By Vic Rosenthal
Recently I wrote about the controversy surrounding a campus organization called the Union of Progressive Zionists (UPZ) which is sponsoring a college tour by “Breaking the Silence” (BTS) — former members of the IDF who ‘testify’ to cruelties and even alleged ‘war crimes’ committed by the IDF in the territories.
By Vic Rosenthal
“If you were to read the Palestinian newspapers these days you’d be appalled by the sinister headlines: killings, kidnappings, arsons, shootings, revenge attacks and Kassam launchings. Then you read calls for a “national unity government” - as though Palestinians were already living in two different countries, one in Gaza (under Hamas) and the other in the West Bank (under Fatah).
The people’s sense of defeat is caused by our leaders’ ineptitude; the violence is fed by poverty, oppression and deprivation.” — Bassam Eid in the Jerusalem Post
Palestinian civil society today is an oxymoron. This is obviously bad for them, but it’s also bad for Israel, since it is not possible to acheive peace, or even a cease-fire, when there’s no stability and no control on criminal behavior.
JERUSALEM, Jan. 19 — Israel transferred $100 million in tax revenues to the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of a plan to bolster him and keep money out of the hands of the Hamas government, officials said today…
…Israel also has removed some West Bank roadblocks, but Palestinians say they still face many obstacles when they seek to travel. — NY Times
In other news:
(IsraelNN.com) Two Qassam rockets struck Israel on Tuesday. One of the rockets struck the western Negev, while the other hit south of Ashkelon.
Also Tuesday, Arab terrorists fired on IDF troops near the security fence along the Gaza border, and in Jenin, an explosives device was set off near troops, who also came under fire. There were no injuries in all of the incidents.
An IDF reserve soldier was lightly injured Tuesday when a burning tire exploded near the village of Qibya, northwest of Ramallah. Arabs placed ammunition in the tire and then set it ablaze near the separation fence.
The Israeli right wing has been cast as extremist, irresponsible, made up of religious fanatics and terrorists no better than their Arab counterparts. Of course this is not even close to true, despite highly publicized exceptions such as Baruch Goldstein and Yigal Amir.
Since 1993, Israel has tried to negotiate with the Palestinians to exchange the occupied territories for a peace agreement (and for actual peace). This hasn’t worked and today Israel finds herself at war with the rejectionist Hamas.
Much of the elite in Israel’s government, academy, legal system, media, and even the army are wedded to this point of view. But what if they are wrong?
Since the inauguration of the 1993 Oslo peace process, Israel’s national debate has largely ignored the only question that should be guiding it: How are we to advance Israel’s national interests? Rather, since 1993, our national debate has been anchored around the question of how best to establish a Palestinian state. This question, rooted in the false Arab narrative which consciously rejects the morality of the Zionist revolution, has brought us to a position where the IDF is cognitively barred from rationally approaching Israel’s security challenges. — Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post.
It is absolutely essential that anyone concerned about the future of the state of Israel read this article and take the argument it presents seriously. Name-calling is not a rational or acceptable response.
By Vic Rosenthal
One of the most persistent issues among Jews today, especially non-observant Jews living in the Diaspora, is that of Jewish identity: what is it, do I have it, are we losing it, is that bad?
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday she expected the “Quartet” of the EU, Russia, the UN and the US to meet the week of January 29 in Washington to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. — Jerusalem Post
Three entities whose behavior indicates that they would like to see Israel gone, plus a somewhat conflicted US, meet to decide what Israel must give up to the Palestinians who display their deserving status by continuing to fire rockets, shoot Israelis, and try to infiltrate suicide bombers.
The plan was born a bureaucratic monstrosity; of its myriad faults, grown perhaps the most fundamental was its assumption that if only the Palestinians were given just a tad more of this or that, they would finally recognize the benefits of harmonious co-existence with a Jewish state of Israel. Not to have learned by now that Palestinians have larger and more aggressive ambitions than to live side-by-side with Israel implies living in a state of denial.
Emphasis mine. How long will it take for the West to learn this? One suspects that the US State Dept. knows it well enough, but is trying to keep it secret.
Read the whole article here.
Bradley Burston argues that Jimmy Carter’s book was intended primarily to strike at the organized Jewish pro-Israel community:
Best of all, from Carter’s standpoint, is the blistering flak he has taken from an A-list of prominent American Jews. The criticism grants weight to Carter’s carefully worded accusations as to Jewish control of the American media, a self-fulfilling charge if ever there was one, and one sure to keep the hardcovers flying off bookstore shelves.
Echoing Mearsheimer and Walt, Carter hammers on the Jewish conspiracy to prevent criticism of Israel (here in an LA Times Op-ed):
The many controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations — but not in the United States. For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticize any policies of the Israeli government is because of the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices.
The sudden prevalence of this point of view smells like a carefully crafted public relations offensive. As I’ve written before, the combination of this with the mysterious FBI sting against AIPAC and the new influence of the Baker-Scowcroft gang seems all of a piece. My feeling is that Israel’s enemies know how important American support is to Israel, and how critical American Jewish influence has been to keep that support. And they want to stop it.
Recently, more and more has come out about Carter’s being a paid lackey of the Saudis. And Baker’s law firm represents the Saudi government. I think it would be useful to look for Saudi connections in other places, like Mearsheimer and Walt. And it would be instructive if we could find out who initiated the AIPAC sting.
Technorati Tags: Carter, Jews, Mearsheimer-Walt, Saudi Arabia, AIPAC
Michael Oren answers readers’ questions in Ha’aretz:
Many historians would probably list Harry Truman’s recognition of Israel in May 1948 as one of America’s most fateful decisions in the Middle East. A more seismic event, I think, was Dwight D. Eisenhower’s decision to support Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Though Nasser had plotted against Arab moderates and had violated international agreements by nationalizing the Suez Canal, Eisenhower sided with the Soviet Union - this while Soviet tanks were crushing freedom-fighters in Hungary - in rescuing Nasser from certain defeat at the hands of Britain, France, and Israel. A vastly strengthened Nasser once again turned his Soviet arms against Arab moderates and ultimately aimed them at Israel. But imagine if Eisenhower had just stepped back and let Nasser fall. There might not have been wars in 1967 or 1973, no occupied territories, no intifadas or Hamas. Minus Nasser, the Middle East might today look radically different.
There’s lots more fascinating stuff in this Q&A.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Russia has delivered Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran. The contract calls for a total of 29 missile systems at a cost of $700 million. The United States opposed the sale, apparently to no effect.
The system is designed to protect installations against cruise missiles, such as the US Tomahawk, fixed-wing aircraft, and precision-guided munitions. It would fit perfectly as part of a system to defend nuclear installations against an attack from the US or Israel. Although the UN has voted sanctions against Iran as a result of her defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons, they don’t appear to apply to non-nuclear defensive weapons systems.
By Vic Rosenthal
I suspect that Condoleeza Rice had a hand in this:
JERUSALEM, Jan. 15 (UPI) — Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh Monday hinted that Palestinian Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti’s jail term ought to be shortened.
Barghouti is serving five life sentences on charges of involvement in assassinations during the intifada, or the Palestinian uprising.
However, from his prison cell he has been involved in Fatah affairs and in drafting a Palestinian document that implied recognition of Israel, acceptance of the pre-1967 lines and limitations on the use violence. Security prisoners belonging to other parties, including Hamas, have signed it.
