The War on Zionism
By Ted Belman (This article has been updated)
Post Annapolis, the Palestinian Authority made it crystal clear that it will never recognize Israel as a “Jewish state”. Furthermore, it made it crystal clear that it will not compromise on Jerusalem making it a capital offense to do so. Yet negotiations continue. Either Olmert doesn’t believe the PA or what is more likely, he will still cut a deal where Israel is denied that recognition and will divide Jerusalem according to Arab demands.
Do not think for a moment that these entrenched Arab positions are negotiable. They aren’t and never have been.
Ever since Theodor Herzl wrote The Jewish State in 1896, the Arabs, with one exception, Faisal ibn Hussein, have opposed it.
Bat Ye’or wrote in her monumental study, The Dhimmi,
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In the historical Arab context, Israel represents the successful national liberation of a dhimmi civilization. On a territory formerly Arabized by the jihad and the dhimma, a pre-Islamic language, culture, topographical geography (biblical towns), and national institutions have been restored to life. This reversed the process of centuries in which the cultural, social and political structures of the indigenous Jewish population of Palestine were destroyed. In 1974, Abu Iyad, second-in-command to Arafat in the Fatah hierarchy, announced: “We intend to struggle so that our Palestinian homeland does not become a new Andalusia.” The comparison of Andalusia to Palestine was not fortuitous since both countries were Arabized, and then de-Arabized by a pre-Arabic culture.
Once a region has been conquered for Islam, it is always Islamic and must be re-conquered from the infidel, regardless of the passage of time.
This is the core of the conflict. Palestine “must be re-conquered from the infidel, regardless of the passage of time”. Thus Israel must be destroyed.
In pursuance of this goal, the Arabs rejected the Partition Plan and the creation of Israel, they went to war numerous times to destroy Israel, they rejected Res 242 and shortly thereafter they decided at the Khartoum Conference to have “no recognition, no negotiations, no peace” with Israel.
In 1964, the Arab states founded the PLO with a Charter that specifically calls for “the liquidation of the Zionist presence.”
Shortly thereafter, the PLO was taken over by Arafat’s Nazi trained Fatah, whose Charter was and is similar. Its goals,
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Article (12) Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.
Article (13) Establishing an independent democratic state with complete sovereignty on all Palestinian lands, and Jerusalem is its capital city, and protecting the citizens’ legal and equal rights without any racial or religious discrimination.
Nothing could be clearer. It refers to “all Palestinian lands” and was written before the “occupation” in ’67.
Then in 1975 with Soviet support the UN General Assembly passed the infamous resolution (3379), “Zionism is Racism”, by a vote of 75 to 32 with 35 abstentions with the operative words,
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DETERMINES that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.
Chaim Herzog, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, at the time made one of the great speeches of the Twentieth Century arguing “Zionism is Not Racism”.
Though the US, lead by the late Ambassador Patrick Moynihan, vehemently objected also, a month later it did not veto a proposal to seat the PLO as observers in the UN Security Council. No non-state had ever been accorded such recognition.
According to the website Anti-Zionism,
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The Cold War Soviet Union doctrine of Zionology was sponsored by the Department of propaganda of the Communist Party and by the KGB. It stated that Zionism was a form of Racism and Similar to Nazism. As communism was against Racism, and Zionism was largely formed under strong leftist and socialist influences this presented some difficulties for the Soviet Union. They solved this by misrepresenting Zionism, and focussing on its links with America. Much anti-Zionist propaganda was produced by the Soviet Union, much of it was antisemitic and in cases Nazi propaganda and old Tsarist antisemitic material was reproduced. The UN also started producing anti-Zionist propaganda. Using resolution 3379 as a moral basis, UN educational publications spread anti-Zionist dogma throughout the world.
In 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the UN General Assembly revoked resolution 3379, admitting it had been mistaken to label Zionism as racism. The motion to revoke 3379 ( General Assembly Resolution 4686) is one of the shortest in history and passed with 111 for and only 25 against.
Nevertheless, this odious charge persists like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
In the negotiations prior to the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Fatah Charter became an obstacle. Arafat agreed to amend it. This was a precondition. Yet no such amendment was effected necessitating this letter from Arafat to President Clinton in 1998.
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In the mutual recognition letters between myself and the late Prime Minister Itzhaq Rabbin of September 9/10, 1993, the PLO committed to recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security, to accept UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides. The PLO also agreed to secure the necessary changes in the Palestinian Covenant to reflect these commitments.
Accordingly, the P.N.C. was held in Gaza city between 22-25 of April 1996, and in an extraordinary session decided that the “Palestine National Charter is hereby amended by cancelling the articles that are contrary to the letters exchanged between the P.L.O and the Government of Israel on 9/10 September 1993″.
Yet the Charter is still not amended.
More recently Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, penned an essay, Anti-Zionism is Racism in which he wrote, “anti-Zionism is a form of racism more dangerous than classical anti-Semitism”. Could be.
Just prior to 9/11 the U.N. hosted a World Conference Against Racism at Durban. It became a hatefest of anti-zionism as was intended. “Zionism is racism” was actively promoted to deligitimate Israel. Durban II in 2010 promises to be even more hateful if that is possible.
In the run up to Annapolis, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced H.Res.758 jointly with Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV). This resolution calls on PA and Mahmoud Abbas, also chairman of his Fatah Party, to officially renounce ten articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel’s destruction and acts of terrorism against the Jews.
The Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued a statement to the effect that if Abbas is serious about making peace with Israel, he must officially and publicly amend the Fatah charter as a “confidence-building measure which would help to create a better environment to achieve progress in the peace talks.”
While AIPAC supports the Blunt resolution, it also supports increasing aid to the PA without regard to the Charter. Having it both ways I guess. Doesn’t it know, you can’t suck and blow at the same time.
The Donor’s Conference in Paris pledged $7.4 billion to the PA for the next three years. No one demanded that the Charter be amended, that terror stop or that there be accountability for the funds. And everyone knows that Fatah is about to reconcile with Hamas on Hamas’ terms.
And what are those terms?
First of all, the Hamas Charter is virulently anti-Semitic and uncompromising in its goal of ridding Palestine of the Jews. It declares that
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“all Palestine is Islamic trust land, can never be surrendered to non-Muslims and is an integral part of Muslim world.”
“[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion;”
On Dec 7th, Ismail Haniyeh speaking for Hamas said “We will never recognise the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem,”
Everyone is determined to ignore this, or worse, to live with it.
At Annapolis, Bush said
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“The United States will help Palestinian leaders build these free institutions. And the United States will keep its commitment to the security of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland for the Jewish people.”
Yet Tony Blair, who recently visited Israel, refused to answer a question directed at him about PLO/PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ recently reiterated refusal to recognize Israel as a JEWISH state. This cannot be ignored by Israel, yet it is.
Normally this refusal on the part of the PA should be a deal breaker but negotiations continue. The same goes for Jerusalem. This is very ominous.
But the bottom line is that the Arabs want Palestine to replace Israel. This goal is reiterated by all boycott movements, by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and Muslim Student Association (MSA), by Iran when it calls for Israel to be “wiped off the map”, by the PA which publishes books with maps showing Palestine in place of Israel, by Hamas and by many UN agencies and NGO’s. Daniel Pipes reviewed this refusal post Annapolis in Arabs refuse to Accept Israel as the Jewish State
And they are not alone. The idea of a Jewish state is considered by the Jewish left as an anachronism, retrograd and even racist. Pipes commented on this in Zionism’s Bleak Future.
In my article Jewish Israel is the key to its survival, not its end I reviewed the liberal/left opposition and argued,
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One of the icons of the left is affirmative action which obviously denies equality. Affirmative action is seen as making up for years of discrimination and therefor worthy. If anyone or people are entitled to affirmative action, the Jews are. I look upon the Balfour Declaration as an act of affirmative action and the recognition of the State of Israel, after the Holocaust, as another act of affirmative action. In fact, the rationale for the creation of the Israel was the need to create a refuge for Jews in recognition of two thousand years of discrimination. Jews are entitled to this assistance or favouritism or protection whatever you may call it. We paid for it in blood.
The endorsement of the two-state solution is a sham for western consumption. The demand for a “just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194″, otherwise known as the right of return, vitiates any recognition of the two-state solution because it effectively is intended to destroy the state of Israel.
The enemies of Israel recently coined two new terms, “Zion-Cons” and “Zionofascism”. You can imagine why.
The war on Zionism continues.
If I could repeat your lines about Blair:
Blair was instrumental along with Clinton in effecting the “Good Friday” Agreement n Northern Ireland. A “solution” and not really a solution to anything. It has brought into power in the old Stormont the two min extremes,IRA catholic sectarianism represented by Adams and McGuinness, and Paisley representing Protestant sectarian fundamentalism.
This was done under the cloak of peace. Kill non stop for decades then some people grasp at anything.
Something similar to this weakening of the spirit is what Anapolis is all about.
Blair and Bush are very dangerous to the whole of humanity.
One should not underestimate their power. The power that they have in their hands can be guaged more precisely if one is aware of the whole of the long carefully constructed campaign to destroy Yugoslavia, still not finished.
A slight caveat to the above worthwhile summary of the situation…There is confusion in the above about the role played by the Stalinists in Russia in relation to the distortion of what is Zionism. It is not made clear that these are counter revolutionary stalinists. They have nothing in comon with communism but are the gravediggers of communism.
So who have the Jews and Israel as allies, or potential allies. This is a real question which must bediscussed, but rarely is concretely. I await responses.
Well, Felix, responding to your specific question, “who have the Jews and Israel as allies, or potential allies, the reality is that apart from individuals here and there, there are just three groups who support Israel consistently and steadfastly: Christian Zionists, conservative groups, and Jewish Zionists of the AFSI school. The left, from social-democrats on, are uniformly against Israel. So is the Christian hierarchy of mainstream churches, like the Anglican Church; so are the Israeli pseudo Zionists and anti-Zionists, the latter being entrenched in academe.
End of discussion. Israel should terminate the phony peace process (should have been done forty years ago), annex the West Bank and Gaza, and expel all Palestinians who are unwilling to live in peace under Israeli rule.
felix I ask again who would you suggest be our ally? Why do think we need an ally? and finally whats wrong with going on without an ally?
Personally I dont understand what stops the Jewish people from expelling the moslems out of Judea and finishing the problem for once and for all. The israeli parliment and people have to show resolve in the matter for no one else cares about Israel, not India, not Russia, not even the US. If the Jews dont revolt against a govt hell bent on sacrificing so much for pece.. is it worth it? I think it is not the case… I hope Israel is reclaimed by the Jewish people and not left to be a secular mess destined to doom like India…
Reg
Girish K
Girish K: I
What Bat Ye’or alludes to is that the Arab/Palestinian position is taken right out of the Islamofacist playbook which radical Islamists follow in their war on the West, thus rendering the Israel – Palestinian conflict just one battle front of that war.
The West for its own selfish and fearful reasons have sought to distinguish the Israel – Palestinian conflict as regional and unrelated to radical Islam’s greater war against all the West.
The West and at this time, America in particular are facing mounting problems with the rising tide of Muslim suspicions, anger and hatreds that continue spin out of their faltering military effort in Iraq and wash over the entire Middle East.
Americans and EU nations that also have interests at stake and fear for their interests being harmed by growing Muslim anti-Western angers and hatreds, have deceived themselves into believing that by showering billions of dollars in welfare upon the Palestinians without strings attached and by resolving the Israel – Palestinian war with a peace agreement that sees the creation of an independent Palestine, will bring the Islamofacist war against the West to an end or at least it will considerably reduce hostilities and much reduce risks that Western interests will be further compromised and prejudiced.
There is enough lip service thus far paid by America, the EU and the West generally to the proposition that Israel has a right to exist within secure borders and in peace with her neighbors that they have not thrown Israel bodily onto the alter to be sacrificed for the benefit of the Western many.
What America and the West have been doing as pressure on them is mounting, from fears that unless the Arabs and the Muslim world are accommodated and appeased to various extents, the Arabs will again use oil as a formidable weapon against them and that the Muslim world will not only ratchet up their angry hateful rhetoric, but will be more inclined to join the ranks of the Islamofacists and carry out hostile attacks on Western interests and Westerners.
One of those Western acts of accomodation and appeasement to the Arabs and Muslim world is to press Israel to sacrifice pieces of herself and her security to the Arabs and Palestinians by agreeing to a peace that will likely amount to no more then a temporary halt to open hostile actions by the Palestinians, radical Islamists and Israel’s still very hostile neighbors.
The rationale used by the West in this regard is that there is no higher goal then peace amongst nations which yields stability and allows all nations at peace to flourish.
The West mamages to so believe in the case of the Israel – Palestinian/Arab war by being willfully blind to the fact that the Palestinians and the Arabs do no see things the way the West sees them. Secondly the West forgets that when peace comes at too high a cost or the peace obtained is illusory and transient at best, that is no peace at all.
Ultimately the interests of those who made such peace happen in order to further their own interests will have not furthered those interests at all and all too often wind up severely compromising those interests.
Ted,
As you point out, the two state solution is a figment of western imagination. However, the insistence in the US and the EU is based on their concept of real-politik. They want good trade and strategic relations with the Arabs of the Gulf and Israel is the price, so constantly reiterating the hypocrisy and the illogic is futile. The two state solution is not based on any concept of fairness. It is solely an attempt to appease the Arab world while holding onto some shred of western concience following the holocaust.
Israel’s response is based on a terror of being cut off by the Americans and having to survive in a hostile world without an American shield. Israel needs new leadership capable of thinking and acting independently. They need to establish their own boundaries, their own national priorities and to resolve to fight national enemies with all the power at their disposal. Anything less is suicide by stages.
email
The PLO, with its “Palestinian National Covenant” calling for the liquidation of Israel, was established in 1964, not in l968. The difference is significant, because those events took place three years BEFORE the Six-Day War, when Israel was not yet in possession of the so-called “territories.” That makes it clear that what they were after was not “the territories,” but Israel itself
Israel’s internationally recognized borders were established in the peace and border treaties with Egypt and Jordan in 1979 and 1994. The borders with Syria and Lebanon should be declared by the lawmakers.
Fred, I fully agree.
I just added a few more links to my article.
Neighborhood Bully, by Bob Dylan
First Release
Infidels
Infidels
1983
{ RealAudio }
WindowsMedia { 56 }
Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man,
His enemies say he’s on their land.
They got him outnumbered about a million to one,
He got no place to escape to, no place to run.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive.
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin,
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land,
He’s wandered the earth an exiled man.
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn,
He’s always on trial for just being born.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized,
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad.
The bombs were meant for him.
He was supposed to feel bad.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim
That he’ll live by the rules that the world makes for him,
‘Cause there’s a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
He got no allies to really speak of.
What he gets he must pay for, he don’t get it out of love.
He buys obsolete weapons and he won’t be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, he’s surrounded by pacifists who all want peace,
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease.
Now, they wouldn’t hurt a fly.
To hurt one they would weep.
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Every empire that’s enslaved him is gone,
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon.
He’s made a garden of paradise in the desert sand,
In bed with nobody, under no one’s command.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon,
No contract he signed was worth what it was written on.
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth,
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
What’s anybody indebted to him for?
Nothin’, they say.
He just likes to cause war.
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed,
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed.
He’s the neighborhood bully.
What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers?
Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill,
Running out the clock, time standing still,
Neighborhood bully.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlHlXHimo_g Video Bob Dylan
Copyright © 1983 Special Rider Music
Columbia Records
Fred and Ted who agrees with Fred, I disagree.
If the two of you think that Israel is powerful enough or that all it will take is a change in leadership for Israel to screw up her courage to thumb her nose at America and the world to say from now on, ‘Get lost, I’ll do it my way myself!’, you are both living in an imaginary world.
Bill I think you are looking at this in the wrong way.
Fred wrote
Fred is obviously correct. The outstanding thing in the world today in this regard is the unremitting hostility of world powers to Israel.
Russia is often quoted as is China but they are not one litle bit worse than the Europeans or the South Americans.
Why we are involved here is because antisemitis is a central fact in the world.
It has very deep roots. I think in my own mind that the roots go back to the birth of the two main religions, the Christians and the Muslims. They set out to stage their new religion on the superstructure of Judaism. Then the lies necessarily started. Judaism here was the victim.
This lies latent inside humanity. My own experience. Lenin was no antisemite. He stated the Jews in Russia were the best and smartest and he trusted them more than anybody. Yet the 1917 revolution certainly halted antisemitism but did not kill it stone dead. It resurfaced.
This phenomenon today…now Israel is the Jew among the Nations. That is all so obvious to us here.
But that whikle being obvious to us is not so obvious to the great majority. There needs to be a break through in consciousness on this score.
Some people like amit lose hope here that this is possible. But it is and must be possible. We are at the beginning stage.
Sorry cannot complete this now…
The choice is not between Massada and Yavna. The Arabs will not give us the deal that the Romans gave, letting us live quietly in study mode with no real power. The Arabs have made it clear that there will be no Yavna, so we must find the courage that dominated Massada and the Warsaw Ghetto and fight for what is ours. As in 1967 there will be no real help from America.
Felix, I will add you to my list of who I disagree with on this one.
As you know I agree with you all as to the challenges, including existential life challenges Israel faces from an intransigent Palestinian/Arab agenda and a West that seeks to curry favor with the Arab and Muslim world.
Have none of you considered however that not even the rich and powerful United States does not have enough wealth and power to make her own way in the world in defiance of the will of other nations whose interests as they perceive them, are in conflict with America’s.
Compromises must always be made.
That said, I would like to see a tougher Israel more inclined to at least try to resist the kinds of compromises the West demands of her so as to further their own Middle Eastern interests.
The likely worst case scenario one can imagine that would befall Israel for trying to be tougher and failing is that she would have time to recant any tough position and be obliged to make any one or more of the concessions she is being pressured to make.
In other words things probably would not be worse for Israel for trying and failing, but in trying, Israel might be able to improve her position.
Bill
I see no daylight between our positions.
I guess Bill Narvey never saw the satirical movie THE MOUSE THAT ROARED with Peter Sellers!
Why is America too Chicken, to attack a North Korea and a Pakistan? Because they are wealthy Oil Merchants?
What have they got that we don’t? and what they have that makes America chicken we got a lot more!!
Yamit, you are going right over my head! What are you trying to say?
Ben Anderson writes
Stop sending me this nonsense, you clown
I asked “Why is it nonsense”
I cannot be bothered to go into the same tired old arguments with you. I’ve been reporting on the middle east for over eight years, and I’ve heard this absurdly biased nonsense a million times before.
Please stop sending it to me. I will stick to more honest and balanced scholars for research.
Ted, who is Ben Anderson and what made you think he would be interested in your views, which obviously he is not?
He claims your views are nonsense. He has not stated in his e mail what his reporting on the Middle East for 8 years has taught him.
Has he written anything you are aware of that might indicate what views he does have on the Israel – Palestinian conflict or the West’s war with radical Islam?
I think Ben Anderson does documentaries for the BBC. He is also a journalist. He favours the Palestinian cause and there says what I say is “nonsense”.
I might ask the obvious question, Since the Arab League created the PLO with their charter, why isn’t anyone asking them to disavow the Charter. Afterall the Saudi Plan ostensible intends recognition and peace with Israel.
Ted, surely you jest!
Bill Narvey I was referring to your comment #14. Apparently you do not think we can . but you do not explain why not. We are sitting on X billions of American stored weapons munitions and supplies. as a forward supply depot for any american action in the Area. We could just take them. We have better human Intel in theaters that concern us than the Americans that we give them for free. We hare siting on 5 billion of plant just from Intel alone. We import mostly from Europe almost 100 billion a year. Much Less from N. America. Israeli companies make up 3rd largest number of companies on the Nasdaq. While it may not be easy every time countries made things difficult for us fo r us we improvised changed directions and became richer and stronger. I can say without doubt that every time they tried to screw us we gained they lost. Englad today has almost no trade with Israel. They have nothing we can’t get Elswhere. Same with France but Italy and Israel have booming trade. England lost we just slightly shifted . Remember Global Market and a lot of third party intermediaries. Now if I got the money I can buy what I want even if the prices are inflated. Now I have more confidence in the American people than the Liberal Canadian Wusses he kiss the Islamic asses left and right and Have about as much influence in the world as Sweden maybe less. In such a condition I do believe Congress will side with us on a bi partisan level Most of Americas declared Jews what ever is left of them and a Lot of Non Jewish friends. While most of the Worlds national leadership may be troublesome for us we still have a lot of good will I think of many millions around the globe. I see them here as tourists and I read a lot of letters and blogs. Yeh there is a lot of support even if it conditional.
In the end with difficulties many difficulties going it alone with or without sanctions might just be the thing we need, It just might be the thing that saves us in the end.
REMEMBER WE ARE A NATION THAT IS SUPPOSED TO DWELL ALONE, THIS WOULD MAKE US A NORMAL COUNTRY!
Bill the Mouse that roared was about a tiny med evil like duchy in central Europe that was Bankrupt so they decided to declare war on the US go over and Surrender to the Americans with the expectation that if America acts true to form, they would accept their formal surrender; come into their country and bail them out of Bankruptcy and even make a profit.
In the case of North Korea by the time the Americans started to even contemplate war they already had a nuke or 2? Clinton tried to bribe them and so did Bush. S Korea has a lot to lose here and the nutty northerners have 30 thousand artillery pieces aimed at Seoul, we even gave them the Nuke fuel to make them with. Pakistan similar. once you got the big equalizer nobody is going to call y ou on it!
Yamit, read my post #14 to which you were referring in conjunction with my post # 17. That provides you with the explanation you were looking for.
In spite of all you say in your post 26 about Israel’s strengths and advantages, you fail to accept that Israel is still being successfully pressured to go along with the Road Map and even the short cuts America now demands which means making concessions that are no longer contingent on Palestinians fulfilling any promises which have been repeatedly been broken over the last 15 years.
Do you really believe that a new and tougher Israeli administration is suddenly going to turn back the tide of conventional thinking that looks to the two state solution to solve the Israel – Palestinian conflict?
Conventional thinking is very much like a huge ocean liner. It takes tremendous power to turn it to a new heading and even with that tremendous power, it still takes considerable time for the ship to change course.
That said, if Israel has the power you say it has, she still needs a new captain with a new and improved moral and directional compass to begin to steer the new course. Absent an all out war that significantly changes the facts on the ground, it will take time for a new Israeli leader to captain Israel towards a new direction.
Excellent post Fred, despite what the “elitist” Ben Anderson writes.
Hey Ben, which ‘balanced’ scholars do you rely on for your information?
Comments # 3 and 7 are excellent (Bill Levinson and Bill Narvey).
Comment # 8 is superb! (Fred).
What I find difficult to swallow is just how easily many Jews and Israelis (leftist, centrist and even rightist) are adopting the ‘anti-Zionist,’ anti-Israeli and antisemitic positions that have evolved post Oslo.
Even the leftist/centrists – who were in control of the government until Begin and Likud came to power in ’77 – had certain positions that were not negotiable. These included the sovereignty of Jerusalem and the right of return of Arab refugees from pre-’48 Israel. The labor led governments would even fight wars, terrorism and ok daring operations and assaults against the enemy. The old version of the liberal Labor left is long gone (I never did support their political positions and had always been a Jabotinsky type of fellow). When Begin/Herut ascended to power in ’77 who would have thought that his government would be the first Israeli government to cede territory – won in a defensive war – to a sworn enemy of Israel. Since Camp David and the first Lebanon war the rightest camp has imploded just as the leftist camp has. Allowing the PLO to escape to Tunis with Arafat not being targeted for assassination was a huge error.
We all know about Madrid and Oslo and their aftermath. We are all aware of the ‘escape’ from Lebanon in May, 2000 and the 2nd Lebanon war. We all know the result of the Gaza ‘disengagement.’
Yet, despite it all. Olmert and Kadima hold on to power. Olmert conducts his affairs like an il-liberal Bolshevik dictator. Even after being totally swindled and double-crossed at Annapolis, Olmert behaves like an evil, feckless lackey and dhimmi. The Israeli political system is so corrupt that the Olmert regime cannot be brought down. Who and what would replace Olmert and Kadima if the government fell? Bibi has a silver tongue but would probably not do much better than Olmert et. al.
Is Eldad truly electable?
Of course Israel needs to be much more self reliant emotionally – she needs to bask in CONFIDENCE AND NOT COWER IN FEAR! Israel views the U.S. like Linus (of Charlie Brown/Peanuts fame) views his security blanket.
The relationship is not a lopsided as one would think. The U.S. cannot thrive without a vibrant, safe Israel. Israel needs to be able to stand on her own. It is my prayer that an Israeli leader with integrity and resolve can ascend to power (before it is too late), unify the Israeli people and deal with the U.S.in cold, calculated terms. Israel needs to play hardball with the U.S. She needs to tell Washington that she no longer wants her loan guarantees and that she intends to begin trading with China and India (especially weapons systems). Currently, Israel is the # 4 exporter of arms in the world. Israel can do better.
Without Israeli intelligence, the U.S. is virtually blind in the middle east and much of the far east.
Israel should – if need be – threaten – not to share this intelligence.
It is high time that Israeli leadership and Jewish leadership stopped behaving like the bent over old man in the ‘galut’ waiting to be attacked, trying hopelessly and fruitlessly to appease his enemies.
Importantly, as well, the truth about Arab/Muslim and Islamic aspirations must be understood, appreciated, and acknowledged.
Without a rudimentary understanding of Islam – its prophet, its scripture, and the institutions of jihad and dhimmitude – Israel and the west will remain clueless and continue in their downward spiral into oblivion.
Jeff
I think a new leadership could but not BB. on the other hand any change of Government here could take months, and to go to elections ; even longer to form a ruling coalition. That alone would put heavy mud on the process. In six months we will all but saying Bush Who? and he Bush would be begging to get any press at all. He has become the Republican albatross and a net liability for them. For the good of his party he will be very much invisible. Look for Condi to abandon Ship in about 6 months. It will take any New American Admin. close to a year to get a complete team together and formulate National policy. So we stall and hope things will change for the better like a few more Wars Hamas bumping off Hitlers admirer. I also trust the Arabs to help in screwing up the works as well.
Another fair-minded person writes to me
Zionism=Imperialism
Nothing more, nothing less.
White, European AshkeNazis doing the bidding of imperialism – stealing land and murdering brown people.
That’s why Apartheid Israel has been Uncle Sam’s charity case ever since the UN midwifed it in 1947.
To finally answer Joseph and Yamit, comments 2 and 4, could I make this point.
I think it is now inevitable that if Israel is to survive as a nation, and perhaps to survive in a physical sense at all, the Iranian nuclear bomb capability will have to be stopped in its tracks, and since the US in its entirety as far as I can judge has signed off on this, and has left Israel in the lurch, as it has done on so many occasions before, then Israel wil have to use whatever resources it has gt to strike against the Iranian bomb facilities.
This may entail a totally different world situation for Israel, where the antisemitism of the world will surfce in a new way, and a dangeros way.
I agree with Joseph´s points above, but I feel that it is necessary to go further and as far as it is possible to construct in ech country a focus in support of Israel, carefully explaining the issues involved
I do not understand Yamit, the idea of Israel being isolated is to me crazy. That is exactly what the Counterpunch enemies have been seeking for so long.
I feel that Israel will win friends when it has a leadership which stands on principle and fights on principle. Such an occasion was the whole war against Yugoslavia conducted by the US Goernment, the EU, NATO, the UN, and now the Kosovo issue. Also the issue of the poinoning of Slobodan Milosevic. The leadership needs to make its total opposition to this clear. Should have done.
We need a fearless leadership which connects with the whole world, which takes principled positions etc.
Then you earn respect and with hope respect comes.
Felix
I agree that Israel needs fearless leadership. When you find one let us know!
The World cares not a wit about principled positions etc.!
The world cares about 2 things only WEALTH AND POWER&
YOU EARN THE WORLDS RESPECT BY EITHER BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH WEALTH
GREED!!
YOU EARN THE WORLDS RESPECT BY BEING IN A POSITION TO DENY THEM THAT SAME WEALTH
To comment on Bill Narvey’s assessment, # 28:
Israel needs to go to war with the PA and Hamas.
Facts need to change on the ground as they did in ’67.
Again, I refer to Eccl 3:8.
Israel must have a total victory.
Israel cannot not win and then sue for peace as it did in ’67.
Conventional thinking and planning, while being relatively constant, can change.
Look at how the U.S. NIE just ‘shocked’ the intelligence community.
Obviously, for Israel to deal with the Palestinians as they need to be dealt with, the leadership would need to change and the Israeli people would need to buy into dealing the Palestinians a fatal blow.
This would require abandoning Oslo, The Roadmap, The Two State Hallucination, etc.
While this – according to conventional thinking – would take quite some time, one massive or several severe terror attacks or mega-attacks might galvanize the Israeli nation – as well as Jews and their supporters in the diaspora – to take action.
Jeff
The U.S. and the west as a whole must develop alternative energy sources and thus make the arab world irrelevant and powerless.
Sanderzack, I am not advocating that Israel commence an all out war with Hamas or even Hamas and Fatah to change the facts on the ground.
First off, even with Israeli politicians who are considered on the right and who wish to annex the West Bank, would not advocate that.
Facts on the ground could of course change in an all out war as you suggest, if Hamas were to engage in a massive terrorist strike, such that the world would be shocked enough to remove or at least lighten the double standard it imposes on Israel which ties Israel’s hands and limits her defensive options.
So far, the almost daily rocket attack on Sderot has not proved to be massive enough for the world to do more than yawn about it.
The other problem is that instead of tempers easing on the Palestinian and Arab side, they seem to be getting hotter. If Israel were to take massive counter measures against Hamas, Abbas may be forced to come to Hamas’ aid or be assasinated. Similarly, it could spark a wider conflict.
Even assuming Israel could politically and militarily go all out and win, many lives would be lost on both sides. I would not want Israel to take such a tactic unless the situation for them really looked like it was going to become a matter of life and death. If it ever does come to that, Israel cannot allow America or any other nation to stay their hand and they must strike with massive force to achieve an unequivocal victory. That would mean very considerable human collateral damage on both sides.
With a clear victory however, that would put Israel into the driver’s seat as it were and where Israel should have been at the end of the 6 day war in 1967.
Facts however can change slowly on the ground or the government can change how it plays its hand in order to very gradually begin to steer Israel away from the direction she has been going. That is something that should have been started long ago, but there is no time like the present.
For example, the Israeli government has far too often and far too much incorporated the Palestinian narrative into their stated positions. That should stop. No longer should the settlements be called illegal, no longer should the adjective illegal or beligerant be used to characterize Israel’s occupation and more and more the government should be using the phrase legal occupation.
Under Res. 242 the essential premise I think, at the risk of oversimplifying it is that Israel will leave territories, how much to be determined in conjunction with a viable peace agreement which gives Israel peace and secure borders. There is no peace agreement so there is no lawful obligation for Israel to go out of occupation.
There are of course a number of other ways that Israel’s ship of state can be moved away from the very risky and many say, dangerous and suicidal course she is on.
Breaking free of the chains of conventional thinking can be achieved by exploding them or by applying increasing constant pressure until chain links begin to fail.
First, I will say that with Annapolis, Dubbya has satisfied his apparent promise to the Saudis to do something for the Palestinians. It sure smelled like dog scat on the shoe, and the timing was weird.
But he will NOT be president in a year and three weeks. Nor do I think either of the two Democrats are appealing at all to the broad middle of America, that doesn’t want the U.S. to be the whipping boy to the World.
The PA is a unilateral combatant against Israel right now, with certainly aid from Hizbollah and the Saudis. When the government of Olmert is finally put down, Israel and the U.S. should be preparing for the cataclysm that the Islamic world is clearly preparing for.
Are we lulling Ahmadinejad to sleep? Have we appeased the Saudis and the Palestinians to pave the way to evisceration of Iran’s nuclear capability?
I hope to the heavenly hosts that this is the plan.
Shalom Laura,
Re: Post 35;
Completely concur.
You’ve got my 100% support for your position.
It’s the artifically priced oil (both foreign and domestic, priced in tandem)that is the problem.
Kol tuv,
The price of Oil Laura on 9/11 was less than 24 dollars a BBL. today around a hundred and could go up! This should tell us something and it can’t just be chalked up to high demand.. Is there something rotten in Denmark?
Shalom Yamit 82,
Laura’s still on the right approach.
The Arab’s have economic power because of the petrodollar; not just the petroleum.
There is something rotten but it’s not in Denmark. It’s in the US.
The petrodollar helps finance US deficits.
The US$ has been devalued about 40% in the last 5 years. The Arab oil barons, to maintain their purchasing power, must raise the dollar denominated oil’s cost.
Sidebar; Appreciate info re Vilnaie and geographer father.
Kol tuv,
There is no conspiracy to raise the price of oil. Oil prices are set by demand in the international markets. The Arabs will take as much as they can get without crippling their clients’ economies or stimulating real changes to alternative fuels. Most people believe that the OPEC spigot is open full and they cannot increase their output, although they claim they can. As world economies grow the demand for oil will grow. Since the producers are tapped out there will be a scramble for supply. Don’t be surprised to see $150/bbl oil.
The Europeans are in better shape than we are because of the relative strength of the Euro. So far the Arabs have not moved to trade oil in Euros instead of dollars.
Meanwhile the best thing the US can do is implement plans to become independent of foreign oil. For details, read my book. It can be done at acceptable costs in a reasonable amount of time.
Excuse me Fred, the price of Oil is set by both supply and demand, buy controlling the supply you can increase demand ergo raise prices by reducing supply. There is also a refinery bottleneck, as not enough capacity I am told but who is today building refineries? America only imports around 10-12% from the middle east and they are drilling like crazy in Texas and other parts of America so I don’t think Americas problem is lack of oil supply but refining and Big oil and their govt. stooges who support them You can’t convince me that in 5 years the price has jumped 5 fold and you can’t convince me that it is only excess demand alone driving the prices up! whats your Book?
Sorry, Yamit, but you don’t get it. Increasing or decreasing supply will change the price but not the demand. At any rate there’s good reason to believe that the Arabs can’t increase supply any more so they cannot bring the price down even if they wanted to. Refinery capacity is a separate issue and you only confuse things by bringing it up. America’s supply of domestic oil peaked in 1972 at 10 mb/d. We now use 21 mb/d, and our domestic supply has dropped to six, so we import 15 mb/d. All the drilling in Texas, Utah, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico only goes to slow the steady decline in domestic production. “Big oil and their domestic stooges” are the reason we don’t have an energy policy for independence from foreign imports.
Meanwhile the world supply of oil is about to do what the US supply did in 1972, i.e. go into decline, but now there’s no “overseas” supply to meet the need. This is a very dangerous situation and we are standing on the brink. The Chinese, to name one example, are not going to sit back and watch oil become unavailable, nor are the Americans for that matter. Now Israel sits in the vanguard of the mess about to break on the western world.
My book is as yet unpublished, but some essays based on the book are around.
Fred for the moment at least I bow to your obvious expertise but I still have some questions.
At current or higher prices alternatives sources must be now economical if not very profitable, like shale which American and even Israel have an abundance of. If there was a will oil extraction plants could be up and running in 2-3 years. We have two imigrant Russian immigrants who have recently developed a low cost low energy useage process for shale oil extraction and have been bought up by one of our banks for 50 million dollars , pilot plant now running and major Negev plant in the planning and development stage. Why no movement in this direction?
Who ever said or advocated Israel thumbing her nose at US? There is a different type of a relationship besides Kings and Vassals. That is not to say on issues of less importance we could not bend some what to Americas position but that is as far as I would be willing to go!
Yamit, shale oil has great potential and should be exploited. There are vast quantities in North America and in Israel as well. The trick is to process the tar while it is still in the ground so that something like a synthetic petroleum can be extracted. I was part of Occidental Petroleum when they made a very serious effort to do this in the 1970s, but shut down in the 1908s because the technology was not cost competitive.
There have been recent reports about new technology in the US and in Israel. I have not seen the Israeli process but I have heard claims from Israelis over the years that they had an economical shale process, which turned out not to be the case. This new technology seems to be attracting venture capital so we’ll have to wait and see how it developes.
I believe that a serious energy plan for the US and for Israel as well should involve the exploitation of shale oil deposits. For now, there are no serious national plans and the shale is not being exploited.