Peres gushes, Livni guarded at UN interfaith summit: fiasco
Jerry Gordon comment
Last week, we had the Saudis suggesting that King Abdullah, the arch Wahhabist, didn’t invite the Israelis to the UN Interfaith Conference sponsored by him. Then we had the spectacle of Shimon Peres grovelling before the Saudis and the OIC members, who offed him. Note his remarks:
But Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed the king’s initiative as unprecedented,” saying this would have been impossible just a decade ago.
“What we are witnessing today is a new beginning,” Peres said at a press Conference. “What was today demonstrated was the will. We now have to work for the way.”
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was unimpressed about Arab ‘peace and tolerance’ comments. Peace to Wahhabists and Abdullah means the absence of Jews from the Middle East. For the views of those who attended the Saudi event in Manhattan, read here. What is the famous comment by Irish playwright Oscar Wilde about English aristocracy engaged in the ‘blood sports’: “the unspeakable after the uneatable.”‘
Israel Today, November 13, 2008
Peres and Livni at UN interfaith fiasco
Peres broke with precedent to address Abdullah directly from the podium, and later insisted that the fact the Saudi king had even remained in the room to listen to an Israeli speak meant peace must be just around the corner.
However, those would be the only words Peres got to share with Abdullah, as the Saudi king and most other Arab leaders very conspicuously avoided contact with the Israeli delegation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, meanwhile, was far more guarded in her assessment of the proceedings, telling reporters that if the Arab and Muslims leaders were serious about peace with Israel they would have to go beyond flowery rhetoric in the halls of the UN.
Livni also took the opportunity to note that peace negotiations between herself and the Palestinians were progressing rapidly, primarily due to the fact that she is not allowing average Israelis access to the details of the talks.
Ahead of Israel’s February general election, Livni is attempting to portray herself as the leader who can finally conclude a final status peace agreement with the Palestinians, while painting her opponent, Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, as someone who would rather stubbornly hold on to Israel’s biblical heartland than live at peace with his neighbors.
How can Israeli MK’s, the Israeli people and Netanyahu in particular let Livni get away with moving forward to conclude a final status peace agreement with the Palestinians?
Where is the outrage at Livni’s actions that even if only interim deals are made, could bind the hands of the next PM, assuming it is not Livni?
This interfaith counsel meeting in New York hosted by the Saudis is nothing more then a crude publicity stunt laced with surrealism and hypocrisy. The Saudis allow for no relgious tolerance within their nation whatsoever.
The Saudis however have been much involved with the O.I.C. to get the UN Human Rights Council to pass a Resolution condemning criticism of religion and in particular Islam.
On March 27 the UNHRC passed a resolution “Combating defamation of religions.” The lengthy resolution mentions Islam and Muslims repeatedly but no other religions nor their adherents. The Resolution and the continued efforts of the Saudis is to have the U.N. censure any criticism of Muslims or Islam as Islamophobic and racist.
It is clear that the Saudi purpose for this interfaith meeting was not to deal with Saudi intolerance of any other religion, but Islam, but rather to try to ensure that Saudi and Islamic intolerance of other faiths will be tolerated by those other faiths.
Shimon Peres may have been overwhelmed by the fact that in his lifetime, he was finally able to sit down in the same room as a Saudi King. I can well appreciate how Peres might feel, having thought that such would not be possible in his lifetime.
Peres however needed to quickly get over that moment and see the moment for what it was.
There was absolutely nothing in it for representative of other faiths and especially Israel to be present at this mockery of an interfaith meeting.
Other faiths could have done more for themselves had they pointedly and very publically rejected the Saudi interfaith initiative for the fraudulent initiative it was all at the instance of the self serving motives of the Saudis that had nothing to do with interfaith tolerance and everything to do with other faiths giving absolute uncritical tolerance of Islam, Islamic nations and all Muslims.
Comment by Bill Narvey — November 13, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
[...] betyder det för folk? Där var en stor FN-konferens, Saudierna sponsrade. Peres ödmjukade sej inför araberna och berättade hur bra de är. Den palestinaarabiska premiärministern Fayad talade så vackert om Jerusalem, deras framtida [...]
Pingback by Bibi segar sej upp. Gaza matas. Interfaith. UNRWA. | Israel i Sverige — November 13, 2008 @ 11:18 pm
[...] Peres ist wirklich unglaublich – entweder total naiv oder völlig senil. Da initiiert der saudische König einen [...]
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