Today was Tu B’Shvat. Actually the time considered the new year for trees
(an issue with import in Jewish law) but popularly thought of as a sort of
Jewish Arbor Day. Trees are planted in honor of the day, and fruits and
nuts – products of trees – are eaten.
Credit: ishashiri
I spent the day with a tour into the Jordan Valley sponsored by World Likud
– a tour that emphasized the fact that this Valley is ours. Anyone in
Likud who isn’t for the retention of the Valley, does not belong in Likud,
declared key speaker Deputy Minister of Defense Danny Danon.
As I’m beginning late, this post will be short (or short for me, at any
rate).
~~~~~~~~~~
The twisted arm I refer to above belongs to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
Credit: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch
On Tuesday, Yediot Ahronot reported on a private conversation in which
Ya’alon had engaged. In the course of it, he is reported to have
said:
"Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] is alive and well
thanks to us. The moment we leave Judea and Samaria he is finished. In reality,
there have been no negotiations between us and the Palestinians for all these
months – but rather between us and the Americans. The only thing that can 'save
us' is for John Kerry to win a Nobel Prize and leave us in peace.
"The American security plan presented to us is
not worth the paper it's written on. It contains no peace and no security. Only
our continued presence in Judea and Samaria and the River Jordan will endure
that Ben-Gurion Airport and Netanya don't become targets for rockets from every
direction. American Secretary of State John Kerry, who turned up here determined
and acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor, cannot teach me
anything about the conflict with the Palestinians."
~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I loved every word of it. Here was a top official doing a very
amazing thing: Telling the truth. His words were on the mark.
And I will say here that I believe we’re seeing Ya’alon playing the “bad
cop” to Netanyahu’s “good cop.” I don’t believe Ya’alon would have said
this – even in private conversation - without a wink and a nod from his
boss, who would, himself, never dream of voicing such honesty.
US officials, professing great shock at these remarks, demanded an apology.
That is where the twisted arm comes in. Ya’alon’s office issued
this:
“The defense minister had no intention to
cause any offense to the secretary, and he apologizes if the secretary was
offended by words attributed to the minister.”
Fine. There was no retraction of the core of his original
comments.
And there is, by the way, a question of journalistic ethics, that Ya’alon’s
remarks, made privately, were repeated with attribution.
A bit of diplomatic high drama, which for many here lightened the tone just
briefly. Kerry, ever determined to soldier on (forgive the pun), declared
that he would continue working for peace no matter what Ya’alon thinks.
~~~~~~~~~~
And so, now that we’ve determined what a “great” job Kerry is doing, even
as he’s being criticized, I thought we should look at some of the latest from
the Palestinian Arabs:
All in all, the situation of the Palestinian Authority is appalling.
Two weeks ago the Czechs found a large, illegal cache of weapons (serious
weapons and enough to arm ten men) at the Prague home of the Palestinian Arab
“ambassador,” Jamel al-Jamal, who had been killed
in an explosion.
After a couple of days, Czech authorities indicated that they believed
these weapons were part of a gun smuggling operation – just the tip of the
iceberg of a massive Europe-wide operation.
But, don’t worry: the PA apologized.
~~~~~~~~~~
Then, a week ago, the Palestinian Arab new agency WAFA ran a piece about
Fatah interest in revisiting the question of reconciliation with Hamas.
Azzam al-Ahmad, the Fatah official in charge of
the reconciliation talks with Hamas, said he held a lengthy phone
conversation with Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, regarding resumption of
efforts to reach final reconciliation, and that they would be meeting
soon.
Now, I do not believe for a moment that there will truly be
reconciliation. But we must ask why this should even be raised now, when
the PA (comprised primarily of Fatah people) is supposed to be engaged in
negotiations. Could it be because Fatah leaders know that any move towards
merger with Hamas would have a most chilling effect on those negotiations?
~~~~~~~~~~
With it all, there are continuing (shall I say “routine”?) statements from
PA officials regarding insistence on Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, refusal
to recognize Israel as the Jewish state, demand for return of “refugee,” etc.
etc. Nothing has changed.
~~~~~~~~~~
I close here by sharing an op-ed and a news report. What they both
tell us is that we do, indeed, have friends:
Writes Ryan Bellerose, in his op-ed, “Israel:
The World's First Modern Indigenous State” (emphasis added):
“I am Métis [native American] from the Paddle
Prairie Metis settlement in Northern Alberta Canada. I founded Canadians
For Accountability, a native rights advocacy group, and I am an organizer and
participant in the Idle No More movement in Calgary. I am a founding
member of an Israeli advocacy group called Calgary United with Israel. And I am
a Zionist...
“Israel is the world’s first modern indigenous
state: the creation and declaration of the sovereign nation of Israel
marks the first time in history that an indigenous people has managed to regain
control of its ancestral lands and build a nation state. As such, this
is incredibly important for indigenous people both to recognize and to support
as a great example for our peoples to emulate.
“The actual working definition of ‘indigenous
people,’ (not the Wikipedia version, nor Merriam Webster, both more suited to
plants and animals) for purposes of this essay is that developed by
aforementioned anthropologist José R. Martínez-Cobo. With this as my foundation,
I will detail why Jews are indigenous to Israel, and why Palestinians are
not...”Great stuff. Read it all:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14377#.Utg_CJv8LIV
The Palestinian Arabs routinely incorporate into their (fictional) narrative the notion that they are the indigenous people in this area.
~~~~~~~~~~
And then we have Julie Bishop, Australian foreign minister, and someone else who is prepared to speak truth. One very sharp lady.
“In an exclusive interview
with The Times of Israel, Julie Bishop suggested that, contrary to conventional
diplomatic wisdom, the settlements may not be illegal under international law.
She refrained from condemning Israeli initiatives to build additional
housing units beyond the Green Line or from calling on Israel to freeze such
plans, merely saying the fact that settlements were being expanded
showed the need for the sides to quickly reach a peace agreement. ‘I don’t want
to prejudge the fundamental issues in the peace negotiations,’ Bishop said. ‘The
issue of settlements is absolutely and utterly fundamental to the negotiations
that are under way and I think it’s appropriate that we give those negotiations
every chance of succeeding.’
“Asked whether she agrees or
disagrees with the near-universal view that Israeli settlements anywhere beyond
the 1967 lines are illegal under international law, she replied: ‘I
would like to see which international law has declared them illegal.’”
(All emphasis added)
“International law” is a term bandied about very easily.
She’s got it right, to question this. The “settlements” most certainly are
NOT illegal. The Levy Report thoroughly documents this fact.
~~~~~~~~~~
©
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.
If it is reproduced and emphasis is added, the fact that
it has been added must be
noted.
This material is transmitted by Arlene
only to persons who have requested it or agreed to receive it. If you are
on the list and wish to be removed, contact Arlene and include your name in the
text of the message.
No comments:
Post a Comment