FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

“If the issues with the conflicts between Israel and Palestine go well, [resolutions of] other issues in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Syria, are likely to follow suit. ” — Ban Ki-Moon, new UN Secretary General [Jerusalem Post].

I’m trying to picture this. Israel goes back to green lines, allows ‘refugees’ to ‘return’, and suddenly Lebanese Christians and Muslims, Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites kiss and make up?

The Post goes on to say that although Ban has visited Israel, “he is not known to have developed expertise on the Middle East”.

Indeed.

Technorati Tags: Ban-Ki-Moon, UN, Israel

By Vic Rosenthal

Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, “knows by now not to get excited by every tale of Gilad being released soon”. Every day there’s a new report; the deal is on, the deal is off. Hamas has reportedly demanded as many as 1,500 prisoners to be traded for Shalit, many of them convicted murderers and including the assassin of Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Ze’evi.

The negotiations are following Middle Eastern bazaar rules in which a powerful desire of one party is exploited by repeatedly dangling and snatching away the object of desire to raise the price. There is enormous cruelty to Gilad and his family, but of course Hamas doesn’t care.

In years past, Israel did not negotiate with terrorists, and they should not do so now. Acceptance of a deal means that there are no consequences for murdering Jews, since there can (will) always be another kidnapping and another prisoner release. It means that Israel is weak and will not respond to terrorism. It means that Israel is not a sovereign state. Of course, this policy is also clear from Israel’s ‘restraint’ in the face of Kassam missile attacks.

Israel should implement a death penalty for those convicted of terrorist murders, and Israel should respond to kidnappings and terrorism with military force that will not be ‘restrained’ until hostages are returned and missile fire stops.

Otherwise the long-term price will be far higher.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Shalit, Gaza

“What [Israel] need[s] now is a leader who will level with us about our situation, just as Churchill did when he told the British people: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” No more promises of a fun society for those tired of being brave, tired of winning.” — Jonathan Rosenblum, in the Jerusalm Post, on why the Prime Minister is irrelevant.

Read it here.

By Vic Rosenthal

I’ve more or less had it with muddled thinking.

I am fed up with reflexive and irrational left-wing Israel bashing (I will also no longer listen quietly to right-wing reductions of every problem to ‘socialism’ or ‘political correctness’, but that’s another article).

I want my friends to look closely at events and understand their uniqueness. Forcing chaotic reality to fit procrustean ideologies may be satisfying, but it does violence to truth. Sometimes there isn’t a simple answer.

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