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Netanyahu’s peace plan, if that is the right phrase for the collection of unrealistic terms he presented to Congress on Tuesday, leads straight to the burial of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an international crisis and a UN declaration of a Palestinian state.
WASHINGTON – Sara Netanyahu once said during a family gathering that if her husband had run for president of the United States, he would easily be elected (assuming, of course, that he were legally allowed to run). Indeed, in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before both houses of Congress on Tuesday, he made impressive use of all the gimmicks of an experienced and sharp-tongued American politician.
The extent of the applause he received throughout his speech shows that the many years he spent in the United States as a high school, college and graduate student, as a deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and as an ambassador to the United Nations were not wasted time.
Netanyahu proved that he has no Israeli equal when it comes to plucking the strings of American patriotism, of guilt feelings over the Holocaust, and most of all, of the wish of Congress members to preserve their close ties with the large Jewish organizations. Lest we forget, the strength of the applause bears no relation to the genuine interests of the State of Israel.
Netanyahu’s peace plan, if that is the right phrase for the collection of unrealistic terms he presented to Congress on Tuesday, leads straight to the burial of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an international crisis and a UN declaration of a Palestinian state. In a bad scenario, these terms suggest that Netanyahu is ignorant of proposals placed before the Palestinians more than a decade ago. In an even worse scenario, the “far-reaching compromise” he describes proves that his relationship with the settlers and his partners on the extreme right (if not his own ideology ) is more important in Netanyahu’s view than the strategic interests of Israel or the existence of a Jewish democratic state.
Netanyahu’s plan does not even vaguely resemble the one proposed by then-President Bill Clinton in December 2000. A viable Palestinian state and Israel’s annexation of settlements populated by 250,000 people are mutually exclusive. Even a magician the likes of Netanyahu cannot find the empty territory within Israel to compensate for the settlement blocs he wants left in Israel’s hands.
Netanyahu declared Tuesday that Jerusalem will not be divided, as if moving the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem to Palestine and making special arrangements for the Temple Mount and other parts of the Old City were anything but wishful thinking. His absolute rejection of a resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem completely ignores the 2002 Arab League formula, which proposes a fair and agreed upon solution to the problem on the basis of UN Resolution 194.
Netanyahu’s rejectionist attitude was most evident in his dramatically delivered statement that six Israeli prime ministers, including himself, failed in efforts to reach a settlement with the Palestinians because of their refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Netanyahu knows full well that no Arab leader, and especially no Palestinian leader, will utter such a statement if he values his life. He also knows that without reconciliation with Hamas, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cannot sign an agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state that will include the Gaza Strip. After all, Netanyahu himself uses the excuse that Abbas represents only some of the Palestinians and that therefore there is no value to an agreement with him.
The speech-making of recent days has been entirely removed from reality and as such, the chances are slim, if any, that it will lead to any change. The key has now moved even deeper into U.S. President Barack Obama’s pocket. Netanyahu the American hero essentially declared yesterday that he was challenging the American president. Obama will have to decide, and soon, whether he will pick up the gauntlet and send Netanyahu a bill for his refusal to accept the principle without which no speech on Israeli-Palestinian peace has any value: the establishment of a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders, with exchanges of territory that are mutually agreed upon, fair and realistic.
Saying Israel must give up land in order to have peace with Moslems is irrational. A Moslem cannot have peace with a non-Moslem because of the religion Islam. We must admit the struggle of Western Civ with Islam. We must stop ignoring this problem. See the new book, Rational Thinking, Government Policies, Science, and Living. Rational thinking starts with clearly stated principles, continues with logical deductions, and then examines empirical evidence to possibly modify the principles. if we are rational and look at historical evidence, we will see the errors.
Yamit Source…”Whomever does work on Shabbath day, shall be put to death.” (Parashat Ki Tisa Exodus 31:15) and in Exodus 31:14 Same Paraha is written: “You shall observe the Shabbath For it is holy to you Its desecrators shall be put to death” Just read Parasht Emor,(Leviticus 21: on…)for more death sentences for minor(?) offences., And I thought you knew all this. Well I was wrong.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum…Another fine example of out of context phrase. The exact translation is ” If you wish for peace, prepare for war.” (Publius Flavious) meaning Peace by strength. Did you read carefully?, prepare for PEACE not for war. Israel IS strong, did it avoid wars? Hell no. Don’t tell me about war. My father was among the founders of Hemed (Hel Mada, Science Corp.) predecessor of Israel military industries, and died doing his work 1948, I have participated in all wars from 1967-1983 on, so don’t lecture me about war.
But let’s leave all this behind: You definitely have no practical plan for peace.
Let’s suppose that I do have. It is even including a full scale war for all blood thirty, trigger happy fighters like you,
A war which we will win. BUT it will require full co-operation with Abu-Mazen and his troops. and maybe other dark forces, Will you be ready to co-operate with them in the name of the future for your sons, daughters, and all Am Israel?
Let me know.
Obama should not and cannot be trusted. He is a liar and no friend of Israel.
I said before, the PM should not meet with Obama but rather just address the congress.
Obama [with dumbo ears as pointed out by Mark Levin] is no friend of Israel.
The Israel leadership should tell Obama to stick his ME plan up his kiester (again, if I spelled it wrong, up his ass).
Every liberal American Jew and every Jewish organization in the US should be outraged.
ira says:
Your source pls.
Ah Pikuach Nefesh? You forgot “To Love the stranger as yourself”.
What have I taken out of context? What right does BB have to make any compromises of giving up land to any non Jew no less our mortal enemies?
NO JEW HAS THE RIGHT TO GIVE UP
(Eretz Yisrael) THE LAND OF ISRAEL
By David Ben Gurion
BG was Halakicly correct. In halacha there is one mitzvah that is overriding every other mitzvah: Milchemet Mitzvah. Read Yiftach, Judges 11. In Milchemet Mitzvah there is no pikuach nefesh. War by it’s very nature is dangerous and people on both sides die. nature of war.
Peace for Peace and War for War. If it be war, let it be total war and we drive the vermin out of the land to anywhere or kill them, doesn’t matter to me. I am not a humanist of those who want to kill me and are occupying my Land. Lets say, No Arabs no Terror.
That’s my peace plan in a nutshell. Now if you think that’s radical and unrealistic think about Oslo and the results from that debacle.
Einstein defined insanity of doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That’s you and those like you.
Peace is not my religion and has nothing to do with Raison d’être of the state of Israel. You want Peace go live in New Zealand where the sheep outnumber humans 100 to one.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
If you seek peace, prepare for war.
That’s still true…
Yamit: You wrote: “What’s your point? What are you suggesting that in anyway differs from my POV, which BTW us is not my POV but Judaisms POV?”…
Judaism also commands you to kill the person who will burn wood on Shabbat. Will you? I know you will not.
And here’s my point of view in case you didn’t understand: We are NOT living in the past. The present is ruled by different social AND religious laws, We must adapt, We do not throw god’s inheritance. Rather we will save Israel (Jewish) souls, and that is saving the whole world. Also Judaism POV.
Your habit of taking things out of their context is evident here:…Peace at any price?… BIBI never said that, what he did say is that we are willing to make painful compromises. And we will have to, whether you will agree or not.
I’ll not bother to answer your stupid remark on being/thinking Nazis. This is your Dark radical side. Remarks like these only lessens the seriousness of your writings.
You never brought any idea for YOUR type of peace,(At least I haven’t seen one,) Do YOU have a plan or are you totally against peace? Show us your true colors.
Ira.
Esav is Edom (Red), Edom is Rome, Rome is The Church, The Church is the West. The West is led by Christian America.
Learn something!!
What’s your point? What are you suggesting that in anyway differs from my POV, which BTW us is not my POV but Judaisms POV?
We don’t peach the same but your next comparison would be we are no different than the Nazis. You don’t have the guts to say it here though.
Describe your vision of PEACE: I’ll bet it’s as irrational and Pollyanna as everything else you’ve said.
As long as it takes!!!
Of course not I heard every word and understood everything you didn’t say. You will excuse me if I reject your opinion and world view.
I knew D B A, we had many heated conversations over coffee in Yaffo. He belonged to the Canaanite movement of the 40’s and 50’s never grew out of it. He was proficient in Hebrew and I learned a lot from him.
PS Yamit.
Esav disappeared from the map during the Hasmonean period, when the Edomites were forcibly converted to Judaism. Esav is the Jews.
That settles the matter. There can be no “peace” with an entity that refuses to recognize your existence.
Quite so,
but the larger lesson to be taken from that is that
what one president gives
another president can take away.
Never
never
never
rely on
presidential guarantees.
I too cannot understand Akiva Eldars comments, I have been to Capital Hill many times and he is utterly wrong to thing that the Congress is somehow beholden to Jewish organizations, the vast majority of Congressmen have very few, insignificant numbers of Jews in there constituency, In the senate ,the Jewish vote is negligible in most States and yet there is a love of Israel, perhaps a greater love than some Israelis have. It is this feeling of mutual ties that the Prime Minister tapped into. Mr. Eldars seems to have bought into the anti-semitic line that the Jews control America..Shame on him and his fellow travelers. The Arabs have not negotiated peace because they do not want to recognize a Jewish state. There so called peace formulations are one sided , non negotiable public relation attempts that no one responsible for the safety of Israel can accept.Have they even attempted to negotiate, where and when? Your prime Minister responded to repeated insults to Israel by Pres. Obama. If he was serious he would have spoken privately , tried to gain some consensus, rather than giving a speech and articulating a policy that he must have known was a non-starter, the last time he did that was with regards to settlements. now he made it even more difficult to restart negotiations, maybe that’s what he wanted. Pres Obama is good at treating the only Democracy with shared values as an unwanted orphan, he did throw Israel under the wheels, as we say. Israeli’s such as yourself should be thankful that Natanyahu upheld Israels honor. It is time for a reality check.
Shalom Akiva,
You wrote:….quote..”Netanyahu’s peace plan, if that is the right phrase for the collection of unrealistic terms he presented to Congress on Tuesday, leads straight to the burial of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an international crisis and a UN declaration of a Palestinian state. In a bad scenario, these terms suggest that Netanyahu is ignorant of proposals placed before the Palestinians more than a decade ago.
I always thought of you as an intelligent guy. So don’t disappoint me this time.
We all heard you very clearly how NOT do peace. Now tell us clearly how should we.
Dan Ben-Amots Z”L whom I never regarded as very smart person said the same about art and literature critiques, “They are criticising because they can’t do anything else”. Is this your case? I think so.
And for you Ymit82, I repeat, A radical Jew is just as bad as a radical Muslim. We accuse Muslims obeying bloody religious rules 1400 years old, and you preach exactly the same. There will be no Shabbas Goy here. YOU will have to do peace yourself, or live on your sward as long as you can last, and it will NOT be forever.
Unfortunately, I know I am talking to deaf (radical)ears.
Ira.
The expectedly hostile and inane reaction from Haaretz to PM Netanyahu’s speech in Congress is best countered by John Bolton in this article.
Let’s now watch what stand will influential Jewish Democrats take, especially Alan Dershowitz who has shown his almost unshakeable support for President Obama and his long-time advocacy for a suicidal two-state solution.
Take Your Inheritance Seriously
Lemon Lime Moon
Esav did not. He lived to regret it bitterly.
Says G-d:
“Mine is Gilead, and mine is Manasseh, And Ephraim is the strength of my head.” and..
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.”
Says Netanyahu:
“Israel will never give up its quest for peace,” and we are “willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace.”
Peace at any price?
How very Chamberlainesque. We can begin calling him Binyamin “Neville Chamberlain” Netanyahu.
Are you more willing to give up what G-d declared to be rather than to “offend” some wandering nomads from the desert.These nomadic tribes would have no nations if the British hadn’t created it for them.
It’s a lot easier to compromise with men than obey G-d isn’t it? It always was. Why should today be any different.
Go ahead, diss G-d. Throw the whole inheritance back in his face.
“Has Israel no sons? Has she no heirs? Why then has Molech taken possession of Gad? Why do his people live in its towns? But the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out.”
“I will signal for you and gather you in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before. Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return. I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them.”
Rongrand. Good show.
Listen folks I know very little about Israel politics and the government.
From where I sit (USA-Pennsylvania to be precise) PM Netanyahu did a good job on Mr. Obama and I was impressed with his presentation before both houses.
Majority of my friends who support Israel felt likewise.
Best I can figure:
Condition 1.- The Palestinians and the Arab world has to recognize Israel as a sovereign Jewish State.
I don’t see this happening now or in the future.
Condition 2.- The PA has to divorce itself from Hamas
Again I don’t see this happening – the sisamine twins can’t be separated.
In this case strike 2 and your out. Back to square one.
Israel needs to continue to take control of all of Jerusalem, the undivided city and capital of Israel.
Israel needs to continue to build communities throughout the Holy Land including Judea and Samaria.
As far as the 67 lines go, Mr. Obama [the Muslim] can shove them up his keister.
By the way if the Arab world doesn’t like it, just tell them to go pound sand and I don’t want to hear them say they don’t have any.
Haaretz sucks. The only fair resolution of the Arab “refugees” would be for them to be resettled in Arab countries.
I don’t think Akiva Eldar understands the depth of Americans’ identification with Israel. It has nothing to do with guilt. And some of the strongest supporters of Israel stand to gain nothing from large Jewish organizations. I really don’t understand why Israel should be held to the terms the Clinton Administration pressured them into when an Intifada was the response. Obama apparently doesn’t feel that he is bound by Bush’s guarantees to Israel.
Sultan Knish: Three Cheers for Terroristine!