Doc's Talk: Israel: "A Matter of Our Own Long-Term Interests"

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Israel: "A Matter of Our Own Long-Term Interests"

Christine Williams

While Canada continues to crack down on terrorist-supporting entities, the current U.S. Administration has been busy tightening its relations with the "unindicted co-conspirator," the Islamic Society of North America [ISNA], praising it as a "pillar of the American Muslim community," and entering into collaborative consultations with it before U.S. President Barack Obama left for Israel last March.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the first Canadian leader ever to address Knesset , stated some key points in his passionate support for Israel. He stressed values shared by Israel and Canada -- those of freedom, democracy and an intolerance for terrorism and terrorist links -- values which Canada, since its outspoken refusal to attend the patently racist United Nations' Durban Conferences (purportedly against racism) of 2011 and 2013, has overwhelmingly, and singly, demonstrated world leadership in advancing.
Harper said:

"Canada finds it deplorable that some in the international community still question the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel. Our view that Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state is absolute and non-negotiable."

And:

"Criticism of Israeli government policy is not in and of itself necessarily anti-Semitic. But what else can we call criticism that selectively condemns only the Jewish state and effectively denies its right to exist, to defend itself while systematically ignoring or excusing the violence and oppression all around it?"

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (left) introduces Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (center) at the Knesset podium, on Jan. 20, 2014. (Image source: Canada PM's Office)

His speech was not without opposition. Prior to his address, Harper met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah (who by the way, with the help of the Kremlin, wrote a PhD dissertation denying the Holocaust); and Israel's Haaretz accused Harper of brushing aside the issue of Israeli settlements on so-called occupied Palestinian territory, when he stated: "Any attempt to have me, while present in the Middle East, single out the state of Israel for criticism, I will not do." So, Harper was accused of dodging the issue of the legality of the settlements -- regardless of the Palestinians' view, since thy rejected the 1947 UN Partition Plan before the State of Israel was formed, both in their [PLO and Hamas] charters, their government-owned media and television outlets, and maps of the entire country of Israel as one big settlement to be erased, as they put it, "from the river to the sea".
While on the subject of dodging issues, let us return to Abbas' PhD for a moment. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beytenu party spoke at a meeting of a newly founded Knesset Lobby to Combat Anti-Semitism last summer about the significance of Abbas' PhD dissertation denying the Holocaust. "There cannot be true peace or a diplomatic process," he stated, "with someone who denies the Holocaust." He also announced that he had a copy of Abbas's dissertation sitting on the bookshelf in his office; and that he did "not recall that any of those who welcomed the peace process reminded Abbas of his denial of the Holocaust, which he continues to do in media interviews," and that "modern anti-Semitism today is in the Palestinian Authority."
"You should see the PA's textbooks." Lieberman continued, "that do not teach the next generation -- the so-called generation of peace -- about the Holocaust. These are our so-called partners for peace..."
Canada has shown admirable resolve in standing up for principle on the global stage, both on Israel and regarding terrorism -- far more so than its American counterpart.
In fall 2012, while in New York during the opening of a new session of the UN, Harper personally intervened to pressure Abbas to drop his bid for upgraded status at the United Nations. He was described as having "a short, brusque meeting with Abbas , in which he was quoted as saying: "If you keep doing what you're doing… there will be consequences," referring to Ottawa's pledge of $300 million in aid over five years to the PA, starting in 2008, and whether or not it might be renewed.
In 2010, when Canada failed to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council, many experts -- including Paul Heinbecker, Canada's former Ambassador to the UN -- put the blame on Canada's unrelenting support for Israel.
In dissociating itself from terrorism and terrorist entities, the current U.S. Administration has shown far less resolve than Canada at best, and encouragement for terrorism at worst, as in Obama's befriending the Islamic Society of North America [ISNA], a Muslim Brotherhood entity which he went so far as to seek advice from when he visited the Middle East last March. For some background: Steven Emerson, an expert in national security, terrorism, and "Islamic extremism," published an article in the Investigative Project on Terrorism entitled: "ISNA Admits Hamas Ties". Hamas, which rules Gaza, is a terrorist organization that calls for Israel's obliteration. U.S. federal prosecutors have named ISNA, among three prominent Islamic organizations in the U.S., as participants in an alleged criminal conspiracy to financially support Hamas. ISNA was listed as one of the "unindicted co-conspirators" in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) case, in which HLF founders were convicted of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas. During that trial, ISNA and the North American Islamic Trust were also listed as "entities who are and/or were members of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
ISNA's branch in Canada found itself in hot water, too, when four months ago the Canada Revenue Agency [CRA] stripped it of its charitable status over terror funding, following an audit of its books that pointed to evidence that linked the organization to Pakistani terrorist groups. The CRA issued a press release that stated, "The Government of Canada has made it clear that it will not tolerate the abuse of the registration system for charities to provide any means of support to terrorism." Meanwhile a federal court has just backed up former immigration minister Jason Kenney, by stating that he acted reasonably in cutting federal funding to the Canadian Arab Federation for supporting terrorist organizations.
While Canada continues to crack down on terrorist-supporting entities, the current U.S. Administration has been busy tightening its relations with the "unindicted co-conspirator," ISNA, praising it as a "pillar of the American Muslim Community", and entering into consultative collaborations with it before U.S. President Barack Obama left for Israel last March. Obama met with ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid and other Muslim and Arab American leaders to discuss issues "that will pertain to his upcoming trip to Palestine, Jordan and Israel." In addition to the consultations on his Middle East trip, Obama also had "an extensive 90-minute conversation... about his plans for immigration reform," according to the ISNA website.
Just four months before the Obama-ISNA collaboration, rockets from Gaza were pounding Israel, prompting Canada to issue a formal statement:

"We fundamentally believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens from terrorist threats.... Far too often, the Jewish people find themselves on the front lines in the struggle against terrorism, the great struggle of our generation. Just last weekend, more than 100 rockets rained down on civilians in southern Israel from positions in the Gaza Strip.... Canada condemns the terrorist group Hamas and stands with Israel as it deals with regional threats to peace and security."

One hopes that the world will take notice of Canada and its courageous prime minister standing for truth and justice in the face of massive opposition, and heed the significance of Harper's words: "Support today for the Jewish State of Israel is more than a moral imperative.... it is also a matter of strategic importance, also a matter of our own, long-term interests."

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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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