FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

By Vic Rosenthal

US and Israeli diplomats have suggested that the Saudi plan might be a good starting point for peace negotiations with some modifications — for example, the demand for a right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel has to be removed.

The problem is a lot deeper than that, though. The Palestinians and other Arabs view any compromise as a defeat, and would only agree to it as a temporary tactical move. In their view, Israel is totally at fault for the history of conflict in the region, the situation of the refugees, etc. So any peace agreement has to include Israel completely undoing the ‘unnatural’ situation by giving up any territory taken from Arab hands, restoring all that they lost to the refugees, etc. Naturally, an independent state of Israel would not survive such a deal.

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By Vic Rosenthal

Little by little, the unthinkable becomes thinkable, and then practical, and then it happens. And then something even more unthinkable starts to be thought.

At one time, it was against the law in Israel to even talk to a representative of the PLO. Then somebody did it, and soon it became official and soon Arafat — Arafat! — was shaking hands with the Prime Minister. And soon he was actually paid to set up shop in Gaza and Ramallah, where this remarkably evil and duplicitous man stuffed his Swiss bank accounts, built an educational and media system designed to create martyrs in the jihad against Israel, and pretended to talk peace at the same time that he was paying his terrorist minions to kill Jews.

At one time, Israelis and Jews throughout the world vowed that the blood that was shed in 1967 to regain the Old City of Jerusalem would not be dishonored. In 2000, Barak offered control of the Temple Mount to Arafat. In 2007, sovereignty over it has all but officially passed into the hands of the Palestinians.

At one time, only the extreme Left considered a Palestinian state in the territories an option. Today, the US President endorses the idea, but the Arabs and the Left have moved on to talk about a single, “binational” state.

At one time, the West overwhelmingly supported Israel’s right to exist. Today, it’s a subject for debate.

Technorati Tags: Israel

Hamas is wasting no time to show that it is continuing to ‘resist Zionist aggression’ as part of the new government:

KARNI CROSSING, Gaza Strip (AP– Yahoo) – Hamas militants on Monday claimed responsibility for a shooting that wounded an Israeli civilian near the border with the Gaza Strip — the first serious violence after formation of the new Palestinian unity government.

Actually, 5 Kassams fell in Israel yesterday, but since they didn’t hit anyone, they are not ‘serious’.

Israel’s electric company said one of its workers was seriously wounded as he worked on a tower on Israeli territory near the crossing.

Hamas military wing claimed responsibility, calling the attack “a response to continued Zionist aggression.”

Yes, it’s certain that the fellow picked off like a sitting duck while hanging from his safety belt on the tower was a Zionist aggressor. I think if I worked for the electric company, I would find it impossible to continue to supply electricity to Gaza for safety reasons.

Let them import it from Norway, the first major donor country to announce that they will resume aid to the PA.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Hamas, Gaza

By Vic Rosenthal

The newly appointed Israeli Arab minister of Science, Culture and Sports, Raleb Majadle, will not sing Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva. Perhaps it will surprise some people that I don’t think this is a bad thing.

Majadle, a long-time member of the Labor Party, defended his decision, saying he does not believe that “enlightened and sane Jews” would request a Muslim to sing a song which speaks to the Jewish people. “The Arabs are not in a mood to sing right now,” the Arab minister commented.

“Of course I would not sing the anthem in its current form,” Majadle said. “But before we talk about symbols, I want to talk about equal education for my children. It’s more important that my son would be able to buy a house, live with dignity.” — Arutz Sheva

We have predictable reactions from both sides. The Right says that this shows that he’s disloyal, that any Arab would be disloyal, and that Israel should not have an Arab cabinet minister. The Left says that it’s undemocratic that the symbols of the state discriminate against one-fifth of its citizens, and that Israel should get a new national anthem.

Both types of reaction are wrong.

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Today I had the opportunity to visit an air base here in California, operated by the US Navy. I couldn’t help but compare it to what I remember from military service in Israel. The first thing I noticed was that it was enormous; I was told that it was 20 square miles in area.

Of course everything was neat, clean and well-maintained. Yes, neater and cleaner than what I remember. The guard at the gate did not appear to be reading a paperback when we arrived, nor was there a radio playing. In a ready room where pilots wait before missions (it’s a training base) there was a book about the Israeli Air Force on a coffee table.

The officers that showed us around happened to be military doctors, so perhaps they were especially concerned with the welfare of the men and women for whom they were responsible, but they pointed out detail after detail that showed how much the Navy cared about their people. Of course they also mentioned how many millions of dollars were invested in training the pilots, but they stressed that everyone got the same level of health care. You could tell that they were proud to be part of it.

The aircraft we looked at, F18 Hornets, being designed for landing and takeoff from carriers at sea, had overdeveloped landing gear like the incongruously powerful calf muscles on pretty ballet dancers. With their huge twin engines they looked very, very businesslike. If they could talk, they would have said: “don’t even dream about messing with me”.

The hangars had the familiar smell of hydraulic fluid, solvent and jet fuel.

It was Sunday, so there was very little activity. I didn’t get to hear the unbelievably loud noise of fighter aircraft taking off.

Technorati Tags: Navy, Hornet