to more bloodshed and a civil war in Syria. That scenario is understandably of great concern for the Syrian-Christian community, as Christians have become the first victims of the upheaval that has taken place in countries like Iraq and Egypt.

Rai's warning, which clearly wasn't intended to defend Assad, resulted in an angry statement by the French minister of foreign affairs. The US government however, went a step further and cancelled all appointments between government officials and Rai during his visit to the United States.

Egyptian Islamism
The crisis in Egypt exploded some weeks ago when Copts took to the streets and demanded an end to Muslim violence, which has significantly increased since Mubarak's fall. The demonstrations were violently suppressed by the Egyptian army, leaving scores of Copts dead.

In a reaction, the Obama administration typically issued an even-handed statement in which it hilariously urged the Copts to “restrain” themselves.

While in Berlin recently, Missing Peace Researcher Sharon Shaked interviewed a Coptic woman who lives in Cairo. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, warned of the upcoming elections and what will happen after them.

Copts, army clash in Cairo (Photo: AFP)

She also described the current situation of the Copts in Egypt. She spoke of increasing attacks against the Coptic community and an increasing atmosphere of Islamism which is also seen in the more religious style of clothing on the streets of Cairo.

In addition she said that some 100,000 Copts have left the country since the beginning of the recent revolution and that it is not safe for Copts to stay there. Her statements indicate a possible repeat of the events in which the Jewish Egyptian community was obliterated during the first years of the state of Israel and the Six Day War in 1967.

Libya chaos
Other evidence of the state of denial with which Western politicians view current events in the Middle East was given by the foreign affairs editor of Pajamas Media, Professor Barry Rubin. He published an article about the Libyan visit by US senators McCain, Dirk, Graham and Marco Rubio. The four senators later wrote an op-ed about their visit that was published in the Wall Street Journal.

In the article they pretended that everything was all right in Libya. They even called the situation "a testament to the commitment of the Transitional National Council (TNC) to democracy, transparency and the rule of law."

Law and order in Libya? (Photo: EPA)

They wrote their article at a moment when a bloody civil war was still raging with multiple cases of torture and execution of prisoners reported. The capture of Gaddafi last week and his subsequent execution contradicts the senators' rosy picture about democracy and the rule of law on every account.
Rubin compared the senators to naïve tourists. After all, the countless eyewitness reports regarding the real situation in Libya show that peace and democracy are largely still a pipedream.

Applauding Turkey
A third example of the Western tendency to deny reality in the Middle East occurred during the recent OSCE conference which took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The Dutch MP and Middle East expert, Wim Kortenhoeven, delivered a speech at the conference in which he warned against Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s Middle East policies.

Kortenhoeven’s accurate description of the Turkish policy towards Cyprus, Israel and the crisis in the Middle East was ridiculed by his fellow MPs from the Dutch Christian Democratic Party and was met by wall-to-wall dismissal by other participants in the conference.

In an e-mail to Missing Peace Kortenhoeven later wrote that members of the Dutch delegation even applauded when the Turkish delegation accused Israel of war crimes.

This incident, which was reported by the Israeli press, was completely ignored by the Dutch media.

Tunisian 'moderates'
The most recent example of the Western state of denial about the direction the Middle East is heading is the reaction to the results of the Tunisian election.

The New York Times even used the word "moderate" to describe the winning Islamist Ennahda party. As if Ennahda is not an ordinary branch of the Muslim Brotherhood led by an extremist who was denied entry into the United States.

Islamic party fans in Tunisia (Photo: EPA)

Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi is a staunch supporter of the Iranian Islamic revolution and has ties with Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. He is also known for his repeated calls for the destruction of Israel and for war against the US.

Honest approach needed
Back to Melanie Philips’ "World upside down." She wrote that the Mideast conflict will only be solved when the free world starts using a realistic and honest approach towards the aggressors and the real victim.

As long as this kind of reason is missing, the chances of war will only increase. The same applies to the Western approach regarding the Arab “Spring”.

As long as the West keeps denying the facts on the ground and will not take convincing action to secure the processes towards democracy in the Middle East, this "spring" will turn into a "winter" comparable to the Cold War and the tyranny and fascism the world experienced during the Second World War.

The writer is the director of Missing Peace

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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.

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