By Zvi November

For over one hundred years there has been an ongoing conflict between Moslem Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. The Arabs are the aggressors and the Jews are on the defensive. Before Israel was re-established in 1948, Jews living in the British mandate organized self-defense units and kibbutz settlements still have protective fences around them.

Throughout this long century the Arab battle tactic has been primarily based on terror: the 1929 Hebron massacre, the 1936-39 uprisings that targeted Jews, plane hijackings, the 2000-2005 Intifada bus and market bombings, frequent murders such as the Fogel family slaughter in Itamar and the continuing indiscriminant rocket bombardment of southern Israel from Gaza that aims at the civilian population. These attacks are all war crimes but Israel spokesmen rarely if ever describe these atrocities as such.
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By accepting this framework, Bibi is accepting the same preconditions he so vehemently rejected six months ago. Regardless of whether the framework is binding or not, Israel will be committed to uprooting 150,000 Jews which is about 50% of the settlers outside Jerusalem. We get nothing out of this deal that we didn’t already have. No one can force the right of return on us nor define us. And this deal leaves Jerusalem out of the question. It must be rejected. If the Iran deal was a “bad deal” this is a horrible deal.

Do not extend negotiations on these terms. I am saddened that this trio are going to accept it.

How can they bypass the Cabinet when so much is being given away. The government should fall over this. Ted Belman

BY YIFA YAAKOV AND TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF
February 2, 2014,

Yifa Yaakov, TOI

Israel is set to give its wary assent to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s framework peace proposal as the basis for continuing talks with the Palestinian Authority through to the end of 2014, Channel 2 news reported on Saturday night.

The TV report said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman are all inclining to accept the US framework terms, some of which were detailed by Martin Indyk, the State Department’s lead envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, in a conference call with American Jewish leaders on Thursday. The framework document would have to be finalized in the next few weeks, ahead of a scheduled fourth and final phase of Palestinian prisoner releases set for March, the report said.
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By Ted Belman

I am creating a campaign on Indiegogo to raise $100,000 to be used to support many Israeli NGO’s that are working tirelessly to keep Judea and Samaria in Israeli hands.

If any of you could help this campaign by getting your synagogue or church or organization to promote the campaign to their membership, let me know. Or if you have a lot of friends on Facebook or a large mailing list, let me know. Tbelman3 at gmail.com

I hope to get at least 10 people to donate $1,000 each to start this campaign off. Tax deductible receipts will be available in the US. Please give me your pledge by emailing me.

Together we can do this.

Of course any donation is appreciated.

Ted Belman

The threat of sanctions looms large, not for the Palestinians who continue their incitement and intransigence, not for Assad’s Syria after 130,000 deaths, not for Iran who threatens our annihilation, not for Iran who continues to hang homosexuals etc, etc, not for anyone except Israel. Israel, who dares to exercise its legal rights to Judea and Samaria, whose Arab citizens have more rights than any Arabs in any Arab country, who keeps the PA in power and enables its autonomy, who pays Arab workers in Judea and Samaria more than they get from Arab employers, who doesn’t even have the death penalty for Arabs convicted of murdering Jews and who wishes to live in peace with their Arab neighbour, is the target of sanctions.

Even Iran who is violating international law and racing to build a nuclear bomb, is let off the sanctions hook and sees its sanctions crumbling. But not Israel.

YNET reports on a debate taking place with Israel in the shadow of this growing threat: Read more…

By Paul R Stern, TOI

Dear Secretary of State John Kerry:

Because of my respect for the United States, I will attempt to afford you the honor you think you so richly deserve. It’s hard to speak to you with anything but anger, hard to feel the need, again, to start from the beginning because you clearly choose to ignore history in your quest for glory. It is a quest destined to fail but its outcome, even, or more accurately especially, in failure, will hurt Israel.

Greater men than you have tried to make, to force, peace on the Middle East. I promise you, you will fail too. You will fail because you are not addressing the root cause of the problem. You, like so many before you, take the easy way out. Blame Israel. It is so easy to do, and so stupid.
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If sanctions are imposed on Israel, its the fault of the US.  It created the atmosphere that expected and demanded that Israel agree to 67 lines plus swaps. The US was ably supported by the EU. Both of them were supporting the Arab League. They betrayed Israel and they alone are responsible for the BDS movement. They left Israel isolated.  Had they supported the legality of the settlements  and had they acknowledged Israel’s right to retain some of the territories as per Res 242 Israel would not be in the position she is today.

But that doesn’t leave Israel off the hook, Israel failed to assert her rights to Judea and Samaria and failed to assert that the settlements are legal.  I blame Netanyahu for this. He even suppressed Israel’s rights.  Instead he made the whole thing about our security and in the end didn’t get security or land. Ted Belman

By REUTERS, LAHAV HARKOV, JPOST

US secretary of state makes remarks at Munich Security Conference; Deputy defense minister Danon slams Kerry’s remarks saying that Israel will “not negotiate with gun to its head.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry believes Israel could face an economic boycott if the current round of peace negotiations with the Palestinians does not lead to a final deal.  Kerry made  the remarks on Saturday at  the Munich Security Conference. Read more…

Ted Belman. What is interesting in this Haaretz Op-Ed is that it acknowledges that the idea of leaving Jews to fend for themselves in Palestine, should it be created, is dead and buried.

It goes on to suggest that Bibi was not bluffing when he issued an ultimatum to Bennett, “Apologize or be fired”. I disagree. Bibi took the flimsiest of apologies and triumphantly announced that Bennett had apologized. Bennett didn’t leave it at that and announced he didn’t apologize. And so the matter ended.

My reading of Bennett’s original statement is that it was entirely substantive. The fact that he said Netanyahu was suffering from “moral confusion” is no more ad hominem than to call someone “ignorant”. Both merely explain where the other is coming from.

As I see it, Bennett made Bibi’s position and substantive argument appear so weak that Bibi had to change the subject from the substantive argument to him being unwilling to accept the affront to his character.

Spat between Netanyahu and Bennett over, but cold war rages on
Relations between the prime minister and the economy minister are so toxic that it’s hard to imagine the two surviving an entire term together.

By Yossi Verter HAARETZ

Naftali Bennett heard the sensational report from the Prime Minister’s Bureau on Sunday as he was about to pay a condolence call at the home of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein in the settlement of Neveh Daniel, west of Bethlehem. In a briefing, spokesmen at the office had said that Benjamin Netanyahu believes Jews could remain in their homes in the territories under future Palestinian rule, should a peace agreement be signed.
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By Seth Mandel, COMMENTARY

Yesterday on Twitter, foreign-affairs writer Armin Rosen engaged other Mideast watchers in the reason American officials call Jewish settlements “illegitimate” instead of “illegal.” It’s the sort of distinction that ought to be common knowledge–judging their legality would preempt final-status talks in contravention of the various agreements already reached–but isn’t. And amid the controversy over SodaStream, it was also a good reminder of just how loaded such language becomes when applied to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Evelyn touched on this subject earlier, on the hypocrisy of those who designate themselves pro-Palestinian by demanding that hundreds of Palestinians lose their jobs, benefits, and professional connections, especially since they go against the express wishes of actual Palestinians, for whom they claim to speak. But the whole issue is littered with loaded and Orwellian language. Put aside the opinion pieces, for a moment, since they are by writers who seek openly to claim language for their side. It can be more interesting to watch the “reporting,” which claims neutrality and is anything but.
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Ted Belman. How much easier it would be to propose that Israel keep 20% of the territories, which by the way is only 2% of the original territories. Thus very few Jews would have to be evacuated, thereby solving a huge political and financial problem. The Arabs will not be happy because they didn’t force 100% withdrawal but they are more concerned with loosing their own countries e.g. S Arabia, Jordan, UAE, and more concerned with stopping Iran’s plans for hegemony.

By Tom Wilson (Commentary)

It doesn’t take a great deal of investigation to discover that neither Palestinians nor Israelis are particularly enthusiastic about the latest U.S.-backed peace initiative. Neither side has been subtle about making known precisely what they think of Secretary of State John Kerry’s suggestions for a final-status framework. Perhaps Israelis and Palestinians can be forgiven for being inclined toward cynicism on this matter. Yet, Kerry seems not to detect the mood and plows on regardless.
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Compensation a difficult topic for Jewish refugees from Arab lands
Despite recent proposals, Jews who fled Arab states for Israel object to conflating their compensation with that of Palestinian refugees

Itay Blumenthal, YNET NEWS

Is the decision to compensate both Jews who were forced to flee from their homes in Arab nations and Palestinians who were forced to leave homes in Israel in 1948 historically just, or just an attempt at harming peace talks?

Prof. Yehuda Shenhav from Tel Aviv University’s Sociology and Anthropology Department told Ynet: “This suggestion does not surprise me. Three years ago, the Knesset quietly put into legislation a bill according to which any peace agreement with the Palestinians will include an article that classifies Jews from Arab states as refugees who fled their homelands because they had no other choice.”
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Before negotiations got started Netanyahu kept saying that he would not agree to any preconditions yet he was prepared to negotiate with the PA who insisted, with the support of the US, that negotiations be based on 67 lines plus swaps. In effect he was agreeing to this pre-condition and the results of the process to date prove it. So much for his principle. His utterances throughout the negotiations, such as refusing to divide Jerusalem and we must defend ourselves by ourselves, were all bullshit. He was not playing the game.

Kerry threw in compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab lands because he wanted to bribe Israelis, who were likely to benefit, to vote “yes” in the referendum. I am sure that he will find a way to bypass his own party and governing coalition, in order to hold the referendum. Ted Belman

Dani Dayan of pro-settlement group says that US envoy includes East Jerusalem when he promises that 80% of settlers will stay

Head of the Yesha Council Dani Dayan (photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
“Israel Hayom”, January 31, 2014, http://bit.ly/1dSaLHX

The assumption that Israel must accept the Kerry Plan as a basis for negotiations with the Palestinian Authority – lest it risk a rift with the US –should be assessed in light of the full context of US-Israel strategic cooperation, the imploding Arab Street, the unique foundations and nature of US-Israel ties, the US political system, the ineffectiveness of prior US plans and Israel’s own security requirements.

US-Israel strategic cooperation transcends the Palestinian issue.  Thus, despite the 66-year-old disagreement, between the two Administrations, about the ways and means to resolve the Palestinian issue, strategic cooperation has catapulted to unprecedented heights. Read more…

Following spat over ‘Jews in Palestine’ proposal, new poll shows Likud Beytenu drops to 30 seats,Jewish Home up to 17.

By Ari Yashar, INN

A new poll, conducted by “Panels Politics” for the Knesset TV Channel, reveals that the crisis between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Economics Minister Naftali Bennett that began this Sunday and threatened to break up the coalition has apparently ended in Bennett’s favor.

Netanyahu was reportedly livid after Bennett criticized his proposal to have Jews in Judea and Samaria live under the Palestinian Authority (PA). Netanyahu claims to have made the proposal as a tactic to reveal the PA’s “true face;” PA Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected any Jewish presence on Sunday, echoing previous statements by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
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By: Yori Yanover, JP

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in committee Wednesday, re-introducing the most pro-Israel legislation since the 1947 UN vote. It’s no wonder the pro-Palestinian NGOs are searing with rage. Now watch Obama vetoing it… 

Congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL 27), along with Rep Ted Deutch (D-Fla. 21), who are the top two members on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee, have introduced a bill on Wednesday naming Israel a “major strategic partner” of the United States, a title enjoyed by no one else on the planet, and encouraging enhanced cooperation on water, energy, homeland security, and missile development.

The bill also waives visa requirements for Israelis who visit the U.S., adding Israel to the list of countries whose citizens can visit the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, provided they registered electronically before boarding a flight. Read more…

By David Bedein,

It is universally understood that current talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will not lead to an end of the protracted Arab-Israeli war. However, there is no reason why at least one aspect of that war cannot be resolved: the continuing humanitarian crisis facing descendants of Arab refugees from 1948, who wallow in UNRWA refugee facilities under the notion they will “return” to villages from 1948 – which no longer exist.

In that context, the Center for Near East Policy Research, which has conducted news investigations and produced films on UNRWA for the past 25 years, has launched the UNRWA Reform Initiative (URI) to facilitate a policy change at UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
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I am sure Bibi was hoping to bypass his Cabinet by going to the people with a referendum.

By David Ravak, HAARETZ

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s draft framework agreement for Middle East peace talks will include support for establishing a Palestinian capital in Arab areas of East Jerusalem, senior New York Times analyst Thomas Friedman wrote in his column published Wednesday.

Friedman, who is currently visiting Israel, said that Kerry’s framework document would present the core concessions that Washington considers Israelis and Palestinians need to make for a fair, lasting deal.
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Reuters, JPOST

Israel accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas on Wednesday of putting “thousands” of bases in residential buildings and said it would destroy these in a future conflict, even at the cost of civilian lives.

The unusually explicit threat by air force chief Major-General Amir Eshel appeared to be part of an effort by Israeli officials to prepare world opinion for high civilian casualties in any new confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Intelligence head: 170,000 rockets and missiles threaten Israel
Israel says Iran and Syria have supplied improved missiles to Hezbollah, which fought the technologically superior Israeli military to a standstill in a 2006 war in Lebanon.
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