Doc's Talk: Lonely Voice of Realism in Israel Government

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Lonely Voice of Realism in Israel Government

Steven Shamrak Blog

There is no chance of reaching a comprehensive peace agreement in the current diplomatic and political reality, partly because the Palestinian Authority government is "illegitimate", Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

"We have to understand that there is a government there that is not legitimate," Lieberman said at an annual gathering in Jerusalem of Israel's ambassadors and consul-generals. "It pushed off elections three times, then lost the elections, doesn't intend on holding elections and there is no guarantee that the next time there are elections, Hamas will not be elected." Lieberman, in his speech, acknowledged that given the nature of the current coalition, it was nearly impossible for Israel to present a far-reaching diplomatic program agreed upon by all elements of the government. "Can Israel put out a clear plan?" Lieberman asked. "That is also a good question in the current political reality. With the current system of government and coalition contradictions, I don't think you can reach a common model, a common denominator".

"Even if we would offer Tel Aviv as the capital of a Palestinian state and return to the 1947 lines, they would find a reason not to sign on any agreement," Lieberman said. The foreign minister added that his conclusion was that it was necessary to go to a long-term interim agreement and that such a plan already existed "on the shelf" and just needed to be polished before being presented.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, currently engaged with the US administration in getting the negotiations with the Palestinians back on track, quickly issued a statement distancing himself from his foreign minister's comments. Lieberman's comments elicited sharp reactions both from the Labor Party, his coalition partner, as well as from Kadima. (The reactions of the Israeli political left and PM Netanyahu prove the inability of the Israeli government to face reality and move forward with implementation of the plan "on the shelf", which should have been launched into action long ago.)

Best Economy in the West

Israel's Gross National Product grew by 4.5% in the year 2010, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) data and estimates 0.5% more than had been expected. This compares with only 2.7% in the other 33 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Happy New Year from Religing of Peace

A bomb attack killed 21 people outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt late Friday night. Another 24 people were wounded. The bombing took place as worshipers left a church following a New Year's Eve service. Officials initially suspected that a car bomb was used.

Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak

I hear "This is the reality" quite often. First of all, this ugliness has been created only recently by Arabs and international anti-Semites. Second, we are creating our own reality and anything can be changed. Third, in the past even international bigots acknowledged the demographic factors when the UN Partition Plan of '47, which violated the UN obligations to uphold the Mandate to create a Jewish state in all of Palestine, defined the " Green Line". Why must almost 200,000 Jews be transferred from Judea and Samaria, Jewish ancestral land, to satisfy fake claims of our enemies? This would be the violation of the 4th Geneva convention!

Perverse Logic of the 'Peace Partner'

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday warned Israel against launching a strike on the Gaza Strip in response to the recent spate of rocket attacks. "Any new Israeli aggression would put the entire peace process in real danger." (What peace process? They can kill Jews but Israel must not defend her citizens?)

Israel - Origin of Humanity?

Avi Gopher, of Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, found eight teeth in a cave east of Tel Aviv that indicating that they could be the earliest traces of our species so far. "Our cave was used for a period of about 250,000 years -- from about 400,000 years ago to about 200,000 years ago," said Gopher. This archaeological find may reshape History...

No so-called Palestinians on Jewish Land

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that there would be no Jewish presence in any future state run by the Western-backed PA in Israel's Judea and Samaria regions. "When a Palestinian state is established it will be empty of any Israeli presence." (This so-called 'moderate' PA leader openly preaches apartheid but nobody protests! Their intentions are clear and it gives Israel a green light to remove enemies from Jewish land.)

Kill a Jew - Live Like a King

Five thousand people have signed the Hebrew-language petition calling on the government to pass a law that would deny terrorists luxurious conditions they currently enjoy in Israeli jails, in order to put pressure on Hamas to release Gilad Shalit.

Palestinian Expertise Exported

The 12 Al Qaeda terrorists, whose projected arrival has put European security authorities on high New Year alert, belong to three al Qaeda-linked Palestinian groups, the Syrian Jund al-Sham, the Lebanese Army of Islam (which also operates in the Gaza Strip) and Fatah al-Islam. (Israel exports advanced computer and communication technology; Arabs are international terror experts!)

Determination and self-Respect Israel Needs to Learn

The government of the Ivory Coast, led by Laurent Gbagbo, announced that it would cut off diplomatic relations with countries who recognise ambassadors appointed by Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara, who is considered the nation's legitimate leader after its recent election. (Israel must send this same message to any country, which has or is considering recognition of statehood of the fake Palestinian nation!)

Quote of the Week:

"You cannot have a viable Jewish state without the full control of the mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria, not only for security requirements but most importantly for the moral high ground. For the Jewish state to negotiate away its own cradle of history is to forsake its future. No nation can negotiate away its cradle of history, its roots, and expect to blossom in the future" - Yoram Ettinger, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States - Common sense, and the clearly expressed intentions of Israel's neighbours to destroy her and Jewish national aspirations prove the correctness of this statement. Too bad that he did not say it when he was ambassador in Washington!

It is Time to Stop Playing Games!

US and South Korean intelligence experts strongly suspect that Iranian nuclear specialists visiting North Korea last month were putting their heads together with their hosts on a joint North Korean-Iranian nuclear test, especially since a small Iranian group was taken on a secret side-trip to North Korea's Punggye-ri testing site near the Chinese border for an extensive briefing. One source in Seoul reported the visitors had brought with them to Pyongyang a large sum of money, up to $150 million.

Nuclear Weaponized Islam

Saudi Arabia has jumped ahead of Iran by obtaining the use of two Pakistani nuclear bombs or guided missile warheads. It is believed the weapons are ready for delivery upon royal summons in Pakistan's nuclear air base at Kamra in the northern district of Attock. Already delivered is a quantity of Pakistan's Ghauri-II missiles with an extended range of 2,300 kilometers (Using Iran as a 'smoke-screen', Islamic nations have been moving forward with nuclear escalation! The Wahaibi kingdom, Saudi Arabia, is behind most Islamic terror and the leading force behind strategic advance toward world domination of Islam!)

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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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